Demon Slave (5 page)

His teeth were grinding. Nadua couldn’t tell
if that was a good thing or not. Her pulse spiked at her own
actions and her cheeks warmed. Good thing the demon couldn’t see
that.

“
Well, if you’re going to
continue removing your clothing...perhaps we should have more logs
brought in. Guard! More logs for the fire!”

“
Shh!” Nadua shot forward,
scrambling to gather her clothes, getting ready to redress if
anyone entered. She would be mortified if she were caught trying to
seduce a demon, even if she didn’t intend to go through with
it.

“
Let me guess, no one knows
you’re here. Do you think it’s wise to rile a demon’s lust without
backup, girly?”

“
I think I can handle
you.”

“
Why don’t you untie these
ropes and we’ll find out.” He stood as if she would do as he asked.
“I would love to test your theory.”

Her eyes widened when she saw his bulge had
grown bigger, straining against his pants. She swallowed
heavily.

Damn, she was losing control of the
situation. In one last attempt, she took a step closer, playing
with the lip of her collar.

Heavy lidded, his emerald gaze dipped to her
cleavage.

“
I want to help you,
demon,” she cooed. “I want to trust you. I just need you to tell me
the truth.”

“
And I just want to taste
you. I don’t need my hands free to do that.”

Why was she breathing so hard?

She eyed his lips, looking for a hint of his
fangs. “I’m afraid you’d bite me, first chance you get. I need
something from you first. I need to know I can trust you. Tell me
who you’re looking for?”

They were standing so close, if his hands
weren’t tied behind him he could reach out and grab her. Nadua
couldn’t help but imagine what that might feel like. Fathomless
green eyes bore into hers with such intensity, she knew she had
him.

“
You, luv. I’ve been
searching for you all my life.” Sarcasm dripped from his words. He
smirked.

“
Bastard!”

“
Come on, let us have a
taste.”

Nadua pulled out her cleverly placed dagger,
hidden by a nearly invisible thigh holster, and set the point at
his throat.

“
Wow, what else do you keep
down there?”

His lack of concern was maddening.

“
This was your last chance,
demon. Tell me what I want to know, or else.”

“
Or else what? You’ll
remove your top? I think I can hold out for that.”

Nadua had never been so enraged by a single
person in her entire life. With an irritated huff, she turned back
toward the fire and slumped in the stool, silently admitting
defeat. Slicing the demon’s throat would have been gratifying, but
irrational. She would learn all she needed to know. Eventually.

The few moments away from the fire had
chilled her, though she hadn’t realized it until now, and she
rushed to replace her gloves and shawl.

“
When we get back to the
castle, you’ll be turned over to Renzo. He lived through the first
demon invasion, so I’m sure he’ll know how to deal with you.” Nadua
glanced up when she heard a menacing snarl coming from the
demon.

“
Torture, you
mean.”

Nadua shrugged. “I suppose so.” She had
hoped to avoid it.

“
And after all the torture,
if I don’t change my story, what will you do then?” In a flash, the
previously lusty green irises morphed into an angry blood
red.

Nadua stood with a gasp, not sure what was
happening to him. The horns that peeked out of his sandy brown hair
began to alter their color as well, taking on the cast of burning
embers. Razor-sharp fangs peeked out from his lips, twisted in
rage.

This was how he had looked when he was
tearing through her men.

“
What are you doing?” She
stepped backwards, stumbling into the chair. She could swear there
was heat coming off him. When the demon’s lips curled back to bare
his teeth, she screamed, “Guards!”

Nadua stomped around the campground and
shoved her supplies into her satchel with a little more force than
necessary. Sweetie’s body rocked as Nadua tightened the straps,
preparing the edisdon for riding.

She strapped on her sword and quill, and
placed her bow around one shoulder.

Last night had been a
complete disaster. The guards may not have suspected her reason for
being in the demon’s tent alone, but it was still humiliating to
have called on them for protection. And for what? A couple of red
eyes and burning horns? On this morning’s reflection, she decided
he hadn’t been
that
frightening.

“
Your Highness, we’re ready
to move out,” Tamir called.

Nadua looked around. All that was left of
the camp were pockets of disturbed terrain. The demon was caged
once more, leaning lazily against the bars as if he hadn’t a care
in the world. His eyes and horns were back to their normal
state.

“
Then let’s go home,” she
said, mounting Sweetie.

The tightly packed landscape crunched under
the beast’s heavy feet, as she moved to assume the lead. Behind
her, Tamir called the order and the men quickly fell in line.
Taking up the rear was the prisoner’s wagon, accompanied by four
riding guards.

She’d felt the demon watching her all
morning, but had refused to look at him. Now, with the heat of his
gaze on her once more, Nadua leisurely glanced back. His eyes bore
into her, revealing no discernible emotion. She gave him a lewd
gesture before turning away. The bastard probably didn’t even know
what it meant, but she didn’t care. All she wanted to do was return
home, turn the demon over to Renzo, and forget about him.

The wind began to pick up. Nadua raised her
eyes to the sky.

Great
.

It looked like they were in for another
storm. This time of year, the weather was usually mild. Well, mild
for Undewla, which meant a little less ice falling from the sky
than normal.

Storms were frequent and expected, but Nadua
had been hoping to make it home before the next one hit. It seemed
unlikely that was going to happen.

“
Listen, all!” she shouted,
pulling Sweetie to a stop. “We will be riding fast! I’d like to
make it to the cliffs if we can.”

Her men hollered in unison at her order, and
increased their pace.

The steep ridges of the Cliffs of Ashtel
would provide some protection against strong winds, as well as give
them the advantage in case of attack.

Nadua stroked the edisdon’s neck. “Come on
girl, we’ve got a ways to go.”

* * *

The chit hadn’t looked at him all day,
besides some strange gesture toward him that he didn’t think was
meant to be a, “Hi, how are ya?” No doubt she was licking her
wounds from the night before.

A seductress she was not, although those
long legs of hers were mouthwatering. Marik cursed. Remembering her
silky thighs had his body aching again. She might need work when it
came to seducing a man, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t have her
writhing under him in an instant, her screams of passion in his
ear.

He hadn’t meant to frighten her so badly,
but her indifference toward torturing him had pushed him to the
Edge almost immediately. His memories had closed in, nearly choking
him with their revulsion.

To his surprise, he had calmed enough to
keep himself in check. He’d never been on the cusp of the Edge and
had it stamped out so quickly.

He wasn’t sure, but he suspected the terror
in her eyes had something to do with it. In his hazy mind, he
remembered feeling like it was wrong for her to fear him—which was
ridiculous. Of course she should fear him. She was his enemy, and
all his enemies should fear him. It was every demon’s motto.

He’d watched her through the cold bars all
morning, trying to figure out why he should be so conflicted over
her. Women never enticed him this much. It had been a while since
he’d last taken one, but that wasn’t unusual.

She remained at the front of the pack,
riding on top of her creature and ignoring him thoroughly. Her
clothing was the same as always, thick fur that looked similar to
the thing carrying her. Didn’t she realize it made her stand out
among the group?

Yesterday, she’d rode out as if on a hunt,
but came back empty handed. Marik could smell nearby wildlife, even
now. If they had been hunting for food, they should have come back
with something. Surely they could at least hunt.

Unless the creatures on this planet were
more intelligent than he was currently giving them credit.

Next to him, one of the guard’s overgrown
rodents stopped to lower its head to the ground and began rummaging
its snout in the snow. Cursing at the edisdon, the guard pulled
hard at the reigns, but it didn’t budge. Another man rode past in
high spirits and smacked it on the ass with the flat of his sword.
The beast grunted as it jumped forward, bits of snow covering its
face.

Nope, not intelligent, at all.

As morning shifted into late afternoon, they
entered an expanse. The path dipped between a thick forest of
gnarled trees with thick black trunks and empty branches.

Something in the crisp air caught Marik’s
attention. He peered past the thicket, into the snowy depths. There
was movement there, so subtle he almost missed it. Marik eased onto
his knees to get a better look. It could have just been an
animal.

Suddenly, the woman stopped, raising her
left arm in the air. Like a wave, the solders halted and all eyes
focused in the direction she was looking.

It was the same direction that claimed
Marik’s interest.

She eased her bow from her back and nocked
it with an arrow. Following her example, the guards pulled their
weapons.

For a moment, everything went still. Marik
listened hard but heard nothing. Yet the woman seemed to have
zeroed in on something past the trees.

Slowly, she pulled back her bow. A few
guards with arrows mimicked her, while others looked back and
forth, unsure what to do.

Then, from behind the trees came a unified
cry. Bodies rushed out of the forest, brandishing swords and
daggers. All were on foot. Their skin gleamed with the same blue
tint as his captors.

Finally, the woman let her arrow fly,
planting it firmly in the forehead of her target. He went down
instantly. She reloaded and shot again, as did the other archers.
Together they must have taken down twenty men, but the swarm—Marik
estimated fifty or so—were still coming.

“
Hold position!” she
yelled, while continuing to fire arrows into the horde. Another
three down. Those who didn’t carry a bow had their swords at the
ready. After a few more seconds, she hollered, “Now!”

Her men surged forward, slamming into the
oncoming barrage. The familiar sounds of metal clanging against
metal and flesh ripping filled Marik’s ears while his heart picked
up speed. An odd urge to get to the woman, to protect her, nearly
overcame him. But he should remain where he was. It would be wise
to wait out the melee, and not let his captors know he could break
from his cage.

He glanced over the crowd, toward the woman.
It seemed that she was properly guarded, a half-circle formed at
her front, blocking the attackers from coming near.

It was hard not to notice how well trained
she was in the art of battle. She’d taken the high ground and was
dropping her opponents with ease. For some reason, the sight made
him smile, until he noticed the movement at her back.

More attackers were emerging from the forest
behind her. No one else noticed.

Then suddenly, with a sound like lightning,
a thick sheet of ice sprang out of the ground, separating the woman
from her guards. Marik blinked twice.

What the hell?

* * *

Nadua let her last arrow fly before she
noticed the threat at her back. The damn rebels had them
surrounded. She should have seen it coming: this was the perfect
location for an ambush.

Suddenly, Sweetie’s head shook and the
edisdon’s footing became erratic.

Nadua held on. “Shh, Sweetie. Steady.” A
thick chill tickled the back of her neck.

She gasped.

It couldn’t be possible!

But when the ice began its swift ascent, she
knew it to be true. Her heart sank. A Kaiylemi was with them, a
master of ice.

As the small group of rebels closed in,
another ice sheet burst from the ground behind them. A frightening
sound boomed from the demon’s direction, causing Sweetie to buck
underneath her.