Awakening the Demon's Queen (17 page)

“
Not at the moment—” Kindara
broke off as the sound of a familiar snap sounded beside her. She
turned, expecting to see the demon.

It wasn’t him. Standing in his place was a
warrior even taller than Rathan, taller than Cormac.

In his hand was a sword nearly as tall as
Kindara. He raised it over his head as she screamed.

“
Down, Kinney!” Auri and
Belnus yelled together, charging toward the creature. Auri’s sword
clanked against his, she battled him back desperately. Kindara
grabbed Bronwen and dragged the girl away from the fight as
Belnus—who’d been farther away from Kindara, tried striking the
creature from behind.

Kindara pulled Bronwen down into a crevice
between two large rocks situated where they could watch the battle;
knowing that was what Auri and Belnus would expect. She had been
through attacks before—as a healer, someone was always trying to
take her. Auri would look for her once the battle was over.

And Auri had never lost a battle. Bronwen was
shaking, staring at the fighting. “Should we help them?”

“
No. We stay put. We’d only
get in the way.”

“
What do you think he
wants?”

“
Us. Healers are prized,
Bron. Worth our weight and then some in gold.” Kindara held the
girl tight to her side as Auri and Belnus battled the large male.
“Remember your aunt Adelais?”

“
Theo has spoken of
her.”

“
She was your mother’s
sister. Actually delivered you. She disappeared a week later.”
Another of Kindara’s friends gone. Prized more for her skills than
herself. No one knew what had happened to Adelais, though
speculation was that a band of Lupoiux took her.

“
I don’t think I want to
leave the lab again.”

Kindara nodded, her eyes still trained on
Auri and Belnus. The creature faced off against Belnus, who
presented the most obvious threat. Auri was only six feet tall, at
least a foot shorter and one hundred pounds lighter than the
creature. But she fought hard. She darted around the creature,
slashing at him with the blade she carried. It was less than three
feet in length—half of what the creature’s blade measured, at
least. He countered her move with a backhanded blow across Auri’s
face that sent her to the ground. His reach was long and he used
it. He didn’t even look at her as he turned and struck out at
Belnus.

Belnus hit the ground hard, and didn’t rise.
There was blood beneath his head. Kindara fought the instinctive
urge to run to his side. If it had just been her instead of her and
Bron she would have. But Bronwen would be such an easy target for a
male like this.

The creature faced off against Auri. “Where
is she, woman?”

“
Who?” Auri asked, dodging a
blow from the creature’s blade.

“
Come on! She can’t handle
him herself!” Kindara pulled Bronwen from their hiding place. She
scooped rocks into her hand and threw them at the creature. Bronwen
did the same, though her aim was far poorer than
Kindara’s.

Auri slid in the mud, went down hard on one
knee, as the creature jabbed with his blade. Blood splirted over
the white of Auri’s coat and her blade dropped to the ground. Her
hands covered the blood as she fell to the ground, a look of fear,
surprise, and terror on her face.

“
No!” Kindara screamed,
grabbing a larger rock and heaving it at him. “No! Leave her alone!
Gods! What do you want?”

She threw more rocks, pelting him with
everything she could. Bronwen dropped to the ground beside Auri,
suddenly fearless when someone was in need of healing.

“
She’s bleeding so badly,
Kinney!” Bronwen’s fear was clear for everyone to hear.

“
Stop throwing those rocks,
or you’ll join your friend, woman!” The creature pulled his sword
back, though he kept it at the ready as he stared down at
Bronwen.

It was obvious why—neither she nor Bronwen
were warriors, neither carried weapons. Both wore the blue band
around their arms that denoted they were of the healing caste. None
in any world except that of humans would healers be harmed—not with
them worth so much to each Kind.

Kindara ignored his orders. “Just leave us
alone! We have nothing for you!”

“
You can tell me why you are
in my lands, violating the edict! And tell me what you’ve done with
my daughter!”

“
We know nothing of your
daughter, and this is where we were told to stay!” Kindara dropped
to the ground beside Belnus. She checked him for a pulse and found
it strong and steady beneath her fingers. Just knocked out, then.
She jerked toward Auri. Belnus would live—but Auri could bleed to
death so easily. The creature stood watching, surprise and
suspicion on his features.

“
Bronwen, you’ll have to
give her blood. I cannot, it’s not safe. I’ll work on stopping the
bleeding in her side.”

“
Kinney, take Bronwen and
call for the demon. I know you can.” Auri’s words were faint. “I
don’t think you’ll be able to stop this—or that it will even
matter. Get away from here before he takes you and
Bron.”

“
Shut up, Auri. I am not
explaining to Aod that I lost his sister in demon land.” Kindara
touched the ring the demon had given her. She closed her eyes and
whispered his name. “I need you now.”

With a pop, he appeared before her.
“Pet?”

Chapter
Nineteen

Rathan had been in the middle of speaking
with Phelius, after ordering the maids to prepare chambers for his
woman and her friends. He’d spent the last hour being reassured
that it was safe to bring his woman to his home. When he’d heard
her call his name through the ring’s connection, he’d answered
immediately.

His stubborn woman would not call him unless
she truly needed him.

His eyes took in the tableau in front of him.
His woman on her knees with blood on her hands, the Dardaptoan
who’d been charged with protecting her was prostrate on the ground.
The warrior woman lay bleeding beneath his woman’s hands.

Renakletos stood watching it all, confusion
and anger on the face so much like Rathan’s father’s.

Rathan’s hand clenched the sword he’d taken
up the moment he had walked into what used to be his father’s
castle. He had not blooded it in more than one hundred years.

If his woman was hurt he would run it through
his younger brother without a breath of regret.

Rathan raised the sword. “Explain yourself,
Renakletos Malickus!”

“
My daughter is
missing!”

“
That does not mean we took
her, you bastard!” Kindara snarled the words, her eyes flashing
Dardaptoan fire. She slashed at her friend’s clothing with a small
knife, pulling the blood-soaked material back. “Do you kill first
and ask questions later? She may well die because of
you!”

Rathan dropped to the warrior woman’s side,
though he kept attention on his brother. Renakletos’s loyalty had
long been questioned, and he was not about to drop his guard where
his woman’s safety was questioned. “Can I help, pet?”

“
She’s in so much pain,
Rathan. Can you do something. Just...make it easier on her.”
Kindara’s fear was plain in her face and Rathan’s heart hurt for
her. Aureliana was a particular friend to her. All could see that.
He touched his horns, then brushed the warrior woman’s lips once.
He whispered a soft command. She slid into oblivion.

“
How badly is she
hurt?”

“
I don’t truly know. We need
to get her coat off, check the damage. I can’t give her blood. I
don’t have enough...and Bronwen is too small herself to help
someone Auri’s size and need.”

“
I can give her mine, pet.
It is not the same as Dardaptoan, and can be slightly addictive.
But it may help heal her some.”

“
Please.” Kindara went to
work removing the ruined white coat, while Bronwen pulled back from
where she had been giving blood.

Rathan sliced his wrist with his teeth,
ignoring the slight pain it brought and held it to the woman’s
mouth. He slipped into her mind, past the red cloud of pain and
fear coating her thoughts and commanded her to drink. She obeyed, a
need to survive strong in her. A need to protect. Images of Kindara
and Bronwen were centered in her mind. As was her love for the
two.

This woman would easily die to protect them.
That earned her a place of honor in Rathan’s mind and a loyalty he
would always keep.

“
The bleeding is slowing.”
Kindara spoke with a hope that Rathan wanted to meet. “We need to
get her to shelter and proper medical care. It’s too dirty out
here. And Gods knows what was on the blade of that bastard’s
sword.”

“
We will. It’s an hour walk
from here.” Rathan motioned toward his father’s castle. His castle
now. He thought a moment. “I will flash the male there, then come
back for you.”

“
Can you not flash them
all?” Ren watched, a curious look on his face. “Would take far less
time.”

“
I cannot flash a wounded
female, nor my own. It is not safe. You know that. Some of us are
concerned with the well-being of others!” Rathan could not begin to
describe the anger that his brother’s actions had caused
him.

They had once been close. But someone was
responsible for their father’s disappearance and the upheaval in
Charleston, 1900. Ren was the most likely one. Yet Rathan had not
been able to prove that, in more than one hundred years. And he had
tried, spending over a hundred years in the human realm of Gaia. He
had never found the proof he needed.

Now it was time to put that aside and focus
on moving his realm forward. If that meant annihilating his own
brother, so be it.

“
Your own? You’ve mated.”
Renakletos’s tone held jubilance that had Rathan’s attention
narrowing to only his brother. “It is about damned time, brother.
You have neglected our kingdom long enough.”

“
Shouldn’t you be gone?
Looking for your missing child?” Kindara’s words had Rathan turning
toward her. “Instead of distracting us from what we are needing to
do?”

“
Oh, I will find the ones
responsible for taking Cerridwen. And I will slice them into
pieces. But first, I will carry your friend. If I harmed her in
error, I beg your pardon.” His tone was contrite, but the arrogance
that characterized his brother was still there. Renakletos was the
son of a warrior woman, making him a warrior demon. Unlike most
other crosses, children born of warrior parents were often more
warrior than anything else. This was extremely true for
Renakletos.

They did fight first and question last. It
was how they had preserved through so many millennia of being the
armies involved in every conflict. Warriors were often hired as
mercenaries to fight battles between the species that populated
Relaklonos.

“
I beg your pardon? That’s
it? You’ve nearly killed her and could have killed Belnus, and that
is all you have to say?” Bronwen sat at Belnus’s side, stroking the
dark brown hair that was now matted with dirt and blood. “What are
you, anyway? You’re not like Rathan.”

“
I am warrior, girl. And
demon.” He looked at her, then at the large male at her side. “I
will flash him to the gates of the castle. Someone put a curse on
the grounds—I cannot flash inside them, just outside.”

“
Protecting my interests,”
Rathan said, but his brother and the male Belnus were already
gone.

“
Who was that?” Kindara
asked, as she wrapped part of her green sash around the cloth she
had pressed to her friend’s side.

“
That, I am ashamed to say,
is my brother, Renakletos.”

“
You’re related to that
monster?”

“
He is no monster, pet. Just
a creature of his roots. Ren is a fighter through and through. He
once commanded my father’s army. We should be thankful he is
searching for his daughter and needed questions answered, or he
would have slaughtered all of you in the time it takes to
blink.”

“
This habit of getting
attacked when you leave me alone is starting to concern
me.”

“
That is why you will not be
away from my side ever again.” He meant every word he spoke. He
would never leave her so vulnerable again. Renakletos had proven
that even with a Dardaptoan male of great skill guarding her—not to
mention the warrior woman, as well—she was not safe. That was now
Rathan’s top priority.

“
Can she be moved now?” He
nodded toward Aureliana. “We should get her to the castle before
dark. Fortunately, my chief healer, my cousin Phelius, is currently
residing there. He arrived to help you with your quest.”

“
I don’t think we have any
choice but to move her now. We need to clean the injury as best we
can. Infection sets in so easily in our people. It’s one of the
three things that can kill us.”

Rathan knew the others, bleeding and
hypothermia. Before he could lift the woman his brother returned.
Rathan tensed, hand going back to his sword.

“
Relax, brother. You and
yours are safe. I gave the male to Phelius. He’s taking care of
it.”

“
His name is Belnus and he’s
not an it.” Bronwen glared at Renakletos. “He’s got a family, too.
A Rajni. And a daughter. She’s sixteen. What makes you so
special?”

“
Sorry, little girl. I did
not mean to offend.” Renakletos was playing the game, saying the
right words. Rathan hated that he could not trust the one brother
who he had once cared about the most. Of the sixty half siblings he
possessed, Ren and Danae were the ones he cared for. Loved.
Had
loved.