Reclaiming Mystique (SpaceStalker Saga Book 2) by Bevan Greer Read Free Book Online Page A

cell.
    Cursing himself for succumbing to weakness, he stood slowly and paced his cell, trying to figure out a way out of this mess.
    He shivered as an icy breeze blew past him and quickly turned around. He felt another presence by him. Something insubstantial, yet there. He knew it. “Who’s there? What do you want?”
    Silence answered him. The air around him returned to its normal coldness, but he wasn’t fooled.
    Just what other creatures might exist on Dark World? Demise had mentioned succubae and wraiths, incubi and devels. Would Jace have the strength to overcome those as well as the demons guarding him? By Mystique’s Light, grant me strength.
    And he thought of Naria, and what she might be feeling this moment. He swore again and continued to pace.
     
    Naria spent much of the day restless. She needed to see Jace again, to test his resolve and pinpoint his strengths and weaknesses. She’d asked the guards some discreet questions and knew his ship remained intact. His crewmates were not expected to survive the moon’s waning though. Once they died, her father promised to make short work of Jace. Apparently the earlier session with Jace hadn’t gone very well. Her father’s dour expression said as much.
    Her father sent a mental command. “Naria, come here.”
    Naria found him sitting in his meditation chamber. He floated in the air wearing a thin black robe, his wings fluttering, his talons exposed, and his eyes blood red. Not good.
    “I want you to revisit the prisoner. Jace.” Her father frowned. “He blocked me earlier with an unexpected image. Fortunately he was too slow to completely seal his thoughts, and I saw beyond what he’d meant to disconcert me. Effective, but not enough to deter me .”
    She swallowed a smile. Her father and his pride. “Of course not, Father. You’re a mighty demon lord.”
    “Yes, I am.” He smiled, but his joy seemed at her expense. “Oddly enough, in the prisoner’s mind, I also saw a vision of you .”
    “Me?”
    He seemed more than satisfied. “Yes. You made an impression on your last visit. I want you to go back. Talk to him. Do what you did before.” His eyes narrowed. “But before you go, rid the light from your body. You know what I’ve told you about the light cell, Naria. It’s not for you.”
    He didn’t give her a chance to do as bid. In a flash, he drained her of the energy so recently accepted into her body. The loss made her weak, and her head throbbed in pain.
    “If I find you’ve visited that cell again, repercussions will be swift. Demons do not gravitate toward the light.”
    Foolish to argue, but it had to be said. “My mother was no demon.”
    “Demons hate the light,” her father repeated and reached out to stroke her hair. Instead of grazing her hair, he reached past her forehead into her mind with his long-fingered hand, much as he had reached into Mrasha’s stomach. He twisted his fingers and ripped through her psyche.
    Naria sank to the ground and screeched at the pain, unable to keep silent. Excruciating, humiliating, and another lesson learned. She knew better than to refute her father in one of his moods.
    After what felt like forever but was likely no more than a few heartbeats, she blinked up at him.
    He had removed his hand and stared down at her, his visage stern. “You are my daughter, Naria. The fruit of my seed. Zena merely carried you.” He said softly, “Demons hate the light, don’t they?” This time when he caressed her hair, she knew better than to talk back.
    “Yes, Father,” Naria rasped, her head on fire. “Demons hate the light.”
    “Finish your exams and meet me by the red cell before the dinner bell. And Naria, don’t disobey me again.”
     
    She sought her father’s guest room for a much-needed short rest to regain her strength. When she woke, she found the room empty. Though it was later in the day, she had thought Carinna might stop by to visit. No matter, she told herself. Quickly preparing for