

### Escape from Endeavor

By Daniel A. Jones

Copyright © 2016 Daniel A. Jones

All rights reserved.

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Table of Contents

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

# Preface

The planet of Endeavor was a very earthlike planet with only a slightly higher gravity. The military had claimed the planet because it was far enough away from any other inhabited planet that nobody was likely to stumble across it making the perfect place to perform top secret research. Discovery city housed the support staff and military personal that worked on and/or for the Endeavor military research base which the planet was named after. They had built the base and the city while terra-formers made only minor alterations to make the planet feel even more like earth.

***

The technician wiped the sweat from his brow as he slowly increased the power to the device, thinking he didn't care what the professor said jump capacitors were not designed to be charged in gravity well. One more turn and the poor man would never know how right he was. The military wanted a new bomb and Professor Hoffman was determined to be the one to give it to them. Unfortunately he lacked a complete understanding of the device he was basing his bomb on. All he knew and cared about was that jump capacitors were designed to store a huge amount of energy, overcharge it and like any other capacitor it would explode. The problem was that jump capacitors not only stored the energy it focused it for one purpose, breaching the dimensional barrier.

The technician turned the dial one last time increasing the charge going to the miniaturized capacitor and it detonated. The bunker Professor Hoffman had claimed would contain the blast vaporized in an instant. The technician just started to look at the new readings when he and everyone else in the facility a half mile away from the bunker were ripped apart on an atomic level as the energy tore a hole in the barrier between our dimension and dimension where ships went to travel light years in days.

The black lifeless void that is jump space now had a light source and the creatures that inhabit that void took notice. In a time before remembering something or someone had created the barrier between the dimensions to keep those creatures from reaching the dimension of man, now there was a hole and those creatures wanted to feast on the souls of humans. They swarmed the breach forgetting their natural hatred and distrust of each other too eager to finally reach the other side of the barrier.

Some creatures were close enough to where the rift happened that they were pulled across through the fragmented edges. Luckily only a few were close enough to appear in the dimension of man this way. Their murderous rampage was the only herald of the horde to come. Discovery city was doomed and its citizens either fled quickly or died horribly.

***

Faust and Felicity Grayson were on the road heading east out of Discovery city for a weekend of camping when the explosion happened. Angelica, their beautiful two year old daughter sat in the back seat smiling and giggling happy to be going on an adventure. They hadn't planned on going but Felicity had the erg to be away from the city and Faust had learned not to argue with his pregnant wife. The fact that he loved being out in the wilderness, only made it easier for her to convince him to go.

The explosion was different from normal explosions; there was the deafening crack but no concussion wave. If not for the noise they might have missed the whole event. Faust pulled off the road and stopped. Both he and Felicity got out and looked in the direction of the noise and that was their first view of the Rift. It was like someone had torn a painting of a skyline and revealed the black background behind it. The edges were jagged with what looking like strands of blue sky hanging down into the blackness. They couldn't see the bottom edge but the top looked to stretch from beyond the base toward the city, ending less than a mile from where they stood staring.

Faust realized that something must have happened at the base and that he might be needed so he started to usher Felicity back to the jeep. Felicity allowed Faust to guide her while she watched the rift in fascination. She was the first to see the horde arrive and start pouring through the opening. Hundreds if not thousands of creatures of all shapes and sizes flew out into the morning sky.

Felicity forced Faust to turn and look at the creatures. Angelica started to cry as she felt the evil coming through the rift. Faust finished getting Felicity into the jeep and raced around to get in himself. Felicity reached around and took Angelica from her seat and hugged her tightly. They could all feel the vile doom wash over them like a wet wind bringing despair and dread. Faust forgot all about going to the base, he had to get his family out of there so he sped off toward the spaceport.

The creatures coming through the rift were attracted to the emotional energy given off by the humans. It made their mouths water in anticipation of the feast to come. Those with wings were the first from the rift to arrive in Discovery city. They didn't take time to choose a specific person they simple descended on the first person to catch their attention.

Being a military city most of the inhabitants had weapons and all of them knew how to uses them. Some people tried to fight and were even successful in hurting a few of the creatures but it was only a short lived victory. When the creatures' realized one of their own was injured they turned on it, tearing it apart and consuming its stronger life energy before turning on the humans once again.

Faust was about a mile from the spaceport when he reached the traffic jam. He pulled to the side a little and stopped. He had the presence of mind to grab their packs and the rifles they had been bringing with them camping. Felicity shouldered her pack and rifle then picked up Angelica and ran for the spaceport. The feeling of impending violence and fear was thick in the air now.

Faust took the time to look back from time to time as they rushed down the road. Others had left their vehicles and now the road was packed with people stampeding toward safety. Faust grabbed Felicity and pulled her off the road and away from the crowd. They were passing through a wooded section separating the spaceport from the city. Felicity was about to protest when a flying creature grabbed a women and lifted her into the air. Felicity watched in horror and the demon bit down on the woman's head. Seconds later the thing dropped the mummified husk of the woman it had snatch up and dove back down for another helpless victim.

Felicity went to shield Angelica's eyes in an attempt to save her from seeing the horror that was unfolding in front of them. That is when she noticed that Angelica had stopped crying and was watching a ball of light floating down the road. It was not moving quickly but as it came upon a demon feasting on the soul of some poor man a tendril of light arced out from it to touch the creature disintegrating it instantly.

Faust grabbed Felicity and dragged her to a hole in the fence bordering the road and helped her through. Felicity was barely able to think, she was so scare. The only thoughts she had were how to save Angelica. The couple ran deep into the woods pushed on by the constant screams of the dying.

***

Over the next eighteen years the few surviving humans built the town of Exile roughly a four day hike away from the ruins of Discovery city. The military has deemed them irreversibly contaminated by the radiation pouring out of the rift and quarantined the planet. Supply ships drop necessary items every six months and science teams do yearly surveys but no one is allowed contact with the refugees. The rift has begun to shrink as the dimensional barrier slowly repairs itself and the demons have for the most part retreated back to the other side having found that they weaken if they travel too far from the rift.

Faust has struggled to raise his two children alone having lost Felicity when she died giving birth to Daemon their son. Faust had argued against naming him Daemon but in the end he felt he had to honor Felicity's decision. The first few years had been the hardest but as Angelica got old enough to help things became easier. Faust loves his son but the evil emanating from the rift is making him less human and more monster as he gets older. Only Angelica seems able to calm him when he loses his temper.

#

"I still don't understand why Dad hates me so much."

"Dad doesn't hate you; he's just trying to teach you right from wrong."

"It was only a raccoon; it's not like it was someone's pet or anything."

"It doesn't matter. There was no reason for you to kill it, especially the way you did." Angelica Grayson shivered at the memory of the poor raccoon's twisted corpse.

"Dead is dead. What's the difference how something dies as long as it didn't suffer?"

"You broke almost every bone in its body! Of course it suffered," Angelica snapped back, exasperated at her brother for arguing with her.

"Thirty lashes with the belt was enough punishment. He didn't have to double my chores for two weeks," Daemon complained as he swung his ax, slicing through a limb of the tree he'd just finished cutting down, a genetically enhanced variant of the old Earth maple, engineered to grow faster and healthier than its ancestors, but it was shorter, with a thicker trunk because of the slightly higher gravity on Endeavor.

Angelica hopped off the log she'd been sitting on and posed in an imitation of her brother. She was six feet tall with the body of an athlete, but she still looked small compared to Daemon's muscle-bound six feet seven inches, two hundred-eighty pounds. "The only reason you got the extra chores was your own comment after your whippin'." She had a hard time keeping from laughing as she mimicked Daemon's voice. "Okay, Dad, I'm ready, start any time."

They both laughed at the memory of their father's frustration.

"He's probably never going to beat you with a belt again."

"Yeah, next time he'll just shoot me in the butt with a load of rock salt." Daemon chuckled at the thought. "But I'm eighteen. I'm old enough to be on my own. He doesn't have the right to stop me from going to town," Daemon complained, revisiting the true source of his frustration.

"Yeah, right. You wouldn't last a week before you'd be back here looking for something to eat. I don't understand why you're so obsessed with going to town. It's not that big a deal and the people there aren't even friendly. Dad doesn't let you go to town because he knows someone there is going to take one look at you and want to fight just to prove he's tougher than you."

"I know you keep _telling_ me that, but I've fought Rift demons. I'm not afraid of some townsfolk."

"It's not _you_ we're worried about; we're worried you'll lose your temper and kill someone. I love you, but you can be scary when you lose your temper. Look at what you did to the raccoon."

The words hurt Daemon more than any beating his father could give him. The anger and resentment faded away, replaced by shame. "You know I would never hurt you or Dad." He didn't want to talk about his temper, so he returned to cutting the limbs off the tree.

Angelica could tell she had upset him so she just stood silently watching him as he cut the limbs from the tree, awed at the ease with which he cut limbs the width of her leg with a single swing of his ax.

Daemon wished she'd leave him alone for a while. He finally turned to her. "Could you get me a drink and something to eat? I have a lot of chores I need to finish before Dad gets home."

"Sure, what do you want?"

"Surprise me." He replied over his shoulder as he picked up the tree trunk and started dragging it to the log pile.

How could he admit to Angelica that he'd killed the raccoon by accident? The stupid thing had startled him while he was taking out the trash and he had kicked at it out of reflex. He hadn't meant to send it flying into the side of the barn. Dad had been right that there was no excuse for hitting the raccoon so hard, and he was worried Daemon might hit Angelica like that if she ever startled him. Daemon knew he could seriously hurt someone if he hit them full strength, but how could he convince his father he would never hit Angelica? They had learned years ago that they could tell when the other was close by, and how they were feeling, so it was impossible for his sister to startle him like the raccoon had.

Daemon stopped at the log pile and dropped the end of the trunk. He shifted positions to the center of the log and squatted down, grabbing the two-foot-diameter log and heaved it up onto the pile as he stood up. He looked around until he spotted the next tree his father had marked for removal. He picked up his ax and waved to Angelica, who had just left the house.

She met him at the tree with a canteen and a basket. "Here you go." She passed him the canteen.

Daemon could tell she had a surprise for him but he couldn't tell what it was until he took a big gulp of vinegar from the canteen. "You call _me_ evil? That was nasty," he said when he was finally able to talk.

"You did tell me to surprise you."

"What's in the basket, wood chips and dirt?"

"No," she said, still giggling, as she started to unload the basket. She handed him a bottle of beer and a sandwich.

Daemon sat down to have his snack, setting the beer to the side. He sniffed the sandwich and took a bite: roast venison from last night's supper. "Dad isn't going to be happy when he finds a beer missing. It's going to be a couple weeks before the trader shows up from the valley."

"I'll tell him I drank it, unless of course you want to drink the rest of the vinegar?" Angelica shot him an evil grin.

"You can always get a replacement when you're in town later. You're going to see Jake, aren't you? Dad won't be back from hunting until tomorrow afternoon."

"Jake is none of your business and I got a feeling Dad will be home early. I've been getting a bad feeling lately. Things around here are about to get crazy in a bad way."

"That's pretty foreboding. Can you at least tell if we're going to be all right?"

"No, and that's what's worrying me the most."

Daemon stepped over to comfort his sister. She had always gotten psychic vibes before major events were about to happen. Most of the time, she could tell who was involved and had at least an idea about what was going to happen. Daemon looked around as he gently hugged her, scanning the area for any threat that might be the causing her the worry.

#

Captain Philip Stevenson sat calmly in the co-pilot's seat on the Bridge, wondering how Lady Luck was going to screw with him on this trip. He hoped it wasn't going to be anything major, but he had enough experience to know some amount of bad luck was inevitable. It didn't look like it was going to be trouble with the orbital defense platforms; in another few minutes they'd be safely under their firing arc and he could tell Mac to power up the engines. He should have known better, because as soon as you start thinking about what can go wrong something always does.

"We just got pinged by a proximity sensor," Stacey stated calmly. "I am checking the source now." Stacey looked too small to be working the sensor console; at barely five feet tall and less than one hundred pounds she looked more like she should be in school than piloting a space ship. Her delicate fingers raced across the console, stopping only to wipe a few rogue strands platinum-blond hair away from her face.

The seconds it took Stacey to locate and identify the source of the threat seemed like hours to the captain, and when Stacey finally spoke again it was definitely not what he wanted to hear.

"Bleen! Proximity mine, range one hundred miles and closing. She's locked on to us."

The captain hadn't waited for the full report before he reached for the alarm. He thanked Mac again for his ingenuity as he hit the lever releasing compressed air into the alarm system. Old-fashioned air horns started blaring all over the ship. His next priority was to try to pilot his ship with the small chemical thruster rockets Mac had mounted to the hull. They weren't going to do much, but hopefully they would be enough to buy him a little distance.

The unexpected blast from the air horn sent Sara out of her seat and the manual she had been reading flying. She was already running for the main engineering control panel when she heard Mac crash to the floor—he'd overturned his chair when he was startled awake. Sara activated the defensive shields as soon as she got to the console, not that they would be much help with only battery power.

Mac had just gotten to his feet when the concussion wave hit and sent him stumbling across the engine room.

On the Bridge, Stacey screamed in pain when her sensor console exploded, sending sparks flying. The mine had been armed with a nuclear warhead, and had detonated just eighty miles from the ship. Normally, that would have been a relatively harmless hit but without the defense screens up, the electromagnetic pulse shot through the sensor system, overloading and destroying it. The shockwave sent the ship rolling out of control.

The captain fought to regain control of the ship.

Sara was able to stay standing by holding onto the main control console. She moved to the auxiliary control console once Mac finally made it to her, where she worked at getting the power plant back online. The reactor was still warm so it wouldn't take long before it started producing much needed power. She noted that Mac had sealed his suit, so she took the time to do the same. She finished bringing the auxiliary systems online that would be needed to get the reactor working and then started getting other critical systems operational. When she got to the communications system, she got a malfunction message: The ship's antenna was damaged and not responding.

"Mac, what the hell was that?"

"How should I know? How close to planet are we?" Mac said as he nursed the controls, trying to get power to the drives.

"I think we're close, it's been—" Sara stopped as the captain's voice came over the intercom.

"Mac, how long before you can get power to the drives?"

"It'll be at least three minutes before the reactor starts producing power. How long before the platforms open up on us?"

"I'm not sure. Should be five minutes, but they might start shooting early since we'll be below their firing arc before that. So forget everything else and get me drives _now_! I'll try to contact them. See if I can distract their control computers."

Sara wasn't sure she should interrupt, but decided the captain needed to know so she activated the intercom at her station. "Captain, the antenna was damaged. We have no way to transmit a signal."

"Boija! Lady Luck is really doing a number on us."

Stevenson switched channels on the intercom to med bay. "Nelson, Stacey needs your help on the Bridge. She has some pretty bad burns to her hands and face and is barely conscious."

"On my way, Captain."

The next few minutes were a blur of action for Sara and Mac as they worked to channel every bit of power they could to the drives.

The captain used the chemical thrusters and what little drive power Mac was giving him to try to maneuver his unresponsive ship. He tried to communicate with the nearest platform but that was useless without the antenna. He thought they just might make it, when an energy bolt ripped through the ship's weakened shields and sliced into the port side.

This time luck was with him, though: The energy bolt had been slightly deflected by the shields so it didn't hit full force. The bolt only lasted a fraction of second but in that time it cut a hole straight through the ship. Airtight doors slammed shut and emergency valves started closing to seal off the affected areas. The impact helped push the ship below the defense platforms firing arc so its next shot missed—by less than a yard, but it did miss.

"How bad were we hit, Mac?" Stevenson yelled at the intercom as he felt power coming to the drives.

"We have a loss of hull integrity center ship, and some structural damage also, so no hard turns or we may snap in half," Mac yelled over the intercom.

"Robert, that's your section. What's going on? How bad is it?" Stevenson asked his old friend. "Robert where are you?" he repeated after a few seconds of waiting. "Alex, you and Jim go check out the damage, and find out where Robert is," he instructed, concern edging into his voice.

"On our way." The usual wisecracks missing from his reply exposed Alex's concern for his friend. Alex didn't stop to wait for Jim. He just started running for the galley where Robert should be. It didn't take him long to get to a sealed compartment door. Jim arrived a few seconds behind him.

"Mac, I'm in the main corridor at compartment door S-17. I can't get it to open. Can you open it from there?" Alex yelled into his helmet microphone as he punched the door controls in frustration.

"That door is showing a vacuum differential. We can't open it," Sara replied for Mac.

"Hold on, everyone! We're about to hit the atmosphere and things are going to get bumpy," Stevenson announced.

The ship slid effortlessly into the upper atmosphere. Its shields improved its aerodynamic shape at first, but the deeper into the atmosphere they penetrated the less effective the shields were going to be and the greater the turbulence. The captain was going to have to brake hard to slow the ship down, but not hard enough to further damage the hull. Luckily, the captain had set them on a course to enter the atmosphere near the Rift's location when they started their ballistic entry five hours earlier. They wouldn't have to fly very far before landing. The only problem now was avoiding flying too close to the Rift. The captain worked to slow their speed as he visually searched for any signs of the Rift since the ship's sensors were disabled.

The captain caught his first glimpse of the Rift once the ship dropped below the cloud cover. It looked like a black ribbon from this angle. He could not see through it or where it led to; it was only a little over a half mile long and maybe a hundred yards wide. It had shrunk to less than a tenth of its original size. As he maneuvered the ship lower the landscape started to come clear, and he could see that the area around the Rift was covered by miles of dead and twisted trees. He could make out some of the ruins of the city and the road system in the area. It looked like the city had been the center of a large-scale fight with many buildings burned out and showing signs of explosion damage.

A warning light caught his attention as it started blinking, followed quickly by the structural integrity alarm going off. Stacey used the little strength she had to toggle the alarms off while the captain searched for a safe place to land. They were moving in a southerly direction in a wide arc away from both the Rift and the city. The ground flashed by as the ship bled off airspeed and altitude. The ship bucked as the thrust drives pushed against the momentum of the ship, trying to slow it. The aerodynamics provided by the shields were almost completely gone, allowing the headwind to add to the turbulence. The captain was so focused on the flying, he almost missed the small town as they passed over it, but the residents certainly took note of his ship.

Stevenson was finally able to reduce the ship's airspeed low enough for him to activate the gravity drives. The ship stabilized when he shut off the thrust drives, reducing the amount of turbulence inflicted on the ship. The drop in turbulence relieved some of the stress on the hull, but the structural integrity light was still flashing. The captain was going to have to find a place or make a place to set down. Soon. He decided to make one and fired a few missiles into the next flat section of forest. The missiles slammed into the ground detonating on impact. The resulting explosion flattened the trees for a hundred yards in all directions. The ship had plenty of room to land in the center of the crater so he extended the landing gear and settled the ship down as gently as he could. Once the full weight of the ship was on the landing gear, he killed the gravity drives and sighed in relief.

#

Daemon looked up from his chores to watch as the small ship flew by. He had only seen a few of the science ship but he was sure that this one was different. I definitely wasn't one of the supply ships either. Angelica stepped out the back door and looked around having heard the noise of the craft but was too late to see it so she went back inside. A couple of minutes later she came back out carrying a jug and a couple of glasses. She walked over to the wood pile where Daemon was sawing and splitting the trees he had cut down.

"I thought you might want something to drink." She said filling both glasses with tea. Daemon set down his ever present ax and picked up one of the glasses. He waited until Angelica drank from her though before taking a sip causing Angelica to chuckle.

"A new kind of ship flew over; it looked like it was smoking." Daemon observed ignoring his sister's laughter.

"I know dad is supposed to be back in a few days but I get the feeling he is going to need the big rifle. Do you think you can find him?"

"Yeah, it'll start getting dark in a couple of hours. I'll head out first thing in the morning unless you think I should leave tonight." Daemon could feel Angelica's concern and uncertainty.

"Morning should be fine, no sense in you getting lost in the woods at night."

"Alright, I'm going to check the animals and then come in for dinner. You need anything?"

"No, I fix something and have it ready for you." Angelica replied taking his glass and leaving. Daemon watched her go trying to decide if he should take the rifle after eating and head out to find their father. Between Angelica's earlier comment about trouble coming and dad's sudden need for the big rifle Daemon was starting to feel a little concerned himself.

***

Nelson entered the Bridge as the captain was unbuckling himself from his seat. Stevenson noted Nelson had a bump on the side of his head and he was cradling his left arm to his chest. He gave Nelson an inquiring look but Nelson said nothing, instead he went straight to Stacey.

The two men converged on her to check her wounds. The first thing Nelson did was administer painkillers. He removed her headset so he could get a better look at the burns on her face. Nelson sprayed her face with an antiseptic to help protect her from infection and it would also help deaden some more of the pain. Her gloves were badly burned and he could see a few patches where the material had melted, so he decided to wait to remove them in sickbay. She'd been lucky; her space suit had protected her from most of the explosion.

"Captain, we found Robert. He didn't make it. It looks like he was in the path of that energy bolt. The blast took out part of the kitchen and all the mess deck, leaving a big hole," Alex stated over the intercom.

Nelson and Stevenson could hear Jim retching in the background.

"Help me get her to sickbay, please. You can contact me there if anyone else needs medical assistance," Nelson said to Stevenson, bringing him out of the shock of losing his old friend.

Nelson unpacked the stretcher from its locker near the hatch. The two men carefully moved Stacey from her seat to the stretcher and then carried her to sickbay. The captain stayed long enough to make sure Nelson didn't need him for any else, then hurried off to inspect the damage to the ship.

Mac sent Sara forward to the damaged section to assess what systems would need repairs. The airtight doors opened freely now that they didn't sense a pressure difference, so getting to that area wasn't a problem. She stepped into the mess deck, intent on finding out how much damage the bolt had caused and the coppery smell of fresh blood made her gag. Nothing Sara had ever seen or read could have prepared her for the sight that awaited her in the galley. The room was a total mess: blood and small pieces of burnt flesh covered most of the walls and floor. The table was split down the middle and the chairs had been blown into the walls with enough force to bend them into twisted wreckage. The energy bolt had punched right through the galley, leaving man-sized holes as it blasted through the room.

Alex yelled, "Sara, get out of here!" His main concern was that she would add to the mess like Jim had, but he also wanted to spare Sara the trauma of seeing the room. But it was too late, the image of that room was going to haunt her for a long time. Slowly, Sara forced herself to turn and leave the way she'd entered. Then she just stood there, pale and shaking, trying not to think of what had happened to poor Robert.

The captain reached the galley just as Sara was stepping out. He took one look at her and knew what was waiting for him inside. He moved carefully to the center of the galley and stood there in silent respect for his lost friend. Alex had looked up when he entered, but said nothing.

Stevenson told Alex, "I will keep everyone out of here while you clean up. If you need anything, let me know." Not expecting Alex to reply, the captain turned and left the room.

Jim was comforting Sara in the passageway. They both looked up as the captain joined them.

Stevenson looked at Jim. "I don't want anyone but Alex in the galley until Alex says it's clear." He turned to Sara, who was bravely getting herself under control. "There's nothing you can do here. Go back to Engineering and see if Mac needs any help." Stevenson instructed in a compassionate but commanding voice.

Sara nodded, trying to focus on what needed to be done as she walked down the passageway with the captain, who needed to talk to Mac. When they reached Engineering, Mac was nowhere to be found, so the captain called him on the intercom. Sara started checking the reactor for damage. Mac didn't reply to the captain's call so he left to find him.

Stevenson didn't find his chief engineer anywhere near Engineering; in fact, he wasn't even in the ship. Mac was outside setting up the perimeter guns. He was just starting to set up the fourth gauss canon turret when the captain joined him. "Don't you have something better to do?"

"Nope. Someone has to get these set up before we have unwanted visitors and since Jim and Alex aren't doing it, I figured I would."

"What about figuring out what's wrong with the ship and starting the repairs!"

Mac wasn't affected by the anger in his captain's voice; he knew what was causing it and that the captain wasn't really mad at him. "Help me finish setting this one up and then I'll go find Sara and see what she's come up with."

The captain took a few seconds to think of all the things he could say before concluding it would be faster to just help set up the turret than to continue arguing. It only took them a few minutes to finish with the turret and then they started walking back to the main hatch.

"There you are. I was looking all over the ship for you two," Nelson stated as he stood at the top of the cargo ramp. He examined Mac as they walked toward him; when he was satisfied Mac was uninjured, he relaxed a bit.

"How's Stacey?" Stevenson asked as the three men entered the cargo bay.

Mac looked up from the controls to the ramp and hatch, interested in Nelson's reply.

"She'll be all right. I have her sedated in sickbay for now. I was checking the rest of the crew before putting her into the regeneration chamber. Jim told me we lost Robert, but everyone else seems to have made it through with just minor bumps and bruises."

"Good. Mac, I want a status report as soon as you can get it to me. Nelson, do you need help getting Stacey into the regen tank?"

Mac didn't wait to hear Nelson's reply, he'd heard enough. He had work to do in Engineering. "Yes, please. She should be healed up in a few hours. Most of the burns are first- and second-degree which will regenerate quickly. She does have a few nasty third-degree burns on her hands and some slight nerve damage to her eyes, but the tank should fix them up, too. Luckily, she doesn't have any broken bones or serious damage."

#

Faust Grayson looked up in time to watch the small ship as it screamed by, it wasn't coming in smooth and looked like it was leaving a smoke trail; it was a ship in trouble. The design of the ship was different from any of the Federation ships he'd seen before.

He stood there watching the sky for a long time, thinking about his plan and wondering if it would work. He'd been preparing for the next few days for the past ten years. He'd started to wonder if Angelica's dream was ever going to come true. And now it seemed it was.

Angelica had awoken from a nightmare/vision and told him that a man and a woman were coming to town. She had been crying for all the townsfolk the stranger's robot had killed in her dream.

Faust had listened very closely to the descriptions of the couple and their robot. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that the robot was actually somebody in military-grade powered armor. According to Angelica's dream they had come to town to buy something and the mayor had made them angry so they killed everyone who'd tried to stop them from taking what they wanted. The man was hurt in the fighting, but no one could hurt the robot. The three left the town in flames and corpses littering the streets.

Faust had thought the three were most likely smugglers who'd come with hopes of finding salvage from the old base or city. Angelica hadn't been sure what they were after but she did know that the woman had a list of whatever it was. Faust knew Angelica had the ability to see flashes of the future and a lot of her special dreams came true. The trouble was he had no way of knowing how much time he had before the smugglers arrived. He'd spent most of that night and the next day thinking about how he could use the information to get his family on the smuggler's ship when it lifted off.

Faust had not talked about the dream with Angelica again and she had forgotten it in a few days. Faust had started scouting a way back to Discovery City with Daemon, who possessed the ability to sense the presence of Rift demons, which was a big help in avoiding most of them. They had only faced a few—which was when Faust learned just how dangerous his son really was.

The first demon they had encountered had terrified Faust to the point he couldn't move. Daemon had dropped the rifle he was carrying and attacked the thing with the ax he always carried. The fight hadn't lasted long: Daemon had just chopped the monster into pieces before it realized he was attacking it. The boy was only eight at the time.

In a few months they had figured out how to get all the way to town and were able to sneak into and search a few of the buildings for items Faust thought would be most valuable to the smugglers. He prayed he'd be able to collect enough of to buy passage on their ship.

***

He had been very fortunate last year when a research vessel landed only a few days hike away. He hadn't known what they were going to do to him since most of the research teams avoided the survivors and the few that didn't always contacted those far away from the Rift. But since they had items that he needed, he had to risk it. He'd taken as many trade goods as he could carry and went to meet them.

They had surprised him with their friendliness and generosity. They'd wanted everything he'd brought with him and he'd gotten almost everything he'd come for, the most important being a gauss rifle capable of killing someone in powered armor. The military officer with them had argued against them trading it to him, but the scientists were in charge and they very much wanted the blood samples from the demons Daemon had killed. He'd only gotten ten rounds of ammunition and they'd used up four making sure he knew how to shoot it.

He hadn't told them he'd been a marine and was fully trained in how to use the rifle—the lieutenant would have tried to use the information to force Faust to just _give_ them everything; he was already willing to shoot Faust and take the items. The scientists wouldn't allow him to as long as they thought they were dealing with a civilian.

The instructional programs they'd given him covered all the topics he'd hoped for and more. He had tried to teach Angelica and Daemon everything they would need to know once they reached a civilized planet. Now they would be able to learn about the full history of the Federation and how society worked there. They would also learn what technological advances had been made in the last eighteen years. Faust had been so pleased with the outcome of the trade that he'd taken the time to explain to them one of the most dangerous effects the Rift had on people. He couldn't explain how the Rift caused every living thing on the planet to become more aggressive, but it did. Strangers unused to these new feelings could find themselves fighting over the smallest things and the closer you were to the Rift, the stronger the affect. Some people were driven insane quickly by the constant agitation and became homicidal maniacs.

The lieutenant had listened intently to what Faust had to say. He realized as Faust went on that he was being affected which meant that the others must also be feeling the strain. Even before Faust was finished, the lieutenant gave the order to break camp immediately. They had left within the hour.

***

Faust kept this meeting a secret from everyone except his children. They started studying everything they could find about life on other planets and how much society had changed in the past eighteen or so years. He was quite surprised when Daemon showed so much interest and actually spent more hours studying than his sister. They found a lot of the technical stuff was beyond them and without someone to help explain it there was no way they were ever going to figure it out. One of the most important things Faust did learn was what had value and he was able to get an idea how much money they were going to need to make a fresh start.

Faust and Daemon started going to the ruins of Discovery City more regularly to collect more valuables. Faust figured they'd need a lot more if they were going to bribe the smugglers and have enough for their new start. He had simply told Daemon he wanted the items without explaining why, and Daemon hadn't questioned him. They'd been able to collect a good amount of jewelry and computer disks. He had found General Lancaster's home and his personal portable computer, though it was password-protected so he couldn't use it. He hoped it would have files worth something since Lancaster had been the commanding officer in charge of the planet. They had also found more weapons, which he had traded in town for supplies. Faust had become popular in town and people had started asking him to get them special items from the ruins if he could find them.

Faust scolded himself for wasting time day-dreaming when he should be moving. He looked in the direction of town, deciding the best path. He was a day's hike away and the smugglers would be showing up sometime tomorrow morning. It only took him a few minutes to break camp and start home. He needed to pick up the gauss rifle and ammunition. He didn't like to travel at night, there were too many predators that roamed the woods, but he needed to travel at least a few more hours. Faust stopped once it became too dark for him to hike safely and quickly made a camp fire.

He was up before first light and moving at a steady pace. Company was coming and he intended to be there the meet them.

#

Captain Stevenson called the meeting to order and everyone turned to hear what he had to say. They were sitting and standing in the galley. Alex had spent hours cleaning up Robert's remains and sanitizing the room. Mac had helped repair the table and some of the chairs. Stacey was out of the regeneration chamber and sitting next to Nelson on the counter. She was still sore but she'd be as good as new in a day or two. Nelson had assured her that she wouldn't have any scars.

"I have decided to give Robert's family his share of the take on this run, so the split hasn't changed. Now, Mac tells me he can fix the hull and internal bulkheads. The shot missed all the vital conduits and pipes, so we got lucky there. The only damage he can't fix is the communications and sensor array the nuke knocked out. We're going to have to salvage some replacement parts, which means going to Discovery City's space port. Sara, Jim, and I will go find the parts. Nelson's in charge of collecting the plants, and Alex, you got guard duty on him. Mac and Stacey will start work on the repairs."

"Cap, I think I should be the one going with you while Jimmy plays baby-sitter for Nelson. You're going to places these Rift monsters are known to have attacked people. Nelson can skirt around any dangerous areas. Who do you want covering your backside when something nasty shows up?"

"Screw you! I can handle myself."

"Jim, he's right. Alex has more experience and we are going to the more dangerous spots, so you go with Nelson." Stevenson knew he was insulting Jim and he would make it up to him later but for now he needed Jim to do as he was told.

Jim nodded to the captain, acknowledging his new assignment, and then flipped Alex the one finger salute.

"I spotted a small town about a fifty miles east of here. We're going to swing by and see what they have for sale. We head out at first light; with luck, we'll be back before dark. If we run into any trouble I will contact you. Mac's in charge while I'm away. Any questions?" The captain looked around the room. "All right, then, Alex, you and Jim split the watch. I want one of you awake and in the dorsal turret all night. Its sensor are still operational so you should have a warning if something comes knocking. Everyone else get some sleep; tomorrow we start working on getting off this rock."

Sara turned to Mac after the captain left the room, and asked, "What parts do we need the most?"

"I'll have a complete list for you to take with you in the morning. I'll list the important stuff first."

"Thanks, that will be a big help," Sara said, relaxing just a bit. She already had a good idea what they needed, but this was too important for her to forget anything. She was nervous enough already: This was the first big job she'd had that Mac wouldn't be there making sure she didn't screw up.

***

Faust was tired and sore from carrying all of his packs and trying to jog over the uneven ground. He had been too excited to sleep and had only rested a few hours during the time it was too dark to travel. He figured he was only a few miles from his house and from there it was only a ten-minute run to town. The problem was, he was feeling his age. He wasn't the twenty-eight-year-old marine he'd been when the Rift first opened. He had worked at staying in good shape but time and the higher gravity of the planet wore down even the strongest. He had already been forced to stop to catch his breath more times than he wanted.

He was walking now to relax a little and give himself a few minutes to think. There were a lot of things that could go wrong with his plan, but he had to try. Angelica didn't deserve to be stuck here with the Rift gnawing away at her good nature until she was as mean and bitter as everyone else on this godforsaken planet.

And if Angelica lost her calming aura, there would be nothing stopping Daemon from losing control of his temper, and he'd have to be put down—if that were even possible.

Faust's train of thought was interrupted when he became aware of something running through the woods. He immediately stopped and took cover against the nearest tree and brought up his rifle. It wasn't long before he saw Daemon running through the underbrush in his direction. It still amazed him how agile his son was for his size. He could move with the speed and agility of a forest cat. He was carrying his ax on his back and what looked like a rifle in his hands. Daemon stopped about ten meters away and started yelling for his father. Faust stepped out from behind the tree, shaking his head in amazement at how easily Daemon had found him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Angelica sent me to bring you the big rifle. She had a feeling that you needed it. Is there trouble? Are you being chased by a bear?" Daemon asked as he handed his father the rifle. Daemon unlimbered his ax and scanned the area for any danger. He couldn't feel any aggressive creatures nearby, but that didn't mean much in these woods. A normally harmless creature could turn aggressive in a heartbeat.

"Thanks, but I'm fine. The trouble is in town; I'm going there now to help." Faust shouldered the gauss rifle. "Here, take these." Faust handed over his packs and bedroll. "I want you to go back to the farm and protect your sister until I get back."

"But I can help! You know how good I am in a fight—" He stopped the protest when he saw the look on his father's face.

"I know, but I need you to guard your sister and make sure nothing happens to her." Faust didn't wait for Daemon to say anything else instead he started jogging to town. He knew Daemon would do what he was told, especially since it involved protecting his sister, no one in town had ever seen Daemon in a fight and if Faust had his way, none of them ever would.

#

Captain Stevenson flew over the town in a slow arc to get a look at what was there. It didn't look very modern at all, more like pre-industrial-age houses, with a few modern items scattered around. The town was made up of about three dozen buildings with a wall surrounding the center of town and a cluster of buildings inside it. Captain Stevenson could see what looked like a store, a meeting hall, and possibly a bar. He decided to set the skimmer down on a dirt road on the east side of town.

"No sign of any energy weapons or missiles on the sensors," Sara observed. "I got about a hundred fifty to two hundred people, most moving to the central buildings."

"Let's give them some time to calm down. I don't expect they've had many visitors." Stevenson relaxed back into his seat. "Alex, let me know when you see the greeting party coming our way, and try not to scare them too much."

"Sure thing. Cap," Alex said. They both knew the advantage of a little fear-induced respect but too much fear and things could get ugly. Alex kind of hoped things would get ugly; it had been awhile since he'd had a chance to kill anything.

***

It took the town leaders about ten minutes to get the residents calmed down and to organize a group to go meet the strangers.

Mayor Jack Sullivan wasn't happy about it, but he was leading the group down the eastern road to where the skimmer had landed, hoping this was going to be a peaceful meeting. The fact they'd landed outside of town was a good sign. The men in front stopped as the skimmer came into view and they could see a man in full battledress aiming a large plasma rifle at them.

Jack had never seen this end of a plasma rifle before and he was sure he never wanted to again. But duty called so he pushed his way to the front of the group and called out to the skimmer.

"My name is Jack Sullivan. I am the mayor of Exile. May I approach?"

Captain Stevenson climbed out of the skimmer and waved the man to come closer. The mayor was about five-feet-eight-inches tall and looked in good shape. As he approached the rest of the group spread out.

Alex noted a few of them had hunting rifles and at least one military assault rifle, but no energy weapons. He smiled, knowing how futile their defensive move was.

Mayor Sullivan finally reached the skimmer and held out his hand.

Stevenson reached out and shook it, noting the mayor had a firm grip. He also saw that the mayor was missing a few teeth and his breath smelled of rotted meat. "I am Captain Philip Stevenson of the starship _Neptune_. This is Sara Tomlin, our assistant engineer," he said, motioning to Sara as she got out of the skimmer, "and that is Alex, our head of security."

The mayor gave Sara an appraising look (which made her skin crawl), then looked up at Alex and winked.

Alex decided right then he was going to enjoy killing the man, he just needed a reason the captain would accept.

The captain saw the looks going around and worried Alex might do something rash. The whole crew had been on edge since landfall and he was not sure it was all because of Robert's death. "We came to see what kind of trade was available. We had a little trouble landing and had to use a few spare parts that I would feel more comfortable replacing. I am also looking to see what kind of luxury items you might have," he said, hoping to get everyone on the same track.

"We don't have much, mostly food and carpentry items, but I would be glad to show you around. We've been able to salvage a few items from the city including a few ship parts in recent years. I don't know how valuable they are since they're so old and we don't get many visitors," Jack said, turning to lead them into town. He hoped that Stevenson wouldn't ask about the other visitors since there truly hadn't been any in the last eighteen years. "Alex won't be needing that gun of his. We're a peaceful group."

Alex made a point of removing the gun from the skimmer's power cable in a way that the mayor would know he'd taken it.

When their little group reached the townsfolk who'd waited while the mayor went alone to meet with Stevenson, Jack made the introductions and then sent them to the center to tell the rest that they could go about their business. One of the men suggested a party be thrown in honor of the first civilian visitors to town in years. Sullivan agreed, not letting Stevenson object.

"Can I kill them now, Cap?" Alex asked.

Sara tried not to look startled at the venom in Alex's voice when she heard it through her earpiece.

"No. Wanting to party wasn't a capital crime last time I checked," the captain said, using his sub-vocal microphone, glad Alex hadn't used his helmet speakers to ask the question, and wondering why he was so eager to start killing. It couldn't be the Rift radiation affecting him this quickly, could it?

Sara looked around as they moved through the town. She noted that most of the buildings were fortified and all the people carried weapons: some were holding rifles while others carried knives. She wondered why they felt the need for walls as they moved inside the walled area. The guards on the walls watched them as they passed, giving Sara more than casual looks. A group of about twenty people were waiting for them in the courtyard. They all wanted a look at the strangers. More than a few used their weapons to point at Captain Stevenson and his crewmen. Sara was glad when the mayor stopped in front of a large building just inside and to the left of the gate. A sign above the door read Kazvin's General Store.

"Let me introduce Arthur Kazvin. He's the owner of this fine store," Sullivan said, introducing a bear of a man coming forward from the back of the building.

"Good to meet you. How can I help you?" Arthur asked as he extended both hands palms up.

Mayor Sullivan asked what they had for trade and what they were interested in.

Sara handed the captain the list of parts and materials they needed. The two men set about looking over the list and figuring out what items the town could help them with. Sara wandered off to check on what else was for sale. She found a nice selection of fur cloaks that would sell for a good price on Nebular 4. Now all she had to do was figure out what she had she could trade for them.

Alex stood in the middle of the store watching the negotiations and keeping track of everyone in the store with the armor's sensors. He didn't like these people and he wasn't sure why. They were just being cautious but they were taking it to the level of paranoia. Paranoid people were either crazy or scared for a reason. He didn't like not knowing which category these people fell into and he found that the most annoying. The other problem was, ever since they'd touched down, he'd been on edge. Controlling his temper had never been a problem before, now it was a constant battle.

Captain Stevenson was having a good time. He loved to haggle and these people used the barter system more than currency. They seemed interested in the items he'd brought and Arthur was sure he could come up with most of the items on Sara's list. Sara would have to check them out to make sure they were going to work but all in all this was turning out to be a good detour.

The negotiations were reaching the final stages when Sara returned to talk to the captain. Arthur stood as she reached the table and stepped around to get a better look at her. Sara was used to guys leering at her but this was different, more dangerous. Sara moved slightly behind the captain in a vain attempt to hide, which caused Arthur to laugh in an even more unpleasant way.

"What's the matter, missy? You and me are going to become good friends." He said with a wink.

Sara got out a surprised, "What?" before the captain broke in.

"What the hell are you talking about? And stay away from my crewman."

Alex listened to the exchange and smiled; they were about to give him the excuse he was waiting for. He flicked the safety off his rifle and changed the setting to tight-beam single-shot, using the controls in the helmet so no one knew what he was doing. He knew it wouldn't be long now. He just had to be patient a little longer.

Jack Sullivan stood up slowly, trying to calm everyone and get things back under control. "Please calm down. Arthur only meant he intends to purchase the young lady."

"She's not for sale."

"Of course she is. Why else would you have brought her, if not to sell her?" the mayor asked calmly.

Arthur moved a little closer to Sara, who in turn moved a little farther behind Stevenson.

Alex stood motionless, watching and waiting.

"I have no intention of selling or letting you have any of my crew. Tell him to back off or Alex will end this."

Stevenson was barely able to register Sullivan flick his wrist, causing a small pistol to drop into his hand. He had seen wrist holsters before but never had he seen anyone so adept at using one. Everyone froze at the sight of the gun except Alex, who carefully inched his rifle barrel up. Arthur made a grab for Sara, who was no match for his speed. He spun her into his chest and locked his big arms around her, both as a shield and to keep her from running away.

"I see we are going to have to start all over again. First tell your—"

Alex blasted Jack Sullivan in half with a single hip shot. Arthur dove for cover with the reflexes of a seasoned fighter, taking Sara along for the ride. He turned as he fell so Sara was first to hit the floor, taking most of his weight as she did, getting the wind knocked out of her and bruising a few ribs.

Alex fired off two more shots that killed the other two men hiding in the store before focusing on Arthur.

Stevenson had also dived for cover but instead of stay in one place. He rolled up onto one knee, bringing his pistol up as he did.

"Stop or I'll snap her neck!" Arthur yelled from behind one of the display racks.

"Let her go and you can walk out of here alive," the captain lied as he inched around the display he was hiding next to.

Arthur wasn't sitting idle waiting to be shot. He was on the move, thinking he was being careful not to give Alex a clear view of him or Sara. He could hear that an alarm was being raised outside and he figured his best chance was to get out the front door where the wall guards could give him some cover fire. He crawled on his back toward the door, holding Sara up on his chest as he went. She wasn't much cover but she was the only reason he was still alive.

Alex waited, listening to the alarm and watching the scans of the movements outside the store. He switched to area-of-effect fire and took a single shot at the door—it and about twenty inches on each side of it exploded outward in a ball of fire. The blast had the effect he was hoping for: Arthur rolled away from the blast, dropping Sara in his haste. Arthur realized his mistake and started scrambling back to Sara as she struggled to crawl away from him. Stevenson lunged around the end of the rack and fired as Alex switched back to single shot and stepped around the other end of the rack.

Alex was annoyed the captain had beaten him to the kill.

The captain moved to check on Sara as Alex went to stand in the ruins of the front door. He scanned the area as a few guards took shots at him. Their bullets bounced harmlessly off his armor as he knew they would, nothing but energy weapons and gauss rifles were capable of penetrating battledress. Nobody here had either of those types of weapon or he would have registered them on his sensors. Alex killed four of the guards before he looked back to see how the captain and Sara were doing.

Stevenson had moved Sara back behind the cashier's counter, where he started checking her for injuries. He decided she was going to be fine, just sore from a bruised rib or two.

Sara lay very still, trying to breathe shallow to reduce the pain.

"Alex, you're going to have to get the skimmer and bring it in here," Stevenson ordered.

"I tried to radio the ship but something is screwing up the signal. I think they got the red alert, but I'm not sure." Alex said. "The four wall guards are down and I'll try keeping their attention on me. If we're lucky most of them will be too busy hiding to come after you two."

"Watch out for surprises out there. You're our only chance of getting out of here alive," Stevenson reminded Alex unnecessarily as he started to look for ways to fortify his position.

#

Faust had just gotten to the edge of town when he heard the four quick shots. He cursed himself for being late and prayed that he still had time. He guessed the shots came from the center of town, which would make sense. He sprinted to the main road, feeling the adrenalin start to flow, erasing his fatigue. He stopped at a bend in the road about hundred and fifty yards from the gate.

A few seconds later an explosion reduced the gate to burning splinters, scaring livestock and townspeople alike. Faust dropped to the ground and readied his rifle. Sergeant Fitzgerald had told him not to chamber a round of ammo until he was ready to fire. The sensors in battledress armor would be able to pick up the energy signature and warn the wearer of where he was. He was still locking the front legs into position when the armored man walked through the ruins of the gate, firing a plasma rifle in random directions. The sight made him hesitate a few seconds before he finished and took aim.

Alex walked through the gateway scanning for life. He fired a few blasts at areas where people seemed to be gathering. Better to keep them scattered, he thought. He turned toward the skimmer when the alarm in his helmet lit up. He dodged to the side, reacting even before he knew what had triggered the alarm. But even that was too late: The gauss round ripped through his armor, sending him flying with the force of the impact. He landed in a pile five yards from where he'd been standing just a second ago.

Faust couldn't believe the man in the armor had almost dodged his shot. He was walking away when Faust had loaded the round and fired. He'd hit the man but he wasn't sure how badly. He didn't give himself time to think before he was up and running to where he could get another shot. Faust had learned over the years just because an animal was shot didn't mean it was dead or even helpless. This fight wasn't over until he was sure the armored guy wasn't getting up.

Alex rolled over and activated the combat drugs in the armor's medical kit. The armor had already sprayed his wound with drugs to stop the bleeding and ease the pain. His sensors told him someone out there had a gauss rifle. He'd lost the rifle's energy signature, which meant the guy had training in how to fight battledress. His target was on the move, so he'd better get moving, too—which was when Alex found out his hip was broken. The combat drugs were keeping him conscious and alert but he wasn't going anywhere except by crawling.

Alex rolled onto his stomach and looked around. He was still trying to think of what to do when the alarm went off again. He pulled the trigger on his rifle as he switched to max-effect, continuous-stream. The gauss round passed through the plasma spray without losing any speed or significant mass. Alex would never know if he'd hit his killer or not. The gauss round hit him square in the head.

Faust dragged himself to his feet. Luckily he'd been able to roll behind the building he'd been using for cover. Alex's shots destroyed four buildings before the gun finally stopped firing. Faust's right arm and face were burned but he would live. He chambered another round in the rifle and slowly made his way to the armored remains. The last round had taken Alex's head off. Faust reached down and took the plasma rifle, disconnecting the power cord from the armor.

Townsfolk were starting to come out of hiding as Faust finished looting the armored corpse. Someone went running to loot the skimmer as others got weapons to deal with the other two in the store.

"No, wait!" Faust yelled to the crowd heading into the fort. "We should take the others prisoner, not kill them."

Most of the townsfolk were still scared and hadn't gotten angry yet so it was pretty easy to convince them to follow his lead. He gathered a group of men armed with clubs and they rushed the store. The grouped didn't know where Stevenson and Sara were hiding so they spread out as they entered. Stevenson was able to kill two men before the rest converged on them. Sara had been able to wound one man while firing her pistol without taking time to aim.

The mob quickly subdued and tied up their captives. They took Stevenson to the town blacksmith's forge for some old-fashion torture and interrogation. They hung Sara by her wrists from one of the rafters in the store until they could decide what to do with her. Once that was done, they started the grim task of collecting and burying their dead friends. The town mechanic started working on getting the skimmer running.

Stevenson did not hold up to the torture for long. He told them all about his ship and the crew he'd left behind. Richard Benson, the ranking town councilman, called a town meeting for later that day to discuss what to do with the girl and who was going to attack the ship.

Faust knew he should have felt bad about how they'd tortured the man, but he didn't. He was too focused on how to complete the next part of his plan. So far, he thought things were going well.

#

Councilman Richard Benson called the town meeting to order. Runners had been sent to all the outlying farmers and mines. A couple of tables had been brought out and were now covered with food and drinks. The town square was full of people. Some were even up on the wall watching and listening.

Conversations died out as Richard banged his mallet on the head table. "All right, all right, everyone quiet down and let me talk," he yelled. "As everyone knows, we had our first visitors in years today. And as you also know it didn't go very well. Them damn foreigners came in and decided to rob us. They killed fifteen of our friends and neighbors, including Mayor Jack Sullivan, before we stopped them, and there would have been a lot more deaths if it wasn't for Faust Grayson and that rifle of his."

The crowd cheered Faust.

Richard continued when the noise had dropped down to a level where he could be heard again. "The captain has informed us there are only four people left with his ship and none of them have powered armor. His ship was damaged getting past the orbital defenses and is about fifty miles west of here. I am looking for ten volunteers to take the ship. Talk to me after the meeting and remember that is about three days' travel inside the Rift zone.

"We have decided to keep the skimmer as town property. We will use it to patrol the area around town and other stuff if Henry can get it running. As for the wench, I talked it over with the other town elders and we have decided to sell her to Faust for three bear hides and the energy rifle from the armored guy. He has also agreed to forget all the debts people owe him for things he's acquired over the years, and he will donate five hundred pounds of smoked meat to the town. We will distribute the meat to the families of the dead and those that didn't get anything from the sale." Richard stopped as the crowd started to argue about Faust getting the woman. The arguments died down after only a few minutes which told Richard there were no serious objections to the sale. He nodded to Faust and returned to the meeting.

Faust wasted no time leaving to collect his prize. The guard at the store had been told about the sale so he didn't object to Faust taking her away. Faust lifted the bound woman over his shoulder with ease. He handed the guard one of his hunting knives in payment for keeping her safe for him.

The woman tried to struggle so Faust slapped her on the butt, and whispered, "Be quiet and don't move."

Faust had no choice but to pass by a few people as he left town. Most people just made rude comments, but a few swung at the woman or threw things at her.

Sara tried to talk to Faust but was drowned out by a roar coming from the town square. The roar died out, replaced a few moments later by Captain Stevenson's screams. Sara had no idea what they were doing to him and didn't want to know. She tried, but she couldn't block out the sound of her captain's screams.

Faust shifted Sara down into a cradle position to guard her for most of the attacks. The adrenalin and excitement of the last few hours was starting to wear off and Faust found he was near complete exhaustion. He finally had to stop when they were about a hundred yards from town. He lay Sara on the ground and slowly drew his fighting knife.

"What's your name?"

"Sara Tomlin. What are you going to do with me?" she asked not sure she wanted to know.

"Hello, Sara. My name is Faust Grayson. I'm taking you to my farm where we can talk. I'm going to untie your feet but if you kick me or try to run I will break your leg. Got it?" Faust stated as he reached his knife between her ankles and cut the rope binding them.

Sara didn't know who this man was but she believed he could and would hurt her if she provoked him. She needed to think but her head was still heavy from whatever had knocked her unconscious, so all she could do for now was follow the man's instructions.

Sara led the way across a vegetable field to a small path leading into the woods; she would have missed it if not for Faust's directions. She didn't like traveling through the woods at night. Her night vision wasn't as good as his so she stumbled many times, but once they were in the woods the man wasn't in such a hurry.

"How much farther are we going?" she asked, trying not to sound as scared as she felt.

Instead of answering, Faust simply pushed her forward as he looked around.

After about twenty minutes they reached a clearing with a house, a barn, and a few other buildings to the right of the trail. The house was a small, single-story log building with the classic fireplace chimney built on the side facing away from them. It had a narrow porch which looked like it ran the length of the house; the porch faced the barn. She could only see a few windows, which made her wonder how they had made the glass. Each window had a set of heavy shutters with an old-fashion bar slide on one side and a bracket on the other to hold them closed. The barn didn't have windows but a few of the small buildings did, which made Sara curious what they were for. The care that had gone into the construction of the house was missing from the other buildings.

"Dad."

The word was spoken so softly Sara almost missed it. Faust and Sara both jumped a little and turned to the speaker. Sara was startled at how close and how big the man was who had spoken to them. He had to be well over six feet tall and was standing right behind them. How could he have gotten so close without them hearing him?

"I checked the trail for anyone following you. I didn't find anyone or anything," Daemon told his father in a whisper as he leaned in closer to them. Sara was surprised when she saw his face and realized he was just a boy. He had jet black hair cut short and the blackest eyes she'd ever seen.

Daemon had leaned in to get a better look at the woman more than any need to hear his father's answer. She had a pretty face, with green eyes and reddish-blond shoulder-length hair. Who was she and why did he have her tied up? Daemon really wanted to ask but knew better than to do so instead he stood waiting for instructions.

"I take it your sister knows we're coming?"

"Yes, she told me you were on your way home and that you were hurt. So I came to see if you needed my help."

"Take this," Faust told him as he handed Daemon the rifle he was carrying. "It needs to be cleaned before it's put away."

They resumed walking toward the house. A young woman had come out onto the porch, holding a steaming mug, watching them approach. Sara noted that the woman was taller than she was, and broader at the shoulders, built like an athlete. She had long black hair that hung almost to her waist. Then, as they got closer, Sara felt the oddest thing: It was like a sense of relief passed through her; she didn't know why but she felt better, less scared.

"Here's some tea, Dad. I have ointment and bandages already out on the table in case my healing isn't enough. I also warmed up some food; I thought you were hungry. But I see it's your guest that's hungry." Angelica handed him the mug.

"Put the rifle in my room, Daemon, and then come take Sara here to the creek so she can get cleaned up some," Faust instructed his son before taking a long drink of the tea.

"Yes, sir," Daemon replied as he ran into the house.

Faust turned to Sara. "Once you get cleaned up and fed, we'll talk about our future together."

Sara didn't like the sound of that.

"When did you decide to buy a wife?" Angelica asked, annoyed that he'd buy another human being.

Daemon would never question him but Angelica was old enough to feel she had the right to.

Sara was thinking more clearly now and definitely didn't like the way they were talking about her. She had to escape and soon.

Daemon returned from the house in time to hear his father explain to Angelica, "I did not buy her as a companion. We're getting off this planet and she's going to help."

Daemon took Sara by the rope that bound her hands and started leading her away. He wasn't paying much attention to her as they walked around the side of the house and toward the woods. The edge of the yard bordered a small stream that had been dug out to form a shallow swimming hole. Daemon stopped at the edge and took off Sara's bindings.

Sara looked around, trying to think what to do.

"Come on, hurry up, Dad's not very patient," Daemon said as he shooed her in the direction of the water.

Sara slowly walked into the pool still wearing the torn remains of her jumpsuit. The water was cold but bearable so she waded deeper in to get away from Daemon. It was only waist deep in the middle and she felt sand on the bottom. She started washing the dirt and filth off her jumpsuit, thinking about how to escape.

Daemon tried not to make it obvious that he was watching her. Angelica had complained about how the guys in town stared at her so he figured it wasn't acceptable behavior. He wasn't allowed to go to town, so he hadn't had a chance to see many women. Sara filled out her jumpsuit very well; she was shorter than Angelica, but she had rounder hips and larger breasts.

The funny thing was, she was thinking about how to hurt him. He could feel her desire to hurt him, but he didn't think she could, even if he let her hit him a few times. He decided he'd let her so she'd understand that it was useless. But then she changed targets and started thinking about his sister. Daemon didn't know how he could feel other people's bad intentions and he didn't care, what mattered to him now was that Sara was thinking about hurting Angelica and he wouldn't tolerate that.

Sara was startled out of her train of thought as Daemon came crashing down next to her with a huge splash.

He grabbed her arm and lifted her by it until they were looking eye to eye. He then stated in a calm menacing voice, "If you ever hurt Angelica, or even think about it again, I will rip off this arm and beat you with it."

Sara was terrified by the malice and hatred in his eyes and voice.

Daemon dropped her as suddenly as he'd grabbed her and turned to wade to shore.

Sara slumped in the water, her arm numb; she feared it was dislocated. She watched Daemon leave and prayed he wasn't going to hurt her again. He walked up onto the bank and stood there, shivering, his back to her. Sara cradling her hurt arm, climbed out of the water and started walking to the house, all thoughts of escape gone.

Daemon stood on the bank of the pool, trying to calm down. He had felt her fear and it had triggered something deep within him. He had never felt that powerful and alive before in his life, and he wanted more. The ideas flashing through his mind of what he wanted to do to Sara made him sick. He had no idea where these ideas were coming from but he had to get control of them. He watched her walk to the house. He could still feel her fear but it wasn't as strong.

Angelica had felt something was wrong and was now standing at the corner of the house. Daemon realized Angelica may have felt what he was going through and shame drove out all other emotions.

Angelica met Sara and led her into the house, glancing over her shoulder at her brother.

Daemon stood there, embarrassed, for a few minutes before he mustered the courage to go into the house and face his sister.

Sara felt a tingling sensation where Angelica was holding her. She wasn't sure what was causing it but it felt good. The tingling moved to her hurt shoulder and turned into a warm pulsing feeling. Her arm made a popping noise as it relocated itself. Sara jerked away in surprise.

"Don't be worried," Angelica said. "I was just using my healing ability to fix your arm. I am sorry Daemon hurt you; sometimes he forgets how strong he is. Please don't tell our father he hurt you."

Sara knew Daemon had done exactly what he'd intended, but kept that to herself.

Sara, Faust, and Angelica were sitting at the table when Daemon returned. Faust was drinking his tea; Sara was eating. Faust's face was fully healed and his arm was only slightly red from the burns. Angelica was just sitting, patiently waiting.

"Sit down, Daemon. I am going to explain to Sara a little of what we've been through and why we need to get off this planet and you two may as well hear it, too." Faust set his mug on the table. "I've been living with the Rift for the past eighteen years. The day the Rift opened a horde of really strange-looking creatures came through it. The monsters seemed to be attracted to large groups. They swarmed over the city, killing anything and everything, including each other. They killed hundreds in the first few hours. Some people ran to the spaceport and got away on ships before it was overrun, some escaped into the woods.

"Your mother and I had already been planning a picnic and to do some hunting in the woods that day so we got to the woods before most of the others. We could hear people screaming behind us. Monsters chased us for miles. They didn't want to kill us quickly. They seemed to be more interested in playing cat-and-mouse games. Finally, your mother collapsed; she was exhausted and couldn't go any farther. I helped her to sit up against a tree, with you, Angelica, in her arms. I handed her my pistol and stepped out into a small clearing to face whatever was coming. I don't know how long I stood there waiting, but nothing came.

"We traveled east for two more days before we finally stopped. We hadn't heard or seen any sign of the monsters for the past two days, so we hoped they had stopped chasing us. We built a bonfire and watched for other survivors, who came in, one by one, or in small groups. The town you came to, Sara, sits on the sight of that fire. We didn't want to get too far away so that when the rescue ships came they would easily be able to find us." Faust stopped to take a sip of tea. He was too ashamed to tell them that their mother had forced him to light the signal fire; he had been afraid it would attract some of the monsters, but she had convinced him that they needed to help other survivors.

"We searched for stragglers. A few of our new townsfolk went back to the city for supplies, but most never came back. It was during those searches that we found out the monsters couldn't or wouldn't go too far from the Rift. Finally, twenty days later, an assault landing ship showed up. It landed at the spaceport and still sits there today. It was another month before the next ship came, another assault ship. The captain of this one landed near town. A group of marines came to town expecting a warm welcome, so they weren't ready when they got ambushed, instead. The townsfolk killed a few before they were able to retreat back to their ship. I am still not sure why that captain didn't kill us all that day, but he just dumped a bunch of crates of supplies and took off.

"Well, it was close to a year before another ship showed up. They stayed clear of both the town and the ruins. A group of us left to go talk to them see if we couldn't get passage or supplies or anything. By the time we got there they were already fighting with each other. The winners took the ship and left; we never did figure out what started them fighting. After that it was a long time before anyone came back.

"Now a group of scientist and marines show up about once a year. They only stay a few days, taking their reading and samples and what not. Every once in a while a group lands too close to the Rift and gets slaughtered. Yes, Sara, slaughtered is the best way to describe what happens."

"What happened to their ships?" Sara broke in.

"Being military ships you need the command codes to get the hatches to open, without those codes there was no reason to risk getting that close to the rift."

"Over the years I've discerned a few things about the changes that have happened to everything on this planet. The opening of the Rift has allowed something to pass into this world. It causes heightened aggression—which I believe is why our townsfolk attacked the first Marine rescuers all those years ago—and gives people special abilities, like Angelica's calming aura and healing ability and Daemon's strength and speed. I'm not sure what decides what ability a person is going to get but everyone born since the Rift opened has something special about them."

Sara said, "I think that's what the captain came here for. Nelson, our ship's doctor, said some of the plants are collecting some kind of radiation that emanates from the Rift, and storing it. The plants are worth big money back in the Federation."

"That makes sense. If they can get enough of it, they might start developing their own abilities. The side-effects can be terrible, though. Do they know about those?" Faust asked.

"Nelson told us that some of the people that take the drug go insane."

"So, Sara, now do you understand why I will do anything I have to in order to get us off this cursed planet? And I need your help to do it," Faust said, hoping he'd made her a friend and she'd help, not fight him.

"Help you? You're the one that killed Alex, which led to the captain and me getting captured. Why should I or any of the crew help you?" Sara asked, feeling a little bolder than normal.

"They don't have to know about Alex, at least not until we get on board. I am sure you can talk the rest of the crew into giving us a ride, especially if I have the parts you need to fix your ship. I've also collected jewelry and other valuables from the ruins over the years, so we can pay if that will sway them."

"I'll talk to the crew for you, but I can't promise anything; they're going to be pretty upset about losing Captain Stevenson," Sara conceded, feeling more cooperative then she expected.

"I'm sorry I hurt you at the creek earlier," Daemon told Sara in a low, sheepish voice. "But I meant what I said, and it goes for everyone on the crew, too. Anyone that hurts Angelica is going to die."

"Stop that! I won't have you threatening anyone on my behalf. I can take care of myself." Angelica scolded as she punched him in the ribs.

"Enough!" Faust cut in, causing both of his children to stop what they were doing. "I have a collection of spare parts in the shed. In the morning, Sara, we will see if we have what you need. If not, I'll go to the ruins to get it. Angelica, Sara sleeps in your room tonight. Daemon, I want you to stay on guard tonight. I don't expect anyone from town to come after Sara, but we better not take any chances."

Sara's eyes went wide at the thought of a town mob coming for her.

"Yes, Dad," Daemon answered, and feeling Sara's fear told him how serious the threat was.

Faust went to his room, leaving the girls to talk. He had a hard decision to make and he would have to make it soon. He heard the door open and close, signaling Daemon had gone out to watch for trouble. The girls started talking softly so they wouldn't disturb him—or so he couldn't hear them, he wasn't sure. Once in his room, Faust lay down on his bed and fell asleep almost instantly, all thoughts of his plan swept away by exhaustion.

#

The next morning, Angelica made Daemon breakfast and sent him to bed before Faust woke up.

Angelica could hear her father moving around in his room so she started making him a plate. She enjoyed cooking; it was a simple way to make others feel better.

Faust was carrying two bags when he came out of his room. He placed them near the door before taking his seat at the table.

Angelica placed a plate of steak and eggs on the table in front of him. "I called Daemon in and sent him to bed. Sara was tossing all night so I don't think she slept much. What happened in town?" Angelica asked as she sat down with a cup of tea.

"I'm not sure what started it by the time I got there that guy Alex she mentioned was shooting up the town. He was in powered armor and had a plasma rifle. I was able to get the drop on him as he came out of the fort. After that I convinced the crowd to take Sara and her captain alive. They had killed too many people, so I couldn't save the captain but I was able to bargain for Sara. I got her out as soon as I could but she still got to hear enough of what the townsfolk were doing to her captain that it'll be a while before she sleeps easy," Faust said, stopping to eat some and swallow some tea. He hoped Angelica didn't push for a better description of what had happened; he really didn't want to think on any of it. "I have to go back to town to deliver the bear skins and meat today that I swapped for Sara. While I'm gone I want you and Sara to look for the parts she needs in the shed. If anything happens to me, I want you to take those bags and get to their ship. Daemon can get you there safely and, if need be, he can show one of their crew where to look for the parts they need in the ruins."

"Don't talk like that. Nothing is going to happen to you," Angelica scolded him as she sipped her tea. "You've been planning this for a long time, haven't you? Why didn't you ever mention it to me or Daemon?"

"I couldn't risk you saying anything to anyone in town."

"Why can't we tell the rest what we're going to do? It's not fair that we get to escape but they have to stay." She looked at her father for understanding.

"Life isn't fair. If I told one person that person would have told someone else who would have told another until everyone knew what I was planning. Plus, my whole plan is based on a nightmare you had years ago. I've been praying it would come true, but there was no way of knowing for sure. So I decided not to tell you so you wouldn't be disappointed if it never happened." Faust took his daughter's hands in his. "Angelica, your brother and I aren't going with you. I've been thinking about this for a long time. Daemon can't leave this planet. I've tried to teach him to control his temper but I don't think he can, at least not enough—just look what he did to Sara. If he ever reached a populated world, sooner or later he'd hurt or kill someone and then Federation police or troops would be all over him. God only knows how that would turn out."

"If you two aren't going, then neither am I."

"Yes, you are. You're not like the rest of us. The Rift hasn't tainted you like it has everyone else. It's evil and it's making everyone on this planet evil. It took every ounce of discipline I had not to stay and watch them torture Captain Stevenson. The Federation turned this planet into a prison for good reason. Everyone here deserves to be here except you."

"How do you know you won't get better once you leave?"

"I don't. I could very well get better, but Daemon won't. The taint is too strong in him; he's always going to have his temper and he's going to hurt people and destroy things when he loses control of it. I half expect him to kill me when I stop him from going with you."

Angelica wanted to argue with him, make him change his mind. But she was too upset, things were changing too fast. She needed time to think, to figure out a good argument. She had to convince her father that she needed them both.

Sara had heard enough, so she carefully moved away from the door and back to her bed. She still felt like a prisoner but at least it sounded like the old man was sincere about letting her go. The fact that he didn't intend to go or to let Daemon go was a relief. It would make convincing the rest of the crew to help Angelica a lot easier. She liked Angelica and wanted to help her escape this hell hole of a planet. She stamped her feet into her boots to let the others know she was coming this time.

"Morning. We have a busy day ahead of us, so when you're done eating Angelica will show you the parts I've collected. I have to deliver supplies to town today and see what they're up to."

"Do you want me to get Daemon to help with the hides?" Angelica asked, trying to hide how upset she was. She made a plate of steak and corn meal for Sara.

"No, let him sleep," Faust replied as he got up to leave.

Angelica watched her father as he left. She desperately wanted to go after him and keep arguing but it was no use. He had made up his mind and she knew there was no chance of her changing it without a well-thought-out excuse. She turned to the sink and started washing the breakfast dishes.

Sara could tell she was trying hard not to cry. Sara stood up to give Angelica a hug. They stood there comforting each other, lost in their own sense of loss and drawing on each other's strength to get them through their pain. Neither of them saw Daemon slipped into the kitchen.

"Hey, can you keep the emotional static to a dull roar, please? I was trying to get some sleep," Daemon barked at them.

Both girls jumped in surprise at his sudden appearance. Daemon laughed and pointed at their expressions. It had been a long time since he'd truly surprised his sister. He stopped laughing, though, when he saw that Sara was hiding behind Angelica for protection.

"If you're going to sleep then get back in bed before I tell dad you're up," Angelica told him, pointing at his room.

"Are you going to get control of your emotions, or at least go outside? First, your talk with Dad, now this. You're an emotional wreck. How am I supposed to sleep through all that sadness, anger, fear, desperation, and now arousal?" He laughed again at her embarrassment at that last bit.

"I am not aroused, you pervert," she shot back at him as she punched him in the stomach.

"Sara, how many people can your ship's life support handle?" he asked, changing the subject.

"It's rated for twenty, but we could probably handle twenty-five if we had to."

"You need to toughen up some, girl. I don't bite... much." Daemon grinned, looking remarkably like the young man his sister had told her about, and not the monster that had threatened to rip her arm off. "Plus, I'm her protector whether she likes it or not, which means I'm also yours as long as you two are friends."

"Boija tamoi, will you stop being so dramatic? Last night you were going to kill her; this morning you're going to protect her. You really need to think before you start acting or talking. Now get back to bed or else."

Sara shrank down into her seat as Daemon turned and left. "Angelica, could you do me a favor? Please don't give him any reason to hurt me again," Sara requested as Daemon closed the door to his room.

"Oh, don't worry about him; he won't hurt you again. He doesn't consider you a threat anymore."

"How do you know that? I mean, how can you be so sure?"

"Well, if he did think you were going to hurt one of us, he would've taken that knife you're holding and pegged you hand to the table with it," Angelica replied casually, drying and putting the clean dishes away.

"What's up with you people? Just how well can you read minds, anyway?" Sara exclaimed, dropping the knife she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Keep it down unless you want him back out here. First, we have to take threats seriously around here; this is a very dangerous place to live. Second, I can't read minds. I sense people's emotions and from that I can get a good idea what they're thinking. If I concentrate, I can sometimes affect other people's emotions a little. The problem is, I can get caught up in their emotions and I start feeling the same way they do. The only other thing I can do for sure is heal people like I did for you last night."

"Daemon has a kind of danger sense. He can feel when something near him is aggressive. If he is focused on one person he can tell if that person means to hurt someone and who the target is. I figure that's why he attacked you last night: You must have been thinking about attacking me as your best chance to escape."

"Okay, that's just too weird, that's exactly what I was thinking about when he attacked."

"Are you ready to go look through Dad's junk pile?"

"Sure, but I have one more question: What is it with the two of you? I mean most siblings are protective of each other when they're not trying to kill each other, but you two take it to a whole different level."

"Daemon and I have had a special link ever since he was born. We can tell what each other is feeling, if the other is hurt, what direction we are from the other, stuff like that. We tried a few times to use telepathy but have never had any success. Dad has been drilling it into our heads that we have to look out for each other for as long as I can remember. The woods are full of dangerous animals and every once in a while someone in town will go crazy and start attacking people. Dad has only recently started letting me go to town with him. Daemon and I have had to depend on each other a lot over the years."

"What happened to your mother? Why isn't she here to help?" Sara asked.

"Mom died giving birth to Daemon. Something bad happened and dad won't talk about it. Sometimes I think he blames Daemon for her death." Angelica answered, a feeling of loss and sorrow passing over Sara as Angelica thought about her mother.

Angelica waved to her father as they crossed the yard on the way to one of the outbuildings. He was dragging a small cart out of another building to a waiting bicycle. Sara stopped to watch as he hooked the cart up to the tow hitch on the bicycle. The cart had what she thought were three furs on it, but Faust yelled to Angelica that he would be back in an hour or so to get the second one. He quickly had the bicycle moving down the trail they had used the night before.

Angelica showed Sara into a small building with two windows and shelves full of old parts, some for vehicles, some for spacecraft, some things she didn't recognize. She started looking over each of the shelves; if the items were here it might take her hours to find them. Angelica lit a lantern hanging next to the door to give Sara extra light. Sara quickly became engrossed with the stacks of parts. She found a few she needed and thought Mac could make do with a couple of others. She figured she'd found enough to get them in the air for at least one flight. Sara was pretty happy with the selection Faust had put together. She also found a couple of components they could use as spares.

Angelica was glad Sara's mood had improved; Sara seemed to have forgotten what had happened yesterday and was fully immersed in examining everything she found.

#

Faust returned from town in a bad mood, so Angelica left Sara to find out what had happened. He was in the house, getting a drink. Angelica offered to make him some food but he wasn't hungry. Daemon came out of his room to see what was going on. Faust sat down at the table to explain to his children what he'd learned.

"Henry has the skimmer running and Richard is organizing a group to attack the ship. He asked if I would lead the group," Faust said before taking a long drink from his beer.

"What about the crew? They're not going to let you just take their ship," Angelica said, worried that more people were going to die.

"I plan on going with the group to see if I can find a way to stop them. But it means I'll be at the ship and you will have to get there on your own," Faust said, looking at both his children, concern etched on his brow.

"Don't worry, I will get them there safe," Daemon stated

"I know. I'm more worried about how I'm going to stop the townsfolk and not get killed by either side," Faust confessed.

Angelica felt the pride her father had in Daemon. How could he feel so much pride and still plan on condemning him to a life on this planet? She had to find a way to change his mind.

"They are planning on attacking sometime tonight. They asked me to help plan the attack so I'll be gone most of the day. I'll try to get back for dinner before we leave. If I don't, I want all three of you to take whatever she needs and anything you want to take with you and leave before dark. I know it's dangerous but I don't want you here if someone from town decides to come after Sara when they figure out the attack on the ship failed."

Faust went to his room to get a couple of rifles. Daemon went to load the second bear hide on the cart. Angelica made a pitcher of tea and then went to check on Sara, who was hard at work on some gadget she'd found. Sara half jumped out of her skin when Angelica tapped her on the shoulder. Angelica laughed and handed Sara a glass of tea before she could complain about being surprised.

"So, did you find something interesting?" Angelica asked.

"Oh, nothing much, just an old power converter," Sara lied.

"One of the advantages being able to read people's emotions is that I can always tell when I'm being lied to," Angelica said "Now do you want to tell me what that really is?"

"You know, that's not fair. It's an old radio. I was trying to get it working when you surprised me."

"Do you think you can contact your ship with it?"

"I hope so, but I'm not sure; it's only a handheld unit and I am not even sure I can get it working."

"DAD!" Angelica yelled over her shoulder, not taking her eyes off Sara.

Daemon came running into the workroom first, follow by Faust, both were armed when they arrived. Daemon made a quick scan of the room, checking for any aggressors, then relaxed and leaned up against the wall, having sensed nothing in the area.

Faust looked around, waiting for an explanation.

"Sara found a radio. She thinks she can use to contact her ship once she gets it fixed," Angelica said.

"Great, Sara, how long before you can get it working?"

"I don't know. It looks in good shape and is hardened against radiation. It may just need power. Do you have any charged power units around here?"

"Daemon, go get one of the batteries from the barn and be quick about it. The townsfolk are planning to send a group to attack your ship. We need to warn them," Faust told a confused and defensive Sara.

"They're going to attack the ship? How? When?"

"They got your skimmer running and are planning to use it to get to your ship and take control of it before the rest of the crew figures out anything is wrong. They asked me to lead them since I have the only gun that can penetrate powered armor and I have the most experience that close to the Rift. Your captain told them there are only four crewmembers left so they figure we can take it. Once they have control, they'll force the surviving crew to take some of them off-world, or at least move the ship to town."

"That sounds familiar," Sara accused giving Faust a look. "So you want me to warn them you're coming so they can defend themselves?"

"Yes, and my plans are nothing like theirs. I have no intention of killing or torturing anyone."

Sara was considering warning Faust about the ship's defenses, when Daemon ran back into the little barn, carrying a small battery pack. He handed it to Sara and then stepped back to give her room to work and make her more at ease. Anybody could tell she was nervous about him being within arms' reach of her but somehow the events at the river had awakened a new ability in him: Now he was able to sense fear in others.

Sara examined it before setting it down on the work bench. "Give me a few seconds to get this hooked up and we'll see if it works," Sara told them as she attached wires to the radio and then to the power supply.

When she was done she took a deep breath and hit the ON switch for the radio. At first nothing happened, but after a few seconds the display panel lit up, stating it was running a diagnostic check. Everyone huddled around as it ran through its check. Finally a green light came on and the main menu came up on the screen. Sara programmed in the frequency the ship used.

" _Neptune_ , this is Sara. Can you hear me?" Sara asked, pressing the send button.

"Damn, girl, never use names on an open radio frequency. What's wrong with you? Put the captain on," Mac replied.

"The captain is dead. I repeat, the captain is dead, so is Alex. The people in town ambushed us."

" _What_! Those bastards. Where are you? Are you safe?"

"I'm okay. One of the locals helped me escape." Sara looked up at Faust to judge his reaction. "The guy wants our help getting his family off-planet in return. He also has most of the parts we need."

"Is he with you now? Let me speak to him," Mac barked at her.

"This is Hunter, what can I do for you?" Faust asked into the radio, instinctively using his old call sign.

"You can let Sara go, and start running because I'm going to blow that town into atoms."

Sara gasped at the venom in Mac's voice.

"She's free to leave any time she wants, but the parts stay here unless we get passage to another planet," Faust replied calmly.

"There is no way I will ever let you step foot on this ship. Sara, get back here as soon as you can. We'll get the parts from the spaceport. Out."

Sara just stood there in shock, scared of what Faust was going to do next. Would he really let her go and if he did, how was she ever going to find the ship? The others just stood waiting, until finally Faust said, "I think we should all sit down for an early lunch."

"I'll be right in. I'm almost done loading the skin," Daemon told them, pointing to the pile of fur lying near the cart.

The other three went to the house.

Sara followed, trying to make sense of what was happening. Mac was definitely not acting like himself. She'd known he was going to be mad but she'd never thought he'd get so crazy-mad he wouldn't accept help. Faust didn't look upset at all; in fact, he was acting like the Mac had invited him to join the crew. Once inside the house, Sara and Faust sat at the table and sipped tea while Angelica pulled a roast out of the oven.

"Well, I think that went pretty good," Faust observed, breaking the silence.

"Were you listening to the same conversation I was? Mac sounded like he was going to fly the ship back here and blow the town to bits. I've never heard him so mad," Sara blurted out, amazed.

"I was expecting him to get upset, but the fact he was calm enough to talk to me means he hasn't been overcome by the Rift madness yet. As long as we can talk to him, we have a chance. How long do you think it'll take him to fly the ship over here and attack?" Faust asked in a matter-of-fact manor that baffled Sara.

"An hour to power up, then fifteen minutes flight time and he'll be in range to attack. That is, if he doesn't just launch a long-range missile attack. If he does that, the missile will be here anytime."

"I don't think he's going to do that. He's mad but he doesn't want to kill you. I figure he'll fly over town and drop a few bombs on it or use energy weapons, if the ship has any."

"You're not going to warn the town?" Angelica asked a little startled at how easily her father was talking about the death of the people in town.

"Nope. If I did, this Mac character might get mad at me and that wouldn't be good. Plus, they would want to know how I know about the attack."

Before Angelica had a chance to reply Daemon came running in carrying the radio and power supply. "Dad, the ship has been calling for Sara."

Sara checked the wires as Daemon set the radio down to make sure they were still connected properly. She then tried to contact the ship.

"Sara, I got some bad news," Mac said, forgetting his own instructions not to use names. "Looks like we need at least one power coupling, both the main and secondary are burned out. All we have left is the auxiliary and that won't get us airborne. I'm sorry about losing my temper earlier."

"Don't worry about it. I got the parts we were after. Faust, uh, Hunter, has a collection of stuff in his barn so he may have the coupling, but I doubt it, cuz I didn't see it earlier. He said he can get anything we need from the spaceport, though. I just need the coupling and I can come back. The people in town have the skimmer, so I'll have to walk back. Faust says they're planning to use the skimmer to attack you. Do you have enough power to defend yourself?"

"That won't be a problem."

Sara shivered at the sound of Mac's replied. "Good. Oh, tell Nelson to up the radiation medication. The Rift radiation causes increased aggressive behavior. You may be starting to feel the effects already," Sara warned him.

"That explains a few things. You better get back here as soon as possible."

"We'll head out this afternoon. As soon as we get the parts; I'll radio you again." Sara turned off the radio and checked the power reading: less than half a charge left.

Angelica set plates out for each and then placed a platter of cooked vegetables and sliced meat in the center of the table. They all sat and ate quietly. Angelica and Daemon were used to eating in silence. Sara picked at her roast beef, trying to figure out a plan of her own.

Faust was busy mentally altering his plans to fit the new information and problems. "Sara, are you sure there isn't a power coupling in the work shed?"

"I didn't see one and they're pretty big, so it would have been easy to spot."

"Bleen, that means I have to go to the ruins and get one. I'm going to need you to tell me what it looks like and where the best place would be to start looking for it," Faust said in frustration.

"It would be easiest if I went with you. We don't have time for you to keep going back if you get the wrong piece," Sara said reasonably.

"I think we should all go. Daemon has gone with you a lot in the last few years and I can help keep Sara out of trouble while you two get us there," Angelica said, looking to Daemon for support.

"Don't look at me. I'm going to do what I'm told this time," Daemon said defensively.

"Much as I hate the idea, I agree we should all go together. Daemon, is the cart loaded?"

"Yes, everything you told me to load is loaded and ready to go."

"All right. I have to take that stuff to town and go to the meeting. I'll be back before dark. I'll leave my rifles here; that'll give me a reason to come back and let you know what's going on. I'll try to stall the attack until morning. If I can, I want to leave first thing in the morning. If not, we'll leave tonight, so I need you to pack now. Pack only the things you can't replace because we aren't coming back. Make sure to pack enough food for a week, hard tack should do." Faust instructed as he turned toward the door. "Oh, if anything happens and I don't make it back by morning, I want you to go without me. I'll catch up as soon as I can. Daemon, make sure your sister doesn't forget these bags," he said, toeing the bags near the door.

***

Faust arrived in town just after twelve o'clock. Most of the townsfolk were already gathered in the fort square, talking. He assumed it was about the attack so he joined them, leaving the wagon near the gate.

He didn't notice the guard swing the gate shut as he moved deeper into the crowd.

Once he'd reached the center he found the town elders standing around a table covered with food. Faust asked the man next to him how the planning was going. The man looked at him and smiled, but it wasn't a pleasant smile.

"Look who came to help us!" the man yelled as he shoved Faust toward the table.

"Faust, we were hoping you'd come say goodbye before heading off to find the ship," Richard Benson said.

Faust was grabbed from behind before he could make sense of what they were talking about. How could they know his plans? He was stripped of his weapons and tied to the whipping post in front of the town hall. Once they were done, the crowd moved back to let Richard and the other elders come up to examine Faust.

"I bet you're wondering how we found out about your little plan," Richard taunted him. "You really shouldn't have used the radio to contact the ship. Jake, take a few boys and go collect your new bride and that space wench. If the boy gives you any trouble kill him. Oh, and Jake, I want that space wench alive."

"NO! Leave my children out of this! They had no part in it," Faust yelled as he fought against the ropes holding him. "Do what you want with me, just don't hurt them."

"You should have thought of them before you decided to betray us. Jake will make a good husband for your little bitch and I expect he'll take care of your son before returning. Now, who's ready to watch a traitor get his just reward?" Richard yelled to the crowd, causing cheers to erupt. "Rick, bring me some of your tools."

As Rick ran off to get the torture devices, all Faust could think about were his children. He had made a mistake and now he would die a slow and very painful death. The only consolation he had was that they had only sent five men. He had spent years teaching his kids how to defend themselves, and none of the townsfolk knew how dangerous Daemon truly was.

#

Daemon didn't have much to pack, so he finished long before his sister. Sara was helping her, so he decided to release the animals. There was no sense in keeping them penned up if they were leaving. As he crossed the yard he realized he was going to miss them. He had spent all his life caring for them; he'd even named them. Now he was going to say good-bye to them forever. He had helped butcher a lot of animals over the years but this was different. He was leaving and they weren't going to be a part of his new life. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of leaving. Sure, he'd talked about exploring other worlds with Angelica, but that had been kids' dreams. He was a little nervous now that it was really happening.

At first, Daemon thought it was the animals he was sensing but as he watched the last one run off into the woods he realized that it wasn't. His senses snapped into focus and he detected there was something else within range of his ability and it had some very aggressive intentions. He turned and started running for the house, yelling for Angelica as he ran. He made it about halfway when a sudden bolt of pain shot through his chest, followed almost immediately by the crack of a rifle shot. Daemon stumbled another few steps before crashing to the ground, barely getting his arms up in time to break his fall. He lay there very still, trying desperately to stay conscious as the shock of being shot washed over him.

Inside the house, Angelica dropped the glass she was drinking from as she felt the wound in Daemon's chest through their link.

Sara jumped at the sound of the gun shot and rushed to the window to see if she could spot who had used a gun when Angelica grabbed her. Sara was about to protest when she saw the tears running down Angelica's face.

"They shot Daemon. He's hurt really bad; I think he's dying. I don't know who or why but they are still out there," Angelica was able to get out as she dragged Sara to her father's room. Once inside Faust's room she opened a cabinet and took out a hunting rifle and some ammunition and handed it to Sara.

"I need you to close the shutters and bar every window. Whoever shot Daemon is coming for us next." Angelica pulled a rifle of her own from the cabinet. "If you see anything moving outside, shoot at it. Even if you don't hit anything it'll make them think twice about coming in."

"Angelica, come on out! We aren't going to hurt you," someone shouted from outside.

Angelica motioned for Sara to get moving as she ran to the kitchen door. Angelica was glad that her father had put so much time and effort into making the door, with a simple push of one lever four bars slid into place, securing it. Faust had told Daemon try to push his way through it before he was satisfied. She then moved to secure the kitchen shutters.

"Come on, Angel, I know you can hear me. We had no choice about shooting your brother, but we don't want to hurt you," Jake Bender shouted.

Angelica froze, unable to believe who was yelling. "Jake, is that you?"

"Yeah! We're only here for the space bitch. We don't want to hurt you."

Angelica didn't need her special senses to tell her that he was lying. She had to stall, she needed time to think. Faust had told her snap decisions by an inexperienced person in combat were normally very bad. "Why did you kill Daemon?" she yelled out, hoping to distract them. She could still feel him so he wasn't dead yet, but he was very weak.

"He didn't give us a choice. He came at Bob with an ax."

"My dad's going to kill you for it no matter what your reason, you do realize that?" Angelica yelled back, frantically trying to make sense of what was happening.

Jake's reply was cut off by the crack of another rifle shot, this time from inside the house. Angelica sprinted to her room where the gunshot had come from. When she got there she found Sara lying on the floor, moaning, her rifle lying next to her. Angelica stepped around Sara to get to the window and close the shutter as she did she saw Jared Smith crawling away, leaving a trail of blood. Angelica allowed herself a brief smile of satisfaction: One down. Angelica turned around.

Sara was climbing to her feet and rubbing her shoulder. "Did I get him?"

"Yeah, he won't be coming back. Did you close the shutters in the rest of the house?"

"Yes, this was the last room." Sara reached down and picked up her rifle. "God, this thing has a kick to it," she said as Angelica herded her to the kitchen.

"Damn it, Angelica, you're going to pay for this!" Jake shouted as he reached Jared's body.

Lenard Bosworth had been the first to find Jared and was still kneeling next to him. Bob Monahan and Samuel Bench came running up to see what had happened. All four young men stared at their friend as the rage boiled up inside them.

Lenard was the first to speak. "Neither of them leaves that house alive."

"I say we burn the house and them to the ground. What do you say, Jake?" Bob asked.

All three boys looked at Jake; he was a natural leader. He was tall and lean with blond hair and blue eyes—the type of guy the girls couldn't resist. Bob was the heavy-set slightly slow member of the group who let his emotions guide him more than his brain. Lenard was the tall, lanky trickster constantly playing practical jokes on people. Sam was the runt who had to take the bulk of Lenard's pranks.

"We can't. You heard what Richard said: He wants the space wench alive. But I like the idea that we burn them out. Once they're outside, they'll be easy enough to capture. Bob, go around to the barn side and watch the kitchen door. Sam, go around the other side of the house while Lenny and I get a fire started. If you have to shoot, try to just wound them."

Neither man said anything more as they sneaked off in opposite directions around the house. Bob went back to the barn area to find a good spot to watch from, and Sam to the other side, looking for ways the girls might try to get out of the house. Bob was so focused on watching the house and thinking about his dead friend that he didn't heed the fact that Daemon's corpse was no longer in the yard.

***

Daemon wasn't sure what had happened, but he did know the middle of the yard wasn't safe, so he'd crawled to the barn. His chest still hurt and he could barely breathe but at least he was conscious. He could feel his sister's fear and wanted desperately to help her but he need more time to regenerate and figure out what was going on.

Daemon sensed the approach of someone very angry and aggressive, so he crawled behind the stack of boards his father had put in the barn to keep dry. He didn't know who it was or why he'd been attacked, but if he could get just a few more minutes of rest he thought he'd be able to stand up. He could feel himself drawing strength from the man's anger, he didn't know how and he didn't care as long as it helped him regenerate faster. Daemon lowered his head to the floor and tried to focus on healing.

***

Angelica tried to look through the gun ports in the shutters to see what was happening outside, wishing her father had thought to put viewing windows in the shutters. She could look through the gun port but couldn't see very much.

Sara had gone back to Angelica's room to look for the guy she had shot. The blood trail he left indicated he was probably dead already. Sara thought she'd be more upset about killing another human being, but after what they'd done to the captain, remorse did not enter her thoughts: They all deserved to die.

Sara spotted the smoke in the woods and yelled to Angelica, who came running. They took turns looking through the port, trying to see what was going on. They could make out smoke rising from the brush near the river but couldn't see anyone. Angelica took a few shots at the brush near the smoke before going off to check the other windows again. There was little they could do but wait and watch.

Sara saw some underbrush move and quickly shot at it. Her father had always told her to make sure she could see her target and what was behind it before shooting but this was different. She figured if she did accidentally hit someone or something out there, it was an enemy down. The smoke was getting thinner and she hoped that meant they had given up on the idea of burning them out. She tried not to think about what would happen if they ever got their hands on her.

Angelica could feel Daemon getting stronger by the minute and hoped he would be able to help them. She'd heard about the terrible things they did to each other in town and had no desire to see any of it firsthand, much less have it done to her. They were in a good position for now, but Jake wasn't going to wait long. He'd attack before nightfall to make sure they didn't slip out in the dark.

***

Jake sent Lenard to give Sam a torch while he took one to Bob. They had a pretty good-sized fire going and it was time to start working on the house. He had thought about burning the barn and other buildings but had decided against it. Who knew, Faust may have hidden something valuable in one of them.

Jake was careful as he moved around and through the buildings looking for Bob not to give Angelica a shot. When he found him, Bob was in a small shed with a window facing the house. He had a pile of kindling at his feet that he'd gathered while waiting. He also had a ladder he'd found just inside the barn. They talked for a few minutes working out a plan of attack and decided that Jake would run across to the house with the ladder and set it up while Bob covered him. Once it was ready, he would run back and Bob would run over with the torch and kindling.

So Jake picked up the ladder and got ready to go. His heart was pounding with adrenalin as he ran across the thirty feet to the house. When he reached it, he quickly set up the ladder then ran back for the shed. He got the feeling something was wrong, but before he could figure out what it was, Bob started firing at the house. Jake didn't even look over his shoulder, he just ducked down and added more speed when he was close enough he dove into the shed, slamming the door behind him with his foot. A bullet slammed into the door, knocking it back open. Bob and Jake pushed it back shut and waited as more bullets hit the door and window.

"Oh, great, now they're waitin' for me. I ain't running out there now," Bob complained as he ducked down away from the window.

"Yeah, wait for Lenny and Sam to get their attention back on the other side of the house," Jake said as he eased his way up to look through the window now that the girls had stopped shooting. As he looked out it struck him what was wrong. Where was Daemon's corpse? He stuck his head up higher to get a better look.

Angelica wasted no time; she fired at the fool.

If it hadn't been for Bob pulling him out of the way, Jake would have lost his head as more of the window shattered where he'd been looking just seconds before.

Both men tried to will themselves into the ground as the girls opened fire on the shed. The first few shots passed through the window and out the back of the shed. After that they started hitting random places on the wall. The large caliber bullets from the hunting rifles had no trouble punching through the boards and passing right over their heads.

The gunfire only lasted a few seconds but when it was over Bob was in need of clean underwear. Jake was yelling something at him but he was too scared to understand. Finally, Bob started to calm down and make sense of what Jake was asking.

"Where is Daemon's corpse?" Jake was frantically yelling.

"I don't know, in the barn, I guess."

"What do you mean, you don't know? Didn't you move it?"

"No, he must not have been dead. I saw a blood trail leading to the barn from where he was. Don't worry, nothing can lose that much blood and live," Bob said confidently, trying to reassure himself as much as his friend.

Jake was not so sure. Angelica had told him that her brother could heal really fast and it had helped him during his fights with the Rift monsters. He knew she was sensitive and he often thought she could read minds. Maybe her brother could regenerate. Jake stopped himself. That was crazy. Nobody could have survived that shot; he had to be dead.

The idea that Daemon had fought a Rift monster and survived still amazed and worried him; the idea that he might have to face Daemon in a fight terrified him. Jake had to get to the barn and make sure he was dead.

The two men started kicking boards off the back wall so they could get away. The torch had gone out in the confusion. Bob was going to have to go back to the main fire to get another one while Jake made sure Daemon was dead. Bob thought it was foolish but Jake was upset for some reason so he didn't argue. It took them a few minutes to break enough boards away to crawl through. Neither man was very observant: Neither saw the smoke coming from the other side of the house.

Jake stopped at the back of the barn while Bob continued on. He wanted to tell Bob to stay with him to check the barn together, but Bob had already told him he was wasting time. So Jake sneaked in, his rifle at the ready. Jake slowly moved from shadow to shadow toward the front of the barn. He finally got to where he could see the blood trail leading behind some boards. He crept up to where he could peek around them. Jake didn't consider looking up; if he had he might have seen Daemon crouching on a rafter.

Daemon could feel the man's fear and it made him feel powerful. Daemon jumped down onto the man's back feet first, allowing his full weight to land squarely on Jake's spine. The man broke in half like a rag doll bent backward. Daemon rode the fall and Jake's broken body all the way to the ground, making sure he was dead.

Daemon took a few seconds to get up, as he did he recognized the man was Angelica's boyfriend, Jake Bender. He had liked Jake and wondered what had happened that Jake would be attacking them. Daemon picked up Jake's rifle and like most guns, it didn't feel right. He knew how to shoot and was pretty good at it but it just felt wrong killing from a distance. The only weapon he'd ever felt comfortable wielding was an ax. He couldn't bring himself to use the rifle; whoever was attacking them disserved the terror of seeing their killer. So he set the rifle down, pulled Jake behind the pile of boards and pushed some of them over on top of him. He took a few seconds to look around to see what weapons were available and which he would need. Daemon picked up an old ax he'd outgrown and the broken handle of a pitchfork.

He could sense three other people in the woods around the house. There were two on the other side of the house and one by the river.

First target would be the loner by the river. As he left the barn, Daemon saw that the house was on fire. He stopped for a second, scared that his sister was still in there. He could sense her and knew that she was still all right, but that wouldn't last for long. He started running. He had no time for any fancy stalking—the next few minutes were going to be fast and brutal.

Bob heard what he thought was Jake running through the woods toward him. He barely had time to realize his mistake and start to yell before Daemon hit him with the ax. Daemon had not even slowed down to aim the ax swing. He just ran past Bob and swung the ax in an underarm swing, catching Bob just below the sternum and lifting him off the ground with the force of the blow. The ax handle snapped like a dry twig with the force of the blow. Bob went flying backward, blood and gore spraying over a wide area. Daemon didn't stop, he just kept running. He had two more to kill before it would be safe for Angelica to leave the flaming building.

Daemon knew the next two would be harder. He was going to have to fight both of them at the same time or risk getting shot again. He would have to either slow down and sneak up on them or charge them, hoping they'd be startled and slow to react. A quick glance through the woods at this side of the house told him what he had to do.

***

Inside the house Angelica could feel Daemon was up and moving. The emotions coming from her brother were more powerful than anything she'd ever felt before. She tried to block out as much as she could but he was so close to falling into a primal rage she felt her own anger growing. Sara was near panic at the thought of being trapped in a burning building. Her emotions were adding to Daemon's and were pushing Angelica to the limit of what she could endure. So she did the only thing she could think of to reduce the turmoil: She punched Sara.

Sara crashed to the floor six feet from where she'd been standing and lay where she'd landed, unmoving; she looked like a discarded rag doll. Angelica was both amazed and shocked at how hard she'd hit Sara. She hurried over to check on her. Sara's jaw was broken and she was bleeding from her nose and mouth, but she was still alive. Angelica quickly set Sara's jaw and focused all her energy and concentration on healing her, to the point of blocking out everything else. Sara would wake up sore but her jaw would be fully healed. When Angelica finished, she realized she'd gained some control over the emotional turmoil surrounding her. She was very tired from the strain of using that much energy, but at least now she could think clearly, if a little slower than normal.

Angelica could feel Daemon in the woods on the opposite side of the house from the barn. He was almost on top of the other two, so it should be safe enough for her to get to the barn. She picked up Sara's limp body and carried her to the kitchen door. She lay Sara next to the door and carefully opened it, scanning as best she could for any indication of attackers. After a few seconds of scanning Angelica picked Sara back up and carried her to the barn.

***

Daemon ran as fast and quietly as he could, focusing more on speed than silence. He knew where the last two were and was heading straight for them. The only weapon he had left was the broken pitchfork handle, which was going to have to be enough. He was going to hit them fast and hard, intending to startle them into hesitation long enough for him to get his hands on them.

Lenard and Sam were standing in a small clearing of underbrush watching the house when they first heard Daemon. They turned to see who was coming and froze in terror. They had never seen a demon from the Rift before but they were sure they faced one now. The creature charging at them was covered in blood and moving faster than they thought any human could. As it charged, it screamed and threw something at them, sending both of them into an instinctual dive for cover.

Daemon was amazed that both men had dived away from the makeshift spear. He thought himself very lucky they hadn't started shooting as soon as they turned and saw him. They were making this too easy. He covered the last few yards separating them while they regained their feet. They seemed to have gotten over their initial shock at seeing him and were now raising their guns, but it was too late. Daemon was within reach of Sam's rifle. He grabbed it by the barrel and pushed it to the side as he moved in, slamming his weight against Sam's chest, sending him flying. Daemon held onto the rifle as Sam fell backward. Lenard took a frantic shot which barely grazed Daemon's arm. Daemon spun around, dodging Lenard's next shot and swung Sam's rifle at him. The butt of the rifle caught Lenard in the side of the head, crushing his skull with the force of the impact. Blood and brains splattered over a large area as the rifle butt splintered.

Sam felt the wet spray hit his face; he looked at his friend and quickly looked away, having seen Lenard's corpse collapse to the ground. Daemon was covered in blood and coming after him. Sam's only thoughts were of escape; he had to get away from this monster, but it was too late. Daemon looked over at the man crawling frantically away from him and snarled.

Daemon was lost in the killing rage that had helped him survive his fights with the true Rift demons. He didn't see a man trying to escape, he only saw another enemy to be killed. Daemon walked over and grabbed the terrified man by the ankle and swung him at the nearest tree as if he were swinging his favorite ax. Sam died instantly as his ribcage and spine shattered against the tree.

Daemon looked around, scanning the area for more prey. He didn't sense anyone other than Angelica so he started walking toward her. Daemon was her protector and no matter how lost he was to the beast of battle he would never forget that. He would go to her and protect her no matter what he'd have to face. She was in the barn, which meant she'd gotten away from the burning house. He could feel that she was upset but there was no physical pain so he didn't think she was injured. By the time he broke through the tree cover and onto the lawn, Daemon had calmed down enough to regain control. He realized he was covered in blood and gore. He also surmised that the sight of him would probably scare the girls. So he turned and walked to the river, figuring a quick swim would clean him up enough to be presentable.

***

Angelica was putting Sara down in the barn when Daemon's last attack happened. The ferocity of it and the emotions coming through her link with Daemon made her sick. She tried her best to block out the feelings their link was forcing her to experience, but she couldn't. Thankfully the attack only lasted a few seconds but there was something in those emotions she'd never expected and it terrified her. Daemon had enjoyed the killing and now felt content, like he'd just eaten a long-awaited meal. She'd never felt anything like it from him before and prayed she'd never feel it again.

She could sense him coming her way; thankfully, he was calming down. She was a little hesitant to meet him, but she could use his help getting the packs from the house. She was surprised when Daemon changed course and started moving toward the river. It took her a moment to figure out why he was going to the river, but when she finally did she was glad he had.

The house was almost fully engulfed by the fire now. If they were going to get any of their supplies she would have to be quick. Thankfully, most of their packs were near the kitchen door. The kitchen was pretty clear of smoke but she knew it wouldn't be long before that changed. She went first to Daemon's room, though, deciding to grab his bag before it was too late. The door to his room was hot and the handle burned her hand as she used it. A wave of intense heat blasted her as she opened the door. The heat sucked the air from her lungs causing her to stagger back. She tried to make a run for the kitchen but she couldn't regain her breath. Luckily for her, the hall to the kitchen was short and the smoke thinned out as it spread out to fill the room. Angelica bumped into the kitchen table as she staggered blindly into the room. She tried to steady herself on the table but she was losing strength fast. She knew she didn't have long before she passed out. She had to get outside so she could breathe.

Daemon reached her as she was stumbling to the ground a few yards from the house. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the barn where he put her down next to Sara. Daemon took a quick look to make sure she wasn't burned. Angelica started coughing as her healing ability automatically went to work healing her. Daemon watched her until she stopped coughing and started breathing normally.

Daemon realized why Angelica had gone back into the house and cursed his stupidity. He tore off his wet shirt and wrapped it around his head and face as he ran to the house. It wasn't going to be much help but it was the best he could do. The kitchen was full of smoke by this time. Daemon was able to make out the packs near the door, got them, and started throwing them out away from the house. When he was done he went to his room. The smoke there so thick he couldn't see clearly and the heat blistered his skin. The door to his room was wide open and the room fully engulfed in flames, but he'd left his bag next to the door with his favorite ax leaning against it; he took one last look at his room before he grabbed the ax and bag.

Sara woke to the sound of a scream that was unlike anything she'd ever heard before. She heard the crash of splintering wood followed shortly by a thud of something heavy hitting the ground. She looked around and saw Angelica lying next to her, sleeping. She realized they were in the barn. How did she get there and what had happened to their attackers? The events of the last hour started coming back to her: She remembered the house being on fire, they'd been trapped inside... and then Angelica hit her.

By the time Sara got up to go look outside, Daemon came walking through the barn door. She was shocked: His head and hands were wrapped with rags and he wasn't wearing a shirt. It looked like he had first- and second-degree burns over most of his chest, arms, and back. She could only imagine how much pain he must be in.

"How's Angie?" he asked as he dropped their packs and moved to his sister.

"I don't know. She was sleeping when I woke up."

Daemon knelt next to his sister and checked her breathing. She looked like she was sleeping but he knew better, he could feel her focused on healing herself. He sat next to her, trying to give her strength through their connection. He had never been very good at giving strength, only taking it.

"What happened to the men that were attacking us? Where are they?" Sara asked as she looked anxiously into the yard.

"They're dead," Daemon replied in a voice that left her no doubt he'd killed them.

"We should get out of here. They're going to send more men to investigate once they see all this smoke in town."

Angelica sprang upright at the mention of the town. "Dad!" was all she got out before she started crying. Daemon hugged her close, not understanding what was wrong, but sensing the grief and loss she was feeling. Angelica cried into his chest for a few minutes as he rocked her back and forth, until finally she pulled away from him.

"Dad's dead. The men in town must have found out what he was planning. They sent Jake and the rest to get Sara and me," Angelica told her brother, trying to hold her voice steady. She could feel the anger in him building and tried to help him stay calm.

Daemon was barely able to keep from going into another rage, but for his sister he sat there and battled for control. Daemon didn't want to believe their father was dead. He wanted to kill those responsible for his death but he pushed those feelings away. He couldn't allow himself to think about that. He had to get Angelica and Sara to the ship.

Sara could feel the tension in the air and the anger growing in Daemon so she left the barn to collect some water. She didn't know what was going to happen next but if Daemon lost his temper she was certain she didn't want to be anywhere near him. At the river she filled the bucket she'd brought from the barn and took a little time to clean herself in the cool water. It felt good, but she didn't want to waste too much time. Daemon was right: They had to get moving.

She returned to the barn to find Daemon and Angelica going through the packs. They both looked up as Sara entered. Daemon had put on a new shirt and was repacking the food they were going to be taking. Angelica was looking a lot better, though neither looked like they were over the shock and dismay of losing their father.

"Thank you. I could really use a drink," Angelica commented, as she took the bucket from Sara.

Daemon handed her a couple of packs from the pile without saying anything. He turned, picked up his backpack, and left the barn. Angelica helped her position her backpack and handed her a rifle and a belt of ammo. Angelica had a rifle of her own slung over her right shoulder with an ammo belt sitting low on her hips. She really looked the part of the backwater farm girl. Sara set down her second bag and tried to sling her rifle the way Angelica had hers but her backpack kept knocking it off her shoulder. Angelica smiled at her and told her to just carry it for now; she'd take the extra bag.

Daemon was waiting near the river when the girls came out of the barn. He held an ax and was drying it off with his shirt tail. As they got closer, Sara realized it was a fighting ax like the ones the barbarian warriors used in the vids. It was a little over a yard long with an oversized double blade at one end and a ball at the other. The handle was wrapped in leather which looked to be singed from the fire. As they reached him, he grabbed it just below the blade and pointed up river.

"We should follow the river. It won't trick a good tracker but it may buy us a little time."

"You're bringing an ax? Where's your rifle?" Sara asked.

"I don't need one," Daemon said before he started marching up river along the shallows near shore.

Angelica motioned for Sara to go next while she brought up the rear.

#

Adam Smith pushed his way through the crowd that was standing around outside the meeting hall. Nobody paid any attention to him until he finally reached the front door, where a man put his hand out to stop him from entering. Adam was not going to be stopped, though. He ducked under the guard's arm and ran into the hall. The door guard yelled at him and started chasing him. Adam had the door to the main meeting room half open before the guard caught up to him and grabbed him from behind.

"Dad!" Adam yelled into the room as the guard wrestled with him, trying to get a better grip. Adam's father and a few other men looked up from their meeting to see what all the commotion was.

"Hey, get your hands off my kid!" Thomas Smith yelled at the guard. Thomas had been a master sergeant when the Rift opened and knew how to give orders. Thomas had worked hard at staying in shape and at fifty-one years old, he was confident he could still beat every member of the town guard in a fight. The guard loosened his grip just a little but it was enough for Adam to break free and run to his father, hug him and start crying.

"Jared's dead! Somebody shot him," Adam sobbed.

His father took him by the shoulders and held Adam out away from himself so he could look at Adam while he talked to him. "Calm down and talk slowly. What are you talking about?"

Adam took a few breaths to steady himself, then he started telling his father what he'd seen. "They shot Jared and they killed Bob Monahan, too. They're out at the Grayson's farm. I heard they were going to get the space lady and I wanted to see her, so I followed them. I hid when I heard the gunshots. A little while later I saw the house was on fire and I started to move closer to see what they were doing. Then people started screaming so I hid again. It got really quiet but I waited a long time before I started looking for Jared." Adam started crying again at the memory of his brother's dead body.

Thomas looked up at a guard at the door. "Get some men and go check the Grayson's farm. I want you to find out what happened and where those boys are." Thomas turned back to his son, who was still crying. The guard left quickly, closing the door behind him.

***

The guard had been gone for almost an hour when the door to the meeting hall finally opened again. He went directly to the table to report what he'd found. "It's bad; the boy was right. We found Jared and the rest. They're all dead."

" _What_? _How_?" Thomas yelled. He had thought that Jared might be hurt but he hadn't really thought he was dead. The guard continued his report but Thomas could no longer hear what he was saying, all he could think about was his son. It must have been that Grayson bitch and her damned ability to screw with people's emotions. She must have gotten the boys to let their guard down so her dimwitted brother and the spacer could get the drop on them. He could see it all. Why hadn't they sent an adult with them?

Something the guard said snapped Thomas out of his grief-inspired delusions. "What was that?" he demanded.

"We found their tracks leaving the barn and heading to the river. We checked the other side but didn't find anything, so they must have gone upriver. Leo Burgemen and Jed Garret went upriver to try and track them while I came back here to report."

"Why do you think they went upriver and not down?"

"If they'd followed the river down they would have come pretty close to town and right through a few farms, too risky. I'm sure they went upriver. Faust took Daemon with him on his trips to the old city so he knows what to watch out for in those woods. I'm thinking they're going to the ship."

"No. You heard them on the radio—the ship needs some parts, and it can't fly without them. I bet they're making for the spaceport to get the parts and then to the ship."

With that the men started to break up into smaller groups to discuss what was more important and what they should do next.

"Enough talk! I'm going after them. Who's coming with me?" Thomas bellowed, frustrated at all the talking and lack of action. He wanted revenge and he wanted it now. A few men spoke up, volunteering to go with him.

"All right, meet me at the Grayson's farmhouse in an hour. Pack light, but bring enough supplies to last for three or four days." Thomas took one last look at the men in the room before leaving. He needed to get his gun and pack for the hunt. He was also going to have to tell his wife their son was dead.

***

Thomas Smith came into the clearing around the Grayson's farmhouse and saw a group of people standing near the barn watching the last of the house burn. He recognized all of them; most were family members or friends of the slain boys.

Thomas joined them and learned that a few more people were planning on showing up. He spent the time talking to each of them to make sure they were there for the right reason. He wanted to kill Daemon and the girls slowly if he had the chance and he didn't want anybody going who didn't want to do the same thing.

A couple of more guys came onto the lawn from the path to town and looked around. They saw the rest of the posse and started walking in the group's direction. Mystique Fairmont followed them a few seconds later.

Thomas was not happy to see Mystique; she was a strange one and he didn't like strange. She was nearly six feet tall but she couldn't weigh more than a hundred and ten pounds. She'd pulled her jet-black hair back with a string holding it together at the base of her neck. She was wearing tight leather pants with a dark blue blouse tucked into the waistband. The only weapons he could see were two hunting knives, one on each hip. A small backpack and bedroll were the only other things she had with her.

When the three reached the group, Thomas pointed at Mystique and demanded to know, "What are you doing here? We don't need some sixteen-year-old whore slowing us down."

"I have every right to be here. Bob Monahan and I were close friends," she lied. She didn't even like Bob.

"I'm in charge here and I say who has the right to be here. We're going to chase them down and kill them, and we aren't stopping until it's done. I don't care if we have to chase them all the way to Discovery City. They are not getting away. So if the idea of going that close to the Rift scares you, you better just turn right around and head back to town. You twist an ankle or something, we aren't stopping. If you're too slow, we'll leave you to fend for yourself." Thomas looked around the group. "That last part goes for all of you."

"Don't worry about me. I'll keep up," Mystique stated, holding Thomas's gaze when he turned on her.

"You don't even have a gun. How are you going to do anything but watch?"

Mystique didn't answer him directly. Thomas didn't even realize she'd started moving when he felt her knife at his throat. "Like this," she said. The rest of the group jumped to their feet, expecting a fight, but Mystique put her knife away just as fast as she'd drawn it and backed away from Thomas.

Thomas's anger showed on his face but he did nothing. "All right, you want to come, fine. Let's get moving, I don't think anyone else is going to show up. Leo Burgemen and Jed Garret are already tracking them so they should be leaving us a trail to follow."

Thomas didn't bother to look at the others, he simply stomped off in the direction of the river. The group quickly gathered up their packs and followed.

Mystique had planned on taking the rear but Alan Bench was determined to be last. He didn't trust anyone here except his son, Mark, and he wasn't willing to put his back to anyone, not even Mark. So Alan got to watch Mystique's sleek young backside as they started their pursuit.

#

The trio had stopped for a break and was relaxing when Daemon sensed the threat coming. He turned and saw that Angelica also knew about the arrival of the hunters. He was not sure how far away they were, but they had to be close.

Angelica picked up her rifle from where she'd leaned it against her pack before sitting down to rest. She quickly looked around for a better position. She found a good hiding spot and was able to cover about fifteen yards back the way they had come.

Sara had sat down next to a tree when they'd stopped and fallen fast asleep.

Daemon didn't like it, but thought it best to let her sleep. He didn't think she'd be much help in the fight anyway. He motioned to Angelica that he was going to look for whoever was tracking them. He figured they'd be following his trail, so he circled out around. The area of woods they had just passed through was all new growth with a good amount of underbrush to hide in. He just had to be careful not the make too much noise or disturb the brush. Faust had taught him not to shoot unless he could see his target but he knew others weren't so picky.

Trackers Leo and Jed were right where Daemon had expected them to be. They were following the trail he'd cut through the underbrush for Sara. They didn't look like they were being very cautious. Jed Garret was short and stocky, which allowed him to carry his rifle leaning on his shoulder. Leo Burgemen was tall and skinny, forcing him to carry his in the crook of his arm. They were less then eighty feet from where the girls were waiting; Daemon was going to have to act fast. He had no doubt Angelica could and would defend herself but he wanted to make sure she didn't have to.

Daemon moved to a position ten feet off the trail and waited. He was hidden in a thick patch of underbrush so he was confident the men wouldn't spot him as they passed by. He planned to jump them from behind, hopefully taking out the rear guy before the leader knew they were being attacked. Daemon thought of what these men wanted to do to him and his sister and felt the familiar surge of angry power race through his muscles.

Jed was in the lead. He walked past Daemon without even glancing to the side. Leo followed about three yards behind him. Leo must have somehow sensed Daemon's presence because he stopped and turned to look directly at him. Daemon didn't hesitate, he launched himself at Leo with all the strength he had. The two men crashed into the brush on the far side of the trail.

Daemon knew he could finish the fight fast but if he did there would be nothing stopping Jed from shooting him where he lay. So he wrestled with Leo, allowing him to almost break free before grabbing him again.

Jed ran back to help his friend but quickly realized he couldn't shoot into the fray without running the risk of hitting Leo. The two were rolling around on the ground like rabid cats. Leo looked like he was trying to break free and get clear, but wasn't having any luck. Jed decided to flip his rifle around and jab at Daemon with the butt. The first jab missed because Jed was worried about hitting Leo.

Daemon had seen Jed's attack and was waiting for the next one. He let go of Leo and grabbed the rifle when Jed jabbed again. The speed with which Daemon moved stunned Jed and slowed his reaction. Daemon thrust the rifle forward and quickly pulled it back a few times trying to shake it free of Jed's grip. Leo took Daemon's change of focus as an opportunity to get free and crawled a few feet away. The force Daemon was shaking the rifle sent Jed stumbling back as he lost his grip and balance at the same time.

Leo was just getting to his feet when Daemon rolled around and kicked out at him. The kick landed just below Leo's knee, snapping it backward with a loud pop.

Leo's scream was loud enough to wake Sara, who instinctively lunged for cover.

Jed was shaken by the sound of his friend's injury but he knew they were in a fight for their lives. Jed pulled his knife from its sheath and leapt onto Daemon, hoping Leo was still distracting him. Jed landed full force on Daemon's side and drove his knife deep into Daemon's ribcage. Daemon should have died from that knife wound but instead he whipped around and grabbed Jed.

The wound broke what little control Daemon had of the beast within him. He could still tell what he was doing but he no longer had any influence over what his body did.

Jed was shocked that Daemon was still moving with his knife sticking in his side. Jed never had a chance to scream before the beast grabbed him and dragged him closer. Leo looked up from his broken knee in time to see Daemon start to dismember his friend. The sight and the pain were ungodly. He knew he was going to die, but all he could do was stare in horror.

Daemon regained control a few minutes later. The knife was no longer in his side. He had pulled it out and thrown it away at some point. Jed was lying in pieces at the base of a tree. Leo had passed out and was barely breathing. He was himself covered in blood, some his own, most of it Jed's. The minor cuts and abrasions from the brush were already healing. He collapsed to the ground, exhausted, barely aware of Angelica and Sara arriving.

Angelica went straight to Daemon to check his wounds determined to see what she could do to help him. She knew better than to look at the victims of his rage. She'd sensed it when Daemon lost control and had seen the results before. She had no desire to see them again.

Sara didn't have that knowledge and looked around to see what had happened. The sight of Jed's broken and dismembered body was too much for her. She vomited what little food she'd eaten and started running in blind terror. She didn't make it far before she tripped over Leo's unconscious body. She fell over and lay there sobbing and trying to catch her breath. She wished she'd never come to this godforsaken planet. Leo's moan brought her back to her senses and she realized how close she was to the enemy. She moved away a little and looked at the man she'd been lying on. He was covered in scratches, and leaves. Twigs clung to his cloths everywhere. His left leg was bent at an odd angle and it took her a moment to realize why. Sara had seen enough and didn't want to see any more, so she pulled her knees to her face and cried as she rocked back and forth.

Angelica watched Sara's reaction to seeing the aftermath of one of Daemon's fights and felt sorry for her. She loved her brother and knew he was a good person at heart, but she worried that her dad had been right. If Daemon ever lost his temper and did this on another planet the authorities would lock him away for the rest of his life, if they didn't just kill him. His wounds were healing fast and she didn't think it would be long before he was able to get up and start moving again. Angelica inched toward Sara, trying to convey strength and calm. Sara was going to need to pull herself together and soon; they had a long way to go and more people were going to be coming after them.

Sara didn't even notice Angelica was coming; she was too far gone, lost in her own nightmare.

Angelica carefully helped Sara to her feet and led her back up the path, not too far but far enough so that she could no long smell the fresh blood.

Angelica checked on Leo. He was still alive but he was badly injured. He was barely breathing, his knee was dislocated, and the leg was broken just below the knee. She didn't want to make things worse but she knew she had to set the knee and bone before he died of shock. She reached down and grabbed his knee and focused all her energy on setting and healing the bone. When she was done she felt light-headed and drained. Leo was not going far without help for a few weeks but in time he'd be able to walk normally again.

Daemon came up behind her to see what she was doing and asked, "Why are you helping him? For all we know he was one of the guys that killed Dad."

"Because we _don't_ know that he had anything to do with killing Dad and plus, it's the right thing to do."

Daemon didn't push the matter, he'd learned years ago that when it came to moral decisions Angelica understood things better than he did. "Okay, anything I can do to help?"

They moved Leo out onto the trail, away from where the fight had taken place. Angelica had Daemon move Jed's remains farther away while she collected the ammo the two men had been carrying. It was the same caliber as she and Sara were using. Daemon broke both rifles against a nearby tree, figuring no sense in leaving them for those chasing them. Daemon was able to get a new shirt from Leo's pack to cover at least some of the blood on him until they could find a stream where he could wash up. Angelica took the time to gather a few twigs and some wood so Leo could make a fire once he woke up.

Sara had passed out where Angelica had left her. The growing stress had been too much for her to handle. Daemon picked her up and carried her up the trail. It was starting to get dark and he wanted to get across the gorge before nightfall. When they got back to where they had been resting before Jed and Leo showed up, he put her down on a patch of moss. Angelica picked up as much of their gear and packs as she could carry. Daemon took the rest before carefully picking up Sara again.

Daemon knew the next few miles were going to be rough but it wasn't like they had a choice. The gorge was about two miles farther west. The terrain was slanted here as they circled around the base of one of the higher mountains. They had to be careful of their footing or risk falling and tumbling down the hill. Both Angelica and Daemon were very tired when they finally broke into the small clearing that lined the gorge. Luckily, Daemon's regeneration ability quickly renewed his strength and washed away his fatigue once he stopped to rest.

Daemon lowered Sara to the ground while Angelica dropped her packs and took a quick look around. She wasn't sure what Daemon was planning but she was confident he had some plan to get them across. The gorge was about thirty feet wide and close to a hundred feet deep, with a fast-running river cutting through the bottom of it. The walls were a mix of loose rock and shear rock slabs with a few plants growing here and there.

Daemon set down the rest of his load and walked up next to her.

"So, how are you planning to get us across?"

"We have enough rope that I figure we can tie it to your waist and throw you across."

"I am in no mood for jokes," she said, turning to face him.

"All right, there are a few trees along the edge that I should be able to drop across, and then we just climb over."

Angelica nodded her approval and Daemon turned and scouted along the gorge, looking for the right tree. It took him a few minutes to find one he hoped would make the reach. The trees on this planet were naturally short, with thick trunks. He would have liked to look further but time was running out. It would be dark soon and they still needed to find and make camp on the other side.

Angelica sat near Sara and their gear and watched as Daemon pulled his ax and moved to a tall, thick tree. He first cleared away the underbrush from around the trunk, and then started chopping. It didn't take long before the tree started to fall. Daemon stepped back in case the trunk kicked or twisted. The tree landed pretty much right where he'd wanted with at least ten feet on the ground on the other side of the gorge.

The crash of the tree woke Sara with a start. She looked around, confused at first, saw Angelica and gave her a questioning look.

Angelica kneeled by her side. "You passed out, so Daemon had to carry you. We are at a gorge. Daemon just cut a tree down for us to cross on. I need you to gather your stuff and follow me." Angelica said, trying to give Sara the impression that they needed to keep going; she didn't want Sara thinking too much about why she'd passed out.

They were a bit shocked to see that Daemon had walked to the middle of the gorge and was jumping up and down on the tree trunk. He looked like he was trying to shake it loose of the edges of the gorge. They realized he was playing and laughing. Sara stared in amazement as the monster that tore people apart acted like an innocent child at play.

Angelica yelled at Daemon to get off the tree and come help them with the gear. He looked at them with an expression of disappointment at having to end his fun, but he did as he was told. He took and shouldered as many packs as he could carry and went scurrying across the makeshift bridge as if he were walking on solid ground. It took him two trips to get all their gear to the other side. Angelica started across while Daemon was unloading the packs from his second trip. She was not as steady as Daemon but still made it across fairly easily.

Sara didn't like the thought of having to get across what was essentially a round, slippery bridge, but she was determined not to be left behind, so once Angelica was on the other side, she started out. She made it a little over halfway before her foot slipped and she started to fall. Sara was able to grab one of the larger branches as she slid down the side of the tree. Fear gave her the strength to hold on as her body dangled over the gorge. Daemon had been watching her progress across the tree and was in motion as soon as she started slipping. Sara barely had time to start worrying about how she was going to get back up on the tree before Daemon had hold of her wrist. "Don't worry, I got you." Sara was amazed at how gently Daemon lifted her up and placed her back on the tree and then guided her the rest of the way to make sure she didn't slip again.

The group quickly gathered up their gear and moved into the woods away from the gorge. The tree canopy blocked what little light was left of the day. Angelica and Sara marched slowly along while Daemon's superior night vision allowed him to scout ahead for a good place to make camp. It took longer than he liked but he finally found a spot where they could camp safely for the night. A large boulder stuck up out of the ground a good six feet, with a few smaller boulders littering the area around it; they were keeping the brush and trees from growing nearby.

Daemon put his gear down next to the boulder and started preparing a spot to make a fire. He could sense Angelica getting closer and wanted to have the fire going before they arrived. He knew it was dangerous to have a fire with people chasing them but he also knew how dangerous the forest became at night. He placed some of the smaller stones into a circle and started piling twigs on top. He had just finished lighting the twigs when Angelica and Sara came into the small clearing.

Sara dropped her pack and rifle near the boulder and looked at the fire, confused. "We're going to have a fire?"

Daemon added more twigs and larger pieces of wood to the fire. "Yeah, there are a lot more dangerous creatures in these woods than the men following us. The fire will keep all but the most desperate away." When he was satisfied the fire would continue burning on its own he stood up and collected his ax. "I have to drop that tree in the gorge and collect more firewood. You two should be safe; just stay close to the fire." Daemon looked at Angelica a few seconds to make sure she was okay with him leaving before he left.

Daemon ran through the woods at full speed now. The few minutes rest while he was making the fire had been enough for his regeneration ability to dispel his exhaustion and rejuvenate his muscles. He no longer had to worry about getting too far ahead of Sara and Angelica. It felt good to just run. It allowed him the chance to forget about what had happened and how much his life had changed in just one day. He thought about nothing but where he was running and what path to take. He could sense a few predators coming out of their dens to start the nightly hunt, but they didn't scare him. He was confident that if any did come after him, it would be him eating them tonight.

He arrived at the gorge in a few minutes, both moons were out so there was plenty of light in the small clearing along the edge of the gorge. Daemon took the time to look back in the direction of camp and was happy to note that the fire wasn't visible. He didn't know if their pursuers were going to try to follow them after dark but it was nice to know if they did they wouldn't be able to see their camp.

The thought of the men chasing him reminded him of his task, so he quickly set about chopping the limbs from the tree, which took close to an hour to do before he could move the top of the tree without some branch digging in and hanging it up. All he had to do now was push the top over the edge and let gravity take the tree to the bottom. The tree was heavy but he could budge it, so he pushed it inch-by-inch closer to the edge. Finally, enough of the tree was hanging over the edge to tip it in. He barely had time to let go and dive out of the way when the smaller branches he'd ignored came whipping past in their race to the bottom.

***

The crash of the tree and the rocks it knocked free on its way down was loud enough to bring Leo back to consciousness. He swung his head around, trying to remember what had happened. The pain in his leg brought back the images of the fight and the horror of what Daemon had done to Jed. He didn't know why Daemon hadn't killed him and he didn't much care. He knew enough about the forest to know he needed to get a fire going fast or something else in the woods would have him for dinner. The pain in his leg told him he wasn't going to be able to walk but he could crawl. He looked for a place to build a fire and something to start it with. To his surprise he found that someone had cleared a small area near him and built a small pile of kindling in the center of it. Leo was slightly amazed when he spotted his hunting knife lying next to the pile. He carefully moved to the pile and took the flint from its side pocket on the knife's sheath and lit the fire.

Leo tended the fire and looked around to survey his situation. He saw the remains of the rifles and his pack nearby and crawled over to it. It looked like someone had gone through his pack; most of its contents had been pulled out and dropped on the ground. He was surprised to find not only his food, but his canteen, too. His pistol was a little way off under a bush; it was in one piece but the clip was missing so he grabbed his pack and began searching it. The spare clip he kept in the side compartment was still there, so he loaded his pistol and breathed a sigh of relief. He collected what he could and crawled back to the fire.

***

Thomas thought he heard something but it was so faint it had to be far away. The rest of the group wanted to stop and make camp for the night but he was determined to push on for at least another hour. It might be dangerous alone in the woods at night, but with a large group he knew nothing short of a bear was going to come anywhere near them. The only reason he would even consider allowing them to stop was the fact it was getting harder and harder to find Leo and Jed's trail.

"I think I saw a fire up ahead," Mystique whispered, appearing stealthily next to Thomas a few minutes later.

Thomas didn't like or trust her but her night vision seemed to be better then everyone else's, so he signaled for everyone to stop. "How far ahead, and did you see anyone?"

"It's about a hundred-fifty yards up the trail. I didn't get close enough to see anyone. I didn't want to risk them seeing me before the rest of you knew about it," she said.

"Good thinking, now I want you to sneak up as close as you can and find out whose fire it is. We'll wait ten minutes and then start coming up."

Mystique slid back into the darkness and was gone. Thomas tried to watch her as she slipped away, but lost sight of her before she'd gone ten feet. A shiver crawled down his spine. He definitely did not like that girl. Thomas turned and walked to where the rest of the group had huddled together. They were happy to hear about the fire; it meant they had either caught up to Leo and Jed or Angelica and Daemon. One way or the other, they weren't going much farther tonight.

***

Mystique slowly moved through the underbrush, being very careful not to step on any twigs. She could almost see the fire but still hadn't gotten a look at who had started it. She was beginning to worry that it was a trap when she heard movement near the blaze. It sounded like something was being dragged along the ground. The wind changed directions, bringing with it the distinct smell of blood no more than a few hours old. Mystique froze where she was, crouched, and waited. The rest of the group would be moving her way soon so she couldn't wait too long. She finally made up her mind and moved a little closer and from her new vantage point could make out Leo tending to the small fire. He had not detected her yet, so she watched him for a little bit. He was lying down and seemed to be dragging his left leg behind him when he did move.

***

Thomas didn't like waiting, so the ten minute head start he'd told Mystique he'd give her was actually closer to eight minutes. The group fanned out and tried to sneak as quietly as they could through the dark woods. Thomas was pleasantly surprised at how little noise the group made as they slowly moved forward. They had traversed about a hundred and thirty yards up the trail when Mystique appeared in front of him to report what she'd found. Thomas wasn't happy about the news, but called to the rest to come to him.

***

Leo heard someone yelling off in the woods in the direction of town and assumed it was the rest of the posse. He yelled, "Hey I'm over here." to let them know where he was. He hadn't seen Mystique as she'd contemplated finishing the job Daemon had started.

Thomas yelled, "Yeah, yeah, we know," back to Leo to let him know they were coming and not to shoot. A few minutes later the group was making camp around the fire. Mark and Steve went to collect more wood for the fire while Alan and Eleanor started cooking dinner.

Steve screamed for help when he came across Jed's remains. Everyone grabbed their guns and ran off to see what the trouble was.

Mystique was the first to arrive, promptly decided she didn't want to be there anymore, so she turned and left.

Thomas led the rest of them to the location and found Steve vomiting next to a tree. The sight of Jed's broken corpse made most of the group reconsider how dangerous their prey was. Arnold Leech was the only one who showed no sign of repulsion at seeing their comrade's corpse, so Thomas told him to stay and bury Jed while the rest made their way back to camp.

The group ate quietly.

Thomas asked Leo, "So what happened?"

"We followed the river a ways until Jed spotted where they had climbed out and started off through the woods. Their trail was pretty easy to follow, cuz after a while they stopped trying to hide it. I think they decided speed was more important because someone started cutting brush out of the way instead of going around it." He took a swallow from his canteen. "Jed was in the lead and never saw Daemon hidden in the brush. I got a feeling and turned just as he lunged out at me. We wrestled around a bit until Jed started jabbing at Daemon with his rifle butt. I been in a few fights before and I'll tell ya, Daemon coulda pinned me anytime he wanted but that woulda given Jed a clear shot. So he just toyed with me until Jed was close enough, then he hit me. The next thing I know I was waking up with a broken leg next to a pile of kindling. He even left me my hunting knife and flint to start the fire with." Leo gave a confused shake of his head.

"So what you're telling me is that you and Jed walked right into a trap set by a halfwit," Thomas stated, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"No need to get mad at Leo; any of us could have gotten caught in that trap," Alan Bench interjected, coming to Leo's defense.

Thomas turned his angry stare on Alan but when Alan refused to back down he turned back to Leo. "So how fast was he? I figure he has halfwit strength. I figure Angelica or that spacer wench came up with the idea of hobbling you to slow us down. They must have told Daemon where to wait for you."

"He was fast! I mean, I barely had a chance to see him before he was on top of me," Leo replied, deciding the more dangerous he made Daemon sound the better his chances of Thomas not blaming him.

"All right. Charlie, you and Gabe stand first watch. Paul, I want you and Craig to relieve them about zero one hundred. The rest of you get to sleep. We'll break camp and leave at first light," Thomas ordered.

Mystique was the first to wrap herself in her bedroll for the night. She'd expected Thomas would want to get an early start and she wanted to have a look around before they did. The others didn't take long before they were also lying down around the fire.

***

Daemon was up early and had breakfast cooking when a gunshot woke the girls. Daemon stood up slowly and listened for any more shots, while the girls scrambled for cover.

"Don't worry, whoever took that shot wasn't aiming at us. My guess is whoever it was is about a mile away," Daemon said as he walked over to Angelica.

Sara started collecting her bedroll and other things.

Angelica waited for Sara to get out of earshot to find out what he wanted to talk about. "What's the plan? You have the look you get when you know I'm not going to be happy with you," Angelica asked, trying to get Daemon to say what he was thinking and not try to figure out a way to keep her from getting upset.

"I want you two to head off in that direction." Daemon pointed west. "I'm going to go back to the gorge and see if I can't slow them down some."

"What about the Rift demons or other things in the woods?" Angelica asked, trying to keep the concern out of her voice. She knew Daemon could tell she was nervous but there was no need making him feel any worse.

"We're still a long way from the ruins so there's not much chance you'll run into any demons. You should sense them long before they get near you, so if you feel anything stop or turn around. As for animals, they won't come this close to the ruins."

Daemon walked over to Sara as she was getting her breakfast. "I guess you were right: I should have brought one of the rifles. I need to use the one you brought this morning."

"Okay. So what's going on?" Sara replied, not sure if she should be more nervous or curious.

"I'm going back to the gorge while you and Angie go west. I'll catch up to you later today."

"What? Why? How will you find us?" Daemon scared her but he also made her feel safer when he was there to protect her.

"Don't worry. I can always find Angie; you just stay with her and you'll be all right. I want to get a look at who's following us and maybe slow them down a little." Daemon picked up Sara's rifle and ammo belt and disappeared into the forest.

Angelica joined Sara at the fire to eat her breakfast. She wasn't happy about Daemon going back to face the men chasing them alone but at least he'd taken a rifle.

"He'll be all right; no need to worry about him," Sara observed, breaking Angelica's train of thought. Sara had finished eating and was sipping her tea. "Are we going to carry his packs with us or leave them here?"

"We can leave them. They would slow us down too much, and we need to move as fast as possible," Angelica replied between mouthfuls.

"Are you sure he'll be able to catch up if we do that?"

"Sure, he knows these woods better than anyone, except maybe Dad." Angelica stopped mid-sentence as the pain of her father's death washed over her. Sara started crying as Angelica unconsciously projected her feelings of loss, which made Angelica feel even worse when she realized that she was inflicting her pain on Sara. Angelica fought to get control of her emotions as Sara pulled her into a comforting hug.

The girls just sat there rocking each other for a few minutes as the emotional trauma of the last few days washed over them. The loss of friends and family, of betrayal, and the frightened run through the woods came flooding back on both of them. They had both been in shock or too busy to let the reality of what was happening sink in, but now it was hitting them full force. Slowly Angelica got control and carefully pushed Sara away, gently holding her at arms' length. It took them a few more minutes to calm down enough to collect their gear and wordlessly leave camp.

***

Mystique woke suddenly to the sound of a twig snapping. She kept still, until she was fully wake and then cracked open her eyes. It was still mostly dark; the fire had burned low but someone had recently put more wood on it. Deciding there was no imminent danger, she sat up and stretched. Paul Fitzgerald was crouched next to the fire, which meant he was on watch, which also meant Craig was supposed to be on watch, too.

Paul saw Mystique sit up and went to get her a cup of the tea that he'd been brewing most of his watch. It was going to be bitter, but he hoped she'd like it anyway. Paul had seen Mystique around town but had never gotten the nerve to talk to her. He knew her mother had a reputation for being a whore. He often wondered if Mystique was, too, but was afraid of insulting her if she wasn't. He really hoped she was because Mystique had the nicest pair of legs and little round butt in town.

"Are you going to hand that to me or pour it on me?" Mystique whispered, breaking Paul's chain of thought. He froze in place as he realized he was holding the cup of tea just a few inches from Mystique's chest. Mystique took the cup from him and thanked him for it.

Mystique took a sip of the tea and set it down while she started collecting her things. Paul moved back to the other side of the fire and watched her. Mystique quickly repacked her bag, only taking time to pull a piece of meat bread out to have for breakfast with her tea. The tea was very bitter but it would help her wake up and the bread helped mask the taste of it.

When she was done, she realized that Paul was still watching her. She'd seen that look many times before, on some of the men who'd come to visit her mother. Her mom had waited until she was twelve before allowing Mr. Franks to have her. Her mother had cleaned her up and tried to comfort her after Mr. Franks left. She'd said that it was the only way they had to make money for food and stuff. The later that day she'd made honey cookies, and each time after that when one of the men wanted her instead of her mother, she'd gotten honey cookies. She hated honey cookies.

Mystique quietly made her way to Paul and whispered to him that she was going to scout ahead some before the rest of the group woke up. She handed him the empty cup before turning and leaving camp. She was proud of herself for not slitting Paul's throat like she'd done to her mother before leaving to join the hunt. Mystique remembered the shock in her mother's eyes as she woke to find Mystique holding a knife to her throat. She hadn't struggled; she'd just closed her eyes again and died.

Mystique almost didn't spot Craig sleeping against a tree just outside of camp. She wondered what Thomas would do if he found out—probably send them both home. She needed to get away from the camp. Paul had triggered something in her and it would be easy for her to kill everyone in camp. The problem was she might need their help to catch up to Daemon.

It didn't take her long to find Daemon's trail around the mountain. She was able to follow it even in the darkness of predawn, thanks to the fact that one of them must have been tired because they weren't lifting their feet as much as they should have to avoid disturbing the leaves. The path was leading to a clearing, by the look of it. Mystique didn't like that at all. She would have to try to skirt around and pick up their trail on the other side. There was no way she was going to walk out into a killing field for anyone with a rifle. She crawled carefully up to the edge to get a better look and found the gorge Daemon and the girls had crossed. She lowered her head and lay very still as she thought about what to do next. If she were Daemon, she would be hiding in the woods on the other side waiting for someone to walk out into the open so she could shoot them without fear of being spotted. They were going to have to go up river or down and look for a quick way across, then come back here to pick up Daemon's trail. It was going to slow them down quite a bit. The townspeople were wrong about Daemon being slow-witted; this was an ingenious move. Faust would have been proud.

The sound of a pistol shot snapped her head around to look in the direction of camp. She had no idea what was going on but she was sure she'd better get back and find out. She also had to let Thomas know about the gorge. Mystique slowly backed well away from the edge of the clearing before getting up and jogging back to camp.

Mystique arrived to find the others slowly packing up and getting ready to move out. They didn't seem to be in any hurry. Paul was missing. Thomas saw her and came to talk to her. He was in an even fouler mood than ever. Mystique dropped her hand to rest on the hilt of one of her knives without thinking about it as he got close.

"What happened? I heard a gunshot," she asked.

"There was a disagreement about what to do with Leo so I put him out of his misery. Paul is taking care of his corpse while the rest of us get ready," Thomas said, challenging Mystique to argue about what he'd done. "You got a problem with that?"

Mystique started to ask why he'd shot Leo, but stopped herself before saying anything.

Thomas stared at her, hoping she'd say something he could hit her for.

Mystique turned to look up the trail toward the gorge. This was not the time to kill him, not yet. "I found a gorge up ahead. It looks like they crossed it somehow. I don't like the look of it. Daemon or his sister could be waiting on the other side for us to break cover and shoot us."

"Show me," Thomas ordered as he motioned her to lead the way.

Mystique took one quick look around camp before heading off toward the gorge. She figured the rest of the group would be following them within a few minutes.

#

Daemon reached the gorge in time to see Thomas ducking behind a tree near the edge of the clearing. He cursed himself for taking his time getting back as he dropped to the ground. He was also annoyed he'd not been more careful and had let Thomas see him. At least he was far enough back in the woods Thomas wasn't going to get a clear shot at him. Daemon started to crawl to a nearby tree with a thick trunk that he could hide behind. The underbrush was going to make it hard for him to get a good shot but it would also help hide him.

Mystique was surprised to see Daemon running through the woods toward the clearing. If she'd had a rifle she would have been able to get at least one good shot at him. Thomas had seen him about the same time Daemon had seen Thomas, of course. Neither of them seemed to have a clue about stealth and how to hide his movements. Thomas had just stepped behind a tree and crouched down; Daemon had dropped prone and was now crawling behind a tree. Mystique was sure that Daemon didn't know she was there and was more than happy to keep it that way.

Thomas waited a few minutes before looking around the tree. He had lost sight of Daemon and was having a hard time spotting him. He could hear the rest of the group talking as they made their way up the slope to the gorge. Thomas readied his rifle. He still wasn't sure where Daemon was but if Daemon shot at the group as they walked into view, Thomas would be ready to return fire.

Mark Bench was leading the group and hadn't seen Thomas or Mystique hiding near the clearing. He was just about to step into the clearing when Mystique yelled for him to duck, but it was too late. Daemon had tracked Mark's progress to the clearing and fired as Mystique yelled her warning.

Thomas easily spotted the muzzle flash from Daemon's rifle in the dim, overcast light of morning, and fired five shots as fast as he could at Daemon's location. He would have kept firing but the magazine in his rifle only held five shots.

Daemon had expected someone to shoot and was rolling back behind the cover of the tree before Thomas's first shot hit.

The bullet hit Mark's leg causing him to be thrown off balance and fell into the clearing. Mark, confused and in shock, started to crawl frantically back into the brush. The rest of the group dove for whatever cover they could find. Steven Bosworth and Eleanor Bender had been right behind Mark when he got shot. They had simply dropped to the ground for cover. They grabbed Mark as soon as he got close enough and pulled him deeper into the underbrush. They dragged Mark back to the tree line, where the underbrush started to thin out. They stayed as low as they could, and when they thought they were far enough back they stopped to check Mark's wound.

Eleanor cut open a larger slit in his pants where the bullet had torn through. She gave a sigh of relief when she found that the bullet had only grazed Mark's leg. The wound would hurt for a while but it shouldn't slow him down much. They were going to need to cauterize it to stop the bleeding and hopefully prevent infection. Steven helped Mark hobble farther down the slope away from the clearing.

Daemon waited until he was sure they had stopped shooting before he cautiously started crawling back into the woods, carefully keeping the tree between himself and the group on the other side of the gorge. Once he was back a good fifteen feet, he yelled to the group, "Turn around and go home. I don't want to kill you, but I will."

"Nobody's going anywhere until you and that bitch sister of yours are dead!" Thomas yelled.

The rest of the group spread out and took up firing positions so the next time Daemon showed himself they would be ready.

Mystique stealthily slipped back to where Steven and Eleanor were tending to Mark's wound. "How bad is it?" she asked as she got to them. Eleanor was starting a small fire while Steven stood guard. Mark looked a little pale but seemed alert.

"It's just a graze, but we need to stop the bleeding," Eleanor replied as she put her knife in the fire. "What's going on up there?"

"Daemon is on the other side of the gorge waiting to shoot anyone who walks into the open. He might be a dimwit, but he's staying hidden now that he knows we're here."

"He ain't that stupid. He set a nice trap for us to walk right into," Mark said as he watched the blade of the knife start to change color from the heat. He put a twig in his mouth as Eleanor grabbed his leg with her left hand and brought the knife down onto the wound. Mark screamed into the twig as he tried to hold still through the pain. Eleanor got a twinkle in her eye and a smile pulled at the corners of her mouth as she held the knife to Mark's leg a few seconds longer then she needed to. She finally pulled the knife away and examined the wound again: It had stopped bleeding and showed no signs of starting again.

"Daemon was just standing in the woods on the other side when Thomas and I got there. I think he was as startled as we were. We all dove for cover and waited," Mystique lied, assuming Thomas wouldn't bother telling them what happened.

"You mean to tell me you and Thomas both knew he was there and you didn't warn us? You just let us walk right into his trap?" Steven stated angrily as he turned to Mystique, the barrel of his rifle swinging in her direction as he did.

"She's the one that did warn us. A little late, but at least she said something. If you want to shoot someone, I'd say Daemon would be the right target—or Thomas, before he gets us all killed," Eleanor observed as she pulled a spare blouse from her pack and tore it up to make a bandage. "You owe me a new blouse," she told Mark as she applied the bandage.

"Shooting at Daemon is going to be a waste of ammo unless someone else is willing to walk out into the clearing as a target, and even then the chances of hitting him are slim. We need to get across the gorge somehow, before Thomas starts looking for volunteers to play target," Mystique commented, trying to shift the conversation and attention away from her.

"Mystique, can you go find my dad and bring him back here? He'll know what to do."

"Okay, I'll be right back," Mystique said.

Daemon and Thomas were still yelling at each other when Mystique got back up to the underbrush at the edge of the clearing. Alan Bench was sitting calmly with his back to a tree, listening to the exchange. Mystique threw a small piece of a branch at him to get his attention and waved for him to come to her when he spotted her. Alan carefully belly-crawled over to her. He didn't seem to be in much of a hurry. Mystique guessed that he hadn't seen Mark get shot and didn't know he was injured so she decided not to tell him.

"What?"

"Mark wants to talk to you. He's back down the hill a little." Mystique turned to lead the way back to the trio. Paul and Arnold saw them moving back and decided to join them. Paul Fitzgerald grabbed his brother, Craig, by the boot and pointed in the direction the others were going, but Craig wasn't interested, so Paul came stumbling down the hill alone.

Eleanor had Mark's leg bandaged when the five arrived at their little fire. Alan spotted the bandage and went immediately to check on the wound. He didn't say anything until he was satisfied it had been treated properly, then he turned to Eleanor and demanded to know what was going on. Mystique answered for her relaying what she knew. When she was done, he asked a few questions to clarify one or two points before coming to a decision.

"All right, Steven, I want you to take Paul, Eleanor, and Mystique downriver. Look for a place to cross. Mark, Arnold, and I will go upriver. If you don't find a way to cross in an hour, turn around and come back here."

"What about Thomas? Shouldn't we tell him what we're doing?" Eleanor asked, looking up the hill nervously.

"Let me deal with Thomas. You four get moving," Alan replied, more than a little annoyed.

"Let's go," Steven commanded, trying to establish his place as leader and get things moving. He led the way north through the woods, parallel to the gorge for about two hundred yards before climbing back up the bank. As they got to the underbrush at the edge of the clearing made by the gorge, Steven turned again and started to follow the clearing.

***

Daemon came to the conclusion that Thomas and the rest weren't going to leave so he'd have to try to make them angry enough to do something stupid. He started by pointing out how easily he'd killed the boys they'd sent to the farm. He was surprised how upset they were getting; someone even shot at his side of the gorge a few times. He had no idea how much ammo they had, but he did know they had to have a limited amount. Daemon decided he was on the right track and really started taunting the men. He continued talking about Jake and the others, making up stories about how they'd died. He even mocked them with how easy it had been for him to lead them into this trap.

Daemon needed to keep them occupied for another few hours to give the girls a chance to increase their lead. He was confident he'd be able to catch up to them fairly quickly. Sara was not used to hiking and Angelica was only a little better. He'd have to go back to where they'd spent the night and grab his packs but that shouldn't slow him down too much. His only real concern was that the girls had gotten lost and were going in the wrong direction. Going over the gorge instead of around it had saved them over a day's travel but he didn't expect any Rift monsters would be this far away from the Rift.

***

Steven Bosworth and his group spent about forty minutes following the gorge before they found a section where the gorge narrowed to the point where Mystique figured she could jump across it. They had wanted to tie a rope around her waist in case she fell short but she'd refused, fearing the extra drag would _make_ her fall short. Mystique had gotten a good running start and made the jump with almost three feet to spare. Then it was a simple matter of Steven throwing her a rope to tie off to a tree and the rest of them climbed across it. Paul Fitzgerald had almost fallen when his legs slipped off the rope but fear-induced adrenalin gave him the strength he needed to finish getting across.

They hurried as fast as they could upriver, not worrying about how much noise they made until they could hear Thomas screaming at Daemon. Steven motioned for everyone to stop as soon as he could hear the shouting. He had them fan out and start slowly sneaking forward toward the shouting. The underbrush near the clearing along the gorge was pretty thick in this area. Steven assigned Mystique to the position closest to the clearing, knowing it was the most dangerous.

Mystique whispered, "I'll be better in the woods where there isn't as much underbrush."

Steven replied, "You should have lowered your price when I stopped by for a visit; it was my birthday, after all."

Mystique barely held her temper but now wasn't the time to respond so she turned and walked away. Mystique calmed down almost immediately; she had a problem to solve and she didn't have much time: She needed to warn Daemon that they were here and not let anyone see her do it.

She crouched and ran forward, being extra careful while she thought about what to do. She reckoned there was a good chance she was going to get shot by either Daemon or Thomas or whoever else was left over there distracting Daemon. She finally decided this was as good a chance as she might get to join up with Daemon. If they did succeed in killing him there would be no chance of convincing Angelica to take her along. If he got away, she might not be able to catch up to him again.

She circled back and away from the gorge, getting behind the other three as they crawled forward. Paul Fitzgerald was the next person in the line. Mystique had seen him around and didn't think he was very bright. It would be easy for her to distract him and get him to do something to warn Daemon.

She got to about five yards from Paul when there was a loud crashing followed by Steven screaming in pain. Paul ducked his head and covered it with his hand. Eleanor jumped to her feet about fifteen feet to Paul's right. Mystique watched Eleanor run in the direction where Steven was screaming. Mystique made a quick change of plans and got to her feet, too.

Paul heard her coming because she was more concerned with speed than stealth. He gave a sigh of relief when he turned and saw it was her. He didn't notice that she had her knives out, or he didn't care; either way, he seemed happy to see her. Mystique calmly drew back her arm and threw the knife in her right hand. Paul's eyes went wide when he realized what she was doing but by then the knife was already flying through the air. He didn't have time to yell before Mystique's knife drove deep into his throat. Paul reflexively grabbed it as Mystique closed the last few yards that separated them. She gave him a quick smile as she reached out and yanked the knife to the side as she pulled it free. She didn't waste time making sure he was dead. She just ran in the direction Eleanor had gone.

***

Daemon had felt four people coming toward him from downriver so he moved back away from the clearing and toward them. They had fanned out and were moving slowly, so he shouldered his rifle and shifted positions to where he figured the farthest one from the river would pass and climbed a tree to wait. He knew it was reckless of him to attack four armed people but if he could hurt just one of them it would help even the odds.

It still amazed him that people refused to look up even when they were hunting. Steven Bosworth had been sneaking pretty well and almost got past Daemon before Daemon dove out of his tree. He had promised Angelica that he wouldn't kill anyone if he could avoid it, so he didn't dive on Steven feet first but instead he had his hands out to grab and pull the man to the ground. Even with Daemon's weight spread over a larger area he still landed with a lot of force on Steven's back. Daemon instantly began wrestling to get control of Steven before realizing that Steven's arm was broken and he wasn't fighting back. Steven was in shock and was screaming in terror as his mind shut down. Daemon punched him once to knock him out before getting to his feet.

Eleanor saw Daemon stand up, brought up her rifle and fired.

Luckily for Daemon, she missed in her haste and anger. The bullet went buzzing passed Daemon's head before impacting with tree a few yards away. Daemon dove for cover, cursing.

Eleanor cursed her bad luck and moved behind a tree herself. She had a good view of the tree Daemon was hiding behind so she took aim and waited.

Daemon took a few breaths to calm himself and focus on his ability to feel the presence of others. He could feel Eleanor but no one else. He knew there had been four, so two of them were missing. He decided if he couldn't sense them then they weren't a threat, and slowly stood up with his back to the tree, careful not to give Eleanor a target but the tree was just a bit too small and his shoulders were a bit too wide.

Eleanor didn't have much of a shot but if she hit him he might recoil to the other side far enough for her to get a better shot.

The bullet hit the tree and deflected just a little so it only grazed Daemon's shoulder, tearing through his shirt, ripping and burning skin and muscle as it did. He slammed his mouth shut, holding back a yell as he spun to take better advantage of the tree's protection. The pain quickly faded as he started to regenerate and heal the damage.

Eleanor smiled at the small red mist that had appeared when her bullet hit the tree. She knew she'd hit him. He hadn't jumped far enough to break cover but at least he was bleeding now.

Daemon felt a new presence coming from the south, and then another... three aggressors total were coming his way from the south. He had to get out of there fast or he wouldn't get out of there at all. He pulled his ax from his back and got ready to run. He took a firm grip and showed the head of the ax to the shooter but nothing happened. He heard something moving and knew it was time to make a run for it.

Daemon never looked back. He ducked low and ran as fast as he could, zigzagging from tree to tree as he went.

If he'd looked, he might have seen Eleanor falling from behind the tree, the hilt of a knife protruding from the base of her skull and another from the middle of her back. She'd been so focused on watching for Daemon she hadn't known Mystique was sneaking up behind her. Mystique had intended to slit her throat but had thrown her knives instead when she saw the blade of Daemon's ax come out from behind the tree. Mystique had barely enough time to grab her knives before Daemon was out of sight.

Mystique was able to make up some ground chasing Daemon because he was dodging bullets that were never shot. She just had to get sight of him from time to time to make sure she was heading in the right direction. Daemon ran for about ten minutes before stopping. Mystique almost gave herself away when she didn't stop fast enough.

Daemon took a few minutes to look around to see if he could sense anyone following him. He thought he'd heard something behind him but when he couldn't feel an enemy presence, he ignored it. He didn't think his sister and Sara were too far ahead; a few hours' run and he should catch up to them.

Daemon ran in a pretty straight line, as straight as he could in the woods. He needed to get to their campsite and retrieve his gear before following the girls. It only took him a few minutes to get back to their camp and collect the weighty packs that were going to slow him down, but he was confident that nobody from the hunting party was following him. Daemon was so confident, he didn't bother to look back.

***

If he had, he might have seen Mystique come running up to the edge of the clearing before dropping behind a tree to hide.

He set a fast pace through the woods, but it wasn't nearly as fast as the one he'd been running before he stopped to gather his packs. He was traveling in another straight line, so Mystique didn't have much trouble following him. She was surprised by the fact that he never looked back. She tried to stay about thirty yards behind him but she had to vary that depending on the terrain. Mystique finally lost him after about thirty minutes of running. She tripped and fell and was too exhausted to get back up. She needed to catch her breath so she just lay there and cursed herself for being a fool. No wonder he never looked back; no one could keep up with him. All he needed to do was keep running and his pursuers would collapse sooner or later.

On the up side, she'd been right: Thomas had no chance of catching up with him now. The girls must have kept going while Daemon delayed them at the gorge. Once she took the time to think about it, Mystique decided Daemon was very smart to just wound people instead of killing them. The wounds would have to be treated and then the wounded would slow down the group. She couldn't blame him for not knowing how much of a fanatic Thomas had turned into about killing him and his sister. Thinking about Thomas made her admit she was going to share Daemon's fate if Thomas ever caught up to her. The fire in her legs and lungs had subsided so she got to her feet and followed Daemon, with any luck he would continue in the same direction he had been.

***

It took the better part of an hour for Thomas, Charlie, Gabe, and Craig to get across the gorge.

Alan was waiting to explain what had happened once Thomas arrived. He told him how he'd sent Steven, Eleanor, Paul, and Mystique downriver to find a way across while he took his son, Mark, and Arnold Leech upriver. Steven's group had gotten there first but Daemon had been waiting to ambush them.

It also looked like Mystique had switched to Daemon's side. Alan led Thomas and the others to where they had collected Paul and Eleanor's corpses. Steven was waiting with them, his arm in a sling.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Smith. We would have had him if not for Mystique's treachery," Steven said, worried that Thomas would blame him for losing Daemon and getting the others killed.

Thomas was only half listening as he knelt down and checked Paul and Eleanor's wounds. Someone had already stripped them of their weapons and gear. Thomas guessed their valuables were gone, too, but he wasn't interested enough to check. After examining their wounds, he believed he had a good idea how they'd died so the next thing was to find out how much Steven was going to lie. "All right, tell me what happened from the time you got back here."

"Once we could hear you and Daemon yelling, we decided to fan out and slowly sneak up on him. I took the inner-most position hoping to get in behind Daemon. Mystique wanted to be near the gorge and Paul wanted to be near her. She'd been wiggling her butt at him all morning. Daemon must have heard something because as I was sneaking around a tree, there he was, coming at me from the other side. God, he's fast, before I knew what was happening he had a hold of my rifle and was pulling it out of my hands. So I kicked him. Then he lunged at me and we started wrestling. Eleanor must have heard us because I caught a glimpse of her standing next to a tree aiming at us. I let Daemon roll on top and pin me, figuring it would give Eleanor a clear shot. But the bitch Mystique killed her before she could pull the trigger. I was so surprised Daemon got a shot in and knocked me out. The next thing I know Alan is slapping me awake and my arm is broken." Steven finished his story by wincing as he moved his arm to show it.

Thomas was so focused on listening to Steven's tale that he didn't notice Alan step up behind him. The first warning that Thomas had that something was wrong was the click of the hammer on Alan's revolver dropping into position to fire.

"What the hell?" Thomas barked as he spun around.

Alan had expected Thomas to do that and stuck the barrel against Thomas' nose. "I am just making sure you listen, 'cause my boy is not going to end up like Leo." The rest of the group backed away slightly, to give the men room. "Now I know you let Mark walk right into the clearing, knowing Daemon was waiting on the other side."

"Alan, don't do anything stupid. We both know it was the only way to get Daemon to show himself."

"Right, you're just lucky Daemon can't shoot straight or we wouldn't be talking right now. Steven is hurt and Mark's only got one good leg, so the two of them are going back to town. Is that okay with you?" Alan left no doubt in Thomas's mind what would happen if he objected.

"Yeah, fine, but they leave their spare ammo with us. We may need it." Thomas stated as he stepped away from Alan's pistol without another word he started walking in the direction Steven had said Daemon went.

Alan turned to Steven. "Mark is already heading up river to where we crossed. The two of you shouldn't have much trouble getting across the gorge and neither of you are hurt bad enough to have any trouble getting back to town, but just in case you make it back and Mark doesn't, I promise you that I will string you up and skin you alive." Alan made sure Steven understood how serious his threat was by bringing his knife point up to Steven's chin, nicking it just a little.

Steven handed his spare ammo to Arnold as he left to catch up with Mark, while Alan and the rest moved off to catch up to Thomas. They didn't have to go very far; he was checking the tracks near where Daemon had ambushed Steven. Thomas looked up when he heard them coming. He was standing and waiting when they arrived.

"Looks like the girls went off in this direction, and Daemon ran off this way. I say we follow the girls' tracks. They are leaving a path anyone could follow and Daemon won't leave his sister alone out here for long. I bet he's running in the wrong direction, hoping to lead us away from her. He'll change course later to catch up with her."

Thomas didn't wait for the others to agree. He just walked away, following the girls' tracks.

#

Angelica was pleased with the progress they were making. They had traveled for over an hour before Sara had asked her to take their first break. She had been quiet, and had not complained once about the hard pace Angelica had set. They were starting to take more breaks as the day wore on, though. Angelica's worry now was that their pace was slowing down too much. But, she was also concerned they were getting too far ahead of Daemon. She knew he could move a lot faster than they were but he also had a lot to carry.

She could sense, though, that he was closer, so at least he was on his way.

They were resting next to a small stream when Angelica felt the first prick of danger. She didn't know what it was, just that something bad was coming their way. She thought they weren't near Discovery City, but she had no idea how close they were. If they were very close, anything they met was probably lethal.

Sara was filling her canteen when Angelica whispered to her to grab her gear and move. Angelica tried not to scare Sara but the feelings coming from whatever was moving toward them was scaring her and her fear was evident.

Sara was doing a good job of holding it together today and she was proud of herself, but Angelica being scared, scared her. Sara almost dropped the canteen she was filling, so she set it down and scrambled to collect her pack and ammo belt. Angelica had her two packs and rifle shouldered and was waiting anxiously for Sara.

The two girls ran off into the woods as fast as they could for as long as they could, their fear driving them to run faster. Neither of them dared to look back, afraid of what they might see chasing them.

Angelica had only felt emotions like those coming from the creature the few times that she'd been close enough to feel Daemon's rage take control. Daemon's rage, as horrifying as it was, was more controlled and had a purpose, where this was just raw hatred interwoven with a strong desire to cause pain and suffering. She knew it had to be one of the Rift monsters. The realization that they were being chased by a Rift monster scared her more than anything else in her life ever had.

***

The stream was peaceful again. The sand and silt the girls had stirred up had settled back to the bottom a little farther downstream, but that was only natural.

It took a little over ten minutes before the creature arrived at the girls' rest area. It had felt their presence and could still taste the strong emotional energy of fear that they had left behind. They had run off and it couldn't catch them. They had somehow found out it was coming and left. The only thing it could do was wait to see if they would return for the item they had left behind. So it slowly crawled out of the stream up onto the bank and through the grass. It tried to leave no signs of its passage as it made its way to the small bush near the item. It would wait here for a while and see if anything came to retrieve it.

***

Daemon felt the spike of Angelica's terror like a knife cutting deep into his heart. She was over an hour ahead of him so there was no way he could help her. He had no idea what she was afraid of; he could only tell she was scared to death of something. He hoped that Sara was still with her but could not put much thought or feeling behind it. Daemon could think of only one thing: He had to get to Angelica. He forgot about trying to be stealthy and screamed out a challenge to whatever was chasing Angelica before taking off running. He plowed through low branches and underbrush, never realizing he'd dropped Sara's rifle, or pulled his ax as he went.

***

Mystique had been trying her best to keep up with Daemon but had fallen far behind him. She'd realized that he'd joined the trail left by the girls after stopping to get his packs. He seemed to be able to run for a long time without taking any breaks. Her only hope now was that the girls wouldn't be able to keep up, either. She'd slowed down and was switching between walking and jogging. She was determined to keep moving as long as she could.

She heard Daemon's roar as he took off running. It sounded like an animal's roar to her, followed by the breaking of tree branches. The idea that it was Daemon did not enter her mind; it had to be an animal of some kind. Mystique didn't like thinking about what else was supposed to be in these woods. Her nervousness was making her very aware of her surroundings.

She stopped and hid near the base of a dead tree. She waited while the sound of whatever had roared to move farther away, until she couldn't hear it anymore. Mystique waited a few more minutes before she again moved carefully along the trail, which unfortunately was in the direction of the noise she'd heard. She found Sara's rifle about five hundred yards up the trail. She spent a few minutes looking around and tried to figure out what had spooked Daemon so bad that he'd dropped his rifle and not retrieved it.

Mystique looked for tracks but only found Daemon's and the girls'. He wasn't being careful anymore. Daemon was leaving deep footprints in the soft ground and was snapping branches instead of bending them or avoiding them. His trail had become even easier to follow than the girls'. Mystique checked the rifle's magazine and found that it was full with five rounds, so she decided to take it with her. It didn't take long for Mystique to come to the conclusion that something had scared Daemon, and she didn't want to be around if it came back. She slung the rifle over her back and started jogging after him.

***

A new life form was coming toward the little alien predator and it was coming fast. It reached out with it senses to learn more about its next meal. The first thing it realized was that whatever was coming was also a predator. The predator was much larger and more powerful then it. The next thing it registered was how much raw energy the creature had. It knew little of fear but it did know better than to attack something that could easily kill it, so it skulked back deeper under the bush.

Daemon lost track of how long he'd run or where he was. He just knew he had to get to Angelica as fast as possible. He didn't even acknowledge the small demon hiding in the brush near a stream. It was afraid of him, so it was of no concern. Angelica had stopped running. She'd collapsed from exhaustion. She was helpless now; she didn't have the strength to get away from whatever was chasing her. Daemon had never been truly afraid before, now he was near panic.

***

Sara had tripped on a root and fallen face first into the ground. She hadn't had the strength to raise her arms to catch herself so she landed hard, her momentum causing her to slide to a stop. Angelica had barely kept from tripping over her as she tried to stop herself. Angelica had thought the worst but a quick check told her that Sara had just passed out. She pulled off Sara's backpack and rolled her on her back but she was unable to waken her. Angelica didn't feel anyone or anything else nearby so she relaxed against a tree for a little while. Angelica hadn't realized just how tired she was for as soon as she relaxed she passed out herself.

Daemon arrived to find the girls fast asleep. Sara had blood under her nose and a few scrapes on her face but nothing serious. Angelica was leaning up against a tree. Her canteen was lying on the ground near her hand where it had fallen. Daemon took a few minutes to check their surroundings and make a fire. Next, he made the girls a bit more comfortable by moving Sara's pack under her head as a pillow. He went to where he'd hastily dropped his load of packs to get a blanket for her. It was then that he realized he'd lost her rifle and a quick check showed he'd also lost the small pack his father had insisted they take. He thought about going back to look for them but realized he'd no idea when or where he'd dropped them. He cursed his carelessness.

***

Mystique was making good time. It helped a lot not having to look for tracks or signs of where Daemon had gone. He must have pulled his ax at some point because she was finding cut branches more often than broken ones. She knew he was widening the gap between them but there was no way she was going to keep up with him now. She just had to keep going and hope he slowed down soon.

Mystique was surprised to find a small backpack hanging from a broken branch. She was naturally suspicious of a trap so she stopped and inspected everything before getting too close to it. She couldn't find signs of any traps so she got a long stick and poked the pack a few times hard enough to knock it off the branch. A few shiny objects tumbled out of a hole that had been torn in the side of the pack. Mystique waited another minute, then crept closer when nothing happened. She collected the pack and the objects that had fallen out of it.

Mystique smiled when she took a better look at what had fallen out: a gold ring with a large diamond, and a silver bracelet with red and green stones set in it. She found a lot more jewelry inside the pack. It took her a few moments to figure out that she was holding the money Faust had planned to use to by passage on the spaceship. Her mother had told her many times money comes in all shapes and sizes. Her chances of getting off this planet had just gotten a lot better.

It had been well over an hour since Daemon had taken off running and from his trail he hadn't slowed down yet. A small stream looked inviting and a quick look around showed that someone else had been resting here. Mystique remembered something Faust had told her once after visiting her mother, "If you're ever alone in the woods don't go near water. Predators hunt near water because everything has to drink."

She'd liked Faust. He'd always brought her something or taught her something when he came to visit and never wanted anything in return. Mystique had thought he was after her like some of her mother's other clients. But he'd seemed genuinely disgusted when she'd offered to take her mother's place next time he came to visit. She'd been confused until Faust told her she was too young and it was sick for any man to touch her in that way. He had been upset with her mother and they'd had a big argument about it, but in the end he still came to visit, just not as often. Faust had brought her first knife on his next visit and started showing her how to use it. He was careful to explain what would happen if she ever hurt or killed anybody but someday he was sure she would need to defend herself. He even offered to let her live with him and his kids but her mother wouldn't let her. Mystique was starting to have more visitors than her mother.

Mystique wasn't sure what snapped her out of her daydream but all of the sudden she felt she needed to get away. She looked around quickly, trying to figure out what was wrong. The only thing that caught her attention was a black oily mass in the stream. It took her a few precious seconds to realize what was so strange about it, and then it dawned on her. The mass was floating across the stream not down it. It was coming after her!

Mystique didn't think, she just reacted. She took two steps back and jumped as high and as far across the stream in the direction Daemon had gone as she could. She landed almost four yards away on the other side of the stream. When she landed she was already running. For the first time in a long time Mystique was afraid. She used her fear to make her run faster then she'd ever run before. The only thing she tried to think about was following Daemon's trail.

***

It was used to creatures running away from it but it wasn't used to them being so hard to detect. It could normally tell if there was another sentient creature within a mile, but not this one. It almost didn't notice this one at all. The female had left a sweet taste of fear as it leaped away. If she'd been just a little slower or jumped a little lower he would have had her. Frustrated, it slithered back to its bush to hide. This was turning out to be an active spot, maybe it would get something yet.

***

Mystique only ran for a few minutes before her lungs started burning and she had to stop. She stood panting, staring back the way she'd come, looking for any sign that the thing was following her. She spent a few minutes watching, but didn't see anything. So she turned around and forced herself to start walking down the trail. Her legs were getting weak and she really wanted to rest but the thought of that thing sneaking up on her helped keep her moving. She drank the last of the tea in her canteen and ate some dried meat as she walked. Both helped some.

***

Daemon had a small fire going and was making some soup when Sara suddenly sat straight up and screamed. Daemon launched himself at her, knocking her over as he wrestled to get hold of her. He was able to get her in a bear hug with one hand around her waist the other higher around her shoulders.

She struggled in his grip, clawing at his chest, lost in terror, and unable to think.

Daemon held her as gently as he could without letting her go. He knew what would happen if she got away and ran off.

Sara's scream woke Angelica from her sleep. She took a moment to figure out what was going on. At first it had looked like Daemon was trying to kill Sara, but Angelica knew better. The waves of terror Sara was experiencing hit her as her empathic ability started working. Angelica had to focus to keep from going into a panic herself.

Daemon sensed the effect Sara was having on Angelica and knew he had to do something fast. He squeezed just enough to make it hard for Sara to breathe, slowly cutting off her air until she passed out.

Angelica slumped as the feelings of terror vanished. Once she had recovered, Angelica checked on Sara. Sara was breathing shallowly, but steadily, so Angelica tried to project calm, peaceful feelings to her. Angelica sat with Sara for a few minutes while Daemon went back to the soup he'd started.

Daemon brought Angelica a bowl of soup and a chunk of bread from his pack. He was not a very good cook so the soup was bland, but it was hot. Angelica had just finished her second bowl when Sara woke up.

Sara didn't remember waking up the first time, but her throat was sore so she accepted that they were telling her the truth when they told her what had happened. The soup felt good, first soothing her throat, then warming her from the stomach out. She also had two bowls full before deciding she didn't want any more. She felt a lot better, more relaxed and safer. She wasn't sure if it was her true feelings or if Angelica was somehow making her feel that way. She really didn't care; it was nice to not be afraid at least for a little while.

Daemon was asking Angelica about what had scared them when Sara came over to join them.

"How are you feeling?" Angelica asked.

"All right, I guess. I am still sore and tired. Are we going to keep moving?" Sara asked, fully expecting Daemon to say yes immediately.

"Yes, I would like to go a few more miles before we camp for the night. I don't want to get too close to the city, but I'm worried I left a pretty easy trail to follow."

"You sure did." A soft female voice interrupted Daemon's explanation.

#

All three of them jumped at the sound of the stranger's voice. Sara slipped behind Angelica, who was grabbing for her rifle. Daemon stepped forward to interpose himself between his sister and the girl.

Mystique crouched a few yards away; she had Sara's rifle lying next to her.

Daemon didn't advance; he just stood his ground waiting for Mystique to act.

Angelica tried to get a read on Mystique, but could barely detect her presence, much less her emotional state.

Sara looked frantically at the woods, expecting more people with guns to start shooting at them at any moment.

"Though I don't think Thomas will be here any time soon. Mind if I have some soup?" Mystique commented, trying to ease the tension a little.

"Who are you?" Angelica asked, holding her rifle ready but not aimed.

"Mystique Fairmont. I knew your father. You can call me Myst."

"Why are you here, Misty?" Daemon demanded, sarcastically changing her name. He didn't sense any aggression in Mystique but he didn't like being startled, either. "And what are you doing with my rifle?"

Mystique was careful not to reach for the rifle when she looked at it. "I am returning your rifle. You seemed to have dropped it in your haste to catch up to your sister. I was also hoping to ask the spacer if I could buy passage on her ship."

"And if she says no, what are you going to do then?" Angelica asked carefully.

"I don't think she will turn me away. I can be very persuasive and I have this pack full of jewelry someone lost in the woods." Mystique knew she shouldn't tease Daemon but she couldn't help herself.

"Hey, that's ours. You better give it back," Daemon stated as he stepped toward Mystique.

Mystique wasn't afraid of many people but she did take Daemon seriously. So she released the energy she'd been holding in her legs, launching her clear of the camp. She jumped at least five yards into the woods. She landed with barely a sound and ran a few yards to the side behind a tree to watch what they did.

Daemon tracked her jump, turning as she went flying over Angelica and Sara and landing back in the woods near a pine tree. Angelica and Sara watched, mouths agape, at how far and how fast Mystique had jumped.

Daemon looked back at Angelica, who said, simply, "Alive."

Daemon didn't jump; instead, he charged in the direction Mystique had jumped. He veered to the left of the pine tree, not sure why, but letting his instincts lead him.

Mystique was expecting something like this so she darted to the side and circled the camp.

Angelica pulled Sara close and tried as hard as she could to find Mystique.

Daemon turned hard, grabbing a branch to help swing him around on his new course.

Mystique got behind Angelica and turned into the camp, diving for Sara. She never saw Daemon until it was too late.

He intercepted her lunge a mere three feet away from Sara, who shrieked in surprise. Daemon didn't want to hurt Mystique so he twisted around as he fell, landing on the ground first, with Mystique landing on top of him.

Mystique had not expected the hit or to land on Daemon. He had her by an arm and her waist but she had one arm free so she grabbed one of her knives. Daemon released her waist and grabbed for her knife hand only to impale his hand as she turned the knife at the last second. Daemon grunted in pain and stopped fighting Mystique but didn't let go of her arm or the hand that was holding the knife. Mystique misread Daemon, thinking the stab wound had stunned him, when in fact it had almost made him lose control. Mystique struggled to get free but his grip was far too strong for her to break and too tight to squirm out of.

Angelica tapped Mystique on the head with the barrel of her rifle to get her attention. "Be very still and don't make him any more upset or he will tear you to pieces."

The memory of what had happened to Jed flashed through Mystique's mind. She froze.

A few tense minutes later Daemon released Mystique's hands.

She got off him and started to stand up when Angelica motioned for her to sit down, legs in front of her.

Daemon sat up and grabbed the hilt of the knife and pulled it out of his hand, grunting a little as he did.

"You all right?" Angelica asked, concern sounding in her voice.

"Yeah, it's only a little stab wound," he replied, holding up his hand. "I wasn't expecting it, so it annoyed me."

Angelica turned to Sara. "Would you get Mystique a bowl of soup, please?"

Sara was feeling the dread and unease again and its sudden return had shaken her a little, so she was glad to have something to do. She wiped out the bowl she'd been using and filled it. She brought it over and handed it to Mystique, not realizing Mystique could attack her while she was so close. Mystique took the offered bowl and sipped from it.

"Spoon," Angelica said, projecting calming feelings to everyone present. Angelica knew Sara was near her limit and would collapse in on herself if too much more strain was put on her. Daemon seemed in good spirits, and then she realized he was feeling lust for Mystique, and shook her head. Mystique, she still couldn't get a read on. Angelica hoped to keep the conversation as civil as possible. Sara retrieved a spoon and handed it to Mystique, who thanked her.

"All right, Mystique, I want the bag of jewelry and I want to know how you found us."

Mystique set the bowl down, took off her backpack, and tossed it toward Angelica. "It's inside. There's a hole in it where it snagged a branch so I emptied most of my stuff to make room for it." She looked at Daemon. "You wouldn't have caught me if not for its extra weight."

"You're good and very fast, I'll give you that, but it will take a lot more than that to beat me." Daemon held up his hand to show her the knife wound was fully healed already. "So let me know when you want to wrestle again." He finished with a boyish smile, lightening the mood.

"How did you do that? My knife was sticking all the way through your hand."

"He regenerates," Angelica said, looking at the bruises on Mystique's arms. "So how did you find us?"

"I was with Thomas Smith, Jared's dad, and the rest, tracking you. I wanted to join up with you and convince you to take me with you. When Daemon ambushed us at the gorge this morning, I went with three others that were sent to circle around him. Steven had us split up once we got close but Daemon must have spotted us because he surprised Steven. Eleanor had Daemon pinned down when I got there so I took her out but Daemon ran off before I had a chance to talk to him. So I ran after him. Thomas will try to kill me if we ever meet again. So now I can't go back any more then you can. The posse is now hunting me, too."

"What made you think we would take you with us?"

"Your father, he tried to get my mother to let me come live with you a few years ago. When she wouldn't, he started teaching me things when he came to visit. He was the most decent man I've ever met, so I hoped you two would be like him and help me out now."

"Decent? He killed Alex and helped them capture me and the captain, and then he bought me like a slave! You got low standards for calling someone decent!" Sara screamed before she realized what she was saying. When she realized she'd just insulted Angelica and Daemon's dead father, she dropped her head. "Sorry."

"How do we know you're not lying? What proof do you have you even knew our father?" Angelica asked.

Sara and Daemon both gave Angelica questioning glances.

"I have the proof," Daemon stated as he held up Mystique's knife for the others to see. "Dad took this knife away from me a few years ago and told me a little girl needed it a lot more than I did. I always liked this knife. It's really well balanced and it's the first knife I brought back from Discovery City."

"He gave that to me and showed me the basics of how to fight with it. He didn't like that some of my mom's visitors were starting to visit me. I'm not sure why he cared, but he did," Mystique told them, leaving little doubt that she was not comfortable with the topic.

"Sara, is there enough room on your ship for her?"

"Yes, but I can't say if Mac will let her on." Sara didn't bother lying; she knew Angelica would see through it.

"This Mac guy better be a lot more friendly than you make him out to be or we're going to have trouble," Daemon stated.

"What kind of visitors did your mother have?" Sara asked, hoping to change the subject.

"The kind that spent their whole visit in her bedroom," Mystique told her, amused at the shocked expression on Sara's face as she realized Mystique mother was a whore. Daemon and Angelica exchanged looks of understanding. They had known their father was visiting someone in town.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I had no idea," Sara apologized.

"It's all right. We did what we had to in order to survive," Mystique replied unemotionally, repeating the excuse her mother had told her, and leaving out murdering her mother before she left town.

"You had visitors, too? But you're so young. You can't be more than fifteen or sixteen years old." Sara was shocked again at how barbaric these people were.

"So, it's not like I had a choice. Mom made me," Mystique stated defiantly, looking at each of them. "And I'm not doing it again, ever."

"Don't look at me. You're the one that wanted to wrestle," Daemon protested with a smile as Mystique focused her stare on him.

"I saw the way you were looking at me."

"Mystique, no one here is going to make you do that. You said Thomas Smith is leading the group chasing us. How many people are with him?" Angelica asked, getting back to a more important topic of discussion.

"Steven Bosworth and Mark Bench are both injured so they might go home, but the way Thomas has been acting they probably won't. Thomas has five others with him that aren't hurt. They're probably about three hours behind me, so we should keep moving for at least a few more hours."

"Won't the injured guys slow them down?" Angelica asked.

"If they do then Thomas will shoot them like he did Leo Burgemen. The guy is fanatical about killing you two."

"He what?" Angelica asked in disbelief.

Sara was getting used to the people on this planet acting like savages so it didn't surprise her.

Daemon didn't seem to care but he did care about the effect the news had on Angelica. "We are about eight hours from Discovery City. I don't want to spend the night too close to the city. Creatures still wander around the city at night and sleep indoors during the day. We're going to the spaceport; there are a few ships and maintenance buildings there. Sara shouldn't have any trouble finding the part she needs there." Daemon said, changing the subject before Mystique could say more.

"Dad said the town was a week away from the city. How can we be that close?"

"Dad said they _ran_ for a week. They must have gotten turned around because it's only a three- or four-day trip, normally. We went over the gorge instead of around it and have been pushing pretty hard for distance each day."

"What kind of creatures?" Sara asked nervously.

"They are hard to describe. The ones I've run into have all been able to change shape. They disguise themselves until someone comes close enough, then they jump out and attack. Angelica and I will be able to sense most of them, so stay close to us. What you felt at the stream was a small one."

"The black oily blob thing in the water was a Rift monster?" Mystique interrupted, looking back down the path.

"Yeah. Don't worry. That type is very slow, so it won't be chasing us. Angie, you're going to have to keep everyone calm tomorrow while we're in the city. The creatures are attracted to strong emotions, especially fear," Daemon said.

"How do you know all this?" Mystique asked.

"I'm not sure; I just do. I'm going to be on edge, ready to fight, so don't startle me or you may end up dead before I can stop myself. If Thomas follows us into the city I doubt like hell he's going to survive long."

"All right, let's get going. Daemon leads the way and says when we stop," Angelica instructed, easily slipping into the role of leader.

She kept close to Sara while they gathered their packs. Mystique took the pack of jewelry back and stuffed it back into her backpack. Daemon gave Mystique her knife back. Angelica came up to the two and reached out for Mystique's shoulder, hesitating, to give Mystique a chance to pull away.

Mystique wasn't sure what was going on but she didn't figure she had much choice, so she let Angelica rest her hand on her shoulder. A few seconds later she felt a tingle spread out from her shoulder. The tingle spread over her entire body, driving the fatigue out of her muscles.

Angelica took her hand away and said, "You're welcome," before walking back over to wait near Sara.

"How did you do that?" Mystique asked in amazement as she looked at where the bruises on her arms had faded away.

"I can boost people's healing," Angelica replied simply.

Daemon led the way through the woods, followed by Angelica, then Sara, with Mystique bringing up the rear. Mystique did what she could to hide their tracks. They hiked for about two and a half hours before Daemon had them stop while he looked around for a place to camp. A few minutes later he came back and showed them the place he'd picked for the night.

#

Thomas had been leading the group since they'd left the gorge. He had only stopped for a short break at lunch because Alan had forced him to. The rest of the group was tired and weary from the long, forced march but they'd all wanted to catch Daemon before he got to Discovery City.

Everyone had heard the stories or seen firsthand what the creatures would do to them, so they all pushed on.

When they came to a small stream, Alan called, "Take ten and top off your canteens."

Thomas gave him a hate-filled look, but said nothing. He just filled his canteen and hiked down the trail some. The men spread out, looking for a good place to sit and relax. Craig Fitzgerald lay down and closed his eyes, hoping for a few minutes of sleep. As he lay there he thought about what had happened so far—the only good thing to happen on this whole hunt was that that wench had killed his brother, so this was the last time he was ever going to get talked into going on any adventures. Craig never had a chance against the creature that killed him.

***

The creature had sensed the presence of a group and waited as they came closer. It slid up to the nearest one, careful not to be seen this time, and attached its pseudopods to his cheek and forehead. The creature's skin fused into Craig's flesh, bonding with it.

***

Craig screamed as the creature pulled the rest of its body mass onto his head, quickly covering his entire face and neck, muffling his screams.

The rest of the men jumped to their feet and ran to Craig to see why he was screaming. They got to him in time to see him grab at the creature on his face only to have his hands become covered with the black, oily substance. Charlie Kenny reached to grab Craig's arm or do something to help but Alan pulled him away before he got too close. Thomas yelled at them all to get away from Craig. Gabe Neal and Alan had to pull Charlie to get him to move. The horror of the scene had mesmerized him. Arnold slowly collected his canteen and walked past Thomas. Thomas shouldered his rifle and shot Craig, ending his suffering before turning and jogging past the others.

***

The creature felt the burn of the bullet as it disrupted his body. It hurt him a little, but not much. It was more annoyed that the bullet had stopped the strong flow of emotions coming from his victim. The human's fear and terror had tasted so good; now all it had was the flesh to consume. The man was fairly large so it would take a few days for the little creature to finish eating him, then the creature would have to start hunting all over again.

***

Charlie couldn't get the vision of that thing out of his mind. He went in the direction he was told but he kept reliving the scene in his mind. Alan started to worry that Charlie was losing it and told Gabe to keep an eye on him. Gabe wasn't doing much better than Charlie—he was just able to hide his fear better. Gabe hurried up to walk next to Charlie.

"Charlie, calm down. You need to get hold of yourself." Gabe whispered.

"I'm trying, but you saw that thing. What was it?"

"Keep your voice down. It must be one of the Rift monsters."

Charlie stopped to whisper. "We have to go back. Daemon is leading us right to the Rift! There are going to be more of those things, or worse."

"Tell Alan you got to take a piss," Gabe instructed him as Alan caught up to them.

"Hey, I got to stop and clean up a minute," Charlie told Alan as he stopped to see what was up.

"All right. Gabe stay with him and make sure he doesn't run off," Alan instructed.

"Coward," Arnold commented as he walked by them.

"Don't take long; you don't want to get lost out here," Alan said again as he followed after Arnold.

Gabe motioned Charlie to move off the trail a bit, so he did. Gabe followed him into the woods a little before explaining his plan. "I'm leaving. I am not getting any closer to the Rift. You coming with me?" Gabe asked, knowing Charlie's answer but making it his idea and decision to turn back.

"Yeah, that's what I been sayin'. But how about that thing back there?"

"We're going to have to circle around that part of the stream. We can pick up the trail on the other side and follow it back to the gorge," Gabe said as he watched Charlie's reaction to his plan.

"Okay, but I say we run."

"Yeah, but don't make much noise, at least until we're back across the stream. Thomas sees us leaving and he'll shoot us in the back," Gabe cautioned but Charlie was already half running, half stumbling farther away from the trail and the others. Gabe mouthed a quick prayer and ran off after him.

Alan didn't realize Gabe and Charlie hadn't rejoined them for about fifteen minutes. He was having a hard enough time keeping up with Thomas and watching his footing. He hadn't thought about the two since they'd stopped. When he finally did realize they were missing he called to Thomas and Arnold to stop. Thomas wasn't happy but he came back to find out what was the matter. Arnold just looked around a bit before sitting down.

"What now?" Thomas demanded as he stumped up to Alan.

"Gabe and Charlie are missing," Alan said. He knew he'd pushed his luck with Thomas earlier and wasn't sure if he could beat him in a straight-up fight so now wasn't the time to upset him any more than needed. "Last I saw them was about fifteen, twenty minutes ago. They stopped to take a piss."

"Damned cowards. I'll take care of them when we get back, assuming they can make it without getting' lost or eaten," Thomas snarled then spat back in the direction the two had gone. "You going to run off, too?" Thomas asked Arnold as he walked past him.

"Nope, I'm no coward to be scared off by a little woodland critter," Arnold replied, mocking Gabe and Charlie. "I got a date with that spacer wench and Mystique, while you play with Daemon and his sister."

"You just make sure they suffer a lot before you kill'em."

Arnold just gave Thomas an evil grin as he stood up and motioned for him to lead the way.

Alan had walked up to join them but had nothing to say. He just wanted the four dead, he didn't care how much they suffered or even _if_ they suffered.

Thomas walked up the path, followed by Arnold, with Alan bringing up the rear.

Thomas didn't think Daemon and the girls could be much farther ahead of them. The trail Daemon was leaving indicated that he was running. He'd been running for miles and had to be getting tired. Thomas figured once he stopped he'd collapse from exhaustion and be unable to defend himself. The thought brought a grin to Thomas's face.

The three reached the camp site where Daemon had stopped running a little after dark. They looked around a bit but were unable to figure out which direction Daemon had gone, so they made camp there and planned to get an early start in the morning. They intended to head to Discovery City if they couldn't find Daemon's path in the morning light.

Alan started a fire and warmed up some of the food he'd brought, and after eating lay down for some much-needed sleep. Tomorrow promised to be another long day.

#

Daemon hadn't truly slept at all that night. He'd learned long ago he could go for almost a week without sleep. He just needed to meditate to give his mind a chance to rest and while meditating he could remain aware of his surroundings. He started making breakfast as the light of predawn arrived.

Mystique woke first. She hadn't expected to sleep all through the night and was a little concerned that she had.

Angelica woke up next and joined Daemon near the fire. Daemon was happy to let her finish making breakfast. She was a much better cook than he was. Once the food was ready Angelica woke Sara, who looked a lot better after sleeping. They all ate in silence for different reasons.

When they had finished eating, Daemon asked Sara, "I think we should contact the ship and make sure they haven't discovered there are more parts they need. I really don't want to have to make a second trip to the spaceport."

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Can you give me the radio?" Sara replied after only a few seconds' thought.

Daemon unpacked the radio and power cell and handed them to Sara, who started wiring them together. A few minutes later she had the radio powered up and was trying to make contact. They only had enough charge in the power cell for a short call so this would probably be their last contact.

"Remember to get a location on the ship so we know where to head to once we leave the spaceport," Angelica reminded Sara.

"We could look for a charged power cell while we're looking for the other parts," Mystique suggested. They had agreed to take her but she didn't have a money stash like they did. She figured the more helpful she was, the better her chances.

Sara spent close to half the remaining power trying to raise the ship but got no reply. She was sure the radio was transmitting but was worried the radiation coming from the Rift was interfering with the signal. She prayed that that was the reason and not that they had been killed by some terrible monster. Sara told the others, "It looks like the radiation from the Rift is too strong here. We're going to have to get the coupling and hope it's all they need," while she broke down the radio setup. She packed the radio in her bag and handed the power cell to Daemon. He put it away and was ready to leave in a few minutes.

"How are we going to find the ship?" Angelica asked.

"It's south of here; once we have the coupling we can go that way until the radio works," Sara said, trying to sound more confident than she was.

"Okay, everyone stay close and stay calm," Daemon instructed as he shouldered his pack and started hiking toward the spaceport.

They traveled pretty well for the first hour or so. Then the trees started turning into broken and ravaged stumps as they got closer. The trees had either died from the radiation or had been attacked by some creature. The underbrush became thicker as the tree canopy thinned, allowing more light to reach the forest floor. At first it was thin enough for Daemon to navigate through without damaging much or leaving too much of a trail for Thomas to follow, but the closer they got to the spaceport the thicker the brush got. All of the brush had thorns and was twisted into odd shapes with only a few stubborn leaves keeping them alive. Daemon was forced to pull his ax and start hacking a trail for the girls not wanting to risk anyone getting too scratched up.

Angelica felt the presence of something evil in the underbrush a few times. Most retreated, but a few stopped and waited to see where the group would go. Each time one of the creatures stopped to ambush them, Daemon would change course slightly and avoid it. She could feel Daemon's desire to go after and kill the ones that didn't run away and tried not to think of what would happen if he did. She maneuvered closer to Daemon and motioned for Sara and Mystique to close ranks, too; this was not a place to be spread out. Mystique didn't understand why, but moved up anyway.

It took them almost seven hours to reach the Spaceport's tarmac. Mystique expected Daemon to stop and look around from the cover of the brush so she was surprised when he just walked out into the open. Angelica and Sara followed him without thinking; they were just glad to be out of the thorny bushes. Mystique hesitated before breaking cover. She was more afraid of being exposed than of getting scratched up a little.

Daemon had sensed the creature following them for the last twenty yards. He had worried it would decide to attack if the girls fell too far behind so he'd slowed his pace and cleared more brush from their path. Now that they were on the tarmac whatever it was would have to show itself or leave them alone.

Daemon felt the creature's decision almost as soon as it made it. He charged to meet the thing.

The creature had realized it was going to lose its meal and was determined to get Mystique before she left the brush. It charged at her as fast as it could. It would only have a few seconds to kill her before the male arrived.

Daemon yelled for Mystique, "Get out of the brush!" as he sprinted toward her.

Mystique was surprised at Daemon's sudden charge, but reflexively jumped over him toward the tarmac. She almost got high enough for Daemon to go underneath her but he clipped her feet, sending her somersaulting toward Angelica and Sara, she nearly recovered enough to land on her feet but missed, landing hard on her shoulder.

Angelica, less surprised than Sara, had started back toward the brush, too, and was able to grab Mystique by the arms and start dragging her farther away from the brush line.

Daemon had ducked to go under Mystique when she jumped. He hadn't expected her to do that—he'd expected her to jump to the side or even drop flat.

The creature had lunged for her as she jumped and found itself landing on Daemon's chest. Its claws sank into Daemon's flesh, anchoring it to him so its tail could whip around and stab him.

Daemon ignored the pain caused by the claws and grabbed the creature's tail. He pulled it away from his chest as far as he could with one hand before hacking at it with his ax in the other. He cut through the tentacles surrounding the creature's body, driving the ax blade deep into its flesh. The back half of the creature tore away as Daemon continued to pull the tail away from his chest. Daemon threw the remains deep into the brush as he stumbled back onto the tarmac.

The creature's tentacles were coated with a neurotoxin intended to paralyze its victim. Daemon's regeneration ability fought the effects of the toxin but he had a hard time moving.

Angelica and Mystique ran over to him and half carried him away from the brush line. When they reached Sara they lay Daemon down and started to examine his wounds. Mystique pulled one of her knives and carefully started to pry the six claws out of Daemon's chest. It took Mystique a few frantic minutes to get all the claws free and remove the creature's mass, very careful not to let any part of the creature touch her. When she was finished, she left the knife sticking in the carcass.

Angelica focused her energy on healing Daemon while Mystique worked.

Sara held her rifle ready, scanning the brush line for any signs of movement and wishing she had accepted Alex's offer to teach her how to shoot better. She spotted smoke coming from the brush about a half mile away; someone must have set it on fire. She wished the rifle had a scope so she could get a better look at what was going on. The amount of smoke increased, which meant the brush was burning faster.

"We have company. I think Thomas has lit the brush on fire," Sara informed the others.

Daemon quickly recovered from the toxin's paralysis once the claws were out and with Angelica's help. He stood up and looked to see what Sara was talking about. Mystique, meanwhile, shifted a few knives around to replace the one she was losing. Angelica joined Daemon looking out toward the fire.

"Let's get moving. Sara, the power coupling we need, does it matter what size ship it comes from?" Daemon asked as he took off his shirt and started jogging across the tarmac toward a few large buildings.

"It has to come from one of our ship's size or bigger, but the closer it is to _Neptune_ 's size, the better."

"Okay, you see one the right size, let me know. I don't like the idea of entering a ship but it would probably be the fastest way to find the part, so we should at least check it out. Dad and I avoided the ships most of the time; a lot of them have creatures hiding in them."

The fire was at full strength now, shooting flames fifteen to twenty feet in the air, and moving out in all directions from its origin; whatever lived in that brush was on the run and there was no telling where it would go. They jogged across the tarmac, trying to put distance between them and whatever was forced out of the brush by the fire.

#

Thomas watched the fire move out and away from him. Alan had finished bandaging his wound and was flexing his hand. The creature hadn't gotten to do much more than scratch him before Arnold shot it. Thomas knew it had been pure luck that he'd missed Alan's arm and only killed the little creature. It was about time their luck turned. Alan could feel a tingling sensation in his arm but he was still able to move his fingers so he hoped it would pass.

Thomas started moving closer to the spaceport, following the fire. If their luck held they would be able to get to the tarmac without running into anything else. It was slow going as they kept as close to the fire as they could. Each of them continually scanned the brush for anything that might attack.

***

Daemon stopped a little over a hundred yards from the nearest ship. He could feel the presence of a nest of creatures in the ship. They weren't aggressive at the moment so he assumed they were either sleeping or dormant. He had encountered this situation before and as long as they didn't get close the creatures would stay in the ship. Daemon motioned for the girls to follow him as he started walking around the ship. It was a small troop transport so the part they needed wouldn't be on it anyway.

Sara scanned the area, looking at the ships: There were almost a dozen sitting here, looking like they were ready for lift off. She could only imagine how much some of them were worth. The military ships would easily be worth a few hundred million credits. She thought she could pilot a few of the smaller yachts, but the chances of them actually being able to fly after sitting for so long were very slim. Then she spotted a marine assault ship that was about the right size for the equipment she needed; it had crashed, but the engineering section didn't look too damaged. She called to Daemon and pointed it out.

Daemon turned and headed toward it, but stopped about fifty yards away.

Angelica stopped, also and started shaking, beads of sweat formed on her forehead.

Daemon hugged her close and whispered reassurances to her. To Sara and Mystique, he said, "Back away calmly; everything is okay. We need to avoid that ship." He didn't want to panic Sara but he needed her to get away. Angelica was almost overcome by the waves of hatred and the desire to destroy coming from the creature on board the ship. Daemon held Angelica by the shoulders and guided her away from the ship. She started to calm down as they got farther away. Daemon really hoped they didn't have to go into that ship for the needed part.

They reached one of the maintenance hangers Daemon and Faust had searched during a previous visit. Daemon had no idea what the power coupling looked like so he didn't know if it would be in here or not, but he did know the building was full of spare parts. He could feel the presence of a few small creatures but they backed away when he turned to look in their direction. He had his ax in hand, ready to fight at the first sign of an attack. Mystique held two knives ready, and Sara and Angelica had their rifles slung across their backs. Daemon knew from experience that they would never have time to unsling their guns if they were attacked.

The hanger was a huge building over three hundred feet long and close to two hundred feet wide. There were racks of parts on the left with tools and machinery on the right. The center was wide open, leaving room for a five-hundred-ton ship to be towed in and worked on. He led them over to the racks.

"All right, you three look for the coupling while I watch for an attack. Move slow and don't get far from the group. We aren't alone in here," Daemon said, not sure it was a good idea to tell them about the creatures watching them.

"What?" Sara blurted out as she spun around, looking for whatever else was in the hanger.

"Calm down, they're keeping away. There are four in here—over there." He pointed out where the creatures where hiding.

A couple had taken notice of the fear Sara felt when she'd reacted to their presence.

Angelica was doing her best to keep herself and Sara calm so they wouldn't attract any attention. Daemon had his fighting beast ready to attack, so she also had to try to block him out, too. Mystique had faded even farther away, making it impossible for Angelica to make any connection with her. Angelica hoped the monsters were having an equally hard time sensing the girl.

They slowly worked their way through the hanger storage racks, checking every box large enough to hold the coupling.

***

Thomas and the others had followed the fire right up to the tarmac. They had had to back away a few times when the wind changed direction and blown the flames back toward them. The brush was barely alive, with a lot of dead, dry branches, so it had burned very hot and fast. It was also moving out in all directions, not just toward the spaceport. Thomas hoped it had killed a lot of those cursed creatures.

They made their way across the tarmac toward the ships, carefully watching for any signs of where Daemon and the women had gone. Alan checked the hatch to the transport ship and found no signs that anyone had used it recently, so they moved on. They were sure Daemon had come this way. Alan had found a hunting knife and one of Daemon's bloody shirts at the edge of the tarmac. They split up to check the rest of the ships. If any of them found anything they would call for the others before going in the ship.

Arnold went for the two small yachts. He figured if nothing else he might find some booze left on one of them—he wasn't afraid of some oversized bug. It took him a few minutes to find the hatch on the first yacht, and figure out how to open it. Arnold checked to see where Alan and Thomas were before shouldering his rifle and pulling his pistol. He only had four shots for his pistol but it fired a .50 caliber bullet. He cycled the hatch to open and stepped back. The machinery to open the door came to life sluggishly and slowly broke the airtight seal before pulling the door in and then sliding it to the side.

Arnold gave it a few minutes to air out some as he checked on the other two again. They were still looking around. Alan was walking toward a crashed military ship, and Thomas was checking some shuttles. Arnold entered the yacht and headed to where he thought the Bridge should be. It was only a two-hundred-ton ship so there wasn't much passenger room inside. He passed through what he figured was the recreation area to a corridor that went in the direction of the front of the ship. The corridor had three doors, one on each side, and the third straight ahead at the end. He decided to check the two doors first to make sure nothing got in behind him. He never saw the door that went aft from the recreation area.

He opened the door on the left, holding his pistol ready. The room stank of decay, a cloud of dust billowing out into the corridor as the door slid into the wall. Arnold stepped back, coughing a little on the dust. He pulled a rag from his pack and wrapped it around his face before going back to see what was in the room. The only light was what was coming through the hatch and a few small portholes. The room was a sleeping cabin with a large bed taking up most of it. There were nightstands on both sides and a trunk at the foot. The room also had a desk and a couple of padded armchairs.

Arnold stepped in to get a better look around. A few dim light came on, illuminating the room in a hazy light.

Arnold checked the desk first and sure enough in the bottom right-hand drawer he found a bottle of scotch and two crystal glasses. He pulled out the bottle and one of the glasses. He cleaned the glass before pouring himself a double shot. The scotch had a smooth taste and felt like velvet sliding down his throat. The warmth of the alcohol spread out from his stomach, bringing a smile to his face. Next he went to check the nightstands, but before he did, he realized there was something under the covers on the bed.

He grabbed the end of the covers with one hand, aiming his pistol with the other, then slowly pulled the covers away to reveal the mummified remains of a man. Arnold pulled the covers all the way off, making sure there was nothing underneath but the corpse. Once he was sure, he turned his attention back to the nightstands and found nothing of interest. He found a variety of men's clothing in the trunk but nothing he wanted to wear. He returned to the desk to collect the scotch and put it in his pack.

Arnold was smiling when he opened the door to the other room. This time he expected the dust so it didn't bother him. The room was larger than the other, with more furniture and a small bar. Arnold wanted to go straight for the bar but he made himself check the bed first. The lights came on in this room as he entered just like the last but they were brighter in here. Arnold could see the outline of what he thought was another corpse on this bed. He went to the foot of the bed and pulled the covers down in one tug, instead of slowly. He stumbled back a few feet when he saw that the corpse was a woman and she was not mummified like the other one. In fact, she could've been sleeping, except for the fact that she wasn't breathing. Her head was buried in a pile of pillows and the covers still lay on her legs from the knees down but what he could see was fantastic.

Arnold started to think of all the nasty things he could do to that body. He carefully inched closer and reached down to touch her thigh. Her skin was very soft and felt about room temperature. Arnold realized what she had to be: A companion robot! The rich bastard who owned this ship must have bought his own pleasure bot. Arnold couldn't believe his luck. He could do all sorts of perverted stuff to her and she would always be ready and willing for more. He needed to figure out how to charge her up, but first a quick test run was in order.

Arnold excitedly stripped down, leaving on only his socks. He climbed on the bed slowly, caressing the robot's body as he worked his way up. When he reached the pillows, he pushed them aside to reveal her beautiful face. She had high cheekbones and almond-shaped black eyes. Her hair was jet black and silky smooth. As Arnold brushed her hair off her face, he found two small horns at the corners of her forehead just above the hair line.

He thought they were odd things to have added to a sex bot.

He didn't notice that her hands were moving or the fact she was breathing.

Arnold started kissing her soft full lips and became lost in his lustful dreams.

The succubus was fully awake now. Arnold's perverse and lustful emotions had brought her out of her hibernation. Arnold was lucky in a way: Succubus feed primarily on the emotional energy of lust more than any other. She was satisfied to let him do as he pleased for now. The problem Arnold faced was that no human could last long enough to fully satisfy a succubus's lustful desire. When he was done she still wanted more and was not going to let him go until she'd drained him of every bit of life energy he had.

This succubus had learned patience while she waited for someone to open the door and release her from her prison. She took her time and drained Arnold's mind as well as his body. Her ability to use telepathy allowed her to learn everything Arnold knew. Her kind would be considered super-genius by human standards, so learning what little knowledge Arnold possessed didn't take long. She wouldn't consume the last of Arnold's soul until she was sure he had nothing more to teach her, and even then she planned on taking as long as she could. His perversions pleased her and she was going to push him to his limits and beyond before drinking in that last bit of life energy he had.

Outside, Alan reached the military ship, and started checking the area for any signs of Daemon or the girls. His whole arm was tingling now as if it were asleep. He was sure he'd been poisoned and prayed that it didn't spread any farther. Alan was nervous about being alone. He would have preferred to stay together as a group; it would have been slower but a lot safer.

Alan froze when he heard a noise come from inside the ship. It sounded like metal being dragged across metal. Alan slowly turned to where the sound was loudest just in time to hear a BANG. The noise scared him half out of his skin. He stumbled back away from the ship, but it was too late; the creature inside had felt his fear and now hungered for his terror. A huge claw pierced the armored hull of the ship as it dented outward.

Alan turned and ran toward where he'd left Thomas and Arnold, screaming the whole way.

As he came close to the other ships, the slumbering creatures inside were awakened by the taste of his fear. They all wanted him. It had been so long since they had eaten. Creatures of all shapes and sizes came pouring out of the ships.

Alan saw them and screamed even louder as he turned and ran across the tarmac toward the woods.

Thomas was more angry than scared. How could that fool have been so stupid? First he gets attacked by the bug thing, now this.

Thomas's anger saved him from the monsters; if he'd been afraid, they would have detected it and turned on him, too.

Thomas watched Alan run, wondering how far they'd let him get before they finally killed him. Thomas took another look around the area and decided there was no way the girls could have seen Alan and the creatures and not panicked and attracted the same attention. They couldn't be near here. He turned to hike farther into the town to look. He didn't care if he died as long as that wench that had killed his son died, too.

***

Daemon saw that Angelica had stopped searching and wondered what she'd found. When she turned toward the tarmac, he asked, "What is it?"

Mystique and Sara stopped what they were doing, too, and turned to see what was going on.

Angelica was feeling Thomas and the others as they crossed the tarmac.

"I think Thomas is here with a couple others," Angelica warned them.

Carefully, they all sneaked to one of the small windows to watch what Thomas would do. They were surprised when the three men split up to search for them.

"That's stupid," Mystique observed with a little shake of her head.

"You girls shouldn't watch this. Angelica, if you can't keep Sara calm, we're going to have to knock her out," Daemon warned as he watched Alan start walking toward the military ship. He knew what was going to happen, and the sight of it was going to be pretty horrible. If Sara started to panic they'd all be dead.

Angelica decided to take Sara a little back from the window. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay. You just keep doing whatever you're doing to make me feel brave."

"I will."

Mystique split her attention between the two and what was happening on the tarmac. She wasn't sure Angelica would knock Sara out if it came to that, so she wanted to be ready to. Alan's screams startled them a little, but they both worked hard at remaining calm.

Daemon and Mystique watched as Alan ran cross the tarmac toward the forest. A dozen creatures started chasing after him. The four creatures that had been in the hanger with them ran out to join the group. The creature from the crashed transport finally broke through the hull and joined the chase. It looked somewhat like a huge spider with the front section turned up to form a humanoid torso with oversized claws for arms. It killed the smaller creatures as it caught up to them. They all seemed to be running slower than they were capable of, as if they were toying with the man.

Daemon spotted Thomas as the man walked calmly away toward town, and shook his head in amazement at how cold-hearted Thomas was.

Daemon looked at Angelica and Sara trying to judge if they could make the run to the crashed ship without attracting anything's attention. He finally decided they could, so he told everyone his plan: "I think our best chance is to run over to the transport while everything is distracted chasing that guy across the tarmac. It's a short run and we should be inside the ship before anything notices us. Once inside, Sara knows right where to get the coupling so we grab it, and get out. We can sneak to the woods in the opposite direction from the demons; with luck, they'll be fighting with each other. If we have to we can wait in the ship while they calm down and leave."

"Didn't you two sense something in the ship?" Sara asked, not having seen it leave to chase Alan.

"It's gone with the others. We have to move now," Daemon replied as he opened the door getting ready to run across to the ship.

Mystique was right behind him. "What about Arnold? He's still in that ship."

"He's never leaving that ship," Daemon replied in a hard voice as he turned to watch Sara and Angelica leave the hangar. They were holding hands for reassurance.

Daemon led the way along the building. He tried to keep as many spacecraft between them and the creatures chasing Alan as possible. They could still hear Alan's terrified screams but they were growing weaker and more distant. They were going to have to cross the last fifty yards to the ship in the open.

Daemon told them, "All right, I want you to look down and run; don't look up, no matter what. Angelica, you two just look at the ground and follow me. Mystique, you're bringing up the rear. Go." Daemon started jogging across to the ship; the girls would never keep up if he ran. He stopped about twenty feet from the spacecraft to see if he or Angelica could feel any presences in the ship. He only waited a few seconds before deciding it was safe and continued to the hole the big monster had created clawing its way out. He didn't stop until he reached a corridor that led fore and aft. Daemon waited for Sara and the rest to catch up.

"I'll stay and watch to see if they start coming back this way," Mystique offered.

"No, we stay together," Daemon replied with a conviction Angelica seldom heard in his voice.

The four progressed through the ship to the main engineering hatch. The hatch was secured and, being a military ship, it was a full-strength blast door. Sara started working on it with some of the tools she'd collected from the hanger but after a few minutes gave up; there was no way to get the door open without power. None of them wanted to go back to searching now that the monsters had been stirred up. They stood around, trying to think of what to do.

Mystique checked the door while they waited. She wasn't very good with machinery but she did like puzzles. Sara had removed the cover from the control panel but she'd not been able to do much more. Mystique stared at the exposed circuit board and was a little shocked when it started to fade away allowing her to see what was behind it. She saw a small lever with a faint glow. Acting on impulse, she pulled out one of her knives. She used the pommel as a hammer and broke the circuit board and then flipped the knife to pry up the lever with the tip. The lever shifted a little; the hatch snapped open about half an inch.

Everyone, including Mystique, jumped when the hatch unsealed. None of them had been paying attention to what Mystique was doing until now. "How did you do that?" Sara asked, a little annoyed Mystique had succeeded after she'd given up.

"I don't know. I was looking at the controls when I just saw what needed to be done," Mystique said a little defensively, not sure how the others would react.

"What do you mean you just saw what needed to be done?" Angelica asked.

"I was looking at the electronics when I could just... _see_ the lever behind it and knew I needed to move it. I don't know how or why but it seems to have done something," Mystique explained.

"The closer we are to the Rift the stronger our abilities become. Dad and I figured that out on one of our early trips here. You must have one that helps you figure out locks," Daemon said.

"That's weird. I didn't know I had a thing for locks."

"You might only be able to do it here. It probably has something to do with the radiation Sara was talking about," Angelica speculated.

"What's radiation?" Mystique didn't want to sound stupid but her mom hadn't taught her much and it seemed important she understand this.

"It a kind of energy, like the heat you feel when you walk into the sunlight," Daemon said, proud he knew something she didn't.

Daemon ended the conversation by putting the blade of his ax in the crack between the doors and pried them open until he was able to squeeze through and went inside.

The girls followed him inside and looked around. The compartment was pretty big, taking up almost the entire back third of the ship and the machinery in it filling most of the room, leaving only walkways and a small control room. The door to the control room was locked but the top half of the walls were made of some type of glass which allowed them to easily see inside. Three people in what they assumed were armored vacuum suits were sitting at control panels.

Sara didn't want to disturb the dead and told the others what they needed would be back among the machinery. So the group walked cautiously down the catwalk she indicated, Daemon in the lead. Neither Daemon nor Angelica could feel the presence of anything else in the ship so they had both relaxed some. Sara didn't take long finding the coupling she needed, a flexible six-foot cable about five inches in diameter, used to transfer the power produced by the power plant to the drive motor. The connecting ends were a standard design, making them universally interchangeable, only the material they were made from differed. The one they were getting was a lot stronger than the one that had burned out on the _Neptune_. It was going to take two of them to carry it since it weighed over a hundred and fifty pounds and Daemon was already carrying three packs.

Sara took Angelica's rifle while Angelica and Mystique picked up the coupling, one on each end. Sara started to follow Daemon out but stopped, thinking. The others stopped and waited, not saying anything, until finally Sara pulled out some tools and started removing more parts from the engines. Angelica and Mystique set the coupling down while Daemon waited near the hatch. Sara spent about fifteen minutes collecting small parts from the reactor and drives before she was through. Mystique took some of the parts and put them in her pack and Sara put the rest in hers.

Daemon wasn't happy about having taken so long but figured Sara had good reason for collecting the extra parts. He led the way back to the hole and told them to wait while he went outside to look around. Daemon carefully looked out onto the tarmac and saw that the horde had killed Alan near the far edge. A few of the monsters were still picking at his corpse but most had left. The big one that had been inside the ship was walking toward town. It stopped to look at him for a long minute before deciding to continue going on to the Rift. Daemon waited until it was fully out of view before going back inside to get the girls.

"What took you so long?" Angelica snapped.

"I had to wait for the big one to leave and be sure that he did leave. There are only a few left so we should be able to make it to the woods without trouble. Follow me and stay calm," Daemon answered, hoping the worst was over and they could get away from the spaceport.

#

The three remaining monsters had finished with Alan's corpse and were walking back toward the ships when Sara climbed out of the hole.

She took a quick look around and spotted the three creatures. The terror of what she saw was too much for even Angelica's calming reassurances. Sara couldn't stop herself from screaming.

The noise attracted the monsters' attention, and they quickly changed course, excited at the prospects of another meal.

Daemon dropped his packs and charged out to meet them. Angelica and Mystique climbed the rest of the way out of the ship. Mystique grabbed Sara and forced her to look away as Angelica took her rifle back. She quickly checked to make sure it was ready to fire. Sara mumbled apologizes as Mystique held her in a hug to make sure she didn't run off. Angelica started shooting at the lead creature.

It was running on four, long thin legs that were moving almost too fast to be seen, though its strides were so short it was barely moving faster than Angelica could run. The second creature was hopping. It looked like a giant, five-foot-long frog with tentacles sticking out all over its body. The last creature had a circular body with four, short stubby legs facing out from the middle, forcing it walk in an odd shifting manner. It also had four arms ending in three clawed hands. It was thankfully not moving fast.

Angelica was prepared this time when Daemon unleashed his beast and allowed it to take control of his actions. She'd decided to think of it that way; it wasn't her brother, it was a horrible beast that took control of him. She would not accept that her brother could be that horrific. She had to stop shooting at the lead monster as it got close to Daemon. She quickly reloaded and started firing at the frog.

Daemon had fought creatures like this before and knew he could defeat them. He focused on what they would do to Angelica if he didn't kill them. The anger he kept such a tight control over turned to rage and now he didn't try to contain it, he just targeted it. The first monster had eight arms ending in knife-edged claws like those of a praying mantis. It was going to slice him a dozen times before he got to swing on it. He didn't care; the cuts would be shallow, meant to cause maximum pain, not true damage. He charged right into the thing's reach, holding his ax high over his head. The monster did as expected and cut at his exposed stomach and chest. Daemon barely felt the pain before he brought his ax down. He swung with all his strength, driving the blade through the creature's thick hide, not stopping until it impacted the plastacrete of the tarmac. The creature fell dead, twitching a few times as random impulses reached muscles.

Daemon looked up just in time to see the frog leap at him. An evil grin crossed his face as he shifted to baseball-player mode. He twisted at the waist, bringing his ax around with as much power as he could directly into the mass of tentacles surrounding its mouth. The mass of the creature reversed Daemon's swing and almost pulled him over backward as the ax tore more than cut through the creature's jaw. Daemon's arms felt like they were on fire where a dozen tentacles had touched him. The pain just added to his rage. He instinctively shifted his grip and chopped down repeatedly at the creature until it was nothing more than a puddle of green blood and meat chunks.

Angelica stopped shooting and focused on keeping Sara and Mystique calm. It was hard for her while she was being assaulted by the flood of rage coming at her through her link with Daemon.

The third monster must have felt the same rage that Angelica was. It stopped and thought for only a second before starting to run away from Daemon. It was the creature's turn to feel fear.

Mystique watched Daemon with a detached awe as he fought, covered in blood and gore.

Daemon looked up from the frog and started to chase the third monster when Angelica yelled "Stop!" She pushed her desire to leave through their link until it penetrated his burning anger.

Daemon stopped and watched the thing retreat, the pain in his arms beginning to fade as he healed. The cuts from the first monster had already stopped bleeding and were healing quickly. He stripped off the remains of his new shirt and wiped himself off the best he could. Daemon could feel Angelica's desire for him to calm down and it helped him get control of himself.

As Daemon walked back up to the group Mystique said, "Impressive."

"That's what happens when I unleash control of my temper," he said as he made an angry face that would have looked ridiculous if not for the carnage behind him.

"Can we go now?" Sara got the nerve to ask as she looked out over the spaceport. The sight of the creature retreating was not as scary as when she saw it moving toward them. She would have sworn, though, that she saw someone move past one of the portals in one of the yachts and it spooked her.

Daemon picked up his packs while Mystique and Angelica picked up the coupling. Sara took Angelica's rifle back and they all started trudging across the tarmac toward the woods.

Angelica wasn't as focused on calming the group while she carried the coupling so Sara was feeling more anxious than she had when they arrived. She wasn't scared but if she were nervous enough, she could attract attention.

Daemon didn't know of anything he could do to make her feel more secure.

Daemon almost didn't feel the attack coming. The attacker was at the maximum range of his ability to sense aggression. The attacker was behind them, back near the hangers. He spun around to look for what was coming.

Angelica started to drop to the ground while Sara and Mystique both looked back.

Mystique was the first to spot Thomas as he took aim and fired. She dove for Sara, knocking her to the ground just as the bullet tore through Daemon's chest. Daemon staggered a few feet before collapsing. Thomas's second shot barely missed hitting him in the head. Mystique pulled Angelica's rifle free and tossed it to her.

Angelica didn't see the rifle or care about it; she was too focused on saving her brother. She was pouring every ounce of energy she had into healing him.

Mystique thought that Angelica was lost in grief over Daemon's death. She had no way of knowing he wasn't dead. Sara wasn't going to be any help either, so that left her to get Thomas. She jumped to her feet and started running. She changed directions often, hoping to avoid getting shot. Thomas took a few poorly aimed shots at her and a few at Sara and Angelica but he was a poor marksman. Mystique maneuvered to put the transport's landing gear between him and her.

Thomas saw Mystique coming and smiled. He was going to get to watch the wench die up close and personal. He stepped out into the open to reload the rifle's magazine as he walked toward her. She was still running at him doing her zigzag crap, and man, was she fast, but she wasn't faster than a bullet. He shouldered his rifle to aim. Mystique, like most amateurs, had fallen into a pattern of zigzags without even realizing it. Thomas was about ready to fire when he died.

Sara had regained enough of her wits to take careful aim with her rifle and shoot Thomas. She'd been aiming at his head but hit him in the center of his chest. She'd forgotten to account for the bullet's trajectory.

Mystique slowed down to a trot when she realized what had happened. She thought about going up and slitting Thomas's throat, but decided she should get back to the others.

Sara was standing next to Angelica when Mystique got back. Angelica was cradling Daemon's head in her lap as she slowly rocked back and forth. Mystique knew they needed to get moving but wasn't sure how to get Angelica to leave her brother. She'd envied them a little for being so close and caring so much about each other, but now that she saw the down side she only felt sad for Angelica.

"Nice shot."

"Sorry, I took so long."

"Angelica, we need to get moving. I'm sorry he's dead, but we have to get out of here," Mystique said, trying to be as compassionate as possible.

"I'm not dead yet," Daemon stated in a strange accent, then laughed a few times before starting a short coughing fit.

Mystique almost fell over with surprise. "But, how?"

"I regenerate, remember. Gunshot wounds take longer than cuts do to heal but with Angelica's help I heal even them pretty fast." Daemon struggled to stand up. "You normally run at people shooting a rifle at you?"

"I didn't see much choice. It was either that or wait for him to get lucky. And your father never taught me how to shoot."

"It's easy. Just point that end at the target and pull the trigger," Daemon joked, trying to lighten the mood a little. He picked up his fallen packs and motioned to the woods. "Let's go that way. I want to get as far away from town as possible before nightfall."

The group started walking toward the woods again. This time Sara kept looking back to make sure they weren't being followed. A female figure standing next to one of the yachts caught her attention. She was watching them leave and didn't care that Sara had seen her. Sara stopped to take a better look at her, which got Mystique and Angelica's attention.

"Wait a minute," Angelica told Daemon as they set down the coupling.

"What?"

"There's a woman back there near that yacht," Sara pointed back across the tarmac.

"I think that's the ship Arnold went into," Mystique said.

Daemon grabbed a rifle from Sara and fired, not taking time to aim very well. "Stop looking at it. We have to get out of here."

Both Angelica and Mystique caught Daemon's use of the word "it" instead of "her."

Daemon chambered another round and allowed his anger a little closer to the surface as he fired a second time.

Whoever or whatever it was it didn't like being shot at, so it turned and walked back into the ship.

Sara took a few steps toward the yacht before realizing what she was doing and stopped.

Angelica stepped up to her and guided her back to the group, confused that Sara would be feeling sexually attracted to the woman/creature they all knew had to be some kind of Rift monster.

#

Shektee had hidden from the ancient one, once she felt his presence.

She was only slightly annoyed at having to stop her feeding but she could wait. She didn't want to do anything that might attract the ancient's attention. She'd become concerned when it faded to the point that if she hadn't known it was there she would not have been able to sense it. She was relieved when it had started to move away, but to her surprise it wasn't moving toward the Rift. She'd thought it would take the mortals it had collected there.

Then she felt him stop for some reason and then there were distant feelings of strong emotions coming from those with him. The taste of the emotions was faint and very strange. She'd never tasted some of the emotions mixed in with the fear and anger she knew so well.

Shektee was normally very cautious, like most of her kind, but this time her curiosity drove her to leave the yacht to get a better look at what was going on. She found a dead human nearby, and saw four more a ways off, walking in the direction of the woods. The ancient was with them, but not visible—at least not to her. This was getting even more interesting.

One of the four spotted her so she beckoned it to come to her before she realized the foolishness of her action. The ancient looked at her and she knew she'd made a mistake; now it knew her. It was displeased and wanted her to leave the group alone. It wasn't angry with her or she'd be dead already. She went back inside the yacht to think.

She watched them leave through one of the portholes and tried to figure out what the ancient was doing. Why didn't it consume the humans it was with? How was it able to travel this far from the Rift? Could she travel farther from the Rift? If so, how far? She had a lot of questions and no answers.

After a while she went back to Arnold to feed some more and found something very interesting. He had regained some of the strength that she'd taken, not much but enough to be noticeable. She fed again, but just a little; it was hard to control herself but she kept from killing him. Now she would wait and see how long it took for him to regain his strength.

A plan started to form in her mind: If he could regain his strength, others of his kind could, too. She could collect more and feed a little from each of them. As long as she didn't kill them, she would have an endless supply of energy. She decided if he regained enough strength she'd take him back to this community of humans and collect more.

She sat in the lounge and drank the scotch. The burn of the alcohol felt good, and her plan for the future put a beautifully evil smile on her face.

#

Angelica and Mystique set the pace the group could go through the forest. The coupling they were carrying weighed enough to sap their strength, so they were forced to take frequent breaks. Daemon had redistributed and repacked some of the stuff they were carrying, but they were still heavily encumbered.

When the group finally stopped for the night they were only three or four miles from the city.

Daemon lay down for a quick nap while the girls started a fire and cooked dinner. Angelica was careful to pay attention to any feelings she might pick up. Mystique collected wood from around their campsite. Sara just sat down and stared at the woods in the direction of the spaceport. Mystique was pretty good at making fires so it didn't take long before Angelica was cooking. She made a thick stew and tea that would have been accepted at most fine restaurants.

Angelica made sure Sara ate before she woke Daemon. He had only gotten an hour or so of sleep but she hoped it would be enough. He finished off all the stew that was left and two cups of tea before going for a walk to see what was near the camp. Sara was the first to fall asleep, while Mystique and Angelica talked quietly about Mystique's relationship with Faust.

"How long did you know my father?"

"All my life. He'd come by for a visit two or three times a month." She wasn't very comfortable talking about what her mom did. She wasn't sure if Angelica was influencing her or not but she felt that she could trust her. "I remember Mom saying that he was the only one that had brought her anything while she was pregnant. If he hadn't, she would have been forced to look for a way to end it before I was born."

"Oh, my god, she wouldn't have done that," Angelica said, surprised anyone could be that cruel. She understood sometimes it had to be done, but to tell your child how close you were to killing her before she'd been born was unthinkable.

"My mom, she would have done it in a heartbeat if she'd figured out how without risking her own life." Mystique said, her voice getting very low to the point where Angelica could barely hear her.

"What are you two talking about?" Daemon asked as he sat down at the fire near Angelica.

"Dad, and how Mystique knew him."

"Did you know your dad?" Daemon asked innocently.

"Mom collected a little extra from a dozen men telling each that I was their daughter. I don't think she really knew which was my real father." She gave a soft chuckle when she saw the surprised look on the siblings faces. "How long have you been planning to get off the planet and what made you think a ship would crash that needed parts?" Mystique asked to change the subject.

"Years, I guess. Dad never told us what he was planning until he showed up with Sara," Angelica said.

"So how did he know Sara's ship was going to crash and need parts?"

"Sometimes I have dreams or visions of important events before they happen. I guess I had one of those dreams and told him about it. I'm sure I thought it was just a weird dream but he took it as a chance to get away. So he started preparing for the day they would come to town." It was Angelica's turn to feel uncomfortable with conversation.

"That has got to be terrible. I mean, you can see the future and know a ship is going to land, but you miss the part about your father dying," Mystique commented seeing right to the heart of Angelica's guilt about her father's death.

Daemon pulled Angelica into his chest to hug her. He had felt her hiding something and now he understood her feelings of guilt. He held her tight to let her know that he didn't blame her for what happened.

Mystique watched the two and felt the pangs of envy again.

After a while Angelica, pushed her way out of Daemon's embrace. "I can't control the visions. I can't make them happen and I can't see everything clearly. So, no, I didn't see what was going to happen to Dad." Tears still rolled down her cheeks. Without another word, she lay down and wrapped herself in her bedroll and tried to sleep.

"I didn't mean to upset her," Mystique whispered more to herself than Daemon.

Daemon got up and as he walked past Mystique to his pack he whispered back, "It's all right. We know you didn't mean anything." Daemon pulled out the chip reader from his pack. He came back and sat next to Mystique. "Dad got this from one of the science expeditions that landed a while ago. He got data chips on all kinds of stuff. Would you like to read about the ship we will be traveling on or the planets we could be going to?"

"Thanks, but I can't read," Mystique replied as she slid away from him. She'd seen lustful looks on lots of men and what she saw on Daemon's face looked a lot like that. But Daemon's lust was for the knowledge contained on those data chips, not her. _If you touch me while I'm sleeping I'll slit your throat_ , was the warning Mystique thought about giving Daemon but she held her tongue. Angelica had promised that he wouldn't, so Mystique would give him the chance to prove Angelica wasn't lying. She'd been raped before and lived through it; if it happened again she would live through it again. The main thing was getting off the planet.

Daemon watched as they drifted off to sleep. He knew their sleep would be full of nightmares but hoped they would get at least a little rest. He put a chip in the reader and spent the night reading about Marcus 3, the capitol planet of this sector.

Daemon had to wake each of the girls a few times during the night to end the nightmares they were trapped in. He could tell by their fitful movements when they were having trouble. He was careful not to scare them anymore then he had to waking them and luckily they were tired enough to fall back to sleep fairly quickly. Daemon felt a few creatures' presence during the night but none were brave enough to come near the fire or at least, that's what he thought. He passed the rest of his time reading about the different planets he hoped he would have a chance to visit one day.

Daemon took another nap in the morning while the girls got ready for the day's hike. Angelica cooked breakfast while Sara and Mystique repacked their blankets and got ready. Mystique was happy to have more stew, but Sara was getting tired of having to eat the same thing every day. She really missed the dinners Robert used to make which reminded her that he'd died, too. Sara considered what had happened since they'd landed and wondered if Robert might have been the lucky one.

Angelica noted Sara's hesitation and said that they only had dried meat and vegetables, so stew was the best she could make.

Angelica let Daemon sleep for an hour before waking him up to eat. He wanted to sleep longer but knew they needed to get moving. The amount of damage he'd regenerated was starting to tap into his reserves of energy. His only consolation was the fact they were moving away from the city and nobody was chasing them so they could take it easy. He ate quickly and was already packed so within fifteen minutes they were on their way. Daemon was leading them southeast away from the city. Sara wasn't sure where her ship was, just that it was south of the city and west of town. Daemon had never been in this section of the forest so he was worried they'd run into another gorge or river or some other terrain feature that would cause trouble.

They were able to keep up a steady pace for most of the morning, only stopping a few times to rest. The one river they'd run into had been shallow enough for them to wade across. Sara had suggested stopping at its bank for lunch and to dry their clothes. Daemon had explained to her that water sources attracted predators so it was best they just fill their canteens and keep moving. The vegetation around the river looked almost healthy compared to the other trees and brush. The water was flowing down out of the hills toward the city so Daemon presumed it was safe to drink.

They ate lunch in a small clearing with a confusion of tumbled boulders. While they rested and ate Mystique asked, "Can I see that chip reader?" Mystique thought that Daemon had wanted her the night before but he'd held to Angelica's promise not to take her, which made Mystique curious: If she asked for a favor, would he try something? She didn't expect he would want much, but whatever he asked for would teach her more about what he valued.

"Sure." He dug into one of his packs for the reader. He put a data chip in it that contained information on the different animals found throughout known space and showed her how to use the reader.

"How long will the power cell last?" Mystique asked as she flipped through the different pictures.

"It has a solar panel so it recharges itself, and the cell will last for days without sunlight," he told her, again proud of himself for knowing something she didn't.

She enjoyed looking at the pictures but the writing underneath each one made no sense to her. She returned it to Daemon when they were ready to go and thanked him for it. She waited for him to ask her for some form of payment but he didn't seem to want anything.

The group slowed down their pace during the afternoon. Daemon thought they had traveled far enough from the city and the Rift so that they wouldn't encounter any of the Rift monsters. The trees and bushes were starting to look a lot healthier and they started to hear birds chirping and calling to each other. Angelica was relieved that she didn't have to concentrate on keeping them calm and hidden from the monsters. She hadn't realized how much energy it was costing her.

Sara was in a better mood now that they were headed to the ship. She actually thought they might make it.

Mystique was the only one concerned with how they were going to find Sara's ship. She kept her thoughts to herself but worried they could spend months trying to find it.

Angelica told Daemon to find a campsite later in the afternoon, well before they had normally been stopping for the night. She was tired and she knew Sara and Mystique were, too. Daemon didn't take long finding them a place to camp. He dropped his packs and went off to collect firewood for the night. Mystique started making a fire with the twigs from around the campsite while Sara unpacked the radio, hoping they were far enough away from the Rift to get a signal to the ship.

Angelica sat with Sara to help her, while she waited for Mystique to get the fire going strong enough to cook on. Sara had the radio hooked up and was trying to transmit; she tried for five minutes to get a reply before giving up. She rechecked the settings on the radio and the connection to the power supply: Everything looked good. "One of the items I got from the engine room was a fully charged power cell for the radio." Sara believed the radio was sending fine and could receive just as well. She decided to leave the radio on until she went to sleep.

Daemon came back with an armload of wood for the fire. Mystique had the fire going pretty good with the start of a nice bed of coals. Angelica set to cooking: She agreed with Sara about wanting something other than stew.

Daemon saw that the radio was out and asked if Sara had had any luck contacting the ship. He wasn't surprised when she told him no one had answered; he just hoped they were still alive. He searched through the data chips he'd brought until he found the one he was looking for: an educational chip that contained all the books used for the first few years of school. He inserted it into the chip reader and brought it over to Mystique.

"Here, I put the chip in that is used to teach children how to read. It should give you the basics." He handed Mystique the reader.

Mystique had no idea why he would think to do that for her. She was not used to people being kind or thoughtful of others for no reason. It just wasn't how people were, at least none of the town folks she knew. Her mother had once told her if you act kindly to someone you're admitting they're better than you. She couldn't imagine Daemon thinking she was better than him and believing he needed to serve her. He hadn't asked for any payment yet, but if he was going to she expected it would soon. Angelica added to the problem by offering to help her with any problems she couldn't figure out. Mystique hoped they were taking after their father, but she was too paranoid to be sure.

Sara almost jumped out of her skin when the radio crackled to life. "Sara, come in, this is Jim."

Sara thought it was strange that Jim would be calling instead of Mac and that he'd used names when Mac had yelled at her for doing it. "Jim! Where's Mac? Is everyone there all right?"

"Mac is working on the engines. He needs those parts. Have you had any luck getting them? Nelson and I have gotten a full load of the plants, so all we're waiting for is those parts and we can get off this rock."

"I hear you. We have all the parts Mac told me to get and a few extras. The problem is, I'm not sure _how_ to get back. We're about ten miles southeast of the city right now."

"We? Who is with you?"

"Angelica, Daemon, and Mystique. Three people from the town; they helped me escape and get the parts for the ship. I'd be dead by now if not for their help."

"Oh, okay. A bunch of guys from town were nice enough to bring back the skimmer so I can come get you. I'll call you from it. Out."

Sara set the radio down and smiled: Jim was coming and in a few hours she would be off this cursed planet.

Angelica had come over with Daemon and Mystique when they'd heard the radio call. They were all pretty excited. "He should be here in less than an hour. We should build up the fire so he can see it easier," Sara told them.

"He sounded surprised to hear about us. Are you sure he'll let us come with you?" Angelica asked as she returned to her stuff and started packing.

"Yeah, Jimmy's a good guy. He's one of the most easy-going weapons specialists I know, plus, rescuing three damsels in distress is something he'll get a kick out of."

"Weapons specialist? What does that mean? Is he some kind of guard?" Mystique asked

"Yeah. Jim worked and trained under our security office, Alex, as assistant security officer. He's young enough not to be suspicious of everyone he meets and still be a little romantic."

"Well, the townfolks that brought back the skimmer were definitely not being nice bringing it back. He must have killed them to get it away from them, so he knows how to fight," Mystique said. "If he's wearing the same armor the guy in town was, then we have nothing to fight him with. I heard they shot the other guy with their hunting rifles and everything bounced right off him until Faust got there with that cannon of his."

"Yes, he has the same armor but we won't have to fight him. He's my friend and I told him I owe you my life. Stop worrying, by this time tomorrow we'll be in deep space."

Mystique dropped the conversation. It was clear that Sara believed in Jim and wouldn't listen to any questions about what he was going to do. Daemon and Angelica didn't seem concerned either, so Mystique gathered up what little she'd pulled out of her pack for the night.

#

Jim called on the radio about twenty minutes later. He told them he was flying in their direction and would be there soon. He had Sara activate the homing beacon on the radio. It would use less power than talking and the skimmer could lock in on it and follow the signal straight to them.

Daemon added the rest of the wood he'd collected to the fire. They weren't going to need it. The fire roared to life, building to a respectable bonfire. Everyone backed away from where they figured the skimmer would land and waited.

***

Jim was skimming twenty feet above the trees when he first saw the glow of the fire. He had switched to thermal vision and the heat of the smoke marked the location of Sara's camp like a signal flare. He slowed the skimmer as he got to within three hundred yards and armed the skimmer's weapons system. The skimmer was a civilian vehicle, so it only had non-lethal weapons which would be good enough. He didn't want to kill anyone—at least not yet. He flew forward and up, slowly, getting a better view of the campsite. When he reached one hundred yards he launched a full salvo of stun grenades into it.

***

Daemon, Angelica, and Sara had relaxed while they waited for Jim to arrive. Mystique was the only one who seemed the least concerned Jim might not be as friendly as Sara claimed. She was standing near a tree at the edge of the clearing. Her pack was with the others but she saw no reason to be out in the open, just in case.

Daemon was confident his senses would warn him if Jim decided to attack. What he didn't expect was for Jim to be so nonchalant about the attack that he didn't trigger Daemon's senses until it was too late. He felt the attack coming as the grenades were launched. He barely had time to yell a warning before they detonated in and around the camp.

Angelica and Sara had been sitting down when the grenades hit. Neither of them had a chance: The combination of blinding flash and hypersonic scream left them blindly rolling on the ground, covering their ears. Daemon didn't fare much better. He'd gotten to his feet before the explosions so he was stumbling around blinded by the flash and unable to escape the noise. Mystique for all her caution was only able to cover her eyes to keep from being blinded but the noise was deafening.

Jim brought the skimmer in right behind the grenades. The landing was hard but he barely registered it in his armor. He jumped out to survey the area. He saw Sara and some other girl lying in the camp. A large guy was stumbling toward him, blood leaking from his ears and nose. Jim could tell he was still mostly blind and deaf from the grenades so he waited, thinking he'd enjoy a little work out.

Daemon felt more than saw Jim land and knew he had to stop him before he could hurt Angelica. He could barely see Jim's armored form but if he could get a grip on him he was sure he would be able to stop Jim.

Jim sidestepped Daemon's reckless charge and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying backward. The servos and hydraulics in the armor increased his strength well above normal human maximums. The kick would have crushed the chest of a smaller man.

Daemon started climbing back to his feet, determined not to give up.

Jim was pleasantly surprised to see the man getting back up. He took two quick steps toward Daemon and drove the toe of his boot deep into Daemon's side.

Daemon stopped thinking, the familiar red haze fell over his eyes and the beast took over the fight. The beast didn't care how hurt Daemon was, it only wanted to hurt Jim.

Jim was watching as Daemon rolled away, coughing up blood. He felt as much as saw the change come over Daemon and knew something was wrong. Daemon wasn't staying down. He got up faster and more sure of himself this time. Jim didn't know how, but he did know it was time to stop playing around. Daemon was on his feet and charging Jim again but this time there was no sign of injury or hesitation. Jim barely had time to draw his pistol before Daemon hit him. To his amazement he went crashing backward. Daemon held onto him, using his weight to force him to the ground.

Jim twisted the pistol around and started firing while Daemon grappled with him. Luckily for Jim, Daemon was pummeling his armored chest and head. The beast knew nothing of pistols so it ignored it, which allowed Jim to put round after round into Daemon's side. Jim shot Daemon six times before Daemon started to lose strength and slow down his assault. Jim kept shooting. Jim emptied the entire fourteen-round clip into Daemon. A few rounds caused minor flesh wounds, but most were to center mass.

Daemon finally stopped moving.

Jim thought about getting his plasma rifle and shooting Daemon with it a few times, but decided it was too much effort to kill something that was already dead. Sara and Angelica were regaining their wits so he went to secure them, instead. He used a couple pairs of tie wraps to bind their hands and ankles before throwing them in the back of the skimmer.

"Jim, what are you doing? These people saved me," Sara demanded.

He slapped her to shut her up.

Angelica was in shock; her connection to Daemon was gone. Daemon was dead.

Jim collected all the packs and the power coupling.

Mystique watched from her position next to the tree, worried that any minute he would spot her but knowing that if she moved, he would definitely see her.

Jim took one last look around to make sure he'd gotten everything, before climbing into the skimmer and flying off.

Mystique waited a full five minutes before she finally went to see if Daemon was still alive. Anyone else and she wouldn't have wasted her time, but Daemon had proven he was hard to kill. She rolled him onto his back and leaned down to put her cheek next to his mouth to check if he was breathing. She couldn't tell if his chest was moving but she thought she felt his breath on her face, so she cut what was left of his shirt off and pressed it to his wounds, just in case. She held the shirt there while she thought.

Mystique didn't know what to do next. Jimmy had taken everything except what she was wearing. The fire was dying down; she needed to collect more wood. Daemon hadn't regained consciousness and she had no idea how long it would take him to heal. At least the bleeding had stopped. She didn't like leaving him helpless, but they were going to need the fire and she didn't plan on being gone long.

#

Daemon felt like he was floating in water. He could remember the fight and losing control to the beast. The beast had never lost a fight before. Then again, he didn't make a habit of fighting armed men in powered battle armor. He knew he should be angry and upset but he wasn't; all he felt was regret and shame. He had failed Angelica. Jim had taken her and was probably going to do terrible things to her before he finally killed her and it was Daemon's fault. He hadn't listened to Mystique's warnings. He hadn't been able to stop the guy. All he'd been able to do was get shot and killed.

He looked around. He could move, but it was like swimming in molasses. He felt a thick fluid flowing over his arms and legs. He was floating in the stuff and being taken somewhere by the current. It was dark except for the stars in the sky. Daemon didn't have any sense of time. He couldn't focus his thoughts enough to judge how long he rode the current. He was weak and only able to stay conscious for a few minutes at a time.

He woke to the sounds of birds chirping and water moving. When he opened his eyes he was lying on a grassy beach near a waterfall. He sat up and took a better look around and to his amazement, it looked like the spot near his house where he went fishing. A man was sitting next to the pool at the base of the waterfall, fishing. He looked at Daemon, nodded, and went back to fishing.

So this must be heaven, Daemon thought, as he got up to go meet the man. "Hi," he said as he got close.

"Hello. I figured it was time we met," the old man said as he put down his fishing pole. "Strange way to hunt for fish," he observed absently.

"Who are you?"

"You think of me as the Beast, so you may call me Beast, if you like. My name does not translate into your language." He stood up.

Daemon figured the old man had to be in his seventies but he moved with cat-like grace and fluidity. His eyes, like his hair, were black, with no irises, just oily black pools. "What do you mean? I don't know you. I've never seen you before."

"I am that part of you that takes joy in fighting and hurting. I am the reason for your outbursts of anger. We share your body, though I only take control when violence is appropriate. I am old for my kind and I have gained some control over my own rage. I use your body as a release, of sorts, for that rage.

"I entered your plane of existence when the Rift was first opened but I found your side inhospitable. I watched as the others hunted and killed your kind. I watched your father and mother running off into the woods with your sister. What got my attention was the fact they weren't afraid for their own lives. They were worried about your sister. I followed them through the woods as others detected them and began to chase them. I was sure they would abandon your sister because she was slowing them down, but they didn't.

"Finally, your mother couldn't go any farther; her energy was spent. So they stopped. Your father could have left your mother and sister but instead he gave some of his energy to your mother and then stood to face those that were hunting them. I had never seen anyone do such a thing before. I destroyed the ones that were hunting your parents.

"Your sister saw me that day and she felt no fear. Your mother was carrying a spark of life which had not yet become a full being. I bonded some of my essence to that spark. I protected your family for a while but the drain of being in your plane of existence finally forced me to retreat back through the Rift. You were born shortly after and the bond between us has allowed me to experience everything you do. I have learned much from our time together and I expect to learn much more."

Daemon stared at the man, unable to speak, barely able to think. What was this man talking about? He had to be crazy. When Daemon was finally able to get his voice working, he asked the man, "You're telling me you're some kind of Rift monster and you protected my family? And that you and I are somehow linked together?"

"In simple terms, yes. I live on this side of the Rift in what your kind have referred to as the astral plane. A part of my essence was transferred to you during your creation in your mother's womb. I wanted to experience all the different emotions that humans possess. I had never felt all of them before. The only emotions members of my species normally feel are rage and hunger; all the other emotions are so weak in comparison that very few of us ever notice them. We can feed on the emotional energy given off by others—that is why we terrify our prey before killing them. Fear is a tasty emotion and it is an easy emotion to invoke in others. But through our connection I have found so many more and better-tasting emotions. I am enjoying our connection very much. I have also found that feeling those emotions through you, I am learning to understand them and I have begun to notice when I feel them myself.

"I brought your spirit here while you are regenerating to explain this to you and let you know that I exist. I am also experimenting with how this conversation will affect your feelings. I am going to send you a gift; it will help you retrieve our sister. Shektee will bring it to you. Kill her if you like, but her kind can be very useful. Do you understand?"

"No, I don't understand any of this. I thought I was dead but you said I am regenerating. Is this some kind of nightmare?" Daemon's confusion and frustration showed in his voice.

"I see this was too much for you to understand. Think about what I've said. When you are ready to talk, just think of what you want to ask me. Shektee will not harm you or Mystique so you have no reason to kill her, but if you feel you must, go right ahead. She may be useful in the future, though. Her kind is smarter than most and are able to control their hunger if they live long enough to learn how. Now go back to your body and rest."

Daemon didn't understand, the guy was speaking nonsense. Rift monsters didn't talk. They killed in the most sadistic ways possible. He started to protest but before he could everything went black again. Daemon felt the familiar sensation of floating as he passed out. He almost woke up a few times but could never fully regain consciousness.

***

Shektee had known the moment the ancient looked at her at the spaceport that it would call on her. It surprised her that it had taken its time and given her almost two days of freedom. She'd started to think it had no need of her so she would be able to slip away from it. She should have known better. The forest she was walking through faded to a shadowy reflection of itself. She felt the pull as she was summoned across the astral plane to its lair. In an instant, she was before the creature. It was shaped like a human. It was even wearing clothing like the humans did and it had a thin staff in one hand.

Shektee dropped to the ground, groveling for pity she knew she would not receive. She hoped the show of respect would earn her some consideration. She'd never met an ancient before, she'd only heard of them. She waited for it to speak and tell her what it wanted of her.

"Stand and take this," it said as a battle ax floated toward her. "You are to deliver it to the human male you saw at the spaceport. You are not to harm him or the female he is with."

"Yes, master." She took the battle ax and put it in her magical pouch. She tried not to think of how she was going to find the man or any of the other questions springing to her mind. It was not her place to ask questions, just to serve.

"For this service I will give you two things," it stated as it reached for her head. "First, is the ability to change your form. You could already make minor changes; now you will be able to completely change to whatever form you desire, with some restrictions. Second, is the wisdom behind the gifts I am giving you. If you treat your servants with respect and reward them for their service they will be more willing to serve you and therefore try harder to please you as long as they do not see the rewards as signs of weakness. Now go, I have also given you the ability to find him."

Shektee willed herself back to the Rift. She would have to pass through the Rift to get back to the human plane of existence. She, like most of her kind had found out early that she could easily leave the human plane with a simple thought but could not return except by being summoned or passing through the Rift. It annoyed her that she'd spent so long locked in the spaceship when she could have easily shifted to the astral plane and then returned through the Rift, if only she'd known the Rift would last this long. She thought about what the ancient had told her and about her new ability. She knew she didn't understand fully what it had meant but she did know that it was right. She would willingly serve it in the future if it meant she might gain more power.

The trip to the Rift was short, for her travel through the astral was always fast. She passed through the Rift in the form of a giant bat. She'd learned of them from Arnold. He had been afraid of bats so she hoped other humans would also fear them. The problem was, she had no idea how to fly, so she promptly plummeted to the ground. She was not old enough or strong enough to have grown her own wings yet. The fall hurt but she was able to heal the damage quickly and found an easier form to find this human: The panther in Arnold's memory was strong, fast, and agile so she dropped into that form and started running. She was really starting to like this new ability. All the items she was carrying became part of her like tattoos.

#

Mystique hadn't slept all night. She'd tended the fire and watched Daemon. He had regained a lot of his color overnight but still hadn't regained consciousness yet. The wounds she could see were mostly healed with just bruising left. She thought he should have woken up by now; she was afraid he was stuck in some nightmare. He'd been rolling around and mumbling most of the night. She'd thought about waking him, but didn't want to get too close. Her mother had been attacked by a man she was trying to wake up once. He'd almost killed her before he'd realized what he was doing and stopped.

Daemon had calmed down and seemed to be sleeping peacefully now, so she hoped he would wake up soon. Mystique wasn't scared of much but she didn't like being out in the middle of the woods. She didn't have any way of knowing if some predator was nearby. She would also have to go out looking for firewood again soon but at least it was close to daylight now.

Mystique froze at the sound of a twig breaking. Whatever had done it was behind her, which meant it wasn't Daemon. She slowly turned around to look, trying not to startle whoever or whatever it was into attacking her. She froze again this time in true fear as she spotted the huge black panther standing only a few yards away her. She tried to get a grip on her fear but the panther was larger than she was and it kept licking its fangs.

Shektee was under orders not to hurt the woman, but that didn't mean she couldn't scare her a little. Her fear tasted so good. The man was sleeping near a fire and showed no signs of waking up, so she could drink in the woman's fear for the few moments it lasted. The young woman was already overcoming the fear aura Shektee was projecting and would probably run or attack soon.

Mystique slowly inched her hands toward her knives; if she was going to die, at least she would take her killer with her. She almost had her hands on them when the true terror took form. The panther flowed into the shape of a beautiful woman with raven-black hair and eyes as dark as night with no pupils. Mystique could do nothing; her body wouldn't move, her brain shut down, she couldn't even scream. She'd seen what Rift monsters did to their victims and now she was about to experience it firsthand.

Shektee drank in the new wave of fear. It was so strong she almost lost control. "Calm down and leave your weapons where they are. I am not here to harm you. You can also stop wasting energy on that obfuscate spell."

Mystique was shocked that the creature spoke. She fervently wished that Daemon would wake up. Now.

"I am here to give him this." Shektee took a tiny trinket out of a small pouch.

Mystique was amazed when it grew to a full-sized battle ax. She forced herself to calm down enough to talk, and asked, "Who, what, are you, and why are you giving Daemon that?"

"You may call me Shektee. You know what I am and I was instructed to bring this to him. I was told not to harm you but I will defend myself, so please put those away, NOW!"

Mystique hadn't realized she'd drawn her knives until Shektee pointed it out. She sheathed both knives, careful not to move too quickly and risk triggering Shektee into an attack. "I don't understand. Who told you? Who do you work for?"

"It is not my place to say at this time. I am simply a messenger in this matter. Now take this," Shektee handed Mystique the battle ax.

Mystique was surprised at how light it was. It was nearly four feet long with blades of black metal that sloped back to cover half of the handle and extended another foot past the tip of the haft. A large ball with four gems of some kind was attached at the handle end as a counterweight.

"Any more questions before I go?" Shektee was enjoying the conversation. It was allowing her to drink in more of the young woman's emotions and gain a little information at the same time.

"What's so special about Daemon? Why would something from the other side of the Rift want to give him anything?" Mystique was torn between wanting to learn more from the creature and wanting it to leave... but if it was willing to tell her anything about Daemon and the other creatures, she could handle being in its presence a little longer.

"I am limited on what I can say but I will tell you this. Your friend has the attention of a powerful entity and it has chosen to safeguard you for being with him." Shektee was going to continue but stopped when she spotted Daemon getting up. She could feel the presence of the ancient within him so she knelt, bowing her head. She didn't like that the girl still held the ax: One good swing and she would be dead.

Daemon wasn't sure what was going on but the sound of voices had woken him. He'd hoped to find Angelica had escaped and was back, but the creature talking to Mystique wasn't human. He could sense its desire to hurt Mystique but it was kneeling before her. Mystique was holding some kind of battle ax and looked very relieved to see he was awake.

"Mystique, where did you get that ax and who's that?"

"Shektee gave me this. She said it's for you. Mind telling _me_ what the hell is going on?" Mystique let most of the fear she'd been repressing go now that Daemon was awake to deal with the creature. Daemon froze when he heard Shektee's name. Memories of the weird dream he'd had came flooding back.

"I thought that was a dream," he whispered as he looked down at Shektee. She hadn't moved. She seemed to be waiting for him.

Mystique handed him the ax without saying anything. She didn't know what was going on but it sure seemed important.

Daemon took the ax and reflexively checked its balance and swing. Without knowing why, Daemon thought of the spike between the blades and it extended almost a foot past the blades then he looked at the ball and a spike extended from it, another thought and both spikes retracted back. He fell in love with it immediately; it felt right.

"Get up, you look stupid down there," Daemon told Shektee as he stepped between her and Mystique.

She got up gracefully and stood before him, holding her head straight but not looking at him.

"The old man suggested that I not to kill you and since you didn't hurt Mystique, I won't. I don't understand what's going on and I don't think I want to right now. He said something about you being useful in the future so I don't think he's done with you. I don't trust you, so please leave."

"As you wish, master." Shektee bowed her head and backed away two steps before turning and walking into the woods. Once she passed the nearest tree, she transformed into the panther and leapt away. She ran for over a mile before slowing down to think. The ancient was not done with her but it didn't demand her immediate return. She didn't know if she should return to him anyway, or go about her business.

A foreign thought entered her mind, "A wise thing to contemplate. I will contact you when I have need of you."

It startled her, but she decided having an ancient using telepathy on you was just another price for being noticed by one. She spent the next few minutes figuring out what to do next. Then she ran east to look for the human town. The farther away from the Rift she got the more energy she needed to exert to stay on this plane, but a few human souls would easily replace what she was expending. She'd lost track of Arnold when the ancient summoned her, but there were a lot more humans at the town.

#

Mystique watched Daemon, looking for signs that he'd changed. Daemon acted like he knew that creature and it had definitely known him.

Daemon was looking around the campsite, searching for something.

"What are you looking for? That guy in armor didn't leave much behind."

"I'm hungry. Is there anything to eat?"

"Nope. Here, take a drink. At least you'll have something in your stomach."

"How long was I out?" He took the canteen and drank.

"All night. Mind explaining the ax and the thing that delivered it?"

"I don't know who she was or who sent me this." He held up the ax.

"Fine. If you're not going to tell me the truth, can we at least get moving? I really don't like it here and who knows how long it will take them to fix the ship and leave us behind."

"Angelica is that way. I'm going to run ahead. Do your best to keep up," Daemon told her as he started running south. He wasn't running at full speed but he was still moving very fast. Daemon could tell Angelica wasn't hurt and thought she was probably sleeping since their connection was weak.

Mystique was going to have a hard time keeping up. Daemon hadn't thought about the ship leaving, but the more he did the faster he ran. He was purposely trying not to think about what Jim might do to Angelica. He had to figure out how he was going to beat Jim next time they fought. The beast didn't understand enough about modern weapons to be trusted to win.

Daemon ran for hours, hacking branches and brush out of his way with his new ax. The balance on it was perfect as far as he could tell and it was sharper than anything he'd ever used. It cut through branches four inches in diameter without any trouble. He was leaving an easy trail for Mystique to follow.

It was noon when he finally took a break in a small clearing. The plant life had gotten progressively healthier and he was starting to see signs of animal life, too. He was torn between the desire to keep running until he got to Angelica and the realization that he should wait to make sure Mystique was safe. He was hungry and he knew Mystique would be, too, so he set out to catch something to eat.

The hunt gave Daemon a chance to try out his new ax. It was not a good hunting weapon. He threw it a few times; it flew pretty straight and true but it was far too bulky to use effectively. He found a good stick he could sharpen into a spear and had much better luck spearing lunch. Within an hour he had killed a couple squirrels. He returned to the clearing and started a small cook fire. The squirrels on Endeavor were larger than the squirrels on Earth, but Faust had called them squirrels so he did, too.

Mystique came jogging into the clearing about an hour later and collapsed next to the fire. She was in good shape and had started running about a year ago to give her a reason to be away from her mother, but there was no way she could keep up with Daemon. She'd decided early to jog instead of run to conserve her strength so she could go farther but even that wasn't going to be enough.

Daemon brought her one of the roasted squirrels to eat while he relaxed a few feet away. He wanted to get moving but seeing Mystique convinced him that he had to stay with her. She was too tired to defend herself if something attacked her.

"Do you know where we're going?" she asked after she ate.

"Yes. Angelica is that way," he replied, pointing over his shoulder.

"Are you sure? I mean how do you know?"

"Angelica and I can always tell where the other is and if either of us is hurt. I don't know why or how; it's just something we can do."

"I've heard some people in town can do strange things, too. That creature that gave you the ax said something about me using an obfuscate spell. Any idea what she was talking about?"

"No. I don' know what obfuscate means. Sorry," he said, a little ashamed.

"You know I can't keep up with you, so what's your plan?" she asked, changing the subject.

"I don't know. I really want to catch up to Angie but if I leave you alone you probably won't make it. We're far enough away from the Rift so there shouldn't be any monsters but that means there'll be animals and some of the animals here can be just as bad. Angie isn't hurt yet so I'll stay with you for now. Can you go any farther before we make camp?"

"Yeah, I should be good for a few more hours if we don't run." Mystique finished the last of the squirrel she was eating and got up to leave. Daemon was up in an instant and waiting for her, ready to lead the way.

***

Angelica woke up on a thin mattress. Her head was pounding to the beat of her pulse. The room was dark except for two small red lights. She tried to concentrate on healing herself but her headache was too intense for her to focus. She could hear someone sobbing in the room and tried to look around. Moving her head caused pain to radiate from the base of her skull through her head to the back of her eyes; it felt like her eyes were going to explode. She'd never had a headache this bad before so she just lay there, praying it would pass quickly, trying not to think or move until she felt her pulse slow and the pressure in her head decrease.

After a while she carefully started to think about healing herself. The pain in her head quickly faded as her healing ability began to repair the damage and relieve the pressure in her skull. Once the pain had faded she realized she could feel Daemon again. He wasn't dead! She reached out to him through their link and found that he was fully healed and moving toward her. He was still a long way away, but he was coming. She had no way of knowing how long she'd lain there before she felt strong enough to sit up.

The motion detector in the lights noted her movement and turned on a larger red light in the center of the room. It didn't illuminate the room much, just enough to let her make out shapes. The sobbing had stopped a few minutes earlier and now Angelica could make out someone lying in another small bed across the room from her. The room was cramped, with only a few feet between the beds. There was a door at the head of the beds, separating them. A desk and chair were at the foot of Angelica's bed, a small door was on the same wall as the other bed at the foot of it. A locker cabinet was past the small door filling that corner of the room.

Angelica slowly got to her feet and checked on the person in the other bed. She could barely make out Sara's profile in the dim light. Angelica could feel the remnants of the emotional turmoil Sara had been in before she fell asleep so she decided to leave her be while she looked around. The door between the beds was designed to slide into the wall but Angelica couldn't figure out how to get it to move so she left it alone. The desk computer came on when she sat down. It illuminated the room slightly. Angelica had read about computers like this but had never seen one. The keyboard was a holographic projection with the display projected in the center of the desk. Angelica didn't know how to use it so she got up from the desk and checked the cabinet. It had clothing hanging in it and a few shelves at the bottom. The small room was actually the bathroom which immediately reminded Angelica she needed to relieve herself. Inside, she found a small sink with a mirrored cabinet facing the commode. There were buttons on the wall near the door and more near the faucet.

A light in the ceiling came on as soon as she stepped inside so she pushed the button next to the door with the symbol of a door on it. Angelica relieved herself and figured out how to turn the water on to wash up afterward. She experimented with the other buttons next to the door to find out what they were for. The button next to the door button had a circle with lines spreading out from it when she pushed it the light went off. She pressed it again to turn the light back on. The button on the other side of the doorframe was marked with a water drop. Angelica yelped in surprise as water started spraying down from the ceiling when she pushed it. She took a few seconds to figure out what was going on and pushed the button again, hoping to turn off the shower. The surprises weren't over because when she hit the button the water was replaced by jets of warm air blasting her from every angle. In her haste to turn off the air, she hit the button more than once and started the cycle all over again. Angelica took a deep wet breath and calmly hit the button twice to turn on the air and then turn it off again.

She left the bathroom soaking wet and annoyed with herself for being stupid. She didn't know where her pack was so she checked the cabinet for a change of clothes. She found a set of coveralls that looked like they would fit and changed out of her wet clothes. She hung her clothes up on the end of the bed and the back of the chair to dry before she sat down on the bed to think.

Angelica wasn't as worried now that she knew Daemon was still alive. She figured she was on the ship, which meant she was safe from any of the forest predators and most of the Rift monsters. Jimmy had knocked her and Sara out but hadn't hurt them, which meant he wasn't planning on killing them, at least not immediately. Sara was an emotional wreck but that could be from the stress of the past few days. The door being locked was to be expected. Angelica needed to know more about what was going on before she could figure out what to do to help Daemon rescue them.

Angelica lay down on the bed and forced herself to relax. She let her mind drift; if the future was starting to settle down and become more predictable, she might be able to get a glimpse of what was to come. It had been days since she'd been able to glimpse anything, which was common when too many variables were in play and could affect what was going to happen.

It was just minutes before a vision started to form. The vision was of her fighting a blonde man slightly older and taller than she was. He was trained in hand-to-hand combat and took his time beating her unconscious. She could see Daemon's ghostly form watching the fight, unable to help her. Daemon was furious at his inability to protect her. As soon as she started to think about the vision it disappeared like wisps of smoke, leaving her staring at the red-lit room. She didn't understand it all but she did understand she was going to need Daemon's help soon, and if he arrived too late he would be in a killing rage.

***

Daemon stopped in mid-stride, giving Mystique no warning as he slid to a stop and stood perfectly still. Mystique dodged to the side barely missing him as she went around. She stopped herself a few feet away and crouched down to hide from whatever made Daemon stop. She pulled both of her knives and was ready to fight when Daemon started moving again. He came straight for her. He grabbed her as gently as he could and picked her up and held her like he was cradling a baby, then he started running as fast as he could.

"What the hell? What are you doing?" Mystique yelled up at Daemon in surprise as she sheathed her knives.

"I just got a message from Angie. She's in trouble and we need to get there now." Daemon hugged her close and leapt over a small stream.

"How? You said you couldn't talk to her, you could only share feelings or something."

"We figured out a way to get simple messages back and forth. All I know is she needs my help. She is still not hurt but she is worried about something."

"Hey, where's your ax?" Mystique asked as she realized he wasn't carrying it.

"Damn, I must have dropped it when I got Angie's message," Daemon snarled, annoyed with himself for losing the ax. He could go back for it but he didn't want to spend the time and he wasn't sure he wanted a present from a Rift creature anyway.

Mystique was not happy about being carried but she thought if she complained Daemon might drop her and run off. She knew he would feel bad about leaving her alone but he was going to rescue his sister and nothing was going to stop him.

***

Angelica had focused on everything she didn't understand and willed herself to become very nervous, after a few seconds she allowed herself to calm down and stop worrying. She repeated the process three times. She'd done this a few times in the past to let Daemon know she needed his help and hoped he would understand. She didn't want him upset, just in a hurry. She switched to focusing on their link to see if she could tell if he got the message... within a few moments he was closing the distance between them at a much faster pace. If he could keep up the speed he was traveling at now he was still going to take hours to get to her.

She needed to get more information, so she reached out with her mind, trying to find others nearby. Sara was the first person she felt, but since she was asleep it was easy for Angelica to ignore her and push her senses farther out into the ship. She found another female badly hurt and in deep depression. The woman had given up on life and was allowing her wounds to kill her. Next she came across an older man, also hurt and tired. He was shifting between despair and anger, which she deduced meant he was a prisoner.

The last person was young and full of energy. His emotions shifted erratically, meaning he was unstable and most likely insane. Angelica knew it was wise to be scared of this man the deeper she probed his emotional state. She'd felt emotions like this in others back in town—they were the ones who'd been caught doing terrible things and had had to be killed. It had to be Jim. He must be the one the others were afraid of and the one she'd seen herself fighting.

She thought it best to do what she could to help the crewmembers; she would need their help to survive until Daemon could get to her. First, she focused on the other woman, who needed food, but was too depressed to care. Angelica worked on inducing hunger; she spent a long time pushing the woman emotionally before the unhappy lady finally ate something and went to sleep.

The older man was going to be easier to help—or at least she hoped so. She was weak from the strain of concentrating for so long. She didn't try to manipulate the man's emotions; instead, she worked on boosting his healing. He was not lost in depression like the woman; he was still willing to fight; she would heal him just enough for him to start thinking about fighting back. She focused as long as she could before passing out from the strain.

Angelica didn't know how long she'd been asleep when someone grabbed her by the arm and started dragging her out of her bed. She heard Sara say something but was too exhausted and confused to be able to make it out. The person dragging her stopped and kicked at Sara, catching her in the side of the face as she tried to roll away. Angelica felt the spike of pain and despair Sara felt as she sobbed into the pillow.

Jim took the time to yank Angelica to her feet and push her toward the open door. Angelica knew she would lose so she didn't fight him. She simply tried to stay on her feet as he pushed her down the hall. Jim made perverse and disgusting comments about his intentions to rape her as they went. She had a profusion of bruises and scrapes by the time they reached the captain's cabin.

Jim shoved her into the bedroom. "Strip, bitch, or I'll do it for you."

Angelica slowly got undressed and started to climb onto the bed when Jim grabbed her by the arm and stopped her. He forced her to stand before him while he inspected her tall, athletic build. She could feel the lust growing in him and knew what was coming. She was glad she'd allowed Jake to convince her to give him her virginity—this would have been a horrible way to lose it. She guessed the best thing she could do was to try to make him feel exhausted; it was her only way to fight him. She started manipulating him as much as she could while trying to ignore what he was doing to her. She hoped he wouldn't hurt her too much.

***

Mystique was surprised again when Daemon came to a sudden stop. She was able to land on her feet when he dropped her. She was about to say something when she realized he was shaking. Mystique could feel the change in Daemon and slowly backed away, careful not to get his attention. She didn't know what had triggered his anger but for some reason he was on the edge of losing himself in a fit of rage.

Daemon could feel Angelica's pain and fear through their connection and knew he was too far away to do anything about it. He could feel Mystique's fear, too, as she backed away; it was faint but he could still feel it. The beast wanted to destroy and Daemon wanted nothing more than to give him a target but the target was too far away. If he let the beast take over now it would attack Mystique for lack of another target. Daemon had to stay in control no matter how much he wanted to give in.

It was at least twenty minutes before Daemon was finally in full control of the beast. Angelica was still in danger and whoever was hurting her wasn't stopping. Daemon focused on his need to get to Angelica and pushed his anger aside. As fast as he had stopped he was moving again. He scooped up Mystique and channeled his furious energy into closing the distance between him and Angelica.

#

Shektee had finally made it to the edge of town when she felt the ancient's anger. She'd been worried it was angry with her, but she quickly realized it was angry with someone else. She waited now for instructions as her panther form watched the humans go about their business.

It reminded her of the day the Rift opened and she'd entered this plane. The tearing of the veil hadn't been violent where she'd been. She was manipulating a man having sex with a woman when it happened. The veil shimmered and all of the sudden she was on the other side, standing in the room with the couple. The woman had seen her first and screamed at the sight of her. The man had only looked at her and lusted for her. She'd killed the woman too quickly but had drunk the man's soul—the first soul she'd ever truly eaten. She'd manipulated humans through the veil many times before and fed off their lust but she'd never been able to pass through it.

She'd gone in search of more humans to feast on and learned that hordes of other demons had passed through the veil. They were hunting and killing the humans as fast as they could find them. Some of the more powerful ones were killing their fellow demons. She'd been careful and avoided many places large numbers were gathered. She'd only attacked those she found hiding in secluded locations. She'd known nothing of human technology and had gotten herself trapped in that spaceship. She was not going to make that mistake again. In the future she would take her time and learn everything the person knew before she consumed their souls.

Shektee, go to him and assist him. NOW!

Shektee didn't hesitate. She turned in Daemon's direction and leaped into a run. She only made it five steps before she stumbled and fell as her mind exploded with images and her muscles twitched uncontrollably. She lay there, trying to make sense of the information that had streamed into her mind. She quickly realized that the ancient had taught her how to fly. It had trained not only her mind, but her muscles, too, so they would react properly.

She found a break in the trees large enough to take off, and shape-shifted into a raven. The bat form she'd tried earlier used an unfamiliar form of vision she didn't care for. She launched herself into the air and was amazed at how easy it was to fly.

She flew up through the tree cover and wheeled around toward Daemon. As Shektee flew, she realized another thing the ancient had done: Using her abilities this far from the Rift was requiring more energy than normal; she'd been feeling very hungry and low on energy before, but now she felt full of energy. The ancient must have given her some of its energy when it was transferring the information on how to fly. She thought about why the ancient would do that while she flew. None of her kind would ever voluntarily give up any of their life energy. She remembered its statement about paying even lowly servants for their efforts, but that was incomprehensible.

_You should always make sure the servant has the ability to complete the assigned task unless you wish it to fail._ That, Shektee understood. She tried not to think of what she could be facing. Whatever it was, the ancient expected her to need to be at full strength to defeat it.

Shektee flew as straight a path as she could to Daemon's location. He was moving, so she had to correct her course a few times. When she arrived she decided to circle a few times above the trees to see what was in the area. The trees were dense, with only a few places where she could drop through the canopy. She landed roughly twenty yards ahead of Daemon and shifted into her panther form.

She waited for him to run by and started running alongside him. He was carrying the girl for some reason and he was running pretty fast. Shektee was easily able to keep up with him. The girl saw her before Daemon did and pointed to her. Daemon looked at her for just a second and then looked back the way he was running. Shektee could tell by the look he'd given her that he was not concerned with her presence. If she tried to stop him, he'd kill her and be on his way. She wasn't used to humans showing such disdain for her or her kind but she could feel the ancient's presence within him. She dropped back and followed him from a safe distance. The girl watched her over his shoulder as they ran.

***

Angelica wished she were back in the cabin with Sara. Jim had been rough but she wasn't badly hurt. She'd been able to reduce his energy levels to the point where he'd needed to take a nap before continuing. He'd locked her in the bathroom while he slept, not taking the time to return her to Sara's cabin. She'd cleaned herself up and taken a shower. She found that she liked showers; it was like standing in a warm summer rain. When she was done and there was nothing left to do but wait, she almost started to cry. She'd stopped herself and forced herself to think about anything but Jim and what he'd done. Daemon would feel her pain and sorrow through their link. She wouldn't put him through that; she could already feel his guilt at not being able to protect her. Angelica was determined not to inflict any more guilt on him.

Daemon was coming and he would be here in a few more hours. She'd felt his rage through their link while Jim was assaulting her and for the first time it didn't scare her. She'd felt sorry for all of Daemon's other victims. She really didn't like killing but this time she couldn't help but smile when she thought of what Daemon was going to do to Jim. Daemon had held himself at the edge and not let his rage take over; she was very proud of him for that. She could feel that he was still near the edge. She also knew that as soon as he saw Jim, Daemon would stop resisting and allow the beast to take control.

She sat on the commode and tried to relax, but no matter what she did, she couldn't, so instead she focused on healing her wounds. She reached out for Jimmy and drained a little more of his energy. She was careful not to take too much and alert him to what she was doing. She'd never taken energy from anyone before and was surprised at how easy it was. It was more difficult now that they were farther apart but she found that she could still take some. She didn't like thinking about it but the fact was she felt a degree of satisfaction draining him of some of his life energy.

***

Daemon ran for almost an hour with Shektee following him before he finally stopped. He put Mystique down and looked for a weapon in case he had to fight. Mystique pulled her knives and retreated back to a tree. Shektee came to a stop twenty feet away from Daemon. She shifted to the form of a human woman she'd seen in Arnold's mind. She smiled at Daemon. The idea of a human threatening her with a stick would have been humorous in anyone else's hands.

"I was told to find and help you," Shektee said, hoping to calm Daemon down some.

"How can I trust anything you say?"

"I cannot make you trust me. You have to do that yourself. Her, I could make do a lot of things, but you are protected. I cannot influence you."

Mystique tensed when Shektee motioned toward her. She didn't like any of this.

"I even _think_ you're doing something to Mystique, and I'll rip your head off!"

"As you wish, I am here to help. What do you need help with and why are you holding that stick instead of your ax?" Shektee asked as she looked around.

"My sister was taken and I need to rescue her as soon as possible."

Shektee gave Mystique a puzzled look then turned back to Daemon. "She's not your sister? When was your sister taken and how far away is she? What took her?"

Daemon was in no mood to play twenty questions with a demon even if it was offering to help. "You want to help, go back and get the ax. I dropped it a few hours ago."

Shektee was taken aback by the idea of him leaving the ax behind and then something occurred to her. "Show me your arms, please."

Daemon stared at her for a few seconds before showing his forearms. "What?" he demanded as he looked at the new tattoo of the battle ax on his left forearm.

Shektee thought a bit, then said. "I have heard of tattoo magic. It is very difficult and only elders can normally perform it, but an ancient would be able to make an item with it. May I look closer?"

Daemon didn't like the idea of her getting close to him but he needed to know what was going on. He took a few moments to decide.

Shektee stood patiently waiting, drinking in Mystique's fear and enjoying its flavor. Shektee could tell that Mystique was afraid of her but it wasn't going to stop her from assisting Daemon if he attacked.

Finally, Daemon asked her to sit down, so she did. He walked up to her and showed her the tattoo.

Shektee had seen magical writing before and knew a little magic herself so it took her only a few moments to find what she was looking for. "If I explain to you one of the secrets of the ax will you allow me to accompany you and help you as I was instructed?" Shektee looked up at Daemon. When he didn't answer she realized he was having lustful thought about her. She worried he might think she was causing it; she wasn't. She tried to think of what to do, but thought of nothing that wouldn't make it worse.

"Hey, Daemon she asked you a question. Stop gawking at her and answer. Shektee, could you put some clothes on?" Mystique commented from near the tree.

Shektee, surprised Mystique had helped her, said, "I do not have any."

Daemon stepped back and turned to look away in shame, before realizing he had to keep an eye on Shektee and spinning back around. "Fine, you can help," he told her.

"Daemon?" Mystique asked, questioning his decision. She knew she was only along for the ride, and if Daemon wanted to he'd leave her behind.

"What? I don't know what else to do. She says she'll help, okay, she can help. You can tell by looking at her she believes I can and will kill her if she gives me a reason to."

Shektee sat silently waiting while Mystique resigned herself to working with a demon.

"Hold your hands out like you are holding the ax and then say _Ur-Um Gil-Im_ ," Shektee instructed.

Daemon was skeptical but did as he was told, and when he said the phrase the ax appeared in his hands. Daemon was so surprised by the ax's appearance he almost dropped it. He took another long look at the ax with new admiration. He wondered what other abilities it had that he'd yet to discover. He checked the tattoo on his forearm and found that it was faded but still there.

"Okay, now say, _ngen_."

Daemon spoke the word and the ax vanished. He looked at the tattoo and saw that it was bright and new again. He spoke the first phase again; the ax reappeared. Daemon called and dismissed the ax a few times, getting used to the phrases and committing them to memory. Soon, they felt familiar, like he'd been saying them all his life.

"Daemon," Mystique asked, "how much farther?"

"About an hour's run. I figured we had to deal with Shektee before we got any closer."

Daemon walked over to Mystique. She took a hold of his arm and swung herself up onto his back, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. Daemon positioned his arms under Mystique's legs to help support her. Then he concentrated for a few seconds before heading off in the direction of the ship.

Shektee shifted back into the panther form and followed as Daemon led the way.

#

One of the motion sensors Mac had set up around the ship picked up Daemon as he came running toward the ship. The sound of the alarm woke Jim from his sleep.

He remembered getting the native girl for some fun but then he'd gotten too tired to do much.

He was having difficulty thinking; he was so exhausted. Jim grabbed his med kit—not that he was good at first aid, but he knew which drugs would have what effect, so he located a strong stimulant and injected himself with a full dose. He instantly felt the energy coursing through his veins, waking him up and clearing the fog from his mind. He realized he'd felt good until he got near the girl. She must have done something to him.

He remembered locking her in the bathroom before passing out.

Angelica had figured out how to lock her side of the bathroom door and was aware that Jim had woken up. The alarm had awoken her as well; she didn't know when she'd fallen asleep. She could hear Jim moving around the cabin and sensed he was angry. She tried to drain him but he was resisting so she couldn't affect him.

He tried opening the door but it was locked.

Angelica relaxed, thinking she was safe only to tense at the sound of a click from the door.

Jim slid open the door and glared at her. He was holding a metal rod in one hand and a card in the other. "Security passkey opens any lock on this tub, bitch!" Jim stabbed at her with the rod.

Angelica grabbed at it and screamed in pain as a hundred thousand volts of electricity passed through her body. Jim hit her a few more times just for fun.

Her unconscious body convulsed each time.

***

Outside, Daemon screamed as he became aware of what was happening to his sister.

Mystique pulled her legs free and jumped off his back. She landed running, determined to get a safe distance away before stopping.

Shektee stopped and crouched, not sure what was going on but sensing the anger building in both Daemon and the ancient. She could see the edge of the clearing where the ship had landed; she decided to move up to take a better look. She didn't like being close to Daemon when he was this angry. She could easily escape Daemon's wrath but not the ancient's.

Mystique watched as Daemon stood shaking with rage, wondering if she should go with Shektee before she realized what she was thinking. She scolded herself for forgetting Shektee was a Rift demon. Shektee would kill her slowly and enjoy every second of it if she were allowed to. She must never forget that because there was no telling when Shektee's master would let her kill them. Mystique pulled her knives and hid near a tree and waited. Daemon would snap out of it soon and then the fighting would start.

Shektee crept through the broken trees that had been blasted over so the ship could land. She'd thought about circling around the ship but didn't want to get too far away from Daemon in case he decided he needed her. She didn't expect him to, but it was safer not to risk giving the ancient any reason to turn its wrath on her. She spent a few minutes moving through the broken treetops to get to where she could see the ship. It didn't look like much; the main cargo hatch had its ramp down but the hatch itself was closed. She spotted a few smaller personnel hatches but they didn't look like they were in use.

She could sense that Daemon was getting closer so he must be on the move again. Shektee decided to step out and then leap back over the downed treetops. It would be a lot faster than crawling back through them. She walked out onto the trunk of a large fallen tree and was surprised to hear a whirring noise. Shektee had learned over many years to move when surprised so she leaped as far as she could a fraction of a second before the gauss canon fired. The projectile had only grazed her hind leg but instead of leaping over the treetops she was out farther away from them. A piece of her hind leg was missing causing her to crash and tumble when she landed.

The turret tracked her path and prepared to fire again but its sensors alerted it to additional movement in the woods.

Daemon and Mystique had heard the sound of the turret and the weapon firing when they reached the wall of treetops surrounding the ship. Daemon was still full of the rage that had been triggered by the attack on his sister. He called forth his ax and started clearing a path through the treetops. Mystique shifted to the side, giving Daemon a wide berth and started climbing over the branches. She had no idea what she was going to find on the other side and hoped the noise Daemon was making would distract anyone waiting for them.

Mystique reached the top of the wall and looked at the clearing around the ship. She spotted Shektee lying motionless halfway between herself and the ship. A large gun of some kind was mounted on a stand about ten feet from the ship. It was aiming in her direction but didn't fire; instead, it turned to aim at a large branch Daemon was hacking out of his way. Mystique realized what it was and knew she had to disable it before it had a shot at Daemon.

Mystique cursed her luck as she jumped from the branch she was crouched on and started running. The turret instantly reacted to her movement and started swiveling to track her.

Shektee recognized what Mystique was doing and transformed to her natural form and started rolling toward the mount. The ground was uneven and littered with debris from the shattered trees. Shektee didn't care about the many scrapes and splinters she was collecting as she rolled.

Mystique was trying to evade the gun mount's tracking but even her speed couldn't outmatch the turret's sensors and servos. The gauss canon fired an extended burst, cutting through trees as it tracked toward Mystique. Luckily for Mystique, the targeting sensors were having a hard time locking on to her, which made it slow to react to her changes in direction.

Daemon broke through the last of the branches blocking his way just as Shektee rolled right into the tripod base of the heavy gun. The mount was designed to be stable but it wasn't built to take the impact of something slamming into the legs. Even so, the mount barely moved when Shektee hit it, but the impact was strong enough in jarring it off target so that it missed Mystique. The turret changed targets to Daemon, finding his mass easier to lock on to. In the time it took it to start swinging the barrel to its new target, Shektee grabbed one of the gun mount legs and pushed it over.

Mystique was there by the time the barrel hit the ground. She grabbed the cables connecting the gun to its power supply and pulled. At first the cables resisted but the rush of adrenalin coursing through her gave Mystique the strength needed to pull them free in a shower of sparks.

Mystique looked down to see if Shektee was all right and noted that a chunk of her right calf muscle was missing just below the knee. The flesh around where it should have been was ragged and covered with a black oily liquid that Mystique assumed was Shektee's blood. "Can you regenerate that?" Mystique asked as she reached down to help her up, forgetting once again Shektee was not to be trusted.

"Yes, it will heal," Shektee replied as she took Mystique's hand and pulled herself up. Shektee was surprised that Mystique would offer to help her.

Shektee couldn't put any weight on her leg and it hurt. She had a very high pain tolerance and normally didn't even notice wounds that would have a human screaming in agony. She could feel the skin and muscle starting to heal already but it was going take most of the energy the ancient had given her. She was going to have to feed if she used much more.

***

Jim watched the girl help the demon from inside the ship, on the monitor. He recognized the man as the one he'd killed or thought he'd killed when he retrieved Sara. This time he would make sure that sucker was dead and stayed that way. The guy had a battle ax, of all things. Jim chuckled as he remembered the classic words of wisdom: "Never bring a knife to a gun fight." Jim lifted his plasma rifle into the ready position and triggered the door to cycle open.

***

The cargo bay door at the top of the ramp started to lift, warning the group that someone was coming. Mystique pulled Shektee close and half carried her to the hull of the ship, hoping it would give them a little cover.

Shektee thought about how easy it would be for her to drain every bit of Mystique's life energy, she was so close. She didn't because the ancient would kill her for it. She fought to maintain control of her hunger as more of her strength was used to regenerate her wound.

Mystique realized she was hugging a demon and resigned herself to the fact that she had to trust Shektee. Once at the ship she released Shektee so she could draw her knives and get ready to throw the one in her right hand. She knew it wouldn't hurt their attacker but hoped it might distract him.

Daemon stood his ground, waiting to face whatever came out the door.

Jim stood in the middle of the doorway as the door slowly rumbled up. Once the door was fully open he looked at Daemon and smiled. The big man thought he was tough; well, he was about to show him he was just stupid.

Daemon lifted his ax and wrung his hands on the handle, anticipating the swing that would cut Jim in half.

As Jim walked down the ramp the HUD display in his helmet alerted him to where the girl and the demon were hiding. He swung the barrel of his gun over and fired without turning his head—the targeting system in his helmet made sure he wouldn't miss.

Mystique saw him swing his rifle in their direction and knew they were in trouble. She instinctively threw her knife at the barrel of his rifle and dove away from the ship.

Shektee didn't understand what was going on but if Mystique was diving for cover she assumed she should be, too. Shektee wasn't going far, though, not with her bad leg. She could only hope it was going to be far enough.

Jim had set the plasma gun on wide-effect blast, knowing his opponents didn't have any armor. It would be easier to catch them in the blast of an explosive bolt rather than hit them with a focused bolt, and just as effective. What Jim forgot was that the explosive bolt would detonate on impact with anything more solid than a gas. Jim triggered his rifle as it came on target, not even caring about the knife the girl had thrown. The ball of plasma accelerated down and out of the barrel of his rifle only to impact with a small piece of steel flying toward it.

The bolt of plasma detonated ten feet from the end of the barrel. It expanded out in micro seconds to engulf Jim, throwing him off the ramp like a discarded rag doll.

Mystique was in midair when the shock wave hit her, lifting her higher and sending her farther then she expected. The searing heat wave that followed burned her exposed skin and hair, sending her deep into shock and unconsciousness.

Shektee was thrown into the side of the ship with enough force to shatter human bones, but she only suffered a broken nose and jaw as her face hit the hull of the ship. The intense heat washed over her body, burning away the splinters she'd gotten earlier but having no effect on her skin. Shektee remained conscious long enough to see Daemon start his charge.

Daemon watched as Jim swung the barrel of the gun away from him and knew it was his chance to close the distance. He had just kicked off his first step when the explosion happened. He felt the hot air wash over him and the shockwave slam into him but he was far enough away that neither had much effect. He never took his eyes off his target—he didn't have to, to know what happened to his companions. He no longer felt the aggression Shektee had been repressing, which meant she was either dead or unconscious and any explosion that could do that to her would certainly have killed Mystique.

He let go of his rage, allowing it to take full control: This person deserved what the beast was about to do to him. Jim had just gotten back to his feet when Daemon reached him. Daemon took an underhand swing at Jim with the ax.

The enhanced strength and reflexes granted him by his powered armor enabled Jim to block the swing with the barrel of his rifle. Warning lights in Jimmy's helmet told him the ax had damaged the rifle and the armor was shutting down power to it. Jim barely had time to register the information as Daemon swung again and again, driving Jim back with the power and fury of each swing. Jim was holding the rifle like a staff. It took the strength of both arms to stop the momentum of the ax as it cut deep gouges into the Chromalloy barrel.

Jimmy knew he had to shift the momentum of the fight or he was going to lose. No metal known to man could do what that ax was doing and he'd no desire to find out how well his armor would hold up to one of those hits. Jimmy took a risk that the rhythm of the swings wouldn't change and kicked out as Daemon pulled the ax back for another swing. The kick was short and missed but it did force Daemon to break his rhythm and step back. Jim leapt at his chance, dropping his rifle and grabbing hold of the ax handle. The servos in his armor whined as Jim put a death grip on the ax.

Daemon tried to jerk it free of his grasp but only succeeded in forcing Jim to take a few steps forward to keep his balance. The two struggled for control of the ax, pushing and pulling each other like clashing behemoths. Jim could not understand how anyone could match strength with powered battle armor and not be crushed instantly.

The beast that was now controlling Daemon had fought countless opponents. The experience it had gained had taught it that maintaining your balance was a key factor in winning: If you were thrown off balance for even a few seconds your opponent could easily gain the upper hand. Daemon braced himself, forcing Jim to stand still as the two entered into a duel of sheer strength. Each man pulled with everything he had, trying to break the other's grasp. Jim was so focused that he didn't notice the slight shift in Daemon's footing—he was staring at Daemon, knowing he was winning and that it was only a matter of time.

The Beast looked in Jim's eyes and a smile crept onto Daemon's face. He said, " _Ngen_."

The battle ax vanished, sending Jimmy stumbling backward. He'd been pulling with such determination that he was totally off balance without the ax to hold on to.

Daemon shifted only slightly, having known what was going to happen and when. He had one more surprise for Jim. " _Ur-Um Gil-Im_."

The ax reappeared in his grasp and this time Jim didn't have anything to fend off Daemon's attack with. He had fallen on his butt and was trying to understand what had happened when Daemon stepped up in front of him. Jim raised his arms in a feeble attempt to block the ax as it came crashing down.

Daemon vented a great deal of anger on Jimmy. When he finally stopped the ground was covered in blood and gore. Jim's armor hadn't held up to the force of Daemon's blows; bits and pieces of it were scattered over a large area. Daemon put the ax away and stood staring at what he'd done. The man had attacked Angelica, he'd killed Mystique, he deserved to die but Daemon couldn't stop thinking that he was no better than a Rift demon.

A noise behind him broke his train of thought and made him turn to see what had made it. Shektee was trying to move but she was still crippled. Daemon walked to her to check on her, not sure what he was going to do about her: She hadn't done anything to him or Mystique, but she was a killer. Daemon was still trying to decide when he reached her. As he looked down at her, he decided as long as she didn't hurt him or anyone he cared about he had no right to judge her. He bent down and helped her move into a more comfortable position and told her to be still and heal; he would be right back.

Shektee could feel the compassion coming from him. She couldn't understand why anyone would voluntarily give their life's energy to another. The little he was radiating toward her was replenishing her and making her feel stronger.

Daemon stood up, determined to find Angelica and make sure she was safe when Shektee grabbed his leg. He looked down to see what she wanted and she pointed to where Mystique was lying. Daemon wasn't sure what she wanted but she kept pointing toward Mystique so he finally turned and walked to Mystique's corpse. Daemon had really liked Mystique and it hurt that she'd died. He didn't want to look at her burnt and broken body but Shektee was determined to get him to go to her.

The blast had lifted her and thrown her an extra fifteen feet and she'd slid to a stop when she'd landed. Her skin was red and blistered, and her hair was mostly burned off with only small patches still clinging to her scalp. Daemon knelt down to roll her on her back, not sure he wanted to touch her. Daemon wished he'd left her behind. She was smart; she would have made it. He could have gone back for her once Angelica was safe.

Daemon froze as a small leaf fluttered away from Mystique's mouth. Was she breathing? He put his cheek to her face, trying to feel her breath. After the longest minute of his life, Daemon decided he wasn't imagining it, she was breathing. She was still alive.

#

He had to get her to Angelica fast. Daemon carefully picked her up and ran for the ramp.

The cargo hatch was still open and Daemon could tell Angelica was near the front of the ship. The cargo bay had dozens of shipping containers of various sizes. He moved to the forward bulkhead and looked for a hatch that would allow him to continue forward. It took him precious minutes to find his way around the containers to a hatch leading to a corridor. Daemon glimpsed a small map mounted in a frame near the door. It showed a basic floor plan of the ship. He stopped and looked at it for a few seconds, figuring out where he was, in relation to where Angelica was.

It looked like this level was mostly used for storage so Daemon located the nearest way up to the next level, which was a set of stairs with a hatch at the top. Daemon took the stairs three at a time, stopping at the top to look around. He noted one aggressive person to the aft of the ship but ignored him for now. Daemon found another map mounted to the wall near the hatch.

According to the map the corridor he was in went the length of the ship from the Bridge to Engineering. The crew cabins were all connected to this corridor, as well as Medical, the mess room, and the crew lounge. Daemon started jogging toward the front, careful not to cause Mystique any more injuries. He could tell Angelica was close. He assumed Jim had taken over the captain's cabin since it was the largest and most luxurious. Angelica had to be there.

The door to the captain's cabin slid open when Daemon touched the pad next to the door. The cabin had two rooms. The one just inside the door had a large desk and chair on one side and a small table with two more chairs in the middle. The walls were lined with a few paintings and book shelves. An opening to the left led to the bedroom. It was about the same size as his bedroom, roughly ten feet square with a bed taking up most of one side. A dresser and a cabinet were near the foot of the bed. There was also a small door leading to what Daemon assumed was a closet.

Daemon yelled, "Angelica!" as he gently lay Mystique on the bed.

"I'm in here. The door is locked. I can't get out," Angelica called from behind the small door.

Daemon checked the door and found another control panel. He pressed on it and the door slid open.

Angelica gasped at the sight of her brother covered in blood. "Is any of that yours?" she asked as she stepped out into the cabin and grabbed a towel to cover herself with.

Daemon reached out to hug his sister, too relieved to be embarrassed by seeing her naked.

She put her hand on his chest to stop him. "Not until after you've cleaned up." Angelica was determined not to fall into her brother's arms and start crying like a little girl, even though that was exactly what she wanted to do.

Daemon stepped aside so Angelica could see Mystique lying on the bed. "She's still alive but she's hurt really bad. Can you help her? She probably saved my life getting herself blown up."

Angelica crossed the room and sat down next to Mystique. She reached out with her senses and found that Mystique was alive, but she was in shock. Angelica focused and poured every ounce of energy she had into healing Mystique. She wasn't sure it was going to be enough; she'd never healed anyone this badly injured before.

Daemon stepped up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. He wasn't very good at it, but he tried to give Angelica some of his energy.

Angelica focused on Mystique's lungs first. They were badly burned from Mystique inhaling the scorching hot air. Mystique was only getting a small amount of oxygen into her blood so if Angelica could heal her lungs that would improve her overall chances of recovery. She sat unmoving for close to fifteen minutes before she finally collapsed from the exertion. Daemon's added energy had helped but Angelica was going to need food and something to drink before she could continue.

Daemon lifted Angelica's legs up so she was lying in the bed and covered them both with a few towels. He wasn't sure what to do next. He didn't want to leave them, but it occurred to him that it wasn't safe to let Shektee wander around the ship. There might be others on board and if she met them it could get bad quickly. Daemon finally decided to risk the quick run back to get Shektee. He knew the way now and it would only take a couple minutes.

Daemon left the captain's cabin and ran down the corridor to the hatch. He had to duck as he ran down the stairs to keep from smacking his head. The way through the containers was a lot simpler now that he knew where he was going. He found Shektee in her panther form, hobbling up the ramp. When she saw him, she stopped and shifted forms back to her natural demonic form which Arnold had found her in: almost human except for the small horns, clawed feet, a three-foot-long, whip-like tail that ended in a bone spike, and pools of inky blackness for eyes. Her face was healed except for some bruising, which would fade quickly now that the major damage was healed. She was still missing a chunk from her leg so she leaned against the bulkhead near the cargo hatch.

"Thank you for letting me know that Mystique wasn't dead," Daemon told her as he walked closer. "I'm going to take you up to the cabin my sister is in. I'm not sure where the rest of the crew members are and I don't want you eating them. Plus, my sister's a healer, so she might be able to help with your leg."

"I will do whatever you want; the ancient has made you my master. I will need sustenance once I have regenerated my leg. I can maintain control for now but if I become too hungry I won't be able to stop myself from feeding," Shektee confessed. She didn't know how Daemon would react, but if she did lose control now, he'd understand why she had. Sympathy was an emotion she didn't fully understand and she doubted she would ever be able to feel it for another, but Daemon had felt it for her before and hopefully he would again. She also hoped he'd just punish her instead of killing her if she fed.

"What do you eat, anyway?" Daemon was pretty sure he didn't want to know but if she needed to feed soon he'd better know what it was.

"I drain the life energy from my prey. Emotional energy can give me some sustenance but mostly it only adds flavor like spices add to your meals. I have found that I do not have to kill my prey but it requires me to stop in the middle of feeding, which can be very difficult when I am hungry," Shektee said, only changing a few facts a little. She was a little surprised that Daemon didn't know more about demons.

"Okay, change into something more human-looking in case we run into any of the crew," Daemon instructed her as he scooped her up and carried her to the stairs.

Shektee was too shocked and amazed to say anything. The amazement that her master would carry her warred with the shock of a human treating her like a helpless invalid. He wasn't as gentle with her as he'd been with Mystique. He was in a hurry and wanted to get back to Angelica and Mystique.

It only took a couple minutes for Daemon to carry Shektee to the captain's cabin. The girls were still sleeping on the bed when he checked the bedroom. He motioned for Shektee to be quiet as he set her in the chair at the desk. He found her some clothing in the captain's closet and helped her put them on. It was all far too large for her, but at least she wasn't naked anymore—not that Daemon minded her being naked, but it was very distracting.

He had also found some clothes that he thought might fit him. He went into the bathroom to clean up. It took him a few minutes to figure out how to work the sink and shower. Once he had, he stripped and took a shower. He had read about showers but had never had one; he decided it was a lot better than swimming in the river.

Angelica stirred on the bed, causing Shektee to stop searching the desk and wheel the chair over to the entrance to the bedroom to see who it was. Shektee could sense that Angelica had a powerful magical nature and was curious what spells or powers she knew. Daemon was too busy banging around in the bathroom to notice Angelica was waking up. Shektee's mind drifted to how easily she could feast on the women. Mystique would hardly be worth the effort she was so close to death already but the mage she could feast on her for hours before her gorging killed the woman.

"DAEMON!" Angelica shouted as the waves of vile desire brought her out of her sleep.

Daemon bounded out of the bathroom naked, holding his ax in one hand, looking for what had scared Angelica. It took him a moment to realize it had been Shektee. She was sitting nervously, her hands clenched in her lap, her face turned down so Daemon could not see the look on it. Angelica was sitting in the bed, her back pressed up against the wall, staring at Shektee.

"I didn't do anything I was just sitting here, thinking."

"Daemon, kill it. It's a Rift monster!" Angelica told him, pointing at Shektee.

"Wait, I didn't do anything," Shektee pleaded with Daemon, worried he would do as his sister told him.

"Angie, it's okay. Shektee won't hurt you. She helped me get to the ship and she saved Mystique's life," Daemon told her as he realized he was standing in front of his sister butt naked, holding a battle ax. He grabbed the cloths he'd found and stepped back into the bathroom. He put away the ax and pulled the captain's pants on. They were short by a few inches and about six inches to big at the waist but they would cover his butt. He grabbed his belt from his old pants and was threading it through the loops as he stepped back into the cabin.

Angelica hadn't moved; she was still sitting on the bed, staring at Shektee. Shektee had turned so she was watching the bathroom door, waiting for Daemon to return.

"Angie, things got a lot more complicated after you were kidnapped. Jim hurt me really bad and while I was regenerating Shektee showed up with a gift from her master. When I woke up, she was talking to Mystique so I didn't attack. She told me she was sent to help and she has. I know where she's from and that she will attack us if she is given permission, but we may need her help." Daemon was not sure how his sister was going to react. He didn't like having a Rift monster around but she'd proven helpful.

"How do you know our language?" Angelica asked, stalling while she thought about what Daemon had told her.

"While I am in contact with someone I can read their minds and learn what they know," Shektee answered, trying to explain truthfully without being too detailed.

"Who is your master and why would he give a gift to my brother?"

"He is an ancient being of great power and his reasons for doing anything are his to explain if he chooses. I do not question his will; I simply do as I am told."

"So if he told you to kill us, you would?"

"Yes. I would have no choice." Shektee didn't like where this was going.

"Daemon, how can you trust her? She just said she would try to kill us if she got the chance."

"That is not what I said," Shektee protested.

"I didn't say I trusted her but I don't have a reason to kill her, either. _You_ told me I shouldn't kill anyone unless I had a very good reason. She hasn't given me one. She's already admitted she would lose if we ever fought, so why would she start something?"

"Fine, but when she does kill someone it'll be your fault as much as hers. And don't ever leave me alone with her." Angelica may have conceded to Daemon's wish not to kill Shektee, but she wasn't happy about it. "Why don't you take her and go get me something to eat. I only sensed three others on board: Sara, and two strangers." Angelica wanted time alone to think and sending him looking for food was the best idea she could come up with.

Daemon motioned for Shektee to leave so she got up and limped out into the corridor. Daemon followed her, his head down. He had hoped Angelica wouldn't realize Shektee was a demon or at least it would take her longer. He had to admit he should have known better.

Shektee was glad to be away from Angelica, she had too much influence over Daemon and she wanted Shektee dead.

Daemon reached out to help Shektee walk but she ducked away. She turned and leaned against the wall, looking at Daemon. Daemon looked back at her. "Don't worry, I meant what I said. As long as you don't give me a reason to, I won't kill you. I might try to send you away if things get to be too difficult."

Shektee would have been amused at any other human for thinking they could kill her so easily but it was a relief to hear it coming from Daemon. She reached out and took his arm for support as they walked down the corridor.

Daemon remembered that the map showed that the galley was close. He passed through the dining area straight into the kitchen, barely noticing the patches to the ceiling of the room or the new weld down the center of the table. He wasn't much of a cook, but he figured he could put something together for Angelica.

Shektee wasn't going to be any help; she'd never had any interest in learning the domestic part of her prey's life so she hopped up on a counter and watched.

Daemon searched through all the cabinets and drawers; nothing he found resembled food. He found some frozen food in vacuum-sealed bags in a cold locker. He threw a couple of packets of what he thought was meat in a bowl and started running hot water on them to thaw them out while he tried to figure out how to work the stove. It didn't take long for him to get the stove working and fill a skillet with meat chunks from the bag. He showed Shektee how to cook the meat. She stayed with it while he looked for something other than water to drink. He found a pitcher of orange liquid in the dining area and after tasting it, decided to take it.

Daemon decided he would test Shektee a little to see what she did. "Could you cook another packet of meat while I take this to Angie?"

"As you wish. I am here to serve you," Shektee replied, bowing her head slightly.

He was getting tired of everyone looking to him for directions.

***

Angelica was sitting on the side of the bed when Daemon came in. She'd dampened a few towels and was placing them over Mystique. Daemon put the items he was carrying on the desk and walked over to see how Mystique was doing.

"She's going to be all right, though I am worried about how much pain she's going to be in when she wakes up. There's just so _much_ damage; I can't heal it all," Angelica whispered.

The sorrow and pity she was feeling toward Mystique pulled at Daemon's heart.

Angelica had been able to heal her lungs so she was breathing easier. She'd also healed some minor internal damage but the burns to Mystique's skin were going to take longer and she was bound to wake up before they fully healed. Angelica wasn't sure how much scarring there would be but she was going to do her best to minimize it.

"Where is Shektee?" Angelica asked as she realized she wasn't with Daemon.

"I left her in the kitchen. She's cooking up some more meat."

"Are you crazy, leaving her alone? What if she runs into another member of the crew?"

"She won't do anything."

"How can you be sure? Why do you trust her—it—so much?"

"She has to do what I tell her."

"I doubt that. If anything, she realizes you're a threat and is trying to get you to let your guard down so she can kill you and then torture and kill the rest of us," Angelica stated, knowing she was right. She'd felt the evil, vile desires Shektee was having when she was left alone with her. Angelica knew exactly what Shektee wanted.

Daemon changed topics, knowing it would do him no good to argue with his sister. "Any idea where Sara is, or any of the other crewmembers?"

"Yeah, she's hurt, but not seriously. She's four doors down on the right."

"I'll go check on her."

"Bring her back here; no sense making Shektee go looking for her when she decides to kill us," Angelica told Daemon, making sure that he understood she was not done talking to him about Shektee.

"I've killed people, too. Maybe you should kill me after I kill her," Daemon stated as he left the cabin.

Angelica's jaw dropped open as she realized why her brother was arguing against killing Shektee. He didn't see her as a mindless monster. He saw her as being like him. Angelica stood there, stunned as the similarities warred with the differences between Daemon and Shektee in her mind.

#

The door to the cabin Sara was supposed to be in was locked. Daemon knocked on it, but didn't get any response. He knocked harder. When that didn't work he tried yelling through the door. He thought about chopping through the door with his ax, but didn't know if that would work since the door slid sideways into the wall.

Sara heard the knocking and pulled the covers higher over her head but it wouldn't stop. Finally she pulled back the covers and listen to the person yelling. The voice sounded familiar. It sounded like Daemon, but it couldn't be. Jim had told her that he'd killed Daemon. She sat up and groaned as the side of her face pulsed with pain. It took her a few minutes before she felt able to stand and when she did she wasn't very stable and had to hold the walls to keep them from moving. Whoever was at the door was determined, she would give him that. He had started alternating between pounding on the door and yelling. She waited for the person to stop yelling and knocked on the door while he prepared to start pounding again.

Daemon heard the soft knocking on the door as he brought his fist up to start his knocking again. He listened for Sara to say something but she didn't, so he yelled through the door, "Sara, open the door. It's safe. I'm going to take you to Angie."

Sara was sure it was Daemon. Jim had only thought he'd killed Daemon. She should have known better. Daemon was hard to kill. She drew a deep breath and yelled, "The door is locked from your side. You need the passkey to unlock it."

Daemon had no idea where to get a passkey so he retrieved his ax and drove the spiked tip into the control panel next to the door. Daemon felt a tingle pass through his arms and across his chest as the spike pierced through the electronics of the door lock and shorted them out. The door slid open as Daemon pulled his ax free and checked it for damage and found none.

Sara was standing at the other end of the cabin where she'd retreated when she heard the impact and the electrical circuitry shorting out. She ran across the space as best as she could and hugged Daemon, reassured in the knowledge that he was there to protect her again, which meant Jim was probably dead.

Sara let Daemon lead her to the captain's cabin where Angelica was tending to Mystique. Angelica got up and gave Sara a long, comforting hug. Sara asked, "What happened?"

"She got caught in a plasma blast from Jim's rifle. He probably would have killed me if not for her," Daemon said, his guilt at letting Mystique get hurt written all across his face.

"I was able to heal the worst of the injuries so she'll live but I am worried about how much pain she's going to be in and how badly scarred she'll be once she's healed," Angelica said as she placed new damp towels on Mystique. "I am pretty weak from healing Mystique, but if you need some, I will do what I can," Angelica offered Sara.

"I'll be all right. We could put Mystique in the regeneration tank. Captain Stevenson got us a top-of-the-line one a few years ago. It'll heal her up in no time and keep the scarring to a minimum," Sara suggested.

The thought of the captain caused her both pride and sadness. Sara led the way to the medical facilities with Angelica following behind her, and Daemon bringing up the rear. Daemon carried Mystique wrapped in a blanket as carefully as he could. When they reached Medical, Sara palmed the pad and the pressure hatch slid open. She had Daemon put Mystique down on the examination table in the middle of the room. Sara started into the next room only to stop in the doorway. The next room was only large enough to hold the regeneration chamber and a few people. There was a chair to the right and the control panel for the chamber to the left. Sara had not expected anyone to be in the chamber but the readouts told her it was occupied. She was about to check who it was when the door to the corridor opened and she jumped in surprise.

Shektee had finished cooking the meat the way Daemon had shown her and waited. Daemon hadn't returned so she decided to bring it to him. She'd piled it on a plate and wrapped a fork and knife in a napkin the way he'd done it, before she left to go looking for him. She was glad the ancient had given her the ability to locate him whenever she wanted. It let her know that he'd relocated to a cabin back down the corridor near the stairs he'd carried her up. Her leg was not fully healed but it could support some of her weight so she limped slowly down the corridor. The door to the cabin Daemon was in was closed so she passed her hand to the front of the panel like Daemon had to open the door to the galley and it slid open. Angelica and Daemon were in the room with Mystique, there was another woman in the doorway to another compartment. Shektee walked in and offered Daemon the plate of meat.

"Who are you?" Sara asked when she turned and saw Shektee.

"My name is Shektee. I am here to help Daemon," Shektee said before Daemon or Angelica had a chance.

"Don't trust her. She is not human no matter what she looks like," Angelica told Sara, never taking her eyes off Shektee.

Daemon just looked at Angelica without saying anything. He didn't want to argue with his sister at this point so he decided to take Shektee to another cabin.

Sara inched a little farther into the compartment with the regeneration chamber, watching Shektee as she went. "What do you mean, she's not human?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll lock her in the kitchen storeroom for now," Daemon said, looking at Angelica for approval. Angelica nodded and Daemon motioned Shektee to leave.

Shektee wasn't happy about the idea of being locked in a room but she knew better than to protest.

Out in the corridor Daemon offered Shektee his arm as he led the way back to the galley. He apologized on the way. "I'm sorry, but Angie is right. Until we get things settled down and figure out what we're going to do I can't allow you to roam around freely."

Shektee was a little surprised to sense regret coming from Daemon. In her society the strong did what they pleased to anything weaker than themselves and none ever felt regret. She didn't think any of her kind could feel regret, it was such a foreign emotion.

In the kitchen, Shektee offered Daemon the plate of meat again. He took the plate and set it on the counter before trying a couple of pieces. "Have you ever eaten human food?"

"No, I did try some of the liquid. It had an interesting taste and warmed my throat and stomach. I enjoyed the sensation." Shektee smiled slightly, remembering the glass of scotch she'd drunk on the yacht.

"Try some of the meat; it might help with your hunger," Daemon suggested as he picked up another piece and popped it in his mouth.

She picked up a small piece and bit into it. She found that she liked the taste so she had a few more.

"Don't eat too much too fast until you know how it's going to affect you," Daemon instructed as he watched her eat.

She wasn't sure what he meant but stopped eating anyway.

Daemon wanted to get back to Angelica. He handed Shektee the plate. "Please step inside and don't come out until I get you." He guessed that if she really wanted to she could break through the door and get out but hopefully she wouldn't and he could get Angelica to listen to him. As he closed the door he told her, "I'll be back soon."

***

Angelica didn't want to scare Sara any more than necessary so she didn't tell her what Shektee was. "I don't want to get into it right now but trust me, Shektee is not to be trusted."

One of the things Sara had learned on this planet was that there was a lot that she really didn't want to know. If Angelica didn't want to explain, she wasn't going to push for an explanation. She went back to the control panel for the regeneration chamber to find out who was inside. It took her a few minutes to figure it out. She wasn't very familiar with the controls of the chamber and didn't want to accidently hurt the person inside. Finally, she was able to display the patient's name, Nelson Lopez, the ship's doctor. The display switched to a diagnostic readout of his condition. It said that Nelson was in cryogenic sleep. Sara didn't understand; according to the other readouts he was in perfect health. The injuries he had when he was put in the chamber were healed but someone had put him into cryogenic sleep anyway.

Angelica came over to see what was taking Sara so long to get the chamber ready. "Nelson is in the chamber. Someone put him in cryogenic sleep," Sara said as she took another look at the controls.

"How long will it take to get him out so we can put Mystique in?" Angelica asked, worried that if it took too long Mystique might wake up.

"I don't know. I've never done anything that complicated," Sara said, looking from Angelica to the controls and then to Mystique. "I wish Mac were here. He could do it. He's fully qualified on every piece of equipment on this ship."

"I sensed an injured man in the back section of the ship."

"Let's just pray he doesn't need it, too," Sara said as she started for the exit.

Angelica and Sara were just stepping into the corridor when Daemon came walking up. "How's Mystique doing?"

"We ran into a problem. Someone put a guy called Nelson in the regeneration chamber. Sara can't get him out without risking his life so we're going to get Mac," Angelica said as they walked down the corridor.

"Let me go first in case he attacks," Daemon told them as he tried to move past them.

Angelica stopped him, putting a hand to his chest. "No, he's weak and injured. We need him calm and cooperative, not scared you're going to do something."

Daemon didn't like it but he dropped back to follow the girls a couple yards back.

When they reached the hatch to Engineering, Daemon ignored Angelica's earlier argument and insisted on entering the engine room first so Sara stepped aside, and waited next to the controls for the door.

Angelica was about to protest when she felt Daemon loosen his hold on his beast so she kept silent.

Daemon could sense the aggression projected by the man in the next room so he wanted to be the first to meet him. He nodded to Sara, who triggered the door to open. Daemon stepped in, looking around for the aggressor. He relaxed and motioned the girls to come in when he spotted Mac chained to a pipe. It looked like someone had beaten him pretty bad. His right eye was swollen shut; the skin around it was varying shades of purple. His wrists were raw and bloody from where the chain had dug into them.

Sara gasped at the sight and ran over to help her friend and mentor. "Mac, it's me, Sara. You're safe now. Daemon, help me get him down." Sara found a reserve of strength she didn't know she had as she forgot about everything that had happened to her and thought only about helping Mac. She reached Mac first, gently hugging him and trying to help support some of his weight.

He tried to say something but between the swelling of his broken lips and lack of water only a rasping noise came out.

Daemon reached above him, grabbing the chain with his left hand so Mac wouldn't fall when it was cut. Sara's eyes went wide when a battle ax appeared in Daemon's right hand and he swung it at the chain. The ax sliced through the chain and put a mark in the wall behind it and then it was gone. Daemon helped Sara lower Mac into a chair that Angelica had brought over. Sara almost fell on top of Mac as he fell the last few inches into the chair. Daemon released his grip on Mac's chains and carefully pulled Sara away so Angelica could give Mac a drink of water.

Mac tried to open his mouth to drink but dried blood kept him from having much success; most of his first few sips dribbled down his chin and neck.

Angelica and Sara spent the next twenty minutes tending to Mac. He was dehydrated and had numerous cuts and bruises but nothing serious or life-threatening. Angelica used her healing ability to reset his arms; they had been pulled out of their sockets by his own body weight while he hung from the pipe. Sara gave him a shot from the med kit they kept near the control panels to ease his pain.

Daemon tried not to think about Mystique and her need for care, instead he busied himself examining the engines and power plant.

Mac slowly regained the ability to speak. "Where's Jim?"

Sara started to respond when Angelica stated, "Daemon killed him for raping me." Her tone dared Mac to object to what had been done.

"Good. I don't know what got into that kid but he deserved what he got."

"I doubt that," Daemon commented as he walked over.

Mac gave him a confused look, knowing only that Daemon had been the one who'd killed Jim, not how he'd done it.

"How are Stacey and Nelson and who are you two, anyway?" Mac asked, changing the subject.

"My name's Angelica, and this is my brother, Daemon."

"Nelson is in cryogenic sleep. I don't know about Stacey," Sara said. "Angelica, can you sense her?"

"Yes, I think I sensed her before Jim came to get me. She was up near where Jim took me, in another cabin across the hall."

Mac stared at Angelica for a few seconds. "Are you some kind of psychic? I heard about them but never met one before. Well, I guess it makes sense with all the radiation changing the plants that you would develop some psychic ability."

"Yes, I guess so. I can sense what others are feeling and I can help people heal."

"Mac, we need you to get Nelson out of the regeneration chamber. A girl from town got badly burned and needs treatment," Sara said.

"Screw that. We take care of the crew first. I'm going to find Stacey and see if she needs help," Mac stated as he got up.

Daemon shot his hand out and grabbed Mac by the neck and lifted him until they were face-to-face. Mac was too surprised to do anything but gasp for air. Sara shrieked in terror as her mind filled with images of what Daemon might do to Mac. Angelica grabbed Daemon's arm, yelling at him to let Mac go.

Daemon very calmly told Mac, "You will tend to Mystique or I will kill every member of the crew." He dropped Mac to the floor and turned to leave, ignoring everything said behind him.

"Daemon!" Angelica shouted with enough feeling to make him stop and turn around. He stared at his sister for a few seconds before leaving.

"You need to get to Medical fast; he's not bluffing," Angelica told Mac and Sara as she ran for the hatch.

"Screw him and screw you. I'm not helping either one of you," Mac croaked out as he rubbed his sore neck.

"I'll try to calm him down and talk some sense into him. Sara, you need to get to Medical and do what you can," Angelica told them over her shoulder as she left the room.

"Who the hell does he think he is? What gives him the right to board our ship and start making demands?" Mac ranted at Sara as she helped him into a chair.

"He's the guy that saved my life more times than I can count since we landed on this hell hole. He is also the scariest person I've ever met, so please help me," Sara pleaded with him.

"All right, I'll help you, not them," Mac conceded as he climbed to his feet and motioned Sara to lead the way.

#

Angelica caught up to Daemon and followed him without saying a word. She focused on using her ability to calm him down as they walked. She could tell he was still angry.

When they reached the galley Daemon stopped and turned to her. "I'm going to get something to eat. Do you want anything?"

"Sure. Are you willing to talk?"

"Yeah, but I meant what I said: If he doesn't help Mystique, I'll kill him," Daemon stated as he crossed the small dining hall and entered the galley.

Angelica followed him, thinking how best to talk him out of killing anyone and trying to understand why he was so upset.

Daemon pulled the pin from the handle and opened the door to the pantry. Shektee had reverted to her natural form and was sitting on the floor, leaning against the far wall. The plate of meat was empty and on the floor next to her. She started standing up when Daemon opened the door. Daemon motioned her to come out so she stepped past him as he entered the pantry. Daemon started picking items off the shelves and reading the labels as he looked for something to eat.

Angelica had been so focused on Daemon that she'd missed Shektee and was surprised when she entered the kitchen. Shektee looked at her and smiled. "Does my appearance make you uncomfortable? I can change it if you wish."

"What? Don't talk to me. Stay away from me," Angelica blurted out as she backed away from Shektee.

Shektee decided it would be best for her to change and look human. She chose the form of the woman she'd been using when she'd first met Angelica. The transformation only took second to complete and thankfully very little energy. "There, does that make you feel more comfortable?"

Angelica watched the transformation in amazement, her mouth hanging slightly open. Daemon stuck his head out to see what was going on and laughed at the stupid expression on his sister's face. Angelica snapped her mouth shut and glared at Shektee, who only smiled slightly in amusement. She was beginning to understand the ancient's interest in these other emotions.

"I can teach you some minor magic, if you like. I don't understand the shape change magic enough yet to teach it to you, though," Shektee offered thinking if she could become useful to Angelica, she would stop trying to get Daemon to kill her.

"What do you mean? I can't use magic. All I can do is heal people and sense their emotional state."

"Ah, but you can, and you can learn to do more. You can manipulate the emotions of others, like you're trying to do to Daemon right now," Shektee stated, in her matter of fact manner.

Daemon stuck his head out again. "Yeah, she tries that on me all the time. She hasn't figured out it never works."

"The ancient protects you from any influence but its own. I would not be able to affect you and my skills are far more refined then your sister's," Shektee said to Daemon, then turned back to Angelica. "I mean no offense; you have a great deal of raw power but little skill in using it."

"What are you talking about? What ancient is protecting him?"

"Well, according to her and a dream I had there is some ancient spirit or something on the other side of the Rift that has bonded with me. He said he did it so he could experience what it was like to be human or something like that. I really thought it was a dream until she showed up," Daemon said to both of them.

Shektee knew more than Angelica but she had had no idea that the ancient had actually bonded with Daemon.

"You mean you're possessed?" Angelica asked.

"I don't know. I guess kind of, but he doesn't control what I do. He just observes what I do and feel, or that's what he told me he's doing."

"Ancients are beings that have lived for eons. They have gathered immense power and learned vast amounts of knowledge. They follow their own rules and they do things for their own reasons. You shouldn't bother trying to figure out what it wants. Your reasoning and logic don't apply. Suffice that it has plans for you and it will let you know when it wants you to do something."

"You're working for this ancient? Is he your master or something?" Angelica asked.

"Yes, any that gain the notice of an ancient either becomes its servant or its food. My current task makes your brother my master. I am to do what he tells me and assist him in any way that I can. The ancient that has taken an interest in your brother seems benevolent. I hope that if I serve it well enough it will allow me the freedom to do as I please while I wait for it to give me a new task."

"You're saying you're its slave. Well, that sucks. Can't you run away?" Daemon asked.

"No, it can summon me from anywhere at any time it chooses. I am luckier than most. Like I said, it has been a benevolent master. We should change the subject before something is said that upsets it." Shektee was starting to feel uncomfortable talking about the ancient and she wasn't sure if it was her feeling or one the ancient had given her.

"You said you learned our language from reading the mind of one of your victims?" Daemon asked Shektee, equally glad to change the subject.

"Yes, I can read the mind of anyone I am in physical contact with. I do not have to harm them if you don't want me to, but it does take energy. This reminds me, I am still hungry. The meat filled my stomach but it gave me very little energy."

"Angie, could you give her an energy boost? We don't want her getting too hungry and attacking someone."

"What? No! I'm not helping her. Are you forgetting she's a demon?"

"No, but if Mac doesn't want to operate the medical chamber for Mystique then Shektee can pull the information out of his head and do it. But she needs to feed to bring her energy levels back up so she can do it. I really don't want her to feed on anyone, but I will let her in order to help Mystique." Daemon made the last part a statement of fact to make sure his sister believed him.

"I have recently found I do not have to kill when I feed. I just have to control my hunger and stop before I take too much life energy from my prey," Shektee reminded him, still trying to convince Angelica she wasn't a mindless monster that had to be killed.

"I was hoping you could help her with your healing, give her an energy boost like you have been doing for Sara to eliminate her fatigue."

"If I do, you have to promise not to harm any of the crew."

"All right, if it works and she can operate the chamber, I won't kill anyone."

"No, whether it works or not, you don't hurt anyone."

"Fine, I promise."

Shektee stood silently observing the negotiations, interested in how it worked. She thought that Daemon had the upper hand and that he should dictate the terms of their agreement but he didn't. Angelica was negotiating from a position of weakness but acted like she was in charge and therefore forced Daemon to concede to her demands. The emotional exchange was even more interesting. She was going to have to think about this for a while; maybe Daemon would be willing to explain it at some point.

"Okay, Shektee, let me know if it works," Angelica said as she focused on Shektee. She was surprised to find that Shektee was controlling her desires; they were still there but they were being contained. Angelica started to send her energy into Shektee to wash away her fatigue.

Shektee had never felt anything like it before. The energy Angelica was sending her was pure and refreshing in ways that Shektee had never experienced before. It satisfied her hunger and made her feel strong. Shektee lost control for just a second and started to pull at Angelica's life energy.

Angelica felt the change in the flow of energy and it scared her into breaking the connection between them.

"I am sorry." Shektee pleaded as she dropped to the floor at Angelica's feet.

Daemon grabbed his sister and pulled her behind him, not sure what was going on. Shektee didn't move; she kept her forehead pressed to the floor, waiting for Daemon to kill her and hoping he wouldn't.

"Angie, are you okay? What happened?" Daemon demanded, upset he'd put his sister in danger by trusting a demon. How stupid could he be?

"I'm all right, calm down, she didn't hurt me," Angelica told him as she sorted out what had happened.

"I am sorry. I didn't mean to but the energy you were giving me was so pure and strong. I couldn't stop myself. I didn't mean to take any, I just couldn't help myself," Shektee said, looking up at them from the floor.

"It's okay, it just caught me by surprise. I've never felt anything like that before, either," Angelica told her as she reached down to give Shektee a hand standing up. She didn't like seeing anyone grovel, not even a demon.

"I take it, it worked. Are you still hungry?" Daemon asked as he relaxed. He looked at the food he'd brought from the pantry and decided he wasn't going to try figuring out how to cook it.

"I am satisfied for now. Thank you both." Shektee stated bowing her head slightly. She was still hungry but it was not close to being uncontrollable so she hoped a little lie would be allowed.

"Okay, let's go find Mac and see if he's helping Mystique or not. Angie, can you tell where they are?"

"Yes I think they're in Medical."

Shektee touched Daemon's arm to get his attention and when he stopped to look at her, she told him. "I can take control of anyone here, other than you, of course, if you wish."

Angelica stopped in the corridor to wait for them. Daemon turned away from Shektee and left for the corridor. He hadn't thought about having Shektee take control of anyone. Shektee followed Daemon out and down the corridor.

It only took them a couple minutes to get to the medical facilities. Sara was standing next to Mac at the regeneration chamber. Mac was manipulating the controls as Sara watched. Mystique was sleeping on the examination table in the middle of the room. Angelica went to check on her as Daemon stood watching Mac and Sara. Shektee waited behind Daemon and reached out with her senses to determine the health and emotional state of the two new humans.

Sara had heard the door open and turned to face them. Mac continued his work, ignoring everything else. "We are going through the steps to revive Nelson so we can remove him from the chamber. It will only take a few more minutes." The pleading look Sara flashed Angelica told Daemon she was lying.

"Sara, would you help me find and bring Stacey here? Angie told me where she is but she may be more cooperative if she sees a familiar face," Daemon asked in a subdued voice. He could feel her fear of him and he felt a little ashamed.

Mac turned at the mention of Stacey's name. He realized for the first time what Daemon was wearing. "Take those cloths off! Both of you, Sara, get them some coveralls. How dare you wear the captain's clothes?"

Daemon reacted to the authority in Mac's command and started stripping. Shektee followed Daemon's example and stripped, too.

Sara opened a drawer with decontamination coveralls. She pulled out one triple extra-large and one medium and brought them over to the two. Daemon took his and almost ran out of the room in embarrassment at being naked in front of all these people. Shektee didn't understand the concept of shame so she just stood there naked and took the package and looked at it, not sure what to do with it.

"Who are you again?" Sara asked a little nervously, remembering Angelica's warning that Shektee wasn't to be trusted.

"My name is Shektee. I am here to help Daemon."

"Let's not get into that right now, Shektee. Here, let me help you put that on," Angelica interrupted as she stepped over and took the package containing the coveralls.

Shektee didn't understand but she decided if Angelica didn't want her to talk about why she was there, then she wouldn't.

Angelica opened the package and pulled out the coveralls, shaking them as she did. She guided Shektee into them as Sara watched, confused at how anyone could not know how to get dressed.

"Angie, you coming with us?" Daemon asked as he stuck his head back in the room.

"No, I'm going to stay here with Mystique. You three go get Stacey."

"I know you don't trust her, but do you want Shektee to stay in case Mac tries something?"

"No, I'll be fine, now get going, would you?" Angelica replied, looking at Mac.

#

Daemon motioned for Shektee and Sara to join him in the corridor. The three headed to Stacey's cabin at a brisk walk. It didn't take long before they were standing at her door.

Sara knocked softly at first and called to her but she didn't answer. Sara tried to open the door but found that it was locked. She motioned for Daemon to do whatever he'd done to get her door open. Shektee stood back and watched what was going on and stayed out of the way. Daemon called forth his ax which made Sara gasp in surprise. He told her to step back as he stabbed the tip into the door's control panel the way he had before. He was ready for the shock this time as the electricity passed through him when the door shorted out. He put his ax away and pushed on the door to slide it open. Daemon and Shektee waited in the corridor as Sara went inside to check on Stacey.

At first Sara couldn't find her; she'd squeezed herself under the bed, under a blanket. Sara slowly pulled the blanket away to reveal Stacey's battered and abused form. Stacey had her face turned to the wall so Sara couldn't see the worst of the abuse. Sara tried talking softly to Stacey, reassuring her everything was all right now and that she was safe.

In the corridor, Shektee touched Daemon's arm to get his attention and then stepped back down the corridor a little way so they could talk without being overheard.

"The female hiding in there is dying. I have seen it before. She has lost the will to live and is allowing her life energy to fade."

"What? How can you tell?" Daemon asked, confused, and not sure why Shektee was volunteering the information.

"She is allowing her life energy to dissipate, and without it her body will succumb to the wounds she has suffered. She will die very soon without Angelica's help." Shektee wondered if he was going to act on her information or keep asking her questions while the female died. It didn't matter to her, but she was curious what emotions he would feel.

"Why are you telling me this?" Daemon asked, looking into her eyes, trying to figure out if she was telling the truth. Before Shektee was able to respond, Daemon realized there was no reason for her to lie so she was telling the truth, which meant he had to get Stacey to Angelica fast if she was going to live. Daemon burst into the room and dropped to the floor next to Sara with such speed Sara instinctively jumped back away from him. He snaked his arm under the bed and grabbed Stacey by the arm and pulled. In her weakened state, Stacey didn't even try to fight him, she just slid out. Daemon carefully picked her up and passed her out the door to Shektee. Sara got to her feet and followed Daemon as he stepped out and took Stacey back from Shektee.

Daemon tried not to jostle Stacey too much as he ran back to the medical compartment. Sara was right behind him, worry written across her face as she tried to figure out why Daemon was in such a hurry. Shektee walked along behind them in no particular hurry, glad her leg was finally fully healed. Angelica was waiting at the hatch to Medical, aware that Daemon was on his way and worried, but not why. Mac had just gotten Nelson out of the chamber when Angelica had felt the change in Daemon.

"Something's wrong, Daemon is running back here with Stacey."

Daemon passed Stacey through the hatch to Angelica. Angelica took Stacey and lay her down on the table next to Mystique. Mac started to pull Mystique off the table when Daemon growled at him. The sound carried so much menace Mac froze out of instinct. Daemon carefully picked Mystique up and carried her to the empty chamber.

Mac shifted into the emptied space to get a better look at Stacey. Her face was covered in bruises, both eyes were swollen shut. Her jaw was misaligned, meaning it was either dislocated or broken, possibly both. Her lips were cracked and swollen with broken teeth visible between them. Bruises and friction burns covered most of the rest of her body. Mac could see at least three broken ribs as they shifted with each shallow breath she took.

Mac turned away in disgust. He'd seen beating victims before but never this bad. It was a miracle she was still alive. To Mac's surprise, Daemon stood next to the chamber, cradling Mystique in his arms. He'd expected him to put her in the chamber as soon as he got her to it. Stacey was in desperate need of the chamber but Mac knew he had no way of forcing Daemon to let her use it first. Mac resigned himself to the fact that the fastest way to get Stacey into the regeneration chamber was to help Mystique first.

He positioned himself at the controls and told Daemon, "Lay her down in the middle and make sure her arms and legs are straight," but Daemon didn't move. He just stood staring at Angelica.

Mac realized that Angelica was holding Stacey's head. Her hands were pressed against Stacey's ears and temple and she was staring into Stacey's eyes. A faint aura of light was radiating from Angelica as Mac watched Stacey's jaw pop back into the socket and the bone realign.

Sara slowly inched over to Mac and took his hand for strength. Shektee watched with interest having never seen healing magic before. They all watched as Angelica poured every ounce of energy she had into healing Stacey. When she had nothing left to give, Angelica collapsed; only Shektee's supernatural reflexes kept her from hitting the deck. Sara got a wheelchair from the supply closet and helped Shektee put Angelica in it.

"She needs rest and when she wakes she will need a lot of food," Shektee instructed Sara.

"I'll take her to my cabin and then make us all something to eat," Sara volunteered

"Shektee, please go with her and help with whatever you can," Daemon said.

"As you wish," Shektee replied, intrigued by the pleading undertones in his voice. She led Sara out into the corridor.

After they had left, Nelson asked, "Who was that? And what the heck is going on?" He was sitting in another wheelchair in the corner where Mac had left him. Nelson tried to stand but his legs wouldn't hold him and as a result he collapsed to the deck. Mac stepped over to help Nelson get back into the chair before explaining.

"Jim went crazy and almost killed you. I was able to get you into the regeneration chamber before he could finish the job. I was worried he would attack you again so I set it to put you in cryogenic sleep once the regeneration cycle was finished."

"Who was the glowing girl?"

"Angelica, my sister," Daemon told him in a voice barely above a whisper. "She was healing Stacey."

"What happened to Stacey?" Nelson demanded as he wheeled himself to one of the drawers and started looking through its contents.

"She's alive but I'm not sure how bad her injuries are. Angelica is some kind of psychic healer," Mac said.

"Who are those two?" Nelson asked as he indicated Daemon and Mystique. Nelson pulled a small pistol-looking device from the drawer and wheeled himself to another drawer, though he had to unlock this one before he could open it. He retrieved a small red vial and attached it to the top of the pistol and then shot himself in both legs.

"My name is Daemon. This is Mystique. She got badly burned during our fight with Jim. Are you the ship's doctor?" Daemon asked.

"Yes."

"Good. My sister almost killed herself saving Stacey and I'm sure she needs more treatment, but so does Mystique."

"Mac, put Stacey in the chamber and run a diagnostic on her. You can put Mystique on the examining table once it's clear," Nelson instructed. Mac reached to pick up Stacey as Daemon stepped out of the way. Mac carefully placed Stacey in the chamber and started operating the controls.

Nelson wheeled himself next to the examination table to get a better look at Mystique. "Could you wait outside, there isn't a lot of room in here for spectators."

Daemon didn't move. "I told Mac if he didn't help I would kill every member of the crew. I'm sorry; I was just so worried about Mystique. I'll try not to hurt anyone. I promise," Daemon said to Nelson before leaving the room.

"Pleasant fellow. One of the natives, I take it," Nelson commented as the hatch sealed behind Daemon.

"Yeah, Sara says he saved her life a couple of times. I guess insanity and over-aggressive behavior are common on this planet."

"How's Sara?"

"She's pretty badly shaken up. I don't think she's had time to think about what's happened. Once she does she's probably going to lose it. On the positive side, she was able to get the parts I sent her after. Jim dropped them in Engineering after he got back from picking her up. I should be able to get us flying again," Mac told him as he waited for the medical program to run its course.

"Stacey looked pretty bad. Can you pilot the ship back to Nebular 4?"

"I can get us into orbit, maybe to the jump point, but that's it. There's no way I can figure out the jump coordinates. I wouldn't know where to start."

"Well, at least we can get away from the Rift and this cursed planet. Stacey can get us home once she's healed up."

"The natives think we are going to give them a ride off planet. We're going to have to figure out a way to get them off the ship, or at least that brute. The girl, Shektee, would fetch a good price on the flesh market. Angelica being a psionic is worth big money to a lot of different groups," Mac said.

Nelson was surprised. He had never heard Mac talk about the slave trade and had always assumed it repulsed him as much as it did himself.

"I know you have some strong sedatives in here. You call him back in here and while you're talking to him I'll get behind him and shoot him full of drugs," Mac suggested.

Nelson was starting to worry about his friend when the hatch cycled open to reveal Daemon waiting to come in.

Daemon was shaking his head as he walked into the room and cycled the hatch shut. "I just promised not to hurt you and you started plotting to attack me. Dumb idea." Daemon hoped a show of force was all they needed to give up their plan of attacking him. He had felt Mac's aggressiveness building and when it focused on him, he knew he was Mac's target. Nelson wasn't being hostile at all and now that he saw him, Daemon thought he might be a little scared already.

"I killed Jim while he was fully armored. Do you really think you stand a chance?" Daemon called forth his ax and swung it hard into the hatch. He wasn't surprised when it sliced right through, leaving a large gash. "My sister isn't the only psychic in the family. I'll be out in the corridor." He smiled broadly as he cycled the door open and stepped into the corridor.

The two men just stared for a few moments before turning back to their tasks in silence.

***

In the galley, Sara was explaining to Shektee how to use the various equipment, when they heard the thunderous impact. Sara jumped, sending the vegetables she was carrying on a platter flying into the air. Shektee cocked her head as if she were listening to something.

"What was that?"

"Daemon was making a point to your friends. They should be careful or he's going to hurt one of them," Shektee commented offhandedly.

"How do you know that?" Sara asked as she unconsciously shifted the platter into a defensive position.

"My master has created a link between me and Daemon to assist me in helping him."

"Your master, what master? Where did you come from, anyway? What was Angelica trying to hide when she stopped you from talking earlier?" Sara asked, feeling very nervous as she slowly backed away from Shektee.

Shektee realized her mistake too late. Sara had figured out she was not normal and was about to figure out she was a demon. Daemon hadn't told her not to let others know but he'd made it clear he didn't want her showing it off, either. Now what was she going to do.

" _Now you understand that you must be very careful of what you say and do around humans. Use this on her and she will forget the past._ " Shektee felt the pain of knowledge being implanted into her mind by the ancient and the dread of knowing she'd failed it. She spoke the phrase that was new to her and watched as Sara's eyes glazed over.

A few seconds later they cleared and Sara looked around, confused. "What happened?" she asked as she looked at the vegetables scattered across the floor.

"I don't know. There was a loud noise from the direction of Medical. Should we go check it out?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Hand me one of those knives, would you?"

Sara took the lead as they entered the dining room. She looked both ways to make sure it was clear before stepping out into the corridor. Sara skulked down the corridor toward Medical until Daemon came into view. He was leaning against the wall, spinning the battle ax in his hands. Sara wondered what was up with that ax but didn't waste time thinking too much about it. She picked up her pace, believing it was safer near Daemon.

Shektee drank in Sara's fear as she followed; knowing there was nothing to be concerned about seemed to make it taste even better.

Daemon sensed Sara coming and pushed off from the wall to stand straight.

He made the ax disappear, which took Sara by surprise. She didn't think she was ever going to get used to that. When she reached Daemon he was standing opposite the door to Medical, that now had a big gash in it.

"I didn't hurt anybody. I just scared them a little."

"You did that?" Sara asked as she pointed at the split. "How?"

"My new ax. It cuts through just about anything," Daemon bragged as he made the ax appear in his hand.

Sara jumped back, bumping into Shektee. Shektee decided she liked Sara, she was so easily scared and she gave off so much fear.

"But that's an armored hatch! You know what? Forget it. I'm going inside to see how they're doing," Sara said, just wanting to get away before Daemon could say or do something else to freak her out even more. She really hated this planet.

Sara cycled the door open and noticed that it scraped the housing as it slid into the wall. Mac and Nelson were both watching to see who was coming in and sighed in relief as Sara stepped in and cycled the door closed. Nelson opened his arms, beckoning her to give him a hug. Mac turned back to the controls of the regeneration chamber. Sara squatted down and hugged Nelson, happy that he was alive.

"How is Stacey doing?" Sara asked as she turned to look at what Mac was doing.

"She'll live. Whatever that native girl did to heal her worked wonders; there are only a few minor injuries left. I'm not sure when she's going to wake up, though. According to her readings, all high-level brain functions have shut down. I think the shock of everything that's happened to her was too much for her to handle and her brain just stopped working," Mac said, the frustration at not being able to help his friend clear in his voice.

"Oh, no! Who's going to fly the ship? I mean with the captain dead and Stacey out of commission there's nobody to fly the ship. We've _got_ to get off this planet." Sara nearly shouted, the fear and panic in her voice showing just how close she was to a nervous breakdown.

"We'll figure something out; if nothing else I can get us into orbit," Mac told her as he pulled her into a protective hug.

In the corridor, Daemon listened intently to what was being said. He had trouble making out most of it until Sara raised her voice. It sounded like they didn't have a pilot. Daemon was more interested in how Mystique was doing than any of the other problems. Daemon decided he had to get away from them before he lost his temper and broke his promise to Angelica. "Shektee, stay here and make sure they help Mystique. I'm going to see how Angie is doing."

"As you wish. Do you want me to motivate them or just observe?"

"Just observe. If they do anything to harm her, stop them, but don't kill them, got it?" Daemon instructed her as he walked off down the corridor to find Angelica.

Shektee knew what the punishment would be if she failed again so she turned and cycled the hatch open. The three occupants were all watching to see who entered and relaxed a bit when they saw that it wasn't Daemon. Shektee observed that Mystique was in the same position she'd been in when they had left with Angelica.

"Why isn't Mystique in the medical machine?" Shektee asked as she stepped up next to the examination table.

"We'll take care of her after we have taken care of the crew," Mac snapped.

"You are the ship's engineer correct?" Shektee asked, unaffected by the venom in Mac's voice.

"I am. Why?"

"Good, the parts you require to fix this ship are here. I think it would be best for you to go start the repairs. Your help is no longer required here," Shektee stated dismissively before turning to Sara. "Sara, would you please return to the galley and finish making dinner?"

Mac just stood next to the control panel glaring at Shektee, while Sara, sensing the hostility in the air, left, glad to avoid witnessing whatever was going to happen next. Sara would have felt sorry for Shektee on any other planet, but here she was worried for Mac more.

Shektee watched Sara leave and waited for the hatch to cycle shut before looking back at Mac.

Shektee was about to demand that Mac leave when a sharp pain stabbed into her right leg just below the hip. Shektee reacted without thinking and backhanded Nelson's hand away from her. The strength of the hit numbed Nelson's forearm and hand causing him to drop the injection pistol.

Mac lunged for Shektee, intent on grappling her to the ground.

Shektee had anticipated his attack and brought her leg up and side-snap-kicked Mac in the chest just above the sternum. Her instinct was to drive the ball of her foot through his sternum, snapping it off and driving it through his diaphragm but she was under orders not to kill him.

The kick lifted Mac off his feet and flung him into the wall behind him with a crash. To his credit, Mac was able to remain conscious and on his feet as he struggled for breath.

Nelson pushed the wheelchair back away from Shektee, hoping the sedative would take effect before she could hurt them anymore.

Shektee ignored Nelson as she cycled the hatch open and stepped up to Mac. He feebly tried to raise his arms to defend himself but Shektee brushed them away as she grabbed him and threw him into the corridor. "I told you to go start repairing the ship," she said as he slid down the wall, barely able to remain conscious.

Shektee reached over and cycled the hatch closed, then turned to Nelson.

He was staring at her, a mixture of amazement and terror showing on his face. "You're n-n-not human."

She looked down at him. "No, I'm not. You should not be concerned with what I am. You need only concern yourself with tending to Mystique. I strongly suggest you start her treatment as soon as possible. My master has forbidden me from killing you but if she is not taken care of soon he may change his mind and then you will learn how to scream." Shektee smiled as she drank in the man's fear. She was an expert at manipulating the emotions of humans and this human knew enough to be truly afraid of her. She knew she was taking a chance that Daemon would be upset that Nelson knew she wasn't human but she hadn't told him. Plus she was using it to motivate him into treating Mystique.

"Now, how may I be of assistance?" she asked in a pleasant voice, which was almost as disturbing as her smile.

#

Daemon found Angelica sleeping peacefully in one of the cabins, so he sat down next to the wall at the foot of her bed and tried to relax. He hadn't realized how tired he was until he woke up to the sound of Sara's voice.

She was standing at the door whispering his name like she wasn't sure if she should wake him or not. When she saw him waking up, she motioned for him to join her in the corridor.

"Food is ready in the galley. I thought you would be hungry," Sara whispered to him once he joined her outside the cabin.

"How long have I been out?" Daemon asked as he rubbed his face.

"Not long, maybe an hour. Nelson and Shektee are in the galley eating already. Shektee suggested I come get you."

"I'll be right there. I'll wake up Angie and get her to eat, too."

Daemon entered the cabin with Angelica while Sara returned to the galley. Daemon thought about splashing his sister with water to wake her up but decided against it. Instead, he crouched down next to her and gently shook her shoulder. When that didn't get a response he started saying her name as he shook her.

Angelica slowly opened her eyes and looked at Daemon with a confused expression on her face. "How did I get here?"

"You passed out after healing Stacey. How do you feel?"

"I'm fine. I'm hungry." Angelica sat up.

"What did you do to Stacey? I've never seen you glow before," Daemon asked as he helped her to her feet.

"I don't know; it's a bit fuzzy. I remember I reached out with my mind to heal her but she was so badly hurt I couldn't help, which made me upset so I tried harder until I could do it. It hurt but I was doing it, every injury she had healed as fast as I found it. I need a few minutes to freshen up before we go." She went into the bathroom. "Remind me to have Sara show us how to work all these things; I don't feel like taking another shower trying to figure them out myself."

Daemon needed to relieve himself when Angelica was finished. When he came back into the cabin, Angelica had fallen asleep again. She was much easier to wake up this time but it showed the fact that she still needed more sleep. Daemon offered her his arm but she refused to be treated like an invalid. She even led the way to the galley where they joined Sara, Nelson, and Shektee.

Shektee stood up immediately and bowed as they entered. Angelica shied away from her and Daemon gave her a disapproving look. Sara also stood up and showed them where to find the food and plates so they could serve themselves. Nelson sat across from Shektee, eating silently. Daemon and Angelica took a full plate of pasta and sauce and joined them at the table. Sara brought them both a cup of tea before sitting down herself to finish her meal. Shektee seemed to be the only person enjoying her meal.

"Daemon, Doctor Lopez has deduced part of my situation," Shektee told him as Nelson looked up at the mention of his name. "I told him it was private and not to share but I don't think he will be able to keep this a secret."

Daemon stopped eating and looked at Nelson, then turned to Shektee. "Bleen. I was hoping we wouldn't have to explain this to everyone."

"They have the right to know how much danger they're in," Angelica put in.

"They are not in danger from her." Daemon sighed in resignation before turning to Sara to ask her to bring Mac to the galley. He figured it would be best to explain this once and with everyone present. He also hoped he would only have to answer all the questions once.

Sara knew for a fact she didn't want to know anything about dangerous situations; she was back on the ship—it was supposed to be safe here. She used the intercom and called Mac in Engineering and asked him to join them for dinner. Mac was already upset so she didn't bother mentioning the discussion they were going to have.

The group ate while they waited for Mac to join them. Sara and Nelson only picked at their food while Daemon and Angelica ate hungrily of their portions. Shektee finished hers and sat sipping her tea.

Daemon abruptly stopped eating and dropped his fork to his plate, not worrying about the mess it made when the fork missed the plate and the spaghetti splattered on the table. Angelica was a little more careful putting her fork down before standing up. They both looked in the direction of Engineering as if they were looking through the wall at something.

"Everyone get in the kitchen; Shektee, you stay with me." Daemon ordered.

"Daemon, don't kill him or let her, he's not himself," Angelica demanded as she herded Sara and Nelson into the kitchen.

"What's going on? What's happening? Kill who?" Nelson asked as he was pushed toward the kitchen.

"Mac has a weapon and is coming to kill me and Shektee," Daemon replied. "We won't hurt him much, I promise."

Daemon and Shektee took up positions on opposite sides of the hatch and waited. Daemon could feel Mac as he reached the other side of the hatch. He tensed.

Shektee stood waiting dispassionately. She knew how slow most humans were and had no doubt that she could knock Mac unconscious before he got a chance to use his weapon.

Daemon made no such assumption. He went over in his mind exactly what he was going to do.

Mac hit the button to cycle the hatch open and raised the shotgun to his shoulder. He wasn't sure where Daemon and Shektee were and he didn't much care. He was going to step in, aim and fire, screw anyone who got in the way. He was _done_ being beaten up and abused by those two. They were going to pay, no matter what. The hatch slid to the side and Mac stepped forward.

Shektee stepped out far enough for Mac to see but not in front of his gun and then stepped back.

Mac took the bait and swung the gun in her direction as he took another step forward. Daemon saw the barrel of the shotgun enter the room and grabbed it, and jerked it down. Mac pulled the trigger as Daemon gripped the barrel, sending flechette ricocheting across the room. Daemon grunted as the barrel heated, burning his hand. Mac pulled back on the shotgun, trying to wrench it free of Daemon's grasp but Daemon wasn't letting go. Mac started firing rounds as fast as the semi-automatic could, hoping to heat the barrel enough to get Daemon to let go.

Shektee grabbed the barrel to each side of Daemon's hand and pulled forward. Daemon released his grip once Shektee had the barrel and gave Mac an open-handed slap to the forehead. Mac's vision went black for a second. Shektee wrenched the gun out of his hands while he was still dazed from the head slap. Daemon grabbed the front of Mac's coveralls and yanked him into the room. Mac flew across the room and crashed into a chair, toppling it over. Daemon charged after him, grabbing Mac before he could recover and pinned him to the ground.

Shektee went to the kitchen door and yelled through it, "The danger is over. You can come back in now."

The group came out quickly, eager to know what had happened and wanting to see for themselves that nobody was hurt. Shektee stopped Angelica and handed her the shotgun before going back to her tea. Daemon had Mac lying on his stomach with his hands laced on the back of his head. Nelson and Sara knelt down next to him to check for injuries and were relieved to find only the beginning of bruises. Angelica looked over Daemon and found a few small spots of blood on the side of his leg.

"You know you're going to have to get those out before the holes heal shut."

"Yeah. You got this?" Daemon asked her.

"Yeah, you took most of the fight out of him."

"Be right back," Daemon left for the kitchen.

Nelson and Sara helped Mac get to his feet as Angelica stepped back to give them room. Shektee watched as Mac got up, ready to attack if he made a move for Angelica and the shotgun. Mac just limped over to the table and sat down. Sara got him a plate of food while Nelson and Angelica took their seats.

"Where did Daemon go?" Sara asked as she handed Mac his meal.

"He went in the kitchen to dig out the bullets Mac shot him with," Angelica replied calmly. "He should be right back."

"He got shot? Does he need my help?" Nelson asked as he looked at the kitchen door.

"No, he'll be fine. If it were serious Mac would be dead. Ask Sara what happens when he gets hurt bad enough to lose his temper," Angelica said, trying to give them an idea of how dangerous it was to attack her brother.

"Thanks a lot; there goes my appetite," Sara said as she dropped her fork and pushed her plate away.

A few minutes later Daemon came out of the kitchen to join them. He sat across from Angelica and resumed eating like nothing had happened. Mac gave Daemon a look that left no doubt Mac would try again.

Daemon felt Mac's aggression and knew that Angelica was feeling it, too. He had no idea how they were going to deal with Mac without killing him, so he left it up to Angelica to figure it out.

"There's something you all have a right to know. Shektee isn't human. She's one of the demons that came through the Rift," Angelica told them.

Nelson showed no reaction since he'd already guessed Shektee's true nature. Mac looked at Shektee, trying to see the difference between her and a normal woman. Sara went pale and looked away. She looked for the exits and tried to think of where she could run if she needed to.

"It's all right, you're safe. She won't hurt anyone," Daemon told them before they started protesting.

Shektee stood up and walked over to stand next to Daemon.

Angelica projected tranquility, hoping to keep everyone calm and rational.

"Liar! She's no more a demon then I am," Mac challenged.

"Shektee, would you show them your true form," Daemon asked.

So Shektee transformed back to her true form. She hopped up on the table to give them all a clear view of her. They stared at her in awe as she pulled off her shoes since they no longer fit properly.

"Why is she here and what makes you so sure she isn't going to kill us all?" Nelson asked.

Sara slowly inched behind Angelica. She always felt better around Angelica.

"My master has forbidden me from harming any of you except in defense of his sister and Mystique. I will not disobey him," Shektee stated.

"And we're supposed to believe you," Mac sneered.

"I don't care what you believe. I actually hope you convince my master you are too dangerous to live and then I can eat your soul instead of this matter you call food," Shektee told him with an evil smile.

Everyone shied away except Daemon, who just gave her an exasperated look. "That's enough. You can get down and change back to your human form, please."

"As you wish." Shektee hopped down, shifting back to the form of the woman she'd been in.

"How did you become her master, if I might ask?" Nelson asked, a little nervous about offending Daemon.

"I don't know for sure. I killed her old master, I guess. She just showed up in the woods and started swearing her loyalty to me. She could have killed Mystique and me while I was unconscious from Jim's attack, but she didn't. I'm not sure how much I trust her, but she has done everything I've asked her to. She also has some abilities that we may need." He looked at Angelica for support, knowing that she knew he was lying.

Shektee also knew he was lying, but didn't care; whatever he told them she would swear it was the truth.

The others looked thoughtfully at both Daemon and Shektee, not sure how to take this new information or what they should do about it.

"Mac, how long will it take to repair the ship so we can take off?" Angelica asked, hoping to change the subject.

"You call me Engineer Smith. Only my friends are allowed to call me, Mac."

"Okay, Engineer Smith _,_ how long will it take to repair the ship?" Angelica asked politely.

Daemon wanted very badly to reach over and slap Mac but if Angelica was willing to concede to his petty demands he wasn't going to upset things.

"I can have the ship ready for takeoff in about a day, maybe two, less with Sara's help. But it doesn't matter—we aren't going any farther than orbit. Stacey's the pilot, her and the captain were the only two that knew how to astrogate enough to plot a jump, so we aren't going far until she wakes up."

"The woman he is talking about will never wake up. Her spark of life is close to extinguished; there is almost nothing left of her soul. The body may live on for a while, but it is nothing but an empty husk now," Shektee told them.

"How do you know?" Mac demanded, his anger making him forget what he was talking to.

"I know because your life energy is what I feed on. I can sense the amount of life energy each person has, as well as their emotional state. It helps me choose my meals," Shektee explained calmly.

"You said you can make telepathic contact with anyone you touch. Do you think you could read her mind enough to learn how to astrogate?" Daemon asked.

"Maybe. Her mind is intact; it is her will to live that is gone."

"Is there any way to help her?" Sara asked, almost pleading.

"I do not know. My kind does not waste energy healing others. Angelica may be able to help her," Shektee said.

"Angelica, will you help her, please?" Sara begged.

"I'll do what I can. I've never healed anyone's soul before."

"You have the ability to extract information from people just by touching them?" Nelson asked Shektee, intrigued by the idea.

"Yes. It helps me understand what a prey desires so it is easier to manipulate them."

"So that's how you learned our language. Interesting."

"Let me get this straight, you're going to have your pet demon there mind-rape Stacey to learn how to fly the ship and then put her in the pilot's chair. No way! There is no way I'm going to let that thing anywhere near Stacey," Mac stated, challenging Daemon or Shektee to argue with him.

"Look, Mac. The only reason you're alive is Angie told me not to kill you. The only person I take orders from is her, and my goal is to get her off this planet like Dad wanted. If you don't stop causing problems and start helping, I'll break you in half," Daemon stated as he stood and leaned toward Mac in a very intimidating stance.

"You think just because you're bigger and stronger you can push me around. Screw you. I'm the ranking officer on board this ship which means I'm the new captain. We aren't going anywhere unless I say so. Sara is a good engineer but she doesn't know how to fix what's broken, so without me, you're stuck," Mac stated with a satisfied humph at the end.

"Shektee, enslave him and put him to work fixing the ship, please," Daemon instructed to everyone's horror.

Angelica started to protest but the anger Daemon was holding back stopped her. She would wait until they were alone before talking to him about what to do with Mac.

Shektee quickly did as instructed and focused her considerable manipulative talents on Mac. First, she projected her will on his, destroying his ability to resist her. Next, she heightened his desire for her by enhancing his lust for her to the point he would do anything to have her. Mac got out of his chair and ran to Shektee, knocking over chairs as he went. Shektee greeted him with a hug and a loving kiss that held no love. He was hers. "Lover, before we can be together I need you to fix the ship," she whispered in his ear and then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before pushing him away. "Hurry, my love." Mac almost knocked Sara to the deck in his haste to get to Engineering and start working on the repairs. "I didn't harm him. I just made him want to do as I asked. I believe I can release him later," Shektee said to the group, knowing everyone except Daemon was worried she would enslave them. The only one she was truly concerned about, though, was Angelica; she was still able to influence Daemon and in turn, the ancient.

"What do you mean you 'believe' you can release him? You don't know?" Nelson asked.

"I've never had reason to release anyone. So I'm not sure what lasting effects he'll have, if any."

"Wait! You were at the star port. I remember I saw you and felt this overwhelming urge to go to you but then it stopped. Is that what you did to him?" Sara asked as she realized how close she'd come to being one of Shektee's meals.

"Ah, yes, I remember you. Yes, I started to summon you but decided against it, seeing how easily your group had killed the others," Shektee replied, thinking it would be better to let them think she'd been scared of them.

"What's stopping you from doing that to all of us and making us all your slaves?" Nelson asked nervously.

"My abilities won't work on my master and if I use them without his permission, he would surely kill me." Shektee said, looking at Daemon for approval.

"I am going to head back to Medical and see how my patients are doing." Nelson told them as he turned toward the hatch. He'd heard and seen enough.

"I think I'll go help Mac with the repairs," Sara said as she hurried to leave with Nelson.

"Daemon, how could you?" Angelica demanded after the hatch closed, leaving the three alone.

"What? You know he would have done something else and next time he might have hurt or even killed someone."

"But to have Shektee mind-control him. How is that better than killing him?"

"It's only temporary. Death is permanent," Shektee interjected.

"Was that all you did to him?"

"No, I mind-raped him, as he so sarcastically put it and learned about his past and how to be an engineer, though it will take time for me to comprehend the engineering skills."

"You didn't take a little energy boost?"

"No, I was not given permission to drink anyone's life energy and I didn't think you or my master would approve."

"Damn right, I wouldn't approve," Daemon said.

"Why do you care what I think, anyway? He's your master." Angelica asked.

"My master will do almost anything you ask of him, and if you truly demanded it, I believe he would kill me. So my survival depends as much on me keeping _you_ from getting angry with me as it does serving my master."

"My name is Daemon, not master, so please stop calling me that."

"As you wish."

"So every action you take is meant to enhance your chances of survival, not because of some desire to hurt and kill us?"

"Yes, it is the most basic instinct of every living creature to survive. I do what I think will increase my chances."

"Then why do you torture and kill humans?"

"For the same reason you kill and eat the flesh of animals. Everything needs to eat to survive. My food is human energy; life energy is the most powerful, but emotional energy will suffice. The pleasure I get from consuming a person's life energy is the same as what you feel eating those pieces of meat Daemon brought you earlier."

"That's different, animals aren't people," Angelica protested.

"True, they are a lesser life form so it is acceptable to kill and eat them."

"Not when you put it that way." Angelica didn't like the way this conversation was going. It was seriously making her consider becoming a vegetarian.

"I had always assumed humans were a lesser life form. I am learning that may not be true for the entire species. The barrier between planes has kept our two species separated for as long as anyone can remember. Normally, the only time one of us crosses into this plane of existence is when a mage like you summons us and that is a very rare occurrence."

"Why do you keep calling me a mage? I told you I can't cast spells."

"You admit you can channel energy to heal others and you can sense the emotional energy of others. The use of magic is simply the manipulation of the energies around you. Humans have many names for it, but they all mean the same thing," Shektee said. "You've learned and developed only a few of the skills or spells that are available to you. The more you push your limits the more powerful you will become until you reach your full potential."

"Okay, let's get back to you and why you aren't sucking the life out of all of us. What about morals and doing things because they are the right thing to do?" Angelica asked, in a hurry to change the topic; she wasn't comfortable talking about her abilities with Shektee, at least not yet.

"Moral codes are decided upon by the society you're in. What is a terrible act in one society is perfectly acceptable in another. The society I come from has no use for morals so I never learned any. We're very simple creatures when you break it down: We do whatever we can to satisfy our hunger and gain power to improve our chances of survival."

"Fine. I understand and I won't demand your death if you don't kill anyone."

"Thank you. I suggest you go rest. You are still low on energy."

"She's right. You need more sleep and I could use some myself," Daemon said.

"Daemon, why don't you lock me in the pantry? Angelica will sleep better knowing that I'm locked up and I need time to meditate on what I learned from Engineer Smith," Shektee asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"After what you did to Engineer Smith, I don't believe that would hold you if you wanted to get out. You can stay in Stacey's cabin; it will be more comfortable and nobody will accidently walk in on you," Angelica conceded.

"Thank you, I will."

#

The next few days went by in a blur of activity. The repairs took longer than Mac had estimated. The parts Sara had gotten would work but they needed to be modified to the newer systems. Mac and Sara had to fabricate adaptors for most of the parts but they were making progress. Sara was eating and taking short naps between jobs, but Mac never stopped, not even to eat.

"Excuse me, Daemon, I am worried about Mac. He hasn't eaten or slept since he started the repairs. I've tried to convince him to, but he refuses," Nelson told Daemon when he came to check on Mystique.

"I understand. I'll talk to Shektee and see that he gets some food and sleep. I didn't want to force him that way, but he wasn't leaving me any choice," Daemon tried to explain to Nelson before he left to talk to Shektee.

Nelson watched him go, wondering if he'd imagined the sound of regret in Daemon's voice or not.

Daemon found Shektee on the Bridge. "Shektee, could you go talk to Mac and get him to eat and sleep? I guess he's been working nonstop since you told him to fix the engines."

"As you wish." Shektee replied, as she got up to go to Engineering. She could use a break from trying to understand how to fly the ship and most likely Sara would be in Engineering. Sara was such a well-spring of fear, just walking into Engineering would cause her to start radiating fear for Shektee to feed on.

Daemon and Shektee spent most of their time away from the others. Daemon understood that they were nervous around Shektee and he didn't want to distract or upset anyone unless he had to. He had sneaked Shektee into Medical while Nelson was having breakfast so she could read Stacey's mind and learn how to pilot the ship, just in case. Shektee gained the knowledge she needed and after that the two of them spent most of their time on the Bridge. Shektee was able to figure out how to program the computer to run flight simulations so she could get used to the controls and Daemon learned the basics of how to pilot with her.

Angelica spent most of her time with Nelson in Medical. Mystique spent a little over a day in the medical chamber as it regenerated her damaged tissue. She had bright pink new skin where the burns had been and her hair was starting to grow back. Nelson assured her that she would be as good as new in a few days. They had transferred Mystique into Jim's old cabin, where she spent most of her time sleeping.

They put Stacey back in the chamber but it informed them she was in good health and that there was nothing further it could do to help her. After that, they kept her on the examination table so they could look after her. She showed no signs of being aware of her surroundings. Nelson tried to get her to eat or drink but she wouldn't, so he finally had to spoon feed her a protein paste. Angelica tried to figure out how to help her but was having no noticeable success. Angelica didn't like the idea but she was resigned to the fact she needed Shektee's help. She just couldn't bring herself to ask a demon for help, though. Nelson understood her hesitation but kept trying to convince her to ask. He was worried about Stacey.

***

Everyone was expected to eat lunch together to give them a chance to talk about what was going on. Daemon had Shektee wait in his cabin so the others could eat and talk without worrying about her. He tended to stay out of most of the conversations unless he was asked a direct question. Angelica had taken over as the main cook with Nelson helping with some of the equipment and foreign foods. Daemon and Shektee had gone out the day before and collected herbs for Angelica to make tea with.

"Daemon, I am going to need Shektee's help with Stacey. I've tried everything I can think of but nothing seems to be helping," Angelica said.

"I'm sure she'll do whatever she can to help."

"How can you trust her?" Sara asked timidly.

"It's not that I trust her; I understand her reasons for doing things. I think she believes it's in her best interest to help in any way she can. I guarantee everything she does she's doing to improve her situation. She doesn't want to be here but she doesn't have a choice. There are rules I don't understand yet that are making her serve me."

"I hope we can trust her because if Stacey doesn't improve, she's going to have to take the knowledge from her on how to pilot the ship," Nelson conceded.

"I owe her my life and I have no doubt that she would collect if given the chance. I also believe she will do what she can to help," Mystique said, knowing Daemon didn't want the others to know about the ancient spirit he was linked to, or the fact that Shektee was serving that spirit, not him.

"I've been wondering, Nelson: Why are the plants here so valuable? Sara told us you came to collect them," Angelica asked, trying to change the subject.

"We came here to collect eradiated plants from near the Rift. Some of the plants near it absorb the radiation coming from the Rift and store it. The radiation has been found to enhance psychic abilities and, in some cases, grant abilities. Certain people are willing to pay a lot of money for those plants," Nelson said as he sipped his tea.

"How can you tell what plants have the radiation in them?"

"I have a modified hand-held sensor that detects it."

"Have you checked the tea?" Daemon asked with a chuckle.

"No. Why should I? Isn't it from the ship's supply?" Nelson asked, not sharing Daemon's humor.

"I collected it yesterday while I was checking the area around the ship," Daemon told him.

Everyone looked in their tea cups, wondering.

"I'll be right back," Nelson told them as he quickly left the mess room.

A few minutes later he returned with a small device with a metal loop at one end. He passed the loop over his tea cup and looked surprised at the results. "These are some of the highest readings I've encountered."

Sara pushed her cup away with enough force to tip it over.

Mac just took another sip. Mac was still under Shektee's control but she'd been able to loosen it to the point where he was acting and thinking on his own again. "Tastes good to me," he said.

"We've been drinking tea all our lives. It hasn't hurt us," Angelica told them.

"Oh, I think it has had an effect. This explains how you got your special abilities."

"I guess that could explain why so many people in town were developing abilities," Mystique added.

"So how much do you want? I can take Shektee and we can collect it until we're ready to lift off," Daemon offered.

"Jim and I were collecting it until he went crazy. I'm not sure how much we have but any you can collect well help pay for repairs at a real star port."

"All right, I'll get Shektee and meet you in Medical; after that, we'll go collect more herbs," Daemon told him as he got up and walked to the hatch.

"I think I'll help them. Unlike you two, I don't have a bag full of jewelry to live on when we get where we're going and I don't plan on being a whore," Mystique told them.

"I don't know how much the jewelry is worth but you can have a share of what we sell it for," Angelica offered, knowing Daemon wouldn't mind.

"Thanks, but I'll go collecting with Daemon. I want to talk to him about Shektee and what his plans are for her."

Everyone perked up at the mention of Shektee. They all had questions but none of them, not even Angelica, was willing to talk to Daemon about her. Each had their own reasons. Angelica didn't want to get into another discussion about her abilities, Sara was just plan scared, Nelson was worried about being turned into a slave like Mac, and Mac remembered hating her and Daemon but no longer felt it, which worried him. Mystique was the only one who didn't seem scared of Shektee.

"I for one hope he leaves her here," Angelica stated, letting everyone know that she didn't like Shektee.

"I don't think that's going to be an option if we want to leave here. Stacey isn't getting any better, which leaves Shektee's little mind trick the only way we're going to have a pilot," Nelson said. What he wanted to ask Shektee was where she came from and what her society was like.

"The two of them have been practicing flying, using the main computer on the Bridge," Sara said. "I spotted it running when I was doing some repairs and checked to see who was using it."

"That means Shektee already went into Stacey's mind," Nelson deduced.

"I don't care what they do as long as they stay to themselves and don't bother me. Once we get to Nebular 4, you can all get off the ship and leave us be," Mac grumbled.

"I'm sorry for any trouble we may have caused, but we're not the ones that killed your captain and crewmates," Angelica apologized.

"It's not you, it's that brother of yours and that thing with him." Mac replied.

"When we get to Nebular 4, I'll introduce you to a few people and help you get fake ID chips," Nelson offered. "Nebular City isn't the kind of place innocent people should be walking around in, though I don't think you'll be in much danger of being mugged," Nelson added to everyone's amusement.

"Thank you. I'm sure we'll be all right," Angelica said with a smile as she got up and put her dishes in the washer. She collected Daemon's out of habit and put them in the washer, too. The rest got the hint and started clearing the table before heading back to work.

***

Daemon and Shektee were waiting in Medical when Angelica and Nelson arrived. They were looking at Stacey as she lay motionless on the examination table. Her bruises and all other signs of physical abuse were gone. Shektee had told Daemon that her life energy was still very low. She was trying to explain how she could interact with humans while still on the other side of the planar barrier when the hatch started to cycle open.

Angelica stepped into Medical first, followed immediately by Nelson. Shektee stopped talking as soon as they entered and stepped back to give them room to move around without having to get too close to her. She'd learned why Daemon wanted to keep the truth of her nature a secret: Everyone on board, including his sister, avoided them. Nelson stepped up to Stacey and checked the readouts on the medical computer attached to the table. They were as he expected: Unchanged.

Angelica stood next to Daemon and watched Nelson.

"Daemon told me you asked for my assistance. How may I be of service?" Shektee asked.

"I've tried but I can't seem to help her. Is there anything you can think of that we can do?" Angelica replied.

"I was just telling Daemon that I've seen this condition in other humans. When despair becomes too great they just give up, their life force drains away, leaving them an empty shell. I've been thinking about this since you made it clear you wanted her to survive. I can look into her memories and find what drove her to such despair and then try to remove those memories—I've recently been granted the ability to remove memories. I'm not sure how skilled I am at doing it, though. Once the memory of why she wants to die is gone you will need to give her the desire to live. Hopefully, that will work."

"How long will it take?"

"I don't know; there are many variables."

"Can I make a suggestion? Stacey was injured in the attack that damaged the ship. Can you erase her memories of everything that has happened since then? That way you have a place to start, and those will be the most disturbing memories," Nelson suggested.

"Okay, I'll try that." Shektee said as she reached for Stacey's hand bringing it up to give it a tender kiss.

Daemon put his arm around Angelica to comfort and reassure her while Nelson watched intently.

Shektee took her time sifting through Stacey's memories. She easily found the resent memories that were causing her so much pain and tried to focus on the spell the ancient had taught her. The spell took more energy to cast this way but it was having the effect she wanted. Stacey now wouldn't remember anything except the flash at her console. Once she was done erasing the memories, Shektee went deeper into Stacey's past; she'd learned she needed more information about how to pilot the ship. This time Shektee was not in a rush; she took her time and found all the memories Stacey had about flying. It was easier to find the memories she wanted while they were still separated from her own memories and those of her other mind-rape victims. When she was satisfied she had all the information she could get from Stacey's mind, she broke contact.

Shektee hadn't moved in almost an hour when Angelica started to get nervous. Daemon tried to reassure her but she knew it was taking too long. Nelson was monitoring Stacey's vital signs which had improved a little at first but hadn't changed in the last half hour. Everyone sighed in relief when Shektee finally came out of her trance and looked at them.

"I have done what I can. She shouldn't remember anything after the explosion at her station on the Bridge."

"Thank you," Nelson told her, a wave of gratitude washing over her from him.

She absorbed as much of the emotional energy as she could; it was pure and strong she found it very pleasing. Humans had such a variety of emotions and so much energy it still amazed Shektee.

"You must be drained from all this, let me give you a boost," Angelica volunteered to Daemon and Shektee's surprise. Angelica had not talked about what had happened the first time she'd given Shektee a boost and Daemon was still upset he'd asked her to do it.

Shektee very much wanted another one of Angelica's energy boosts but she was also worried what would happen if she lost control and started draining Angelica.

"No, not after what happened last time," Daemon stated as he tried to pull Angelica behind him, but she refused to move.

"It'll be all right. I think we were both a little surprised last time and if something goes wrong you can knock her out," Angelica said, trying to sound lighthearted about what she was about to do.

"Thank you, but if Daemon does not approve then I must refuse," Shektee told her.

"Daemon, tell her it's okay. We can't have her running around hungry. Who knows what would happen."

"Fine, Shektee, let her do it," Daemon said, exasperated.

Angelica locked eyes with Shektee and asked if she was ready. When she nodded, Angelica started sending her revitalizing energy. Angelica had learned last time that Shektee would take all the energy she sent her and the longer the transfer lasted the more likely Shektee was to lose control. Angelica sent a large burst of energy to Shektee which lasted only a few seconds before she stopped.

Shektee didn't expect the quantity and force with which Angelica transferred the energy. She'd expected Angelica to go slower and give her less energy than last time in order to keep things under control. The shock of receiving that much pure energy staggered her.

Nelson grabbed Shektee out of reflex when he saw her stumble back but when he realized what he was doing an instant of shocked fear ran through him. "Uh, are you all right?" Nelson asked as he let go of her.

"Yes. I wasn't expecting Angelica to be so forceful or so giving," Shektee replied slowly, searching for the proper words as her mind reeled with the energy flowing through her.

"I hope it wasn't too much or too fast; after our last try I didn't want to maintain the link for too long."

"No, it was very generous of you. I was expecting a slow trickle of energy, not such a strong burst. I must warn you that weaker creatures could be killed from such a transfer of energy."

"You weren't hurt, were you?" Angelica asked, concerned she might have hurt someone she was trying to help.

"No, I was prepared to absorb the energy. Do not worry about me. I was informing you so you didn't accidently harm someone else."

"Thank you." Angelica wasn't sure how she felt about being indebted to a demon.

"Mystique is waiting for you two in the cargo bay. She wants to collect some of the herbs to sell. She's worried about not having any money when we get to Nebular," Angelica told Daemon glad that he would take Shektee with him.

"Oh, here. take these. They'll help you identify the best plants to collect," Nelson suggested as he handed Daemon the meter he had used earlier. Nelson then got another electronic meter from a locker. He turned it on and adjusted the settings so it would be ready for use before handing it over also.

"Thanks, we'll be back in a few hours. Don't let them take off without us," Daemon said jokingly, but Angelica felt the truth in his concern in the feelings behind what he said.

#

Daemon and the girls were gone for close to three hours before they were finally ready to return to the ship. Daemon and Mystique had used one of the meters and collected plants from within a mile of the ship and Shektee used the other one. She'd changed forms and flown closer to the Rift. She was able to fill two of the large bags in the time it took Daemon to fill one. Mystique had taken the chore of carrying the full bags back to the ship while the other two stayed and continued to collect plants. They collected seven bags full of plants in the time they were out.

Angelica was waiting in the cargo bay when Mystique returned with the seventh bag. The bags were bulky but not heavy, being filled with leaves and a few small twigs.

"The repairs are finished. We should be able to lift off in a little while. I think it would be best for you to get Daemon and get back as soon as possible."

"Okay. Could you find out how much this stuff is worth?"

"Certainly. I'll see you when you get back; be careful," Angelica said as she gave Mystique a hug. Mystique was not used to being hugged that way and wasn't sure she liked it. It brought back too many bad memories but she wasn't going to tell Angelica or stop her from doing it. She liked Angelica and didn't want to risk hurting her feelings.

Mystique found Daemon pulling a small bush out of the ground near where she'd left him. "The repairs are done. They're almost ready to lift off," she told him as she walked up.

"Okay." Daemon wasn't sure how but he knew if he thought about wanting Shektee, she would know and come. So he sent her the message and hoped she got it. "I take it they want us back."

"Angelica does. I wanted to ask you something about Shektee before we lift off."

"Yeah, what about her?" Daemon replied a little defensively. He was getting tired of everyone hating her for what she was when she hadn't done anything to deserve their hatred.

"I'll wait until she's here. It concerns her and she should know what's going on," Mystique answered, meeting his flash of attitude with one of her own.

Shektee arrived five minutes later with the meter in one talon and a half full bag in the other. She dropped them both just before landing and transformed back to her natural demonic form. Mystique was the only person other than Daemon that didn't seem to mind her demonic form.

"You summoned me?" Shektee asked as she tried to read the two of them for any clues about what was going on.

"Yeah, the ship is about ready and Mystique has something she wants to talk to us about," Daemon said as he looked at Mystique.

"I was wondering what your plans are for Shektee? Is she going to pilot the ship or stay here? I know you've been learning and practicing to pilot with her."

"We need her to pilot. Stacey may get better, but it's going to take time and I don't want to stay any longer than we have to. My father died trying to get Angelica and me off this planet and I'm going to make sure it happens."

"Okay, so what happens when we get to Nebular 4? Are you just going to set her free to hunt on the population of an innocent planet? No offense, but you do kill people to survive, and I don't think anybody would stand a chance against you if Mac, Sara, and Nelson are typical people."

"No offense taken. You're right. Though there are individuals in every society who may be a challenge," Shektee replied with a pleasant smile.

" _Bleen_ , I hadn't thought about that," Daemon said, frustrated with himself for not thinking that far ahead.

"I understand your concern, and I believe I have the solution: I can return to my native plane of existence at any time. When we reach the other planet, I will simply cross through the barrier. Mac is capable of flying you to the planet, or you could call for help."

"What's to stop you from crossing back on the planet once you know where it is?" Mystique asked.

"The barrier prevents my kind from crossing into this plane. We must be pulled through by someone on this side, that's why the Rift attracted so many of us. It's the only place where the barrier has been broken—and is even now repairing itself."

"That sounds good. I'm sorry you've had to help us. I know it's not what you wanted to be doing," Daemon apologized.

"No need, I've learn a great many things from you and the rest. I would gladly continue to serve you if you wish. Knowledge is power and the more powerful I am, the better my chances of survival."

"I don't think Angelica would like that too much. She may not hate and fear you as much but she still doesn't feel comfortable around you," Daemon confessed.

"Very well. If I may?" Shektee reached her hands slowly to the sides of Mystique's head. Mystique instinctively wanted to pull away but forced herself to remain calm and let Shektee touch her. Shektee leaned forward and kissed Mystique on the forehead, planting the phrase, _Alka Shektee sinnis Sarrat Irkalli ana abatu nga lukur_ , in Mystique's memory so she would never forget it.

"You now know the chant to summon me. If you ever need my help, repeat those words until I arrive. You must say it exactly as I have taught you. The chant can be very dangerous; it will open the barrier so that I may cross, but if you fail to say it properly another demon may cross through in my place. Do you understand?' Shektee asked as she watched Mystique's reaction.

"Yeah, I get it, but if it's so dangerous, why teach me to do it?" Mystique asked as the phrase repeated itself in her mind.

"You may need my help someday and it's only dangerous if you do not speak it the way I taught you."

"Okay, so I speak the phrase and you appear and then what? You have to serve me?"

"No, you would have to use the enchantment of binding. I will arrive as a free spirit able to do as I please. I promise you I will not harm you." Shektee told her the truth, knowing that the ancient one was listening.

Mystique couldn't stop herself from bursting out laughing. Both Shektee and Daemon looked at her as if her mind had snapped from the stress of the last few days. It took her a full minute to start getting her laughter under control enough for her to explain. "A demon just made me a promise," was all she could say before she started laughing again. This time Daemon understood what she was laughing at and joined her with a chuckle.

Shektee gave them both a quizzical look, not understanding. She'd made the promise with the full intention of keeping it. "Yes, I promise and I will honor my oath," she stated, a little annoyed at both of them.

Mystique forced herself to stop laughing long enough to explain to Shektee. "Yes, I know and I think I understand why, too, but the idea of someone trusting a demon is so absurd, and yet I trust you more than I trust most humans."

Shektee then got it: Mystique was laughing at herself and not at her.

A few minutes later, Mystique and Daemon were able to stop laughing and Mystique wiped the tears from her eyes, she couldn't remember the last time she had laughed. Daemon hadn't found the situation that funny but he'd let himself get caught up in Mystique's laughter. Shektee was standing there absorbing the joyful energy they were giving off as they laughed. She decided if they were going to give it away so freely there would be no harm in her absorbing some. She also found the taste of joyful energy to be very pleasing.

Once Mystique was calm, she said, "Shektee, I am one of the few people who know anything about the ancient spirit you're really working for and about his connection to Daemon. I don't think you're going to do anything that might have a chance of upsetting that spirit, or a certain crewmember would have disappeared by now. I've been under that thumb and I know a lot about it." Mystique paused to let both of them consider what she was saying before continuing. "Daemon, for all your fighting ability, you wouldn't stand a chance against Shektee if it wasn't for that ancient spirit. She would have you as her own personal killing machine. Don't ever think she's afraid of you," Mystique stated, poking Daemon in the chest.

"You're a lot more perceptive then most humans I've met. This is one of the reasons I have given you the knowledge on how to summon me. I trust you will not share it with anyone. You are also right about the reason you're safe. I wouldn't be as restrained if I thought the ancient wouldn't get upset," Shektee pointed out with an evil grin.

"What about me? I don't get to know the phrase to summon you?" Daemon asked with a fake pout.

"No. If the ancient wants you to know how to summon me, he will teach you. I am also not sure you _can_ summon me. Those that are possessed or connected to demons have a much harder time summoning other demons. Whatever created the barrier created many safeguards against too many of my species coming to or staying on your plane. Also, as a species, we do not work well together," Shektee said more seriously.

"I do have one serious request. In the future I know you're going to kill people. I ask that you don't kill any innocent people. You know, like kids and adults that haven't hurt anyone. There are enough nasty people that like to hurt others for you to feed on. Angelica was right about me being partly responsible for everyone you kill from now on, so please don't make me regret not killing you," Daemon asked, staring into Shektee's eyes.

She understood his reasons as foolish as she believed they were, and realized how innocent he was at heart. She would do as he requested because he'd spared her life rather than that it was the wish of the ancient.

"I will do as you request," Shektee stated in a solemn voice.

"I have a request, too. If I do summon you, will you cross back out of our plane when I ask you to?" Mystique asked.

"Yes, once the task is complete but I will expect to be allowed to feed at least a little before leaving."

"That sounds fair enough, though if I summon you it will probably mean I need somebody killed that I can't kill myself or someone deserves an exceptionally painful death. Let's get back to the ship before they try to leave us behind," Mystique replied.

Daemon wasn't sure he liked the sound of that but he didn't know what to say so he picked up the bags of plants they'd collected and started walking back to the ship.

"No need to worry. I put a computer lock on the flight controls. It should take Mac at least a few hours to remove it. I think," Shektee said before changing into a bird and flying back to the ship at full speed, just in case.

***

Daemon sat in the co-pilot's seat and Shektee in the pilot's seat. Mac and Sara were at their controls in Engineering. Angelica had decided to join Nelson and Stacey in Medical. Mac was running the power plant up to full power in stages. He was up to fifty percent and everything was working within acceptable limits. Nelson had retrieved the gauss canon mounts while Daemon and the girls had been out collecting plants. So when they returned, the ship was ready for the final power-up for takeoff.

Daemon had asked everyone to meet him in the mess room for a quick meeting when they got back. He had Mystique and Shektee waiting with him as the others came to find out what he wanted. Sara had been forced to drag Mac to the meeting. The effect Shektee had on him was wearing off more each day and he was avoiding her and Daemon as much as he could. Sara almost turned around at the hatch once she saw that Shektee was in the room but Nelson and Angelica arrived just in time to boost her courage.

Once everyone was seated at the dining table, Daemon announced, "I have worked out a plan with Shektee. Once we reach Nebular 4, she will shift back to her home plane. Either Mac can fly us to the planet or we can call for help. I am sure there is someone that can come help a ship that is in trouble."

"That sounds good, but what is to stop her from coming back whenever she pleases?" Mac demanded.

"Her kind can't cross the planar barrier. The only reason they are here is because of the Rift which allows them free access," Daemon said, trying not to get upset at Mac's tone.

"How do we know that's true?" Mac continued, looking from Daemon to Shektee.

"Simple, if we could cross over when we pleased then what happened here would be happening on every inhabited planet," Shektee stated as if she were trying to explain something to a child.

"Okay, it sounds like a good plan to me. Thank you for sharing it with us," Nelson said cutting off any more of Mac's questions.

"Mystique's the one that pointed out we needed to figure out what to do once we got to Nebular 4. I just thought that if she was thinking about it, then some of you would be, too," Daemon said. Angelica gave Mystique a smile as everyone got up to go to their duty stations.

Angelica stayed to talk to Daemon after the others left to complete the preparations for lift off. She knew that Daemon had hidden something from the rest and wanted to know what it was. "What didn't you tell them?"

"Nothing to worry about," Daemon replied, trying to avoid the conversation.

"That means I really want to know now. Come on, out with it."

"There is a way for Shektee to return to this plane; she taught Mystique how to summon her," Daemon said sheepishly, hoping Angelica wouldn't get too upset.

"Why would she do that? Won't she have to serve Mystique then?" Angelica asked a little relieved but still concerned.

"No. Mystique won't have any control over what she does. Shektee promised that she wouldn't kill any innocent people and would leave once Mystique was done needing her help."

"So you got a promise from a demon. What makes you think she'll keep it?" Angelica demanded, exasperated at her brother's naivety.

"Because if she breaks her promise the ancient spirit will punish her."

"And why does this 'ancient spirit' care what she does?"

"Because it's connected to me, so what I care about, it does, too," Daemon admitted. He looked at his sister for understanding and she looked back, trying to judge how truthful he was being but she already knew he was telling her the truth.

"Fine, but don't expect me to trust her. Anyway, I don't think Mystique is going to be in any hurry to summon her," Angelica conceded as she hugged Daemon before heading off to Medical.

***

Mac bumped the power up to sixty percent and called the Bridge to inform Daemon they had enough power for a slow lift. Mac refused to talk to Shektee so everything he said had to pass through Daemon. Mac had programmed and run a very hard set of computer simulations to test Shektee's piloting ability and had grudgingly accepted that she could pilot the ship. He still considered her no better than a flight school graduate but that was going to have to be good enough.

Daemon triggered the intercom. "Everyone, it's time to say goodbye to Endeavor. We lift off in sixty seconds."

Angelica and Nelson sat Medical in a pair of acceleration chairs that slid out of the wall and tried to relax. Nelson, like the rest of the crew, was glad to be leaving this cursed planet. Angelica, Mystique, and even Daemon were nervous about leaving the only home they had known for a strange world full of strange people. Mystique only had to remember what her mother had done to her to know that no matter what happened she was better off. Angelica focused on relaxing and tried to meditate. Daemon was too busy double-checking everything Shektee was doing to have time to think much about the future.

Angelica slipped into a deep meditation, deeper than she'd expected to go. She allowed her mind to drift peacefully, replaying memories in her mind's eye. She saw her father staring down at her, his face aglow with pride and joy, then her mother's face appeared, blocking her father's. She was in her mother's arms, a newborn baby. Her mother stared down at her with so much love. She missed her mother so badly. The image shifted and this time she was still in her mother's arms but her mother was scared and she was crying. Her mother was running through the forest and something was chasing them. The image was too much for Angelica. She pushed it away; she didn't want to remember that horrible day.

The image went black. Angelica felt like she was floating in black, icy water. She started to worry and then a small speck of light appeared. It was far away but moving closer. She focused on the speck of light and drew herself toward it. She came close enough to recognize it as the ship she was on, then there was another flash of light—this one hurt her eyes. It was an energy beam shot from a building far away but the beam was coming straight for the ship. The ship tried to turn to get away from the beam but it was too late. The beam struck the ship and Angelica came out of her trance, screaming and fighting the restraints.

Nelson almost screamed himself at Angelica's sudden hysterics. He unbuckled himself and reached for her arms as he tried to calm her down. Angelica regained control quickly and started yelling at Nelson to stop the lift off. Nelson assumed she'd been dreaming and continued to try to calm her down. She had to fight him to get to the release buckle on her restraints. Nelson was no match for her adrenalin-charged muscles; before he knew what was happening she'd thrown him across the examination table. Angelica was nowhere near as strong as her brother but she was still stronger than most men. She got herself out of the restraints and dove for the intercom as Nelson picked himself up off the floor.

"STOP, DON'T LIFT OFF!" she screamed as she held the button for the intercom.

Nelson was sure nobody needed the intercom to hear her, she'd yelled so loudly.

Daemon tensed on the Bridge, as Angelica's terror came roaring into his psyche. He had no idea what had scared Angelica so badly but he was going to find out before doing anything else. He told Shektee to stop while he went to Medical. He was running down the corridor when he heard Angelica screaming over the intercom. He stopped and returned to the Bridge where he could use the intercom to find out what was wrong.

Angelica's scream had gotten everyone's attention and they all listened intently as she said, "I just had a vision! There is some kind of building in space that's going to destroy the ship. We can't lift off."

Mac was the first to understand what she was talking about. He had no idea how she'd known but she had to be talking about the orbital defense platforms. The mention of the platforms reminded him that they needed to transmit a set of codes to the platforms and Stacey and the captain were the only people who knew what they were. Mac triggered the intercom. "There are orbital defense platforms programed to destroy any ship that gets near this planet. The captain and Stacey had the code needed to give us permission to be leave here—without them we aren't going anywhere."

"I have the codes, I have the codes! I didn't know what they were but Stacey knew they were important so I memorized them," Shektee said over the intercom.

"Okay, okay, I'll be right up to set up the transmitter to loop transmit them every ten seconds. That should take care of the platforms," Mac told them.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," Angelica said to Nelson as she calmed down and saw him bandaging his arm.

"It's okay, just a minor cut and some bruises. I forgot about the effects growing up on a high-gravity planet had on your muscles," Nelson replied as he finished.

"Do you want me to heal that? It's the least I can do."

"No, it's fine, maybe it will remind me to exercise more often," Nelson joked.

They both chuckled at that and went back to their chairs but this time Angelica didn't fully strap in. "What did you mean by the effect of growing up on a high-gravity planet?" she asked, trying to keep her mind off the launch.

"Oh, ah, the gravity field of this planet is higher than Earth standard, which would make you stronger than anyone raised in a normal gravity field. It would also make your bones denser and thicker at the wrists and ankles. There are other less obvious changes, but those are the most noticeable," Nelson said, glad to have a distraction he understood.

A few minutes later Mac's voice came over the intercom to inform everyone the transmitter was all set and they were ready to lift again. Shektee slowly increased the power to the anti-grav drives and lifted the ship steadily into the air. She'd decided not to do anything fancy so she methodically raised the ship higher and higher. Sara activated the deck gravity plates to maintain a constant one standard gravity throughout the ship.

A green light came on in the fire control portion of the co-pilot's panel, startling Daemon. He started to read the tag under the light when another light flicked on and a clock at the top of the section started a countdown. He only had five seconds before the clock ran out. Daemon's mind went blank: He had no idea what to do or what was about to happen and then the clock reached zero.

The underbelly turret swiveled around to lock on target and fired. Two seconds later it fired again, sending a second missile streaking toward the same target. The targeting screen on Daemon's control panel came to life as it displayed the view from the nose of the first missile. Daemon watched in amazement as the missile flew straight toward the ground only to turn sharply at the last second and skim over the treetops. The missile never went more than ten feet above the trees as it maneuvered toward its target.

Daemon recognized the town of Exile just seconds before the missiles hit. Exile was erased from the surface of the planet as the explosions from the two missiles combined to shatter every building in town. The fireball from the explosion lit up the sky. Daemon sat and stared at the blank screen, knowing he should feel remorse or pity for the townsfolk who had just died... but he couldn't bring himself to feel anything but satisfaction, knowing that the people who had killed his father were now dead.

Angelica's voice came over the intercom, "What was that? Daemon, what's wrong?"

"Two missiles just fired by themselves and destroyed Exile," Daemon replied in a cold voice, devoid of emotion.

"Yay! I got those bastards." Mac's exuberant voice came over the intercom.

Angelica walked back to her seat and sat down, stunned at the news. Nelson reached over and strapped her in as she just sat staring into space. Her home and everyone she'd known were truly gone. The faces of every person Angelica had met in town slowly paraded through her mind. She'd known she would never see them again but to know they were all dead was almost too much for her.

"Orbit in two minutes," Daemon said over the intercom. His voice sounded mechanical.

Shektee spared a second to glance at him: What she saw reminded her of her kind and she wondered if the ancient was controlling him.

Daemon had shut down his emotions: If he couldn't feel grief for the dead, he wasn't going to allow himself to feel pleasure. Angelica had taught him never to feel pleasure at the death of another, not even an enemy and he could feel what this was doing to her. He would not allow his pleasure to travel across their link to her.

Everyone forgot about Mystique, the only surviving resident of Exile.

#

Shektee had plotted a straight course away from the planet. Mac had been able to rig a very close-range sensor array. It would give her only a few minutes' warning if there was debris in their path. She focused on watching for any signs of trouble. Daemon was supposed to be trying to locate landmarks to verify where they were in relation to the jump point. Instead, he had left the Bridge; his sister needed him and he'd gone to her.

"You can breathe easy; by my calculations we are now out of range of the defense platforms. All we have to do now is find the jump point and we are out of here," Mac told everyone.

"Mac, could you come to Medical for a few minutes?" Nelson requested over the intercom.

"Sure, I'll be right there," Mac sounded happier than he had since they'd landed, which annoyed Nelson.

Mystique could feel the depression and sorrow as she walked up to the hatch to Medical. She stopped to think for a few seconds before cycling the hatch open. Inside, Angelica was sitting with Daemon, who was cradling her head to his chest. She could hear Angelica's sobs and realized just how badly the destruction of Exile had hurt her. Mystique understood her pain and even felt some herself, but not to the level Angelica was feeling it.

Nelson was pacing the room, trying to find something to do to occupy himself while he waited for Mac to arrive. He looked up expectantly when the hatch cycled open, ready to confront Mac for what he'd done. When Mystique stepped in he turned away; she didn't deserve his anger. Nelson felt a hand grab his shoulder, which practically threw him through the hatch. Nelson brought his fists up, ready to fight but when he saw his attacker he froze. Mystique had her finger to her lips, making the symbol for him to be quiet and then she pointed down the corridor. Mystique stepped into the corridor with him and herded him down toward Engineering.

Mystique stopped him about fifteen feet down the corridor to talk. "What are you thinking, having Mac come to Medical? Isn't Angelica in enough pain without having to watch her brother dismember him in front of her?" Mystique demanded in exasperation.

"What? What are you talking about? I was just going to ask him what the hell he was thinking shooting missiles at the town."

"And what? You thought Daemon was going to just sit there when the man that hurt his sister was standing right next to him? If Daemon stops comforting Angelica and starts killing, we're all in trouble." Mystique pressed her face to his, making sure he understood. "Now go find Mac and keep him away from those two," Mystique told him as she pushed him down the corridor.

Mystique walked back to Medical and stood guard at the hatch. She was frustrated at not being able to confront Mac herself but now was not the time. Angelica needed to be given the time to grieve and come to terms with her pain. She didn't need anyone adding to them and Mystique was going to do her best to make sure nobody did.

Mystique waited for close to twenty minutes before Nelson returned. He was cradling his arm and looked like he'd been in a fight. Mystique just stood and watched him shuffle toward her. When he got close she hit the button to cycle the hatch open and moved aside. Nelson thanked her as he stepped inside and Mystique stepped in after him. Angelica and Daemon looked up as they entered. Angelica was the first to stand up, she could sense the pain Nelson was feeling and knew he was injured.

"What happened?" Angelica asked as Daemon stood up behind her.

"Mac and I had a disagreement, and I fell," Nelson replied not realizing he was a terrible liar.

"That's it!" Daemon stated as he stepped past Angelica, headed for the hatch.

Mystique stood her ground in front of the hatch and when Daemon reached her, she put her hand on his chest. " _No_ , you are going to stay right here and take care of your sister."

Daemon stopped. He didn't want to hurt Mystique but he really wanted to hurt Mac and she was stopping him.

Mystique removed her hand from his chest and pointed at Angelica. "She needs you here and calm. She doesn't need to feel the horror of you killing Mac. You know better than I do that she will feel every second of his death through the link you two have. Now get control of yourself. I will take care of Mac."

"No, No more killing, please," Nelson pleaded. "There has been enough killing."

"Just one more. Exile was my home; those were people I grow up with. Some of them may have deserved to die, but not all of them. There were some decent people that were just trying to survive. Mac is going to pay for those deaths and it's my right to collect." Mystique was so passionate about her claim to revenge that even Daemon ceded to her.

"All right, he's yours to deal with," Daemon told her as he turned to Angelica. "Sorry."

Angelica gave him a small smile and a nod, knowing how badly he wanted to kill Mac but he wasn't going to for her.

Nelson opened his mouth to protest but Angelica put her finger to his lips and shook her head slightly. He got the message and closed his mouth. Angelica may not be a killer, but Daemon and Mystique were, and to them what Mac had done demanded blood. Nelson would only get hurt if he tried to interfere. Angelica guided him to his chair and helped him sit down.

She took his hands and focused on healing him. It felt good to heal another human being. Angelica felt better knowing she was using her ability to help someone in need. She was able to stop thinking about all the dead and focus on the living. Angelica lost track of what she was doing and allowed her mind to drift.

Nelson felt warmth spreading through his hands and up his arms. It was a relaxing warmth that seemed to melt away all the aches and pains that had developed over the last few years.

Daemon watched as a soft glow grew stronger around first his sister and then Nelson. The glow never grew as intense as it had when she healed Stacey but it lasted almost a full five minutes before Angelica finally let go of Nelson's hands.

Angelica was tired and wanted Daemon to take her to her cabin. He cycled the hatch open and asked her if she wanted him to carry her. She refused with a glare which also told Daemon she was feeling better. Daemon followed her into the corridor. He would see her to her cabin and then head to Engineering.

Nelson felt better than he had in years. He hadn't realized how many small aches he'd developed and gotten used to until now. He removed the bandage from his hand, knowing that Angelica had healed it while she'd been healing everything else. He stepped to the sink to wash his hands and as he looked in the mirror he almost fell over in shock. The man in the mirror was twenty years younger. Nelson couldn't believe what he was seeing until he'd examined his hands and his reflection a dozen times. Finally he sat down in his chair in shock at what Angelica had done to him.

***

Mystique made her way to Engineering and found the hatch secured. The hatch to Engineering was one of the few that had real security locks. Mystique was going to need the pass code to get it open. She stood in front of the hatch, trying to figure a way to get it open when Mac's voice came over the speaker above the door.

"I figured one of you would come calling after I destroyed your home town," Mac sneered.

"Why don't you let me in, or are you afraid of a little girl?" Mystique taunted him.

"You want in, you have to strip," Mac replied expecting her to refuse.

Mystique didn't hesitate. She started unbuckling her belt and dropped her pants to the floor, next came her shirt. To Mac's surprise in less than a minute Mystique was standing in her underwear in front of the hatch waiting for him to open it. Mac figured if she wanted in that bad, who was he to stop her?

"The hatch will be open for ten seconds, that's it. Once you're in here, you're mine."

Mac definitely didn't sound rational but Mystique didn't care. She braced herself and when the hatch slid open she scooped up her cloths and threw them inside, diving in behind them. Faust had taught her that most people shoot for center mass so she dove in low, hoping the clothing would distract him long enough for her to get her bearings.

Mac was standing at his control panel with a three-barreled shotgun, expecting to catch Mystique in his crosshairs as she came through the hatch. The clothing did its job: Mac reacted to the sudden movement and fired.

Mystique had palmed one of her throwing spikes and sent it flying in the direction the shot had come from. It clattered off the control panel harmlessly but it made Mac dive for cover, depriving him of his second shot. Mystique was up and running before Mac could recover.

The deck plating in this section of Engineering had only minimal non-skid. Mystique didn't care how much skin the non-skid was going to scrap off her thigh as she slid in under Mac. She was too focused on grabbing the barrel of the shotgun and keeping Mac from blowing her head off.

Mac was amazed at how fast she was, one second she was running at him, the next she was sliding in for home. He lowered the barrel, expecting to cut her in half as she slid into range but before he could she was already between his legs.

Mystique kicked Mac's right ankle to stop herself as she grabbed the barrel and pushed up. Mac fired the second barrel, sending buckshot ricocheting across the room from where it hit just a foot above Mystique's head. The heat from the shot caused the barrel to instantly heat up and burn Mystique's hands where she held it.

The kick to his ankle was annoying but didn't really have much effect, Mystique hadn't been able to put any power behind it. It did let Mac know he was vulnerable to another kick, though, and to a part of his anatomy that was much more sensitive. Mac twisted at the waist so Mystique wouldn't be able to kick up and hit his groin, which was what she wanted.

Instead of kicking up, she pulled her leg back and kicked out, driving the heel of her foot into the side of Mac's knee, snapping it easily. Mac screamed out in pain as he crashed to the deck almost on top of Mystique.

Mystique grabbed at Mac's head like a cobra striking its prey. The fingers of her left hand sank into the soft flesh of his neck before she closed her hand into a fist, grabbing a chunk of his neck in the process. She grabbed Mac's ear with her right hand and pulled. Mac dropped the gun and grabbed for Mystique's arms to pull her free. Mac made another mistake in that when he pushed Mystique's right arm away he helped her rip his ear off. Mac howled in pain and heaved her away from him. Mystique tumbled across the floor with the force of Mac's throw.

Mac grabbed his neck and the side of his head where his ear had been, screaming obscenities at her the whole time. Mystique came to a halt a few yards away and was getting to her feet just when Mac remembered the shotgun and grabbed for it. Mystique threw Mac's ear and the chunk of flesh she'd ripped from his throat—both hit him in the face. In the instant that Mac turned away to avoid whatever she was throwing at him, Mystique dove at him feet first. This time she aimed high, bending her legs so she landed knees first into Mac's chest, snapping a few ribs and knocking the breath out of him.

Mystique was in a better position this time and grabbed the sides of Mac's head and drove her thumbs deep into his eye sockets. Mac threw her off again but this time Mystique was ready. She was able to twist around in midair and land in a better position to move. Mac thrashed around, swinging at an opponent he could no longer see. Mystique quietly made her way to her clothes and retrieved one of her knives. Mac quickly ran out of energy and just sat with his back to the control console, waiting for Mystique to finish him.

"This is for the few innocent people who called Exile home," Mystique stated as she threw her knife into Mac's chest, the blade sinking deep enough to pierce his heart. Mac died almost instantly as Mystique watched.

Mystique picked up her clothes and started to get dressed. Only then did she notice the scrapes and bruises covering her body. She was going to be sore for the next few days, but she'd suffered worse at the hands of her mother's guests. Once she was dressed and had collected her knife and throwing spike, she realized that Sara should have been here. Mystique looked around Engineering quickly and didn't find Sara, so she triggered the intercom and asked for her.

"I'm in the galley. Mac sent me for some food after he had the fight with Nelson. Why, what's up?" she asked, guessing what had happened, but hoping she was wrong.

"Please stay in the galley. I will meet you there in a few," Mystique replied in a calm voice.

"Okay, I'll be waiting," Sara answered in a timid voice, which caused Angelica to stop and change destinations, heading for the mess room instead of her cabin.

"Go check on Mystique and help her clean up. I'll take care of Sara," Angelica said to Daemon, who left without objection.

Mystique looked around for some way to clean up the mess. She didn't want Sara to have to deal with cleaning up. She was filling a mop bucket with water when Daemon arrived with a couple of sheets. He checked Mac's corpse before wrapping it in one of the sheets. Mystique came over with the mop and waited for him to finish before starting to mop up the blood.

"Are you hurt?" Daemon asked, concerned, looking Mystique over, trying to spot any signs of serious injury.

"Nothing to worry about."

Daemon nodded and picked up Mac's corpse and walked to the hatch. Daemon wasn't sure what the right way to dispose of the body was so he took it to the cargo bay. He would ask Nelson what to do with it later but for now it would be out of the way. After he set the corpse down in a secluded spot, he returned to Engineering to help Mystique. She was finishing up wiping down the control panel when Daemon arrived. Daemon looked around and found that a pile of bloody rags were the only signs a fight had taken place. Daemon picked up the pile of rags and threw them in the garbage shoot where the conveyor belt would take them to the incinerator. They both took another look around before leaving. Daemon went to the mess room while Mystique went to her cabin to clean up.

***

Angelica sat with Sara in the mess room and sipped her tea. Neither one of them talked. Sara nibbled on one of the sandwiches she'd made. Angelica wasn't sure how Sara would react to her manipulating her emotions so she just allowed herself to monitor Sara. Daemon arrived with a sad look about him which caused Angelica to worry for Mystique's safety. Daemon felt her concern but ignored it; instead, he walked over to Sara and knelt down next to her.

"Sara, I'm sorry, but Mac is dead. The effect of the Rift made him a danger to everyone." Daemon lowered his head expecting Sara to blame him and start hitting him but she didn't.

Sara leaned forward, putting her elbows on the table and her face in her hands and started to cry. Daemon wanted to comfort her, wrap his arms around her, and make her feel safe but he knew that he was the last person she'd accept comfort from.

"I'm really sorry," Daemon whispered as he stood up and backed out of the room.

Angelica shifted and sat next to Sara, slowly putting her arm around her friend. Sara turned and hugged Angelica, putting her head on Angelica's shoulder. They sat that way for a long time. Angelica whispered reassuring things to Sara and rubbed her back. Sara alternated between sobbing and crying as she tried to cope with the latest loss.

Mystique stepped into the Galley and looked at the two girls. She tried not to interrupt them as she crossed into the galley and made a sandwich. She placed her sandwich at the other end of the table and poured herself a cup of tea before sitting down to eat. Angelica looked at her and gave her a weak smile. Mystique finished her sandwich and was almost done with her tea before Sara finally realized she was there.

"I take it Daemon told you about Mac?" Mystique asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes, he said he had to kill Mac, but he didn't. We could have locked him in a room where he couldn't hurt anyone or do anything to the ship. He didn't have to kill him," Sara got out between sobs before she started crying again.

Mystique waited for Sara to stop crying before she told her. "Daemon didn't kill Mac. I did. He deserved to die for killing the innocent people in town."

"What innocent people! They tortured the captain to death and raped me before selling me like a piece of meat!" Sara burst out, anger overcoming her grief for an instant.

"I'll grant you there weren't many but there were some and they didn't deserve to die," Mystique replied calmly.

"It wasn't Mac's fault! It was that godforsaken planet. He would have never done that before we came here," Sara started crying again.

Mystique got up and put her plate and cup in the tub of dirty dishes and left. She stopped at the hatch and told Sara, "Daemon and I have cleaned up Engineering; there is no trace of what happened."

Angelica decided Sara had taken as much as she could and used her ability to put her to sleep. She sometimes wished she'd known how to do that a long time ago. It would have made growing up a lot easier. The tea had restored much of Angelica's strength so she had little difficulty carrying Sara to her cabin and tucking her in bed. Angelica just hoped the ship wouldn't need its only engineer any time soon.

***

After a short nap, Angelica decided to see how Nelson and Stacey were doing. Angelica stepped in to Medical to find Nelson applying a bandage to Mystique's knees, which had been tattered and cut up by the non-skid in Engineering. The cuts were deep and most of the skin had been scraped off. Angelica winced at the thought of how painful those wounds must be.

"May I help?" Angelica asked as she reached for Mystique's ankles.

Mystique didn't move, she just looked up at Angelica and nodded.

Angelica focused on healing Mystique's knees first before she reached out with her senses to find her other wounds and heal those as well. She only took a few minutes and a small amount of energy healing Mystique. Angelica was starting to get used to actually healing people and not just boosting their own metabolism.

"Thank you. I wasn't sure how you would feel about healing me, knowing what I was doing when I got hurt," Mystique told her in a low voice.

"Nonsense, I am in your debt. You were right about what I feel when Daemon loses control and sharing his feelings when he's killing. I can normally block it out but I was in no condition to do it, so I would have had to endure living through it as he killed Mac. You stepping in saved me from that pain."

"Angelica," Nelson broke in, not feeling comfortable listening to them talk about the death of his friend. "I would like to thank you. I didn't realize your healing was this powerful. I am in better shape and healthier than I was twenty years ago."

Angelica turned and looked at him for the first time since she'd returned to Medical. She was amazed at the changes in his face. "I did that?"

"Yes, when you healed me after my fight with Mac. I have heard rumors of physic healers who are able to heal themselves to the point of perpetual youth but I have never heard of anyone being able to reverse the aging of others," Nelson said as he showed them his hands and profile.

" _Boija Tamoi_ , you can plan on me stopping by for a visit every ten years or so," Mystique said.

"You need to be very careful about who knows you can do this. A lot of very powerful people would stop at nothing to become young again. Anti-aging drugs are available to the very rich but they only slow the progress of time. They are still aging but if they had you then they could stay young forever or at the very least become young again, giving them another couple of hundred years of life," Nelson said as he thought about how valuable Angelica's ability was.

"But I don't know how I did it," Angelica protested. "I was just healing your wounds. I think I'm going to go lay down for a nap. Wake me if something happens, please," Angelica said, wanting an end to the conversation.

"I know it's a lot to think about, but you are a very special girl," Nelson told her as he escorted her out of the room.

"Nelson, I need your help with a distasteful task. Mac's corpse is in the cargo hold. Daemon and I didn't know what would be the proper thing to do with it," Mystique told him, uncomfortable about the topic.

"Yeah, I'll take care of it. You just need to show me where he is," Nelson replied, saddened about having to deal with his friend's corpse.

***

Daemon sat on the Bridge and helped Shektee figure out where they were. She needed to know their exact coordinates in order to plot and program the jump to Nebular 4. Mac had rigged the targeting sensor from the port turret to read long ranges so they could use it to figure out their location. The process required them to target at least two of the planets in the system by pivoting the ship without changing its location.

The first time took them a little over an hour before they were satisfied they'd done it right. They'd decided the ship was too far from the jump point and had maneuvered closer to it. Shektee was more comfortable piloting now that she'd done it for real. She never trusted skills she learned from other creatures' memories until she had a chance to use them herself for a while. She'd positioned them in the center of the jump point, or she thought she had. They were still calculating. They had found out the jump point was more an area than a point and the reason ships always left and arrived at the jump point was that most of the jump calculations had already been done by previous ships and was stored in the ship's navigation program.

Daemon had found that he enjoyed working the calculations. The equations were rather long but he took his time and made sure he had the right reading in each place where a variable was asked for. Shektee had learned the formulas but didn't think she would ever have use for them again. She doubted she would ever fly another spaceship... but just in case, she would know them.

Sara had called from Engineering to inform them the engines were charged up and ready when they were. She hadn't mentioned Mac or what had happened; she simply took over as head engineer and preformed his duties as best she could. Sara had decided that once they landed on Nebular 4 she was getting off and never getting on another ship. Her days as a starship crewmember were over. She would get a job working at a shipyard and try to forget this whole run.

Angelica was still sleeping in her cabin, and Nelson and Mystique were making dinner. They had put Mac's corpse in a body bag and stored it with Jim and Robert in Robert's cabin. Mac had set the environmental controls in Robert's cabin to freezing after they'd landed to keep Robert's corpse from decomposing. Daemon had taken a body bag and collected the pieces of Jim after Mac had shut down the sentry weapon mounts. Daemon hadn't let anyone leave the ship until he was finished, ashamed of what he'd done.

Stacey was back in the medical chamber where it was maintaining her vital body functions. Nelson was pleased with the improvements to her vitals but he didn't want to wake her until they were in jump space. Nelson wasn't sure what he was going to tell her. He would have to tell her who had died but he wasn't going to explain how they died.

Daemon finished the last of the calculations and gave their location to Shektee. She entered them into the navigation computer, which only took a few minutes to report it had a jump solution. They were ready; all she had to do was hit the go button.

Daemon called over the intercom for everyone to please meet in the Mess Room. He asked Shektee to accompany him. He was going to wake up his sister and escort her to Mess for the meeting. Shektee didn't say anything, she just removed the harness and walked over to the hatch. Shektee waited in the corridor while Daemon woke Angelica and told her they were ready to jump. She freshened up a bit before going with him.

Sara and Nelson were sitting next to each other and Mystique sat on the opposite side at the other end of the table. They all had a drink in front of them and they all looked up as Daemon stepped into the room. Sara tensed a little when she saw that Shektee was with Daemon and Angelica. Angelica took a seat next to Sara; Shektee sat down next to Mystique. Daemon poured three cups of tea; he gave one to Angelica as he went to sit next to Shektee.

When Daemon set one of the cups of tea in front of her, Shektee turn pale with terror, realizing that not only had she failed to serve her master, her master had just served her.

"Shektee and I finished the calculations and we think we're ready to jump," Daemon told them as he sipped his tea.

"Then why haven't we jumped yet? Is there some other problem?" Sara demanded, anxious to put as much distance as she could between her and Endeavor.

"I think we need to change the plan some and figure out what we're going to tell people about what happened. The captain and three crewmembers are dead and you have three new passengers. I figure we can still send Shektee away once we get to Nebular 4 and send out a distress signal. But what are we going to tell the people that come to rescue us?" Daemon had been thinking about what his father had taught him about planning any mission. He had told him the small details were the most important ones because they are easy to overlook. Everyone having the same story was an important detail if they got questioned by the authorities.

"We tell them we ran into pirates. That will explain the damage to the ship and the deaths. If you claim to be from one of the fringe worlds, it would explain why you don't have any records or ID," Nelson suggested.

"Sounds good, but what planet?" Daemon asked.

"New Sydney, nobody there has paperwork," Sara suggested.

"What's New Sydney?" Mystique asked.

"It's an old prison colony where the Federation sent political dissidents and petty crooks. It's a water world with a bunch of island clusters. It's also a major black market base and a center for other clandestine activities. It is outside Federation space and they are known to deal with the Imperium. It could work; they have all kinds of people there. They do have paperwork, though just not anywhere near Federation documents. So not having any shouldn't raise much suspicion," Nelson said.

Daemon looked at Angelica and Mystique to see what their reaction to the idea was. They both nodded that it was okay with them. "Okay, we're from New Sydney. What about the fight?"

The conversation continued for almost an hour as the group worked out every detail of their story. Angelica was tasked with researching the planet New Sydney with Mystique. Nelson and Sara were going to have to give Mac, Jim, and Robert a funeral at sea. Sara hadn't wanted to be involved but Nelson insisted she be there. Daemon carried the corpses to the airlock before going up to the Bridge. Shektee went straight to the Bridge.

Nelson was just starting his eulogy to the dead when Angelica's panicked voice came over the intercom. "Daemon, jump now! We have to get out of here now!"

Sara jumped at the panic in Angelica's voice and started running for Engineering. Daemon yelled at Shektee to jump. He would have initiated the jump himself but only the pilot's control panel had the necessary functions. Shektee did as she was told while Daemon shifted his attention to what little sensors they had. He didn't detect anything, at first.

A computerized female voice came over the intercom stating thirty seconds to jump. Sara knew she wasn't going to make it to Engineering in time but she prayed she didn't need to. The power plant and jump drives were already set for the jump; everything should go smoothly, but Mac had demanded they both be at the controls during the transition into jump space just in case.

Nelson left the corpses in the airlock and started making his way to Medical. He didn't have any duties during the jump but he wanted to make sure no power surges damaged the medical chamber while Stacey was in it. He'd planned on pulling her out before the transition but now there wouldn't be time.

Mystique sat with Angelica and tried to calm her down. She had the luxury of not seeing the future and knowing a battle cruiser was about to exit jump and crash into them. Angelica sat very still, praying they would jump in time.

"Ten seconds to transition."

Daemon frantically searched the area for any sign of danger. He knew from his link with his sister that they were still in danger but he had no idea from what. Finally, an energy spike registered only a few miles away. He focused every sensor he could on finding out what it was when the bow of a very large ship started to appear in the center of a lightning storm. The ship was bearing right for them and there was no way the _Neptune_ could maneuver out of its way in time.

"Transition."

Daemon felt like he was being electrocuted, energy danced through every muscle in his body. The sensation lasted only a few seconds and then it was gone. He forced himself to relax and settle back into his seat. He understood now why he needed to wear the safety harness—if not for it, his muscle spasms would have thrown him across the Bridge. He looked to see how Shektee was doing and found her staring at him in amazement.

"Daemon, we just crossed the planar barrier. I'm home."

Daemon didn't understand at first what she was talking about. How could they cross the barrier? Then an old man in hip waders carrying a fishing pole appeared on the Bridge.

Shektee immediately dropped her gaze to the floor.

Daemon just stared in disbelief.

"What are you doing here?" the ancient spirit asked.

