Alex Wales: Promise

“Very well, then.” Elroy stepped into the room, pointed the blaster at Damon, and shot him point-blank.

Chapter Twenty-One

“No!” Alex yelled, somewhere behind him.

Damon fell back against the bed. The burn of the laser strike spread over his shoulder like boiling water slowly pouring over his skin. At least Elroy hadn’t hit any vital organs or ruptured anything important. He lifted a shaky hand to the smoking wound and pressed his left palm over it. He might not be able to regenerate skin and tissue on himself as quickly as he could on others, but he could still heal his own injuries.

Elroy knew that and had no doubt shot with the intention of incapacitating him for the moment. What did he plan to do?

“Damon, are you all right?”Alex appeared beside him. She grabbed a hold of his uninjured arm and helped him to a sitting position on the edge of the bed.

He managed a quick nod, never taking his eyes off his attacker.

“Oh, this is really touching. Too bad you’re not going to get a chance to be together after I’m done with you.” Elroy stepped into the room with a smirk on his thin lips, keeping the weapon out in front of him. “The Priestess is finally going to realize I was right. We don’t need you here. We offered you shelter after your crash, and you’ve repaid us by killing with no remorse.” He paused for a moment, glaring at Alex. “You were so desperate to kill our people, not even having your dog do your bidding was enough. You had to use your weapon as well.”

“I don’t have a dog,” she whispered.

Damon winced. “Don’t listen to him.” His whole left arm felt numb. Pins and needles ran down the entire side. This wasn’t good. Not when he wanted to protect her so badly.

Knowing a little bit more about Alex, and seeing the photo of her father, he understood her lack of magical awareness. If her father kept it from her, and she spent her entire life travelling from one end of the galaxy to another, how could she be expected to believe in anything but guns, ships, and technology? The way her magical capacity had been numbed as soon as she put the key around her neck made Damon realize she was probably right. Maybe her father and I are of the same kind.Of course, that only saddened him, because it meant Aleena had lied to him about everything.

“Oh, Damon. It makes no difference if she listens to me or not. I’m going to prove everything to Aleena, and you’re all coming with me.”

“You can’t prove anything without the animal,” Damon said with a sigh.

“Who says I don’t have the animal?”

Alex stiffened beside him, her fingers clinging more tightly to his arm. “You caught him?”

Elroy eyed her with disgust, and Damon’s fingers itched to smack him. How dare he show such disrespect toward her when she hadn’t done anything wrong. How could Elroy have singlehandedly captured a feral monster who feasted on flesh and blood? Damon could still remember the murderous rage he’d read off Laurie’s memory of the animal. Whether he was entirely beast, or a creature of legend, didn’t matter. The animal only had one thing in mind, and he doubted this poor excuse of a man had been able to capture it.

“Yes, I caught the beast when he leaped out of your window and passed out in the garden.” Elroy stepped closer, still glaring at Alex. “Tell me. What was he doing in here with you? Does a dog satisfy you in bed? I guess it’s understandable why Damon wouldn’t be enough for you.” His dry chuckle filled the room.

What was he talking about? Damon wondered if Alex had left this out of her story on purpose, or had she intended to tell him how the animal fit into her life eventually? He wasn’t sure and didn’t have the energy to be angry with her at the moment.

While Elroy gloated, Alex caught him by surprise. She let go of Damon, took a step forward, and kicked out a long leg. She knocked the blaster out of Elroy’s hand, and it tumbled to the floor, but before she could grab it, Elroy booted it toward the open door.

Milo appeared in the doorway. He bent over and secured the weapon, as if he were holding a piece of rotted fruit or a dead animal.

Elroy held out his hand. “Give me the weapon.”

Alex made a move to get around him, but Elroy wrapped a hand around her wrist, spun her around, and secured it at the small of her back.

“Don’t move, you whore.” He looked at Milo. “Give it to me.”

“No,” both Damon and Levi said in unison.

Elroy’s face was red, his eyes blazing with rage. “If you don’t give it to me now, Levi will be the first one I kill when I pry it from your dead hands.”

Milo closed his eyes and held the weapon out for Elroy, who removed one of his hands from his grip on Alex. He tightened the other on her wrist, yanking her backward. She protested and looked as if she were trying to wiggle out of his grasp but couldn’t. When Elroy wrapped his bony fingers around the weapon, he pressed the barrel to the side of Alex’s head.

“Good. Now that everything’s been cleared up, let’s go.” Elroy looked so smug.

For the first time in his life, Damon felt useless. He didn’t know much about guns, but he suspected the laser shot from the barrel had the ability to not only wound and kill, but also temporarily stun the victim. His entire left side drooped downward, and he couldn’t help but wonder how he was going to move. Let alone come to their rescue.

The arcane he’d managed to draw within him was helping to heal the wound, but it provided no relief in getting sensation back into his arm. Besides, his use of magic only involved defense, not attack.

He met Alex’s eyes. She was staring back at him, but she didn’t look disappointed or hurt, just frustrated. I’m sorry, she mouthed.

Damon didn’t understand what she had to be sorry about, but he’d make sure Elroy regretted this. He wasn’t sure how he’d do it, because he couldn’t think clearly at the moment, but he’d somehow manage.

“Tie him up,” Elroy ordered Milo with a motion of his head.

The younger man looked a little scared as he approached, so Damon tried his best to hold out his arms in front of him and said, “It’s okay, Milo. Do it. I won’t hurt you.”

“You’re always the hero, aren’t you?” Elroy dragged on Alex’s arm, and she cried out. “You’re always the one who’s there to help the injured or sick, but you have no idea how many have slipped through your fingers without your knowledge.”

“When I get my blaster back, I’m going to blow your head off!” Alex spat, trying to break away from his hold.

Elroy laughed. “I don’t think so.”

Milo had already secured one of the plastic ties around Damon’s wrists and started on the other.

Alex continued to squirm against Elroy and managed to smack the back of her head hard enough against his face to cause him to stumble back a step. For a moment, it seemed like he was about to lose his grip on both Alex and the gun, but it only took him an instant to regain his step. He dropped her wrist and instead wrapped an arm around the front of Alex’s body.

“Get your hands off me, you creep!” she exclaimed, still struggling against him.

Damon wished she would just calm down, because she was only making it harder on herself. Struggling against a man with a weapon would only tire herand anger him.

Yet, he already understood enough about Alex’s temperament to know she wouldn’t listen.

With a defiant smile on his face and blood dribbling from his nose, Elroy lifted the weapon and smacked the butt of it against the back of her head. He let go, and she slid to the floor, unconscious.