Demons End (Tremble Island) by Lynn Ray Lewis Page B

around the planet. It gave her no pleasure to create such beings, because in the end she would have to end their existence. Only one time before had she done such a thing. He had been the male shifter that thought to mate with her. She was enamored with his good looks and determination. She learned the hard way to never trust herself letting go and enjoying sex sharing with another. She took the life from his eyes and happiness from his heart without meaning to. Her vow of never harming another being like that again without it being a life or death situation was now being tested.
    This time, they would need someone to sail the ship back to Tremble Island. What happened to him once they got there would be someone else’s decision. She would be tempted to allow him to live as a village helper. To somehow redeem his blackened soul in service to those in need.
    His fate, and that of the tarnished soul of the first mate’s who was now cowering in the corner behind a trunk, was not hers to choose. She wanted to go home. She turned to look for the demon and his nemesis, but they must have left the room while she was busy stripping the freewill from her victim.
    She found the demon busy wrapping his new toy from shoulders to knees in a thick rope. He kept asking the man if the bindings were too tight, and when Flitch gasped for breath, Leroi would laugh. He left a huge curl of the rope in a long coil next to the railing, and as the evil bastard tried to bribe him, Leroi slapped him hard, secured the rope, and tossed him overboard. They heard a thunk and a curse as they bent over the rail to see the body hit the water headfirst. Every few minutes, Leroi would pull Flitch up from the water and allow the man to breathe before dropping him back down.
    Twice Leroi revived the man, not wishing to allow him such an easy death, and Wensel became disgusted with his actions. “You have had your fun, either kill him or allow him to die. You are no better than he is if this is your idea of punishment for his wrongs. You will have his black soul. Who will be gifted with yours?”
    Her words infuriated him. How dare she question his ethics in dealing with this evil bastard that had caused such pain to innocents. She had no idea of the numbers of beings that were sent to his door after this creature finished plying his cruelties upon them. They deserved vengeance, they deserved to have his skin removed from his living carcass, and the only way for them to get any type of revenge was for him to… curses, the creature is correct . The black soul would be tortured in the pit for as long as he wished, he would absorb the energy from the black orb he would become, or toss it into the bubbling firepit at Demons End. He hated that she was right. He opened his hand and willed the claws to appear, before slicing Flitch’s throat, and tossing him into the sea without a safety rope to haul his body back aboard the ship. What bothered him the most was the knowledge that he was turning into the monster that he was on Echo to protect others from becoming.
    A young boy sat on a step talking to Wensel. They were laughing together and he found that he wanted to be a part of their merriment. She looked beautiful in the early morning light. He wanted to embrace her and have her tell him that everything would be all right. That his soul would not become black and greasy like the others. He wanted something he never considered to have before. Could she be the female that could withstand mating with a demon? Actually two demons? She had met Koler, in fact, her voice seemed to soften when she said his name. Perhaps there was hope for him after all.
    *****
    Nord was tired of trying to appease the small tyrant. Aria refused to settle down to sleep no matter how many miles he walked with her or how many times he took her to the water to swim. She wanted Wensel and nothing would make her happy as a substitute. Rane had fallen asleep and he and Lion took turns watching