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his alien presence would certainly account for such an anomaly.
    She tuned back into her sister, aware Carinna seemed inordinately interested in all things Fenturi.
    As they walked back to their father’s dwelling, unbeknownst to them, a silent alarm sounded.

-3-
     
    Jace stretched his arms to the ceiling as high as his chains would allow him in an attempt to ignore the hunger pulling at his belly. He had no idea how much time had passed since his last altercation with Lord Demise, but it was enough to leave him famished. Worried too, since he hadn’t seen or heard from Naria. She’d been the only pleasant companion he’d found in this hellhole and would undoubtedly be the last.
    He leaned back against the cold rock, bemused to feel attraction to the female in this awful place. Despite his harsh treatment in Dark World, his libido managed to live on. His crew would be proud, he thought with a snort.
    Jace had been attracted to Naria’s beauty, for certain. She possessed a fine sensuality, delicate in form and feature. Narrow eyes slightly tilted at the corners, a straight nose, high sculpted cheekbones and strong jaw sat amidst an oval face with the smoothest, palest skin.
    Though the lighting in the cell had been dim, Jace had studied every nuance of her looks. Her time on Dark World hadn’t marred her beauty. Did the demons realize how precious such allure held? Or was she a tempting seductress meant to tease him into telling her all his secrets? He couldn’t be certain she’d actually been imprisoned, but that bump on her head had been real.
    When she’d opened her eyes, he’d been instantly intrigued, the deep purple depths of her gaze reminding him of the purple lakes of Mystique. The sudden and overwhelming longing for his homeworld she’d instilled had shocked him for its intensity.
    Mystique. The name pulled him as nothing did. If only the planet would call to him, draw him back. But no. Mystique remained as out of his grasp as if he’d never been born there. Jace swore, his mission to save his homeworld never far from his mind. And in this hellish cell, further from solution than ever.
    Thoughts of Dark World and the Cazeth persisted, entangling his reasoning. How likely might it be that the Cazeth originated in a place like this? As much as he wanted to escape the miserable planet, Jace couldn’t help a certain morbid curiosity for the inhabitants and their existence on Dark World. Lord Demise certainly fulfilled the horrific tails associated with the planet. Jace could easily imagine the Cazeth at home in such a place as well.
    Footsteps sounded outside his cell, and he focused on shoring up his mental shields.
    The door opened to admit the object of his latest nightmares.
    “Jace. It’s good to see you’re awake again.”
    “Lord Demise.” He wondered what the demon lord had in store for him.
    With a wave of his hand, Lord Demise unleashed Jace’s bonds. Then the demon sat at a wooden table and invited Jace to sit with him.
    Wary, Jace sat across from his jailer and rubbed his sore wrists.
    “You interest me…human.” Demise’s cold, black eyes focused intently on Jace’s face. Jace felt a mental push against his barriers and held firm. Demise’s eyes blazed a bright red, the power behind his probe strong and fast, but Jace remained in control.
    “Yes, you interest me,” the demon murmured, his eyes regaining their night-black color. “You are the first human I’ve encountered with such mental gifts. Your crewmates do not have such abilities.” He paused, as though waiting for Jace to answer him. When Jace said nothing, Demise continued, “You also seem to have a remarkable well of patience, yet I know seething deep within you is a coil of hatred waiting to be let loose.”
    Jace said nothing but allowed that hatred release through his mental shields.
    Demise chuckled. “Well can I appreciate the feeling. But I have to wonder why someone of your immense skills would lead his crew