A Den of Tricks (A Shade of Vampire #54)

“Daemons raise families?” Jax replied, frowning as he probably tried to imagine a daemon family scene. I was doing the same and, for the life of me, no clear picture came to mind.

“Not exactly,” Mose said. “The males choose their females to mate. The females are given custody of the child for the first seven years, then the males take them away to raise them strong and teach them how to survive in our society.”

“And what happens to the females after that?” Hansa asked, her gaze slowly darkening as her hands balled into fists.

“They’re chosen by other males to produce more children. Once the children reach adulthood, they are given options for what to do with their lives. Most of the females go on to bear children of their own, but some become hunters or even join the military.”

A few minutes went by as the picture began to clear, as far as the daemon society was concerned. Their behavior started making sense, but it didn’t make me want to sympathize with any of them. If anything, it made my stomach churn harder at the thought of mothers being forced to separate from their children like that. It was downright heartbreaking…

“We saw some huge daemons out there,” Jax then said. “Much bigger than the… hunters, and even the armored fiends we’ve seen on the surface. What are they? They must have some special role.”

“Yes, they’re Legions.” Mose nodded, fear flickering in his eyes. “Generals that command our armies. There are dozens of them in each city, and believe me, you do not wish to cross them. Sometimes, they get involved in hard labor just to show the others that they can get down and dirty despite their high rank. It’s our military’s way of keeping its soldiers rooted. Nobody wants an arrogant mass of muscle thinking he’s better than others in his rank. And the Legions answer to the Seven Princes, the seven sons of Shaytan. His firstborn sons, to be precise, because the king spawns dozens of offspring each year, but only the first seven are granted a chance at the throne. He’s been around for three thousand years now, though, and he’s not going away anytime soon.”

“So the Seven Princes command the military?” I asked.

“Not just the military,” Mose replied. “They form the Council in charge of the day-to-day running of our kingdom and our capital city. Their younger brothers are assigned to the other cities, in equal groups of seven.”

“How many sons does Shaytan have?” Caia’s eyes widened.

“Honestly, we’ve lost track. He takes some new wife every two years or so. He has dozens of those already, so he is never short of heirs. He doesn’t discard the wives after they give birth; he likes his palace rooms filled with beautiful females and his offspring, I suppose.” Mose shrugged. “But it’s the Seven Princes who call the shots and help him govern. I will give you their names, so you know who to target when your armies come to Neraka.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure that’s—”

“That is very kind of you. Thank you, Mose,” Caspian interrupted me. I bit my tongue then, realizing that we couldn’t risk our one ally on the daemon side learning of our hopefully temporary issue with getting GASP over to Neraka.

“The first born is Cayn. He is ruthless and has a filthy soul. He will most likely succeed his father on the throne. The second is Abeles, followed by Garros, Mammon, Karellen, Adaris, and the youngest on the Council, Zane. They are very different but share common goals, which is why the Council ultimately works in passing decisions around the kingdom. King Shaytan signs off on all of them, though.”

“Are there other species inhabiting Neraka?” Caia then asked. “Aside from the Imen, Maras, and daemons, that is. Perhaps fae, swamp witches?” Jax, Hansa, Blaze, Caspian, and I looked at her with confusion, and she gave us a defensive shrug. “What? I’m just trying all avenues here, because this whole swamp witch magic thing still doesn’t make sense to me, and neither does Vesta’s presence!”

Caia was still trying to wrap her head around the fae who had helped us in the Valley of Screams during our rescue mission. To be honest, we were just as baffled as she was, and the fact that Vesta didn’t know anything about her past only served to amplify the mystery around her.

“It used to be a much livelier planet, I’ll tell you that.” Mose sighed. “There were other creatures living on the surface, but I don’t know what became of them. I haven’t seen their kind in centuries. I suppose that’s what happens when daemons become the dominant species… We consume everything in our path…”

“What can you tell us about them?” Caia replied.

Mose’s head turned as he picked up noises from outside. His eyes flared bright red, and he looked at us, fear draining the color from his face.

“Quick, hide! The crates,” he whispered, and we scrambled to our feet. Voices became clearer outside the hut.

“What’s happening, Mose?” Caspian breathed, visibly confused.

“They’ve come for me,” the old daemon replied, motioning for us to hurry. Caia, Blaze, Jax, and Hansa were the first to hide behind the stack of crates, several feet away from the firepit.

“What do you mean? Why?” Caspian frowned, then pushed me to join the rest of my team. I stumbled and landed on top of Hansa, who groaned and helped me back to my feet. We all crouched.

“Nothing for you to worry about.” Mose shook his head as he nudged Caspian into our hiding spot. “Just stay hidden, and, if I don’t make it back, you keep going with our plan, Lord Kifo. Just keep going.”

“Wait, how can I not worry if you follow up with ‘if I don’t come back’, Mose?” Caspian was frustrated, and I felt the need to hold his arm, just to make sure he wouldn’t leave my side.

Mose grabbed a metal bowl and scooped ashes from the dying firepit, which he scattered over us. I covered my mouth and nose so as not to choke on it, while we all huddled closer together.

“This will keep your scent hidden in closed quarters with daemons,” Mose explained briefly, then straightened his back and turned to face the door, just as two grunts came in.

Caspian’s arm pulled me close into him, and we crouched and listened quietly.

“It’s your turn today, Mose,” one of the daemons said, his voice rough and low. I’d only caught a glimpse of them, but I’d registered their impressive height and size. They made the hut look tiny.

“No way to avoid this any longer,” the other added.

We heard Mose clear his throat as he shuffled toward the exit.

“I hear you, I hear you,” he replied, cursing under his breath.

“It won’t take longer than a couple of hours,” the first daemon grumbled.

“Unless they catch you lying.” The other scoffed as all three left the hut.

We waited for a couple of minutes, and I used my True Sight to watch as the daemons escorted Mose up an alley leading toward the city center, where the giant tower stood, surrounded by palace walls.