I couldn’t help the shock of longing that came over me, something that aways seemed to happen when she was mentioned out of the blue.
“Yes. We know who your mother is. Why do you think we had to grow those accursed flowers along our walls?” The demon snorted. “She loved natural beauty, so I hear. The Great Master has decided we should incorporate more of that within the kingdom. All of us should, not just the insufferable love seekers and sex worshipers. What are we, elves?”
Warmth welled up inside of me. My father didn’t just remember my mother, he had incorporated one of her loves into his home—and not just in some glen for weary travelers, in the whole kingdom. That was sweet, even if it was probably a short-term situation. Darius was right; for an immortal, the twenty five years he’d been away from her was a blink of an eye. At least his affection for her had been genuine. That was nice to hear.
Shuffling sounded behind me. I craned my head, but I couldn’t get a good look at the moving shapes I saw out of the corner of my eye. That was, until they filed in and took seats.
Six of them in all, and five the expected knobby, bony, or otherwise gross form of a demon. The last was a tall, skinny thing that reminded me of an elf. It skulked in behind the others, bent and broken.
My old friend Agnon. It needed more time to heal, because it looked pretty miserable. Or maybe that was as good as it was going to get.
“What is this?” one of the demons asked.
“We are needed elsewhere. We do not have time for captives, however strange,” another said.
“For those of you who doubted, it seems Agnon was telling us the truth all along. This is the heir.” The red demon gestured toward me grandly.
“This is the heir?” one of the demons asked, rising. It stalked up to give me the ole once over. “It is but a human.”
“It is part human, as Agnon has said.” The red demon uncrossed his leg. “Agnon was also correct about her magic. She has both types. I saw her use them together, but it seems she hasn’t yet fused them. She is in her infancy.”
“Clearly.” Another stood and walked around me. “What is she, a hundred human years? She knows nothing.”
“A hundred? Really?” I glowered at the demon that had said that.
“So it is the heir. So what?” said one of the demons that hadn’t bothered to get up. “If we present her to the Great Master now, we might risk his displeasure. We are not sure he still values an heir. Not after the son died.”
“And if he does?” the red demon asked. “Then we are holding an invaluable prize.”
“We can always test the waters before presenting her,” said the one standing in front of me. “If he seems favorable to the possibility, we go ahead as planned. If not, we kill her and be done with it.”
“In the meantime, we can train her,” another said. “Use her.”
“Because I’m going to be on board with being used.” I shook my head. “You guys need to take a lesson from the vampires on how to properly manipulate someone.” Hisses filled the room. “Not a fan of vampires then?”
“We are in agreement,” the red demon said, ignoring the vampire comment. And Darius. “We must take her elsewhere to train her. We cannot have her so close to the castle, nor can we risk knowledge of her getting out until we are sure she is ready. And wanted.”
“We no longer need Agnon. Its purpose has been served,” the demon in front of me said, turning toward the red demon.
“I agree. Guarding it has become tedious.” The demon flicked his fingers.
“Wait! I know her. I have seen her in action. I can help you train her. She trusts me,” Agnon wailed, dropping to the floor with a bowed back. “Please.”
A spike of air drove through its back before expanding, breaking its body apart. I crinkled my nose. Sure, I’d come here to kill Agnon, but that was kind of messed up. And here it had thought it was a valued member of the sect. Probably.
“We have a battle to attend, but before we go, I want proof the heir has the power you claim.” The demon in front of me turned back, now with an air of expectancy.
My body lowered until my feet hit the floor. The air around me released, leaving me standing on my own. Not like that would help. I knew the demon would just grab me up again if I tried anything beyond the dolphin show they were asking for.
“Show them,” the red demon commanded.
I crossed my arms. It was a little sullen teenager for my tastes, but under the circumstances, I didn’t have any better options.
“That’s right.” The red demon leaned forward, its eyes gleaming. “The vampire is needed to assure your cooperation.”
Darius grunted as a slice of air pierced the center of his chest, just missing his heart.
“No!” I yelled.
Do not let their treatment of me influence you, he thought.
“Okay. Okay!” I begged. “I’ll show you. Leave him be.”
“You see? We do not need to manipulate you. We simply need to know your weakness.” The red demon smiled, and this time its teeth were white and dripping with crimson blood.
“We’re not going to get along, you and I,” I said, calling up a ball of fire on one side, and lifting a chair with air on the other. My power crouched inside of me, controlled. Of all the times for it to wait for me to initiate rather than just exploding out and taking care of the problem…
“Weak,” one of the sitting demons said.
“She can do much more.” Air struck Darius again, in multiple places, ripping pieces out of his flesh. A spike hovered against his chest in line with his heart, poking his skin. As I watched, it started to turn slowly, burrowing its way in.
Adrenaline dumped into me as I felt his pain. As his heart started to hammer.
I love you, he thought. You have been the highlight of my long life. The softness of his farewell, the reverence, tore at me in a way I could barely comprehend. I could feel his resignation. His certainty that he would die. If not right now, eventually. They would torture him to get what they wanted out of me, and when he was no longer needed, they would kill him like they had Agnon.
He was happy I would live. I could feel it. His only regret was that he would have to say goodbye so soon.
Agony soaked down into the very fiber of my being because he was right. Everyone in that room knew it.
Unless I could do something.
No more hiding. No more fear of what my power would turn me into.
It was time to own what my father had given me in all its splendid glory.
I laughed, a purely demonic sound that I must’ve picked up somewhere along this journey. Power ripped and tore at me, pounding. Rising. I opened up to it, toppling my reservations and letting it consume me.
The rage was first, sending my fire into a frenzy. It traveled beneath my skin and licked at the air. Violence and anger boiled inside me, dragging me under. My vision pounded red. My fingers itched to kill.