A Demon's Wrath (6 page)

The boy nodded.

“We’ll have to escape.”

“I know. I wanted to escape, too. I want to
do it myself. I don’t want anyone to save me,” Lucifer said.

Cecelia thought it odd that only a moment
ago he had said his father and Uncle Drake would save them.

“I’ll think of a plan before we reach the
island. Sleep now, Lucifer, so we can gain some energy for the
escape. I am rather tired.”

“I know how you humans tire,” he said,
closing his eyes.

Cecelia wasn’t listening to him; she had
already turned her attention to the locked door.
There must be a
way out,
she thought. Somehow, once they landed on the demon
land, she’d have to find a way out before those men killed her and
Lucifer.

Demon Kingdom, McNamara Castle

COMMANDER LEON M
^C
KNIGHT MADE HIS
way along the gigantic hallway, his steps quick and his polished
boots clattering loudly against the marble floor. He turned to his
right, then his left, and then left again before he came to a stop
in front of a massive mahogany double door. He took a deep breath,
lifted his hand, and knocked in a rhythm of three.

“Enter!” a voice boomed from inside the
room.

He hastily opened the door and entered the
conference room. He bowed slightly once he saw the king—not sitting
in his large golden chair, but standing with his hands clasped
behind him, his head tilted to one side, and his eyes gazing out at
the clear, sparkling blue sea in the horizon. Bright sunlight shone
on his aquiline features, silhouetting his form in a mysterious
shadow.

Drake Oswald McNamara, the formidable,
powerful demon king turned his attention to his trusted friend and
distant relative, Leon McKnight, commander of the general army.
“What news have you, Leon?”

“The ghost birds, Drake,” the soldier began.
“They smelled Lucifer’s scent somewhere deep in the Siren Sea of
Death.”

“Is he coming home?” a soft female voice
that belonged to Lady Vera McNamara whispered.

Leon turned his attention to the beauty
standing beside the king. Dressed in a flowing empire gown of a
sea-blue color with gold trimming, her blond tresses styled into
ringlets about her head, and the beautiful sapphire earrings and
necklace that complimented her blue eyes, she looked enchanting. He
stared at her, lost for a moment in her beauty. Then he remembered
his place and said to her, “I’m not sure, my lady.”

“What else did the ghost birds say they
saw?” a male voice that belonged to Lord Adam McNamara, Vera’s
beloved husband and the king’s cousin, snapped.

Leon turned as he addressed Adam and said,
“They thought they had seen lights.”

“In the middle of the sea?” Adam questioned
gruffly.

“I believe we have unwanted guests,” Drake
said chillingly soft.

“They have kidnapped my son and dare to even
step foot on our land?” Adam growled, slapping his palms on the
table.

The fact was Adam was very angry with
himself and the incompetency of the Meridianus warriors. If only
they hadn’t ventured to Meridianus Kingdom. If only Lucifer hadn’t
wanted to celebrate the Summer Rising with his maternal
grandparents, the Hemsworth, whom Adam still couldn’t get along
with despite Vera’s effort. If only Vera hadn’t encourage the idea.
If only he had said no to his wife’s begging to visit her homeland.
If only Lucifer hadn’t venture so far off with those other
Meridianus boys, then he wouldn’t have been kidnapped. The thought
of those lawless Meridianus thieves who dared to kidnap his son
sent Adam’s temper soaring. He growled loudly and sent his mighty
fist down on the table again.

“They won’t hurt him, will they?” Vera
asked, eyeing her husband.

“Lucifer can look after himself,” Drake
said. “He
is
a demon after all.”

“I could not bear it if he is hurt,” Vera
sobbed, throwing herself into her husband’s arms.

The moment he saw his wife’s tears, Adam
forgot about his own temper. He hugged her tight and patted her
slender shoulder to comfort her. “Lucifer is a brave demon. He will
be all right,” he said softly. Then with a dark scowl, he turned to
the demon with long blond hair and pale blue eyes, sitting behind
the large table that separated them. “Well, Julius, use your damn
globe to find Lucifer.”

Julius Falkland, the king’s adviser, glanced
at Adam McNamara and said, “You cannot force the vision, Adam. It
will allow us to see if Lady Fate wants us to see.”

“But surely, Julius, Lucifer is in trouble.
My son, your student, is in danger,” Vera said, fresh tears
threatening to spill out of her eyes.

Julius said, “I will have to use a lot of
power to force the vision.” He stood up then and turned toward the
door. “I will fetch the globe first, and Drake?” He glanced at the
king. “I will need your superior power to help, sire.”

Drake nodded, and Julius left.

“Don’t just stand there, Leon. Come and tell
us what else the ghost birds saw,” Adam growled.

The soldier nodded and took a few steps
toward the table. At that moment, the door crashed open. Gerick
McNamara stood there, hands on hips, as he surveyed the room at
large with interest.

“What’s this? A conference without me?” he
said.

Adam ignored the question from his younger
brother and snapped, “Well? Any trace of the Meridianus
bastards?”

Gerick frowned for a moment and then said,
“My warriors and I have traced from the south to the north of the
Meridianus Kingdoms using our flying steeds. The hounds smelled
Lucifer’s scent. We followed it, and here we are.” He turned his
attention to his cousin, the king. “Drake?”

“Gerick,” Drake said, a dark scowl on his
face. “They have just arrived in our land.”

“They set foot on our land?” Gerick shouted,
his brows rising dangerously. “Surely, they are not that stupid,”
he said more calmly, walking into the room.

“What do you expect? They are human after
all,” Adam said, helping his wife into a chair. Vera gave her
husband a slight smile and murmured to him a thank you.

“Ah, Leon,” Gerick said, slapping the
demon’s shoulder. “So you are the one to bear the news?”

“The ghost birds spied them in the night
past,” the soldier said. “They reported back this morn.”

“I can’t wait to slice those humans’ guts
with my sword,” Gerick said with one hand gripping the hilt of his
weapon

“Gerick!” Adam snapped. “You will not talk
of such in front of my wife.”

The gorgeously handsome demon thinned his
lips and shrugged his broad shoulders. “Sorry, Vera,” he said.
“Where’s Julius?”

“Getting his crystal globe,” Adam supplied,
taking a chair beside his wife.

“Are we sight-seeing again?” Gerick asked,
glancing heavenward.

“Are you trying to say my globe doesn’t
work, Gerick?” Julius said from the door.

“Not at all, Lord Wise Wizard.” Gerick
shrugged his shoulders.

Julius narrowed his eyes at Gerick. He
walked into the room and placed the globe in the middle of the
table. “Drake, I need your help.”

“Aye,” Drake said, making his way toward
them.

Everyone circled the table. Drake placed
both his hands on the crystal ball. Julius did the same. They both
closed their eyes and summoned their inner demon power to the
surface. Instantly, the clear ball turned cloudy with smoke and
waves of blue-green color.

“I see him,” Julius said, his voice thick.
“It’s so cold. The water is so deep. Lucifer is alone.”

“My poor Lucifer,” Vera cried, leaning
against her husband for support.

“The storm is brewing, strong and evil,”
Julius continued.

“Is Lucifer all right?” Vera whispered,
turning her teary eyes from the misty magic globe to look at
Julius. She saw that his forehead was starting to sweat, his face
scrunched in concentration.

“Hush, love, Julius is working,” Adam
said.

“Wait, I’m growing warm. I’m not cold
anymore,” Julius said, frowning as though he were confused.

“Lucifer is all right,” Vera asked.

“Whoa, it worked?” Gerick said, raising his
brows.

“I can feel his happiness. Nay, he is sad
again. No wait. ’Tis a different color, a different warmth.”

“For God’s sake, Julius, make up your mind,”
Gerick snapped.

“Perhaps Julius is seeing more than just
Lucifer,” Leon suggested.

“That is possible,” Adam said.

“So is Lucifer all right?” Vera asked
again.

“I don’t know. I…” Julius frowned for a
moment. “Wait, I can distinguish the difference now. Lucifer, I
feel him. I see him. He is in a small vessel. They have passed the
Siren Sea of Death and are on their way to the Deadly Hollow Cave
by the beach of our land.”

“They’ve arrived,” Vera said, her voice
sounding oddly hoarse in her own ears.

Julius opened his eyes and released his hand
from the globe. “Now we know they are here and Lucifer is with
them.” He turned to Vera. “Don’t worry. We’ll save Lucifer from
those human bastards.” He nodded and turned to look at his friend.
“Drake?”

“Why is Drake still holding on to the
crystal ball?” Gerick asked, looking at his cousin, wide-eyed.

“Drake?” Vera touched Drake’s arm.

Drake’s eyes were closed and his face was a
composed mask. In his mind’s eyes, he saw the coldness of the sea,
the whirling of ice-blue water rushing about him. The stormy wind
gusted around him as he stood his ground. Then he was flying. He
was in the air. He could feel the fresh, cold air fluttering
against his skin. He looked down, and below him he saw a vessel. He
felt himself descending toward the ship, and then his body went
through ceilings and floors. Down below in the vessel was a prison.
There he saw two figures lying side by side. He recognized Lucifer.
The other boy wrapped his arms around Lucifer as a mother would to
keep her child safe and warm. He saw the youth looked up at him,
his soft-brown eyes begging him, and his delicate hand reaching out
to him.

Drake felt a sudden coldness settling in his
heart. A feeling he had never felt before. He opened his eyes and
removed his hands from the globe. He looked around and saw his
comrades watching him.

“What did you see?” Julius asked. “What
happened?”

“I saw Lucifer,” he said. “They are coming
up to the beach as we speak.”

“Then let’s go rip their limbs apart,”
Gerick said, heading toward the door.

“
Stop!”
Drake shouted. “Don’t be such
a hothead.”

“Well, we can’t just sit here and wait for
them to come through the castle door,” Gerick snapped.

“Gerick, I won’t have your temper killing my
son,” Adam said firmly. “What is it, Drake?”

“We will surprise them. I think they have
more than ransom on their mind,” Drake said, narrowing his
eyes.

“You don’t mean…?” Gerick looked at his
cousin in disbelief.

“The Pearl of Life!” Julius said, his eyes
wide.

“The gall of them,” Leon said with his hands
fisted.

“It has been ten years since anyone has
reached this far,” Drake said. “Come, we leave now.” He turned and
led the way out of the study.

AS STRANGE AS IT MAY be, Cecelia sensed as
though someone was watching over her and Lucifer as they slept. In
her fitful slumber, she dreamt of a pair of gray eyes boring into
her, as if finding her interesting and seeking into her inner
thoughts. She laid there on the cold, wooden floor with Lucifer
snuggling up against her. A gust of cold breeze swirled into the
room out of the blue. She sensed Lucifer’s shiver and wrapped her
arms around him, pulling his small body even closer to her. The
ship swayed, rocking them back and forward and side to side,
reminding Cecelia once again of where she was and how she came to
be there.

As she laid there with Lucifer in her arms,
she remembered the gray eyes in her dream; the color bottomless and
mysterious, giving her a sense of intrigue. It was a pair of the
eyes that could only belonged to the demon king. A shivered coursed
down her spine, and she tightened her arms around Lucifer as if for
comfort.

A whimper escaped Lucifer’s lips, which drew
Cecelia’s attention. His body shook violently as he cried out in
his sleep, tears flowing down his cheeks. She held him tight in her
arms as she soothed him with soft, sweet words.
Poor boy,
she thought,
to be dragged into such a condition.
Surely,
his family must be frantic searching for him.

Eventually, his whimpering stopped and his
body relaxed. Cecelia eased her holding of him and kissed his
forehead.

“You are a brave little boy,” she said
softly.

It was about an hour or so later that loud
noises could be heard from upstairs and then the swaying of the
ship came to a stop, telling Cecelia that they had reached land.
She sat up in alertness, her eyes searching about her.

“Lucifer, I think we have stopped,” she said
softly.

Lucifer frowned at her for a moment, as if
confused. “What?”

“Come, we must try and escape before they
come down for us.” She got up and walked toward the locked door.
She wiggled it a few times. When it didn’t budge, she tried to pull
the chains.

“It won’t work. It’s too strong,” Lucifer
said, rubbing his sleepy eyes. “If only Papa were here, or Uncle
Drake, or even Julius or Uncle Gerick,” he groaned.

Cecelia’s hands were getting sore. She
slumped down and rested her head against the wall. She was tired
and hungry. She would never escape this, she thought and felt very
depressed.

“You two!”

Cecelia bolted upright. A man headed toward
them and then unlocked the chain.

“Out!” he shouted, “and no funny
business.”