A Demon's Wrath (9 page)

“Nineteen summers, sire,” she replied
without looking at him.

Drake narrowed his eyes and lifted a smile
at her. “Nineteen? Where is your muscle, boy?”

Cecelia swallowed and blushed. She had
forgotten she was supposed to be her brother. The fact that she was
a woman meant her womanly body had no muscle like that of the males
of her age.

“I, err…”

“Drake, ’tis no way to converse during the
meal,” Vera put in, patting Cecelia’s shoulder. “I’m sure Brian has
his reason for not telling the truth of his age.”

“Why do you lie about your age?” Julius put
in, frowning at her. “’Tis unwise at best, for wizards can find out
with a mere look into your eyes.”

Cecelia frowned and lowered eyes to avoid
Julius’s gaze.

“Come, let me look into your eyes so I can
guess how old you truly are,” Julius said.

Cecelia started to feel very
uncomfortable.

“Julius, you are making Brian blush,” Vera
snapped.

“Blush? He can’t blush. He’s a man,” Gerick
said, looking at Julius, expecting him to provide them with answer
with his limitless knowledge.

Julius thought for a moment and then turned
to look at Brian. “Perhaps humans are different?”

“Aye, humans are different,” Cecelia said,
nodding her head. “Lucifer.” She turned to the young demon. “Can
you take me around for a tour?”

“Oh, yes,” Lucifer said excitedly. “I will
show you our stables, our garden, and our castle.”

Vera said, “It will have to be tomorrow. You
two are tired. You need your rest, Brian.”

Cecelia nodded.

Thankfully, dinner went smoothly after that
for Cecelia. Once it was over, she begged tiredness and left
immediately. In the guest bedchamber, she lay in the large, soft
bed, thinking about her mother and brother, wondering how they were
getting on without her. She’d have to somehow find a way to get the
Pearl of Life and then travel back home. She calculated that it had
taken her three weeks to get to the Demon Kingdom, so it would
presumably take her another three to four weeks to travel back, if
she were lucky. That meant there was no time for her to waste.

The stables. Lucifer had said he would take
her to see the stables tomorrow. That meant there would be horses.
If most of their horses were like those she had seen when the king
and his comrades had come to save her and Lucifer that morning,
then she’d have a good chance of borrowing one of them to fetch the
Pearl of Life. Perhaps Lucifer would also show her their port as
well, for Vera had said the king loved to sail.

Nodding, she closed her eyes and drifted off
to sleep, dreaming of the misty gray eyes boring into her
person.

THE DEMONS DIDN’T LIKE HUMANS very much.
They considered these beings twisted, cunning bastards with nothing
more to fill their time than to get drunk, plot, plan, kill amongst
their own kind, and of course, going to war with other kingdoms to
conquer.

The Demon Kingdom was one of
those
prized nations, with its fertile soil excellent for farming, lakes
with an abundant supply of fresh water, woods full of wild animals,
ocean copious with sea creatures, and mines rich with precious
metal ore such as silver and gold. For centuries, the humans had
their eyes on the demon land, their hunger for it driving them to a
feverous pitch that led to numerous wars and millions of deaths.
When they failed in their attempt, they spread lies and rumors that
demons were monstrous creatures born to destroy and kill.

For the last few hundred years, the war
against the demons had turned into a Holy War, brought about by the
human Holy Knights to eradicate these nightmarish, malevolent
beings from the nine kingdoms. They failed spectacularly, and now
fifty years since that war ended, many still believe the demons to
be these grotesque murderers the humans portrayed them to be.

Though Drake himself didn’t dislike the
humans as passionately as his demon citizens, he still regarded
them with disdain and preferred to interact with them at arm’s
length. He understood that all races were of the same make, that
the urge to lie, steal, or kill was fueled by the need to survive
by some, passion by others, and greed by a fair few. Of course,
this included those who were here to steal his treasure, and there
had been many since this kingdom became his after the death of his
parents.

As with anything, there was the exception of
the very selected few whom he’d encountered and found very amiable.
One of those was Lord Peter Van Zandt, the Earl of Rosevalley, whom
he had met many years ago during one of his sea adventures. The man
and his beautiful wife showed him the true meaning of being alive,
being a part of a loving family and friends, and how one should
always be true to oneself, whether a powerful king or a poor
farmer. Of course, the earl had taught him the art of viticulture
and viniculture as well. These were lessons that Drake cherished
and knowledge he kept with him since.

He was currently sipping the fruit of one of
those lessons now. The dry and sweet taste of the wine swirled
playfully in his mouth as he carefully analyzed the current urgent
state in which they were. Marcus Arthurs, who had escaped the dark
prison four years ago, was now gathering troops, preparing for
imminent war, with the help of what kingdom Drake had yet to find
out.

As a young king, Drake had to show his demon
followers his strength and capability to protect them from the
continuous threats of wars that raged across the nine kingdoms. It
was a hard job, one that required constant late nights, an alert
and sharp mind, and wise decision-making, of which Drake possessed
in abundance.

Now, however, it wasn’t that threat of war
that put him on edge, for they had no fear of such things. Drake
and his comrades were skilled, ruthless warriors and had trained
their demon armies, which counted in the hundreds of thousands, the
art of battle to perfection. They were always ready for any combat,
and none were afraid to die for their country. Marcus Arthur, a
demon and Drake’s ex-comrade, wouldn’t be able to withstand them,
regardless of the influential and powerful help he managed to
acquire from outside.

It was the imminent need for a blood heir
that worried Drake. He was ready for marriage, but his pearl of
life was still dormant, hadn’t yet informed him it had found a
suitable bride for him to mate and bear his children. Such was the
fate of a true demon king, for if the bloodline wasn’t suitable,
the power within would die, and along with it the kingdom.

“Your scowl is darker than usual, Drake,”
Julius said from the other side of the library. He had a book in
his hands, his eyes scanning through the ancient text as he stated
his next query. “Are you worried about the pearl?”

Drake, perched on the step of the stairs
above, gazed off into the distance through the long window that
overlooked the city below. Dots of bright light illuminated the
vast kingdom like fireflies, an enchanting picture. This kingdom
was his, and Drake loved and cherished it—his land, his demons, and
all that was within the boundaries of his responsibility.

“Aye,” he replied. “The pearl isn’t yet
ready.”

Julius took off his spectacle, resting it
gently on the table, and lifted his head to look at Drake. “Well,
there is naught we can do but wait until the timing is right.”

“Timing,” Drake said, “is not on our side.
Marcus Arthur, as we know, is now gathering his armies. He knows
I’m without a blood heir. This kingdom is vulnerable. He will
challenge me and kill me if he gets the chance. If I die, this
kingdom will die with me, and you know it.”

Julius was silent for a moment. The
situation was dire. Unlike the human kingdoms, the survival and
prosperity of both the Angel and Demon Kingdoms rested on the
hidden power of the true blood king. If that king were to die
without an heir to continue the line, so too would his land and, in
turn, his followers. The Demon Kingdom had been blessed for the
past few hundred years, for they had the blood line of the
McNamaras, defeating that foolish war the humans regarded as holy,
preventing them from ever stepping foot on their shore again.
Before the McNamaras there had been the Arthurs, whose pearl of
life wasn’t strong nor vibrant, thus marking the king’s power as
weak and dark in both mind and spirit. That line had craved dark
power and had put their kingdom in constant war and the civilians
under threat of death for many centuries. None wanted a repetition
of that.

Luckily, ever since Drake had come into
power, the kingdom had grown in prosperity, even more so than his
parents and grandparents before him. Yet the pearl of life, a seed
that came to life when Drake was born, had not yet decided who
Drake’s bride would be, the female who would carry Drake’s son, the
future true demon king.

“I still can’t believe that bastard managed
to escape!” Adam growled in disgust from across the room. He
pounded his mighty fist onto the table for effect, just to show
everyone how upset he was. “If only you’d let me kill him that
first time, Drake.”

Julius frowned at Adam over his book.
After all this time,
he thought,
Adam is still consumed
with anger at the thought we managed to allow Marcus Arthur escape
our clutches.
Of course, the fact that Marcus had also very
nearly killed Adam’s lovely bride Vera whilst the woman was with
child didn’t help douse the fuel of rage within Adam either. If
anything, it made the demon crazed for Marcus’s blood, whether they
used to be best friends or not.

“Keep your voice down, Adam. I’m
reading.”

Adam narrowed his eyes at Julius. “Aren’t
you worried?” When Julius just stared at him, he turned to
Drake.

Drake’s scowl darkened. “You know as well as
I that we cannot eliminate the Arthur blood line. Marcus is the
last. If I die without an heir, he will be the next demon
king.”

“What? And let him waltz in and kill you
when he feels like it?” Gerick voiced for the first time. “He’s a
threat, Drake. He’s as strong and skilled as the five of us in
battle.”

By the five of them, he meant Drake, Adam,
Julius, Leon, and himself, who had been schooled and trained
together since they were children, along with Marcus.

Adam was the oldest and the one with the
hottest temper and the strongest sword, yet he was also the one
with the gentlest feelings. He was simply a big bear with a hard
exterior and a bountiful love for his family and friends. Marcus,
the one who had betrayed them and was the same age as Adam, was the
smartest and most resourceful with his unmatched ability in the use
of dark power and strange magic.

Julius, with his know-it-all attitude, vast
knowledge, insightful wisdom, a knack for white spells and magic,
and a love for books was a year younger than the two previous
demons. Drake, the most serious, responsible, intelligent,
innovative, powerful, and skilled of the warriors, was a year
younger than Julius.

Gerick, the handsomest, most flirtatious
demon with an appetite for good food, fine wine, and of course,
beautiful women and young men, was a year younger than Drake. There
was, of course, another side to Gerick—seriousness and shrewdness
with an art in war strategies and his loyalty to his comrades that
was beyond compare. Leon, who was quiet, intelligent, and skilled
as a commander of the armies, was a few months younger than
Gerick.

“Demon’s blood!” Gerick said. “He trained
with us, and we didn’t even know he was an Arthur. We all know what
will happen if Marcus becomes king. That bastard practices black
magic. We know how dark his pearl is. It will be a disaster.”

“I’m not about to let him kill me, Gerick,”
Drake said. “I will kill him if he tries to lay his hands on me.
Though, I still have hope we can return him.”

Julius looked doubtful at that statement.
“Once the pearl is marked black, it cannot return to its original
color, Drake.”

Drake ignored Julius and glanced at Adam,
who looked both hurt and angry at the same time. His pale-gray eyes
were dark with emotion. It was hard to lose one’s best friend and
watch him turn against you, even though it happened many years
ago.

Drake said, “For now, I need my pearl to be
ready. I need it to give me a bride.”

Leon, who was sitting in a chair by the
brightly lit hearth, suggested, “Why don’t we just do another
presentation?”

Julius gave him a dry laugh. “We all know
what happened last time.”

Gerick nodded in agreement, his face sour as
a lemon. Leon nodded soberly.

Their last
presentation
, which was of
course Julius’s cunning plan of a shortcut, was a chaotic disaster
to say the least. They’d presented about a dozen beautiful female
demons from noble families to the pearl. Most, however, couldn’t
even get into the enchanted water. They were too afraid of the
magical acid that would eat their alabaster skin. A very few
managed but couldn’t go any farther than a couple steps before they
came running out again, screaming as if death were after them.

All five demons were silent as they pondered
on what the best course of action might be. When Gerick said, “What
if Drake is meant to have a male lover?” Adam wanted to punch him
in the face, and Leon managed to hide a chuckle.

It wasn’t because Adam had anything against
that sexual orientation, since it was very acceptable in the Demon
Kingdom to be either way, but because that implied Drake wouldn’t
be able to have children and, therefore, no future demon king. And
that would leave them very vulnerable.

Drake raised a brow at Gerick as he came
down the stairs. He placed the now empty silver wine goblet on the
table and said, “I know what I am, Gerick.”