Demons Amongst Us (The Book of Demons Saga #2) (18 page)

It was late evening by the time they arrived in the small village.  The devastation had reached them as well, and the once quaint, perfectly groomed gardens that preceded the stucco houses were now dead.  There were no longer demon children playing
happily in the street.  An eerie silence reigned over the area.  The group of demons and one human made their way down the long, main street of the town, to the house of Temel.  Balthazar knocked at the door, finding it unusual that Temel hadn’t sensed them coming and greeted them earlier. 

When Temel
finally answered the door, he was nearly unrecognizable.  His face has sunken and there were heavy bags under his silver eyes.  It looked like he had aged centuries in the short weeks since they had last seen each other.

“Lord Balthazar,” Temel spoke, his voice old and cracking.  “I am honored that you have come to my home.”

“What has happened here?” Balthazar asked, his eyes searching his friend for understanding. 

“Come in,” Temel said ignoring the question, shuffling aside and opening the door for his guests.  “I will try to find some food.”

The group settled into the worn cushions around the small table in Temel’s dining room, waiting for him to join them.  When he finally came in the room, he carried a small tray with a meager offering of unleavened bread and a crude vegetable paste.

“I apologize,
” Temel said, his wrinkled hands shaking as he set the dishes on the table.  “This is all I have to offer.”

“Temel,” Balthazar said, grabbing his friend
’s wrist as he was setting the dishes on the table.  “Tell me what has happened here.”

“It is not just here, my friend,” Temel said with a sigh as he took a seat.  “It is the entire kingdom.  We have been lucky, many villages have been entirely wiped out.”

“I do not understand,” Tavi said, “Why has the palace not been notified of this?”

“They have,” Temel said.  His silver eyes were dull and tired as he stared
blankly at a spot on the table.  It hurt both Balthazar and Tavi deeply to see their friend in such a state, but hearing that their kingdom was in such a state of disarray hurt even more. 

“Why has there been no relief sent?” Tavi asked.  He couldn’t understand how the kingdom could be suffering so badly, when the palace
and surrounding area was functioning as normal.

“Ashdad,” Balthazar said bitterly, answering Tavi’s question. 

“Who is Ashdad?” Temel asked, looking up suddenly from the table.  There seemed to be a renewed spark of life in him.

“Ashdad is the new Lord Sultan,” Tavi explained, seeing Balthazar’s reluctance to answer. 

“How is that possible?” Temel said, looking to Balthazar.  “You have been anointed.”

“Ashdad is trying to steal it
from him,” Alex said bitterly.  She couldn’t sit by any longer and listen to the conversation without speaking up.  It disgusted her to learn of the things Ashdad had done, and even more that she had ever trusted him.  The other demonesses remained quiet, preferring to let their men discuss the situation.  Alex knew it was part of the Devasi culture, but she wasn’t going to remain quiet.

“I see,” Temel said.  “Would that have anything to do with these Magi creatures?”

Everyone at the table sat up a little straighter at the statement.

“You know about the Magi?” Alex asked, drawing his eyes to her.

“Ah,” Temel said, his eyes brightening minutely, “Alexandra, it is a pleasure to see you again.”

The group shared a concerned glance between them.  Temel shrank
back from and returned to staring blankly at the table. 

“Temel,” Balthazar said softly, trying to get his attention.  Temel looked up at him, as if noticing him for the first time.

“Lord Balthazar,” Temel said, and continued to stare back silently at his friend.

“Temel, I need you to tell me about the Magi,” Balthazar said, trying to keep Temel’s attention.  The demon was clearly not mentally well, but if he had information about what was causing the devastation in his kingdom, Balthazar needed to get it out of him.  “I need you to concentrate.”

“The Magi,” Temel mumbled, looking away again.  He began rocking slightly in his cushion.

“The Magi,” he said again as if he was contemplating the words.  “Yes.  They are bad.”

“Yes,” Balthazar said, “Have you seen them?”

“The Magi,” Temel said, his rocking becoming more exaggerated.  “They took them.”

“They took who?” Balthazar asked.

“They took the light,” Temel said.  He stopped rocking, but his eyes closed and his head slumped forward.

“Temel,” Balthazar said, reaching over to shake his friend, but it was no use.  Temel’s life had ended.

“What are we going to do?” Alex asked as she looked up at Balthazar.  They where sitting in the abandoned town square.  Balthazar looked down at her, unsure of what to say.  The truth was he had no idea of what to do next.  His plan was to see Temel, hopefully regroup, mobilize the citizens of his kingdom against Ashdad, and somehow find a way to take him down.  But now, he didn’t know where to turn.  He had no more allies. 

The sun was shining high in the sky above them, as if it didn’t know the sadness that had covered the land.  As Alex continued looking to Balthazar for some kind of guidance a thick shadow moved over them.  A growl began to form in Balthazar’s throat as his nose caught a familiar and
very unwelcome scent.  Tavi and Kaveh appeared in the town square, Nila and Yashmina by their sides.  They had all smelled and sensed the approach.  Alex looked around her, trying to find the sudden source of agitation in the demons.  For a moment she feared it was the Magi, but when her eyes looked up to the sky, understanding, and relief, washed over her.

Writhing in a mass of blue-white scales, high above them in the sky, was the Dragon King
Azi.  His body coiled tightly on itself as a soft light formed around the massive size of him.  There was a brilliant flash of light, and when it subsided, King Azi stood before them, stark naked as usual, his long black braid running down his back.

“A dragon,” Tavi growled, moving into a defensive stance.  He was prepared to fight, even though he knew,
even with all of them together, they were no match for him.  Dragons had a power that was ancient, immense. 

“A pleasure to see you
again as well, demon,” Azi said mockingly in response to the steady growl in Balthazar’s chest, his solid black eyes searching the group.

“King Azi,” Alex said,
shielding her eyes from his bold nakedness.  “What are you doing here?”

“Alexandra,” Azi
said, a smile forming on his lips as his black eyes shifted over to her.  “Now it truly is a pleasure to make your acquaintance again.  Although I had hoped you would have returned to your home.”

“Well, I did actually,”
Alex said.  “I came back.”

“Why ever would you do such a thing?” King Azi asked, coming closer to Alex,
making her blush.

“I
.. uh..well,” she stuttered, flustered by his brazen nudity.  “Can you please put some clothes on?”

“I see you are bashful as ever, little human,” Azi said coming right up to her, a swell of pride in his chest as he ignored the warning growl coming from her demon protectors.

“You know this dragon, Alexandra?” Kaveh asked, unsure of how to react to the situation.  He could see Balthazar and Tavi completely on edge.  His instincts told him to prepare for a fight.  He had never personally run into a dragon, but had heard plenty of tales about the damage they could do.

“Yeah,” Alex replied.  “You guys can calm down.  I don’t think he is here to fight.”

“The human is correct,” Azi said, holding his arms out to placate the demons.  He despised them and everything they stood for, but he needed their help, as loath as he was to admit that.  But they needed his help as well, and now that they had Alexandra, things would certainly be easier. 

“And we are supposed to trust the word of a dragon?” Tavi spat.  He had long ago experienced the horror that a dragon could
cause.  With one of the first platoons he was given control of.  They had a simple patrol mission that had turned into a feast for a fire dragon.  Tavi was barely able to escape with his life.

“It is better than the word of a demon,” Azi spat venomously back at Tavi.  Growls erupted in the town square.

“Ok,” Alex interrupted harshly, “that is enough.  From all of you.”

She gave a disapproving glare at them all.  They had much bigger problems then a petty squabble between species.  There was obviously a reason King Azi had come, and given the circumstances, it was most likely to help.  She intended to hear him out, whether the demon princes around her liked it or not. 

“Now,” she said, after they had all settled down a bit.  “King Azi, why are you here?”

“This kingdom is not the only one affected by this plague called the Magi,” Azi said, lifting his chin.

“And what do you care about the other demon kingdoms, dragon?” Balthazar spat, to which he got another sharp glare from Alex.

“What do you mean
, King Azi?” Alex asked.

“My
people have suffered far greater than any demon,” Azi said bitterly.

“I don’t understand,” Alex said, “What is happening?  Why is everything dying?”

“The Magi,” Azi began to explain, “They are sucking the life from this world, trying to resurrect their master, the Ancient one.”

“I thought they already did,” Alex said, shaking her head. 

“No,” Azi said, “they have breathed life into him, but in order to fully resurrect him, they are going to need all of your blood.”

“That is not going to happen,” Balthazar snapped, his arm wrapping protectively around Alex.

“That is one thing we happen to agree on, demon,” Azi said, his eyes shifting momentarily onto Balthazar.

“But I still don’t understand,” Alex said, “
How can they cause all of this?”

“The Magi are draining the life force of this world to sustain him,” Azi said.  “Your blood is an extremely powerful thing, and there are few things that come even remotely close to being a
suitable substitute.  Dragon blood is the closest thing, though not quite strong enough to bring him fully back.”

“That’s why you’re here,” Alex said, “They have been killing your people too.”

“Yes,” Azi said, reluctant to admit his inability to save his people.  “They are all gone.  I am all that is left.”

“That is not su
ch a bad thing,” Balthazar said with a mocking glare at Azi.

“Stop that,” Alex snapped at him.  “You all don’t have to like each other, but I will not have insults being thrown around in my presence.”

“There is only one place that has remained untouched,” Azi said.  “The kingdom of Asur.  That is where we must go.”

“Absolutely not,” Balthazar said, his jaw tensing.  Asur was the last place he wanted to go, the least of his reasons being that Lord Krishna still expected him to mate his daughter.  But above all, he would not go groveling to another Lord for help.

“We h
ave no other choice,” Azi said.  “It is the only place to keep Alex safe until I can train her.”

“Train me?” Alex asked.  “Train me to do what?”

“To fight the Magi, of course,” Azi said, a crick in his neck as he looked curiously at Alex.  It was easy for him to forget how foreign all this was to her.  But surely she was aware that she was the only one who could fight them.

“
Oh,” Alex said, looking away, trying to hide her fear.  She knew it was something she would have to do.  The thought had been in her subconscious for sometime.  But she had forced it to the background, with everything else that was going on.

“You will defeat them, Alexandra,” Azi said, sensing the fear that had taken hold in her.  He didn’t blame
her, they were certainly creatures to be feared.  But Alexandra was the one person that could put them in their place.  It was a shame that she had not been trained for this inevitability since her birth, but he would do the best he could to prepare her in the short time they had left.

“You can train the girl here,” Balthazar insisted, still not prepared to give up and go to Asur. 

“Unfortunately, I cannot,” Azi said.  “We are exposed here, and they will soon be coming for us.  As I’m sure you are aware, your Lord Sultan is working with them.  There is not much time before they find us.”

“And what is to stop them from coming f
or us in Asur?” Tavi asked.  He didn’t trust the Asuri to protect them any more than Balthazar did.

“You know as well as I their ability to mask themselves,” Azi said, “
Lord Krishna is able to cloak his entire kingdom.  The Magi are not able to find it.”

“Then to Asur we go,” Alex said with finality.

“Alexandra,” Balthazar said firmly, “I do not believe that is a wise choice.”