Demons Amongst Us (The Book of Demons Saga #2) (21 page)

“You want this,” Kali accused suddenly, whipping around and glaring at him.  “You want me to wed him.  To lay beneath him and allow him to enjoy my body.”

“No,” Yashi said emphatically, his eyes hardened at the accusation.  “You know that is not true.”

“Then why do you
argue with me?” Kali asked.  Yashi sighed, dropping his hands to the side.  He knew there wasn’t really much he could say to her.  Once she made her mind up to do something, she did it.

“I only have your best interest at heart, my love,” he said softly.  Kali f
elt minutely bad for accusing Yashi.  She knew how he felt about her.  But their love was not allowed.  He was a simple servant in her father’s palace.  He had no noble blood, didn’t even have parents.  He had been orphaned when he was just a baby.  He had nothing to offer her father for her hand.  But she didn’t care about any of that.  He understood her, better than anyone ever had, and she refused to be taken away from him.  Whether it was a prince of her own kingdom, or the Lord of another.  She would have Yashi and no other. 

“I know you do,” she said,
her hand cupping his cheek.  “And that is why I will do what is necessary, for both of us.”

#

Kali knocked softly at the door of her father’s office and waited for him to answer.  When she heard nothing but silence, she realized her father was probably taking another impromptu nap.  He was getting weaker by the day, all his energy going to hiding the kingdom.  Another one of his mistakes, Kali thought.  If it were her, she would mobilize the army, fight off these damnable Magi that seemed to be causing so much trouble.  She really didn’t see how they could wreak so much havoc, there were only a handful of them.

“Father,” she called out softly as she gently pushed the door open.  As she suspected, she found her father asleep at his desk, his head slumped forward, chin resting on his chest.  Kali felt a twinge of guilt.  She loved her father.  She really did.  But he no longer knew what was best, or how to achieve it.

Kali set the small tray of tea down on the worn old desk her father was sitting behind and nudged him lightly.  His head popped up, eyes blinking into focus.  He smacked his lips a couple of times, looking around him.

“Kali,” he said with a warm smile when he noticed his daughter standing beside him.

“I brought you some tea, father,” Kali said, returning her father’s smile.  “Drink.  It will give you strength.”

“You always were such a wonderful child,” Krishna said.  “Sit.  Keep an old man company for a moment.”

Kali nodded, taking a seat in one of the creaky wooden chairs on the other side of her father’s desk.  Krishna sipped at the steaming cup of herb flavored water.  Kali watched him anxiously.

“I know you do not want to wed Lord Balthazar,” Krishna said, setting the cup down, “but you will see in time
that it is for the best.  Balthazar may be young, and brash, but he is noble.  He will make a strong husband, and an even stronger father.”

“I have given it a lot of thought, father,” Kali said quietly, “and I believe you are right.”

“That’s my little girl,” Krishna said, smiling as he took another long sip of his tea.  He cleared his throat as he set the cup back down.  He had a lot of work to get done before the night was over, and he knew he didn’t have the strength for it, but he would carve out some time to spend with his daughter.

“Father,” Kali said, “you know I don’t like it when you call me that.”

“Oh my Kali,” Krishna laughed, “you were always so head strong.  I never told you, but it was one of my favorite things about you.”

Krishna’s chuckling turned into a cough.  His one cough
quickly turned into a coughing fit.  Kali looked on as her father began gasping for breath, his hands coming up to his throat. He began to choke.  His mouth flapped open and closed, trying desperately to get air into his lungs.  His eyes looked across the table, shock and sadness swirling in them as realization hit him.  Blood began to ooze from his nose and the next cough spewed little red droplets across the worn wooden table.  He slumped forward, his head falling against the table.  His eyes remained open as the last vestiges of life drained from him. 

Kali stood from the chair, walking over to the quickly cooling corpse of her father.  She ran her hand over the bare skin of his head.

“I love you, father,” she said.  “It is a shame it had to end this way.”

King Azi barged into the room in a blind panic.

“We must leave
,” he said, rushing over to Alex and picking her off the bed by her hand.

“King Azi,” Alex said, grabbing him by the shoulders to try and calm him.  “Calm down.  What is going on?”

“I should have seen it,” the dragon king said, his mind working frantically.  “I thought we would have sanctuary here.”

“What are you babbling on about, dragon?” Balthazar said.  He was sitting on the bed, picking at the fuzz under his claws, clearly in a sour mood.  He had been trying
to get Alexandra to speak to him the entire evening.  Now she had suddenly found her tongue when the dragon came in the room speaking nonsense. 

“This is not the time for your arrogance, boy,” Azi spat at Balthazar, snapped out of his panicked stupor by the comment.  “Kali has murdered her father.”

“So I guess there won’t be a wedding,” Balthazar said, rising from the bed. 

“Lord Krishna was the only thing keeping the barrier up,” Azi said condescendingly to
Balthazar.  “We are now exposed.  We must leave.  We must find a safe place.”

“There is nowh
ere,” Balthazar said, his demeanor turning serious.

“There is,” Alex said.  “My world.”

The dragon king and the demon prince looked at each other, immediately forgetting their personal quibble.  It was a brilliant idea.  The Magi had been banished from her world eons ago.  They had breached that barrier once, but would not be able to do so again.  Now that the last key had been used, Alexandra would be the only person who could open a doorway into her world.  But there in lay the problem.  Alexandra would have to open that doorway. 

“There are significant complications in such a thing, Alexandra,” Azi said.
  Not only would she need significant training to do so, but even with the training she needed, her powers were split.  As long as the bond between her and Balthazar was not complete, she would never be able to fully access her abilities.

“But you told me before you could help me get back home,” Alex said. 

“Yes,” Azi said, “but that would require training, and most importantly time, which we do not have.  Not to mention the bond.”

Alex thought for a moment.  She loved Balthazar, in spite of his sometimes being a complete and total jerk.  And she knew she wanted him.  It wasn’t an ideal situation, but her recent life had been a series of less than ideal circumstances.  She knew what she had to do. 

“We will…” Alex began to speak, but a sudden, searing pain shot through her.  She screamed out, her hands grasping either side of her head as the pain throbbed in her skull.  Her knees buckled and Balthazar caught her before she fell to the ground. 

“Alexandra,” he said, frantically searching her to find the source of her anguish.  She appeared to be perfectly all right, but her face remained scrunched in pain.

Alex’s ears began to ring, her body went numb.  She couldn’t feel or see anything around her, but she knew Balthazar was there.  It brought her only a small amount of comfort.  The ringing slowly began to subside, but her eyes were blinded.  There was only darkness around her.  She tried to move her arms, but they were frozen in place.  She lost all motion in her entire body.  And then a voice sounded all around her.

“Alexandra,” she heard.  The voice was smooth, it was deep, it was all encompassing, and it was terrifying.  She tried to open her mouth, tried to form words.  But even her face was frozen, immobilized by some hidden force.

“I am coming for you, Alexandra,” the voice said, “you will soon be mine.”

Balthazar shook Alex trying to wake her, but her eyes remained closed.  She looked as though she was sleeping, and he c
ould hear her heart beating steadily.  Her scent was normal, and there was nothing unusual in her aura.  He looked to Azi, hoping maybe the dragon would have more input.  But Azi was as clueless as him.

Balthazar scooped her up and set her gently down on the bed.  He sat down next
to her on the bed, his eyes trained on her, looking for any signs as to what had happened to her.

“I will see to
this business with Princess Kali,” Azi said.  He wanted to remain with Alexandra, but he knew that Balthazar would do whatever he could to protect her.  As much as he hated the demon, he had to give him that much.  There was other business that desperately needed attention, and his assistance would likely be needed.  He despised all demons, but they now had a common enemy.  For at least the time being, he would join with them to put down the Magi, who were likely on their way to the kingdom of Asur at that very moment.

“We must reestablish the barrier, My Lady,” Vishnu, the late Lord Krishna’s secretary pleaded with Kali.  She was sitting upon her father’s throne, and she had listened calmly as Vishnu made his case.  She had already made her mind as of to what she intended to do long before she had carried out her father’s murder, but she would allow the man to speak his mind.  She was not a tyrant, she would happily listen to the advice of others, although it was ultimately her decision what would be done.  She was finally in control of the throne she had been born to sit upon.

“I understand your
concern,” Kali said, “However, we will not hide any longer.”

“My Lady,” Vishnu said, still not ready to give up his argument, “They co
me with the army of the Devas.  We are no match for them, we need to hide.”

“Lady Kali,” King Azi said, entering the throne room.  “You must hide us.  The human can defeat them, but she needs time.”

“My father was dying trying to maintain the barrier,” Kali said.  “There is no one else that can erect one powerful enough.”

“If we pool all the power of the royal court, we can hide the palace,” Vishnu argued. 

“If we hide the palace, we cut off our citizens from our protection,” Kali said.  “We will not abandon our people.  If we die, then we will die fighting, not hiding.”

“I do not
think you understand,” Azi began.  He needed to pursued Kali into recloaking them, and fast.

“I do not think you do, dragon,” Kali said, giving him a hard stare.  “We will not hide any longer. 
I understand your concerns, however, the Magi would reach us one way or another.  I would rather have it on my terms.”

“If they capture the girl, there will be no hope for us,” Azi said.  “Their Master is more powerful than any of us could ever imagine.  He is a bloodthirsty creature, with pure evil at his core.  He feeds off of death and destruction.”

“Tell me what you know about this Master?” Kali demanded.  The thought of facing a powerful enemy did not deter her in the slightest.  In fact, it intrigued her.  However, she would learn all she could about her enemy so she could form an effective battle plan.

“He is old
er than time itself,” Azi said.  “He is the opposing force of the Alexandra’s power.  The human protector, Alexandra’s predecessor, gave his life to put him away.  He was not able to kill him, but he was able to lock him in a prison so deep, he would hopefully never return.  He had been trained since birth to fight the Ancient.”

“
So there is no point in trying to train the girl,” Kali said, standing from her throne. “She would be useless against this Master you speak of.  Vishnu, prepare our troops for battle.”

Balthazar lay on the bed next to Alex, holding her still unconscious, shivering form.  Her skin was cold as ice, and try as he might, he couldn’t seem to warm her.  He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her as close to him as he possibly could.  He was aware of the chaos that was unfolding all around them, but he refused to leave Alexandra’s side.  The palace was preparing itself for a fight.  They had already gotten word that have of the counties had fallen to the Devasi army with the Magi leading them.  They would reach the palace by morning.

Alex rolled over in her sleep, her face tucking into Balthazar’s chest as she scooted closer to him.  She inhaled deeply, his utterly masculine scent filling her senses.  Her eyes slowly fluttered open to a hard, bare chest.

“Balthazar,” she breathed quietly, looking up into his ashen eyes.

“You are awake,” Balthazar
said with relief, running a hand over her hair.

“What happened?” Alex asked,
her eyes blinking away the sleep.

“I was hoping you could enlighten me,” Balthazar said.  Alex remained quiet for a moment. 

“How long have I been asleep?” Alex asked. Her mind felt so fuzzy, like she had been asleep for ages.