Chapter 16
Morgaine was still trying to understand how Elise had managed to attract the attention of one of the divinities from the far end of the magic world.
She had read the name Danu long ago during her years of employment with the king.
The inglorious name was inscribed on a stone hidden in one of the secret gardens in the castle.
She knew nothing about the divinity, though she had the feeling that would change soon.
The only thing that seemed certain was that the demons were not pleased by the sudden turn of events.
Devon drew her aside for a private word, the faint scent of sulfur about him suggesting he was not in the best of tempers.
Once they were in the woods, Devon closed the distance between them, the aroma of the infernal mineral growing to a noticeable degree.
A faint vapor began to rise from his shoulders.
Morgaine had never succumbed to his charms, though certainly not for lack of interest. It had taken all her resolve to refuse the many indecorous proposals he had made over the past century.
In all the years of heated exchanges, this was the first time they were truly alone.
And as the good telling among the witches goes: What happens in the woods stays in the woods.
Morgaine was measuring the chances of a small fling.
She knew she was not at her strongest when good looks were involved, and Devon was as fine as one can get.
She had often been told that being with a demon was a delicacy, a rare dish one ought to try.
Some said witches and demons were meant to complement each other.
Those who had borne demon descendants were said to have a stronger connection to the magic world.
But there were drawbacks to meddling with gentlemen of the other side.
Demons were territorial creatures, and they were not easy to escape once crossed.
Morgaine knew well enough that no such relationship ever ended without trouble for her.
Henrik had been the calmer sort, and even then, they had their disagreements.
She preferred not to imagine what those quarrels would look like with someone like Devon.
To Morgaine’s good fortune, she didn’t need to weigh whether the matter was worth the trouble for long as the handsome demon began speaking with an unfamiliar seriousness.
“Tell me all you know about the woman under your protection,” he rasped.
Morgaine’s brow furrowed. “Elise?”
“Do you have another who has been claimed by Danu?”
A ghost of a laugh escaped Morgaine. “What’s the problem with that, anyway? I didn’t do anything to make it happen, and clearly neither did you.”
Devon drew closer as he tried to regain his usual smile. “Morgaine,” he purred. “Please tell me you didn’t bring the girl only to cause trouble.”
“Why would I do that?”
The demon’s gaze swept across her cleavage. “You come wearing this and pretend you didn’t mean to disrupt?”
Satisfied that her dress had produced the desired effect, Morgaine closed the distance and looked Devon in the eye. She stood close enough to breathe in the scent of sulfur as though it were her own. The demonic perfume grew more pleasant, and somehow more tempting, the longer she lingered there.
“How could I have known Elise would summon your precious Danu?” she said, batting her eyelashes just a bit.
“Morgaine.” Devon shook his head and glanced at her lips. Morgaine felt a delicious sense of danger and an inconvenient warmth between her thighs.
She let her lips hover near his, kissing the air between them before smirking.
“I swear it was not my doing,” she said.
“I found Elise wandering between kingdoms and, as you saw with your own eyes, she is too pretty to leave without protection. She turned out to be quick-witted and hard-working. On my account, those are already enough virtues for most mortals. I didn’t have the heart to deny her the chance to learn the craft. ”
Devon listened attentively, his breath quickening as she spoke, his lips drawing closer and closer to hers.
“Is that all?” he asked, his mouth slightly parted.
Morgaine stretched her arms, revealing a little more of what the low neckline of her dress failed to conceal. “Devon, have I ever lied to you? Why are you treating me like a criminal?”
Devon, seemingly unable to resist the enticing sight any longer, took Morgaine by the waist and pulled her close. Their bodies were an inch apart. Morgaine could feel the insufferable heat that was surely driving the demon mad.
She gently pushed him away. “I don’t mingle with infernals and you know it.”
Devon drew a sharp breath, looking at her with long naked desire. Morgaine thought she caught the faintest tremor in his arms, though she knew this was no innocent fellow like Volker. Devon was a commander of Hell and this was merely child’s play for him.
“I believe you,” he said. “Though I must tell you that Elise has to come with Seth and me to the other side after what happened.”
All the lustful thoughts Morgaine was still entertaining died at once. Her mind immediately began searching for any reason why that should even be an option.
“How convenient,” she muttered. “Are you certain this has nothing to do with Elise being beautiful?”
“No one is as beautiful as you, my darling. You have a flavor only centuries can shape. You well know I would give many lives for the pleasure to taste it.”
“You’re good.” Morgaine narrowed her eyes. He knew exactly how to butter her up but she was not about to fall for that. “What’s in the other side that can’t be done here?”
“I have known only five other mortals claimed by Danu, and all of them brought more ruin to the world than two armies combined. She will remain dangerous until she takes full command of her link, and the only way I know for that to happen is to take her with me.”
Morgaine stepped back and turned away from him.
She needed to think of some way to help Elise out of this.
She was well aware that if she allowed Devon to take her, the girl could perish in the process.
And if by some miracle she survived crossing the shield, only Satan knew what would become of her.
Morgaine knew Devon was not asking. He was demanding.
If it was true that demons were not above witches, history had also shown the opposite, and what had been done for centuries still lingered one way or another.
Devon had not yet mentioned how he expected witches to participate in the war, and Morgaine figured perhaps there lay the opportunity to save Elise.
She did not know much about Danu, but it was said she was the divinity of earth and time.
Before rushing into an argument with Devon, Morgaine decided she needed to learn more about the wicked divinity.
“If Danu claimed Elise, what sort of power are we speaking of?”
“She could become an Oracle,” Devon whispered. “She could become a living danger if her power were known and used for domination. Wars could continue endlessly.”
Morgaine swallowed hard. There had to be another way.
It simply had to exist. The memory of the hidden stone in the castle lingered in her mind.
She knew some witches strengthened their power through contact with ancient possessions tied to the divinity that had claimed them.
Perhaps, with some luck, this would be such a case.
“What if I told you she could refine her power through a stone the king of Bromheim keeps hidden?” Morgaine cast a quick glance at the demon, pleased to have caught his interest.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s an ancient stone with Danu’s name engraved on it,” Morgaine said with far more certainty than she truly possessed. Devon did not contradict her outright, which already felt promising enough.
“The Stone of Raj. Do you know where it is?” he muttered.
Morgaine’s eyes widened. “I do.”
“Then perhaps there is another solution.”
“And what would that be?”
“The girl would need to remain near it for a year,” Devon said thoughtfully. “Could that be arranged?”
Morgaine remembered the opening to join the fairies Elise had mentioned. She did not know whether Elise could truly secure employment there, but she was firm on not letting any demon take her apprentice.
“I can see to it,” Morgaine said.
“Then it’s settled,” Devon replied. “But she would need a guardian.”
“As long as it isn’t that snappy demon you brought today.”
“I know no one better.”
*****
Morgaine walked by Devon’s side, feeling the heat of the demon’s body raise the temperature of her own.
She was still feeling a bit cocky from her clever maneuver in the forest. Devon was no idiot, though he was usually blinded by his own interests.
She had struck a fortunate arrangement, and despite knowing the wisest course was to keep her lips sealed, she still felt the need to share her reasoning with the others, if only to reinforce the soundness of its logic.
She caught sight of Elise from afar. Her ward still had the infernal bird perched on her shoulder, and Seth was looking at her as though she had raided Hell itself and escaped free.
Morgaine trusted Elise wouldn’t reveal they had no real way of ensuring she could remain at the castle for a year, but just in case, she spoke before Devon could.
“We must keep going, Elise,” Morgaine said, drawing several curious looks. “There has been a change of plans and you must take the invitation to join the king’s staff after all.”
Elise’s eyes flickered wide, but clever as the girl was, she didn’t dare to contradict her. Morgaine continued then, having the utmost attention of the demons and witches present.