Chapter 20
I took Axel because I had to, and Tsan because I wanted to. There was a real chance that Owu wouldn’t give me the time of day after what he’d heard.
Also a chance he could lose control again. I might need Tsan to run interference.
We portaled to Raes’s family blacksmith, and I walked inside.
His father shouted and dropped the hammer in his hand. He swooped to pick it up. “M-mate-intended. We didn’t expect you.”
“Who did you sell my father’s sword to?” I asked.
“We sold it yesterday,” he blurted. “To the desert wardens.”
The deceased red wardens. If I was lucky, no one else knew that yet. If so, we may be able to hide Owu.
“Thanks,” I answered, and left the way I’d come.
Gratia would learn of the visit, and that was enough. I’d planned to stay for a chitchat with the mother to really deliver a blow, but my franticness to find Owu had steadily mounted.
I opened a portal, and Axel remained close as the three of us stepped through.
The little Luther squinted. “Is that sand?” He sniffed the air. “No water.”
A solid red fence snaked a line between the edge of the realm and the start of the desert.
I’d portaled us to the mansion of the desert wardens.
For as long as I’d been in this realm, the same family of red scales had occupied the post. No one wanted this position, and so these wardens held more power than normal for reds. Carmine needed this area monitored, and they were the only ones to put up their hands.
There was one official gate into the desert, not far from the mansion. But there were many ways across if a demon knew the way. Which many did. All the shadiest dealings happened in the desert.
I couldn’t feel any demons in the mansion itself.
Except one. A very powerful one.
“Wait here,” I said to Tsan.
Owu was already watching us.
I strode into the mansion and beelined for the small demon sitting on the top floor. I passed a room reeking of dead demons. But I continued past them.
The door to the tiny attic was open. “Owu?”
He didn’t turn.
“I’m glad to find you safe.”
No response.
I tried again. “I left word with your mother that you’d left the desert. We’ve been searching for you.”
“Why?” Owu hissed.
A single word filled with condemnation. “Because when Athira told me she’d left you in the shack, I immediately set out to find you. She waited two weeks to tell me.”
Owu didn’t turn from the window overlooking the realm. “She said that you’d told her I could be set loose.”
“You’ve also spent some time in Athira’s company and know her well enough.”
Owu spun. “I should have known better than to trust you!”
I lowered and sat against the doorframe.
He wanted a fight, and I wouldn’t give it to him.
Owu had been through more than almost any child I knew.
He’d experienced chronic, physical pain that would have killed him without my healing.
No sooner was he healed, than he experienced the pain of losing a parent.
Then the pain of separation from his mother. “I have something to tell you.”
“I already know. And you know that I know. Tsan would have said.”
“I know what your grandparents might have said, and I hope that even while so angry, you can remember the type of people they were. I’d like a chance to tell you what happened to your father.”
Owu looked out the window again.
That was as much a yes as I’d get. I forged ahead.
“I only started to work with your father and Tsan in the last week of Tiers. Your father said that in exchange for me healing you, he would allow me to kill him in the final round. When I won the final round, though, I tried to bargain with the king to spare his life, and Tsan’s too.
What I didn’t know is that your grandparents had already granted the king a favor, and in return, they had asked that their son be killed in Tiers, no matter what.
Not only that, but when we all reached the end of the final round, I realized that I hadn’t fulfilled one of the rules—I hadn’t killed anyone during the round.
Your father had done all of that for me.
” My voice softened. “I was told that one of the other contestants could live. If I killed Tsan and your father survived the game, then the king would have slaughtered him on behalf of his deal with your grandparents. Your father knew this, and so he chose to let another demon live a longer life.”
“Tsan,” Owu whispered.
“Tsan. Would you like to hear about how your father died?”
Owu’s shoulders rose and fell, but he nodded.
I said, “Do you remember the ghost who watched your healing? The one who spoke with us and helped us to understand what went wrong with your magic? I summoned that ghost, and he comforted your father as I used my sword. Your father would have known one second of pain, but as he looked at that boy, he was pretending to see you, Owu. He spent his final moments with you.” I squeezed my eyes shut.
“I wish that I could have saved your father. I wish for so much heartache to be gone. For you. For Adeuto. Even for my little Luther friend. But this realm is not a kind one.”
Owu faced me. “I don’t know if I believe you. But I believe you more than my grandparents. They spoke lies about my mother.”
“I’m sure they did. You can feel the truth.”
His face crumpled. “I was scared when Athira left with Adeuto. I didn’t know what to do.
So I went to find Mother, even though you’d made me promise not to.
Then I was afraid someone would hurt her because I was there, so I went to spy on my grandparents, except they caught me.
Then I got mad with what they were saying. There was a sword on the couch—”
He cried into his hands, and I crossed the room to wrap my arms around him.
“I’m so sorry, Owu,” I whispered. “I should have cared for you better. I failed you.”
Owu sniffed and wiped his face. “Do I go back to the desert? Is Adeuto there? I don’t want to be left with Athira.”
Couldn’t blame him. “You can’t go back to the shack, and I won’t leave you with Athira again. Adeuto is on Earth until the war ends. If I could get you there, too, then I would.”
Fresh tears squeezed from his eyes. “So where do I go?”
I could only think of one place. “Tsan’s house.
Tsan will get you supplies, and I’ll get word to your mother.
” When his face lit up, I added, “She can’t visit you often.
Only once it’s safe. When the news of your grandparents’ deaths becomes common knowledge, then it’s possible the king may return to investigate your mother if he holds any suspicion over your death. ”
“But I’ll see her sometimes?” he pleaded.
I rested a hand on his shoulder. “I really hope so. This arrangement is just until I can find a better solution. And Owu, it is really, really important that you remain in Tsan’s hut.
I don’t care if you’re bored or lonely or hungry.
You got lucky until your grandparents spotted you, but a strong demon could have noticed you at any time.
If you’re noticed, your existence will come back on your mother.
I need you to promise me you will remain where I put you. ”
Owu nodded. “I won’t let you down again, Syera.”
I hugged him close. “You never have. Did you use my father’s sword to kill your grandparents?”
He nodded. “That was your father’s sword? I liked the way it cut them.”
As only a demon could. I was relieved beyond measure that Owu would mostly see the whole “murdering his grandparents” experience in a positive light. If Axel were the one to do it, I would be comforting a very traumatized child. “You will be formidable.”
“Is Adeuto okay?” Owu asked in a small voice. “I miss him.”
My entire being ached at the mention of my son. “I bet he misses you too. He’s doing fine. And you two will play together again one day.”
I knew that much. My Magus magic was speaking to me more and more now it had grown used to my greater demon power.
I opened a portal to Tsan’s house and scanned the home and surrounds. Empty. No other demon around. That was how Tsan and his mate had preferred life. “Hop through. Tsan will be along soon.”
Owu hugged me. “I didn’t really believe what they said. You didn’t want to hurt me.”
Pain created old souls, and he was one of them.
I returned to the others outside. “Come in. We have work to do.”
I led Tsan and Axel to the second floor of the mansion. “Axel, wait out here. I don’t want you peeking, do you hear me?”
He nodded, wide-eyed. His nose was providing ample warning of the death within.
Tsan and I entered the expansive lounge.
The yellow clicked his tongue. “About as bad as I remember.”
“I lost my temper,” I said to him.
Tsan’s brow furrowed.
I continued in a deliberate voice. It was important that Axel didn’t accidentally reveal my lie later on. He hadn’t smelled the death until entering the mansion, and with the protections on this place, he wouldn’t have heard my conversation with Owu.
“I have a history with these demons. They mistreated me during my time away from the fortress. When I saw my father’s sword in their hands, I lost control.”
Tsan pursed his lips. “Understandable. I imagine you didn’t anticipate the intensity of your response.”
“No, and now I’ve killed the king’s desert wardens. He won’t be happy.”
I could sell this lie to Carmine, as long as he didn’t touch me much.
I cast my black smoke over the gruesome scene before me and erased all signs of Owu’s crimson smoke. I gripped my father’s sword, then moved through the scene as Owu might have. I tossed the sword down after. My scent was everywhere. My smoke too.
“The length of time may be evident,” Tsan noted.
I agreed. A demon’s nose could discern between a few hours of death and more than a day of it. “The mansion has got to go.”
This mansion was the largest perk of the post, and without it, a replacement would prove more difficult to find. Carmine would be extra pissed.
Black flame roared from my fingertips to lick the walls. That should do the trick.
“You need to go home for a few hours,” I told Tsan.
He glanced at me, and his brow cleared. “Of course.”
“I’ll open a portal there when I can.” How would I have done any of this without a friend? I added, “Thank you.”
“Happy to help.”
Tsan stepped through the portal, and I caught a glimpse of Owu’s pale face on the other side before closing it.
The flames were spreading rapidly. I left the room and extended my hand to Axel. “Come on, little Luther. Let’s return to the fortress.”
His eyes were like saucers. “You’re covered in blood, Syera.”
“I am,” I replied.
Axel glanced back at the lounge, then up at me. “You want the king to think you killed those demons.”
I peered down. Dang. “Yes.”
“Got it.” He took my hand.
Young boys may complicate the shit out of my messy-ass life, but I had three little knights in shining armor, and in my eyes, that made me one lucky demon.