Chapter 4 - Demon Lord
Demon Lord
I stepped out of the pages of my book carefully, hoping nobody would be waiting to ambush me when I returned to the Misty Mountain Library. The pages glowed with a bright golden light whenever we came or went, drawing far too much attention for my liking.
We’d had so many patrons visiting since the festival, which was great for Misty, but tiresome for me. Now that I had to dodge fans as a daily occurrence, my home no longer felt like my home, and I wasn’t sure what to do about it.
The bond between the library and me warmed as it checked in. It never spoke in words, but I could feel what it meant all the same. It was worried.
“Don’t waste your time on me.” I tucked my book away in its hiding spot behind an old shelf. “I’m fine, honestly, it’s just different now.”
A book rose in the air, flying over to me and landing in my outstretched hands. It was Willow’s manuscript. I walked to the edge of the upper floor, gazing at the book tree over the railing.
“What am I supposed to do with this?” I held the pages Willow had worked so hard on tight. “It’s not like she really needs me to finish reading it today or anything.”
The library sent a jolt of magic at me that felt like an eye-roll. I sighed, unable to hide anything from Misty.
I’d spent every moment since I got back from meeting with Willow reading and was already three-fourths of the way done.
I assumed it would be awful like she said, so I was going to be the bad guy and tell her that, but it was surprisingly good.
The worldbuilding was intricate, putting me right in the story along with her characters, and the plot was excellent.
There wasn’t a single reason I could think of to have the little dragons burn this story.
Well, maybe one thing. Her characters obviously had feelings for each other, but they just flirted and never did anything about it.
I kept thinking that would change, but I was nearing the end, and still nothing.
It was pretty frustrating actually. The characters just didn’t feel realistic, like they had a lot of self-discovery left to do.
Huh, maybe that’s what the story gods had meant about it not having heart. I’d have to read the note to be sure, but that would mean it was supposed to be constructive instead of harsh, so it made sense.
If Willow spent the time editing this with more emotion, it would be an amazing story.
Maybe I should ask her to enter the contest for the last book in my series too.
My story didn’t have any romance in it, and besides that aspect, she was a really talented writer.
If I had to trust somebody to finish my story, she felt like a good choice.
The library tugged on our bond again, pulling my attention to a vibrant red-haired woman walking inside. Willow stopped to chat with Nyssa, her eyes bright as they roamed the library, looking for something.
Or someone.
No, that was ridiculous. It had only been a day, there was no way she’d expect me to be done already.
Even so, I walked down the stairs to the main floor and sat at a table close enough to overhear them.
I flipped to the last page I’d read in Willow’s book.
The Queen was describing her big plan to defeat the enemy, and I couldn’t wait to see how it all played out.
If it was an easy victory, I’d be pretty disappointed, but I had a feeling the bad guy would have a big dramatic ending like he deserved.
Nyssa’s voice carried over as she pointed at a pile of logbooks. “Here’s our donations list. If you could sort through all the new books we’ve gotten and write down who donated what, that would be great. Then you can add tags to the books as well.”
“Sure, no problem.” Willow nodded, but her gaze kept drifting over to me as if she could feel me staring.
I buried myself in her book. What was she doing here? It sounded like she was volunteering, but she’d never done that before. So maybe waiting to hear what I thought of her book was driving her so crazy that she couldn’t stay away...
That idea filled me with an odd sense of pleasure. Everyone was always bothering me about my own story, but having her seek my opinion on something that had nothing to do with the insufferable hero of my book was refreshing.
I read another chapter as she gathered up all the books that had been donated to the library over the past week, laying them out on a table suspiciously close to me. I could feel her attention on me more than once, watching me read the story she cared so much about.
“What are you grinning about?” she finally asked me.
“Shhh, I’m reading.” I forced a serious look on my face and focused on the book.
I hadn’t even realized I was grinning, but she smiled that overly happy smile of hers and hauled even more books over. The clanking of metal drew my attention to the floor where dozens of tiny knights rushed to Willow’s side. I ignored them as best I could and kept reading.
Their commander bowed low. “Lady Willow, welcome back to the Misty Mountain Library. May we be of any assistance?”
Willow smiled. “Sure, I could use some help writing names on these tags and putting them in their books.”
They chatted a bit more as she lifted each knight onto the table, handing them pens and labels as she organized the books into what I assumed were stacks based on who donated them.
Other libraries had sent some over, but the bulk of the donations had come from the townsfolk, offering up whatever books they had lying around as an apology for abandoning Misty after the wild magic storm.
I’d have refused them outright if it was me, but the library had literally glowed with happiness when they stopped by with their wagon full of books. It reminded me of the first time Nyssa had shown up. Eager and determined, just like the whole town seemed to be now.
I flipped to the next chapter, getting closer and closer to the end of Willow’s book.
Now that she was standing right in front of me, I wanted to finish reading as soon as possible so we could talk about it.
Except, every time her gaze wandered over to me, I felt myself re-reading the same paragraph over and over, as if the words weren’t sinking in. I’d never been so unfocused in my life.
“So, how’s it going?” She peered over my shoulder at the book. “Ohhh, that’s a good chapter! You’re close to the end now.” The warmth of her body seeped into my back and her hair tickled my cheek as she leaned closer, pointing at something on the page. “That was my favorite part.”
The excitement in her voice made my heart flutter in a way I’d never felt before.
I was so distracted by her closeness that I didn’t catch what part she pointed at.
I was the Demon Lord, a villain so terrifying that it took seven books to build up to meeting me.
I was not the type of man who got flustered over a cute girl.
I cleared my throat. “You know, I’m never going to finish reading if you keep hovering. The knights look like they could use your help too.”
One of them was trying to lift a heavy book, but his tiny arms were shaking, and I had a feeling it was about to squash him.
Willow gasped, racing over to catch the heavy tome just in time.
The knight sank to the table in relief as Willow comforted him.
The knights might be meddlesome, but they were a good distraction when you needed one. Now I had to get back to reading.
Willow was counting on me for my opinion, and I would not let her down. Nobody else had read this. Just me and the story gods.
She needed my help.
I dove back in, reading chapter after chapter as the story reached its climax.
The Queen overthrew her enemies in a resounding victory but decided that it was time to end her reign and let somebody else take over.
Instead of heading off into the sunset with the guy she obviously loved, she gave him her crown.
She apparently trusted him with her kingdom, but not with her heart.
They could have easily ruled together, and it would have been a beautiful ending, but instead she just left to start her life over in solitude after the long hard-fought war.
The End.
Finishing a good book was usually so satisfying, but with hers I felt cheated out of something that could have been great.
Willow had written those characters so that I knew they loved each other, but then she completely ignored the whole concept.
She was probably going for a strong female character who didn’t need a man, but the way she wrote it felt like the Queen wanted the guy even if she didn’t technically need him.
Women could be strong and still be in relationships.
Nyssa did it every day, and I’d read about so many other strong female characters too.
How could Willow be such a good writer, but miss such an important element? No wonder the story gods thought it had no heart. Willow didn’t let her characters admit any of their true feelings.
She must have seen me set the book down, because she dropped the three-headed dog’s ball and was heading my way with an eager look on her face that I really didn’t want to crush.
She was the first person who was excited to hear my thoughts on something that didn’t relate to my book.
She didn’t want hints about how the hero would win or how I would die.
She just wanted to know what I thought about her book.
And that was a wonderful feeling.
Before she made it over to me, a group of young teenage boys approached my table.
“These books are amazing,” one of them said, beaming as he held up the first book in my series. “Are you really the Demon Lord?”
Children were the few fans I didn’t mind talking to because I didn’t have to answer any annoying questions. I just had to be scary and amuse them.
“Yes, I am the Demon Lord.” I stretched my shadows out, swirling them around the children as I bared my teeth. “So watch out.”
Their eyes widened as I formed my hands into claws, rawring just enough to make them laugh. Then I let my shadows do the rest, putting on a little play with dancing demons and cute animals all hopping around. That would entertain them for hours.
“Rawr?” Willow asked, her voice filled with mirth. “That’s adorable.”
“I think you mean terrifying.”
My face burned as I focused on the kids to avoid any more of her teasing. Of course she’d been standing close enough to hear that.
After a while, she nudged the manuscript I’d left on the table. “So....what did you think?”
“Honestly?” I paused, intensely aware of how much I could hurt her with a wrong word or blunt comment. “I could use some time to put my thoughts together. And I’d like to read that note, if you still have it.”
She glanced away from me, pulling a very worn and tattered piece of paper out of her pocket. It was a bit singed, with tiny teeth marks at the top from the dragons yesterday. I took it carefully, not wanting to put a single extra wrinkle in it.
The story speaks, but the heart is silent.
That was a little different than saying the book had no heart, but I understood what it meant entirely.
Willow had shied away from her characters’ feelings instead of letting them shine.
Emotions were what let a reader connect to a story, but she’d left a lot of them out.
All the aspects of the war and losing their kingdom felt emotionally charged, but anything more personal like falling in love fell flat.
That should be an easy fix for a good writer like her though, so maybe if I explained it well enough, she’d see what the story gods meant.
And then be ready to write my final book next.
“The suspense is killing me.” Willow let out a breath, exasperation clear on her face. “Why don’t we get a drink while you mull this over.”
I nodded and handed the note back to her.
Willow deserved the truth, but in a way that didn’t hurt her feelings so much that she’d want to stop writing entirely.
I wasn’t really good at being delicate or comforting, but I had to try with her.
She was too good of a writer to let slip through my fingers.
Especially since she didn’t treat me like the others.
She’d never demanded answers about my books, fawned over me, or run away in terror.
She treated me like any other person and that was something I’d never experienced before.
But I found myself craving more of it. More of her view of me.
I bet my ending would be more than satisfying if she was the one who wrote it. Now I just had to convince her of that.