3. Amon
3
AMON
T he sun glints off of my blade as I swing it, decapitating the lesser demon in front of me. Others swarm me, but I make quick work of them as well.
The air starts to take on a metallic tinge, and my mouth waters.
The scent further drives my blood lust, and I swing again with a flourish, beheading two more demons.
A thin sheen of sweat mixes with the blood on my face and arms. I bare my fangs as I dispatch another demon with grotesque features similar to that of a boar. It falls to the ground with a guttural groan.
I look around me, noticing the onslaught has slowed. Leaning down I wipe my blade clean on the fur of the dead demon.
The sound of metal against flesh still fills the air, and I take a running start to ascend the small hill to my right. I can get a better view from up here, and I shield my eyes from the sun as I search the battleground for my brother, Allocer.
I notice him about forty meters across the clearing. He dispatches a small handful of demons with a flourish of his blade. He turns to look for me as well, and I raise my blade to catch the sun.
My army thins out, making their rounds across the battlefield to ensure there’s no living lesser in the area.
It wasn’t very often we had to come to this plane, but this hoard was getting far too large, and far too close to Delyra.
That could pose a problem, and it was my job to ensure the kingdom stayed untouched.
I squat to sit on my haunches, reaching up to wipe the sweat from my brow.
Allocer leans down to wipe his blade before sheathing it at his side.
He jog-walks over to where I sit, climbing the steep side of the hill nimbly to sit next to me.
“Well,” he starts, “I think that about does it.”
I nod in agreement as I watch a small handful of lesser exit the tree line across the clearing. I was thankful to the small handful of sentries I had in this realm. We would’ve never known this hoard was a threat.
My men make quick work of them before continuing their scan of the fallen bodies that litter the field.
“Not as many as I thought there would be.” I respond, leaning forward to set my hands on my knees. Allocer hums his agreement.
“I think this hoard was only half the size of the last one we had to knock down.”
I grunt in response.
“I wonder how they got this close?” Allocer asks, running a hand through his sweat dampened hair.
Allocer was my complete opposite. Whereas I was tall and burly, Allocer was tall and leanly muscled. I had two black horns that were reminiscent of ram horns, and Allocer had two thinly arced horns.
My hair was long, black and straight, but his was curly and white.
We looked nothing alike, but we were closer than two brothers ever could be.
I lay back with a thud, lacing my fingers beneath my head.
“The moon is full tomorrow.” Allocer says, pulling a leg up to rest his elbow on it.
I don’t respond at first, watching the clouds roll by above me. I enjoyed this from time to time. The skies weren’t this blue in my realm.
Sighing heavily I look over at him.
“Yeah, I know.”
Allocer doesn’t push the subject. He knows how I feel about this whole situation. Why it had to be this generation that chose to bear the promised child I had no idea, but I wasn’t exactly thrilled about the idea of having a baby in my realm.
“Fuck.” I hiss, sitting up. “Let’s go. There’s got to be a portal nearby that these lesser were using to get around. Let’s go see if we can find it.”
Elora
Morning rays of sun filter through the window, shining on my eyelids. I groan and throw an arm over my eyes, rolling over.
The day’s events prior come rushing back, and I shoot up in bed, my heart thudding quickly in my chest. I take a few breaths, trying to calm my anxiety.
I needed to get up and get moving. From the look of the moon last night, I’m out of time.
The moon will be full tomorrow night.
I sigh heavily, flopping my arm to hang over the side of the bed. Squinting my eyes against the sunlight, I sit up, running my hands through my tousled locks.
A fire was already kindled in the wee hours, started by the maids to stave off the cold. I swing my feet over the edge of the bed, stretching.
A knock sounds at the door, and Granuail enters the room.
“Good morning, princess.” She says, a smile playing at the edges of her mouth.
Her eyes, however, look very far away.
“Good morning, G.” I say, smiling back.
I stand, watching her as she takes a hot stone from the fire with a set of fire tongs. She drops it into a bucket, and the sound of sizzling water fills the room. Granuail walks to the bathing bowl on the other side and fills it.
I walk to the bowl, accepting the washcloth she gives me. Setting it on the edge of the basin, I reach down to pull my nightgown up over my head. Goosebumps raise on my flesh, and I shiver.
I grab the cloth and dip it into the warm water, wringing it out before running over my face, neck and shoulders. The water smells of jasmine, and I hum appreciatively.
Jasmine had always been my favorite scent, and it had been planted in the library for me eons ago.
I smile, dipping the cloth back into the water before wringing it and dipping it between my thighs.
Granuail pulls a light blue dress from my wardrobe, laying it out on the end of the bed.
“How is Ziterra?” I ask, breaking the silence. Granuail stiffens, smoothing the skirts before walking to the front of the bed to pull up the covers.
“She’s distraught, understandably so.” Granuail doesn’t say anything more than that, and I don’t pry.
I finish up and dry off before walking over and stepping into the sky-blue gown. I smooth my hands over the skirts as Granuail works on the intricate ties in the back. The fabric is silken and smooth and feels good on my skin.
The shoulders of the dress fall in such a way that it accentuates my neck and collar bone. The bodice is tight to the hips, where the fabric falls away and flows freely.
Granuail runs a brush through my wild waves, leaving my hair to slow freely down my back. She steps back, shaking her head with a smile. “Beautiful child, if not just a little too stubborn.”
I laugh, pulling her into a hug and planting a kiss on her cheek.
“I wonder who I get it from? You did raise me…or don’t you remember that in your old age?”
Granuail reaches out and pinches my arm, feigning a look of admonishment. “I’ll still box your ears, young lady!”
I flash her a smile before turning towards the door. “I’ll see you in a little while for breakfast!” I say hurriedly, rushing from the room.
I enter the library, scanning the room for any sign of movement. The maids have already lit the day candles and sconces, and the curtains have already been pulled to allow the daylight in.
During the day the library was easily the most beautiful room of the castle.
Two grand staircases on either side led to a second floor, where floor to ceiling bookshelves lined the walls.
Ladders lined the shelves, and green ivy curled around the base of the bannisters. Jasmine scattered the room, and it gave the air a sweet scent.
Walking along the shelves towards the back of the library I run my fingers along the bindings of thousands of years of knowledge, begging them to speak to me.
Where was I going to find something that held a tutorial on how to conjure a demon?
I reach the corner of the bookshelf, scanning the selections there. This was where everything on tradition, holidays, cultural cuisines, and traditions were kept. The corner is dimly lit, and I reach behind me to take a candle from a candelabra.
Holding it closer to the titles, I scan them, looking towards the bottom near the floor.
A dull symbol catches my attention.
A pentagram.
Of course!
The occult.
I reach for the book, pulling and three others with similar symbols. These books dated back to a time when it was considered taboo to conjure such things.
I set the candle back in its stand and make my way to the stairs. Books in one hand and skirts in the other, I climb, my eyes on the big wooden door at the landing.
I reach down into my skirt pocket and curse, stomping my foot. “Damn it!” I whisper, turning to start back down the stairs.
“Forget something missy?” Granuail rounds the corner at that moment, a tray in her hands. I smile widely. Next to a bowl of porridge and a plate of fruit is the skeleton key to the door.
“Oh, G! Thank you!”
I say, descending to help her. I take the tray from her, freeing up her hands for the banister as she climbs.
Although the stairs weren’t steep, Granuail wasn’t as sure footed as she had been at one time.
I hand her the tray once we reach the landing and reach out to grab a candelabra from a table next to me. I fumble with my books as I unlock the door, pushing it wide to allow Granuail to enter before me.
She walks through, and I pull the door closed behind us.
Amon
I sulk in my high-backed chair, head propped in one hand, a scroll sitting on the stone table in front of me.
I scan the document again, the words shimmering with the power they beheld.
The bargain between myself and the kingdom of Delyra was concluding. In exchange for one-thousand years of peace, the kingdom would hand over their first sun-touched male child.
The thousandth year was upon me, and the words had begun glistening ten months prior to this day.
I knew the bargain would be upheld. The humans had too much fear for it not to be.
If they had someone knowledgeable in sorcery or witchcraft they might have been able to change the fate of the child.
Not now.
Not while the words glistened.
I watch the words move like water on the parchment.
I had no idea what to do with a child in my lair.
The child was merely a bargaining tool to provide the Delyrians with protection from the lesser that roamed the Earth, as promised, after the fall of man.
Lesser demons who had been born into torment knew nothing other than torment, and therefore knew how to do nothing but rape, pillage and murder.
My brothers and I refused to let that become the fate of humanity, so we struck bargains with the three kingdoms.
The bargain one made with a demon used to be something used for personal gain. Usually, a selfish or self-righteous person would bargain for material things.
Wealth.
Fame.
Beauty.
Those were bargains easily collected on, as the human soul was extremely weak and vulnerable back then.
I myself had collected many souls for reckoning.
They always regretted the bargain when it came time to pay.
I adjust in my chair, sighing heavily. I lean forward, placing my elbows on the table, threading my fingers to place my hands beneath my chin.
My skin tingles when the air moves and pulls.
I don’t turn to see who it is; I already know.
“Balail.” I say, a simple greeting.
“My Lord.” She responds, dipping in acknowledgement.
Balail was a lesser demon put into my service by my Master. I was fairly certain she was a spy, but I never bothered to prove it.
I had nothing to hide.
She was tall, with ruddy red skin and long legs. She had black hair that fell straight and long down her back, and a red tail that whipped back and forth with a life of its own.
Dark markings covered her arms and legs, like stripes on a tiger.
She always dressed in things she knew would bring me pleasure, and today was no different. She wore a long skirt that bore a slit down both sides and was cinched with an ornate belt.
Her breasts were left bare and sat high and pert on her chest.
I watch as she regards me with her golden eyes, walking to the fireplace. She snaps her fingers, and a large fire roars to life.
I watch the sway of her hips.
I had taken my pleasure in her body many times, and if I wasn’t so preoccupied, tonight would be no different.
Balail turns to me, regarding my quiet demeanor. I don’t miss the way her eyes rake over my body, or the way her tongue flicks out to wet her lips.
Her eyes fall to the parchment in front of me.
“When do you leave?” she asks, walking to stand behind my chair.
I sigh heavily, leaning back against the backrest.
“Tomorrow night.”
She places a hand on my shoulder, kneading her fingers into the taught muscle.
I groan, allowing my head to fall forward.
“You’ll return with the child. Do you have any plans for him yet?”
She kneads, leaning down to brush her lips over my ear. I shake my head lazily.
“We will make a place for him, and when he is old enough, I am sure you will figure out what to do with him.”
I nod slowly, my head bobbing as she continues to knead my sore shoulders.
Balail reaches a hand around the front of me, raking her claws over the markings on my chest. I reach up and grab her hand, stilling her.
“Not tonight, demon.” I growl.
She hisses, yanking her hand from my grasp.
Flipping her hair over her shoulder, she sashays away.
“As you wish, master.” The words mock me as the air shifts, and she’s gone.
I growl, rolling the parchment and returning it to its place on the shelf. Pushing away from the table, I walk to the fireplace, placing my hands against the hearth. I look down into them, willing them to show me something, anything.
A child in this place was not something I was ready to deal with. I had no idea how to care for a child. Human children took forever to grow.
By the time the child was of any use to me I’d grow tired of waiting.
Tapping a claw against the blackened stone, I frown.
The convergence was happening, whether I liked it or not.