Chapter 7 #4
“I would suggest that you not find out,” he warned. “I find myself amused that you thought I would sign something else when we already have an agreement in place.”
Her breathing quickened. “Oh?”
“Yes.” He muttered something under his breath in that strange language that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up, and the pages of parchment suddenly caught fire.
She gasped and stepped back.
The pages smoldered, and Caspian released them, the parchment floating and slowly turning in midair. The words she had penned in careful calligraphy became devoured by flames. The parchment burned brighter, becoming a flaming torch, and flakes of ash tumbled to the ground.
“Another word of advice—never try to trap a demon into a deal without furthering your end of the bargain as well.”
She cleared her throat, eyeing the last pieces of ash drifting to the floor. “Of course, my Lord. I didn’t mean to cause offense.”
“Just Caspian. I am not a Lord.” He said the words bitterly, as if there was some lingering anger behind them.
“As you wish, Caspian,” she said, offering a quick smile, attempting to diffuse the tension that gathered in the air.
He paused, surveying her. “Bathe. Change. I’ll see you downstairs.”
She blinked at his tone; it sounded far too much like an order for her liking.
Her displeasure must have shown in her countenance, as Caspian frowned at her and tilted his head.
He took a menacing step towards her, his eyes boring into hers.
He lifted her chin with a finger, searching her face.
“A pretty thing, aren’t you?”
Without another word, he released her, and left her standing there alone.
Shutting the door, she let her posture relax and her shoulders slump. She placed a hand on her chest, trying to calm her racing heart. He was terrifying. She didn’t know if she could handle living here, being near such a person.
She closed her eyes and took a moment to master herself.
Looking around the room, she saw that most of the wall was taken up by massive windows with sweeping curtains that made her chamber seem like it opened up into the sky. There was a lounge chair in front of the window that looked cozy and inviting.
She touched the bedsheets, they were gray and impossibly soft, and peered at the headboard that was carved in the same elaborate whorls she had seen in the bannisters in the entrance hall.
A vase of glossy black flowers rested on her bedside table. She touched one curiously, and it fell apart in her fingers, impossibly delicate. She had never seen their like before, perhaps they were a bloom that only grew in this part of the world.
She bent and sniffed the flowers, they didn’t smell like anything, but she appreciated them all the same. She wondered if Caspian had realized that a vase of flowers would make her feel more at home.
Overall, her chamber gave the impression of wealth and comfort. She didn’t know why she had half expected a demon’s home to be filled with severed heads and snarling stone gargoyles at every turn.
The chamber also had a vanity and plenty of empty shelves and closet space. Opening her trunks, she fished out a few books and stacked them neatly on the shelf. Surveying her handiwork, she smiled a little.
Perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad.
Plopping herself in the chair by the window, she sat for a moment. Her limbs begged her to sit and relax for a while. After a moment, she sighed, forcing herself to get up. Though she hadn’t appreciated being ordered around, she was hungry.
She opened the door to the bathing room. It was ridiculously extravagant—like everything else in the castle. There was a black marble tub with gold clawed feet and an enormous dragon carved into the stone. The dragon was made to look frightening, and was carved mid-roar.
She was elated to see taps and running water. She ran the hot water, marveling as water poured out of the dragon’s mouth, immensely grateful for one comfort of the nobility she didn’t have to leave behind.
She stared at the snarling face of the dragon, mesmerized.
The sculptor had been a master of his craft.
Each scale was discernible; the skin around the dragon's eyes was pebbled, and so lifelike that she half thought it would blink. She touched the dragon’s scales in wonder.
Were dragons real too? Seeing magic had filled her with a strange sense of giddiness, like anything in the world was possible.
After bathing, she found a neat stack of towels. She returned to her bedchamber, wrapped in a towel, and was met with a surprise.
There was a nervous looking girl standing there. She looked a bit older than Elizabeth and was rather plain looking, with a mop of mud brown hair and a large nose.
“Hello,” Elizabeth ventured.
“Oh, hello! My name is Fiza. I’m your new maid.” Fiza wrung her hands together and looked at Elizabeth expectantly.
“Are you—are you human?” Elizabeth couldn’t help but ask, feeling like it might be a rude question.
“No,” Fiza laughed, her initial nervousness ebbing. “You’ll find that hardly anyone here is.”
In response to Elizabeth’s befuddled look, she added, “If you couldn’t tell, don’t feel bad.
My sister Maud and I are both shapeshifter demons.
We do many errands in the city because we blend in really well with the humans.
” Fiza smiled and gestured to the bed where a deep burgundy gown had been laid out.
Elizabeth changed behind a dressing screen, and when she stepped out and ventured to the vanity, Fiza smiled warmly. She let the demon brush and plait her hair and slowly relaxed.
“Thank you,” Elizabeth supplied, still unsure what to make of the woman who looked human but wasn’t.
“Of course,” Fiza said, inclining her head.
A soft knock sounded at her door.
Opening it curiously she saw the demon butler gesture for her to follow him downstairs. She trailed after his small body as they made their way along the polished floors.
The butler led her to a great hall where Caspian was sitting at a table with two others, a man with large black wings that were frightening to behold, and a thin man with a mustache.
A plate had been set for her on Caspian’s left side.
She supposed she should be honoured to be given a place so close to the master of the house.
She was surprised to note that the demon with large wings looked like the same one who had escorted her here. His wings were large and membranous, almost like the wings of a bat.
Wings. That explained why he had looked like a hunchback.
Elizabeth sat and waited, trying not to look so unnerved by her dining partners. She eyed the cutlery and plate on the table and hoped the food they served here would be fit for mortals.
Caspian gestured towards his other guests. “This is Asmodeus, who you have met already.”
She went for cool indifference. “Nice to meet you again, Asmodeus,” she said, sounding out his name slowly so as not to butcher it. “I like the new … appendages.”
Asmodeus grinned, standing and flaring out said appendages. His wings were enormous, stretching for several feet on either side of him. He raised his claws and wiggled his fingers mischievously, as if he was trying to startle her.
“Asmodeus likes to show off,” Caspian said dryly. She turned to face him. “Finnigan is also a demon of my household.” He gestured to the thin man with the mustache and goatee.
He appeared human—the only difference she could see was that his irises were black.
Finnigan surveyed her with cool interest and fingered his mustache, a gesture so human that if Elizabeth had seen him in the streets, she would have never suspected that he was anything out of the ordinary.
The thought unnerved her. How many demons had she met and never known?
“How do you do?” she said politely, if a bit stiffly.
Finnigan inclined his head.
“You must be famished. Please.” Caspian clapped his hands, and servants streamed out, placing dishes of lamb and roasted vegetables on the table. They piled her plate high with food. She waited expectantly but they didn’t place any food in front of the demons.
She looked around, not wanting to be rude and eat first. Caspian gestured impatiently for her to start, and so breaking one of the first rules of propriety, she speared a bite with her fork. She chewed it slowly and swallowed, feeling strange to be the only person eating.
A flurry of conversation broke out between the three demons at the table, Asmodeus seemed to be the most talkative of the three, and Finnigan gave slow, measured replies. Caspian hardly said a word, often choosing to fold his arms over his chest and brood instead of joining the conversation.
Beside them Elizabeth sat forgotten.
After finishing her plate, she turned to Caspian and said with sincerity, “Thank you for the meal.”
Caspian turned to her, as if surprised to hear her speak and asked, “How do you like your new home so far?”
She murmured that it was very lovely and thanked him for his hospitality. Demure, quiet. Her mother would have applauded the performance. She was a beautiful flower for him to admire, nothing more.
Asmodeus asked her if she had been this far north before. She gently shook her head.
“Where exactly are we in Arboras?” she asked curiously.
Finnigan answered, “Veridas, girl. That’s the closest city. We are a half day’s ride west. As you probably know, Volantia is the capital of Arboras, but it is far from here.”
She nodded.
Finnigan asked her, “Have you ever been to Arboras before?”
“No, I haven’t.”
Asmodeus gave a lazy smile, and gestured around the room. “Spectacular isn’t it?”
She said nothing.
Finnigan made a few inquiries about her trip and her life in Briarton.
For some reason, she found herself not wanting to reveal anything about herself and kept her replies as short as possible.
While he seemed engaged in their conversation, she couldn’t help but notice that Finnigan’s smile was cold and never reached his eyes.
He was perfectly polite, but she felt uneasy about the man. She couldn't really place why.
She glanced between the demons at the table. Asmodeus looked like a demon, but it was Finnigan who really made her skin crawl.
And Caspian, well, she still didn’t know what to make of him.
Asmodeus drained his goblet and smacked his lips. He stood and stretched, his wings flaring out behind him. Flared out to their full length, Elizabeth guessed they were each nearly six feet across. On seeing her gaze lingering on his figure, Asmodeus winked.
“Asmodeus,” Caspian warned.
“Yes, yes. I’m leaving.” Asmodeus wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Goodnight, lovely.”
Asmodeus left the hall, closely followed by Finnigan.
Then, it was just the two of them.
She chewed her lip, unsure if it would be rude to leave the table without being dismissed. Caspian stared off into space, paying her little mind.
She rose and smoothed her skirts awkwardly. “Er. I suppose I’ll say goodnight.”
Caspian lifted his eyes, and his gaze locked with hers.
He said nothing and stared at her with those eyes. Eyes like fire, glowing and flickering as if they held the very fire of the Seven Hells in his gaze. Eyes that seared into her soul and made every fiber of her being beg her to look away.
She forced herself to keep his gaze and tried not to blink, lest he think she was a coward.
Elizabeth cleared her throat and forced a smile to her lips, determined to be polite. “I really hope that we can become friends during my stay here, Caspian.”
She approached his seat at the table and held out her hand.
He looked at her hand as if it was something abhorrent.
He raised his brows, ignoring her offer. “You want to be my friend?”
“Yes, I’d like to be on amicable terms with everyone I live with, if I can.”
He scowled. “Some would not deem it wise to befriend everyone they meet, especially in a house full of demons.”
She blinked, ignoring the hair that stood on the back of her neck. “Wise or not, there is an offer of friendship here, if you want it.”
She left her hand in the air, waiting.
He rose and took a step towards her. “You want to be my friend, do you?”
He grasped her hand in his, and before she could do anything, he wrenched her towards him until their faces were less than an inch apart.
“I do not have friends, nor do I want them.” His words were cold. “I will come for you at the end of the week. Do what you wish with your time, but do not forget the price of your stay.”
A demon servant appeared at her side, glancing between them, and Caspian released her.
The servant escorted her out of the hall. Like Iago, the demon servant had small wings protruding from its back. Another reminder that she was no longer among mortals.
It was a while before sleep found her that night. Elizabeth reassured herself every which way that she was safe, but she tossed and turned. Though she had drawn the curtains, she couldn’t help but feel like someone was watching her.