The Trouble With Demons

Chapter 27

Tam didn’t bat an eye.

“So, Carnades gets to be the demon king,” he commented mildly. “What’s in it for you?” he asked Rudra Muralin.

“The Saghred, once Her Majesty frees the king.” His eyes were the flat black of a shark. “Then I’ll have anything I want, beginning with some long-overdue revenge-starting with you, Tamnais.”

Tam looked at the goblin queen and raised one flawless brow. “He gets his choice of toys? Simply for opening a door for you? Your rewards are more than generous, Your Majesty.”

“Those who serve me are appropriately rewarded.”

Tam didn’t bat an eye, but Rudra Muralin did. The smarmy punk suddenly got a tad less smarmy. “I kept my end of our bargain, Your Majesty. The sacrifices, a Hellgate large and strong enough to admit your legions, and the breeders to make more.”

There was rustling and low, throaty growls and grunts coming from the darkness around us. I kept my eyes straight ahead.

There were some things I absolutely did not want to know about.

“I allow my servants their pleasures,” the queen told Tam. “My husband and king was taken by the Saghred while dining from it. I will not risk losing him again. This goblin has agreed to become the Saghred’s bond servant and wield it for me.”

“And once your elf whore is dead by my hand, I will again be the bond servant,” Muralin gloated.

There was that word again. I felt a growl growing in my chest and stifled it. It’d almost be worth the risk of getting my own throat torn out to get my hands around his. Tam was probably having similar thoughts, but he’d always had more self-control than I did.

Tam looked at Muralin, his lips curling into a grin, and then he actually chuckled. “So once again you’ll be taking orders from someone else. For eternity. And in Hell, no less. Appropriate and delightfully ironic at the same time.” He shook his head in amusement. “Rudra, you’ve merely traded a goblin king for a demon queen. Have you forgotten that a Mal’Salin king was the cause of your first death? Do you truly think the outcome will be different this time? You’re not known for being likable. It’s only a matter of time until you’ve annoyed her enough to chain you to a slab.”

The demon queen scowled down at Carnades. “I might have been more favorably disposed toward the goblin if he had brought the correct elf to me. Though his power is impressive, this was not the one I desired. The elven paladin is the most powerful of his race that I have ever seen.”

I froze. Oh no. Mychael. She wanted Mychael.

The demon queen stretched a languid hand toward Rudra Muralin, stopping just short of touching him. The goblin’s black eyes widened, his expression a twist of fear and desire.

“The young elf will make a fine songbird for your majesty,” Muralin said quickly. “And he will be useful to secure Raine’s cooperation. The dark-haired elf is her cousin. She would do anything to keep either of them from harm.” I could see the tension ease out of the goblin’s body. To save your own ass, put someone else’s in the sling. Bastard.

“Cooperation is more easily gained when the subject is motivated,” the demon queen agreed. “So the elfling would do anything to keep her loved ones safe.” She looked at Tam, her eyes lingering appreciatively. “And her soul twin,” she said softly. “Not lovers. No, not yet.” The queen paused thoughtfully, reaching out with her mind, feeling the air between us, touching, sensing. Knowing. “But the bond that links them is even more intimate than mere flesh.” She went to stand before Tam and gracefully bent her head to his throat, taking in his scent. Tam didn’t flinch, but it took every bit of his control not to. His lips pulled back from his fangs in a silent snarl.

“Delectable,” the queen murmured. “Your black magic clings to you like exotic perfume. And to make you even more exquisite, your scent is blended with the elfling’s power.” One corner of her full lips curled into a secretive smile. “Or should I say the power of the Saghred?”

There was silence, then Rudra Muralin laughed in sheer, mad delight. “An umi’atsu bond? With an elf? This is too much. Did you hear that, Silvanus? The only one to attempt to help you this day is in an umi’atsu bond with a goblin dark mage.”

“And they are not alone,” the demon queen said, her words soft and for our ears only, Tam’s and mine. “One who is equal in power to you, my delectable goblin. Perhaps even greater. One whose power is light to your dark. I thought to use the elfling to go through the mirror to fetch the Saghred for me, but she will be more valuable as a lure.” Her ruby eyes bored into mine, and I felt myself falling into them. “The one I desire must care for you greatly to do what he has done to protect you. His efforts to prevent you from falling will seal his fate.” She raised her voice slightly; she wanted Rudra Muralin to hear. “And I have the two of you here with me now, bonded to each other.” Her smile was slow and horrible. “And to the Saghred.”

Muralin paled. He knew what the demon queen was saying. So did I. It took everything I had to keep from running into the dark with the monsters.

“The Saghred is already bonded to the elfling.” Her words were for Muralin, but she kept her fiery eyes on Tam and me. “You claim that by killing her the Saghred will again accept you as its bond servant.” She slowly turned her head toward the goblin. “I have no proof of that, only your word. And your word has proven less than reliable. The elfling can wield the Saghred now; her goblin bondmate will be able to do so soon-and he is also a master of the dark arts.” She paused thoughtfully. “What is it that you mortals say? Two for the price of one. My servants for eternity, wielding the Saghred for me. There will be no further need of Hellgates; I will be able to come and go as I please.”

Muralin’s black eyes glowered in barely controlled rage. “You swore that I-”

The queen turned on him, her words slicing like the Scythe she held. “I swore nothing; you presumed everything.” Her long-taloned hand shot out toward Rudra Muralin, lifting the goblin off his feet and sticking him like a bug into the Hellgate membrane. He struggled, but just worked himself in deeper.

And the Hellgate’s glow flickered and diminished briefly when she did it.

“Now you are a part of your own creation,” the queen said with smug satisfaction. “A fitting place for you to think and remember who is ruler here and who is the servant. My husband will require food when he arrives to claim his new body. Do not try my patience any further, or you shall be that first meal.”

Her gleaming eyes fell on Tam. “Consider that a warning, lovely one. Do you still wish to defy me?”

Tam’s will, like his stance, was cold and unmoving. “Mychael Eiliesor cannot be acquired, Your Majesty-regardless of the lure.”

The demon queen placed the tip of one talon against her lips. “You will not assist me even if one hundred lives on this island are spared?” she murmured, her voice like molten honey. “Including your beautiful son. One hundred lives of your choosing. Untouched, unmolested, unharmed. They will be allowed to live and leave this island when no one else will.” Her eyes brightened. “All for a single elf. If this Mychael Eiliesor is as infected with nobility as I have heard, he would agree to my proposal and sacrifice his life without hesitation. I wish to negotiate with you, goblin. Not persuade. My persuasion is always fatal; by the time a mortal is broken and willing to do what I require, they are no longer in a condition to do so. All that effort wasted. Pity.”

The demon queen wanted Mychael, and Tam was her choice for his kidnapper. Tam wouldn’t do it; I knew he wouldn’t. I glanced at him and saw his black eyes glittering in the dim light, his profile expressionless. As with the Volghuls, Tam gave me no notice or regard. With Tam and the trouble he often found himself in, to ignore was to protect. He was ignoring the Volghuls; he was protecting me, or at least he was trying.

All I heard was the Hellgate’s thrumming distortion. Tam’s thoughts were his own, and he was determined to keep them that way.

That was fine; I knew what he was thinking. Tam wasn’t going to betray Mychael, regardless of the offer. However, if the queen forced his hand, he would go along-up to a convenient point of betrayal. Tam was a goblin to his core. Manipulation was his kingdom’s national sport. As for the demon queen, I knew that tall, naked, and nuts had no intention of keeping her word. As a Benares, I’d been told that our word wasn’t worth the air it was spoken into unless we wanted it to be. Demons probably weren’t much different.

But the demon queen wasn’t lying when she predicted that Mychael would take her offer in a heartbeat. And that heartbeat would be the last one he had without the demon king’s soul in his body.

The thought of Mychael’s soul helpless and imprisoned in his own body kicked every last bit of panic and fear out of my head. Rage replaced it, and it felt good. A tight, searing knot blazing in the center of my chest. It fed the Saghred, and the stone’s white heat joined my own. Seething, scorching, eager for a way out.

Except there wasn’t a way out, for either it or me.

Magic wasn’t an option. Even the Saghred couldn’t get in on the action as long as I was on the dais. Beyond the columns, I would have my magic back. But beyond the columns there were monsters. Cavorting monsters. Going there would be a bad idea; it’d also be the last idea I’d ever have.

“If you do not convince the paladin to return with you within an agreed length of time, I will begin to persuade the elfling that she desires nothing more than to assist me in any way that she can. Tell me, lovely one, can you feel the elfling’s pain? Has your bond become that strong? Defy me and we will find out together.”

“Perhaps there is an easier way, Your Majesty,” said the Volghul behind me. “The elfling’s bodyguard is a Conclave Guardian.”

The queen’s eyes lit with renewed interest. “A Guardian?”

“Of the highest order. He reports directly to Paladin Mychael Eiliesor. It is said that they can communicate with each other over great distances. We can take him into the hall where he will be able to contact Eiliesor, and you will not have to relinquish any of your captives.” The Volghul’s smile showed every last one of his razor-sharp teeth. “Or perhaps you can use the Guardian’s mind to reach Eiliesor yourself. This way there would be no need to damage the elfling since you will have need of her later.”

I’d had my life threatened before, many times. I’d even had people threaten to slice and dice me up. It scared the hell out of me every single time. Especially when it came from the ones who were serious. The demon queen was serious, eager even. The enthusiastic ones always wanted to get started before the time was up.

But no one was going inside Vegard’s head.

I tried to do some fast thinking.

Something besides the brimstone didn’t smell right. The demon queen had Carnades and Rudra Muralin on the dais where the Hellgate distortion was the strongest. I was brought here. Tam was brought here. None of us could use our magic. She kept sending flunkies after Mychael instead of going herself. This thing was the queen of the freaking demons; she was beyond ancient, with enough power to do anything, slaughter anyone. I could feel it. I knew it.

I suddenly knew something else. I put on my best poker face. There was a reason for the flunkies, the minions.

She couldn’t leave.

Every ounce of her raw power was the only thing holding the Hellgate open. Attacking Rudra Muralin had broken her hold on it. Only for a moment, but it had happened.

Move the queen. Close the Hellgate.

And probably kill us all.

Brilliant idea, Raine. And if you don’t end up vaporized, why don’t you hand her the Saghred on a silver platter, and set her up on a date with Mychael?

Tam said it took days to get a Hellgate open and stabilized. Somehow I didn’t think closing one was as easy as slamming a door. Doors didn’t have black magic backlash that could turn us all into piles of ash-or do the same to every living thing on the island. But it wasn’t like I was exactly flush with options. And if Tam had any brilliant ideas, he wasn’t sharing them with me; and thanks to the Hellgate distortion, our bond was worthless. I knew he was plotting something, and since he’d opened a Hellgate before, I thought it safe to assume his thinking was running in that direction. But I’d found out the hard way on more than one occasion that a wrong assumption could very well be my last assumption.

I’d counted five mirrors at the base of the columns behind me. Each was linked to another mirror somewhere on the island. One of those mirrors had to be inside the citadel. The demon queen said as much. The Saghred was there, the demon king was there, a mirror had to be there. Mychael already had one Guardian who had betrayed him to elven intelligence. Selling your soul to the demon queen might actually be a moral step up. Someone had to have put a mirror in the citadel, and it was as close to the Saghred as they could get it. There were hundreds of cells and containment rooms in the citadel’s subterranean levels. The one and only time I’d been down there, all of those doors had been closed. Oh yeah, there was definitely a mirror in one of those cells. A big one.

I needed to know which mirror here led to that mirror there, because we sure as hell couldn’t get out the same way we were brought in. We needed an exit, a fast one, preferably to the citadel teeming with heavily armed Guardians. I hated mirror magic with a passion, but better to jump through a mirror than to be a demon queen’s Saghred-powered plaything for the next eon or two.

With the queen pondering how best to use Vegard’s mind, I raised my hand level with my ear, like I had an itch. Tam saw what I was doing. The Volghuls couldn’t. With the barest movement, I inclined my head in the direction of the Hellgate, then slowly brought my thumb and forefinger together until they touched. Then I turned my head ever so slightly in the direction of the mirrors, and raised one eyebrow in a silent question. Was it possible?

Close the Hellgate. Jump through a mirror.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tam’s lips form a word that not only told me what he thought of my plan, it perfectly described what the grunting demons were doing in the dark. I clenched my jaw and squared my shoulders, my body language telling him that if he didn’t like my idea, he’d better come up with something better, and quick. Tam had to know why the queen hadn’t gone more than a few feet away from the Hellgate. He’d opened a Hellgate before; he knew how to close one. And if there was any chance that he could close this one, we needed a way out.

Or we needed the mother of all distractions.

I couldn’t use magic right now, and I couldn’t fight the demon queen, at least not on her terms. I’d leave the Hellgate to Tam. I had to find out which mirror led to the citadel. And I’d do it using a tactic that had gotten members of my family killed about as often as it’d saved our asses. I drew a ragged breath to do what I did best.

I knew how to piss people off. What can I say? It’s a gift.

“Excuse me,” I said to the demon queen.

“Raine,” Tam growled in warning. Bond or no bond, he knew me too well.

“How long has your husband been in the Saghred?” I asked her.

Wary replaced smug on her flawless face. “Why ask you, elfling?”

“I have a reason, a reason that would concern any woman.” I was trying for calm; my heart was trying to beat itself out of my chest. “How long has it been?”

“Millennia.”

“You have had access to… uh… amusements.” I paused and forced myself to breathe. “He hasn’t. I’ve been inside the Saghred twice. There’s nothing in there but a lot of gray void and rotting wraiths. I imagine His Majesty has been doing a lot of sitting and waiting. Believe me, there’s nothing amusing about that.”

The queen’s red eyes narrowed. “What are you implying?”

I spread my hands defensively. “I’m sure it’s nothing. I don’t know all that much about mirror magic, but I do know that your husband can’t get back here through whichever one of these mirrors leads to citadel without a body.”

She didn’t glance toward one of the mirrors. Dammit.

“Then he will take a body,” she said.

I nodded. “Chances are he’ll grab himself a Guardian body, seeing that they’re guarding the Saghred. A big, strong, manly body. With manly urges,” I added meaningfully. “Urges that he hasn’t indulged in a long time.”

The queen’s full lips curled into a sensuous smile. “Then I shall welcome his return.”

Again, no glance at a mirror. Double damn.

I played my last card. “I’m certain your husband has no problem with impulse control. His only desire will be to come home to wife, dinner, and brimstone hearth.” I hesitated thoughtfully. “However, he’ll have the Saghred, a Guardian body, and all the nubile coeds he can… whatever. The seven kingdoms at his mercy, the works. He’s been penned up in the Saghred. I’ve been in there; it’s not a resort.” I jerked my head toward Carnades and Rudra Muralin. “You’ve set the table, but do you honestly think he’s coming home?”

“You have a point, elfling.” The queen contemplated something over my left shoulder. I casually turned and looked where she was looking.

Mirror number two was escape route number one. I gave a little silent cheer and bit my lip to keep from grinning.

The demon queen gestured and at least a dozen chittering purple demons scrambled up onto the dais from the dark. Volghuls in miniature. She bent to speak to the mini-demons. “The citadel air passages, my children. Use them quietly and use them well. Go.”

The little demons leapt through the mirror to the citadel and were gone.

“They will bring me the Saghred,” the queen told me. “Instead I will release my husband once the stone is here.”

The bottom fell out of my stomach.

Last week, Piaras’s voice carried through an air duct into the Saghred’s containment room and put the stone to sleep. Now tiny demons were scrambling into those same ducts on their way to the Saghred, and the demon queen hadn’t budged an inch.

That could have gone better.

“Satisfied?” Tam muttered.