A Demon's Wrath (10 page)

“Oh?” Gerick raised a brow at his cousin.
“The way you looked at young Brian back there at dinner…”

Drake narrowed his eyes dangerously. Adam
and Julius looked to each other, sporting a suspicious look on
their faces. Leon raised a surprised brow.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Drake said darkly. He
himself wasn’t against male-to-male sexual orientation, nor was he
against demons and humans or angels and demons for that matter.
After all, Adam and Vera worked out just fine as a demon husband
and a human wife, even though the marriage was for political
reasons at the beginning.

“Well, if you say so,” Gerick said. “Then
you wouldn’t mind if I—”

Gerick didn’t even finish before Drake moved
in and grabbed his shirt collar. He pulled his cousin so close they
were eye to eye and nose to nose. Drake’s eyes were scorching like
a raging fire. “If you touch him, you’ll be sorry, Gerick.”

Gerick got his answer. Though, he doubted
Drake understood his own action right then. Slowly, the younger
demon laughed. “And you say you don’t give a damn.”

Drake released his cousin in an instant and
snapped, “I’m a king. That boy is my responsibility.”

Julius and Adam once again looked at each
other, wondering if Drake were truly attracted to Brian. Leon
didn’t know what to think.

“I warn you, Gerick, keep your hands away
from Brian,” Drake said as he walked out the door.

“And what if I don’t?” Gerick asked merrily
after him.

“Then I’ll kill you,” came the reply.

Gerick laughed loudly and teased, “I’ll
challenge you, cousin.”

“We’re doomed,” Leon said under his breath.
Then to Gerick, he asked, “Are you truly going to challenge Drake?
Sorry, but I’m not going to be your second.”

Gerick raised a brow at his comrade. “Don’t
be ridiculous. I won’t last five minutes within Drake’s hands if he
uses his demonic power.”

“Precisely three minutes,” Julius gladly
pointed out.

“What about Marcus? How long do you think
he’d last within Drake’s hands?” Adam asked curiously.

“Ten minutes if Drake uses his demonic
power,” Julius said. “Then again, if Marcus got his hands on
Drake’s pearl, that’s a different story.”

“Drake is a strong warrior even without his
pearl and demonic power,” Leon said.

“Aye, but Marcus is cunning and resourceful.
He knows dark magic and strange spells.”

“If that war starts before Drake has himself
an heir,” Leon said, “our kingdom is doomed. We’re all doomed.”

“Nothing is ever doomed,” Julius said,
returning his attention to his precious book and continuing
reading.

CECELIA WAS READY THE NEXT morning when
Lucifer came to her room, running and jumping as though he couldn’t
wait to see her and show her around the palace. As they were having
their breakfast, which contained an array of delicious fare to
choose from, such as toast, hot rolls, baked savory cakes, grilled
asparagus and potatoes, and of course, tea to wash it all down, she
wondered about the demon king and his comrades. Were they like her
uncle and most of the nobilities and ministers residing in the Van
Zandt Palace, still abed this late in the morning? Or were they
like her father? Up even before dawn, training his small, loyal
armies—an army that had died with him the night they had been
raided by the demons.

It wasn’t long when Lucifer hastily came
around to her and excitedly pulled her off her chair, leading her
toward the door. Vera chuckled and followed closely behind
them.

“You’ll love Storm,” Lucifer said
cheerfully, his bright-blue eyes twinkling. “He’s my pony. Uncle
Drake gave him to me last year for my birthday. He said he’ll grow
very big if I take good care of him.”

Vera said, “Lucifer, my love, why don’t we
show Brian the library first? Then we can show him the
stables.”

Lucifer practiced his dark scowl with a
pursed lip at his mother. “Do we have to?”

Vera couldn’t help but chuckle at her son’s
funny face. He was trying to look like his father and uncle, of
course, who, more often than not, sported a brooding scowl on their
faces. Most of the women found them intimidating and wouldn’t go
near them. Oddly enough, Vera found herself attracted to her
husband, even with that dark frown on Adam’s face. She, however,
couldn’t say the same for Drake. She loved and respected Drake as
her in-law and her king, but at times, she still felt intimidated
by him.

“Yes, love,” she said to her son.

“Why?”

“Because Brian is a good student. He studies
plants in different kingdoms, and he would want to explore our
library,” Vera replied. “And you, my love, would do well to follow
him.”

Lucifer groaned, his lips downturned. “I
don’t like studying. Julius makes me study so hard. I like going
out hunting with Uncle Drake and Uncle Gerick.” He grabbed for
Cecelia’s hand and then steered her reluctantly toward the library
instead of the door that would lead them outside.

“Hey, Brian,” Lucifer said a few seconds
later. “Papa is teaching me how to fence. He’s very good with his
big sword. Can you fence, Brian?”

Cecelia said, “A little.”

“Only a little?” Lucifer sniffed and nodded.
“Well, you humans are not very good at fencing like we demons are.
Papa and Uncle Drake are the best. I’ll ask Papa to teach you. How
about that?” Then he began to skip, but those animated steps
stopped as quickly as they started once they came to a huge door
leading into the library.

“Well, here we are,” the little demon said
unenthusiastically, looking at the gigantic double doors.

“Why don’t you show Brian in, Lucifer?” Vera
suggested.

With a big ill-disposed sigh, he nodded and
headed into the library, pulling Cecelia by the hand along with
him.

Inside, Cecelia could only stare wide-eyed
at the thousands of books that surrounded her. The library was
enormous and neatly furbished with thousands of volumes shelved on
all sides of the two stories walls.

“Well?” Lucifer asked, looking at her with
some expectation.

“Whoa,” Cecelia expressed, her breath taken
away. “This place is amazing.”

Lucifer pulled a shocked face in disbelief.
When he saw his mother laughing, he straightened himself and said,
“Julius makes me read them, you know, the books.”

Vera, who finally managed to halt her mirth
of her son’s peculiar face, said, “Lucifer doesn’t like studying,
as you can tell.”

Cecelia nodded.

“Mama, can we go now?” Lucifer asked when he
saw Julius coming down from the second floor with a book in his
hands. He rushed to hide behind Vera as Julius came toward
them.

“Ah, young Brian,” Julius said. “And is that
my bright student I see hiding behind his mother’s skirts?”

Lucifer clamped his lips and poked his head
to the side to peek at Julius.

Julius said, “A brave demon doesn’t hide
behind his mother.”

Lucifer hesitantly stepped to the side and
announced, “I’m brave.”

Cecelia said, “Of course you are, Lucifer.
You didn’t even cry when that madman beat you.”

Lucifer widened his eyes as he looked at
Cecelia. Clearly, he’d forgotten the fact that he was indeed very
courageous when he’d been kidnapped by the pirates. He nodded
furiously in agreement. “Yes, yes, see. I didn’t cry at all when
that madman beat me. I am brave.”

Vera laughed. “Yes, you are, sweetheart,”
she said, stroking his blond hair lovingly, feeling the urge to
grab him in her arms once again just to assure herself he was back
home with her, safe and sound. Last night she’d felt utter relief
sweeping through her being and couldn’t help but cry her heart out
as she embraced him tight against her in bed, with Adam hugging her
and Lucifer in his strong arms.

“Is that the Pearl of Life?” Cecelia asked,
staring at the colorful drawing in the book Julius was holding. On
the cover page of the thick ancient book, in neat, big bold
letters, it read:
RECIPE FOR THE PEARL OF LIFE.

Julius said, “Yes, it is. This book contains
the formula for the Healing of Life Potion and such likes. Its main
ingredient is the elixir of the Pearl of Life.”

“I didn’t know the Pearl of Life needed a
formula to work,” Cecelia stated, confused.

“Oh, yes, it does.” Julius moved closer to
Cecelia and turned a page. At the top, in beautiful bold writing,
it read,
THE HEALING OF LIFE POTION.
Cecelia read below the
heading.

The Healing of Life Potion is used to heal
life-threatening poison such as the Westwick Poison from the
Northeast, the Naga Poison from the Southeast, and the Green Snake
Poison from the East.

Below that, the book was set out like a
normal recipe book with ingredients and methods.

“Mama, can we go now?” Lucifer whispered to
Vera.

“I’ve never heard of the Naga Poison and the
Green Snake Poison before,” Cecelia said, curious. She’d thought
the only life-threatening poison she’d ever known was the Westwick
Poison, created by the Westwick family from the Virdis Kingdom in
the thirteen century.

“Oh, yes, the Naga Poison is very powerful
indeed. When Drake, Adam, Gerick, Leon, and I were in our youth, we
went exploring. One of the kingdoms we visited was the Moha-Angkor
Kingdom. A very dangerous and barbaric place if you ask me.”

With Cecelia’s nod, he continued, “Gerick
was, of course, very careless. He went swimming in the South Sea
and a Naga bit him. Luckily, it wasn’t
the
Naga king
himself. The poison isn’t so powerful. They were warned. I told
them before we left that the Angkorian people are very
superstitious. They believe and value their god-king as much as
they believe and value their dead and many other unexplained
things. And they should be careful not to cross paths with a Naga.
We sailed back in a hurry to save Gerick. Thank God for the Pearl
of Life.”

“Where does the Naga king live?” Cecelia
asked.

Julius said, “Ah, I believe Lucifer can
answer that question.”

All eyes turned to Lucifer expectantly.

Lucifer went bright red in the cheeks and
said reluctantly, “Under the Southeast Sea. Their castle is
protected by a powerful barrier.”

Julius said, “Who created the barrier?”

Lucifer sighed and then said, “The Naga
king.”

“Who is the Naga king?” Julius continued
quizzing his student.

Lucifer gazed up at Vera. He looked as
though he really hated being there with Julius questioning him in
such a way in front of his new friend Brian.

He sighed again, indignantly, and said, “The
Naga king used to be Prince Jay in the Moha-Angkor Kingdom a
hundred years ago. He got cursed and turned into a Naga by his
mortal enemy, Prince Surya.”

“And who is—”

“Prince Surya?” Lucifer cut into Julius’s
question.

Julius winked at Cecelia. He said to
Lucifer, “Well done. You know my question before I even finish
it.”

At this point, Lucifer was losing his
patience and said quickly, “Prince Surya is Prince Jay’s mortal
enemy. After using black magic to curse Prince Jay, King Naga got
very angry and used black magic to curse Prince Surya into a
Garuda. Prince Surya became a Garuda king living in the Cloud
Palace.”

“That’s amazing,” Cecelia said.

“That’s only a little history of the
southeast,” Julius said. Indeed, he sounded very proud of his
student. And then he changed the subject, which made Lucifer sigh
with relief.

“The Pearl of Life has special power only in
the hands of the demon king and those very few who know how to draw
out its magic. The Pearl of Life, however, is just like any other
pearl in human hands. Unless, of course, the person knows the spell
or recipe to withdraw its elixir,” Julius said as though he were
explaining important history to Cecelia. He was, after all, a
teacher, and if anyone showed any interest, Julius couldn’t help
himself by granting such studious person his full knowledge of the
subject.

“But of course,” he continued, “no one is
allowed to use this powerful pearl without the permission of the
king himself, for it belongs to him from birth. It is his gem. His
seed, if you will.”

Vera said, ignoring once again Lucifer’s
plea to leave, “One of the potions is Eternal Beauty.”

“Yes, that one. Hmm, I must warn you,
Brian—though I can see from within your aura that you are not the
type to want eternal beauty—that potion is very powerful.”

“Mama!” Lucifer whispered with cupped hand
near his mouth so Julius wouldn’t notice. “Storm might be asleep
when Brian gets there. Can we go now?”

With a raised brow, Julius looked down at
his student through the rim of his spectacle. Lucifer blushed and
quieted down immediately.

Vera said, “Black Potion, that one.”

Julius nodded. “Three generations ago, Queen
Josephine was so vain she stole the Pearl of Life from the demon
king and made the Eternal Beauty Potion. She became the most
beautiful demon in our kingdom. Not only that, but she also became
the most beautiful being ever to have existed in our world. But her
beauty, it turned out, was only skin deep. She was so poisonous
inside that she killed her own sisters, fearing they would one day
exceed her in beauty. Eventually, she became so bitter within
herself that she went mad and committed suicide.

“Of course, the wizard also found out later
that she was poisoned inside. Her heart was dying from the toxin.
That recipe, instead of extracting the goodness from the pearl,
draws out the toxic chemicals that reside within the thin external
layer of the pearl. Hence, they concluded the toxic chemical causes
madness as well as slowly killing the heart muscles as it flows
through the blood.”

“But that’s horrible,” Cecelia said.