A Demon's Wrath (17 page)

Monstrous creatures.
The word kept
echoing within her head. Were they really monstrous? Surely they
were, despite their handsome appearances, which were a complete
contrast to what she’d originally thought. They had killed her
father that night and, along with him, thousands of innocent lives
who had lived on Rosevalley Island. But why that night three years
ago had she seen monstrous creatures that looked nothing like the
real demons she’d met? Was it merely her hallucination? Was it some
kind of trick within her own mind that she’d created to hide the
horrid truth? Was that night too much for her to bear that she must
create such an ideal creature to protect her own mind from going
mad?

Agnes was still waiting for her answer, and
Cecelia decided not to give the old maid any. Agnes nodded her head
at Cecelia’s silence, assuming the young woman’s answer was
none.

“Aye, else he wouldn’t have let you go, I
believe,” the maid said. “And thank God for that.” She stood back
and nodded her head at that sound logic. “I will leave you to it,
my lady. I shall be back once you are ready.”

“Please, Agnes,” Cecelia said. “’Tis getting
very late. I will manage. You need your rest, too. I will be all
right. Go back to bed.”

The maid reluctantly nodded. “As you wish,
my lady.” Then she really couldn’t help herself and mumbled on, “I
am so glad to see you back. I am so, so glad. I must pray again
tonight and thank the Lord for protecting you and bringing you
back.”

“Thank you for praying for me, Agnes. Good
night,” Cecelia said, nudging the old woman to the door.

“Yes, yes.” The maid chuckled. “Good night,
my lady. Rest well.”

Cecelia shut the door once the maid was
gone. Alone in her room, she rested her head against the wooden
frame and closed her eyes. Instantly, the image of the demon king
emerged before her, and her heart gave out a little skip.

“Stop thinking of him,” she muttered to
herself.

She flashed her eyes open and headed
straight to the bath near the warmly lit hearth. She stripped
herself naked and climbed into the tub.

The moment her body met the warm water, she
sighed in bliss. She lay back and let go of all of the tension that
had built up within her since the day she’d decided to leave the
safety of this palace to fetch the Pearl of Life herself.

She sighed deeply, glad the scented water
was just the right temperature for her liking, not too hot and not
too cold. Then she remembered the pearl. She reached over to the
chair and searched for the item. It was neatly wrapped within a
white silk cloth. She brought it to her and stared long and hard at
the thing within her hand, marveling at the pink-white color of the
round gem and swirl of glowing energy that exuded from within. She
wondered what made it so powerful. What essence was in there that
could heal such a strong and life-threatening poison?

Slowly and lovingly, she began to caress the
egg-sized gem. Suddenly, as if by magic, her body became warm and
weak, and instantly, she felt sleepy, as if her consciousness were
snatched away by some enchanted force. Slowly, she closed her eyes,
and not a moment later, her breathing became slow and even.

She was drifting and floating about in warm
air. It was very pleasant, nothing like she’d ever felt before.
Then in her mind’s eye, she saw a shadow of a man appearing as if
out of the blue. He was just standing there before her by the door,
watching her. Then slowly, he made his way toward her, and before
long, he was beside her. As he got closer, she realized who he was
and her heart skipped a beat.

She straightened up in alertness and only
then did she realized she was still naked in the tub and the demon
king was standing before her, watching her with interest.

Her heart raced.
How did he find me?
she wondered. More importantly, how did he know the pearl was
missing and she was the one who had stolen it?

Suddenly, he was beside her, his face inches
from hers. Cecelia stared deep into the grayness of his eyes, and
she licked her lips involuntarily. Then she felt his hand against
her cheek, caressing her. His touch was so gentle it made her feel
weak and warm and oddly pleasant. He was moving his lips to her
ear, and the warmness of his breath did nothing to ease her craving
for more of his touches. He whispered softly, “So you’re the little
thief who has stolen my pearl?”

Cecelia licked her lips again, her mind in a
muddle of confusion.
Dreaming.
I am dreaming,
she
told herself.

“I’m coming to reclaim my pearl. I’m coming
to claim you,” he said.

She stared hard into his eyes, chanting
silently to herself that he was merely a figment of her
imagination. That he wasn’t real. That she was dreaming of him.
Then before she had time to utter one word or escape his clutches,
he claimed her lips with his. He kissed her long and hard, and
Cecelia felt herself soaring with undisguised pleasure.
Dream.
Just a dream. No harm in kissing a demon in a dream.

But then it was too real to be a dream and
Cecelia became suspicious. She tried to push him back, only to make
him retaliate by thrusting his tongue into her mouth, exploring her
innocent sweetness. As he kissed her wilder and deeper, Cecelia
tried her best fighting him off, her small hand pushing at his
massive chest. The process, however, was to no avail as he easily
caught her slender wrist and stopped her in her tracks. She groaned
and whimpered at the same time, and when she finally managed to
free her hand and shove him off her, she woke up with a start.

Still breathing heavily and breathlessly and
her heart still pounding madly, Cecelia scanned about her
surroundings, searching for the demon who was haunting her. It was
only after she was sure no one was in the room with her that she
truly believed it was merely a dream.

She closed her eyes and told herself to calm
down. But she couldn’t calm down as his voice, which sounded and
seemed too real to her, was still echoing within her head.

“
I’m coming to reclaim my pearl. I’m
coming to claim you.”

Cecelia shivered and hugged herself. Then
she realized the pearl was no longer in her hand. Panic seized her
and she froze for a moment. Then she saw the thing shining and
sparkling in the water by her feet. She sighed in relief. She must
have dropped it while she was dozing off.

Not wanting to doze off in the tub again,
she picked up the pearl and stood. Suddenly, she realized her body
felt heavy and weak. She wrapped herself in a towel and headed
straight to bed after laying the pearl on the bedside table.

Just resting for a little while,
she
told herself.
Will get up and change in a moment.

But she fell asleep there with nothing to
cover herself but a small towel.

DRAKE HAD BEEN SILENTLY RAGING for three
long days since he’d found out his precious pearl had been stolen.
He had no doubt it had been Brian, a disguised human female he’d
shared a passionate night with, who had cunningly sneaked away with
the item and his beloved beast Wildfire. The news greatly upset
Vera and caused Lucifer to cry and become withdrawn.

“I am sure Brian, or whoever she is, isn’t
that kind of person,” Vera said adamantly to her husband Adam.
“You’ve read her aura, have you not, Julius?”

At Julius’s nod, Vera continued. “You see?
Her aura is pure. She probably has her own reason for stealing
it.”

It was Lucifer’s turn to beseech his father
and uncles. “He didn’t even say good-bye,” the young demon sobbed.
“Please, Uncle Drake, don’t hurt him. Papa, Brian needs the pearl
for his sick mother. He said so on the ship. His mother is dying.”
He was tugging at Drake’s sleeves now, tears in his eyes. “His
mother is poisoned. You won’t hurt him, will you? He’s my
friend.”

Gerick gathered the little boy into his arms
and picked him up. “There, there, little demon. Uncle Drake won’t
hurt your friend. He just needs to find her and bring the pearl
back.”

Lucifer blinked his tears away and snapped,
“Brian is a boy. He’s a he.” Turning his attention back to Drake,
he begged, “And bring Brian back too. You like him don’t you, Uncle
Drake? He’s your friend, too.”

Drake’s scowl darkened as he looked at his
nephew. Lucifer tried to match his scowl but failed because tears
kept pouring out of his eyes. As sad and dire as the situation
might be, Gerick, Leon, and Julius wanted to laugh at the boy’s
cute, contorted face.

“Brian, or whoever she is, is not my friend,
and I don’t like her,” Drake said darkly. “She’s stolen my pearl,
Lucifer. She’s a thief. A thief is a criminal and must be
punished.”

Lucifer released a big hump and said, “Don’t
lie, Uncle Drake. You told me never to lie ’cause it’s sinful. You
like Brian. And Brian is a boy so you have to call him a he.” More
tears flowed down his face and he wiped the damn things away with a
rough brush of his sleeve. “Aye, you like Brian. I saw you kissing
him that night after the dinner feast.”

Gerick widened his eyes in shock at this
information and turned to his cousin with an accusatory expression.
Drake, in return, shot Gerick a murderous glare and told the
younger demon with his dark scowl that if he were to utter a word
about the incident, he’d kill him. Julius and Adam glanced at each
other, thus confirming their previous suspicions. Leon just did an
‘
I see’
type face. Vera was confused.

Drake didn’t like the fact that his beloved
nephew had spied him kissing the female Brian that evening. Damn,
he really needed to make Lucifer see reason about the missing pearl
and that the
female
Brian needed to be punished for stealing
it.

He began calmly, “Lucifer, you must
understand that—”

“Maybe you kissed him too hard; that’s why
you made him angry and he ran away,” Lucifer put in, his eyes
large.

Drake’s dark scowl changed to one of shock.
Gerick burst out with a roar of laughter. Leon and Julius hid a
smile. Adam frowned at Gerick. Again, Vera was totally at a
loss.

Adam stepped forward and took his son from
Gerick’s hands. He, of course, blamed Gerick for his son’s odd
behavior. And about kissing of all things.

“Where did you learn of such a thing,
Lucifer?” Adam asked, clearly upset, his face was red with rage.
“Uncle Gerick?” In which case, Adam gave Gerick a death-warning
glare.

Lucifer wiped his tears with his sleeve once
again and said, “I speak truth, Papa. I saw Brian got angry ’cause
Uncle Drake kissed him so hard.” It was then he took a peek at Vera
and continued lowly. “Mama kisses me very hard, too, sometimes. And
I get very angry ‘cause it hurts and is very embarrassing in front
of the other children. So I run away to hide from her.”

Vera, who was sitting in a chair on the
other side of the room, widened her eyes in shock at this
revelation. With trembling legs, she rushed forward and took her
son into her arms. “My love, I didn’t mean to hurt you by kissing
you so hard. I just love you too much and can’t bear to leave you
alone, that’s all.” Then she proceeded to kiss him again,
very
hard
, which made Lucifer perform another unsuccessful
scowl.

At this, Gerick burst out laughing once
again. Once he managed to calm down, he said, “Lucifer, do you
think your Uncle Drake loves Brian too much? That’s why he kissed
her very hard?”

Lucifer nodded without hesitation.

Their conference about the lost pearl and
the missing female Brian ended there, where Drake promised Lucifer
not to hurt his friend if he ever found her. Hence, their search
began immediately. Drake, Adam, Gerick, Leon, and a hundred
warriors searched across the land and the sea for the young woman
and the pearl. Thus far, however, they couldn’t find any evidence
of either the person’s or the pearl’s existent.

A few days later, Julius suggested it had
probably left the kingdom, which was why they couldn’t trace it.
Hence, they had turned to Julius’s vision, but that was to no
avail, too. By the third night, Drake was more frustrated than ever
and decided to turn to his own power to aid him.

Now alone in his bedchamber, he closed his
eyes, summoning his demonic power to the forth. Instantly, he could
feel a warm glow radiating about his body, and soon he felt himself
moving out, his mind drifting off and farther away. His soul, one
could say, had left him.

Drake was now flying, light as air. He was
moving and floating. He was slipping out and about, and he saw many
things. People walking and talking and going about their chores.
Men drinking in a tavern at this time of the night, warriors
practicing with their swords, family sitting down for the evening
meals.

In the distance Drake saw the golden halo
glow of his pearl. He felt it calling out to him, singing his name.
With a swoop, he dove and descended. As he came closer, he saw that
the light was coming from within a distant castle from a distant
kingdom.

“Dardania,” he said under his breath. He was
right in that Brian was in fact royalty and thus a relation to Lord
Peter Van Zandt of Rosevalley.

Royalty or not, Drake was determined to get
his pearl back and claim the thief. No matter that this might start
a war between the two kingdoms. And if the female Brian were truly
royalty, why then a war would certainly take place. Oddly enough,
though, Drake quite liked the sound of that. It was about time that
obese King Leroi be brought down from his crown a nudge or two.

Drake descended faster and then he came down
through a ceiling into a bedchamber.

It was a pretty room, suited for a young
woman. He eyed the large-sized bed with its pastel purple covers,
the sofa with plush cushions and chest and drawers full of dresses
and gowns. It was then the pearl called out to him again, and when
he turned, he saw a girl in the tub.