A Demon's Wrath (19 page)

“King Leroi,” Drake sneered, his eyes as
dark as the night and as intense and hot as the raging fire.

King Leroi swallowed hard and looked over to
his guard to make sure they were at a good distance to protect him
from the slaughter. His guards, puny weakling beings compared to
the demons, stood nervously with their swords drawn, ready for
battle.

Drake paid no heed to the pathetic soldiers.
His sole attention was targeted on the trembling king who looked as
though he were about to wet his pants.

“I’ve warned you, King Leroi, have I not?”
Drake drew out coldly. “I’m here for the thief and my
treasure.”

King Leroi shuddered. “What treasure? There
is no treasure of yours here, demon! You have merely used such
accusation to raid my kingdom. To kill us!” He pointed a shaky
finger at Drake and his comrades Adam, Gerick, and Leon who were
flanking on either side of Drake. They looked as angry as Drake and
were ready to go in for the kill with their mighty weapons
drawn.

“Do you want an all-out war, King Leroi?”
Drake asked harshly. “I will only be too happy to oblige.”

King Leroi paled at the thought. “Nay, ’tis
not what I want. But I am telling you the truth. There is no
treasure of yours here. As for the thief, I will only be too glad
to hand him over to you.”

Drake glared at King Leroi in disgust. The
greedy man valued treasure more than a life. As far as Drake knew,
that life was also King Leroi’s niece, his bloodline. That man was
as worthless as a rat. Drake was physically repulsed at the sight
of the fat man adorned in silk and jewels. No doubt this king had
never seen a battlefield in his life. Well, that was until
tonight.

“Cecelia Van Zandt,” Drake growled loudly,
causing everyone in the room to shrug back in fear. “Bring her to
me!” He scanned around the room, his eyes sharp. When no one moved,
he shouted, “Now!”

Again, the room was silent, and Drake’s mood
changed from that of impatient to anger and lethal. With his scowl
now darker than ever, he marched forward, his sword drawn, ready
for the kill. The Dardanian guards rushed to their king, but they
couldn’t do much more than that, for they feared the death look on
Drake’s face and the demonic power radiating about his form. The
force field kept them at a distance as Drake headed toward his
intended target.

King Leroi panicked, took a step back, and
fell on his backside. Just as Drake was about to come up to him,
Queen Eliza intercept him by standing in front of her husband, her
gown blowing in every direction from the force of energy Drake
emitted.

“Agnes!” she shouted to the maid who was
hovering about the room. Her voice was shaking as she continued,
“Go get her.”

Agnes nervously curtsied and rushed
away.

Queen Eliza, tall, pale, quite beautiful,
and at least two decades younger than her husband King Leroi,
sailed toward Drake once he calmed his power, reduced to
nothingness by his command. Eliza gave him a nervous smile. “I do
apologize, my king, for not granting your desire sooner,” she said.
Then she slowly curtsied. “Please, sire, make yourself at home
whilst we wait for that little thief.”

Drake wasn’t interested in pleasantry, and
it disgusted him that this queen was trying to do just that. He’d
murdered more than three hundred of her men, for God’s sake, and
she wasn’t at all tormented by that thought.

Gerick came forward and queried, “Queen
Eliza, isn’t it?”

Eliza turned her attention to the younger,
more handsome demon. He really did take her breath away, and she
wondered instantly what this demon was like in bed. She was really
tempted to find out, and no doubt, so were her two cousins, Rosanna
and Juliet, for they looked as though they wanted to drag him to
their bedchambers and do pleasurable things to him despite the dire
situation they were in at the moment. And all because of that
stupid little chit Cecelia. If they got through this, and the
little rebellious monster didn’t die under the hand of this
fearsome demon king, then she’d kill the girl herself. Then again,
only if she were allowed to because, from what she knew so far,
Marcus Arthur was also interested in Cecelia.

“Why, yes,” she said pleasantly to
Gerick.

Gerick cocked his head to one side and gave
her a devilishly handsome smile. Then he turned his attention to
the two women who were batting their eyelids at him. “And who might
you ladies be?”

Rosanna eagerly stepped forward and said, “I
am Lady Rosanna Van Dyke, my lord.”

“I am Lady Juliet Van Dyke, my lord,” Juliet
said, not to be outdone by her sister.

Adam rolled his eyes. “We’re not here to
make pleasant talk with these people, Gerick,” he reminded the
younger demon.

Gerick laughed. “Come now, brother. Loosen
up. Can’t you see these ladies are just trying to make us
comfortable whilst we wait for Lady Cecelia?”

Drake narrowed his eyes at Queen Eliza.
Under the current situation, he deduced immediately that it was the
young queen who held the true power in this kingdom, and King Leroi
himself was but a mere pawn. Ruthless, cunning, and hungry for
power was what he saw within Queen Eliza’s aura.

“My Lord is right,” Eliza said, nodding her
head. “Please, gentlemen, draw down your weapons.”

Drake eyed Queen Eliza and then turned his
attention to the king. They both watched him nervously with
dread.

Drake turned on his heel and went to stand
by the window, looking out at the dead bodies in the courtyard. In
the distance, just outside the great gate, an army of soldiers had
just arrived. No doubt to take them down.

Drake began to laugh, louder and louder,
drawing everyone’s attention. He turned to the queen and said, “Do
you wish more death on your warriors, queen? If not, then give
words to send them back.”

Eliza turned to look at her husband she
never love, the man she used her body to seduce and manipulate. She
saw him nervously nodding at her. Eliza tried hard to hide her
anger. “Very well,” she said through gritted teeth and waved her
hand to one of the commanders. “Tell them to stand down.”

The commander nodded nervously and quickly
ran out the great hall to inform his superior. Drake turned his
attention to Gerick and gave him the signal. Gerick nodded his
head, a knowing, obedient smile on his lips. Then he bowed lowly to
Queen Eliza, to which she frowned in suspicion, and then to both
Rosanna and Juliet, smiling gleefully at him. That done, he turned
on his heel and strode out the door.

“The north wing, was it?” he said to himself
and headed that way, his footstep light and quick.

CECELIA FELT SICK TO HER stomach the moment
she heard the cry of dying men and the sight of demons in the midst
of the battle across the courtyard. With legs trembling, she sank
onto the floor, her breathing heavy, her heart racing and her
stomach flipping with nausea.

What have I done?
She had stolen the
Pearl of Life, and now the demon was here, slaughtering soldiers
within the castle walls to get their pearl back.

She was still shell-shocked that she
couldn’t even think straight when Brian came to her, taking her
into his arms.

“He’s here for you,” he said.

Cecelia nodded, tears in her eyes. “I know,”
she whispered. She knew she must face the consequences. She had
stolen the pearl, and she had vowed to return it even if it killed
her. “I must go to him. I must go to the king and return his
pearl.”

Brian frowned darkly at her decision and
said firmly, “I won’t let him take you. I promise. Come, we must
take you away from here.”

He pulled her to him and led her out the
chamber, his hand tight around her wrist.

“Please, Brian, wait. I must return the
pearl to the king,” she said hoarsely.

“Don’t be naive, Celia. He won’t let you
go,” Brian said. “We must make haste.”

As they hurried out the door into the lit
corridor by the courtyard, Cecelia said, “But he is here for the
pearl, Brian. I must return it to him. It is no use to us now that
we’ve made the potion for Mother. Besides, I promised I’d return it
to its owner.”

Brian turned and said impatiently, “Aye, he
is here for the pearl, Celia. But it doesn’t mean he’s going to let
you go once you’ve given it back to him. And who did you promise to
give what back?”

“But—” was the only word Cecelia managed to
get out. A large body suddenly swung from above the side of the
roof and landed before them silently on the cold stone floor.

Brother and sister stumbled back in shocked
surprised, colliding against the wall. The instant they got their
bearings back, Brian shoved Cecelia behind him to protect her,
thinking it was one of the demon soldiers.

And indeed it was, and one of their best
too, the lethal charmer and strategist Gerick McNamara. The tall,
handsome demon cocked his head to one side as he appreciatively
eyed Cecelia and then her brother Brian. A dark, devilish smile
spread across his face as he noted brother and sister weren’t much
different after all. Both with black hair and faces very pleasing
to look at. Cecelia was slim and very enchanting in that pale-lilac
gown that Gerick knew would indeed shock Drake to his core. The
fake Brian turned out to be a beautiful woman in disguise after
all.
And as for the real Brian?
Gerick returned his
attention to the more interesting brother, his eyes twinkling with
unmasked fascination.

The young man was slim, tall, and quite
attractive, and Gerick was pleased in more than one way.

Gerick bowed to Cecelia and said, “Lady
Cecelia Van Zandt, I am pleased to make acquaintance with you.”

Cecelia’s response was, “Gerick.”

Gerick nodded his head and then turned to
Brian. “And you must be the real Brian Van Zandt.” He chuckled, his
eyes glittering with interest.

“Celia, who is this?” Brian asked his
sister, not liking the way the demon was looking at him nor the
fact there was that glint in his eyes that made Brian just a little
bothered.

“He’s Gerick McNamara, the king’s cousin,”
Cecelia said.

Brian widened his eyes in shock and uttered
in disbelief, “He’s a demon?”

Gerick laughed. “Aye, I am a demon and you
are a human, young Brian. We are of different races, but
nonetheless, we are still the same. Do you not like us demons?”

“You killed our father and destroyed our
land,” Brian spit out. “And now you’re here to kill my sister
too?”

Gerick cocked his head to one side. “I beg
to differ. I don’t remember us ever killing your father nor
destroying your land. Rosevalley, was it? Ah, yes, I remember the
place. An island away from the main land. A beautiful place. We
were there a long time ago. But trust me when I say we didn’t kill
your father nor did we destroy your land.”

Brian pulled his sister to his side again,
after noting she was making her way toward Gerick. He said coldly,
“Whether you and your comrade did or did not, that is to be decided
on a later date. For now, get out of the way. I will not let you
take my sister away to be killed.”

At this point, Brian had his sword drawn and
directed the sharp blade at Gerick. “Stand back, Celia. I will have
to kill this demon to keep you safe.”

Cecelia clutched at her brother’s arm.
“Please, Brian. Gerick means us no harm.”

“No harm?” he shouted out. “He bloody killed
at least fifty of our soldiers.”

“Eighty,” Gerick corrected. “Leon killed
fifty. Adam one hundred, and Drake, well, you don’t need to
know.”

Brian was flabbergasted. He looked at his
sister and said, “See how barbaric they are?”

Cecelia was impatient. “Brian, please. I
will return the pearl back to the king. That is what he is here
for.”

Gerick ignored the pointy sword at his belly
by shifting it aside with his hand and walked toward Brian. “Come
on now, Brian. Let’s be logical.”

Brian wasn’t listening. All he worried about
was his sister’s safety, and thus, he thrust forward, slicing his
sword through the air toward Gerick.

Gerick swung to his left, missing the sharp
blade by an inch. He charged forward, sent his free hand onto
Brian, and disarmed the young man in an instant. With his strong
hand tight on Brian’s wrist, Gerick twisted him back against the
cold stone wall of the castle. With his face close to Brian’s, he
said, a smile on his lips as per usual, “Who taught you how to
fence, Brian? It’s pathetic. You can’t even hold your ground
against me. Now be a good boy and do as I say.”

Brian was seething with rage. He glared up
at the larger demon, his brown eyes dark. “I trained myself,” he
said through gritted teeth.

Gerick stared long and hard at the young man
and, instantly, felt a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Demon’s blood!
But he was attracted to the youth. Then
something else caught his attention. The paleness in Brian’s skin
tone. The dull color in his eyes. The poisonous aura radiating from
within the youth’s body.

Gerick cursed, long and loud. Brian was
poisoned on the inside with the black rose elixir. He was slowly
dying and he didn’t even know it. Pity shone in the demon’s eyes
and Gerick slowly let Brian go.

Brian fell to the ground, heaving from pain
and exhaustion. Cecelia kneeled by his side, aiding him to sooth
his agony. It was then Agnes finally arrived at the scene. She
looked confused for a moment at the demon who’d been in the throne
room before she’d left and wondered how he had gotten here before
her so fast.

“Agnes,” Cecelia said, looking up at the old
maid. “What is it?”

Agnes curtsied and said, “Please, my lady,
the demon king, he’s asking for you.”

Cecelia got up. “Then I must go to him.”