Dark World (Book I in the Dark World Trilogy) (15 page)

“
It’s lovely!” Fate
exclaimed, overwhelmed with the luxury.

A rosy hue invaded the dark demon’s
cheeks and he immediately turned to leave, but paused with his hand
on the doorknob. Without facing her, his eyes trained on the floor,
he stated timidly, “If you need anything, just ask me…I’m in the
room across the hall.”

“
Thank you,” she replied
quietly, hoping for his gaze to meet her own as he slowly closed
the door.

Left to her thoughts, Fate sauntered to
the bed and slid her body over the width of the mattress. The
supple burgundy comforter swaddled her in its silken embrace and
for the first time since she’d arrived in Dark World, she closed
her eyes and dreamt of home.

Kane knocked on the door, turned the
knob and entered. He knew all were welcome in this particular
home—that being the humble dwelling of the demon enchanter, Elder
Ozen. Jars of herbs, elixirs and rare magical creature bits filled
every nook and cranny of the small chamber. Unnamable odors,
courtesy of potions bubbling within glass flasks, wafted from the
next room.

An eerie play of shadows and
candlelight cast undulating images upon the fractured walls. A
quick sweep of the cracking structure and slouching ceilings left
Kane wondering how much longer the palace would hold up. They’d
never intended on living in an underground kingdom, but after the
shades took over, it was the only place they could
survive.

“
Would you like some fungus
tea, your highness?” Elder Ozen’s ancient voice called from the
adjoining room, somehow knowing it was Kane who’d
entered.

“
Yes, please,” Kane replied,
cringing at the reference to royalty.

The old demon shuffled in from the next
room, two silver mugs fashioned from steel grasped within his
blue-black hands. He handed Kane his tea and smiled kindly at the
young prince, his skin crinkling around his eyes and mouth like
cracks in dry sand.

The elder groaned, taking a seat across
from Kane. He brought his cup to his mouth, pursed his old lips and
blew a line of breath across the top. Tendrils of steam wafted from
the rim and, for a moment, Kane was certain he’d seen the vapor
whirl and spin as though dancing.

Kane observed the old man with
fondness. The elderly demon had taken him in after his father was
killed. While the enchanter provided him with a good home,
knowledge and kindness, the hole that remained in his heart was
unfathomable.

His mother was another
story.

In many ways, I’m just an
orphan,
he
thought forlornly.

“
How can you be certain
she’s the true heir?” Elder Ozen queried, stirring Kane from his
bitter thoughts.

Word travels fast,
Kane mused, thinking
how he’d only announced Fate’s existence less than an hour
before.

Kane exhaled and stared up at the
ceiling of his mentor’s home and slowly shook his head. “She was
born alone and her arrival mirrors what the scroll has foretold.
The sacrificial ceremony on the Surface calls for three, but if the
ritual has been performed on only one human, the shade’s power is
immense once they reach Dark World.”

“
There have been others born
alone,” the old demon pointed out.

Nodding, Kane had heard of this and
wondered why the others were unfit to become the Queen’s vessel.
Was Fate truly unique? Or was she just another killer spawn from an
evil ritual?

The ancient demon sipped his tea, his
dark, wrinkled skin folding at the temples, then inquired, “Why
didn’t you kill her? If she is the Devil’s successor, she poses a
great risk to our entire existence.”

He closed his eyes and hoped his
conflicted feelings for the shade were not transparent. “I…tried. I
just…couldn’t.”

“
Couldn’t?” Elder Ozen
arched a curious brow.

“
I saw something in
her…something
good
.”

Seated across from the young
prince, the old demon drew his robes tighter around him like a
chill had crept into the room. After eyeing Kane seriously, he
responded, “Shades are born soulless, damned to this world by the
Devil’s disciples. They lose all that was
good
in them when they descend.”

Kane knew the lore well. “All I know is
that she’s different, I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

Fate awoke with Ick snuggled deep
within the crook of her neck. Sad for only a moment that she could
not recall her dreams, she giggled when Ick relinquished a tiny
snore and twitched as if chasing a reluctant meal.

She glanced around her new abode, and
while the room oozed with lavishness, she couldn’t help but notice
the cracking walls and ceiling.

After stretching and swinging her legs
over the side of the bed, she noticed a pile of clothing folded
neatly at the end of the mattress. Perplexed, she stood and
inspected the outfit. Ick, now wide awake and fully rejuvenated,
jumped up and down on the bed while Fate removed Deme’s cloak and
donned a black suede skirt and top. She paused to gaze at her
reflection in a full-length, gold-trimmed mirror leaning against
the far wall. Inspecting the new wardrobe, she wondered who’d
slipped into the room while she was sleeping to leave it for
her.

The top fit like a second skin while
the short sarong hugged her hips perfectly. She couldn’t imagine
how they had clothes that would fit her so flawlessly considering
how much bigger the demons were compared to her.

As she ran her hands over the skirt,
the smoothness of the material slick beneath her palms, a flash of
recognition moved through her. A memory stepped out from the
shadows and into a faint light. She remembered trying on clothes, a
skirt in particular. The setting was so…different. A warm bedroom,
rich with color. Daylight streaming through glass.

The sun.

A pang resonated in her heart. How she
missed the cascade of heat offered to her by earth’s closest
star.

She took a step closer to the mirror
and scanned her reflection from top to bottom. Long silver hair
cascaded over her shoulders, a soft curl bobbing at the ends. Icy,
glowing eyes stared back at her as though she were a
stranger.

Still sporting the black mask, she
pulled it off to further inspect herself. Upon parting her full,
black lips and revealing a set of sharp fangs set amongst rows of
perfect pearl teeth, Fate caressed her pale cheek with the back of
her hand and whispered, “What have I become?”

Suddenly squealing, Ick scampered off
the far side of the bed and hid.

“
What’s wrong with you?”
Fate asked, startled.

“
Do my clothes fit you
alright?” A velvety voice inquired from behind her.

As Fate spun around, her eyes settled
on the loveliest demon she’d ever seen. Not that she’d seen many,
but she was certain that this one would pass for the most
beautiful.

And her scent!

Upon realizing she’d removed the mask
and was vulnerable to the intoxicating aroma of the demon, she
quickly slapped it over her nose and lips. Though her mouth still
watered, she was immediately relieved of the intense ache building
in her chest.

Drawn again to her beauty, Fate
couldn’t imagine a more enchanting creature. Surrounded by feathery
white lashes, her eyes shone with the same blue brilliance as
Kane’s, but her skin was fair as fresh fallen snow. Pure ivory
horns wrapped elegantly around her head, starting at her temples,
then tapered into an elegant swirl just above her pointed ears. Her
hair, the same luminous hue as Fate’s, draped like a shawl to the
backs of her knees, thin golden strands woven into a few dangling
braids.

Around the same height as Fate, she was
puzzled as to why this particular demon was so petite compared to
the others she’d seen.

“
Yes…thank you,” Fate said,
finding her voice.

“
You’re welcome.” She walked
so gracefully, she nearly floated into the room, her long, creamy
robes trailing behind her. “I’m Ever,” she announced, extending a
pale hand adorned with sharp, white talons.

“
Ever,” Fate began, shaking
her heated hand. “That’s a lovely name.”

“
Thank you. My father tells
me you are unlike other shades,” she started, a flicker of doubt
moving behind her eyes.

“
Oh? And who is your
father?”

“
Prince Kane,” Ever offered
bluntly.

As she took a moment to absorb this
information, Fate tried to determine how someone as young-looking
as Kane could have a daughter that appeared to be the same age as
herself. And—prince?

“
How could
he
be
your
father? He looks so…young?”

Ever replied with a soft giggle,
“Young? Why, he’s over three hundred years old!”

Her eyes widened. “Three hundred! How
old do demons live?”

“
We used to be immortal, but
when the Crystal Pyramid went dark, we began to show our true
age.”

Fate suddenly found herself feeling
dizzy. The hunger pierced her innards, gnawing and begging for
sustenance.

“
Are you okay?” Ever asked,
taking a step toward the shade.

With Ever standing so close, her
delicious scent taunted her. “Please, don’t get too close…I
can’t…always control myself,” she warned.

Ever nodded and backed away, a wave of
fear skimming the ocean of her eyes. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t
realize.”

“
Ick?” The little gargoyle
popped up from the far side of the bed, tilting his head at
Fate.

“
Oh! How sweet!” Ever
gushed, her regal composure all but forgotten as she hurried toward
the tiny beast and scooped him up into her arms.

Fate positioned herself at the far side
of the room, the furthest from Ever’s intoxicating scent. She
watched as the demon princess lifted the gargoyle into her arms and
proceeded to cuddle him.

“
What is he?” Ever asked,
her eyes sparkling.

“
What do you mean?” Fate
began, confused. “Haven’t you ever seen a gargoyle?”

“
No,” she replied, tickling
Ick under his chin and listening to him giggle. “I haven’t been
outside since I was a newborn.”

“
That’s so sad,” Fate
replied, staring at the floor. “Why?”

Ever paused, issuing a sad smile. “To
protect me—from my grandmother.”

Revelation

Deep in thought, Kane wandered the
labyrinthine corridors of the palace. He felt so powerless. He
couldn’t just leave Malus to reign over Dark World with her
genocidal tendencies. As far as Kane knew, all shades were under
her command. It was only a matter of time before she descended upon
them.

His thoughts then drifted back to the
Oracle’s statement. She’d said there was another stealing the
scrolls. But who?

It would have to be another
shade…wouldn’t it? Or someone that had help from a
shade.

Only shades could handle the pages of the
Devil’s Bible, it was his father’s greatest error—or was
it?

What if someone had found
another way?

Regardless, he knew Malus had at least
one. That had been confirmed by his spies, the demons she still
kept as slaves. And he had to get it back, but how was he going to
fight an army of shades with a village of demons? His gaze fell
upon his broken palace. The ivory walls veined with cracks and
arched ceilings buckling in on themselves, the product of
sustaining heavy damage.

How much longer will it
last?

He would have to move his people to
safety—soon.

But where?

The topside of Dark World was a harsh
environment for even the most hardened beasts. A literal gift from
the Surface, the palace had housed them in their time of need. Had
it not fallen through the chasm so many eons ago, Kane wondered
what their fate might have been. In some ways, he felt cowardly,
hiding from his mother’s tyrannical hold over Dark World, yet it
was the only way to protect what remained of his race.

Protect my race, that’s what
I should be doing.

Yet he’d brought a shade into their
hidden lair. Was she really so different? Wouldn’t her hunger get
the better of her or was it possible that Fate maintained a sliver
of her human spirit when all the others were nothing but soulless
killers?

Maybe that is what’s so
special about the ceremony with one rather than three.

As he passed a female demon in the
hallway, Kane nodded in greeting. While she returned the gesture,
he couldn’t help but notice the hint of uncertainty lurking behind
her eyes. It saddened him that his people did not have faith in
him.

I am not my
father…unfortunately.

The king was a fearless leader. A bold
demon, he led his people with passion—and they respected him for
it.

It wasn’t that Kane didn’t want to make
his father proud and take hold of the reigns, he just wasn’t sure
he was the demon for the job. How could he lead a weakened army
into battle against unfathomable odds?