Demon Lord 5: Silver Crown King (23 page)

TWENTY-FOUR

“The purpose of a truce is to reload all weapons.”

                                                  —Caine Deathwalker

A long time later, the elevator door opened.  With the Red Lady at my side, I stepped back into the Clan House, still between second, returning to the moment I’d left.  I looked the same, but biologically, I was two weeks older.  I could have gotten back sooner, but my cock had worked against me in the negotiations.  He was depleted now, sore, and had final begged for rest. 

Selene had assured me that once my inner dragon roused himself I’d have my usual strength and endurance back. 

I expected—once he realized what he’d missed out on—he’d have some things to say to Selene about her being so heavy handed.

The elevator vanished, leaving bare wall behind, and a lot of memories.  We walked the second floor, returning to the new banquet room.  Everything was as I’d left it.  Selene walked me to my chair.  I sat and looked up at her.  “That’s useful intelligence you got from our spy.  We could use some more.  I knew there were four fey courts aligned against us.  I didn’t know that several merchant guilds were also stirring up the pot so they could sell war supplies to every side.  I’d also learned that the Sun King of the Summer Court was staying out of it—but only because he expected to swoop in when all was done and pick off the weaker Courts with blind-side attacks, expanding his territory.”

“The strongest instigator against you is the Shadow Court.  Your growing mastery of shadow magic, and your act of taking a kingdom in Fairy has alarmed them.  They envision you swallowing up their court, so all this trouble among the fey is preemptive.”

I picked up the wine and poured myself another glass.  “I wouldn’t know how to find the Shadow Court if I wanted.” 

“The problem is, they don’t know that.  Are you sure you don’t want me at the coronation?  You might need me when the enemy rises up.”

“I need you more, infiltrating the Village for me, getting me information on their strengths and weaknesses, seeing what it is I’ll be up against when it’s time to face them.  I’d go myself, but I’m not ready—yet.  I need to deal with Fairy, track down the Shadow Court, and have them teach me a lot more about shadow magic.”

“And then?”

“The Blood Crown will also be mine.  That is the future you see, right?”

She smiled enigmatically, stretched down, and kissed me.  “Goodbye, my love, until we fuck again.”  Her body grew edged in crimson light.  The red light moved inward, as if devouring her.  I shielded my eyes as the intensity flared.  And then she was gone, leaving only a scent of roses behind.

And objective time started up once more.  Voices snapped on like I’d suddenly recovered from deafness.  Bodies moved, breathed, argued, ate, and drank, as cutlery sounded on plates and the wait staff circled the tables.  Rhythms of life.  I’d missed them, being chained to a bed for two weeks.  I sighed.  It could only happen to me.

The Old Man spoke to me across the table.  “Where did your lady friend go to?”

“The Village,” I said, “to lay the foundation of my eventual conquest.”

For a moment, I thought time had stopped again.  Voices dropped.  Eyes turned my way.  Drake said, “That’s place is real?”

Kinsey said, “What village.”

“You don’t want to know,” I said.  “You’ll sleep better.”

Lauphram said, “Infiltration of that stronghold is a good use of Selene’s power.  By the way, Caine, I’ve decided to attend your coronation after all.”

Voices picked up speed, returning to their conversations.  I took a drink and raised an eyebrow at him.  “You aren’t afraid that the clan house will be a target in our absence?”

“Not at all.  I’m renting out the public spaces here and the dungeons to our sweepers. 

They’re hosting a magic-user’s convention in L.A.  A lot of the Portal Corporation employees will be in attendance as well.  They’re even putting in a temp portal in the Great Hall to facilitate the expected crowds.  I hear one of the upper management elder gods will be a guest speaker.  Should be fun.”

I nodded.  “Yeah, if a magical zombie apocalypse isn’t accidently triggered.”

The Old man said, “That’s why I asked for a large damage deposit.  Besides, we’ll kill two birds with one stone.”

“How’s that?” I asked.

“We’ll have a double crowning at your coronation.  You’ll claim a silver crown as a lord of Fairy, and I’ll pass the black crown to you at the same time.”

About fucking time
.

“Good idea,” I said.  “Can you do me a favor?”

He gave me a speculative look.  “It will probably cost you, but sure.  What is it?”

“I want you to talk to the Fenris; see if you can invite him and maybe a thousand werewolves along for my coronation.”

The talking died again as all Faces turned my way.  I glared around the room.  “What?”

Everyone went back to their own business, pretending to ignore me.

“That’s a lot of wolves,” Lauphram said. 

“Tell them it’s a free party and that we’ll be stocking the valley forests with a lot of game.  They can kill anything that not another party guest.”

Kinsey stared at me.  “You’re getting free security under the guise of being a good host.”

“Sure,” I said.  “It’s why I invited you dragons.  I’m throwing a party anyway.  Might as well get twice for my money.”

There was grudging respect in her eyes.  “I may have underestimated you.”

I nodded.  “A lot of people do that, right up to the point I kill them.”  I drained my glass and put it down.

She stood.  “Caine, show me to my room.  I’ve had enough celebrating for one night.”  She gave Drake a sharp glance.  “You, see what you can do to talk some since into uncle about this engagement, and if you fail me, just remember I know where you sleep.”

“You’d kill me?” he asked.

“You really want an answer?” she said.

“I’m beginning to feel a little unwanted,” Lauphram complained.

Julia looked up from her desert, giving him her full regard.  “I still love you Grandfather.  Can you make me some more of those exploding tattoos?”

“We’ll talk about it,” he said.  Lauphram looked at me.  “I have chambers prepared for Kinsey.  This will show you both the way.”  He made a two-fingered gesture toward his water glass.  A three inch ball of water floated into the air.  The water ball hovered, spinning slowly on a diagonal axis, waiting for me. 

I stood.  “Okay, Old Man.  You’ve got the kids for the night.”

He nodded and handed Tera a napkin so she could wipe the excess ice cream off her face. 

I headed for the double doors.  The ball of water caught up to me, getting in front.  Kinsey ran to catch up, falling in at my left side.  We left the room and took the hallway toward the stairs at the front of the building.

  “Did you want something other than an escort?” I asked.  “You don’t normally ask for my company.”

“I want you to tell me something, honestly, cousin to cousin.”

“You don’t believe in my honor, but you want an honest answer?”

“Yes.  You say you want to be accepted by the dragon side of your heritage.  Acceptance takes trust.  Here’s where you can build a little credit with me.”

I shrugged.  “Okay, shoot.  Figuratively speaking.” 

“Tell me about Lauphram.”

We reached the stairs and headed down.  “He’s just what you see; a big blue demon with nautical tats and burns.”

“They’re spells, like yours?”

“Not like mine.  His symbols come from old Atlantean magic, that’s sea-based.  He’s a water mage and a storm-caller.  And the carvings, the scars, are spells he cut into himself.  He’s spent a thousand years mastering a style of sorcery the rest of the world has forgotten.  And on top of that, he’s a shadow mage as well.”

At the bottom of the stairs, I turned right to follow the floating water globe.  Kinsey stayed beside me, walking by auto-pilot, not really seeing any of the décor we passed.  Fortunately, the on-coming traffic got out of her way.  We were headed toward the area where my own suite lay.  I made a mental note to get someone to bring me a new bed.  My last nightmare session in it had left it rather damaged.

“But what’s he like as a person?”  Kinsey stopped and turned to me, forcing me to stop as well.  The water ball paused, patiently waiting.  “How can he have a reputation as an honorable demon, and run a demon clan that dominates all the other supernaturals in L.A.?”

I stared her in the eye and gave her the truth.  “He’s just so powerful the rest of the demons give him a pass, ignoring his virtue.  He’s embarrassing that way, but occasionally, its effective having a boss that can make any kind of deal on the strength of his word alone.  And he’s been around for so many centuries, he has friends in powerful places that owe him many favors.  L.A.’s only an open city for preternaturals because he says so, and he makes it work.”

“And if he wanted to close the city?”

“There’d be a lot of arguing, but Lauphram would get his way.”  We reached my suite.

“This is my place.”  I pointed to the sign on the door that said: IMPERIAL EMBASSY.

She stared at it, then me.  “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“The previous First Sword of the clan was a jerk who thought he could start trouble with me.  I wanted to keep my people safe, so I made my little corner of this place exempt from his authority.  That meant my combat butler and other minions could defend themselves with impunity.”

She nodded.  “I have noticed your annoying tendency to play by your own rules.”

“They’re the only rules that aren’t stacked against me.  If you want to talk some more, come inside, otherwise, I’ll show you where your own suite is.”

Before I could open the door, it moved.  Four demon ladies from House Keeping came out carrying my destroyed bed.  I assumed that Osamu had noticed my damaged bed and had order up a replacement.  They bowed respectfully and hurried on.

“Hard on beds, are you?” she asked.

“Hard in a lot of ways.” 

“Your girlfriend earlier, she smelled pure-blood dragon.  How the hell did you manage that?”

“You saw what was left of my last bed.  No woman that’s had me will ever settle for anyone else.”

She gave me a serious look.  “I don’t know if I should laugh in your face, or totally believe you.”

“All my answers are true, one way or another, in this time-space reality or another.  You want to join me for a beer, or what?”  I still held the door open.

“Sure, I’ll come in a while.”

I led the way.  She followed with the ball of magic water floating in last.  It hovered inside the door.  I slipped off my shoes and left them on rack.  “Osamu likes it if we follow Japanese customs here.”

She saw what I was doing.  “Oh, sure.”  Kinsey slipped out of her heels and left them by my shoes.  We left the tiles, stepping onto the wood floor of the living space. 

“Have a seat,” I told her.  “I’ll get the beer.”  I went into the little kitchenette, to the fridge.  Beer was here.  Every other kind of drink was in the minibar.  I grabbed two bottles of Tsingtao beer and went into the living room.  Joining Kinsey on the leather couch, I handed her a bottle. 

She looked at it, a small crease forming between her eyes.  “What is this?”

“Chinese beer.  It’s a little sweeter than you may be used to.  Sometimes, there’s a metallic aftertaste.  I rotate brands for variety.  Go ahead, drink.  It won’t kill you.  You’re not even going to get drunk, not with your dragon metabolism.”

“Back to Lauphram,” she said.

“What do you want to know?” I asked.

“What was he like as a father?”

The magic ball of water had floated over the white leather love seat and hung near in the air, as if listening in to our conversation.  I figured that was exactly what Lauphram was doing, conniving bastard. 

I’ll give you something to listen to, Old Man.

“A complete tyrant.  Sadistic, too.  Used to tell me he’d cut out my spleen if I didn’t polish his toenails just right.  Did I mention he’s fond of cross-dressing?  Gets up in the middle of the night sometimes and wanders around—a big blue trannie—singing show tunes in a bad falsetto.  He went out into the woods once, wandered quite far in his sleep, and almost got shot by some hunters looking for Bigfoot.  Understandable, of course.  Except for the color, there’s quite a resemblance.  If you’re going to be servicing him, you better get used to wearing a strap-on.”  Whirling faster, the water ball drifted up over my head.  “He likes to take it up his ah!!!  The ball had burst, splattering my head.  “Pissy bastard!” 

Kinsey laughed, a soft, pleasant sound lacking her usual hardness.

“And he needs a sense of humor, badly.”  I opened another beer and took a pull on it.  That was what I needed.

TWENTY-FIVE

“The best tactic is the impossible.

The likely is always expected.”

                                   —Caine Deathwalker

I all-but cackled with dark glee.  All the pieces were meshing nicely.  Gloria and her catering team were in the treehouse, getting things prepped.  Izumi and her mom were riding in with a small army from their lands.  Lysande, Tera, Julia, and the two spy children where with Angie and her pack members in Izumi’s house.  They’d come tomorrow morning, bringing the silver crowns.

There was a yawn in the back shadows of my mind.  Coils slowly unwound.  Sleepy, yellow-fire eyes opened as my inner dragon joined me. 
Damn!  Feels like I’ve been sleeping forever.  What’s going on?

“The Red Lady knocked you out without you ever seeing her coming,” I said.  “She wanted to cut me off from your strength so she could have her way with me.”

Wait, let me see your memories.  Hmmm.  What the freak!  Chains.  Feathers.  Pudding?  What the Glory-hole!  How can she even bend that way?  Damn!  I missed it all.

“There were moments I would have avoided if possible.  She made me fuck her teddy bear.”  I shuddered at the memory.
 
She’d wanted to try a
ménage à trois
.

My inner dragon said
, Wait a minute, teddy bears don’t have pussies.

“That’s what the knife was for.  I’m not sure I can ever look a stuffed toy in the face again.  Those black button eyes, so accusing…”

The dragon growled deep in my soul.
  I feel so cheated
. 

I pulled myself together.  “Yeah, well, get over it.  We got work to do.” 

I went back to my mental review, with the dragon peering metaphorically over my shoulder.

Ah,
he said
, Lauphram has negotiated a temporary portal near the waterfall pool.  You’ve stocked the lower river with pink flamingos and bullfrogs to feed Gumbo’s gater-demon relatives.  The wolves and other shape-shifters are staking out separate areas of the forest basin. They’ve been warned not to use the white road along the river which we booby-trapped with shadow magic, except at the right spots.  You’ve been busy.

“Yep.  My demons are using the new portal to arrive, settling into the keep.”  My soldiers were all heavily armed; they were here to have fun after all.  I’d also used my bond to the land to create a great pavilion on an island atop the falls.  Five golden dragons were up there, where they could look down on all I’d built, and feel avarice over all I owned. 

Yeah, eat your hearts out,
my dragon echoed
.
 

Those standing on the lip of the falls, on the piled boulders, served a function similar to gargoyles—pure deterrent—whether they knew it or not.  A lot of the attacking fey were going to see lightning-spewing dragons and shit their fairy tights in fear.  It was one day until my coronation, so I knew my enemies were well on the way.

So, what are we doing here?

“Wait and watch,” I said.

I stood at the mouth of the valley that held my mountain keep.  There was one final task, a final trap to lay.  This one I was keeping to myself.  It couldn’t leak, even in part.  There might be those who’d feel a tremor or two in the earth, but I didn’t think they’d know the significance.  Facing the way both friend and foe would come—those not using the portal or my magic mirror—I sank to my knees and dug my hands into the earth, feeling for ley lines and the pulse of the land.

My awareness sank deep into the ground, tracing currents of energy, letting them carry me to the heart of the land, to the crystal matrix of awareness that made my kingdom unique from other lands.  At my non-corporeal touch, the crystal heart flared, its energies a song in my bones, a fire in my belly.  We communed, a silent sharing of devotion.  The crystal heart accepted a portion of my raw magic, my lifeforce, and the land began to change in response to my will.

Fifty miles outside my valley, the ground leveled into a basin so that the departing river began to broaden into a huge lake.  There were numerous enemy spies out there that were folded under the earth and buried alive.

That’s right, come against me and chew dirt.

I didn’t expect this trick to work against an attacking force led by another fey Lord.  They’d not only bring themselves, but would come in on a road pulled from their own lands, under their control.  And they’d come in hot, flinging so much magic around, I wouldn’t have the focus to use my earth bond too freely.  That’s why I was setting my traps in place ahead of time.

I created a stone bridge across the developing lake.

I set a command in place in the crystal heart that any intrusions into my kingdom needed to be funneled to the far end of the bridge.  Next, I visualized a second mountain-ringed valley beside the first, with roughly the same layout.  The bridge forked so that both valleys had a road to them.  Target and decoy.  Behind me, I fabricated the imprints of hooves, boots, and wagon wheels.  I made it look like an army had already come this way.  Inside the fake valley, I over-smoothed the ground, as if covering up a well-used trail.

Lastly, I used shadow magic to make a copy of my
Demon Wings
tattoo on the bridge’s fork that serviced the copied valley.  This made attention shy away from that direction.

I get it
, my inner dragon said. 
Our allies will come the way we want, and our enemies—which have shadow magic—will find what you’ve hidden.  They’ll think the right way is the decoy, and go into the jaws of a trap.

“Even if the enemy fey split their forces and come into both valleys, we’ll have an advantage; we can take them in two bites, one at a time, and not get overwhelmed.”

What if the enemy waits here, using spies to check things out?  Or they could just have a really good seer among them who will send all of their army in the right direction.

“Yeah, that would be a real buzz-kill.  Well, that’s why this area is so open.  With the enemy bunched on the bridge, feeling vulnerable, they aren’t going to want to sit in place.  Especially not when Kinsey, Drake, and the rest the cadet family hit them from behind with an aerial attack.  With lightning crawling up their asses, no army is going to waste time getting to cover.  Panic creates exploitable errors.  Errors produce failure.”

We are going to have so much fun,
my inner dragon said.

I smiled my most evil smile.  “Yes, we are.”

Standing, I listed to the side, staggering a bit before regaining my balance.  The manipulation of the land I’d been doing throughout the day was taking its toll.

What’s your problem?
my dragon asked.

“Low on energy.”  The bridge blurred and seemed to waver.  I tried blinking it back into focus.  “I’ve been burning through a lot of magic without your support.”

Oh, is that all.

“Your compassion is commendable.”

You’re being satirically humorous again, right.  I’m getting so I can tell
. 
Here, take some of my power.

Weariness fell away as my soul filled with a golden light that made my skin glow from the inside.  Delicate webs of electrical fire spun around my limbs, dropping down my legs, grounding on the road.  I swayed again, but from near intoxication.  The earth trembled, then cratered under my feet.  Gravitonic forces vortexed and small stones floated into the air. 

“Holy fuck!  I’ve gone Super Saiyan!  Where did you get this much power?”

Wasn’t I always this strong?

“Hell, no!  This must have something to do with the deep sleep Selene put you in.  Maybe she charged us up for the coming battle.”

I’m surprised she remembered, as busy as she was draggin’ you around by your balls.  Feeling better?

“Yeah, I could chimp out big time now.  Let’s head back.  I want to check up on Angie.”

The land lifted me up on a plate of rock.  Like a skimming stone, I rushed back into the valley, moved about like a chess piece in unseen hands.  The sensation was not unlike snowboarding.  I wondered why other lords used horses in Fairy when such options were available.

Lack of inspiration or imagination?
My dragon wondered.

“Maybe lack of balls.”  I couldn’t see an arrogant fey lord plunging at breakneck speed across rough terrain, trusting the land instead of dominating it. 

We are all victims of our mindsets.

I skimmed across the valley, along the river, at high speed, seeing flashes of wildlife in the trees.  Trout leaped in the water.  Here and there, pink flamingoes huddled.  The sun hung overhead, indicating noon was close, or maybe just past.  My magic stone periodically swerved off road to avoid shadow traps I’d laid, and once to avoid a family of demon-gators in amphibian form, sunning themselves on the bank.  One of them lifted a paw to wave.  I figured that was Gumbo.

Eventually, I reached the end of the valley where the treehouse offered an odd contrast to the more rustic keep.  My stone skimmed up into the air, clearing the wall around the treehouse gardens.  My transport dropped to fresh grass and skidded to a stop near the magic door. Its hinges didn’t seem attached to anything.  I walked though.

A world away, I closed the door behind me.  I was back on Earth, in the hallway outside my master bedroom in my Malibu mansion. 

I moved through the house toward the front door and found two members of my security detail lounging in the living room.  Nervous, Jo-jo sprang from the recliner, as if I’d found him stealing silverware.  Half naked, Megan rolled off the couch, found her feet, and saluted sloppily.  She looked rather drunk.  Her foot hit a bottle which rolled out from under the coffee table.  Some of my best vodka.  I also noticed a bloody steak knife on the coffee table.

The door to my office
opened.  Jorge came out, a bottle of Jack Daniels in one hand, Jägermeister in the other.  He saw me and said, “Oh, fuck.”

I smiled calmly, using a gentle, lulling voice.  “Are we all having fun, drink up my booze?”

Megan said, “Yeah, boss.  Great stuff.  Wunnerful.  Say, where are my pants and undies?”

The door swung shut behind Jorge.  He said, “I can explain.” 

I lifted an eyebrow at him.  “Really?  Since it may be the last thing you ever do, you’d better make it good.”  My right hand slid behind my back.  With a thought, I summoned one of my PX4 semi-automatics from the armory in the basement. The weight of the gun felt very good in my hand.

Jo-jo pointed at a white cardboard box on the floor next to some wrapping paper and a lid.  “Someone sent you a poison snake in the mail.  I opened the box to make sure it wasn’t a bomb.”

“Where’s the snake?” I asked.

Jorge shrugged.  “You won’t believe this, but a black leopard came out of nowhere, snapped up the snake, and hauled ass outta here with it.”

Thinking of Leona, I did believe him.  There was no telling what mischief she’d get up to with her new toy.

“Snake bit me right on the asp!” Megan said.

“I hadda make a cut and suck the poison out,” Jo-jo said.

“That part wasn’t bad,” Megan assured me.

I looked at Jorge.  “And the booze?”

He grinned weakly.  “Uh, antiseptic to clean the wound?”

“Three bottles?”  Behind my back, I thumbed the safety off on the gun.  “You know, I feel myself about to yell surprise.”

Jorge said, “Leave her out of it.  She took an injury in your service.”

“In my assss,” Megan slurred, pointing at her bare rump.  She swayed.

Jorge went on, “And she was in a lot of pain.  We didn’t think you’d mind, and you weren’t here to ask.”

I put the safety back on and sent the gun back to my armory.  When my empty hand came out from behind my back, Jo-jo and Jorge relaxed.  “What kind of snake?” I asked.

“An asp,” Jo-jo said. “Itty-bitty thing, but strong poison.  If not for being a demon, Megan would have died instantly.”  

“My boo-boo hurts,” Megan said.  “Can I fall down now?”

“Go ahead,” I told her.

She toppled back and bounced on the couch.  After a moment, her eyes closed, her head tilted, and she began to softly snore.

“Go ahead and finish those bottles,” I told the boys, “but after the coronation, I’m going to inventory the bar.  If more than three bottles are gone, you’re going to die drinking your own piss.  Are we clear?”