Red Moon Demon (Demon Lord) (34 page)

I loosened the collar of my battle suit, swallowing. “Man, talk about working under pressure.”

An executioner appeared, a big fellow with leather pants, boots, no shirt, a hairy paunch, and a black hood over his head with eye holes so he could see. He hefted a massive battle ax with one brawny arm, using the weapon to sketch a salute to the Red Queen next to me.

She gestured imperiously
at Salem
. “Off with his
head!”

THIRTY-FOUR

“
When confronted with a dire

situation it’s best to
‘
drink
’
it over
!”

—
Caine Deathwalker

“No way!” I said. “He’s my arch
-
nem
esis
. If anyone’s going to kill him, it will be me.”

Salem glared from the foot of the dais where the vines forced him to kneel. He said, “You can kill me, but you didn’t beat me. You’ll never have that.”

I pushed myself o
ff
of the throne, and studied him thoughtfully
as
I walked forward, stepping down to his level.

The executioner glowered at me for interfering with his work.

I held out my hand.

He visibly restrained himself from biting my fingers. Instead, he handed over the ax, and stormed off. I set the head of the battle ax on the floor, leaning
o
n the shaft as I bent forward to look him in the eye. “You have a point, but I hope you don’t intend to appeal to my sense of fair play for a chance at life.”

“Wouldn’t think of it,” he said.

“As long as we’re talking, I
’d
like to know something.”

“What?”

“You were throwing around all kinds of power, back in L.A. You were even managing multiple spells simultaneously, and not paying any kind of a cost to do it
that I could see
.
Were you powering the necklace with the men you kill
ed
?”

I didn’t know if he’d tell me anything. Spite sometimes wins out against the arrogant desire to boast. In the end, he couldn’t resist rubbing my nose in his brilliance. He smiled. “I’m not surprised you couldn’t figure it out. The necklace attunes itself to whoever uses it, obeying whatever commands they know enough to give. I widened that attunement to overlap with entropy itself.”

“Ah, that is smart.”
Stupid, I mean
.
He’d powered the necklace through necromancy, feeding it from the slow death of the universe we’d left behind.

The Red Lady called from her throne, “Getting bored here. Can we move things along?”

Salem
surreptitiously
strain
ed
against the vines, seeking a weak spot
, even though this
drove
the thorns deeper into his flesh.
I knew if he could break free he’d
try at once to
snatch the necklace
;
g
oing intangible as he had back on
at the
skyscraper was the only chance he had to escape the Red Lady.

Maybe my only chance
also
.

Problem was, I wasn’
t a magic
-
use
r
in the traditional sense. My dragon-blood tats were a shortcut, a way of
handl
ing power without having to thoroughly understand it, leaping years of training. The drawback was it might take me
years
to bend the relic to my will. Haruka
couldn’t wait that long
. As skilled as Salem was, I knew he could answer question
s
I hadn’t even thought of yet. This caused me to reconsider killing him—for now.

I had an idea.

I said, “I am willing to spare your life, on one condition.”

The Red Lady said, “
Is anyone listening to me? I want him dead. No one is allowed to survive who is indifferent to my beauty.”

“What’s your condition?” Salem asked.

“You must swear a binding oath of fealty to me.”

“Is that all? Sure,” he said, “now let me go.”

The Red Lady
’s voice took on an
edge of threat, “Caine...”

I ignored her. “A binding oath,” I said. “Here
,
where such an oath cannot be broken, swear it in the name of the Red

Lady,”

Salem stared over my shoulder. I somehow knew that
she
was right behind me, her eyes radiant with murder
ous intent
.

“Give me the ax,” she said.
“I’ll do it myself.”

Yeah, thought so
.
I straightened and turned, meeting her gaze. “You’re making a mistake here.”

“I’m a goddess. I don’t make mistakes, at least none I have to live with.”
She held out her hand for the weapon.

She was a goddess. That meant she could have materialized another ax for herself instantly. What was going on here wasn’t about Salem, but her and me. She was staking her claim as the domina
n
t partner in a very new relationship—that existed only in her head. Problem was, what’s in the head of a goddess can wind up becoming painfully real. I needed to win this contest of wills.
I also desperately need a drink.

“Listen,” I said,
“if
you want this…” I almost choked, “
marriage
to mean anything, it’s got to be done right. In my reality, there can be no marriage without certain formalities. One of these is the bachelor party. Also, a best man is usually required for the wedding ceremony. Can’t we do this without cheap theatrics?” I reached out and slid my hand up her arm, then suddenly yanked her closer, crushing her against my chest. I let the ax fall over, and held her, peering soulfully into her eyes. “You’re going to make me think I mean nothing to you.”
My lips drew closer to hers.

She’d resisted
my hold
at first
. I felt ghostly fingers stirring through my thoughts. She was checking to see if I was lying to her. Fortunately, nothing I’d said was untrue. I’d never claimed to want to marry her, I’d just told her the customs of my people.

H
er body
softened
, melting
against
mine as a new kind of fire kindled in her eyes. Her hand caressed my cheek, and slid to the back of my neck as she closed the distance, kissing me roughly, a lot of energy but little finesse. For a goddess, she
was
terribly inexperienced. Of course, there
a
ren’t a lot of suitors at her power level. Guys like to be in control
; th
ere
’s
little chance of that with her.

Well, there’s something to be said for a challenge.

Her arms went around my neck. The kiss went on forever, until I was desperate to escape. She might not need to breath
e
, but I was fond of doing so. My hands slid down her body, behind her—and purely in self-defense—I squeezed her ass, startling her into releasing me so I could gasp for air.

She saw my discomfort and reddened in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

“It’s all right,” I assured her. “We’ll get better with practice. Now, about the warlock…”

“Take it, if you have to have it.”

I gathered in one of her hands and kissed it. “Thank you.”

She smiled coy
ly, batting her eyes at me. “I ha
ve a lot more
for
you, after the wedding.
I can be a virgin as many times as you’d like.
”

A thrill went through me.
My gaze slid down her body, imagining her dress away. The thought of a woman that could change her form for me, being anyone, anything, was sorely tempting, but not even a goddess is worth enduring the trap that is marriage. I smiled wistfully and told her a truth. “There are so many things I want to do to you…”

She blushed.

I
releas
ed
her hand. “Do me a favor and stop reading my mind. I want to surprise you with my passion and expertise.
Let
me surprise you.
B
e a beautiful bride in my arms
, and nothing else
. You have forever to be a goddess.”

She pressed
her
hand to her bodice, as if to
gage
the thunder of her heart. “Very well, it is a small enough gift to give
, but I want something in exchange
.”

“What?”

“I’ve seen
in
your mind that your people have a custom. You give a diamond as a token of love to those you’d claim as wife.”

“I don’t have one,” I said.

Her hand moved out from her heart a little. My shirt went lax as the crystal lotus disappeared from my s
uit
. The lotus reappeared between her hand and breasts. “This will do.”

With that, s
he turned and walked toward a distant
, heavily gilded
side
door
.
Without her attention, t
he spectral audience
that had silently attended us all this time
melted to nothing. Almost out of the room, she paused
and
call
ed
back to me. “I know your heart is sincere, but I should warn you; do not try to leave the palace without me. The gargoyles on the roof are fools that once trifled with my emotions. And they were bad in bed
besides
. Since you are my new favorite, they hate every fiber o
f
your being. I’d hate
it if you were
torn apart
… before
you’ve proven your mettle on our
wedding night.”

She went out the door
. It closed by itself behind her, and
I was left alone with Salem.

Dripping blood from dozens of wounds, he looked up at me. “And I thought I had it bad.”

“You’re stuck here too,” I said. “Are we going to work together, or am I going to toss you outside to play with the former boy toys?”

“All right, I’ll work with you.”

“Swear it by the Red Lady.”

“I swear by her name to serve your best interests, until we escape this reality. Then, your ass is mine.”

“I’m not gay,” I said.

“Figure of speech.”

There was a
mount
ing
pressure;
a
sizzl
ing
vibration
in the air
that
drew a sympathetic heat from my tats
.

Salem’s eyes widened. He felt it too. “What the hell is that,” he asked.

“You made an oath in the
L
ady’s name. This is her reality; it has witness
ed
your
oath. Break your word
and
he
r
world
will
crush
you.”

“You’re joking?”

I
flashed him one of my evil grins
.
“
One way to find out
.
”

Maybe later,” he said. “Cut me outta this ambulating salad.”

I raised a boot high enough to reach into the top, and drew my field knife from its hidden sheath. A whisper in the back of my mind urged me to sink the blade into his black heart. I resisted the impulse and slid the steel between him and the vines. Strands of the thorny growth snapped on the knife edge, and
all of it
withered, falling away as dust.

“Well, that’s easy enough,” I said.

He straightened, and
his hand moved
a few inches toward
the necklace inside my combat suit.

“Go ahead,” I said, “betray me. I dare you. I’m kind of curious as to what will happen.”

He stepped back from me.

“Smart,” I said.

“Speaking of smart, now that we’re alone, and she’s not reading your mind, why don’t you open the gate that brought us here?”

I drifted back up the dais, and crossed to
the bigger
throne. I threw myself into an inelegant sprawl and looked at him. I lifted my feet into the air. A moment later, an ottoman appeared under my boots. I relaxed, my feet comfortably elevated.
“
Just because she isn’t reading my thoughts doesn’t mean she’s not keeping an eye on me—and you too. Besides, I can’t open the gate without the crystal lotus she took from me.
”