The First Book of Demons (The Book of Demons Saga) (6 page)

Ch
apter Fifteen

              Alex intertwined her fingers, raising her arms high over her head and yawning lazily as a deep stretch washed over her.  She had spent much of the day carried on the litter; the group of demons speeding through the countryside, stopping at the edge of the Shiron Forest, Tavi disappeared into the forest ahead of them in an attempt to pinpoint Baal’s location.  

“Y
ou will remain here,” Balthazar said coming up behind Alex.

She
whirled around, her face fixed in a scowl.

“Girl,” Balthazar barked,
sensing her impending argument. “Do not contest my orders.”

“But I…”

“Do as you are told,” he bit out, interrupting her as he took a step forward, leaving barely a breath between them.  His voice was little more than a whisper but it carried a threat behind it.

Alex
let out a heavy grunt and turned to walk away.  She ran smack into a rocky object.  Taking a step back, her eyes followed a muscular torso up to a chiseled face.  Her head whipped around to the spot behind her where the demon lord previously was standing.

“Where do you think you are going?” Balthazar asked, as he stared down the narrow bridge of his nose at
her.

“I
have to use the bathroom,” Alex yelled at him, tossing her arms in the air.

“Lord Balthazar,” Tavi said, emerging from the forest to interrupt the escalating quarrel.  Balthazar turned away from Alex, his attention fixed on his younger brother and the information he obtained.
“Baal is on the far edge of the forest.  The surrounding land is flat, giving a clear view of our approach.  He is waiting for us.”

“How many?” Balthazar asked him, stern faced.

“Six tents,” Tavi said, his face falling.  He knew the implications of this information.  It appeared that Baal had already gained support.  They could only hope none of the nobility had taken up his cause. 

“T
hey outnumber us,” Balthazar said, turning towards the forest.  “We will leave the human behind.  I will not risk Baal capturing her.”

“My Lord,” Tavi began, “I must advise against that.”

“As is your duty as Lord Advisor,” Balthazar said, his smoky blue eyes rolling onto Alex. “However, the girl is helpless and will clearly need protection.”

“H
ey,” Alex said offended at the insult, “I don’t need a babysitter, and I’m coming with you.”

Balthaza
r’s jaw tensed at the outburst.  Tavi sensed the anger rising in his brother’s aura and decided to intervene before the girl could put herself in further peril.  He had never seen Balthazar so lenient to disrespect, especially from a female. 

“Alexandra,”
Tavi said, “it is in your own best interest to stay here, with adequate protection.”

Balthazar growled in frustration and stalked into the forest.  He would allow his brother to deal with the human, his patience with her having run out.  Tavi chose a demon to stay behind with Alex, much to her continued protests, and led the rest into the forest after Balthazar. 

In the rapidly darkening night, Alexandra strained her eyes to make out her demon protector as he leaned his broad back against a tree trunk just a few steps from her.

“What’s your name?” She asked, her voice soft as she walked over and sat in the cold dirt next to him.  The man turned his head slowly towards her, glaring silently. Alex brought her knees towards her chest, hugging them close to her.

“L
ook, I’m just trying to be nice,” she said, “My name is…”

The
demon stood, silencing Alex mid-sentence with a sharp growl.

“You don’t have to
be rude,” Alex said, her face turning to a scowl.

“Silence girl,”
the demon snapped, his eyes squinting into the darkness of the forest.  Without another word he walked into the thick blackness.  Alexandra sat in the silence for a few agonizing moments, wondering what was happening.  Her pulse began to pick up when the demon did not return. 

A vicious growl ripped through the silence, echoing through the trees. 
Alexandra’s eyes threatened to bug out of her skull as she tried to peer into the darkness.  She heard a scuffle beyond the tree line, the blinding darkness of the forest fueling her growing concerns.  A loud yelp rang out, followed by silence once more.  Alex rose to her feet, her knees shaky. 

“
H…hello,” she called out, “Are you O.K.?”

T
wo shining yellow eyes appeared behind the blanket of night.  Raza stepped out of the forest, a smirk on his face, his body covered with blood.

“H
ello little girl,” he said taking a step closer to her, the blood dripping from his clawed hand. “I’m perfectly alright.  But I’m afraid your little friend there has seen better days.” 

Alex
could see the pointed tips of his canines sticking past the upturned corner of his lip.  Her heart fell into her stomach.  She took a step back, her back crashing into something solid.   Another demon grasped her from behind, his claws digging into her arms.  Alex cried out, struggling to free herself from the iron grip, pulling little droplets of blood where the demon’s razor sharp claws bit into her porcelain skin. 

“
Father will be pleased,” Raza said, his eyes shimmering as he closed the space between himself and Alex.  Sandwiched between the two demons, Alex felt her knees begin to buckle.  Raza traced a bloody hand along her narrow chin, reveling in the fight behind her eyes.  He could see she was a fiery creature, and that thoroughly pleased him.

“Perhaps I will be as we
ll,” he said huskily, he lifted a lock of her onyx hair to his nose, inhaling her scent deeply. “You smell divine little creature.”

. 

Chapter Sixteen

“What are you?” Baal asked, his calloused finger lifting Alexandra’s chin so he could examine her features.  She jerked her face away, struggling against her bonds. 

“
I’m not telling you anything,” she spat, wincing as the rope holding her cut into the soft skin of her wrists.

Baal
pulled his hand back and slapped her hard across the cheek with his open palm.  The force of the blow threatened to blacken Alexandra’s vision.  Her face stung from the assault, but she restrained herself from crying out.

“What are you?” Baal asked again, the calm in his voice sending a chill through Alex.

Still she refused to
answer.  She starred up at the demon, her green eyes alight with the fire of her defiance.

“You will answer me,
child” Baal said, leaning in close to Alex, his rank breath filling her nose. 

“
Allow me to question the girl,” Raza cut in as he stepped into the tent, “I will get answers out of her one way or another.”

“
You’ll get your turn,” Baal said with a smirk as he straightened and turned away from Alex.  He sat down at a low table, set with a meager lunch, and motioned to his son to join him.  He picked up a knife and cut into a thick chunk of smoked meat.   

Ba
al paused, lifting his nose into the air and inhaling deeply. A scowl formed on his face.  “So, Balthazar has found us sooner than I expected,” he said, setting the knife down on the table before disappearing.  Raza locked his eyes on Alex, stepping closer to her.  Squatting down before her, he sat observing her for a pulse pounding moment.  Alex felt the heavy ache for oxygen grip her chest as she realized she was holding her breath.  Raza’s lips came to rest beside her rounded ear.

“
I am going to force the answers out of you, girl,” he whispered, “and I am going to enjoy it.”

#

“You shouldn’t have come,” Baal said cracking the knuckles of his right hand.  “Leave now.  Return to the palace and you will be allowed to keep your life.”

“Hasan will never be Lord Sultan
,” Balthazar said, his voice steady and eyes narrowed onto Baal, “and neither will you.”

“I suppose you are going to stop me?” Baal mocked, a chuckle behind his words.  Raza appeared beside his father with the rest of the demons that had chosen to support Hasan over Balthazar.  “I believe you are a few men short.”

Tavi restrained a growl when he caught sight of Hasan coming lazily from his tent. 

“How dare you betray father’s wishes,” Tavi growled, “You are truly a worthless creature.”

“
Father is dead,” Hasan fired back, “His wishes are no longer relevant.”

“You
will hold your tongue,” Balthazar snapped, “I will deal with you in time, but I will not allow you to speak of father with such disrespect.”

  Hasan recoiled
at the reprimand.  He moved to stand behind Baal, feeling inadequate in the face of his older more powerful brother.

“I believe I have something of yours,” Baal said, motioning to one of the other demons who ducked into the tent, emerging a moment later dragging Alex behind him.  He pushed her, hands still bound, into Baal.  He pulled her into his chest.  She squeaked at the contact, and struggled to get away from him.  Baal brought the calloused tip of his finger under her narrow chin, lifting it roughly.  

“
What a mysterious creature.  She smells delicious,” Baal said, his thin lips upturned, “I believe Raza is partial to her.  But there is a reason you are keeping her around, and you are not one to be smitten with a female.  Tell me what value she holds to you.”

Baal released Alex, and she fell to the ground
with a heavy thud on her rear end.  Balthazar’s eyes followed her, knowing that her existence was precious to his cause. 

“She is a curio, nothing more,” Balthazar replied, his eyes shifting back up to Baal. “She has little value.”

“Excuse me,” Alex shrieked, the sound piercing the sensitive ears of all the surrounding demons.  She struggled to sit herself up, and Balthazar could see she was not finished with her protest.  He mentally rolled his eyes, knowing she was going to cause a lot more trouble for herself if he didn’t step in immediately. 

Balthazar rushed
at Baal.  His movement was so quick Alex couldn’t follow it.  Baal was just as quick and parried the Demon Prince easily.  Balthazar caught himself, whirling around to face Baal.  He snapped his neck from side to side, popping the joints in his spine.  Baal mirrored him with a growing smirk on his peppered unshaven face.  Alex watched wide eyed with a mixture of fear and fascination as fighting erupted around her.  The movements were so fast they looked like nothing more than blurry spots of flesh dashing around. 

Alexandra’s
eyes darted back and forth, following the blurs of fighting, watching in mild shock as a pair of fighters stalled into focus.  One of Balthazar’s men was disemboweled, his opponent piercing his abdomen with a clawed fist.  His free hand wrapped around the other demon’s neck, his claws digging deep into the vulnerable flesh before tearing a bloody chunk out.  He drew his hand back through the impaled demon, dropping him to the ground.

  Raza
suddenly appeared before Alexandra, a smirk curling on his face, blood drenching his hands. She pushed her feet out, scooting away from him.  Balthazar saw Alexandra’s distress and was momentarily distracted.  Baal took this advantage and reached out, claws extended, aiming for Balthazar’s exposed neck.  The younger demon caught himself, pulling back.  Baal managed to catch Balthazar in the chest, raking deep claw wounds down his torso.  Balthazar growled in pain, but continued to trade blows with Baal. 

Alex
frantically searched for an escape from Raza.  She tried to scoot away from him, but he stepped closer, closing the distance between them. 

“Where are you going
?” Raza taunted, as he reached down and grabbed a handful of her hair.  Pain shot through Alexandra’s scalp as he pulled her off the ground and into his chest.

“I will
enjoy tearing into you,” he rasped in her ear, the stench of  the fresh blood that cover him hung in her nostrils, making her want to gag. 

Alex struggl
ed against his grasp, one of his hands still tangled in her hair, pulling with every jerk.   He released her with a shove, and she fell to the ground, her head banging into the dirt.  She was momentarily stunned by the blow, her vision swimming.  Raza crawled on top of her, an iron hand closing around her throat.  She felt Raza reach behind her and with his claws he sliced through the bonds that were holding her hands. 

“I want you to put up a g
ood fight for me, girl,” he chuckled in her ear, leaning back to enjoy the fear that he was sure would be gracing her pretty face. 

“Big mistake,” Alexandra hissed as she grasped the knife sh
e had managed to grab off the table and shove in her jeans pocket before being yanked out of the tent.  She crammed the blade into the Raza’s exposed throat as hard as she could.  A garbled rumble echoed in his chest as he reared away from her, falling back to the ground and clutching at his throat.  Alex grabbed a rock, climbing on top of Raza, and began to hit him repeatedly with as much force as she could muster.  His blood splattered her hands from behind the rock, hot and dotting her face with thick red droplets.  Raza’s battered body twitched with every blow to his crushed skull as Alexandra pummeled his now exposed brain into the dirt.

Despite his experience in fighting,
Baal could not separate himself from the distraction of his son dying.  He watched, stunned and helpless as Alex beat his only son to death. 

Balthazar took the opportunity to turn the tide of the fight against the
old demon. His claws ripped mercilessly through the Baal’s chest.  Grasping his spinal cord, he tore through the muscles that surrounded it, pulling him close with a rumbling growl.  Baal howled out in pain, his hands clamping around Balthazar’s half buried forearm.  He dug his claws into the flesh, pulling the hand from his bloodied torso.

Balthazar’s
hand hung in the air, dripping with thick red blood, a section of Baal’s spinal cord still firmly in its grasp, but Baal was gone. He had used what was no doubt his last amount of power to escape.  It was an irritation that Balthazar would have to deal with at another time, but the threat to his rule had been stemmed.  Without Hasan, Baal posed little threat to Balthazar’s ascension.  There were few remaining princes that could hold even a remote claim against Balthazar, and those that could were not as stupid as Hasan.

Balthazar
turned his attention to the outcome of the fighting.  Tavi, although bloody with minor injuries, had managed to survive.  The rest had all perished, as was not uncommon in a fight between demons.  Not surprising to Balthazar, Hasan had remained on the sidelines of the fight, not lifting a claw to help his own cause.  Balthazar was disgusted to share even a drop of blood with him.  He had a special punishment in mind for him.