The Burden of Trust

by Nikki Frank

  “What’s so funny?” I growled at him.

  “A bow? All your power, and you want to do things the hard way?”

  “You of all people ought to think using my power is a bad idea.”

  His grin got wider. “I’m just saying. It’s how you represent yourself.”

  Movement in the leaves caught my eye. A huge black spider descended from the trees above us and lowered itself toward his head. Iya didn’t seem to notice.

  “A demon lord, well, a real demon doesn’t need weapons,” he continued with a smirk.

  The spider ran its front legs across lengthening fangs, beads of venom gathering at the tips. Was Iya leaving it alone for effect?

  “I don’t need a dragon and an arsenal to―”

  Drawing the bow, I let an arrow off, skewering the spider. The arrow, along with its gruesome cargo, was stuck in the trunk of the tree behind a startled looking Iya.

  “You were saying?” I put the hand holding the bow on my hip.

  His eyes shifted between the spider and me a couple times before he burst out laughing. “I ought to be more aware at the very least. Thanks for not watching him wrap me up for dinner.”

  “Let’s get going.” I stalked off into the forest, slinging the bow back over my shoulder.

  “Olivia. Olivia.”

  I refused to stop. Iya would only keep expounding upon how great being a demon was. I never wanted to become a demon.

  Iya’s hands caught my shoulders. “You’re going the wrong way.” He chuckled.

  He steered me in the correct direction, and we entered the forest for real. The woods gave me the creeps, as if even the very air here reacted with my demon magic, urging it to the surface.

  I tried to master the rising evil, fighting the hostile presence in silence. A sweat broke out on my forehead. The muscles in Iya’s back tensed and relaxed several times as a small animal darted across our path or flew by in the trees. Anything big enough to be real trouble ought to be smart enough to run away from a dragon, an imp, and a demon—I hoped. My impulse to singe lay right on the surface.

  The forest suddenly opened to a clearing occupied by a massive building. Though built of the same strange, smooth metal as Tomi’s palace, the library didn’t shine. This building was blackened and neglected. The air around it hit me like a wall of water. I gasped, and Iya turned, alarm quickly covering his face.

  “What’s wrong? Did I go too fast? We only went a couple miles.”

  I wiped the sweat off my forehead. “The air. The magic.” Speaking was a struggle.

  He nodded grimly. “Hold on. We’ll find a cure soon. I hope. Then we’ll get you away from the border with the Goblin Kingdom. Distance should help.”

  Iya put his hand on the metal wall and gave it an order in an unfamiliar language. The wall shimmered, and Velor nudged me inside. He followed, his black eyes wide and bright, searching. He had to feel the evil here as well.

  Iya stepped through the door, lighting the inside by the flames of his hair. The light flickered on metal, which absorbed rather than reflected. The building hungered for warmth, for goodness, as if it starved at the hands of soul-sucking magic.

  My body shuddered with the effort of holding back the darkness inside me. I received a jolt of sweet, warm magic. Iya took off down a hall. Velor put his face against my back and pushed me after Iya. I could no longer get my body to function and hold back the demon magic at the same time.

  Finally, Velor scooped me up and carried me. I focused completely on mastering the darkness within me. It spread swiftly and wasn’t following my will. Calling out for Iya wasn’t an option. If I let my concentration drop, even for a moment . . .

  “This is the room with the texts on magical healing.” Iya’s voice came out muffled and unreal.

  Velor put me in a chair and went to help Iya. Somewhere in the blackness, something snarled at us. Great, now we had an unidentified beast to deal with. Iya and Velor looked up in alarm. They would have to deal with whatever had shown up. I needed to focus. Instead, they rushed to my side.

  “She’s losing the battle.” Velor’s voice rung with alarm.

  “I’ll pack the whole collection of books by magic,” Iya said. “Don’t let her interrupt me.”

  The snarling came from me? Fear pulsed through me. I could no longer separate my magic from the demon magic. It had taken over my body. The transformation wouldn’t take long now. The thought depressed me and fed the demon magic.

  A hand touched my head, and I got the strongest flood of cinnamon power yet. This time Iya’s power made me choke on vomit. Flames burst from my hands in Iya’s direction. He swiftly blocked them with his own flames, his face grim.

  “Velor, make a gateway to Earth.”

  “But . . .” the dragon protested.

  “Now. I need to get her to a place where there is no demon magic in the land. It’s the only shot I have at stopping this.”

  The ground rumbled below us as I let off another blast of fire—one directed at Iya and one at Velor, who swallowed the flames. Iya jerked me off the couch and shoved me through the gateway. I hit cement, followed by a crushing weight on top of me. Another thud and a hiss came from near my head.

  I swore at the others, trying to get my bearings. The demon power fluctuated within me, refusing to give up its hold. This time the wave of Iya’s cinnamon magic drove back the raging power. Exhaustion rode me, but I finally had control of my body again.

  Chapter 4

  The breeze blowing in my face tasted sweet and magic-free. Sucking in a lungful of air, I forced my eyes open. Blue sky, a yellow sun. We’d definitely arrived on Earth, but the details on how I got here were a little fuzzy.

  Holding my throbbing head, I sat up. Two faces appeared in front of mine. One with black hair and vivid green eyes. One with flaming, carrot-orange hair and spring-green eyes.

  “Who?” I croaked out.

  “Olivia? Do you not remember us? I’m Iya,” the man with the red hair said.

  “Iya?” I fought to recall the name. It did sound familiar. “Oh, Iya.” The knots in my brain quickly unraveled. “Then . . . Velor?”

  The green-eyed man nodded. I reached out and ran my fingers through hair as soft as feathers.

  “Are all dragons gorgeous as humans? Ferika and her brother Farak were. Now you.” Iya caught my attention. “You, too. Geez. But then I’ve never seen a race as stunning as akuma, so that shouldn’t surprise me. I’ve never looked very good. Especially not on Earth.”

  “Well, Mistress Olivia,” Iya helped me to my feet, “I’m sure you’re fine under better circumstances. But you look like hell right now. How do you feel?”

  “Like myself for a change.” Suddenly reality crashed back into me. “We shouldn’t be here. We’re going to start an international incident.”

  He placed a hand on my head. I swiftly reached up and felt for my horns.

  “Don’t worry, Olivia. They’re gone. But they were visible above your hair before we left. We had to risk the consequences. You’d be a demon now if we’d stayed. I doubt the Lord High Governor will have an issue once we explain. And your government and mine can put pressure on the Goblin King if necessary.”

  “I had horns?” Despair throbbed in my chest.

  He smoothed my hair, his hand still on my head, preemptively. “Calm down. Earth isn’t completely free of magic, which means you can still lose control here.”

  I slapped his hand away. “Velor. You need to go back and tell Lord Feéroi what happened.”

  “I’m sorry, Mistress. As much as I hate to disobey an order, leaving you in this situation with only a questionable companion is not an option.” He looked Iya’s direction. “No offense.”

  Iya waved his distrust off. “Understood.” He rubbed his
chin. “Do either of you know any creatures living on Earth right now?”

  “Ferika had a vacation to Earth scheduled for today. She ought to be here with her mate, Omri.” I wheeled around on Velor. “Can you locate them?”

  “Not until I replenish my magic. Making a gateway drains it dangerously low.”

  A shudder ran through me. “I know you need to eat people to get magic in this world. Please make sure they’re thugs or some other crappy people, okay?”

  “Yes, Mistress.” He fixed Iya in a hard stare. “Hurt my mistress while I’m gone, and I’ll eat you next.”

  “You won’t because you’ll serve me if I kill her.” Iya winked at him.

  “I’ll piss in your coffee every morning until someone else kills you,” Velor growled back.

  Iya roared with laughter. “I get it. You love your mistress. I promise to take good care of her. Go eat.”

  Velor slunk off, an apex predator in the perfect human disguise. I peeked around the end of the alley we stood in. We’d come out in a city, though not to towering skyscrapers but colorful, historic brick buildings. A few steps away, the hot summer sun burned off the surfaces of the buildings.

  Iya ran a hand through his hair and leaned back against the brick. “So, this is Earth, huh? Somehow I expected there to be more humans.”

  “We’re in a back alley. Humans don’t usually hang out in these spaces. You’ll see when we get out.” I crossed my arms. “Since you and Velor have never been to Earth, I’m in charge from here on out.”

  He jammed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “Unless you go crazy again.”

  “I heard you mentioning packing the books. Did that actually happen?”

  “Of course.”

  Footsteps and a belch. “Good God. Why won’t wicked humans stay down?” Velor asked as he burped again. “Now if you’d let me eat a nice tender—”

  “Steak?” I cut across him. “You know my rules. I let you eat a few because you needed the magic, but we’re not going to feed freely on good people―in either world.”

  He inclined his head in my direction. “Of course, a steak.”

  I ignored the disappointment in his voice. “Can you find Ferika and Omri?”

  He gave me a smooth grin, so unlike his own without the pointed teeth. “I already have. But I haven’t figured out how we’ll get there since we can’t fly.”

  “What we need is a car. But I don’t have the ID on me to buy or rent one.”

  Iya pushed himself off the wall. “A demon has no problem stealing. Can you drive?”

  “Yes.” I hesitated. “But driving a stolen car? What if I get pulled over?”

  “Let me deal with any humans who get in our way.”

  Iya seemed to be trying for reassurance, but to me dealing with them sounded alarming.

  “You won’t—”

  He raised a hand. “No, geez. I promise they’ll live. I can’t promise they’ll like themselves in the morning, though.”

  He took off down the alley toward the street. One of the nice things about the Borderlands and Earth was the similarity, making it possible to function in either world. Like Earth, we had streets, sidewalks, restaurants, and stores in our cities. Or at least in my district. I’d never been to a town in Hakushi.

  I followed Iya’s broad back. His stride carried just the right amount of swagger. Sexy. An impulse started in my head and ran down my body, causing me to reach out and take a handful of his butt. Iya stopped and turned. If I hadn’t been so mortified, the look on his face would have been laughable.

  “Yes?” he asked.

  I’d never wanted to disappear so badly. Why didn’t an imp have the power to become invisible? “I don’t know what got into me. Sorry.”

  He nodded and turned back toward the street. We stepped out into bright summer sunshine. We’d arrived in some sort of shopping district: artsy, expensive, and cheerful. Trees and benches popped out of well-maintained sidewalks.

  Iya and Velor took in the sights as I prowled out a parking lot. Scanning the expanse, I pointed to a very clean but not flashy tan sedan. “That’s the car. If you please, Iya.”

  Iya put his hand on the lock and . . .

  “Wait,” I cried, weaving through the parking lot and stopping at a sleek, red convertible Mercedes. “This one.”

  Iya sighed and pulled me back to the other car. “Demon excesses,” he muttered.

  Keeping one hand on me, he rammed magic into the lock, and the door popped open. “In you go. And please, no matter what the magic suggests, try to follow whatever rules apply to operating this vehicle.”

  I got in the driver’s seat, Iya climbed in front, and Velor took the back. He leaned between the two front seats. “Vixaria’s located to the south.”

  “How far?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “I can’t tell. Start heading south, and I’ll tell you when we’re getting close. My range tops out at about five hundred miles.”

  I sighed and pulled up the navigation system. Our current location indicated south Hartford. I entered Savannah as our destination, not having anything more concrete to enter. Georgia sat way outside Velor’s range, but at least we wouldn’t fall short. The app took me out onto I-84. Two hours into the drive, I yanked the wheel over and pulled off at my favorite fast-food restaurant. The thought of those wickedly delicious fries made my stomach growl.

  “Iya, how do I get human money?”

  “We use our magic to get it. As a demon lord, you can get as much human money as you like. But I’m not going to tell you how. I don’t want you using the demon powers. And I don’t want you to be able to buy excess. How much do you need?”

  “They’ll tell us after we order.” I pulled up to the speaker. Velor and Iya both wore blank looks, so I ordered for everyone. “Give me three, no six bacon cheeseburgers. Three large fries, three large colas, three orders of chicken nuggets, three chocolate milkshakes, and three cookies.”

  “That’ll be forty-four, eighty-five.”

  Iya passed me the necessary cash. Food in hand, I pulled the car over and passed lunch out.

  “Was this much necessary?” Iya asked as bundles kept heading his way.

  “Okay, I might have gotten carried away. But I haven’t had this in so long. Everything sounded so good. You guys are young men, you eat a lot, right? We don’t want to have to stop again later.”

  The junk-food hit my system like a drug. I had to have more. Everything tasted heavenly. I polished off both my bacon cheeseburgers and moved on to my nuggets before the guys had finished with all their wrappers. Halfway through the milkshake, Iya’s hand stopped mine, my cookie touching my lips.

  “You’re bingeing.”

  I blushed and set the cookie down. “Probably.”

  “You ate half that much at the palace, which you told me was normal. Velor. Switch seats with me, please. You can help Olivia track your friends, and I’m going to start reading. I need to intervene as quickly as possible. Even being on Earth isn’t enough to suppress the damage done at the library.”

  I used the time they took switching spots to cram the rest of the food into my mouth, feeling mild guilt but not enough to stop me. On the road again, the sunset shone in the passenger window. Trying to find an unknown location in the dark wasn’t exactly ideal.

  An hour later, Velor finally spoke. “We’re getting close.”

  “Are you still reading back there?” I asked Iya. “It’s dark.”

  “Demons can see in the dark.”

  Dragons had night vision. As a toyol, Talon did, too, and Omri. Now Iya? How unfair. Such a handy skill. One I wished I possessed since my friends kept needing to see for me.

  “Get off the highway and go left,” Velor instructed.

  I snorted. “Th
ey went to Atlantic City. Not very appropriate, since on Earth Ferika’s only seventeen.”

  “So, why exactly are they on Earth?” Iya asked.

  “Cross-breeding,” Velor hissed. “I deeply disapprove. They’re not even close to the same kind of being.”

  “This Ferika is a dragon, correct?” Iya leaned in from the backseat.

  “Yes,” Velor growled.

  “What’s the Omri fellow?”

  “A sphinx,” I answered before Velor could add anything inappropriate. “And they’re pair bonded. They’re trying while they’re in human form.”

  “No one asked me,” Velor said. “I wouldn’t have minded servicing her. At least then, the offspring would have been respectable. I assume with a dragon-wife, Omri is tough enough to raise dragonlings. Though their upbringing would have been questionable with such mismatched parents.”

  “You only want a shot at Ferika, because I know you had an interest in her before she chose Omri,” I lectured. “Omri is a kind man. He’d love any child of Ferika’s, but he’d probably prefer his own.”

  “Then he ought to have bonded with a sphinx.” Velor’s tone carried as much anger as he dared around me.

  “You can’t help who you fall in love with,” I admonished. “Don’t be so species-centric. Am I right?” I shot the question in Iya’s direction.

  “Absolutely.” Iya nodded, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. “No species deserves a bias, as long as they’re going on my table or in my bed.”

  “Ugh, never mind. You’re disgusting.”

  “It’s not disgusting,” Velor joined in. “I have no biases against who I eat. In fact, if you’re throwing accusations, you might look at your own bias against the species you refuse to eat. Are you saying there’s something wrong with them? Are they not good enough for you?”

  “I refuse to grace that with an answer.” I tipped my nose up as the light turned green. “It’s not the same, and you know it.”