The Burden of Trust

by Nikki Frank

  “Here,” Velor shrieked.

  I jerked the wheel and pulled into the valet driveway of a very nice hotel. As soon as the car stopped, a valet opened my door for me. Iya and Velor exited before the valet got to them. A doorman emptied the two small bags of clothes from the trunk.

  “Would you like me to take your bag, sir?” he asked Iya.

  Iya handed him the small duffle he carried, and the bag hit the ground with a thud. I stifled a giggle as the man tried to lift the bag without making it look like he had to work. Iya carried the duffle like it was empty even though it contained an entire library room’s worth of magically shrunken books.

  He glanced back at my giggle. “I’ve never seen you happy. You look good with a smile.”

  A blush crept across my cheeks, followed by a wider grin than I should have given him. I hurried up the steps and into the hotel. The lobby gleamed immaculately, and very modern furniture hinted at the style of the rooms.

  “Checking in?” the lady at the desk asked me.

  “Actually, I believe some friends of mine are staying here. Once you confirm, we’ll need a room.”

  The lady frowned. “For the privacy of our guests, I can’t give out information.”

  Iya leaned on the counter and fixed her in his green-eyed stare. “Now, now. We need this information. The young lady and I are very important people. The ones we seek work for us. Call the room and see what they say.”

  The woman shook her head as if coming out of a trance. “You are obviously VIPs,” she droned. “I can make the exception of verifying with the guests in question before booking you a room.”

  Iya flashed me a gleaming grin.

  “Works for me,” I told her. “Ferika and Omri, please.”

  “What last name would they be under?”

  “How many Omri and Ferika pairs could you possibly have staying here?” I growled at her. “I don’t know what last name they gave.”

  Iya put his hands on my shoulders and fixed the lady with a hard stare. “Wendy.” He read her name tag. “I really suggest you don’t piss off my companion. For everyone’s safety.”

  “Yes, of course,” she droned again. She picked up the phone and punched in a number. “Who should I say is calling?”

  “Olivia and her companions will get them moving,” Iya told her.

  “Yes, this is Wendy at the front desk,” she spoke into the phone. “I have an Olivia and her companions looking for you.” She held the phone away from her face, astonished, then shook her head at me. “I’m sorry. They hung up . . .”

  The door to the stairwell burst open. Ferika and Omri nearly tripped over each other to get out to us.

  “What went wrong?” Omri practically yelled. “The Lord High Governor? Your throne? What?”

  Ferika checked me over. When she could see nothing wrong, she squeezed me. “You scared me. Don’t show up unannounced. It’s . . . What?” she snapped at Omri, who tugged at her shirt.

  He swallowed loudly as he pointed in Iya’s direction.

  “Oh, shit,” she gasped. “You found him. Moreover, how did you get him to come with you?”

  She and Omri both bowed to Iya. “My Lord.” Omri never missed a step with social protocol. “What an unexpected pleasure. How may we serve both your lordships?”

  Iya clapped a hand on Omri’s shoulder. “You can assist with things best discussed in private.” He jerked his head toward Wendy, who snapped photos with her phone, her mouth hanging open.

  Iya leaned on the counter and held out his hand, looking at her with his hypnotic stare. “I’ll take the phone, please.”

  She handed it to him, no questions. Sweet-hot power pulsed from Iya, and I licked my lips. He handed her the phone back.

  “Now, my companions and I will need accommodations for the night.”

  “We only have the presidential suite available.” She blushed as she spoke to him.

  He tossed a stack of bills at her. “They don’t call me Lord for the hell of it. Where else would you put nobility? And see we’re not disturbed.”

  “Yes, sir. Your names, please. For the record-keeping.”

  “Iya, Olivia, and Velor . . .” He raised an eyebrow at me.

  “Olivia and Iya Skotadi and Velor Greene.” Velor chuckled in response to my joke.

  I nabbed the room keys as Iya put a hand on my back. We followed Omri and Ferika to the elevator. Omri shot me a disapproving look after glancing at Iya’s hand touching me. Anger welled easily up. Iya’s hand moved from my back to my head, and I took a wave of power.

  Omri cleared his throat once the doors closed. “Would you kindly explain now?”

  Iya shook his head and put a finger to his lips. He led me all the way to our room with his hand on my head. As soon as we were inside, Iya let out a burst of fire which licked every surface in the room.

  “There, now we can speak freely. I disabled all human electronics in the area.”

  “Great, ’cause I totally didn’t want to relax and watch TV,” I snapped at him.

  “Focus, Olivia. Ferika, have you told your husband about the little . . . situation? Olivia said you are aware.”

  Omri crossed his arms as Ferika shook her head. “No, I said nothing. I followed Lord Olivia’s wish for privacy.”

  “Would someone tell me what’s going on and why there’s a stray akuma lord with Olivia? This is enough to start a war.”

  “He’s here to help,” Velor soothed.

  Omri scowled. “I’d like to know what help we possibly need from an akuma?” Omri shot the question at me like an accusation.

  I fought burning anger, and as soon as Iya’s hand touched my head, tears burst forth. “Because I’m turning into a demon,” I screamed. “There. Now you know. I have horns, and I hurt people and . . . and . . .” Iya caught my slump. “And you all hate me. I’m not Olivia anymore. You’ll be frightened and leave. Or you’ll stay, and I’ll hurt you. Either way, I can’t bear it.” Burying my face in Iya’s shoulder, sobs took over.

  Iya patted my back as he finished the explanation for me. He told them about how I sought him out and the horrible result of taking me along to the library. He even told them about my bingeing on Earth.

  “Anything can set her off,” he explained. “Your look in the elevator upset her. It’s why I had a hand on her in the first place. I’m using my own demon magic to control hers. Until I get some peace and quiet to read the books, it’s the best I can do. Ultimately, using my magic is like putting a bandage on a cut to an artery. A temporary solution and not a very good one. We’re losing this battle quickly.”

  “What happens if you don’t stop the transformation?” Omri asked.

  “She turns into a full-fledged demon,” Iya explained. “And not the good kind, from what I’ve seen. She’s extremely impulse-driven. She’d be a tyrant in her current office.”

  Omri pulled me away from Iya’s chest and cuddled me to him. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?” he whispered. “You didn’t have to suffer alone.”

  “You should be glad she didn’t,” Iya said. “Given her volatile fluctuations and lack of control over her power, she’d be very easy to eliminate right now. Keeping the secret has given us a little extra time to help her heal, if possible.”

  “You mean we can’t tell anyone else about this?” Omri asked, worry obvious in his tenor. “But the Lord High Governor and the ambassadors, at the very least they need to know why she left the Borderlands.”

  Iya nodded. “I agree we need to tell them something. I’d like one of you to go back as the messenger. Tell the Lord High Governor she’s fallen desperately ill. Which is true but tell him she’s here with a healer because it’s contagious. No one is to get near her for the time being, lest we spread the infection. You can tell him who’
s healing her, but only if he insists. The less said, the better.”

  Omri glared suspiciously at Iya. “I’d feel better telling him everything. Why the secrecy?”

  Iya raised an eyebrow at him. “Look at your reaction to having an akuma near her. Need I say more?”

  “Speaking of which,” Omri’s eyes narrowed, “What’s in it for you? I’ve never heard of a demon doing a good deed in my life.”

  “I’ll admit, demons are self-serving, short-tempered, and given to excess,” Iya conceded. “But think about this, kitty-boy. If akuma were as horrible as you seem to think, how would we have created and maintained Hakushi? We are currently at peace with our neighbors and within our own borders. Which brings me to my request. One of the other akuma lords and I were already planning on applying for open trade between Olivia’s district and our bordering provinces. We agreed on a favor for a favor.”

  “She can’t do that all on her own,” Omri said stiffly.

  “No.” Iya’s reply came smooth and unruffled. “But she can put pressure on the rest of the government, and honestly, what better way to prove ourselves reliable partners than healing your ailing but most popular demon lord?”

  Omri nodded. “So, this was all in your best interest.”

  “Of course. But look at this logically. I thought sphinxes were supposed to be intelligent. If an ailing akuma wandered to you for help and assisting them required you to jeopardize your position, your property, and possibly your life, would you help just for the hell of it? No. You’d want some serious compensation for the risk. I’m taking the same risk she is by leaving my throne. I could lose everything. But . . . to gain trade with the richest district in the Central Borderlands . . .” He let out a sigh.

  Omri stroked my hair back. “Have you been treated well?” His aqua eyes swam with concern.

  “Yes. Without Iya, I’d be something truly horrible right now. It’s okay.”

  He leaned and whispered in my ear. “Do you want me to sneak Talon back here?”

  I slapped Omri with all my strength. The rage had run through me so fast I couldn’t stop it, like a lit match on a trail of gasoline.

  “No. I already know he’ll run screaming when he sees me like this. He tells me every night he can’t even bear to look at me with my horns. I’m an abomination. Rejection is the only thing that could possibly happen. He’s never to know of this.”

  I obliterated a table before Iya tackled me from behind. I snarled at him, flames jumping from my fingers as I tried to claw at him. The open look of horror on Omri’s face faded as Iya’s magic knocked me out.

  Chapter 5

  Alternating bouts of rage and weeping warred with each other in my subconscious. The crying started every time the vision of Omri’s face came back into my mind. My eyes shot open, and I struggled to get up. Something heavy lay across the top of me.

  “Go back to sleep,” Iya mumbled. He had an arm clamped around my shoulders and one leg across my hips.

  “Get off me. I have to pee.”

  He let me up but stumbled along after me. I shut the door on him and sat, but he followed me inside the bathroom. I screamed. The door opened, and Velor poked his head in, blinking sleepily.

  “What’s wrong, mistress?”

  “Get him out of the bathroom. I want privacy. From you, too.”

  Iya and Velor exchanged a glance, and Velor cleared his throat. “You were going to attack Omri, Mistress. He’s one of your closest friends. You completely lost control. We unanimously decided Iya should be with you at all times.”

  “While I pee?” I yelled at them. “What am I going to do? Light the toilet paper on fire because it didn’t come off the roll correctly?”

  They both shrugged.

  “Oh, for God’s sake.” I chucked one of the complimentary soaps at Iya’s head.

  He caught it and set the soap back on the sink. “Are you done? We’ll turn while you finish up.”

  “I haven’t even started. You’re still here.”

  In the end, I lost and peed with an audience. Even though they politely turned, I threw water from washing up in both their faces. On my way out, Iya went to close the door, but I stopped him, leaned against the counter, and crossed my arms.

  “You said I had to be near you.”

  “Suit yourself.” He dropped the front of his pants, and I tried not to look.

  Okay, fine, I tried to look. He was as hot as his flaming hair, even with his clothes on. I wanted to know if the rest . . . matched up. He had a bit of stage fright, which set me smirking.

  “See, it’s not so easy to pee when people are staring at you, is it?”

  He grunted. I couldn’t help giggling. He washed his hands and to my disgust, dried them on my face. Then he marched me back to the bed and proceeded to pin me again.

  “Are we going to do this all the time?” I whined.

  “Most women don’t complain about sleeping in my arms,” he mumbled, keeping his eyes closed.

  “I’m not most women.”

  “I know. You’re at least two women upstairs right now. If I have more than one woman in bed with me, more than one body to go with is preferable. Not to mention, I’ve got the bite marks to prove how crazy you are.”

  “The way you go on about women, I’m surprised being bit bothers you,” I snarked.

  “With your biting, I missed all the pleasure and got only pain.”

  “Want me to kiss it and make it better?” The remark slid out too fast to stop.

  “Maybe,” he mumbled. “Unless one of your demon powers is the kiss of death. Then I’ll pass.”

  I squirmed around to face him. “Do demons really have that power?”

  He cracked an eye open and glared at me. “Not to my knowledge. It’s an old wives’ tale. Now go to sleep. I’m tired and getting cranky.”

  “I can out-cranky you,” I muttered.

  “No doubt about it,” he chuckled. He slid his head forward until our hair touched at the forehead. “I wish I’d seen you before. You have a wonderful smile. Your friends and servants love you. You must have been remarkable.”

  My chest tightened until my whole body shuddered.

  “Don’t worry,” he whispered. “We’ll get you back. I promise to do everything I can.”

  I stuffed my face between his cheek and the pillow and let the tears fall. He gave a quiet sigh, then put a hand on my head. I braced for the power which would knock me out but instead got gentle rubbing at my hair.

  ~ ~ ~

  The side view of a hip in flannel pants met my eyes. Looking up, Iya sat quietly beside me, reading. He gave me a smile.

  “I found several things we can try.”

  Yawning, I peeked over at the clock. “Iya, it’s only seven. When?”

  “During the night. I couldn’t sleep. Your crying got my pillow wet.”

  “You didn’t sleep on purpose,” I accused.

  “A very sad imp cried herself to sleep against my cheek. I felt bad for her, so I did some research on how to help.”

  A blush ran across my cheeks. “Thank you.”

  “Let’s see if they even work before you go thanking me.”

  I sat up. “No, I’m thanking you for the sleepless night and the effort you put out for me, whether this plan works or not.”

  I lifted his elbow and ducked under his arm to lean against his bare chest. His warm, smooth skin smelled masculine in a good way. I lay my cheek against him and listened to his heartbeat. Who knew a demon heart held such kindness? Maybe demons were more like imps in the end.

  As a child, I’d fought to come to terms with the fact that an imp is classified as a malevolent being. Being one step away from a bad guy hurt. But my last adventure taught me people were more than a label. I could
choose to be good, the same as I could choose to be bad. My own decisions made all the difference.

  What if the same applied to demons? In Earth-lore, demons were simply angels who had made poor choices. In which case, they should be capable of good, but maybe not inclined to choose it. Iya certainly kept going on about a demon’s desire to pursue excess. Perhaps a demon went bad by letting the same raging desire I harbored inside me take over and have its way. If an akuma could control those impulses, couldn’t I?

  Iya pushed my head away from his chest. “Time to get breakfast.”

  When he turned to get a shirt, I scrambled up and caught his shoulders. “Wait.”

  Turning him so his back faced me, I stared. His back and his upper arms had tattoos all over them. One ran across each shoulder blade, resembling wings. Another tattoo tail ran up his spine. The one on his right arm was made of tiny weapons. The one on his left arm looked like runes.

  “What are all these? Do you have them in the Borderlands, too?”

  “Yes. That’s where I store essential things with magic, so they’re always on hand.”

  I ran a finger down the tail tattoo. “Is this what your tail really looks like? I wondered why you didn’t have one.”

  My hands skimmed across the wing tattoos, and he closed his eyes, dropping his chin. “Please, stop.”

  Sliding my hands over his ribs to his chest, I hugged. “Why?”

  “This isn’t you. This is the magic working. It’s not really what you want, but I’m very close to not caring.”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t.” My lips lingered on the back of his neck. “Maybe I want you to take advantage.”

  He tried to squirm away. “Definitely the magic talking. What about this Talon you beg not to leave in your dreams every night?”

  Fury raged through me, and I bit his neck. How dare he mention Talon? My teeth lengthened, and the demon magic took pleasure in the feeling of his flesh between them. Iya roared and grabbed me, slinging me to the bed. He held my neck in one hand and a ball of fire in the other.