The Burden of Trust

by Nikki Frank

  “Performers only,” he growled.

  “Yes,” Omri’s voice soothed. As a human, he appeared in his mid-twenties and quite handsome. After he’d put on his most bored and superior look, he managed to come off as very important. “I’m Ted Gerret from The Silver Sphinx Agency in LA. They are performers. They’re here on an invitation about a possible opening act.” He pulled out his phone and started tapping buttons. “I have the paperwork here.”

  The guard’s eyes ran over Iya, Ferika, Talon, Velor, and paused on me. “Well, you’re definitely the best-looking magic act I’ve seen.” He wrinkled his nose in my direction. “Except maybe that one.”

  His comment sparked the familiar bubbling sensation. I’d forgotten my magic was back in my tattoo. Everyone had been so careful with me the last few days. Iya gave Omri an alarmed look. He put a hand on my head to give me a shot of magic.

  Omri sniffed in the guard’s direction. “She’s my intern, a networking wizard. She could run a government with ease. I only recruit the best talent at my agency, no matter what job they do.”

  “What do these other guys do?”

  “This isn’t an audition,” Omri barked at the guard. “Are you going to let us in? You’re making us late.”

  I tapped Omri’s arm. “Mr. Gerret. A quick demo couldn’t hurt.” Omri made a non-committal gesture with his head. I gave the guard my most becoming smile. “He’s an acrobat.” I pointed at Talon. “Not a safe talent to demonstrate here. But these two are illusionists.”

  I took Ferika and Velor by the shoulders and turned their backs on the guard. “See if you can give yourselves just horns and scales, then show him,” I whispered.

  A moment later, they spun with a flourish, their skin now covered in scales of green on Velor and purple on Ferika. Horns peeped out of their hair.

  “How the hell?” the guard exclaimed.

  I winked at him. “A good magician never reveals his secrets. But if you wouldn’t mind, we are running late.”

  He let us inside, still staring and trying to figure things out.

  “This way.” Iya took us across a large, open room and down a grey hall lined with doors.

  He paused in front of a door, pointing.

  My heart hammered. Who waited inside? Iya knocked at the door, and a harried-looking woman opened it. Iya shook his head at me. Not her.

  “May I help you?” the woman asked.

  “We’re looking for someone inside,” Iya told her.

  “This is Ms. Pothier’s dressing room. She will do autographs after the show.”

  “We’re not here for autographs.” Iya caught the assistant’s eye with his own. “It’s imperative we speak with her immediately.”

  “Linda?” A voice called from inside. “We need to hurry with my make-up. The show’s in an hour.”

  “I’m clearing off some unwanted visitors, Katriane.” She refocused on us. “You’ll need to leave, or I’ll call security.”

  Iya locked eyes with her again. “That’s really not necessary. Please let us in.”

  She hesitated. “Well, maybe she can spare a moment.”

  Iya pushed past her, and his gaze darted around the room, landing on a woman not much older than myself. He nodded in her direction, and I waited. Hopefully, he had a plan. Maybe I should have spoken to him more the last couple of days. But the moment stretched, and no one did or said anything. The young woman started looking uncomfortable and shifting toward the door.

  “Oh, for crying out loud,” I snapped. “Iya, some brilliant plan. Velor, get the door.” I pointed at the girl. “You, you’re Katriane?”

  “Yes.” She glanced at Velor standing between her and the door and trembled. “What do you want?”

  Trying to ease Graham into our world had failed miserably. I’d jump in head-first this time.

  “There’s no easy way to do this, so let’s make this quick. I’ll be employing your services from here on out.”

  “Hold up, honey.” She crossed her arms and got attitude. “I don’t know who the hell you are, or what in God’s name that’s supposed to mean, but I work here. I just got promoted to having my name on the ad. Nothing you can offer me will make me quit.”

  I let out a snarl in her direction and clapped a hand over my mouth as her expression became more frightened. “Look,” I tried to keep my voice calm, “This isn’t a choice. You have no say.”

  She picked up her phone. “I’m calling security.”

  Iya flicked a little ball of flame at the phone, and it disintegrated. “Unhelpful,” he warned.

  “I don’t have to do anything you freaks say. This is a free country.”

  “That’s nice,” Iya cut across her. “Except we’re not from here, and we really don’t care.”

  I turned on Iya. “How are we getting her out of here?”

  He frowned at me. “You’re not going to like my solution.”

  “Try me.”

  “We have two capable of making a gateway and a spare source of power.” He nodded in Linda’s direction.

  The room spun in time with my stomach. I didn’t want to hurt anyone else. “Would it be a good idea for me to go back to the Borderlands in my condition?” Someone, anyone say no.

  “No, it’s not a good idea.” Iya shook his head.

  I breathed out my relief.

  “But the vessel won’t have anywhere to run in the Borderlands, and we won’t create a ruckus taking her out of the building.”

  Katriane screamed.

  “Velor, keep her quiet, will you?” I ordered.

  Omri ran a hand across his head, standing his silvery-blond hair on end. “Since we need a unicorn, I don’t think we have a choice. We’re not going to find one on Earth without a huge search. All the while, Olivia and the vessel will both be very vulnerable.” He turned to me. “None of us like this option, but I don’t see any way which doesn’t bring a great deal of trouble.”

  Velor shrugged. “I can make the gateway.”

  I twiddled my fingers and pleaded at Iya with my eyes. “What if we go back and what happened at the library happens again?”

  He kept his eyes on the floor as he answered me. “I can control you.”

  “You don’t sound very reassuring,” Talon snarked at him.

  Truce over―evidently. Then again, we were back to talking about me. I hated being a source of tension on top of everything else.

  “Like you could do better, toyol,” he growled.

  “Enough,” I snapped. “Ferika, you take Katriane so Velor can do his job. Velor, try to be as swift as possible if you catch my meaning.”

  “Yes, mistress.” He handed Katriane over to Ferika.

  He twisted and elongated into his dragon form. Katriane screamed and fell silent as she passed out. I closed my eyes and braced myself. Linda’s screaming continued until, with one sickening crunch, she fell silent.

  “I’m finished, mistress,” Velor said in his dragon’s voice.

  A commotion in the hall grew closer. The screaming hadn’t gone unnoticed.

  “Get us home, please,” I told him.

  Velor’s claw glowed green as he drew a series of shimmering runes in the air and breathed fire across them. His gateway turned a vivid emerald and shivered like water.

  “All set, mistress.”

  Iya had his face set. “Ferika should go through first with the vessel. I’ll follow so we can be ready when Olivia arrives. Velor can bring her through a few seconds after me. Talon can stay on Earth as the rear guard. Fifty years or so ought to cover it.”

  Talon snarled at Iya, who barred his teeth in return. The doorknob rattled.

  “Shut up, Iya,” I snapped. “Talon’s coming with. I need him back at home. He’s . . .” I wanted
to say a part of me, but it seemed inappropriate. “. . . a valuable member of my council,” I finished lamely.

  The door now echoed with banging from the outside. Ferika stepped through the gateway first carrying Katriane. Iya disappeared. Velor and I were ready to step through when Talon joined us.

  “I’m not getting left behind.” He took ahold of my wrist but wouldn’t hold my hand.

  Chapter 10

  The three of us stepped into the gateway, and I thumped to the ground on my knees. Before the world had oriented itself, Katriane screamed for her life.

  “Where are we? What are you? I want to go home.” She started crying, curled in a ball on the ground.

  Horror thrilled through me as the full weight of what I’d done came crashing down. I scrambled to my feet and paced.

  “What have I done? We’re kidnapping her and turning her into a vessel for demon magic. I’ve become the bad guy for real.”

  “You used to kidnap people all the time,” Talon pointed out.

  I rounded on him and jabbed him in the chest. “Not like this. Most of them went back to their normal lives. She’ll never go home.”

  He rubbed at his chest. “And the ones who didn’t come home? At least she’s not ending up as the main course at the Goblin King’s feast.”

  I grabbed my head, yanking at the hair. “I’m a horrible person. Emmett had no choice. The magic was already inside him. She—”

  “She didn’t have a choice either,” Iya soothed. “How many vessels did we have to pick from? We had no way of offering a choice.”

  “Selfish reasoning.” I struggled to breathe.

  One more shuddering breath of the magic-laden air and the spell on my tattoo snapped. My eyes widened as the demon power surged through my body. Wild laughter tore from my throat.

  Iya sighed and closed his eyes. A moment later, a tail waved behind him, the smooth crab-red skin licked by tiny flame-like hair in a ridge down the tail’s length. His wings followed. I understood why he kept them hidden in a tattoo. His wings were enormous and resembled a bat’s. Translucent red skin stretched between bones, which were covered in red skin and flame hair like his tail. Each point on his wings ended with a razor-sharp claw.

  “You’ve gone demon, Olivia. We’ll have to do this the hard way.”

  He came flying at me like a wildfire fanned by the wind. Matching his blows took every ounce of training as an assassin. Failing to gain ground pissed me off. I pulled a dagger on him. He knocked it from my hand. So, I lashed out with claws and teeth while he dodged every blow. He kicked off the ground and aimed at the center of my chest. Fury reigned as he managed to pin me.

  “Now, Velor,” he yelled.

  Instantly, eighteen-feet of green dragon coiled on top of me. Iya grabbed my head, his sharpened nails digging into my scalp. His magic invaded my body. I started screaming as it severed the connection to my own demon magic. The pain I’d felt during the first few separations couldn’t compare to this.

  “Just kill me,” I begged him.

  “No.” He panted with the effort of the separation. “You’re doing this.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  “Ferika,” Iya called through gritted teeth. “Bring me the vessel.”

  Katriane’s screams drew more tears from me. Ferika wouldn’t hurt her, but I couldn’t imagine how scared she must have been. Iya sweated heavily against my demon magic. He laid his hand on Katriane’s head. A moment later, his shoulders slumped. His wings and tail disappeared, hidden as tattoos once again.

  With Velor’s weight off me, the pain diminished. My demon magic gave intermittent pulses from Katriane, begging me to take it back and dominate those around me. Each time it did, heat throbbed through every cell. But each wave of heat grew a little cooler, and the pause between them left me feeling a little more like myself.

  I rolled, sighing into the dirt. Now, if only I could find a vessel to hold all the other miserable feelings rolling around inside. No. I deserved to suffer those, and so much more for my sins.

  “Did the magic take?” I croaked without lifting my face.

  “Yes,” he sighed. “Now we just have to seal the bond via unicorn.”

  Velor slowly uncoiled from around me, eyeing Katriane suspiciously. “What happens if the vessel dies this time?”

  “Olivia goes right back to the beast we defeated before the sealing.” Iya grimaced. “I doubt I can separate them again. After the unicorn bonds them, if the texts I read were correct, the vessel will be tied to Olivia and pretty much invincible. To kill the vessel and take the demon power that way is impossible. They still have to kill Olivia to become demon lord.”

  Katriane shot me a glare of the deepest loathing. “You did this to me,” she flung the accusation my direction. “You can use me, but I’ll hate you for this forever.”

  Even after all I had done to keep from becoming a tyrant, I’d earned hatred anyway. Katriane turned her back on me and stepped toward the most human-looking member of the group, Talon. This further tore at my heart. She could seek comfort in his presence, but I couldn’t.

  “Let’s find Lumarian,” I told Iya quietly. “He lives in Setmyth.”

  He gave me a funny look. “Are you all right?”

  I shook my head and walked into the forest, not waiting for anyone. Even those I cared about disliked me at this point. Why bother fighting for my place? I had no one to share my triumph with. Thoughts of finding someone to kill me and take my place as demon lord raced into my head. Someone else could have all the trouble my throne brought.

  But I could never leave my throne. Dying would mean a new demon lord would rise, and they might hurt my loved ones. Even if no one cared about me, I still loved them. Leaving them to unknown horrors wasn’t an option.

  “Mistress?” Velor ran his snout along my shoulders and down my arm. “Why do you seem so heartbroken? You’re well now, and we’re home. I thought you’d be happier, at least.”

  “My health came at a high price,” I managed to choke out.

  Iya caught up on my other side, dragging Katriane along by the wrist. “Please, Olivia. Talk to me. You look like someone died.”

  “They might as well have. I’ve lost everyone dear to me. Even Katriane hates me. And the worst part is I don’t blame any of them. This is my fault.”

  Iya came to an abrupt stop. “Velor, kindly make sure our guest doesn’t run off.” He passed Katriane to the dragon.

  Iya grabbed my arm and turned me to face him. “Anyone who’s mad at you is stupid,” he growled. “You’ve been through hell to make sure they keep their peaceful way of life. Even Katriane here ought to be thanking you. Instead of living her measly eighty years or so on Earth, slowly wasting away with age, she can live hundreds bound to you. She gets to experience a world only a handful of humans have ever seen. And she gets to do it from the comfort of a palace where she’ll be served as exactly what she is, the most important person after you.”

  He gave Katriane a stern look as he said this. “Not to mention, she should draw pleasure from knowing she saved an entire world from what you were becoming. Your tyranny wouldn’t have been contained to this district. Eventually, your evil would have spread, poisoning other places in the Central Borderlands and beyond.”

  I gave a sniff and tried to walk further into the forest.

  “What now?” he asked, exasperated.

  My eyes flicked over to Talon and filled with tears again.

  “Oh . . . I see.” Iya smoothed his fingers across my cheek. “I’m sure it hurts. But when the pain begins to dull, remember, I’m still here. Nothing you did sent me running with my tail between my legs. Nothing you threw at me hurt my feelings enough to make me turn on you.” He put a hand under my chin and tipped my face up. “I still want you.” He gave Talon a
sideways smirk and pressed a kiss on my forehead.

  I ducked away. “Don’t gloat. It’s not making me like you. All I have are pieces of myself and no instructions for putting them back together. It’s possible once I rebuild, there might be a spot for you. But then again, there may always be a Talon-shaped piece . . . missing.”

  Iya nodded and put a hand on my back, pointing us into the forest. Lumarian lived on the far side of the forest, near Hakushi. We still had a long walk.

  Late afternoon on the second day, we stumbled across a clearing which smelled of unicorn. I had to be the one to call Lumarian. Since we were on my quest, he would answer to only me.

  “Lumarian?” I’d hoped my voice would be both clear and confident, but I sounded lost. “Lumarian?”

  “I’ve been expecting you, Demon Lord Olivia.” Lumarian’s voice rang rich and deep. He stepped out into the clearing, looking as magnificent as ever. His white coat blinded, and his long horn shone with his own light.

  I bowed my head. Even for a demon lord, a unicorn is someone to be treated with respect. “Then you know my request?”

  He gave his glorious mane a toss. “I do, and I will grant you the bond. However, no matter the purity of your intentions, you are taking away the natural life of a creature. As payment, you will bear all the pain of this bond.”

  I wanted to grumble about bearing the pain for everyone anyway, but Lumarian would be offended. “I’ll take the pain.”

  Lumarian swished his tail. “Trouble seems to follow you, Demon Lord. Your journey will not finish with this bond.”

  “What danger? I need to know,” Iya asked, alarmed.

  Lumarian stamped his hooves at Iya. “I will not converse with an impure creature, male and akuma that you are. Take my words for what they’re worth. Use your own knowledge of things to come and be gone from my forest.”

  Lumarian nodded and pawed the ground. “Stand with your back to the vessel,” he ordered me.