A Demon's Wrath

by Alexia Praks

  Monstrous creatures. The word kept echoing within her head. Were they really monstrous? Surely they were, despite their handsome appearances, which were a complete contrast to what she’d originally thought. They had killed her father that night and, along with him, thousands of innocent lives who had lived on Rosevalley Island. But why that night three years ago had she seen monstrous creatures that looked nothing like the real demons she’d met? Was it merely her hallucination? Was it some kind of trick within her own mind that she’d created to hide the horrid truth? Was that night too much for her to bear that she must create such an ideal creature to protect her own mind from going mad?

  Agnes was still waiting for her answer, and Cecelia decided not to give the old maid any. Agnes nodded her head at Cecelia’s silence, assuming the young woman’s answer was none.

  “Aye, else he wouldn’t have let you go, I believe,” the maid said. “And thank God for that.” She stood back and nodded her head at that sound logic. “I will leave you to it, my lady. I shall be back once you are ready.”

  “Please, Agnes,” Cecelia said. “’Tis getting very late. I will manage. You need your rest, too. I will be all right. Go back to bed.”

  The maid reluctantly nodded. “As you wish, my lady.” Then she really couldn’t help herself and mumbled on, “I am so glad to see you back. I am so, so glad. I must pray again tonight and thank the Lord for protecting you and bringing you back.”

  “Thank you for praying for me, Agnes. Good night,” Cecelia said, nudging the old woman to the door.

  “Yes, yes.” The maid chuckled. “Good night, my lady. Rest well.”

  Cecelia shut the door once the maid was gone. Alone in her room, she rested her head against the wooden frame and closed her eyes. Instantly, the image of the demon king emerged before her, and her heart gave out a little skip.

  “Stop thinking of him,” she muttered to herself.

  She flashed her eyes open and headed straight to the bath near the warmly lit hearth. She stripped herself naked and climbed into the tub.

  The moment her body met the warm water, she sighed in bliss. She lay back and let go of all of the tension that had built up within her since the day she’d decided to leave the safety of this palace to fetch the Pearl of Life herself.

  She sighed deeply, glad the scented water was just the right temperature for her liking, not too hot and not too cold. Then she remembered the pearl. She reached over to the chair and searched for the item. It was neatly wrapped within a white silk cloth. She brought it to her and stared long and hard at the thing within her hand, marveling at the pink-white color of the round gem and swirl of glowing energy that exuded from within. She wondered what made it so powerful. What essence was in there that could heal such a strong and life-threatening poison?

  Slowly and lovingly, she began to caress the egg-sized gem. Suddenly, as if by magic, her body became warm and weak, and instantly, she felt sleepy, as if her consciousness were snatched away by some enchanted force. Slowly, she closed her eyes, and not a moment later, her breathing became slow and even.

  She was drifting and floating about in warm air. It was very pleasant, nothing like she’d ever felt before. Then in her mind’s eye, she saw a shadow of a man appearing as if out of the blue. He was just standing there before her by the door, watching her. Then slowly, he made his way toward her, and before long, he was beside her. As he got closer, she realized who he was and her heart skipped a beat.

  She straightened up in alertness and only then did she realized she was still naked in the tub and the demon king was standing before her, watching her with interest.

  Her heart raced. How did he find me? she wondered. More importantly, how did he know the pearl was missing and she was the one who had stolen it?

  Suddenly, he was beside her, his face inches from hers. Cecelia stared deep into the grayness of his eyes, and she licked her lips involuntarily. Then she felt his hand against her cheek, caressing her. His touch was so gentle it made her feel weak and warm and oddly pleasant. He was moving his lips to her ear, and the warmness of his breath did nothing to ease her craving for more of his touches. He whispered softly, “So you’re the little thief who has stolen my pearl?”

  Cecelia licked her lips again, her mind in a muddle of confusion. Dreaming. I am dreaming, she told herself.

  “I’m coming to reclaim my pearl. I’m coming to claim you,” he said.

  She stared hard into his eyes, chanting silently to herself that he was merely a figment of her imagination. That he wasn’t real. That she was dreaming of him. Then before she had time to utter one word or escape his clutches, he claimed her lips with his. He kissed her long and hard, and Cecelia felt herself soaring with undisguised pleasure. Dream. Just a dream. No harm in kissing a demon in a dream.

  But then it was too real to be a dream and Cecelia became suspicious. She tried to push him back, only to make him retaliate by thrusting his tongue into her mouth, exploring her innocent sweetness. As he kissed her wilder and deeper, Cecelia tried her best fighting him off, her small hand pushing at his massive chest. The process, however, was to no avail as he easily caught her slender wrist and stopped her in her tracks. She groaned and whimpered at the same time, and when she finally managed to free her hand and shove him off her, she woke up with a start.

  Still breathing heavily and breathlessly and her heart still pounding madly, Cecelia scanned about her surroundings, searching for the demon who was haunting her. It was only after she was sure no one was in the room with her that she truly believed it was merely a dream.

  She closed her eyes and told herself to calm down. But she couldn’t calm down as his voice, which sounded and seemed too real to her, was still echoing within her head.

  “I’m coming to reclaim my pearl. I’m coming to claim you.”

  Cecelia shivered and hugged herself. Then she realized the pearl was no longer in her hand. Panic seized her and she froze for a moment. Then she saw the thing shining and sparkling in the water by her feet. She sighed in relief. She must have dropped it while she was dozing off.

  Not wanting to doze off in the tub again, she picked up the pearl and stood. Suddenly, she realized her body felt heavy and weak. She wrapped herself in a towel and headed straight to bed after laying the pearl on the bedside table.

  Just resting for a little while, she told herself. Will get up and change in a moment.

  But she fell asleep there with nothing to cover herself but a small towel.

  * * * * *

  Chapter XIV

  DRAKE HAD BEEN SILENTLY RAGING for three long days since he’d found out his precious pearl had been stolen. He had no doubt it had been Brian, a disguised human female he’d shared a passionate night with, who had cunningly sneaked away with the item and his beloved beast Wildfire. The news greatly upset Vera and caused Lucifer to cry and become withdrawn.

  “I am sure Brian, or whoever she is, isn’t that kind of person,” Vera said adamantly to her husband Adam. “You’ve read her aura, have you not, Julius?”

  At Julius’s nod, Vera continued. “You see? Her aura is pure. She probably has her own reason for stealing it.”

  It was Lucifer’s turn to beseech his father and uncles. “He didn’t even say good-bye,” the young demon sobbed. “Please, Uncle Drake, don’t hurt him. Papa, Brian needs the pearl for his sick mother. He said so on the ship. His mother is dying.” He was tugging at Drake’s sleeves now, tears in his eyes. “His mother is poisoned. You won’t hurt him, will you? He’s my friend.”

  Gerick gathered the little boy into his arms and picked him up. “There, there, little demon. Uncle Drake won’t hurt your friend. He just needs to find her and bring the pearl back.”

  Lucifer blinked his tears away and snapped, “Brian is a boy. He’s a he.” Turning his attention back to Drake, he begged, “And bring Brian back too. You like him don’t you, Uncle Drake? He’s your friend, too.”

  Drake’s scowl darkened as he looked at his nephew.
Lucifer tried to match his scowl but failed because tears kept pouring out of his eyes. As sad and dire as the situation might be, Gerick, Leon, and Julius wanted to laugh at the boy’s cute, contorted face.

  “Brian, or whoever she is, is not my friend, and I don’t like her,” Drake said darkly. “She’s stolen my pearl, Lucifer. She’s a thief. A thief is a criminal and must be punished.”

  Lucifer released a big hump and said, “Don’t lie, Uncle Drake. You told me never to lie ’cause it’s sinful. You like Brian. And Brian is a boy so you have to call him a he.” More tears flowed down his face and he wiped the damn things away with a rough brush of his sleeve. “Aye, you like Brian. I saw you kissing him that night after the dinner feast.”

  Gerick widened his eyes in shock at this information and turned to his cousin with an accusatory expression. Drake, in return, shot Gerick a murderous glare and told the younger demon with his dark scowl that if he were to utter a word about the incident, he’d kill him. Julius and Adam glanced at each other, thus confirming their previous suspicions. Leon just did an ‘I see’ type face. Vera was confused.

  Drake didn’t like the fact that his beloved nephew had spied him kissing the female Brian that evening. Damn, he really needed to make Lucifer see reason about the missing pearl and that the female Brian needed to be punished for stealing it.

  He began calmly, “Lucifer, you must understand that—”

  “Maybe you kissed him too hard; that’s why you made him angry and he ran away,” Lucifer put in, his eyes large.

  Drake’s dark scowl changed to one of shock. Gerick burst out with a roar of laughter. Leon and Julius hid a smile. Adam frowned at Gerick. Again, Vera was totally at a loss.

  Adam stepped forward and took his son from Gerick’s hands. He, of course, blamed Gerick for his son’s odd behavior. And about kissing of all things.

  “Where did you learn of such a thing, Lucifer?” Adam asked, clearly upset, his face was red with rage. “Uncle Gerick?” In which case, Adam gave Gerick a death-warning glare.

  Lucifer wiped his tears with his sleeve once again and said, “I speak truth, Papa. I saw Brian got angry ’cause Uncle Drake kissed him so hard.” It was then he took a peek at Vera and continued lowly. “Mama kisses me very hard, too, sometimes. And I get very angry ‘cause it hurts and is very embarrassing in front of the other children. So I run away to hide from her.”

  Vera, who was sitting in a chair on the other side of the room, widened her eyes in shock at this revelation. With trembling legs, she rushed forward and took her son into her arms. “My love, I didn’t mean to hurt you by kissing you so hard. I just love you too much and can’t bear to leave you alone, that’s all.” Then she proceeded to kiss him again, very hard, which made Lucifer perform another unsuccessful scowl.

  At this, Gerick burst out laughing once again. Once he managed to calm down, he said, “Lucifer, do you think your Uncle Drake loves Brian too much? That’s why he kissed her very hard?”

  Lucifer nodded without hesitation.

  Their conference about the lost pearl and the missing female Brian ended there, where Drake promised Lucifer not to hurt his friend if he ever found her. Hence, their search began immediately. Drake, Adam, Gerick, Leon, and a hundred warriors searched across the land and the sea for the young woman and the pearl. Thus far, however, they couldn’t find any evidence of either the person’s or the pearl’s existent.

  A few days later, Julius suggested it had probably left the kingdom, which was why they couldn’t trace it. Hence, they had turned to Julius’s vision, but that was to no avail, too. By the third night, Drake was more frustrated than ever and decided to turn to his own power to aid him.

  Now alone in his bedchamber, he closed his eyes, summoning his demonic power to the forth. Instantly, he could feel a warm glow radiating about his body, and soon he felt himself moving out, his mind drifting off and farther away. His soul, one could say, had left him.

  Drake was now flying, light as air. He was moving and floating. He was slipping out and about, and he saw many things. People walking and talking and going about their chores. Men drinking in a tavern at this time of the night, warriors practicing with their swords, family sitting down for the evening meals.

  In the distance Drake saw the golden halo glow of his pearl. He felt it calling out to him, singing his name. With a swoop, he dove and descended. As he came closer, he saw that the light was coming from within a distant castle from a distant kingdom.

  “Dardania,” he said under his breath. He was right in that Brian was in fact royalty and thus a relation to Lord Peter Van Zandt of Rosevalley.

  Royalty or not, Drake was determined to get his pearl back and claim the thief. No matter that this might start a war between the two kingdoms. And if the female Brian were truly royalty, why then a war would certainly take place. Oddly enough, though, Drake quite liked the sound of that. It was about time that obese King Leroi be brought down from his crown a nudge or two.

  Drake descended faster and then he came down through a ceiling into a bedchamber.

  It was a pretty room, suited for a young woman. He eyed the large-sized bed with its pastel purple covers, the sofa with plush cushions and chest and drawers full of dresses and gowns. It was then the pearl called out to him again, and when he turned, he saw a girl in the tub.

  Slowly, as if in a dream, he came to stand beside the bath. The girl was sleeping, he realized, whilst bathing. He got down to his knees, his face close to her, his eyes examining the exotic beauty before him. Playfully, he dipped his hand into the warm water, causing a ripple. This drew his attention to her naked body that was barely hiding from his view. He appreciatively noted her breasts were full and round and the nipples were pink. Her stomach was flat and legs were long and slender. It was then he saw the pearl within her hand.

  He returned his attention to her face, and gently, with his hand wet from the water, he stroked her cheek.

  “So you are Brian. I was right to suspect something was amiss with you,” he said.

  He watched her fluttering her eyes open. He marveled at the long, dark lashes and at the brownness of her irises. She stared long and hard at him, and only a moment later, Drake knew she recognized him. He noted she was afraid, and why not? He was a demon king suddenly appeared as if out of the blue in her room.

  Aye, he loved this game. He loved seeing the fear within her eyes. He also loved her lips, for he simply wanted to kiss them. He moved closer so their faces were only inches apart. Then he caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. “So you’re the little thief who has stolen my pearl.”

  He felt her stiffen. She licked her lips, which drew his undivided attention.

  He whispered, “I will come to reclaim my pearl. I will come to claim you.” Then he really couldn’t help himself. He claimed her lips and kissed her hard. Her flesh was warm and soft and very intoxicating. It was driving him mad with lust. Though she didn’t respond, Drake wasn’t in the least bit put off. Indeed, he thrust his tongue into her mouth, exploring her uncharted territory. He felt the power surge within him and found himself wanting more. He dug his hands into her wet hair, interlocking her fingers within the thick strands as he licked his tongue against hers, tasting her sweetness. It was only when she’d started to struggle that Drake realized he’d lost himself in her.

  He silently cursed.

  Suddenly, as if a force pulled him, he found himself back in his own bedchamber, back in the Demon Kingdom.

  He got up from his position and cursed loudly this time. He couldn’t believe it. He wanted the girl. Aye, he was hard and ready for her, and he’d only been there with her in his apparition form.

  Who is she? Drake wanted to know.

  A moment later, he came to sit on the chair by the warmly lit fireplace and closed his eyes. Again, he summoned his inner power, and soon, he found himself back at the scene where he’d left off. Instead of seeing the girl in the tub, however, she was now lying on the large bed, stil
l naked and with only a small towel to cover herself. He couldn’t help but smile as he came toward her. There he stood, watching her, his eyes roaming from the tip of her dark head to her face, lower to her breasts, lower still to her middle, then her legs.

  He sat on the edge of the bed beside her. As if it were simply natural, he started caressing her cheek. Slowly, he moved his hand down her jawline and farther to her neck, loving the feel of her warm and soft flesh. Then his hand was at the tip of the thin, wet towel. He undid it and peeled away the offensive material. Her breasts, round and full, joyfully greeted him. Drake was a young demon, and his lust for a woman, particularly this one, wasn’t something he took for granted. Aye, he wanted her, and he would have her.

  He caressed her nipple, playing with the bud between his finger and thumb, molding it until it hardened. He heard her groan, and he smiled arrogantly.

  “Wake up, Sleeping Beauty,” he whispered. “Your king is here to claim you.”

  Cecelia opened her eyes with a start at the sound of Drake’s voice. Her heart was thumping away within her chest as she stared at the stormy gray eyes of the demon king above her.

  How did he get into my room? was the first thought that came to her mind. How does he even know where I am?

  Then she told herself it was merely a dream and nothing more. There. Aye. It was only a dream, for she could see the halo around him, glowing of white and gold. But how odd it was for him to feel so real. She felt his warmth above her. She felt his touches. And more importantly, she felt herself responding to him.

  She licked her lips and said to herself, “This is a dream. A dream. You’re in my dream and nothing more. So I shouldn’t be afraid of you, sire. I shouldn’t.”

  Drake chuckled. “Are you afraid of me?” he whispered into her ear.

  The warmth of his breath caused Cecelia to shiver deliciously. She groaned and said softly, “No. I am never afraid of you, sire. I am just not very comfortable with you. Why you appear before me in my dream is beyond me. Perhaps I am afraid even though I thought I’m not. Perhaps I’m afraid you’d come for me. Take me away from my family. That is what I am afraid off. No one to look after them. No one to care for them.”