They gathered together, mostly around their master. About seventy individuals stood in the main hall and Ethan’s voice carried over the rest. “Floa! Now!”
Her hand’s came together and the entire scenery shifted since no spells had been made to keep a Pixie from leaving the ice castle. Elves were though.
From the castle in Russia, they instantly moved to a massive penthouse in Toronto, Canada.
A collective sigh of profound relief washed from the protected room, but then it was chaos as everyone went to fuss over their master. “SILENCE!” Ethan roared and punctuated it with a blast of flames that filled the whole lavish floor. Most everyone was on the floor screaming, but quickly realized no one was hurt, but he did get attention. His team moved away and sat down far from the Demons, hands ready to draw weapons and fight at all times. “The rest of you, settle the fuck down and cool off! No pun intended Yuki-onna.” He looked at that group.
“We understand, Elemental-san.” Kyoko said as she was eased down into a seat. Her soft voice had a calming effect to her subjects. “Thank you for restoring peace here. Rest now and those still strong of mind may check the perimeter.”
“It’s neutral ground where any fighting will be dealt with by me as the one who saved your asses. No loud noises or bickering. Is that clear?” Ethan spoke casually, but his voice carried.
“My Demons abide by the Accords, Elemental-san.”
“Doesn’t hurt to be reminded, Kyoko.” He came over and sat beside her. “Now until I’m relieved from duty, feed from me more gently. You need to regain your strength and if you gradually feed from the entire city, it will take weeks. I’ll be back to normal by tomorrow.”
“Naturally I would decline, but I must make an exception this time. I will feed more modestly. Tell me when you feel pain.” She began breathing up close to him. She drew harder and harder till he nodded and she stuck to that profound level. “How long may I feed like this? The love you have for your woman… I can see no end… This emotion, it is so strong I’m not able to take even a fraction. I’ve never felt the like. What now?”
“Until that frigid ass blizzard you whipped up settles and warms up for our warriors to clean the area of Sheedan’s hand, we wait. I killed sixty three of their Shaman and a trove of Elves so Odin, Pegasus and Jormungandr will have fun with the Dragons the remaining Elves cannot take away with them. As for my love, only she is as possessive. Not even all of Demon World’s Yuki-onna and Succubai can take my love for her from me. Besides, Sheedan doesn’t have honor and I had to lower her numbers.” He gave a cheeky grin.
“Then you dealt a mighty blow to her.” She breathed.
“I didn’t put a dent to her overall numbers. By last estimates she controls over three hundred million denizens of Chaos.” He clarified and saw some worry enter her petite face start pinching. “She came after you as you are her biggest threat. After that storm, I can see why. The other four Demon Lords won’t be so lucky. Especially if she put you on your ass in less than a day.”
“Don’t mock our master.”
“I’ll do as I damn well please. Don’t forget who you are talking to.” The intensity of Ethan’s glare had the armored Elf retreating back to his master’s skirts. “Kyoko, think about it. Sheedan near killed you and destroyed your home in Tokyo. If the other Lords are just as stubborn, what do you think will happen?”
“Is this your way of proposing an alliance?”
“No, this is my way of saying you will die if you cannot get your act together and use your influence to work for once before you are seen an idiot to your people who love you like a mother, despite your youthful appearance. Why else would I let a Demon feed off me. You are the first and hopefully the last. Right now you are under my protection. Who knows who will come to talk to you. At least with me I’m telling you directly your being an idiot will get you killed. And we both know with you feeding that I’m ten times more powerful than you. I’m awkward, but I’m telling you how I feel so anyone can understand. And I’m not telling you what to do. If you want to save your own ancient ass, start making smart decisions. So long as you live, Sheedan cannot claim your minions. Many will die if nothing is done and I can’t find Sheedan and barbecue her gluttonous ass.”
Kyoko smiled sweetly and said “You clearly remind me of my uncle. I mistook your scent and appearance. I will greatly consider proposing a union, Elemental-san. It is the least I can do for Order sending you and your squad to my aid under impossible circumstances… Sigure-chan, allow me to freeze Uske-kun for giving his life for us all.”
The Succubus reverently lifted the now deceased Kitsune and laid him down before their master and adjusted him in a regal pose to last forever. Several minions brought buckets of cold water and soaked the hard wood floors, but Dallare’s red glowing finger began writing and turning the water into a bubble before Kyoko leaned forward on the sofa and whispered. “I will watch over your kits as I did you, old friend. Be frozen forever, remembered as a friend, lover and companion to my people.” Then she pressed her now blue lips to the water and in a few seconds Uske was entombed in clear ice, preserved forever by his mistress. He was then lifted and carried out.
“Princess, is what he says true? His power is ten times that of yours.” Dallare asked quietly.
“He is being modest. I would guess fifteen to twenty times more than I.”
Such words had the room turn to him and got a wink. “Kyoko, now that I’ve got you here on neutral ground, mind if I ask why you weren’t part of the massive war? You and eleven other Lords didn’t join up to destroy the Thirty Eighth House in Argentina. Why? You’re down to six lords now, including the Agas.”
“Ah, a fair question.” Kyoko laid her demure hands in her lap while Dallare fixed her white hair and headdress adornments. “Michael Zing-san minions did come to gain my support, but even for a Demon, his human greed was greater than an ancient Kitsune and Dragon’s horde combined. He was even attempting to become a Demonic Shaman. But something didn’t feel right lately in Odin-sama’s territory. I felt something was off. Too quiet. Turns out I was correct. I have no love for senseless war and that attack only proved it. Those of my spies I sent told me of your singlehanded tornado that killed millions. Many have come from Demon World because of it, looking for better feeding opportunities. In just this past month I’ve become master to six million additional minions. Many disobey my rules and those who still live now realize feeding doesn’t mean soul consumption or mass murder.
“But back to your question, I might not like Order, but I do respect them and their principals. And they are needed. Without Order, Earth will become a horrible and barbaric place again. A wasteland. Your arrival was most timely. Now my I ask you a question?”
“Go right ahead.”
“What are you exactly? You do not taste human. I remember tasting King Solomon and a few other Fire Elementals, but you are… different.”
“Can’t tell you that. Just keep that knowledge to yourself… all of you.” He didn’t raise his voice. The silent room full of her entourage clearly heard. “Better just relax, Kyoko. You need to regain your strength.”
She gave him the ‘I know what you are!’ look, but closed her eyes and leaned back, feeding with each breath as she sat thigh to thigh with him. Slowly her white lips turned blue. Healthy for her species.
“Mission complete.” He said carefully. “Area and package secure. Awaiting further instruction.” The earpiece went ‘beep’ and sent the message.
At ten thirty that night Magistrate Morom, leader of the Ogres, and fifteen different warriors knocked on the door to the private penthouse. An Incubus carefully opened the door with a long dagger in hand and lowered it in recognition of the long horned man with excessively wide shoulders and huge muscle bulging like a bodybuilder. The magistrate and the warriors filed in without drawling steel, but both tense sides were a hair trigger from defending themselves.
The huge, six and a half foot tall Ogre walked unmole
sted into the spacious room with plush furniture and a long coffee table. His nose detected two Succubai and one Siren cooking and preparing wholesome meals for everyone who hadn’t already eaten real food while in mortal form. He then spotted six warriors in fine armor with two Shamans behind their master. Off to a corner lounged Ethan’s team but “Where is Mr. Volorum?”
“Taking a shower.” Kyoko pointed to the closed door that led into a multi person washroom. “He is washing off our scent by how long he has been inside for the past forty minutes. It has been fifty years, Morom-san. You look well. Is Edda still a handful?”
“So she will always be. As for being well, so do you surprisingly. How is this possible? Your lips should still be pale with all you expended.” The Ogre sat and laid a stack of papers on the glass table between them while his own guards took up position almost identical to her guards, the rest scattered about.
“Ethan-san let me feed off him to regain almost my full strength. It was a kind offer I’ll not forget.”
“He did what?” Morom turned livid azure eyes to his teammates. “Haven’t you told him it was against procedures to…”
“I didn’t care, Sir.” Ethan said as he stepped outside with slick wet hair, finger brushed back. His clothes had returned to black and silver runes lay dormant. “You of all people know I’ll do what I think is right. Besides, only Odin and I could give her strength back so quickly.”
“Watch yourself, Elemental. This is a serious breach of protocol.”
“Then fine me.” He shrugged nonchalantly while walking and sitting beside Blake. “But before you get on your high horse, think about what Kyoko would do to all of Toronto if she had to fight again. She’d kill the whole city without so much as leaving this suite and not be at even half strength afterwards.”
“I wouldn’t!” Kyoko hotly defended herself.
“I know that. Your minions do too, but Morom is a master of statistics and strategy. I’m not being insubordinate and he well knows it. I’m giving him indisputable facts on possibilities. If he cannot logically see what I did holds more benefit than the potential threat you can pose, then he will lose the title of Chief Magistrate of the Ogres. One man feeding you instead of over a million in this city is something he cannot ignore. Even if you didn’t kill everyone, your feeding would cause a sexual rampage among the whole city. Aren’t I right?”
Morom glared, but then smiled. “I’d swear you have split personalities, but it seems her feeding hasn’t affected your behavior when on mission. Tell me, what emotions you have currently for your soul mate?”
“Nothing in my emotions have changed in that department.”
“He speaks true. His love for his woman is stronger than I’ve ever felt among soul mates. During all the hours I ate, his emotional climate didn’t fluctuate. At all. If it had he would have tried mating me, but his desire for anything else hasn’t altered.” Kyoko defended him. “Before we get to business, please tell me of my castle and my Demons in Tokyo and China, Morom-san.”
The powder blue skinned Ogre leaned in to the comfortable back while both sides of guards held still at attention. Comfortable, but ready for action. “Climate after your departure in Russia took five minutes to warm before Jormungandr led battle from one direction and Odin another. By the time we arrived your castle and land was destroyed. The dead count so far is two and a half thousand. Six hundred were Dragons with a mix of others filling the rest. We found but one Elf with an arrow through its head on the river with a few burnt ones around the escape tunnel you supplied for our infiltration.”
“Our kills.” Nell chipped in and got a nod as she tucked green hair behind a pointy ear.
“And my Drones took out more, just as planned in briefing and your strategies I memorized. In her storm she made at the last moment for a smokescreen, you’ll not likely find ashes.” Ethan said.
“Such is how we entered the area and were able to whittle Sheedan’s numbers rather than their Elves taking what they brought to your doorstep. And it has been verified they were Sheedan’s by the identical brand marked into every dead body we found. The land has been razed and the castle melted. For now it is over. As for your territory in Japan… your grand palace is gone, but your minions are all in hiding. And they know you continue to live because your mark remains strong.”
Kyoko deflated with a great sigh, as did most in the room. “My heart is eased. As to the business,” she turned her snowflake eyes to the team. “Ethan-san, I’ve decided to hold talks with the four others who remain.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“Did he overstep his bounds again?” Morom grumbled.
“He did not. He reminds me of someone I cherish and has a similar way of putting you in your place and be reminded power means nothing when it can be so easily taken if one is too strong willed to know when to seek aid. But I do have a condition before I sign the standard agreements of the Accords.”
Many eyebrows lifted. “Oh? Please elaborate.”
Kyoko sat up and levelly met Morom’s calculating eyes and a blank expression. “As is my right, I invoke section six thousand thirteen, section R of the Accords. I want an Order mediator to sit in on the Demon Lord conference for a temporary alliance till Sheedan is put in her place and killed.” No honorifics would be given to the Agas by the snow princess. “And I do not want a polished politician or an arbiter. I want Ethan-san to be speaker on behalf of Order.”
“But he isn’t trained in dealing with these matters, nor does he have all ten thousand and eleven hundred Accord laws memorized. I would be a better candidate to speak on unit…” Morom began till she lifted a pale hand.
“This isn’t optional, nor is it because he saved me and my servants. He is young and full of heart, brash and headstrong. And his power is greater than all Demon Lords on this world combined. But for why I select him is how he treated me, as a person. Not a vile Demon as many in Order do. He didn’t sneer as you and your warriors showed up did. He has much less bias compared to you. He knows when to hold his tongue and is good at reading people without touching their minds. He is everything that greater Demons like me respect. And until this condition is met I’ll not sign the final agreement. I will sign the formal ones stating I invoked aid from the Houses and give free reign in my territory for one full year without my servants attacking on sight as well as allow Spirit Guides free access to hospitals and all standard places people die by having my Shamans erect barriers from my newer and untrained Demons who feed on sickness and death.” She smiled. “But at the gathering, only Ethan-san will speak on behalf of Order and mediate between the five of us Lords who abide by the Accords. It is my right of request, but if you deny it, as you certainly may, you will not know where the meeting will take place, nor will any allowances be given in regards to further timely pacts by me especially.” Kyoko was a shrewd and devious woman and proved herself to hold her own by both word and power.
“Good grief, what did I get myself into this time?” Ethan sighed and threw his head back on the sofa.
“My good graces.” Kyoko smiled tenderly, her blue lips curling in mirth.
“I will inform the other members of my house of your selection. As Mr. Volorum isn’t under my command, it is not my place. Lady Kyoko, your words will be taken into account. How long do we have to respond as to whether he can attend the meeting?”
Very clearly she said “The sooner you reach that important decision, that day or the next I’ll hold it. Sheedan was thwarted this day. Next time could be happening as we speak. Even after all her years, she is not patient. She isn’t a fool either, but her mistake in not killing me must be fortified with all haste so it doesn’t occur again.”
“Then can we go home now and get some sleep?” Ethan punctuated his words with a yawn. “Knowing Odin, he’ll get a kick at sending me to strong-arm a bunch of Demon Lords. Kyoko, it was a pleasure to meet you.”
The Yuki-onna stood among her guards who still didn’t move and bowed deeply, ma
king her whole staff gasp. “The pleasure was all mine, Ethan-sama.”
“Uh…” He bowed back the same way. “Thanks.”
“Ethan, you aren’t supposed to bow when she does it that deep.” Blake laughed.
“Why?” He asked warily. “Did I just screw up again?”
“In a manner of speaking. She sees you as her superior, a man worthy of her respect. She used ‘sama’ rather than ‘san’ as an honorific to say she is of lesser caste than you.”
“Then why is it bad I bow to her too? She’s pretty badass at how cold she can make an area.”
“It… nevermind.” Blake shook his head and threw his arms up.
“Damned if I’m ignorant of Japanese customs. Be thankful I can even point to it on a map.”
Someone made a choking snort, but then the room of Demons seemed to find it the funniest thing they ever heard by how loud they laughed. His embarrassed expression made it worse.
“See what I mean, Morom-san? He is an endearing individual who can make anyone as the Americans say ‘Throw off their game.’ I think it goes. He will be what I need to combine with the other Demon Lords so Order and Chaos can kill Sheedan and remain true to the laws that have lasted over five hundred years.”
“I do see.” He chuckled as he watched Magnus smack Ethan upside his head for some comment he couldn’t hear over the laughter. “Mr. Volorum!” his shout slowly calmed the room. “Good work today. Return home and do a debrief before turning in. If a decision is reached, you will be contacted. If it is so allowed, you may bring one Pixie and one Caster of your choosing to stand behind you in deliberations.”
“Easy, Floa and my angel.” When there was nothing more said he turned to the flattered Pixie and said “Let’s go home.”
“With pleasure.” She clapped and the world shifted.
Waiting for them was everyone near and dear to their heart.
02 Wrath of Flames Page 25