Demonspawn Academy: Trial Three

by Annabel Chase

  His eyes sparkled. “You do as well?”

  Yes, apparently, I was. “Mine are very vivid. They seem more like visions than dreams.”

  “You poor dear. You must get that from me.”

  “Couldn’t you have given me your good throwing arm or naturally straight teeth?”

  He laughed. “Or my charming disposition.” The monkeys squawked beside him, appearing to enjoy the joke. “I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed your company. I don’t feel nearly as vexed now.”

  “I don’t know that you really enjoyed my company the last time. It was kind of tense. You tried to kill my boyfriend.”

  The king waved a dismissive hand. “Bygones. I’d like to keep the remaining family that I have.” His face hardened as his gaze shifted to the doorway. “Speaking of which…”

  I turned to see Yara flanked by three guards. Du shuffled off to the side. “Where would you like her, sire?”

  “With the rest of the shades, but for now, front and center will do.”

  The guards jostled her forward. Her eyes widened when she noticed me.

  “Are you hurt?” I asked.

  “Nothing that won’t heal on its own,” she said.

  “There,” the king said. “You can see she’s still alive and unharmed at the moment. Now, what is the pressing information?”

  Yara cocked her head, waiting to hear what I had to say.

  I whirled back around to confront the king. “Why are you attacking the mortal realm? What do you hope to accomplish? I promise you that a war with Dominion will cost far more than you’re willing to pay.”

  Confusion marred the king’s features. “These attacks again? What makes you think I’m to blame? I honor my treaties.”

  “Both a town and a city in the mortal realm were destroyed the same way Enir was destroyed,” I said.

  “I had nothing to do with them,” the king said. “I have no interest in human towns. I’m content with my life in the Nether.”

  “Lies,” Yara ground out. “It’s part of your plan to take over the realms. That’s all you ever want is power and more power.”

  “And you seem more than willing to follow in my footsteps,” the king snapped. “Why can’t you be more like your brother?”

  It was August all over again. Why would the king refuse to admit his role in the attacks when he had nothing to lose?

  “Your beloved son,” Yara said in a mocking tone. “If not for the prophecy, you would have kept him here by your side, grooming him as your replacement. You were only willing to allow him his freedom because of your own selfish fears.”

  The king rose from the throne and aimed his staff at Yara. “I allowed him his freedom for the same reason I allowed you yours—because I love him. He’s my son.”

  “Attachment is a weakness. Live long enough and you will learn that for yourself.” Yara licked her lips which were curved in a combination of delight and disdain. “Isn’t that right, my dearest father?”

  Before he could respond, Yara snatched a sword from the guard’s sheath and reached for me. She hooked her free arm around my neck and held me in front of her as a shield with the blade at my throat.

  The monkeys shrieked in protest.

  “What are you doing?” the king asked, outraged. “Cassia is your daughter.”

  “All daughters are expendable, are they not?” Yara asked. “That’s what you taught me.”

  I clawed at her arm. “Let me go,” I choked out.

  The king’s eyes narrowed. “Is this part of your plan?” I realized with a start that he was talking to me. “You pretend to need to see me and then your mother pretends to threaten to kill you as a means of escape.”

  As plans went, it wasn’t a bad one. It just wasn’t mine.

  Yara tightened her grip on my neck, rendering me unable to speak and barely able to breathe. “I can assure you, Father. I’m more than willing to trade her life for mine. I would’ve taken Du, but I know family has always been far more important to you than servants.”

  Was the king right? Was Yara putting on a show, with no intention of hurting me? It didn’t feel like it from my perspective.

  “Don’t believe it, Your Majesty,” Du called from the sidelines. The monkeys seemed to agree because they went straight for us, flying off the dais with murderous glints in their eyes.

  “Guards, do your duty!” the king boomed.

  The guards drew their weapons and struck down the two monkeys in a succession of quick blows. The creatures dropped to the floor, helpless and bleeding. Neither guard moved against Yara.

  “What is the meaning of this?” the king demanded. “Disarm my daughter immediately.”

  Yara laughed as she pressed the point of the blade against my cheek. “Don’t you see? They’re on my side. All your paranoia and you still missed the signs of who is with you and who is against.”

  “You have your means of escape then,” the king said. “Let her go.”

  “Now that I see how much she means to you, I feel compelled to take her with me as insurance. It’s a long way to the exit and you have many warriors en route.”

  With Yara’s attention on the king, I slipped a hand into my belt and curled my fingers around the handle of a dagger. I whipped my hand up and over my chest and stabbed Yara in the face. Her hands fell away and I sprinted forward. I brandished my sword as I whirled to face them and saw that my dagger had landed squarely in her forehead. Blood trickled down her nose. She wrenched the dagger from her head and hefted it in her hand.

  “I’ve been dreaming of this moment for as long as I can remember,” Yara said. “I would gaze at the moon in Faerie and picture it a thousand different ways.”

  “Du, summon the others,” the king bellowed.

  The chamberlain remained in place and I realized that he was using his psychic link. One of the guards must have realized the same and he knocked Du on the side of his head with the hilt of his sword. The chamberlain collapsed on the floor in a heap.

  A memory flared in my mind—the king’s doom didn’t have to mean his death. It could also mean the simple act of being unseated and stripped of his power. Tensions were high, but it was worth a try.

  I flew to position myself between father and daughter. “No one has to kill anyone. Maybe there’s room for negotiation…”

  “Never,” the king seethed. With a firm grip on his staff, he stepped down to the main floor with an air of angry authority.

  Yara raised her chin in defiance. “I will not return to that dungeon. I would rather die first.”

  “That can be arranged,” the king said. He came to stand beside me.

  “Please, don’t,” I implored him. “If your family is as important as you claim, then find another way forward.”

  The king’s fingers tightened around his staff. “Sometimes a sacrifice is required, Cassia.”

  “So very true,” Yara said. Her eyes glittered with hatred. “If I don’t take something you love, it doesn’t count.” She paused. “Believe me, I want this to count. You deserve to suffer before you die.”

  She swiveled toward me and flung the dagger. The king didn’t hesitate. He lunged in front of me and it was only when he fell to the floor that I saw the dagger lodged in his neck. Thick black liquid oozed from the wound. I dropped to my knees to see whether he could be healed.

  “Leave him be,” Yara ordered.

  I looked up at her. “No.” I returned my focus to the king. “If I take the dagger out, I’ll make it worse. Rafe is in the palace and he has healing powers.” Unfortunately, mine only extended to myself.

  Yara cackled. “You naive girl. Do you think I’d let anyone heal him? He cannot be saved now.”

  “I don’t understand,” the king murmured. “This wasn’t the prophecy.”

  “You old fool!” Yara yelled. “She’s not my daughter.”

  The king’s eyelids fluttered open and closed. “You’re not my granddaughter?”

  I drew a steadying breath. “I am y
our granddaughter.”

  “But you said…” The realization swept over him and he groaned. “Great gods of chaos.” His voice grew weaker by the second.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I wasn’t trying to trick you in order to fulfill the prophecy, I swear. I thought you would kill me even though I meant you no harm.”

  The light began to fade from his eyes. “I believe you, child.” He reached up to touch my face. “I suppose I’ll return to the wheel now. A pity. I’d very much like my ride to be over.”

  “Oh, it is over for you in this life and that is enough for me.” Yara practically sang the words.

  The puddle of his dark blood reached my knees and I sprang to my feet, staggering backward. I was too stunned to do anything except stare at my grandfather’s limp body. It seemed that the prophecy was straightforward after all.

  The king was dead—and it was all my fault.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Yara strode across the room and yanked the dagger from his neck. Had she always been this confident? I’d sensed an inner strength in her when we’d first met. I could tell she was the leader, but I hadn’t sensed…this.

  I finally recovered my voice. “You saved me the last time I was here. Why would you do that if you only intended to kill me anyway?”

  “Because I needed you for this moment,” Yara said. She examined the blade of the dagger, as though noting the amount of her father’s blood on it. “You weren’t in a position to overthrow my father then. Of course, I never expected that he would sacrifice himself for you. I thought for certain you’d somehow kill him.” She glanced down at the king’s lifeless body. “Life never ceases to fascinate me.”

  “Why did he lock you up?” I asked.

  “I goaded him into it,” she said. “I figured it was the fastest way to get you back here. I was so tired of waiting.” She groaned in exasperation. “I thought for sure New Hope would be enough to get you down here to kill him, but apparently not. Then I tried Trenton and nothing. What’s a demon to do?”

  My brain tried to sift through all the information. “I don’t understand. You went to Faerie to escape him. You were trapped there for years.”

  “I went to Faerie because I’d received a tip that a halfling child had been spotted there not long after my brother had visited on royal business. I thought for certain he’d smuggled the child there for safekeeping. I even brought a contingency with me in case we had to fight our way out with the bastard.”

  The realization floored me. “You were searching for me this whole time.”

  “Because of the prophecy, I tried to keep tabs on my brother’s travels through my network of spies,” Yara said. “When I heard about the child…”

  “You thought you’d finally found me.”

  “Turns out the child in Faerie wasn’t part shakti demon and then we became trapped…Well, you know the rest. Not my finest hour.”

  “Did the others know why you went?” I asked.

  She laughed. “Do you think I would have trusted sharing my plan with anyone? No, they believed we were avoiding my father and his paranoia.”

  “You’ve wanted to overthrow your father all this time,” I said, still trying to wrap my head around her deceit.

  “He didn’t deserve the Nether,” she said, seething. “He couldn’t even control the lesser demons on the other levels, let alone expand beyond the realm. He was ruthless but ineffective.”

  A knot twisted and hardened in the pit of my stomach. “Enir wasn’t the king’s doing?” I remembered searching in vain for my aunt’s face amidst the destruction and devastation in the Nether village.

  “No, but he was easy enough to blame. I arranged the attack to sow the seeds of rebellion amongst demons. There were plenty of demons prepared to swear fealty to me and do what was necessary for the greater good.”

  “How did you know I would see it and blame the king?”

  “I didn’t,” Yara said simply. “I made sure to mention the village to you, told you it had been my home. I assumed that word would reach you at some point, once I’d carried out similar attacks in the mortal realm. That you’d connect them and make your way back here.” She twisted a hand with a flourish. “And I’d be ready to execute the final phase of my plan.”

  “How did you know to choose New Hope and Trenton?” I asked.

  “I told you that my brother didn’t confide in me, so I was forced to employ spies to track his movements. When I returned from Faerie, I went back and reviewed the old reports in light of the new information I’d learned about you and put some of the pieces together.”

  All this time, I thought Yara was the best hope I had for a family, but she wanted to use me just like August did. Just like my mother feared. How could I have been so blind?

  “Cassia, are you all right?” Rafe’s voice reverberated in the throne room.

  “I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” a guard said, trailing behind the Watcher. “I couldn’t stop…”

  The sight of Rafe in the doorway brought me to my senses. “Rafe, go!” I shoved my wings back and propelled myself straight across the room and past the guards. My feathers brushed against their raised blades, but they only moved fast enough to give me a haircut.

  I exhaled when I realized Rafe was beside me. “It was all Yara,” I said, as we flew through the palace. “She destroyed her own village. She murdered all those humans…” I couldn’t go on.

  “The king?”

  “Dead.”

  Rafe took my hand in midair and steered me to the great hall where my kenzoku awaited us. My face must have said it all because they began pulling out their weapons.

  “I guess it didn’t go well,” Rylan said.

  “The king is dead,” I said.

  Barris scratched his head. “So it did go well?”

  “We don’t have to fight?” Zeph asked.

  I heard the flurry of activity and knew that the guards had caught up to us. Slowly, I swiveled to count them and a lump formed in my stomach. These weren’t just guards. These were demon warriors.

  Yara’s demon warriors.

  “Uh, Zeph. I hate to break it to you, buddy,” Barris said, “but I think we’re going to have to fight.”

  Rafe and I faced the firing squad as Yara maneuvered to the front of the line. “I’d considered letting you live out of a warped sense of family loyalty, but there’s too much at stake. Quite frankly, you’re too powerful, Cassia, and I cannot afford to have you around.”

  The warriors surged ahead, swallowing her in the process.

  “Math isn’t my strong suit, but that’s a lot of demons,” Zeph said. He aimed his crossbow. “Guess I’d better get busy.”

  Sage crackled with energy as she brandished her sword. “Bring me their corpses and I’ll raise an army of the dead.”

  “Watch out for the lethe demons,” Rylan cried, reaching for an arrow. “If they bite you, you forget everything, even your name.”

  “Might be time to use those djinn powers of yours, babe,” Sage said.

  Barris gave a solemn nod. “Gur,” he said.

  “Is that a lame attempt to growl?” Sage asked.

  “No, it’s Sumerian,” Barris said, and immediately began to grow to five times his size. He charged ahead, stamping on enemies as he went.

  “And this is why Sumerian is still a useful language,” Rylan said.

  Greater and lesser demons swarmed the great hall. I recognized many of them from books I’d read at the academy. A sitri demon met me in the air above the fray. I knew him by his mix of leopard and gryphon traits. He roared just as my blade sliced across his throat. His blood showered the demons below.

  Fire streaked past me, narrowly missing my wing. I looked down to see a balam demon’s eyes fixed on me. The serpent’s tail flicked back and forth as he prepared to attack again.

  “His eyes!” Rafe called. “They shoot fire.”

  My palms itched with power and I raised them directly at the balam demon’s face. Energ
y blasted from my hands and obliterated the demon’s head. “Not anymore,” I said.

  Before I could move, another demon tackled me to the floor. I slid my blade into his gut, trying not to think about the ease with which the dagger entered his body. I withdrew the dagger and rolled out from under him in time to see a phenex demon ablaze. He had contusions all over his face and arms. Rafe turned around with his sword ready and the demon leaped. They toppled over and the air left my lungs when I heard Rafe cry out in pain. I couldn’t blast the demon with my celestial powers or I’d risk hitting Rafe as well. I hurled the dagger at the back of the phenex demon’s neck and he slumped to the side, allowing Rafe to wriggle free. I gasped when I saw the burns on his arms and face. For a fleeting moment, I was reminded of Elder Sam and his scars.

  He glanced at his arms and winced. “I’ll heal soon.”

  “Not soon enough,” I said. I ripped another dagger from its hiding spot and threw it at an approaching demon.

  “I have something to tell you all,” Sage shouted. She stood among a half dozen corpses, preparing to bend them to her will. “Barris and I are a couple, like we’re actually dating.”

  Rylan exploded with laughter. “You’ve decided to come clean now?” She shot an encroaching lesser demon and it hissed violently.

  “In case we die,” Sage said. “I thought you should know.”

  “If I weren’t preoccupied, I would offer you a congratulatory hug,” I called from a few feet away, where I was busy stabbing a lethe demon in the neck.

  “They keep coming,” Rafe said. “We’re not going to be able to beat them all.”

  I observed my kenzoku as they continued to fight despite the terrible odds. Sage concentrated on another demon corpse, bringing it under her command. The problem was that it was difficult to tell which were under her control and which were still alive and dangerous. They needed tags.

  I caught sight of Rylan being cornered by a bevy of demons at the far end of the room. The others were close by, but too embroiled in their own fights to offer aid.

  “We need to help Rylan,” I said. I swooped overhead without waiting for a response from Rafe.