Demons End (Tremble Island)

by Lewis, Lynn Ray

  Knowing she existed made his entire being shiver. A mate, he needed to take her to Demons End and find Leroi. This feeling that forced the fluids through his body must be raw emotions, not the anger and disgust he was used to feeling at all times. Could this be hope? His flesh heated and his prick stirred to life for the first time in years. He had to look away from her or he would not be responsible for his actions. After all of the agreements he and the Lords had come to today, jumping the tables and pulling her to him would probably not be the most intelligent thing to do.

  There were other things to interest the demon inside, and he welcomed the distractions. For instance, there was a beautiful siren sitting at the end table closest to the doors that wore hatred on her aura as blatant as he had ever seen before. When he followed the female’s stare to the object of her hatred, he began to simmer. The banshee was innocently playing with the girl child, not paying attention to the hatred staring at her and Koler wanted to smash the threatening looks into the siren’s face. The two males with her were frowning and glancing nervously toward the doors, as if mapping their escape.

  The siren’s look of satisfaction alerted him to the new threat, and he turned to see his intended reach for a cup of water. The woman’s eyes smiled and Koler was up and over the table before he thought of what he was doing. There was something in that cup rising to her lips and he was not willing to be circumspect and allow the siren’s plan to bear results. He slapped the cup away from her lips, and she let loose a squeaking noise. He did not wait for her to jump up, but turned and was at the door, blocking the swiftly retreating siren and her males from leaving. Nord was next to the demon, and Lion was standing with the cup that was now empty except a few dribbles of clear liquid.

  He advanced to the door where Nord held onto the mate and son of the siren that Koler held high in the air by his hold on her thick hair. He stepped to the boy and held the cup to the child’s lips. The siren began screeching and begging, ordering her son not to drink from the cup. The demon shook the creature, banging her into the solid wooden door with the added movement of her struggles.

  The choked sounds of distress coming from the tiny girl child with Wensel drew many eyes. She was crawling under the table to get to the small bird that was lying on its side in the liquid that splashed from the cup of poison. It had taken drinks from the puddle on the floor. Wensel caught her by the foot just before she touched the liquid still wetting the floor. She pulled the wiggling little one to her chest, wrapping her tight within her arms. “No, sweet one, I am sorry, the bird has died. We will get a cloth and bury the creature once we find out what is going on here.” She rocked and soothed Aria as best as she could. She was furious, but couldn’t show her anger with her niece present. Alura, the beautiful Sea Singer, was going to pay. Her mind traveled to thoughts of sucking the life from the woman, it would be an exquisite punishment for her attempt on her life. Thankfully the guest had known what was in the cup before she had taken it to her lips.

  She felt a presence behind her and turned to see who was there. She immediately saw the little bird standing on a long finger. It was shaking its head and fluffing its feathers. She gasped open mouthed at the handsome male, before collecting herself and pulling Aria’s attention to the gift being offered to heal her broken little heart. He took the child’s small hand and cupped it before setting the small bird into the middle. He smiled at the look of astonishment on her face. He nodded his head and went back to the Lord’s side.

  She watched as two serving women dropped sand over the wet spot on the floor and swept away. Buckets of steaming water with bubbles were sloshed over the area before brooms were employed to sweep the entire mess out of the door that was now opened to the night air. The sight of three wide male backs pulling their prisoners toward a door at the rear of the vast room. She rushed with Aria to Rane, who was sitting at the Lords’ Table, calmly eating her meal with delicate greed.

  “My Lady Rane, might I leave Aria with you for a short time while I follow the Lords and their guest? I wish to find out what has possessed that woman to attempt murder, and what the punishment for such an attempt will entail?”

  Rane looked her way and declined. That astonished Wensel, for the Lady never before refused to guard Aria. “Do not mistake me, dear Wensel, I love Aria greatly. You will allow my Lords and the Demon Prince Koler to get the answers you wish to hear. Lion is not so impulsive as to mete out punishment before thinking it from all angles. You are too impulsive and wish only to eliminate the danger, and you would do so without a thought for the consequences. The rabid need to possess Aria is odd, is it not? You must trust in his Lordship and his judgement of the truth. If the end result is not what you wish for, you may petition for the punishment that you feel will fit her crimes.

  “Please join me for this meal, I can assure you that you will encounter nothing poisoned at this table, and Aria is busy with her gift from Koler. I look at her and wonder if I will bear a child with my mates within the year. I have been as scattered as windblown leaves lately.”

  By the time the men returned to the room, Wensel felt cross-eyed from the random subjects Lady Rane touched on. From words of praise for her mates, to the onset of winter to come, she was forced to keep her attention on the pretty witch woman. Aria was sound asleep on her lap, and she was ready to seek their room to fantasize about the way she would savor the aura of the siren. There would be retribution, whether the lords knew it or not, she could not keep such an enemy close, knowing her life and the welfare of Aria were in jeopardy.

  Rane surprised her by taking her mates to task for leaving her behind, “You left the poor woman here with me trying to redirect her mind from following and killing the prisoners. She surely believes that I have a brain of feathers. I will help her deal with the female, I know how difficult it is for you to punish them as you would punish a man.”

  So all of the odd subjects had been brought up to keep her from following, and killing her enemy. “My only question is this, is she dead? If she is not dead, I demand right of retribution. If you have a rule of combat, I will accept the rule gladly. You have witnessed her hostility and I refuse to be forced to look over my shoulder, expecting a murderous plot, from a woman that has no reason to wish me dead, other than to steal a child not her own.”

  A booming laugh echoed throughout the room, and all stared at the demon. He was now reduced to something sounding like giggles coming from his mouth. Aria woke and tried to leave Wensel’s arms to go to him. She was so astonished that she let the child down and watched her walk to the one called Koler. When the child pulled his fingers, he bent down to allow her to pat his shoulder and cheek. He held his arms down for her to step into his hands, and he picked her up, bird and all. The tiny bird perched on her shoulder and the little girl grinned at the adults staring at the sight of the fearsome demon and the small child. What on earth was happening?

  Rane laughed. “Look at the evil Prince of Demons now. If those afraid at the mention of your name could see you now, curses sending people to your threshold would drop in quick order. We would be overrun with bold evil souls of the dead. What would we do then?” Nord hefted Rane over his shoulder and headed for their rooms.

  Lion invited Wensel and Koler into the smallest of the meeting rooms. This room doubled as a sleeping chamber for visitors, so the wide bed next to the wall was used for sitting as was the small table with two chairs. Koler laid the little charmer on the bed behind her aunt and went to sit at the table with Lion.

  “The only explanation that we could pry from the wench is that she wants the child mated to her son before they come of age, or have the ability to mate in truth. She is desperate to gain Aria as a bride for Fin. When she told us before that there was few Sea Singers at Tremble, she was not lying. What she neglected to say was the few sirens had produced only male children for almost a century. Aria will have her pick of males when she reaches the age to mate. She was so desperate to gain the daughter-in-law she had dre
amed for her son, that your life was negligible. She assured us that it was not a personal dislike, you are an obstacle.

  “As to your demand for satisfaction, I have decided that she will be given a choice. Since I understand your hesitancy to allow her to roam free to attempt to kill you again, perhaps she would succeed the next time. I will allow her to choose which of them will have their Gills sealed. There will be none of this disappearing and showing her presence at will. If she loves her son as greatly as she says, for the good of her family, she will endure both the pain of cauterizing the flesh, and the loss of her beloved ocean. A siren without a sea to ride along on its waves is a pitiful creature. She will live out her life on the shoreline, ruing her decision. Each time the tide comes up, or flows out, she will feel the call and not be able to dive into the water. A side benefit to sealing her gills is that she will lose the siren’s call. Tremble will have a Sea Singer, two in fact, and one of them will live out their existence as a human.”

  The men waited for her response while she allowed the plan to flow throughout her second nature, letting it soothe the banshee’s need for revenge. It was a cruel punishment for a creature that spent its life in the freedom of the vast ocean. To see that freedom and not have the ability to use it again, yes, it was fitting. She bowed her head to Lord Tremble. “Thank you, sir. I will let the challenge of combat stand until the sentence has been carried out. If she chooses to give her son to accept her punishment, I will expect my challenge to be announced and your pardon, when I kill the slag. If she takes her punishment, the challenge is dropped.”

  Knowing she owed the handsome demon her life, she turned her eyes to see him watching her. It was unsettling, but nothing that happened in the past day and night was normal, and she was much too weary to dissect it now. “I owe you a debt of gratitude, sir. I can only say thank you for somehow knowing the woman’s plan, and saving my life. I also thank you for the kindness you have shown to my niece, Aria. We have only each other, and you saved her from being orphaned tonight.”

  She did not wait for further niceties. Within moments she had the little one in her arms, with that bird still attached to her shoulder, and was bidding the Lords good sleep.

  Koler watched her leave the room, and turned to Lion. “I want her, she either does not realize or does not accept that she can mate only with a demon male. Did you know that you have been harboring a banshee in your midst? Demons are the only beings on Echo that she could mate with and not kill while doing the deed.” From the look of astonishment on his face, Lion had not known, and Koler laughed.

  “A banshee will suck the aura of any living being. They suck the emotion from large crowds and it feeds their nature. They are ideally suited to mate with a demon, due to the steady supply of raw emotion that surrounds us. That is why a banshee-demon pairing is always two demons for one of them. It takes a great deal of energy to keep one like her healthy. I am actually surprised that I felt no tug from her during the commotion. She must have remarkable control to prevent those around her from falling weak. I would speculate that it has to do with her not wishing to draw energy from a child, so I can add integrity to her list of attributes.” He was rubbing his fingertips in anticipation of bringing the female to his way of thinking. Glancing at Lion, he could tell the ruler was concerned with his revelations.

  “I know she has a cat nature, the thought of such a dangerous being as a banshee, is unsettling. It appears each day that we are discovering new species in our world. The Ancient creatures are beginning to come from the northern most regions to make themselves known too. Now, something as dangerous as she is residing within my home, and I had no idea.” Lion felt the need to take flight to allow the wind to scatter his cares for an hour or two.

  “If she meant to harm any of you, you would be too weak to fight and too weak to stand. She has kept her nature a secret for obvious reasons I am sure. The panic that some feel when they know what a banshee is and what they do, can be riotous. The only time you should stay clear of her is when her eyes become black fathomless holes in her face; in fact, most become quite grotesque when angered. Her trust in you must be great for her to have passed the opportunity to kill her enemy this night.” He patted Lion’s shoulder and steered the Lord into the next room, shutting the door when he had crossed the threshold of the room. “I will rest now, and meet you early, before we leave for Demons End, or as you would call it Morlien Hall. Pleasant dreams, Lord Lion.”

  Chapter Six

  Darkness had not yet turned to light as the Sea Singer and her family were led into the huge room. Last night’s work had earned the female this public humiliation and punishment. Lion noticed that Wensel appeared to be weary, and wondered if she needed to feed something stronger than the emotions that she must be siphoning energy from here in the castle. He sent for Sivdjia and asked her to take Aria to the kitchens to feed her a morning meal. “Keep her in the kitchens until I send someone to bring you back, please. The sight and sounds of what will happen here shortly would scare the little one.”

  Sivdjia went to Wensel and asked if she could take the small one away from the chaos. “She will come to no harm with me, and I will keep her busy for a while, Wensel touched the older woman’s arm lightly and quickly drew her fingers back.

  “I would greatly appreciate that, ma’am, she can be a handful, but she is a good girl. Thank you and please thank Lord Tremble for me.” She handed the little one over and was rewarded with a big smile from the child. It seemed Aria approved of her new friend.

  Alura was brought to the spot next to a bowl of hot coals. The red glow from the heat was reflected on the edges of the metal and small points of light showed into the hazy smoke drifting to the ceiling. Lady Rane spoke several words over the small flames as she sprinkled a handful of herbs into the coals. The air took on a sweet scent and she backed away from the bowl.

  Wensel felt the fear rolling from the siren and stepped closer to pull the emotion into her starving being. She had no time last evening to go for a walk through the village to collect energy from the people and was as weak as she had been in the cavern home she and Aria shared back at Morlien Hall. There she had not needed the energy to maintain her natures as much as it was needed here to protect them. She stopped short of touching Alura, regardless of the need clawing at her to absorb the creature’s aura entirely. She would leave the punishment to the Tremble Lords, the emotions she would use to fuel her banshee’s needs.

  The boy, Fin, attempted to move in front of his mother. She shouted, “No, he will not pay for my mistake,” and the boy was pulled away. He struggled with those that pulled him from the room, and was no match for the men holding his arms, dragging him outside to join his father. As was normal in their family, the siren had gotten her way. She was the Dominant and neither male had questioned her authority and she won.

  Lord Nord stepped in front of Alura, and she refused to beg for mercy when he asked her if she had anything to say before they sealed her gills and her fate in the same moments. “I will not beg for your mercy, my Lord, given the opportunity, and a less observant guardian, the woman would be dead and I would take the treasure of future generations away from this place. My only request is for death instead of this cruelty. I have no wish to live as a filthy human.”

  Her response brought derisive looks from the humans in the room. Nord shook his head and murmured, “So be it.” He turned to address the room’s occupants that had gathered to witness such a punishment meted out. “The siren stands accused of attempted murder and is self confessed. She shows no remorse and in fact has spoken a willingness to repeat her actions. The punishment will take place.”

  Lion stood and addressed Alura. “You will have your gills sealed as punishment for your crimes. Since you have expressed a wish to continue your quest for your victim’s death, I declare that you have condemned your son to the same fate as yours should another attempt be made on the life of Wensel. You will know that you have taken his life as surely as
you would take another’s. The Child, Aria, will not be allowed to mate with Fin in the future, unless her guardian blesses the union.”

  Defeat and recognition slumped the siren’s shoulders as she was led to a table and strapped down with heavy leather straps. A wide collar of metal held her neck to the table as did the one across her forehead between two thin blocks of wood. Her gills were exposed on either side and Nord took the knife from the heated coals with its red glowing blade, and laid the hot metal over the three slits under her ear. The screams were deafening, and the scent of burning flesh blended with the herbal scent in the air. Once the blade cooled against her skin, it was heated again, and the punishment was repeated on the opposite side of her head. By the time the blade cooled the second time, the siren was reduced to babbling, begging for death one second and making drowning sounds the next.

  Rane stepped close and rubbed one of her healing ointments into the bubbled burn marks. While his mate tended to the prisoner, Lion watched the way Wensel tried to hide her interest in the woman’s emotions. He could see, now that it had been pointed out to him, how she stood close to Alura, breathing deeply, as if her body needed more air to survive. She made no sound, in fact, if he had not been looking for signs of her banshee nature, he would not have noticed. It was a surprise when she stepped away from the scene and began to walk behind those that had come to witness this event. He watched the way she wove through the small crowd, breathing, hesitating in one spot for mere seconds, and moving on again. He noticed that the demon was watching her move through the crowd too.