Morlien Hall was less than three hours from their camping spot. Chaos met them at the village perimeter. People were stumbling around, with patches of hair missing, faces that sported deep scratch marks, clothing that was shredded, yet no one appeared surprised to see the force of soldiers enter the village and continue to the Hall.
Chapter Ten
Koler waited to enter the Hall until Lion and Nord were ready to step inside. He placed his hand on the heavy wooden door to prevent them from opening it. “Hold for a moment if you will. The bastard, Flitch, who you might recall is Borland’s right hand, took Prince Leroi, and it appears they left on a ship that the furriers came on. I have reason to believe that Wensel was on that ship too. She has disappeared. We all know that she would never willingly leave the little one alone and unprotected, yet she is gone. The ship is gone, along with Leroi and Flitch.” He looked down for a moment and turned his head to watch a soldier stumble over a rock that he could not see in his path, because his eyes were swollen shut. Koler’s minions had done their work well last evening. “I was enraged at the loss of not only my best friend, but of that of my intended mate. I might have overreacted a bit.”
Nord walked around Koler and opened the tall door. “It appears to me that you might have, Sir Demon, let us see what havoc you have caused, and what have you left for us to deal with. I would hate to think you allowed us to come all this way so we would turn back without seeing action of some kind.”
The door swung back, and several beings fell from the crush attempting to leave through the exit. Nord was shoved back and Lion barely stepped aside as the beings rushed from the doorway. Once they saw Koler standing in their path, they stood still. On one side of that door was Lord Borland, on the other side, was the Demon Prince that Borland had promised their souls to if they chose to leave him in his hour of need. When Koler stepped aside and waved his hand toward the village, the people and beings were hesitant at first, but became emboldened when he smiled at them as they rushed past. He laughed aloud as the last few ran toward the safety of their hovels in the village.
There was a stench of fear and rotted food once the males stepped over the threshold. The place reeked, and the few soldiers that stood in front of the steps leading to the Lord of the Hall’s quarters, were barely standing. Lion stepped forward and addressed the soldiers.
“I wish to speak to Lord Borland. I have traveled a great distance and expect him to make time to see me this morning. Tell him he has a few moments to ready himself for our meeting, or we can come get him, the choice is his.” He walked over to the Lord’s chair at the head of the table and sat down to wait.
Nord went to the door and saw that the Amazons and Tremble’s forces were rounding up the pitiful excuses for soldiers that were Borland’s fighters. Morlien Hall was sadly in need of defenders. He liked the way the Amazons went about the job of setting up questioning groups by order of rank. Several Amazon Warriors would be a great addition to the Castle Guard. When they returned to Tremble Castle, he would personally see to it the ranks were increased and filled by trained females too.
The soldier that Lion sent to roust Borland from his rooms was back, and the man was almost in tears as he stood before the legendary giant, Lord Lion of Tremble Castle. The man still towered over him seated while he stood on shaking legs. Hopefully he would not kill the bringer of the craven message from Lord Borland.
“Beg pardon, Lord Tremble, Lord Borland refuses to come down unless you,” he looked at his own feet wanting the floor to swallow him whole, it was embarrassing to be in service to a cowardly man. “He says he will not come out of his rooms, unless you swear that he will retain his position and holdings. He asks that you leave this place in peace.”
Lion said nothing as the demon began to laugh, and Nord climbed the stairs. He finally looked at the young soldier, “Tell me, should Lord Borland order you to defend his honor, will you take up arms against me for his cause?” Lion liked this young fellow.
When he answered with a reluctant nod and grudging admission, “I am sworn to protect Morlien Hall and her Overlord. My oath has been sworn so.” Lion nodded his head in approval. The boy had integrity. He had to yell over the noise from above the stairs and the demon’s laughter to gain the male demon’s attention.
“Koler, would you be kind enough to step outside and ask the Amazon, Swift, to join us? I have a prisoner for her to take charge of.” Lion stood, placed his hand on the young man’s shoulder, and took the sword from his scabbard. “You now have nothing with which to fight, I have disarmed you and you are now a prisoner until I say otherwise. Do you understand?” A small smile appeared on the prisoner’s lips, but quickly smoothed out. Lion could tell the soldier would fight without a weapon, if he was truly honorable and he didn’t wish to waste the blood of a man such as this. He did the next best thing to appease the man’s ego and his own conscience, he raised his fist and tapped him on the jaw. When Swift appeared in the doorway, Lion ordered her to remove the man to where the prisoners were being held.
Nord was expending some pent up energy on the solid wooden door of the Lord’s quarters. He became tired of his game of frightening the whining man inside of the room who kept screaming for him to “go away and leave us in peace.” He gave the barred door a good kick and turned the thing into splinters, before striding inside and stopping in his tracks at the sight of Lord Borland. He recalled the message the Demon Leroi sent via the nightwing. During the telling of the message, the name “Old Pudding Bottom” had been used and Nord thought nothing of it at the time. Now he could see where the name came from. The man was built very small on his top half and wide and fluffy appearing on the bottom half. His thick lips pouted and his head sported strands of wispy grey hair. The male reminded Nord of the swamp rats that inhabited the coastal swamps to the southern coasts of the island.
“Go away, we have no need of you. We are perfectly happy without interference from you. Go, I say, leave my Hall or I will have the soldiers arrest you. I will curse your soul to the demon, I have a demon you know, he enjoys a snack when I send him someone like you and Lord Lion. Go on or I will summon him.”
Nord had no option, laughter was the only thing that came to mind, seeing this wretched creature demanding anything from him. Threatening him, with a demon no less. This entire trip, and all of the harsh feelings toward a demon were due to the little pudgy male standing in front of him. He exited the room carefully because the tears of laughter threatened to blind him. At the top of the stairs he called down for Lion to come up and, “Meet Lord Pudding Bottom, and bring our new friend with you.”
Lion saw his brother sitting on the top step, wiping the tears from his cheeks and making suppressed noises that sounded suspiciously like laughter. All Nord could do was jerk his arm up and point in the direction of the shattered door. When Koler looked at him, it set Nord off again, he could not stop laughing at the sight of the small man threatening him with his pet demon. He snagged Koler’s leg before the demon stepped inside the room with Lion, and put his finger to his lips. The only thing better than hearing himself being threatened would be for the demon in question to hear himself being used in such a manner. Suppressing his laughter caused his ears to pop, but it was worth it to see the look on Koler’s face.
“Out, I told the other giant, do you not understand my words? You must leave my Hall and the village or I will have my demon take your souls into his keeping. He enjoys my gifts, and you will rue the day you ignored my warning. You have violated my home and my—” there were kicking noises coming from a door on the west side of the room. “One moment while I sort this out.” Borland walked to the door pulling it open with quite a bit of force to have it bounce from the wall back to hit him in the shoulder.
Lion could see a woman’s backside spread wide due to the shackles holding her ankles to the legs of a bench. Another woman attacked Borland when he went into the room, and he backhanded her, sending her flying before grabbing a short whip and
starting to beat on the back of the bound female. The other one came at him again and he tried to hit her with the whip, but she was too fast for him. She bent at the last second and shoved her shoulder into his gut, they both fell back into the bedroom with her on top, and him lying winded on the floor. The girl looked wild and frightened, yet determined. When she spied Lion, she whimpered and looked around for a place to hide. Her hands were still bound in front of her body, and he could plainly see the bruises on her bare hide.
“Be at ease, little one, I will not harm you, I am Lord Lion of Tremble Castle, and here to right the wrongs that have been done in this place. Will you let me remove your bonds?” She ran to the opposite side of the bed and crouched down low. The only sign of her presence was the top of her brown hair sticking up in clusters and her brown eyes peeping over the coverlet, watching the room’s occupants every move. He wished Rane was here, she could see to the women’s hurts and pains. The knowledge that Rane had changed the way he thought of females drastically since she had come into their lives made him smile.
Borland rolled over and got to his knees to stand. He smoothed a hand down his belly and pursed his lips in displeasure. “I assure you, Lord Tremble, this has not been a normal day, no, it has not. First, my second in command, Flitch, has disappeared when he transported a prisoner. Last evening while we were dining, we were terrorized by a horde of cursed nightwings that refused to leave before doing as much damage as possible to the dinner and my men. Now you come here without an invitation, kick down my bedroom door, and will make demands that will be totally unacceptable for me to agree to. These females are being punished for not doing as they were told. The one with the large ass in there attempted to crush my manhood in her fist, while the other one attempted to kill me by wrapping her leg around my neck and applying pressure. If not for my bodyguards, I would be lame or dead this day.
“I will ask you one last time before I curse your soul to my demon. Please leave this place in peace and do not return. We have no need of outsiders here. Go back to your Castle, Tremble, go, go.” He actually made little shooing gestures and Lion could see why Nord had broken down like he did. He planned to do the same as soon as possible. The drama might have continued, but Borland’s demands were cut short when Koler stepped into the room.
“Ah, I see you are up to your old tricks, Borland.” He placed a foot forward. “Using myself and Prince Leroi to do your dirty work without soiling your dainty fingers, as usual, you are a disgusting little worm. Did I actually hear you telling the Lord of Tremble Island that I was your personal pet? Come, Borland, tell me I mistook your words threatening a noble giant as he, with sending his soul to my tender mercies?” He took another step forward and grinned as the pudgy mound of flesh began to shake. “What, you did not know is the only reason you are still walking the land and breathing the same air as he is by his own hand. Lord Tremble refused my request to rid this world of you and that creature, Flitch.”
Koler noticed the open door and viewed the woman still bound to the bench. Her entire backside from shoulders to ankles was striped with red and purple welts, some were bloody, from deep slices that penetrated her skin and into the meat of her thighs.
He stepped over to the woman and knelt to remove her bindings. As he touched her skin, he felt her truth. She had tried to defend herself as best she could, as had her friend when Borland ordered them to service him in the dining hall. The women had embarrassed him and the brunette had indeed almost succeeded in killing him before the soldiers pulled them from the screaming Lord.
He placed his hand on her head, smoothing back the red hair hanging in the girl’s eyes. “It is over now, I will take you to yon bed, and leave you to the care of your friend until the Lady Rane comes to this place. She will nurse your pains and hurts away.”
The girl was too weak to struggle and too frightened to scream at the notion of being carried tenderly in the arms of the most feared being on the planet. Everyone knew once a demon had you in his clutches, you were his slave for life and into death. Why was he being so nice to her? He carried her in the same position that she had been in since last night, when Lord Borland and his henchmen had bound her tightly to the wooden structure. Once Dana worked her legs loose, she had tried to untie the bonds, but was not successful. She was deposited on the bed, on all fours and a cover was draped over her ravaged body. Dana crawled in next to her and pulled her close to comfort and be comforted, but the Demon Prince only turned away without visiting evil upon them.
Lion had seen enough. This morning he woke with the knowledge that there would be a battle today, his heart was pumping a bit faster than usual, and he was ready for anything to come in his path. The entire day was now wasted on a lump of quivering pasty flesh that appeared to be more than a little insane. The missing Demon Leroi, and the disappearance of Wensel, was easily explained. He agreed with Koler, they must be on the ship that was in the harbor yesterday. Why he had not considered the vessel important at the time was beyond his comprehension. The only thing he could do for them now would be to instruct his captains to look out for the ship, and hope one would find the two missing residents.
He noticed the tender way Koler dealt with the women. There had been no lecherous comments or quick unnecessary touches. That was good, the demon had told him of the history of this place, and of his ancestors, perhaps everything he had spoken was true. At this moment, he needed to rescue the condemned male from said demon’s clutches, Koler had him by the throat and dangling ten inches from the floor.
“Hold, Koler, for a short while, after, you may finally have him as your plaything for eternity. I need to question him before I return to Tremble Castle. If you would bring him downstairs, I can summon Rane to come and help these good people, while I interrogate him.” He could see the frustration on Koler’s face and decided to return to the downstairs dining Hall and have someone fetch Rane.
Nord was coming back into the Hall by the time Lion reached the bottom step. “Brother, I must say this is the strangest coupe the forces of Tremble have ever staged to my memory. I have sent Trundle and Summer, the Amazon, to bring Rane to us. Knowing our mate, she is probably halfway here already. There are perhaps thirty fighting males that were attacked by the nightwings last night, and most of them have head wounds. The villagers are very forthcoming concerning the exploits of Lord Borland and his pet demon. Strangely enough, five citizens of the village that were demon cursed, have found their way into the land of the living in the forest. One young lad by the name of Arlan told me of the miracle beings. It looks to me as if our Demon Princes are not as evil as their reputations suggest.”
As he finished speaking, they heard the words “tuck and roll,” and the sound of someone falling down the last flight of steps. Nord grinned at his brother, “Perhaps I spoke too soon about the kindness of this particular demon.”
The demon in question had somehow rolled the lord in a ball of sorts and wrapped him in position with torn pieces of his own clothing. He kept sticking the toe of his boot under the ball of squealing flesh and giving it a lifting roll, as he made his way to the feasting table where the Lords of Tremble waited.
Koler cut the material binding Borland, even though he really wished that he was cutting the creature’s throat. Lion had promised the black hearted one to him, he could be patient, for a short time.
Chapter Eleven
The taste of energy she had gotten from the ship’s captain was not enough to quiet the need that was clawing inside of her. The banshee wanted to sample the first mate, but he had become calm once he knew his life was not yet in danger and there was no fear for her to feed from. She would not touch the aura of a child, no matter the need. Her banshee lay quiet while she was physically in the company of the young one, so she kept close to him for a goodly portion of the day.
She gave the captain orders to return the ship to Tremble Island, and the male worked without ceasing to get the ship turned around for the return trip. She eyed the
cook, but he was a sour old fellow with an unusual aura that she had yet to encounter, so she left him alone to do his job, but watched her back and that of the Demon Leroi’s also. Finally, she approached the large bodied male and asked him outright what his other nature was. “I am not attempting to be rude, however, I have never encountered one such as you before. There is a coldness to your aura that I cannot define.”
His grim look turned to her and he smiled with rows of shiny pointed teeth. “Land shifters are not the only dual natured on Echo. Some of us claim the sea as our second home.” He turned back to his pots and pans, dismissing her and her questions.
Leroi stayed in the captain’s quarters. It was not that he feared the sun shining on his skin, as some thought demons would burst into flames when sunlight touched them. The problem he was experiencing was the saltwater spray showering him as the winds blew across the ship’s deck. Those misting droplets of seawater stung his flesh like the dance of a hundred bees stabbing and crawling over his naked back and chest. His nipples were almost raw from the seawater clinging to the curling hair surrounding them. Each time a breeze wafted over his stinging body, the sensation brought his prick to readiness, making him aware of his needs and wishes for the pretty banshee to come to him.
Demons End (Tremble Island) Page 9