Demon's Throne

by K D Robertson

  “If I’d wanted to, I could have bound you to an infernal contract. I didn’t specify a penalty, so breaching your word would mean death,” he explained. Then he tapped on the paper again. “This is a written version of an infernal contract. I want you to read it and decide if you want to sign it.”

  “I don’t need to read it,” Alsia said, reaching for the pen beside the contract.

  Rys rolled his eyes and forced the contract into her hands. “Don’t be stupid. There’s a line between being loyal to gain an advantage and appearing like a fool. I’d prefer if you don’t cross it, given you’re going to rule the Kinadain for me.”

  Alsia nodded. “I understand.”

  As she dutifully read every line of the contract, sometimes mumbling to herself, Rys stared at her.

  He felt he was staring at a younger version of himself, only female and bearing strange draconic horns. Alsia actively played to his whims—or what she thought his whims were. Until she got what she wanted, she intended to do whatever necessary to keep him happy.

  How many times had he played to Lacrissa’s whims? How many times had she tested him with questions she already knew the answer to? How many times had her contracts contained obvious loopholes, just to see what he would do?

  “I feel there is a mistake here,” Alsia said. “This contract contains nothing regarding my service to you.”

  “That’s not a mistake. Think of whatever reason for its absence that you prefer,” Rys said. “The contract prevents you from betraying me, leaking secrets, or acting against any of my agents such as Maria. I also added in the part you wanted regarding marriage approval.”

  Alsia flicked through the contract. It was still over ten pages, due to all the extra details regarding contract variations and children.

  “What if I refuse your orders?” Alsia said.

  “I’m pretty sure I can punish you myself.” He stared at her.

  She gulped. “I see. Then I have two requests.”

  How daring of her.

  He gestured for her to continue.

  “First, the section on… marriage is too slim compared to the rest. I’d prefer if you had full approval of all related matters. It would make it easier if I could tell interested suitors to speak to you,” Alsia said.

  Rys contacted Tyrisa using mindspeak, then gestured for Alsia to continue.

  “Second, I want our agreement to say that you won’t order me to harm my people,” Alsia said. “I am honored that you trust me enough to give me freedom to act for you, Lord Talarys, but if I am to be bound like this, I don’t want this loophole in place.”

  “Sharp,” he said. “That’s good. You’ll need to be like that when dealing with devils and other leaders. I made that fairly obvious, but many political traps are more nuanced.”

  Alsia blinked. “This was a test?”

  “That depends on how you define a test. A test is something where, if you fail, somebody raps you on the knuckles and tells you what you got wrong. I wouldn’t have told you that you made a mistake,” Rys said.

  “Ah.”

  Their conversation was interrupted by a knock, then Tyrisa stepped inside. She shot Alsia a sharp look, then sat next to Talarys.

  “How can I help you, Rys?” Tyrisa chirped, focused on Alsia.

  Rys resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Alsia has two changes to make to the contract.”

  Tyrisa blinked several times, then turned fully to face Alsia and fixed a stiff smile on her face. “How can I help you?”

  “Allow me to explain,” Alsia began, a smug smile touching her lips.

  After they finished, and Tyrisa had pilfered Alsia’s share of the wine, Rys signed the contract with Alsia. The Lilim brought some replacement food, given the original plates were stone cold.

  “This is another devil?” Alsia asked, pointing at Tyrisa.

  “I’m a knowledge devil,” Tyrisa snapped. “You might be one of Lord Talarys’s regents, but I’ll be running things here.”

  Alsia raised an eyebrow. “He’s not ‘Rys’ anymore?”

  Tyrisa glared at Alsia.

  “Correction, Vallis runs things. Tyrisa just makes sure the mechanisms are oiled and will ensure I’m kept in the loop,” Rys said. “The full details are still a work-in-progress, while Maria and Vallis make sure I have a nation to rule.”

  “I’m going to be the Chief of Staff,” Tyrisa muttered. “That means I run everything.”

  “Chief of Staff?” Alsia asked.

  “It’s much more modern than all those stuffy court positions. It’s very popular in Hell to have secretarial positions within the court,” Tyrisa said.

  “Not now, Tyrisa,” Rys said. “We’re not explaining court bureaucracy to Alsia. Or to anyone. I thought it was bad during the Infernal Empire, but I’m impressed at how much more complicated it is now.”

  “Is that a thing infernals normally do?” Alsia asked.

  “Yes,” both Tyrisa and Rys said.

  Tyrisa deferred to Rys, her eyes twinkling as she waited for him to say something.

  “Devils love hierarchy and bureaucracy,” Rys said. “Nested layers of nobility. Webs of bureaucracy that can only be navigated by ancient devils or by being important enough to know the right people. Pointless conferences with hundreds or even thousands of infernals, where nothing is decided during the actual conference despite an eye-watering catering bill.”

  “You are trying to replicate that?”

  “No,” both Tyrisa and Rys said again. But this time, Tyrisa sounded disappointed.

  “I spent my life fighting this nonsense. Centuries of working with Araunth and Duar to hold things together despite all the idiots trying to burn everything down.” Rys shook his head.

  Alsia nodded sagely. Then said, “I appreciate that. Also, you just said ‘centuries,’ did you not?”

  Rys smirked. “I did. Now that you’ve signed that contract, perhaps it’s time I told you a little about myself.”

  The reactions of these mortals never grew old.

  Chapter 27

  Alsia left in the morning but promised to return shortly. Her retinue left with her.

  “That went better than expected,” Vallis said as they watched the Kinadain ride toward the mountains. “I couldn’t believe it when I heard that they overthrew all the elders.”

  “It’s efficient,” Rys said.

  “I’d call it ruthless. Something you’d do.” She stared at him. “You didn’t put her up to it, did you?”

  “I didn’t have anything to do with her until last night.” Rys turned and entered the mansion. “Don’t take too many lessons from her.”

  Vallis jogged to keep up with him. The Lilim closed the doors after they entered, their eyes tracking Rys closely. Nobody else was present.

  Now that Maria wasn’t in danger, Grigor took back command of the war front. Fara assisted him. There were movements from Compagnon that suggested something major was on the horizon. Rys wanted to be ready to crush their counterattack, then deal with his enemy once and for all.

  “I would have thought you wanted me to be more like her,” Vallis said. “Cold, respected, willing to do whatever it takes.”

  Rys gave her an amused look. She scratched her cheek.

  “I’m interested in results, not how you act around me,” Rys said. “Speaking of which, how are the preparations coming along?”

  “For making you eternal emperor of everything?” Vallis asked.

  “If this tiny stretch of land is everything, then I don’t want to know what they taught you at the mage tower.”

  Vallis rolled her eyes. “Well, it’s everything to you right now, isn’t it, Mister ‘I can’t leave the mansion?’”

  Rys refused to deign that with a response.

  After a cough to clear the air, Vallis answered Rys’s original question, “It should go faster now the Barul thing is dealt with and Alsia has approved of you as elder. I don’t need to worry if Maria will drop dead if she signs the wro
ng document.”

  “I’d ask why she needs to sign documents, but…” Rys trailed off.

  They both nodded at one another.

  “Tyrisa,” they said in unison.

  “I didn’t know record keeping could be done so well,” Vallis said. “But she insists on having everything in writing. I guess it’ll be useful when we become larger. I’ve heard of lots of merchant companies practically collapsing when they grow too large, because their record keeping couldn’t keep up with their growing size.”

  “As ridiculous as the Empire’s bureaucracy was, it needed to exist because of its obscene size.” Rys frowned at the thought of controlling anything that large. “Too many devils who felt they were owed power. Wealth coming out of their ears. People like Tyrisa keep everything running smoothly, and smarter infernals treated them well.”

  “Is that why you let her act like the spoiled bitch she is?” Vallis asked drily.

  “I let her act like that because she’s not spoiled. It’s called posturing. She’s trying to impress me, the same way that a powerful demon flexes his raw strength.” Rys stepped into his study. “I know her background. She worked relentlessly in Hell to get where she was.”

  An imp looked up from where it was cleaning the desk, then continued with its duties.

  “Doesn’t make her less annoying. And isn’t keeping so much paperwork dangerous? We’re doing some questionable things here.” Vallis grimaced. “The elders got caught out that way.”

  “You’re forgetting that we’re about to create a nation. Those ‘questionable things’ will become the daily running of an empire soon enough,” Rys pointed out. “We’re going to be powerful enough to not care. Once you’re in charge, you’ll be glad you have things in writing. Saves you the effort of arguing with others over what people remember.”

  Vallis scratched her cheek again. “Can’t say I thought of it that way. Anyway, Maria’s coming here now that she’s finished with the Kinadain. Should be here tomorrow. We can work out the rest of the details then.”

  She ducked out of the room, leaving Rys to his thoughts.

  He had many. Primarily, whether he needed to keep his power as secret as he thought.

  Alsia knew he controlled infernals. So did Maria and Vallis.

  His words about being powerful enough not to care rung in his ears. Soon enough, hiding his infernals would be more harmful than revealing them.

  Once he ruled a kingdom, how many people would care enough to oppose the infernals if they didn’t cause trouble? In his experience, very few. People had complained bitterly about the Infernal Empire, but it had been everyday life for almost everybody. They adapted.

  Even so, he needed to be careful. Rys trusted Grigor to keep the demons in check. No reports of rampaging demons had come in, and he planned to keep it that way. The same applied to the Lilim’s desires.

  People’s willingness to overlook things they disliked vanished very quickly when they felt threatened. Pillaging demons or wandering succubi could ruin Rys’s plans practically overnight.

  His mind turned to his manor. Earlier, he had held off on finishing the design. That felt like a mistake now.

  He wandered downstairs, entering the sub-levels. With only a few messages to the Lilim, he cleared out the detached building and marked it as off limits.

  As planned, his final design consisted of a hollow square design with a central courtyard. Each side of the square was a separate wing, consisting of a long corridor with rooms off the side. He ensured there was a throne room and a ballroom as well.

  The central courtyard was the main attraction, so he filled it with hedges and a fountain. The hedges provided a privacy wall around the central fountain if he or anybody else needed privacy. His bedroom would be next to the courtyard, so that he could easily access the rest of the mansion.

  Everything else would be designed as necessary. He suspected a lot of it would become office or residential space. Vallis, Maria, and Alsia would all require their own staff. Then there’d be guards and servants, once he started recruiting people who weren’t infernals.

  Somehow, Rys felt that he’d done this a few times before.

  During the war against the angels, Malusian had given him a fortress near Marnn. That had remained Rys’s fortress for most of his life. He had stayed in palaces elsewhere, given how often he had been deployed to fix problems in the Empire. But he struggled to recall another time he built a mansion or castle from scratch.

  Damn seals and his altered memories.

  Vallis intruded on him the next day, while he concentrated in his study. Rys sat at his desk, a ball of flame hovering steadily over one hand.

  “You’re getting the hang of it,” she said, after she entered without knocking.

  “Slowly. It will be months before I can use it in combat. I can’t even use sendings,” Rys said.

  “Those are harder than they seem. I hear that part of officer selection in most militaries is based on how much training is needed.” Vallis took a seat on the edge of his desk. “Like I said, I spent years learning. These days I mostly use magic to organize my paperwork.”

  “You have Tyrisa for that now.”

  “Please. She gets on my case whenever I let my outbox get out of order.” Vallis rolled her eyes.

  The two of them sat in silence for some time. Vallis kicked her legs in the air, watching Rys closely.

  Eventually, he looked up at her. “Maria isn’t here yet?”

  “Nope.”

  He stared at her. She smiled back at him.

  “You’re bored, aren’t you?”

  “Extremely,” Vallis chirped. She ducked her head when he glared at her. “I’m used to constant activity, not waiting for things to happen. I don’t know how you just… wait. Same with Fara. If I put both of you in glass boxes for a week, I doubt you’d care.”

  “I’d care a lot,” Rys said drily. “Things are going to happen this week.”

  “Okay, then what if I did it last week, after Barul? Don’t play dumb with me.”

  He shrugged. “It’s something you learn. I’m as bad as you are with nothing to do, which is why you always see me doing things. Learning evocation, reading, drinking with Grigor or Fara. The trick is to find things to do.”

  “Right. And the thing I’m doing right now is annoying you,” Vallis said. She smirked when he glared at her.

  Sighing, Rys snuffed out his little flame. “Fine. I’ll entertain you.”

  The two of them sat in silence for the next thirty seconds.

  “I don’t feel entertained,” Vallis said.

  “You said you were going to annoy me.”

  “Ah.” Vallis nodded. She stroked her chin. After a few moments, her eyes lit up. “Have you and Fara fucked yet?”

  Rys felt glad that he wasn’t drinking anything.

  “I’m sorry?” he asked, certain he’d misheard.

  “She’s been mothering me a lot less lately. More approving smiles, fewer attempts to lock me in my room after several hours of lecturing,” Vallis said. “And unlike you, she doesn’t turn on her soundproofing most nights. I hear things.”

  The lewd grin on Vallis’s face spoke volumes about what she heard from the neighboring bedroom.

  “I think you already have an answer to that,” Rys said.

  “She could just be really horny.”

  “Are you sure you’re not projecting?” Rys raised an eyebrow.

  Vallis’s face blew up, turning completely red. She looked away. Words tried to escape her mouth, but came out as incomprehensible stutters.

  That was a yes, then.

  “Okay, so teasing you was a bad idea,” Vallis said, face in her hands.

  “You have heard the Lilim talk about me, right?” Rys asked.

  “Nope. Other than when they bring food and drink, I stay away from them. Can’t say I like the idea of being near succubi much. I spent my life controlled by debt. Being controlled by other urges, especially if magic is invol
ved, is something I’d prefer to avoid,” Vallis explained.

  Rys frowned. His fingers drummed on the desk. This was a side of Vallis that he hadn’t noticed, and he had only himself to blame.

  “The Lilim won’t touch you without your express permission,” Rys said, voice cold. “Has anything happened?”

  Vallis blinked. Her eyes widened. “Oh. Oh no, absolutely not. I just don’t like the idea. It’s a, uh, hang-up, I guess.” She flushed and scratched her cheek. “It’s embarrassing to talk about.”

  “You organized the loans with Tarmouth, though,” Rys said.

  “That was… harder than I said it was,” Vallis muttered. “I give Tyrisa a hard time, but she helped a lot there. Hours of poring over the contracts and making sure that nothing could be traced back to me if something went wrong.”

  “I see.”

  Silence fell.

  Vallis played with her skirt. She’d been favoring frilly collared shirts and pleated skirts as the weather warmed, ditching her heavier and finer clothes. Even her thigh-high stockings were thinner, such that Rys could see her skin through the black fabric. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t imagine what was beneath them, given how attractive she was.

  “A simple question, then. If you’re so worried about being tied down, why are you still here?” Rys asked, his tone neutral.

  Vallis’s eyes widened and she looked at him in shock. “Because I…” She paused and steadied herself. “You aren’t tying me down, that’s why. Maybe I’m in a bit too deep to easily walk away, but you always gave me a choice. My situation is different to Maria’s and Alsia’s.”

  “And you don’t feel it could change?”

  “Don’t you say that you care about results, not how I act?” Vallis tried to smirk. “It’s a little rich for me to run away from you, after everything you’ve done to help me. Maybe you do things I don’t understand, but you’re the best thing that’s happened to me.”

  Her hand crept across the table and touched his. She smiled at him. When he didn’t push her away, she let out an explosive sigh.

  “Hell, Rys, you scared the shit out of me,” she said, holding a hand against her chest. “The way you just switch off your emotions sometimes is fucking terrifying, you know? Can you promise to only do that to other people? And Tyrisa?”