Demon World

by Balvir Bhullar

  Driskell gave her a sceptical look. ‘I wouldn’t expect a woman who would go barging up to a demon, threatening to kick the living daylights out of him, to be scared of anything,’ he said bemusedly.

  Amanda punched him in the arm playfully. ‘You’d think that, right? But you I can handle. It’s the rest of these Noble nutcases that have me faintly worried. I can take on some of them, but going up against a whole army might be...’ she tapered off, trying to come up with a suitable adjective.

  ‘Crazy, would be the word you’re looking for, my Scythian warrior,’ said Driskell, as she snorted at him in derision. So, you think you can handle me? That opens up interesting possibilities... He very much liked the idea. He gave her an unbalanced grin that matched the wicked gleam in his eyes.

  Oh boy, it doesn’t take much to set him off. He must be the Casanova of his world, she thought. She didn’t appreciate the subtle way in which his body language had changed, as he now leaned in towards her with one arm artfully draped along the lounge stretching behind her.

  Amanda subconsciously placed a hand on his chest intending to push him back, but carried on oblivious, much to Driskell’s amusement. ‘Actually, I was going to say ‘challenging’. I quite like the idea of it,’ she said fiercely, as her eyes lit up at the very thought of it.

  ‘I know what you mean...’ said Driskell with a sly smile, wondering how long it would take for her to realise that she had not moved her hand.

  ‘I beg your pardon?’ asked Amanda suspiciously, and looking down she dropped her hand as if she had just touched a hot coal, and scooted back an infinitesimal amount. She took a deep breath. Right, now how to approach the delicate subject of... everything with the man before her.

  Driskell shook his head dismissively, ‘Let’s get back to the important reason for why I brought you here.’

  ‘Before you do, I want to know — why are you helping Rowanne and I?’ She recalled his words back at his apartment: ‘the two of you will now be under my protection’. It was evident that he had meant for her to hear the conversation between him and Evelyn.

  Later on, Driskell had called her to a coffee shop, where he had set about convincing her to go to Demon World, because it would be in the best interests of her cousin - but he’d been vague, not really answering her questions. God alone knew why she had agreed, and why she was trusting him to tell the truth.

  Driskell looked thoughtful for a moment, ‘Do you know how I came to acquire my reputation?’

  Amanda thought of the rumours she’d heard, but decided she’d rather hear the truth from him, so she shook her head.

  It was highly unlikely that the half demons of Earth would be well informed of what was happening in Demon World, thought Driskell. They didn’t possess the ability to portal, only a full demon could do that, a half demon could meet their untimely demise should they attempt it and get it wrong.

  ‘More than seventy years ago when I was a young demon, I had the good fortune to befriend one of the best men I’ve ever known, and also the brilliant woman who captured his heart,’ said Driskell.

  Amanda looked at him uncomprehendingly. Well, this was certainly news to her: Driskell had friends?

  ‘I can tell by the look on your face that it’s hard to believe. Anyway, I learnt a lot from your great-grand-uncle Elisedd.’ Driskell let the implication of what he was saying reach through to her.

  ‘So, you were friends? I’m sorry, but I find that hard to believe. When did this happen? I wouldn’t have believed that my family had actually lived here, if it had not been for that photo in your apartment of great-grand-uncle Elisedd and the woman. By the way, who is she?’ Amanda scooted closer, fascinated.

  It was true her family knew of Demon World and demons in general, but they had never spoken of their time here, and nor was it recorded in her family history, either.

  ‘You really have no idea as to who she is?’ asked Driskell suspiciously. He could not help it; his inquisitive nature needed to know how much information the Knight family had of Demon World.

  ‘Look, if I knew I’d hardly waste time asking pointless questions. We don’t have much time, so enlighten me,’ said Amanda.

  ‘Like I said, I knew your great-grand-uncle from long ago. This was way before your time-’ he paused.

  He looks good for an old man - the perks of being a full demon, I guess.

  ‘What is it?’ asked Driskell gruffly, puzzled by her contemplative look when he had not even begun to get started. Was he boring her already?

  ‘I was thinking that you’re really old,’ replied Amanda helpfully.

  ‘Thanks a lot, my dear,’ he said disgustedly.

  ‘Keep your hair on old man. I was going to add that you look younger than your age. I’m jealous of the gene that keeps you full bodied demons immortal. I mean you never have to worry about wrinkles again or gray hair for that matter,’ sighed Amanda wistfully.

  Driskell added solicitously, ‘It’s not as great as it sounds, there’s a price to pay...’

  ‘Sign me up. I’ll pay whatever it is,’ said Amanda half jokingly.

  ‘That’s what everyone says until they read the fine print... Believe me, even lawyers forgo reading the whole of a monotonous contract. Well, they can always argue their way out!’ Driskell said, amused.

  ‘It’s easy for you to say, you’re never going to die — unlike the rest of us,’ said Amanda solemnly.

  Driskell looked at her wryly as a look of pain washed through his eyes, like a wave dashed against the side of a cliff. How could she possibly understand? She was still so young and full of life. Let her live a little, then by all means, she can tell me how wonderful life is, he thought darkly.

  Amanda was subdued by the knowing look on his face. She felt like a child. I probably am being naive, she thought sullenly. It was time to change the subject, for now.

  ‘You were talking of my great-grand-uncle and the mysterious woman,’ she prompted.

  ‘It was 1944 in Demon World, in terms of your world history it would have been a year before the second World War ended.’

  Amanda conjured up an image of her great-grand-uncle in a smart suit looking vaguely like the famous Australian actor Errol Flynn - like him, her great-grand-uncle had short wavy brown hair, but unlike him, he was clean shaven. He had classic features and a beautiful symmetry to his face as well as high cheekbones.

  ‘The thing that really fascinated me about Elisedd was his warm hearted approach towards everyone he met,’ said Driskell. Amanda looked at him oddly as if he’d just grown a second head. ‘In a way, he was a lot like Alexander. They are open and honest; what you see is what you get.’ Driskell scooted closer to Amanda, and poked her teasingly in the shoulder, ‘On pain of death, you will not repeat to anyone, especially Alexander, what I have just said.’

  Amanda batted his hand away casually, she could not believe what she was hearing, and felt slightly uncomfortable on hearing him talk of feelings. Who would ever have imagined that he could be so open; certainly not her.

  ‘You have to understand that the demons in my world are shallow, power hungry beings, but this human man had a way of getting through to them, of making them listen to him. I wonder sometimes if perhaps he didn’t have a little demon blood mixed in his genes somewhere,’ said Driskell, amused as he fondly reminisced of his old friend.

  ‘As far as I know, there are no full demons in the Knight family. The few of us that are demons are through marriage and consequently having a half demon child,’ said Amanda.

  ‘Ah, but you can’t be a hundred percent certain, can you? You clearly don’t know the whole of your family history, where demons are concerned. They haven’t told you the truth about your great-grand-uncle Elisedd, or the fact that he was in love with...’ Driskell tapered off. Amanda’s eyes widened, an eager smile playing upon her lips as she rested her arm on the lounge, her hand gripping his arm. He smiled, shaking his head; what she didn’t know could not hurt her.

  ‘Wha
t are you saying? In one respect you’re right; they didn’t tell me of my great-grand-uncle Elisedd, but I don’t think they did it intentionally. Maybe they were trying to protect me, or perhaps the truth of what happened to him has been lost in obscurity.’

  ‘You are just as naive and entirely too trusting as your great-grand-uncle was…’ She glared at him as her grip tightened on his arm in her agitation. ‘I’m just saying it wouldn’t hurt you to do some digging around. You might be surprised by what you find...’ he said mysteriously.

  ‘As much as I hate to admit it, you could be on to something. Even if the information about my family residing here is lost,’ she said uncertainly. ‘There is still the pressing question of how we came to know of your existence - demons I mean,’ she amended.

  Driskell rubbed his arm, having finally extracted it from her death like grip; losing the use of one’s arm was in no way romantic.

  ‘Shame. I was hoping you’d have the answer to that one. Demons in my world have long speculated as to why your family was allowed to reside here, and how you came to learn of our existence.’ Driskell’s eyes sparkled as he contemplated this great mystery.

  ‘If I knew the answer to that one, then I think I’d find enlightenment,’ she joked, putting her feet up and sitting cross legged.

  ‘I wonder why they’re really hiding it from you... I’ll reiterate again, that it’s worth looking into, at least you’ll have that knowledge. You never know, it could come in handy one day,’ said Driskell solemnly.

  ‘Knowledge is power, that type of thing?’ asked Amanda. Driskell reprimanded her with his eyes.

  Whatever the case may be, her family had been right in one sense: not to tell her anything which could be used against them. This was the perfect example of why: in case of capture, the demons could not extract information from her which she did not possess.

  On the other hand, if no one in her family had information about their origins, then that was hardly any better. Perhaps it was stored somewhere... Why does my family train all of us so hard, and why do we live the way we do... Great, now he’s creating an existential crisis within me.

  Amanda would not leave this topic alone. When this was all over, she was going to have a nice long chat with her family. She would also drag Rowanne along to meet them. It irked her to no end to keep admitting that Driskell was right: it had not done any of them any good to be kept in the dark, and separating Rowanne from her family had not been the right decision.

  In the end, Rowanne had ended up in their world anyway; admittedly through the most unlikely of circumstances. Hmm, did she believe in coincidences? She had a lot of unanswered questions. Before she would have let it go for the greater good of the family, but now because of the man before her, she was daring to question them.

  Amanda looked at him sharply, begrudging him a smile, ‘Thanks,’ she said gruffly.

  Driskell looked at her questioningly, but she simply dismissed it with a wave of her hand. He decided to drop the subject of her family, reluctantly. He could not believe that for a woman who had mistrusted him at every turn, she had remarkably opened up. Then again, his rather callous behaviour had hardly been engendering of trust of any kind. ‘As I was saying, I formed a firm friendship with Elisedd, and it never bothered him that I wasn’t from a First Family-’

  ‘That’s stupid,’ said Amanda, cutting him off.

  Driskell counted to ten before jumping to conclusions. ‘What do you mean?’ he asked in a clipped voice.

  Amanda stopped short of rolling her eyes. This man was entirely too sensitive when it came to the delicate subject of his family status. ‘What I was trying to say rather inelegantly is that I, along with my great-grand-uncle Elisedd, wouldn’t think twice about where you came from, much less your family status. You get to know the person, not their standing in society. Would you still speak to me even if I didn’t belong to a wealthy or well known family? What if I was just a normal working class almost-human gal?’

  ‘What has that got to do with anything? I’d still approach a woman like you: hardworking, and clearly strong! Perhaps a little too headstrong. Beautiful inside and-’ said Driskell, looking at her attentively, captivated by her words.

  ‘Exactly the point I was making,’ said Amanda, cutting him off. ‘Wait, what?’ She had clearly missed something, and he was looking at her oddly again.

  ‘Never mind,’ said Driskell, enjoying the moment. He may have lost one of his best friends, but in a way his friend had come back to him in the form of his descendant: the beautifully vibrant young woman who sat before him.

  He may not have been able to save Elisedd, but he’d be damned if he didn’t try to save Amanda, and Rowanne. The Knight family were turning out to be every bit as complex and secretive as Lillian’s family, and demon knows they held the monopoly when it came to secrets that could make and break not just a kingdom, but the very foundation of Demon World.

  There was more than one reason to hate the Nobles and First Families: he’d envied them their knowledge, maybe that was one of the reasons why he became an Enforcer. Driskell wanted to wheedle out their secrets one by one. Why was it that they wielded power over the rest of them...

  ‘Driskell?’ called Amanda, as she waved her hand before his face. Finally he came back to his senses. He had seemed to go into a trance there. She certainly had not liked the stone mask that had descended over his features, or the way his eyes had become a dark inky green, almost black, causing goosebumps to break out on her arms.

  Driskell caught her hand, ‘Sorry, too much on my mind...’ he said distractedly, and laughed maniacally as she looked at him apprehensively.

  Amanda thought it wise to let him continue - she’d get her hand back eventually, he obviously needed to hold onto someone. ‘You mentioned great-grand-uncle Elisedd being in love with...?’ she asked, gently steering him back onto the original topic from which he repeatedly deviated.

  ‘He was in love with Lillian Morning Star of the First Family.’

  ‘Who?’ asked Amanda.

  ‘She was the princess of our Royal Family...’ Driskell replied casually, waiting for the information to sink in.

  ‘Oh!’ she replied, clearly taken aback by what she’d just learnt. She could not believe it, it was implausible. When she could finally speak, she asked excitedly, ‘Was it reciprocal?’ She knew what the answer would be, even before he nodded just once decisively. She grabbed him by the coat. ‘But when did this happen, 1944 right? That’s what you said,’ she answered her own question. ‘I got a bit carried away there...’ she said ruefully, as she began to smooth his coat much to his amusement. She was clearly in a daze. ‘This is incredible. I don’t really know anything of great-grand-uncle Elisedd’s past. Tell me more of his life with Lillian.’

  ‘That’s Lady Lillian, to you!’ said Driskell. He wanted her to acknowledge Lillian with the respect due to her, as a daughter of the First Family.

  ‘Alright!’ said Amanda; clearly she’d put her foot in it politically. ‘So, what happened? I’m guessing Demon World wouldn’t have approved of such a match.’

  ‘That’s the understatement of the century! Let’s start at the beginning. Your family had established themselves in Demon World, and everything was working out for a while, until-’

  ‘Great-grand-uncle Elisedd came along, right?’ supplied Amanda. ‘The rebel of the family you might say...’ but she went quiet at the look of annoyance that flashed across Driskell’s face at her interruption. ‘Sorry, please continue.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Driskell begrudgingly - he preferred to tell the story in his own way. ‘When Elisedd came along the equilibrium shifted. For a while there, he behaved in accordance with the rules, but then he crossed the line... to the detriment of us all.’

  ‘Just say “he fell in love!” It’s not something that can be helped, and it happens to the lucky few of us fortunate enough to find it,’ said Amanda, irritated with his long winded approach.

  Driskell gla
red at her and continued, ‘He noticed the Princess straight away, and began to develop a fondness for her. Though he appeared reserved, this was by no means the case, especially when it came to something he desired or was passionate about. Accordingly he made himself a part of our group. He got along well with all of us, though, admittedly Lady Blaze didn’t give him the time of day. She doesn’t associate with lesser demons or humans, and would probably put them all in the same category as half demons. No offence intended,’ he added hastily, at Amanda’s look of disgust.

  ‘None taken.’ God, she hated that woman. Everything she’d heard about Lady Blaze sickened her. How she must have loathed pretending in front of us at the offices. She probably couldn’t stand the sight of Rowanne and I, thought Amanda.

  ‘Elisedd told me that he had started to develop feelings for Lillian at her pre-coronation party. Incidentally that was the first time he properly spoke to her-’

  ‘And the rest they say is history!’

  Lillian was a beautiful woman, Amanda had seen that in the photo, so obviously he’d notice her, but the fact that her great-grand-uncle had been daring enough to approach a princess to start a relationship with out of all people, spoke volumes about him. I wonder what Lillian had seen in him... she mused.

  ‘How does an immortal come to love an ordinary human?’ asked Amanda.

  Very easily... ‘It’s one of those great mysteries. I’m afraid I don’t really have an answer. But she must have seen something in him that she liked. Lillian is not the type of person to allow a few pesky political rules to stop her. After all, she’s a Noble and they’re all stubborn. If they see something they want, they go for it, consequences be damned. It certainly makes my job easier, knowing their nature inside out,’ he laughed darkly.

  Of course it does, thought Amanda, disturbed. ‘And how well do you presume to know me?’ she asked boldly, looking him straight in the eyes. There was a dark intensity to his eyes as they fixed securely onto her, while he contemplated her unexpected question. She would not be the first to look away.