A Demon's Wrath (11 page)

Julius nodded. “Yes, it is horrible.
Luckily, or not so luckily, the recipe for that potion was lost a
hundred years ago. And our old king was only too happy to see it
gone, as it caused the kingdom naught at that time but grief.”

“Mama, can we go now?” Lucifer begged once
again, this time louder as he tugged at Vera’s skirt.

Vera turned her eyes to her beloved son and
patted his head fondly. She said, “The potion is a horrible one. No
one should ever use it again.”

“Mama,” Lucifer begged.

Julius shut the book then and looked
pointedly at Lucifer as he said, “Showing Brian around, are
we?”

Lucifer nodded enthusiastically, giving
Julius a toothy grin.

“The stables?”

Again Lucifer nodded.

“We better go,” Vera said, “before this
little demon gets annoyed with us.”

Cecelia nodded in agreement. They left the
library, and Lucifer gleefully ran outside the palace toward the
stables even before Julius could say good-bye.

The warm morning breeze was nice against
Cecelia’s skin. The smell of wild lily and honeysuckle caressed her
senses, which reminded her of Rosevalley.

Across the vast land to the north were
orchards growing with pears, apples, stone fruits, and many types
of berries. The vineyard to the east once again reminded her of her
home and her mother and brother, which made Cecelia’s heart ache.
To the south, spilled over across in the wide expansion was the
city itself, with stone buildings, large and narrow lanes, markets,
the town square, and demons going about their days and doing their
business.

It was when they headed farther toward the
west that Cecelia began to hear clanging noises of metal against
metal and men grunting. She narrowed her eyes against the bright
sunlight in search of the clatters that grew louder and louder.
Then as they came around the thick stone wall and into the clearing
behind the castle, Cecelia gasped in awe at the sight she beheld
before her.

Demons.
There were at least a few
thousand of them in the vast open field, training, sharpening their
battle skills. She blinked as she watched men wrestling, fencing,
spear-throwing, fighting, and much more. She felt overwhelmed. This
training camp was a hundred times bigger and a hundred times more
energetic than the one she’d witnessed back at home in Rosevalley
as a child.

“There’s Papa!” Lucifer shrieked excitedly.
He jumped on his spot and waved to his father animatedly. When he
saw his papa raise a sword at him in salute, he laughed elatedly.
Vera giggled as she too waved back at her husband.

Cecelia couldn’t take her eyes off the scene
before her. These demon warriors were terrifyingly skilled with
their weapons and techniques in battle. No wonder the humans feared
them.

It was then she noticed the demon king Drake
amongst his soldiers. He was training a group of well-honed yet
nervous-looking warriors. There were eight of them surrounding him,
swords in their hands, ready to take him on. Drake, in only his
breeches and a sword in his right hand, swung his sharp, lethal
weapon forward and began the combat. He was quick and precise with
his blows, and within a minute, the eight warriors were all
defeated, lying flat on the ground, their bodies brutally beaten.
Drake, who stood eyeing his crushed warriors with an unsatisfied
frown, suddenly glanced up and caught Cecelia’s eyes.

Though she was trembling in the sheer awe
and fear of the demon, Cecelia couldn’t look away. He fascinated
her beyond belief as she stared at his half-naked body with bulging
muscles that sent her body tingling. His bronze, smooth skin
glistened with sweat and his chestnut-brown hair hung over his
scowling face. His gaze was hot and intense, and even at this great
distance, glued her to her spot. Then he gave her an astute smile
that made Cecelia’s stomach flutter with an odd excitement in
response. She caught her breath at the back of her throat and
quickly glanced away.

“We’ll come back and watch them after I show
you the stables,” Lucifer stated as he began leading her along the
narrow path to the other side. Cecelia felt Drake’s fervid gaze on
her person as they passed, and she held her breath until they were
out of sight of the training camp.

“There’s the stables,” Lucifer shouted,
dragging her across the clearing. “Storm, Storm, Storm,” he sang as
he hopped along.

Cecelia glanced at Vera, who was smiling.
“He loves Storm,” she explained.

Cecelia nodded. She understood perfectly how
attached the little demon was to his pony. She herself had been
very attached to her mare Snow.

“Here we are,” Lucifer announced. “He’s in
here, he’s in here,” he shouted as he ran into the stables.

Inside, Cecelia saw the steeds were like
those she’d seen the day before—beautiful, big, and strong. The
place was warm and smelled of hay, earth, and animals.

“Come here, come here,” Lucifer shouted, his
hand waving wildly at Cecelia. “Storm’s here. You want to pet
him?”

“Of course,” Cecelia said, chuckling. She
walked to the little, cute demon’s side and bent low to pat the
gray pony that didn’t at all look like a pony she’d ever seen.
“It’s, err, nice,” she stated and gave him a confused look that
made Lucifer roll his eyes heavenward, informing her with his far
more superior knowledge that she didn’t know anything.

“He’s a pony,” he stated, pointing to the
animal that did indeed look like a pony, but at the same time
didn’t. It had beautiful, fluffy fur, striped gold and black,
almost like a cat. The animal itself, however, had pointy horns and
a body like a unicorn. “See? he queried. “He’s more than nice. He’s
the best.”

“Yes,” Cecelia said, nodding, “he’s the
best.” She stroked the animal, loving the warmth and softness of
the fur under her fingertips. The pony groaned in response and
nuzzled closer to her.

Lucifer laughed. “See, he likes you touching
him,” he said, nodding his blond head.

Cecelia smiled as the pony groaned some more
and, shoving its head toward her, begged her to pet it again. It
was then that a series of loud snorts came from the next stall.
Cecelia jumped and glanced up, nearly falling on her backside in
surprise. Another grunt came and went, and Cecelia was utterly
scared and curious.

Slowly she stood, her eyes wide as she came
to face the most beautiful beast she’d ever seen. Sinfully black,
muscles firm and tone in stunning shape. Cecelia was mesmerized by
the creature’s beauty.

“What a beautiful horse,” she commented,
watching as the muscles of the animal’s hind legs rippled as it
moved.

Lucifer straightened and stood on tiptoe so
he could look at the animal. “Oh, that’s Wildfire. He’s being
naughty. That’s why Uncle Drake put him in there.”

Cecelia looked at Lucifer with her brows
raised. “Naughty?”

“Hum.” Lucifer nodded.

“Would you like to take Storm for a ride,
Lucifer?” Vera asked behind them.

Lucifer turned to face his mother and shook
his head. “No, I’m going hunting with Papa and everyone after
luncheon.”

“What will you hunt this time?” Vera asked
with interest.

“Papa said last night that we’re getting a
wild boar,” Lucifer supplied.

Cecelia frowned and said, “But surely,
hunting is very unpredictable. How do you know you’ll get a wild
boar?”

Lucifer looked at her as though she didn’t
know anything of importance. He said, as though lecturing somebody
much younger than himself, “We are getting a wild boar. That’s what
Papa said. And what he says goes.”

Wildfire hissed again, its hind legs kicking
against the unstable wooden door. Cecelia worried the animal might
break the door down and topple on them, especially Lucifer, who
didn’t seemed to have a care that this might happen.

“He’s upset he’s stuck in there. Poor
Wildfire,” Lucifer said, shaking his head.

“Does Wildfire not like to stay in his
stable?” Cecelia asked, pulling Lucifer away from the door.

Lucifer looked up at her and said, “Wildfire
doesn’t stay in the stable. He runs and flies around. If he’s in
the stable, it means he did something very terrible that Uncle
Drake doesn’t like, to teach him a lesson.”

“Fly?” Cecelia asked, looking at the young
demon.

Lucifer nodded. Vera saw the look of
confusion on Cecelia’s face and stepped in to explain. “Wildfire,
Brian, is a special breed of steed in the demon kingdom. It can
fly.”

Just then, Wildfire turned about and faced
them. Cecelia widened her eyes at the twisted black horn on the
steed’s forehead. Its eyes were pitch black. Then it started to
snort at them again, tapping its two front hooves on the
ground.

“Does it fly very fast?” Cecelia asked
curiously.

“Oh, yes,” Vera said. “So much so that one
couldn’t catch up on horseback.”

Cecelia stared at the steed long and
hard.

Then Lucifer said, “Hey, you like Wildfire
more than Storm.”

Cecelia didn’t hear what Lucifer had said.
She was staring at the beast, her mind racing.

“Hey!” Lucifer said, nudging Cecelia’s
hand.

Cecelia jumped. “I’m sorry. What did you
say?”

“You like Wildfire more than Storm,” Lucifer
repeated unhappily.

“Now, Lucifer, it is enough that you love
Storm. It is, after all, your pony, not Brian’s,” Vera said.

Lucifer clamped his lips together and then
nodded. “No, I wouldn’t like it if Storm liked Brian more than me.
Okay, let’s go watch Papa train the younger warriors. I’m going to
be like him when I grow up,” he thought to add before running out
of the stables.

“Come along,” Vera said to Cecelia.

Cecelia turned once more to look at Wildfire
and then followed Vera out of the stables.

THEY WATCHED THE TRAINING FOR a little while
before Julius came to fetch Lucifer for his lessons. After much
groaning and moaning, the boy finally followed his teacher back to
the study room that was joined to the library. Vera excused herself
to attend to her work as mistress of the palace, a job she loved
and found much comfort in.

Alone, Cecelia took the opportunity to
explore the sections of the castle where she was allowed to roam
freely, drawing a map within her mind of the palace’s perimeter and
its surroundings. Her objective was to find a route to the Cave of
Doom within the forbidden forest where the Pearl of Life resided.
By midafternoon, she hadn’t accomplished much more than when she’d
started. Furthermore, she was getting too sweaty and hot and a
little dizzy from dehydration.

She was about to turn back when she heard
water splashing. Curious, she rounded the corner of a bush and came
to view a secluded, small lake that resided within the thick woods.
She scanned about the place but noted no one was in sight. Thirsty
as she was, she couldn’t turn down the sight of refreshment that
was presented to her by mere incident. She thankfully went to the
side where a series of big rocks stood, got to her knees, and bent
down. She scooped water in her cupped hands and brought the clear,
chilled liquid to her lips. Then she began to sip. The freshness
and the coolness made her sigh with pleasure. She dipped her hands
into the water again and splashed some on her hot face with a
content smile.

“Care to join me?”

The query made Cecelia look up, and the
moment she met the gaze of the demon king, she jumped back, her
backside slamming on the bed of rocks,
hard
. She groaned in
pain and embarrassment whilst Drake laughed.

She blinked and gazed in awe at the demon as
a deep sound much like thunder roared up from within the depths of
this throat and bellowed loud about her ears.

Drake crossed the small distance between
them, and as he came up, Cecelia noted he was completely and
utterly naked. She blushed and quickly averted her gaze from the
lower portion of his body where his private parts nestled between
his legs. She thought it was safer to look at his face. She was
wrong. His eyes were deep and scorching with a hidden hunger that
made her stomach flutter with exhilaration.

Drake caught her hand and pulled her up to
him. Cecelia obeyed him, much to her dismay. He was a big demon,
and standing this close to him really unsettled her. His skin,
tanned and smooth, glistened with droplets of water, and his face,
the aquiline features and deep-set eyes, did nothing to stop
Cecelia’s heart from pumping out of rhythm.

Drake tilted up her face with his thumb at
the small of her chin, as if to scrutinize her features as he did a
horse. To Cecelia’s surprise, he wasn’t frowning this time. Nor,
however, was he smiling. She wondered if he was always so broody
looking.

“How do you find us demons, Brian?” he
asked. “And our home?”

Cecelia blinked as her whole body tensed. He
was now moving his fingers down the delicate line of her throat, as
if he found that part of her anatomy very interesting.

“Why did you avert your gaze from me? Do you
find me repulsive?”

Cecelia automatically shook her head. “Nay,
sire.” She told him the truth. She found him fascinating and a bit
too attractive for her liking.

“Then why do you avert your gaze?” His eyes
were on her lips now as she bit the lower flesh.

She blushed, and he chuckled.

“Human and demon are not different, Brian.
Your body and mine are but the same.” He moved his face closer so
his hot breath fanned the skin of her forehead. “I am curious,
however, if you humans accept same-sex lovers. Are you
interested?”

Cecelia’s blush deepened, and confusion
reigned over her eyes as to the meaning of his words. She brushed
his hand off her and took a step back.

“I see,” he said quietly, accepting her
withdrawal as her refusal to his proposal. He changed the subject.
“Have you satisfied your curiosity yet of the perimeters of our
castle?”