Demons End (Tremble Island) (6 page)

“So, I suggest that you tell me what you want to happen. Should I allow you freedom, or death? My suggestion is that you think carefully before you answer. I am certain I do not have to remind you that any fabricated or twisted wording coming from you whilst you are in chains will cause the chains to become uncomfortably snug.”

Koler bit back the roar that threatened to overwhelm him. Diplomacy would release him from the shackles and bonds. “I have enjoyed the voyage, more so than I believed possible. The three sailors that came for me shortly after we set out on this jaunt were intent on tossing me over the side of the ship, so I hope you will extend my apologies to the good captain.” He saw a small eye flicker from Lord Lion,
ah, the man hadn’t known. That was a good thing
. “I do believe that I could have been more forthcoming in our earlier interview, and wish to rectify that small misstep on my part. When one lives alone for most of the time, and has the power of a demon such as I do, one forgets there are other entities with the right to ask for explanations. Come, Lord Tremble, can we not come to an understanding of expectations between us? I am certain the remaining demons on the island have been overwhelmed with blackened souls at their doorsteps.” He had no way of leaving the room or ignoring the men standing so tall that they had to stoop and kneel in the corner where he had been housed. Coming to a peaceful understanding was his best chance of returning to Demons End.

Nord was cramped and becoming irritated with anything to do with demons. They were more trouble than they were worth and his face reflected his feelings. “This is our proposal. You will be released with the provision that you will follow the laws of Tremble Island. This includes taking souls before their time. You well know that each soul must be given one last attempt to redeem itself, those last boys had no test, you condemned them for one malicious act. They were but boys and you know full well in cases such as theirs, you were to speak with Lord Lion, not take matters into your own hands.”

Koler had heard the accusation before. The Lords had not investigated the facts, relying on relatives of those “boys” instead. He refused to continue the lie. “Lord Nord, with all due respect, did you bother to ask the victims of the miserable little shit suckers? Did it occur to either of you that they might have taken their share of chances by the time they were in their twenties? Both of those men were not boys by any measure. They had forced more than one maiden each to perform sexual acts, stolen food from families with little to share, and laughed about it as they tossed what scraps they had no liking for to the crawling bugs rather than allow the people to eat? They were lazy louts with rage issues. Their own families were afraid of them. I found them forcing two maidens into sucking their pricks. The parents of the girls had sold the girls to the two for the pitiful price that they would remain unmolested from their mayhem. Did you ask anyone regarding the character of my ‘victims’? As for waiting for a by your leave, if I must beg you before doing my job, what good am I? You are the Lords of the living, I am a Lord of the Dead. Is it not enough for you to know that we demons are forbidden to take the souls of innocents?”

He had not intended to explain himself to these giant men, but the temptation was too great. Someone needed to make the first gesture if they were to live in peace and trust. Being a demon was not without its trust issues. They were attributed with all that was evil or ugly. The demon himself was not evil. He was the punishment for being evil. He could see the Lords exchange bewildered looks.
Good, maybe they would finally understand who the evil ones were.

Chapter Five

Wensel was in the castle Hall with most of the rest of the beings and people that dined regularly each evening. She was hungry, especially after remembering that her last meal was yester evening’s fare. The day had been eventful, and she was happy that it would soon be over. The Lords’ table had a new male sitting next to Lord Nord. He was attractive in a dark way. His wide shoulders sat well upon his tall frame, and his hands were graceful as he spoke, causing the Lords to laugh, and the Lady Rane to giggle. He wore a short beard curving along the square jawline and over his chin, with a small mustache over his full lips. She found his looks much too attractive for her comfort, yet couldn’t stop herself from peeking at him every few minutes. She wondered who he was and where he came from. Aria began to giggle as she watched the antics of a small bird that had flown into the castle whilst the inhabitants entered. People were tossing small bits of bread and nuts into the middle of the room for the tiny creature. Wensel had to laugh, her head was tossed back, eyes to the ceiling, and for the first time in ages, she felt happy. When her eyes happened to peek toward the Lords, they met those of the honored guest. He had a small smile on those full lips and she felt herself flush and turned her attention back to the little girl stuffing her mouth with a fruit pie.

Koler watched the female with the small blonde child. He felt an instant attraction. He looked to Nord and speculated the male’s reaction to seeing a guest claiming one of their pets for his own. When her eyes met his, the attraction was imprinted on his brain. Where had they found a female such as she? Unless his instincts were completely skewed, she was a banshee. If she was, it explained the attraction, and sealed her fate in the same moment. A banshee could only mate with a demon. Demons were the only known living beings that a banshee would not suck the very life from during mating.

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 dreamed 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.”