Imp Forsaken (Imp Book 5) (34 page)

He shifted in his chair and I realized that he had no idea where my household members were beyond the rowdy ones outside the gate.

"I am here, Ni-ni." Leethu came forward, her young, elven male appearance exploding in a pop as she resumed her scaled, humanoid form. The crowd gasped, and the elven soldiers vacillated between keeping their sights on me, and covering this new threat.

The succubus pushed passed them, hips swaying, pheromones snaking out in seductive curls. I was amused to see the elves' eyes drop to run along her graceful figure, the bows in their hands trembling slightly. Leethu was a force to be reckoned with.

"Your lordship," her voice rang out like a delicate chime. "I have five demons hidden here among the Wythyn citizens, just as undetectable as I was. I suggest you re-think your offer to the head of my household."

The elves and humans looked around nervously, trying to determine who among their neighbors may be an enemy. The circle around Taullian hummed with speculation and accusations as some turned their arrows on each other.

"Quiet!" the high elf boomed. Silence fell, and once again, he turned to me. "What do you wish, Az? I cannot give you the previous lord of this kingdom. I refuse to turn an elf over to the demons, no matter what his crimes. That justice belongs to us."

The crowd murmured in admiration, while I rolled my eyes. Taullian had already begun his elitist, benevolent, high lord act for his new empire, but it didn't mean shit to me. He'd paid me to kill the elf; he'd been happy to agree to just about anything to sit on that throne. The elf might think he held all the cards, but his position wasn't as solid as he thought.

"I've already killed Feille." Once again, a gasp arose. "Over where the fire is, you'll find his body. Better take a sorcerer to identify it—he's pretty charred."

I let the image soak into the imaginations of all who heard and took a few steps toward the throne as the elves once again turned their arrows to me.

"You know what I want, Taullian. And you best give it to me, unless you intend to be the shortest-lived ruler in all elven history."

The high elf drew himself up taller on his throne, squaring his shoulders in defiance, but I saw the flash of unease in his eyes.

"You dare threaten me, Az? Once again you bluff. You've gambled it all on a lie, but you've been exposed. There's nothing left for you to leverage, imp. No household, no powerful supporters. Nothing. Go home, and if Ahriman lets you live, you can take your place among the Low."

He was right. I was powerless and alone, my household decimated. I didn't even have my chicken wand anymore. I saw the threads of my possible futures before me, and they all were bleak and short. Leethu and Dar would survive if they quickly distanced themselves from my sinking ship, but the rest of us were at a dead end.

"Perhaps you should re-think your definition of power, Lord Taullian,” a seductive voice sang from beside me.

Leethu's eyes glowed as gold as her scales, the pheromones flowing in a wave from her swaying form. Several guards dropped to their knees, swords and bows clattering on the flagstone; others gasped, shaking as they tried to fight the power of her call. I felt a surge of love, appreciation for the loyalty of my sister, but I didn't want to see her sacrifice herself for a lost cause, and no matter how powerful a succubus she was, she'd never prevail against an entire army, against a high elf, with only the intoxication of her sexual lures.

A soft word escaped her lips, and I saw her hands fist, pulling a small string taut between them. Instantly Taullian's hands went to his throat, a line of red appearing just below his chin.

The high lord made a choking sound, his hands scrabbling to pull away a cord that wasn't there. The sorcerer beside him paled.

"Phantom hands garrote," he breathed, frantically attempting to break the spell with various incantations.

Leethu held the noose steady—tight enough to turn the high elf's face red, but not enough to kill him. The guards who remained free of her pheromones hesitantly pointed their arrows at her. They could kill her, but one twitch of the hand and Taullian's head would be rolling across the floor—Elves were a sturdy race, and high lords were powerful enough to survive some pretty drastic physical wounds, but decapitation wasn't one of them.

"Since you seem to be incapable of speech, let me do the talking for you," Leethu said, her light tone more suitable to socializing at a luncheon than threatening a powerful ruler. "As formerly agreed upon, we will assist you in stabilizing the newly created Southern Alliance of Elves, and in return, you will grant the humans in all six kingdoms their freedom anytime they desire such, along with the peninsula as their own land. The elven traps will be closed, and no longer will humans be taken from their homeland without their permission."

Taullian made a choking noise, and I was sure it wasn't just from the magical cord squeezing the breath from his throat. The courtyard erupted into chaos. Elves and humans exclaimed their shock and surprise over the unheard-of deal this elven lord had allegedly agreed to.

Leethu relaxed her hands slightly, and Taullian drew in a series of ragged breaths, continuing to reflexed clutch his throat. The sorcerer discontinued his efforts and looked wary, taking two very small steps in my direction. I got the feeling he would break and run, given the slightest opportunity. I felt for him. He was clearly torn between the dream of freedom, and the safety and security he held as one of the highest humans in elven society.

"Lies," Taullian choked, his voice raspy. "I do not make deals with demons."

I held out a hand to stay Leethu. "Fine. We'll leave. But will you ever be safe? Demons can clearly come and go undetected among you. We know your hidden catacombs like the back of our claws; we know your forests and your mountains. We can poison your waters, your foods. Who will you trust?"

The elves looked about them, uneasy, but I wasn't through.

"You can't trust us. You can't trust the other elves, who may decide they would rather boot your ass from their kingdom and go back to the way things were. You certainly can't trust the humans. Already a sorcerer and his apprentice live free within the demon lands, secretly trading among your own magic users and selling their skills for great profit. Others will join them: magic users, skilled humans. Can you ever trust them not to slit your throat in your sleep? Not to rise against you in a show of magical power?"

I walked closer to him, interested to see that no one tried to stop me. "Best keep your end of the bargain, Taullian, and go down in history as a progressive leader, one who took risks to benefit all of elven kind. Or die and be remembered as the king who betrayed those who put the crown on his head, whose maggot-filled body dangled for centuries from a demon's parapet."

I took another step, and the sorcerer moved aside to make way for me. My eyes met his, and I saw within them a mute appeal. He'd join Gareth in a heartbeat, and others with him. Soon Cyelle would be empty of magic users.

Taullian's eyes narrowed, glancing around at the crowd awaiting his response. With an audience, he'd be unable to back down on his word. Elven society demanded truth and the honoring of commitments. It was one thing to lie in the middle of a forest with only a human sorcerer to overhear; it would be disastrous to lie now. Reputation, in life as well as in death, meant everything to an elf.

I saw his indecision. "No" would support the current elven culture and practice, preserve his link with tradition, but he'd face rebellion in each kingdom and by the end of the season wind up holding only Cyelle, if that. Human runaways would increase a hundred-fold, and he'd risk constant guerrilla warfare from both the demons and the escaped humans. "Yes" would secure his kingdoms, but at the price of traditional elven support. History was not always kind to the change-agents, but the winners wrote history, and he could have a glorious legacy, if he could secure his win.

Silence stretched out, the tension as tight as the phantom hands garrote cord in Leethu's delicate hands.

"Deal."

The humans shouted, tossing bits of cloth, spoons, rakes, and baskets into the air. Celebration rained down upon the ground in the form of household items , while the elves stood frozen in shock, their entire world rocked to the core. I almost felt sorry for them. Almost.

Leethu let loose the garrote string, and Taullian gasped in relief. I moved a few steps closer, so I could speak without the entire courtyard hearing.

"You obviously have Cyelle under control, so you can oversee the entire united kingdoms in general and take Tonlielle. Dar is best suited to handle Wythyn and Allwin. Leethu will secure Kllee, as she has a history of friendly relations with their kingdom.

I'd assigned Dar an extra kingdom, hoping to keep him busy. Today had clearly shown me he would abandon his post in a heartbeat to protect me, and I wanted him too busy to even think about what might be happening to me in Ahriman's hands. But what to do with the kingdom of Li at the far west of the continent?

"Radl will assist with Li." It was an insane idea. Radl was a Low, the Low who had been trapped at Columbia Mall, unable to activate the gate back to Hel. I'd let him through and marked him as part of my household. He might be a Low, but he was sly and observant, adaptable to a variety of social situations. And he was pretty much all I had left.

Taullian smiled. "And how will you help, Az?"

His tone was mocking. He knew exactly what I'd be doing, and I had no doubt that if Ahriman killed me, he’d find a way to go back on everything we'd agreed upon. It was vitally important that I stay alive, that I hold his feet to the fire and keep him from reneging on our deal.

"I will be busy fulfilling my duties as consort to Ahriman."

It wasn't really a lie. The crowd murmured, surprised at the revelation that I'd managed to land, what amounted to, the match of the millennium.

Taullian's eyes narrowed, his expression calculating. "Happy nuptials, Az. May your partnership prosper."

I felt a chill. He knew. And Ahriman knew. This elf lord would be watching, and the moment I ceased to be a threat, he'd find a way to backtrack on everything.

Leethu and I put on our best poker faces as we exited through the gates, leaving her five demons behind undercover, to gather intelligence and assist in the transition of the most dangerous of the elven kingdoms. Once outside the walls of the city, the succubus let out a whoosh of air, her shoulders slumping in relief.

“That was a close one, Ni-ni. I thought for sure our goose was cooked.”

“Me too,” I replied, my mouth watering at the thought of roasted goose. Would I ever get to eat again? I could see starvation as something Ahriman would enjoy inflicting, although he might not even let me live long enough for that. Would I die in his dungeon? Would I ever again see Wyatt, the girls, my angel?

I forced myself to grin at Dar as we approached, giving him a thumbs-up, as if all was completely okay.

“Sorry, dude, I’ve saddled you with an extra kingdom,” I told him. “You’ve got Wythyn and Allwin.”

“My five have remained here to assist you,” Leethu added. “They are masquerading as humans and will be your eyes and ears, as well as undertaking communications back to Ni-ni.”

The succubus turned her golden eyes on me with sorrow. “We will let you know what happens, and how things are going. If you can, please keep us updated on your… status.”

Status. That would be whether I was alive or not. I’d try, but for their safety, it would be best for me to remain out of contact with any of my former household.

I turned to look at my five remaining household members. “Thank you for your wonderful service in my household. If any of you wish to stay and help Dar, you are welcome to. If not, I release you from any obligations you hold to me. You are free to pursue membership in another household.”

My words were greeted with stunned silence. I’d never truly bound any of my household, just marked them as members. They were always free to come and go, but it was a brutal world out there for an unaffiliated demon.

“But Mistress, you are Ahriman’s consort. Why would we want to leave such a high level household?”

It was one of my Lows, the stooped, color-changing one. My heart ached for him, ached for all of them. I took a steadying breath, trying to figure out how to tell them. They’d been elated at the meteoric rise in status we’d all had, and now it was all gone. My fault. I’d ruined it all to save a bunch of enslaved humans, and it was a long shot if I’d even achieve that goal. My only consolation was that they’d be safe from Feille’s plans. Taullian may be an ass, but he had no aspirations to rule all of Hel.

“I’m afraid Ahriman is very displeased with me. If he kills me, you would be better off unaffiliated with my household. If he lets me live, he will have no compunction about killing any of you on a whim. I want this to be your choice.”

They murmured among themselves, uncertain. Life as a demon was a risky thing, and they’d known they could be killed by anyone stronger, at any time, for no reason at all. I could see them weighing the possibility of my continuance as consort, even besmirched, against the risk to their persons.

“Radl,” I called out. The Low demon jumped forward, eyes respectfully lowered as he bowed before me. “I have a special proposal for you. Dar and Leethu will each assist in the integration of one of the elven kingdoms. I would like you to be our representative assisting the Cyelle elves in bringing Li into the fold. Could you do this?”

His eyes rose to meet mine, shock and surprise overcoming his usually excellent manners. “Consort, I would be honored. A Low has never been so favored. Others choose as they may, but I will remain in your service until my death.”

His pronouncement was contagious, and the other four jumped to pledge their loyalty.

“I’ll take Snip, Rot, and Pustule,” Dar announced. “Hack, you go with Radl. He’s your superior for the time being, so I don’t want to hear any shit about refusing orders or backstabbing. Got it?”

“Got it,” Hack squeaked, saluting Dar with a ragged wing.