The First Book of Demons (The Book of Demons Saga) (16 page)

Chapter Forty Six

Azira
insisted on a garden wedding.  A corner of the vast garden complex was decorated for the occasion.  It was a small affair, by royal standards, but lavish nonetheless.  The garden scenery was a beautiful setting for a wedding, but that wasn’t really why Azira wanted it in the garden.  Balthazar didn’t want her, and the insult in that stung.  If she was going to be forced into a lesser marriage, someone else was going to suffer right along with her. 

Yashmina watched
the wedding of her beloved from the balconies of the Harem with clouded brown eyes.  A tear trailed down her cheek, and a clawed hand rose to wipe it away. 

“Yashmina
,” Adira said, putting an arm around her, “Come inside.  You are only hurting yourself to watch.”

“They don’t even want him, mother,” Yashmina said with a sniffle.

Adira sighed heavily.  It hurt her to see her only daughter so unfairly pained, but there was nothing that could be done.  It was a wedding commanded by the Lord Sultan and his will could never be questioned. 

“Come inside,” Adira said again, hoping her daughter would not torture herself further.

“No, mother,” Yashmina said, “I will watch until it is over.”

Adira
left her daughter on the balcony to watch the demon she loved marry another.  She knew that this was difficult, but it would only get worse.  The two sisters would come to stay in the harem by the end of the night, and there would be no escaping the situation. 

“Why is he marrying them?” Alexandra asked, as Adira settled into a cushion beside Lady Carolina.

“He must,” Carolina said, a slight scowl on her face, “Lord Balthazar has no desire to wed the sister demons.”

“But why does Tavi have to
?” Alexandra asked.

“The Delshad family is
a noble family,” Adira said, her face full of concern for her daughter, “But more importantly, they are Enchanters.”

“Enchanters?” Alex asked, looking from Adira to Carolina for clarification.

“The Enchanters are the k
eepers of magic in this kingdom,” Adira said. “Only they can use magic.”

“
But what does that have to do with any of this?” Alex said shaking her head.

“
It is protocol for the two families to be linked in every generation.  Lord Balthazar is unwilling to mate them, but he cannot risk alienating himself from the magic of the Enchanter, and so it must be one of the princes.  Tavi, being a council member, is the most prominent royal prince.”

#

Azira found her way down a long hall in one of the back corners of the harem, to the eunuch quarters.  Tavi dismissed the sisters to the Harem as soon as the wedding had ended.  He had no desire to mate the sisters, not that Azira cared.  Nila remained in the new apartment the sisters would share, crying her eyes out for love of Prince Kaveh, while Azira decided to use her time towards something more productive.

She found the
young demon she was searching for in the workshops, standing before a large vat of dye, stirring the silk cloth inside it with a large wooden paddle, his back turned to her.  It was hard work, and he stopped momentarily to wipe the sweat that had collected on his brow.

“Hasan,” Azira said, a crooked smile wo
rking its way onto her face, “You have been relegated to a servant of the royal clothiers.  Such a shame.”

A garbled growl echoed in Hasan’s chest, his grey eyes burned with his hatred and anger.

“There is no need to get angry with me,” Azira said, stepping over to Hasan, “It is Lord Balthazar who has dealt you this unjust fate.”

Hasan looked away, his lips curling in
disgust at the sound of his hated older brother’s name.

“But you are not the only one who has been wronge
d by his Majesty,” Azira said, coming closer to him.  Hasan’s eyes searched her face for her meaning.              

“I believe we can help each other
,” Azira said, trailing a clawed finger down his torso. Hasan’s brows pulled together, his eyes narrowing at Azira as her finger drifted below his waistline.

“You see,” Azira began, “I am not satisfied with a second class husband.  I am a Sultana, a supreme wife, and I will be wed to a Lord Sultan.”

Hasan’s gaze hardened intently on the demoness, his mind working to figure her plot.

“And you,” Azira said, “Shou
ld have been the Lord Sultan, but it is not too late to rectify our situation.”

#

“He will help us,” Azira said, certainty in her voice.

“You are absolutely sure?” Jahan asked, wringing his hands as he looked around.

“Well,” Azira said with a smirk, “he didn’t actually say he would.”

“This is no laughing matter, Princess,” Jahan said, his fat face turning red at the strain of talking forcefully.

“Relax you fat little man,” Azira said, grasping the round tip of Jahan’s nose between her clawed fingers, and pulling his face to hers.  “I have been abreast of palace plots and intrigue since before I could walk.  Hasan will assist us, and if you dare chastise me again, I will make you my personal eunuch when I am Sultana.”

Azira twisted her fingers as she released his nose, adding an extra twinge of pain to the fat demon.  His pudgy hand clamped around the injured appendage as his eyes narrowed at the demon princess.

“He had better help us, or we will all be in trouble,” Jahan said, as he turned away from Azira.

Chapter Forty Seven

“I don’t get this at all,” Alexandra said, her brows scowled and a pout on her lips.  She looked down at the square wooden board with the various colored stones that littered it. 

“You are doing
well for your first time,” Yashmina said with a forced smile.  Her eyes were tinted pink with a day of crying, but her kindness remained intact. 

“Thanks,” Alex said, returning a sympathetic smile to the saddened demoness.  She picked up her colored stone, shook it in her hand and tossed it onto the board.  The emerald colored piece tumbled around before landing on a carved design that indicated her next move.  Alex, of course, had no clue what it meant, and she looked to the other ladies for guidance.

“You have landed in a bad position,” Carolina said with a sigh.  She had no idea that Alex would be such a terrible partner for the game.  Carolina herself was undefeated throughout the harem, but that was apparently about to change.  “Our pieces are now frozen.  They will almost certainly win.”

“Sorry,” Alex said, chewin
g at her stubby finger nails.  The door of Lady Carolina’s apartment opened, pulling the attention of all the ladies inside away from their game.  They were not expecting company, but the eunuch that entered was even less expected.

Hasan stepped in, his once proud shoulders slumped forward.  He shuffled over to the ladies, seated in the middle of Carolina’s casual audience room. 
His grey eyes trained on the marble floor as he held his hand out to Alexandra, a rolled piece of parchment in his hand.  Alex looked at Carolina, unsure of what was expected.

“It is a summons,” Carolina said, a purely satisfied look on her face as she trained her eyes on Hasan.   “This eunuch isn’t good for doing much else around here.”

Hasan still refused to look up, but his eyes burned with outrage.  He would have his revenge on Carolina, and her wretched son.  When the time was right he would strike, and with the Enchanters daughters on his side he could regain his lost body parts, and his rightful position as Lord Sultan.

Alex reached out, pity in her eyes for Hasan, and took the summons from him.  She unrolled the paper and tried to read the words that were printed on it, but the writing was so elaborate she found it hard to make out.

“The Lord Sultan requests your presence,” Carolina said, as she looked over Alexandra’s shoulder reading the summons.  “It is an honor for him to summon you through such official means.”

#

“I can take her from here,” Salaman said to Hasan, an uncharacteristically harsh look on his face.

Hasan turned away from the old demon
without a word, leaving Alexandra at the Harem gate.  A toothy grin spread across Salaman’s face as he turned to look at Alexandra.  He held his arm out for her to take, and Alex wrapped her hand around his aging but still muscular arm.  They walked silently together for a short while before Salaman broke through the silence.

“You have chosen a name for the firebird,” he asked, disrupting her contemplations.

“Peta,” Alex said, giving the old demon a shy smile.

“That is an interesting name,” Salaman said, “How did you choose it?”

“My Aunt Tamy,” Alex said, her eyes downcast at the memory, “The name means golden bird in the language of her tribe.”

“How appropriate,” Salaman said, “and have you learned to connect with it?”

“You mean command it?” Alex said.  “It took me a while, but I finally got it in the cage.”

“No, no,” Salaman said.  “To command it, you only need give it a name.  But
to connect with it requires something much more.”

“Like what,” Alex said, stopping the old demon
. 

“Peta was
born of the power within you, Alexandra,” Salaman said. “ Do you remember the feeling?”

“
Yes,” Alex said, “I was so angry at Balthazar.  And just before the fire thing I felt tingly all over.”

“Ah yes,” Salaman said with a laugh, “apologies about the anger.  It was a cheap trick to raise you
r powers to the surface.  Deep emotions often bring them out.  I saw the animosity between you two and chose to exploit it.”

“That’s ok,” Alex said with
a small smile.  “It was Balthazar’s fault anyway.”

“I’m afraid he’s in an unusual position,” Salaman said, eyeing Alexandra, trying to gauge the emotions she held for the Lord Sultan
.  Much to his pleasure, he could sense the attachment she had formed to him in spite of his behavior.  The old demon smiled, this would make things much easier. “I do hope you will give him another chance, Alexandra.”

“Another chance,” Alex said
with a scoff. “He won’t even let me go home.”

“You have more than enough power to go home of your own accord.  You only need to learn how to use it,” Salaman said, taking Alexandra by the hand and urging her to begin walking again.
  “You must learn to produce that feeling, without the anger attached to it, and then harness it.  You have more power in you than you know, girl.”

“
How long will that take?” Alexandra asked, feeling her hopes rise with the thought of being able to go home.

“Oh,
years,” Salaman said, “many, many years.  You should have been trained from birth, but I suppose with the current situation, it was not deemed necessary.”

“
Years?” Alex said, her face dropping in dismay.  “I don’t have that kind of time.”

“All things come in their own time, my dear,” Salaman said.  They came to the entrance of a large building, the
massive marble columns that supported the roof soaring above them.  “Lord Balthazar is waiting for you.”

Chapter
Forty Eight

As lavish as the entire palace complex was, it paled in comparison to the splendor that met Alexandra’s eyes.  The carved wood ceiling sat high above her, supported by vaulted columns.  The windowless space was lit by only a few candles, but the flames bounced off the translucent white marble and gold plates that ran around the perimeter to light the area sufficiently.  Balthazar’s bare back was turned to Alexandra on the far side of the hall as he gazed at the figure molded into the golden plate. 

“My father,” Balthazar said
as she approached him, his eyes trained on the golden plate.

“You look very much like him,” Alex said.  She could see the turmoil that raged behind Balthazar’s eyes
, though he hid it well. 

“He was truly great,” Balthazar said, turning finally to Alex.  “As were all the Lord Sultans before him.”

Balthazar held his hand out to Alex and she placed her smaller hand in his.  Despite the chill of the room, a blush heated Alexandra’s round cheeks.  Balthazar marveled at the way the color spread from her cheek down her slender neck.  Blushing was a curious phenomenon that didn’t occur in demons.  Balthazar assumed it was a symptom of anxiety, as the smell of uncertainty permeated Alexandra’s scent.

“Do not be afraid of me,” Balthazar said, hoping to soothe her fears.  It was a foul smell that did not blend well with her pure scent. 

“I’m not afraid,” Alex said, trying very unsuccessfully to convince him it was true.

“I can smell your anxiety
, girl,” Balthazar said.

“Dang it
,” Alex said taking her hand away from Balthazar’s, “that’s not fair.”

Balthazar
let a smirk play on his lips as he picked up her hand again.  He led her around the vast expanse of the dimly lit hall, pausing at a few particularly interesting ancestors.  They came to a stop just before the last solid gold plate.  Alex felt the nag of recognition as she gazed into the gilded face of a Balthazar’s ancestor. 

“Who is that
?” Alex asked, trying to remember where she had seen him.

“This is m
y grandsire,” Balthazar said.  “He disappeared many centuries before I was born.”

“Come,” he said, gesturing for her to pass through a small door off the main chamber.  “There is something I want to show you.”

Alex stepped through the door and into a large room lined with shelves up to the ceiling stacked high with rolled parchment scrolls.  Balthazar removed several scrolls from a section of shelf just beside the door.  He reached to the back of the shelf and grasped a switch that opened a secret square door on the far side of the room.

Balthazar crouched through the square doorway and motioned for Alex to follow
.  The room beyond was small, with space enough for only two seating cushions, a table between them and a book shelf on one wall.  Several peculiar items stuck out on the shelf, sacred items of the kingdom that only a Lord Sultan was privileged to own. 

“My father,” B
althazar said, turning to Alexandra, “would bring me to this room every year on the eve of my birthday.  He would spend the night telling me the tales of my predecessors’ greatness, and how one day I would surpass them all.  This is the first eve that he will not do so.”

Alex felt the pain behind his words.  He would probably never say so, but she could tell he missed his father deeply.  She finally began to understand why Balthazar sought the power that he did.
 

#

“Your plan failed, fat man,” Kaveh said, his eyes were rimmed with red, a sign that his inner beast was angry; understandably so.  Even though he hadn’t technically done anything wrong, he was involved with conspiring against Balthazar.  He shivered at the thought of his older brother finding out.

“Calm yourself, prince,” Jahan said with a wave of his pudgy hand.

“Balthazar is Lord Sultan,” Kaveh said with a growl.  They were in mortal peril and yet Jahan was acting so calmly.  The young prince could feel his beast itching at the walls of his mental cage.  The beast was a difficult thing to master, and Kaveh was nowhere near able to contain it.  He could only take so much and then it would break loose, leaving a trail of victims until a stronger demon was able to put him out.

“Contain yourself,” Jahan said, his voice stern, “everything is going according to plan.  Do not ruin that now because of your needless rage.”

“How am I to know things are going to plan if I am not informed of the plan?” Kaveh said, his anger still present but the danger of his beast escaping beginning to subside. 

“I told you,” Jahan said.  “It is best for all if you are not aware.  I need you acting completely normal.  Now, you are certain the younger sister has fallen for you?”

“Yes,” Kaveh said, his lips spreading in a grin of male pride.  The red began to fade from his eyes; his beast was making its final retreat.  “She will do whatever I ask.”