Red Blooded
Page 51
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I half expected her to start healing from all the previous demon torture immediately. But we all waited and nothing happened. Her hands flew to her hair and ran over her face. She leaped up and ran to a huge mirror mounted on a nearby wall. “It’s not working,” she wailed. “I feel more like myself, but my magic is not returning.”
I pushed my senses out to check for myself, but she was right, her signature hadn’t changed at all. I sighed. “Why don’t you give it more than seven seconds. You just got your soul back together and it may need some time to mend before anything starts regenerating.” I cleared my throat to put emphasis on the next part. “But I’m warning you, Selene, if your magic does come back, and you decide to pick up where you left off back at the arena, I will not hesitate to have Ray suck your soul right back out like that.” I snapped my fingers. “And once he does, it’s all over for good.”
She glared at me in the mirror, but kept her mouth shut. I took that as her accepting my mandate. At least for a few minutes.
I turned and addressed Lili, saying, “How long before you can get word to the Princess?” I was bone-tired, but there was no time to rest. “We need to let her know what’s going on. We will aid her, and once we do that, we leave this world behind for good.”
“The Prince will likely be by the Princess’s side for the rest of the day, as our rules dictate. Once she dismisses him, he will call a meeting with the Council of High Demon Lords to figure out what is to be done about you. He will not come back to his quarters until daybreak. Demons need very little sleep, so we do not use our homes like you do.” Her voice held a wistful note. “But I have the Princess’s private number and will try it now.”
Rourke stood next to me. “Where does the Prince keep his important information, demoness?” We were all standing in a foyer of sorts. It had tall, vaulted ceilings and was very clean. There were very few personal items scattered about, save some knickknacks on various tables. Some of the items looked as though they’d been collected from different planes, set around to remind the Prince of his travels.
My eyes narrowed for a moment as I spotted something perched on the table under the mirror where Selene had just stood. “Is that a shrunken head?” I pointed to what looked like a withered pygmy head. “From our plane?”
“Yes,” Lili replied, not even bothering to glance where I gestured. “Before he was the Prince of Hell, and was only a high-ranking demon, he was summoned to your plane often, by many. He brought back… a souvenir each time.”
“That head doesn’t look like it was given freely.”
She shook her head. “No, unfortunately for some summoners, most of his trinkets were not. The Prince has always been a very fierce, very proud demon. He was meant to rule, not to be called upon like a slave.” She turned abruptly and started walking through an entryway. “His personal rooms are this way.”
We all followed, including a pensive Selene, who kept running her hands over her hair and face, hoping for a miracle. Keep an eye on her, I told my wolf. I want to know if she suddenly generates a lot of power. My wolf gave me a “no shit” look and shook her head. Well, lately we’ve been on opposite sides of the argument. I’m just trying to keep it real. She huffed at me and turned her back. My wolf was such a good sport.
We strode through a huge living area decorated in straight lines and smooth textures. There were several long black couches made out of some kind of demon material. It was all very orderly. I didn’t see a kitchen or any place to prepare food. “Where does the Prince eat?” I asked, thinking about the horrid gazebos. I knew for a fact that the Prince of Hell did not eat with the common demons.
Lili stopped. “In the main kefefr laat, of course. That’s where all the Demon Lords and demonesses eat.”
“What’s a kay-fay-frea lay-at?” Ray asked.
“It’s the main dining room. We have four meals a day there. Each feast is a very elaborate event.”
“Is your food always… alive?” I asked, wondering if I really wanted to know. “From what I’ve seen, demons prefer to have their meals wiggle and fight.”
“Yes,” she said. “We prefer our food breathing, but we do… mix it up on occasion. Freezing the main course and letting it thaw just before we partake of it is a recent favorite.”
I shivered. That was just plain gross.
“That’s fairly disgusting,” Tyler commented, not having to read my mind on that one. “Even in my wolf form, I make a clean kill before I eat.”
“We are… not like you, if you haven’t noticed,” she said. “It took me time to adjust to it too, but my demon side takes great joy in food that… puts up a struggle.” Her pupils elongated, radiating her pleasure. “It’s an acquired taste.”
“Well, it’s one that none of us will be acquiring any time soon,” I finished.
We continued down a long hallway with a beautiful bowed white ceiling, and at the end was another elaborate door.
Lili pushed it open without incident. “This is where the Prince conducts his business while he is home. Do not touch any of the buttons on the desk if you do not wish for company.” She went across to the far wall and pressed a lever, and a sheet of material cascaded down one wall. She turned back to us. “There you go. No prying eyes. Once this is down there can be no surveillance.”
Rourke strode immediately to the Prince’s desk, fingering all the notes and books piled there. “I know the Prince will have specific demon law books as well as High Law books that cover the rights of all supernaturals. If the Prince of Hell is also the judge and jury of the Underworld then he must have access to all information and I want to see it.”
Lili walked behind the desk and opened a large cutout in the wall to expose row after row of orderly books. “You are welcome to look here, but all these demon books are written in Demonish. I doubt you know the language well enough to read it.”
Rourke grunted his response.
All the books were adorned with strange characters on the spines, like hieroglyphics.
“If he has High Law books,” Tyler stated from the doorway, “they will be footnoted in English as well as all the popular European languages.”
Tyler and I only spoke English, since we’d been raised in America and we were very young on the supernatural age scale. I had no idea how many languages Rourke spoke, but my guess was many.
I pushed my senses out to check for myself, but she was right, her signature hadn’t changed at all. I sighed. “Why don’t you give it more than seven seconds. You just got your soul back together and it may need some time to mend before anything starts regenerating.” I cleared my throat to put emphasis on the next part. “But I’m warning you, Selene, if your magic does come back, and you decide to pick up where you left off back at the arena, I will not hesitate to have Ray suck your soul right back out like that.” I snapped my fingers. “And once he does, it’s all over for good.”
She glared at me in the mirror, but kept her mouth shut. I took that as her accepting my mandate. At least for a few minutes.
I turned and addressed Lili, saying, “How long before you can get word to the Princess?” I was bone-tired, but there was no time to rest. “We need to let her know what’s going on. We will aid her, and once we do that, we leave this world behind for good.”
“The Prince will likely be by the Princess’s side for the rest of the day, as our rules dictate. Once she dismisses him, he will call a meeting with the Council of High Demon Lords to figure out what is to be done about you. He will not come back to his quarters until daybreak. Demons need very little sleep, so we do not use our homes like you do.” Her voice held a wistful note. “But I have the Princess’s private number and will try it now.”
Rourke stood next to me. “Where does the Prince keep his important information, demoness?” We were all standing in a foyer of sorts. It had tall, vaulted ceilings and was very clean. There were very few personal items scattered about, save some knickknacks on various tables. Some of the items looked as though they’d been collected from different planes, set around to remind the Prince of his travels.
My eyes narrowed for a moment as I spotted something perched on the table under the mirror where Selene had just stood. “Is that a shrunken head?” I pointed to what looked like a withered pygmy head. “From our plane?”
“Yes,” Lili replied, not even bothering to glance where I gestured. “Before he was the Prince of Hell, and was only a high-ranking demon, he was summoned to your plane often, by many. He brought back… a souvenir each time.”
“That head doesn’t look like it was given freely.”
She shook her head. “No, unfortunately for some summoners, most of his trinkets were not. The Prince has always been a very fierce, very proud demon. He was meant to rule, not to be called upon like a slave.” She turned abruptly and started walking through an entryway. “His personal rooms are this way.”
We all followed, including a pensive Selene, who kept running her hands over her hair and face, hoping for a miracle. Keep an eye on her, I told my wolf. I want to know if she suddenly generates a lot of power. My wolf gave me a “no shit” look and shook her head. Well, lately we’ve been on opposite sides of the argument. I’m just trying to keep it real. She huffed at me and turned her back. My wolf was such a good sport.
We strode through a huge living area decorated in straight lines and smooth textures. There were several long black couches made out of some kind of demon material. It was all very orderly. I didn’t see a kitchen or any place to prepare food. “Where does the Prince eat?” I asked, thinking about the horrid gazebos. I knew for a fact that the Prince of Hell did not eat with the common demons.
Lili stopped. “In the main kefefr laat, of course. That’s where all the Demon Lords and demonesses eat.”
“What’s a kay-fay-frea lay-at?” Ray asked.
“It’s the main dining room. We have four meals a day there. Each feast is a very elaborate event.”
“Is your food always… alive?” I asked, wondering if I really wanted to know. “From what I’ve seen, demons prefer to have their meals wiggle and fight.”
“Yes,” she said. “We prefer our food breathing, but we do… mix it up on occasion. Freezing the main course and letting it thaw just before we partake of it is a recent favorite.”
I shivered. That was just plain gross.
“That’s fairly disgusting,” Tyler commented, not having to read my mind on that one. “Even in my wolf form, I make a clean kill before I eat.”
“We are… not like you, if you haven’t noticed,” she said. “It took me time to adjust to it too, but my demon side takes great joy in food that… puts up a struggle.” Her pupils elongated, radiating her pleasure. “It’s an acquired taste.”
“Well, it’s one that none of us will be acquiring any time soon,” I finished.
We continued down a long hallway with a beautiful bowed white ceiling, and at the end was another elaborate door.
Lili pushed it open without incident. “This is where the Prince conducts his business while he is home. Do not touch any of the buttons on the desk if you do not wish for company.” She went across to the far wall and pressed a lever, and a sheet of material cascaded down one wall. She turned back to us. “There you go. No prying eyes. Once this is down there can be no surveillance.”
Rourke strode immediately to the Prince’s desk, fingering all the notes and books piled there. “I know the Prince will have specific demon law books as well as High Law books that cover the rights of all supernaturals. If the Prince of Hell is also the judge and jury of the Underworld then he must have access to all information and I want to see it.”
Lili walked behind the desk and opened a large cutout in the wall to expose row after row of orderly books. “You are welcome to look here, but all these demon books are written in Demonish. I doubt you know the language well enough to read it.”
Rourke grunted his response.
All the books were adorned with strange characters on the spines, like hieroglyphics.
“If he has High Law books,” Tyler stated from the doorway, “they will be footnoted in English as well as all the popular European languages.”
Tyler and I only spoke English, since we’d been raised in America and we were very young on the supernatural age scale. I had no idea how many languages Rourke spoke, but my guess was many.
