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With trembling hands, Selig finished unwrapping the corpse, barely recognizing the shredded slab of meat before him. Damn those shifters. Fachnan should’ve killed them when he had the chance. When a maggot crawled out of Fachnan’s empty eye socket, Selig turned from the corpse and vomited all over the floor.
You’re weak, his demon taunted.
Selig ignored the insult. It would do no good to fight back, for the demon would only punish him by turning the blood in his veins so hot, it felt like he was being boiled alive. Selig had learned this the hard way yesterday. Up until two days ago, his demon had been mostly dormant and so easy to control. Selig had no idea the amount of power held by the creature that lurked beneath his skin, waiting for the right moment to seize control of his body.
He regretted Thorin’s demon possessing him all those years ago. After Thorin had nearly burned down Abyssus, Selig had found his deranged brother crawling around the forest floor, crying out for Flora, a manic look in his eyes. He’d tried to give his brother a hand up, but Thorin had bit him. Selig woke up hours, perhaps days later with a manipulative parasite inside his body, and his life had never been the same. Though his demon hadn’t been physically controlling, he was always whispering who to deceive, who to fuck, who to kill.
After Selig finished hurling the last of his supper, he picked up a bloated, stiff hand.
Do it now! his demon commanded.
Selig bit his lip until he tasted blood, then he bit the hand of the corpse, crying out when a finger dislodged into his mouth. He spit out the finger and dropped the hand on the bed.
“Demon, I summon you from hell,” he whispered, calling on a new demon to come forth and possess the king’s body. “Infect this corpse and bring it to life.”
Selig jumped back when the pentagram caught fire, turning the entire bed into a giant conflagration. Scorching flames turned the canopy to ash, licking the top of the ceiling like serpentine tongues.
He spun around the room, looking for a pitcher of water.
Leave it! his demon commanded.
But we’ll burn the castle down! Selig cried.
No. The demon chuckled. This is all part of the plan.
And then much to Selig’s horror and chagrin, the corpse sat up and tossed its legs over the side of the bed.
Clutching his throat, Selig stumbled back, fear turning his legs to jelly as the corpse stood, smoke rising off its skin as it walked toward him.
The creature that stood before him looked much like King Fachnan, minus one eye and a few fingers. Gone were the maggots and bloody ribbons, his skin having healed over, though his pallor was a sickly gray.
The king bowed before him. “You summoned me, Master?”
Master? The king thought Selig was his master?
“Yesss,” Selig’s demon answered for him. “I have summoned you.”
Selig inwardly swore. He should’ve known it was his demon who commanded the creature.
“I command you to take the throne of Caldaria and summon the dragon army, so that they might defeat the white witches.”
The king bowed his head. “Yes, Master. As you command.”
Tari
IT ONLY TOOK US A FEW hours to reach the next island, and like the island before, there were no wyverns here either.
I rubbed Bea’s neck after we dismounted. “Where are your friends, Bea?”
She answered with a squawk and then jumped into the air, gliding in lazy circles before flying toward the shore. If she wasn’t concerned, I supposed I shouldn’t be either.
I squinted up at the sky as she flew off. The noonday sun beat down on our backs and made sweat pool between my breasts, but I didn’t complain when the heat kept away the mosquitoes.
Ember and Aurora ran for their fathers when Shiri’s mates landed and released them.
“We’ll be back later. Don’t come looking for us,” Shiri said with a wink before flying off with her mates.
No doubt they were going to have sex. I couldn’t deny I was jealous, for my mates and I had yet to secure some alone time, and I very much needed release after nearly losing everyone I loved in war.
