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Malvolia nodded then pushed the food around on her plate again. I had yet to see her eat anything.
“Demons can possess anything with a beating heart,” she said.
Realization soured my gut. “An army of demon giants?”
She grasped the edge of the table, leaning toward us. “The news gets worse.”
Derrick slammed his fist on the table. “How can it possibly get worse?”
“My spies flew over three human towns.” She worked a tic in her jaw while eyeing us as if she was examining our faces for cracks. “All of them have been burned to the ground.”
Derrick’s fork clanked against the plate. “And the humans?”
Malvolia’s upper lip twitched. “Vanished.”
Marius pushed his plate back, his hand settling on his gut. “They didn’t vanish.”
“Then where are they?” Derrick asked.
Marius and Malvolia shared a look. “This demon mistress is creating an army,” he finally answered.
Derrick jumped to his feet, his chair toppling behind him. “We need to secure Caldaria.”
“I agree,” Marius said.
My breath hitched when all eyes turned on me. “I still think it’s a mistake.”
Malvolia gave me a curious look, like a cat deciding to toy with or eat a mouse. “Why?”
I released a slow and trembling breath. And though I wasn’t blessed with the gift of premonition, I had a terrible feeling. A poisoned seed took root deep in my chest, its decaying roots leaching into my veins. This was a bad idea. A very bad idea. “Because Caldaria is too quiet for a reason. If we go in there, I fear it will be like kicking a hornet’s nest.”
Selig
SELIG WOKE UP WITH a foreboding feeling this morning after dreaming of blood, so much blood. Was it his? He was unsure, though he feared he wasn’t long for this world. After receiving a summons from the undead king that he created, he arrived at the throne room to find the branches of the white witch’s mighty tree were sagging. The roots were turning black with decay, a dark omen.
But worse than the tree was the wretched smell that permeated the hall. A once airy room with a tall, glass-domed ceiling, the space felt cramped and stuffy, the smell of rot so strong, he tasted it on his tongue.
The wyvern was lying on his side on the floor, his body covered in maggots, a strange slime coating his skin and seeping onto the floor. His black wings looked like moth-eaten sails, and he was missing most of his tail, but he was otherwise whole. The demon king stood over him, a manic gleam in his eyes. A trio of soldiers stood on the other side of the beast, fear reflecting in the whites of their eyes, their hands on the hilts of their swords.
Selig plugged his nose, speaking through a wheeze. “I still think this is a bad idea.”
“I didn’t ask you your opinion, mage,” he said with a snarl while walking around the creature. “Where is his tail?”
Selig made a slow walk around the creature, then gasped when he tripped over a long, squishy vine. It took him a moment to realize that vine was the beast’s missing tail. “Here.” He lifted his foot, eyeing the goo on the bottom of his boot with disgust.
“Get a green witch to fuse it,” the demon king said with a dismissive wave, motioning toward Selig as if he was a common servant.
“There are no green witches, Your Highness.” He didn’t bother pointing out that green witches were incapable of such dark magic.
The demon spun around and pointed a sword at the nearest soldier. “Find one!”
The soldier gaped at the king as he foolishly released the grip on his sword. “They all fled.”
The king let out an animalistic roar, his eyes flashing red as he ran his sword through the soldier’s gut. He quickly pulled it out, the soldier’s blood and guts spilling to the floor. The soldier clutched his stomach, his jaw dropping in shock. He fell to his knees with a cry, then flopped onto his back, his lifeblood spilling out of him.
Selig shook his head while stepping away from the soldier. He regretted resurrecting the king. He should’ve fled south instead. He could’ve easily hidden away in Cyrene. The king’s coffers were still filled with enough gold coin for him to enjoy an easy retirement. Maybe find an obedient whore or even an innocent stable lad to take care of his sexual needs. Perhaps it was time to end this experiment. He would wait until the demon wasn’t looking and plunge a knife into his back.
“You there!” The king pointed to the remaining two soldiers with the tip of his bloodied sword. “Find a green witch.”
