A Shadow's Tale (29 page)

‘How sweet, it would seem that the Kraferr protector and the crystal demon have formed a rescue party. I didn't think they would be able to work together without ripping each other's throats out.' Teran commented conversationally. Bart pulled back a fist to punch Teran. A ball of fur erupted from the bedroom, knocking the Kraferr back.

‘Leave him alone,' Dominique growled.

‘Are you feeling better, my dear Dominique?' Teran asked.

‘Dominique…What has he done to you?!' Bart growled.

‘The worst is going to come soon, Bart,' she answered quietly, ‘After this…we'll be able to save our race.'

‘Are you fr—'

‘Quiet!' she snapped, frowning slightly at Bart before softening her voice slightly. ‘Quiet, please. I want to be able to do this alone for once.' Teran smirked a little. Ilrune was speechless. I wheezed quietly, still feeling Teran's hands at my throat.

‘I would guess that you are better, Dominique,' Teran said, smiling. ‘We can move on to the next stage. Bart and Ilrune, you will stay here.'

‘Yes, she murmured under her breath, ‘let's go. You can finish whatever you have to do and then get the hell out of my home.' Glowering at Bart and Ilrune, Dominique swept back into the bedroom. Teran smirked at the two Unborns, seized my arm and followed the Kraferrin, but not without a parting threat.

‘If you wish no harm to come to your loved ones, I suggest strongly that you stay out here and keep quiet.'

There was no way I could have fought against Teran with any hope of winning, so I didn't. It would only have make things worse, for either Dominique or for me. Instead, I curled up quietly where he had left me. My broken arm ached. I wanted to go home. I wanted to get away from Teran. I wanted my family. Teran got Dominique to lie down on the bed, telling her to relax before he turned back to me. I knew what he wanted, and tried not to resist. He rested his hand on my stomach, careful not to allow his hand to pass through my skin. He drew out a tiny white orb, carefully suspended over his palm. A tiny fragment of my essence of who I was. An orb of magic that could grow into a whole new being. My coding would be overrun by Dominique's, all it needed to become a child was a piece of Bart's essence. Teran leant over Dominique for a moment, speaking softly to her in a voice too quiet for my human ears to hear Whatever it was, she agreed to it, and Teran pressed the tiny orb of magic into her
belly. Dominique gasped in pain, her hands fisting in the sheets beneath her. Teran straightened up, staring to search the room. From a small, journal-like book, he drew a second orb of magic, which he carried to Dominique. Bart must have kept a diary or something. That's all I would think of that could give Teran enough of his essence to satisfy his needs. Physical form wasn't the only thing that could be used to house a person's essence. It was anything and everything personal and unique to a single person, and handwriting was one of the most personal and unique non physical things a person had.

‘Congratulations, my dear Dominique, you will bear twins in approximately five months.' Bowing low to the Kraferrin, he took hold of my arm once more, teleporting out of the flat.

Wherever he took us, at least it was warm. I knew that it was still Earth. Teleporting between dimensions left a strange feeling of having jumped into a bucket of cold water for a few moments. Teleporting within a dimension left only a brief sensation of pins and needles. As soon as I could, I scrambled away from Teran. I had no intention of joining Kaleb's ranks any time soon. This bastard of a demon wasn't about to change that. I bared my teeth, feeling the acute lack of fangs to scare him with. No fangs, no claws, no strength and no magic, what a fine state I was in now.

Teran cornered me easily, a manic grin fixed on his face. He took hold of my broken arm in a parody of gentleness, prodding the break with a light touch. I gritted my teeth. I wanted to pull away, but it would only make matters worse. With one quick movement, he twisted my arm, snapping the healing bone easily. I couldn't stop the scream from escaping my throat. Teran barked a laugh, still holding my arm in his hand, grinding the broken bone beneath his fingers.

‘Teran!' bellowed a, unfamiliar, female voice. An angry looking woman who looked very similar to Teran strode towards us, closely followed by Ilrune and Bart. The relief on Ilrune's face
was obvious, as if he hadn't expected to find me at all. He darted to my side, carefully cradling me in his arms. I buried my face in his chest, desperately needing his support. My arm was in agony as I held it against me, my tears beginning to seep into Ilrune's shirt.

‘Elva,' Teran growled in response. The woman tossed her hair out of her eyes glaring at what I guessed was her twin.

‘I'm only doing this because I need a favour from the Roth-Mercians and Shadow is technically the head of it,' she said before turning her yellow gaze to me. ‘I saved your ass. In return, you tell Vrael that Elva's back in town. Now get the hell out of here.'

Ilrune held me for a moment longer as we arrived in Bart's flat. I squirmed a little in his grip, but he refused to let me go. He rested his forehead on my head, murmuring quietly to me.

‘Gods, next time, please scream or something so I will know that things are not right.' Only then did he let me go. With tender care, he touched my broken arm, wincing as I hissed in pain. Murmuring something under his breath, he let his magic flow, putting the bone back together with crystal. I flexed my hand gingerly, expecting the usual flash of pain. Nothing. Healed. I flung my arms around his neck, pulling the taller demon down to hug him tightly. Summoning my courage, I let him go and turned to check on Dominique.

The Kraferrin was huddled in a corner of the room as if terrified. As soon as she realised who had walked in, she refused to look up at me. Carefully arranging my skirts, I sat, cross-legged, opposite her, close enough to comfort, far away enough not to threaten.

‘I'm sorry,' she murmured. I could see the tracks from her tears, still fresh, gleaming in the room's low light.

‘It's okay, Dominique. No one was badly hurt apart from you.'

‘It's not okay, I sold you out to that bastard!'

‘Then I forgive you.'

‘No! There are some things that are unforgivable!'

‘I choose who I forgive and, right now, I forgive you, Dominique Kraferr. There are far worse things that could have happened, but they didn't, and for that I am grateful.'

For a moment, Dominique remained silent. Behind me, I heard the door creak open. Ilrune, standing silhouetted against the light, glared at Dominique. I glowered back, causing him to back up a couple of steps. I pointed a finger at him. The crystal demon quickly made himself scarce, disappearing back into the living room. For all I had been complaining about him for the past while, he was still intelligent enough to know not to cross me. I turned my attention back to Dominique, rubbing her arm in an attempt to comfort her.

‘Hey, it's okay, he was just annoyed earlier because Teran was being a bum. He won't be hurting you any time soon if he values his crown jewels.'

Then, for the first time, she looked up at me. ‘Am I really pregnant?'

I took a moment to think carefully through my answer. ‘Demonesses are quite a bit different to humans in that respect. I'm not sure about Kraferrs though. Basically, we don't have periods, we're always ready to reproduce, there's a high chance of becoming pregnant when we have intercourse, we never miscarry and we always give birth to twins. In short, yes, you are pregnant.'

‘Two children…' Dominique repeated, lowering her head, ‘Am I really sure of what I'm about to get into?' she asked herself, ‘I mean, two lives to take care of…I've already seen Kraferric mothers give birth and I have already seen how newlings are treated. Physically, I'm able to do that, but will I be able to keep up? I don't want to screw anything up by doing this…' Dominique let her hair fall over her face as she spoke. ‘I'm willing to be hurt for them, I'm willing to do anything for them.
I just don't want to make any mistakes.'

‘And you won't,' intervened Bart's voice. I glanced over my shoulder to see the Kraferr leaning against the door jamb. I briefly wondered how long he'd been there. He gazed down at Dominique. ‘Sure, you made a big mistake by risking all of our lives with this,' he continued, crossing his arms, ‘but something tells me that what you're doing is right. You always wanted to save the Kraferrs, and even though they will never be what others call ‘pure' Kraferrs, they will still be descendants. By doing this, maybe you're braver than most. Maybe now you'll achieve your goal. And I respect that. The ends don't justify the means to me, but hey, I'm pretty happy that we won't be the only Kraferrs on this planet.'

‘But you won't be alone in this,' I added. ‘You can call me any time and I'll be back as soon as I can.' I stood up, pushing my hair off my face. ‘Ilrune had better get me back to Aspheri. They need me there.' I smiled slightly at Dominique. ‘Get Bart to call me whenever you need me here or when you go into labour. I'll help you through it.' Before walking out to the living room, I paused by Bart, talking to him under my breath so that only he could hear.

‘You'd better look after her. Pregnancy isn't easy at the best of times, and demonic pregnancies have a tendency to be worse.' Ilrune stepped forwards to take my hand, preparing for the teleportation. I cast one last look at the Kraferrs, my mask in hand. ‘I guess I'll be seeing you. Thanks for putting up with us and all the crap we've put you through.'

Ilrune and I landed slap-bang in the middle of a heated argument between my guards. Well, we landed off to the side, hidden a little by the shadows of the room. Kaleb seemed to be doing most of the shouting which, if the faces of the rest of the guard unit was anything to go by, was one of the scariest things they had ever seen. Then again, if I was the one being shouted at by the Would-Be King, a creature powerful enough to destroy an entire dimension in the blink of an eye, I would be close to wetting myself as well.

‘For the love of the gods, does no one plan anything using a calendar? It should have been obvious that her trip to Rathol coincided with her vulnerable period! On top of that, no one has been able to find her! Has no one ever thought to try and memorise her human energy signature? Don't look at me like that, I know you're capable of doing it, even if I can't!' He started pacing the line of demons. ‘How would you lot like to have to tell the people that we
lost
the
princess
when she was defenceless!? I can tell you now that it would
not
be a fun job! Just be glad that I haven't had any messengers coming here and asking me why the hell the Princess of Darkness turned up in one of my realms! Not only that, but we lost the demon
engaged
to the princess! And do any of you know how to find or contact the first in line?'

Just to toy with the Would-Be King, I spoke up. ‘I do.'

‘Well thank the gods that…Princess!' It took Kaleb a couple of seconds to retrieve his jaw from the ground and regain his composure. ‘Where have you been? We have been scouring Aspheri, Rathol and were about to try Alena, searching for you!'

‘I misdirected myself to Earth. Friends of mine there found me and kept me safe until Ilrune managed to track me. Worry not, Would-Be King. There has been no harm done. Now, if you
don't mind, I think I should retire to the safe room and wait until I turn back into a demon again.'

Two days later, I teleported out of the safe room, relishing the feeling of the warmth of my magic coursing through my veins once more. It felt good to be back in control, back in power. Nodding to my guards, I wove my way through the corridors, heading for my private chambers. With less than a month to go before my wedding to Ilrune, there was still so much to do. A small part of me wriggled in joy. I never thought I was ever going to be married. When the prophecy came into my life, it pretty much ended all thoughts I ever had of spending the rest of my life with anyone. Not much point when you knew exactly when and how you were going to die. Now that it was actually happening, I wanted to squirm in happiness like a hyper puppy.

Ilrune kept very quiet unless asked for his opinion, happy to let Aleth and I talk about colour schemes and invitation lists and how to go about organising the ball traditionally held one week before the marriage. Aleth, ever the prepared one, had already sketches several possible designs for a dress, nattering on about colour and fabric. I kept glancing at Ilrune, as if I was scared that if I just blinked, everything would simply vanish. How did I become so lucky?

I might have recalled that statement two weeks later, when I found myself standing in my dressing room with a fretting Aleth, trying to get ready for the ball. Aleth slapped my hands down as I tried, once more, to help her fix blood-stones into my black hair. Despite her angry wielding of hairpins, the stones did not want to sit properly, or what Aleth deemed to be properly. The stiff, formal dress was already beginning to get uncomfortable as I tried to sit as still as possible, listening to my lady's maid swear in all manner of demonic dialects that were definitely not suited
to her station and sounded very odd coming out of her mouth. Throwing her hands up, she abandoned the gems, her eyes flickering red. I patted her hand, grabbing a brush and a comb inlaid with the dark red bloodstones. I dragged the brush through my hair, attempting to get it to lie flat before sweeping a section of it up to secure with the comb. I glanced at Aleth for approval. She looked relieved certainly. Setting my circlet on my head, I stood up. Time for Cinderdemon to go to the ball.

By the time I got to the double doors, Ilrune was already there, waiting. He jokingly shook his head, tapping his wrist in the universal gesture for ‘what happened to you to be so late?'. I felt a blush creep over my cheeks, thankfully hidden by my mask. I shrugged at him, linking my arm through his. It was time to meet and entertain several hundred high class demons and dignitaries from other dimensions for an entire evening. Whoopee.

‘Having second thoughts?' Ilrune asked jokingly.

‘Only about the ball. Nothing's going to stop me marrying you.'

‘Then let's get this over with.' Ilrune squeezed my arm gently as the doors opened before us, and a footman announced our arrival. I knew that there were only about a couple of hundred people in there, but it looked more like a thousand. My courage suddenly decided to turn tail and run screaming for the hills. Only Ilrune's arm through mine kept me on the course, sweeping into the ballroom that hadn't been used for years. I fixed a smile on my face and began to greet my guests. In the centre of the room, three demons played drums accompanied by a lone demon with what sounded like a flute crossed with bagpipes. Despite the image, it wasn't unpleasant to listen to. A voice suddenly spoke in my ear: ‘I hope you realise just how much I am not enjoying this, Shad.'

I smiled at that. There was only one person I knew who would say that to my face. ‘Hello, Amarath,' I said, turning to
her. ‘Glad you could make it.'

My sister glowered at me. Her short purple bob had sections of it braided with sparkling red gems, matching the deep red dress she was wearing. I couldn't help but smile. Amarath was definitely one of the tomboys, but there was no way she could have gotten away with the demonic male formal dress, which was composed of a pair of loose trousers, a sword and a cloak. Although, knowing Amarath, she was probably carrying more weapons than Captain Nergal.

‘At least you don't have to put up with the mask, Amarath,' I countered. She rolled her eyes at me, shaking her head.

‘Yeah, well, don't expect me to dance with anyone. Vrael's already threatened me with pretty much everything possible to have at least one. Seriously, is there anyone here under the age of a hundred?'

‘How can you tell? Most of them stopped ageing between twenty and thirty. I'm the youngest looking person here! I mean, you look twenty, I'm your twin and I look fifteen! By the way,' I dropped my voice, ‘I think you'd get on really well with the captain of my guards. Demon called Captain Nergal. He'll be around here somewhere. Listen out for the clanking of his weaponry.'

Amarath sniffed in disapproval, but given the glint in her eye and the careful positioning of her head to listen more carefully, she was actually going to track this guy down, perhaps for nothing more than comparing notes on swords. I shrugged mentally. She might as well have a go with him. They'd get on like a house on fire.

Ilrune lead me to the centre of the dance floor, taking my hands in his. I prayed that I would remember the dance steps Aleth had painstakingly rehearsed with me over the last two weeks, and not stand on his toes. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted both my brothers with demonesses, and a flash of red dress approaching
a trying-to-look-as-if-not-on-duty Nergal. I grinned to myself. The poor captain wouldn't know what hit him.

The evening flowed as easily as the
Styan
, an alcoholic version of
Stykka. Styan
was similar to wine, but it was still something I avoided. I may be part demon, but that didn't mean I could handle their alcohol. It was about ten times as potent as human wine. I wasn't going to touch the stuff for fear of what it would do to me, both in appearance and in terms of a hangover the next morning. Instead, I spent most of the night dancing, with Ilrune, with Shaeman, Vrael, even Kaleb at one point. In a week, I would be happily married. Tonight, I would enjoy myself. Amarath seemed to be hitting it off with Nergal. Vrael was dancing with a pretty, golden-haired demoness with a look of longing on his face. Shaeman was sitting at the side, talking to ademoness, who was flirting with all she had. Yes, things were good.

* * *

When I opened my eyes the next morning, I couldn't remember why today was so important. There was something really big happening. The guard in the corner shifted slightly. Daylight was beginning to seep around the curtains, taunting me with the knowledge that I should be getting up and beginning the usual morning duty of hearing the problems of my people and proposing solutions, followed by a tactical debriefing with the army captains about the state of my army. I seriously considered sticking my head under the pillow and going back to sleep. Aleth burst into the room, caught up in a hurricane of excitement, tearing open the curtains to let the red sunlight suffuse the room and ripping back the blankets.

‘My Lady, you must rise and begin to prepare for your wedding!' I shot bolt upright. My wedding! Leaping out of bed, I shook off the last fingers of sleep, darting for my bathroom with Aleth close behind.

I don't really know when Aleth stopped being my lady's maid in her attitude towards me, becoming instead my best friend and one of my most trusted confidantes. On the morning of such an important day, I was infinitely glad for her company and expertise. I shed my nightclothes, diving into the bathing pool, already filled with scalding hot water. I surfaced, shaking out my hair. Aleth paused in her flitting around long enough to throw me a glass bottle of shampoo. Only once I smelled of my favourite pomegranate soap and had washed my hair into submission did I emerge from the pool, grabbing the towel left out for me. Aleth sat me down on a stool, running a critical eye over me. I tried to sit as still as possible. This was her territory, not mine. She nodded once, scurrying off. She returned with what I guessed were the underlayers of my wedding dress: a pair of dark grey leggings and the length of soft, white cloth that was usually wrapped around my midriff and chest to protect me from the sharp edges of my armour. Once they were in place, Aleth began attacking my hair with a ferocity I had only ever seen on the battlefield, drying it with her magic as she worked, fixing a couple of black feathers donated by Merlas into the locks as an acknowledgement to Ilrune's Careen origins. I tried very hard not to squirm under Aleth's attentions. With my wedding being one of the few occasions where I wasn't required to wear my mask, Aleth wanted to take full advantage of it, applying a black paint to outline my eyes and a deep red on my lips My lady's maid was having the time of her life, preparing me for this ceremony. For her, it was a case of showing off what she could do, the importance of her position. She darted away again, returning with my dress, which I was seeing for the first time. I slipped into the pale grey fabric, softer than those of my usual dresses, but cut in the same style, designed to flow rather than to protect, for beauty rather than utility. Aleth pulled at the lacing at the back of the dress, tying it off neatly before handing me my boots. I wrapped an intricately tooled sword belt around my waist, twice round, as
was the Aspherin custom, one loop high on the waist, crossed on the left hip so that the second loop, holding the sword, rested just below the right hip. Aleth brought me the final piece of my dress, a cloak. She brushed the light grey fabric over my shoulders to drape down my back. I touched the clasp holding it up. Arellan's brooch. I hadn't worn it since I had taken over in Aspheri, but kept it safe in a small box in my bed chamber along with other objects of value from my time on Earth and in Synairn. I wanted my mother to be present for my wedding, to be proud of what I had become and pleased with my choice of husband. This was the only way I could pretend that she was here with me. I took one last look at myself in the silver glass. Every piece of metal gleamed, the delicate beadwork on the dress sparkled, my hair shone. Aleth clapped her hands, chattering excitedly. She darted away once more, returning this time with the circlet. I crouched down slightly for her to place it on my head. She took my hands in hers, smiling openly.

‘You're ready, my Lady.'

I couldn't believe how nervous I felt as I walked, alone, towards the hall where the wedding was being held. Well, I say alone. Two guards were discreetly following me as always. A demoness was always supposed to walk alone to her wedding, supposedly to give her a last chance to run away if she didn't want to go through with it. But I did. I wanted this marriage. I wanted a chance at being willingly and happily married to a demon of my choice for the rest of what I hoped was going to be a very long life.

According to Careen custom, a trusted member of the bride's family would wait outside the hall of the ceremony in order to reassure a nervous bride if necessary and escort her inside. Aleth had refused to let me have any say in the wedding outside of a preferred colour scheme and the guest list. All I knew was that
they had blended demonic and Careen traditions. I had no idea of what to expect. I had never realised before how much my footsteps echoed in the empty halls. The sound had always been hidden by other demons rushing around, going about their duty. Even the guards made little noise today.

Vrael stood waiting for me outside the hall, resplendent in his deep red demonic formal dress, his bow and quiver strapped across his back. Even for something as supposedly peaceful as a wedding, demons went in armed. He bowed deeply to me, one hand fisted over his heart as was the custom for a demon to his ruler. As he straightened up, he spoke to me, not as the Princess of Darkness, but as his sister.

‘Are you prepared for this commitment?' he asked, his face and tone soft. I offered him a shaky smile.

‘As ready as I'll ever be.'

‘You do not wish to marry him?'

‘Yes! I'm going to marry Ilrune, no matter what. No, facing a hall full of people I don't or barely know is what worries me.'