Vala Eminence (9 page)

****

Denver fought hard to stay asleep and linger in the dream a little while longer. Remembering his dreams didn't happen often. For so long all he had were nightmares, and those were not something he wanted to hold onto in the waking world. Dreaming about his mother was another story entirely. He had to stay with her for as long as possible. Where else would he get to see her? He didn't even have a picture of his family, only faded memories which were slowly beginning to return to him.

With a small groan, he forced himself to climb out of bed. The weekend had arrived, so at least he didn't have to go to any classes for the day. But, there were still things for him to do, all the same. Seeing Cheyenne was at the top of his list, but would have to wait until later in the day. It'd been three weeks since he'd last done his laundry, so he had to tackle that task too along with his homework. Ideally, he'd kill all three birds with one stone and invite Cheyenne over but the no girls in his room ban was still in place. Besides, he didn't want her to see his underwear in such disgusting circumstances.

After a long, hot shower Denver put on his last clean outfit before getting to the mountain of clothing on his floor. He separated his clothing into three piles: colors, whites, favorites. The favorites would get done first. Just as he was about to pick up the mound of clothes, he heard the floor creak in the den. He faced the sound. His magical instincts must have been working because along with seeing his bedroom, he also saw the spiritual components of his dorm room. Most of it was neutral space. A few shadows hung around his windows. In the den he saw a flash of black blur past the door. Someone, or some
thing
was in his room.

He clenched his fists, readying the only weapon he had at his disposal. Vala didn't allow for weapons of any kind to be kept in the student dormitories. Denver was lucky to have a butter knife in his kitchen. If he had aggressive magic, he didn't know how to use it yet.
Unles
s I use the stones Jewl gave me…
He glanced back toward the nightstand by his bed.
There might be something in there I can fight back with, if need be.

Spinning on his heel, he ran back toward the bed just as the black shadow burst into his room. It knocked him to the ground before he could reach the nightstand. Landing hard on the floor, Denver narrowly missed hitting his head against the frame of his bed. The contact with the ground would have hurt a lot more if he hadn't had so many clothes lying around to cushion his fall. He grabbed a T-shirt and threw it into the face of the shadow. While it clawed the shirt off its face, he reached for the drawer on the nightstand.

His fingers wrapped around the handle. The drawer flung open when the shadow creature pulled on his body. Drawer still in his hand, Denver used it to knock his attacker in the side of face. All of the contents inside of it spilled on the floor. With the shadow momentarily off him, Denver scrambled for a small diamond three feet away. He grabbed hold of the gem and pressed it hard against his palm with his fingers, shouting the incantation to invoke its power.

Light poured into the room in both the physical realm as well as the spiritual one, causing him and the shadow to shield their eyes. The shadow tried to flee, but with his free hand Denver grabbed it by the shoulder. A high-pitched scream filled the room. As much as Denver wanted to cover his ears, there was no way he would be letting his assailant free.

“Who sent you!” he shouted over the wailing.

“Please release me,” it wailed.

“Not until you tell me what I want to know.”

“I swear on the life of my true master, I will not run if you release me.”

Denver narrowed his eyes. “
I
am your true master, so you better not be lying.” He let go of the shadow and was amazed to see it had manifested itself into a physical form instead of merely its spiritual one. Or perhaps he had been so engrossed in using his spiritual magic he hadn't noticed the physical shape. Either way, what he saw in front of him fascinated him.

The shadow was female and black as night with its spiritual aura. Physically, it took on the form of a young woman who could have passed as being in her mid-twenties or early thirties. A rather good-looking one too, seeing as how she had amazing curves and wore an awfully tight black outfit that stretched with her every move. She could have even been human if she didn't have fangs for teeth, blood red hair, and unnaturally bronze skin. Her nails ended in claws and it was then Denver noticed he was bleeding from the leg where she had initially grabbed him. In the spot where he had touched her was charred, black, skin.

Not much could hold a demon down, but Denver was able to tie her to a bedpost with one of his shirts. She must have understood, because she didn't fight him on it. After all, just because she said she was going to behave, didn't mean she actually would. Her hands were behind her back, and she sat down with her legs outstretched and tied together as well. If she got wild and tried to attack him, it would at least slow her down a little. Every second counted.

Never letting go of the diamond, Denver sat cross-legged in front of her on the floor. Even though he wasn't using the magic inside of the gem anymore, he still wanted the shadow to know who was in charge — and it wasn't her.

He offered a half-smile. “Let's try this again. Who are you, why are you here, and who sent you to do it?”

“Ceete,” she said. “My name is Ceete. I have been sent to assassinate you in a manner that makes it appear as if it were self-inflicted or an accident. As for who sent me, I don't think I need to explain that, do I my lord?”

“My lord, I like that. Keep it up and I might think about not killing you.” He shook his head. “He knows that I know.”

“When he released me from my cell in the dungeon, he made no mention of you knowing too much. In fact, he stated that he wanted you dead before you realized the truth and came to your full power.”

One of Denver's eyebrows raised and he leaned in toward her. “I'm trying to decide how much I want to trust you. After all, you did just admit to wanting to kill me.”

“Why do I have a reason to lie? I'm an assassin, not a manipulator. And I do not want to kill you. It was simply the task I was given. Killing is what I was created to do by Hades the First and it is what I will continue to do until one of his heirs decides to end my days. If you wish to destroy me for having done such a betrayal, I know I would be worthy of such punishment.” She lowered her red eyes to the floor. “Just know I only agreed to such a task because Lucien said I would be freed again from that horrible place. He also said that he was the next heir.”

“He wants to be, at least, which is why he needs me dead. I'm sure he'll find some way to talk my dad into giving him the Divine heritage if I am out of the picture,” Denver said, mulling over all of Ceete's words. He shook his head. “I'm still not sure how much I trust you.”

Ceete nodded. “I do not blame you for not believing me. Let it be known, that if I desired to harm you, I would have easily done so by now.” There was a sound similar to a sword being drawn and her hands were in front of her instead of behind her back. “The moment I entered your room, I knew something was strange about you. Then you used your words of authority over me and called upon the light. I must obey all who are above me in the demon hierarchy. There aren't many who are. Lucien, his dark father Lucifer, your father Hades, and you. And I obey the highest on the food chain, so to speak. That is how Hades had designed me at my creation.”

“So if I told you to do jumping jacks while singing 'I'm a Little Teapot', you'd have to do it?” He laughed at the idea.

She grimaced, but nodded again. “Reluctantly, yes, I would do so. What a stupid request.”

“Yeah, but I just wanna know if you mean it or not when you say you're loyal to
me.
Who's to say I'm the highest on this food chain you speak of.”

“Hades the First was my creator. His heirs will always reign over the demons, including Lucifer. So many humans fear him, but they don't understand that he's nothing more than a wannabe. He'll copy anyone he's jealous of. Why do you think he's sending one of his abominations to try to be you?” She scoffed. “It is disgusting. My first allegiance goes to your father. We both know he is indisposed at the moment, so second in command is you. With your father being locked in the dungeon, the underworld has fallen into chaos. It is confusing all of the lesser demons who dwell within. It confused me as well.” Her gaze lowered once more.

“I see.” Though, Denver wasn't sure he understood.

“Do you see my lord?”

He shrugged. “I've got two functioning eyes, so yeah, I do.”

She laughed. “You have your father's wit. How refreshing.”

“Were you two close?” he asked, dying to know more about what his family had been like before Lucien destroyed it.

Ceete smiled. “You could say that, yes. I was his number one confidant back in the day.”

“I don't remember much about what he was like,” he said quietly. “Him, or my mother, or much of anything, so I was just curious. Did we know each other too?”

“Yes, we did. I hardly left your side. Because while I was your father's first confidant, you were his first priority.”

Denver didn't want to, but he couldn't help it, there were tears forming in his eyes. Even if none of them spilled, just the fact that they were there in the first place annoyed him.

“Okay, so we go way back,” he mumbled. “I still don't know if I believe you.”

“Of course not,” she said.

He sighed. “I'm not going to kill you.”

“Thank you for sparing me so graciously.”

“But I don't know what I'm going to do with you either. You can't stay here. Eventually someone will find out. People are way too nosy, and you'd get bored anyway. My room sucks.” He rested his head on a fist. “I can't send you back to Lucien because he'll lock you up again for failing, probably torture you.”

“I would bear the wounds with honor and pride.”

Rolling his eyes, Denver stood. “Yeah, that seems like a thing a demon would like. Give me some time and I'll think of something.”

“If it helps, I can shape-shift, my lord. I can look more human, and at any age you think would be useful.”

“That so?” Denver smirked. “Then I might have an idea after all. But first I want to hear you swear your allegiance to
me
.”

A smile spread across her lips from ear to ear, her sharp fangs glistening under the light as she barred her teeth. “Until the day your father dies, I promised there would be no one above him who I would listen to. I pledge the same to you, and I will pledge the same to all of your heirs until one of them deems me no longer worthy to live.”

He nodded. “Excellent.”