Half-Demon's Fortune

by Lina J. Potter

  “Do you even realize what they could do there...and how?”

  “I have my suspicions. Tyrimma’s my daughter, and I’ve lived through all this. I visited the temple, asked them to leave my baby alone, offered them money, groveled at their feet... And do you think it helped me?”

  I snorted. Auntie didn’t seem offended.

  “And yes, they did test me there. Alex, sweetie, be patient. She’ll be back soon. But if you follow her right now... What are you going to do if they offer to test you?”

  “So...you know?”

  “I guessed. Necromancy’s forbidden, of course, but what can I do? Report you to the servitors? They owe me ten years of my life anyway—and my daughter.”

  I smiled.

  “You’re a real treasure, Auntie. Hey, what if Innie arranges for your son-in-law to be appointed to her castle and your daughter goes with him?”

  Auntie Madie sighed and paused to consider the offer.

  “No, Alex. That would be bad for Innis and an even worse disservice to my daughter. I’ve loved her and doted on her too much. If she doesn’t realize that that’s not the way to live, if she doesn’t stop it herself, sooner or later, she’ll find herself in a much deeper and dirtier mess, and that won’t be the end, either. And one day, neither you nor I will be able to pull her out.”

  I wondered if I could do something like that with my own children.

  “B-but—”

  “Before, I couldn’t understand that. But when you’re left alone, you start getting unpleasant thoughts. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, and I don’t have enough years left in this world to keep making them. I want to fix them, as many as I can.”

  The door opened.

  “Innie!”

  I caught the girl in a tight embrace and she threw her arms around me, crying.

  “Alex! Oh Alex, it was such a horror!”

  I stroked her dark hair.

  “Darling, it’s all over now. Nobody’s going to hurt you, you’re home, with me, and I’ll rip off the head of anybody who even thinks about harming you, I swear...”

  I noticed the thrall who had escorted Innis home only two minutes later. He was standing by the door and seemed frustrated and angry...with me?

  It sure looked like that. And I hadn’t even beaten him up yet!

  He was young, slender, and wore an expensive robe. Probably a hit with the ladies. Wait, am I jealous? No idea.

  “Innie, who’s that?”

  Innis detached herself from me, turned around and looked at him blankly as if he were a stray dog.

  “That one? Ah, sorry. Thank you so much for escorting me.”

  I couldn’t have shut down the servitor better if I tried. Innis pretty much stomped all over him. She couldn’t remember his name or his title. Thank you, oh holy one, here’s a coin for your service...

  “Will you take a few buns for the road?”

  Auntie Madie followed suit, handing out a pile of buns to the servitor. He seemed so offended!

  “Your Grace, may I visit you tomorrow?”

  “Why?”

  Innis was sincerely surprised, while the servitor was indignant. Was the Church already pursuing a new victim? She was no Tyrimma, however, and needed a higher-class suitor, whom they had promptly picked. And...no dice.

  How could Innie fall for that?

  “I’d check up on you. Maybe you’d like something?”

  “I think, holy one, that in the future, my cousin would do without your personal services. Don’t be disappointed, I’m sure you’ll find a lady who’ll be happy to accept them.”

  “What!”

  I threw him a mocking gaze, and the servitor flared up. Still, he knew he risked getting a good walloping, and left, the remains of his pride intact. I pulled Innis toward me.

  “What happened there, sweetie?”

  “My father...he’s out of his mind.”

  As much as I wanted to say that he hadn’t had much of a mind in the first place, I bit my tongue. Instead, I asked how.

  “I was told that Amorta kept hexing him, and as she died, her magic started to disappear from his mind, and he realized what he had done...”

  “And he’s gone mad. I get it. What are you going to do with him?”

  “I’ll take him to Andago, find a nurse for him.”

  I nodded. Innis hadn’t forgiven him, that much was clear, but...he had been punished by fate. Did a man in a vegetative state deserve revenge or getting thrown into an almshouse? I could do that; Innis would be unable to.

  I would never tell her that, but people in Sidon’s situation could never last long anyway. He had half a year, maybe a year, tops, before he would pass away in agony. Madness was a way out for him, not a penance.

  “Have they said anything about the Moraleses?”

  “They did. They checked me for hexes, for black magic...I was scared. After all, the summoning—”

  “They didn’t find anything, did they?”

  “Right. Why’s that?”

  “Let’s just say I took care of it. You’re clean as a whistle.”

  “They did figure out that I’m an air mage. They were very respectful toward me.”

  “Of course they were. Tyrimma’s nowhere as good of a catch as you are. You’re Countess Andago!”

  “Do you think that—”

  “I’m sure, and so is Auntie Madie. So what have they told you about the Moraleses?”

  “That they were warlocks. There’s been a huge battle, with more than fifty warriors of the Church dead...”

  “What an awesome result!”

  “Alex!”

  “What do you want from me? Sympathy for the Church?”

  “You have no shame! Anyway, almost ten priests died as well. Turns out, the Moraleses have been at it for a long time already, with some of the local servitors covering for them. They were really sorry...”

  “Oh yeah. And if you hadn’t escaped? Bastards!”

  Innis nodded in agreement.

  “That’s the Church for you,” Auntie Madie summed it up. Suddenly, I remembered something.

  “What about your brother, Innis?”

  A shadow came over the girl’s features.

  “That...offshoot? He was with Amorta. A good mother always takes her child with her, doesn’t she?”

  “Is he dead?”

  “I don’t know. The servitors said that his fate was their concern now.”

  I frowned. It wasn’t good news at all.

  “But he has a claim to Andago.”

  “Alex, are you proposing that I ask them to kill the child?”

  “No. But they could blackmail you with that.”

  “Let them try.”

  Fine. If anything happened, I would take care of it.

  “I just need to get married and have children as fast as possible.”

  Why did I feel so sick as she said those words aloud?

  ***

  For the time being, we stayed in the capital. Entering Andago wasn’t recommended, as lots of templars were combing through the area. I kept hoping that Tidann would be smart enough to hide himself, even if theoretically, Finn Andago’s laboratory could only be opened with the blood of his kin.

  Meanwhile, Lavinia’s body was found in the woods, her neck broken, and Lintor invited Innis to identify it. I professed my outrage for the sake of appearances, but let her go there, and even escorted her myself.

  Lavinia was gorgeous even in death. Innis recognized her straight away and Lintor had another question. He had the king’s murderer...but who had killed her, in turn? What if her killer had been the one to blame for the royal assassination as well?

  In any case, I couldn’t help him with that, other than to give myself up voluntarily.

  We also got a few visits from Tyrimma. She didn’t have any fresh bruises but still looked like a beaten dog. From the looks of it, her husband was afraid to hit her—my associates had explained everything to him clearly enough. From here on out, he jus
t expressed his unhappiness with his life by yelling, breaking dishes, and occasionally drinking. Tyrimma excused him by saying that everybody had his own burdens to carry. Whatever. If she wised up, she would leave him herself, and before then... Give a fool enough rope and he'll hang himself.

  I also talked to Martha a few times. She seemed fine.

  Darius had left my palace and was on his way to Riala, while my wife enjoyed her pregnancy and the company of her minstrel. The Morinars had almost dealt with the conspirators and Tommy was gathering troops in the provinces. Soon enough I could go home.

  Still, I had to negotiate with the Church, as I had already been declared an abomination, and also...

  I wasn’t going to forgive Darius. He had foisted his sister on me, he had come to my country... Will I even the score? I was waiting for his arrival.

  All this time, I was getting more and more annoyed with the young servitor who continued to court Innis. He kept coming by and brought her flowers and gifts. Innis wasn’t exactly happy with it either, but she couldn’t really kick him out. He wasn’t visiting us per se—those were contrived coincidences: in the marketplace, near the fence, chance meetings in the street...sometimes, a proper education was a real burden.

  In the end, I confronted him myself.

  “How about we talk man-to-man?”

  The servitor wasn’t scared easily.

  “You’re Innis’ cousin, Alex de Belient.”

  “And you’re Leonar, a thrall of the Church.”

  “De Belient” sounded better, no doubt about that. Leonar—I had learned his name from Innis, as I had no desire to be introduced to him—winced.

  “One day, I’ll become a retainer, or even the Confidant himself.”

  “Keep dreaming. You have no power, money, or connections, even if you’re trying to get all of them with my cousin’s help. I won’t let you.”

  “I simply like Innis.”

  “As a pouch filled with gold? Countess Andago? I get it. But leave her alone. She doesn’t need you.”

  “What if you’re wrong and she does? Consider her relatives...”

  That got my attention. The servitor gave me a sweet smile, all nice, good, and proper. I wanted to rip his arms off.

  “What’s wrong with her relatives? If her father fell prey to a warlock...”

  “Then who could vouch for her innocence? But if she were to marry a servant of the Church...”

  “Then the others would leave her alone? Son of a bitch!”

  My hands were quicker than my brain. In a flash, I pushed the servitor against the wall and pressed my elbow against his throat.

  “I won’t kill you right now. But if I see you next to my cousin even once more, you won’t get any mercy from me. I’m a nobleman.”

  “Even a nobleman won’t get away with—”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that if I were you,” I whispered in his ear, adding demonic undertones to my voice. “I might forego killing you, you know. I’ll just castrate you, so nothing would ever distract you from your prayers.”

  “And I could test you for black magic.”

  And the next thing I knew, I got a spell thrown right in my face, designed specifically to fight ones such as me. Necromancers.

  I had no time to protect myself, and the servitor’s amulet flashed dark, and his eyes filled with gloating.

  “You! You scum...”

  He didn’t get the time to say anything else, as my claws pierced through his neck.

  “Die, filth.”

  Heaven knew I didn’t want to leave, but fate took the decision right out of my hands.

  ***

  I put my departure off until the evening, making the most out of my last minutes in Riolon. I laughed with Innis and talked to Auntie Madie, all the while knowing that it was no place for me. I had to leave, no matter how much pain I felt. Such was my destiny.

  I was a half-demon and the king. I was born to wear the crown of Radenor, and I could never drag Innis down into all that dirt. Let her be happy, marry for love, continue the Andago line...just far away from me, or I would lose my temper and kill her husband. Innie, my girl, my heart...

  As night fell, I knocked on her door.

  “Sweetie, we need to talk.”

  She looked at me, so happy and so beautiful that my heart skipped a beat. But...

  “What’s up, Alex? Is something wrong? Is it Andago?”

  “No, it’s fine.”

  Innis breathed out in relief.

  “If only you knew how much I want to go home! And then there’s Tidann...you’ll help me with him, won’t you? And the whole estate, just for a little while? Please! We’ll take Auntie Madie too, it’s not like she has anything to do here!”

  For a moment, I wanted to agree with her. Just go to Andago, let all my friends and family consider me dead, settle there, care for Innis, be with her. The crown? What business is it of mine?

  Yet...

  Innis couldn’t be with me in Radenor. All that mess was too much for her.

  A life with her was impossible for me. I wanted it, I would have given everything for it, but my mother’s blood was too powerful. Looking at Innis, I realized that love was one half of my being. But I had another half, too, and I could never live without that one, either. If I abandoned Radenor...if I...

  I would never forgive myself.

  My royal blood would kill me faster than a templar’s sword. It wasn’t just a scarlet liquid, it was so much more. It was honor, duty, loyalty, and responsibility, an eternal burden, my cursed wreath.

  Princess Michelle had won when she had given birth to me, but that was just one victory. Today was her second triumph. She had given her own life for her country, for a single hope. Today, her son gave up love for the very same thing, and nobody could tell what was more painful: to die once or to live decades while fulfilling your duty and knowing that you could have had a very different life. Innis and bluish specks in her black hair...

  “Release me, please.”

  She didn’t catch it at first; I could see it. She bent her head, surprised, and opened her eyes wide. I knew the exact second when the realization hit her.

  “Alex!”

  In her voice, I could hear everything: pain, bitterness, mistrust...

  I knelt down on the carpet beside her feet and transformed.

  “I’m not human, Innie.”

  “Do you want to leave?”

  “Innie, have you forgotten that I’m a demon?”

  “You’re Alex.”

  “Innie...”

  “Do you want to abandon me, is that how it is?”

  When I looked into her eyes, I couldn’t lie.

  “I must.”

  Innis slid down the bed and knelt next to me.

  “But you’ll be back, won’t you?”

  And once again, I couldn’t lie. I shook my head.

  “Innie, it’s for the best, really. I don’t belong with you. I’m a monster, a demon, a murderer...”

  “For me, that’s nothing new. I’ve lived so many years next to a warlock.”

  And I realized that I could stay, be with her. She could fall in love me, she was so close. If I left, she’d be pained, so much. But she would forget and she would forgive.

  And if I remained with her... We would never forgive each other.

  “Innie, let me go. Please. I killed a man today, a servitor.”

  “Alex?”

  For just a moment, she shivered. I reached out with my hands and released my claws.

  “That boy who courted you in such a touching manner. Soon, he’ll be found. I pierced his throat with these claws.

  Innis clutched at her throat.

  “Were you...jealous?”

  “No. He discovered who I was.”

  “Alex!”

  “I’m a demon, Innis, and that won’t change, whatever you do to me. Sooner or later, the truth will be revealed, and I could even hurt you.”

  “I don’t believe it.�
��

  “Please do. And let me go.”

  For a long moment, Innis stared at me.

  “You could have just left.”

  “I can’t. You summoned me—”

  “Alex, you know that’s an excuse.”

  I was silent. I had nothing more to say except for one thing.

  “Innis...you’re an Andago, but I have a home as well, and I must be there.”

  “Can’t I go with you?”

  “No.”

  “Go, then. I release you. But return to me, please!”

  I shook my head.

  “I won’t, Innie. Understand this, please. Right now, we’re saying our final goodbye.”

  “Alex!”

  It was almost a groan. I never hated myself so much.

  Gently, Innis took my face into her hands. As her lips touched mine, I froze. Even with Carlie, it was different; there was more passion. With Innis, I felt only tenderness; I wanted to press her close and never let her go. I won’t give her to anybody; she’s mine and only mine, you hear that?

  For a moment, I let myself believe that. I closed my hands behind her shoulders and kissed her, forgetting all about me being a half-demon, not thinking about anything else.

  I pulled back only when I felt the taste of blood on my tongue. My fangs. And Innis...

  “I’m...sorry. Forget about me, please.”

  And I ran out of the door. I needed to get away from there, to forget, to stop feeling, thinking, living...

  Take those moments away from me! You, the wise and the almighty, why do you allow this? Why do you torture us so?

  I never asked for this!

  I came to my senses only behind the city wall. I collapsed into the grass, burying myself in it, biting the bitter stalks with my teeth, not holding back my tears anymore. Men don’t cry; they take revenge.

  But whom could I exact vengeance on right there and then? The snot-nosed thrall whom I had killed? The Church?

  Oh yes. They will pay a high price for everything. It will take far longer than my own lifetime, but my descendants will continue to champion my cause, and sooner or later, we will strip the Church from the thing it values the most. Not the faith, of course, and not its congregation—the latter mattered only as a source of wealth.

  We would take away its lands, its money, its power, and its warriors. The Church would have no power over Radenor. And the first thing I would do...