by Nikki Frank
The idea of subjugation at the hands of the akuma lords nagged me. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. My nerves sent me squirming against Velor’s scales. “If akuma really are demonic, shouldn’t we be looking for a different way to fix me? How can we trust them? You know how demons are.”
“Since you seem to be turning into a demon, who else would you suggest asking? Unless you feel like admitting your issue to the Central Borderlands’ other demon lords. I was under the impression you wanted secrecy. What better way to keep a secret than lock it outside our borders?”
“Or we could be feeding my weakness right into the hands of the enemy,” I muttered.
“If Ferika or I thought that would be the result, we wouldn’t have made the suggestion. We’ve had peaceful borders for a very long time. The current lords had to be stable and rational to get that result.” His body vibrated with a reassuring rumble. “Any solution to your problem is going to carry risk, but the biggest risk is doing nothing. I still think a demon healer is the best person to see about the demon magic taking you over.”
Velor landed at the front door to the palace, a seamless square of copper on the steel cube. Raising a claw, he tapped. His touch reverberated through the walls of the building itself. The copper square shimmered as if he’d disturbed the surface of a pond, and two shi stepped through. Silver fur covered their massive leonine bodies, and the male sported a huge, shaggy silvery mane.
“State your business,” the female demanded in a voice like stones.
I held diplomatic silence. Velor should do the speaking for me initially. Getting used to such concepts had taken a while.
“Demon Lord Olivia Skotadi requests an audience with the resident Akuma Lord and lodging for the night.”
The shi growled. “Audience hours are over. But I will see about lodgings.”
Both turned and slid back through the shimmering square.
“They look like foo dogs back on Earth,” I whispered.
Velor snorted. “Don’t let the shi hear you call them that. It’s a rather offensive Earth slur. Much like calling a dragon a wyrm. Which for some reason, humans did for centuries.” He fell silent as the copper square shimmered, and the shi returned.
“This way, please.” She turned and led us in.
The magic of the doorway left my skin tingling with foreign power. Inside shone brightly, especially for a cube of solid metal. Like my own stained-glass palace, this palace looked as if every surface was made of polished steel and other metals. I didn’t see so much as a single fingerprint marring the gleam. Who got the job of cleaning all the walls? And how did they keep fur from clinging to everything in winter?
“You’re in luck, Demon Lord,” the shi announced. “You’ll be dining with two akuma lords this evening. Master Tomi is entertaining the Lord Iya for a few days, and they have invited you to dinner.”
My heart gave a little jump. What luck, to run into Iya the first night. If my luck held, I might be cured and home in a day or two.
The shi took me to a guest room to freshen up. Such treatment had been one of the easiest adjustments after becoming demon lord. As nobility and a government head, I always received top of the line accommodations. This room exceeded expectation. Soaring ceilings of stamped metal radiated both light and heat. A sitting area for entertaining and two separate sleeping alcoves, one for me and one for my personal guard, gave us plenty of room.
I wasn’t wild about sharing with Velor. At home, only Vixaria slept with me, despite a double guard being customary for a demon lord. As with so many quirks I brought to the job, Velor and Vixaria simply rolled their eyes and accepted it. Here, Velor had to stay.
A gorgeous silk sheath had been laid on the bed for me. I changed quickly and sat patiently while Velor curled my hair. You would never have guessed a dragon could be a good hair-dresser, but he could wrap my hair around his talons, blow a little heat on them, and form perfect ringlets. A touch of make-up around my brown eyes and I was ready.
“Anything about local customs I ought to know?” I asked Velor.
“Don’t anger an akuma.”
“Thank you for the brilliant insight. I had no idea pissing off a fire-demon would be a bad idea. Though, this isn’t a visit which carries much danger.”
“You could anger them if you’re not careful about how you form your request. Remember, the akuma are demons, and you are an imp using demon magic. You’re in a panic because you don’t want to become a demon. See where that might be slightly offensive to them?”
“Yes. You’re right. I’ll word my request carefully. Anything else?”
“Best not to eat any meat.”
“Why not?”
Velor shrugged. “You never know what type of creature they made into dinner. I don’t have a problem with eating conversational creatures, but I’m a dragon. You’re more sensitive to such issues. Hakushi is completely ruled by akuma. They eat as they please. They are demons, after all.”
Someone knocked on the door. I opened it to the pair of shi.
“Dinner is ready, Lady Demon Lord.”
Chapter 2
Keeping up with the shi took work. My silk sheath whispered with my hurried steps down the silent hall. Despite all the metal, the palace remained eerily quiet. Even our footsteps fell noiselessly.
The obvious lack of sound reminded me of my palace at the beginning. The previous demon lord’s servants had tiptoed around in fear for months after I’d moved in. Before me, the wrong noise could have earned them a place as the next scorch mark. Trusting I wasn’t going to do the same had taken a while. The memory set my determination. Things couldn’t slide backward. I couldn’t become my predecessor.
Byakuso’s dining room hosted a long, narrow table of polished steel and plush chairs with wide backs. The walls shone like mirrors, and the ceiling’s stamped metal matched my bedroom. The table appeared empty until we rounded the end. The backs of the chairs had been hiding the room’s three occupants.
Fire-demons. Sometimes memory exaggerates the details, but in the case of the akuma, they were as fantastic as I remembered. Mostly human in form, all three were thin and proud-looking: beautiful, fierce. Especially their hair. Akuma have flaming hair which flickers and dances on its own.
One of the two men had longer, bright-orange hair, and the other had short, ember-red hair. The woman’s hair took my breath away. It curled down past her shoulders like a glowing sheet. Small flames peeked out of the tresses here and there, moved as if by some magical breeze.
They all stood and nodded their heads in my direction, and I did the same. Horns poked out from inside the flames of their hair, bringing up my self-consciousness. We sat back down in polite silence. Which protocol worked best? I’d never dealt with akuma. Who should speak first?
The man with the short, red hair leaned on his elbows and flashed me a grin with both top and bottom fangs. Really, not so different than my own. I mentally slapped myself and decided not to dwell on the similarities.
“Lord Olivia, what an unexpected pleasure. I’ve heard such extraordinary rumors about you. Clearly, the ones about your beauty are no lie.”
Now he lied. But I blushed anyway. I lay somewhere between good-looking and cute. People only applied “beauty” to me in instances of flattery. Though flattery and diplomacy held hands in situations like this. He bowed his head in my direction.
“I’m Lord Tomi.”
I returned the bow. “The pleasure is mine. Thank you for your kind hospitality.”
We all settled back into our seats. Tomi waved a hand in the other man’s direction. “This is Lord Iya.” He lovingly caressed the cheek of the woman on the other side of him. “And my lovely wife, Zuanshi.”
I nodded my head in both their directions, then took a second glance at Iya. A tingle of recognition
ran through me. The tingle crackled into a jolt. I’d met him before. He’d spoken to me while the other two akuma had tried to convince the Synod to replace me. Anger growled in my chest. Velor had it right. Demons were demons.
Tomi ran a set of fingertips down the table, tapping blood-red, claw-like nails. “What brings you to my province, my dear?”
“I came looking for Lord Iya, of all things. We stopped at your palace, hoping you might assist us in finding him. But you seem to have done the work for me.”
He laughed. “I’m happy to be of help.”
“You were looking for me?” Iya gave me a sleek smile.
I bit the inside of my cheek. His voice matched his face for sexiness. “Indeed. One of my friends spoke highly of your healing abilities. I’m in need of your advice.”
He leaned back in his chair, wearing a sated look. “I am quite talented at healing. That much is true.” He ran his eyes over me. “You are a young imp and appear to be in good health. Why would you need a powerful healer? Or does the Lord High Governor not employ anyone worth consulting?” He chuckled at his own joke.
Squirming, I prepared to tread carefully. “A regular healer might not have the correct knowledge. The demon magic connected with my throne seems to be overpowering my own.”
He folded his fingers together and stared at me intently. “Interesting. What would you ask of me?”
“I don’t want to lose myself to the foreign magic. I’m a demon lord, but also proud to be an imp. Can you understand?”
“Yes. One should be proud of their own unique talents, no matter how small.”
I grit my teeth on the insult. Narcissistic demons. “Can you help?” Part of me hoped he’d say no so I could wash my hands of the akuma.
“You simply seek balance, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” His eyes gleamed at me, nearly as bright as his smile. “Now, it’s your turn to help us.”
This took me by surprise. “What can I do for you?”
Tomi leaned back in his chair, gazing intently at me. Stunned silence forced itself on me. They had some sort of hypnotic power, and the pair mesmerized me. Matching, slick smiles spread across their faces.
Tomi spoke. “This meeting is indeed fortuitous, my dear. We were actually discussing the best way to seek an audience with you.”
“Me?” Surprise crept into my voice.
“We want to remedy the fact there has never been trade relations between the Central Borderlands and Hakushi. Your district borders our provinces. You’ve made your district safe and lucrative. We want to open the borders.”
I folded my hands carefully on the table. “Since taking on new trade partners does not only impact my district, trade agreements have to be approved by both the Synod and the Lord High Governor.” My eyes stayed on Iya to avoid appearing weak. “If you treat me to the best of your abilities, I promise to bring negotiations to the table.”
“Only ten months on the throne, and she’s already a cautious businesswoman,” Iya commented to Tomi.
Tomi gave me another flawless smile. “We are all in agreement. You may stay here until your treatments are completed.”
“How long will healing take?” I asked Iya.
Bowls of soup were set in front of us. “Depends on how tangled the magic has become.” He blew on a spoonful of soup. “I’ll give you a preliminary examination after dinner. We can set a timeline from there.”
I nodded, eyeing my soup. The dark, clear broth revealed a variety of unfamiliar vegetables and thin slices of fish. It looked all right, but Velor’s words rang in my ears. What if this was mermaid flesh or something equally appalling? I sipped the broth and nibbled vegetables, carefully leaving enough to cover the untouched fish.
Lord Tomi expounded upon the value of his province, its best products and features, clearly selling the trade prospects. Lord Iya, on the other hand, studied me in a way that made me blush. He caught every nuance of my actions, flashing me a glittering grin when I pushed my bowl away. The arrival of the main courses saved me from having to explain myself.
I attempted to make up for picking at dinner by taking a small portion of as much as possible, the vegetable dishes, rice dishes, and flatbreads with aromatic dipping sauces. When the desserts with sweet beans, fruits, and thickened creams arrived, I finally let loose and enjoyed my food, not worrying about who might be a part of the sauce.
~ ~ ~
Velor appeared at the end of the meal, and the shi escorted us back to my room. This time Iya joined us. I stood nervously inside my door, but he acted at home, taking a seat on the black, plush sofa. He patted next to him.
“We’ll start with questions. Please sit. I don’t bite.” He grinned at me unconvincingly, fangs glittering. “Unless that’s what you like.”
“You’re not being reassuring. Plus, I’m already seeing someone.”
“My apologies. I have a flirtatious nature. I promise to be nothing but serious from here on out.” His eyes twinkled in opposition to his statement. “How long have you been a demon lord exactly?”
“Nine months and twenty-five days.”
“And you’ve noticed what changes with your magic?”
“Um.” I flushed. “My temper. Imps aren’t particularly patient, but it’s getting hard to control the urge to lash out.”
“Any others?”
I hung my head mumbling, “Can’t say . . .”
“How am I supposed to help if you won’t talk?” He leaned toward me.
“I don’t want my lapse in control to get out. This new behavior isn’t me. It’s not how I want to be known. What if you talk?”
“Sweet, naïve Olivia. I am a healer and a demon lord in my own right. We have a code of honor for both. We don’t discuss these things.”
“I’ve executed people,” I confessed in a whisper. “Without trial. The way my horrible predecessor did, by fire.”
He nodded, expressionless. “Anything else?”
Nodding with a whimper, I pointed at my head and squeezed my eyes shut. Gentle fingers ran across my scalp and stopped on the nubs of my horns.
“Those are new?”
“Yes.”
“I see,” Iya muttered to himself, his face serious. “Natural attributes of an imp: pointed ears.” He ran his hands across my ears. “Smile, please.” I flashed him my teeth, and he took a quick measurement of my fangs. “Are you venomous?”
“No.”
“Stand, please, and turn so I may see your tail.”
I obeyed and tried not to squirm as he ran his hand along my thin tail to the tip. He rubbed at the heart-shaped end. Somehow the touch seemed . . .
“Has your tail always come to a point?”
“Yes.” I hadn’t known rubbing the tip would make me blush, or maybe the reaction was to him. I looked away.
“Have you been prone to headaches since this started?”
“A few. But that might be trying to rule as a new demon lord.”
“Hot flashes? Mood swings?”
“No. And yes, the anger.”
“Are you regular?”
“With what?”
“Bowels and your period.”
My blush returned. Why did we have to discuss such personal stuff? “I think so.”
“Think so? Any chance of pregnancy?”
“No!”
“Are you sexually active?”
“What does this have to do with anything?”
He gave me a patronizing look. “Demons have a lust for excess. This includes sex. Your tendencies in such matters are actually quite relevant.”
“No. I’m not.”
“Where would you rank your pent-up frustration?”
A growl curled
in my throat. “I’m not celibate by choice. What with me taking over as the demon lord, we never got the chance. Then my boyfriend left on a diplomatic mission. I’m not jumping at anything moving, but yeah, I feel lonely. Okay?”
He nodded. “I observed your eating habits at dinner. Is this typical for you?”
“Yes.”
“You usually avoid the meat?”
“No.”
He cocked his head at me. “Was there a problem with the meal?”
Heat blazed in my cheeks. “I wasn’t sure.”
“Of?”
“Who I might be eating,” I muttered to the floor.
He chuckled. “Pegasus. Quite delectable, you missed out. But you could have eaten the fish. It was simply fish.”
The thought of eating Pegasus horrified me. I’d never served anything in my palace I could hold a conversation with. The Pegasus I’d met had all been chatterboxes. His eyes fixed on me, laughing.
“Do you sleep well?”
“Most of the time.”
“I’ve heard rumors you were raised on Earth.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Where else would an imp live?”
All magic-folk had to earn magic rations in some way. Imps earned them by kidnapping children and sending them to the Goblin Kingdom. To get to humans, we had to live on Earth. There, we looked and acted human aside from our nighttime activities. As a demon lord, I got a free pass: as much magic as needed. So, for the first time in my life, I could live in the Borderlands.
Again, he nodded, running his eyes over me. “May I do one last thing? I’d like to scan your magic with mine.”
“Sure.”
He placed a hand on my head, and my whole body flooded with the strange magic. It tingled both hot and sweet: a cinnamon-bear feeling. When his magic disappeared, it left me chilled and gasping. He patted my head between my horns.
