His blue eyes cut to mine. “What if I said it’s because you are queen and I’m not stupid?”
“Then I would have to say neither am I. You don’t have to answer my questions. I’ll eventually find out the answers, anyway.”
“Speaking of questions, is it true that a young witch found herself trapped here, and you ordered her release and safe return to her family?”
“She was too young to eat.” I snapped my teeth together. “Everyone knows you have to wait until adulthood before the meat gets juicy.”
“Hmm,” was all he said, as he followed me down a narrow staircase. “You seem so old for your age.” I glanced over my shoulder, and he gave me a once over. “How old are you? Thirty-six?”
“Remember, this is not my body. Looks can be deceiving.” We turned down a black tunnel and came to a stop in front of a golden door. “I’m theoretically hundreds of years old, but since I was locked in a chamber that froze time on several different occasions, I’ve collectively only fully lived nineteen of those years. When I was eight years old, I was put in the chamber for two hundred and twenty-three years.” He had a look of horror on his face. “The chamber froze my mind and body, so it’s not like I knew how horrible it was. Not until I saw my mom. When I was released, she held me like I was priceless. It gutted her I was in there for so long. Smoke uncurled from my body and crushed the machine. That was the night my father took my powers and killed my mother.” Austin acted like he was about to ask questions, but I was dragging up memories I couldn’t think about at the moment. Or ever. The pain was too deep. “Social hour is over, champ. If you don’t mind, can you show me why the most powerful soothsayer in the world thought you could help me?”
His lips curled back into a sexy smile. “Sure thing, Highness.”
He wrapped his hand around the golden knob and pulled the door open. My mouth dropped in shock. The door was encrypted with riddles. Ones he didn’t answer. The door should have released a poison, saturating his skin. He should be dead right now instead of winking at me.
“How did you …? How—”
“It’s no fun if I have to tell you.”
I reached for the door. His hand was lightning fast as he snagged me by the wrist. “Your curiosity will kill you. That door can’t harm me because I’m immune to poison, but it can definitely kill the body you’re in.”
Witches weren’t immune to poison. What was he? A sorcerer?
“Hurry up. That was just step one, and I don’t want this to take all day. How many more steps do we have to go through before we find your shell?”
I gave him a wary look. Who the hey was this guy? “Twelve in total.” As he would have known if he’d taken the time to read the book on the enchanted maze before we were in the maze. “So, we have eleven more,” I mumbled. “The same amount as levels in the underworld.” At least I thought we would have to get past twelve entrapments. But what did I know? I had never made it past the golden door.
The entrance to the maze was so narrow we were forced to walk single file. I had nothing better to do than to stare at his fantastic butt. He stopped so suddenly I almost ran into his back.
“Look, we have a live entertainment show, and we didn’t even have to purchase tickets.”
“What?” I asked. He was too big. Even with this human form being gigantic for a female I still couldn’t see around him. The tunnel widened up ahead of him, but he blocked my view of whatever was before us. I peeked around Austin’s massive shoulders and sighed. We came upon a small cavern resembling a lion’s den, but unfortunately it wasn’t lions squaring off at us right now. This was just great. At least the book I’d found in my father’s chambers was correct when it listed out the order of dog droppings that was about to come our way. Step two of retrieving my body was getting through an elite demon guard. The best of the best. My powers were practically drained, so I’d have to rely on my combat skills. Lucky for me, I was freaking amazeballs. The guards faced us, and goosebumps rose on my arms. Maybe if my father had the elite guarding him the day he’d died instead of my shell, he would still be here. He’d always possessed more brawn than brains.
The ten guards pulled wicked blades from their backs. I eyed Austin. Sure, he was muscular and well-built, but he was probably going to get gutted before we even made it to step three.
He shoved me behind him. “I’ll try to protect you for as long as I can.”
I shoved him right back. “Ha! That’s cute. Move it over, blondie, and I’ll try to make sure you don’t die a slow, agonizing death.”
I popped my neck from side to side. There was nothing like a good fight to get rid of some pent-up tension, but first I would attempt diplomacy. “Hello, boys. I am your Demon Queen. I’m sorry my father has locked you up in this dank place for so long, but lay down your weapons now, and I can promise you that you will feast tonight in the great hall beside me and my—”
Something hit me. I looked down to see a small blade sticking out of my shoulder. “Mother funchez—” I pulled the knife out with a moan. “You couldn’t wait until I was done with my little speech before you threw a blade at your own dang queen. Which one of you little shirts threw that?”
I threw the blade with precision at the one on the far right. It hit him in the middle of his forehead. Not a kill shot, but it would slow him down. I took two steel swords from the sheath tied to my back and passed one to Austin. “Decapitate or remove the heart. Only way to stop them.”
“Yes, I know.”
I didn’t ponder his words as two demons rushed at me. I crouched down and swung my sword low, getting one in the Achilles tendon causing him to topple over. I rolled the blade over in my hands and swung again, catching the other demon in the gut. I didn’t have time to remove heads or hearts, as more demons began to attack. My goal was to wound badly enough that it would buy me some time to circle back around and make the kill shot.
Austin shouted, “Behind you!”
Going on instinct, I fell to the ground and rolled to the right. The sword of an elite demon came barreling down, missing my head by an inch. I hopped to my feet and found myself in a corner. Corners were not my friend. I needed to work my way out, or I would be dead. Or at least this mortal body would be. I glanced across the room, and Austin was engaged with three demons. I was surprised to see how easily he swung the blade. Focusing back on my predicament, I planned my next move. It was risky, but I was out of options. I threw my sword at the approaching demon. It pierced his chest but left me weaponless. I ran towards him and grabbed hold of the handle protruding out of him. I turned him in a semi-circle, using him as my shield and just in time. A blade meant for me sliced through the back of the demon I currently pulled my sword out of.
After I yanked my blade free, I wounded the demon still trying to attack me, and then I beheaded the demon recovering from getting run through twice. It just wasn’t his day. Poor fellow. Nine more elite demons to go. I swung my blade at anything that moved after that. I cut arms, legs, and abdomens. They were all wounded but not dead … yet.
I worked my way back to the middle of the small opening. After a couple of swings, I found myself back to back with Austin. I was shocked to see how well we worked together. It was almost as if we had rehearsed it. I would slice a heel or take off an arm, and he would behead the wounded then we would rotate. It was amazing. After we had beheaded every demon, we leaned on each other’s back, just taking a moment to catch our breaths and smile over our victory.
Austin cleaned off his blade on the heel of his boot. “You did really good. I’m impressed.”
I gave him a saucy wink. “Ah, buddy. I don’t have a speech or anything prepared, but here goes nothing. I would like to thank all of those that I fought today for being slightly worse of a fighter than me. My psychotic father who insisted on nightly beatings. In the long run, it made me super tough. You know what? No, I’m not going to thank him because he was a douche. Yay! I can still say douche. Stupid fairy probably doesn’t e
ven know what it means. Oh, and last but not least, a shout out to you, blondie. I thought you were doomed for death, but you surprised me, so kudos.”
He blinked several times before he shook his head. “Are you always like this?”
“By this, do you mean wowing people with my awesomeness? Why then, yes.”
I thought he hid a smile or his lips could have been twitching. “Come on, let’s go.”
We exited the cavern and continued on our path, which was extremely narrow. The maze was a long tunnel opening up wide at each stage like a python that had swallowed a volleyball. The labyrinth was dingy, dark, and smelled like mold. In my head, I might have romanticized the enchanted maze more than what it really was in actuality. Enchanted sounded so whimsical. Instead, it should have been named the rank maze. I chuckled to myself. I loved me. I was exhausted, but as the tunnel began to open up, more adrenalin started to pump through me. We were getting closer. Then again, we were just at step three, so I shouldn’t get my hopes up yet.
Chapter Eight
The floor changed beneath us into a zigzagged stone pattern. The walls shrank even more, and I wasn’t entirely sure the top of Austin’s head wasn’t grazing the ceiling. Just as I was about to make a claustrophobic joke, a gate came crashing down behind us. We could no longer exit the way we came from. A massive steel door was before us. In Latin there were words, questions, carved at the top of the door. At the bottom of the door were more Latin words letting us know that if we answered incorrectly, it would mean we would be trapped in between the gate and door until the puzzles were solved. Apparently, the maze had strong enough magic that trying to teleport out was not an option. That meant being forever stuck down here in the labyrinth until the witch died, and I killed myself from pure boredom.
Which had me asking, “Hey stud muffin, are you immortal?”
He said, “Yes,” and then looked like he immediately regretted sharing that bit of information with me.
Most witches lived long lives but they weren’t immortal. He must be a sorcerer, but then again, sorcerers were incapable of hiding their powers.
Austin had his hands on his hips as he studied the first door. “Instead of trying to figure me out, why don’t you concentrate on our mission? It looks like our first riddle is, ‘What is black as a demon’s soul but not as deep as the ocean?’” The first was easy. In unison we both said, “Grave.” Once we were allowed past the door, we smiled at each other.
The door opened, and we were past step three and faced with yet another door with another riddle.
The second door was a stupor. “What’s a penny to receive but two to give.”
We both crouched in front of the door tossing out potential answers when it hit me. I slapped my hands together. “I got it.”
One of Austin’s eyebrows lifted. “Yeah?”
“A penny for your thoughts?”
He nodded. “And if you ask my two cents …”
We had our answer. Austin placed his hand on the door. “The answer is thoughts.”
I almost hummed and skipped all the way to step five, which was a magical bubble of sorts. Purple electricity shot from one side of the tunnel to the next. Austin put his hand on the wall. Sweat beaded his forehead as he closed his eyes and bowed his head. The purple bolts pinging from wall to wall slowed down and began to swirl around each other in a funnel. I watched in astonishment as the purple electricity seeped its way into the wall Austin currently had his hand on. I stuck a hand out. The energy had completely faded. Being able to calmly reroute that kind of energy was unheard of. He must be a sorcerer.
“How did you do that?”
He lifted a shoulder, as if what he had done was no big deal.
“Remember, it’s no fun just to give answers.” He kept walking down the tunnel forcing me to catch up with him.
“Seriously?”
A chuckle was his only answer.
I rolled my eyes. So, that was how it was going to be.
The tunnel widened enough for me to step up beside Austin. He was saying something, but the image in front of me held all of my attention, as it shocked me to my core.
“Mom? Is that you?”
My mom stood there, beautiful, just the way I remembered her. Her long, brown hair flowed behind her. Her pale skin was radiant. She reached out to me, and I felt my feet shuffling to her. I could hear Austin shouting my name but I ignored him. This was my moment with my mom, and I would not let anyone ruin it. As I started to enter into her embrace, I noticed her eyes. They had always been a light shade of brown, but now they were almost black, and the outside of her irises was rimmed with red.
“Mom?” I asked again.
Strong arms wrapped me up from behind. I tried to fight the aggressor off, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of my mom. What if she disappeared? I couldn’t lose her again. Someone shoved my head into something hard. I realized it was a warm chest that smelled like summertime. It smelled like hope. Someone talked to me as they stroked my head.
“Shh. It’s okay. You’re fine now.”
I broke out of his hold, looking around for my mom, but she was gone. I felt tears falling down my cheeks. “What just happened?”
“Not sure, but I heard you calling out to your mom. I couldn’t see her, but I think that this was a desire spell. If you had touched what looked like your mom, it would have turned you crazy.”
“Er.” I swiped my tears away with jerky motions. “It would have made me crazier.”
I pushed away from him, and after I got myself under control, I tried to take the focus off of me and my humiliating tears. “What did you see? What was the thing you desired?”
For a second, I didn’t think he would answer. Finally, he said, “The key. I desire the key above all else.”
Why did that ring false? “You saw the key? You’re sure?”
He gave a shrug that looked funny on him, considering how wide his shoulders were. “Why wouldn’t I see the key? Here is a fact: right now, the Lux are doing everything they can to save us. Save the world. While the Degenerates are hell-bent on destroying it. Demons are Degenerates.”
“Are we?”
“Aren’t you?”
I didn’t answer because I didn’t know how. Did I want the world destroyed? No. Was it my mission in life to save the world? No. Up until this point, all I’d ever thought about was securing the crown and then retrieving my body. If I didn’t want to let demons have free reign and have a hand in destroying mankind, wouldn’t that mean I was not fit to rule? And wouldn’t that mean I was weak? The one thing I swore I wouldn’t be anymore. The silence grew heavy. I glanced up to see Austin studying me. I was shocked to see disappointment in his eyes. Whatever he was looking for from me, he obviously didn’t receive.
Finally, he started moving through the maze again. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”
Steps seven through ten were more magic that Austin somehow quickly disabled. If I weren’t offended by his sudden prickly behavior, I would have congratulated him, or at least told him how impressed I was, but instead I just followed him to the next step.
On a golden stand was a velvet cushion holding a galvanized box. The whole area around the stand hummed with unrecognizable energy, but one thing was certain: my true form was calling to me.
Austin pointed to the box. “Is that your shell?”
I nodded. I was scared to blink. Maybe this was a trick? Maybe my shell would disappear just like my mom. Then I would be doomed. I started to walk towards it, but a hand snagged me back.
“No, you can’t get close.” He pointed to a faint circle that was drawn around the base of the stand. “Any demon who crosses the line will die. Human form and soul. I’ll grab it for you.”
“You can do that without getting hurt?” Fishing, I said, “Because you’re a witch?”
“No, this is a powerful ring. I would think most witches, vampires, and werewolves would be disintegrated on the spot if they crossed the line.” H
e turned to me and gave me a half-smile. “Did that answer your question?”
“Ha! I wasn’t asking what you are.” I totally was. “As long as you get me that shell, I don’t care who you are.”
He mumbled something about, “Let’s hope so,” but as he reached out to grab my shell and the tunnels didn’t collapse, and my true form didn’t evaporate, all I could think or feel was an overwhelming sense of joy. We did it. He did it. I would have my shell.
After a brief moment, he handed it to me and just like a fragile newborn baby, I cradled it against my chest, emotions flooding through me. Giving me some time, he stood off to the side and didn’t say a word as I warred with my emotions. Why was I scared to put on my true form?
Austin finally broke the silence. “Not having your shell could be the end of your reign, the death of you, and yet you still yearned for your mother before anything else.”
“So?”
“So, it just seems strange that a tyrant would crave love above all else.”
I tightened my hold on the box. “Do you think of me as weak?”
He nearly bumped into me. “I didn’t say that.”
“How about you just mind your business?”
He raised his hands in surrender. “Easy. I didn’t know it was such a touchy subject.” He pointed at the box in my hands. “Aren’t you going to get back in your own body?”
His demeanor was calm. Maybe he wasn’t judging me. “I have constantly made jokes to soften the blow about my circumstances, but the truth is my dad took my true form away because he feared I would be more powerful than him. I don’t really remember what I looked like, but I know he hated me even more in my shell. He never loved my mother or me.” I held the box tighter to my chest. “What if I don’t love myself?” That part wasn’t meant to be said out loud.
The Demon Queen Page 5
