The Lord of Shadows

by E E Ewer

  Nire picked out something strange about Miko’s last sentence. “The rest of her life?” she inquired.

  “Yeah,” Miko said as she motioned for Nire to follow her. “Neir is a Midblood; they live fairly long lives. Margery is a Midblood too. Alastor however is an Elder Demon, and… well, no one actually knows how long they live.”

  “How does no one know?” Nire asked as she shuffled her feet after Miko.

  “Well, none of them have died yet. So we don’t know if they just live for a really long time, or if they are immortal, like the Ancient Demons.”

  “Um…” Nire mumbled.

  “Okay, I have an idea. Come this way.” Miko took a sharp turn to the left and they ascended a few short stair cases before Nire found herself standing in front of a round topped door with a blue mark near the top.

  “A common room?” Nire asked, seeing if she remembered correctly.

  “You got it,” Miko said as she opened the door quietly. “The Grand Library.” She made a hushing motion to Nire by placing one finger over her mouth as she crept in. Looking in both directions, she wanted to make sure they didn’t have any unwanted company. Not wanting to leave Nire in the dark service hallway alone, she quietly motioned for her to follow close behind her.

  Tucking her in a corner while she scaled a short ladder, Miko browsed through the books until she found what she was looking for.

  “Ah ha!” she exclaimed in a whisper. “Got it.” Poking her head around each shelf before leading Nire back through the open area of the Library, she rushed her across the room and back into the service hall.

  “Here, you can read this when you get the chance. It’ll tell you all about the basics.”

  Nire squinted at the dusty book in the dim light, trying to read the cover.

  “Legends of the Origins of the Realm of Shadows; An in Depth Study of the Speculations and Rumors of Creation,” she read out loud. “That doesn’t really sound very… reliable…” She said dubiously. Miko laughed.

  “You’re tellin’ me. But if you read that, you will know about as much as the rest of us,” said the orange haired girl as she passed Nire and continued walking down the hall. “I have a couple more places to go, and you’d probably be better off going back to the hut. Now at least you have some reading material to keep you entertained.”

  Nire nodded and followed Miko back to the kitchens, through the storage closet/hallway, and back into her hut.

  “I’ll go take care of some things and when I come back I’ll bring something for lunch, ok?” It was already far past lunch time, but neither of the girls had eaten anything yet, so Miko made a point to hurry her next few appointments.

  As the day passed Nire flipped through the pages of the odd book, and she was currently looking for page 34, “Demon races and their creation”.

  There are currently five total races of Demons in existence, the Hierarchy listed as follows:

  1. Ancient Demons

  2. Elder Demons

  3. Midblood Demons

  4. Minor Demons

  5. Lesser Demons

  The races in short:

  Ancient Demons are the oldest race of Demon in existence. Little is known about this race, but they are believed to be immortal unless killed. While once the only Demon race that inhabited The Realm of Shadows, they have now been reduced to only four, and are known as the Cardinal Lords of each quadrant.

  Elder Demons were brought to life during the Great Wars, in which over thousands of years the vast majority of the Ancients were killed. These Demons are also believed to have an immortal life unless killed, but this fact is still unknown. It is believed that the Elder Demons were raised from the blood of the Ancients themselves.

  Midblood Demons are often generalized as the common, middle class Demon. Although Midbloods actually vary greatly in their life expectancy and power, they are all considered to be the same race. These Demons were brought about hundreds of years after the Great Wars by the Elder Demons, as a self reliant working class for the purpose of economy. Midblood Demons are the first Demon race to show a separation of the sexes, and female Midbloods often show a greater life expectancy than their male counterparts.

  Minor Demons are a sub class of Midblood Demons. They began as the inferior offspring of Midbloods who over exerted themselves during a gestation period, leaving their bodies lacking in enough Pure Magic to sustain a fully developed child. Today Minor Demons are a race of their own, and it is highly advised that female Midbloods not use any magic during periods of child bearing.

  Lesser Demons are a consequence of improper use of the Pure Magics. Midbloods frequently use their abilities to create animal familiars, charms, and other living creatures using the Magical discipline of Alteration. Most Lesser Demons are loyal servants to their masters, with a permanent animal form and higher intelligence than an average animal. However, many Midbloods attempt these spells before they are skilled enough to accomplish the feat, thus resulting in the wild races of Lesser Demons, which frequently inhabit both forests and homes, and irritate the higher races. These Lesser Demons are known commonly as Sprites, Goblins, and Imps.

  Glancing up from the book to look out the window, Nire couldn’t help feeling like she was reading a book that was based more around myth than fact, and wondered just how much of it was actually true. Being familiar with many different types of creation myths, she wondered if this world was just as deluded with unknowns as her own world was. The only clear difference she could see was the use of magic, which appeared to be fairly commonplace, and did in fact make the entire thing more believable.

  As she stared out into the late afternoon sun, the rattle of the door handle caught her attention. Miko stepped into her hut backwards, shaking a rogue bucket off her ankle. Carrying a basket in her hands, she made her way to the table where Nire sat, after kicking the bucket back into the storage closet and slamming the door. The crash that followed only prompted her to smile at Nire as she spoke.

  “I have lunch!” she announced, placing the basket on the table. “Fresh from the kitchen.”

  Miko pulled down a plate for Nire and herself, and unfolded the napkin that covered the contents of the basket. There was a fresh loaf of bread, an assortment of cheeses, and fruit. There were a few things in the basket Nire didn’t recognize at all, among familiar things such as strawberries and black berries.

  “I didn’t know what you’d like, so I just grabbed some of the things I find are the best. I would have brought some soup, but it had gone cold,” Miko explained, breaking off a piece of bread and handing it to Nire.

  “That’s okay, I’m so hungry I’d probably eat anything you brought.” It must have been closer to dinner than lunch. There was a clock somewhere nearby that rang out on the hour, and she had heard four tones a while ago. Having not eaten all day, Nire was quick to accept the piece of bread, and helped herself to the other items. Miko joined her, and put on a pot of tea.

  “What’s that one?” Nire asked pointing to a strangely shaped purple fruit. It reminded her of a cross between a black plumb and an overly large misshapen strawberry.

  “It’s a Mariba fruit. They are very sweet and juicy when ripe. Want to try a piece?” Miko asked.

  “Sure,” Nire smiled. She was very interested in the strange fruits, and the names of the herbs Miko had been talking about earlier crossed her mind as well. There must be an entirely different manner of plant life here, she thought. The idea intrigued her, and she thought it might be fun to draw some of the new plants.

  As the sun began to set, Miko stood and put a cloak over her shoulders.

  “Where are you going?” Nire asked.

  “To collect some of the herbs for Neir’s special request. A few of them only grow in the forest because they are too difficult for me to cultivate in my garden.”

  “Oh…” Nire said with worry in her voice.

  “I’d have you come with me, but I think you’d prefer to stay here after sunset.”

&
nbsp; “Why do you have to go at night?”

  “I need to harvest one of them between 10:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m., when the moon is highest in the sky,” Miko said as she grabbed a few tools from a drawer.

  “Um,” Nire started. She felt a little redundant asking so many questions all the time. “Why?” she asked again.

  “Potency,” Miko responded quickly. “This particular herb has a strong magic associated with the moon, and tomorrow the moon will start to wane so I need to get it tonight or it will not be as strong.” Miko gathered the last of her things and turned to look at Nire. “You can come if you’d like,” she offered.

  “No… I think I should stay here… I guess.” The green eyed girl glanced at the floor. She wasn’t too keen on spending the night alone here… even though she was sure there was nothing to worry about… hopefully.

  “Don’t worry. I will be back in a few hours, the fire will stay lit so it won’t be too dark.” Miko gave Nire a quick smile. “I’d better be off, before I can harvest one I have to track down a large enough plant…”

  “All right,” Nire responded with a heavy sigh.

  “Here,” Miko said as she opened one of her many pockets and pulled out an iron key. “If you get scared, go into the storage closet. It locks from both sides, nothing can get you.”

  Nire smiled. It was a thoughtful gesture, but she wasn’t sure if she would prefer being scared in the fire lit hut, or safe in the pitch black storage closet. Miko left out the back door and locked it behind her. Nire glanced at the dusty old book and considered reading more, but as night settled around Eastcastle, she found herself growing tired.

  Taking a candle to sit next to her pile of blankets and furs, she made sure the fire had enough wood to continue burning. She set the candle nearby and lay down. There was a leak in the window and it let the cool night air blow through the hut, and surprisingly it didn’t take Nire very long to drift off to sleep.

  Everything was black. Nire could feel a strong presence with her, but she couldn’t tell what or where it was coming from. It caused her to feel a sense of unease, as well as a strange, tugging feeling of familiarity and longing. The presence seemed to be unaware of her as she floated in the darkness, until suddenly she had the intense sensation that all attention was on her. A powerful fear began to grow inside of her. The presence, the feeling… it knew she was there. It could see her… no… it couldn’t just see her. It was looking at her. The last thing she saw was a pair of golden eyes as they flashed into her vision only moments before she startled awake.

  She sat up breathing heavily. That feeling, the feeling of someone being there… It was the same feeling I had when that voice called out to me in the darkness… the one that I chased after… The one, the one that… Suddenly a sharp pain rose in her chest and tears began to fall down her cheeks. What is this?! She shouted to herself as she wiped the tears from her face. God, this doesn’t make any sense! Why does just thinking about it make me cry like this?!

  As she sat wiping her eyes, Miko returned to the small hut, and saw Nire sitting in the corner with tears in her eyes. She quickly placed her things on the table and moved to her side.

  “Oh, Nire what’s wrong? Are you ok?” she said, placing her hands on the girl’s shoulders. “Did you get scared?”

  “No… I’m ok. It’s just… this dream I have,” she said between sniffles. “I don’t understand why, but there is this feeling that someone’s there, and when it leaves I…” Just speaking the words made her unable to finish her sentence, and her tears turned into sobs. She began to cry violently and Miko took her into her arms.

  “There, there, it’s ok,” she said as she stroked Nire’s hair, trying to comfort her.

  “I don’t…” Nire tried to speak. “Understand why…” she sucked in a sharp breath, “it makes me cry!” she finished. “… It just hurts so much…,” she quietly added as she lay against Miko’s shoulder.

  Chapter 5

  Table of Contents

  During the next few days Nire spent most of her time running around the castle with Miko, attempting to learn at least a few of the major hallways to prevent her from getting hopelessly lost. For the most part it seemed that the staff accepted Miko’s explanation about the new girl, but on the off chance someone grew suspicious, Margery put an end to the chatter fairly quickly.

  The old Midblood was growing more and more concerned that it would only be a matter of time before the Lord of Shadows noticed the presence of someone unknown in his castle. It would only take the smallest suggestion of something strange for him to take an active survey of the grounds for anything unusual. When he did, the game would be over before anyone else even realized he was playing.

  Margery had taken it upon herself to quiet the talk that was surely being had by the other servants of Eastcastle, with short reminders about keeping gossip out of the halls. However it didn’t quite take her by surprise when the shadow in the corner seemed to shudder as she passed. Paying it no mind she continued on her trek down the large hallway in the East Wing. The voice from behind her was low and dark as it spoke.

  “Margery, you have been avoiding me,” the voice said in a suggestive tone.

  “I’ve been busy. It’s got nothing to do with avoidance,” she argued.

  “I never could quite figure out how you manage to lie to my face and yet still seem so honest,” the voice insinuated behind her.

  “That’s because it’s the truth. Just so happens I am frequently busy in places you are not,” she stated assertively. The voice gave out a small laugh that almost seemed sinister.

  “Well, do take a moment from your busy schedule will you? We have something to discuss.”

  Margery stopped and turned to face the tall demon that stood behind her. He looked down at her with his arms crossed, and Margery knew exactly what it was they would be discussing.

  “And what is that?” she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

  “That is a private conversation that I would prefer to have elsewhere,” he stated as he walked towards a door on the other side of the hall, and opened it gesturing for Margery to go inside. His expression was serious, and the old woman knew better than to push his buttons on an off day. Though, it seemed every day was an off day for him.

  After the two entered the room, the Lord of Shadows shut the door and took a seat on a wooden chair in the far corner.

  “I have been hearing rumors about a new housemaid,” he began. “This concerns me, seeing as I have not approved of anyone new coming onto the grounds recently.” He crossed his arms and caught Margery’s gray eyes with his golden ones. “Margery…” he began. “You know my rules.”

  “Yes, that I do my Lord,” she responded after taking a deep breath. “The girl is not actually intending on being a staff member,” she added.

  “Then what, may I ask, is she doing in my castle?” His tone raised and became slightly agitated.

  “The girl was found out in the Black Fair Forest by Miko a few days ago. She was lost, and Miko brought her back to the castle,” the old woman started to explain.

  “Granted,” he began. “I understand the situation up until the point you keep her here in secret and purposely hide her from me.” His words became agitated and he strained to keep his voice at an even tone. Margery was one of his most trusted staff members, and the fact that she would keep something from him was trying his temper.

  “My Lord, I am very aware of your house rules and the reasoning’s there of,” she said. “However, I do also expect that you trust my judgment, to at least some degree. The girl is not from here; in fact we are not entirely sure where she is from at all. It seems that she comes from a Middle world, but how she got here is a mystery.” Her voice remained calm and composed, despite the clear anger that was radiating from her employer.

  Placing his hand on his face and pinching the bridge of his nose, the large gray demon let out what sounded to be the combination of a growl and a sigh as he attempted to no
t lose his temper.

  “And yet…,” he nearly shouted, taking a moment to calm himself. “You still have not informed me as to why she is here without my knowledge. I would have no objections to her staying but I DO require to personally meet every resident of this castle,” he spoke through clenched teeth. Margery took on a more assertive posture.

  “Do you trust my judgment do you not?” she inquired, unfazed by shadows that trembled around her.

  “Of course I do, but that is not the point…”

  “The girl is afraid of the dark. Her reaction to the information that Miko and I are demons nearly put her to tears. The child is frightened, and trying to adjust to the idea that demons are real creatures, who are not in fact out to steal her soul. So I implore you, my Lord, to leave her be for the time. The girl is harmless, but I fear meeting you would not set well with her right now.”

  The Lord of shadows lifted his head from his hand and sighed.

  “Where is she?” he asked, still sounding very put off.

  “My Lord…” Margery started.

  “If you do not tell me where she is I will simply search the castle for her. It would be far less difficult for you to just tell me where she is,” he said as he stood from his seat.

  “My Lord…” she began again, irritation in her voice.

  “For all the Realms sake Margery, I am not going to address the girl I just want to know where she is,” he said, attempting to calm his voice and reassure the old woman. She studied him with a raised eyebrow for a moment before answering.

  “She has been staying in Miko’s hut.”

  “Thank you…” he said as he stood and walked towards the door. “I will see her for myself and we will continue this discussion later.” As he exited the room he stopped in the doorway. “And for future reference,” he added, “despite what I lack in patience, please do not assume I am without tact. Had you brought this to my attention initially we could have avoided this little drama.”