Cedric the Demonic Knight

by Valerie Willis

  “Yes, the Lady Ranger was asking if I had any.” The merchant scratched the back of his head for a moment. “There is only one merchant in town who braves to sell those things.”

  “Which way did the Lady Ranger go?” Cedric’s instincts were turning and his blood rushed in response to the information, making him tense. “Where is this merchant that she went to?”

  “Why are you looking for her?” The old man staggered to his feet with a look of concern. “Who are you and why would you brave searching for a Ranger of her caliber?”

  “I am her Lord and she is my Lady.” The look he shot them sent their faces white. Cedric made it clear that they had made a mistake to question his business. “Who did you send My Lady to?”

  “The merchant down in the nook,” Shakily they both pointed in the direction that Angeline had went. “To the man named Blanco.”

  “Blanco,” His jaw twitched as the heat of his anger seeped forward, his muscles becoming taut as he gripped the hilt of his daito. “Don’t you mean, Romasanta.”

  “Yes, that’s the one!” They watched in confusion as Cedric took off down the street.

  Shoving through the crowd, angry shouts echoed behind him from the sudden intrusion. Deeper down the street he went as he looked for signs of Angeline. Nothing was giving him a clue as to where she had gone. The inability to sense where she physically was became a startling realization on his part. Their bond was limited and without the other one sending out some sort of emotional wave or a stab of pain or pleasure, it was like searching for a coin in the vast darkness. Grabbing up different men, they all pointed to the same back corner when asked if they saw a ranger pass through. Propelling himself free of the crowd, he stumbled into the abandoned nook. The only thing he had to go by was the narrow alley leading into the abandoned part of the town, which had two fresh sets of footprints.

  Sweat crawled down his temple and cheek as he launched himself into another run. His nerves were overriding his senses and if he could calm down, he would have a chance to hear her beating heart or at least over the sound of his own thudding against his chest. This was the worse place for him to be with his new abilities. Entering Romasanta’s territory, it was a rash move to begin with. Surely, his scent was all over her and with each stride, he felt more foolish for not taking the time to think this hunt for Romasanta through. Between his blood healing and the dagger, Angeline would have smelled identical to him. Cursing between pants, he could feel his incubine blood raging to be set free, making promises that the other blood knew it was incapable of achieving alone. This new awareness of his powers and demonic sides was like choosing between alternate versions of himself, yet they were still the same mind and heart.

  I’m a fool! I should have kept her by my side! I know better than this. Why did I let myself fall in love again? Losing Yvette destroyed me, but Angeline. If I lost her—She’s fine, she has to be. Wherever she is, she is not in pain and even if harm came to her, I can go as far as to take that from her no matter how far away he takes her. Damn it! Where are you!

  “ANGELINE!” His voice roared throughout the small courtyard as he came out the backside of the alleyway. “Angeline…”

  “Cedric?” She was squatting over a selection of blades, but he saw no one else. “What’s wrong?”

  “Where is he?” Angeline’s face paled as she stared into a face of pure rage and barely caught her own breath as the wave of emotions from him hit her. “Where is Romasanta?”

  Chapter Eighteen: Romasanta, Father of Werewolves

  “Here,” Blanco Romasanta walked out of the nearby wagon, his brown eyes turning yellow. “I could smell that she was yours. Seeing that you were able to find me, I assume that’s why you have come so far, you were looking for me specifically.”

  “Roma…santa?” Stumbling to her feet, Angeline rushed herself behind Cedric as her nerves frayed. “Cedric, I—”

  “Just stay back, this is between him and me.” The tension between their stares had an unmistakable loathing. “It’s been a very long time, Romasanta, since we last saw each other in Williamsburg.”

  “Maybe for you, but I must admit, you have grown since your days of pouting like a little girl.” Romasanta was eerily calm as he took his time taking off his vest, shirt, and even sitting on the wagon wheel to pull his shoes off. “I can’t believe you would willingly let your pet wonder about in my territory without a more watchful eye. I could have picked her ribs clean with my teeth in the time I have spent with her. If it were not for the stench of your blood mixed with hers, of course, I would have indulged in doing so, no offense, Lady Ranger. However, it is shocking to see you bound to a magic user. I was hoping your hatred with their kind would keep you from searching for me, but, here we all are.”

  “She can take care of herself.” Cedric snarled at Romasanta who stood up just wearing his pants, exposing the bare chest that had a burned rune down the center of it. “I owe you payment for what you did in Williamsburg! How dare you come to my town, dig up the graves, rob their dead bodies, and then dare to kill me with my own father’s sword!”

  “Well now, aren’t we sour about that ordeal? I have learned there is no shame in gathering supplies from the dead, but you were so lost sulking in your own filth that I did not think it mattered that much. Survival takes precedence, and the dead are no longer actively surviving, last I checked. As for the sword, it was the top of the pile when I reached for a blade, nothing personal. Just reacting to an attacker, I was in the middle of digging when you came at me from behind.” As he cracked his neck, he grew larger and taller. Fur exploded across his body as his face stretched and distorted into a large wolf-like head. He was far more humanoid than all the other werewolves they had encountered and the bulk of his neck and shoulders made the fur look like a massive lion’s mane. “Let’s see if we learned any new tricks in the last seventy-eight years.”

  “I’ve learned plenty.” Growling, Cedric willingly let his horns and claws come out in force. “You took something very important from me. Between that and the stunt you just pulled, you’ve earned a permanent spot on my shit list.”

  “Do you realize who or what you are challenging, pup?” Taking an offensive stance, Romasanta’s voice was no longer humanistic. A rumbling demonic one with an eerie calm to it had taken its place as his yellow eyes flashed. “Does your moroi side tell you what the strigoi know about me? I am interested in knowing if that blood knowledge applies to something like you. I can smell Vladimir’s touch on you, and trust me, he wouldn’t dare to walk into my territory.”

  Cedric gritted his teeth and fangs as he stared up at Romasanta. The moroi in him shouted that he should not be attempting to challenge someone as old and ancient as the Father of Werewolves. His incubine instincts shivered with delight to be in the presence of a demon more powerful than King Boto. All he could do is beg his bloodlines to work together. Now that Romasanta knew about Angeline, he could not look weak. This was no longer a question of who had more brute force, but whose knowledge and experience could possibly serve them better. He tossed his daito to Angeline as he took an offensive stance as well. Nothing he could think of could make the knot in his gut reside. According to everything his mind knew about the cursed man before him, there was a very high chance that he may not be able to walk away from this fight.

  Romasanta snorted as his lips curled into a coy smile, his sharp teeth showing. Cedric launched himself, taking a full swing at the demon. Much to his surprise, Romasanta had gripped his wrist and forearm, leading him around, and back towards the direction he had come. With amazing force, he threw Cedric into the wall next to Angeline. Yelping from the sensations she was receiving from Cedric, she stumbled away from the explosion of cobblestone. A hole in the wall marked where he had hit. Angeline used her arms to block the debris that flew down on her as she tripped and fell to the ground. Kicking herself along the ground, she watched as a bloody hand gripped the lower part of the broken wall. The dust dissipated, revealin
g a panting Cedric. He was shocked from the unexpected feat of power and staggered over the crumbling wall, blood painting the ground under each step. Spitting at the ground, his green eyes flashed angrily as the black tips of his hair crept into place.

  Romasanta shook his massive head, chortling as he rolled one of his shoulders, cracking the joint. Taking a deep breath, Cedric launched a second assault, dodging the counter swipe from Romasanta’s massive claws. He managed to land a scratch across his backside, only to smack his own back into the wall that he sorely misjudged. Missing the sudden snap of Romasanta’s wolf-like jaws, they found themselves staring nose to nose. Cedric could feel his skin crawl in fear for the first time in ages. Grinning wildly, the demon’s breath swamped him as Romasanta hummed to Cedric in a questioning manner, as if asking what are you going to do now? In a moment of desperation, Cedric kicked himself off the wall, ramming his horns into Romasanta and breaking himself out of the corner.

  After gaining some distance, Cedric tried for another attack. Their claws met, both shaking from the force they placed against each slash. Claws dug in around Cedric’s shoulder, spinning him around in a moment of confusion. Brown eyes of surprise locked with his own and before his senses could warn him, Romasanta rammed his head into the back of his left arm’s elbow. The sound of snapping erupted and the cry of pain hit both Cedric and Angeline’s faces. Releasing his shoulder, Romasanta let Cedric fall face forward onto the ground of the courtyard as Angeline dropped her bow and arrow. She was screaming as tears streamed down her face. The father of werewolves snorted as he walked away, back to his wagon as he shook off his demonic form. He sat once more on the wagon wheel, lighting his pipe, he took a few puffs as he waited for them to stop their cries of agony.

  “Lady Ranger,” Romasanta blew the smoke smoothly from his lips as his yellows eyes waited for hers to meet his. “You should have listened to your Lord to stay out of the fight. His arm and your pain was an unwanted result because you thought you could assist by aiming your arrow at me. I have no patience for such tricks, and I am far too old to play with him after such lack of respect on your part. Nonetheless, I respect your courage and against some other opponent, I hope you do not hesitate to use that tactic.”

  “How did you do it?” Cedric’s hair was turning black, sweat pouring across his body as he stared at his broken joint from where he laid with his face in the dirt still. A bone peeked through a tear in his skin; his blood pulsed past the obstruction, pouring across the ground. “What did you do to undo my control on our bond? How did you stop it from working?”

  “Nothing,” Grunting, he started to put his boots back on, clenching his pipe in his teeth. “A moment of confusion can be one of the most deadly weapons in a battle. Not only is that moment a break in thoughts and movements, but it is capable of interrupting abilities. You can thank me later for this essential life’s lesson. Remember it well; it may save your life one day.”

  “I see.” Moaning as he pushed his bone back under the skin, he shuddered as he fought the incubine’s want for more. “I should have never come. What do you plan to do with me, since I clearly have trespassed?”

  “Nothing,” Romasanta pulled his shirt back on and buttoned it quickly. “I merely wanted to show you your place. It seems no one has taken the time to do you this favor. You are welcome, pup. I admit it’s been a while since I have had someone land a mark, so you get some merit for that accomplishment.”

  “You are setting me free?” Staggering to his feet, Cedric held on to his broken elbow, which was not healing as swiftly as he was wanting. His body struggled to slow the bleeding and Cedric was failing to push his incubine blood into remission. “What makes you think I will willingly go?”

  “That.” Pausing, he nodded in Angeline’s direction where she sat leaning against the wall, panting from the replaced sensation of pleasure Cedric was sending her from his own extreme injury. “That is why you will leave Cerdanya and give up this futile attempt of revenge. You came here over false pretenses, anyhow. Young, you failed to see the world does not revolve around you, Cedric. ”

  Cedric stared at Angeline as he watched a drop of sweat slide down her cheek. After a moment of fighting his own thoughts and feelings, he sighed heavily as he returned his gaze to Romasanta. “You’re right.”

  “Si, I am always right, my friend.” Romasanta took another puff of his pipe as he gave Cedric a pat on the back. “Come on, you look too pitiful in front of your Lady. Perhaps I will cut you some slack for still being new to this world over the rest of the monsters, like myself.”

  Cedric leaned against the wagon as he watched Romasanta finish smoking his pipe. His yellow eyes lingered, but the rest of his werewolf features had disappeared quickly. Keeping some distance between him and Angeline, Cedric was struggling with getting the broken bone to set right. His skin was burning, blood rushing as the moroi inside him whispered notions of thirst for healing. The red in his hair had gone completely black, and from the corner of his eye, he could see that Angeline was watching him. Her hand shook as she kept a tight grip on the chimera hilt. It had been a while since they had to face this side of him and he had used that very dagger on himself in desperation to keep his actions in check. They both jerked as Romasanta stepped into his wagon and rummaged through his belongings.

  Shuddering, Cedric took a seat on the wagon wheel a few more steps further from Angeline, but it brought him no relief. The pain in his arm was still exciting him and the act of defeat had thrilled his incubine side. Unlike the time when he had desperately put his arm in Wylleam’s fireplace, he was having an easier time keeping it at bay but still lacked trust that his vampiric teachings could handle the carnal side he possessed. Angeline on the other hand, continued to sweat, her breaths short and quick as her body took each pang from his arm in a form of extreme arousal. The bond was exhausting her beyond measure as her dilated pupils looked at him under a furrowed brow. At least he had pushed back his horns and claws. I am so sorry for this mess. If I had stayed beside you, you would have never had to experience this. Hate me if you need to, my Angel.

  “Ah, here you go. I believe this is what you were pissed about.” Romasanta came out, grabbing up Cedric’s right hand and placed something in it. “I see you two are missing this.”

  “But this is—” His green eyes were wide as he stared at the pair of rings in his hand, one with a blue gem between two pearls. “You never sold them?”

  “I tried, but fate must have decided that you would earn these back. Today was your lucky day since out of the lot your Lady Ranger picked your rings out.” Angeline’s eyes glazed over and she was no longer reacting to the world around her. The extreme shock of pain and the choking wave of pleasure had been too much for her. “My, you may want to get yourselves taken care of. I will let the Cerdanya’s Inn know you will be staying as my personal guests. Heal up and we will have a drink with one another for fun.”

  Romasanta stepped over Angeline as he walked away down the alleyway. Cedric stared at the rings with matching bands, one jeweled and the other simply sharing the same braided gold band design. He had chosen these rings for his marriage to Yvette yet Angeline had found them by fate. Shoving them in his pocket, he choked back the old emotions as he looked at Angeline. The love he felt now was something so much more, not the foolish love he had chased so long ago. His arm still throbbed while his skin crawled in pleasure as he walked to where she leaned against the cobblestone wall. She was still breathing fast and her knuckles were white from the force of her grip on the dagger’s hilt. He squatted before her, and slid the back of his fingers across her feverish cheek.

  The point of the dagger dug into his neck as she struggled to hold her eyes open. It only excited him more, and another cruel wave hit her as she gasped in response. They stared at each other, both of them a complete wreck. Pushing her wrist down, he took the dagger from her and sheathed it. Her scent was intoxicating when he was like this, and he found himself paused there so close to
her, taking in the smell as deeply as his lungs would allow him. Sighing he pulled her onto his bad shoulder, since at least that arm was capable of holding her there for the walk to the inn.

  “Stop,” Her voice cracked as it came to his ears. “You’re injured. I can walk, I just need some time.”

  “Don’t say any more, pet.” He tightened his grip on her as he walked down the alleyway. “We both know you are overwhelmed. Let’s worry about getting behind a closed door.”

  No one questioned what had happened as they were pointed to the room at the end of the hall. Most of the town avoided stares, acknowledgement, or even speaking to them. There was a strong unspoken policy of minding one’s business here in Cerdanya, which explained why Romasanta was comfortable being here. As he kicked the door to their room closed, Angeline wiggled to be let down. Kneeling, he slid her off his aching shoulder, failing to not move his arm and giving both of them a jolting reaction. He turned away from her, avoiding seeing her face at this point as he locked the door. Angry fists whammed him in the back, catching him by surprise as he felt her lay her forehead against his back. Frozen, he could hear her choking back her tears.

  “Please don’t turn around.” Her fist pounded against his back once more and she clenched her teeth as she poured out her next words. “I don’t want to care, but I don’t want to hate—”

  “Angeline,” Another strike from her fist hit him. “It’s ok.”

  “No, no it’s not ok.” Her forehead rubbed against his spine as she shook her head, warm tears hitting his skin aroused his boiling incubine blood. “I don’t want to hate you, and I hate it when I can feel you’re so broken. I hate myself for not being stronger, for crying after I promised not to. Why do you destroy yourself like this?”