Red Blooded

by Amanda Carlson

  The crowd went wild again, and the six other demonesses, including the Princess, strolled into the arena, streaming in to stand next to Lili as one united front. They all wore the same high-collared identical black dresses as before.

  This was turning in to a true feminist movement. Too bad Lili’s rise to power was supposed to cost me my life or I might’ve enjoyed it. From what I’d witnessed, Hell could use a vast improvement in leadership.

  Rourke’s voice shot into my consciousness again. We’ll find the Prince, but it’s going to take me… a minute, he panted. These demons are trying to use those fucking guns on us again. They are spelled… but now—I could hear a crunching sound—they’re all gone.

  Lili turned to face me. Her expression was cruel, with an added measure of joy. This was her crowning moment. Literally. I couldn’t imagine waiting for anything for a whole year, much less a thousand of them. “Now the Lycan will suffer!” she crooned. “But rest assured, her agony will not be without purpose.” She leaned in like a conspirator. “You will be doing what you were born to do,” Lili announced, half to me, half to the crowd, as she paced down a few stone steps that lead into the circle I was in. They must use it for their ceremonies.

  There was a pungent scent of leftover blood all over.

  My wolf paced in my mind, wanting to strike the moment she reached us. Power zipped along my spine. I had morphed back into my human form, but my wolf sat at the very edge, waiting not so patiently. We don’t attack until we have an opportunity to win this or she forces us to act. The chains were spelled, but it was nothing we couldn’t break. Lili either underestimated me or she was hoping for a show. I’m sure she’s guessing we’ll try to escape, I told my wolf. She would love an opportunity to show all the demons in attendance that she is fit for the job as their new leader by striking us down. So instead of fighting back, we’re going to bide our time and try to make this game turn in our favor sooner than later.

  As Lili edged closer, I responded, projecting loudly enough for the first few rows to hear, “I’m not planning on suffering for your cause, Lili, but I’m sure your faithful demons here would love to start off the ceremony by having you read the real Scriptures aloud.” Then I made my voice carry dramatically. “I mean, what better way to kick off a new reign than by reading the real words to your adoring fans?” I nodded up to the crowd. All eyes were riveted on me and the murmurs had quieted to whispers. “Am I right? Who wants to hear the real demon prophecy? I know I do!” There was tentative clapping. “Come on, you can do better than that. Let’s give it up for hearing the Scriptures!” The clapping turned into a wild round of applause.

  Lili looked murderous.

  Before she turned back to the crowd, she steeled herself, plastering a smile on her face. She whipped around in glorious motion, her golden dress whirling as her arms lifted once again. “I will do better than that! You have all been fooled by the Prince for far too long, and after this ceremony is complete, I will personally post the true Scriptures, the ones I uncovered, in our Great Square, encased in glass for all to see.”

  The crowd cheered and hooted at the news, satisfied for now.

  She paced back up the steps, out of the circle, and reached her hand out, gesturing to one of the demonesses, who immediately moved forward and handed her an ancient-looking scroll. To my surprise, it was the Princess, and as she turned she was careful not to make eye contact with me. It made me wonder if she had a stake in all of this. She couldn’t be happy that Lili, her husband’s lover, was nabbing her rightful spot as ruler. But what did I know? Lili’s signature was stronger, so maybe the Princess had to acquiesce or die? But, honestly, losing her husband and the crown to his mistress had to suck no matter what.

  The room hushed as Lili unrolled the parchment, which was covered in Demonish markings. She walked toward a stand someone had set up and hooked the roll to the top, unwinding it slowly. “For now, here they are in all their glory! The original Scriptures passed down from our forefathers for eons,” she announced to massive applause. “These are yours! For every demon to read. No more hiding, no more telling, no more inequality! The new reign starts today and begins with the truth!”

  She spun around, meeting my eyes, pure satisfaction racing through them. But before she could mask it, I glimpsed a small, fleeting measure of uncertainty.

  It flickered for only the briefest of seconds, but I saw it.

  I grinned, my smile wide. Lili wasn’t sure if she could pull this off. That was the reason for all this pomp. She needed support from every demon in this room to ascend to the throne. I quickly scanned the rows again. There were so many demons. It would be impossible to know how many were on board with her new leadership plan and how many were not. And since every single audience member was male, it was doubtful she had full support. She was counting on their superstitions and their unflinching belief in the Scriptures to make this happen.

  About ten rows up I noticed a group of demons all wearing what looked to be metallic robes. They were unglamoured and their skin was iridescent, their features sharp and hawkish. I bet those are the spell casters, I told my wolf. And they aren’t clapping. It was too early to know, but seeing Lili’s uncertainty had bolstered me immensely.

  Jessica, Rourke called in my mind. Things out here are chaotic. It looks like Lili didn’t have a plan in place for everything. Demons are running all over and all the Demon Lords are missing. We took a few of the demon janitors prisoner, but we’re having a tough time convincing them to help us. They keep saying their Prince will smite them or some such crap. I have the Prince’s recent scent and we’re going to start searching now, but I want to know you’re okay first. I can’t stand the thought of leaving you in the middle of all this. It’s going against my instincts not to come and break you out.

  I’m fine at the moment. Lili’s putting on quite a show, but I just discovered she has no real idea if this is going to work. But, that said, I suggest you hurry. My guess is she’s going to be picking up some sharp implements next.

  He growled fiercely in my mind. Can you break out on your own if you have to?

  Yes, but I’m going to be patient as long as I can. The bottom line is, I’m not sure we can win without the Prince’s help. And once we start fighting, we don’t stop until we’re all free. I paused for a minute. Rourke, I’m not sure any of us is strong enough to kill Lili. I don’t think she was lying when she said she couldn’t die. We can try to stop her, and maybe bring her down temporarily, but I don’t think we can kill her outright. She was cloaking herself before. Her signature is off the charts. I’m hoping if we act with the Prince, something can be done.

  Before my wolf could correct me and tell me how wrong I was, and that we could indeed kill her, Lili plucked several tools from the table and waved them in the air, declaring to the crowd, “It’s now time to prepare for the cloning. Once I take the female wolf’s power, I shall control both the Heavens and Hells!”

  At once, several demons dressed in white jumpsuits wheeled out a strange-looking gurney. It appeared to be like the ones we use on our plane, except this was ornate, made of some kind of gilded material. It was empty and they parked it right in front of the cheering crowd.

  To my utter astonishment the Princess walked over and gracefully lay down, clasping her hands across her abdomen and closing her eyes.

  The crowd went berserk.

  But on top of the excitement, I sensed some hesitation. Fear began to permeate the room. Demon fear smells like rancid eggs, on top of already rancid eggs. It was enough to make me gag. It appeared that some of the demons were clearly worried about their beloved Princess.

  Lili also interpreted the change in the crowd, because immediately, in both Demonish and English, she announced, “Have no fear, my fellow demons! This is what the Scriptures intend. The new reign shall begin. With the wolf’s power and magic, coupled with the Princess’s heart, we will become the most powerful force in the entire universe!”

  There
was a smattering of applause and some cheering.

  Lili nodded her head at the demons manning the gurney and they skillfully lifted the contraption, along with the unmoving Princess, to the edge of the circle and walked it down the steps. They rolled her next to me, and Lili followed, easing down the steps, starting some kind of chant.

  I gazed over at the Princess, but her eyes were firmly closed. Because she was clearly cooperating, the crowd calmed down and its fear eased. Everyone was waiting to see what came next, including me.

  Curious about the Princess, I pushed my power out toward her, testing. She wasn’t as strong as Lili, but there was something else. Something unique that I couldn’t place.

  I had no idea how cloning worked. It was obviously a transfer of power, but other than that it was baffling.

  My wolf snarled. Don’t worry, I’m not planning on finding out, but aren’t you the least bit curious? She flashed a picture of us tearing Lili’s head completely from her body. I guess not as much as I am, but you have to admit none of it makes sense. Maybe we were spelled and only thought the clone looked like Selene? Before my wolf could become even more irritated with me, another gurney was wheeled out. This one had a body on it.

  As it was wheeled closer, I gasped.

  There was no sheet covering the unmoving form. It was lying on its back with its eyes closed.

  And looked exactly like me.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, alarmed. “How did you get that?”

  Lili laughed at my discomfort. “You gave your DNA so nicely when I asked. Your handprint was so generous, as it gave us so much good data. We just needed time to grow the shell, but we had that in spades as I ran you through the Sholls, and even better when you spent all that time in jail worrying about the fate of your brother.”

  Ohmygods, I said to my wolf. All those times she asked me to help her she was collecting DNA samples. I was nauseous. That can’t really be me. My wolf’s ears were pinned back, canines exposed, nose scenting. My lifeless clone had no smell. That’s a good sign, right?

  “The best part was that your signature was already mixed with demon essence—due to your own stupidity, which made the growth extremely easy. Usually it takes much longer to copy a non-demon, but this was a piece of cake.” She clapped her hands together as the crowd cheered at her brilliance. “Now we just have to transfer your life-force into the clone, along with the Princess’s heart, and I become the most powerful supernatural the world has ever seen.”

  Rourke, I said urgently. We have a definite problem here, where are you?

  Just… breaking down… a few doors. It seems the Prince is being held in… some place they keep their animals.

  Lili made a clone of me.

  What? I sensed his body still.

  I don’t quite understand. I swallowed. But you need to get up here. Now.

  I’m on my way. I’ll leave Tyler and Ray here to get the Prince. I felt him running. Hold tight, Jessica. She’s not going to get away with anything.

  We can’t leave my clone alive, I whispered. My attention was forced back to Lili as she waltzed over to me. “This will only hurt for about fifteen minutes.” She smirked. “But it will hurt like the fires of Hell are raging through your body, tearing you apart and sizzling you from the inside out.”

  My wolf had already wrapped us in ribbons of magic, forcing it outward to create a barrier against her. I began to push the demon essence that we’d separated out past the shell, coating it all around us to make an oily bubble, which I hoped would be a direct repellent against Lili’s demon magic.

  I gritted my teeth as I spit, “Go ahead, Lili. I’d love to see how this is all going to turn out.”

  She smiled as she lifted her hands, her magic shooting forward.

  Only to be rebuffed.

  The reverberation of the backlash forced her to take an inadvertent step backward, which caused instant chatter to erupt in the audience, especially among those closest to us, who had seen what had actually happened.

  She recovered quickly, her eyes narrowing.

  But instead of trying it again, she spun with a flourish. “I just tested my magic on the female wolf, and she is primed and ready. But first, we must take the heart from your beloved Princess and place it in the host body.” She nodded toward two demons and they proceeded to maneuver my cloned body into the circle, so it was situated right next to the Princess, the two gurneys side-by-side. New fear emanated from the demons in the audience, and Lili responded with, “Have no fear! Your Princess will rise again in this new form, as all clones do. Her heart will feed the body. She will not be lost!”

  After selecting a knife from the table, Lili sauntered back into the circle and over to the Princess, who I witnessed from my proximity stiffen ever so slightly. The Princess was nervous. Something was up. This is not going to end well, I told my wolf as Lili positioned herself over the demoness, the wicked-looking blade clutched tightly in her hands. It was long and sharp—the kind you use to skin a hide.

  Lili flourished the knife over the Princess’s heart and brought it down, and as the tip of the knife entered her chest, the Princess’s glamour began to drop with a loud rushing noise. She had remained perfectly still as Lili struck her with the knife, but now her body undulated beneath the blade.

  Lili had no choice but to bring the blade up to give her room.

  The crowd took in a collective breath. I took one in along with them. Holy crap! I was too stunned to move.

  The Princess’s hair flowed outward, longer and thicker. Her lips thinned as her skin took on a different sheen, almost opalescent. It was beautiful. She continued to undulate on the table as a demon yelled from the crowd, “The true Princess! Swy sliy hlefpyzz! She should be Queen!”

  Lili’s face turned dark, but she hid it quickly. “Yes, our beloved Princess. She is so important in our world. But there can only be one true Queen of the Underworld.” Lili turned her head toward the crowd, raising the knife above the Princess, ready to pierce her once more. “Have no fear, my fellow demons, the new reign will choose the demon who is most worthy. This has always been our way. Make no mistake!”

  The Princess’s body was shifting in earnest now.

  I tried not to gape. What’s going on? My wolf had no answers for me. Demons aren’t shifters. Has she been glamouring her size all this time?

  There was a collective ooooh from the crowd as her chest definitively rose on the gurney. Good grief! Are those wings? The Princess’s skin turned luminescent, like beautiful see-through scales, as soft, black, feathery wings erupted out of her back, spreading over the sides of the gurney.

  Wings were something Lili was sorely missing.

  “The true Queen!” a demon yelled from the crowd.

  “Raise her up!”

  “She shall rule us all!”

  Some of the comments were shouted in both Demonish and English and there were many more, one on top of the other as fast as the demons could spout them off.

  “Silence!” Lili cried, turning to the unruly crowd, spreading her arms wide, blood the color of motor oil dripping off the knife blade. “Your Princess and I will rule Hell together, with both strength and power!” There was an instant hush and Lili smiled, before continuing, “She will not die as long as her heart is preserved. Only the Princess is strong enough to give this powerful clone life. It is written that a female shall rule, and with her heart and the Lycan’s power, we shall together be undefeated! The supernatural world will bow to us!”

  The crowd cheered their agreement, even though Lili was selling the same thing in different words.

  There was no chance Lili would step down, and any demon who believed that was a fool. She would kill my doppelganger, power and all, with the Princess’s heart inside, before she’d let that happen. But the crowd had bought it.

  It was time to throw a wrench in Lili’s plans. “Prove it!” I yelled, my voice clear and strong. “Prove to your demon constituents that the Princess will live o
n!”

  “There is no way she can prove it,” an icy voice bellowed from the top of the stairs, the angry voice carrying across the entire arena, silencing all in attendance. “Because she has always been full of lies!”

  24

  The Prince strode down the long stairway, his fury palpable. It pressed down on everyone. His magic whipped forward, menacing and angry. Lili stiffened, her hand still gripping the wicked-looking knife, which now hung by her side.

  I guess you found the Prince, I said wryly to Rourke when I spotted him at the back of the auditorium looking grim.

  The boys broke him out of this frozen mold right after I left, and then I got lost in this fucking place. He was angry. Your scent is everywhere and it’s like a sick maze of tunnels. When I circled around for the second time, I met up with them. We couldn’t get the Prince to agree to anything, but he owes us for freeing him. He wanted to run the show once we got here, so we had no real choice but to let him. When this place erupts into madness, which it will, we’ll come to you on the floor. His voice was firm and commanding.

  Got it. I’m working on these spelled chains. I’m almost free.

  “Step away from my bride, you piece of filth,” the Prince snarled as he descended. “You will never rule Hell. You are not even a full demon! The power of Hell will never choose you. You are the spawn of evil, and have been wiggling under our skin for far too long. You thought you were clever, but you were wrong.”

  “If you come any closer, I will kill her,” Lili said in a cold tone, raising the knife above her head once again, its jagged end only a foot above the Princess’s heart. Lili had only pierced the Princess’s skin before, and the Princess hadn’t moved or reacted since her glamour dropped, though I knew she was alive because her chest lifted with each breath she took.