The First Book of Demons

by Raquel Dove

“You’re too slow,” Balthazar called over his shoulder at Alexandra. She grunted angrily, stopped in her tracks, and rested her palms on her knees to catch her breath. She wasn’t too slow, he just walked entirely too fast. She could feel her irritation rising with every step he took.

  “I need a break,” she said through labored breaths. She said it so breathlessly and he was so far ahead of her that she didn’t think he could have heard her, but he turned sharply around and began to stalk up to her. Before she could make a move to stop him, he had picked her up and tossed her easily over his broad shoulder.

  “Hey,” Alex shrieked, piercing the demon’s sensitive ears. Her arms and legs flailed wildly, knocking Balthazar in several places at once. “I said I needed a break, not that I needed you to carry me.”

  “Be still,” he grunted as he took a kick to the stomach.

  “Put me down,” Alex said, her face already turning red as the blood rushed to fill her skull. She found an unsteady balance by resting her hand on his lower back and half holding herself up.

  “We don’t have time to wait for your feeble human body,” Balthazar said. She could hear the condescension in his voice.

  “I don’t know why I even have to come,” Alex huffed, as she wiggled her bottom down a little into a more comfortable position. “I would much rather stay.”

  “That’s something we agree upon,” Balthazar said, a heavy sigh echoing his words. “Unfortunately it’s required that you accompany me.”

  “Required for what?” Alex asked, grunting as her hand slipped on his back and his shoulder pushed into her stomach. She picked herself up again. “Where are we going?”

  “I don’t know, and I’m not sure,” Balthazar said, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. If the girl insisted on asking question after question, it was going to be a long journey. “Now be silent, girl.”

  “Don’t tell me to ‘be silent’,” Alex huffed. She tried propping herself up on her elbow against Balthazar’s broad back. It gave her a bit more of a stable position and kept her head high enough to keep the blood from gathering in it. “And stop calling me girl.”

  Balthazar’s hand flew up and smacked Alexandra square on the butt cheek just as he picked up his speed and began to flash through the countryside. He wanted to laugh when she squealed in indignation.

  “I said be silent, girl,” he said, with a smirk on his lips. Alexandra growled at the assault, and Balthazar found himself wanting to laugh at the pathetic sound of it. Even a child demon’s growl was fiercer than hers. If she meant it as a threat, she certainly wasn’t scaring him.

  It wasn’t long before the blur of the landscape made Alexandra’s head swim. She shut her eyes and tried to make herself as comfortable as possible. In spite of the speed they seemed to be going, the ride was surprisingly smooth. She just had to get used to the awkward position. She thought about asking her to hold her in a different position, but she felt like any other way would feel too intimate. The last thing she wanted to do was suffer the embarrassment of him smelling her arousal.

  When they finally came to a stop and Balthazar let Alex down, it was just after sunset. Alex could see the stars starting to come out, twinkling like a million candles in the blue black sky. She stretched her aching muscles, pushing her chest out and trying to ease the ache that had settled into her lower back from being hung over Balthazar’s shoulder all day.

  “Where are we going, anyway?” Alex asked as she rubbed at the small of her back.

  Balthazar sat at the base of a thick tree, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. He reached into the little bag that he carried on his hip and pulled out a wrapped package of bread and dried meat.

  “We need to rest now,” he said. “Just be quiet.”

  Balthazar had used a bit more energy than he should have carrying her through the country. Using his rapid speed was enough of a drain on his energy, but carrying her and having to deal with her plump round bottom right beside his face was more difficult than he had thought it would be.

  He wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. The more time he spent with her, the more that he talked with her, the more he found that he cared about her. He didn’t know why. All she did was ask questions and fight with him on everything he told her to do. It certainly wasn’t something he was used to, but yet he couldn’t keep himself from wanting to touch her, look at her, smell her. He just wanted to get through this as quickly as possible and with as little interaction with her as possible.

  “No,” Alex said, folding her arms and sitting down right in front of him. “Tell me where we’re going.”

  “Will you shut up if I do?” Balthazar asked, his eyes rolling open to glare at her.

  “Maybe,” Alex said, narrowing her eyes at him. He unwrapped the little package of food and handed a strip of smoked meat to her. She happily took it and bit into it. “Tell me where we’re going,” she said through chews.

  “The Aska Bluffs,” Balthazar said. He broke off a chunk of bread and handed that to her. “Now shut up.”

  Alex narrowed her eyes at the demon prince as his eyes once again closed to her. He took a bite of the meat and leaned his head back against the tree as if he thought the conversation was over.

  “That doesn’t tell me anything,” she said, taking another bite of her food.

  “We seek a griffin egg,” Balthazar said, peering at her through heavy eyelids, “and that is where the creatures dwell.”

  “A griffin?” Alex said, her eyes lighting up. “There are real live griffins?”

  “I believe the agreement was you would shut up,” Balthazar said, shifting a little against the tree.

  Alexandra’s jaw flopped open and shut, searching for a response but coming up blank. She finally just scooted away from him, muttering under her breath. She finished her food, crossed her arms over her knees and looked up at the sky. The stars were so bright. They felt so close. It was a beautiful sight and a sort of peace washed over Alex.

  Balthazar sensed the sudden shift in her aura and he opened his eyes to see what had caused it. Alexandra’s olive eyes sparkled as the moonlight danced off them. She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and bit it softly as she enjoyed the view. She was breathtakingly beautiful and Balthazar realized he was staring.

  “You enjoy the stars,” he said, startling Alex with the softness that had crept into his voice. She looked over at him and blinked a couple of times before turning back to the stars.

  “They’re not as bright where I’m from,” Alex said, her voice almost reverent. Balthazar watched her for a moment more before he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He wanted to ask her more about where she was from. He wanted to talk to her more, but he knew if he shouldn’t.

  “Can I ask you a question?” Alex said softly. Balthazar cracked his eyes open again, and considered her for a moment.

  “You may,” he said finally, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting for her question.

  Alex hesitated, suddenly too nervous to ask. In that moment Balthazar felt so different. He felt warmer, almost vulnerable. She liked him so much more like this. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to risk changing that.

  “Ask,” Balthazar said, although the authority behind his words felt somehow forced.

  “Why do you want more power?” Alex finally asked, “I mean, it seems like everyone already listens to you. I don’t know what I can possibly do to help you get more.”

  “You know nothing of demons,” Balthazar said, looking away from her. He really didn’t want to get into the problems that were plaguing him. Even if she would understand what he was dealing with, which he was certain she wouldn’t, he just didn’t want to think about it all right now.

  “So tell me,” Alex said. She scooted closer to him and moved to sit with her thighs pulled to her chest and her chin resting on her knees.

  “I’m the first born of my father,” Balthazar said, deciding to give her as concise of a version as he could. “H
e was a good Lord Sultan, and it is my duty to keep my family’s kingdom and legacy intact, but my enemies are many and strong. They’ve been waiting for a chance to strike our kingdom and now is the best they’re going to get.”

  Alex could see the look that glossed over Balthazar’s eyes when he spoke of his father. It was a mixture of sadness and pride, with a hint of anger.

  “What happened to your father?” Alex asked. Balthazar looked down at his lap and took so long to answer her that she thought he wouldn’t.

  “He was assassinated,” he said, his voice and eyes suddenly hardening. “In his bed, while he slept.”

  Balthazar’s jaw tensed and Alex felt a sharp pang of sadness. She knew more than anyone how he felt. Memories of Aunt Tammy flooded her and she felt the familiar sting of tears growing behind her eyes. It felt like it had been ages since she last cried. With everything that had been going on, her pain at losing Aunt Tammy had been pushed completely from her mind. Now though, she couldn’t stop the tears from coming.

  “Why do you cry?” Balthazar asked, a puzzled look on her face.

  “Because I know how it feels to lose someone so important to you,” Alex said, a tear dropping down her cheek. She sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, forcing herself to stop crying. Balthazar said nothing more, and the two fell into a comfortable silence.

  “The last conversation I had with my father,” Balthazar spoke suddenly, shattering the quiet, “we fought. I was disrespectful to him and I will regret that for the rest of my life.”

  He wasn’t sure why exactly he felt compelled to tell her that. It was something he thought he would never divulge to anyone, but once the words left his mouth he felt better. Somehow he found it so much easier to talk to her and say things that he never felt he could say in front of anyone else. Like she wouldn’t be judging him or looking for his weaknesses to manifest themselves so that she could use them against him later.

  “I’ll help you,” Alex said with a small nod. “In any way that I can, I promise I’ll help you.”

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