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Chapter 27
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The Demon Chapter 28
I informed him about our misfortune and the untimely passing of the count.“Oh, and also, you see, honorable mayor, I have a list here. It shows what exactly, how much, from whom... In a word, your part of the plunder. Could you explain this to me?”The mayor couldn’t and tried to jump out of the window and flee. He failed, and also accidentally hit himself against my boot, after which he started to repent actively. And I didn’t disappoint him. Everyone knows that any proper repentance should end with death. Thus, I ordered my men to hang the corrupt mayor on a lamp post right across from the town council, while telling everyone that I knew the same things about them as I did about him.They were to surrender half of their illegal gains to the treasury by the next day, or else. Lamp posts were a rare sight in the town, but there were enough trees for everyone.”And in case you forget about your obligations, you will be escorted by these wonderful people from Sir Farne’s regiment."Yes
The Demon Chapter 29
It all started when Uncle decided to hold a joust in honor of my return and in Count Torne’s memory. I would have offered him two barrels of moonshine for the latter, but nobody had asked me. Instead, Uncle told us the good news in a rather cringe-worthy tone. “Andre, Alex, there will be a joust in ten days. I hope you won’t disgrace our family’s honor?” “Of course, Father.” In public, Andre played the role of a dutiful son. “As you command, Uncle.” “Come on, boys. Doesn’t it make you happy?” “We’ll be overjoyed,” I said passionately. Both Tommy and Rene reacted the same way to the news about the joust—by swearing like a sailor at my uncle. Fair enough; a joust required a set of armor, a weapon, a horse... Getting them just ten days before a tournament, when half the capital was doing the very same, seemed impossible. Could one participate without that? One could. But judging by Abigail’s warm smile, there was going to
The Demon Chapter 30
Andre was clearly becoming more and more anxious, and when he tore off his helmet and threw it aside, I knew that it was time to act. Once again, I dodged his blow, and deftly scratched my cousin’s cheek. Blood started flowing, and Andre stopped, in utter disbelief.I sneered.“I hope I haven’t offended you, Cousin?”With these words, I made a bee-line for the exit from the tiltyard.“Alex!”My demon senses were tingling like crazy. I dropped down, rolled back, took a look around...A short crossbow bolt was sticking out of the crimson sand of the arena. If I hadn’t dodged, I would be done for. I traced the bolt’s trajectory with my eyes. Someone was getting a good walloping over there.Good.Let’s hope they don’t kill him, but if anything happens.“Alex!”Tommy and Rene ran to me. I quickly gave Tommy my instructions, and he disappeared from the arena. Meanwhile, Rene took me by the shoulder and started to examine me.“Are you alive?”“Don’t count on me dying just yet...”Viscount Mo
The Demon Chapter 31
Should I even mention that nobody noticed me? I didn’t interrogate Chartreuse’s spirit that night, and the next morning, things got really messy.The marquise woke up in the same bed as a corpse and started screaming bloody murder, drawing the attention of the entire palace, including her husband, who pulled her out of Chartreuse’s bed by her hair, slapped her, and dragged her to their room.Alas, he didn’t make it, getting apprehended by the guards, who took the lady away. After all, she could have been the murderer. Abigail was weeping over her brother’s body, Chartreuse the elder was wiping a few tears from his face, while the rest of the family watched, and I was in stitches. It was a hoot.The bolt was the same. I remember it. It’s a conspiracy. First me, then the queen’s brother, who’s next?I’m so afraid.We need to assign guards to everyone—Uncle, Auntie, the cousins. This is a dis
The Demon Chapter 32
It happened on the sixth day of our journey. I remember it so clearly, those huge bright stars in the autumn sky, the last drops of the departing summer. It was already too cold for sleeping on the ground, and we decided to stay overnight in a roadside inn. It was called Golden Thistle.Sometimes, I dream about it, that low-hanging ceiling, beams stained with smoke, ropes of onion on the walls—and a scarlet dress against that squalor—coal-black hair…and her voice. I don’t hear anything except for that voice. Deep, a bit husky, flowing like honey and wine, it was fitting for a royal audience rather than that place.We had just sated our hunger when she came on stage, and I was lost. I held my breath as she sang, her voice flowing, enchanting, beckoning. As she passed through the hall, nobody dared even to move, let alone touch her or stop her. She dazzled, she ensorcelled, she bewitched. Don’t be angry with a bird who’s flying. For s
The Demon Chapter 33
I liked Altverin—an old castle of huge grey stones, sharp spires, roofs of scarlet as if stained with blood, and ivy that climbed up the walls. It was a breathtaking sight. Inside, however... Is this noble poverty?Yeah, right.More like utter destitution. Still, everything was scrubbed so clean that you could see your reflection in the stone walls—not a fleck of dusk, not a cobweb. There were half a score of servants, all looking like they were forced to wear corsets. As for the steward, Sharen Clate was a tall, silver-haired man in his fifties who welcomed us on the doorstep of the castle, bread and salt in his hands. I broke off a snug of bread, like I was supposed to, and ate it, pretending I was content. I didn’t really want to start acting up before I knew what was what.The bread was the cheapest one could find, grey coarse flour with lumps—at royal court, they wouldn’t even feed the dogs with such stuff.And then the
The Demon Chapter 34
Naturally, we got attacked two days away from Altverin. After all, my lands had peasants living on them, and peasants could simply beat the bandits with their clubs, not giving a care about nobility and honor. We also had some idiot minstrel singing songs about a noble thief who stole from the rich while completely forgetting that stealing was a crime no matter who you stole from. And of course, we could never put up any resistance, with only a score of guards.Therefore, the bandits—almost two hundred strong—surrounded our carts, aimed crossbows at my people, and ordered them to throw all they had on the ground and disarm themselves. Tommy did disarm, followed by Rene, and then the others.“Where’s the prince?” the bandit leader, who had been cautious enough to put on a mask, asked, finally noticing my absence.“He had to return to the castle for a bit.”The bandits paused to think. Apparently, they had been orde
The Demon Chapter 35
The fourth act was started in the prison. I broke the lock and set my people free. Their reactions varied, from Tommy’s friendly and worried.“Are you all right, Alex?” to a guardsman’s respectful and admiring.“Your Highness!”I shrugged and clapped Tommy on the shoulder. Apparently, that annoying gesture was contagious.“You couldn’t break me if you threw me against the wall. Do you think that a bandit castle is worse?”Tommy calmed down and started to smile. Rene, however, was looking around in surprise.“Alex, how did you manage to do that?”“I can be quite persuasive sometimes.”He was surprised even more when he saw bodies scattered across halls and corridors, their faces frozen with horrified expressions.Everyone was dead... or mostly everyone. Some had simply gone mad, two or even three people.“Alex, how the hell did you
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“How do you know about the charm spells?”“How could I not! Innis, do you know that your mother had an elder brother?”Innis grew pale.“Y-yes. But he’s...”“Disappeared without a trace. Why would Sidon Andago need him?”I caught the girl so she wouldn’t faint.“Tell me more, you corpse!”That tone finally made him pay attention. The ghost looked at me once more, I released my power, and it was his turn to become pale—or, rather, translucent.“By the Bright! You—”“Yep. Me. And if you don’t answer me right now, I will burn your chicken coop to the ground!”The spirit sighed and began telling his story. He was also a necromancer, who, by a cruel twist of fate, had become a healer.If you make a drawback your advantage, you can heal with the power intended to destroy, that was true.I had never been taught that, but the Andago family seemed no stranger to experimentation.Anyway, Tidann had died like he was supposed to. But during his lifetime, he had conducted trials in that same labor
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I was barely moving my lips, but she definitely heard me, as she ran her hand over her hair and all of a sudden, broke down in tears. It had been a while since I had felt myself that stupid.Still, Martha didn’t cry for long. She raised her head high.“Alex, boy, yer alive!”And there was so much love and happiness in her voice. She didn’t care about herself at all, the main thing was my safety.I couldn’t help but blurt out, from the bottom of my heart, “Mother…”Truly, the mother is not the one who gave birth.“I was so scared for you. After we spoke, I ran off here, yer snake led me. Everything’s quiet, but the ghosts are all afraid. Lots of templars in the palace, all tip-toeing ‘round yer wifey. Methinks, ‘twas the bitched viper who started all this, mark me word!”“Mother, but where’s Tommy? Rene?”“Tommy’s on the lam, he’s taking his wife to Rick. Rene and his pa high-tailed, too. Probably hiding somewhere, ‘lest they lose their knobs in the heat.”“Did somebody get—”“Yep. The
The Demon Special Chapter
During dinner, I felt like I was the main course.The local residents questioned me about everything, starting from silk prices in Tevarr to my family, from weather to the royal palace.I squirmed like I was in a hot pan, trying to avoid telling too much. I was pretty good at that.By the end of dinner, Amorta graced me with a smile and a suggestive look from her thin eyelashes, while Sidon thawed out and started to tell me his hunting stories. If they had been true, all the beasts in Radenor wouldn’t be enough for him.I listened to them, nodded, and was finally rewarded with seeing the heir: Sidon’s complete copy. He had Amorta’s ears, but was the spitting image of his father otherwise.Maybe that was why he cherished the child so much. Innis was way too smart, sharp, and independent, not to mention, entirely Andago in her appearance.Blood couldn’t be locked away. I had to coo for a bit, while discreetly collecting a few stray hairs from the baby’s clothes.Let’s see if he’s truly
The Demon Special Chapter
Summoning Ak-kvir was easy.He appeared almost right away and sniffed the air.“You again, necromancer?”“Do you object?”“Do you have the payment?”I sneered viciously.“I’ll figure something out.”“Get comfortable, then.”I sat down on his back, and Ak-kvir darted off straight ahead. Eight hours to the town?Dear Innis, just twenty minutes...and that’s taking into account that the demon had grown very lazy.We passed the town wall in a few rough leaps.Good thing that Ak-kvir’s claws were saber-sharp and could pierce any stone three feet deep. And finally, I was left standing in a narrow street. Monsignors bandits, come on.I can’t believe nobody wants these easy pickings!Yeah, that was rhetorical.Five minutes later, a three-man group stumbled upon me.They were so delighted that it was even funny.“Oh, look who’s come to visit!”“A noble boy, bless his heart!”“You there, stand and deliver!”They tried to surround me; how naive. Did they want me to speak?Like dark lightning, I d
The Demon Special Chapter
Tommy was blissfully sleeping inside his house with Henrietta nestled against his shoulder, snuffling and smiling in her sleep. But when an ice-cold wave came over them, both had to rise up, their peace disturbed.That wind was something they could never hide or shield themselves from; it was a death wind, and it brought cold from the grave, making him feel as if he were in a coffin.Even dead men could wake up after feeling something like that...and sometimes, they did.“What!”The darkness in the room grew thicker and took on Martha’s shape, smiling with her mouth full of shark teeth.“It’s me, Tom. Martha.”Instantly, Tommy was relieved. He had seen that many times before.No big deal, Alex had pulled stunts much worse than that. When you live with necromancers, do as necromancers do.“What’s wrong?”“Treason. Take your wife and hide, I will warn the Morinars, so...try to get to Torrin. You are the most vulnerable of us all.”“How’s Alex?”“Alive.”Tommy breathed out.“Good. But wh
The Demon Special Chapter
I had two options: either promptly summon Ak-kvir and get to the capital, wherein I would clean up the mess, but the schemers would have time to get away, that was as clear as day.The other option...Fine, you’ve gotten rid of the rightful king.Now what?Oops.Well, you can sit on the throne of Radenor, you would even stay there...for like twenty seconds. After that, prepare a dust tray and a broom. No need for a coffin, the remains could be poured over a flowerbed in the palace garden. If I held off my return, I would get the chance to reveal the plotters.But what about my family?Well, that was a moot question. If I were a plotter, I would first kill the king—me—and then, if everything worked out well, switch to his entourage.Yet, I suspected that no templars had survived. Generally, I was a nice guy, but they had managed to really piss me off. I still had some time before they would attack Martha, Tommy, Rene, Dariola... Although, why would they attack Dariola?Her child was th
The Demon Special Chapter
Surprised, Innis stared at the demon who had appeared in her pentagram. He wasn’t quite what she had expected. Visually, he seemed a proper demon: claws, scales, and a tail.But should he really be all bloody and unconscious?Grandpa’s diary never said anything like that. Too bad I couldn’t find any other notes.But...what am I to do with it? Try to call him? Shake him awake?No, reaching inside the pentagram was forbidden.What if I poke him with a stick? He can’t just lie there in my tower, can he?I have enough problems on my plate without a dead demon!**I was in agony. Every bit of my body that was still there was emanating with pain, even my tail. “Demon, are you alive? Demon! Damn you, you’re a rascal, not a demon!”It was clearly a girl’s voice. She seemed young and quite upset. She had a throaty contralto, clear and singsong, like hot chocolate.I definitely wasn’t in a temple.Where then?I focused and tried to prop myself on my elbows, then open my eyes.Yeah, they had gi
The Demon Special Chapter
After Martha told me that my wife was likely with child, I wasn’t even surprised or worried.She isn’t saying anything to me?There could be lots of reasons!Maybe she didn’t know so herself or wanted to make sure. What was there to discuss? I just had to charge the court healer with a task.Alas, I was wrong, and I had to pay for that mistake sooner than I had expected. Two days later, I found myself on the way to a small town called Livaren.I was still traveling around the country so the officials I had appointed would stay on edge. When the king shows up on your doorstep and demands an answer...or just shows up...it can really shake you up.Bad news came from Livaren.Somebody destroyed ten of my ghosts. I had to visit and figure out what was happening there. That was exactly what I did. I was used to nobody ever standing in my way. Have I already mentioned that sometimes, I can be a real idiot?The mayor, Baron Fagin, was cheerful. He had clearly screwed up. But considering that
The Demon Special Chapter
Princess Dariola.What did she look like?Not a beauty, or at least I didn’t think so. She was tall, half a head taller than me, and thin as a rail.She had blonde hair and blue, watery eyes, and her lips were so pale they seemed almost white. She did have nice hands, with long thin fingers, worthy of an artist or a musician.I also liked her voice: high-pitched, clear. She would probably sound great singing merry songs somewhere in a meadow, during summer.Alas, but during our introduction, I didn’t seem to attract her much, either. I guess she thought me too weak and fragile, and I had no wish to disprove her.So, I just kissed her hand.“Your Highness.”Just a neutral phrase. No “My princess” or “Welcome to my kingdom.”They made me an offer I could hardly refuse, and that was enough.Oh, I had divorced soon after getting crowned.The church granted me my request, even if they did try to negotiate. Your Majesty, of course, we’re ready to help you in any way you want, but we’ve gott
