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Chapter 33
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2024-10-29 19:42:56I 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
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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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The frump was waiting for me in the bedroom, apparently mindful of her failed attempt with Tommy’s intervention. She was sitting on the bed, and I silently unleashed a stream of earsplitting profanities, trying not to say anything out loud.If anybody stumbled upon that scene, I would never be able to wipe that stain away. What were my options?“Ruthie? What’s wrong?”“Alex, we need to talk.”It all looked so fake that I barely stifled a laugh. Even brothel girls looked more sincere, and Ruthina was making such a face that I really wanted to splash her with water to bring her to her senses. I couldn’t, however, or she’d bleed makeup all over the place.Mistress Eliza had told me a lot about that, summoning her girls and showing how a shark could be turned into a mermaid. A dash of paint here, a trinket there...all in all, an interesting experience.“I’m listening.” I didn&rsqu
The Demon Chapter 37
I left them right there. I checked her dress, just in case, but I didn’t find anything. My note stayed inside the carriage, as well as the princess’ dress.What happened to the clothes I had bought for her? Well, I was a fire mage, after all. I burned them three alleys away, quickly and efficiently, leaving only ashes.I still felt no guilt. I hadn’t even taken any of her baubles. All her rings, bracelets, earrings, even her tiara. As for the rest, why would I feel sorry for her? Because she was innocent? I did her a favor, then.A martyr’s death was a sure way to heaven. One could only rejoice for her—while I was left to clean up the mess. How was I supposed to act? Have sex with her? If she had been faithful to her husband, she would have survived, make no mistake.I’m not trying to justify myself. Ruthina had pushed me over the edge, and if I could challenge men to duels, why would women be exempt from punishment? Even if they had royal blood. If she hadn’t wanted to stray, she cou
The Demon Chapter 38
Uncle welcomed us cordially and even smiled at Carlie. He took his sweet time letting go of her hand while kissing it, the letch. Old in the tooth, but still a skirt-chaser.That was when I first thought that if he ever touched Carlie, I would tear out his throat and let him die in agony. Good riddance. But when I announced that Carlie was to be my wife, Uncle agreed straight away.Abigail, however... Auntie winced as if I had shown her a viper, a dead and desiccated one to boot. Still, in a second, she smiled sweetly and offered to let Carlie live under her care for a month before the wedding, to keep up appearances and such.Carlie agreed immediately. It was as if fog came over my senses. I still blame myself, and I’ll blame myself until I die.Carlie, my mountain flower... Just a month, a short month—what could happen in that time?Yes, I could be poisoned or assassinated, but who would try and harm Carlie...right?Yet my aunt turned out to be more cunning that I had anticipated. T
The Demon Chapter 39
In two days, we arrived at the graveyard where Jack’s wife was buried. Before leaving, he had given hell to his gang, while I simply abandoned my men.What was the worst thing that could happen?Let them sit in the village and stuff their faces, especially since I had paid the elder more than enough. A simple grave, not especially well-kept...“What was her name?”“Isabel Norret.”Without stopping to think, I stretched my hand out above the grave. True, a woman had died there, and it was a bad death, in hate and agony. That was a haunted place. That was how graveyards could awaken—when the pain of those who lay in the consecrated soil became too much for the ground to bear. And if the thrall who had consecrated that land cared more about his belly than his debt, everything would happen even faster. And the horror would start.Well, it would be a horror for humans. I didn’t really care.“Isabel Norret, come forth.”No use. The power was gone with the wind. Hmm, so what did Rene tell me
The Demon Chapter 40
The baron gasped but didn’t dare to argue. He relied on his weapons and armor—and he miscalculated. Jack’s armaments turned out to be no worse than his. It all took twenty minutes. Jack and the baron stood in a circle. The baron carefully defended himself, while Jack leaped ahead, forcing the former to step back, trying to get away.A barrage of blows forced the baron to let his guard down and lose his ground, taking a hit that separated his head from his body. The decapitated body stood tall for a few moments before collapsing, covering the ground in blood from his arteries.“The Bright Saint has passed his judgment!”I declared.“So be it. Jack of the Norret family, from this day forth, you are the first Baron Norret! To reimburse you for the harm done to you and those under your protection, I bestow upon you the lands of Baron Pantine. Be a wise and just ruler.”Everyone was staring at me as if I were a manifestation of the Bright Saint. On the other hand, the late baron had no leg
The Demon Chapter 41
I met my former wife-to-be the next day, during a reception held by my uncle. Well, actually, at first, I heard her laughter, and then... Carlie, my Carlie, was standing surrounded by a crowd of noble fops, a ponce with a curved moustache holding her hand, a smirk on his face.Look at me, how great I am.Look at the girl I snatched.I wanted to grab him as well, or at least some parts of him. But as soon as I thought about Carlie and that fop on the balcony, I felt a lump of bile in my throat.Don’t vomit, please. I’ll handle this.Breathe in, breathe out, then breathe in again. My fingers were clenched, and I was seeing red.Carlie looked at me, frightened, and I tasted blood in my mouth, as I bit my cheek with my fangs and bowed. The grey veil was all over me again, covering me, hiding me from the world under the heavy blocks of ice, and behind that unbreakable barrier of eternal blizzard, I smiled, casually and effortlessly, as befitted a nobleman.“Lady, congratulations on your h
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
