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Chapter 45
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2024-10-29 19:42:56I didn’t have to torture myself for too long. This, that, and the other... I still had that nagging feeling inside of me, like a pulsating splinter, but at least it didn’t fester, right?
When it starts to, I’ll get rid of it. Were spirit wounds different from physical ones? Not really. And that meant that I would survive it eventually. The neighboring land disappointed me as well. Or maybe it was the closeness to the border? The same wretched villages, destitute peasants, haunted looks...
I wondered if there were any kings who understood that power wasn’t given to them to have fun and live in style; that they ruled for their people, and not for themselves. Or was I just a deranged lunatic? But my grandfather had thought the same, even if it was his reign which had given start to the whole mess. I didn’t have any strength left to judge him, though.
A family was a team. While the husband provided for the wife, the wife was to raise th
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The Demon Chapter 46
Tommy didn’t believe me, of course. Who would? I had to beg him. My friend shrugged and promised to wait in our chambers until I dealt with the problem. The issue was resolved the same night.I simply summoned the hunter. As hellhounds weren’t simple dogs, hunters weren’t simple demons. He appeared almost immediately, looking at me with his blood-red eyes. He was tall, gangly, and reminded me of a cellar spider.In the cloud smoke which hid his features he seemed clumsy and awkward—if you didn’t know how fast and deadly he could be.Hellhounds chased prey.The hunter dealt the final blow.“Did you call for me?”He didn’t add “Master” naturally. I had to channel some more power into the pentagram. It’s not like I cared about titles, but status was something that demons placed great value on. If I let his arrogance go unpunished, I would get a rebellion later.The demon w
The Demon Chapter 47
My Lord, I kindly ask you to meet me in a gazebo an hour after the fireworks. We need to discuss an important issue regarding our relationship.L. Tom brought me that note, which had been handed to him by some servant.I quickly scanned the short text and snorted derisively.“Does she think me an idiot?”Tom shrugged.“I guess so. And then, the girl tried so hard...”I carefully folded the note to return it to its original state—fortunately, the seal wasn’t damaged—and gave it a sniff.True, she had poured her sweet perfume over the note...good. I wasn’t going to meet with her, of course, but it was a good thing that the author of the note could be so easily determined.“I’ll also...try hard. Wait for me.”And I slipped out of the window. The most useful thing about our room were a ledge and ivy on the wall, the latter of which was covering the whole castle from the foundation up to the towers.You could easily walk to the desired spot via the ledge and climb down to the room you want
The Demon Chapter 48
I was reading those thoughts on his face as clearly as if the duke was shouting them at the top of his lungs. When he turned toward me, I helped him.“Your Grace, I must keep vigil at my cousin’s side, but you will conduct an investigation, won’t you?”In a minute he would have rushed to embrace me, I swear.“Of course, Your Highness. I swear on my honor!”If you swore on something that you actually had, I might believe you. But a man whose wife had borne a vampire’s child, a man who, most likely, had forced her to do that himself?Sir, the honor of your family has long since gone running, like a deer in the woods.Why deer?Well, maybe a moose. Wearing the horns of a cuckold.I spent around four hours at Andre’s side, Tommy was nearby, also pretending to be appropriately distressed. But...“Alex, but that was her doing.”“So what?”“Won’t we get revenge?”My ass.Avenge Lavinia’s help? I was in her debt. Maybe I won’t even kill her right away.“Tommy, could we survive the war with Te
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The duke finally left, and Tommy brought me a tray of food that we shared.Great, no poison, no sedative.“What will we do?”I took a deep breath.“Pray, Tommy. We will pray.”I knew prayers by heart. Know your enemy and kill him with your own weapon, and I did. I knew them to the last word, to the last comma—and could even visit the church. And so I prayed until almost midnight.Then I ordered Tommy to bring me a warm cloak. Well, more precisely, I ordered a servant, who then summoned Tommy. He came sleepily, also in a warm cloak—it was pretty chilly there.I dismissed the servant, and in five minutes, Tommy came out, just the way he had entered, cloaked, dark-haired, in a hat.Dark hair? A wig!What can be more simple? And another man in the prince’s cloak continued praying before the altar. I hoped I had managed to cheat the onlookers.The duke probably didn’t expect any seserious dirty tricks from me, anyway. He was too relaxed, having bought into my idiocy...Which was exactly ho
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I lowered the assassin down without any issues. Nobody had seen or heard us, so I warned him about Tommy and returned to the shrine, as I needed to provide my lord a warm shirt, too. You know, just in case. The guards, drilled by the duke, let me pass without any objections, and no wonder. The best and the brightest weren’t there, but guarding Lavinia, the duke, his children, and would later go into the dungeon.Those here were the worst of the bunch. It made sense, too—leaving smart people in the same house as a vampire wasn’t a good idea. Soon enough, you’d get tired of hiding the bodies. So, I was praying hard, Tom went to the assassin, and outside, chaos erupted.The assassin was gone!Naturally, the duke dropped by the church, and I immediately threw a tantrum. The prisoner has escaped?He’ll kill me, for sure!Assign me a guard duty!To the church, my chambers, even my horse! What if he kills the horse, too? I wouldn’t be surprised if the duke wanted to kill me, too, but he man
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I had a talk with Lavinia as well. She came at night, and I barely managed to stop my unruly arm from hitting her with a dagger. Oh no, you didn’t.My slap threw the half-vampire across the room. I don’t know if I could hit a woman, but Lavinia was no woman. She was a monster, and with her, everything was permitted. If I had to, I would beat her with a silver chain across her spine.“Back away, you tramp.”That was bound to make her shut up. Lavinia hissed, but bit her tongue until it was bloody.I nodded at a chair.“Sit down.”She obeyed.“So why did the Dark Tempter send you here?”“Why did you agree to the marriage?”I smirked.“Maybe I wanted someone exotic.”“That’s not a satisfying answer.”“Then why did you tell your father that you wanted to be satisfied with me? Or at least with my answer?”I mocked her. She hissed again.Maybe I should dig out a snakepit?“He wants the throne...”“What a coincidence. So do I.”“Then refuse to marry me.”“You wish... Who’d refuse such an off
The Demon Chapter 52
As hard as Tevarr was trying to earn my favor, it was as cold as my homeland of Radenor was toward me upon my return. One more scene from a classic tale of chivalry.A procession approached, and king and queen, dressed all in black, fell on their knees before Andre’s coffin without deigning to look at me.“My son...”“My dear child!”Crocodile tears in their eyes, or at least in Abigail's. Her hope for ruling the country was gone, even if Rene had informed me that powerful life mages had been summoned to the castle.I really didn’t like it. A powerful mage meant a practicing mage, and who knew what they would discover? Yes, I was half-human, but sometimes, my demonic nature awoke inside me, and chaos reigned.During such moments, I couldn’t control myself, and I had no intention of announcing my half-demonic nature. Fine. Let them come, and I’ll find a way to deal with them. Maybe they won’t even accept the invitation.Rudolph did portray himself as the Templars’ loyal son, and they w
The Demon Chapter 53
The wedding was to take place in three days.Why so soon? We had to prepare for war, and Tevarr could help us only after the marriage. Therefore, the wedding would have to be quick and small-scale.Lavinia never left Abigail’s side, and the latter seemed quite affectionate. We could speak in private only when we danced, and even then...“She lied about being pregnant.”“I know.”I was sure of that myself, but getting a confirmation from a vampire was nice.“Are there pregnant women in her entourage?”“Yes. Two, both at early stages.”I nodded, my suspicions validated.“Why would she need to give birth herself, really?”Lavinia lowered her eyelashes. She realized everything as well. The baby would be presented as a fruit of Abigail’s loins.She didn’t give a damn about that child having any royal blood. She just didn’t want to go back to the dirt she had climbed out from. And again, if I had a baby cousin, could I ever hurt them without earning the hate of the entire country?A child k
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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
