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Chapter 37
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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
The Demon Chapter 42
I summoned my father the second time after all that drama with Carlie. Not just for kicks, mind you. Her husband, the idiot, decided to assassinate me, seeing as she hadn’t been a maiden anymore, which clearly rubbed him the wrong way. So, if he killed me, his honor would be clear—apart from stealing some else’s bride, but that, apparently, didn’t matter. He sent an assassin after me, ruining my leisure, and tearing my curtains—the latter an unforgivable offense, really. I mean, wouldn’t you be annoyed? Just imagine lying in your bed, resting, contemplating your private troubles, gazing at the stars...and then someone’s body obscures them and several bolts from a multi-shot crossbow fly toward you.A pretty scary thing; I could have become a hedgehog rather than a half-demon...if they had actually hit me. My reflexes were too quick, however, and I was much faster than humans.As soon as that shadow stood by the window, I fell to the floor, transformed, and charged at him. My tail was
The Demon Chapter 43
The next day, I found Viscount Latour on his own—in his house, before breakfast. I climbed in through the window.So what? If assassins were allowed to do that, why could I?As an honest half-demon, I wouldn’t even take a copper! I wouldn’t even kill the viscount, even if later, he would regret it. I got down to business straight away.“Who gave you the love potions?”A garrote around the neck was an iron-clad guarantee of truth. The viscount grunted, farted, and came clean. Of course, it had been Abigail’s doing. For the sake of variety, the viscount wasn’t her relative, but a shirttail cousin of Ruthina’s husband, and he had readily agreed to a short marriage.His task had been to court Carlie, and after my marriage, arrange an accident for her, with the queen’s help.Love? What are you talking about? How could I love a bastard’s whore? An assassin? Well...the viscount just couldn’t stand that—that vulgar girl wasn’t even a virgin.I still have no idea how I was able to hold back. I
The Demon Chapter 44
Andre took along such a swarm of toadies, that I couldn’t understand why he would need me as well.During the first three days of our journey, we had seen each other only twice, and it never really changed. Nobody was going to try and kill me.A few times, strangers attempted to join me and Tom, but I quickly brushed them off. The baroness, by the way, accompanied us in the prince’s retinue, and loitered around me so much that even my horse started to bite—which was quite understandable, really.I’d bite her myself if I wasn’t squeamish. The lady was constantly dousing herself with some saccharine perfume and staring at me, confused. She probably thought that I should have long since dragged her into bed, but I had not an ounce of desire to do that; I would rather have raised a zombie, really. We were riding across the greatest country in the world. With each day, it became more and more clear to me that Radenor was worth everything—and more. It was worth blood, dirt, and pain, mine
The Demon Chapter 45
I 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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