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Chapter 9
I went for my routine mountain hike, planning to spend a couple of days there. Rick and Henry went to a fair in the neighboring county, and I was bored out of my mind in the castle. So I just ran away. It's not like they will do anything worse than scold me when I get back. At least I'll spend a few days alone with myself and the wind. Why don't I have wings?
I had strayed pretty far from home and stumbled upon the idea of meeting Henry and Rick instead of going back. Prepare a surprise for them, so to speak. The most important thing was not to fall into my teachers' hands in the first twenty minutes. Afterward, they would cool off.
I had already spent a whole day hanging around the road. Typical-you'd have to be completely bonkers to go visit Torrin. It wasn't just a backwater place; it was the ultimate middle of nowhere. There was no way to leave, either by land or by water, nothing to gain except for fish. As for the silver, we and the locals kept our mouths shut, a
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The Demon Chapter 10
They showed up in two hours.Twelve riders, all dressed in capes-once white, and now smeared in dirt. Three Punishers with their heads shaven, the same look of obsession on their faces, flashes of light in their auras. That was not good at all.Darkness dissolves matter, and light burns it all. A normal person is balanced, but these... But who am I to say that? Demons are parts of darkness, and sooner or later, it will claim me, unless I manage to remain human.They stopped at the scene that I had carefully prepared for them. A dead horse and a man in a black cloak lying on his back. Of course, there was nothing under the cloak, but who would check?So, who'll go first? Ah, too bad I don't have a crossbow. Whatever. I'll manage. Especially since they stopped right where I wanted them to.I sized up the situation for the last time. All right, here we go!A daring leap into the center of the squad, and I landed right behind one of the pursuers
The Demon Chapter 11
The gathering consisted of me, Rick, Henry, and Martha. It didn’t concern anyone else. They still lived here, they were my family, but it was those three who were there in the beginning, with my mother. Princess Michelle. My mother. Mom. I was so sorry that she had died, but alas. Any woman would die after giving birth to a half-demon—it’s the law. We take too much of their strength, not leaving anything left to continue living. It wouldn’t happen with a quarter-demon, the mother would live, but all half-demons were orphans. There were some exceptions, of course—incubi, vampires, all that riff-raff, but they weren’t true demons, just low-level rabble. Michelle would never have chosen one of them as my father. No, she picked the strongest one. No matter how her friends tried to talk her out of that, she gave it her all. They knew Michelle’s wish and funneled all their energy into her plan. Ric
The Demon Chapter 12
In a week, after I had enough time to process everything, we gathered the family council, Rick, Henry, Martha and I.We didn’t invite anyone else. Cassandra and Mirabelle didn’t really want to be there, anyway. What could they do? Take pity on me? Please. Neither Rick nor Henry had ever lied to me. Sometimes, they hadn’t told the whole truth, until I was old enough to hear it, anyway. But I had never heard them straight-up lie to me.And now we had to decide on what we were going to do. I couldn’t leave the kingdom in Rudolph’s hands. A king? A crowned oaf sitting on the throne!The Saint only knows what part of his body he uses to think. I know I didn’t want to know.Rick was the first to speak up. “Have you seen enough?”I nodded. Enough? I was stuffed to the brink! For that chaos in his kingdom, uncle should be more than just killed!“So, what will you do?”That made me pa
The Demon Chapter 13
Radenor was saturated with grime. Poverty, hunger, hate, they hung in the air like a foul mist, unnerving and irritating me. It was the first long trip in my life, and I felt uncertain. I had a companion in Henry, but we would soon part ways, as he was needed back home. I insisted upon that. Henry was responsible for all matters outside Torrin, and Rick wouldn’t be able to handle it without him for long. And I... I would.There was one more fact in my favor—I was hard to kill. I was immune to most poisons, I could use magic, and Henry was an ordinary human, who, whatever he said, had gotten out of shape during his stay in Torrin. He wasn’t that dashing fellow from seventeen years ago anymore.We argued for a while but finally got on the same page. Seeing as how it was improper for a prince to show up at court without servants—princes were helpless and unable to take care of themselves, after all—Tom was to go with me as my servant, as well
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“Enough said. Does it still exist?”“It does, but not for long.”“We’ll see...”I was in my human form, of course, all pretty and gentle-looking. I liked my appearance. Wasn’t I cute? Fair-haired, blue-eyed, a perfect replica of my mother. Except for the fact that her tongue hadn’t been forked, and when I lost control, that was how the reverse transformation started. My voice also became raspy, hissing, but why should I care, really? I wasn’t going to kiss anybody here or let anyone look inside my mouth, and the rest didn’t matter.The claws, however... For some reason, they were the second to transform. Gloves wouldn’t help. The only way was to keep myself in check every minute. I absolutely couldn’t blow up. Do half-demons have good self-control? Honestly, not really. But I was also a necromancer, and necromancers who wore their emotions on their sleeves didn’t live long. For us, calm and peace of mind were crucial. And I was calm, quiet as a grave. Which was the exact place where t
The Demon Chapter 15
The capital was all white houses, cobbled streets, amazing architecture, all meticulously planned and built—and at the same time, a stark contrast between noble houses, all well-tended, flowers blooming in the yards, and people on the streets. As always, they were poor, pathetic, desperate. Looking at them, I started to realize how hard it was to pass by without stopping to help. Who else if not me? By the right of my blood and my lineage I was responsible for the country, and if I did nothing, I would be ashamed to look into the eyes of my ancestors—even demons. They had never surrendered without a fight, after all! The royal palace was glorious, surrounded by a fence made of bronze. Yet right next to the driveway, a legless cripple was sitting in the dust of the road, asking for alms. He truly was a cripple; I saw that by his aura. I had never seen anything like that in Torrin. I felt bad. Each time I remember his bleak expression, shame rolls up on me in waves. I threw a couple
The Demon Chapter 16
Late at night, Henry left his final instructions for Tom and me. We were to avoid needless confrontations, not kill whomever we wanted without thinking through all of the ramifications, not demonstrate all our talents, and not raise the dead wherever I wished. We were to take care of ourselves, too. I gave him a few of my mother’s trinkets as keepsakes.A small portrait of her which was left on the table—looks like Grandfather had come in here after she had left. A toy from her childhood. Henry still loved her, I saw that, and so I didn’t argue when he said that he would be leaving with the light of dawn. It would be better for him in Torrin.We went to bed after midnight. I woke before dawn. The hour of the necromancer. The best time for raising the dead and summoning demons. The dark hour, they call it. Tommy was snoring in the next room, while I tried to listen. What had awakened me? Or who? I didn’t know, yet...it felt like a chord singing in the night—a sharp, clear sound... Was
The Demon Chapter 17
Tommy hadn’t noticed anything, and as usual, I woke up early. In the countryside, we had risen with the sun, but that wasn’t the case in the royal palace.Rudolph had never opened his eyes before the eleventh bell. What was I to do? Have a stroll around the castle, of course. Maybe I could find some food?Tom offered to take me to the city with him, but I refused. I would find time for that later; right then, I wanted to have some alone time and think about the previous night. Was it a dream?The silver-black bracelet was cold on my skin and the only way to remove it was to cut my arm off. The symbol of Radenor was painted on it with simple, practiced strokes—my country, my responsibility—and one word, Alethar. The one who had created it, who had worn it, who had given himself and his family all for its sake.How did that bracelet get there after the death of its wearer? I didn’t know, but I was ready to believe in any miracle.Necromancy was capable of so much more than simply raisin
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