“Yeah, that too... But mostly because he's shit at fighting! I whooped his ass when we were kids, I'd whoop his ass now!”
“That's the king you're talking about.”
“Maybe to you... To me, he's just my punk-ass little brother.” Oriel sighed.
The two walked in silence for a few long moments.
“I was kinda hoping that barmaid was coming back with me tonight – before that prick ruined it,” Oriel mused. “I could have done with some action.”
Lephas laughed. “Don't act like you're hard done by! You get laid a lot. I'm sure one night off won't hurt.”
“Hey, don't be hatin'. I always try to snag you one too. It's not my problem you never take me up on my offer.”
“Excuse me if I don't want your cast-offs!”
“Pft, they're not my cast-offs. It'd be weird to double-dip the same girl.” Oriel grimaced.
“Oh man, please tell me you didn't just say that.” Lephas laughed, shaking the prince off his shoulders as they approached the inn.
“I'm just saying, a lot of the chicks I bag have friends,” Oriel slurred.
“You are so not fit to be prince of our race,” Lephas muttered under his breath, but grinned and gestured to the building as they approached. “We're here.”
The prince turned and looked up at the heavy wooden sign erected above the door. He squinted and closed one eye.
“The... Yew Tree? So we are!” Oriel pulled the door open and brushed the snow off his shoulders. “Coming?”
“You go on ahead. I'm going to stay here and just make sure we weren't followed by any of ugly's angry friends back there. As much of an asshole as you are, I'd rather you weren't garrotted in your sleep.” Lephas grinned, rubbing his palms together and blowing warm air onto them.
“Good plan, soldier.” Oriel raised two fingers to his forehead and lazily saluted him. “Tell Zelrus I'll be at the meeting a bit late tomorrow.”
“He's going to kill you.” Lephas shook his head, scanning up and down the dark street.
“He'll live,” Oriel muttered and let himself into the inn. The door closed softly behind him, and Lephas was alone.
He stood for long moments listening to the gentle, almost imperceptible patter of snowflakes around him. He sighed, watching the mist swirling out in front of him from his hot breath.
“Our esteemed leader looks a bit worse for wear,” a deep voice spoke out from the shadows behind him.
“Fuck!” Lephas jolted with surprise. “Raxx! Don't do that!”
The shadow demon chuckled and stalked around him, his footsteps becoming gradually heavier as he allowed himself to become corporeal. He stretched his large, black wings outwards momentarily before carefully folding them backwards and in on themselves.
Del'raxxin (or Raxx as he was known to most) was another member of the small task force Oriel headed up. If Lephas was his commander, Raxx was Oriel's assassin.
Demons rarely had any natural talent for majick and it was strictly forbidden to practise. Naturally there were a handful of underground schools around Banesteppe, but it was very risky business to enter into – especially if you liked to keep your head on your body.
Any demon caught with majick abilities was sentenced to death, without trial.
Raxx was something of an oddity – a demon born withnaturalmajick ability. They were extremely rare; most individuals had been culledduring The Great War. Those that had survived had gone into hiding.
Each demon born with this natural affinity had specific abilities. Raxx's talents lay in subterfuge and stealth. As a shadow demon, he was able to cross into a sub-plane where he had full control over the darkness.
Though generally less powerful during the daylight hours, at night Raxx become a force to be reckoned with. As such, he was mostly nocturnal.
Their task force had only one other member, another demon named Haros. Like Lephas, Haros had been selected for his tactical fighting abilities.
There were rumours that Oriel had recruited him after he had managed to knock the prince out cold during a bar fight. Having seen Oriel's prowess at fighting in bars on many occasions, Lephas wasn't sure how true that was.
