Chapter Three
I breathed a sigh of relief as Zaleos led me around a bend, and the walls of a great demon city emerged from the hills and canyons. It stood as a lone beacon against the dark. The lanterns flickering beyond Lantyca’s walls tinged the sky with firelight, and as we approached its gates, the glow they cast mingled with that of my escort’s lantern.
We’d trudged through barren stone badlands, traversed valleys cut through cliffs, and crossed a bridge over a gaping ravine gouged deep into the ground. The journey had not been kind to my body. Zaleos moved at a brisk pace, owed to thick clothes and sturdy shoes, while I walked barefoot with only the garb he’d given me. My lack of physical strength had turned hours on the road without food, water, or rest into agony. When the demon paused, I crouched and locked my hands to my knees. Air eluded me. I needed to catch my breath.
“You remember what I told you, yes?” Zaleos posed the question as he stretched his limbs.
I answered him between gasps. “Climb the hill, find the manor, demand an audience, and don’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Stand my groundand show no weakness if I want to keep my soul.”
“There you go, Lillia.”
The demon settled a hand on my shoulder to steady me. My breathing grew more regular, though my heartbeat never slowed. Once I’d caught my breath, Zaleos offered me his lantern. It was a treasure plated in gold. Light poured out from its glass windows and the sigil cut into its lid; parallel lines and curves, inlaid in concentric circles, much like those on my arm. I forced myself to take it.
“Thank you, Zaleos. For everything.”
He laughed, a glimmer of humor shining in his eyes. “You may not be thanking me once you meet him, but I accept your gratitude, nonetheless.”
This would be the place where our paths diverged. There was something poignant about Zaleos’ easy words, the drum of his laughter, his warm smile. I’d grown used to solitude. That’s how I’d spent most of my life, and how I thought I would spend my time in death. Alone—except for Vapula—and invisible at the fringes of society, ever trying to outrun him.
Without realizing it, Zaleos gave me something I’d been missing for years. Recognition.
His guidance was a transient thing. I’d known that when we’d set out. I’d expected this moment to come. Anticipation was no armor, though, and it didn’t stop the blade of loneliness that cut me to my core.
I didn’t want to feel any attachment to him. If I were being honest with myself, I shouldn’t have, but something about the Duke had endeared me to him before I’d noticed what was happening… something I failed to place.
I did my best to return his smile. “Farewell, Zaleos, and safe travels.”
“May we meet again in better times, my lady,” he said with a light bow. Then he turned and walked into the shadows of Hell.
As I watched him go, a thought crossed my mind. How did he planto navigate alone in the darkness? Maybe he didn’t need to rely on his eyes… or perhaps the inky blackness that persisted in the underworld didn’t impair his vision.
The revelation rose a blush on my cheeks. It wasn’t an idea I liked, so I pushed it aside. I had more important things to worry about, like the looming demon city whose gates stood just before me. The thought of facing Lantyca sent ice-cold dread down my spine. Beyond its towering stone walls dwelled a swarm of the creatures I had wished most to avoid.
Demons.
It took only three steps through the gates before smoldering eyes landed on me. These weren’t the attractive, human-like demons I’d known before. Real monsters called this city home. Massive, crimson-skinned demons emerged from workshops made of stone and wood to watch me as my feet met Lantyca’s cobbled paths. Some bore horns; others, tails. A rare few stood on hoofed legs. Those who walked the roads had fearsome beasts in tow. Jet-black horses with flaming manes pulled rickety wooden carts, riders seated on their backs, and huge canines that were nearly as tall followed behind.
Though their coaches made their interest clear, none dared to approach. They gave me a wide berth. One glance at the lantern I held was enough to part the hordes; a school of fish carving a path for the shark among their ranks. Ironic, given how vulnerable I felt. Any of those demons could lift me like a rag doll, snap my bones like toothpicks, but none interrupted as I followed winding streets toward the heart of Lantyca.
From the cold, hard ground rose a hill dusted with dirt. At least, that’s what I assumed the loose, shifting material under my feet was. The grit stung against my raw, aching soles. My stomach churned with hunger, my muscles trembled with exhaustion, and the steep incline pushed me to my limits. With my soul on the line, I couldn’t afford to let those things slow me down. The lights of Lantyca grew dim, the flickering lanterns fading behind me as I ascended. Even through thedarkness, I could make out the structures nestled atop the slope.
They formed a manor fortified by white stone walls and wrought-iron gates that hung open like a beast’s maw. I shuddered as I stepped through them. Beyond the border sat a courtyard. Decorative paths crossed the bare, dusty ground, weaving between a number of outbuildings. Even from a distance, they were things of beauty. A strange, grainless wood made up the bulk of their construction, and on those that did bear stones, they’d been polished until they shone.
Those exquisite structures paled compared to the mansion where all paths converged. Each step drew me closer to that gargantuan stone building, attracting me despite my dread. If I didn’t know better, I’d think it was a mausoleum. Every column, every archway, and every window frame shared the sparkling quartz-like quality of the badland rock on which I’d awoken.
What worried me most was the darkness the mansion contained. The odd lamp hung from the other buildings’ porches, but this one was pitch black. I couldn’t tell if the windows were shuttered or if there was simply no light to beam out through them in the first place.
I drew close enough for my lantern to shine upon the tall wooden door at the front of the Prince’s home. Intricate carvings sprawled across its surface, depicting toiling slaves near the ground, and as my gaze lifted, they gave way to demons enthralled by hedonistic joy. A crowned figure sat on a throne at the top of the mural. The Prince. One of his hands held a goblet, while the other beckoned forth a demoness sporting broad, curved horns.
The sight of him alone rose bile in my throat.
But I wouldn’t let this intimidate me. Not knowing what was at stake if the Prince and I couldn’t strike a deal. I knocked on the door with all my might. The force stung my knuckles. Deafening silence followed. My instincts cried for me to run, but my feet felt rooted in place. Seconds turned to minutes, though they stretched like an eternity to me. I knocked again, only to be met with more silence.
My dread festered into gnawing fear. Maybe coming here had been a mistake. I glanced over my shoulder, back towards the city’s lights. For all I knew, this Prince was just as wicked as Vapula, and Zaleos could have been leading me with ulterior motives in mind. Would my odds have been better alone in the dark, where I didn’t have to deal with demon royalty?
Before I made up my mind, the doorknob turned, and the door inched open. Out of the shadows came a woman—no, ademoness—who stood a head shorter than me. She’d tied her thick, inky hair into a bun that exposed her crimson eyes. In stark contrast to the hides and cloth the city’s demons wore, this one dressed as a doll, with a simple black-and-white dress and tidy button shoes. She was a near-monochrome image. Even her skin had a pallid, ivory complexion that gleamed like porcelain before the candle she carried. Our twin flames were barely enough to light the entryway. Behind her, all was dark.
“How strange,” she muttered, tilting her head as she spoke. “It’s quite rare for a human to come here of their own volition.”
