Raven of Water

Chapter 4: Demonic Eyes

"Welcome. We are your humble servants." My grandfather's voice sounded powerful, nearly as powerful as the demon's had, and I shivered as I watched the magic users bow their heads respectfully.

Too stunned to speak or even bow like the others, I merely reached my good hand behind me and grasped the wall to steady myself. When I breathed in, my chest rattled, and I winced again. I was definitely going to have a nasty bruise.

"Your group has called to our lord. Why?" The dark skinned man still spoke with the voice of a demon, and I noticed the slight shift in my grandfather's posture that told me he was uncomfortable, even worried. That made me smile faintly. It took a lot to rattle my grandfather.

"We seek guidance from the dark lord. An alliance."

"My lord has already made an alliance with your ancestors, Jacaro. He has provided for you enough already."

The demon spoke with a wave of his hand as if he were dismissing my grandfather's very existence, and the demonic man's sneer of disgust hinted at an ill restrained inclination for violence. In response, my grandfather bowed deeper in a gesture of contrition as he pressed.

"Yes. We are eternally grateful for his gifts. But...the world has changed. There are more magical forces than there were in the days of my ancestors. More enemies to be vanquished. More governments to be toppled to bring about a righteous cleanse. We seek the dark lord's guidance in navigating this modern realm and doing his bidding, and to achieve his mighty goals, we require more wisdom and power. Our group of magic users will join with Elysium. With the dark lord behind us, we would become the most powerful group on this earth. Imagine the discord we could sow, the chaos..."

The demon crossed his arms over his chest as he appeared to ponder my grandfather's words, dark human-looking eyes burning with intrigue and reminding me of the eyes of the demon I'd seen moments before, and although I assumed I was supposed to find his posture intimidating, all I could think about was that form-fitting and beautiful suit and how every movement he made highlighted his muscles. Who had made that suit? Or had the demon just...willed it into existence. Oblivious to my presence, the demon's dark brow furrowed with concentration, and for a moment I saw a flash of his black horns before they disappeared.

"Your group will join with Elysium?"

"Yes," my grandfather said, nodding vigorously before lifting his head and gesturing in my direction. "My granddaughter is to wed the son of Elysium."

"Your granddaughter..." The figure shifted his gaze to me, and that's when I noticed that although even his human eyes had seemed black at first, they were actually a honeyed brown that seemed...familiar. Then I gasped as I felt the magic in those eyes, a deep well of ancient power that far outstripped my own abilities. But the demon's magic felt tarnished and grimy while mine felt clean and iridescent and righteous.

Yes, he was evil, but, so was I. The magic that ran through my veins was dark and sinister. The demon wouldn't frighten me.

Behind him on the altar, the roses shifted, and the figure turned towards the noise, watching the flowers strain in their vase before returning his gaze to me and smirking. "The blood letter botanist is to marry the Elysium fire user?"

"She's not good for anything else, my lord. And their union will bring us untold power. And any offspring would—"

"Enough." The still grinning demon held up his hand, silencing my grandfather and leaving me to glare at him. The demon's voice still sent shivers up my spine, sounding like rough darkness that echoed off the chamber walls. The roses shifted in their vase again, almost as if they wanted free. Why they wanted to be free, I didn't know.

"My name is Kirroz," he said while staring at me, almost as if he was speaking directly to me, before he turned to regard my grandfather once more.

When he next spoke, it was with the deep voice of a man rather than the earth-shaking echo of a demon he'd been using up until this point. "I will hear your plans. My dark lord wishes for me to remain in this realm for now. I want to learn of this new frontier of magic you speak of. This modern world...he's neglected this realm for far too long, and he wants me to research your claims. I will report back to him with my observations, and he will determine whether it is right to alter the terms of his agreement with your ancestors. Plus, he has plans of his own."

The ominous tenor to the words made me shiver.

"The Dark Lord's will must be done." My grandfather replied, bowing deeply. The other members of the group followed suit, but I stood tall from a combination of disorientation and pain and determination to prove my worth. The demon looked around at the circle of bowing subjects before his gaze landed on me again.

"You've ruined your dress, blood letter." His voice was that of a demon once more.

"What?" I asked, looking down to see my white dress soiled by dirt and blood. "Oh, yeah. It's definitely ruined."

When I lifted my hand to inspect my palm, I saw fresh blood was still oozing out, and I blinked away my dizziness as I shrugged and strode over to the altar, ignoring the pain in my chest and my palm as I grabbed a black cloth and wrapped it tightly around the wound.

"Alexandra will attend to your needs while you're here with us and in his human form." My grandfather explained.

Frowning, I turned to look at both my grandfather and the demon, who were eying me with looks that made me feel subhuman. The flowers rustled again, and I realized they were upset. Poor things. This wasn't how I wanted their final days to go.

"Wonderful. I hear your coven has a splendid residence. And the gardens are superb."

"They are, my lord." My grandfather nodded, then gestured angrily for me to join them as he began leading Kirroz towards the steps. "Alexandra will go ahead of us and prepare drinks and offerings for you."

I bit my lip to keep from saying anything as I nodded and began to ascend the stairs before them. Once I'd put a little distance between us, I heard the demon speak.

"Tell me, Jacaro," The demon seemed to be trying different human voices in a search for one that fit this form of his, and this voice he used now was velvet purr that made my heart stutter. That was the voice he was supposed to have...

"Why is the blood letter wearing white? She's a child of darkness just as you are. Surely black is a better color for a summoning ceremony."

I paused, with my hand on the stone wall beside me before my wits returned to me and I continued my ascent. As soon as my feet were on the moist soil of the outside world, I felt relief. Relief that I'd made it out of the catacombs but fear about what the future might hold.

Behind me, my grandfather answered Kirroz. "The stupid girl insisted on the white dress."

My grandfather's subsequent cackle made my frown deepen as I hurried along the path, eager to get a head start to the mansion so that I could clean up and prepare. The sooner I got the demon settled in, the sooner I could leave the house. I'd go back to my apartment and allow my grandfather to deal with this mess he had created. I'd go home and pretend this night hadn't happened and that everything would be fine tomorrow. The wind shifted in the trees, and I let the sounds of the plants comfort me while I resolved to continue with my life as normal. The demon and my grandfather would both tire of having me around relatively quickly. Then I'd be free to go back to my life, only engaging in the dark arts when it was required of me.

But something still bothered me, and it wasn't my grandfather's lie that I had chosen the white dress that upset me. It was that Kirroz, emissary of the Dark Lord, smelled like a thunderstorm and his demon form looked remarkably like the reflection I'd seen in the water the night before.