A Demon's History: Lotus Thorns

Chapter Nineteen: Traitorous

          After a month had passed, Anahera's pregnancy began to show. This made Lleon nervous and surely it made her even more nervous. She wore her armor more often, which could hide it since it did not curve with her body like clothing did. Lleon quite enjoyed the physical changes, but not the emotional ones. She was often moody and took it out on him. He supposed that was fair since he was mostly at fault. However, it takes two to tango.

          The two argued over plans that they had made regarding Avery starting to make decisions without Anahera's approval. She did not see anything wrong for he had not done anything she wouldn't do. Though Lleon saw that, he hated being on the short leash she had him on, thus he decided Avery would have to be on the same leash.

"My queen," Sébastien interrupted as he entered the armory. "I apologize for the interruption, but I have received word from the guards that an enemy regiment was spotted marching in from the west."

She sighed weakly. "We will finish this discussion later." She then turned to her personal Power. "Gather troops. We shall prepare ourselves."

"Very well." He nodded and went to do just that.

Lleon did not wait for her to close the conversation before leaving to go prepare for battle. This annoyed her, but she followed anyway. She was in no position to fight, but that did not stop her from leading her people.

          They met the wolf Demons halfway. Their carnivorous steeds whinnied and snarled. The Lupine Horses made the Pegasi back up wearily, and yet Lleon's hell-derived horse stood unfazed. The two leaders got off their horses and walked over to meet Celvin.

"You finally show your face," Anahera muttered, glowering at him.

"Aye." He nodded. "Ye did kill my wife."

"I did nothing of that sort." She scoffed. "I would never do anything like that. I recommend you stand down and surrender so that we avoid any more bloodshed."

"Nah. I ain't come here to fight ya." Evermore said with a smug look on his face. Lleon and Anahera both became suspicious of his intentions. "I'm here to claim the deal yer wee Angel pal made."

"What deal?" Lleon asked before she could. He immediately looked at the figure that stepped forward next to Evermore. It was Avery. "What the fuck did you do?"

"I am saving Angel kind from the likes of you." Avery spat. "To simply put it, I told him he could have the eastern part of his realm and he would leave the Angel realm alone."

Lleon began moving over to him, sword summoned. Anahera would stop him, however. She did not express her feelings of disappointment and betrayal outwardly, but no doubt they were brewing.

"He is an ally to my people."

"He slaughtered them out of his own bloodlust!"

"I am starting to think he is not the only one at fault." She said harshly. "You purposely led him into it, did you not? You planned the deaths of those Angels?!"

"It was for us, Anahera. Marry me. We can conquer this together!" He took her hands, but she would pull them away.

"No."

"What? Why not, my love? Whatever it is I can—"

"I do not love you—"

"You can learn to!"

"I am pregnant with Lleon's child, Avery!" She finally snapped, her eyes glistening as she fought back tears. They all fell into silence. It was tense and the world seemed to just stop entirely.

Evermore would break the silence. "Cannae say I expected that."

However, when it finally set in for the other Angel, he went after Lleon. The Demon reacted swiftly, punching him hard in the stomach. Avery fell to the ground, coughing as he tried to catch his breath.

"You vile creature! I told you to stay away from Her!" Avery choked out.

"You don't get it, Avery." Lleon sighed, drawing his sword once more. "She never loved you. She probably never will. That night, we fucked just to fuck. Nothing between us. You can still live in a loveless marriage, raising my child, but I think of a few alternatives to that—"

"Enough, Victoir." Anahera finally spoke again. "This deal is not valid. Avery does not make any decisions on my behalf."

Evermore thought about this for a bit before he spoke again. "Fine. I'll take it by force."

He quickly drew his sword and swung at her. He was quick but not as quick as Lleon, who blocked it. The sudden clang of swords making contact led to a flurry of sounds. Spears against swords, arrows flying, the barking of wolves, and the whinnies of horses. Lleon pushed Anahera harshly towards her Pegasus so that she would flee. Though she protested, it was no use when Sébastien escorted her away from the battlefield. When he was sure she was long gone, Lleon did not hold back the dragon that beckoned to be released. Still, he was reserved about it, only letting his aggression make his decisions. Every wolf Demon he encountered, he pummeled into the ground. He used his teeth to tear the flesh from their necks. The taste thrilled him. The sight and stench aroused him. However, with so many of them, he lost sight of Celvin, so he focused on Avery. The audacity the Angel had of fighting with his people. It did not take long for Avery to turn his weapon against him as soon as their eyes met.

Lleon made easy work of him, however. He bashed his head into his. The metal contact made Avery stumble back, dazed. He wouldn't relent though. He swung his sword, Avery barely able to mange to block it as he did.

"How could you violate Her the way you did?!" He hissed, struggling to hold Lleon back as his sword pressed firmly against his spear's handle.

"Violate?!" Lleon huffed out a breathy laugh. "She wanted it!"

"I do not believe you, Demon!" Avery swung his feathered wing at Lleon, to which the larger stepped back. "I was the one who was supposed to marry Her! I was the one who wiped Her tears away after your words cut Her! I was the one She was supposed to love!"

"Whine a bit more, would you?" Lleon responded sarcastically.

With a surprisingly swift kick, Lleon kicked Avery inches away before the large Demon straddled him. When he was about swing his sword down, Demons in wolf form began attacking him. Lleon hissed out in pain as one of them clamped its jaws down on his arm. He stood up quickly, letting his sword disappear before grabbing the top half of their muzzle and pulling it up in an unnatural angle. The wolf winced and let go before Lleon could do any true damage.
Just as he was not paying any attention because of the wolves, Avery caught him off guard and tackled him. He began thrusting his spear at his armor with such an anger-driven force that he began to actually break it. He hit Lleon's helmet, breaking off a piece and revealing the golden eye behind it. Avery seemed startled by his angry gaze. Perhaps that was why he felt the need to slay the beast behind it.

He drove his spear into a hole in his armor and directly into his chest. Lleon hissed out in pain and punched Avery to get him off. He pulled it out, almost immediately falling to his hands and knees. He let out deep but labored breaths, watching Avery with weary eyes as he knelt in front of him. He almost found humor in this situation. How could someone like him fall to the hands of someone so inferior?

Avery gingerly picked up the spear and backed away before spreading his wings and taking off elsewhere.

          Lleon attempted to get up. He was not about to stop, but he recognized his ability was severely hindered by the large wound and loss of blood. He took a few steps forward but fell again. The sounds around him became distant and the environment became blurred. He decided to lay there amongst the bodies of both wolves and Angels alike. He stared at the pale sky; his mundane thoughts came forward as he slowly bled out onto the near colorless grass. Only one recurring thought came to him: At least she got away. At least she could finish what he started.