Book 1 of The Courts of Daemonium.
Alexander 'Xander' Duran, the world's first Lamia, has been in charge of the Courts of Daemonium for decades. After being turned into a shadow-wielding, blood-thirsty Daemon in 1649 by Lilith, his only purpose in h...
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Caligo stood in the middle of the room, his shadows leaving a sea of darkness that rippled across the floor. His black eyes were fixed on Adriana, his thin lips peeled away into a smile that showed his black rotting teeth. He was dressed in black fighting leathers with a dark cloak, and his presence was one of pure menace.
He was an omen of death, Lilith's prince, and he was here to kill.
Adriana couldn't help but shiver beneath his stare, making him chuckle as he walked over to her. She noticed his movements seemed so inhuman the way he glided across the floor.
He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, letting out a sigh of content as he twisted his head to look at Xander. "Ah, it's good to be back. You don't look too happy to see me though."
He brought his attention back to Adriana, running one of his bony fingers along her jaw and wiping some of the flammable liquid from her skin. His nail extended as he dragged his finger down her neck, cutting into her and leaving a thin trail of blood. Adriana grimaced as he brought his finger to his lips and licked her blood from it.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Adriana," Caligo taunted. "Lilith will be most intrigued to meet you. In fact, I'm fairly certain you might become her new favourite pet."
"Be careful how you speak," Xander spoke through gritted teeth, his voice cold and dark.
Caligo laughed at him. "I don't think you're in much of a position to be making threats right now."
Xander let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding as Caligo stepped away from Adriana.
Caligo slowly walked over to Rook and looked around at the bodies of the Liberators Xander had slaughtered.
"My my you've made a mess," Caligo tutted, his foot kicking over one of the bloodied bodies to inspect their slashed throat. "Nothing I can't work with, though."
Caligo closed his eyes and held his hands to the side, his palms facing up. The shadows that covered the floor grew more aggressive, their soft ripples becoming strong waves that swarmed around the bodies on the floor.
"Stop this!" Xander yelled, still on his knees with Norman holding him down. But he could feel Norman's hands shaking on his shoulders, he knew even his traitorous brother would not have agreed to this. "You're a fucking hypocrite, Rook. You detest Daemons and yet you are working with him? With her? Where are your morals? You have no idea what you're doing!"
Rook took a gun from one of the nearby Liberators and aimed it at Xander.
"You think I care about my morals? I will gladly serve our dark queen if it will rid this world of the ridiculous notion of equality between mortals and Daemons!"
The shadows completely covered all the Liberators' bodies on the floor, a strange crackling noise echoing around the room as the shadows grew taller around them.
