The Riddle Of Magic

Chapter 58: Taste for Duty

The Radio Demon waited until the Princess of Hell's breathing evened out before he moved, watching the small contours of his partner's pale features smooth out as she relaxed into her slumber. He Phased from the bed to make the mattress shift as little as possible as he departed, tucking blankets around the exhausted demoness before taking stock of the room around him.

Their joint quarters now. It was a curious thing to fathom just how much they had come to share together, given his solitary nature. In the relatively short time of knowing each other, they had become more than just partners - Charlie was his mate, joined to him just as he was to her. Why, they were practically married at this point!

Considering they lived and worked together, he saw his demon belle about as much as his own shadow, and again Alastor found himself blindsided by what had become of his afterlife. He had come here only for entertainment, but had found something infinitely more valuable - something a wretched being such as himself did not deserve, yet had been granted to him all the same.

And he was going to protect it with every fragment of his power.

The Radio Demon conjured his cane, sweeping out runes across the room to calculate the arrangement needed for the various wards he intended to set up.

The Hotel's penthouse had always been a secured location, and as Alastor drank a glass of dark and cast out more runes, he felt a flare of power as the residual magic in the penthouse snagged onto his runes, binding to them like entangling vines.

Chaining our magic to Charlie's? his shadow asked.

Those wards aren't hers. They're not flame-magic. Alastor replied in his thoughts, keeping quiet as to let his beloved sleep. They weren't angelic magic either - such an opposed form of arcane energy would never bind to Nox Magia effectively.

The spectre rippled within his thoughts. Then whose?

The deer demon suspected he knew, but wasn't concerned about it. The Queen's magic was for the protection of his beloved; and in the end, the extra spells made his casting more efficient, and the layered protections were solid without being too intrusive. The extra dream-ward itself was hardly noticeable.

A good thing, too, Alastor's shadow noted. Such an obvious move against the King is likely to agitate him. It's doubtful Charlie would be pleased at that.

The royal pair were only on the edge of a fragile peace, and the Radio Demon suspected it wouldn't hold forever.

Despite the fact that his new ward was a thin thing relative to most of his work, meant solely to safeguard his partner's dreams, and there had been extra magic sparing him some arcane effort, Alastor felt a wave of exhaustion grip him. He shook it off quickly enough, Phasing down to the kitchen to make dinner. One roast and vegetables later he reappeared in the penthouse, pouring some wine for himself and his partner before he went to wake her.

Her sleeping face was too darling to resist, and he leaned over her to kiss her gently awake. Dinner was relaxed and quiet as they sat at the small table by the balcony, looking out over the cityscape. He was surprisingly tired after their meal, though he agreed to Charlie's request for another lesson at Summon, and they went over to his tower to practice.

She revisited some of the key concepts before trying again, though this time with some of Husk's playing cards - something "less delicate," per his suggestion. By the time they called the session they were going to have to supply the cat demon a new set. Each card transported was mangled in a slightly different way, from being scorched to crumpled like paper.

The King of Diamonds had looked promising initially, but the image was missing its head, the sight of which made the princess end the lesson immediately, her pale face even paler than usual.