The Assassin Queen (Book Four)

Chapter 16- Leo

It took us a long while to get back to the castle and by the time we did we all decided it would be best to talk about the demons tomorrow, too much had happened today and we all needed a little rest. Ryia had been more than a little tired anyways and I knew that though she would never admit it she was emotionally exhausted. Even so when we had gotten into bed she was too hyper too sleep. She blamed it on how nervous she was about telling everyone that she was pregnant, we were having a family dinner tomorrow and she was planning on announcing it then. It had been so long since we last had a dinner with all of us together so we thought that that would be the perfect time to tell them give us all some good news to talk about for once. "So, Leo what do you think we should name the baby?" Ryia asked breaking me out of my thoughts. "Hmmm, well I've always liked the name Fabian for a boy and Diana for a girl" I said thinking carefully. "You know what those names are perfect" Ryia said smiling brightly as she hugged me tightly. "I don't care if this is the worst time for any of this but I'm so happy we're having a kid" Ryia said with bright eyes. "Me too, Ryia, more than you'll ever know". I nuzzled her nose causing her to laugh. Gods I love her laugh. "G'night darling" I murmured into her hair. "Mhm" she murmured snuggling deeper into my chest letting out a small yawn. My eyes heavy as they were, drooped closed allowing me to sleep in peace. My dreams were the same as they always were, I was lying alone in a dark room as voice all around whispered and chuckled one was distinguished through all of them. "Silence! The immortal ruler has graced us with his presence this night!" a proud and empty voice shook the room. "Young king of the underworld, I understand you wish to speak with me" said an ancient voice more powerful and silencing than an of any realm. It rang though the emptiness silently echoing though the room. After the king of the underworld recovered he spoke, his voice sounding much less powerful than before. "Great ruler we ask your support in our cause to unite the lands of the underworld and the living world" the king asked humbly. "You are still young in knowledge and have yet to understand the fragile balance of all that I rule over. Merging the two lands would only end in chaos, pain, and endless bloodshed. Workers of the underworld called demons in the land of the living you must understand that if balance is not kept the souls of both realms will be thrown into chaos and darkness. I will not support your cause king of the underworld, king of demons. You must learn to see since this cause you created will create the cause of your doom. Until you give up on merging the realms you are forever doomed to die at the hands of your successor" with that the ruler of the realms left. The pressure of his presence removed seemed to make the air itself lighter. "No matter what the ruler says we will have the land of the living in our grasp even if it means my demise" the king's voice rang out. I sat up straight in bed panting. These dreams were warnings and I knew it. I had been writing them down ever since they had started. I believed them to be memories that someone was projecting into my mind. The question of whose though still bothered me. After recording the dream I climbed back into bed with the still sleeping Ryia and smiled. For now I could just relish in the fact that I was lucky enough to find some one as wonderful as her. When Ryia woke up she saw me looking down at her. "You know most people find it creepy when someone watches sleep" she said with a crooked smile. "Oh, I'm sure they do unless it was someone as stunningly attractive as I" I said with a crooked smirk. "I would continue to argue about that but any comeback would have to say you aren't stunningly attractive and that would be a lie. So be grateful I'm letting you get away with such a stupid line" she muttered stretching out her arms and yawning loudly. We had both gotten dressed while snapping snide, sarcastic remarks at each other. We had gone down stairs and eaten breakfast taking our time talking about all different things. "I'm headed up to the room to write Niamh" Ryia said brushing off her dress. "Alright meet me in library when you done I'm going to look through some of the books you found on demon lore" I said . Giving her a soft kiss I went to the library. After locating the pile of demonic history books that Ryia had gathered, I picked up one of the older looking books and took a seat in a plush arm chair before cracking open the book and reading. 'One of the most common misconceptions of demons is that they are evil creatures who were made to ensue chaos but in all reality they are those who work in the underworld. They keep everything in the after life in check from where you go after dying to maintaining the build up of each ring of the underworld. Though some demons have been known to create dis-contention with the wish of merging the underworld and the living world they are relatively peaceful creatures. After the first demon war nearly four centuries ago we have certain people dedicated to finding ways to keep us aware and protected from and of demons.' I suddenly felt a shadow like grip around my arm. I stood up and turned but there was nothing there. "Who is it?" I called carefully. A figure appeared directly in front of me, shocking me so much that I jumped. "Hello young fairy prince" I had heard this voice before in my dreams. He had long black hair and skin that was ghost pale. His eyes, by god his eyes, looked like never ending voids of hell. "I see you were the one the seer sent his memories to. It is as though he cannot see what we are trying to do the glory we are trying to bring about" the demon said shaking his head sadly. "You're the demon knight aren't you?" I asked already aware of the answer. "The one and only. That is besides the point though. You have been meddling in this business for far too long. It is about time I took out the trash" he laughed harshly before raising his arm at me smiling. I tried to run at him and set him on fire, but my legs wouldn't budge and neither would any other part of me. I managed to set my fist ablaze but even that died out quickly. I heard the door burst open and there was Ryia. There were others behind her but she was all I saw. Her face was worried and angry but soon enough the world disintegrated to black. A pain like no other ran through my veins and seemed to stab and cut at my skin. I wouldn't give into this, I would Ryia's face one more time. The cost didn't matter. I would stay alive, if only for a while longer.