Third installment in the Four Elements series.
Andie and her friends finally reached senior year. But of course, when you're the living incarnations of fire, earth, water, air and light, peace can't last for long.
After everything they'd been t...
The Demon Realm was just as dark and gloomy at it had always been. The ominous dark clouds, stony gray buildings and red sky. Everything was exactly the way Zorak liked it. Admiring the world he ruled was almost enough to let him forget the revolting betrayal of his son. But not quite. The injury to his pride and honor still smarted unpleasantly. And he hated that. He still couldn't believe Zarias had dared turn against him. After all Zorak had done for him! Of course, he had to confess he should have expected it. His son had never met his expectations in any respect. At least he knew who he could and could not trust, now.
After everything I gave that ungrateful brat, He fumed. I tried to turn him into a proper warrior, a halfway decent heir, and he stabs me in the back. No matter... I can manage just as well by myself. Probably better, in fact.
He would have to find a new way to get what he wanted. And it would require patience, too. That was going to be challenging. But he had had enough. Those pesky humans had annoyed him long enough. And whatever the effort, it would be worth it. Clearly, he would need to get creative. He had to give the humans credit for resilience, if for nothing else. He thought back to everything that had happened since his powers had returned.
His last attempt hadn't been quite as successful as he'd hoped. Even though he had devised the perfect plan to get their powers. Pose as Bane, the disgrace of a son that shared his blood, and convince Adrianna – who was clearly ready to go at great lengths for him as well as her other allies –, and the others to surrender their powers to him. It had been a brilliant plan. But she had seen through him too easily.
Perhaps I should have watched him more carefully... he admitted mentally.
He'd had access to his memories thanks to the drops of blood Bane had left during his last visit, but it didn't appear to have been quite enough. Either the humans were smarter than he'd expected, or he had been careless. Yes, it had to be the latter.
He looked at the demon populace and Umbras ambling around down below. The damage that had followed the humans' escape had long since disappeared thanks to Zorak's immense power. He decided to pay a visit to his special guest. He doubted they would be of any use, but he always enjoyed seeing that little glare in human eyes, the one that told him they hated him. He liked it because he knew it didn't matter. He would always surpass measly humans. He was a demon! He had abilities and knowledge they couldn't even fathom.
He put that aside as he strode along the hallway, then down a stone staircase. His footsteps echoed, bouncing against the walls. Soon, he came into what he liked to call the Confinement Hall. It was a narrow corridor with several cells side by side, with thick wooden doors and small barred windows. He paused in front of one, then opened the door that creaked as ge pushed it.
It opened on a small, thin woman with tangled dark hair. She didn't look up at him. She simply sat on her bed, her gaze fixed on the wall in front of her. She was younger than she looked, but years of captivity had worn her. Her eyes, however, a shiny brown, had not lost their spark one bit. A burst of anger flared up inside Zorak. That look on her face was the one Zorak hated the most, and coupled with that position, it was even more irksome. He despised this sort of blatant disrespect. But he didn't want to spend any more time down here than necessary, so he decided to try and pretend to ignore it.
Unlike the one Adrianna had been in, this cell was moderately comfortable. It had a small bed, and he made sure that food was brought regularly. Not that she seemed any more grateful than Adrianna had been of course.
"What do you want?" Demanded the woman.
He decided to ignore the new layer of discourtesy, and took a step inside as she looked coldly up at him.
"Hello, Camille."
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