Dakota Lee: The Palace of Satan [NaNoWriMo]

Chapter 10

I’d like to say he was joking, but the second my eyes landed on Kira, sprawled on the ground with Aurora and Simon crouched over her, all my hopes evaporated.

“Oh, god, Kira-”  I whispered.  I hadn’t exactly known her that long- barely a day, in fact- but in a way, I was responsible for everyone here, except maybe Orion and Aurora.  They were more like official babysitters that, when threatened, turned into crocodiles.  Perfectly normal.  

But Kira- her whole neck was washing in scarlet blood, her head thrown back to expose weakly pulsing purple veins.

“It was a Vampyre demon.”  Orion said tersely, “She’s lost a lot of blood.”  We both knew what he wasn’t saying.  Without serious medical treatment- she’d die.

“Nasty scavengers, the lot of them.”  Terillium said bracingly, appearing from behind.  “We should’ve exterminated them when we had the chance.”  He cast a distasteful glance at the demons scrabbling at the gates- well, it was more of an implied glance, seeing as he had to eyes- but his sharp gaze only increased their canopy of noise.  They really want to kill him.  I realized, They’ll do it too.

“What do you want, Terillium?”  Orion said angrily, imposing himself between Kira and Terillium.  

“Why, cousin, I only want to help.”  He said winningly, and Orion bared his abnormally sharp teeth,

“I doubt it.  And I’m no cousin of yours.”  He snapped, then muttered, “Not by choice, anyways.”  I glanced at the two of them, following their conversation like a tennis match- back and forth.  

“Wait- so you’re cousins?  Orion- you’re a demon?”  He glanced to the skies, or, more accurately, the fuzzy red abyss where the sky was supposed to be.  

“Technically, yes.”  He glowered at Terillium, which was entirely lost on the blind (but annoying) demon.  “But I feel no loyalty to my demon blood.”  Terillium cackled,

“Oh, cousin, if only it were your choice.”  Orion stiffened, but made no reply.  Terillium glanced knowingly at me, mouth curling into a smirk.  “My cousin is...halfblood, if you must.  His father is Derexis, demon of terror and flame.  His mother, however, is an angel, Satan knows how that came about, but technically, he is illegal.  He should not exist.”  

“But he does, so you’d better get used to it.”  I said, fed up with Terillium’s side glances and all-knowing act.  I wasn’t entirely on Orion’s side either, but God knows it was better than Terillium’s.  The demon looked rather taken aback at my outburst, but I ignored him, turning to Orion.

“Can we save her?  Is there- even a chance?”  I said shakily, my voice cracking.  Orion bit his lip, then gave a tiny shake of his head.  “Oh.”  I said softly, and looked back at Kira.  Simon and Aurora desperately trying to quench the blood flow, Jordan crouched at her head, staring into space, expression fixed and blank.  But I knew what he was thinking.  ‘Dakota...one of us is going to die.’  And now his prediction was coming true.

“You know, I could save her.”  A voice whispered in my ear, and I rounded on Terillium,

“Oh, don’t you start- I know you can’t alter a human’s life.”  But rather than stepping down, he smiled craftily.

“I’m a demon, Dakota Lee.  That’s only one of many things I can do.”  I shot a sideways glance at Orion, who moved his shoulders in a tiny shrug.  

“And what would be your price?”  I asked cautiously, eyes fixed on Jordan’s blank face, on the slight frown, the torment in his eyes.  ‘-if one of your ‘noble’ attempts gets even one of my people killed, then the first person I’ll blame is me.  The second will be you.’  Just like he said.  Right now, he was blaming himself.  But soon, he’d blame me- and I wasn’t sure I could take any more blame.  Even if I totally deserved it.  

“One of you will stay with me as my eternal servant.  Forever.”  My mouth was dry as sawdust, but I answered anyway,

“No.  You can’t trade a life for a life.  That’s where we cross the line.”  Added on to the fact that if Jordan knew he would save Kira for a servant, he would immediately offer himself up, and like it or not, he was the closest thing to a leader we had.  We couldn’t lose him.  Terillium frowned slightly,

“But that’s the whole point.  A life for a life.  Unless, of course, you’re suggesting this girl’s life is worth less than one of your own.”  I scowled fiercely, glad Jordan hadn’t heard that.

“I didn’t say that!”  He smirked, and my temper flared, “Stop twisting my words and give me an offer we can work with!”  He looked away,

“Well, I’ll need time to consider-”  

“You’re the Lord of Time. I’m sure you have all you’ll ever need.”  Orion said coldly from behind him, and Terillium laughed,

“You know the rules, cousin.  To do alter my own timeline would be most...disastrous.”  He said it more like an incentive than a drawback.

“Heal her or we kill you.  How about that?”  Orion growled, black eyes furious, but Terillium shrugged,

“You can’t kill me, taruna nokra.”  He taunted, and Orion’s eyes blazed,

“I am no little alligator, uncle.  I am a crocodile, for the thousandth time, and I assure you, I am not little.”  Terillium said nothing- he knew he’d hit a sore spot.  “Now, tell us how to heal the girl, and while you’re at it, which tower Proxima is in.  Then we’ll leave, purano sarka.”  Terillium’s smile widened,

“So now I am a old snake, hm?  Resorting to your native language I see.  That seems a bit...demonish of you.”  Orion stiffened, and I gave him a warning glare.

“Mr. Demon, we’re running out of time.  Chop chop.”  He shot me a withering glare,

“We’ve been over this, Dakota Lee.  It is Terillium, or Master, but never ‘Mr. Demon’.  That implies a gentleman, and I am certainly not one.”  He bared his teeth in a wicked smile,  “Do not test my patience.”  

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Janaba Daitya.”  Orion said, his smile equally wicked.  Terillium  actually stomped his foot, and said angrily,

“No!  Orion Bloodstryker, how dare you-”

“Starstryker.  Do not address me by that cursed name, Janaba Daitya.”  

“Okay- let’s get back to saving Kira, shall we?”  I interjected urgently, watching Jordan’s cloudy eyes began to clear, his gaze flicking between me and Kira.  “How about this- you save Kira and we do a funny dance?  Doesn’t that sound fun?”  Terillium grinned,

“Very.  I rarely get entertainment here.  Give me five minutes.”  I swear, my jaw literally dropped in shock.

“I-”

“Wonderful.”  Orion interrupted, eyes stony.  “We will give you time to prepare.”  Terillium cracked his knuckles,

“Done.  Let’s get to it.”  He strode over, and with one swift movement, scooped Kira up and carried her inside the dining hall.  Jordan and Simon jumped up,

“Where is he taking her?”  Simon said wildly, hands flailing around, but Jordan’s eyes fixed on mine.  And here was the fun part.

“Jordan- he promised he’d heal her.”  

“And what did you promise him?”  Jordan’s voice was low and deadly serious.  I choked back a laugh,

“We- We have to do a funny dance.”