Chapter 33: Iratheon

I stretched beneath the blankets and stared at Flicker sleeping in the corner, his flames a soft, pretty purple that barely illuminated the room. For one perfect second I thought maybe I could actually do this. Maybe I could survive being a demon lord. Maybe I could figure things out. Maybe today would be the day everything stopped being terrifying and started making sense.

Then someone screamed. An inhuman one. Loud, shrill, and furious enough to rattle straight through the walls.

I shot upright.

More shouting followed. Deep voices this time, overlapping fast enough that I couldn’t make out the words. Something slammed. Another voice barked back, closer this time. Then the shrill one screeched again, dragging into a wet, gargling wail that made every hair on my body stand up.

I slid out of bed, the cold stone floor causing a shiver down my spine. Flicker raised his head from the corner.

I crept to the door and pulled it open as slowly as I could, then crouched and slipped outside. Flicker followed me, his purple fire dimming until it was barely there at all. He must have realized I was trying not to be noticed.

Every part of me wanted to go back. To shut the door, crawl under the blankets, and wait until the screaming belonged to someone else.

But maybe this was it. Maybe this was my first real test.

I was here because Lumisiel wanted something from me. I could not prove worthy of that by hiding in bed every time something frightening happened.

“Completely unacceptable,” a voice snapped, sharp and controlled in a way that somehow sounded more dangerous than the shouting.

I continued to move towards the arguing. Between the shelves, I hid behind some books and took in the scene.

Magnavex stood in the center of it, perfectly upright despite the chaos, her expression composed in that terrifying way like when my brother had found his toy sword broken. Glowing concentric rings spun around her, layered in the air, casting red-violet light across the walls it was much wider than I had been able to do with Indolyn.

Small imps crouched along the floor and walls within the circles. Others hung upside down from the ceiling like overgrown bats, twitching and baring needle teeth. They looked less like monsters and more like playground bullies.

Among the imps stood those Virellins, grotesque perversions of humans with oversized heads and big green eyes, their limbs reaching nearly to their ankles, with thin brittle hands that I had seen handling books with such care, but could also imagine squeezing my head as if it were a grape.

Indolyn had told me the demons summoned like this couldn’t leave the circle, as long as I stayed out of their range, they were nothing worth fearing.

Dormathis stood a little behind her, one hand tucked in his sleeve, the other hovering near a wobbling mound of translucent slime at his side. It kept shifting as I watched, rising into half-formed shapes before collapsing back into itself. A blade. A shield. A hand. A jaw. None of them stayed long.

I shifted a few of the big tomes aside, trying to get a better look at the enormous Eclipseran beside Dormathis. At first I only caught pieces of him, a wall of orange skin, a sleeveless shoulder thick as a tree limb, the broad rise of his chest. I had to shove the books farther apart to take in the rest. Horns curved proudly from his head, his hooves planted wide beneath him, and behind him flicked a short, stumpy tail. He was so large it felt ridiculous seeing him dressed so simply, just a sleeveless shirt and shorts, what caught me most, though, was the skewer in his hand. Charred meat. He was eating in slow, steady bites while the rest of the room looked ready to explode.

Across from him was the angry one, his skin was a dark, muted red that sank so deep into black in places it almost looked scorched. His clothes looked like the tax collector’s. A small leather journal hung at his side..

Dormathis answered warily. “He needed time to acclimate.”

“You do not decide that alone!”

I jumped at the sound nearly knocking into the shelf. I dropped to my stomach and peered through the gaps, as I saw who it belonged to there was another demon standing next to the newcomer, is it standing? I almost confused it with a lizard folk, definitely scaly and it seemed to have a humanoid torso, but its head was a bulbous thing more resembling a frog, and its arms ended in scythe-like appendages.

“You hid him.” It gurgled accusingly. Its large tongue was curled in its mouth protruding out the edges.

“He was unstable.” Dormathis said warily

Magnavex spoke “do you need to have it speak for you Iratheon?”  

Iratheon ignored her and answered Dormathis instead “you should have informed the council.”

“No,” the large eclipseran said around a mouthful of food, somehow making the single word sound heavier than anyone else’s entire argument.

“swallow before speaking Belgorath” Magnavex said like a mother reminding her child.

Belgorath swallowed in an exaggerated gulp. It would have been comical under different circumstances. “He was unwell.” he then stated simply.

Iratheon’s gaze snapped toward him. And because he was unwell,” his tone mocking “I was to be ignored?”

“No,” Belgorath snorted, almost laughing. “Because you are you.”

Iratheon’s eyes darkened. And started furiously jotting down in his notebook.

The demon next to him shrieked again, its swollen tongue lashing uselessly against the stone. One of Magnavex’s imps hissed. The Virellins shifted. Dormathis’s slime rose halfway into a spear before melting back down.

“I should have been told the moment he emerged,” Iratheon said. “The Demon Lord is not some private toy for you three to lock in a room.”

I shrank back, heart slamming so hard I could feel it in my throat.

They were talking about me.

Magnavex smiled.

It was not a kind smile.

Belgorath didn’t let her speak. “Maybe we should ask him.”

That was when he looked directly at my hiding spot.

My stomach dropped.

His chewing slowed. Then, with maddening calm, he lifted one thick hand and waved.

The demons all turned toward me at once.

Beside me, Flicker vanished in a soft collapse of ash, unsummoning himself instantly.

For one horrible second, nobody moved.

Then Magnavex’s expression changed so fast it almost gave me whiplash. Her summoned creatures held their ground, but her face softened as she turned toward me.

“My Lord,” she said, far too smoothly for someone currently commanding a small army in a hallway. “I see that you are out of bed, how about some breakfast.”

I slowly climbed to my feet, and moved from behind the shelf,

Iratheon’s eyes moved over me once, quick and brutal. Small. Barefoot. Frightened. I wondered what he was thinking of his pajama clad Demonlord. He took all of it in and tucked it somewhere behind his face without comment. I made sure to stop just at the edge of Magnavex’s circle to keep the demons out of range.

Belgorath smiled at that, “I shall prepare a most glorious feast!” he declared loudly more to the others, more gently he said to me “the meal will be meat free my lord.”

I couldn’t help but smile a little at the act of kindness.

Magnavex stepped slightly, putting herself between me and the others without making it obvious. “As you can see, our Lord has plans—.”

“No,” Iratheon interrupted. “He needs to meet the council.” He added firmly “Now.”

“After food,” Belgorath said.

Everyone looked at him.

He took another bite from his skewer, chewed, swallowed, then continued in the same grounded tone, “You want him standing before the generals on an empty stomach, terrified, freshly hatched. That helps no one.” He gave me a wink. I was starting to like this guy.

Iratheon’s fingers tapped once against the little journal at his hip. Tap. Tap. Tap. Finally he exhaled through his nose. “Fine,” he said.

Nobody relaxed.

He pointed one ink-stained finger toward Magnavex. “Today. He meets the council, I will inform them.”

Magnavex inclined her head.

Iratheon turned sharply, his coat and tail cutting through the air behind him. His demon slithered behind him.

“I’ll go prepare the meal” Belgorath followed him out. Dormathis went with them, his slime gliding at his side in restless, shifting silence.

Only then did Magnavex release a slow breath. The concentric rings around her faded one by one, dissolving into sparks that vanished before they touched the floor. Her summons flickered out with them, the imps going last, several glaring resentfully before they popped from existence.

The room was finally devoid of demons.

Magnavex turned fully toward me.

For the first time since I’d met her, she actually looked rattled.

Then, with visible effort, she smoothed the expression away.

“My Lord,” she said gently, “let us get you fed.”