Devdan Manor (11 page)

“See, you can take it down now,” he said. His voice was both commanding and comforting.

The female sighed as though she had been holding her breath for years.

The male stood and turned to them. He had the most unsettling eyes.

The statue closet to them lifted its sword. It brought it down on them. The blade bounced off a barrier.

“We don’t have much time,” a female voice said.

This was too much. He had been able to handle things so far. This, he couldn’t. He had enough. He was not looking at Valent Devdan. Demons aged slowly. This female hadn’t aged in five centuries. Her portrait hadn’t been on the wall. Cyl didn’t remember seeing the male’s painting either.

She turned to Ozais. “You will have your blood soon.”

Ozais lips rolled back over his now sharp teeth.

Nuall’s eyes widened as she dropped her mouth open. She turned to the male. “That would mean you’re Tahir Devdan.”

The male’s expression became ugly in his disgust.

“How do you know my name?”

“The Devdan family’s disappearance is famous. We still talk about Valent.” Nuall jabbed her finger in the female’s direction. “Her picture is in our textbooks.”

Tahir eyes went wild. He was going to attack Nuall. Cyl jumped into front of her. He was not going to make it easy for that monster.

This must be Lady. She was too young to have lived during the Royal Era. She still held herself like a queen.

Valent reached them.

“That’s enough. We will discuss this later.” She turned to Uryl.

He was about as dazed at the rest of them. He didn’t wear confusion well.

Valent snapped her fingers. “Boy, this is not the time to lose your senses. You have been examining the situation. I will not ask your brother to free Tahir. I would like his skin to remain on his body. You can do it without harming him too much.”

Uryl tightened his mouth.

“I am not asking you. As an older brother, you should know what I will do to save Tahir and Kephas. Do not make me kill your family. I know what it feels like to watch siblings die. I’d rather not force anyone to go through that pain.”

All the statues closed in on them. They threw their weapons and bodies into the shield. The walls, floor ceiling trembled. Angry voices roared.

Uryl nodded. He turned to Ryse. “I need your help.”

Uryl hands were shaking as he lifted them. His eyes showed pure terror.

What had happened to make Uryl scared of his power?

“If I hurt them again, I will kill you.” Uryl glared at Valent.

She nodded.

Again. What was he talking about? Uryl never injured them badly when they were sparring. Getting hurt was a part of the training. Their injuring had never been bad enough to scare Uryl.

Ryse bowed her head. Her mouth moved. No sound came out. Her lips were a blur. Cyl couldn’t read them.

The statues beat the shield with passion. The floor knocked Cyl off his feet.

The enraged voices drowned out everything.

Tahir jumped back—well away from everyone. Outside the shield.

The markings on his arms glowed.

Valent bared her teeth. “Hurry.”

Uryl winced.

Tahir raised his arms. The shield dropped.

Cyl commanded his power to create a box around them. It wasn’t elegant. It didn’t leave him feeling comfortable. He couldn’t break the connection with power. He felt every blow from the statues. He felt the floor shake inside and outside of his body. His power funneled the roaring voices into his head.

He had to concentrate. It had never been like this before. Concentrate. Too much. Uryl, Ryse and Nuall needed him.

We can keep them safe.

All the noise stopped. All the pain stopped. Nothing existed expect that wonderful voice. He knew that voice.

If you drop your power, we promise to keep them safe.

It was a lie. Logically, he knew that. A voice that soothing wouldn’t lie to him. It was the same demon that talked to him and Ryse in the forest.

We can give you a home. We will accept you. Show you who you are.

That didn’t sound so bad. Was it possible for him to find a home? The nice voice would make sure Ryse and Uryl wouldn’t have to hide themselves.

Call your power.

Everything hurt.

We can stop the pain.

A hand was on his back.

“You can stop now.”

A male voice. A strong voice. Pain pulled Cyl to his knees. The world returned.

Tahir was beside him.

Uryl looked normal. Cyl hadn’t let himself to think about what would happen to his brother once he unlocked his power. Nothing had changed. His scent was more potent. The air around him was electric. He was still Uryl.

Cyl’s face hit the floor. His body weighed like lead.

Ryse and Nuall had passed out. Why Nuall? Did she help them break Uryl’s seal?

The statues stepped back. A figure appeared. Everything was quiet.

The figure flexed two sets of black and green feathered wings almost as big as it was. It shouldn’t be able to hold up such weights. Demons had wings. They usually had claws or a beak to match.

The things lose fitting black robe looked like it had been chewed up by a wild animal. It moved like smoke in the wind. Cyl couldn’t tell the gender. He couldn’t tell the shape of the body. The robe had a hood. The only thing Cyl saw were green slits for eyes surrounded by darkness. Ice blue flames flowed out of its sleeves. It spilled out of the bottom of its robe. The entire robe billowed. The fabric wasn’t molding around a solid object. Did that mean there wasn’t a body under the clothing? What kind of monster was this?

Cyl wouldn’t be much help in this fight. He couldn’t move…again.

“You’ve been making a mess out of my house.”

A male. Its voice sounded normal. Not nearly as menacing as its appearance. Like Ozais and the Devdans, it had a firm grasp of mortaz— demon language the way it was currently spoken. They formed words and sentences like Mortausians. The language of The Crystal Land ruled the demon world.

Tahir growled. “Your house.”

The being walked. Its movements defined grace.

“We don’t need this house anymore. It did what it was supposed to. You, Ancient decedents, provided some much needed entertainment. I knew you would. The others thought you would break as soon as you realized you couldn’t leave this place.”

Tahir fired a bolt of red energy. The attack disintegrated before it touched the monster.

“Calm yourselves. Fighting you would bore me. I came to collect energy.”

The thing waved its fiery hand. Valent lifted her robe. The red marks vanished.

“I don’t need you anymore. You’ll die soon enough. I’m not a monster. The Devdan family provided a great service to our mission. And you children were remarkable toys. As gratitude, I will let you leave. We’re nearly finished devouring the demon and human worlds. Watching you struggle to survive will be even more entertaining. Don’t worry children. Your families are safe. I mean, you need a mission or the game won’t be as fun.”

This thing liked hearing its own voice. It was all nonsense. Cyl needed to stand. He’d never be able to defeat that monster. Still, he needed to protect his family.

A feral growl snapped his attention behind him. Ozais became a blur as he raced toward the monster.

Devdans were far more powerful and probably more prideful than Ozais, yet they hadn’t given into their anger. They knew touching that monster wasn’t a smart plan. They still didn’t know what it could do.

Uryl slammed into Ozais, knocking him to the ground. The floor exploded, forming a person-size crater. They rolled- each trying to gain dominance over the other. The monster simply watched. It eyes bright with amusement.

Ozais spit out words Cyl couldn’t attempt to understand. In his rage, Ozais had reverted to his original way of speaking. It didn’t sound like words. More like a series of spits and throat clearing.

Uryl smashed Ozais’ head into the ground. They stopped rolling.

“Think for a minute.”

If Ozais had been speaking mortaz, he would’ve been cursing…everyone and everything.

Uryl had him pinned. He struggled. Uryl was stronger. Ozais wasn’t moving until Uryl wanted him to. The monster watched with his robe arms folded.

They needed to stop this. His brother was not entertainment. Damn Ozais for not using his head.

The monster wasn’t going to attack them. It would’ve done so already. Maybe what it said was true. Maybe it was letting them go. If they were going to meet with its kind later, they needed to know more about this.

Cyl stirred his power, all of it.

They couldn’t leave without knowing what this thing could do. Since it hated his power, Cyl was the best demon pull out its true form. This would probably kill him. Ryse and Nuall stirred. Uryl tensed. Good. They were paying attention to him.

Don’t waste this.

His power poured out his body in a great wave. With blinding speed, it rushed towards the monster. The thing vanished. Cyl felt it. His power veered. It twisted and turned through the chamber as it chased the thing. Cyl was almost empty. He had more power outside than inside. His vision darkened. He saw through his power. The monster became a pillar of green fire. It kept blinking on and off in different places. The fire change colors. Red took over. Then black. Good. It was getting angry.

Faster.

The thing dodged.

His power could move faster.

The creature was deep black now.

Almost.

His power tasted enough of the beast’s essence. It could sense it landing before it became solid.

He waited.

The air tasted stale around the feet of one of the statues.

Got it.

His power raged through the things right side. The monster howled. The sound reduced the statues to piles of pebbles. It shook boulders from the ceiling. It caved in each doorway.

Cyl’s power didn’t like that sound. It retreated inside him.

“That was not fun.”

Bolts of electricity raced through Cyl’s body. They shot out like fat needles and dove back into his flesh. Good thing his body was already a bit numb. The electric needles blasted into his head. His black vision filled with images. They moved too fast to see. He felt every memory. These weren’t from his mind. The monster had merged with him. It made Cyl see and feel the devastation its people had caused to other worlds. Cyl felt the fear, hopelessness, anger, submission. Glee poisoned the dark emotions. Why was he happy others were experiencing such agony? He wasn’t happy. The monsters were.

They were going to do the same thing to the demon world…to his family and Nuall.

His power became the size of a grain as it huddled at the bottom of his soul— trying to escape the beast.

Everything stopped. All he saw was darkness. He felt nothing.

Cyl hurt all over. His was on fire down to his soul. A soothing scent calmed the burn. It pushed distressing memories to a far part of his mind. He saw them. They were too weak to affect him.

Fur cradled his head.

Cyl opened his eyes. The sun was a brilliant gold. It had never been that color. Did they always have two suns? The other was a fiery red. The sky was beautiful.

“You’re finally awake.”

He knew that voice.

Cyl pushed himself into sitting position. He was off balance. His right side felt heavier. Why couldn’t he feel his left arm? He commanded his right hand to move. It did. His left didn’t listen.

He reached across his body. His sleeve was empty. He had lost his arm up to his elbow.

His vision cleared.

“What happened? Where are…”

The world swam. He fell back against a wall of fur. Something wet and rough brushed the side of his face.

“Don’t worry. Your family is safe. Do you know who I am?”

He blinked. The female in the purple robes. She had survived.