Authors: Michelle Rowen
“Puppy?” Michael managed. “That thing’s a
hellhound
. I thought they were extinct.”
I gulped. “Nice, uh, hellhound. Who’s a cute hellhound? You are! Yes, you are!”
But instead of being charmed by my awkward puppy love, the monster growled again and moved to block our path to the elevator. Elizabeth waited nearby with an amused expression on her face at my fear of the Underworld castle’s family pet.
“He won’t hurt you,” she said. “Just walk toward me.”
Was she serious? Or was she trying to get her revenge by letting this thing rip out my throat?
What do you know about hellhounds?
I asked Michael telepathically.
::They’re just as dangerous as they look.::
That’s what I was afraid of.
“Fernando!” another voice called out. “There you are!”
Out of the corner of my eye I saw someone approach us, making a beeline to the beast. It was a pretty girl who looked around my age, with wavy waist-length dark hair, vivid blue eyes, and pale porcelain skin. She wore a short black skirt and a flowy white blouse. When she got to the hellhound, she fearlessly grabbed one of its pointed batlike ears and tugged.
“Leave them alone. Bad boy.” She pointed in the direction she’d come from. “Shoo!”
I half-expected the monster to attack her, but it didn’t. Instead, its growl turned into a whine and it padded out of the lobby without another red-eyed glare in my direction.
She’d saved me. I’d been a few seconds away from becoming half-demon kibble, I just knew it.
“Thank you,” I managed, my voice sounding strained.
“Not a problem,” she said. “You’re Princess Nikki, right?”
“Yeah. But just Nikki is fine.”
She grinned. “Then you can call me just Kassandra.”
“Kassandra,” Elizabeth said. “You’ll have a chance to talk to Nikki after she meets with the council. I need to take her upstairs now.”
Kassandra rolled her eyes, her smile remaining exactly where it was. “I’ll handle it, Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth looked confused. “You’ll handle what, dear?”
“I’ll take Nikki upstairs. You can leave us now.”
“But—”
“I honestly can’t believe Kieran sent you to meet Nikki when I could have come instead. He’s so unbelievably thoughtless.” She looked at me and seemed a bit embarrassed. “My brother’s always been a serious pain.”
“Kieran’s your brother?” I asked with surprise.
She nodded. “Unfortunately.”
“So you’re the princess here,” I said, stating the obvious. Another demon princess, just like me. Although I didn’t think Kassandra was anything like me if she had to live here, if Kieran was her sibling, and if she was able to boss around hellhounds as easily as if they were troublesome Chihuahuas.
“I am. That’s why I’m so excited you’re here. I’ve been dying to meet you.”
Elizabeth cleared her throat. “Kieran wanted me to help out today.”
“No, Elizabeth,” Kassandra said patiently. “Kieran is simply trying to keep you busy so you stay out of his hair. Leave. Now. Or I’ll tell my mother you didn’t follow a direct order from me, and you know what’ll happen then.”
“Fine, have it your way,” Elizabeth snapped, and with a glare Kassandra didn’t see, my aunt walked out of the lobby and disappeared through a set of doors to my far left.
Interesting. Elizabeth had to take orders from someone my age. I liked the sound of that. Then again, Elizabeth had said Kassandra gets what she wants when she wants it, right? In this case, she was a very helpful asset.
Kassandra shook her head. “Of all the places she could have been banished to it had to be here. I really cannot stand your aunt. Neither can my brother, for that matter. These days, he tries to be anywhere she’s not.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“No, you’re not.”
“No, maybe I’m not.”
Kassandra looked about ready to burst with excitement. “I can’t tell you how great it is to have you here. How long are you staying?”
“As soon as the meeting’s done, I’m leaving.” I wrung my hands, feeling some serious stage fright at the prospect of being presented to the council.
Her smile deflated. “Really? I’d hoped to show you around a bit. Can’t you stay longer than that?”
I glanced at Michael, who silently stood close to me, but not too close, carefully observing my conversation with the Underworld’s demon princess. “Well … maybe a bit. Like, a
tiny
bit.”
I had to admit, the thought of hanging out with her, getting to know her, appealed to me. She might be able to give me some tips.
“You’re all stressed about the prophecy?” she asked.
“Big-time stressed.”
“I think it’s really cool, actually. I wish I had a prophecy about me. This place is boredom central and finally something is happening that’s got everyone excited.” She glanced at Michael, her gaze resting for a moment on his amulet, and her eyebrow went up. “You’re a Shadow?”
He looked at me but didn’t say anything in reply.
“His name is Michael,” I said.
“Your servant.”
I pressed my lips together. “Well, I guess you could—”
“I wish I had a Shadow servant. My mother won’t let me have one, but they’re way cooler than the demon ones. Demons can be so cranky and demanding. I’ve heard Shadows are extremely obedient, not that they have any choice. Once they’re assigned to you, they’re compelled to follow your orders no matter what. Is it like that for you?”
I cringed. “Well … I don’t know. I … I guess so.”
More evidence that Shadows had no control over their own lives. I’d compelled Michael to follow my wishes once before, and it was only because I had no other choice. I would never order him around on a regular basis.
She started to walk a slow circle around him. Michael didn’t look the least bit comfortable under her close scrutiny. “Is it true you can speak to your assigned Shadow telepathically? That would be so handy.”
::You don’t have to tell her anything.:: Michael projected to me.
She seems nice enough,
I sent back.
Although, I don’t like how she’s looking at you.
::Like I’m a trained rat in a cage?::
She doesn’t know any better. It’s kind of sad, actually. For her.
“Telepathy, huh?” I said aloud, playing innocent. “Really? Never heard of that. But it would be kind of handy.”
“That’s too bad.” She looked disappointed. “Oh, well. Some rumors are true, some aren’t. I’d still like a Shadow of my own one day.”
Michael’s expression soured. ::She’s a spoiled brat. Actually, this attitude is what I expected from you before we met and you showed me differently. Like she owns the world and everyone in it.::
I’ll tell her you think so.
His brows immediately knitted together with concern. ::I don’t think that would be a good idea, Princess.::
Then it’s good that I’m totally kidding.
“So, Kassandra … you live here?” I thought it might be a good idea to change the subject.
“I go to school north of here, but I’m on break right now.”
“You go to school?” I don’t know why I was surprised by that. Demon teenagers needed an education, too.
She nodded. “It’s a boarding school, which means I don’t have to live here very much. Classes are a pain but there are loads of other students to hang around with.” She sighed. “Being here feels like a punishment. Nobody to talk to, nobody to hang out with. But I go back in a week. Can’t wait. You go to school, too?”
“High school.”
“That’s in the human world, right? So you go to school with a bunch of humans?”
“Mostly.”
“Mostly?”
“Well.” I cleared my throat. “Right now the king of the faery realm is going there, too, which cuts down on the human-only class list.”
“King Rhys?” she said immediately.
I nodded. “That’s the one.”
Her expression grew grave. “His parents were murdered two months ago.”
My heart ached again for Rhys’s loss. “I didn’t know it was that recent.”
“It happened right here in the castle.”
I looked around and felt a sense of foreboding. “How did it happen?”
“The king and queen came here for a meeting with my mother,” Kassandra continued. “There’s a lot of bad blood between faeries and demons—it goes way back. I studied it in my history class, but I never really paid much attention to it. Anyway, my mom wanted to mend things and maybe move toward a new and bright future of peace between the worlds. So they arrived and they were attacked and killed right in the lobby before the guards could do anything but drag the murderer away and throw him in the dungeon. That’s where he is right now.” She pointed at the ground and, despite the grim story, she grinned. “It’s kind of exciting, isn’t it?”
I looked at the spotless white marble floor and felt a bit sick. “There’s a dungeon down there?”
“Yup. The castle sits directly on top of it. It’s a small one compared to those in Hell, but don’t worry, the prisoners are kept tightly locked up at all times.”
Yeah, that’s a comforting thought.
I met Michael’s gaze and held it for a moment.
He gave me a concerned look. ::I guess that’s where they send anyone who breaks the rules.::
Let’s be on our best behavior and get out of here the minute we can.
::Good idea.::
“Anyway.” Kassandra’s voice cut through the suddenly quiet lobby. “We should get going or my mom will wonder what Elizabeth has done with you.”
“Does your mom know Elizabeth tried to kill me?” I asked. “
And
my father?”
She nodded. “She knows a bit. What Elizabeth has said about it, anyway.”
“And what’s that?”
“That Elizabeth wanted to be queen of the Shadowlands,” Kassandra said. “My mother respects demons with drive.”
“So it’s okay with her? Attempted murder?”
That earned a noncommittal shrug. “We don’t chat about stuff like this since she knows I’m not interested in politics. But she’s letting Elizabeth stay here, so obviously she doesn’t feel threatened or anything, if that’s what you’re asking. I mean, it’s
Elizabeth
. She’s fairly useless, all things considered. Frankly, I’m surprised she even tried anything vaguely ambitious.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell Kassandra that her brother was the one who pushed Elizabeth into her poison-administering evil ways, but I decided against it when I saw the look Michael was giving me. I didn’t need telepathy to get that he thought I’d said enough on the subject. After all, I’d just said I wanted to get out of here ASAP. But it was a demon princess’s prerogative to change her mind. Frequently.
Best behavior. That was me.
The door to the elevator opened as Kassandra approached it. After a look at Michael, who had his arms crossed in front of him and seemed as if he was ready for anything, I followed Kassandra into the carriage. Michael stayed beside me.
“Does your Shadow ever speak?” Kassandra asked with amusement.
“When I choose to,” Michael said curtly.
“Good to know.” She shifted her gaze from him to me and studied me curiously for a moment. “You’re freaked about this, aren’t you?”
“Define freaked.”
“Scared to death about meeting the council.”
“That about covers it.”
She smiled. “The last demon they called before them is sitting in the dungeon right now while they decide what his sentence will be. They found him to be impolite in the presence of the queen.”
I sucked in a breath. “I’m going to throw up.”
“My advice?” she said. “Just let them talk at you. Smile and nod. As long as you don’t attack anyone—”
“Which I won’t,” I interjected.
“—then it’ll probably be fine.”
“Probably?”
She shrugged. “Depends what mood they’re in. The counsel members’ bites are sometimes worse than their bark, so be careful.”
This coming from someone who had a hellhound as a house pet.
After a minute, the elevator door opened. Kassandra got out and we followed her.
It was a room as large as the lobby, and at the end of it was a long black table with five beings seated at it. They had been discussing something loudly until the door opened; after that there was complete silence. I could clearly hear my footsteps as I trailed after Kassandra. I desperately wanted to grab hold of Michael’s hand for courage, but I restrained myself.
“Wait there,” a woman sitting in a large plush chair said to us abruptly, and Kassandra stopped walking. The conversation continued in hushed tones.
I was close enough now to see who was at the table, and honestly, it was like something out of a nightmare or a horror movie. Fear shot through my body as fast as a shiver. They weren’t all human—or at least, they weren’t all in
human form
. I knew none of them were human to begin with. After all … it was a
demon
council, right?