The Poison Princess (27 page)

Niada folded her arms behind her back and
replied, “Adamen knows his place. I cannot say the same for you.”
She turned to the princess. “So, you want to break the bond with
your demon?”

Already tired of correcting that assumption,
Ruby glowered and responded, “Not Scarlett, no. I must separate the
demon my sister is bonded with.”

“I see. And why is it that you believe we
should help you with this task?”

“My sister has done terrible things in my
absence. I expect even all the way out here, you’re not safe from
her demon’s reach. Helping me would serve your own interests.”

“Why not simply kill her? Queen Leina has
indeed done terrible things. Perhaps she deserves death for her
deeds.”

“My sister was corrupted. She had no choice
but to do as the demon commanded her.”

“Corruption, hmm?” Niada seemed skeptical of
such a thing. “Not entirely unheard of, but still quite rare. Most
demons do not darken their host in any way. They simply latch on
and survive through that connection. How are you so certain that
she is corrupted by it?”

“I’ve seen her change before my eyes. She was
cleared of any taint momentarily, and I was able to talk to the
sister I remember. What followed was something entirely separate. I
know that it is the craggy hand demon.”

“Hm. It is true that your sister has
performed heinous acts, since she came to power. Because of our
distance, we have been spared as of yet, but you are right about
the demon’s reach. I do not see this peace lasting forever.”

“Does that mean you’ll help me?”

“If you claim responsibility for her, then I
shall assist you in your endeavor to the extent I can.”

Ruby became hopeful once again. “Then you
have a way to separate her from the demon?”

“I know of a way, yes, but I do not possess
it.”

“Of course you don’t,” she muttered under her
breath. “Do you know where it is?”

“I do. The order known as the Glow took the
item you seek to the Roof of the World.”

The princess was familiar with both the order
and the location. The Glow was a splinter group formed by divisive
monks of the Cloister’s ranks. There had been something of a civil
war between the monastery’s members many years prior, which ended
with the rogue monks driven from the Cloister. With them, however,
the members took many of the monastery’s arcane artifacts that had
special significance to the nether realm.

It was one of these artifacts that gave the
monks their name. A powerful magical item came to the Cloister that
glowed a radiant blue in the presence of one of the monks, a man
named Daibhu. He had ideas on how to handle demons that differed
greatly from the monastery’s head mistress. What those were, Ruby
had never really learned, as the monks on both sides of the
conflict preferred to keep silent on such internal matters.

When the members of the Glow ultimately
retreated from the Cloister, they wandered for some time before
finally settling in one of the most inhospitable places in the
region. Atop the Rashtalg Mountains, the tallest known mountain
range, was a peak called the Roof of the World. Covered in snow and
fierce winds, the unorthodox monks built a structure to house their
new monastery, where they could study the nether demons and their
home realm the way they wished.

“What is this item?” Ruby asked. “How will I
know it?”

“A pair of metallic bracelets, enchanted with
ancient runes. Placing them on the demon’s wrist separates them
from their host as long as they’re worn.”

“So I could place them on the craggy hand
demon and kill it without harming my sister?”

“Theoretically possible, yes. I imagine
you’ll have a difficult time getting this craggy hand demon to wear
them though. You’ll need more than magic bracelets to best a demon
as powerful as he.”

“I’ll be fine.” Ruby turned to leave, but she
paused, when Niada continued.

“If you don’t even know the demon’s true
name, then you will have no chance.”

Scarlett winced at this bit of information.
She knew what the headmistress was getting at, and the demon wasn’t
overly appreciative of the idea.

The princess, meanwhile, was intrigued and
turned back to face Niada. “His true name?”

“Every demon has a true name. I’m sure your
own can attest to that.”

Ruby looked to Scarlett, but she averted her
eyes. She turned back to Niada. “What is a true name?”

“Beings from the nether realm all have a true
name that if spoken will give certain control over them. They hide
it from all save those they trust with their lives.” Niada leaned
forward. “Has yours given you her true name?”

“Scarlett?” the princess asked her demon
servant. “What is she talking about? You have another name?”

“Yes,” the demon hesitantly answered. “We all
do… but it’s dangerous to tell anyone. Saying the name gives others
power over us.”

“And you haven’t told me? You don’t trust
me?”

Scarlett moved toward Ruby, grabbing her hand
and clasping it inside both of her own. “Of course I trust you, my
princess. Nevertheless, telling you would buy you nothing. You
already have power over me. I will do anything for you. Whatever
you ask of me… However, I do trust you, and if you want to know… I
will tell you my true name. If that will in turn make you trust me.
Anything for you, my princess.”

Ruby thought about it for a moment. “No,
you’re right. I trust you already. Your true name will not change
anything.”

Scarlett smiled at her master. She was far
from eager to divulge such a secret, even to her princess. Great
danger came from someone uttering those words. Revealing her name
might ultimately lead to being separated from Ruby, and she never
wanted that. She was happy being bonded with her princess and
didn’t want it to end.

Ruby faced Niada once more. “You’re
suggesting I learn the craggy hand demon’s name. That way I could
force the bracelets on him. How would I uncover such a thing?”

“Tricky. Very tricky,” the headmistress said.
“He will not have revealed that to anyone in this world. Not even
your sister. That leaves only one place to find his true name.”

“The nether realm,” Scarlett finished for her
in a flat tone.

“The nether realm?” Ruby asked. “How would I
find it there?”

“You?” Niada asked. “You wouldn’t.”

“She means me,” Scarlett said, a frown
covering her face. “I would have to return. I would have to venture
back inside the nether world.”

“But you said it was awful there,” Ruby said.
“I can’t ask you to do that.”

Scarlett was committed to her princess.
Though she did not like the idea of returning home, she would do it
if that were necessary. “As I said, anything for you, my
princess.”

“Is it even possible for you to return?” Ruby
asked. “I thought as long as we were bonded, you would stay
here.”

“That is correct,” Niada said. “But I have
just told you how to separate a demon from its host.”

“She means for you to place the bracelets on
me,” Scarlett explained. “That way, our bond is severed and I can
return to the nether realm.”

“Sever our bond?” Ruby asked. “Would it be
reversible?”

“Take off the bracelets, the connection is
restored,” the headmistress explained.

“How will I know when to do that?” the
princess asked. “How will I know Scarlett has found the name?”

“You won’t,” Niada replied. “Such an endeavor
could take minutes, hours, days, weeks… You simply won’t know when
she is ready to return. You will have to wait for her to return to
you. Removing the bracelets while she is in the other realm will
sever your connection permanently.”

Before Ruby or Scarlett could say anything
further on the matter, a young monk ran into the room.
“Headmistress! There is a large force marching toward us!”

Niada furrowed her brow, looking strangely at
the young man. “Soldiers?”

After giving himself a moment to catch his
breath, he replied, “Yes, headmistress.”

She paused but a moment and then cocked her
head slightly askew, asking, “What banner do they wield?”

“The willow tree. They’re Lavidia
soldiers.”

Niada looked back at Ruby. “Your sister comes
calling. She must know you are here.”

The princess recalled telling Leina that she
would seek answers at the Cloister. Perhaps, she thought, the
corrupted version heard that as well and dispatched her army to
kill Ruby.

The headmistress turned to the monk. “Alert
the Cloister that we must go to battle.”

Ruby and
Scarlett stood beside Niada and her demon, Adamen, at the highest
point in the monastery, the tower reaching high above the walls
with a bell at the very top. Below them, inside the Cloister, the
monks and their bonded demons prepared for battle with the
encroaching force sent by Leina and the craggy hand demon. The
soldiers marching toward the monastery’s walls had to number in the
thousands. A cloud of dust followed them, and the ground itself
seemed to shake as they marched. The princess couldn’t help but
think that it would prove to be overkill. Perhaps, the craggy hand
demon wanted more than to kill her, Ruby thought. Perhaps, he
wanted something within the Cloister and was simply killing two
birds with one stone. Whatever the reasons for sending such a large
force, it was clear that they posed a serious threat to both Ruby
and the monks.

The soldiers were just men though, while the
monks at the Cloister had their demons to aid them, and with each
demon came magic. This made the princess optimistic that the
soldiers could be routed. Scarlett, however, could smell and nearly
taste the strength of the other demons and their levels of magic
within the walls of the monastery, and she knew something that Ruby
did not. Their hesitance to grow the bonds of their demons made for
a weak connection back to the nether realm, where a demon’s magical
power comes from. Scarlett, on the other hand, had been able to
grow her power through her bond with Ruby to immense levels. She
knew that she was the exception among the demons in the Cloister,
not the norm. If she and her princess stayed, they would likely
face death. Scarlett wouldn’t let that happen.

“Ruby,” she began. “We can’t resist them. We
must go.”

“What?” the princess replied. “We have the
support of the monk’s demons. I have my infected goblins. We can
stop them.”

“These demons are weak. Their masters are
unwilling to do what is necessary to grow their bonds.”

“We are not weak,” Niada interjected. “We
simply do not give into our every desire.”

“Weak,” Scarlett repeated. She pointed out at
the approaching soldiers. “Those men will kill you all because you
thought yourself above desire.”

“What are you saying, Scarlett?” Ruby asked.
“What would you have me do? I doubt we could flee anyway.”

“You will not flee!” Niada demanded. “You
said you would take responsibility for your sister? Well, this is
her doing. Honor your word and take responsibility!”

Scarlett ignored the headmistress. “I believe
I could cast a teleportation spell.”

The idea appealed to Ruby, though she didn’t
want to admit it. She couldn’t allow the darkness inside her to
abandon these monks. They were after all innocents, and though they
had showed her little respect, they had helped her find the answers
she needed. Niada was right as well. This was her responsibility.
Leina and the craggy hand demon had sent the soldiers after her. If
she were to simply abandon the Cloister to them, she would be
giving into the darkness that she had been fighting since her
poisoning.

“I can’t leave them without trying to help,”
Ruby finally answered.

“I won’t let you die,” Scarlett said. “If the
situation deteriorates further, I will get you out of here.”

“You let your demon talk to you like that?”
Niada asked with disgust scrawled across her face. “You will be all
our ruin. You’re no better than your sister.”

The headmistress scowled while tossing her
hand in the air, dismissing the princess’ very existence. She then
left the pair of women, going back down the steps, mumbling as she
went. Her silent and obedient demon followed with no particular
emotion. Ruby leaned against the railing and looked out to the
soldiers not far from the monastery’s walls. Scarlett stood beside
her, placing her hand on top of the princess’.

“What is your plan?” the horned demon
asked.

“I’ve got the goblins,” Ruby replied. “I’ll
start there. See if I can spread the infection among their numbers.
Then the monks can send their demons.”

“And should the monks fail?”

“Then, and only then, will I allow you to
teleport me from here. I have darkened my soul too much since I was
poisoned, Scarlett. I need to atone for what I have done. If I am
able to save even one life, then it will begin to swing the scales
back in the right direction.”

The demon thought this unnecessary and
wasteful, but she would do as Ruby desired. “As you wish, my
princess.”

The master and her servant waited in the bell
tower, while the monks prepared below. The soldiers Leina had sent
would arrive shortly, and the women could see the monks and demons
running around frantically from their vantage point. Scarlett knew
they were in no way prepared for what was about to hit them, and
Ruby started to get that same sense.

Outside the monastery’s grounds, the soldiers
marched on. The horned demon sensed something beyond a typical army
of men, so she closed her eyes and tried to peer through them to
see what their force might possess beyond mundane men with their
iron and wood weaponry. Situated at the heart of the men was power
she dared not imagine. Queen Leina had not simply sent an army of
men and sharp sticks. She and her craggy hand demon had made the
trip as well. The queen and her demon sat on a pair of thrones atop
what almost looked like a cross between a carried litter and a
cart. This transport had wheels on its bottom, but rather than
pulled by horses, it had five wooden poles protruding from either
side. Chained to each of these poles were two slaves each, a total
of twenty men and women, pushing the queen and her demon forward
alongside the soldiers.