FREE NOVELLA CHAPTER Chapter Seventeen
Demon Heart by Kiss Carson
Copyright 2021
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The air
was dry, crisp, but not cold. Dominique drew in a deep breath and inhaled the
sweet scents of damp grass and citrus blossom. She stood on the upward slope of
an escarpment, the grass so deep green that it looked at odds with the pale
blue sky. An ocean of fog stretched as far as the eye could see, and ahead, a
shimmering silver door hovered high in the air above the bluff. The door
blended with the pale sky for a moment and then solidified again.
Dominique's
chest ached. She pressed the ball of her hand to the green silk that covered
her breast. Whether her heart hurt form the Hope Stone shard, or from Zachary's
callous betrayal, she wasn’t sure. Isha gently took her hand and squeezed her
fingers, although the kind gesture didn’t ease her worry. The door shone
brightly, visible rays of illumination reaching towards the dying light of day. The
door knew she was there.
“I
cannot stop your destiny, Lady Demon. Not every road leads to happiness, and
every road will mislead you.” Isha turned, her blue eyes bright. “Listen to
your heart. When all is beyond hopeless, listen to your heart.” She placed
Zachary's heart box into Dominique's hands. “Take care of this. Zachary may
need it. What you search for is the key to this box.” Isha pulled her into a
tight embrace. “Love will always endure.”
Dominique
wasn’t sure about that. Isha wasn’t the one who’d stared into Zachary's face as
he’d tried to slit her throat. Isha pulled out of the embrace, smiled, and
tossed white sand into the air. Then, she was gone. Dominique turned back to
the door, only to stare into Dorian's beautifully masculine face. Startled, she
gripped the box and stumbled backwards, following the slope of the ground.
“Oh,
please,” Dorian said with his eternal golden smile. “Don’t act so surprised to
see me. This is the final act, Lady Demon, and I would not miss it for the
world. You see, I am the main contender for that little shard in your soul.” He
pulled his sword from the sheath by his side. “Now, how would you like me to
remove it, quickly so you barely feel a thing, or slowly so you can experience
each and every excruciating slice?”
Dominique
took another step backward. “Don’t touch me.”
Dorian threw
his arms up. “Are you really going to make this more difficult?” He housed the
sword and grasped her by the elbow, tugging her forward to drape an arm across
her shoulders. “By the way, I do enjoy seeing you wear something other than
that hideous suit of yours. Green is so…pretty on you.”
Dominique
winced when his arm brushed the tender bruise on her shoulder. “I said don’t
touch me.”
“So
feisty.” Dorian squeezed her. “I’ve grown quite fond of you, and I suppose you
have a soft spot for me.” He pressed his forefinger into her chest. “Right
there. The perfect place to remove the Hope Stone.”
Dominique
twisted out of his embrace. “I have other plans,” she told him.
“Now,
what could be more important than me? Who, or what, could possibly be more
esteemed than I? Surely not the owner of that withered flesh you carry in the
box. I tried to tell you of your true function in Demon Realm. I explained that
I wasn’t the real enemy…But, I believe you have already figured that out.”
Dominique
stopped her progress up the escarpment.
Dorian
was beside her. “Love is so overrated. Give me wanton lust any day.” He grinned
almost good-naturedly as he put his arm across her shoulders again. “Have I
kept secrets from you? Have I held a knife to your throat?”
Dominique
frowned at him.
“Well,
yes, but that is my job. Besides, I don’t profess to love you. I am your enemy
and I have maintained that stature throughout. Although I am a lovable enemy.”
Dominique
pulled away and continued up the hill.
“Join
my fight, Domini. There is a villain trapped inside you begging to escape.”
Dominique
wasn’t interested in anything Dorian said. He wanted to get rid of Zachary and
rule Demon Realm, and she could help him with that. Dorian fell in beside her
again.
“You
and me and a little world called Demon Realm. Domini the Exterminator,” he said
in a deep, menacing voice.
Dominique
shook her head. “I can’t even say I admire you for your persistence.”
Zachary
suddenly appeared ahead of her and blocked her way to the edge of the cliff and
the last door. In one hand he held a new sword. In the other he held the
ceremonial dagger. The sight of the Demon Lord didn’t excite Dominique, but it
didn’t scare her, either. Still, she wouldn’t be running into his arms anytime
soon. He’d held a knife to her throat.
“I see
you have obtained a new toy,” Dorian said from close behind her. “How does it
feel to hold the sword you used to murder our father?”
Dorian's
words sent a rush of cold down Dominique's back. Zachary had kept more secrets
than she ever imagined.
Zachary's
gaze didn’t waiver from Dominique. “The sword reminds me of who I do not wish
to be.”
Dorian chuckled,
the sound grated. “Methinks the reminder has come too late.”
Dominique
jumped, startled when Dorian's hand rested on her shoulder. She wasn’t sure she
enjoyed being the doe between two wolves.
“All
your life you have fought your destiny, yet there you are thinking about
killing your Lady Demon. Mother’s plan didn’t work. You cannot take the warlord
out of the boy.” Dorian tugged Dominique into his side. “You are meant to be a
fierce warrior, Demon Lord, yet you have abused every essence of what it means
to rule a land such as Demon Realm.”
Dominique's
grip on the heart box tightened. Dorian's demeanor had changed and he no longer
bantered genially but spoke with malice and his fingers dug into her arm. She
thought about running to Zachary but her gaze dipped to the ceremonial dagger
in his hand. The brothers wanted something only she could give them, and by the
darkness behind Zachary's eyes, love wouldn’t save her this time.
Dorian's sword scraped the sheath as he freed
the thick blade and held it before him as though protecting Dominique. “You
disappoint me, Zachary, and I’m sure you have disappointed Father, and perhaps
Mother.”
Zachary
stepped closer. “You always have enjoyed the sound of your own voice,” he said.
“That is why you will never be Demon Lord. Actions speak louder than words.
Release Domini and I shall spare you.”
“Oh
dear, words, words, words,” Dorian said and then let out a long sigh. “Domini
is free to go.” He lifted his hand. Dominique moved an arm’s distance away.
“Alas, I do not see the Lady Demon running to you for protection. Perhaps she
has decided to join me.”
Dominique
edged further away from both men. “Battle for me,” she said hastily. “I will
give the champion the Hope Stone.”
Zachary's
gaze moved to her. He shifted his balance and gripped the hilt more tightly.
“I’m
willing.” Dorian swung his sword in an arc and stretched his neck muscles. “I’ve
always enjoyed a good battle.”
Zachary
tossed the dagger to the ground and held his sword forward. “The war shall end
here.”
Dorian's
smirk appeared again. “May the true ruler of Demon Realm win.”
Swords
crossed. Bright flashes of light illuminated the grassy slope and slowly ebbed
to reveal the two angel demons who had fought on her living room floor; the
same two demons who had warred for her safety at the cabin. Dominique picked up
the ornamental dagger Zachary had discarded. She watched, awed by the demons’
beauty, fascinated by Zachary's fluid movements, and was reminded that she’d
lived as a character in a game. However, there were no save points in this
game, and death was the end.
The
third door shone like a beacon informing all of Demon Realm that the battle for
supremacy raged. Dominique kept her gait sure, her posture rigid, as she strode
the upward slope. Zachary was right, the battle needed to end. The Hope Stone
shard shifted within her chest. Her lungs became tight but she carried forward.
Only when her chest burned did she stop. Her chest glowed with pale blue light,
the same light that entered her body – a lifetime ago it seemed. Above her, steel
clashed with steel. The sound reverberated across the sky, occasionally
punctuated by a grunt of effort from the angel demons. After a deep breath,
Dominique continued on her quest.
Silver
and bright, the door beckoned. She was now close enough to see the decorations
etched into the metal. Aemon Sterling had graced the first door, and Newlyn
Sterling the second. The image that adorned the third door stopped her in her
tracks. Her likeness was etched into one side of the double doors, and she held
a key with the head of a screaming demon. Zachary's likeness covered the other
side of the doors, and he also laid a hand on the key. Breathing suddenly
became impossible. Dominique doubled over. She dropped the heart box, then the
dagger, and hugged her middle. So much pain. Needles. Millions and millions of
needles stabbed her inside and out.
The
grass under her feet vibrated. Taking a deep breath, Dominique straightened
enough to look around. Zachary and Dorian still battled in the sky. The ground
trembled again and she stumbled, throwing her arms out for balance. Dirt
cascaded over her head as a dozen snake heads erupted from the earth. Snake
demons. Dominique remembered them well. Picking up the heart box and the
dagger, she ran straight for the door. She had to find the key to release
Zachary's heart. Isha didn’t tell her what would happen then, but she hoped going
home was the prize.
Spitballs
of tiny snakes landed in her path and she managed to dodge each wad. Her grip
around the ornamental dagger tightened. Every time a snake lunged for her, she
stabbed and the demons vanished. Green gems replaced the snakes and were
quickly absorbed by the warring angel demons overhead. Prite, king of the
shadow specters, grinned at her from his position near the silver door.
Dominique stopped running. Snake demons she could handle but shadow specters
didn’t fight fair. Cherub demons climbed over the craggy edges of the bluff,
laughing insanely.
Dominique
clutched the heart box under her arm and slowly backed away from Prite. There
was no time for games. She had to get
to that door. A cherub demon leapt onto her shin. The dagger quickly disposed
of it and sent a red diamond soaring into the air. Zachary's body sucked the
jewel in and his vigor returned. More shadow specters spiraled from the endless
sea of fog. Their shrieks sent Dominique's blood to ice. A dozen beasties
twisted and careened into the sky, circled the third door, and then plunged
straight for her. Unable to move, she could only watch and anticipate a pain worse
than death; worse than the shard that tried to burrow out of her body. She
managed to kill the first, and was rewarded with a tiny vial of clear liquid,
but the second passed through her body like a hot poker. The last of her breath
squeezed from her lungs and she fell to her knees, dagger idle by her side.
Snake
demons swarmed from her left, cherubs from her right, Prite and his army of
wraiths advanced from every direction. Dominique lived on borrowed time. Then,
the roar of a battle bear penetrated her numb mind. The sound brought hope, and
the sight of Gagan gave her renewed energy. With another mighty roar, he
charged. Shadow specters scattered. Snake demons slithered to a safe distance.
Gagan head butted a cherub and the small demon flew through the air and over
the cliff. A green jewel bobbed in the air. Then, the mighty bear stood in
front of Dominique, shielding her from any more attacks.
Slowly,
she stood, box still tucked under her arm and dagger in hand. “Thank you,
Gagan.” She rubbed her cheek against his fur, the final gentle sensation before
she would enter the door.
In the
sky, angel demon Zachary ducked and weaved to avoid Dorian's vicious attacks.
She watched the battle for a moment, then turned in the direction of the final
door. Beneath her breast, the shard cut like a knife through her heart. Pain
arched her back. Her feet dragged across the grass, finally leaving the ground
as the Hope Stone tried to drag her to the door. Light came from her body to
cast beams of blue into the sky. She let out a strangled cry and attempted to
draw in a breath.
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