**** Chapter Eleven: KRÂL OF REALM

****

Chapter Eleven: KRÂL OF REALM

“Oh my.” He laughed. “Your stare sure rivals that of Dee’s. Only you can’t literally set things on fire. Fortunately.”

His remark gave my rage a speed bump. “Literally set things on fire? Who can?”

“Demon, of course.” He looked at me as if he expected me to already know it. The confusion on my face grew and he heaved a heavy sigh. Yes, I had a lot to learn. “He is a fire demon. Like Earth, our Realm also has the same four elements – water, air, soil and fire. All elements except fire are free. No one controls them. But fire is the life source, the power, the energy and the weapon of Volttus. It answers to Demon like the blood running in his veins. And no other can wield it in that manner.”

“Oh!” So much was suddenly so clear now. The burnt pendant of my pearl necklace, the blue ash, the – wait a minute! “He burnt my chair this morning!”

“He did?”

“Yes!” I growled. “And I was sitting in it! He tried to burn me!”

“Scare you I suppose. He would never burn you.”

“You sure about that?” I glared at him again. “How can I trust him – or you? Some trick you played on me, you mean Leprechaun!”

“Phromaz or a shape shifter. Not leprechaun. They have red hair and wear a very unflattering shade of green.” He wrinkled his nose in disgust.

“Whatever,” I said. “I’m doomed and all because of you!”

“No, Princess.” He smiled. “You just have to convince Demon to break the Scepter and it’ll be a happy ending for us all.”

“I have to convince him now to do things as well? How many things exactly do you want me to do? And I don’t even know what and why I am supposed to be convincing him in the first place?” I was angry. “And who is this Antinoos who was supposed to tell me of the curse?”

“That’s Demon’s real name.” His smile was very kind and a bit apologetic. “I’m sorry Aoife. You didn't deserve to be tricked into anything like this but – had I told you plainly would you have believed me? Would you have come to Volttus with me if I had simply asked you to?”

I looked at him and sighed softly. I remembered what I’d thought of him the first time I saw him – a homeless eccentric junkie. Azure was right. I wouldn’t have believed him no matter what he said. But that still didn't excuse his scheming against me – did it?

I took another deep breath. “Okay so you had a reason. But why did you bring me here? If the clan of Syhla rises to power again, Demon would lose his part of Enth. That couldn’t be why you brought me here.”

“Well I –” Azure hesitated for a bit then tried to look me in the eye but failed. “Antinoos has been Demon King of Volttus for nearly five hundred years now. It was in these very woods that I first found him. Nearly five centuries ago. Unconscious. Drenched in his own blood and near dead; he was such a beautiful boy Aoife. More handsome than anything you could ever have laid eyes on. And he was dying. So I took him to Darchuz. I knew Demon Darchuz was withering away; he wouldn’t live long with his sins plaguing him so much. Volttus needed an heir. So I gave him Antinoos – and he took him.”

He stopped. I peered at him intently and wanted him to go on but the sadness of his face took away my courage. So I stayed silent to at least honor the moment until he resumed.

“Darchuz branded him,” he continued. “And three days later he killed himself and I revived the new Demon of Volttus. A handsome Demon. A just king. But soulless. Devoid of all emotion. Without memory of what he had been, of what he had lost. No flicker of life or joy in him except the lust of flesh and that too faded as time went by. Couldn’t help all that as this was part of becoming a Demon. You lose all that you had in the past life including your power to recall it all. But you know what remained with him?” Azure looked at me, his eyes shining with the kind of passion that comes from selfless love. I recognized it. Daddy always had the same look when he talked of Mom.

I shook my head in response to Azure’s query. I had begun to feel uneasy. I remembered accusing Demon of not knowing how it felt – how I felt – to be stripped of everything you knew about yourself to be true. I was so wrong.

“His eyes.” Azure’s voice brought me back. “His eyes were still alive. They spoke to me, told me there was still hope for this man. He could still be restored to life, to humanity. To happiness.” He stopped again and sighed, perhaps to compose himself. “The only way to turn a demon back to human is to have a Syhlain thrown at him in the way I threw you. I know that opened the cursed door of a haunted life for you but there is a remedy for it. And I know Dee. He will help and Enth will get her Queen back. Everyone wins.” He looked at me hopefully. “Was that such a bad thing I did sweetheart?”

I felt flustered but I understood Azure’s point. And I hated the depth of my own comprehension. Somebody ought to be on my side – how about me! “What do you want me to say Azure? As of now I’m totally dependent on Demon for my own existence and if he refuses to help I’m dead – not even dead! I’ll be a ghost for crying out loud! This, to me, is so not cool.”

Azure nodded resignedly and something about his hunched shoulders gripped my heart. I’d always believed in second chances and I was taught to always look at the intention hidden behind every action. Azure’s intention was – well – not malicious.

Besides, I was stuck– might as well make the best of it.

“So,” I said. “What’s the plan? How do I convince your big bully?”

“Oh, Aoife!” Azure nearly choked me with his big bear hug. “Oh thank you darling! I love you! Thank you so much!” He let me go but not completely. He still held me by my arms. “I’ll do anything for you I swear. You name it, I’ll do it.”

“First, I want to understand all this,” I said. “Why was Demon dying?”

“He was attacked by an enchantress and left to die. You – you remember I told

Demon about a woman stalking you?”

“You talked of two women. Arela and Aoibheann.” I had a great memory. Azure nodded approvingly.

“Yes,” he said. “Arela is the queen of Ducimus. Lorez may have told you her story already. Aoibheann is her right hand. Her muscle and she enjoys the same status as Queen Arela herself. And it was Aoibheann who left Antinoos to die in the woods.”

“What?” I jumped. “And she was stalking me?”

“Yes. So she could enslave you and use your power against Volttus. Only a Syhlain can defeat a Demon. But now that you’ve drunk the Elixir, you are your own master.

Except that lock of hair game bound you to Demon. Now you need him to break the Scepter of Fire so that you stay alive.”

“Yes I know no need to rub that in.” I frowned. “So this is all a power game. The very thing that destroyed Enth. These Ducimus are really trigger-happy, aren’t they?”

“Yeah. So is every Demon but Antinoos is different. He put a stop to all the wars and ordered everyone to stay within their territories. But Arela doesn’t agree.”

“What do you mean ordered everyone?” I asked. “He can do that?”

Azure grinned. “Demon is the most powerful monarch in the entire Realm. The possession of fire makes him Ruler of the Realm. It’s been like this since the beginning of time here.”

“Interesting.” It really was and I would’ve sounded more convincing if a yawn hadn’t broken my speech. I felt very fatigued. It wasn’t odd either given the fact that the woods had become darker than when we had arrived. Perhaps the day was coming to an end.

That would be nice. I wanted to sleep.

“Can we go home now?” I yawned again. “I mean back to Earth.”

“Come on. I’ll take you back to the castle.” Azure nodded. “And you have two days before your powers will be fully unleashed.”

There was that ‘Shlurp” sound and Azure was the winged horse yet again.

As we flew into the sky, I asked him, “So what kind of powers are we talking about here? Will I be able to shoot lasers from my eyes? X-ray vision? Gift of Invisibility? That would be so cool.”

Azure burst out laughing. “Yes, those powers do sound good. I would easily trade my shape shifting power for invisibility. Fewer issues of wardrobe malfunction.”

“Hmm…” I smiled as my head drooped to one side and I slowly bent forward until it rested on Azure’s neck. I grabbed his mane tightly and relaxed my body as my blue Pegasus floated on air. I felt like I was travelling through a dream. Misty clouds brushed against my face and light winds ruffled my hair. It was something similar – better – than the breeze on a beach on a hot summer night.

I can’t recall exactly how long it took to get back but I felt strong arms lifting me as the winds and the clouds faded. I tried to open my eyes but the lids were so heavy I could merely look through slits. It was dark as raven. I could only make out silhouettes and a familiar citrusy scent that was so seductive it made me snuggle closer to its wearer.

He carried me indoors. I heard a soft thumping sound as if he was climbing up a wooden stairway. Then a door creaked and a few minutes later he gently placed me on something soft and silky. I stretched and grabbed the soft covers as he pulled them over me. It seemed as if he bent over me and touched my forehead – as if checking for fever.

I smiled.

“Thank you,” I mumbled as my mind sauntered off into the wild blue trees of a faraway land where someone was waiting to crown me –

The ceremony was perfect with rainbows and butterflies when suddenly a huge black cloud started pouring black rain. It stained my white gown and I heard laughter.

Nancy. The Oilman Roy. Tushy. And then Demon set them all on fire!