“What are you?” Baal asked, his calloused finger lifting Alexandra’s chin so he could examine her more closely. She jerked her face away, struggling against the rope that held her to the thick timber in the middle of his tent.
“I’m not telling you anything,” she spat, wincing as the tightly bound rope cut into her skin.
Baal pulled his hand back and slapped her across the cheek with his open palm. The force of the blow threatened to blacken Alexandra’s vision. Her cheek burned from the assault, but she kept from crying out. She had immediately decided that she liked this demon even less than she liked Tavi and Balthazar. They may have been overbearing, but at least neither of them had struck her.
“What are you and why is Balthazar protecting you?” Baal asked as he straightened and backed away from her slightly. The calmness in his voice sent a chill through Alex but still she refused to answer. She stared up at the demon, her green eyes alight with the fire of her defiance. She wondered absently if Balthazar or Tavi would be coming to save her. She would never admit it, but she hoped they would. They would be preferable to this awful demon any day.
“You will answer me, child” Baal said, shaking a pointed finger at her as he cocked his eyebrow.
“Allow me to question her” Raza cut in as he stepped into the tent. The way he leered at her made Alex want to puke. “I’ll get answers.”
“You’ll get your turn,” Baal said with a smirk as he turned away from Alex. He sat down at a low table set with a meal and motioned for Raza to join him. He picked up a knife and cut into a thick chunk of smoked meat. Raza joined him but his eyes remained locked on Alex, roaming constantly up and down her body.
“Her clothing is odd,” Raza said. He picked up a loaf of bread and tore a chunk out of it. “I rather like it though.”
“Yes,” Baal said, absently looking over her. “I can’t place the kingdom they're from.”
“What are you going to do with her?” Raza asked. He popped a small piece of bread into his mouth then lifted another chunk to Alex, as if to offer it to her. She just turned her head away in disgust. She wouldn’t even give him the satisfaction of turning his offer down.
“I’ll hold her until Balthazar comes,” Baal said. “Then you can do as you please with her. See if you can get some answers out of her.”
Raza smiled broadly as he once again began to leer at Alex. She could feel her skin crawling under his glare. Baal and Raza both suddenly lifted their noses into the air and inhaled deeply. A scowl formed on Baal’s face.
“He’s here,” he said, setting the knife down on the table. “Keep an eye on her. This should be over quickly.”
Baal disappeared from the tent. Raza locked his eyes on Alex, standing and moving closer to her. He came just a hair's width away from her and observed her for a pulse pounding moment. Alex felt the heavy ache for oxygen grip her chest as she realized she was holding her breath. Raza’s lips came to rest beside her ear.
“I’m going to have so much fun with you,” he whispered as his body rubbed flush up against hers. She wanted to pull away from him, but there was nowhere to go. She was bound tight. But suddenly she felt the ropes holding her loosen. They fell to the ground as Raza stepped away and Alex realized that he had sliced through the ropes with his razor sharp nails.
“Come, my dear,” he said, motioning to the table as he took a seat where Baal was. “You must be hungry after your ordeal.”
There was a smile on his face that Alex supposed was meant to be charming and sexy, but coming from Raza it was down right terrifying. It wasn't that he wasn't handsome, because he was. It was the way his eyes hid some type of murderous insanity, the way he followed her every move as if he was studying her. Alex stayed rooted to the spot.
“That wasn't a request,” Raza said, his voice much too cheery for the glare in his yellow eyes. “Sit down with me.”
Alex forced her legs to move her forward. Her steps were taken slowly as she silently prayed for a way out of this situation. As she neared the table and prepared to seat herself across from Raza, his hand snaked out and grabbed her wrist. Before she could pull away, he had yanked her down into his lap.
“There, that's better,” he said, his nose nuzzling into the crook of her neck. He pulled his face back and began to stroke her hair gently. “You are such an enticing creature, do you know that?”
Alex couldn't say anything. Her entire body was rigid under his touch. As Raza focused his entire attention on touching and rubbing Alex, her eyes focused on the knife that was so close to her on the table.
“This isn’t very smart, my prince,” Baal taunted Balthazar, cracking the knuckles of his right hand. “Rushing in here like this to save that girl.”
Balthazar held back a growl. He could smell the girl’s scent all over the camp and on Baal. He didn’t want to show how much it bothered him that Baal had her and how worried he was about that. He had only meant to scent out the location of Baal’s camp, then he planned to double back and wait for the right moment to attack. But when they returned and found the two scouts dead and Alexandra missing, Balthazar had gone after her without a second thought, even against Tavi’s advice.
“Surrender her and Hasan to me now,” Balthazar said, his voice steady and eyes narrowed onto Baal, “and I’ll make your death quick.”
“Does she really mean that much to you?” Baal mocked, a chuckle behind his words. His eyes moved to the entrance of his tent. “Raza’s in there with her now. What do you think he’s doing with her?”
Balthazar clenched his jaw to keep from growling in anger. Tavi stood next to him with the few men they had fanned out behind them. They were all more than ready to fight and die for Balthazar, and as the men in Baal’s camp began to come out from their tents and square off, it was looking more and more like they were going to die. Tavi held back a growl when he caught sight of Hasan strolling lazily out of his tent.
“How dare you betray our father’s wishes,” Tavi spat, “You truly are a worthless brat.”
“Father’s dead,” Hasan said with a shrug. He straightened his shirt as he came to stand just behind Baal. “His wishes are no longer relevant.”
“Hold your tongue,” Balthazar snapped, his eyes burning into Hasan. “I’ll not allow you to speak of father with such disrespect.”
“Would you like to see her?” Baal said, ignoring the exchange between the brothers. He was trying to antagonize Balthazar, trying to throw him off and unfortunately it was working. Somehow the old demon had figured out that Balthazar had a weak spot for that girl.
“Get Raza,” Baal said, speaking to Hasan over his shoulder. He hesitated for a moment, not liking being told what to do, but then he ducked into the tent, emerging a moment later with Raza and Alex, her hands tied together in front of her. Balthazar could see she was a little frazzled, and her cheek was slightly bruised. It looked like she had been struggling against Raza in the tent before they had been interrupted, but other than that she appeared alright.
Raza pushed her roughly over to Baal who pulled her into his chest. She squeaked at the contact, and struggled to get away from him. Baal brought the calloused tip of his finger under her chin, lifting it roughly so that Balthazar could clearly see her face.
“What a mysterious creature. She smells…almost delicious,” Baal said, his thin lips upturned, “Raza certainly is partial to her. But there must be another reason you’re keeping her around. You’re not one to be so smitten with a female. Tell me what value she holds.”
Baal released Alex, and she fell on her rear end with a heavy thud. Balthazar’s eyes followed her, but his face gave nothing away of the emotions he felt. He wanted to rush over and scoop her up, but he had to mislead Baal. He couldn't let him know that she meant anything to him, or he would certainly try to use her against him.
“She is a curio, nothing more,” Balthazar replied, his eyes shifting back up to Baal. “She has very little value.”
“Excuse me,??
? Alex shrieked, the sound piercing the sensitive ears of all the surrounding demons. She struggled to sit herself up, and Balthazar could see she was about to throw a little tantrum. He mentally rolled his eyes, knowing she was going to cause a lot more trouble for herself if he didn’t step in immediately. It wasn't how he wanted this to go, but he couldn't risk her saying anything more, so he rushed forward at Baal.
Balthazar was so quick that Alex couldn’t follow his movements, but Baal was just as quick and parried his strike easily. Balthazar caught himself, whirling around to face Baal. He snapped his neck from side to side, popping the joints in his spine. Baal mirrored him with a growing smirk on his peppered, unshaven face. Alex watched wide-eyed with a mixture of fear and fascination as fighting erupted around her. Every demon seemed to start moving at the same time. They were so fast they looked like nothing more than blurry spots of flesh dashing around. Splatters of blood came into focus here and there, and growling sounds filled her ears.
Alexandra’s eyes darted back and forth, following the blurs of fighting, watching in mild shock as a pair of fighters stalled into focus just in front of her. One of Balthazar’s men was disemboweled, his opponent piercing his abdomen with a clawed fist. His free hand wrapped around the other demon’s neck, his claws digging deep into the vulnerable flesh before tearing a bloody chunk out. He drew his hand back through the impaled demon, dropping him to the ground. Raza was suddenly before Alex, a smirk curling on his face and blood drenching his hands. She pushed her feet out from under her, trying to scoot away from him.
Balthazar saw Alexandra’s distress and was momentarily distracted. Baal took this advantage and reached out, claws extended, aiming for Balthazar’s exposed neck. Balthazar caught himself just in time, pulling back before he was mortally injured. Baal managed to catch Balthazar in the chest instead, raking a deep wound down his torso. Balthazar growled in pain, but continued to trade blows with Baal in a haze of movement.
Alex frantically searched for an escape from Raza. Every time she scooted away from him, he stepped closer and the smile on his face grew.
“Where are you going, darling?” Raza taunted her. He reached down and grabbed a handful of her hair. Pain shot through her scalp as he pulled her off the ground and into his chest. “You're missing the show.”
“You're a psycho,” Alex spat, wriggling her body to try and free herself.
“I love your fiery spirit,” he rasped in her ear, the stench of the fresh blood that covered him hung in her nostrils, making her want to gag. “Do you think my father will allow me to keep you?”
“Do you think Balthazar's going to kick his ass?” Alex said.
“Oh my father will win,” Raza said, “make no mistake about that. Balthazar and all his men are as good as dead.”
Alex struggled against his grasp, one of his hands still tangled in her hair, pulling with every jerk. She couldn't really tell how the fight was going, but she knew that Raza was right. She could see Balthazar stall into focus every now and then, each time he was more bloody and bruised than the last.
“But you know, father may want to kill you when he's finished,” Raza said. He released her with a shove, and she fell to the ground, her head banging into the dirt. She was momentarily stunned by the blow, her vision swimming. “Perhaps I should have fun with you while I can.”
Raza crawled on top of her, an iron hand closing around her throat. She felt Raza reach behind her and with his claws he sliced through the bonds that were holding her hands.
“I want you to put up a good fight for me, girl,” he chuckled in her ear, leaning back to enjoy the fear that he was sure would be gracing her pretty face. “I do like that about you.”
Alex wasted no time in reaching for the knife she had stashed in her waistband before her hands were tied again. Before he had time to react, she crammed the blade into the Raza’s exposed throat as hard as she could. A garbled rumble echoed in his chest as he reared away from her, falling back to the ground and clutching at his throat. Alex grabbed a rock and scrambled on top of Raza. She repeatedly pounded the rock into his face with as much force as she could muster. His blood splattered her hands and face with each vicious blow. Raza’s battered body twitched with every hit to his crushed skull as Alexandra pummeled his now exposed brain into the dirt. When she felt fully satisfied that he was dead, she climbed off him and stood up to examine her work.
“Was that good enough for you?” she spat, tossing the rock aside as her chest heaved up and down.
Despite his experience in fighting, Baal could not separate himself from the distraction of his son being beaten to a bloody pulp. He had stopped moving and watched stunned and helpless as Alex beat his only son to death.
Balthazar took the opportunity to turn the tide of the fight. His claws ripped mercilessly through the Baal’s chest, grasping his spinal cord and tearing through the muscles that surrounded it. He pulled him close with a feral, rumbling growl as he exposed his fanged teeth to him. Baal howled out in pain, his hands clamping around Balthazar’s half buried forearm. He dug his claws into the flesh of Balthazar's arm and pulled the hand from his gaping torso, taking a chunk of his spine with it. Baal used his remaining power to escape, leaving the camp in a flash before anyone could follow.
Baal's survival was an irritation that Balthazar would have to deal with, but the threat to his rule had been stamped out. Without Hasan, Baal posed little threat to Balthazar’s ascension, and without Baal there was no one to protect Hasan from the punishment he deserved. There were few remaining princes that could hold even a remote claim against Balthazar's rule, and those that could were not as stupid as Hasan.
Balthazar turned his attention to the outcome of the fighting. Tavi, although bloody, had managed to survive with only minor injuries. The rest of their men had all perished, as was not uncommon in a fight between demons. Not surprising to Balthazar, Hasan had remained on the sidelines of the fight, not lifting a claw to help his own cause. Now, he stood slack jawed as every remaining demon bowed down to Balthazar, hoping to receive mercy for their attempt at betraying him. Balthazar was disgusted to share even a drop of blood with Hasan. He had a special punishment in mind for him. Balthazar's eyes fell on Alexandra and a mix of emotions ran through him. She was staring wide-eyed down at the lifeless body of Raza, clearly in shock. He wondered if she had ever taken a life before. It looked like she had not.
“What do you want to do with them?” Tavi asked, motioning to the other demons that were prostrated before him. Balthazar looked at the men that were once part of his father's army. He could handle this one of two ways. He could kill them all right now for their betrayal. Or he could offer them mercy, let them keep their lives, and even their positions in the military. Balthazar's eyes found their way back to Alexandra. She was still staring at Raza's corpse, her eyes almost bugging out of her skull. How would she react if he went through with killing them all?
“There's been enough killing today,” Balthazar said, his eyes still on Alex. When he spoke, she turned her head and looked at him and he could see thanks in those big green orbs.
“Are you bad?” Tavi asked, motioning to the large gash that wound down his chest.
“I'll survive,” Balthazar said, pulling his eyes away from Alex. “I want to get back to the palace as soon as possible.”
“I'll ready the men,” Tavi said, bowing his head slightly. Balthazar walked over to Alex, limping slightly from his injuries. Her eyes were now back on Raza's body.
“I never realized how still...,” her voice trailed off and Balthazar could see she was struggling to say something. “I know he deserved it...I mean, I think he did...I just—“
Balthazar didn't give her a chance to say anything else. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her into him, ignoring the burn the movement caused to his chest wound. He was thankful when she didn't resist him. Instead she melted into his embrace and began to sob lightly.
“It's never easy,”
Balthazar spoke softly, brushing her hair back from her face. “Everyone has trouble with their first kill. Come, we have to leave now.”
Alex allowed him to lead her away from the camp full of blood and death and broken bodies. She didn't speak the rest of the way back as two demons carried her through the countryside on the cot.
17