The Devasi palace buzzed with rumors of what happened with Baal. Balthazar and Tavi had returned the previous evening with a bound and beaten Hasan, and a very peculiar creature. Neither of them said a word of what had transpired. When morning came and went with still not a breath of news, the Council respectfully requested Balthazar’s presence and an explanation. They now sat around the rectangular table in the council chambers awaiting his arrival. The newest council member Jahan, Lady Adira’s replacement, shifted uncomfortably on his cushion, his rotund belly making it difficult for him to move. He could feel the eyes of the other Council members on him. It was a terribly unusual thing for a demon to be overweight, and Jahan was used to getting strange looks. It wasn’t his fault he liked food so much and despised any form of physical activity. He had learned long ago that he could do a perfectly good job of telling others what to do without much effort at all. It seemed to have worked for him pretty well as he was now the new Khaja. It was a very prestigious position, and if he had a wife, she would have no doubt been very proud of him. Jahan, however, found no use for a wife. It would just be another responsibility that would require copious amounts of physical activity in the form of sex, something he had decided he could do without.
Arastoo, the Master Enchanter, fiddled absently with the embroidered edge of his robe. He let out a heavy sigh and reached for his goblet, taking a long sip of the favorite Devasi drink, a sugar wine called Tivi.
Darius, the Divan and right hand to the Lord Sultan, eyed him from the other side of the table. He had known Arastoo for many years, and he was not a demon without flaws, but his blood was special, having the ability to perform small amounts of magic. However, as was a common trait amongst the line of Enchanters, he was gangly and peculiar. His way of thinking was inherently flawed. Different from the way normal demons thought. Yet, the members of his bloodline had always been tied to the royal families and positions of prestige. The magic in their blood had the potential to create powerful heirs when combined with a more powerful demon, such as that of the royals.
“Lord Balthazar is a busy demon, I’m sure he will arrive as soon as he is able,” Darius said, his attention returning to the pile of edicts that he was reviewing. They were the direct orders of the Lord Sultan, and Darius spent most of his day reading through them. He had a constant back pile of them, and he was using this interim between Lord Sultans to get caught up. The stack in his lap was the last of Sultan Sami’s royal decrees. Darius would review them for any written errors, cross check the information in them with his personal notes, and finally he would place the royal seal at the bottom of the decorated parchment page before sending it off to the royal libraries for filing and execution. It was as exhausting a process as it sounded and he looked forward to finishing them for a brief moment before the new Lord Sultan was anointed.
“Tavi is curiously absent as well,” Arastoo said, setting his glass back down with undue force. Darius glanced at Arastoo from under his brows. Tavi was naturally accorded more leniency than a normal council member; he was after all partial royalty. They all knew this and it could go without saying, but Arastoo was irritated with being made to wait and he was just looking for something to complain about.
Balthazar arrived late in the afternoon, dressed once more in the solid white silk of a Lord Sultan. His robe was left open, showing his heavily bandaged torso. Though his injuries weren’t life threatening, there were so many that it would take him a few days to fully heal from them. Tavi was by his side, also bandaged but not nearly as heavily. It was obvious that there had been a fight, and that Balthazar was the victor, but other than that the council was left in the dark. The creature he had returned with, along with a battered half of the royal army only brought up more questions.
“Who is this?” Balthazar asked as he settled onto the white cushion at the head of the table. His ashen blue eyes were fixed intently on the fat demon.
“Lady Adira has chosen Jahan as her replacement,” Darius said, motioning for the demon to speak up.
“Lord Balthazar,” Jahan said, bowing his head, “it is a supreme honor to serve on this council.”
“Why was I summoned?” Balthazar asked shifting his gaze onto the other members. Arastoo’s jaw hung slightly ajar at the blatant disrespect. Even a fully anointed Lord Sultan had to answer to the Council. Balthazar knew precisely why he was summoned, and his feigned ignorance was a jab at their legitimacy.
“We’re owed an explanation,” Arastoo said, lifting his pointed nose into the air. “We want a full accounting of what transpired with Baal.”
“I owe you nothing,” Balthazar said coldly, his eyes narrowing on Arastoo as he folded his hands in his lap. He had his reasons for not wanting to tell the Council, or anyone, about what had happened during the fight. For one, he didn’t want to explain Alexandra to them until he knew more about her himself. He also didn’t want to have to admit that Baal had gotten away. They would know eventually, but there was no need to tell them all that now.
“How dare you!” Arastoo snapped, his face turning bright red. “We are the Council, and you are still but a prince. We are owed an explanation.”
“Baal believed he was owed something,” Balthazar said, “Raise your voice to me again and you can go join him.”
Arastoo shrank back onto his cushion, his face a deep shade of crimson. There was anger simmering in his eyes, but he wouldn’t speak again. Especially if the rest of the Council wasn’t going to back him. Silence hung in the room, and Jahan tried his best to blend into the furniture. He had just secured this position. The last thing he wanted to do was lose it now.
“Lord Balthazar,” Darius spoke up in an attempt to soothe the tension in the room, “I believe what the Lord Enchanter is trying to say is that we are all merely concerned. Rumors spread quickly, and we have heard some disturbing things.”
“There’s no need for an explanation at this time,” Balthazar said. “This council meeting is over.”
Jahan passed a glance at the other council members. He had expected so much more. He needed to know what happened, and more importantly what this creature was that they had brought back. He had his suspicions about her, and if they turned out to be right, it did not bode well for him. When the rest of the Council began to slowly rise from their cushions and file out of the room, Jahan had no choice but to follow. Only Tavi stayed behind. None of the council members were happy about being so easily dismissed, but in reality there was nothing they could do about it. They would have to be satisfied with rumors for the time being.
“You know they were expecting more information than that,” Tavi said once the other members had left the room. He would never speak in such a casual manner in the presence of anyone else, but in private he knew he could always be frank with his elder brother. “It’s not smart to alienate them.”
“They always want more,” Balthazar replied, wincing as he prodded at the bandage wrapped around his midsection. “It’s best to put an end to that sort of thing now.”
“What are you planning to do with Hasan?” Tavi asked, reaching for a piece of cut fruit that was laid out on the table. What Hasan did was unthinkable, and incredibly stupid, but since Hasan was a prince, it seriously complicated matters.
“I have a special punishment in mind for him,” Balthazar said, the chill of his words cutting into Tavi. “Killing him would be too lenient. I want him to suffer through the rest of his natural life.”
“And what about the human, Alexandra?” Tavi asked, popping a fleshy piece of red fruit in his mouth. They both knew what was being left unsaid. The human defeated Raza. Granted, he left himself open, underestimating her, but she killed him. Raza was a powerful demon, and would have posed a threat even to Balthazar. The fact that she killed him was significant. They had all underestimated her.
“I’m still not sure about her,” Balthazar said, a troubled look in his eyes.
“You like her,” Tavi said. It was half a question and half an accusatio
n. He couldn’t blame his brother for developing feelings for her, but it only caused more complications that they didn’t need right now.
“I don’t know,” Balthazar said, his jaw clenching tightly. He had never thought about a woman so much in his life. Since he had met her, she had done nothing but confound him and fill his every thought.
“I don’t need to tell you why that’s not an option for you right now,” Tavi said, watching him closely. “Especially not until we know more about her.”
“I have no intentions toward her,” Balthazar said. He brushed a piece of lent off his robe, not able to make eye contact with his younger brother.
“Good,” Tavi said, not fully believing him. “Because the last thing we need right now is you falling in love with a defiant little human girl.”
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