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Her head shot up, her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. Unfortunately, it seemed fear regained control again with great speed. Satari trembled even more and shook her head from side to side in sobbing silence.
“It really is okay, Satari, nothing and no one can harm thee here within these walls, and I assure thou, no one can hear what is said in this room.”
“N . . . N . . . No, he will know. He will hurt and he will kill . . .” Her clawed hands shot up to cover her mouth and Balthazar’s anger rose within him swiftly. Vengeance was needed here, not just for himself as he’d initially thought, but for Satari.
“He cannot harm you, luv. You can stay here until it is dealt with, rest assured you have my protection.”
“Not . . . Not me,” she squeaked softly.
“If not thee, then whom?” he queried. It was more of a rhetorical question, though. As soon as it passed his lips he had a fair idea. “Your daughter, your grandson, or both? Is it Hadden, Satari?”
Just the idea that someone could harm them made his blood boil, that they could be used and abused in such a manner to gain information about Balthazar’s dealings was the icing on the cake of his soon-to-be demise. If it was Hadden, then his existence would end this very night. Balthazar had never liked the demon. Not even the other demons like Hadden. He was considered smarmy and oily even by those in his community. Which was unheard of in demon culture. Hadden had always tried to get Balthazar to hire him, he’d even gone so far as to try to get Satari to further his application. Unfortunately for him, Balthazar was able to see into his heart and ferret out whether his intentions were honorable. They never were. Satari’s quiet mumbles drew his attention back to her.
“Y . . . . Yesss. He has Denriah locked in a cage and Thovad as well. He s . . . sayss he will kill them if I speak of it or don’t do what he ssssays.”
The little demoness threw herself into his arms, her claws catching his cheeks as her arms wrapped around him. He bundled her up and held her as she wept. The poor dear was clearly at the end of her tether and frantic with worry for her family. As he whispered words of comfort and vengeance to Satari, of the impending destruction of Hadden, her sobs started to fade as a plan formed to take the little shite down.
Balthazar made trips to the Daemoneskra Realm every few years. Not something he particularly enjoyed, his price of entry was high indeed. The demon queen ruled her domain with an iron fist. The only beings who could enter at will were the members of the Praesidium. Everyone else had to be approved by the queen directly. Most were rejected immediately, sometimes with a side of death. Balthazar got special privileges, he got to hire demons to work for him, which he compensated them for generously. Still, he only went when he absolutely had to. Sometimes his ‘arrangement’ with the queen was more than his stomach could handle, or any other part of him . . .
Thankfully, her loyalty to her people would ensure that his entry this time was swift, even if he owed her next time. Demons loved a good bargain, and in this she would get vengeance for her people, and him indebted to her as a bonus. He just had to word it the right way that was all.
As he suited up later that day, not for the first time, Balthazar double-checked his hidden weapons, and thanked his lucky stars the queen had listened to reason. Of course, he’d considered the fact she’d want to go balls to the wall attack mode on the asswipe herself. It’d just taken a lot more effort than he’d predicted in order to calm her down. Once she’d calmly considered the possible harm to the child from going after Hadden in such a manner, she’d quickly gotten on board with his plan, just with a slight delay to his timeline.
His skin still crawled, his tongue still felt raw and raspy in his mouth, and if he didn’t know better he’d have thought he’d extracted his own internal organs when he’d cast up his accounts, along with any bile left in his system. The nature of her juices had left a burning path through his body. Thankfully they were expelled quickly. He was certain that was one of the reasons she used him as she did. Not every being could survive intimate interactions with a demon, much less a full-blooded demon queen. He was a rarity, she must have been so pleased when she’d gotten her claws into him, literally. Not something he enjoyed, but a necessary submission on his part for his own ends.
So, the plan was to go in looking for new hires, extra workers because of the imminent arrival of his ‘guests’. As he thought about the plan his lips slipped into an evil smirk of their own volition, and he felt the burning in his palm that came with thoughts of retribution and vengeance. Tonight those present would get a glimpse of what the real Balthazar could do, and who he used to be. Hopefully, putting a stop to any further attempts to sell his secrets at the same time.
Hadden was standing at the back of the crowd near the door to the abode he shared with Denriah and their son, as Balthazar seemed to glide down the stone paved road into one of the many demon townships. Balthazar kept him in his peripheral vision and watched as the soon-to-be dead demon’s beady eyes shifted back and forth between him and the door he was partially blocking.
What would the greedy little prick do when confronted with his wrath? That was the question. Because try as he might, he wouldn’t escape. Not today. Not from him, or the rest of this tight-knit community.
“I need a few new hires to tend to some special guests for a week or two. Conditions and reimbursement is as per my usual terms. Anyone interested please step forward.” He didn’t need to project his voice too far, it seemed to echo in the silence that had followed his arrival.
Twenty or so demons, women and men, stepped forward. One little girl stepped from behind her mother and made to move closer, but her mother’s hand on her shoulder pulled her to a stop.
“Maybe when you’re older, poppet,” Balthazar told her softly, and her mother smiled at him in thanks.
A demon’s smile was more a grimace than a grin, but he understood perfectly. He’d gotten used to their ways after all this time.
He saw Hadden step away from the dwelling, his feet hitting the cobblestones as he came closer. Bloody hell, even the prick’s walk was arrogant and full of shit. As he hit the outer ring of those gathered he shoved and elbowed his way past. Some took exception and barely restrained themselves from morphing into another, bigger, meaner form. Other’s failed but held themselves back as fighting in town and among themselves was forbidden by royal decree.
As he got closer the more combative and belligerent he became. It was when he came to the mother and child to which Balthazar had just spoken that the whole plan nearly went up in smoke. Hadden dared to lay a hand on the child and shoved her back behind her mother to place himself mere meters from Balthazar’s reach. Rage clouded his vision. He could hear the angry mutterings of those around him. They hated Hadden as much as he did. Good, they’d find satisfaction right alongside him this eve.
He looked at the arrogant disgusting prick, the seller of secrets that weren’t his to sell or keep, a demon who held nothing but his own gain in his heart, and he smiled. It was a smile that held no sincerity, but it wasn’t meant to.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Satari leading his two most trusted enforcers through the door of her daughter’s dwelling to free her family. It wasn’t long before the sound of gentle sobbing could be heard coming their way. Hadden’s face fell as he swiveled around. Demons looked upon the scene as Satari and his men informed them of Hadden’s actions. Angry demons turned as one, but Balthazar held up his hand and called for silence. The crowd stepped back, giving Hadden a wide berth and the unpredictable Balthazar as much space as he wanted.
“This creature, who stands here spluttering like a fool, will stand as a lesson in what not to do, who not to harm, and who not to cross. That last one would be me, by the by. I suggest any children be sent away now so you can all enjoy the show. Ganf, if you would accompany them and make sure they’re otherwise entertained, please.” He directed the last part to the young mother, who nodded and quickly began rounding up the children and herding them toward the entertainment building a good distance away.
Satari tried to send both her daughter and grandson with them, but Denriah held her ground.
“I need to see hisss ending, to know he isss gone. We desssserves justiccce, and I will sssavour his ssuffering.”
She handed Thovad to her mother, and urged her to keep him safe. Satari nodded, knowing her daughter’s need to be sure they were truly free from their nightmare.
He understood her need, had witnessed it for millennia, had felt it in his soul and burning through the hearts of countless beings. Vengeance wasn’t all hatred and fury, sometimes it was the satisfaction and knowledge of being assured that the monster under your bed truly had been slain, so it couldn’t come back again.
Hadden’s panic finally unglued his feet as he searched for an escape from the makeshift arena, walled in by the demons he’d pushed his way through. Fuckwit. He moved further away from Balthazar but closer to his own, pissed off kind. True, Balthazar was the bigger threat, but still . . . Not smart.
