Page 11 of Fated to the Demon Lord

The fox demon turned to the other spirit that remained.

“Will you swear your allegiance to General Throk and bind yourself to him, swearing to obey all that he says?”

The other demon spirit nodded, afraid and trembling. “Yes, yes, I swear. I swear.”

The soldier raised his blade and cut the line, and it dissolved into nothing. “Welcome to the army of the dead.”

More and more spirits gathered. A dreaded voice reached my ears.

“That’s her! She’s the one who poisoned us! She did this!”

I glanced behind me. Tricken stood among a large gathering of spirits, pointing at me.

All the freshly raised demon spirits turned as one, a deep-seated rage in their eyes. They’d kill me, and it wouldn’t be quick or merciful. I stepped back into my captor. I had nowhere to run or hide. Throk’s orders were useless against these murderous creatures.

They surrounded me and my guard, cutting off any retreat.

I was about to find out what sort of damage a spirit could inflict.

A werewolf spirit bent over and picked up a sword that lay at his feet. Shit. So they were able to interact with our world.

My guard drew his sword, his large ant-like eyes blinking from the side and his antennae quivering. “Stand down.” His weapon glowed with an eerie blue light.

But the werewolf demon swung his blade at my guard, who struck back. Their blades clanged together. I stumbled aside as they went at it, fighting one another in a fierce exchange of blows.

Without warning, in the middle of the fight, the werewolf’s sword unexpectedly fell from his grasp, landing on the ground.

The werewolf stumbled in bewilderment, surprise crossing his face. Murmurs of confusion ran through the crowd of spirit demons watching.

My guard lunged and rammed his glowing blade through the demon. The werewolf creature screamed before he dissipated into nothing.

“You will find that you have a finite window to engage with the world in a disembodied state.” The ant-bodied guard turned to the demon spirits, sword still in hand, mandibles clacking as he spoke. “By order of Throk, you will stand down and not touch the human.”

“Fuck that,” a spirit minotaur said, and he lumbered forward toward me. My guard was too far away. He wouldn’t make it in time. I found the demons had encircled me, blocking any retreat.

The minotaur reached for me.

My heart rose into my throat.

The demon froze, and then his eyes widened, his mouth opened as the same red cracks formed across his body. He let out a pain-filled roar and then he disintegrated into nothing right in front of me.

I gulped for breath. What in the hell? My guard was nowhere near me. No sword had dispatched this demon like the werewolf.

The rest of the spirits didn’t move.

“Let that be a lesson. You may attack me, but for any who dare break their oath of allegiance to General Throk,” my guard growled, “there shall be no underworld, no afterlife, no refuge beyond death—only complete and agonizing erasure.”

They watched me, those spirits, with their orange glowing eyes filled with deadly wrath. Oh, they wanted me for their revenge, but none of them came forward. Nobody dared to challenge.

I had upended their lives. And now they had become subjects in a new army that controlled every action. As mercenaries, they scarcely resembled a military unit, free to depart whenever they pleased, satisfying any desire on a whim. I had stripped them of their freedom as surely as they’d stripped me of mine.

I wasn’t the least bit sorry.

Throk exited the tent, and with a brief, unimpressed glance at all the spirits gathered around, approached us.

“I have news, boys.” His grin widened as he looked over the group. “I have raised Lord Vaelor’s spirit, and he has granted us permission to remain on his lands while we conduct the Final Proving. In return, we’ll be delivering him payment.” His gaze settled on me, and a cruel smile spread across his face. “She’s the price for his hospitality. And nobody—spirit or flesh—is to touch her before she is delivered into Lord Vaelor’s hands.”

A low growl emitted from the assembled apparitions. Their unrest and desire to have me for themselves was almost palpable.