Lili turned to face me. Her expression was cruel, with an added measure of joy. This was her crowning moment. Literally. I couldn’t imagine waiting for anything for a whole year, much less a thousand of them. “Now the Lycan will suffer!” she crooned. “But rest assured, her agony will not be without purpose.” She leaned in like a conspirator. “You will be doing what you were born to do,” Lili announced, half to me, half to the crowd, as she paced down a few stone steps that lead into the circle I was in. They must use it for their ceremonies.
There was a pungent scent of leftover blood all over.
My wolf paced in my mind, wanting to strike the moment she reached us. Power zipped along my spine. I had morphed back into my human form, but my wolf sat at the very edge, waiting not so patiently. We don’t attack until we have an opportunity to win this or she forces us to act. The chains were spelled, but it was nothing we couldn’t break. Lili either underestimated me or she was hoping for a show. I’m sure she’s guessing we’ll try to escape, I told my wolf. She would love an opportunity to show all the demons in attendance that she is fit for the job as their new leader by striking us down. So instead of fighting back, we’re going to bide our time and try to make this game turn in our favor sooner than later.
As Lili edged closer, I responded, projecting loudly enough for the first few rows to hear, “I’m not planning on suffering for your cause, Lili, but I’m sure your faithful demons here would love to start off the ceremony by having you read the real Scriptures aloud.” Then I made my voice carry dramatically. “I mean, what better way to kick off a new reign than by reading the real words to your adoring fans?” I nodded up to the crowd. All eyes were riveted on me and the murmurs had quieted to whispers. “Am I right? Who wants to hear the real demon prophecy? I know I do!” There was tentative clapping. “Come on, you can do better than that. Let’s give it up for hearing the Scriptures!” The clapping turned into a wild round of applause.
Lili looked murderous.
Before she turned back to the crowd, she steeled herself, plastering a smile on her face. She whipped around in glorious motion, her golden dress whirling as her arms lifted once again. “I will do better than that! You have all been fooled by the Prince for far too long, and after this ceremony is complete, I will personally post the true Scriptures, the ones I uncovered, in our Great Square, encased in glass for all to see.”
The crowd cheered and hooted at the news, satisfied for now.
She paced back up the steps, out of the circle, and reached her hand out, gesturing to one of the demonesses, who immediately moved forward and handed her an ancient-looking scroll. To my surprise, it was the Princess, and as she turned she was careful not to make eye contact with me. It made me wonder if she had a stake in all of this. She couldn’t be happy that Lili, her husband’s lover, was nabbing her rightful spot as ruler. But what did I know? Lili’s signature was stronger, so maybe the Princess had to acquiesce or die? But, honestly, losing her husband and the crown to his mistress had to suck no matter what.
The room hushed as Lili unrolled the parchment, which was covered in Demonish markings. She walked toward a stand someone had set up and hooked the roll to the top, unwinding it slowly. “For now, here they are in all their glory! The original Scriptures passed down from our forefathers for eons,” she announced to massive applause. “These are yours! For every demon to read. No more hiding, no more telling, no more inequality! The new reign starts today and begins with the truth!”
She spun around, meeting my eyes, pure satisfaction racing through them. But before she could mask it, I glimpsed a small, fleeting measure of uncertainty.
It flickered for only the briefest of seconds, but I saw it.
I grinned, my smile wide. Lili wasn’t sure if she could pull this off. That was the reason for all this pomp. She needed support from every demon in this room to ascend to the throne. I quickly scanned the rows again. There were so many demons. It would be impossible to know how many were on board with her new leadership plan and how many were not. And since every single audience member was male, it was doubtful she had full support. She was counting on their superstitions and their unflinching belief in the Scriptures to make this happen.
About ten rows up I noticed a group of demons all wearing what looked to be metallic robes. They were unglamoured and their skin was iridescent, their features sharp and hawkish. I bet those are the spell casters, I told my wolf. And they aren’t clapping. It was too early to know, but seeing Lili’s uncertainty had bolstered me immensely.
Jessica, Rourke called in my mind. Things out here are chaotic. It looks like Lili didn’t have a plan in place for everything. Demons are running all over and all the Demon Lords are missing. We took a few of the demon janitors prisoner, but we’re having a tough time convincing them to help us. They keep saying their Prince will smite them or some such crap. I have the Prince’s recent scent and we’re going to start searching now, but I want to know you’re okay first. I can’t stand the thought of leaving you in the middle of all this. It’s going against my instincts not to come and break you out.
I’m fine at the moment. Lili’s putting on quite a show, but I just discovered she has no real idea if this is going to work. But, that said, I suggest you hurry. My guess is she’s going to be picking up some sharp implements next.
He growled fiercely in my mind. Can you break out on your own if you have to?
Yes, but I’m going to be patient as long as I can. The bottom line is, I’m not sure we can win without the Prince’s help. And once we start fighting, we don’t stop until we’re all free. I paused for a minute. Rourke, I’m not sure any of us is strong enough to kill Lili. I don’t think she was lying when she said she couldn’t die. We can try to stop her, and maybe bring her down temporarily, but I don’t think we can kill her outright. She was cloaking herself before. Her signature is off the charts. I’m hoping if we act with the Prince, something can be done.
Before my wolf could correct me and tell me how wrong I was, and that we could indeed kill her, Lili plucked several tools from the table and waved them in the air, declaring to the crowd, “It’s now time to prepare for the cloning. Once I take the female wolf’s power, I shall control both the Heavens and Hells!”
At once, several demons dressed in white jumpsuits wheeled out a strange-looking gurney. It appeared to be like the ones we use on our plane, except this was ornate, made of some kind of gilded material. It was empty and they parked it right in front of the cheering crowd.