Chapter Twenty

 

Nunaresh approached at a rapid pace, the large transport's increased power traveling much faster than our smaller ride had been able to accomplish. I sat back and watched the tiny lights grow to towering buildings reminding me more of a human city than any of the others I'd visited here on Demonicon.

“Why isn't Nunaresh on the official tour?” I caught Ram's scowl before he answered.

“It's the only independent city on Demonicon,” he said, voice level, but hands tightening on the sides of the control panel. That, paired with his frown, told me this was a major bone of contention for him. “The aristocracy can't be bothered with the lower plane cities, let alone one run by its own council. Your grandmother tried many times to coerce the rulers of Nunaresh to accept royal control, but she never convinced them and wasn't willing to start a war over it.”

“I'm amazed she let it grow at all.” The city fell away to my right as Ram banked around the outskirts. “Ahbi was such a control freak.”

“By the time she discovered it had grown so big, it was too late to stop us without a fight,” he said, bringing us in for a landing nowhere near the towering city center. “I don't know if you've noticed, but fighting is frowned on.”

So much sarcasm. “You could have fooled me,” I said.

“Really?” He released the control panel as we settled to the ground, turning to meet my eyes. “The formulaic challenge process isn't fighting, Syd. It's a theatrical joke meant to keep us in line and under control.”

“Don't you think that's a good thing?” I shuddered a little, skin popping up gooseflesh as I remembered how I felt when I'd drained Cypherion. “Your race seems to get just a wee tad out of control when you're allowed to cut loose.”

The bubble of shielding collapsed as Ram stood and offered me his hand. “Our race,” he said softly as I rose to face him. “And yes, of course. You're right. But the days of barbarity are behind us. Our people stagnate, unable to grow, to evolve, because our true nature is suppressed.”

“If I didn't think you'd all go up in flames,” I said, moving past him to the edge of the hull, “I'd agree with you, Ram. But even if you're right, if demons have developed past the need to fight for fighting's sake, all it would take is one to go a little too far and you'd have a monster on your hands.” I turned back to him. “Trust me. I've been that monster.”

Ram's shoulders twitched as he struggled internally. “We're not perfect,” he said. “But we deserve the chance to find out for ourselves and not be regulated in every single thing we do by some Ruler who has only the advancement of her family in mind.”

Wow. That was a slap in the face. Maybe I felt it more because I was carrying Ahbi around with me, but I doubted it.

“My family,” I said with as much chill as I could manage, “has kept your people safe for generations. My grandmother,” I ground the words out while my blood boiled, “gave up her entire life to guide and serve Demonicon.” Definitely Ahbi talking, but I agreed with her. I'd grown up with the weight of responsibility on my shoulders. Ram had no freaking clue what that felt like. “And what did she get for it? Power?” I laughed in his face, bitter, harsh. “What good is that kind of power if you can't even be yourself, not even for five minutes?” Ram backed up as I advanced on him, one finger jabbing his chest as my anger rose, sparks flashing between us. “You think you can do a better job, smartass? You and your little rebellion with your Leader who just wants some of that power? Yeah, go ahead then.” I turned from him, disgust rising like bile in my throat. “Good luck with that.”

I hopped over the edge of the transport, refusing to look back, my fury cooling a little as I stomped my way toward the city. The soft thud of his landing and the crunch of boot falls behind me told me he was at least keeping pace. Not that I cared.

The more I thought about his excuse for the rebellion, the angrier I became. He reminded me of me when I was sixteen, fighting the system, unwilling to shoulder the load necessary to do what was right. Whining about it.

I had myself worked up into such a froth by the time I passed under an arched gateway and onto a long bridge leading to the city center, when Ram grabbed my arm I spun on him with my magic flashing.

He met my eyes, his calm, steady. Not challenging as I expected. Which cooled me off enough I didn't kill him.

For the time being.

“Let's find this false demon,” he said. “We'll talk politics another time. Agreed?”

“Whatever.” I punched him in the arm, the act enough to diffuse the rest of my temper, partly because I hit him hard enough he flinched. And grinned. Punched me back.

Tried to. My next punch would have landed him on his ass if we weren't interrupted.

Ram's eyes went flat, head bowing as I felt a hand fall on my shoulder, turning to find we'd been quietly surrounded. The rush of the water under our feet, running dark in the low light of the moons and my own preoccupation with my anger had been enough to distract me.

“Rebels, I take it.” I glared at Ram who didn't answer. “You freaking turned us in again, didn't you?”

“Your Highness.” A tall demon with a no-nonsense expression on his angular face bowed slightly to me, long hair swinging over one shoulder in a ponytail that hung to his ankles. “If you would please come with us, Leader would like a word with you.”

I shrugged, threw my hands in the air. “Lovely. Fine. Okay. Great.” Scowled at Ram. “Creep.”

My lean escort ignored my last shot, one large hand gesturing for me to precede him. And while I knew I could escape him and his gang of rebels, doing their obvious best to look oh-so-casual and failing miserably, I figured once I met this Leader of theirs, they'd finally leave me alone.

And if the Guards showed up and kicked his ass? Not my problem.

I strode off at my fastest pace, unsurprised my escort kept up with me, though from the scrambling sounds of the foot falls behind we outpaced the others. At least the pull of Ameline's presence was still loud and clear. She was in Nunaresh, no doubt about it. And while I longed to run off and do my worst, I forced myself to be polite.

As polite as I could manage.

“Nice city you have here,” I said to my escort.

“We like to think so,” he answered in his low, soft voice, totally ignoring the peppering of sarcasm.

“I take it you have a name?” He almost floated beside me, a demon panther, expressionless but polite. I wondered how dangerous he was.

“I do,” he said. “This way, Your Highness.”

My, and friendly, too.

My tall guide escorted me to a platform where demons waited for a chance to catch one of the moving sheets of metal gliding between our point and the street across. A giant gap looked down over the next level of the city, and over the next, Nunaresh descending below into the underground while, as I looked up, it climbed in similar fashion above.

“How many demons live here?” I thought Ostrogotho was big. This place rivaled it in size, no question.

“Many million,” my guide said, one hand reaching for me, not touching, just to encourage me as he stepped onto the floating rectangle, through the tingle of the protective shielding. The moving walkway sailed off in a smooth motion, without a breath of hesitation and though my brain screamed about the drop, I found the experience exhilarating.

“What plane designations does Nunaresh cover?” Pagomaris and Sassafras filled me in on the other four cities when I was here last. It was pretty easy from the almost circular design of the other places which level was which. Maybe the underground areas were lower ranked.

“None,” my guide said with such coldness I looked up at him. His expression hadn't changed, hands clasped behind his back, but he continued in his same chill tone so I knew I'd offended him. “Nunaresh is a free city, Your Highness. We don't use status for gain here.”

Interesting. “I didn't mean to hurt your feelings,” I said. “I'm new to this, in case you didn't know.”

His chin dipped, eyes meeting mine a moment, a tiny smile finally ghosting over his thin lips. “Forgive me, Princess Sydlynhamitra,” he said. “We are proud of our autonomy here and will defend it to our last breath.”

Ahbi's power hummed unhappily. Warning received and accepted.

We stepped from the pad and onto the next platform, heading west. I caught sight of Ram to my right out of the corner of my eye, still downcast, and started to forgive him. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea. I might be able to help Dad's case as well. If I could talk the rebel leader down somehow, I could move on Ameline without so much disruption to deal with.

My guide paused at a tall and elegant house, the towering doorway already gaping open.

“Your Highness,” he said. “After you.”

Four stairs decorated with elaborate greenery and bluery and redery—seriously—led me up to the arched front door. I passed through, prepared for the worst, expecting to be drugged or attacked or something.

Paranoid? Who, me?

But when I entered the cool dimness of the interior, a large entry welcoming me inside, I instead found a small group of demons waiting. The front-runner stood huge and imposing, as big as Ahbi had been, with four turns to his horns and hair as silver as the jewelry he wore.

Why did he look familiar? The line of his jaw, the way he smiled, the width of his shoulders, how he carried himself... he spread his hands in greeting, closing the gap between us, coming to tower over me as I gaped up at him with a growing sense of realization rising to the surface.

“Sydlynhamitra,” the demon who could only be Leader said. “I've been looking so forward to meeting you, my beautiful granddaughter.”

 

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