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EMBER WAS CURIOUS ABOUT the Night Cursed beings who weren’t as drained as the vast number of their population. When she woke up the night after witnessing Lord Dallinar’s victim being healed by an angel, she decided to spy on the cursed creatures.
The demoness left the catacombs via one of the secret exits and winged her way to the Night Cursed District. She perched on the rooftop of one of the ten story brick buildings in the suburbs where the undrained beings lived. The sun set and she saw black carriages appear in the streets around the cemetery where the skeleton drivers dwelled. Any skeletons that hadn’t made it to their graveyard before dawn appeared in the boneyard. They shambled through the open iron gates to their designated vehicles and set out on their jobs.
From up high, Ember watched the carriages pick up the workers who took priority, like doctors, nurses, police officers and firefighters. They were ferried away while the rest of the carriages split up to head to the Vampire, Fae and Shifter Districts. The wealthiest and most prominent beings would be picked up first. Most of the others would have to rely on their feet.
Ember saw the platinum blonde hair of Xiara Evora emerge from a nearby brick building. She climbed into a carriage with several other people. One was the gypsy who had foretold the hellion’s fortune. They shared the carriage with a hot doctor and an even hotter fireman.
She kept watch for a couple of hours and was about to leave when the door to Ms. Evora’s building opened again. A dark figure slipped outside, but Ember couldn’t make out what sort of creature it was. Her back stiffened in excitement when she saw glowing lime green eyes.
Shadowing the almost invisible being from a distance, the hell spawn watched as the creature crossed a bridge to the City Square. Her sharp eyes caught the being picking a few pockets without being noticed. She was right behind the thief when she headed home.
Ember landed behind the now completely invisible creature, who she could only make out by the rain that slid off her scaly body. “Busted!” she said, then chuckled when her old friend let out a startled shriek and spun around. “I saw you stealing from those poor unsuspecting idiots, Drognar,” Ember said. “I guess you haven’t lost your magic touch.”
Only Drognar’s eyes were visible when she gaped at a hideous face she thought she’d never see again. “Ember?” she asked in disbelief. “Is it really you?”
“Yeah, it’s me,” the demoness replied. “I guess I’m a bit bigger than the last time you saw me.”
Drognar let out a glad cry and lurched forward to hug her misshapen friend. Ember tolerated the embrace and patted the smaller demon on the back. “I heard Beleth had been assassinated,” Drognar said. “I also heard you escaped from your cage.”
“Did you hear that from your little gypsy friend?” Ember asked casually, then smirked when her old friend gaped at her again. “I knew you two were in cahoots!” she said. “How many Night Cursed beings are like you two? I know about the angel and that big gray dude made of stone.”
“We can’t talk about it here,” Drognar whispered, peering around to make sure they were alone. “Someone might hear us.”
“I know a place where we can talk,” Ember said. “Do you trust me?”
“With my life,” Drognar replied immediately.
A strange lump formed in the hellion’s throat that Drognar hadn’t hesitated for even a second before replying. She picked the cursed demon up and flew to the rooftop of the asylum to the east. “It’ll be safe for us to talk here,” she said and put her friend down.
Drognar turned invisible again. She shivered when a scream rang out from somewhere inside the nuthouse below them. “It’s creepy here,” she said.
“They can’t get out of the building,” Ember reassured her. “What happened to you after the Drain and the Night Cursed were ordered to leave the other Districts?”
“We all headed to the old Miscellaneous Beings’ District and found compounds had been created for the people who were the worst affected,” Drognar replied. “I wandered for a bit and ended up at an old brick warehouse to find a bunch of others already there. It turns out they’re like me. They remember most things that have happened to us.”
“The angel and stone creature are your friends?” Ember queried.
Drognar nodded and became partially visible again. “Xiara Evora lives on the top floor with her hot doctor boyfriend. We’ve all become friends during the past twenty-five years.”
“I’m glad you found others like you,” the demoness said and realized she meant it. “You were my only friend in the catacombs. If you hadn’t been there to help me get through the torture Beleth put me through, I probably would have gone mad.”
“You seem to be doing okay,” Drognar said tentatively. “Have you run into any trouble with any of the other demons?”
“Just Raum,” Ember said. “He wants me to join him in taking down the Immortal Triumvirate. He thinks I can boost his power, or something like that.”
Drognar nodded rather than gaping at her in shock. “Quilla told us about the reading she did for you. She’s always right, you know. If she foresaw that Raum will help you improve your lot in life, you should think about following her suggestion.”
Ember stared at her usually timid friend incredulously. “This is Raum we’re talking about,” she reminded her. “He’s the most evil demon in Nox. I’d have to be insane to trust him.”
“You probably don’t have much choice,” Drognar said with a hint of pity. “If he’s made up his mind that you’re the match for him, he won’t stop until you agree to become bonded to him.”
“I have to become bonded to him?” Ember asked, voice raising a few octaves. “What does that even mean? Bonded how?”
“It won’t hurt all that much,” Drognar said, but she went invisible again, which meant she was lying. “Okay, it might hurt a bit,” she admitted when the gold eyes of her friend narrowed. “All I know is that this is fated. Both of the other dangerous and powerful women who bonded with the other two rebel leaders have benefited from it. They’re both a lot stronger now.”
“I’m not powerful and I’d hardly say I was all that dangerous,” Ember protested.
“Really?” Drognar said slyly. “I heard you killed a bunch of women Raum was interviewing to become his partner.”
“Heh, yeah, that was fun,” Ember confessed. “You should have seen his face the last couple of times I murdered his choices.”
She chuckled and Drognar shook her head chidingly. “You’re lucky Raum didn’t kill you for that.”
“I thought he was going to when he captured me and tortured me with his demonic essence,” the demoness said glumly.
“He tortured you?” the cursed hell spawn said in horror. “How badly did he hurt you?”
“He used a silver net to cage me and he gave me some new scars,” Ember said, holding her arms and wings out to show off the newest addition to her collection. “It felt like I was being burned alive from the inside when he used his demonic essence on me.” She shuddered at the memory.
“That bastard!” Drognar hissed, lime green eyes blazing in outrage. “The hide of that demon thinking you’ll agree to be his partner after he tortured you!”
“We’re demons,” Ember reminded her. “It’s kind of expected to be tortured when you piss someone off. Besides, I stabbed him through the heart when he let me go. I came this close to killing him.” She held her finger and thumb a couple of millimeters apart.
Drognar grinned widely enough to show all of her teeth. “See? You are powerful and dangerous. I bet no one else has ever come that close to killing Raum. How did you pull it off?”
Ember shrugged uncomfortably. “He worked out that I was a half-breed and he got me to turn into my human form that I didn’t even know I had. He seemed to think it was nice to look at. He was particularly taken with my boobs. I changed back into my demon form and stabbed him through the heart with my talons while he was distracted.” She chuckled again and Drognar giggled with her.
“Can you show me your human form?” Drognar asked.
“I guess so,” Ember said. She concentrated, then morphed into her pale, fleshy human form. “Look at these things,” she said, grabbing hold of her boobs. “What am I supposed to do with them?”
Drognar stared at the stunning woman who didn’t have a blemish on her. “You’re beautiful,” she said in awe. “It’s no wonder Raum wants you to be his match.”
Ember made a face and switched back to what she thought of as her true form. “Like I said, he can’t be trusted. He’ll just use me, then discard me when he’s done.”
Drognar shook her head in denial. “He won’t be able to do that,” she refuted.
“Why not?”
“Because the bond is permanent. If you choose to become bound to him, it’s for eternity. Or until one of you dies.”
“Then he’ll just kill me when he doesn’t need me anymore,” Ember figured.
“I don’t think it’ll be that easy,” the cursed hell spawn said doubtfully. “I think you’ll become so powerful once you’re a pair that you won’t be easy to kill.”
Ember’s eyes widened at that possibility, then she shook her head. “Only a fool would bind themselves to the Demon Guild Master and I’m no fool.”
“Just think about it,” Drognar said pleadingly. “I wouldn’t tell you all this if I didn’t think it would ultimately be best for you.”
Her old friend had always looked out for her in the past, so Ember nodded. “Fine, I’ll think about it,” she said. Thunder rumbled and the rain intensified. “I’d better get you home before we get struck by lightning,” she said. She grabbed hold of Drognar and flew her back to the building she’d seen Xiara Evora leaving from. “Take care, Drognar,” she said after she set her friend down.
“Will I see you again?” Drognar asked.
“I’ll stop by again when I can,” Ember replied evasively. The pair hugged briefly, then she took to the air. It was doubtful she’d see her old friend again. Now that she’d witnessed the atrocities the Immortal Triumvirate had inflicted on defenseless women, she’d decided they all needed to die. How she was going to pull that off alone was a mystery. It was doubtful she would survive the attempt, but she had to at least try.
