Chapter 16

Kellan and Nora sat on the same side of an old, sturdy table. It had all sorts of scratches and gashes in it. Nora didn’t want to know how they got there. She also didn’t want to know how the marks and stains had gotten on the walls.

This was the room they had chosen to use for interrogation for one very convenient reason. On the opposite side of the table sat an iron chair, with iron manacles for every portion of the body that may need to be restrained. Shackles were available for arms, legs, waist, neck, and even the forehead.

In this iron chair, sat a demon—a considerably strong demon. It had taken six wolves to restrain him when they found him in the woods.

Every one of the chair’s manacles was in use. The prisoner didn’t appear to appreciate what was touching his skin. His yellowish eyes were angry. And they were trained on Nora.

“So, the Queen of Wolves is alive, after all,” he spoke, his voice raspy. The demon had been rendered unconscious during his capture and was just now coming out of it.

Kellan’s wolf eyes were glowing. “That implies you know there is a reason she might not be.”

The demon shrugged. “I have heard rumors.”

“This is common knowledge in the Southland? That’s very dangerous information to feed me, demon.”

“What? You think to war with the Sundari?” the demon laughed. “Over a witch?”

Nora involuntarily flinched at the vitriol in his tone. Calling an elemental a ‘witch’ was offensive to the Gwydion people, but it was how he spat it that had Nora concerned. Was all of this because she was not a wolf? If so, why would the demons care?

“Watch what you say. That is my mate you speak of.”

The demon said nothing. Kellan was sure he would not get much information from him, but he would try. He needed to glean some background information if he was to investigate further.

“What is your name, demon?”

Nora thought the demon would stay quiet, assuming a group of assassins would hang on to their secret identities as long as possible. She was wrong.

“Bogdan,” he answered.

She’d heard the name before.

“You are the stone trader,” Nora said, confused.

She could not fathom how the masonic tradesman could have come to be involved in such treachery. He was well-known by many, and just as well-liked.

Kellan looked at his wife. “Do you know him, Nora?”

Nora shook her head. “No, but my father does. Bogdan has done business in Gwydion countless times.”

Kellan nodded. “Yes, here, as well. Limestone, correct?” he asked, staring hard into Bogdan’s yellow eyes, waiting for any hint or clue he may inadvertently give away.

“Ah, I am famous. How lovely. Since we all seem to know each other, how about you let me be on my way? Hmm?”

“You’ll be infamous, as well, once I remove your heart,” Kellan warned.

Bogdan must have sensed the seriousness within the wolf. He turned his eyes to the right, breaking the King’s stare. It was difficult to look an alpha in the eyes, even for a powerful demon.

“Surely we can reach some sort of arrangement?” Bogdan asked, still looking off to the side. He knew better than to tempt his captor.

“Doubtful. I know it was you who compelled one of my wolves to poison my mate. Then stole the she-wolf away from the castle, only to beat her half to death in a field near the temple.”

The demon’s teeth gnashed, snapping in the air. Kellan slanted his head, holding on to his composure.

“Do you deny it?”

Bogdan smiled, as if he found humor in Kellan’s question. Really, the question was almost rhetorical. The tracker had confirmed Bogdan’s scent was the same one he had picked up in the forest near the castle, then again in the clearing when they found Isla.

Nora rested her chin in her hand, thinking. “What I cannot determine is why take Isla with you? If she was in on the plot, she would have gone willingly. And why commit such violence against her?”

Still, Bogdan smiled, but remained silent. Nora’s eyes traveled down his face to his chest, to his torn shirt. He had a medallion around his neck. It appeared old and valuable. Would taking the heirloom from him get him to speak? Obviously, beating him did nothing.

Then, through a sliver of the tear in his shirt, she noticed what looked like script on his skin, over his heart. It was barely noticeable, but Nora was sure something was there.

Markings on skin were rare. Usually, only noble groups, such as a king’s guard, wore such designs.

“What does your branding on your chest say?” she asked.

Bogdan’s eyes jerked to hers and the yellow began to glow. Nora must have hit a nerve with her question.

Kellan leaned forward and ripped the shirt open further. Bogdan attempted to shift his body away from Kellan, but it was no use. The iron had him incapacitated.

Kellan could not believe what he read on the demon’s skin. He hadn’t seen or spoken the words in years. No one had.

Sephtis Kenelm

His heart started to pound and an ugly, dark emotion, one Kellan hadn’t felt since his father died, crept into in his chest.

He turned to Nora. She didn’t appear to understand. Kellan debated killing Bogdan this very second. He didn’t have answers, but he now knew the threat was worse than he imagined.

“What is Sephtis Kenelm?” Nora asked, seeing her husband’s distress.

The demon began a deep, maniacal laugh. It was especially eerie with the natural low tones common in demons.

“You’ll soon learn, witch!” he continued laughing.

Then, suddenly, he began chanting in a foreign tongue.

Isla howled from her cell one floor down. A haunting, painful baying filled the air.

Goosebumps broke out over Nora’s flesh. She felt a tingling in her skull, like cold fingers trying to grip it from the inside. She shook her head, trying to make it stop.

Kellan stood so abruptly, his chair flew into the wall. He grabbed Nora’s face and looked into her eyes. Her green and blue irises swirled with a tint of yellow at the edges. Bogdan was more powerful than Kellan had believed.

Kellan released Nora and threw the heavy table against the wall, as if it weighed nothing. Bogdan may have been acting boldly, but he couldn’t hide the scent of fear seeping from his pores. He was right to be afraid. He was about to die.

“You think you can stop this?” Bogdan taunted. “You are powerless, wolf.”

“Oh, I fully intend to stop this,” Kellan growled as he approached the crazed being in the iron chair.

“You can do nothing. The prophecy is already in motion. Only we can stop it. Heed the threat from the West, you fool!” the demon screamed.

Kellan paused, briefly, at Elora’s prophetic words being repeated. A small part of him wanted to question Bogdan further, to torture him to get answers. But Nora shrieked in agony and quicker than he could blink, he had Bogdan’s heart in his hand.

Kellan had punctured the demon’s chest and ripped out his adversary’s heart so rapidly, it was still beating. Nora collapsed, and Kellan’s subsequent roar was heard for miles.