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RAUM SAT AT HIS DESK in the Demon Guildhall. It was black and made of solid, heavy wood. All of the furniture in his office was black. Two chairs sat on the other side of his desk. A leather couch and coffee table were to his left. A fireplace was to his right. As usual, it was raining, but the guildhall was far warmer than the catacombs and the fire wasn’t lit.
Steepling his hands together beneath his chin, Raum swiveled his chair to face the window. He stared out at the deluge as flashes of lightning illuminated the Immortal Triumvirate’s headquarters and the other guildhalls. The gigantic stone statues that flanked the doors of the guildhalls appeared to be weeping. He smiled sardonically at that fanciful notion, but it dropped away almost instantly.
A knock sounded at his door and Raum heaved an inaudible, irritated sigh. He had to spend at least a few hours each night presiding over the Demon Guild, as well as attending the meetings with the Immortal Triumvirate at least once a week. He also had to deal with the problems that cropped up in the catacombs. He almost wished he’d never bothered to have the guild created in the first place. Was this what it was going to be like when he and his allies defeated their rivals? Then he remembered Xiara Evora’s prediction that Nox would cease to exist if its leaders were killed. Personally, he wasn’t so sure about that. The magic of Nox was strong. If he could find a way to wrest it from the Immortal Triumvirate and harness it somehow, then maybe Nox didn’t have to die along with them at all.
The knock sounded again and he had to set his personal problems aside. “Enter,” he said and swiveled his chair back to face the door.
A mid-level guildmember shuffled inside, bowing her head deferentially. Her hide was a shiny bronze color. Her leathery wings were tucked in tightly so she could fit through the door. “My lord,” she said in a wet voice that sounded like she was gargling rocks. “I have a petition from the slave masters for you to read.” She was carrying a folder in one hand and gestured with it.
Raum mentally rolled his eyes. “Another one?” he complained and motioned for her to step forward. She crossed to the desk and handed him the folder. “You may go,” he ordered. She bowed again, then turned and hurried out of his office, closing the door behind her.
He read through the petition from the slave masters and shook his head when he was done. “Idiots,” he muttered and flicked the folder shut. The slave masters wanted permission to scour the other Districts for slaves to be sold at the blocks more often. Apart from Raum, the slavers were the most feared demons in the catacombs. It had made them greedy and arrogant. Their petition was little more than a demand to be allowed to do whatever they wanted.
Raum hadn’t risen to the top just because he was powerful. He came from a strong and feared bloodline. The Guild Master was intelligent, ruthless and ambitious. He’d made deals that had elevated his kind. Thanks to him, they were now considered to be equal to the other species. Now the slave masters wanted to prey on the weak and vulnerable three times a week instead of just once a week. They didn’t care that it would jeopardize their fragile alliances with the other Districts.
Opening the folder again, Raum wrote a short message that the petition was denied. He added that if anyone kidnapped civilians without his authorization, he would personally behead them. He closed the folder and tossed it into the basket that a lackey would check later.
With that task out of the way, the demon lord went back to staring through the window. He should be out searching for a suitable woman to become bound to, but he wasn’t in the mood tonight. His scouts had reported on a few potentials who had more magic than most, but he hadn’t approached them yet. His minions thought he was seeking allies to make nefarious deals with and they weren’t exactly wrong. The deal he intended to make was more unusual than most, however. If Nox did fall along with the men who had created it, he was going to be saddled with the female he chose until one of them died. That could be eons from now. It was daunting when he really thought about it.
A pair of glowing gold eyes swooped past his window and he scowled. The spy one of his demonic rivals had set to keep watch on him was on duty. He still hadn’t managed to get a good look at the demon yet. The spy had an annoying habit of vanishing that Raum had never encountered before.
A thought occurred to him that gave him pause. He knew Azazel was up to something. His second had recently been seen in the City Square when he had no business being there. “Is he responsible for the spy?” Raum murmured.
His second in charge was sly and devious, just like the rest of their kind. It was in their nature to attempt to increase their standing. The only one standing in Azazel’s way of being the leader of the catacombs was Raum. His story about chasing the assassin who had killed Beleth to the river where she’d been torn apart by the water elementals had been a lie. If the scout who had corroborated Azazel’s story was in on it, then why wouldn’t his second have a spy watching him?
If they’d still been in hell, Raum would have killed Azazel for the mere suspicion that he was plotting against him. Unfortunately, he couldn’t kill his second without a good reason. He had no proof that Azazel was planning to overthrow him. It was just a hunch. There were rules that had to be followed in Nox and coldblooded murder was illegal. Xiara Evora would execute him and her staff would reap his soul if he killed Azazel. Not even the power he’d gained from forming a triumvirate with Sebastian and Kade would be enough to save him from that fate.
The gold eyes flashed past his window again. They stared at him insolently before the demon flew away. Raum had intended to do something about the spy, but he amended his plan before he would get rid of the minion. He needed to know exactly what Azazel was up to. Instead of merely eliminating the lacky, he would have to trap him and put him to the question first.
Raum’s smile looked wide and charming in his reflection in the window, but it had a cold undertone that would have frightened most beings into running from him as fast as they could. Hellfire burned in his eyes when he thought of all the ways he could torture the spy into spilling his guts.
Lightning flashed, momentarily lighting up the City Square with stark brightness. The bolt hit the rooftop of the Immortal Triumvirate’s headquarters and blew a small hole in the slate tiles. “I’ll take that as a portent, shall I?” the Demon Guild Master murmured, then chuckled. Even the weather disliked the leaders of the city. It would serve them right if Nox itself rose up against them. In the City of Night, anything was possible.
