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RAUM TRANSFORMED INTO his demon form and flew away from the insane asylum. Power throbbed inside him and it was all he could do to stop himself from roaring in triumph. He felt as if he could fly around the world within minutes, but he sensed that the barrier that kept him imprisoned in Nox was still impenetrable. Despite becoming a member of a new trinity, he was still trapped here.
The demon lord contented himself with flying above the City of Night. Everywhere he looked, he saw evidence of Crowmon’s treachery. Thousands of civilians had been slain by the stone hounds in the Shifter, Fae and Vampire Districts. Thousands more vampires, witches and wizards had killed each other when war had erupted between the two groups.
Bodies lay strewn all over the streets, along with the piles of sand that had been the stone hounds. Crowmon’s olde-worlde magic was gone and Raum could no longer feel any traces of it. It had been converted into magic that could power the city for a year.
Curious about how Crowmon and his people were faring, he circled around to the far western edge of the Fae District where the trickster god’s shrine was located. His glowing blue eyes saw blackened, dying trees surrounding a glade. The barrier that had been in place the last time he’d tried to spy on the deity was gone. He caught glimpses of rows of crudely made pews lined up in front of a wooden platform beneath a canopy of fabric. A badly made wooden chair that was supposedly a throne was empty. An effigy of Crowmon stood beside the chair.
Raum chuckled darkly at the crown that sat on the effigy’s head. The trickster’s ploy had failed. His magic had been stripped from him and he was now powerless. The Demon Guild Master was glad his alliance with Crowmon had ended the night they’d engineered the Drain. He wouldn’t have wanted to get caught up in his former ally’s dismal failure.
The demon winged his way to the Vampire District and descended. A flicker of glowing gold eyes caught his attention, but his minion flew away before he could see who was spying on him. Even in Nox, there were rivals who vied for his position. Several powerful demons had migrated to the City of Night over the past five decades, seeking to usurp him. None were strong enough to defeat him and they all knew it. That didn’t stop them from using their minions to watch him.
Now that he was a member of this new triad, Raum was confident none of his rivals would have the power to overthrow him. Once he chose a suitable partner to bind with, he would be unstoppable.
The demon lord transformed back to his human form as he descended near a filthy alley between two squalid buildings. He deftly landed on his feet, then sauntered down the alley to one of the many entrances to the catacombs. A small red demon was watching the door. She lowered her orange eyes and bowed subserviently. “Welcome home, my lord,” she said.
Raum’s upper lip lifted that the bowels of Nox were his domain. Escaping from hell had been liberating, but his elation hadn’t lasted long. The catacombs weren’t much better than the caverns where his kind dwelled in hell. The Immortal Triumvirate swore they hadn’t chosen the tunnels to become the home of the demons. The magic of Nox had apparently picked the location.
After almost fifty years of living in the tunnels, Raum still didn’t know where all the entrances were. His minions had mapped out the caves as best they could, but the city kept changing things and they’d eventually given up. After the Drain, the changes seemed to have stopped, but every now and then, the demons found new chambers and old tunnels seemed to have disappeared.
Raum was aware of his lackeys watching him as he made his way to his private sanctum deep in the heart of the Demon District. Their glowing eyes followed him until he was out of sight, then he felt their relief that they hadn’t caught his notice. The two twelve foot tall gray demons with lime green eyes and gigantic war hammers stood to attention when he strode towards his chambers.
“My lord,” one of them growled in greeting with a subservient bow. Raum nodded at them both, then paused when he saw his big black doors had changed. An image of him in his demon form was carved into the metal. His lips quirked up in a pleased smile when he saw a faint outline of a crown on his head. It was an obvious sign of his new station.
He stepped inside his home and was disappointed when he saw that nothing else had changed. He’d hoped the black rock walls, floor and ceiling would have transformed into something less oppressive, but the furniture and other belongings were still the same. He crossed to his bedroom and opened the door, then stopped to stare. Before, his bed had been fairly standard in size. It was now large enough to accommodate several people. The beddings had always been black, but now the covers were a mix of black, gray and gold. His furniture had changed subtly and were less masculine now. A small sitting area had been added next to the fireplace to the right. Soft couches and armchairs in black, gray and gold were arranged in a cozy setting.
Raum looked around at the changes, then crossed to the closet. Just as he’d suspected, it was now large enough to accommodate two people’s clothing. Half of it was empty and was waiting for the partner he would have to convince to become bound to him for eternity. “Let the hunt begin,” he said with a wicked grin that made his blue eyes dance merrily. For a moment, hellfire burned in their depths before he dampened it.
