Page 30 of Of Realms and Chaos

“You are so cute,” I said, stopping at the rock face and looking up. A smile broke across my lips as the tiny fangs of the creature caught the light. I knew that it was supposed to be a horrifying and murderous thing, but nothing other than delight filled me. Raising a hand, I clicked my tongue, trying my best to get the supposed dalistori to come down.

“Stop, creature, or face my wrath!” it shouted, stepping forward.

I did laugh then. Henry remained silent, a look of confusion on his face, though his eyes still held that fear.

“Wrath would be a wonderful name. Do you like that name, sweets? Or do you already have one?” I cooed as I climbed onto a higher rock, bringing our faces level.

The dalistori did not move, though it eyed me like it was going to eat my hand. Or my heart. Oddly enough, that only made it more endearing. As a particularly anger-driven being, I liked the solace a fellow furious little thing could bring me.

“Do not call me sweets, you inferior female. I should rip your tongue from your mouth for daring to speak to me that way!” With a smile, I reached up and slowly brought my hand towards its head.

“What about Violence? Or maybe Chaos?” My fingers reached its fur, the softness of it making my chest warm. Raven, a council member’s daughter, had a cat that I had been permitted to cuddle once and I recalled being jealous of her luck. I had never been allowed a pet.

It growled, teeth bared and eyes in slits. I could not fully feel its mind, but I knew there were murderous intentions within it.

“No, I think Wrath is the best of them.” Yes, I would call it Wrath.

Unfortunately, the dalistori did not seem to like that name as much as I did. It scowled at me, those eyes unsettling to say the least. Still, I continued to scratch it.

“You pesky little—oh, that is nice.” I smiled wider, my fingers grazing the top of its head. “No, not there. Behind my ear. Yes, that is the spot,” it said, that voice making the hairs on my arms raise.

From behind, I could hear Henry approaching us. Anxiety and fear radiated from him, his mental shields down and his thoughts a mess.

“You are psychotic. That thing is going to murder you!” he said quietly, tone sharp. I knew that I was likely scaring him, but there was something about the dalistori that called to me. Like it belonged with me.

Wrath ignored Henry entirely, leaning farther into my hand and humming softly.

“We did come here for a reason, actually.” It opened its eyes at my words, recoiling faintly. I frowned, already missing the warmth of its fur. “We have heard stories of your kind. None of them pleasant, but all of them confirm to us that your help could be something that saves many lives.”

This time, the dalistori backed away fully, hissing. Henry let out a soft gasp behind me as the creature grew larger. The demon rushed to me, putting a hand on my waist and trying to pull me down. I remained on top of the rock, unwilling to run.

The dalistori’s silky gray fur had turned thick and coarse, its fangs lengthening until they were the size of my forearm. A smile split the creature’s face, the edges of its mouth nearly touching its ears. The expression mixed with the yellow eyes was a horrifying sight, one born of the Underworld.

When it stopped growing, it had far surpassed even Henry’s height, towering over us. Still, I knew from legends that it had not reached even half of its full size. The hiss turned to an echoing growl that made my stomach churn and my hands shake, the vibration of it rattling my bones and knocking Henry back, forcing him to unwrap his arm from around me.

Whether it was out of stubbornness or determination, I did not know, but I remained still, not daring to step back. My hands dug into divots within the rocks in front of my chest, holding on and keeping my gaze forward. The dalistori lowered its head, bringing those yellow eyes down to meet mine.

“What makes you believe me to be a creature that cares for life? I will gladly eat thousands of living things and not bat an eye.”

Nodding, I pondered that statement. It was not the idea of helping us that bothered it, rather the assumption that it would want to save lives. I could work with that.

“Well, in saving lives, you will also get to slaughter many others. Though, ideally, we can stop the war before too many innocents are lost.”

The creature—Wrath—for its part, merely stared. No emotion showed on its face. No feelings radiated from its mind.

“Tell me, have you ever tasted a queen?” I asked, dusting lint that was not there off of my shoulder. Calm. I was calm. No terror could find me. I was The Manipulator—one of the most feared beings in existence. I would not cower.

My words had the desired effect on the creature, causing it to pause and regard me with a squinted gaze. I watched as it wiggled its hazardous claws, the curve of them perfect for gutting. It seemed that the kitty was not quite so sweet. My power swelled inside of me, itching for a fight that I did not want.

“Now that is a proposition,” it said. I watched as it slowly shrunk back down to the size of a large cat, though small enough to hold. Strange how I seemed to recoil at the idea of hurting such a vicious beast. Perhaps that was part of what made it so dangerous. “Do tell how you expect to find me a queen to feast on.”

Henry began shouting into his mind, the prodding at my power a bothersome feeling that I did not have time for. We had one chance at this, only one.

“The fae have their sights set on war, likely hoping they will one day rule over all. I am sure you recall, or at least are aware of, the way they eradicated any and all magical beings that were within their realm during The Great War. Imagine what they would do if they had control over all three realms. How do you think you would fare against a world such as that? I wager we would all be in danger.”

Wrath stared, listening but not showing any signs that it was agreeing with what I was saying. My hands began to sweat, the fear trying to take over. I swallowed it down, refusing to submit.

“Now, imagine how great it would feel to eat the heart of the fae queen, the one who would sentence you to death for simply existing. I could give you that. If you help the demons in the coming war, you could have both the king and the queen. Even better, you can keep your freedom without the fear of death chasing you wherever you go.”

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