Page 12 of Drawn to the Demon Duke
I set it down on the edge of the cot. “I’ll, uh, eat it later.”
He jerks his chin, then turns away from my cell. He turns away, but he doesn’t actually leave.
I take the chance to plead my case. “So… I’m not supposed to be in here. I think this is all one big mistake.”
That demon I summed is supposed to be my true love, not myjailer.
He shifts his bulk, looking over at me.
“There is no mistake. Duke Haures’s first law says that humans are not allowed to learn of Sombra. Our realms are kept separate. Mortals and immortals”—immortals?—“do not mingleunless the gods will it.” His green eyes darken. “How did a wee creature like you catch the duke’s attention?”
Wouldn’t he like to know…
At least I understand one thing. If I inadvertently broke one of the laws of this place, that would explain why the demon duke’s first instinct was to put me in the dungeon. Plus, I learned something else, too.
“Sombra,” I echo, purposely ignoring his question. “Is that where I am?”
In retrospect, it’s kind of obvious.Grimoire du Sombra… it would make sense that the spellbook was talking about a place. True, I convinced myself that ‘Sombra’ was, like, a wizard or something and these werehisspells, but maybe I wasn’t all that far off…
“It is our realm,” he confirms. “A refuge for demons and demonesses.”
But not humans, I guess.
He turns to leave again, but pauses when I throw one more question at him.
“Hey. What’s your name?”
He hesitates, as though not sure he wants to share it.
The demon just admitted what I suspected: heisa demon. I remember some of the books I read on demons and the occult while I was endlessly researching the spellbook. There are certain mythological and legendary creatures that, if you know their true name, you have power over them.
Hey. It’s worth a shot.
When he finally grates out, “Glaine,” I’m not so sure me having it will do anything since he gave it up at all. Still, I try.
“Let me out of this cell, Glaine. Help me go home.”
Not like Iwantto. For twelve years, I convinced myself that there has to be more than my mundane life. I finally have proof of it. If I was free to explore, or Haures really was my true love,ready to welcome me to his realm, I’d choose to stick around in a heartbeat.
But since I’m locked in a cell…
Glaine’s eyes flash angrily. He bares his fangs at me and, for the first time since I arrived in Sombra a few hours ago, I’m just a little nervous.
He moves toward the cell, so close the tip of his long nose nearly reaches past the bars. “I am the head of Haures’s guard. The duke has my loyalty. Do not ask again.”
Okay, then.
I don’t. The way he looks down at me so fearsomely, I know better than to test him.
Does that mean I keep my mouth shut?
I’m a younger sister. Of course not.
“How long does the demon duke guy plan on keeping me down here?”
My only answer is the slap of Glaine’s solid feet against the stone hallway before he changes forms again, becoming shadow and vanishing up the stairs.
Darn it.
