Page 62 of Demon Queen
Maurice was oozing out in Dorian’s den, and I suddenly got a very vivid take on what war would look like. Carnage. Demons would die. Zombies would die. So many would die, and for what? So I could save one little demon who had betrayed us just like this Maurice had done.
My head pounded and my stomach twisted. I’d eaten so many demons. I could feel them under my skin, pushing against my sanity, like I’d had much of that to begin with.
Dorian-bear nosed my shoulder, hot breath sending a wave of comfort through me. “If you wish to save the ink, you have the power. You just have to consume him the way you did Regis. Who will not be performing any more executions unless explicitly stated.”
Regis stiffened up, looking at Dorian-bear with wide eyes and obvious fear. He bowed low and then rose and gave me a stiff smile. “A thousand pardons, my queen. Do you wish to consume the ink?”
No. I didn’t want to eat Maurice, but he was twitching and I couldn’t just let him die when I could save him. How could I possibly justify anyone’s death? It was a mountain of impossible. I got off Dorian-bear’s lap and went over to Maurice and started eating. He tasted like banana cream pie. Not cake. Still, banana cream pie wasn’t terrible. I closed my eyes and ate until Dorian-bear grabbed my waist with an enormous paw and pulled me away.
“He’ll regenerate far better than he deserves. He will be your loyal slave. Perhaps in time he’ll have some useful skills.”
Regis bared his teeth at the mess of demon that didn’t look like it could regenerate into anything much less become useful.“I will see that he is extremely useful in time. My apologies again, my queen.” He bowed at me and then proceeded to clean up, filling black garbage bags and taking them away, leaving nothing but a slightly ashy residue behind.
Frisco came forward with a plate of steamed vegetables. “You should eat. Then we will drive the Queen out of the demon lands.” Frisco gave a deep bow while I took the plate. I’d eaten so much, but vegetables would be a healthy addition to demon flesh.
I looked down at my bloomers and pretty corset. “I’m going to need a serious costume change if we’re really going to war.” I took a big bite of broccoli and it did settle my stomach.
“We?” Dorian rumbled a laugh that felt delicious. His paw was still resting on my stomach while I lounged against his warm, silky lava body.
My heart sank. “Aren’t we going to war? I guess that’s good. It doesn’t make sense to sacrifice so many lives for only one demon. Even if that was his precious baby.”
Frisco cleared his throat. “The Queen doesn’t go to war. The Queen stays where she’ll be safe, and the King and the Steward protect her. The last time the King personally went to war, it was after the angels were already dead.”
I stared at the enormous demon with his bright markings. “You mean I’m going to stay here waiting? But shouldn’t we all go? What about the compulsion thing? Can’t I be useful with that? Also, what about the White Rabbit?”
Dorian rumbled a laugh and snuggled me closer into his lava fur. He smelled so good. “What you just did was more than useful. As long as you are safe, the demons can’t be defeated.”
“If she’s on the throne,” Frisco said.
Dorian-bear growled, a low rumble that went through me like thunder. “The throne was destroyed along with the throne room. And good riddance.”
Frisco gave Dorian a long look. “And yet there you are, a perfect likeness of the Queen’s throne.”
I looked at Dorian-bear, who was the most comfortable place I’d ever imagined. “The throne was shaped like a fire-bear? What if the original throne that made the people impossible defeat was a real fire-bear. What if I rode Dorian into battle. Would that make everyone indestructible?”
It was very quiet for a long moment. Frisco’s face was a mask of thought. “I don’t know,” he finally said. “Drigo?”
“The only one old enough to remember the making of the throne room or the logistics would be the White Rabbit or the Zombie Queen herself.”
I bounced. “That’s why we need the White Rabbit? Just to ask him some questions about the throne room? That’s good. Then we can leave him locked up.”
Drigo growled. “No, we can’t.”
“Why?”
Dorian-bear growled and then picked me up, bouncing me until I was settled between his shoulder blades on his enormous back. I was so high right there. He turned and strode towards the flickering fire.
When he stepped into the flames, they roared around him, so loud my ears were popping, or that was just the air burning. We came out in the dungeon where a line of vampires were fighting zombies. Dorian roared and shot fire out of his mouth, like lava fire. The zombies were gone and the vampires were left to rearrange themselves against this even greater threat.
“Step aside. I have business with the White Rabbit,” Dorian-bear growled.
One the vampires squinted at him and then at me. “What are you wearing?”
“It’s my war outfit. We’re going to take back the demon lands from the Mad Hatter, but first we needed to talk to the WhiteRabbit.” I sounded completely insane, but also confident, so that was good.
“The Zombie Queen wants him back,” the vampire said, none of them relaxing their stances. “The attacks are getting stronger.”
“Of course she does. He’s brilliant. That’s why I need to talk to him.”
