Page 15 of Myths and Manuscripts
Except me, of course.
If that was the price of finally putting this writing nonsense to bed, then I’d do it. I’d write one more book, and if I failed again, then I’d know I’d given it my all.
Chapter 7
Demon Lord
Since Willow had refused to write the last book in my series, I was forced to come up with a new plan yesterday. She wasn’t the only good writer out there, she wasn’t even the most qualified one, so all I had to do was host interviews and see who else was worthy of writing my ending. Which was how I’d gotten stuck for hours talking to super fans and a few authors who’d never even read the books.
It was exhausting. I slumped back in my chair as yet another author strolled into the library’s conference room, bright-eyed and full of far too much excitement.
“It’s so nice to meet you!” The woman rushed over, shaking my hand with enough vigor to pull me right out of my chair. “When I heard you wanted to work with an author for the contest, I hopped on the first sky ship! Ten hours later and here I am, full of ideas and ready to write!”
“Okay, let’s cut to the chase then.” I extracted my hand from hers. “How do you see this ending?”
“Well, first you’re going to hire me, then we’re going to make some magic happen, and we’ll probably fall in love too.” She hugged a copy of the first book to her chest, smiling brightly. “With you on my team, there’s no way we won’t win this competition.”
“I meant how do you see the book ending?” I sighed, rubbing my temples. If I tried to scare her away, she’d only get more excited. I’d learned that lesson the hard way with a woman who thought the hero and I were secretly soulmates and should end up as a couple. The more I argued, the more convinced she was. “Nevermind. You can just go.”
“But I didn’t even tell you my name yet. It’s Sage and I’ve got a wonderful ending planned for your book, I promise.” She rushed to pull a bunch of papers out of her bag, dropping more than a few in her haste. “Sorry, just let me find my notes.”
“Fine, but if you choose to stay, you’ll only get one chance.” I stepped closer, looming over her as my shadows swirled through the air. “If you disappoint me, I’ll send you to a shadow realm and I swear you will not enjoy it.”
More papers fell from her hands, fluttering to the floor as she took a step back. “Seriously? But that’s a fictional place...”
“And I’m a fictional character. Try me. I dare you.”
Sage gulped, pushing her glasses higher up her nose. “Wait, you have to say that, don’t you? Playing the part of an evil villain and all that.”
Now that hit a little too close to home. Her laughter set my teeth on edge as she bent to pick up her notes scattered across the floor. Didn’t anyone believe that I was actually an evil demon lord who was destined to destroy the hero and take over the world? Or was I honestly just a joke to all of them?
If only Willow hadn’t said no. She was one of the few people I’d met since coming out of my book that seemed to take me seriously. Or at least, didn’t try to make me into some overly dramatic caricature of myself. Without her, I was probably doomed to lose to the hero in some horrific way.
“Mr. Demon Lord?” Sage stood up, papers in hand. “I think that once the hero kills you, your dark power should flow to another, creating a new Demon Lord with your will and ragefueling them to get revenge in a new series.”
That would work, but forcing my will onto someone else when I barely even knew what I wanted myself felt wrong. It was the most reasonable ending presented so far though, so I should probably take her up on it…
“Fine, let’s–” A pop of red hair drew my attention to the doorway where Willow stood smiling at me. Wait, had she changed her mind about writing my book? Excitement surged through me, but I clamped down on it as her eyes drifted to the writer next to me. No, she was probably here to meet and greet with all the authors I’d gathered, that’s all. I crossed my arms, trying not to let my disappointment show. “I knew you’d come crawling back eventually, but as you can see, I’m already interviewing other writers. You had your chance, and you lost it.”
She rolled her eyes. “Hello to you too. Excuse me for thinking the offer might still be good barely a day later.”
“Does that mean you changed your mind?” I felt myself moving closer to her against my will, hope blazing in my chest. She was the one I’d wanted all along, not some super fan trying to show off. “I might be willing to reconsider. If you ask nicely.”
“Excuse me.” Sage pushed between us, nudging Willow out of the way. “This ismyinterview. You’ll need to wait your turn just like everyone else.”
“Oh, sorry.” Willow winced and started walking away, but there was no way I’d let that happen again. Not after this exhausting day of interviews had proven just how perfect she was for my book. I flooded the far side of the room with shadows, casting her exit in pitch black darkness. She turned back with a grin. “You want me to stay that badly, huh? But I thought I was supposed to beg for the job.”
That’s what I probably should do, but the fear of losing her was far too strong. I didn’t have the time or patience tocontinue these interviews, especially when the author I wanted was standing right in front of me.
And a lord should get what they wanted, right?
“Youwillwrite my final book,” I commanded her. “I let you leave once, but you’re stuck with me now until you finish it and it better be outstanding.”
“Seriously?” Sage huffed, clutching her papers tight. “I can’t believe I flew all the way here for this. It’s your loss, I promise you that.”
Willow raised her eyebrows as Sage stormed through my shadows, exiting the room with flair. A minute later and I’d have been working with her instead of Willow. Thank the gods for good timing.
“So where do we start?” Willow asked. “We could go through the series as a whole, jump right to the end, or focus on plot holes maybe?” She glanced up at me with an eager expression that was so different from the anguish on her face yesterday. She’d looked like she was holding back tears then, but now she was completely fine. If she could flip her emotions that easily, what was stopping her from changing her mind again and dropping the project after a few days?
