Page 3 of Thane's Demon
Most people thought the Seal was an ancient imperial treasure, a symbol of the Mandate of Heaven. They had no idea it was far older and far darker. It was created in the underworld by King Yanluo, the God of Death, meant to test rulers for balance and integrity. But when a chipped corner was repaired with gold, its purpose was twisted. It began feeding on greed, war, and bloodshed, growing stronger with every dynasty that fought to claim it.
By the time it reached Li Congke, the last emperor of the Later Tang, the Seal was already soaked in corruption. He died clutching it, and it was buried with the remains of those who burned with him. Ever since, the demon god, Chiyou, had hunted it, knowing its power could shift the balance of realms. And the worst part was…He wasn’t wrong.
I had learned of these lessons during my time with Lucius, who I had once believed to be my mentor. He had told me there was only one kind of being who could safely contain the Seal’s power. Not an angel. Not a vampire king. Not even the Ten Judges of Diyu, which was a realm of the dead. Only something born entirely of darkness, something already tainted beyond saving, something with no balance left to lose.
Something like me.
Which was why Lucius and my father had brought it here, why they stood so still now, waiting for my reaction. Why my demon recognized the jade the instant it touched the air, as if the artifact itself were a heartbeat echoing the pulse buried deepinside my bones. My demon lunged so fast I staggered, my vision warping with hunger.
‘Take it.
Consume it.
It is for us.
It is ours.
Take it now.
TAKE IT.’
I dug my nails into my palms hard enough to draw blood, hoping the pain would ground me for long enough to hold myself together, and feeling each sting as it broke the skin. It did nothing. The roar in my head only grew louder, rising like a storm crashing against bone, the demon pressing forward as if it wanted to split me open just to escape.
“Where did you find that?” I demanded, my voice was rough and dragged across my teeth.
“I hear your employer has been looking for it,” my father said, his tone far too calm for the weapon he had just unveiled.
I bared my teeth, my reaction more primal than not.
“Keeping tabs on me again, I see.”
“But of course, you are after all my…”
“Do not fucking say it,” I growled viciously. The demon surged so violently it nearly stole the strength from my knees, its voice ripping through me with claws, hot and vicious.
‘Say it so we can tear him.
Say it so he bleeds.
Say it so he learns… What we are.’
His jaw tightened. He dropped his gaze for the briefest second, and the sight of it… of him faltering, even that minor, well, it hit me like a blow. A crack in his armor, as well as my own…small but undeniable.Something I had never seen before.
‘Good.
Let him feel the damage he caused.
Let him choke on it.’
I could feel my control slipping, the demon pressing harder, forcing itself against the inside of my ribs as if the walls of my body had grown too thin to contain it. It begged me to feed off the building below, begged me to let the screams start again, begged to be set free. The hunger rose like a tide, relentless, inevitable.
“What will it cost me?” I asked through clenched teeth, forcing the words out before the demon could answer for me.
“Your loyalty,” he said before adding, “To us, not to your employer.”
I laughed, a harsh, broken sound that scraped the inside of my throat raw. It wasn’t humor, it wasn’t disbelief, but it was the brittle edge of something that might have once been hope. One long dead now. Spreading my arms, I gestured to my broken, filthy apartment, the cracked walls and peeling paint, and the cold that crept into my bones no matter how many times I tried to pretend it didn’t matter.
“And what do I get out of it? As you can see, I live in luxury.”
