Page 2 of The Demon Mark

The raven looked him up and down, unimpressed with what she saw. “You are only wearing pants, Envy.”

Right. He couldn’t leave this castle without putting clothing on. Or at the very least, looking the part. He was meant to be the terrifying king who would steal their magic if they looked at him wrong.

But then he had the thought that maybe he shouldn’t be that person. If he really wanted to see if this oracle was the real thing, then he needed to go into her home with no one recognizing him.

He chose a black shirt and a long black cloak that would fit over his broad shoulders. Then he covered his face with a smooth porcelain mask. It had been glazed a dark grey with waves of black across it. He thought maybe he’d worn it to a masquerade once before, back when he’d cared to mingle with his people more than now.

Gesturing for Orphe to join him, he strode out of his office with his raven on his shoulder. They would find this oracle, and he was going to enjoy every second of the hunt.

The streets were quiet this time of night, although he could hear a small crowd the moment he hit the bottom of the long stairwell that led up to his castle. Right, the body. He’d forgotten he’d thrown a man down here.

Envy was surprised there was anything left of his latest victim. After all, the body must have hit many rocks on the way down. There had to be only pieces for other people to find. And yet, they were still trying to find all the missing parts.

Humans would never stop surprising him. They were a tenacious species, and they always liked to gather their dead. Even when there was little more than a husk left.

Sighing, he turned down the opposite direction. “They’re still in the old bath houses?”

“Yes,” Orphe breathed in his ear, opening her wings and spreading them wide. “The bath houses.”

“Why there, I wonder?”

Such a place wasn’t private. And they had to know it was best to hide from him. Envy had made it very clear what he thought about those with power. He would feed upon them all the moment someone else spoke of their power, so they hid. Magic was a curse in his kingdom.

Yet there were always people born with magic, seemingly more and more every year. Still a small percentage of those who lived in his kingdom, but enough that he was constantly fed these days. Even he was surprised at some of their powers. They were... impressive.

But that of an oracle? She would be magnificent. He’d never been successful in taking that power. He could cast illusions with the best of them, levitate any object, even bring beings to life from mud or water. But he could not see the future.

Tonight would be a good night.

They approached the old bath house, and he was surprised to see a small crowd in front of it. There were so many of his people that he wondered how widely known this oracle was, and why he hadn’t heard of her until now. If she’d been practicing long enough for so many to know her name, surely someone would be foolish enough to tell the wrong person.

Until he saw the sign as he stepped inside the bath house with the crowd.

A great and magnificent spectacle! Come see the fabled oracle of legend and a menagerie of magical sights.

“A circus?” he muttered, glancing at Orphe on his shoulder. “Since when does a circus travel through my kingdom?”

His raven gave a rather human like shrug. “I have not heard of it until now.”

“You are meant to be my eyes and ears.”

“I cannot be everywhere at once.” Feathers ruffled, she turned her attention to the crowd around them. “There are many magical people here, though.”

So there were. He could see a young woman breathing fire in the corner with a crowd around her. They oo-ed and ah-ed at the display of power, before turning their attention to a young man who was twisting himself into a snake. Shapeshifters were also rare to find, although their powers were ones he had glutted on before. Another man in the corner lifted a stone that was four times the size of his body. His strength would have been tempting if Envy hadn’t already consumed that as well.

These were all... freak shows. They were magical people who could not live in his kingdom for a very long time. So those without power were curious to see what these performers were like, and just how real they were.

He watched the faces of the surrounding crowd. Every man, woman, and child wore expressions of awe that he wanted to keep for himself. He hated that other people were getting this attention, and the demon in his chest rolled at the realization that they weren’t paying attention to him.

This should be all his. He should be the one who casting spells and showing them just how powerful and wonderful he was. These people owed him every ounce of their attention and he resented they were giving it to anyone else in this moment.

“My king,” Orphe rasped in his ear. “The show is about to start.”

Twitching, he forced himself to follow the crowd yet again. There were so many people here, he couldn’t make a scene. Besides, what would he do with more power? He already had more of it than he would ever use in a lifetime.

Murmurs started up around him, and for once, he paid attention to what people were saying around him.

“Is the oracle performing tonight?”

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