Page 69 of Demonchild

He looked around at the men and women crowded against the inner wall of the courtyard. Their faces looked like masks in the fire’s glow.

“If it wasn’t Jaeger who gave you the poison, then who?”

“I think I know…”

Malissa stepped down from the platform—what remained of it—and carefully picked her way down one sloping side of the pyre. Her bare feet sank painlessly into the glowing red coals. As she emerged from the flames, she stretched her new wings and looked around at the crowd. The people averted their eyes, as if they feared her gaze might turn them into stone.

All except the king. He glared at her with the same look of reproach she had seen watching her from within the frame of his painted portrait the night Beliath had impregnated her.

“Kill her!” he shouted. “Kill the monster!”

To Malissa’s surprise, a few foolhardy soldiers actually rushed at her with their swords drawn. They barely made it two paces before Beliath sent a volley of fireballs to cook them in their armor.

After that, the other guards left Malissa alone. Wulfgang shouted a few more impotent commands, but his men refused to listen. At last, the king gave up and fell silent. Malissa watched him for a moment, then turned away. She would deal with him later. Right now she was looking for…

“Droanna!” she called. “Droanna, where are you?”

When no reply was forthcoming, she directed her queries to the crowd at large.

“The maidservant,” she said. “The one who spoke just now before my execution. Has anyone seen her?”

There was a small commotion from a section of the crowd nearby. After a moment, Droanna came stumbling forward, aided by the hands of the people around her. She tried to disappear back into the throng, but the people pushed her, and she hit the ground with an anguished cry.

Malissa moved toward her.

“Shh. Calm down. Everything is going to be alright. Come on, stand up.”

Malissa helped Droanna to her feet again, but the maidservant kept her eyes downcast. She was shaking uncontrollably and hyperventilating with fear. Sweat was pouring down her face, mingling with her tears.

“That was quite a story you told earlier,” Malissa said. “Some of it was true, but there were a few lies mixed in as well.”

“I… I… I…”

“Shh. It’s alright. I’m not concerned about those lies now. But there was another lie you told me several weeks ago. You made me think it was Dr. Jaeger who tried to poison my baby, but that wasn’t true, was it?”

The maidservant was sobbing. Snot was leaking from her nose. Malissa carefully placed the tip of her index claw beneath the woman’s chin and slowly tilted her face up until their eyes met.

“It was you who fed me the poison, wasn’t it? Tell me the truth now.”

The quantity of tears that came gushing out of the maidservant’s eyes was unlike anything Malissa had ever seen before. She almost felt sorry for the woman. Almost.

“I’m sorry!” Droanna blurted. “I’m so sorry!”

Malissa sensed that the maidservant was about to flee, so she quickly wrapped her arms around the woman and hugged her tightly. Droanna cried out and tried to pull away, but her feeble struggles were futile against Malissa’s newfound strength.

“Relax,” Malissa said softly, and after a moment the maidservant did relax a little. “I’m not angry with you, I’m just a little confused. Haven’t I always been kind to you, Droanna?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” the maidservant sobbed into her shoulder.

Malissa gently petted the woman’s hair.

“So why did you do it, Droanna? Why did you want to kill my child? You can tell me.”

It was a long time before the maidservant was able to speak, but once she finally started talking, the words came out in a deluge. Her thoughts were all disjointed, and the events she described were out of order, but Malissa was still able to gather the gist of it. Droanna and the king had been lovers. At least that was what the maidservant thought. Malissa had her doubts as to whether the king actually saw it that way. Certainly he would never have elevated Droanna to the level of queen, even if he had managed to impregnate her as she hoped.

Now Malissa truly did feel sorry for the poor, deluded fool. When the woman finished talking, Malissa continued to hold her, rocking her slightly.

“I appreciate your honesty, Droanna. And… I forgive you.”

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