Page 67 of Demon Queen
The Mad Hatter pulled his hat over his head, but a monster wolf launched from the back and tackled him over and dragged him out of the hat, jaws locked around his calf. Poor guy was screaming, but he’d pinned my baby to a wall, so I didn’t feel too bad for him.
I took a deep breath and waited while the other zombies desperately fought the impossible odds. They were impossible to kill. But we killed them anyway until there was no resistance.
When the last skirmish had ended, when the enemies were subdued and the stone palace was taken, Dorien walked slowly through the demons towards the Mad Hatter where he sat, chained from head to foot.
“You can’t trust her,” he said, staring at me with madness in his eyes. “You can’t trust anyone with so much power.”
Hazen answered easily, “She’s the Queen of the Demons. One doesn’t trust the Queen of Demons to do anything other than be a proper Demon Queen. Power is irrelevant. It’s motive and character that should be the main concern.”
The Mad Hatter glanced between Hazen and me. “You’re both insane.”
“Don’t call my mother crazy!” Wilkie screeched and threw himself at the Mad Hatter.
Dorian caught his tail, holding it in his enormous paw so Wilkie landed on the ballroom floor. “When the Mad Hatter calls someone insane, it’s not an insult.” He smiled his toothy bear smile at the Mad Hatter and then turned and walked towards a wall of fire, dragging Wilkie along with us by the tail.
“My King?” Frisco asked as we left. “Where are you going?”
“Candyland. The Queen has to open the shop in a few hours.”
“But…”
His voice cut off as we stepped through the roar of flames and came out in the kitchen of my store.
He shifted so I slid off his side, landing on the floor next to Wilkie who sprawled out, looking around with big eyes.
“How did you do that?” he demanded.
I leaned the Scepter of Rebirth against a counter and beamed at Wilkie. “He’s a cinnamon bear. Isn’t that cool?” I grabbed him in the biggest hug, squeezing him tighter and tighter until he finally wrapped his arms and tail around me.
Dorian wrapped his arms around both of us, but he was wearing his ridiculously attractive human glamour, so he didn’t have any claws or tails.
He pressed a kiss to my hair and then nosed my neck. “My Queen. I love you, my Candy Queen. My Demon Queen. The Queen of my heart and soul. Let’s not do the scepter lightning rod thing again, hm?”
I turned around to stare at him. Slowly I nodded. “Agreed. Hard agree.”
“Now what?” Wilkie asked, squirming while I kept holding him.
“Now we prepare for the most difficult thing of all. It’s going to be a Halloween presentation like nothing the world has ever seen.”
twenty
. . .
Children’shappy voices filled the air while I stirred the smoky cauldron and scooped up green potion to fill their jars. We were getting low on dry ice.
Gloria’s voice intoned on the other side of the shop as she worked her crystal ball, declaring that the woman would find love in time for the holidays.
A little kid got too close to the animatronics Frankenstein and shrieked when it bent down and held out his hand, a candy dispenser coming out of its robot arm to spill a variety of candy into the large metal palm. The kid hesitantly reached out and then gathered up the candy corn and malted balls before he darted away to find his mother, the woman who would find love.
“It’s more profitable to market to adults,” Callerie said, looking around with a slight frown, like she was looking for someone she didn’t see.
Just then Dorian stepped out on the balcony, spread his demon wings and roared a ball of fire that shot out and wrapped around the dangling torch, bringing it to life. The children screams turned to laughter as he slowly turned his head left, then slowly turned his head right, nodded and thenslid backwards, like he was on a roller instead of a real demon, disappearing back into my back rooms.
“Well…” Callerie said after a moment spent staring at the fire above us. “That was unexpected.”
“That’s the idea. Would you like some of my magical brew?”
She gave the smoky cauldron a skeptical look. “How much sugar is in your brew?”
