Page 105 of Galen
“Enough chatting,” one demon said, pushing Castor forward. Tall horns jutted from his shaggy brown hair, and he had a thin black tail, but he otherwise looked human.
“Nice tail,” Castor retorted before being shoved again. “No need to get pissy. It’s a cute little tail. Hey! Not so hard.”
I shot him a look over my shoulder, and he smirked. His philosophy was that if we were going to die, he wouldn’t be some subdued prisoner. He’d bless them with his smart-ass mouth for as long as possible.
Castor’s hands and feet were chained, and the cuffs shimmered with dark purple runes. Magic chains? Probably to weaken him. Only my leg was chained. Clearly, I was no threat to any of them.
The walkway led to what looked like a small medieval fortress. Stone walls, turrets, and steps that led up to a set of two large wooden doors. The demons dragged us inside, and once again, I was struck by the beauty of it. The entrance hall was a wide, open space with intricately carved pillars and marble floors swirled with deep red.
The gothic-styled interior reminded me of Dracula’s castle. I kept that comment to myself though.
“Move,” the demon behind me said, pushing me as I stopped to gawk. “The king is waiting.”
As we were led down a narrow passage, then down another, Castor’s mischievous smirk faded. I recognized the unease in his eyes. It was the same look that touched each of the warriors’ faces the first time they felt the power of the ring that day in Alastair’s study.
Reaching a closed door, one of the demons knocked twice. The door opened from the other side, and both Castor and I were shoved inside the room.
Open windows showed the night sky and the two moons beyond them. There was no glass in them, more like open gaps in the wall. A balcony jutted outward, separated from the room by thin columns, no door. Candelabras were placed throughout, the candles lit, and a large fireplace sat centered on one wall, the flames crackling in the pit.
The demons who had led us to the castle closed the door and stood against it.
“Welcome,” a man said. His voice was pleasant to the ears. Smooth. He stepped out from behind a column. Black wings flecked with red and silver curved behind him, and his skin glimmered in the pale light of the moon. Long black hair fell to his chest, part of it tied back with a red strip.
Castor dropped to his knees, his body shaking. “Lucifer,” he whimpered, gaze cast downward. It was as if every muscle in his body bowed to the will of the man before him.
“I’ve been told I resemble him a great deal,” the man responded, stepping closer. His black pants hung low on his hips. “My name is Asa, firstborn son of the Morningstar. And you are…” He cocked his head. “One of the Nephilim warriors who defeated him. I sense a darkness in you, a trace of your sin. Greed?”
Castor didn’t move.
“Answer me.”
“Yes,” he gasped, as if the word had been forced out of his mouth.
“Strange. You don’t seem all that powerful to me.” When Asa came closer, the shade of his eyes caught my attention. They were a deep crimson. Those eyes then shifted to me. “Simon. Nice to officially meet you. The time in your body doesn’t exactly count.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound creepy at all,” I muttered. “I’d say it’s nice to meet you too, but I’m a horrible liar from what I’ve been told.”
“Easy, boy. Don’t test me.” Asa’s eyes flashed a brighter shade of red before he slumped forward a bit, catching himself on the corner of the armchair in front of the blazing fire.
“My lord,” one of the demons said, rushing to his side.
Castor rose from the floor and stood on shaky legs, whatever hold Asa had on him lifted.
The demon guided Asa to sit down before going over to the table and filling a clear goblet with a dark red liquid. Wine, maybe? Asa took a drink and relaxed more into the chair, a tremble in his hand.
“You’re weak,” I said.
Asa looked over at me. “Such an observant little human you are. You try being trapped inside a piece of jewelry for thousands of years and see if you aren’t a bit out of sorts when you first awaken too.”
“Why were you trapped?”
“Because we were at war, and my father realized he was losing.” Asa took another drink before slowly turning his goblet, the dark liquid swirling inside it. “The head of the angelic army had already butchered my brothers. Before he could set his eyes on me, my father ordered Belphegor to track down a witch who could transfer my essence temporarily. The Nephilim locked my father away soon after. Then, the witch betrayed us. And thus, I was locked away too.”
“Where was your body during this time? In a glass coffin somewhere?”
Definitely aSnow Whitereference, but it was all I could think of. Or maybe likeSleeping Beauty. I imagined him asleep at the top of a tall tower waiting for his true love to come and kiss him.
“You ask many questions.”
