Page 60 of To Hunt a Demon King

“Those who pass through these gates are protected by the Demon King,” Carnon replied, holding the dagger out to me. “But in exchange they must weaken themselves. It’s mostly symbolic, but again, intent is important here. You demonstrate your intent to do no harm by offering payment at the gates.”

I frowned, taking the dagger and wincing as I cut a slice across my arm as Carnon had done. I wiped it against the stone pillar, already feeling the cut heal over as I left my own red smear behind. The necklace hummed faintly, as if in approval. Or maybe as if in recognition. It was hard to tell what the whims of the shadow stone were, but it definitely wanted to be taken into the city. The coiling magical beasts in my gut gave a happy little flip, as if they too were excited to be here. I sighed, wondering when my feelings would be my own, and not subject to the whims of inanimate objects or magic I didn’t want.

“What’s wrong?” Carnon asked, wiping the dagger off and sheathing it.

“It’s just not natural,” I said, scowling at the demon gate to Oneiros.

Carnon chuckled. “It may be time for you to reevaluate what you view as natural, Red,” he said, smirking at me before dropping a kiss on top of my head. I looked up at him, and his expression was warm and fond. “Come on.”

He led me back to the horse and boosted me onto the saddle, swinging up behind me and pushing the horse into a trot. As we passed under the archway, I felt a prickling of my skin, like all the hairs were standing on end at once.

“It’s just the magic of the gate,” Carnon said soothingly when he felt me stiffen. “It’s checking we left payment.”

“What would happen if we didn’t?” I asked, seeing a long, dark tunnel loom ahead of us that I hoped opened out into Oneiros. The tunnel glowed faintly with some kind of ambient light that was both beautiful and eerie.

“It would have sent us back out,” Carnon replied. “Painfully.”

“Why are the walls glowing?” I asked, marveling at the faint silver glow.

“I see you have another thousand questions,” Carnon said, amused. “The mountain is made primarily of moonstone. It glows faintly at night as long as the moon is visible. As the sun rises, the glow will fade.”

“It’s beautiful,” I said, my voice filled with awe. I had never seen stone like it before, and Carnon chuckled again at my wonder.

“If you like this, wait until you see the palace,” he said. “It’s made entirely from moonstone.”

“Really?” I asked, twisting slightly to see his face. Even with the glowing moonstone, it was too dark in the tunnel to make out his features, but he must be able to see well enough to direct the horse forward.

“Really,” he replied. I was silent for a while as we plodded through the tunnel, the path still rising gently. Oneiros must sit in the mountains, based on how long we had been climbing.

“And will I be staying with you?” I asked. “In Oneiros? Or will I have to stay with the Demon King?” Carnon didn’t reply for a moment, wrapping his arm a little more tightly around me.

“Invoking the protection of the Horned God means staying close to the Demon King,” he replied slowly. “Probably in the palace with him as his guest.”

“Will I see you still?” I asked, feeling like the question might be too forward. We had been together one time, and we didn’t have any kind of understanding between us. And, Goddess above, I had only known the man for about a week. But still, the idea of never seeing him again after having him as my only company in the Bloodwood and the Darklands made a pit open in my stomach.

“Yes,” Carnon said, squeezing me again reassuringly. “You’ll still see me.”

“Because you work for the king or something?” I teased, throwing his equivocation back at him to make myself feel better.

He chuckled, brushing his lips over the shell of my ear. “Or something,” he agreed.

The rest of the ride was silent, and the tunnel began to slowly fade as we rode. A small patch of gray light ahead of us told me we were nearing the exit of the tunnel and that the sun must be rising. My heartbeat kicked up a few notches as we drew closer, and my breath left me in an audible gasp as we finally emerged on the other side of the mountain.

“Welcome to Oneiros,” Carnon purred in my ear.

The view was breathtaking. The capital of the Darklands lay in a basin surrounded by mountains, like those we had just traveled under, and it stretched for miles and miles. The palace at its center gleamed faintly as the sun began to rise over the peaks, setting the white stone aflame with pinks and oranges and yellows.

The rest of the city gleamed too, many of the buildings seeming to be made from the same moonstone as the palace. From our height up the mountain, it was difficult to see roads, or figure out which buildings were homes, but the sheer scope of the city astounded me. Little parks and tufts of green were dotted among buildings, and a blue-green river cut through the city, disappearing into the mountains on the opposite side.

“This is not what I was expecting of a demon city,” I breathed, taking in the splendor that lay before me.

“What did you expect?” Carnon asked, voice still low in my ear as he watched me take in the city,

“I don’t really know,” I said, still in shock. “Maybe black obsidian and dark stone. Or a lake of fire, perhaps.”

Carnon chuckled. “Sorry to disappoint you, Red,” he said, urging the horse forward on the path that led down the mountain and into the city.

We moved quickly, and I sensed that Carnon preferred not to run into anybody who might recognize him. I wondered if he knew everyone here like he seemed to in Mithloria, but it seemed preposterous that he could know so many. There must be thousands living in a city this size, and I realized that the demons must greatly outnumber the witches in the Witchlands. No wonder witches were so fearful of demons.

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