Chapter 13

ChapterThirteen

Two weeks later and he could still taste her on his tongue.

A part of him had wanted to gather her up and drag her back to his castle. He’d lay her out on silk pillows and cushioned ground, decorate her body with the finest of jewels and stunning gold. He would drown her in wealth and comfort until she agreed to stay with him as long as he wanted her.

But he also heard her when she’d explained why she was there. Varya, his little thief, had been there because her people didn’t have enough water to drink. And that was his fault.

She had yelled at him. Told him off. Done all the things that everyone in his life should have been doing. He had an entire panel of advisors. People who were from all around the kingdom who should have told him about the dire circumstances that had befallen his kingdom.

They had not.

There were countless towns and cities in his realm and none of them had deigned to tell him that their people lacked water. None of them had even hinted that they needed help and instead, he had been forced to stand in front of his newest treasure like a moron who didn’t know how to run a kingdom.

He supposed he shouldn’t have expected anything more from a kingdom of thieves. But a part of him had. He’d elected those advisors because of their capabilities in mathematics and their shrewd minds. They were the most prepared to run a city on their own, and he had given them all the tools to do so.

They had betrayed him. They’d betrayed their kingdom and their people, and he didn’t know which was worse.

So he’d left her surrounded in priceless treasure and magical artifacts, her chest heaving while she was completely unaware of the vision she had been. Laid out on gold coins with long strands of gemstones and pearls tangled underneath her back. She’d glared at him, her legs still askew and all that pretty, pink, dripping flesh just waiting for him to return.

She’d been angry at him for leaving her like that, and he was angry at himself. He’d wanted to feel her clench around his tongue and fingers. He’d wanted to know the sound she made when she came apart just from his touch.

And yet... something in him had said “this is not the right time,” and so he’d withdrawn.

It had taken him the better part of a week to understand why he’d stopped himself. And then, of course, he had felt foolish in not realizing why sooner.

He did not deserve to taste her on his lips until he could answer her questions. He refused to stand there like a dolt while she accused him of not knowing what was happening in his own kingdom. And he didn’t know what was going on.

But he would damn well find out. Only then would he reward them both.

The sound of a fist clenching around reins drew Greed from his thoughts. Tilting his head slightly, he saw Ivo’s hands shift back into a relaxed state. His sister had done the same thing on Greed’s other side.

“What is it?” he asked, his eyes scanning the sands as they approached one of the nearest townships.

“I don’t know.” Ivo looked in the same direction. His brow wrinkled. The spirit turned flesh had a sixth sense for much of his mortal life. Greed had learned a long time ago to be nervous when Ivo was.

Frowning, he drew back on his own reins and paused on the highest dune, looking down on the town. He knew what they looked like. Three dark figures on the horizon, seated upon skeletal beasts that looked similar to horses. But their flesh was withered and wizened, leather hides creaking as they moved. And the three tall figures upon them were larger than life, bigger than most humans, and menacing, with their armor and blades strapped upon their backs.

No one in that town would look at the horizon and feel anything other than a shiver of fear down their spine. As they should.

This was the first advisor Greed discovered to have lied. The man’s name was Oryx. He was perhaps the youngest on the advisor council and had proven himself to have a quick wit. He’d even kept up with Greed while he had spoken with the young man, and Greed had been more than a little impressed. Now he understood why.

He could not, would not, under no circumstances, allow one of his advisors to lie to him. Not while their own township or city needed his help.

This was a smaller town. Not a city by any means, and it was not one that had ever prospered well. He’d given it to Oryx in the hopes that the young man would prove himself. If he could bring a city like this out of the dust, then he would get a bigger one. And so on.

Looking down at it now, he could see just how wrong he’d been. The town was filled with dust and sand. There were no crops growing in raised beds, or even an attempt at farming. No cattle, no horses, not even a chicken wandered those streets. Essentially, nothing that Oryx had reported.

Laundry hung outside a few of the houses, but even that was threadbare and thin. These people were poor and likely hungry.

Greed didn’t enjoy seeing his kingdom in this state. Not when he knew how much they paid out to his advisors, who then gave him money as well.

“Do you think he’s pocketing some of the money?” Morag asked, shifting on top of her mount. The beast shuffled to the side, hungering for battle. Its sharp teeth would tear into the flesh of any who stood in their way.

“He’s definitely pocketing a lot of it.”

“How are you going to get him to admit to that?”

Greed flicked the reins, and his nuckelavee lunged forward toward the town. He could already feel its heaving breaths as long strings of drool landed on the sand. The beast knew this was a fight they were about to run headfirst into, and it was pleased.

“Let me deal with Oryx,” he growled. “He’ll confess to everything.”

And if he didn’t, then Greed would get his satisfaction one way or another. The advisor had no idea what monster he’d unleashed.

They thundered through the sand covered streets. People leapt out of their way, landing in pottery or even the few stalls where people were selling food and what looked like muddy water. He didn’t care. Soon they would have enough food and water to last them a lifetime. He’d send it from his own personal stores if only to gather their trust once more.

He was just as greedy with the attention of those who lived in his kingdom as he was with everything else he owned. They would show him fealty and they would love him. Because he was their king and no one else would ever surpass him.

Not even their advisor, who thought that he was better than the very demon king who ran this kingdom.

They raced to the house at the very end of the city. The one that was larger than all the rest. And though Oryx did not decorate his home on the outside, nor had he left any plants, it was cleaner than all the others. It was clear his house had wealth and power.

The small courtyard out front even had a water fountain. Though it did not flow over the top and bubble down, there was clean water in the basin of it. Considering the blockades made of twisted metal that surrounded the property, Greed had a feeling that water was for the inhabitants of that house and no one else.

Sighing, he drew his steed to a halt outside the home and dismounted. A small crowd had already gathered in his wake, the people of this town watching him with shock and awe.

They knew what their king looked like. They knew who the monolith of a man with flaming red hair had to be.

“Is that Greed himself?” someone whispered.

Another person hushed them, but yet another voice lifted. “That is! It’s the demon king!”

He turned toward them, a frown wrinkling his features as he watched them. “Where is your water?”

No one replied.

He tucked his hands behind him and started toward them. A few of the villagers skittered back as they realized just how large he was the closer he got. “I won’t ask again. My guards and I look for fresh water. You should have this. Where is your water?”

A few people in front of him flicked their gazes at each other. A man and woman, wearing matching red scarves over their heads that had faded into a dull rust color. Their skin was burnished by the sun, dark and leathery from years of burning in the desert heat. Neither of them would tell him anything.

But the little girl who clutched at her mother’s dusty brown skirts? That was the one who would tell him everything.

He bent at the waist and held his hand out for her. Her wide, dark eyes took him in. He must appear even larger at her height, his bulk spreading out on the sands and his smile a little sharp as he tried to gesture her forward.

“Please,” her mother whispered. “Please, no.”

“I have no interest in your daughter other than for answers.”

The woman shook and placed a hand on her daughter’s chest, holding her child away from the demon before her. “I... She’s not good eating, m’lord. All bones, this one.”

He flinched and glared up at her. “You think I’ll eat your child?”

“We’ve all heard what the demons do with children they get their hands on.” She swallowed, but a hardness straightened her shoulders. “I’ll not have my child subjected to that end.”

“I’m not hungry,” he snarled. “I want someone in this fucking cursed place to tell me where the water is.”

His voice thundered and roared, too loud for anyone to be convinced he didn’t want to hurt them.

But it was the little girl who pointed at the house behind him. “It’s in there.”

Greed closed his eyes and took a deep, quieting breath. “Is it, now? Little one, how often do you get to drink that water?”

“It’s for the lord of the town,” she whispered, then hid those big dark eyes behind her mother’s skirts. She still finished telling him, though. “We get our water from the rain.”

From the rain?

Damn it, his little treasure had been right, and that made him burn from the inside out. Apparently, he’d made some noise or appeared even more frightening because the parents raced away from him. The mother scooped up her daughter in her arms and sprinted into the nearest alleyway.

It didn’t matter. He would take their fear of him as much as he would take their love.

Turning his attention to Ivo and Morag, he jerked his chin at the house. “Bring him out.”

Other villagers were arriving already. They were clearly interested in what their king was about to do, and he felt their greed scenting the air. Like whiskey and wine, all powerful and consuming. He could grow drunk on it. Feast upon their emotions and glut himself on the power that only he fed from.

Instead, he held himself still and quiet until he heard shouting behind him. Oryx stumbled out of his home, shoved out by Ivo, who stood behind him like a living shield. Morag stayed in the shadows behind them, her hands on her blades. Already, a thin line of blood marred Oryx’s handsome face.

The man was what every woman dreamed of. Tall, thin, lean, more muscular than most of his counterparts. The man’s skin was like warm caramel and his eyes were framed with long, dark lashes. He gathered himself and strode toward Greed, uncaring that he lacked a shirt and his trousers were still half buttoned.

“My king!” he called out. “I didn’t know I should expect a visit from you. Please, come inside.”

“I’m not coming inside.”

A flash of fear in Oryx’s eyes gave him away. One moment, the man was looking between him and the crowd of people standing behind him, and then he was running. Ach, they always tried to run.

Rolling his eyes, Greed paced beside the fountain as Morag launched into movement. Her quick feet were faster than any mortal. And in this moment, he didn’t care that she failed to hide how different she actually was. Passion was agile, too fast for human eyes to even track. So fast even the wind couldn’t catch her.

In moments, she had his advisor on his knees in front of him. Her hand on his shoulder, not even breathing hard, she stared back at Greed with an understanding.

This man died today. He had lied and so he would pay.

Greed leaned down, hands on his knees, and grinned into the face of the terrified man. “You’ve been lying to me, Oryx.”

“I haven’t. I would never.”

He gestured to the crowd of people. “Then why did I hear your people were lacking water? When you have been given a water source to dole out to your entire town, making sure your people were cared for?”

“It was always implied that I could do whatever I wished with the water.” Oryx swallowed, but then his gaze turned flinty. “You’ve never cared for your people or how our towns were run.”

He hummed deep in his throat. “And I was always told that humans were kinder than demons.”

Wasn’t that what everyone always said about him and his brothers? Demons were monstrous beings that were unpredictable and evil to their core. Should he show them they were right?

He thought so.

Grabbing Oryx by the back of the neck, he dragged the man toward the fountain. Of course, his advisor fought against him. He had to know what Greed was going to do, but he carried the man by his head like a toy.

And when they reached the edge of the stone, Greed peered down into the three inches of still water there.

“You know, it’s possible to drown in an inch of water.” He sighed and then gave the man a little shake. “I’ve never believed that. Do you?”

Oryx spluttered something that he couldn’t quite make out. That was all right, though. Greed didn’t need to hear him speak. He already knew the man was guilty.

Lifting him up, Greed shook him one more time. “Let’s find out if it’s true together.”

Oryx’s eyes widened in fear before he tried to grab onto the edge of the fountain. But Morag held onto his arms and then Greed plunged the man’s face into the water. Three inches ought to be more than enough. He held him down as the man struggled, already wasting precious bubbles of air as he screamed.

Ignoring the man in his grip, he turned his attention instead to the crowd. “Your water was always meant to be rationed between all of you. Your advisor was a fool. You will be appointed a new one.”

They all stared at him with horrified expressions, but no one argued with him. They wouldn’t put forth their own suggestion for an advisor either, but that was fine. He’d find a better one. One who wouldn’t be such an idiot.

Already Oryx’s fight had weakened. His hands didn’t so much as push at the stone as he was grabbing onto it now. Trying his best to stay alive when his body knew the struggle was futile. Soon he would die and Greed would feel a margin better.

“Mercy!” a voice screamed across the crowd.

Frowning, he narrowed his eyes and tried to find the origin of the voice. But everyone in the crowd looked at each other as though surprised as well.

Who would dare interrupt him in this? He punished a man who deserved to be punished. A man who had no right to take from his people, and therefore to steal from Greed himself.

Then he saw a flash of deep green in the back of the crowd. A green he recognized.

As he peered through the crowd, Greed saw the glint of gold and a dark mask that covered her face.

Ah, but his treasure hadn’t been able to stay away from him for very long, it seemed. Perhaps she’d even been following him.

“Say it again,” he called out, his voice deep and gruff.

“Mercy!”

He knew that voice anywhere. How could he forget it?

The crowd took up the call as well, and just as he felt Oryx go limp in his hands, he dragged the man out of the water and slammed him down on the ground hard enough that his lungs spewed the fluid out. Rolling onto his side, Oryx coughed and curled into a ball as Greed looked at his guards and raised a brow.

“I’m going hunting,” he snarled. “Clean up this mess.”

“As you wish,” Morag replied, already circling Oryx on the ground like a predator around its prey.

And then Greed took off through the crowd, following the flash of gold and green that disappeared between the sandy buildings.