Chapter 21

21

A fucking chimera?

Envy's mind whirled. A chimera was a formidable foe, even for him. The creature was wily and far more intelligent than other magical creatures. They were sometimes more intelligent than many people he knew and therein created a significant challenge.

His hands clenched a little too hard on her elbows, and at her wince, he released her. "A chimera? Are you sure?"

"I saw it." She shook her head as though trying to clear the mist from her white eyes. "I can barely see, but that future is set in stone. Almost as though it has already happened. If the chimera isn't in this castle right now, then it soon will be. In mere moments."

So her power had given her a warning. It was more valuable than he had thought.

"You can't see your own future," he murmured. "So how do you know this is happening?"

"I saw his ." Her voice turned into an angry, guttural growl. "The man who called himself my master was the one who released the creature into your castle. He did not escape my mist fast enough. I saw it all."

That didn't give them long to prepare. He had to get her out of this room and back to hers. There was no entrance into her bedroom other than from the portal in his office, and he could close the portal easily enough. Then it would just be his problem to deal with.

A chimera. Even he didn't want to fight such a creature.

Blowing out a breath, he nodded. "I will summon Orphe. You will return to your room and stay there until I come and get you."

She grabbed his arm in a surprisingly strong grip. "You can't leave me in my room alone."

"I can, and I will. It's the only place you are safe."

"What if you die?"

He scoffed. "I'm not going to die."

Her hand tightened on his wrist, and for a moment, he feared she could see his future. He didn't like the paleness of her features, or the way she stared up at him with determination in those marble eyes. "If you die, then I will be stuck in that room. There is no exit. No entrance. You will condemn me to starvation and death. It is a tomb if you are not alive, Envy."

He wanted to argue. No creature was going to kill him. Sure, chimeras were more difficult than others to fight, but he was a demon king. He'd survived far worse than whatever the circus master would release into his home.

And yet, there was always the chance that he was existing on hubris. Now, all he could think about was her being alone in there and him never returning. She would rot slowly, and no one would ever find her skeleton. He was one of the few who could sing stones to move the way he did. Which meant it would take perhaps tens of years for a miner to find her shrunken body.

The damn woman was going to be the end of him. "I will keep the portal open, then. But you have to know that it can get into the room."

"I am not without my own protection."

He could feel something bubbling up in his chest. Something that suspiciously felt like anxiety and he did not enjoy the feeling. "Stay safe, little one. Do you hear me?"

She nodded and then strode toward the portal. But she paused in front of it, ringed with the blue shimmering light of his magic before looking at him over her shoulder. "You stay safe too, Envy."

He had never had another person worry about his safety. It felt strange to know that he was responsible for someone else's feelings. Or even that she would be upset if he was harmed.

So all he could do was nod as well. She stepped through the portal and he reached for his tattoos. First, he pulled out the serpent who had always served him well. Then the panther, with spines along its back that could destroy any and all. The black mist that consumed anything it came upon. Countless dangerous creatures filled his office.

Some of them he positioned in front of the portal. They would be the last line of defense to keep her safe if necessary.

And last, Orphe flew in through the balcony with panic in her eyes. She must have seen what was coming for them.

"A chimera?" he asked, then scoffed as though it did not make him uncomfortable. "They send a chimera after me?"

"They wish to kill you," she croaked. "Many people came here, but they did not enter the castle. I do not know where this circus master was holding a creature so powerful, but he released it not long ago. Already it searches the lower rooms."

"Soon enough it will find the higher ones." He shrugged. "We will meet this creature head on and together, we will all destroy it. They think I am merely a man, but they do not know how much I hide within my flesh."

Orphe looked back at him with an almost fanatic pleasure. She wanted to destroy. Her ambition knew no bounds and part of who she was enjoyed making other people whimper and scream.

"You will join me," he said, reaching out his hand, and she knew what he wanted.

A single touch of his fingers made her grow. Her wings spread wider, stretching to either end of the room. She became a raven the size of a golden eagle, large and powerful and deadly. Her beak turned to hardened silver and her talons became longer blades that clicked against each other as she moved.

He made her a weapon. Not just a spy and certainly not just a raven. But a creature who could murder and maim.

"Fight with me?" he asked.

"Every time you ask."

He turned toward the door and out they all went. His own personal army of magical creatures, but for fuck's sake, he didn't have a chimera yet. Didn't this circus master know he'd always wanted a chimera? At this rate, he should pay the man for delivering these rare creatures into Envy's hands.

He could hear it before he saw it. A giant tunnel went all the way down into the depths of his realm and it echoed with the clacking of claws. He knew what it would look like far before he could see it.

Chimeras were lion-like. Their entire body and head were that of a male lion, but larger. Its eyes saw through the dark better than any other creature. Its feet were the talons of an eagle, and a goat's head grew out of its back so that no one could ever sneak up on it. As if these were not dangerous enough, the lion tail itself was replaced with the long body of an extremely venomous serpent.

There was no easy angle to attack a chimera. There was no easy way for him to kill it. He could tie it down, but that would take time. And the chimera was incredibly fast.

"My lord?" Orphe squawked before wheeling into the open air beside the stairwell. "It comes."

He summoned his weapons. One he pulled straight out of thin air. The sword gleamed with a blue flame that sliced through flesh and left the wound sizzling. He enjoyed fighting with this blade. Creatures died so quickly when there was blood loss. He preferred the wounds to sizzle and bake while the creature smelled its own burning flesh. A prolonged fight was usually his choice.

Not with this creature. Not when he had such wonderful plans for it.

Setting his serpent on the ground, he summoned the last weapon from his armory. The shorter knife was coated in a glistening clear material that was venom of his own making. The poison would spread fast throughout the body of the chimera if he could cut it even with the tiniest of cuts. That was his plan.

It was the only plan. And he could admit, it wasn't a very good one.

A sound echoed throughout the tunnel, beating against his ears and flooding the room with a thunderous clap. Fuck. He'd forgotten they had wings.

Envy watched it rise out of the depths of his home, breaking through the clouds with a roar, and he could not believe he'd forgotten that fucking chimeras had wings.

Like a dragon, the leathery appendages brought it out of the depths with ease. The moment its yellow eyes settled on him, Envy knew he was in trouble. It opened up its mouth, drool spilling over its teeth, and another roar echoed through his home.

He squinted his eyes, trying to ignore the sudden pain in his ears at the noise. If he could stay above it, then he had the advantage.

Or not.

With two beats of its wings, the chimera was already far above him. The beast latched onto the stone walls and with an ear-piercing shriek, it was upon him.

Envy rolled down the stairs, ignoring the pain in his shoulders before sinking his blue blade into the stone and catching himself against the wall. He had the thought of raising the blades, but his head was already spinning from the sudden tumble.

Talons flashed in front of his face and he barely jolted out of its reach.

His panther leapt upon the creature's back, but that did very little. The chimera merely reached back and tossed his shadow creature into the pit beside it.

Envy reacted. He thrust out a hand and summoned his creature back before it could hit the ground and die, but that movement cost him. The chimera latched onto his arm and repeated the motion. It threw him out of the way and into the pit.

With a flash of a blue blade, he thrust the magical metal into the stone of his home again and slowed his descent. Eventually he caught himself, glaring up at the creature who turned and continued up the stone stairs. There was no exit up there, and surely it knew that he wasn't dead.

It had been sent to kill him, of course. Except...

The beast was still sniffing. It took deep breaths and then turned toward his office.

"Orphe!" he shouted, his words echoing down into the emptiness below and above him.

She let out the shriek of an eagle and attacked. Her claws aimed not for the lion itself, but for the goat head on its back. She plucked at its eyes, and the goat bleated but somehow managed to avoid her claws. The serpent tail coiled, readying itself to bite at Orphe. Envy didn't feel any nerves, though. She would destroy this creature, or at least part of it enough so that he could attack it from behind. Cutting off a tail would be very easy.

Hand over hand, he thrust his swords into the stones as he started to sing. The low intonation of the dwarves took over his throat and vibrated in his chest. The stones moved, the stairs shifted, and soon enough he was standing on the stairs again as they had been remade, so it was easier for him to climb them.

Glaring up at the beast, he wondered what it was here for. His office held all manner of creatures now, but also so much power. There were objects within that he could not let this creature steal.

Envy tried to think of the spell for the portal, but it would take too long. Every moment was precious as he sprinted and used the magic of the stones instead of a portal to toss him toward them.

Racing up the steps, he took them two at a time while still singing that low song. The stones flung him forward, giving him more momentum. If he could keep this up, then he would reach them before Orphe managed to...

A scream filled his ears like music.

Orphe reared back with a goat eye clasped in her metal beak. She let out a shriek of her own, one of victory and pleasure, and then it appeared time itself slowed as the serpent caught her.

He could see it all from where he was. The flash of fangs that sank into feathers, and the way his dearest friend seemed to freeze. She let out one more croak of surprise before the serpent tail flung her against the wall.

The crack of bone filled his heart with rage.

He raced to her side and let the chimera climb the wall, screaming as it went. The pain it must feel was not equal to his creation. Orphe had always been a delicate creature. For all that she was lethal and dangerous, she had always been so frightened of pain.

He scooped her up in his arms, drawing her against his chest with careful hands. "Easy, easy, Orphe. I will save you."

"The venom," she wheezed. "It is impossible to save me from it."

"Not impossible if I take it from you."

With a whisper of words, he hovered his hand over the wound and he ripped it all from her flesh. Drop by drop, he pulled it out of her body and let it drip and sizzle on the stones. She would still be injured. Whatever the venom had damaged was likely damaged for good. He couldn't fix everything, especially not with a wound like this. But he would do his best.

Because she was important. This creature was his only friend, and he refused to lose her. No matter the cost.

"Envy," she said, her voice weaker than he had ever heard it before. "You have to go after the chimera."

"I will save you first." And he was. He was saving her. There were only a few drops of venom left and as he pulled them out, the rage in him flared and turned them into tiny chips of green that fell onto the floor and shattered into dust. "There you are, no more venom. I have healing potions in my study. I can get them."

"Envy," she hissed. "The creature is not here for you."

Well, that was foolish. Of course it was. The circus master wanted to kill him and then steal his oracle back. That was all that mattered in their realm right now.

Except...

He glanced up and saw the chimera had already made its way to his office. There was nothing but the brief glimpse of its tail before the sound of his creatures fighting back against it.

The beast wasn't in his office for the artifacts there. It had come for her.

"He's going to kill her?" he murmured. "That makes no sense."

"What would you do if someone took her from you?" Orphe asked.

And he knew the answer in his head. He'd rather have her dead than allow someone else to claim her.

Rage poured down his back like ice. He settled Orphe more comfortably against the wall, his gaze narrowing on the creature who dared to touch what was his.

"It better not have harmed a hair on her head," he snarled as he started up the stairs. "I was so looking forward to keeping it. But I will kill it if I must. And the man who commands it."