Chapter 8

Vedrac

My storm had looked so downcast. I shouldn't have mentioned my sentence. Not after such a wonderful experience together. She'd been so responsive to my touch, bending and breaking under my mouth. Back in my cell I resumed my solo attention to my cock. My mind replayed every moment of her pleasure and every little moan she had made. It drove me wild, and even after I finished, my need for her wasn't sated.

Boredom and frustration eventually drove me out of my cell to walk around the cell block in search of distraction. Even a single hour here could seem endless. Monsters milled around. We weren't in the highest security block so we had a small common area with tables and chairs. I sat down and watched all of the other monsters drift away from me, trying to be casual about it. None of them would admit to being scared. But none of them wanted to be near me either. I grabbed a pack of cards someone had left on the table. They weren't mine, but I suspected no one was going to fight me over them.

As I shuffled, movement caught my eye. A dark void in a hooded cloak sat down in the seat opposite me. A shadow demon. I thought I caught a vague shape of horns in there. I let my eyes relax. His energy was black. He was all darkness with threads of gold running through. I watched him. He didn't seem wary of me. I'd never eaten a shadow demon before. But I suspected that I wouldn't enjoy it.

"Game?" he said, gesturing a wispy black hand to the cards.

"Okay. What did you have in mind?"

"Heads-up poker."

"What are we playing for?"

"A favor. One hand, all or nothing."

I laughed. Shadow demons were known to be able to see the threads of fortune. I stood no chance of winning this. But he'd sat down with me as a friend, and it had been a long time since someone had done that. I dealt out the cards. I had a 5 of diamonds, 8 of clubs and Q of hearts.

"How very apt," the demon said.

"Is it?"

"You've recently found the queen of your heart, haven't you?"

I wasn't surprised he knew what my cards were. I was on high alert though at the mention of my storm. I didn't want to get in a fight with a demon, but I would if I had to.

"Don't worry yourself. I just find myself in a similar situation. And here we are, both trapped in this prison."

The demon dealt the first card on to the table. King of diamonds. I looked him up and down.

"You aren't wearing a collar. And if I recall, your kind can phase through walls. You are hardly trapped."

"They have my heart. My actual heart, locked in a box. Mage built. So I can't get to it. I'll die if I leave."

"That's rough."

I had sympathy for him. There were few things a shadow demon couldn't overcome. But certain mage spells were one of them and being too far away from their heart was another.

He dealt the next card. King of spades. I nearly rolled my eyes. I had no doubt that he had at least one king in his hand. He was toying with me. I threw down my cards.

"Okay. You need a mage to break the box open, right?"

"Yes. And to hand over an object of much importance to someone."

"Who?"

"An orc. He's in the infirmary right now. You missed quite a fight while you were with your lady."

"And how does any of this benefit me?"

"You won't make me angry."

I'd have sworn if I could actually see his face, it would be curled into a snarl. I wasn't intimidated.

"I'd say we are pretty evenly matched. I've killed other types of demons before. Drained them dry as a bone. Do better."

A laugh like silk emanated from the void in the hood. Demons were always cocky.

"You haven't killed my kind before. But I think neither of us is particularly interested in a fight right now. When you break open the box, then I will pass you an axe; you will use it to break a window on your way back to the cells. This is an important escape route during the coming riot. I have no desire to see either good monsters or humans killed. In return you get all the good feelings of having helped innocents survive."

"What makes you think I care about that? I'd wager not many monsters in here are actually innocent anyway."

"I can see the past and present too, lich. Not just the future. You've protected humans before."

"Can you see if she will be safe? My mate?"

His form blinked in and out of existence for a moment.

"Direct her to the window; it will be safe for at least the first ten minutes or so."

"Which window?"

"Next to the infirmary."

He stood up and drifted away. No feet that I could see. He sort of just floated. I sat back in my chair. I felt that tang of fate on my tongue again. Like a sour candy. A riot was coming. I had to warn my storm as soon as I could. I'd do what the shadow demon asked. But only as long as it didn't put her in danger. She was all that mattered. I'd let anyone and everyone else die if it kept her from harm.