Aella followed behind the elves in amus.e.m.e.nt. They kept glancing back to make sure she was still there, because she was making sure to walk as quietly as she possibly could.The palace appeared before them, and she teleported away, to the front gates, holding back an amused laugh when they turned to glance at her again, and she was gone. Watching them freak, from a hidden spot by the gate, was worth the raised eyebrows from the royal guards.
"Excuse me, but who are you?" asked one, stepping forward with his hand on his sword.
Aella raised an eyebrow of her own, and said, "Do you often have non elves traveling through to confuse you as to who I am?"
"I know you must be one of the demons, but I don"t know which one. Where is your king?" asked the elf in frustration.
"Must a king be male?" she asked, her amus.e.m.e.nt fading.
"What?" asked the elf, giving her a confused look.
"Ah, there you are, Your Majesty," said Frederik, landing with a small blast of wind as he folded his wings behind him and landed in a crouch. "As you ordered, all of the spiders are dead. Alfred will be joining us as soon as he is certain there are no more eggs to destroy."
"You"re the king?!" cried the elven guard, stepping back several steps and looking panicked.
"I was told to meet the princess here. Care to escort me?" asked Aella, frowning at the guard. She didn"t like how he was so quick to cave. "And if you touch your blade again in my presence, I will remove your arm."
The elf"s back stiffened, as he had already turned away from her to escort her to the princess, but he didn"t stop or say anything, and Aella was amused to see that his hands stayed far away from his sword. Weak.
Alfred fell into step beside Frederik behind her as they reached the entrance to the palace. The interior of the palace was much nicer than the lord"s estate she had already seen. It was much less crowded, leaving fewer places for people to hide. She liked it better, but decided it still wasn"t her style.
"Aella! I"m glad I found you!" cried the princess, catching her in the entryway, which allowed the guard to retreat quickly back to his post.
"What"s wrong?" asked Aella, noting the look of alarm on the princess"s face.
"Lord Avalon has taken my brother captive! He wants the kitten back that you took, and is demanding his people be released. I"m afraid he may kill Elalar!"
Aella sighed. "Where is your brother being held?"
"They were last seen near the lion"s den, where we left them. I don"t know where he may have taken him. If you can save my brother, I will waive any debt you owe the elven kingdom and will have your stone carving brought from the treasury for you."
Turning to Alfred and Frederik, she held out a hand and they both grabbed it, allowing her to teleport them all to the empty cage.
"Feels like I was just here," said Alfred, looking around.
"We were," grumbled Frederik.
"Spread out and see if you can find them. I will deal with Avalon, but I want the king returned to the palace," said Aella.
The two nodded, and Alfred sped off while Frederik took to the air. Aella watched them for a moment, patting the bag the kitten was in absently. Listening to the air around her, she could hear it whistling through the empty caves and dens the lions had left behind. There was one spot that had a different tone, and she turned to investigate it.
Alfred appeared next to her with the king over his shoulder, pa.s.sed out, before zooming off towards the palace. Aella stepped into the cave to see the elven lord laying against the wall, where Alfred must have knocked him away from the king.
"All this trouble over a spoiled brat," she grumbled leaning over to grab him by the front of his shirt.
He suddenly lashed out, cutting a line across her hand, but she jumped back before he could kick her feet out from under her. She crouched, looking forward to the fight as he jumped to his feet.
"Spoiled brat?" he spat, his eyes starting to glow red. "I will teach you some manners, monster!"
"I"ve been called worse," she chuckled, watching as he started to grow muscles and get bigger.
Jumping forward, she lashed out at his face with her black sword while he was still transforming into something else. Why wait?
He threw up an arm, to block her sword, but her sword sliced right through it, without any hesitation, digging deep into his face. Letting go of the sword, she jumped back as he lashed out with his other arm, that had grown long enough to reach her. The claws on the ends of his fingers grazed her arm, leaving deep scratches.
The sword lodged in his face disappeared and reappeared back in her hand as she swung around and cut off his other arm.
With a loud scream of rage, that caused the deep cut in his face to pour blood, he jumped at her, opening his mouth wider and wider with fangs that protruded and sought her flesh.
Aella laughed, flipping back out of the way and cutting at his face again. She saw that his arms were wriggling on the ground, trying to grab her ankles and flew into the air.
"Abomination!" he spat through his destroyed face, blood pouring down his chest.
"Look who"s talking!" Aella laughed, moving back away from him.
"I am blessed with the powers from the great demon-" he started to say, but Aella started laughing at the word demon.
"Do you now know who I am?" she asked with a grin. "I am the king of the demons."
"What?" he asked, but she teleported behind him, shoving her sword into his back, then bringing out her second sword alongside it, and cutting him in half as she pulled them in opposite directions.
He fell to the ground, gurgling in his own blood as Aella hovered over him, knowing he wasn"t dead. She could see his heart still beating strong, despite being exposed to the air. Calling the fire in her veins, she smiled down at him.
"I didn"t give any demons permission to attack me," she whispered, sending the flame to eat him.
The sounds he made as he was consumed were definitely not elven, nor were they demon noises that she was familiar with. There must be another level of demon she wasn"t familiar with. The king had answers, and if he didn"t, she could ask Bridgette.
Not letting up on the fire until every last bit of him was consumed and reduced to ashes, Aella looked around the cave to make sure there wasn"t anything else before teleporting to the room that had the alter in it. She could hear the elves scrambling around above her, cutting the tree down.
Stepping forward to investigate the alter, she felt the kitten stir in the pouch again. Poking its head out, Aella saw it"s eyes open, which shouldn"t be possible at its age. They glowed a bright red, before fading to a clear blue, and then it hissed and ducked back into the bag. Aella could feel a cold presence in the room, even though she couldn"t see anything.
"I know you"re there," she said softly.
"As the demon king, I would hope so," came a deep hiss from all around her.
"I am crowned demon king, but apparently I don"t know what all that means."
"There is much you don"t know, young one. But I can teach you." The words wound around her like a noose and Aella frowned.
"What do you mean?" she asked, still looking around the room for the source of the words. They seemed to be emanating from the alter itself.
"Allow me freedom and I will grant you riches beyond your understanding; powers greater than any other in this realm; and the strength to do anything," whispered the words seductively.
Aella started laughing. "You offer me this, but what if I already have all of that?"
"What?" asked the voice, in confusion, pausing in silence.
Aella could almost see the figure sitting on the alter, scratching his head in confusion. "I bow to no one, much less an imp scheming for more power. If you cannot even get your own freedom, then you are weaker than me, and not worth my time."
Calling the flame within her once again, she could feel it dancing in excitement. There was a lot that could burn in this room, and nothing could put it out while she was here.
"If you burn me, then all those that breathe the fumes will die," warned the figure in a growl.
"I don"t think so," she said, releasing the fire.