Page 59 of The Demon God's Desire

I suck in a cleansing breath, grappling with my self-control. It will do me no good to allow myself to be lost to this rage, not when there’s still so much left to do. With Guilri and his whore under the Hedonist’s protection, there is little I can do to claim my vengeance- yet.

The flames dancing across my overstuffed bed begin to wink out as my fury comes to heel, smothering themselves in tendrils of dark smoke. Good. An order must be followed, a soothing tidiness that must be obeyed. Flames do not belong on a bed.

Turning, I shoot a tendril of fire at the massive hearth across the space, watching as my flames lap happily against the wood within it. Even as a warm glow begins to overtake the serene space, I still do not find a reprieve from my wrath. This slight is too large, too unforgivable.

“Damn them,” I curse under my breath. I will get no reprieve in my realm, not until I am able to see over this seething rage.

I wrap myself in a pillar of fire, letting my magic hurry me to Helias. As I step out of my beloved pyre, the rolling green hills of Helias bloom around me, the grass swaying and dancing gently in the summery breeze.

Helias works its magic quickly, some of my ire draining away. There will be a time and a place for my vengeance, an order like there is to all things. It is not now, but it will come. Soon.

I wander the plains of Helias, looking out over the glimmering creek and fields of wildflowers. The afterlife is kind to those who deserve it, who serve their purpose in life. I have half a mind to visit some of my followers who reside here, to bury myself under their lavish praise and worshipful words and forget the events that transpired at the temple, but I resist the urge.

Given what the Deceiver showed Guilri, and by extension, the Hedonist and I today, there are larger things that need my attention.

I trudge to a nearby meadow, laying down to allow the tiny blue rirzed blossoms to swallow me whole. Soft, warm flowers dance across my face and tangle in my hair, and I close my eyes, giving myself over entirely to the peace of the moment while my mind begins to wander.

“Curse the others who dare interfere,” I murmur to the plants.

The Deceiver no doubt planned his revelations about the future- only an idiot would show his enemies the future he plots for without having some sort of plan in place to deter them. In his portal, he showed Guilri and twelve other dark elves, two of whom have already been selected as champions, coming out victorious in the Great Game.

The remaining ten nameless elves must be future champions, but what that means, I have yet to sort out.

My brothers and sisters have almost all aligned themselves on a side, either in favor of our favorite creations continuing their undisputed reign over Protheka, or remaking the planet in a different image.

I nearly snort at the notion, that familiar ire rising like flames in my belly before the magic of Helias quells them. No, we designed Protheka with a purpose, and we cannot allow for that purpose to be altered.

Certainly not by the hands ofmongrels.

But the Deceiver’s portal did not lie. Thirteen champions in total stood on the bodies of their enemies, Guilri among them, and cried their dissent to our plans, their victory in defeating the vision we are working toward.

Equally troubling to the idea that I and my coalition may be defeated in the coming Game, is the fact that there were thirteen elves that stood together.

Could it be that all of the deities champions, my own included, come together as one? Would our creations stand against us? Is there a danger of the Serpent’s, or the Warrior’s, or the Tradesman’s champions defying them as well?

I had been certain that the Hedonist would side with us, would see the humans and the other beings of Protheka as the inferior playthings they are, but now, I am not so sure. He helped Guilri, for no purpose other than it pleased the two of them, and now I am reluctant to think of what may happen when he chooses a champion of his own.

If the Hedonist aligns with the others, then the Game is in peril. The odds would be stacked against us, even without Guilri having defected from my side. The Hedonist could not take Guilri as a champion, not with my powers still tied to Guilri’s life force, which means the Hedonist could well pass his gifts on to another pliable elf.

My brother had insinuated his selection had been made, that his forces were at work, but I have yet to feel any true flares of divine magic from down below- at least, none that I have not already been aware of.

Perhaps I can hunt them- kill the others’ would-be champions before they have an opportunity to against us, to stand against what we have worked so hard to construct.

I cannot rip my powers from Guilri, but perhaps I can find another champion as well. The elf will not be able to carry my full power, not while it is still in Guilri, but certainly I could imbue at least a fraction of my gifts, enough to allow the potential for victory.

Excitement pulses in my belly at the idea, and I find myself sitting up in the meadow, feeling invigorated. Yes, a new champion, that’s what I need. My other brothers and sisters may not listen to reason like the rest of us, may allow for their champions to be weak-willed and even weaker-minded, but I will not.

Men are far too impressionable, anyway. The true protector of home and tradition, the true pillar of civilization, is women. That was my mistake- “I chose a man for a woman’s job.”

And any woman would gladly defend what is theirs, punish a man who would have hurt her or other women with his dishonesty, his disloyalty. I could send her after Guilri and Bridget, unawares to the Hedonist. I could have my vengeance, and still retain a player in the Great Game. Perhaps even gather others, to help us even the numbers of those fighting in the Game.

A contented smile spreads across my lips as I rise to my feet, flame flickering excitedly beneath the soles of my feet and at the tips of my fingers. The decision is made. I will select another to act as my champion, even with a lesser degree of power, and I will not let them fail where Guilri has. They will be prepared, stealthy- they will lie in wait for the champions of my foolish brothers and sisters to fall into their hands.

Order will be restored.

A pillar of flame descends from the cloudless sky of Helias like a beacon, and the soft smile that was playing on my lips now spreads into a full grin. All that’s left now is to inform my allies of this newest development.

Stepping into the pillar of flame, I allow my magic to direct me toward the most brutal of my brothers.