Demon Queened Ch. 78

Devilla

The spell Doll provided to me was a simple one. A little too simple, if you asked me - rather than pinpointing the location of what you sought, or even telling you how far away someone was, it gave nothing but a vague feeling that your target laid in a certain direction. A feeling I'd found to grow more certain with every floor I'd punched my way through in pursuit of its downward trajectory.

Thankfully, the tower seemed capable of repairing itself. I certainly had no time to do it as I broke my way down, circumventing private property where possible in favor of unoccupied bits of street and sidewalk. Eventually, it led me down to the eighty-ninth floor - specifically into the basement of a rather nice looking building full of extremely startled people who I promptly ignored. Most of them dove to the side to hide, while a few started shouting and moving towards me, but I was already gone, having punched my way through a wall and then a floor to reach the final obstacle between Abigail and I. When I broke through that final layer, however, it was not Abigail my eyes first focused on, but Alira.

Alira, who had taken Abigail from me. Alira, who had sought to wrap a friend of mine into her plots for the second time with no care for the consequences. Alira, who - far from learning her lesson - had done everything in her power to ruin my reputation. She'd worked so hard to keep me isolated, and now that I finally wasn't she was trying her best to force me back into that isolated abyss.

"Found you." I growled the words out as I crashed into her from above, my hand wrapping around her throat as I slammed her into the floor. There was a part of me that felt disconnected from this madness, and it idly wondered if I actually had. I wasn't entirely sure I'd ever seen Alira in her true form, and I certainly didn't know all the other forms she could assume. I had no way of truly knowing that this was the target of my ire... and yet I was certain of it.

It was the look in her eyes. The same hateful look as when I'd first fired her, shortly before I'd resorted to physically removing her from my presence. A look of pure hatred and rage, mixed with scorn and arrogance. Like she was looking at a mortal enemy but also a disgusting bug. As if I would be beneath her notice, had I not already earned her ire.

Yet, for all the rage that that look of hers stirred within me, it was another's gaze that froze me solid. When I looked over at Abigail all I could see was the look of absolute terror in her eyes. The eyes of someone looking at a monster.

"Abigail..." I whispered, my throat tightening. My grip around Alira's throat did not loosen, but neither did I feel such an urge to rip her head off, anymore.  

The look of fear on Abigail's face faltered and then disappeared, replaced a moment later by one of exasperation as she shook her head. "One second you're wearing the most terrifying expression I've ever seen, and the next you look like Bailey does when she thinks you're about to scold her for something. Do you even realize the bitch has stabbed you, like, half a dozen times in the last five seconds? Look! She's still doing it!"

Indeed, I could feel a small amount of pressure against my skin between my breasts. When I looked down, I realized Alira had produced a knife from somewhere in her clothes and was currently using it to try and stab me in the heart. From the way it glistened, it must have been coated with something very dangerous.

"... Ereff Bajoul Draten," I intoned, allowing holy power to flow out of me and into the now petrified figure of Alira. She realized something was up halfway through my casting, for what little good it did her - in fact, in her attempt to pull away from me she'd put herself into a rather precarious situation. With her body contorted and twisted from her attempt to escape my grasp, her petrified form was far from stable. Simply releasing her would likely see her fall and shatter against the ground.

Not that I was going to allow anything of the sort to happen, but the thought was nice.

"Is it just me, or are you imagining something really grim?" Abigail asked.

"Can you blame me?" I asked back, not bothering to deny the truth in her words. "She kidnapped you. Not to mention the fact that she was carrying a poisoned knife that was probably meant for you."

"Maybe," Abigail admitted, "or maybe she just wanted to wave it threateningly. Kinda hard to know without hearing her side of the story."

"Are you seriously suggesting I went too far by petrifying her?!" I asked, arching an eyebrow. "As far as temporary holding measures go, I think it's one of the kinder ones. Certainly a lot less rough on her old bones than if I had to truss her up. A lot more secure, too, considering her shape shifting."

"I guess..." Abigail said hesitantly. "I just... sorta see why Lucy was avoiding it, now. It feels like way too tempting a solution when things go bad... What if she breaks, or something?"

"Then I'll heal her," I replied with a frown. "I'm pretty sure my holy spell can reattach limbs, if not outright regrow them."

"And if her head gets smashed?" Abigail pressed.

"Then I'll have saved myself the trouble of deciding what to do with the bitch. She kidnapped you, Abigail!"

"Hey, I'll be the first one to admit she's a bitch. I mean, just look at everything she did to you - and don't give me that whole 'I deserved it' crap, because we both know that's bullshit. It's not like she was doing it for the sake of anything but her own pettiness, either, as far as I can tell... and she's basically insane."

"Yet you still object to her being stone?" I questioned. "Even temporarily? Don't forget what happened with Sylvanna - she literally won't even know what happened when I unpetrify her. She'll probably go right back to stabbing me!"

Of course, once I realized that it was a simple matter to snap the blade off at the base of its hilt, but still!  

"I just know I'd hate it if it was me.  Plus... I can't lie, the way you came in with all that rage in your eyes... It was terrifying. The last time I saw you even close to being that mad was when that rabbit girl questioned my intelligence."

"... I might have something of an anger problem when it comes to those dear to me," I confessed with a grimace. "I can easily take whatever is sent my way, yet the threat of something happening to you is-"

"How do you think Lucy and I feel?!" Abigail interrupted. "You're not the only one who gets pissed when someone she cares about is insulted! You're just... a lot more able to do something about it than most of us."

"All the more reason to keep my temper in check, I suppose," I conceded, looking down at Alira. My hand was still around her neck and I was all too aware that a light squeeze was all I'd need to behead her... Not that I could bring myself to go through with it, at this point. "Though that does bring up the question of what to do with her..."

"Kick her out of the tower," Abigail suggested, causing me to blink at her in shock. "What? She can disguise herself as a human, can't she? Fit in alongside them? At least until you and Lucy manage to figure out world peace, or whatever... or were you going to put her in the jail cell and let her family plot in her freedom?"

"I was thinking of leaving her to rot in the cells," I confessed. "I didn't even consider that her family might continue to plot for her sake in her absence... Wasn't Mellany in the middle of a takeover?"

"Yeah, because Mellany - the selfish, lazy girl who wants a cushy job in the government with no work? - is totally the best person to squash any rebellion relating to her grandmother. Pretty sure we've already seen the limits of her competence, and they're pretty glaring."

"Still, to kick her from the tower..."

"It was good enough for you, back when you were planning to run away and live among the humans for all eternity," Abigail pointed out. "Why not her?"

"I suppose..." In truth, I wasn't sure why I hesitated. It was a fitting punishment. The whole reason I couldn't bring myself to hurt her was that she was one of the people I was meant to protect - so removing her from the roster of those under my protection was arguably the best route forward. The least violent, too.

It just... "It feels rather harsh, though, doesn't it?"

"Says the girl who looked like she wanted to murder someone a second ago," Abigail groused. "You know, when you first came in, I almost thought you cared more about finding her than me. Yet now all that anger's just... gone?"

"It's not gone!" I protested. "It's just... Well, finding you was the important part and I've done it. Now I'm just concerned with making sure she never has a chance to do something like this again."

"Then stick her in a jail cell for all eternity and never let anyone near her," Abigail replied. "Though I'm pretty sure that's worse."

"... Perhaps you're right," I confessed. "Perhaps I should simply remove the problem from the premises and allow things to work out as they will. Though it does occur to me that she might simply sneak her way back in here... I wonder if Doll knows a spell to strip her of her shapeshifting?"

"Maybe..." Abigail frowned. "Where is Doll, anyways? Or Bailey? Or... anyone, really. I mean, I'm assuming you were with someone when you found out about all this, right? I'm surprised whoever it was let you out of their sight when you were in that state."

"I... May have left Nivera and Bailey behind," I confessed, thinking back to my journey downward. Honestly, it was all rather a blur of rage and desperation, but thinking back to it... "I think they followed me down the first few floors, but by the end... maybe the floor healed faster than they could join me?"

"Meaning they're on who knows what floor now?" Abigail asked, arching an eyebrow. "What about Doll? You mentioned her earlier - is she how you found me?"

"Another holy spell from her," I confirmed. "She didn't bother following me, so far as I'm aware. She was too busy with her administrative work."

"Well, then, let's go add more to her work pile," Abigail replied. "... After you get me out of this chair? If you wouldn't mind?"

"Right..." I muttered, focusing on the ropes. A bit of focused heat burnt right through them, and a moment later Abigail was rubbing her sore wrists to get the circulation back.

"Come on," she said. "I'm sure Doll will be happy to see us."

***

'Happy' was perhaps a bit of an exaggeration - more exasperated, I'd say. Especially after I drew the statue of Alira out of my Empty Bag and set it down in front of her. She did have a spell that worked for my needs, though - a spell that locked you into your current form. It was technically designed as a reward - something you could use to grant eternal youth, more or less - but in this case we'd be locking her into... well, actually, she'd still look young in her current form, but at least she'd be stuck in it.  

In the end, I wasn't quite sure what to think of the punishment we'd decided on... It was a harsh one, to be sure, but arguably better than she deserved after everything she'd done. At least according to Nivera, who we eventually reunited with, and who insisted on including the ruination of my reputation among Alira's crimes. While I had made it a rather simple endeavor to begin with, Nivera did perhaps have a point...

Regardless, I considered the matter settled. Doll promised to take care of all the actual arrangements when it came to the exile, so all I had to do was threaten Alira with physical violence until she took on the appropriate form and allowed me to cast my spell. I might have enjoyed it a touch more than I should have...

More important to me than Alira's punishment, though, was checking in on Lucy. I'd left her in the middle of enemy territory, and while I was sure she'd be alright - seeing as how our 'enemies' practically worshipped the ground she walked on - I still couldn't wait to return.

So, with a final hug for Abigail (and a quick peck at her lips) I teleported back to the holy city with burning red cheeks. Back to the apartment I'd come from - specifically the bedroom. The bedroom looked a little different than I'd left it, considering the wardrobe had been dragged to block the door.

"Chloe?" I asked, blinking in confusion at the kitsune who stood with her back pressed against the furniture, panting heavily. "What's wrong? Where's Lucy?"

"Oh, hey Devilla!" Chloe replied with a bright smile, but iIt looked a touch strained. "Lucy's in the next room over. Kinda. I think? She hasn't exactly been acting like herself since-"

A loud bang came as the door rattled in its frame.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"I don't know!" Chloe confessed, an edge of panic coming through in her voice. "One second me and Lucy were sipping tea with the Grand Patriarch, and the next thing I knew my head was spinning. Which is saying something, considering the fact that Nivera was paranoid enough to make me train in toxin resistance for years at this point. Lucy wasn't much better, but at least she was shaking it off when-"

Suddenly the wall next to the door splintered, a gauntleted fist punching through the wood.

"Lucy?" I whispered, shocked and confused.

"Yeah," Chloe confirmed, backing up from her makeshift barrier just in time for the wall to come breaking down, revealing a familiar figure. Chloe continued talking - something about how Lucy's behavior had changed - but I must admit, I wasn't paying much attention.

In my defense, though, I had a very good reason. My focus was stolen by Lucy, you see - or, more specifically, by the collar around her neck.

~~~

Author's Notes

Short kidnapping arc is short, I know - but then, I only needed Devilla distracted for a little while. c:

Short chapter is also short, and I kinda regret not just making it part of chapter 77, but depression sometimes means short chapters so.... Something to fix in a theoretical remastered version, I guess.

Many thanks to FallingLeaf, as always, for the amazing job of editing. Also to all my readers, who's likes and comments and even views all help motivate me to keep posting.

PS: I know this isn't the violent end to Alira most hoped for (or that she deserved) but... it's what felt most in character for Devilla. And admittedly lets me keep her around for future drama she might not survive