Chapter 3

“You called for me, my little mage?” A familiar female voice said from above me. We all looked up and saw Nocturne. It was my first time seeing her, and my breath left me completely. She had long straight golden blonde hair that framed a soft face. Her skin was golden brown, and she stared at us with large golden eyes. Even as she sat on the ceiling, I could tell she had a curvy figure from the outfit she was wearing. It consisted of dark brown pants that hugged her frame, and a white tunic shirt that showed off her prominent chest. Draped across her shoulders was the fur of a white wolf.

“Demoness.” Raymond addressed her, bravely. Nocturne looked at him with a bored expression. “I am King Raymond…and I’d like to thank you for saving my friend.” He surprised me by thanking her.

“Do not thank me, human. I only did what I wanted to do. Your friend here, he is quite loyal to you it seems.” She jumped down and landed right in front of Raymond. “He belongs to me now, so I will not let you use him without consequence.” She growled.

“Do you think I simply use him?” Raymond asked, insulted.

“You gave him a cursed grimoire that was designed to kill mages who dared practice the dark arts, did you not?” Nocturne accused. Marvin quickly interjected.

“Wise demoness, please forgive the ignorance of man. The grimoire we gave to Albert to use is from ancient times. We did our best to translate it, and thought it was truly what it appeared to be. It is the ignorance of our ancestors that put Albert in danger, as well as our desperation to save our empire and the magic users that live in it. We are eternally grateful that you intervened and saved the young mage. If you feel it necessary to punish anyone for putting him in danger, please punish me and not my King.” Marvin said as he bowed to Nocturne. Raymond seemed displeased with Marvin bowing to another, but he did not interrupt. Nocturne sighed, showing that Marvin’s performance quelled her anger.

“Stand up, old man. I can see you had no malicious intent and that you are just desperate. I suppose everything is alright now as you all got what you wanted in the end. Albert did tell me briefly that you seek the aid of a demon to defeat your enemies. You should count your blessings that you ended up with me, a warrior princess, rather than a low-level demon who does not know a thing about war.” She said with a regal tone.

“I am grateful for you saving my life, and for agreeing to help us save our empire.” I said to her, she then sauntered over to me.

“Yes, I did say I would help you. However, despite what you humans believe, demons do have rules and etiquette. As a royal, I am bound to the rules more than the lesser demons are.” She explained. “One rule we have is not to take part in a war for humans. I cannot fight on the battlefield for you myself, only guide you.”

“We do not expect you to fight our battles. We simply need information on our enemies so we can defeat them ourselves.” I told her.

“That I can do. I have already started spying on the military barracks that are near your borders. They are using holy weapons in their attempt to get rid of magic.” She told us.

“What is a holy weapon?” Raymond asked.

“Weapons blessed by someone connected to a god.” Marvin answered. “Many of the kingdoms and empires who use magic also have religions, though we learned a very long time ago to not connect the church and the royals in our own empire.”

“Did the church try to take over the empire?” Nocturne cackled. “You humans preach that your gods are so good, but the truth is it is just another way for the power hungry to get power. I can assure you that the gods do not care about you. They are the most neutral beings in existence. As long as they can fulfill their duties, they will not intervene in the life of mortals.”

“Unfortunately, she is right. We have several churches in our empire, none of which have any power when it comes to the law or the people. It is the responsibility of the mages to make sure the church’s stay in check, just as we handle keeping the king in check.” Marvin explained.

“My, my, my. I think I like the sound of your empire. It is refreshing to hear humans doing something that makes sense for once.” Nocturne snickered.

“What of this new kingdom, then?” I asked. “Do they believe in the power of their church?”

“I think what I have seen so far shows that, however, I am never one to just assume. I will send some underlings to do more research. I will even send a few of them to their kingdom to see if I can figure out who they are worshiping.” Nocturne told me.

“You’ll be sending demons to spy on them?” Raymond asked in excitement.

“No. I do not use demons for such tasks, they are not always the most reliable.” She said with an annoyed expression. She went to the balcony doors and pushed them open. “I use the wisest creatures of this realm.” She smiled. She then let out a whistle so loud it made my ears ring. After a moment, owls covered the balcony. “Hello my precious babies!” Nocturne ran out to the balcony and grabbed several owls, pulling them into a crushing hug. “My wonderful babies, I have a mission for you!” She fell silent as she stared intently at the parliament of owls before her. After a minute, the owls flew off together. Nocturne returned inside and closed the balcony doors.

“You communicated with them telepathically.” Marvin said.

“It is much easier to show them what I need than tell them. Animals understand language to the same ability of a small child. They are much more visual creatures.” She explained.

“We thank you for aiding us.” Raymond said to her. “I know you made a contract with Albert, but please allow me to also repay you. After all, I am the king of the empire and believe in showing gratitude to the person helping me save it. So, how can I repay you?” He asked her.

“I am used to a life of luxury, though I know you humans do not live in the same grandeur as us immortals. So, I will make a simple request of you, dear king. I wish to have an estate to live on in your empire. Of course, I require that the little mage, Albert, live with me as well.” Nocturne answered thoughtfully.

“I can give you an estate, as you wish. However, it will be hard to have servants willing to serve a demoness.” Raymond told her.

“I do not require servants. Albert though, I wish for him to have servants. I request that he be treated like a noble from this point on. And I am sure I do not have to tell you that I will be treated as a noble in your empire as well.” Nocturne said as she looked at Raymond with piercing eyes.

“Then, I will grant you the title of Lady in my empire. Albert will also now be a Lord. You will have an estate to manage, but I am no fool, so I will let you know now that if at any time you refuse to aid us, I shall take your estate and title back.” Raymond smiled.

“A wise king.” Nocturne cackled. “Very well, I agree with your conditions. Shall we make a deal? It is much more binding.” Nocturne extended her hand out to Raymond.

“What are your conditions before I agree?” Raymond asked smartly. Nocturne smirked.

“You truly are not a fool I see.” She chuckled, darkly. “As you wish. My condition is as such; if you take back the estate or title while I have met your conditions, your soul will be forced into servitude in the underworld for all eternity.” She gave a wicked smile.

“I am not one to go against my word.” Raymond declared.

“Then you shall have no qualms making this deal.” Nocturne extended her hand out again. Raymond took it this time without any hesitation. I thought I would feel uneasy about her making a deal with the king, but I was surprised to feel that I was not concerned. Even though Nocturne was a demoness, I just felt like she was not an evil being. One thing I was certain of was that my life was about to become much more adventurous, as well as complicated. I was a poor mage, who was now being thrusted into the life of nobility, while also being in servitude to a powerful demoness. Nocturne turned to me and scowled. “I am sure your king will have everything prepared by the time you are fully healed. For now, you must rest.” She scolded me.

“I will rest, my lady.” I told her as Marvin and Raymond left out of the room. Nocturne paid no attention to them as she spoke to me.

“I want you to know that it will hurt if you use your magic…I healed you to the best of my ability, but the curse is still lingering. The curse consisted of a parasite that eats one’s magic. I used my own magic to get out what I could, but once your magic is fully replenished, you will have to purge the last of the darkness that infects you.” Nocturne reached out and grabbed me by my chin. “So do not use your magic for now. I do not like for my things to be broken.” She growled. She let go of my chin and floated back up to the ceiling. I rubbed my chin, where her harsh grasp had just let go. I felt a strange feeling shooting through my body. I was not scared by her threats, instead, I felt electricity when she touched me, even roughly. I had felt something similar when I heard the strange tone in her voice while agreeing to serve her. I scowled as I started to feel flustered.

“What is wrong with me?” I mumbled to myself before I laid back down in bed. Laying on my back, I could see Nocturne as she sat on the ceiling, reading the grimoire that I had used in the Cursed Forest. She truly was a sight to behold. I had never seen a woman so beautiful before. I sighed as I rolled onto my side, where she was no longer in my sight and tried to focus on getting some rest. I did not realize at that moment just how much power Nocturne would have over me, but I would learn. Yes. I would learn.