Oh, so you meant to come here and trade some birds?”
“We’re vegetarians,” Wings said. “So those birds aren’t worth a coin around here.”
“Vegetarians? Is that a religion of some type?”
“We don’t eat meat.”
“No meat? Nor blood, nor souls? Well, that explains why you are so pale and small,” I retorted.
“This demon knows less than nothing,” Wingless laughed. “And he insults us even as he is awed of our beauty and our horses. My Lord, I suggest you take the birds home and turn them on your own spit for dinner, for you will get nothing for them here, and you are terrorizing the good people of Monarch’s Rest.”
Wings was just plain laughing at me. “You don’t belong here!” he said. “We’ll have no trouble with you if you stay away from our people and I highly recommend you never take more than you need from our forests.” He held out a hand and as his hand began to glow, the string of pheasants was whipped from my hands and into his.
“What will we do with those?” Wingless asked.
“Teach him a lesson about murdering birds in our forests.” The Ethereal was getting more and more emboldened as he watched me try to restrain my temper. “You will eat no meat for a year, demon, and if you do, all the Ethereals will band together and bind you up and feed you nothing but mashed yams and barley until the end of your days.”
I felt the heat in his words, this horrendous threat delivered all too calmly, and I knew he was doing it just to show me that this was not my world. He knew perfectly well that I had killed the birds in good faith to trade, even though I could have stolen a horse instead.
With this, my last bit of restraint snapped. The insult was too great. I would not be bullied.
I flung out a hand, trying to shoot flames at the Ethereals. My magic sputtered.
This was Etherium, after all. The magic of chaos wouldn’t work.
I roared with rage and ran toward the Ethereals. My horns, teeth, claws, and raw physical strength didn’t need magic to put up a fight. I launched myself at Wings, who didn’t seem to expect I would move as fast as I did.
“Nils!” Wingless cried as I pulled Wings from his bareback ride and slammed his body down onto the packed dirt of the road. He was still gripping my pheasants. I was this close to tearing out his throat with my claws when I hesitated.
My father would not have hesitated. My father would have died fighting in Etherium rather than hold back. I don’t know why I could never seem to go that far.
Nils put up a defensive spell, gritting his teeth. I loosened my grip. He started to wrench himself away. I slammed him back down again and took my pheasants. My eyes burned with rage.
“My dinner,” I said.
“You couldn’t do it,” he said, grinning at me. “Already losing your teeth in your world.”
“Don’t toy with him,” Wingless said, seeming agitated.
He was wiser than his friend.
I slashed Nils’ face with my claws, but the defense spell protected him. He still felt the scrape on his skin, and I put the fear in him. I shoved him away from me, but I couldn’t believe I was letting him go and not tearing him to pieces. I didn’t want to think about why. I was only bringing shame upon my great line. I turned my rage to the merchant booths, slamming my arm into a post so the wood crumpled and the booth collapsed in on itself, then tearing the next one down by the curtains. I grabbed a handful of the colorful silks and slung them over my shoulder. Then I stalked out of Monarch’s Rest, still feeling like more of a petty vandal than a great high demon. Well, let them come after me. I would meet them with my full might next time.
It took me longer to get back to the cottage than it had to find the trading village, which only showed that I was out of sorts and had to let my head clear. My temper was still beating a dull rhythm in my chest, and I was ready to rage at my servants. They would have to scramble to appease me, but it was too bad I didn’t have Uram, Gillian, Jameson and the others who understood my whims.
I was already feeling a little suspicious of Bevan. He