ALL NOVEL Ch 34 – It’s the beginning of a new plush empire, with me, Ruby the Great, as your fearsome and glorious empress!
Karga surrendered after finding out that Melkar was unconscious. Or rather, she stated that she couldn’t be bothered to continue fighting. The ogre was bound to follow his orders thanks to their contract, but with him knocked out, his overall safety probably overrode that. Regardless, it was much to my relief that she allowed the four of us to leave without a word, though not before we “borrowed” a few blankets and things from a nearby cabinet. I made sure to take the demon heart and the enchanted necklace I found around Melkar’s neck as well. My spoils of war, so to speak.
Karga’s eyes still followed me as we left the room, and I could tell that she was reluctant to simply let me go. The demon wanted me for her own purposes after all.
A slightly-bloodied Phaori met us outside the men’s dorm. To my surprise, she’d apparently smacked her brothers around and came out on top, despite it being a three on one fight. Just how strong was she? The tall redhead ignored her sliced up uniform and open wounds as she strutted over to us with a victorious smirk. The slightly sour mood between the rest of us couldn’t bring her or Evara down as we continued toward the women’s dorm, opting against visiting the academy healer. Our wounds weren’t worth the trouble of dealing with her, particularly considering that a healing balm would take care of the more minor wounds. My broken hand would be more difficult, but Lilis seemed confident she could do something to aid in its healing.
Eventually, we made our way back down into the underhalls.
“I could have beaten him,” I insisted, pulling the not-nearly-warm-enough blanket tighter around me. “I didn’t need your help.”
“I’m not saying you couldn’t have,” Lilis replied, very much implying the exact opposite.
My tail swished behind me in annoyance as I glared, fingers of my left hand gripping tightly around the enchanted necklace I’d stripped off of Melkar, despite it being so cold that it felt like holding a block of ice. My roommate’s arm tightened around my side in a light hug, but she refused to meet my eyes.
“Really, I had him!” I claimed, completely ignoring the fact that he’d had me pinned to the ground and immobile at the end.
I’d have figured something out.
…probably.
“Your demon is cute when she pouts,” the big werewolf woman rumbled.
I squeaked as the muscular redhead poked me in the side. “I’m not—” I began, before giving up with a sigh.
Who was I kidding? It was definitely a pout. And my face could assuredly be described as “cute.”
“She’s not mine, exactly,” Lilis said, making me realize that I’d completely missed that implication. My cheeks flushed as she continued, “I’m just watching her.”
Phaori let out a laugh. “Sure you are!”
I huffed and crossed my arms, only to wince as a torturous spike of pain shot through my broken fingers. My left hand lightly pressed the icy cold necklace against my knuckles, hoping that the frosty temperature might help to ease it.
“Are the three of you having fun back here without me?” Evara asked, her brow raised and a smirk on her lips. After pausing to wait on us, she turned and began walking backwards.
My eyes latched onto the enchanted sealing jar clutched in her hands and the floating heart within.
“You’re going to drop that,” Lilis reprimanded. “If you can’t walk like a sensible human being, then give it here.”
I frowned as her arm left from around my back. It was a bizarre feeling to realize that I didn’t want her to let me go—that I enjoyed her surprisingly comforting touch.
Just what in the three realms was wrong with me?
Evara scoffed, waving a hand as she balanced it precariously on the other. “Don’t be silly. I can easily—”
Her eyes widened as her feet stumbled back and the jar wobbled. I jumped forward, somehow hoping I’d be able to catch it in time.
Then her foot stepped firmly to the right, and she caught both the bottom and top of the jar in a firm grip.
“Kidding, kidding!” she sang, giving me a teasing smile.
I fumed, giving the girl my best death glare, as Lilis stepped forward.
“Give me that,” Lilis demanded as she pulled the jar from Evara’s hands.
I’d explained to them quite explicitly just how important that heart was. Demon hearts didn’t just pop up out of the thin air, and I didn’t exactly have a stockpile of them ready. If that jar broke, I’d make the little fight we’d just had with Melkar and the others look like children wrestling in the dirt together.
…or at the very least, I’d force whoever was responsible to get me another heart as well as the other missing ingredient for the potion.
“Look what you’ve done, Evara. You’ve made the succubus pout again,” Phaori said.
“I’m not pouting!” I shouted back.
None of them believed me.
I glared down at the enchanted necklace, as though it were somehow at fault. At least I could be glad that I’d found what Melkar had been using to enhance his magical capabilities. An item like this didn’t come cheaply, and he was certain to be furious that I’d escaped with it along with the demon heart.
There’d be a heavy price to pay for them, I was certain. It was difficult to predict what he’d do next. I was going to need to be careful, going forward. The question was whether the necklace would allow me to access my own magic again—something I’d yet to have any success in manifesting since my transformation.
Though none of that would matter once I was human again.
“Don’t look so down, little demon,” Phaori interrupted my brooding with a pat across my shoulder. “We beat them and obtained the thing you wanted. It’s something to celebrate.”
I looked up at her grinning face and sighed. “As if things are ever that simple.”
“As much as I hate to ruin this adorable bonding moment,” Lilis cut in, interrupting what was most certainly not some kind of ‘adorable bonding moment,’ “are we certain that we shouldn’t turn around and head to the healer?”
Her gaze went to my hand, though I knew that she meant it more for the shambling figure of Galia ahead. The quiet blonde finally paused and turned to acknowledge us.
“As I’ve said already, I’d rather we didn’t.” Her breathing was heavy, and despite having patched up the worst of her injuries from Karga’s claws, the girl looked worse now than she had when we’d begun our walk back. Even I could see how her legs shook beneath her now that she’d stopped walking. “Really, I’ll be fine once we get to my room.”
One of her hands caught the wall, as though to counter her own point.
Lilis’s eyes narrowed as she saw much the same that I did. “You won’t be dealing with her alone, Galia. The rest of us will be there. And it’s a lot closer than the dorm.”
Phaori snorted. “You really want to bring her to see that evil witch of a woman?” Both of them gave the werewolf an unimpressed look. “What?” she asked, before realizing that the two of them were also witches. “My point is, I’ve had the pleasure of visiting her multiple times. The woman never does anything for free. If we can make it to Galia’s room, and handle this ourselves, I argue we should. Both of you are good at this sort of thing, are you not?”
Lilis looked at the rest of us and sighed, realizing she’d once again been overruled. As much as I wanted my hand to be quickly healed and functional again, I was as reluctant to go see the healer as the rest of them. I was already going to have to go to her again for blood soon, I expected.
“Why not rest at my secret lounge instead?” Evara queried. A sly smile met her lips. “It has a few private rooms with beds attached.”
I eyed her. A ‘secret lounge?’ Was I the only one without some variety of ridiculous hideout in this academy?
Lilis gave a startled squawk. “Your—” she spluttered, as though she couldn’t believe her ears. “You can’t be serious. Do you even have a cauldron in there?”
“As a matter of fact, I do!” Evara answered sweetly. “And it should be a simple matter for one of us to run and grab whatever else is needed, hmm?”
“Why don’t we just keep moving instead of standing here,” the big redhead insisted, cutting Lilis off before she could reply. “We’ll head to Evara’s ‘lounge’ so that Galia and the little demon can rest. There’s no point in making them go all the way to the dorms if it’s unnecessary. Easier to simply bring things over. I can carry whatever is needed.” She shrugged.
Lilis glared at Phaori. “Of course you’re fine with this.”
The werewolf shrugged. My roommate quite obviously didn’t like this plan, but had run out of reasons to object. She begrudgingly accepted. That didn’t stop her from scowling at Evara, who in turn provided us all with a glowing smile. Being honest, the whole exchange made me curious. Why was she objecting to it so much?
I’d soon find out, I supposed.
Evara led us down a tight stairway back into the underhalls and then down a series of corridors toward her supposed ‘lounge.’ Eventually, she paused in front of a nondescript sconce, pausing to turn toward us.
“Behold!” she proclaimed dramatically, eyeing both Galia and I in particular. The wounded blonde girl stared back with blatant impatience.
Then Evara turned the sconce to the right ninety degrees and pressed it inward. The surrounding bricks shifted in with surprising ease, and then the clanks of gears and a rattling chain met my ears. I titled my head as an entire section of wall swung inward, revealing a secret room.
Lilis rolled her eyes. “You really do this every time there’s someone new, don’t you?”
Still grinning and looking as proud as ever, Evara laughed. “Well, it is impressive, isn’t it?”
“You act as though you created all this yourself,” my roommate shot back. “We all know that some girl showed it to you last year.”
“She gifted it to me,” the fiery woman insisted. “After I took her on a trip through the three realms and back.” A euphemism for a great night of sex, if I wasn’t mistaken?
“Can we just go in?” Galia grumbled sourly, her patience finally running out.
Smirking, Evara led us inside, and I couldn’t help but widen my eyes in surprise. The first thing that caught me was the size; the room’s area was almost big enough to be a ballroom. But that was quickly overshadowed by its overly plush decor. Fanciful chairs and couches sat grouped together, along with a scattering of bookshelves, paintings, and a few mirrors along the walls. A massive bed was inset into the floor, and covered in soft pillows, much like the seating. On each side of it was a large area curtained off from the rest of the room, both sections seeming far too large to be a simple changing area. It tickled the curiosity of what laid beyond them.
Much of the room was colored in a red and royal purple theme, with the occasional blue, and all of it accented in gold. It was the sort of sight that even many nobles would look on with envy toward. Despite her desire to rest, Galia couldn’t help but stop to admire it alongside me. Even the carpet seemed softer than anywhere else in the academy.
“Welcome to my super secret den of debauchery!” Evara announced with a dramatic gesture, using the words that Lilis had uttered during our tea party. Just what exactly constituted a “den of debauchery?”
I felt the peculiar urge to clap. For perhaps the first time in my life, I decided to give in to it, clapping my uninjured hand against my other arm. My soft applause was joined by no one.
Evara curtsied. “Thank you, thank you. At least one of you has an appreciation for theater.”
Lilis rolled her eyes again. “I see you’ve added a few things since I was last here.”
“More than a few, but yes—it's really filled out. You should come by more.” The mischievous woman pouted.
“Why don’t we let Galia rest while we get a cauldron set up somewhere,” Phaori butted in, before leading the injured witch to one of the two side doors on the left side of the room.
They gave me something to ease the pain of my broken hand that Evara had stored in a nearby room and helped me to wrap it up to keep myself from injuring it further. Not long after, both Phaori and Lilis left to grab necessary ingredients from our room, leaving Evara and I effectively alone. As she turned to me with a sly smirk, I wondered if I’d have been better off going with them.
