Page 1 of A Cursed Heart

Malacoda

Leaving the concubine’s palace on silent feet, I tiptoed through the throngs of its occupants, male and female, lying on divans and even on the floor.

The only entrance to this sacred place was at the end of the vast room, which was strewn with rich fabrics and adorned with the richest treasures.

Only the best for the king’s pets, after all.

The scent of debauchery hung heavily in the air.

A perfume made of vice and sin. What had happened here was apparent with just one glimpse of the creatures in this room.

Not one of them wore a stitch of clothing, long since convinced out of it by the honeyed words I’d whispered into their ears.

All they wore were marks from our coupling and a sheen of sweat.

As I neared the door, I couldn’t help but turn back with a grin at the sleeping forms. Little did they know that I’d taken their treasures, their baubles, along with their virtue.

Well, what little virtue they had left. They had sworn only to be with my brother.

Never each other. Never anyone else. Only their king.

I’d taken that from them with a smile, freeing them from the constraints of their vows.

Now they would live a better life. A happier one.

Perhaps they would take their new knowledge of true pleasure instead of cold servitude and head out into the world with the gold and silver I’d left them with and build new lives.

Really, I’d done them a favor. I’d taught them what sex was like with a warm-blooded demon, not the cold snake my eldest brother was. Maybe one day they would thank me for opening their eyes to what they had bonded themselves to.

A chuckle escaped my smirking lips. No, it would be a long time before any of them would think to thank me. If they even survive the night , a dark voice, deep in my soul, muttered. I shut down that voice, determined to ignore it, to enjoy my spoils and the post-coital glow.

The door handle gave under my hand. Silently, the door opened into the vestibule beyond. Before I passed through, I hid my tail, wanting to be stealthy.

Here would be my first challenge of the day: getting out of this almost separate part of the palace unscathed.

No guards were permitted so close to the concubines. I did not have to fear someone overhearing us or waiting for me just beyond the door. I slipped into the vestibule and sighed. So far, so good. All I had to do was get to the window where my ladder awaited me, glamoured under my magic.

My hands had just grasped the spelled rope when I heard it: a whisper of air being cut by metal. I spun, catching the sword swinging for my head against one of my dragon-hide vambraces. The metal of the sword sparked against the scales, but juddered to a stop.

I kicked out against my attacker, determined to win this battle quickly and make my escape now I had what I came for.

We traded punches and kicks, moving farther into the vestibule and away from my escape route.

I risked turning my back to the knight to dash for the window once more.

He gained on me quickly, his breath stirring my hair.

Drawing my short sword, I turned and thrust towards the knight, expecting him to dodge.

He didn’t, instead grasping my blade in his gauntlets, the metal squealing doing far more to alert the other guards than any shout would.

“Halt, Malacoda!” the knight grunted as I tried to reclaim my weapon.

One glance at the window had my heart sinking. Below was a battalion of soldiers.

The momentary distraction was all it took.

The knight took hold of my hands, still wrapped around the hilt of my sword.

With a word, the spelled metal of his gauntlet held me in place.

He shook me, rage briefly overtaking his stoic expression.

Then, in a flash, the other hand used his weapon as a cudgel to knock me to my knees.

Blood trickled into my face, obscuring my vision. Another blow hit my skull and all I saw was black.

The king’s guard didn’t take it easy on me when I woke. Numerous times they sent me back into unconsciousness with the beatings, each time trying to get an answer out of me as to why I’d committed such terrible crimes and harmed their king’s precious concubines.

I didn’t talk. It was a waste of time. They wanted an excuse to hurt me, so they would regardless of what I said.

With my magic, I’d tucked away the true reason for being in that part of the palace.

Breaking their vows with them was only a bit of fun, something to obscure the theft of the heart ruby.

A deflection, hiding one crime with another.

In my possession was the greatest treasure of my brother’s kingdom. He had hidden it within his concubine’s palace where it was safe from outside eyes. Only those who lived there and a few chosen servants ever entered the palace. It was a wise choice to keep the gem there.

It was too powerful, too much of a temptation to place it anywhere else.

Its power was enough to level the playing field between me and my brothers.

Enough to give me the ability to rule our kingdom.

To take my fellow demons into a new era.

Power to take us to another dimension and a future where we didn’t hide in the shadows. We could rule the humans.

Months of work had gone into the theft. Charming servants, chasing gossip, learning the layout.

All of it took time, but the power the gem held was more than worth it.

Now all there was to survive what came next and figure out a way to get out of there.

The guards could be bought. Everyone had a price.

I just had to figure out what theirs was.

What felt like days passed while the guards grew increasingly angry at my reticence.

Without my magic, they could not reach the stone, though none of them mentioned it.

Most were upset at the thefts of other baubles, especially since I was a wealthy prince with land of my own.

Many of the guards and knights who visited to torture me were furious about my actions with the favored concubines.

They could not understand why I would harm them and our king by sullying them.

They thought too much of those aligned with our king.

Eventually, I was left alone to heal what I could of my injuries, the heart ruby still in my possession.

Every part of my body ached. I longed for a bath to clean off the blood and sweat from my skin.

I wished to let my tail and horns out, to use the full extent of my magic to undo days or possibly a week of torture.

I had hidden my horns for fear they would break them, damaging my magic, though it made me more vulnerable without them.

It struck me as strange that none of the concubines were taken to the prison. The place was empty aside from two guards who occasionally oversaw me and were responsible for quenching my raging thirst. It was never enough water.

Left alone for many more days, I recovered my strength some. Not enough to escape, especially given how little I was permitted to drink. There was no food. I used the reserves of my magic to keep the gem hidden, though my hopes of ever leaving my imprisonment were growing slimmer by the day.

A flurry of activity drew my attention to the door. It was flung open, the guards on either side standing to attention as my brother, the king, entered. His face was a mask of grim determination.

“Hello Malacoda,” his voice was even, almost soft, pitying.

“Your Majesty.” I kept the sneer out of my voice with difficulty.

He came to the bars of the cell, his voice dropping lower, so that only we could hear him. The guards had drawn back, sensing their king was safe and needed to conduct his interview privately.

“Where is it?”

“Where is what, dear brother?” I feigned innocence from the safety of my cot. At least they had provided me with something to cover myself with. I wore nothing but a pair of leather pants. The thin blanket was only enough to hide the worst of the wounds on my chest.

Dagda sent a blast of magic at me, freezing me on the spot and simultaneously boiling my blood at the same time.

The pain was excruciating. I’d had worse.

My brother seemed to have forgotten it was his go to trick when we were younger.

I had long since learned how to ignore the agony and keep my face blank.

“The gem,” he hissed. “Where did you put it?”

His magic relented a fraction, enough for me to comfortably ask, “Something wrong, brother?”

My brother straightened, completely letting go of the magic. The mask dropped back into place. This was my king, not my brother. His tone turned mocking. He was teasing me, showing his superiority.

“Malacoda, did you not wonder why you are here alone? Why none of my concubines are here, paying for their crimes?” He glanced around, as if looking for them.

I felt a prickle of unease. It wasn’t like he hadn’t just voiced a thought I had before.

They had broken their vows, I expected some to be punished.

Perhaps not the most favored of my brother’s concubines, certainly not those picked for their magic to bear him children. Those he especially doted on.

“I thought perhaps they were kept far from me, in another, better, prison,” I grudgingly said into the growing silence.

“Ah!” Dagda looked delighted at my admission.

“No. They are not imprisoned elsewhere. Should I tell you where they are?” His smirk was poisonous.

He stood before me, his dark hair gleaming under the lights, his robes finely stitched with gold thread.

I would have no leniency from my king, nor should I expect any filial affection to lessen my punishment. Dagda had never cared for me.

“Is this where you tell me that you had them killed? Or banished, maybe?”