Page 42 of Wicked Curses
“Here! Here!” Fred shouted as he lifted his cap.
“Orin, bring them some glasses of whiskey; it will do them good on a day like today.”
Before Sahira could refuse the alcohol, Belda turned away and blended into the crowd. Her gaze fell back to the map, and she stared blankly at it until Zeth rolled it up and set it on the table beside him.
“I don’t believe it either,” the demon said.
“Neither do I,” Radagast said.
“Believe what?” Fred asked.
“That there’snoway out of this place,” Sahira said.
“Oh.” Fred closed one eye and peered into his cap. “I don’t believe that, but I do believe I’ll have another drink.” Despite his inebriation, the pixie leapt to his feet with amazing grace. “I’ll be back, toots!”
Sahira refused to believe they were stuck here, but doubt niggled like a rancid worm at the back of her mind.
Orin didn’t move or say anything as he stood staring at the table. His body vibrated with barely leashed fury beside her.
She had the inexplicable urge to rest her hand over his to calm him, but she doubted she’d have any effect on him, and thatdefinitelywas not their relationship. Instead, she dug her nails into her palms and rested her hands in her lap.
When Belda called out Orin’s name, he turned and stalked into the crowd.
A minute later, he returned with a bottle of whiskey and three glasses. He set it between them before leaving again.
CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE
At the startof this night, Sahira had every intention of retreating to her room early and starting another book. She hadn’t returned the first book yet, mainly because she hadn’t written her story, but she finished reading through it last night.
Orin hadn’t left his story in the book yet, and she felt weird adding hers to it first, but she would. He probably believed he wouldn’t be here long enough to write his story, but that time had come and gone for him.
She admired his tenacity, so she wouldn’t say anything. As far as she was concerned, after learning everything she had today, she’d been here for too long not to have written something in it.
Instead of traipsing her ass upstairs like she should have done hours ago, she sat and drank with Zeth and Radagast without speaking for the first hour. Eventually, as time passed and the whiskey kicked in, they started talking.
She learned Zeth’s uncle was the king of demons, and his father was dead. As far as he knew, his mother was still alive, and her brother was king.
“She’s still alive,” Sahira said, “or at least she was recently. Not much is known about the demons—you guys like to keep yourselves hidden—but the king fought against the Lord in the Lord’s war. His sister was at his side throughout it.”
“The demons got involved in the war?”
“I don’t think they had any loyalty to anyone; they were there for the fight.”
Zeth chuckled as he finished off his glass of whiskey, set it down, and refilled it. “That sounds like them.”
“Some of the demons fought on the Lord’s side. I’m sure that didn’t go over well with your uncle.”
“He likely didn’t care. They probably all just showed up to a battle and started fighting. I doubt they knew which side they were fighting for as long as they got to kill.”
Radagast’s lip curled in distaste as he elegantly sipped his whiskey before setting it down. Many warlocks sided with the Lord but didn’t enjoy the brutality of the demons, berserkers, and many others.
“It didn’t sound like the demons had any real loyalty to either side,” Sahira said. “Or at least that’s what I heard. I was in the human realm with my niece. That realm was devastated, but we mostly stayed out of the fight. My brother, Del, was in the war, but after the Lord’s men told us he died during a battle, it was up to me to keep Lexi safe, so I kept her as far from the fighting as possible.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Radagast said.
“Don’t be; it turns out he was alive but living in a jail cellOrinstuck him in.”
She turned to glare at the dark fae pouring drinks behind the bar, but he didn’t notice her.
