City of Thorns by C.N. Crawford

Chapter 9

Blindfolded, I walked through what I thought was a series of tunnels. The Lord of Chaos held my hands to guide me, and it kind of felt like we were on the most fucked-up date in history.

After a minute of walking, I whispered, “What’s your actual name?”

“Orion,” he said quietly.

I found the sound of his name dark and intoxicating.

And as we walked in silence, I could only feel a wild exhilaration that I was actually getting what I wanted. Forget saving money. Forget breaking in.

Now, I would get to stay in the City of Thorns.

After a few minutes of walking in the cool air, we reached a set of stairs. With his hand in mine, Orion led me up the stairs until I heard the creaking of a door.

When he pulled the blindfold off, I found myself standing in what looked like a heavily columned Mediterranean palace. Everything seemed to be made of pale, golden marble. A splash of blood-red poppies bloomed in an ivory vase by one of the open windows. When I glanced at the ceiling, I found it painted blue and dotted with stars that glowed with magical light. On two sides of the room, glass windows overlooked a sea that glittered like blue topaz. This place looked nothing like the grim Atlantic. This place was paradise.

On a third side, the wall was open to the air, and a covered balcony overlooked the sea. There, an overhang shaded a bed with a white duvet. On the other side of the seaside balcony, a table was had been set up with two chairs. A warm, salty breeze filtered into the room.

Holy shit, his life was amazing.

I managed to close my gaping mouth, and I turned to Orion to find that he was on his cell phone. “Morgan? Please bring breakfast and coffee for two.” He hung up, then gestured to the balcony. “Let’s discuss my proposal out here.”

Before I followed him into the buttery morning light, I lingered for a moment to survey the rest of the room—the books lining the walls, the cream-colored sofas. Would I get to stay here?

A warm breeze rushed into the room, and I followed him onto the balcony. Out here, the sun dazzled over the sea.

As I took my seat at the table, the door opened, and a man with a salt-and-pepper beard and a crisp white shirt entered. He looked like he might be about fifty, in excellent shape, and sporting perfectly applied eyeliner.

Orion smiled. “Morgan.”

“Orion, darling! You’re up early, aren’t you?” He spoke with a lilting Welsh accent.

I smiled at him as he slid a tray of fruit, yogurt, and coffee onto the balcony table. But before I could open my mouth, Orion introduced me. “I have Lady Mortana with me. Former advisor to King Nergal. She was living in the City of Serpents, and she has returned here after a long time away.”

Morgan smiled at me. “Welcome, darling. I can see why you’d return to the most amazing city in the world. No mystery there.” Morgan nudged a bowl of fruit in front of Orion. “You’re not having the donuts today. You can’t eat junk and look nice forever, even if you are an ancient and powerful demon.”

Orion draped his arms over the back of his chair. “I like the donuts. They’re the zenith of human civilization. Especially the ones with the raspberry jam in the center.”

“That’s not the bloody zenith of human civilization.” Morgan looked at me, shaking his head. “Honestly, he can be so patronizing sometimes. There’s plenty of other achievements to choose from. The Great Library of Alexandria comes to mind.”

Orion plucked a strawberry. “And do you know what happened to the Great Library of Alexandria? A mortal mob burned it down, destroyed its contents, then flayed alive the scholar Hypatia because women who knew things were apparently witches. Yes, that’s a great example of mortal civilization, I’d say.”

If I spent enough time with Orion, I was worried I’d actually start hating mortals, too. He really did have a knack for making us sound terrible.

Morgan held up his digital watch. “Okay, forget the ancient world. We’ve grown better since then. We have Apple watches now. I know exactly how many steps I walked today, and that I’ve stood up twelve times so far.”

Orion let the silence drag, just staring at Morgan. There was the Dr. Omer technique in action.

Morgan looked increasingly uncomfortable and adjusted his shirt sleeves. “Look, I’m going to have to come in prepared with a better answer after doing a bit of research. The zenith of human civilization isn’t something you can just come up with off the top of your head. There’s a lot to choose from. A lot.”

“While you’re mulling that over, I have another favor to ask of you.” Orion turned to look at me. “I’m sure our new king will want to see Lady Mortana soon, but obviously, she can’t meet him dressed like a peasant.”

I was wearing the best outfit I owned.

Morgan nodded at me with concern. “Dolce e Malvagiaopens at ten. Gorgeous clothes. Do you want me to pick out some things and send them up?”

He nodded. “Select a bunch of dresses for Mortana to try on, bathrobes, pajamas, everything she might need. You can put it on my account.”

“Right.” He looked me up and down. “Lovely hourglass figure. Favorite color?”

I had no idea what Mortana’s favorite color was. But if she’d been out of the city several hundred years, what were the chances anyone else would know? “Black.” Seemed a safe answer for a demon.

Orion steepled his fingers, and he looked between the two of us. “Morgan, there’s something else important I should tell you about Mortana. She is a succubus. You may warn the others.”

I watched the color drained from Morgan’s face. “A succubus?”

By his reaction, I gathered that this was a big deal. I smiled at him and shrugged, deciding it was probably best to say as little as possible at this point—particularly since I had no idea what was going on.

“The last remaining succubus,” Orion added. “She will be taking up residence in the Asmodean Ward after she meets the king.”

Morgan’s gaze flitted nervously between the two of us. “Can she kill me?”

“She won’t kill you,” Orion said in a soothing tone. “It’s against the rules, isn’t it?”

Morgan still looked horrified. “But the whole Asmodean Ward is abandoned. I thought the Lilu were extinct. I was told they’re very dangerous.”

Orion lifted the coffee pot and poured two steaming cups. A lock of his silver hair fell before his eyes. “Nearly extinct.”

He nodded and backed away, then hurried out of the room like a ghost was on his heels. The door slammed shut behind him.

I stared after him. “A mortal servant, I take it?”

“Yes, and he is under the mistaken impression that I care about his views on nutrition. But I do value his help.” Orion sipped his coffee. “I must fill you in on a few things.”

“Agreed. What’s this about being the last succubus? What happened to the rest?”

He poured a bit of cream in the coffee. “The Lilu were hunted into extinction hundreds of years ago.”

I scooped some berries into a bowl of yogurt. “Why?”

Every time his eyes met mine, I felt an unnerving jolt, like an electric pulse in my chest. I hoped that he had no idea what effect he had on me—he was arrogant enough as it was.

“The Lilu were killed for two reasons,” he said. “You know about the war between the demons and the Puritans, yes?”

I nodded. “In the 1680s, yeah.” It was how demons had ended up locked up in this city in the first place.

“As part of their surrendering terms,” said Orion, “King Nergal agreed to kill the Lilu. The Puritans hated all demons, but they really loathed the Lilu. They feared being turned on by a demon more than anything.” He stared out over the glittering sea. “And Nergal agreed because other demons hated the Lilu, too. The Lilu had a power that threatened the rest—the ability to compel others of their kind, to control their minds, to seduce them to do what they wanted. They’re also the only demons with wings. They were simply too powerful.”

I squinted in the sunlight. “And how did Mortana manage to survive?”

“By being cunning, calculating, and evil as sin. King Nergal was a dull, tedious man, and Mortana was the opposite. She was witty and captivating, and nearly everyone fell in love with her. Including the king. She made a deal with him—she would help him round up and slaughter all the Lilu, and she would get to live. He kept her in a room in the Tower of Baal, and she became known as the Seneschal.”

I wondered what she’d done to Orion. “The king was in love with her, then.”

“Yes. Like many others.” He stared at me over his coffee cup. “I confess, I marvel at the poor judgment of all those human males who rejected your beauty. Demons have better taste.”