Nurturer of Nightmares

Lional

‘CLUNK!’, ‘CLUNK!’, ‘CLUNK!’- The rattle of my fist against Zeella’s door shattered the early morning, Zeella groaning in pain and annoyance from his study, his voice slurring as he called out, “Who is it and what do you want?!”

“It’s your brother,” I replied with a roll of my eyes, the lock clicking as the door swung open beneath my hand, Zeella’s powers retreating back to his body, skirting around bottles of wine straight from Caliem’s rescued supplies.

To my surprise, there was no woman draped off his arms or asleep on the chaise lounge, just more bottles scattered around, and I closed the door behind me, my powers whisking a collection of them off a seat and into the bin, allowing me to sit down opposite him, the papers I needed already in my hands.

Seth had been taken back to the cage by the same soldier, who I had instructed not to say a single word to anyone about what I’d had him do, and provided I could convince Zeella to allow me to adopt the boy, he would be out of the cage within the hour.

I just had to play my cards very, very carefully.

Zeella didn’t bother to lift his head from the table, he simply groaned, “What do you want?”

“I wanted to discuss a problem I have. We’re in the middle of a war.”

“I’m aware, Lional,” he rubbed at his temples, lifting his face to show that his eyes were bloodshot, his skin paler than normal as he added, “My own daughter led the rebellion against me.”

“Yes, well you and Agron have each lost a child. You have, I presume, Chaos to take the throne, Agron has Lyna. I have been thinking recently on my own lack of heirs-”

“Then go screw some low-level Demonic-being woman? Why come to me for advice?”

“Because I, quite frankly, hate the idea of raising a baby. I prefer a child.”

“I’m not lending you one of mine,” he warned, eyeing the Caliem adoption papers warily, and I shook my head, saying, “We have a Prince of Hell currently hanging in a cage outside. Allow me to adopt hi-”

“Absolutely not. He’s a traitor.”

“He’s an idiot who got dragged in by your daughter. He can be molded easily by me. We’ve already made him an Heir of the Manor, allow him to be an Heir to the Throne of Pride instead. Think about it, Zeella. How bad will it make Desterium feel knowing that while she’s down there being tortured, her Connected is being treated respectfully when he’s not worthy of it? Or, better yet, hint to Desterium that he’s being tortured, and allow him to be treated as Royalty here. Should the day ever come that they escape, he won’t be able to relate to her torture. In fact, he might take the opposite stance. People do desperate things when they’re in danger, and the boy might switch sides if we treat him carefully! I mean-”

Zeella’s head dropped to the table midway through my convincing, waving his hand exasperatedly and shouting, “Whatever, Lional! Do whatever you want with the boy! Adopt him, kill him, feed him to the wolves outside! I have too big of a hangover to bother caring anymore! I give you my blessing to take him in as your ward! Just keep him away from Desterium and out of trouble!”

He grabbed the pen, quickly scribbling his signature where I needed it, his powers shoving the papers, and me, out of the door, which slammed behind me. The soldier who had delivered Seth was waiting outside, his eyebrows raising in question, and I nodded.

“Fetch the boy from the cage and tell the other Lords of Hell, and Lilith of Eden, that there will be a ball tonight to celebrate his becoming my Heir. He can have his choice of bedrooms. I’m going to head back to Caliem and do some shopping.”

The boy would need clothes if he was going to stay on Earth. Pulling the Paradoxin Box from my pocket, I twisted it in my hands, feeling the Rift wrap around me, taking me back to Caliem.

The air whipped around me as I landed in an alleyway outside the shopping centre, wondering what size of clothing Seth would be. He was a Nephilim teenager from The Borderlands, who hadn’t been eating the best in the past few months while simultaneously fighting long battles against Demonic-beings. He was skinny, but he did have some muscle to him- wielding a sword was bound to make you have something, at least. Exiting the alleyway, I made my way down the street, heading for the front entrance to the shopping centre. I would have brought Seth along if he didn’t look like he’d been beaten. Korathians didn’t take lightly to that sort of thing, and even if a few of them recognised me and wisely kept away, the majority who didn’t would slow us down with their harassment, and with Caliem described as a Hellish place to be, I couldn’t exactly ruin the image by explaining that I had saved the boy, rather than condemned him. I had gotten lucky in saving him, even if the guilt of not being able to save Desterium as well began eating at me, my pace quickening at the thought, trying to escape my mind.

I had saved Seth, at least for now, and I had been lucky that Zeella had been too hungover to truly think about the consequences of accepting Seth into the Manor. By right, he had the ability to try and claim Desterium as his, since they were Connected, which could lead to an outright civil war in the Manor, not to mention the fact that he now had the right to leave the Manor as he saw fit. He wouldn’t, not with his limited knowledge of Earth and how to avoid radiation poisoning, but it still should have been a risk in Zeella’s head. There was also the matter of, if Seth did claim Desterium, how the Heirs they produced would be separated between my throne and Zeella’s, not that he would let them so much as look at each other, let alone have a child together… A combined throne would be the easiest way to go about it, but that would leave quite a few people without jobs, and Lilith down a Sin.

The Manor was going to be furious with Zeella, especially after the display he’d put on in separating them from each other after Destiny’s Severing. They would get over it eventually, perhaps even accept Seth at some point if he seemed competent enough, but Lilith would not be so forgiving of Zeella for this mistake. I could already see her screaming at him, maybe even throwing a few punches to try and keep him in line. I’d already put the paperwork in a safe in my office. Seth was now my Heir, and all attempts at removing him from my line would be seen as treason. Even Desterium, despite being excommunicated and labelled a traitor, couldn’t be killed by the citizens of the Manor without risking their heads.

A loud ‘DING!’ above my head as I entered the shopping centre caught my attention, and I paused, realising the time as I gazed around, noting the lack of people. Dawn, or just after dawn. There would be people on the main streets, but the one behind me was silent, only the occasional car whizzing by, on its way elsewhere. The shopping centre was open twenty-four hours, but it was odd to have people in after midnight and before seven or eight in the morning.

Overhead, I heard a camera whirring, picking up my movement and the unusual hour, and I simply reached into the bag I had brought with me, clicking my fingers subtly to summon a wad of Korathian cash. Someone was watching through that camera, and all they wanted was confirmation that I was here to shop, not steal, for them to leave me alone. Lifting the cash, I gave the camera a thumbs up, the red light vanishing from its glassy eye, the security guard satisfied. This floor was almost completely dark, only a few inner lights from the stores lighting up the outside area, and a few of the stores were even locked up with huge security gates, their opening times not to be reached for quite a while. There were no servers running around offering free samples of makeup or the latest sausage creation from the deli down the hall, no tired mothers sipping coffee and watching their kids on the playground, and no fathers calling after children who were running away.

Even the cleaners were gone, their buckets neatly stacked near the entrance to the public bathrooms.

Up the escalators, which had been switched off and reverted back to normal stairs, I could see more lights from the fancier shops.

The one or two times Seth had worn a suit, or even moderately fancy clothes, had been when he’d stayed at the Manor and been lent Abel’s old clothing, but now that Abel was back, and Cain was gone, he would need new ones.

I was happy to oblige.

Seth looked to be a size medium, maybe even small since Korathian sizing was vastly different to The Borderlands sizing… Well, they didn’t have sizing. It either fit or it didn’t over there.

He would need shoes, too…

Pinching the bridge of my nose at my stupidity for not even bothering to check what size he was, I entered the first store on the bottom floor, one dedicated to teenagers, and looked around. T-shirts with designs or labels on them, ripped jeans, colourful jackets… The store clerk, a bored, half-asleep boy who blinked blearily at me from the counter, didn’t take any notice of me as I exited again, humming in thought. Ripped jeans were perfectly acceptable for partying at the Manor, but not for living there. Desterium likely didn’t shop at any of the stores on the lower levels, although I knew she came here whenever Cain decided she didn’t have enough ‘teenager’ clothes. Their arguments over it had shaken the Manor whenever they’d truly gotten into it, Cain shouting that it was stupid to wear nice, expensive clothes all the time, Desterium arguing that she didn’t see the point in buying jeans that were damaged, but cost twice the amount of normal ones. Eventually, as he almost always did when they fought physically, Cain had won the argument, and he’d dragged Desterium here to buy clothes…

She’d given them to Nym and Lydiav almost immediately after getting home, borrowing a few items only to fill her cupboard with them and keep Cain sated.

I’d never gotten involved in the arguments, but I did have my own theories about why Desterium refused to have clothes that didn’t immediately show her status.

For one, her mother had bought those sorts of clothes for her, opting for a normal life, and they likely brought back terrible memories for Destiny.

For two, Zeella not only disapproved of the clothing once Sarah had died, but had gone to the extent of burning all of it before taking Desterium to the Manor, citing that she would be called half-breed enough without looking like one.

And for three, she probably did find it idiotic that ripped jeans cost more; Desterium was strange like that.

Ignoring the rest of the stores on the lower level, I headed up the stairs, keeping a firm grip on the wad of money in my hand despite the lack of people.

The upstairs area was vastly different to downstairs. For one, the lights were on, casting bright circles of white light across the floor, and the gentle lilt of music filled the hallway. Immediately, two servers approached me, holding out platters of perfume and jewellery respectively. I waved them away, striding past the tables set up to display mannequins wearing the latest in high fashion, heading for a store I knew well.

The clerk inside was alert, his smile bright as he welcomed me in, recognition lighting up his eyes. He turned, whispering to his attendant to fetch a mirror, before opening his arms to brandish at the latest goods on the shelves, his smile widening into a familiar grin as he declared, “Ah, my favourite Maladur! What brings you here, Lional?”

Placing the cash down on the counter between us, I explained, “I have a new ward to buy for. This is everything I have on me right now.”

It had come straight out of my account, and as Pierson counted out the notes, nodding to himself as his head begin filling with thoughts, I grinned. Seven thousand dollars would be enough to buy a few nice things.

“Have I met this ward?” Pierson questioned, his attendants approaching with cups of coffee, which he gladly took, handing one to me. I sipped from it, shaking my head.

“No, but he’s the Connected to my niece, Desterium.”

“Ah, Princess Desterium. She spent quite an extravagant amount in my store not too long ago. Her Connected must be quite impressive, if he’s been approved to be your ward?”

“He’s the complete opposite to Desterium. Shy, quiet, emotional.”

“The Archangels pair well, then. Opposites attract, Lord Lional.”

Tilting my head, I said, “He comes from a different Dimension, from a poorer family. I want to spice up his wardrobe a bit, but not enough to scare him right away. Think you can help me?”

Pierson waved his hand, announcing, “I won’t just help you, my friend! I shall make your ward magnificent- But not too much to scare him off, eh? Come along!” He led me down one of the aisles, toward the back wall where the shirts were neatly hung up, his attendant following behind with a basket on their arm.

“How much are you comfortable spending?”

“All of it,” I said, “I trust your judgement.”

“How old is this boy?” Pierson said, his eyes flicking across dozens of shirts, his hands shoving them away as he browsed, and I replied, “Sixteen, I believe. Perhaps nearing seventeen.”

“So nearly a grown man… Hm… Well built?”

“Moderately, he’s fought in wars and trained most of his life, but he’s still underfed.”

Pierson grabbed three shirts from the shelf, two long-sleeves and a short sleeve, shoving them into the basket before moving along to the pants section, humming in thought.

“Any hobbies?”

“None in particular. Excellent throwing arm though.” He’d killed Danla in one shot. Seraphina, too.

Not that I could tell Pierson that… He may know of the Dimensions and the Maladur family, including what we were, but he didn’t need to know that Archangels, and in particular Maladur’s, weren’t invincible.

Pierson placed a shirt back on the shelf, replacing it with a different one before returning to the pants section and grabbing three.

When we reached the shelf lined with jackets, he said, “Does he love your niece?”

The way they had looked at each other when Destiny had been on that stage, how Seth had shoved her behind him to protect her from the court… “Yes.” Grabbing a dark black jacket, he then asked, “Are they married? Engaged?”

“No, no… Just Connected. They’re not even courting yet.”

“Ah, so a young, presumably handsome man is interested in the Princess of Hell. He’ll need plenty of accessories, too. My brother Pierre runs the jewellery store next door, as you know. See him.” Adding another two jackets to his basket, he rushed around the store, grabbing a further two pairs of shoes, four pairs of underwear, and then six pairs of socks, tossing the basket onto the counter at the front and humming, “Let’s see…”

He began scanning items, the price on the till quickly rising, the attendants watching with wide eyes as he began counting out the cash at the counter, saying, “I’ll leave you enough to buy some shiny things from Pierre next door, eh? Your total so far is Three-thousand-nine-hundred-and-eighty-four. I’m thinking of adding another blue long-sleeved shirt, which adds another three-hundred-and-twenty-eight, bringing your total to…” He fiddled with the till for a moment, before proudly declaring, “Four-thousand-three-hundred-and-twelve dollars today!”

Nodding briskly, I said, “I’ll take a bag for that, Pierson.”

“Of course!” He grinned, tucking the items into a bag before saying, “I’ll let Pierre know you’re coming!”

Waving goodbye, I grabbed the remaining money, heading into the jewellery store next door to see a similar scene.

Pierre was Pierson’s twin brother, the two of them identical with the only difference being that Pierre had a curled, extravagant moustache and a balding head. He waved me in, offering a glass of wine and exclaiming, “Well, look who it is! Come to admire your reflection in my new mirrors, Lional?”

“Not today, I’m afraid, although I’ll certainly make an order for next time. I’m shopping for a new ward.”

“A child born into the Maladur family, hey? I don’t sell many pieces for children, but I’ll do what I-”

“He’s adopted, almost a grown man.”

Pierre paused, before nodding, saying, “Very well. Allow me to ask you some questions?”

Seeing where it was going, I sighed, “He’s sixteen, nearly seventeen, Connected with Princess Desterium, has an excellent throwing arm, isn’t married or engaged to her, is shy, quiet and emotional. He’s been trained for war, but is slightly underfed.”

Grinning, Pierre announced, “I see you’ve been next door to see my brother already! Very well! How much do you have to spend?”

“Two-thousand-six-hundred-and-eighty-eight.”

“I’ll see you in a few minutes, then. Take a seat.”

He brandished to a plush velvet armchair, clicking his fingers and having his attendants follow him, and I sipped from my glass of wine, watching him rush around the store grabbing items as he saw fit, humming to himself.

When he was done, he beckoned me up to the counter, placing the items on a velvet cushion there.

“I picked two golden bands, both thick and jewelled. I chose Calamantium for one, and Ruby for another. They’re very artistically made, designed to be elegant male jewellery. These two go for one-thousand-six-hundred-and-sixty-seven, and one-thousand-three-hundred-and-seventy-five respectively. Then I chose-”

“Pierre, I’m sure you made excellent choices, but I only have two-thousand-six-hundred-and-eighty-eight on me. I don’t have anything else.”

Pierre nodded, saying, “I know, I know! Consider it a gift to Desterium’s Connected! The Princess of Hell helped my store once, so I wish to give these as gifts. The next item I chose was a plain gold ring, which is three-hundred-and-fifty-four. Then, since I presume this Heir is a Prince of Hell, I chose a crown for him. It’s inlaid with Calamantium and ruby, and is made of bone with gold accents. This particular piece is unique, and costs twelve-thousand.”

“Pierre, I can’t accept that much as a gift. Allow me to pay tomorrow, at least?” For the bracelets and the crown to be that cheap, it had to be man-made Korantium and Calamantium. The real gemstones sold for much higher than that. Desterium had been gifted a bracelet with a single Korantium gemstone in it that was worth two million. A crown with Calamantium was worth four million. Either Pierre was lowballing himself, or these were manmade.

Not that it mattered. They looked like the real thing, and once I asked Grigori, I would know if Pierre was lying to me about the cost, or if the gemstones were man-made.

He shook his head, firmly tucking the pieces into a plush, carefully locked box, saying, “Nobody has bought it since I got it in two years ago. I might as well make use of it. I presume he doesn’t have his own personal collection of gemstones like his Connected does?”

“No, he doesn’t. He’s very new to the Manor. We haven’t even decided on a room yet.” Destiny and Cain’s old quarters had the best views, and they were the safest out of them all. Close to my own quarters, too.

Pierre reached underneath the counter, bringing up two glass boxes with velvet lining, dozens of huge gemstones nestled in each one. He placed these in the box too, saying, “I’ll give you my old stock that nobody wants, hm? Then I can make room for new stock. Pay me back by ordering in a lovely mirror. These two boxes of gemstones are worth five thousand each, and I’ll throw in a few old pieces of jewellery, too. ”

Pierre was obviously trying to suck-up to the new Maladur Prince. The gifts he was presenting weren’t old at all. In fact, I recognised the bracelet he had given me as one of the pieces brought in just last month.

The crown, he could be telling the truth about. There were very few Korathians who would be willing to spend that much on a crown.

“I’ll also give you these.” He pulled out a tray of elegant necklaces, all of them made with bone or thick pieces of gold, “and these.” The second box he brought out held a set of rings, one male and one female.

Wedding bands. They were stunning, both made from a deep, glistening white and black metal respectively, the male’s holding one large Korantium gem that was flanked by two diamonds, the female’s centrepiece made up of Calamantium and flanked with rubies. Light and dark.

“I believe these are appropriate for our lovely couple, hm? Light for him, dark for her.”

Incredibly fitting. In fact, Pierre would never know just how fitting it was.

“For the finale, I’ll gift a small trove of simpler rings and pieces just for him, hm? And a few more loose gemstones. This will give him a trove to the worth of fifty-six-thousand-three-hundred-and-ninety-six dollars.”

“Pierre, I can’t take that much as gifts! Allow me to pay you tomorrow!”

“No, no! I don’t need it anyway! I have better things coming soon!” He gave a wink to me, before pointing to a picture of a large mirror set, all of them made of gold and edged with diamonds in the frames. Grinning, I said, “Very well. I’ll buy them tomorrow. How much?”

“Sixty-thousand,” he winked, and I replied, “Done. Write my name in your book as an order.”

“Excellent. I’ll see you tomorrow, Lional!”

He handed me the boxes, and I clicked my fingers, sending the boxes back to Destiny’s room in Caliem, where they would be safe until I could get there and unpack for Seth. He would need his own ledger now, as well as an allowance and access to an inheritance. Waving goodbye, I exited the store, heading back down the stairs and winking to the camera, before heading back into the first store I had entered, the one with the ripped jeans. Pulling out the two-thousand or so Korathian dollars I had left, I handed it to the boy, saying, “Here’s a tip for working so late.”

His eyes lit up, and he pocketed the money, smiling at me as I left the shopping centre, heading back into the alleyway and twisting the box in my pocket, the Rift wrapping around me.

In Destiny’s room, Seth was seated on the bed, wide-eyed and surrounded by boxes and bags…