Demon Mansion
"Do you have everything?"
The demon ignored his pact-maker, his hand radiating energy as he hovered it slowly on the list of names before him. One by one. Finding information and secrets was a demon trick the humans learned, but it made them easier to manipulate.
Humans forgot the old ways, the warnings their ancestors left for them. They called it superstition, children believing they knew better than their elders, but it's what we wanted. The oldest and simplest trick in the book, knowing a name. The key to finding a way to a soul and they gave it so freely.
His hand hovered over a name, Em, gritting his teeth he quickly checked Kongpob's closest friends. A Young Mage Lord and mages were forming a circle around him.
"No wonder you couldn't find a way so easily." The demon's hands still moving. "He is surrounded by mages."
"How did that happen?"
"That old man." The demon snaps. "He must have done something after I left."
To make the contract and set everything in motion took more power then he realised, he had to return to demon lands to recover. He left his pact-maker to take care of matters, extending his life and changing his appearance when needed.
He relaxed too soon, thinking he managed to keep them away from Kongpob the last birth, it would have been safe this time around too. A careless mistake, he had to fix quickly.
"The more power you have in this world, the more enemies you make. I have a few ideas; we could use the media..." The pact-maker had been planning. "I have enough to put a great dent in both their reputations."
That wasn't the way, it wasn't their reputation that needed to be destroyed but the most dangerous thing they had. Their bond.
"You don't let your enemy know you are after them by announcing it." He shot the man a look. "You do it, quietly. Every one of the people around him has a weakness, you use it and make them do your bidding."
Only an idiot runs into a fight, you use the sacrifices at your disposal. He knew a few names, old families that owed him favours for the wealth and privileges he allowed them. It was time to collect.
"Bring me a recent picture of Arthit."
Something was strange, he couldn't get anything from the name. He was a Lord, a newborn human shouldn't be able to hide, so why wasn't he seeing anything? His hand hovered over the picture that was placed, his eyes widening as flames erupted from his fingers incinerating everything on and including the table.
"A vampire!" He screeched. "He's a bloody vampire!"
"What...what does...that mean...?" The pack-maker took a step back.
"He hasn't been reborn." The demon spat. "He's been here all along."
"He killed him." The pact-maker said shaking. "They told me, he killed Arthit...
"That sly, crafty old bastard!" The demon roared. "He...he..."
No, no. You weren't getting him, the demon murmured, I wouldn't let you! He dismissed the pact-maker with instructions, the man left slowly, the new revelation still not fully sinking in. The Archmage wouldn't have managed it all alone, they had help.
The demon raised his left hand out, palm up as he whispered a spell. A small wooden casket appearing. He opened the lid, only a few glass vials of the red liquid remained inside. He had to be careful how he used them but this was important.He caressed the two viles glowing, it was not time for them.
He took a vile, closing and returning the casket. Drinking the red contents in one go. He felt the surge, the liquid seeping into every pore and the power it brought him was delicious. He would know this power soon, as soon as he had Kongpob's soul.
He wrote two words on the wall with blood, his hand hovering over them. Soul Witch. The answer was immediate. The scheming, old bitch! If She was involved no wonder so many things went wrong. He had to stay calm, yes calm. The souls, the souls were what was most important. Once he had them, he would smash throw her wards and end her once and for all.
~~~~~~~~~
Kong POV
"Em." I watched his reaction. "Did I forget something?"
He didn't look surprised observing me across the small table as he drank his iced coffee. The question had been circling my mind the last few days again. I wanted to ask him before, but thought it silly and left it. Since P'Arthit walked into my life, I needed to know.
"Yes." He replies after staying silent for a while.
"Did I want to?"
"No."
Short answers but I found he had reasons for what he did. I also knew I trusted him explicitly, in all these years I never questioned why. I never felt the need.
"Is...is P'Arthit part of what I forgot?"
"More than a part."
I sit back and think, there was nothing of my life I didn't remember. My earliest memories, my family and friends had all been steadfast in my life. So, what had I forgotten? P'Arthit looked only a few years older than me but his eyes, his eyes were much older.
"Is this... my fault?"
"No!" His answer is resolute.
"Was it P'Artith's?"
I saw it sometimes in his eyes when he looked at me. Guilt. Em runs a hand over his face, choosing his words.
"I wasn't there...at the last." He looks pained. "I really don't know."
~~~~~~~~~~
Arthit POV
I listened to Kongpob's conversation from my seat across the street from them, his questions worrying me. What did he know? Was he remembering? Like Phana did?
"I think you should tell me also." I know Knot can hear me. "Where you went that day and why my grandfather's people are guarding me."
Knot appears behind me a moment later, his words steady as he explains. My anger threatens to explode as I listen, closing my eyes and calming myself when knot puts his hand on my arm. I had killed a few demons before, never a Lord but there was a first for everything. Nothing would take my Beloved, nothing.
Mages, I watch Em, no wonder they felt different but Kongpob, felt human. Why would the Archmage come...unless, Kongpob was from a branch family that stayed. If the demon had his memories Kongpob wasn't remembering but he was realising there was more. Then something else occurs to me.
"He woke three nights ago, as though from a nightmare." I tell Knot. "At, 5 minutes past midnight."
Knot's look said he understood. That was the same night the demon came through and if he had a contract with Kongpob, he would feel it. This demon's trick was using the power he won from gambling or trading contracts with other Lords. The one who came through was the 5th Demon Lord, the Lord of Deception.