CHAPTER ONE: KINGS AND NIGHTMARES
GRODEN'S POV
HUMAN REALM
I've been in Section 30260 for a little over eight years now. The King, a massive and burly creature, personally selected seventy men and women to train at Facility 401. We were to become the Royal Soldiers, his personal guards. Our duties included everything from protecting the King to taking on covert team missions. Seeing how we each have different abilities since we're demons, we are basically Special Ops on steroids. Demon soldiers are a different breed of soldier. We possess a certain power that makes us stronger, faster, and more durable than human soldiers. We are also immune to fire and most weapons, so we are able to move through the battlefield unimpeded.
My height of six foot four inches and weight of nearly two hundred thirty pounds of muscle makes me the largest soldier here. Most of my team were men around the age of twenty-five, coming in under my weight at two hundred pounds. The King had us go through extensive training before we could be chosen for the Royal Guard. Our first lessons were more like going to tot school all over again. We were taught seven different languages, human mannerisms, and all the facts of both our and their worlds. It was a year of torture. The second year was battle statistics- planning and mapping out our missions perfectly- along with hand-to-hand combat and six other forms of fighting techniques. My specialty? Swords. I am absolutely beast with a sword. You know, not to brag or anything.
Not long after we were deployed for the first time, the King pinned me, General of the Royal Guard. We had lost a good bit of our forces to an army of Trolls. It was absolutely disgusting. I and a few of the other men in my platoon made it out safely, the others were not so lucky.
A year ago, on a top-secret assignment, I was stabbed in the back while taking out an assassin. Supposed to have been a simple in-and-out mission. No such luck there. Since then, my team and I have been sticking to the palace. King Dentorri doesn't want his best men out of his sight. Which is good. Because I didn't want him out of mine. He was afraid of another attempt on his life, or worse, his throne. The ego he has is definitely the one of a king.
Since being on palace duty, I haven't seen much action. So, I was a bit unsettled to be called forth by the King a few days ago. He isn't a fan of sending soldiers out on solo missions. My quest? I'm due in the Human Realm to acquire a precious package. My very strict mission outline stated to retrieve the package and deliver it to the King himself.
Perched on a cliff, I look over the city and plan out what was asked of me. I pull out the manilla folder and quickly look through its contents. The King supplied me with very little to go by. This might be the hardest mission I have ever been on. Three hundred forty-five thousand people in Anaheim, California. I have to find one single human. A woman. I don't know much about her. King Dentorri gave a very vague description of the woman along with a name and last known address.
I have until our realm's next black moon to retrieve her for the King. That only gives me three months to find her and convince her to come back with me to the Demon Realm. I highly doubt she will. When I tell her what I am, that I'm some kind of a monster in their eyes, she'll scream and run. I need to figure this out and quickly.
Noticing the gray clouds above, I take shelter under a nearby tree, praying to the gods that it doesn't storm. At dawn, I will find a place to stay and a vehicle. Then, I will seek out this woman and start my task of bringing her home. Reclining my head back against the tree's thick trunk, I let my eyes close and take in the nightmares.
The bright green eyes of the woman in front of me were staring into my own. Her crown, I realized was made of thick horns that were protruding from her head. She grabbed my arm, pulling me closer to her, and laying her hand on my chest. Her long black hair flowed in the wind as if it had a life of its own. She was a beautiful creature that I was sure would steal my soul. Hell, she already has. Her father is getting closer. The father she didn't know she had, the father I didn't know she had.
The wind rushes around us again, bats flying in circles above our heads. The red sky of our home realm turns darker as the Demon King approaches, calling out to her. He's not happy with me, I can feel it. My arms tighten around her waist as I pull her protectively into my side.
Long dark claws reach out to take her from me, as I pull my sword from its sheath. Mud squishes beneath us as I twist the sword upward, into the first demon's heart. Elyse screams out as the sounds of flesh twist and tear. I push her behind me as more demons come out of the ground.
Something in the air changes and streaks of silver and red magic swirls around us. I feel the dagger in my belt pull free and catch the glimpse of a smile grace her lips, her eyes now an endless black. She's hurt and pissed. The second demon runs at us and before I can slice through it with my sword, I see the small silver dagger fly by my face. Planting itself in the demon's gray skin.
The remaining demons fall silent and back away, kneeling down as they do so. There is only one creature in this realm that can make them do that, the King. I feel Elyse tense behind me as King Dentorri steps into our view. The light coming from him is highly unusual. Almost as bright as sunlight.