Read Online Demon's Daughter (Demon Outlaws) by Paula Altenburg - Free Book Online
Authors: Paula Altenburg
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“The goddesses are long gone from the world,” she said. “You feel the lingering touch of their presence, nothing more.”
It was true. Once one had been touched by the goddesses, the goddesses could never be forgotten. She knew that far too well. And because this world had been touched by them, their presence would be felt here forever.
But the goddesses themselves were gone.
The light in the old man’s eyes brightened. “One goddess remains,” he insisted. “She will bring the others back. They will forgive you your dealings with demons if you join her army and fight for her. You will no longer be a slave to the Demon Lord.”
Mamna tapped her fingers against her thigh, alarmed by the Godseeker’s words. Sweat trickled down her back, and her sensitive skin itched under the rough hrosshair gown. She did not want him to be overheard or for such stories to spread. Had he not witnessed what happened to people who plotted against her?
“I am no slave to the Demon Lord. I command demons. They do not command me. The goddesses are gone,” she repeated, more sharply this time. “I witnessed their departure myself.”
He stepped closer, crowding her with his greater height and invading her personal space. Mamna did not care for it. It highlighted her deformity and challenged her authority. She scowled up at him, but he was so wrapped up in his message that he did not notice her displeasure.
“One remains on the mountain,” he insisted. “She challenges trespassers and collects alms for the temple.”
The noise from the market faded, overwhelmed by a roaring in Mamna’s ears.
“An old priestess and her bastard, thieving daughter live on the mountain.” Impatience frayed her temper, and her heart was now beating so rapidly she felt off-balance, as if all the blood in her twisted body had rushed to her head.
How had the spawn survived all these years in the crumbling temple of the goddesses, she wondered for the thousandth time since learning of the thief on the mountain. Worse, how could that silly old hag have kept it?
Desire might have had an advantage over the other priestesses in that she had not been born homely—she had become scarred later in life when her looks had not mattered so much to her—but she was still an old fool with a soft heart. She always would be.
Stubbornness set the Godseeker’s jaw. “She is a goddess, not a thief. She is the one who will lead the Demon Slayer against the demons. This is our chance to fight back, and to send them away. This world does not belong to them.”
Nor had it belonged to the goddesses, Mamna could have argued. An immortal was an immortal, regardless of any distinction. But the Godseeker’s beliefs, like those of all fanatics, would never change.
“Even if you are right, she is still only one goddess while the demons are many. If they could drive the other goddesses from the world, then this one can have no hope of standing against them alone.”
“She holds the will of all the goddesses,” he insisted. “They left her here to finish their war. She will lead the Slayer against the demons. Godseekers can raise an army to help her.”
Mamna was truly alarmed now. If the Demon Lord heard this talk of a goddess or her army and withdrew his protection, and the people of Freetown could no longer depend on Mamna for their safety, she would have nothing.
“If the goddesses had left one of their own behind, I would have known,” she said.
Suspicion backlit the zealousness in the old man’s eyes. “We thought you, of all people, would welcome this news.”
Welcome it? She had betrayed the goddesses to the Demon Lord. She had told him how he could drive them from the mountain, and given him the means to do so. She had carried the fire for him. She had fanned the flames. He was the reason she owned Freetown. She did not, under any circumstances, wish for the goddesses to return.
Neither did she wish for the Demon Lord to discover how she
“The goddesses are long gone from the world,” she said. “You feel the lingering touch of their presence, nothing more.”
It was true. Once one had been touched by the goddesses, the goddesses could never be forgotten. She knew that far too well. And because this world had been touched by them, their presence would be felt here forever.
But the goddesses themselves were gone.
The light in the old man’s eyes brightened. “One goddess remains,” he insisted. “She will bring the others back. They will forgive you your dealings with demons if you join her army and fight for her. You will no longer be a slave to the Demon Lord.”
Mamna tapped her fingers against her thigh, alarmed by the Godseeker’s words. Sweat trickled down her back, and her sensitive skin itched under the rough hrosshair gown. She did not want him to be overheard or for such stories to spread. Had he not witnessed what happened to people who plotted against her?
“I am no slave to the Demon Lord. I command demons. They do not command me. The goddesses are gone,” she repeated, more sharply this time. “I witnessed their departure myself.”
He stepped closer, crowding her with his greater height and invading her personal space. Mamna did not care for it. It highlighted her deformity and challenged her authority. She scowled up at him, but he was so wrapped up in his message that he did not notice her displeasure.
“One remains on the mountain,” he insisted. “She challenges trespassers and collects alms for the temple.”
The noise from the market faded, overwhelmed by a roaring in Mamna’s ears.
“An old priestess and her bastard, thieving daughter live on the mountain.” Impatience frayed her temper, and her heart was now beating so rapidly she felt off-balance, as if all the blood in her twisted body had rushed to her head.
How had the spawn survived all these years in the crumbling temple of the goddesses, she wondered for the thousandth time since learning of the thief on the mountain. Worse, how could that silly old hag have kept it?
Desire might have had an advantage over the other priestesses in that she had not been born homely—she had become scarred later in life when her looks had not mattered so much to her—but she was still an old fool with a soft heart. She always would be.
Stubbornness set the Godseeker’s jaw. “She is a goddess, not a thief. She is the one who will lead the Demon Slayer against the demons. This is our chance to fight back, and to send them away. This world does not belong to them.”
Nor had it belonged to the goddesses, Mamna could have argued. An immortal was an immortal, regardless of any distinction. But the Godseeker’s beliefs, like those of all fanatics, would never change.
“Even if you are right, she is still only one goddess while the demons are many. If they could drive the other goddesses from the world, then this one can have no hope of standing against them alone.”
“She holds the will of all the goddesses,” he insisted. “They left her here to finish their war. She will lead the Slayer against the demons. Godseekers can raise an army to help her.”
Mamna was truly alarmed now. If the Demon Lord heard this talk of a goddess or her army and withdrew his protection, and the people of Freetown could no longer depend on Mamna for their safety, she would have nothing.
“If the goddesses had left one of their own behind, I would have known,” she said.
Suspicion backlit the zealousness in the old man’s eyes. “We thought you, of all people, would welcome this news.”
Welcome it? She had betrayed the goddesses to the Demon Lord. She had told him how he could drive them from the mountain, and given him the means to do so. She had carried the fire for him. She had fanned the flames. He was the reason she owned Freetown. She did not, under any circumstances, wish for the goddesses to return.
Neither did she wish for the Demon Lord to discover how she
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