Demons End (Tremble Island) by Lynn Ray Lewis Page B

struck a deal with these humans. They were to take the Demon Leroi from the island and drop him into the ocean far away from here. In return, he gave them fifteen of us. All shifters. We were charged with crimes we did not commit and imprisoned. There was no way to escape. Watching my friends murdered and skinned like that will give me nightmares for the rest of my days. I hope you have come to stop him from harming any more of us, Lord Tremble.”
    No one paid attention to the ship belonging to the furriers as it drifted from the spot it had been anchored.
     

Chapter Eight
     
    Leroi waited impatiently for his nightwing minion to reappear. It was now the afternoon of the third day, and Pudding Pants was still holed up in his rooms, complete with Flitch and two armed guards at the door. He entertained himself with causing strife between the guards by whispering into the ear of one, “Your friend likes your lips, he wonders how they might look wrapped around his cock.” He vanished for minutes only to come back and find the guards in a heated embrace. This was not what he planned. The man was supposed to be outraged, not intrigued.
    He should have been expecting the attack. He of all creatures should have counted on the fact that paybacks were almost always a guarantee, and almost always worse than the crime. He had been taunting Borland for months, hoping the man would tip completely into insanity to give him an excuse to kill him and be done with him.
    By the time he realized what was happening, they had him. One minute he was watching Flitch torment a human male, by his next breath, the salty seawater had doused his head, causing him to cry out. While his flesh sizzled and burned from the water, several golden chains were draped over his head and pulled taut, effectively rendering him physically helpless. Someone must have told the bastard Borland how to bind a demon.
    His captors were afraid of him, and that was a good thing to his way of thinking. He might not be able to move his body, but he could manipulate their minds should one of them happen to touch him. A select few who were frightened to begin with, could be manipulated to a degree without a touch. The chains were loose around his ankles, and taut around his torso. If he could gain his feet, he would not be confined to this dank hole in the bowels of the ship. So far every one of his efforts had been in vain. When he felt a blackened soul hover near his shoulder, he quickly snagged it, and devoured the snack. The soul was not one he would normally have taken until it was a bit blacker, however it showed up for his use, he was happy for the gift.
    Within an hour another soul hovered, and yet another. From his estimation, they had been sailing for at least three hours, after the fifth black orb appeared he knew something was wrong with the crew, it had not been sickness that killed these men. They had died of fright. Since he had not been the one to do the deed, he wondered what could be more frightening than a Demon Prince. If it was not for the fact their deaths might help him in his situation, he might have felt jealous of the power that being wielded.
    Thunder boomed into the sound of the ocean waves, as the ship encountered rough seas. He could hear the lightning crackle, and saw the brief flashes of white light through the grate above the hull. Rain fell into the barrels strapped together below the grate for the purpose of gathering rainwater to drink and cook with, but there had been no sign of life.
    He was brought from his stupor by an unearthly shriek. The noise was prolonged as if whatever made the noise was being tortured. He could not recall hearing such a sound before, and since it was not a normal sound of a storm, he concluded that someone, or something, was still living above deck. Another black blob popped near him, and he was happy to see the grizzly look of the thing. This being had been an exceptionally horrible shifter. His crimes had been