6 Auspicious Slaughter (1/2)

My mouth fell open, was what they were saying true? A look at Sarinknell's drawn face confirmed it. She was a fake. It made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. Serving a Demon Lord was bad enough, being bound to a fake one was just absurd.

”You're right.” Sarinknell's voice was calm, determined. ”Currently, I have no claim under law, my father's title officially passed to my uncle.”

Miusin smiled. ”And yet you call yourself a Demon Lord? Doesn't that strike you as a little ridiculous?”

I agreed wholeheartedly, but not Sarinknell. ”I don't technically own the title, but that will all change soon.”

The other girl scoffed, showing off her pointed teeth. ”And how's that? You said yourself that you don't have any claim.”

Sarinknell shrugged. ”For now. If my uncle were to die, then his title will pass to the member of his household with the highest rank. And if his successor died as well and so on…” The fake Demon Lord's finger traced the lip of her goblet. ”Eventually you might just end up with a Demon Lord of the first circle after all.”

Miusin's lips came together in a hard line and she turned her attention to her food.

Biustarn, on the other hand, looked delighted. ”What a wonderful little notion. And how do you plan for this incredible turn of fortune to come about?”

”It's simple.” Sarinknell tapped her finger against the table. ”I just have to kill off everyone in my father's household that holds a higher rank than me. Fortunately, my uncle is the only such member.”

”I'd hoped you might say that. Though I applaud your ambition, I can't say I fancy your chances. Unless you've got an army hidden somewhere.”

”No, no army. I have a few allies, but I could always do with another.”

Biustarn raised an eyebrow. ”Are you offering me an alliance?”

”I am.”

”Your proposal is certainly… intriguing. But I'm afraid I'll need more time to think it over, would you be willing to travel with us for a short while? You'd have a perfect chance to watch the battle.”

Sarinknell bit her lip, deliberating. ”Very well, we'll accompany you. I'll give you a day to think it over, that's the longest I can delay my plans.”

They spent the rest of the meal discussing things of lesser importance, such as the upcoming attack on the human city and eating their raw meat. Meanwhile I sat there wondering what the hell was going on.

Not only was Sarinknell an imposter, but now we might be entering into an alliance with this other Demon Lord? It made my head spin. Once lunch was over, the servants started packing up and getting ready to go. ”Are we seriously going to ally with this guy?”

”If we can. You said yourself that we need additional help, this is a perfect opportunity to acquire some.”

”Yeah, but, can you trust him? You've never met him before in your life, right?” I couldn't imagine Demon Lords were particularly trustworthy.

”No, never. And as a matter of fact, I don't trust him at all. I don't know where you got that idea from.”

”Don't you have to trust your allies?”

Sarinknell shook her head. ”I see you know very little of politics. Allies are just someone who you try to use to your advantage, while they do the same to you.”

There was something terribly warped about the way she saw the world, but she was right; I don't know anything about politics. Biustarn seemed dangerous, but she hardly needed me to tell her that. That was probably the very reason why she thought he might be a valuable ally.

I retrieved my sword from the ditch, and we fell into line behind Biustarn's servants. I'd have much preferred to ride in the carriage but I doubted there'd be much room left for us. My battered feet would just have to hold out a little longer.

The servants kept a careful eye on us while we were travelling, but none of them made any effort to speak with us. Left to our own devices, I struck up a conversation with Sarinknell again. ”If Biustarn does agree to help us, what do you think that will do for our chances of success?”

”It depends on what assistance he's willing to provide, but it ought to make a great deal of difference. We're very lucky to have run into him, he's practically the perfect candidate.”

”How do you mean?”

”He's a lord of the third circle, so not too low that he won't be able to do much but not too high that he wouldn't be interested in what I could offer him. Not only that, he's also not from around these parts. Which means he likely doesn't have any stake in the conflict with my uncle.”

I whistled, she'd thought this out a lot more than I'd thought. Her offer had been so sudden, I assumed she was just being reckless. ”You really do know about this stuff.”

She snorted. ”Of course, who do you think you're talking to?” Despite her words, she did look a little pleased.

I grinned. ”A wannabe Demon Lord?” It didn't hurt to take her down a peg, she had deceived me.

”Shut up.”

We travelled toward the city, the very place we'd only narrowly escaped the day before. It felt a little silly, but it wasn't like we were planning on entering the place. I wasn't too keen on watching a battle, not that anyone cared about my opinion on the subject and it was probably best not to appear squeamish in front of a potential ally.

Great clouds of smoke obscured much of the city's walls. It was making me a little nervous. ”Err, we're definitely not going to be any danger, right?”

Sarinknell shrugged. ”It's hard to say for sure, but we should be safe. Have you ever seen a battle before?”