Free Devdan Manor by Auden D. Johnson Page A

waters?
    This bar restores a demon’s power once it drops below a certain level. The disgusting taste was to discourage demons from letting their power get that low. Not the best business strategy. Since this bar has been in the stores for almost five years, someone must’ve been getting wealthy from it.

    The house was quiet. This was worse than the screaming. This hallway didn’t match the rest of the mansion. The previous owners had stripped the hallway of any personality. The walls were plain white. The floor, simple wood. Cyl tapped his heal against it. It sounded like wood. It didn’t have the lines and grooves of normal wood floors. It was a smooth unimpressive surface. Unlike other areas in the house, the hallway had no decorations or furniture. The light fixtures had a plain gold case and a common egg shaped shade.
    The long hall held an unnecessary number of rooms. The doors were all open. The rooms were like prison cells—only large enough to fit one human-sized demon, not comfortably.
    Cyl’s nerves couldn’t handle this. His body tightened as they approached each open door. His blood surged. His power roared, ready to shoot out and attack. Every time, he expected some abomination to be waiting for them. The rooms were always empty. Uryl said they shouldn’t use shields until they have to. They needed to reserve their power.
    Cyl agreed. He still felt naked.
    Where had the demons gone? Could they be walking into a room full of demons waiting to torture their bodies and minds?
    A hand smacked the back of his head.
    “If you stay tense like that, you’ll be useless when we need you,” Nuall said.
    Like he could do anything about that. How was he supposed to calm down?
    The end of the hall approached. Their senses had returned. As Ozais said, they were weak. Cyl could feel the Ozais, Uryl, Ryse and Nuall’s presence. He couldn’t tell if anything was in the room. It smelled empty.
    “I can’t believe you scared them,” Ozais said shaking his head.
    “What?” Cyl asked.
    “There are no demons in this hallway. They’re weary of you now. I sense them far away. They’re probably thinking of a better way of destroying you.”
    “Fantastic,” Nuall grumbled.
    “You should be proud. Hundreds of demons have come through those doors. None of them affected the house the way you did.”
    “I’ll gloat once I find whoever made this place and stuff their legs down their throats.”
    Cyl couldn’t mirror Nuall’s anger. He didn’t care about revenge. He wanted to leave. He wanted to get everyone out.
    They reached the end of the hall. The rooms on either side were empty.
    “I don’t sense anything,” Ozais said.
    “You wouldn’t. I don’t want to split up,” Uryl said. “We’ll search that one” he pointed his thumb to the right. “Then search the other side.”
    The room was as bare as the hall. The markings covered the walls. The room had no furniture. This place had never been lived in.
    Maybe that female lied to them. Why? He could understand her leading them to a demon filled trap. What was the point in sending them to an empty room? There had to be something here.
    The only spells his power enjoyed performing were ones that broke through other spells. The results were unpredictable. He didn’t enjoy using his power this way.
    They proved he was best suited to fight this house. Could there be some hidden door or room here they couldn’t sense?’
    Cyl spread his legs shoulder-length apart. He pressed the tips of his fingers together and closed his eyes.
    “Bow down before my power and reveal yourself.”
    He power cheered. It liked giving orders. It like feeling superior. It snaked out of his body. It stopped at the wall opposite him.
    Cyl opened his eyes. The markings shifted to form the shape of a door. The wall opened to darkness.
    His power returned to his body.
    He couldn’t see through the darkness.
    Uryl held a small light at the entrance. Wide stone stairs spiraled down past