The glowing fires integrated into the walls behind the dais glowed with ominously as a dark haired man touched the eye patch covering the place where his right eye should be. The man leaned back on the cushioned chair and a low growl reverberated in his throat. Agitation clearly showed in his face, and the obsessive caressing of his black eye patch confirmed to his servants that their lord was in a foul mood.
"M…my Lord Hatie…" A servant carefully approached the dais and held out a wine glass. "Y…your wine." The meek servant held the cup high and dipped his body low to the ground in order to show submission to the being before him.
Hatie took the drink from the servant and downed the red liquid in the glass. The drink was labeled as wine, but was more a mixture of bloods from various humans. His tongue ran along his lips to remove the drops of wine remaining there. Thinking of humans reminded him of why he was angry.
The demonic lord's red eyes glowed with fury as he thought about his recent meal of human flesh. A human male recently captured and brought before him groveled on the ground minutes earlier and begged for his life. Normally groveling humans brought a smile to the cruel man's face, but this man wanted to live so he could honor his father on some holiday humans set aside for just such a thing. As the human explained the reason for this holiday and tried to reason why he should live for that moment, thoughts of his own father encroached on his mind.
Furry filled Hatie's thoughts when the man spoke highly of his father. Lashing out in anger, he'd struck the human down and where minutes earlier there was a fine human specimen, now only a streak of red remained. The dark haired lord gripped his wine glass tighter as the scene played through his mind once again. The human revered his father and kept going on about his father. His father this, his father that, father, father, father. A roar escaped Hatie's throat as he threw the glass at the wall to his right. The shattering of the crystalline wine glass signaled the scattering of his servants.
Slowly, the man leaned back into the cushioned chair and regained some of his composure. The growl still reverberated in his throat, and his clawed left hand tightly gripped the arm rest while his right hand caressed his eye patch. The patch was the representation of his distaste for his father. Villieldr, the demon lord trapped in the body of a wolf and his sire. His curse. In a battle for dominance over the pack, Hatie's right eye was ripped from its socket and his chances for beating his pack leader and sire slipped from his grasp.
Now he sat in the hall his father created in his reign as demonic lord over the northern territories. Rumor held that Villieldr's conscious was unsealed and he had the power to return and once again rule. That thought too spread hatred and loathing through the wolf demon's being. Even his servants were only loyal to him because he was their true lord's son.
"Hatie." A dark haired demon dared to approach the young lord's dais. This demon was one Hatie's wrath did not affect. His name was Shahdell and he was Villieldr's right hand. The golden eyed demon was also the demon that found him and taught him to become more than just the lone wolf he'd been forced to be. Mixed emotions of hatred and respect formed around this man and the distraction from his thoughts allowed the wolf demon to relax.
"What do you want Shahdell." His voice was arrogant and full of spite, but the demon before him didn't flinch or show any evidence he recognized the tone. Normally such lack of emotion toward his words would throw the young demon into a fit of rage resulting in the death of the offender, but Shahdell never displayed emotion. Hatie suspected that even when the general fucked his lovers the man showed no emotion.
"The item you requested arrived." Shahdell approached the dais and pulled a pouch from his pocket. Hatie snatched the pouch with a satisfied glow in his red eyes. He'd ordered the man to find him a poison strong enough to kill any of his enemies and his order was now fulfilled.
"This was difficult to find?" The dark haired demon refrained from smiling vindictively at the general before him. Part of the reason he'd ordered Shahdell to get this potion for him was so he'd have a weapon if necessary, but mostly he wanted to make life difficult for Shahdell. He still resented the fact that the demon general unconditionally served his father and he wanted the man's loyalty. Hatie tried to find annoying or difficult tasks for the man to do in hopes that he'd get tired of them and request to serve him exclusively. The plan thus far has failed. His father sill held the loyalty of his general as well as many others.
"It was not difficult. The Darkness family acquired a new member who is remarkably skilled in making poisons and potions. Our connection to the Lord Mix Darkness' wife made acquiring this quite easy." Shahdell shrugged and turned to take his leave.
"I have not dismissed you!" Hatie growled as he raised his voice to order the man back. However, the demon general ignored the lordling's summons and left the chamber. Fearing a deadly outburst from their lord, the servants backed toward the wall. The young lord's growls continued for several minutes after the demonic general left.
The prize in his hands caught his attention and he smiled. He opened the pouch to reveal a small glass vial filled with a red liquid. This small bottle of liquid was all he needed to take out any enemy that threatened his position. As Hatie twirled the vial in his fingers, an idea came to him. Why not give his father a present for this human holiday? "You." He pointed at a fearful servant. "Get a bottle of the best wine we have and a box to put it in. Make it a nice box."
A smile played across his lips and he relaxed into the cushions of his chair. The violent demon decided that he might as well test this new potion and see if it really worked. His crimson eyes fixed on the vial as it sparkled in the firelight.
Several minutes passed and the servant came back with the requested items in his hands. Hatie took the bottle of wine and carefully pulled the cork out. His movements were slow so as not to disturb the wax seal more than necessary. With the cork out, the demonic lord poured several drops of the poison into the wine bottle. The colors matched so perfectly there was no way to distinguish one from the other. His smile broadened as he twirled the bottle so as to mix the poison better.
Satisfied with his work, the demon replaced the stopper and held the bottle toward the fire. His eyes glistened as he watched the heat from the demon fire melt the wax. As he pulled the bottle from the flames, he examined the seal. There was no indication the bottle was ever opened. Pleased with his work, the dark haired demon took the box from the servant.
The box was pale and the wooden frame was covered with human skin. Human skin felt like soft leather and this box was cured nicely. The skin appeared to be a single piece and there were no seams around the box. Hatie was a little sad to see such a nice piece of craftsmanship go to his hated father, but the more his gift looked like a proper present, the better. He placed the bottle of wine into the box and handed it back to his servant. "Take this to my father, to Villieldr." His smile and eyes were cruel as he gave the order to the servant.
A moment of hesitation came from the servant, but before Hatie could react to the insolence, the man scurried off with his burden. The young demon once again leaned back into the cushions of his dais and relaxed. What started off as a vexing day was proving to be an opportunistic one. "More wine and bring in some succubus women." His voice commanded to several servants around him. Recognizing the change in their lord's mood, the servants moved with less fear and more purposefulness. When their lord was in a good mood, they too benefited. When their lord was in a foul mood, they could end up losing their lives.
As the servants gathered the things he requested, Hatie's mood improved further. Thoughts of his father's demise, wine in one hand, and succubus servicing his needs put things right in his little world of dominance. He would spend the rest of his evening in pleasure while he eagerly awaited news of his father's death.