Chapter 27

Niris entered the room and approached the waiting demon. The latter didn't open his eyes until the angel was only a step away, not at all surprised by their arrival.

-You've been expecting us, haven't you?" asked the prince knowingly.

The demon didn't reply. He exchanged an electric glance with Inja, who had her hand on the hilt of her katana. With a wave of his hand, the angel instructed her to drop her weapon. After a moment's hesitation, the guard complied and looked away from the demon. The atmosphere relaxed instantly and Niris breathed in serenely.

-I knew you'd come for me," the demon finally replied, straightening up to face the little prince, whom he towered over by almost a head.

Niris frowned.

-What do you mean by that?"

The demon crossed his arms over his chest and sighed.

-I've been assigned to your protection by Prince Seiran for some time now, I know your every move, but I also know that you know I'm watching you."

He had accompanied his last sentence with a supportive glance at the guard staring back at him.

-It's not as if I can avoid your walking radar," he finished with a wry smile.

Niris felt Inja tense up behind him. Interposed between the two, Niris could feel the electricity simmering between the two bodyguards. He hadn't necessarily realized how quickly the situation could escalate between these two sensitives, who were constantly spying on each other because of their skills. And while Eviris kept a constant eye on Inja, the angel's level meant that he had to concentrate much harder to spot her all the time, even in familiar territory.

Inja, on the other hand, had to keep a constant watch on the demon's movements and be on the alert, as she, unlike the demon, had no control over the area. This remote surveillance had naturally created a natural opposition between the two high-level sensitives, who felt threatened by having someone with the same abilities as them in their protégé's entourage.

This was something Niris had overlooked, and he only realized it now that they were face to face. He stepped in more assertively, calming the two sensitives as best he could. Had he been less preoccupied with the situation, he would surely have realized that someone was trying to reach him via a mental communication channel... But he was too busy with them to realize anything.

-The fact that you're both able to detect each other makes my surveillance more delicate, I understand, but I think it's only natural that Inja should also be on the lookout for your movements. You've only been doing your job, respectively."

Eviris glared at the angel, and for the first time, the latter felt a coldness born of deep resentment towards him. He wondered if he'd understood correctly, for the exchange had only lasted a second, but he still had that icy feeling deep down inside that he'd been the target of a million daggers hurled at him through those crystal-clear eyes.

He shook his head, telling himself that it was impossible for Seiran's best friend to have any apprehension towards an angel. He'd probably misinterpreted. Niris was about to question the guard when he resumed, cutting him off at the knees.

-Shouldn't you be in your apartments? The rescue operation is about to begin, so you should wait there for your transfer by interdimensional portal. You're not safe in the palace, you should wait in your room for the operation to begin.

Niris frowned.

-How do you know that?"

-Seiran kept me informed."

The angel instinctively activated his natural energy flow. Letting nothing show, he continued the conversation as if nothing had happened. He was used to training with Inja, making his natural energy undetectable even to a sensitive.

-I see, that makes sense," he nodded. "I understand your concerns, but we came here in search of information. I didn't know who to turn to, so naturally I went to you."

The demon rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

-Why not ask Prince Seiran directly?"

-Seiran is busy and I can't reach him at the moment," he replied, evasively.

Of all the situations he had considered, this was for him the most unlikely. If he'd thought for a second that he'd have to use his spying skills in front of Seiran's best friend, he'd have thought twice before embarking on this plan headlong. It reshuffled all the cards and added to the information he'd just discovered this morning.

Many unknowns had been added at the last minute, making this operation much riskier than expected. He was going to have to play it smart and not let his guard down.

-Ah, I think he's still with His Majesty and His Highness Yousmaïl," asserted the guard. "What did you want to know? Perhaps I can answer your question in that case."

-Well..." Niris hesitated a second before continuing.

It was dangerous to let Eviris know that he was suspicious of the chamberlain. On the other hand, asking him would allow him to gauge his level of knowledge through his reaction. But if he'd managed to fool Seiran for so long by staying as close to him as possible, it was quite possible that he was perfectly capable of feigning ignorance... Be that as it may, he had no time to beat about the bush. If Eviris was who he thought he was, he had no choice but to take the risk of confronting him here and now.

The drenaline was making his brain extremely reactive and his thoughts were racing. He was about to speak when the demon suddenly anticipated him.

-Wait, I think you've forgotten something," he began, to the surprise of both angels.

-A detail?" asked Niris, alert beneath his innocent exterior.

-There's a slave girl in the castle you need to rescue too, or she'll serve as a hostage for His Majesty. Knowing angels, it's unlikely they'd be willing to sacrifice the life of a child slave for the lives of other slaves. Should this angel fall into Her Majesty's hands before the intergalactic agents manage to retrieve her, this operation will be a complete fiasco. Shouldn't you go and get her before that happens?"

Niris pretended to think. Behind him, Inja, who had realized that something was up, stood on guard without moving.

-It's true that there's this angel we have to take care of too, I hadn't thought of that," played the prince.

-Inja, you know where she is, don't you?"

The guard didn't answer, aware that something was up. She was waiting for a sign from her protégé, who was still on the move.

-Go get her before it's too late! I'll escort Lord Niris to his chambers for your departure."

The guard cast a sidelong glance at the prince, who turned to her. In a discreet exchange that lasted less than a quarter of a second, he confirmed the guard's suspicions before batting his eyelids and replying in an apparently concerned voice.

-You're right, I think we should save her before anything serious happens. Inja, you should go. I'm going back to our room with Eviris once our conversation is over."

The guard didn't reply. She stared at the prince with obstinate eyes in which Niris could read the disagreement she didn't express verbally. To convince her to do as he said, he placed a hand on her arm, through which he sent a tiny electric shock. This was a signal they often used to let the other know that something was wrong and that they should follow the instructions of the person sending the shock.

-I'm safe with Eviris, don't worry. The child's safety is more important."

Inja nodded after a moment, and reluctantly left, glaring menacingly at the demon who wore a reassuring smile. Niris turned around, visibly satisfied.

-Thank you Eviris, without you we'd have found ourselves in a delicate situation," he thanked him with a smile.

-But you're welcome, Your Highness," replied the demon.

The angel was now totally on his guard. He wasn't afraid of being alone with him, but he knew that Eviris had deliberately sent Inja away to be alone with the angel. Something must have happened. He'd decided to go along with him to make him think he was in control of the situation. The more he underestimated the angel, the more likely he was to make a mistake and expose himself, which was what Niris wanted.

And anyway, he was going to send Inja to pick up the young slave shortly after their conversation. He'd taken the lead the day before, and now that she was in a place that was easy to access and not well guarded, retrieving her would be child's play. The angel had in fact asked Meica to drug the young angel with a weakly toxic plant before nightfall. In this way, she would show signs of fever and fatigue when she awoke, and would surely be sent to the slave infirmary, a remote part of the palace and avoided by all. It would be very easy for his guards to break in, kidnap the young slave and take her back to their suite. Since she was supposed to be taken care of in the infirmary, no one would be surprised by her absence and would not come looking for her during the day. The trick was played out in advance.

Now it was time to get down to business.

-What did you want to talk to me about, Lord Niris? I'm afraid I don't have much time, I have to get back to Prince Seiran's side," he asked again.

-Ah, of course!" said Niris, pretending to apologize for taking up the angel's precious time. "I wanted to know how long your Chamberlain had been working in the palace."

Eviris raised an eyebrow. Apparently, he hadn't expected this question.

-Why are you so interested in our chamberlain?"

-Oh, it's just that...he seems to have a lot of influence over Seiran's mother so I was wondering if he'd been around for long enough for her to trust him so easily."

He couldn't get straight to the point, so he just beat around the bush to try and get as much information as possible. He kept his air of sincerity as he was accustomed to speaking and acting in the presence of the two demons, to numb any suspicions the sensitivist might have.

Eviris rubbed his chin again, absorbed in thought for a moment, then replied.

-If I'm not mistaken, he came to the position of chamberlain after Lord Hijvrik's death."

-Only after his death? Wasn't he already in the palace before that?" insisted the angel, taking advantage of the guard's openness to extract as much information as possible.

-Mmmh, if I remember correctly, he was already in the palace before he became chamberlain, but in a much less important position. He served in the administration but at a very low level, so he didn't have access to the decision-making bodies like today."

-At a very low level? How did he become chamberlain, then, if he was just an underling?" asked Niris, frowning, looking as if he were thinking deeply about what he'd just heard.

-It's a mystery that nobody has solved yet. All I know is that he became Chamberlain overnight and changed his status to everyone's astonishment. No one knew of this new chamberlain who was appointed shortly after Lord Hijvrik's death."

The angel didn't reply. This information only reinforced his doubts. If verified, that is. But from the way Eviris had answered, he doubted Eviris had lied to him. Devising such a detailed lie in the space of a few seconds seemed unrealistic.

-Why all these questions about our chamberlain all of a sudden?"

This time, the guard made no secret of his suspicion of the angel. Niris watched him for a moment but could detect nothing but unfailing assurance. The demon seemed totally confident. It was perfect. The angel decided to use this confidence to take a bigger risk. He gambled everything.

-It's just that...how can I put this..." he began, pretending not to know how to bring it up. "I felt a strange presence emanating from him when I passed him coming out of the judgment room. Unfortunately, my senses of detection aren't as sharp as yours, so I wanted to know if you felt that yourself, and if so if you could tell me more?"

He looked up at the demon to see the doubt on his face. He had to add a little to get him talking.

-I just wonder if he might be directly involved in the slave trade given how close he is to His Majesty. If so, I'd like to know more about him so I can pass on the information to the investigators later."

He crossed his fingers, hoping the demon would take the bait. After all, his sole objective in the first place was the slave trade. It wouldn't seem strange for the guard to make a request related to his investigation.

-What do you mean by presence? There are many ways of sensing a person's aura, negative emotions being only the most obvious," the demon finally replied.

Niris breathed inwardly. He had succeeded.

-I think it's more to do with the essence," he replied with an air of confusion.

-Essence? You mean the very nature of the chamberlain's natural energy?" Eviris seemed perturbed by the direction their conversation was taking.

Continuing as if nothing had happened, the angel nodded.

This time, the demon crossed his arms over his chest and stared intently at the angel, eyebrows furrowed. Niris then held out his arm to show the purple bracelet still around his wrist.

-I have an artifact that allows me to sense the essence of other individuals, and detects abnormal essences," he then explained, trying to calm the demon's questioning.

It was a lie, of course! Niris had no idea what the bracelet was for. All he knew was that it was what had let him know that the chamberlain was not a demon, but that was all.

The demon looked at the bracelet doubtfully, then straightened up with a sigh.

-There's nothing more I can tell you about it. I'm not capable of detecting the essence of others as you are, Your Highness."

-I understand," Niris said disappointedly.

After that, a silence settled over the room. A heavy silence. They were like two felines spying on each other, ready to pounce at the slightest movement. Niris was thinking of a way to make the demon betray himself. Or should he simply confront him? No, that would be too risky; first he had to make sure Seiran wouldn't doubt his judgment. He had to play finer...

-I understand your disappointment, Lord Niris, but I can't answer your questions. It's information I don't have myself," the demon cut him off.

-It's all right, I'll find someone else to answer them," replied the angel with a naive smile.

He was about to resume when he suddenly felt a massive distortion of natural energy in his immediate environment. Trying to restrain himself from reacting so as not to betray himself to Eviris, he turned his head to see the demon's reaction. Of course, he had also felt the sudden depression in the castle's surroundings. There was no doubt about it: someone had invoked an unalterable dimension of natural energy. But that could only mean one thing. A large-scale battle was taking place within the palace walls.

A little more on edge, the prince and the guard eyed each other with even more suspicion, both aware of what had just happened and, above all, that they knew they had both been able to identify the source of the distortion.

Eviris was about to break the silence when the door burst open, startling both the sensitive and the angel, who was so focused on the sudden event that he hadn't even noticed the person who had interrupted them. Seiran burst into the room, breathless and cheeks rosy from his run.

-Niris, hurry! We've got to deactivate the dimensional portal that's transferring your father's assassin! It's going to activate soon, and we've got to find it before something happens!"

Seiran had spoken in a whisper. With a wave of his hand, he grabbed the arm of the angel who was looking at him in confusion.

-What do you mean by that? What do you mean by that? What interdimensional portal?"

Niris resisted and tried to get more information before following his companion further.

-There's no time! My mother has known your father as long as my father has! She knew your mother too! All this to say that she knows Lord Aroslan's weakness and has used it to set up her assassination plan! She must be stopped at all costs or your father will die!"

He pulled him behind him and Niris had to use all his strength to resist his grip.

-But my father already knows about your mother's assassination plan, so there's nothing to worry about! And why are you talking about his weakness? There's nothing that can kill him instantly, how could they have devised such a thing?"

-I don't know, all I know is that he won't be able to escape it because the interdimensional portal is programmed to appear right in front of him, wherever he is! I don't know how they did it, but I'm sure it's true! My mother wouldn't have told me that! She wouldn't have told me all this if it was just to lie to me in the end!"

Seiran sounded desperate. Niris didn't know what had happened, but something was obviously wrong. Whether it was the distortion felt a few moments earlier or Seiran's advanced state of panic, he had the feeling that something wasn't right. Unable to resist any longer, he let himself be dragged along by the demon without further resistance.

-Eviris, you're coming with us! We need all the help we can get!" ordered the prince.

-No, Your Highness, I won't follow you," replied the guard.

Seiran was taken aback. He turned to confront his recalcitrant guard but had no time to react. In a lightning-fast move, Eviris had drawn his sword with one hand and grabbed Niris by the arm with the other. With a swift, controlled movement, he drew Niris against him, freeing him from Seiran's grip, who was too stunned to react. A second later, Niris had his back against the guard's chest and his blade at his throat.

-Drop the idea of disabling the portal or I'll kill Lord Niris," said Eviris in a voice as sharp as the edge of his sword.