Tarous, стр. 23
I wasn’t particularly in the mood to talk, so when I had spent enough time talking to Ms. Margaret to be able to be polite, and long enough for all but the most dedicated of my stalkers to leave, I excused myself from the conversation. Ms. Margaret loved to gossip, but admittedly I rather enjoyed listening to her. The gossip seemed almost like stories from a book to me and I so loved a good story. Though she didn’t seem dangerous I knew to always be very respectful to her. There weren’t very many monsters that survived to become as old as her. The few that did weren’t monsters you wanted to mess with.
My mother thought I had no talent for politics or befriending others of the court. The truth was I had loads of talent. I just couldn’t stand being around any of them for too long, even Ms. Margaret, whose personality I found endearing though at times rather juvenile. Which is strange to say since she was well over two thousand years old.
I noticed Tarous scoping out the ballroom. There were several exits, but with a room full of monsters I knew his chances of escaping were nonexistent. If he wanted to try and escape I’d let him. It would only add to the entertainment if he was ripped to shreds during the party.
I walked over to a table where several finger foods were laid out. One of the finger foods was actually fingers, I noticed one had its nail painted red. I much preferred meatier portions. The ribs of a human, properly prepared, are amazing. I didn’t see anything I particularly wanted so I grabbed a few fingers and began munching on them. One still had a wedding ring on it, which I didn’t notice until after putting it in my mouth. I spit it out like one would a sunflower seed shell. The golden band was now slightly bent. A light metallic sound filled the air as it hit the floor, but with so many people talking no one seemed to notice.
At the end of the table were various concoctions to drink, several of them either smoking or bubbling. I decided to stick to water. Tarous seemed upset about me eating pieces of humans. As the kids of non-noble families are saying these days, ‘Haters gonna hate, but monsters gonna eat.’
I moved around the room talking with different groups and then moving on to the next in an endless hell of brainless chit chat, but I knew my duty to my family. Anything for the family. During some of the endless chatter I would imagine myself picking up a knife and repeatedly stabbing myself in the head. At other times the conversations became so inane and boring I truly considered finding said knife. Tarous also seemed bored and I wondered if he was even considering making a run for it in the hope that the guards would beat him to death.
There has never been a good political party. All the posturing seemed like such a waste of time. I saw one of the Nix family members, a young man with a serious look on his face. The family was currently having problems, but they still would have a representative for the family at such an important ball. It would be a sign of weakness if they didn’t. He had a few hangers-on, as was the norm for a member of monster royalty.
I noticed my mother in a gaggle of other monsters. They were all laughing uproariously. She seemed to enjoy these kinds of parties.
I was growing tired of the constant drivel coming out of our guest’s mouths. Believe it or not monsters are not the greatest conversationalists. I looked up and took a big breath that I slowly let out. I took my time and examined the shiny ceiling above my head. It appeared to be gold, most monsters would think that it was merely coated with gold, but it was actually solid gold. It was several inches thick and cost a small fortune.
“Such a frivolous use of money,” I mumbled to myself.
A voice rose above the noise of the crowd. “INTRODUCING LORD FLAME ACCOMPANIED BY LADY FIRECHILD.” Two demons entered into the ballroom. Demons. Fashionably late, as always.
The entire time I had been walking around my bodyguards had always followed, remaining a few steps back. They were like my shadow. Not for one second did I ever get out of their sight. One toyed with the handle of the axe on his right side. I think he sometimes considered using the axe on me, but to be fair I was a pain to guard. I often heard him mumbling about all those years he spent in school just to become a guard, and how he still hadn’t paid back all his student loans.
I had never grown accustomed to my bodyguards and often tried to ditch them. It had become a game to me. When I managed to create the portal to the new feeding ground I had relied on my own magic and a large group of werewolf mercenaries I had hired. The fact that my guards had been unaware of my actions and weren’t there to protect me had been a slap in their faces.
I knew if they had known they would have told my father and he would have stopped me. Creating portals can be risky and the future Lord Rask could never be allowed to be put in harm’s way. I had done it anyway, because I knew I could create a portal and I knew how important it was not only to my family, but my entire world. Monsters were starving to death daily, I had no choice. Few monsters have magic and almost none have the amount of magic a Rask has or our