Wizard's First Rule - Terry Goodkind [126]
Darken Rahl lifted an eyebrow. “I will decide what matters are worthy of my attention.” His voice was soft, almost kind.
“Of course, Lord Rahl. Please forgive me.” Demmin didn’t need to hear an angry tone to know he was treading on dangerous ground.
Rahl licked his fingers again and rubbed them on his lips. He looked sharply back up into the other’s eyes. “Demmin, if you touched the boy, I will know.”
A bead of sweat rolled into Demmin’s eye. He tried to blink it away. “Lord Rahl,” he said in a coarse whisper, “I would gladly give my life for you. I would not touch your spirit guide. I swear.”
Darken Rahl considered Demmin Nass for a moment, then nodded. “As I said, I would know anyway. And you know what I would do to you if you ever lied to me. I can’t tolerate anyone lying to me. It’s wrong.”
“Lord Rahl,” Demmin said, anxious to change the subject, “what of Queen Milena’s demands?”
Rahl shrugged. “Tell her I agree to all her demands in return for the box.”
Demmin stared incredulously. “But Lord Rahl, you have not seen them listed.”
Rahl shrugged innocently. “Now, they are truly a matter not worthy of my time or thought.”
Demmin shifted his weight again, making the leather he wore creak. “Lord Rahl, I do not understand why you play this game with the queen. It is humiliating to be issued a list of demands. With no trouble, we could crush her like the fat toad she is. Just give me the word, allow me to issue my own demands, on your behalf. She will be made to regret not bowing down to you as she should have.”
Rahl smiled a small private smile as he studied the pockmarked face of his loyal commander. “She has a wizard, Demmin,” he whispered, his blue eyes intense.
“I know.” Demmin’s fists tightened. “Giller. You have only to ask, Lord Rahl, and I will bring you his head.”
“Demmin, why do you think Queen Milena would enlist a wizard in her service?” Demmin only shrugged, so Rahl answered his own question. “To protect the box, that is why. It is her protection too, she believes. If we kill her or the wizard, we may find he has hidden the box with magic, and then we would have to spend time finding it. So why move too quickly? For now, the easiest path is to go along with her. If she gives me any trouble, I will deal with her, and the wizard.” He walked slowly around his father’s coffin, trailing his fingers along the carved symbols as he kept his blue eyes on Demmin. “And anyway, once I have the last box, her demands will be meaningless.” He came back to the big man, stopping in front of him. “But there is another reason, my friend.”
Demmin cocked his head to the side. “Another reason?”
Darken Rahl nodded, leaned closer, and lowered his voice. “Demmin, do you kill your little boyfriends before… or after?”
Demmin leaned back a little, away from the other, hooking a thumb in his belt. He cleared his throat. At last he answered. “After.”
“And why after? Why not before?” Rahl asked, his face in a coy, questioning frown.
Demmin avoided the Master’s eyes, looked down at the floor, and shifted his weight to his other foot. Darken Rahl continued to keep his face close, watching, waiting. In a voice too low for the guards to hear, Demmin spoke.
“I like it when they squirm.”
A slow smile spread over Rahl’s face. “That is the other reason, my friend. I too enjoy it when they squirm, so to speak. I want to enjoy watching her squirm, before I kill her.” He licked the ends of his fingers again, and stroked them on his lips.
A knowing grin grew across the pockmarked face. “I will tell Queen Milena that Father Rahl has graciously agreed to her terms.”
Darken Rahl put his hand on Demmin’s muscled shoulder. “Very good, my friend. Now, show me what manner of boy you have brought me.”
Both wearing smiles, they strode toward the door. Before they reached it, Darken Rahl stopped suddenly. He spun on his heels, his robes flinging around him.
“What was that sound!” he demanded.
Except for the hiss of the torches, the crypt was as silent as the dead king. Demmin and the guards looked slowly around