Demon Ridden Ch. 02: Pride

I was on my feet now. I wasn't quite sure how I'd gotten there. My left hand still clutched a chunk of wood I'd torn from the table.

"It was there that I found him. It was there, amidst burning walls and smoldering embers, that we fought our last battle. It was there that the fiend put forth his greatest struggle. And it was there, surrounded by flames, that I--Henry of Honor--took his head."

"Bullshit," I snarled. The poser's audience froze mid-applause, watching with wide eyes as I stalked up to the self-proclaimed 'Henry of Honor.' "You petty lying asshole."

"I assure you, fair lady, every word I have spoken tonight is true." He gave me a triumphant smile. "Bloody George shall claim no more lives."

"No, he won't. Do you know why?" I didn't stop until I was glaring into his eyes from a distance of less than six inches. "Because I shot him."

"You what?" Henry managed to sound shocked and appalled. "Lady, I assure you--"

"Shut it!" I yelled, and he flinched. A quick lunge carried me to the top of his table, and I placed my hands on my hips as I faced at the room.

"Henry here didn't come within fifty miles of Bloody George." I spat. "He's got so much shit spilling out of his mouth I'm surprised we're not drowning."

"And who are you supposed to be?" A woman towards the back of the crowd shouted. A few drunken jeers rang out in her support.

"I'm a Knight of Broken Sails, you insignificant little bitch," I snapped back at her. "I'm the one who saved Duke Elliot from an entire ship of Korenthian raiders. I'm the one who killed the manticore of Islin. I fought David Daggerheart to a standstill. I won my freedom from the Court of Pearls."

Henry the self-proclaimed Honor was looking up at me with a dumbfounded expression on his face, and his evident horror filled my heart with pride. Everywhere else, voices were rising to a fever pitch.

"I'm Sylvia dvAnya," I roared, cutting through the hubbub. Golden light spilled from my eyes, and my clothes tightened around my shoulders and thighs. "And I'm the one who killed Bloody George."

Silence. Dead fucking silence. Everyone in the room was staring at me, eyes wide. It felt good.

"I'm Sylvia dvAnya," I repeated in a more normal tone of voice. "I'm the greatest adventurer on the Maelsea. And if this little brat tries to coast off my deeds one more time..."

My gaze swept the room, and everywhere people flinched back from the harsh gold light.

"No-one gets to steal my name like that. No-one."

I gave Henry a little shove, and he dropped with a terrified whimper. With my head held high, I stalked across the common room and up the stairs to my bedroom, enjoying the stares as my rightful due.

Thanks for your patience, all. We'll start getting to the good stuff next chapter, I promise.