by Royce Day
"I want eight men at the cow field, two in each corner," she ordered. "The rest of you are to split into two man patrols, except for those assigned to guard the castle. Whatever ate those cattle might want to try something different for its meal tonight, so I want you to be keeping watch over all the herders' lands. If you see anything, don't try to fight it. You run and then blow on your signal horn, loud and long. That'll be the call for everyone to gather back at the cow field. When we fight this creature we will fight it as a unit. If anyone wants to play the hero, let me know now so I can tell Father Maitland to ready a sermon for your funeral."
That brought some scattered chuckles from the men. They were well trained soldiers, Kiel reflected. They knew better than to go haring off on their own, when it was safer to have their swordmates at their backs.
She broke the men into pairs and told them where they were to be patrolling through the night. The ones who were assigned to watch over the castle made it a point to brag about how they were going to able to sleep in their beds tonight, while the patrollers asserted that it was far better to be serving their Laird out in the field, rather than safe behind the castle's walls.
Kiel mounted Biter and motioned for Thomas to follow her on his saddle horse. Together they would ride through the fields on a patrol circuit of their own. Kiel was not the sort to sit behind her castle's walls while the soldiers under her command were out facing danger.
The night air was chill and damp. Kiel wished the moon was full, for the road ahead of them was nearly impossible to see by just the starlight and quarter‑slice in the sky. Biter's gait was steady, but she heard Thomas blaspheme more than once as his mount tripped over some unseen obstacle in the road. She had brought neither torch nor lantern, not wanting to give the creature any warning should they stumble upon it. They would be expecting trouble; she hoped the creature was not. Better still, perhaps its belly might be full and reflexes slow. She would be willing to sacrifice a few more animals if it meant gaining an advantage.
Kiel slowed and let Thomas ride up beside her, motioning for him to come to a halt. Off to the left were sheep, nestled together for warmth along the sides of the hill. Thomas was silent as they both cocked their ears, trying to catch a hint of sound.
Nothing from the front. Nothing from the rear. Nothing to the right. But what was that off to the left? Kiel could hear the sound of the sheep stirring in their herd, shifting position unconsciously. But she also heard a strange scraping and tearing sound. Not of an animal surely, but more like a pole being dragged...
She swung off of Biter, motioning for Thomas to follow.
"Do ye not want to be mounted when you meet the beast?" he whispered.
Kiel shook her head. "No need. I know what's out there, and it is no beast." She moved forward and swung her legs over the low stone wall that separated the field from the road. Thomas followed warily, questions in his eyes.
The scraping noise was closer now. In the darkness Kiel made out the figure who was even now walking to the center of the field.
Leena was not humming now, as she had been the day before. She wore her homespun clothes and her boots, but not her jacket, despite the chill air. Her staff she dragged behind her carelessly, heedless of whatever obstructions might be in her path. Her face was slack, and though there were no eyes to be seen behind her ever present blindfold, Kiel thought they would have been blank. The bard seemed completely unaware of her surroundings.
"She's walked a far piece for somebody asleep," Thomas said quietly.
"Shush." Kiel and Thomas followed behind her as the bard climbed the hill and stopped scarcely five paces away from the mound of sleeping sheep. Leena set her staff on the ground and began to unceremoniously strip off her blouse and skirt. Soon she was naked to the world save for the blindfold across her face.
"Devil take her! She's a pagan!" Thomas swore.
"Keep your mouth shut, Thomas," Kiel ordered with a hiss. "No matter if she's that. More than one of my teachers were, and they never had cause to kill a whole cow." Leena turned towards where they stood behind her, and Kiel cut off further argument with a silent chop of her hand.
Leena reached up to her face and lifted off her blindfold. Two empty, scarred pits lay where her eyes once had been.
Kiel bit her lip in unexpected revulsion. Despite hearing the bard's story, up until now she hadn't quite believed that Leena truly had her eyes cut out. Men did cruelties to each other in the field of battle, Kiel knew, but seeing the results of such an attack on a girl who would have never been able to defend herself sickened the knight.
Leena knelt down on the wet grass, seemingly unaware of the cold, or of Kiel and Thomas standing near her. Then, to their amazement, she began to change.
Her flesh seemed to ripple as the muscles beneath it bulged outward. Leena's fingers and toes flexed, revealing sharp claws where nails once grew. Her body began to grow, her skin stretching and thickening until it was as rough and as ruddy as leather, her height reaching to nearly eight armspans. The bones of her face seemed to twist and writhe, forming a monstrous, horned countenance.
Kiel and Thomas stood transfixed in horrified fascination as the being that had been Bard Leena formed before them. Kiel's eyes were drawn away as she became aware of a weight in her hand. Looking down she saw that she had drawn her sword without conscious thought.
A demon. The woman I thought of as Bard Leena was a demon, Kiel realized with amazement. She had heard stories of such creatures, in faraway lands where magic was common, but she never in her wildest nightmares imagined she would ever face one. Thomas said she was watched over by the angels. He was half right.
The creature sniffed the air once, its head shifting this way and that much in the way Leena had shifted hers, trying to catch the slightest sound. It was then that Kiel realized what attribute the bard and the demon shared. Like Leena, the beast only had two pits where eyes should have been. Kiel wondered what sort of weapon could have caused such damage to the creature. Nothing made by man, she suspected. Certainly nothing as mundane as a sword, which was all she and Thomas had.
"Thomas," she whispered. "Blow your horn." They had to gather the men together. Two people could not possibly take on such a creature, but with all of the Laird's soldier's acting as a unit, they might stand a chance of at least driving it away. It was blind and apparently secretive by nature, so its power could not be overwhelming. Otherwise it likely would not have bothered with stealth when it fed itself.
"The creature will surely hear."
"Blow it now, Thomas. If we start running we may not get the chance."
Thomas gulped and raised the signal horn to his lips. He blew out a strong clear note, which should have been easily heard. But instead of hearing it bounce of the surrounding hillsides, the horn's note seemed to be muffled. No one besides Kiel and Thomas could have heard it, save for the sheep, and the demon itself.
The demon turned its twisted face towards Kiel, sniffing the air. "Who is there?" it asked in a low and resonant voice. "I smell two Men." Beside it, the sheep stirred and began to bleat in confusion as they spotted the huge form beside them.
No escape, then. Kiel didn't think that they would be able to get clear of those long arms and sharp claws on foot. Even if they were mounted, she doubted they would have much chance. If I am to die, then at least I will die with honor intact, she decided.
"I am Dame Kiel Tellis, Liegewoman to Laird Dougal McVey, whose lands you trespass. My squire, Thomas of Laurel, stands beside me. In the name of God, I command you to begone!"
The demon's mouth split wide, revealing sharp fangs within. Its chest began to heave as it let forth with a deep throated laugh. Again, there was no echo off of the hills as Kiel had expected. Was this some magic of the demon's to conceal itself further? It seemed likely. How else could the cowherd have missed the cries of his charges being slaughtered?
"You do not command me, Dame Kiel. That can only be done by the one who summ
oned me to this plane, and he is long dead."
"Then I shall kill you, Demon," Kiel declared. Beside her, Thomas blanched at this bold declaration. Kiel knew they didn't have a chance against the creature, but she had no desire to die running from her foe.
Again, the creature laughed. "Your bravery is notable," it said. "But it would hardly be an equal contest. In this form you are no match for me. But when I return to my host's body, I will be no match for you. If you wish to kill me, Dame Kiel, you merely have to wait until sunrise. Slaying one blind woman should be a simple task for you then."
Kiel was momentarily confused by the demon's boldfaced admission of a vulnerability, and of its apparent passivity. Why would it not wish to kill her?
"I am not in the habit of soiling my honor by killing the crippled or innocent. But I cannot believe you are either, whether you choose to mask yourself in Bard Leena's form or not," Kiel said.
The demon's forehead wrinkled. "Ah, you think that the bard's body is simply a clever disguise for my own. Nothing can be further from the truth I assure you. Leena is quite real and quite innocent."
"You possess her?" Despite herself, Kiel was becoming intrigued by this demon. It fit none of the descriptions in the tales she had heard.
"I inhabit her," the demon corrected. "Not by my own choice and not without consequences." One clawed hand waved idly at its empty eye sockets. "Whatever damage she receives, is reflected upon myself.
"You see, once there was a young man who was born on the border, far to the south of here. When he came of age, he found that he had been gifted with the power of magic. But the people in the village were a suspicious and God‑fearing lot, and when the boy's gift was discovered, they sought to end his life, thinking he was engaging in unnatural acts. The boy fled and vowed that in seven generations a silver eyed girl would be born in the village. And when she came of age she would destroy everything her eye's gaze came upon."
"As it so happened the wizard came to know my True Name and called me forth from my home plane to do his bidding. I found myself bound into the body of a village woman, whose family tended to breed girls more often than boys. For six generations I sat and brooded inside them, following my coercions and transferring myself into the womb when the woman I currently inhabited created a girl. Oh, how I wished that just one would become a spinster!"
"Finally, the seventh girl was conceived, and following that long dead wizard's command, I altered the girl's eyes to a silver hue and bound myself to her body. For thirteen years I lay dormant, while Leena grew, not understanding why the villagers all looked down upon her in fear."
"When she came of age, they found themselves in a quandary. To kill a young girl was no doubt a sin, but she had been destined to bring down destruction to them all. Being a pragmatic lot, they came up with a compromise. To prevent her from killing them all, they put out the young girl's eyes."
"And then you came forth," Kiel said. She silently said a prayer to those foolish villagers, who had chosen to see God's will as a reflection of their own fears.
"Oh, yes," the demon confirmed, its voice somehow managing to sound overpowering and quiet at the same time. "Pain and fear often are powerful catalysts. Leena felt much pain and fear that day. And even a demon that has been blinded can destroy an entire village."
"So why are you still here?" Thomas asked. "Your task is done."
A frown crossed the demon's face. "I am still here because that wizard was a short-sighted fool. He was so intent on his revenge that he never thought what would happen after my task was done. I still am bound to the body of this bard. I will be until the day she, and I, die. And now I am without purpose."
"The purpose of demons is death and destruction," Kiel said.
"My purpose is whatever the wizard that calls me says," the demon said, its voice growing a shade colder. "In my home plane, our natural form is a necessity of survival. We have no ordained quarrel with you kind, Dame Kiel. But those with True Power find that our race is useful when they have dreams of mayhem shadowing their minds."
"My apologies, then. I know little of your race beyond what I have heard in tavern tales." Somewhere in the back of Kiel's mind, a small voice was telling her that she was committing sin and blasphemy in countless different ways just by taking the creature seriously, instead of assuming everything it said were lies. But somehow the knight doubted the Church elders had ever had a conversation like this.
"One final question, Demon. If your intentions are so peaceable, why do you kill my Laird's cattle?"
"Leena's condition often makes her prey to the raff that inhabit the roads. I find that I must come forth often to defend her. It takes effort and like any other being I must feed to restore myself. As I would never been given the chance to either ask permission or give payment, I must seek my sustenance covertly. Until now, Leena's sweet nature and wanderer's soul has always kept her one step ahead of inquiring minds."
"I have no quarrel with Bard Leena," Kiel said boldly. "But I have one with you. My Laird has tasked me with ridding his lands of the beast that killed his cattle and honor demands that I abide his wish."
The demon's brow furrowed. "You still intend to try and kill me? I do not care for that solution. It will be an unequal contest."
"No," Kiel shook her head. "I am no fool, demon. What I ask is that you, in the form of Leena, leave my Laird's lands, never to return. You will not feed here, nor in any lands that border on Laird Dougal's. In return, I and my squire pledge to keep your secret between us. Do you agree?"
"A fair bargain," the demon said. "I agree." Kiel allowed herself to relax slightly, as she heard Thomas let out his breath with whoosh. He then backed away quickly when the demon bent down and extended his clawed hand towards Kiel.
"Agreed," Kiel confirmed. She placed her hand in the demon's, which closed carefully around hers, and they sealed the bargain with a gentle shake.
"I will return Leena to the Rose," the demon said. "The cattle I took the night before will keep me until I go beyond your borders. Your shepherd need not worry about losing his flock."
"Thank you, Demon. I wish you and Bard Leena a safe journey." Kiel told him.
"And you, Dame Kiel." With that, the demon began to shrink, soon revealing Leena's nude, and fully human, form. Kiel made a silent motion to Thomas and they returned to their horses as the Bard began to gather her clothes.
"Kiel, what will we tell Laird Dougal?" Thomas asked urgently as soon as they were out of earshot.
Kiel swung up onto Biter, who had remained blissfully unaware of their extraordinary conversation with the demon. "We will tell him that the beast who killed his cattle has been driven from these lands."
"Kiel, this isn't like you. You're not one to go about saying half‑truths."
"I know, Thomas. But it is the only way to satisfy my promise to both Laird Dougal and to that creature. I do not break oaths. And I only give my oath to those that are worthy of it." She nudged Biter forward and they rode toward the rising sun.
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About the author:
Royce Day is a happily married man in his forties, who has spent his life living in both the real world and the ones he imagined in his head. He lives in Columbia, MD.
Captive of the Red Vixen
The Dragon's Companion
Unexpected Diversions
Prisoners of War
Good Landing
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