by Delmire Hart
“I wouldn’t have thought being seen would have bothered you.”
“I could be persuaded, given the right mood,” Zaxor replied slowly, giving Barkley a long, scrutinising look as he let his tail fall back to the grass beside them. “But it’s not a preference of mine. Especially not with our current audience.”
Barkley looked up to find János watching them and flushed. The Althulean seemed strangely intent on them, his body losing that air of misery in favour of his focus. Barkley gave a small, awkward wave before turning his attention back to Zaxor, wondering if János had heard their entire conversation.
“Did you choose to sit here intentionally?” Zaxor asked quietly so it wouldn’t carry.
Barkley nodded in reply. “I wasn’t sure how to approach him but I’m curious after what you’ve said.”
“Perhaps the answer is in making him curious enough in return to come to you.”
Their conversation trailed off into a comfortable silence and Barkley ran his fingers across Zaxor’s horns to inspect them more closely than he had before. The air about them was relaxed, and while he had more questions for the demon, he was content enough to let them wait for now.
Chapter Twenty
After a time, Zaxor’s demeanour resembled nothing so much as a cat basking in its human’s affection. Nothing showed on the demon’s face, but it was clear in the relaxed lines of his body and the satisfied twitches of his tail.
“Why is it,” Barkley started, breaking the silence they had been sitting in for some time, “that you hide your expression behind boredom but don’t mark the movements of your tail? It gives you away every time.”
Zaxor looked genuinely surprised as he peered up at Barkley. “Because most humans can’t read anything from it. I didn’t realise you were paying so much attention to me.” His lips curved into a smirk as he gave him an appraising look. “Had I realised, I would have propositioned you earlier.”
“I’ve never actually done anything like this before.” Barkley fiddled with the demon’s dark hair as he tried to think of the best way to convey his thoughts. “So other than not playing with your tail in public, is there anything else I should keep in mind?”
“You can play with my tail whenever you like, I don’t mind. Although, I would recommend not putting it in your mouth unless you want to be teleported up to my bedroom to explore that further. You merely took me by surprise, is all. I thought when I made the comparison you would get embarrassed, not take it one step further to tease me.” Zaxor reached a hand up to brush a stray strand of hair back behind Barkley’s ear. “You seem a lot more relaxed now that we are on our way to the front lines.”
Zaxor curled his hand around Barkley’s head, encouraging him to lean down. Their lips brushed together languidly, the angle a little awkward, but it was a sweet kiss for all that. It didn’t light him up the way it had previously, but there was a comfort in the closeness of their bodies that was new. Barkley still didn’t entirely understand what he was doing with a demon for a lover or what that entailed, but he appreciated the new, unexplored feeling. It gave him hope for what came after their contract was complete.
“I don’t really understand,” Barkley admitted once he pulled away. “You said before that you aren’t interested in being seen, but I can still touch you in front of others? And you’re okay kissing in public?”
“I said it’s not my preference, but I was referring to sex, not something as simple as a kiss,” Zaxor replied, his tail reaching over his shoulder to stroke Barkley’s thigh. “If you wanted to have sex with an audience I would still agree, even if it’s not in my interest, and give them quite the show.”
“Ah, no. That’s fine,” Barkley interjected hurriedly, the flush that had not long faded returning to his cheeks. “I’d rather not.”
Zaxor quirked a smirk up at him, obviously anticipating that answer. “Demons don’t have any strange notions about pleasure like humans do. Our culture, if you could call it that, is based on power and freedom. There are things I like, and things that quite frankly do nothing for me, but there is very little I wouldn’t do if you asked. And truthfully, I was exaggerating the comparison of my tail. It’s more like a gentle stroke to the inner thigh, still an intimate gesture, but I was merely hoping to get an interesting reaction from you. However, I misjudged you. Once again, you defy my expectations and prove yourself quite the interesting partner.”
“What do you mean ‘strange notions’?”
“You can sleep with this person, not that person. Sex should only include these things and nothing else.” Zaxor waved his hand flippantly. “Did you know that in some places in the human plane it is considered a sin for men to sleep together? They think love can only be found between a man and a woman.” He scoffed, his tail whipping out to thump against the grass in indignation. “What difference does it make? You could get off fucking another man in the middle of a public square and it’s no more shameful than another man taking his wife to bed in their marital home. Some human’s ideas beggar belief.”
It would never have occurred to Barkley to assume that two people shouldn’t have an interest in one another because of their gender. Perhaps that was because he held more interest in those of the same sex, but thinking back, no one back home had ever said anything either way. One of the farmers lived with another man, an innkeeper who ran the only inn for miles. They were both treated with the same respect that everyone else was, as far as he’d known, not that Barkley had ever paid much attention to the village gossip.
Zaxor sighed deeply, drawing Barkley’s attention once again. If he didn’t know better, he’d have said that the demon was pouting. Reaching up, Zaxor pulled him down for another quick kiss.
“Frederick is calling me.”
That was all the explanation he received before Zaxor vanished. Although, it was more explanation than he normally received. Barkley shook his head, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. It seemed his world was constantly changing, but some things weren’t as terrifying as others.
Looking around, Barkley spotted János still watching him. He couldn’t make sense of his expression, but the look was unsettlingly intense. Scooting a little closer, Barkley gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile.
“I’m Barkley,” he said by way of introduction. “I hope we weren’t interrupting?”
As János continued to stare at him, it suddenly occurred to Barkley that he had no idea if he could understand him. In fact, he was certain that Zaxor, Frederick, and Bel had all idly mentioned Althulean being a different language.
“No, it’s fine.”
Barkley blinked in surprise before blurting, “Oh! You can understand me!”
That was probably rude and János didn’t reply again. After a moment of awkwardly staring at the winged man, he registered that not only was his voice completely clear and understandable, he had no form of accent. Now that he thought about it, both Zaxor and Frederick sounded normal to him, only Bel had an accent. Bel was also the only one hailing from the same region as Barkley, albeit six hundred years prior. Did that mean only Bel was speaking in a tongue that he could understand naturally?
“Is it magic?” he ventured, receiving a sharp nod in reply. That explained a lot actually.
“How can you treat him so normally?” János asked, pulling his knees even tighter up against his chest.
“Who?”
“The demon.”
“Oh, Zaxor? Do I?” Barkley thought about their conversation in the grass with Zaxor lying with his head in his lap. From the outside looking in, it must have looked every inch the relaxed conversation between lovers. It had certainly felt like that, anyways. “I’m very aware that he’s a demon but… I dunno how else to treat him.”
Barkley rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, unsure what else to say. János kept silent, appearing lost in thought. When Zaxor returned, casually lying with his head back in Barkley’s lap, the Althulean left, and Barkley watched him go with a small f
rown. He wasn’t sure what to make of János or how Zaxor expected him to help.
***
“It seems that your friend Max has hit it off quite well with Temress.”
Barkley jumped as Zaxor appeared sitting next to him in the sunny gardens. The demon frowned down at the book resting in Barkley’s lap, clearly offended that his preferred napping space was taken. Over the last few days, if one could refer to the never-ending lightness of the demon plane as having days, he had explored the fortress. The library was truly magnificent, at least twice the size of the academy library, and Frederick had been thrilled to recommend Barkley a seemingly endless list of excellent reads.
So, he spent the majority of his free time luxuriating in the garden with a book and the ever-quiet presence of János hovering somewhere nearby. Barkly hadn’t gotten many words out of the Althulean yet, but he rarely left when Barkley joined him and he didn’t even seem to mind Zaxor so much now. The demon seemed happy to settle against Barkley for a nap every chance he could, so János didn’t have much of a choice unless he wanted to find somewhere else to sit.
“Max?” Barkley repeated dumbly as he let Zaxor shift the book to balance on his other leg while he settled against his thigh.
“Your mage friend sought a contract with me after we left Loria. I don’t accept additional contracts from outside the demon plane when I already have one.” Zaxor paused as he held up a strange brown lump to inspect it. “So I introduced him to Temress, who is still seeking a companion. They must have hit it off as she dropped this in as a gift in thanks.”
The name Temress sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place it any more than he could guess what Zaxor held in his hand. His expression must have cued the demon in as he explained.
“Temress is one of the few dragons that roam the demon plane, and probably the most powerful of them all.”
“Oh!” Barkley interrupted as he placed the name. It was the dragon Zaxor had tried to give János to but she had refused. Glancing over at the winged man, he couldn’t detect any sign of recognition. “She’s the one you’ve mentioned before.”
“Yes. Particularly powerful demons don’t have friends as humans define the word, but she is the closest approximation I have. We each have a great deal of respect for the other and have traded favours many times in the past. Dragons are solitary creatures but they still like some company, and it looks like Max fits perfectly. She has just as much knowledge as I do and a library nearly as extensive. I’ve also extended the offer for use of my own library as well, no doubt you’ll want to see your friend and catch up at some point anyway. In return, she has gifted me with a Valley’s Tears seed.”
János gasped, sitting up straighter as he stared at the large seed held between Zaxor’s fingers. It was an Althulean tree, if Barkley recalled correctly, which explained the reaction.
“I would be curious to know how she got the seed in the first place,” Zaxor admitted as he spun it between his fingers. “They are exceedingly rare and very valuable. While it’s possible to use magic to grow partial trees from old leaves or branches, they will not take to the ground properly, and once a few flowers have grown, they will die regardless of the magic pumped into them.”
Two small mottled green creatures sped over Barkley’s head to circle Zaxor’s hand, chattering between themselves excitedly. While Barkley had no idea what they were saying, he recognised the creatures at once.
“Forestkin,” he breathed out in surprise.
They were roughly the size of a common house cat but vaguely humanoid in appearance. They had heads, shoulders, and arms much like a human, although their skin was an array of dappled greens, and what would pass for hair looked more like thick moss. Their large eyes were completely black while the ears perched on top of their heads looked feline. From the torso down their bodies looked more like an animal’s mashed with a human's upright posture. Their feet were hooves, their tails feline, and a similar mossy substance to their heads covered their hunches.
“I wondered how long it would take them to sense it.” Zaxor passed the seed over to the delighted creatures who zoomed off immediately.
They didn’t go far, staying within sight further up the stream, before stopping to fuss about with the ground.
“How come I couldn’t understand them but everyone else seems to have some sort of magic that allows us to talk?”
“They can use magic to communicate with others if they want, they just rarely choose to do so. Nothing really interests them that doesn’t have to do with nature; either animals or growing things usually. There are different clans of forestkin who each have an affinity for a particular aspect of nature. The twins are interested in growing things, preferably a plant of a magical nature, although there are several human fruit trees and other crops here.”
A strange cracking, snapping sound filled the air, and Barkley watched with open mouthed astonishment as the tree grew before his eyes. Its trunk wound about itself as it thickened rapidly, its height reaching up towards the sky before slender branches spread out. It stopped growing up and its canopy of branches stretched out before drooping down. Barkley had never seen a tree droop down instead of growing up and out before. A gasp escaped his lips as thousands of tiny pink buds spread along each thin branch before opening in full bloom. It was a breathtaking sight.
“That’s a bit too much magic all at once,” Zaxor ground out with a wince.
“They are using yours?” Barkley was surprised, he would have thought they’d have enough magic either themselves or around them to use instead.
“Unless I wanted to wait a hundred years for that thing to grow. Although even like this, it’s small compared to others I have seen. It will take more magic to grow it to full height.”
“Why is it called The Valley’s Tears? It’s beautiful, but other than the drooping branches, it doesn’t look sad.”
“All the original trees are located in one thin, winding valley, along a stream much like this one.” János’s soft voice surprised Barkley, and he turned to find the winged man staring at the tree in a heartbreaking mix of joy and anguish. “When all the petals fall and get caught in the wind, they say it looks like the valley is crying.”
It was the most János had ever said to him at once, and while Barkley wanted to count that as a win, given his expression, he wasn’t sure if it was. Looking around, he noticed a number of demons and even the odd human approaching to join them in marvelling at the stunning tree. Just looking at it instilled a sense of calm in Barkley, and he wondered if that was due to the sheer beauty or something more magical about the tree. He remembered Zaxor saying that the flowers were often used for healing, and just feeling that soft calm emanating from the very tree itself, it made a lot of sense.
Well, he might just have a new favourite reading spot.
Chapter Twenty-One
A week had passed and it was time for Barkley to officially join the army. He desperately hoped that this was the beginning of the end; the weeks idled away at the mage academy weighed heavily on his mind. It was already mid-autumn and they had but weeks left until winter would take hold, forcing them to wait out the snows until spring. Barkley did not want to spend an entire season idle and fretting about what was to come. Better to get this whole business over and done with now.
He fiddled with the sleeve of his plain grey robe as he waited for Zaxor to be done with whatever he was off doing so they could head back to the human realm. It felt wrong to be wearing the robe as he wasn’t a mage or in training anymore. Still, he expected it to be cold in Rilia and was thankful for the extra layer over his worn shirt and breeches.
A small pop was all the warning he got before he was standing in a small room in front of a rickety looking desk. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all wooden, and lines of shelves and chests haphazardly arranged behind the desk were full of all sorts of provisions. He could see sheaves of paper, worn maps, metal mugs, odds and ends of armour. His quick inspection of the room drew
him to a tired looking man sitting behind the desk eyeing them wearily.
“You must be the mage.”
Barkley blinked in surprise before opening his mouth to correct him. The man didn’t give him a chance to talk before waving him off.
“I got Connor’s note already. The platoon made good time and arrived last night just after sundown, the officer in charge gave me a strange stone and the note then. I admit I was sceptical about that teleport shit but here you are. I’ve never been one to discredit the proof of my own eyes.” He sighed as he leaned back in his chair. His dark hair was close cropped to his head and an old scar marred the stubble across his chin. Metal badges denoting rank were pinned to his shirt, but nothing else about him screamed military or officer to Barkley. “Connor said you aren’t officially a mage, but while you are here, that’s what you are. It’s easier for the troops to understand and gives you better standing. The higher ups don’t care what you are as long as your demon is as powerful as you say.”
He stared at Zaxor for a long moment, obviously waiting for him to speak, but the demon merely arched an eyebrow and kept silent. Barkley didn’t have the words to reassure him either, he was off balance having not expected to arrive at the front lines already, let alone be standing in a makeshift office.
“I suppose we’ll find out either way soon enough. I’m Officer Jerry Matthews, temporary requisition officer and sometimes strategist for the Rilian frontlines.”
Barkley went to ask why he was only a temporary requisition officer but snapped his mouth shut when he realised that the previous person was most likely dead. That’s what happened during war.
“Barkley,” he said instead. “And my contracted demon, Zaxor.”
