“Another night and another prize.”
I was meeting the buyer at midnight, in a park on the outskirts of the town. I unfolded the leather sheath tucked in the bag on my back, sheathed the sword carefully, and once it was safely hidden under my long, leather coat, I trudged towards the park.
A full moon lit my path, and I tried to keep my spirits high about tonight, but it was hard to do when I bore knowledge of what was out there. Not just out there tonight, but what was coming for me and all my kin.
No one listened to me. They thought I was crazy and maybe on some level I was. My own father cast me out when he caught me cheating my way through the trials that would have given me a much-cherished place in the palace, as I should’ve had anyway.
Instead, I’d been relegated to being nothing more than a foot soldier. It was a joke and a cruel one at that. The trials would’ve given me a mark at the end, telling any demon I met I was nothing important. That royal blood didn’t run through my veins, when in fact it did. I cheated in my last fight against my opponent, used magic to curse his weapon so it would never hit me, and I’d been caught.
Raghnall had been furious, but I hadn’t stuck around to deal with his wraith.
That was nearly four years ago. Since then, I’d been on my own, trying to study and understand the darkness spreading within the demon realm, but I sensed it would not remain there.
I reached the park a few minutes early and scoped out the empty playground and trees surrounding it. As far as I could tell, I was alone.
The heavy sword hurt my back, but I learned never to reveal an item until the buyer showed the payment agreed upon. At the beginning of my thieving career, I lost out on several deals. No longer.
Leaves crunched nearby, and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I sniffed the air, thankful I had slightly higher senses than a regular human, though not on par with a demon.
On the bright side, I didn’t have to lug around horns all the time. I waited, hands tensed at my sides where my two daggers rested, words of power on my lips just in case, but the four beings that crept cloaked by the shadows were familiar figures, and I relaxed.
Slightly.
The temperature dropped as the four sorcerers stopped at the edge of the grass, unwilling to step onto the asphalt. Superstitious idiots really. I sighed and met them on the grass.
“It’s not going to swallow you whole,” I muttered under my breath.
The sorcerer with long grey hair down to his waist threw back his hood and glared at me, eyes blacker than the night sky overhead. “Careful, Craig. You may embrace humans and their technology, but do not expect us to.”
“It’s asphalt,” I said, turning around to stare at it. “It’s not really technology.”
“Do you have the item or not?” he snapped.
“Depends if you brought what was promised or not,” I countered patiently, crossing my arms and tapping my booted toe as if I had all night long for a standoff.
In reality, I was anxious as hell to snatch the damned thing from his robes and be gone. I needed to find a way to track down the only item that might be able to explain what was happening. A treasure lost in time, and nothing more than a rumor, until they contacted me.
The sorcerer’s eyes darkened even more, and I sensed his power rising, but he reached into his robes and produced a broken piece of glass, colored, and with bits of a design etched on it.
“That’s it?” I snapped, more of a growl as my anger rose. “Seriously?”
“It is what we promised.”
“No, no you said you would give me the item! Not a broken piece of crap!”
The sorcerer’s hand moved before I realized it and was around my throat, squeezing. He didn’t look strong, and in truth, he physically wasn’t. But his power flared out and wrapped around my neck and slithered down my body, pinning my limbs together until I couldn’t move.
He hissed in my face, and I cringed at the rotting stench coming from his mouth. I should’ve known better than to sink to dealing with these filthy men.
“Insult me again, boy, and it will be the last thing you do.”
Just as suddenly as he grabbed me, he let go.
I managed to keep my feet as I choked and gasped for air. “Where’s the rest of it?” I demanded as nicely as possible.
“We never claimed to have the entire piece. In fact, no one does. The pieces have been scattered. This is the piece we have held onto, and it is yours in exchange for the sword.”
“And how am I supposed to find the other pieces?”
“With patience.”
I glared at him fiercely, but he wasn’t going to tell me anything else. Reluctantly, I started to reach behind my back for the sword when a new scent slammed into me, and I stopped.
“You let demons follow you here?” I hissed, whirling around in time to see them shimmering into view all over the park. “Great, that’s just great.”
“We did not bring them. Hand me the sword. We had a deal!”
“Well, well,” a voice I never wanted to hear again echoed across the park, and I cursed vividly under my breath. “Craig. Fancy seeing you here.”
“Reginald.” I stared at the six demons moving in behind him. “Do you often enjoy nightly strolls in random parks? I thought Raghnall would’ve kept you busy these days dealing with the other issues in our realm, or does he still not believe demons are disappearing.”
“No demons have disappeared,” he growled. “And you will address our King with respect the next time you speak of him.”
I laughed. “Right, because he’s always shown his son respect.”
“You’re not his true son. You’re nothing more than a bastard… a bastard with a hefty price on his head,” he added, and the demons moved in even closer, grinning darkly as one let manacles fall from his hands, the chains clinking together.
I swallowed hard even as I forced a grin to stay planted on my face. Couldn’t show fear. That was a bad idea. “A price, huh? Placed on me by my own father. He should get a Father of the Year award.”
I heard the sorcerers shuffling behind me before one of them snapped, “Our deal still stands. Hand me the sword, or you lose this piece forever.”
“I’m a little busy at the moment. Can you just wait a bleeding second?” I responded over my shoulder. I didn’t want to have to reveal the sword, or use magic that would only piss them off more, but as Reginald stalked closer, I knew I was running out of options. “I need that glass shard.”
“Then give us what we require!”
“What are you doing with those sorcerers?” Reginald was only a few yards away now, his black horns gleaming in the moonlight. He was tall and strong, the perfect demon and the son my father should’ve had. Too bad he was born to the king’s younger brother and not him. He flashed his fangs at me with a grin. “I heard you sunk low these past few years, but I never imagined you’d sink this low.”
“Not like I could turn to family for aid, cousin,” I snarled.
Reginald technically had every right to be angry with me. He was the demon I fought in the last round of the trials, the one I cheated against and nearly killed when I lost control of the magic. He bore a scar from my blade that ran down the stretch of his chest. He’d been unable to defend himself, which I hadn’t intended. Magic was tricky, and I’d been young and desperate.
Now I was merely desperate to get out of this situation with the glass shard and my head still firmly attached to my shoulders.
“Just come with us,” Reginald said, but his voice was far from reassuring I would last longer than a few hours back home. “Father just wants you returned safely to us.”
“And what, thrown in a cell for the rest of my days? I’ll pass, thanks.”
“I never said you had a choice in the matter.”
My eyes darted around the park for an escape. Six demons. Six demons armed to the teeth who could easily overpower me… but not if they thought I wielded the Executioner and th
e power of the sorcerers behind me.
Knowing how badly this could go, I reached around my back and drew out the Executioner blade. It flashed before them as I whispered words of light under my breath, making the blade glow as if possessed by some incredible power.
Reginald flinched, but he didn’t step away as I hoped. Hating to use more power in case this went really wrong and left me defenseless, I summoned fire and let it wash over the blade in vibrant, hungry flames. That got their attention and Reginald cursed as he realized what I held in my hands.
“Executioner… what are you doing with that?” he snarled.
“Using it, clearly,” I stated. Now I had to get the shard and get out of there before I had to fight anyone with a blade I could barely hold in my hands.
“The sword,” the sorcerer demanded behind me.
My hands fidgeted around the hilt as I watched Reginald’s eyes narrow and he took a step back towards me.
Crap.
He wasn’t buying it.
Time for plan B. From my pocket, I pulled smoke bombs that packed an extra kick and threw them down at my feet. Black smoke enveloped me and everyone in the park.
I lunged backward as they coughed and hacked, Reginald gasping and screaming for them to grab me. The sorcerers hadn’t fled yet, and I reached out blindly, but luck was with me at least for a few seconds tonight.
I snatched the glass shard from the sorcerer’s hands and took off across the parking lot.
“Where is he?” Reginald bellowed, and I ran faster. “Find him!”
“The sword! He took the sword!” the sorcerer screamed, but I knew they wouldn’t follow, not if I stuck to the pavement.
The sword weighed me down, and I should’ve dropped it, but I could use it to sell to another interested buyer. I had to get away, get far enough away and cloak myself until Reginald and the rest of his hunting party gave up and went back home.
I hefted it over my shoulder, cringing every time it bounced and threatened to slice through my leather coat, but the smoke wouldn’t last forever.
I turned off the main road and sprinted down a side road, not sure where it would lead. All I needed was a chance to hide, collect myself, and I could cloak my scent and my body from their senses.
Just a bit further—
“Gah!” I yelled at the pain blooming at my side and crumbled to the ground.
I reached around to find a dagger sticking out of my body. Sucking in a deep breath and biting my lip to stop myself from yelling in pain again, I left it there and took off at a weird, sideways hobbling gait through the trees.
Reginald. I hated him, hated him for being the best damned hunter we had in our clan. Hated him for always wanting to take me down for simply being born.
My vision blurred and I had to stop to catch my breath against a tree.
“Craig! Just stop running now, Craig, you’ll only make it worse!”
I grunted at his words. I had no idea what would happen to me if I gave in and went back with him; no, no I guess that wasn’t entirely true. The darkness and plague spreading through our realm would continue to spread and kill everyone we knew because they’d lock me up, or kill me, and no one would try to stop it.
Ensuring the glass shard was safe in my coat, wrapped in a handkerchief, I pushed even deeper into the grove and sank to my knees.
“Craig!” Reginald’s voice was closer now, and their heavy footsteps surrounded me.
I dug my hands into the ground and whispered the words for cloaking me from those who would wish to do me harm.
The wound at my side throbbed, and with every shift of my body, I felt the dagger still stuck in the wound. If I pulled it out now, I’d bleed everywhere, and that would draw them faster to me. I had to finish this spell… had to finish it… had to keep the shard safe…
I shook my head hard to try and stay focused on the spell. A rush of warmth burst from my hands into the ground, but I couldn’t hold on any longer. Carrying that bloody sword around had worn me out, and I was tired, so tired.
The dagger in my side… they poisoned it. The thought hit me too late to stop the effects, and I slumped onto my stomach hitting the ground hard.
My breathing grew ragged, and the power that had enveloped the sword disappeared in a blink.
I was done for. They’d find me, drag me back to Raghnall, and all hope would be lost. I saw them emerge one by one from the trees around me, but when I glanced up to see Reginald’s face, he looked right through me. The cloaking spell worked and so far, held up, despite my weakness.
“Where is he?” he seethed.
“The trail led here,” one of the other demons pointed out.
“Then, where is he? Find him!”
“There are no footsteps to follow. He’s gone.”
Reginald snarled and slammed his fist into a tree, splintering the trunk and nearly snapping it in half. “Spread out. He couldn’t have gone far. We are not returning to Raghnall without him.”
I watched, holding my breath and struggling to stay conscious as they backed away from nearly stepping on me they were so close. Once they were out of sight, I let my mind go, unable to hold on any longer.
Something warm and wet moved across my face, and I jerked awake. A large bushy dog with black and white fur stared happily down at me, that warm tongue lolling out of the side of its mouth, its whole body wiggling as it wagged its tail.
“Thanks for that,” I grumbled and sat up, pushing the dog away from my face.
It tried to get right back at me, plopping down in my lap and I realized my strange visitor was a he.
The dog barked loudly in my face, and I gave in, scratching behind his ears for a moment.
I turned and gasped in pain.
The dog leaped off my lap instantly and snuffled its huge snout around my side.
Gingerly, I reached around and then remembered what happened last night and why I was lying in the middle of the woods.
The dagger was still in my side, and blood oozed out around it. Bracing myself for the pain, I gave it a quick yank and flung several curses to the surrounding trees.
Birds took off for the sky at the sound of my ferocious growl as I dropped the blade and pushed aside my clothes to see the wound. It would take too long to heal for me to sit here. Reginald and his demons could come back at any time. I tore off a piece of my shirt and balled it up the best I could, pressed it against the wound, and used another piece to tie around my middle to hold it in place.
All the while, the dog watched, sitting and staring at me intently.
“What do you want, huh?” I asked grumpily. “I don’t have any food. Go home.”
The pain was bearable, no worse than any injury I’d had before, but Reginald had tainted the blade, and from the feel of it, it wasn’t only a sleeping toxin. I was woozy and wanted to curl right back up and go to sleep, but there wasn’t time.
I had one shard, one tiny shard of the object I hunted for. The sorcerers never even told me how many pieces there were. It could take years for me to track them all down, decades, and by that time, we’d all probably be dead. I needed help from the only race good at finding treasure.
And they hated demons, especially half-breeds of any kind.
“Bloody dragons,” I whispered and tucked the glass shard back in my pocket. “Thanks for the wake-up, but I have to go now,” I muttered to the dog.
He scratched at his ear as if he hadn’t a care in the world about me going or staying. I tried to stand, but dizziness made me start to fall. The dog rushed forward and steadied me on my feet.
I could hardly stand without his massive body to keep me upright. And the sword was still on the ground. I wasn’t about to leave it behind so I took a shaky step over to pick it up and sheath it on my back.
I wasted nearly ten minutes, grunting and straining with my wound to get the sword back to its hidden location underneath my coat. Once it was there, I was out of breath and ready to sit back down and call it quits. B
ut I had to get moving. Had to get out of these woods and figure out where I was going to find a dragon willing to help me.
In truth, I never understood why dragons didn’t like us. I mean, not like my clan caused a war between the races nearly every decade for one reason or another. Not like we tried to assassinate their queen once, or twice… no check that, three times.
And now I was going to find one and ask him for help. Yeah, this was going to be a great day.
“Alright boy,” I said as I stared at the dog following me. “Where are we? You hungry? We need some food… and a car.”
He barked twice and set off at a happy pace through the trees.
I couldn’t keep up, and he circled back more than once to try and nudge me along. He wore no collar, and I started throwing around names for the big beast of a dog whose head came nearly up to my chest. I was short by demon standards, but not my human ones. Whatever breed this guy was, he was a good thing to have by my side. If nothing else, he’d scare any curious people away.
The trees grew farther apart, and soon I found myself staring at a large town. Shops and houses were intermixed, but there were more pedestrians walking around the cars. Absently, I scratched the dog’s big head and grinned when he turned his big ole brown eyes up to stare me.
“Rufus, how about that for a name?” I asked.
The dog tilted his head and growled.
“Ok, no Rufus. Benji?”
He huffed this time.
“Harry?”
The dog seemed to think on that one for a moment before he barked and wagged his tail.
“Ok, Harry, it is. Now, where do we get some food?”
I was hesitant to step out into the open, but standing at the edge of the trees would get me nowhere closer to solving the riddle of what hunted my clan.
Despite them denying anything terrible was happening, demons had been disappearing for years, and the few that returned were changed.
Sickness broke out constantly, and though I was no longer there to see it for myself, I had eyes and ears willing to keep me informed of the situation.
Harry bounded towards the sidewalk leading into town, and I hurried to follow, pressing a hand to my wounded side as it throbbed in pain.
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