by Debra Dunbar
“Of course, after you chewed up that elf boy, they’re probably not going to let you ride their horses.”
“Hush.” She halted him with an outstretched arm. “There’s someone up ahead.”
They crept forward, Dar sounding like a dozen dragons in a pit of firecrackers, and saw a human male, standing where another road joined. He was busy, sprinkling a powdery substance on the road and muttering something under his breath. Off to the side sat a dark bulging pack, and a small crate with a feathered animal in it. Curious, Az hunched over and moved forward, keeping to the side of the road and the shelter of the trees. Dar encouraged her on, no doubt eager for her to Own a reasonably fit human.
The man began to draw something in the dirt and Az scrutinized the feathered animal in the cage. Chicken. It was a black chicken with a string tied around its beak. Female. Humans ate the eggs and the birds for food, and sometimes used the feathers. Had this man brought along a snack?
She watched him walk in a circle, holding out a stick. How could she grab him? This old man she’d Owned wasn’t fast enough to race over and jump on him. Behind her she heard a noise. Dar. Frantically waving his hands at her.
“Sorrier. Sorrier,” he seemed to be whispering.
Sorrier? How could this man be any sorrier than the one she already Owned? He looked like a decently built human to her.
The man walked over to the chicken, and Az shrank back into the shadows of a tree. He took a heavy knife out of the bag and the chicken from the cage, then he walked back into the crossroads and began chanting something. Placing the chicken on the ground, he said an incantation and with a firm stroke cut the bird in half. Blood fountained up briefly, then spread in a huge puddle across the ground. Dipping his hands in the blood, the man turned to the east and knelt.
“Here I stand, seeking you. Appear to me and do my bidding,” the human shouted.
Suddenly Dar was a few feet away from the human. Az was amazed. How did he get there so fast? Then she was pissed. Dar was going to Own her human, snatch him right out from under her nose. Fucker. And he called her greedy.
“Reveal to me your true form,” the human told Dar.
He seemed very bossy for a human. Dar surprisingly complied, popping out of his human form and into the furry, snouted one he favored back home. Az stepped forward, curious.
“What are you doing?”
She was talking to Dar, but the human responded.
“Go home, old man. It’s not safe for you to be here.”
She ignored him and shuffled closer. “He’s mine. I saw him first.” She wasn’t about to let her brother grab this human.
Dar actually turned his back on her. The human frowned at her in confusion. “Old man, this is a demon and he is very dangerous. You should leave.”
He faced Dar again. “I have summoned you and you must do my bidding. You will protect me from all that seek to harm me. You can never do harm to me yourself, or be an agent thereof.”
Az laughed. “Who is he supposed to protect you from?” Dar. A bodyguard. That was funny.
“The elves and other demons, humans who might wish me dead or imprisoned.”
Dar looked grim. He flicked a paw at Az, urging her to go away. No doubt so he could grab this agile, healthy human for himself. Then he’d have two and Az would only have this sickly old man. No way.
“That’s a lot of people who want you dead. I don’t think a demon who hasn’t reached the age of maturity is going to be able to fulfill your request.”
The human looked at her strangely. “Are you a mage, old man? Perhaps an escaped sorcerer?”
“Nope, although I’ve had some experience with elves,” Az said cheerfully. Dar’s waving was growing more emphatic.
“An escaped slave,” the human said knowingly. “The elves won’t cross the gates, but I know they’ll hire a demon to retrieve me. I won’t go back. I won’t return to enslavement.”
Az shrugged. “I don’t blame you. How is he supposed to protect you? Does he follow you around for the rest of your life? Wait by your bed to guard your sleep?”
The sorcerer frowned, as if he hadn’t really thought out the details.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to find out what demon was coming after you and just kill him first?”
He considered her words.
“You could do some kind of divination. And send Dar to go kill him.”
Dar waved his hands frantically, and then beat himself on the head.
“That’s an excellent idea,” the sorcerer said slowly. “But won’t they just keep sending demons to kill me?”
“That depends on how valuable you are,” Az told him. “It’s really dangerous to cross the gates and spend much time over here. There would need to be intelligence gathering from humans relayed to the elves, then on to the hitman-demon so he didn’t have to be here for months looking for you. You could just do periodic divinations for intent, or to reveal nearby demons.”
“Old man, you are so wise,” the sorcerer said. He turned to Dar who was pacing furiously in a tight circle.
“Demon, reveal to me your name.”
Dar obediently recited his two names. The sorcerer frowned. “That’s it? You only have two names?”
“Of course he only has two names,” Az shook her head in disbelief. This human was an idiot. “He’s not even an adult yet.”
“Oh.” The human waved his stick. “Demon, you will appear to me when summoned, and kill whoever I command of you. Go now from this realm and do not return until I call you.”
Az stared at the ground where Dar had previously been standing. He was gone. Vanished.
“Hey. Where did he go?” she asked.
“Back to Hel. I couldn’t very well release him here and have him stalking around after me, causing trouble.”
Shit. Dar got a free pass back, without having to risk going through the angel gate. And here she was. Alone. Fucked.
The human wiped his knife off on a rag, and put it and the stick back in his bag.
“Aren’t you going to eat the chicken?” Az asked.
“I can’t. Not after it’s been used in a summoning ritual. It’s unclean now.”
Seemed a terrible waste. She wondered if he would mind if she ate it. The old man’s belly was beginning to clench up and make noises.
“Old man, can I escort you to your home?”
She jerked out of her thoughts and looked at him hopefully. “That would be wonderful.”
The stood, silent, looking expectantly at each other.
“Well, where do you live?” the human prompted. “Which way?”
“I thought maybe you could just wave your stick at me and send me home that way,” Az said. “Like you did with Dar.”
“I don’t have the appropriate ingredients, and it would take me hours to set up the ritual. It would be quicker to walk.”
“Not for me,” Az complained, rubbing a hip. “You suck. Send the other guy right home, and make me walk all the way there.”
The human shouldered his bag and gave her an odd salute. “Go in peace, old man. May luck always be with you.”
It took Az hours to hobble back to the previous town. She’d gotten lost twice and had to back track. By the time she walked in, dawn was beginning to creep over the horizon, turning the other side of the sky as orange as the evening one had been.
The scary woman was there, looking like she was asleep next to the gate. Az could tell she was wide awake and alert. This better work. She’d have only seconds to get through the gate and if something went wrong, if she lacked the ability to open it, she’d be dead.
Az hovered a few buildings down and watched the woman. What would lure her away from the gate? She threw a few rocks against a cart, but the woman ignored them. Okay, it had to be something specific to demons. Owning, converting, energy usage. She walked around behind one of the buildings and combusted a pile of wood, then ran like crazy around the other side. Well, tried to run. The old man’s legs didn’t move very fas
t.
Around the other side, the gate was unattended. Az hobbled up to the blurred prism of air against the wall and placed her hand on it. Her hand hit the wall. No. No, no, no. This can’t be happening. Az placed both hands against the shimmer, threw her entire body against it, and bounced off the wall.
“What are you doing?” A voice behind her asked.
She turned, and felt the old man’s heart freeze momentarily in her chest.
The scary woman eyed her with curiosity, inching a few steps closer.
“Home,” Az stuttered. “I just want to go home.” She wanted to run, but she knew the old man’s legs wouldn’t be able to outrun the gate guardian. She wasn’t going home. This creature was going to kill her.
“It’s the next street over.” The gate guardian peered at her. “Why are you so afraid?”
“Die. I’m going to die.”
The scary woman took another step close to her, and Az willed her arthritic legs to move.
“Yes. You’re very old. And sick. You don’t have much longer.”
Az hobbled backwards and ducked around the corner of a building. She couldn’t open the gate. She was trapped here. Her only hope was that sorcerer human. By the time she’d made her way back to the crossroads it was past noon. Her human body was barely functional, needing both sleep and food. It would be too risky to change forms and catch an animal to eat, and this old man wasn’t fast or agile enough to hunt prey. The chicken from the night before was just a smear of blood on the road, no doubt taken away and eaten by animal predators. She gnawed on leaves, berries and bark and looked about, trying to determine which way the human had gone. If only Dar were here. He could sniff down that sorcerer with his amazing nose. Of course, if Dar were here, she wouldn’t need to find the sorcerer. She could just go home through the gate.
Three paths. Three different directions. Picking up a leaf, Az threw it into the air. The leaf began to float down, but a breeze picked it up, spiraling it in a crazy dance. Then just as abruptly as it began, the breeze was gone, and the leaf settled slowly down on the road to the left.
A few hours later, Az slowly hobbled her way into a town, barely more than a cluster of houses. Amazingly, there was the sorcerer, rounding a corner and heading up the street just in front of her.
“Wait. Wait,” Az called after the man. Shit. His stride was longer, his legs more flexible then the ones she had.
He turned and looked startled to see her. “Go home, old man.”
“I can’t. I need you to help me. Please. I can grant you a favor. Knowledge, perhaps. Or I can perform a service for you.”
She hurried her legs as fast as she could and finally caught up with the man. “I can’t stay here. I want to go back, but I can’t get through the gate.”
With an exasperated sigh he took her arm in a gentle grasp and led her into a small house. Az sat in the chair he indicated and watched him bustle around the room.
“When was the last time you ate?” he asked, pulling a loaf of bread out of a box.
Az tried to access the human’s memoires, but they were hazy. He didn’t even remember the last time he’d eaten.
“Not since I got here,” she replied, truthfully.
He cut off a few slices of bread and handed them to her. “It’s hard, coming from slavery with the elves to freedom here. There’s no work for old people, and you don’t have anyone to care for you. You may need to take up begging.”
“I just want to go back,” Az said between mouthfuls of bread.
The man shook his head and eyed her in pity. “The elves will kill you for running away.”
“No,” her words were muffled with food. “I want to go back to the demons.”
“The demons will torture you and kill you, or worse.” He shuddered. “They Own. Do you know what that means? The rip your soul out and deliver an eternity of torment. There is no blessed release in death, no salvation, only never-ending agony.”
“I will die here,” Az insisted. Now she was thirsty. And so tired. “I’ll assist you, do something for you. Just send me back like you did last night.”
“I can’t,” he confessed, handing her a mug of cold water.
“But you did last night. I saw it. Just do the same thing with me.”
“It doesn’t work with humans, only demons. And even if it did, I couldn’t do it.” He shifted awkwardly, not meeting her eyes. “I’m not really a sorcerer.”
“What do you mean? I saw you do it. The magic that elves train their humans to do.”
“I’m not even a mage. I’m a clerk, actually. I run errands, copy spells and incantations for charging, weigh and assemble herbs and supplies. I assist, but I can’t do magic.”
“I saw you. If that wasn’t magic, what did you do last night?”
“I stole a scroll before I left. I knew they’d come after me, and wanted to be able to bind the nearest demon to protect me. I only had one summon demon scroll with me.”
“Wait,” Az said, her exhaustion forgotten. “You’re a nobody. A lousy clerk. Why would they bother to come after you? There’s no way the elves are going to spend a lot of money and bother bringing back a clerk.”
He hesitated, unsure. “The scroll isn’t the only thing I stole.”
Az sat for a moment, silent. “Well then, you are truly fucked.”
“Yes,” he agreed grimly. “I am. Unless that demon can protect me.”
She chuckled. “Dar? You really are fucked. He’s not even an adult. Unless the elves send a pack of durfts after you, he won’t be of much help.”
The clerk collapsed into a chair. “Really? I thought he didn’t look very powerful. I haven’t seen a lot of demons though. I don’t get much chance, copying scrolls all day.”
“Have you been able to divine what demon is coming after you?” she asked.
He shook his head. “I have the ingredients together, and the scroll ready. I need to wait until tonight to do it though.”
Az sighed. “Okay. Let’s see what you stole so we have an idea of what level demon the elves are going to bother to hire.”
He eyed her nervously.
“Oh for fuck sake. Look at me. I’m an old man, I can’t remember the last time I’ve slept, and all I’ve eaten in days is the bread you just gave me. You could beat the crap out of me with your hat. I’m not likely to steal your stuff.”
Still, he hesitated.
“And I’ll stay here, with you. That way I won’t rat out your secrets to someone bigger and stronger. Besides, why would I betray you? You’re my only hope to get back home, and you’re the only one likely to feed me.”
He nodded, and stood up. Walking over to a chest, he began carefully removing clothing from it. Az walked over and picked a random piece, holding it up. It looked like it would cover a human’s upper torso and arms. Shirt.
“Are the clothes magical?” she wondered out loud.
The human shot her an annoyed glance, then carefully lifted a fitted wooden piece out of the bottom of the trunk. Az eagerly looked over his shoulder. Papers. The bottom of the trunk was filled with papers.
“That’s it? No globes or rings or wands?”
“I’m a scribe, a clerk. I don’t have access to those things.”
“Well I can’t imagine they’d send someone after you for a bunch of paper. I think you’re just being paranoid.”
He picked up the sheets one by one. “Divination. Finding gold and silver. Extinguishing a fire. Invisibility.”
“Oooo. Let me see that one.” Az reached for the paper, and he moved it just out of her grasp.
“Alchemy. Curse an enemy. Summoning a devouring spirit.”
“What’s a devouring spirit?” Az asked, trying to read the scroll over his shoulder.
“It’s some kind of demon that eats everything. I don’t think there are too many of them. Which is a good thing because they supposedly are really hard to control. Normal stuff doesn’t always work on them. It’s a pretty straight forward scroll.
I’m hoping to copy it, maybe to sell. I have absolutely no intention of summoning one, but the scroll also banishes. I grabbed it just in case the elves sent one of these things after me.”
“Oh.” That didn’t sound interesting after all.
“This one is to cure sickness. And one for compelling a woman to dance in the nude.”
“No fucking way! Let me see that. Seriously?” Az hopped, arm outstretched, trying to grab the scroll. The human held it temptingly out of reach.
“Right. Like you could do anything with a naked woman at your age. Get away. You’ll tear it and this is my favorite scroll.”
“Well at least tell me what it says. How do you compel that?”
He held the sheet for her to see, but far enough away that she couldn’t grab it. “It’s written in bat blood and charged. You put it in the woman’s doorway, and when she crosses over the threshold, she’ll throw off her clothes in a frenzy, and dance naked.”
“What if she notices that there is a paper in her doorway and picks it up? How likely is she really to go walking past some piece of paper lying in her path?”
He frowned at the scroll. “I don’t know. It doesn’t say. I don’t remember any of the sorcerers discussing the effects of this spell.”
“And it says that she’ll dance until she dies. How do you get her to stop? I mean, it would be kind of interesting watching a woman dance to death, but it might take an awfully long time. I think I’d get bored. I’d want to hurry it up a bit, but it would be hard to grab her, fuck her, and kill her if she’s dancing uncontrollably around the room.”
“I think if you take the scroll out of the doorway, she stops dancing,” he said, tracing a line of red characters with his finger.
“Let’s try it tonight,” Az said eagerly. “I’ll take a nap, and at sunset we’ll go stick this on some woman’s doorway. I wonder if it works with multiple people? We could have a whole house full of dancing naked women. And men too. Like an orgy.”
“No. Tonight I need to do the divination, so I can find out what demon is after me. You seem to know a lot about them. I’m hoping you can tell me about his level and skills, and if that young one I bound will be able to fight him off or not. In return, I’ll feed you and let you sleep here.”
