Chapter 19: Chapter Nineteen

Sadrahan’s flight let him catch up quickly with the wagons full of starved and half starved demons making their way… to nowhere as far as they could have known. They were already eating some of the horse meat from the first slaughtered beasts, their masticating jaws ripping into flesh and gorging on longed for meat. ‘I should have thought to demand something else in terms of food… I probably could have gotten it. Now it’s too late.’ He told himself with a mild twinge of annoyance at himself.

But that just left him with another problem. ‘Even on wagons pulled by these beasts and rotating them out when they get tired, it won’t be a quick trip back to the mountain. I can’t be away from my Lamashi for that long…’

But despite thinking that way, as he looked down at the broken ones, some of whom wept with every bite they took, and others who ate with such ravenousness that he was sure they’d be sick later… pity tainted Sadrahan’s mind.

‘That could have been me as easily as it was them if it weren’t for Lamash’s forethought.’ He closed his eyes to the world, but could not shut out his ears. ‘Go get her.’ He said to himself, and reached the obvious conclusion. ‘No, get a guide.’

That settled the matter in Sadrahan’s mind. ‘Ita Mal would take hours to free himself, then it will take more time to make ropes and climb out, then more time to clear the gate, and then they’d have to chase us on foot in armor and they don’t know where we’re going, at least not exactly. The threat is almost nonexistent. And I can have the others prepare a reception for the survivors. Just bring a guide to these who will make sure they know the way.’

It seemed reasonable, so with that thought, he slowly descended toward the little caravan of a dozen wagons until he landed at the front of the column, his feet gently alighting onto the soft, wet ground, his feet sank in the muck which squelched as he turned around to face the front wagon. As it approached, he stepped beside it and began to walk, a bat-faced demon was acting as the driver. “You saved us. Thank you.” The almost skeletally thin demon said with a bow of his head.

Sadrahan grunted. “I don’t have time to talk. I’m going to take two back with me by air, tell my other rescuees to prepare for your coming, and then I will return with a guide.”

“You’re not staying with us?!” A half a dozen voices went up at once with the driver’s.

“No. I can’t. You’re out, they won’t be chasing you, I’ll bring you a guide who can take you to my mountain.” Sadrahan promised, “You will be safe, if you rotate out the horses you will make good time. The mountain is far, hours of flying, it will take you time to get there, but you will arrive and we will be waiting.”

The driver’s face went from coal black to ashen gray, “And when we arrive…?”

“There is work to be done. Homes to be built. Fields to be planted, you will start again.” Sadrahan’s soulful red eyes went to each one of them in the cart, “Loss is a terrible thing, your homes, villages, friends, even your children all taken away. But the mountain is safe, and you have your lives. You can rebuild, and rebuild in such a way that they can’t be taken from you a second time.”

“There are others there… survivors?” A demon on the wagon asked.

“Yes, from other villages. The humans destroyed far more than I knew. The rumors were true it seems, and for some time I found survivors wandering lost close to my home. I took them in, and now many villages are one. That was how I was acclaimed as the Demon Lord.” Sadrahan explained.

“So…” The bat-demon thought that over and looked behind him at the others. The implications were clear. ‘They serve him and gain his protection, ruling a whole mountain… and the humans treated him as a demon with… what did they call it, a ‘high station’ for those in command. For our former masters to treat him as a Lord, he must be…’ That clinched it.

The bat-demon bowed his head, “I was a chief in my village, so I speak for all our survivors. We are your servants. I failed my village once, I will not fail to make the right decision a second time. I’ll drive this wagon on this path until you bring us our guide, and explain the situation to the rest of our companions in the other carts so that they’re ready when you come back.”

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Sadrahan however, was paying little mind to what was told to him, instead he could only think of his daughter. ‘Lamashi, I’m going to be home to you soon, just a little bit longer… and I’ll bet you’ll be bigger already.’ He smiled at just the thought of her face lighting up again.

He however, quickly realized after a moment of silence that the bat-demon’s head was still bowed, as was the rest of the cart, and that something had been said to him. ‘Did he ask something? Want something? Quickly, say something!’ He shouted at himself.

Sadrahan grasped for the first thing to come to mind, “Yes, we’ll see how that works out.” He then launched himself toward the sky and quickly held out a talon to a particularly waifish demon woman with blue skin and scales, “You, come with me,” and “You,” he pointed to an earthen skinned demon whose flesh had become pale and whose horns had been cut clean off, “come with me.”

They rose on wobbly feet, and when they reached the edge of the cart, his proud wings spread wide and he rose up, took them each over his shoulder, and after allowing them a moment to become comfortable, he flew the pair away as fast as his wings could carry him.

When the Demon Lord was gone, Chief Batagan tensed his hold over the reins of the horse. “So that’s the Demon Lord… I am impressed. We will have to work hard to pass his test.”

“Test?” The question came from a goat legged demon who leaned forward toward his chief.

“Yes, wasn’t it obvious? He rescued us, but he didn’t promise us anything, we have to prove ourselves to be worth his work, that’s what he meant when he said he would ‘see’ about my promise. We’re all being tested for our worthiness. We all failed, don’t you see, everyone in every wagon was captured and our villages were destroyed. But he saved us anyway, to give us a chance. And if we fail?”

“If we fail?” The goat demon asked, his yellow eyes blinking like mad at the implications.

Chief Batagan answered it bluntly, “We’ll be cast out. Why should he protect us if we aren’t willing to help his home? You saw the humans, they treated him like he was a Lord. There’s no way that would happen if he was just an ordinary person. A demon like that, who can bend humans to his will? Ita spoke for him, you saw Ita yourself, Ita Mal is… was… a proud and arrogant human, but he bent like a turnskin to the Demon Lord’s commands. When we have a break, we’re going to have to be very persuasive with the other wagons… and with our chosen guide. We have to convince the Demon Lord’s servant that we’re worthy, or we risk wandering to who knows where?”

A collective shiver ran up from the wagon, “You sound sure, old man.” The goat-legged demon said, his words slow and drawn out, he straightened his back, “But are you sure he’d do that?”

“Yes.” Batagan answered with finality and a sharp confirming nod, “Think about his silence, he didn’t tell us to raise our heads, he thought about his words, and chose them with care. That’s the mark of a deep thinker and a warning. After what he did to rescue us, he must be that sort of demon. Do you think he’d really have his mind elsewhere after all this? No, I think not. I’m sure of it. When we get to his home, we must show our worth, all of us.”

The goat demon lowered his long face, “I suppose… and even if you’re wrong, it’s still good to respect courage and a good turn. Aye, when we get a common rest and butcher another horse we should have a meeting for us all, and talk in common for when we see him again. There are worse things than a strong chief of chiefs… and if the humans really do respect and fear him, he should be our Lord.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Batagan answered, and a string of nods went up and down the wagon, “My. Thoughts. Exactly.” He reiterated, and began composing his thoughts to persuade the others at their very next stop.

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