“Hey, it’s me. When have I not done things this way?”
“Yes, your serial recklessness has caused no end of trouble for us. I am sure there are those who might find it charming. That is, until you get someone killed. What would your brother say if he saw what you’ve been up to? He’d lock you up in the castle, and for good reason!”
Tia’s expression soured, and only partly from the pain of having her crushed bones repaired. “What my brother doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Besides, look at me. I’m hardly princess material.”
“Nonetheless, you are royalty. And with your parents gone, you and your brother are all our country has left. Please think of us!”
“Fine,” Tia said, moping. “Fine! Badrak’s Balls! I’ll… I’ll try to be more careful.”
“And mind your manner of speech, too.”
“Yes, yes. Sure,” Tia said with an enormous yawn. “Just… too tired right now.”
Haymi’s expression softened. “You need rest, princess. Vason and I will keep watch.”
“Just… heal Apramor…” she said as she drifted off to sleep.
“You ever regretted all this?” Vason asked.
“What, you mean guarding such a selfish brat?” Haymi grinned. “Never. But sometimes, I do feel like slapping her across the face.”
“A hard slap,” Vason said, nodding.
“Yes. Nothing but the hardest slaps for our dear princess.”
“Please stop.”
Mejai of Realms were supposed to be near the apex of magical power. Respected, even revered wherever they went. And yet, this particular Mejai of Realms had suffered abuse after abuse at the hands of the four-armed half-giant demon who was his charge.
It should have been the other way. He was the master here. The one with all the power. And yet, he felt more like a steward for a problem child. A problem child who would tear him limb from limb were it not for the subjugation collar around his neck. An invaluable Artifact from the Age of Gods, reserved for those who absolutely needed it.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The demon Cirayus wore a black cloak that covered his body, hiding his four arms, but his head was exposed. The black tattoos that traced across his red skin gave him away as someone—something—not from this realm. But there was no point hiding it. Even if they hid his face, who would ever believe such a giant was human?
Thump. Thump. Thump. Each step the giant took shook the ground, rattling windows and sending shivers down everyone’s spine.
“Do you have to do that?” the Mejai of Realms said, nodding at the villagers they passed, doing his best to dissuade a mass panic. Adinat save them if the giant ever showed off his four arms.
“Do what?” the giant replied, continuing to thump his way along Brij’s thoroughfare.
“That thumping! It’s some power of yours, isn’t it?”
“Now that is simply rude, mejai,” the demon boomed. “Among my tribe, I’m considered small, but as you can see, I am quite a bit more weighty than the average human.”
“And yet, you manage to walk around making no noise when you choose. Don’t think I haven’t noticed, demon!”
“Oh, that,” Cirayus replied, as if that answered the mejai. He continued walking, uncaring.
“Parading you around like this will only create unwanted attention! It goes against our interests!” the Mejai of Realms hissed.
“Against our interest, is it?” the demon boomed. “Tell me, mejai, how has your search been going, hmm? Located our errant gray demon yet? No? After all this time?”
The Mejai of Realms could only grind his teeth in frustration. From Parul to even Kin’jal, his agents had found no trace of Mina’s Ashborn assassin.
“Princess two-face sounded quite angry during your last report, you know? And as much as it irks me, I am in agreement with the little wench. You have pored over maps, you have searched far and wide, and yet, you are still no closer to locating him than you were weeks ago.”
“We know he is affiliated with the Brotherhood of Mercenaries. Lady Kamna confirmed as much while she spied on him. If only they’d talk… But they dare to deny our inquiries!”
“As they should. ’Tis only natural for them to protect their own,” the demon responded, eyeing the village buildings with keen interest. “There is something… familiar about this place.”
The demon took a great sniff at the air. “It’s the smell. It feels… nostalgic, though I am quite sure I have never been here.”
The mejai beside him grumbled. “I’m no urchin off the streets! I have a royal decree! A decree! And yet that Brotherhood scum thinks they can get away with it.”
“It seems to me that is exactly what is happening. Has your king punished them? No? Then they are above the law. They simply understand that fact. Perhaps your kingdom isn’t as great as you seem to think? Hm?”
The mejai beside him ground his teeth even harder. It was all he could do.
“These are the villagers you want to see,” the mejai said irritably. “We’ve rounded them up for interrogation, but they don’t know a thing.”
“Tell me about this ‘Guardian of Ash,’ human.”
“Mere rumors and speculation. Her highness the princess believes this was the doing of our assassin. The timing of the rumor coincides, but I’ve yet to see any other evidence supporting that theory.”
“Hmm.”
Cirayus paced around the densely packed circle of villagers. They’d stood out here for over an hour, and though some showed signs of fatigue, there wasn’t a trace of defiance in any of them. Only confusion. Resignation.
And when they spotted the giant… fear.
All except for one.
Cirayus knelt down in front of a child. A scrawny boy, the type that might be bullied in a village such as this. Cirayus knew well the law of small societies such as these. After all, the vast majority of demonkind cloistered in small settlements not too different from human villages.
“You’re the one, are you not?” Cirayus asked in a low voice that couldn’t be overheard. His tone was unlike anything he’d ever used with the Mejai of Realms. Instead of a fearsome incarnation of war, he spoke like a kindly old uncle, full of warmth.
The boy shook his head.
“Please, a child?” the Mejai of Realms said, scoffing.
Cirayus turned and met the mejai’s gaze. It was all he needed to drive the man into silence. The mejai took an unconscious step back.
“Do not interrupt me,” Cirayus said.
The giant then reached a hand out to the boy, who closed his eyes and quaked in fear. But Cirayus did not fail to notice his balled fists, nor his defiant expression. He gently ruffled the boy’s head with his enormous hand and smiled.
“Don’t worry, I’m on your side,” Cirayus whispered with a wink. “I know your friend. Likely better than you do. He wielded strange powers, did he not? Strange, scary powers?”
The boy nodded. “Can you tell me where my friend went? I wish to know that he is safe.”
“I-I dunno, sir. I really don’t,” the boy whispered back. “But maybe the Godshollow? Just a hunch, sir, nothing more. Perfect place to hide.”
“The Godshollow?” Cirayus asked gently.
“The forest, sir. The one west of the city. With the big, huge trees!”
“Big… trees, you say?”
Cirayus’s laughter thundered through the plaza, stunning everyone present.
“I see. I see! You’ve done well, child. Thank you. Truly,” he said, wiping away tears that welled up in his eyes. The smile the demon wore could not be bought with any price in the world.
The giant stood back up and thumped to one of the lesser mejai’s accompanying him.
“Kneel,” Cirayus thundered, and the mejai kneeled. In fact, he fell all the way to the ground, flattened as his weight multiplied several-fold.