“Anyone who wants to voice an idea about what they are doing there?”

“NO.”

“N-no-t rea–ll–y.”

Cylia rolled her eyes. “Figures.”

Next to Cylia were her two shoulder demons, the Asag and Umbin, the Scorpion Man. They had accompanied Cylia to the Reiszer camp like an entourage of personal guards. Why, she didn’t know, but Cylia wasn’t about to argue with a demon that could spew steam and a vicious, one-armed Scorpion Man.

She searched for a hint of Kiur—maybe Xander as well—to find where they went, but she was in the middle of nowhere, and none of her companions could read the stars or track with their noses.

Well, except for one.

“Garm, come back, boy!”

Three weeks have now passed since Cylia got separated from everyone. If it weren't for the jumping, walking, and waddling puppy, Cylia would have been hopelessly lost. She called for the lean, dark-furred greyhound puppy. “You found them? Good boy.”

The puppy yelped at Cylia as she stroked its belly and gave it a date palm as a treat. She disliked the idea of caring for a dog when she couldn’t even help herself, but the puppy quickly proved invaluable to her.

It found a small oasis, helped detect sandstorms, and tracked Kiur and Xander down to the deserted encampment, but anything above that overwhelmed the pup. It wailed and hid his face under its paws when it couldn’t do more. Cylia picked up the pupper again and rested in the encampment.

The Scorpion Man growled at the Asag.

Although her two demon friends here were more than useless for anything other than warding off dangerous demons that avoided them like the plague, Cylia was getting a headache from their constant death threats.

“Shut up!” she eventually yelled, and Umbin stopped growling. The Asag peered over Umbin and slapped his head. They immediately went back to killing each other. “You two are giving me a headache.”

Garm bit Cylia’s finger with its baby teeth. It started teething last week and easily got distracted or tired when sitting on Cylia’s lap. She sighed since she wasn’t fond of dogs and didn’t expect to care for one either.

Stroking Garm’s chin, Cylia was glad it provided her with some distraction in this lone and desolate place. The winds howled through the ruins. Cylia shivered and wiped away the sweat on her forehead. “I wonder if I'll see any of them again.”

Garm kept on biting her finger.

“Shall we take a walk?” Cylia placed Garm down and walked through the ruined encampment—the puppy and two demons trod closely behind her.

The place had been abandoned for days or even weeks now. Cylia knew couldn’t catch up to the others. Stopping with her hand at a wall, Cylia bit her chipped lip. She was stranded here.

“Gods,” Cylia panted, “I could go for a drink.”

“Hhip?” Garm yelped, letting out a yawn to fall back onto its butt.

“Yes, water, that would be good now,” Cylia said. Garm yawned in response and scratched the wall. Cylia laughed. “Dummy, what are you doing-”

A chunk then broke loose, enough for the puppy to slip through and disappear out of sight. Cylia jumped after it in a rush.

“Garm!? Where did you go?” Garm yelped in the distance, its voice getting further and further away. Then she heard a distant plop. “We have to get around it. No way Garm will-”

*BAM*

The Asag broke down the wall with his fist. “It's open.”

Cylia stared at the Asag. “You do know there was a perfect entrance just around the corner?”

The Asag glanced over to where Cylia pointed at another large hole in the wall—large enough for the demons to fit through. Umbin cackled. “I-id-ioot.”

The demons grumbled at one another, but Cylia ignored them. She walked down the excavated hole to the chambers and cavern below. A chilly draft hit her sunburned skin. The sounds of clear water entered her ears. Cylia licked her lips on the side of the pool below with Garm wiggling his tail and drinking, but she stopped at Na’amah in the cavern.

Cylia was apprehensive seeing her. “Please tell me you're sober.”

“Unfortunately.” Na’amah sighed and picked up the puppy. It protested in her hold. “Quit squirming, will you?”

“It doesn't like that,” warned Cylia. “Be careful, or it will-”

“OWW!”

“...bite you.”

Garm dropped into the pond and shook its fur, getting the water all over Na'amah. “Did you even raise that puppy!?” she complained, wringing her pants.

“No one told me to raise it.” Cylia shrugged nonchalantly. “Besides, you dropped it on me.”

“It's a boy.”

“What?”

“That puppy is a boy, not an ‘it’,” Na’amah corrected, stepping aside from Garm trying to bite her again.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Not that I care!” Cylia yelled. “What do you want from me now? You left me with a dog and two demons in the middle of the desert.”

Her demon entourage walked down on cue, flanking Cylia from both sides.

“Impressive, good, you tamed them.” Na’amah nodded approvingly.

“I wouldn't say I did,” grumbled Cylia. “They try to kill each other whenever I'm not looking. Also, back on topic. What do you want again?”

“I don't want anything.” A large cat paced around Na'amah's legs. “She wants something.”

The large lynx picked up Garm by biting his neck. She carried him over to Cylia, stood on its hind legs, and dropped him into her arms. The large, dark blue cat kept standing and staring into Cylia’s eyes.

She stared back. “I don't like what you are planning.”

The cat stood taller, looking down at Cylia with its paws hanging before her. The lynx stretched out its tongue.

“Don't.” Cylia narrowed her eyes on the cat, who licked her face and hair. “Eww, no! My hair is already a mess!”

Cylia parted her hair to the side angrily. Na'amah laughed. “Bygul likes you, but that's not what she's here for. Go, girl.”

The lynx dashed away from Na’amah clapping her hands. Cylia heard the distant clamour and crying before the lynx returned by pushing a wooden barrel to them. She playfully pried open the lid and pulled out the dwarf hiding inside it.

“He’s your next part of your journey.”

—☽—

“GET THAT BEAST AWAY FROM ME!”

Bygul the Lynx hissed loudly at Waldemar and pawed angrily at the dwarf, ragdolling him. Her growl was more menacing than the sounds the Asag or Scorpion Men could produce.

Na'amah, Cylia and the two demons took a cautionary step away until the lynx was away and settled near its orange-black counterpart lying near the pond. Cylia didn't notice the other cat since, like last time, the orange cat lay sluggishly in a corner and stared off into the distance. The blue one threw herself on the other and licked their fur.

“She’s still hurting?” Cylia asked, watching the two cats.

Na’amah gave a sober nod. “Trjegul is her name. Her sister is trying to cheer her up as much as she can.”

“Can we do something to help?”

“Us? No. She needs time to recover.”

Cylia gave a ragged sigh and drew her attention back to the dwarf. Waldemar looked dishevelled. His black hair was a mess, and his beard was more outgrown. He also was pretty emaciated with his sunken eyes and cheeks.

He cried out loud when noticing the monsters. “AH! DEMONS!” He looked at Na’amah and shrieked. “Drunk woman with bad breath!” He repeated his outcry when seeing Cylia. “UGLY SLAVE!”

“That guy’s as bad as Xander,” mumbled Cylia, annoyed. “Can't we throw him back in the barrel?”

Distracted, Na'amah blew into her hands and smelled them. “My breath is fine, is it?”

“Eh…”

Fortunately, Cylia didn’t have to answer as Waldemar crawled back into his barrel to hide. Na'amah cracked the lid open and pulled out Waldemar by his scruff.

“LEMME GO! YOU STINK!”

“I- Yooooou-” Na'amah’s eyes flickered with anger. She threw the dwarf onto the dusty ground. “Be grateful you have some use, or else I'd have crushed your bones and cooked you into stew.”

Waldemar rolled left and right on the ground, holding his knee and hissing in pain.

“Stop pretending,” Cylia rolled her eyes at him.

When Waldemar didn't stop, she kicked him. “THAT HURT.”

“GOOD! You're wasting our time here.”

“Pah, we're all going to die soon, anyway,” Waldemar gibed and stood up. He panted with his legs shaking like he was caught in a marathon.

“I can't die yet,” said Cylia, crossing her arms and pinching her elbow. “I have to get back to the others.”

“Don’t,” said Waldemar with gritted teeth, holding back his venom. “You slave shouldn’t go back to them.”

“I'm not a slave anymore!” Cylia shouted, grabbing Waldemar by the colour. “I won't be one again, like you forced me and my mother. I'll never go back to this life. NEVER!”

Waldemar didn’t bat an eye. “You'll be dead if you return.”

“Is that a threat?”

“No, a warning.” Waldemar held Cylia by the wrist and flipped her over his head and onto her back. She yelped as her shoulder dislocated again. “I don't care for slaves. In the end, we're all trapped in different chains.”

“As if you know anything about being trapped,” Cylia cried. Umbin crouched with his scorpion body and set Cylia’s shoulder back in. “I paid my due. And so did my mother. I’ll never be chained up again.”

“Huh, better believe it. None of us are free.” Waldemar sat down on his barrel. Looking at the storm-producing eyes of Cylia, his shoulders sank in. He knew she would not go down easily—she tasted freedom. “I hid when our overlord came. I am free, but now I’ll die. Meanwhile, Ragnar and the others got themselves trapped with something worse, a stag.”

Cylia blinked uncertainly. “A stag? Aren't they usually, you know, peaceful?”

“No, no, no. Not this one.” Waldemar rejected the idea vehemently. “Have you ever met one of the masked Reiszer with animal guises?”

“Twice,” Cylia let out a nervous breath, “and neither time was great.”

The first one took her mother. The second took Kiur’s brother. She still shivered about either existence. To this day, Cylia hoped her mother was still alive, but she couldn’t know—just as Kiur couldn’t.

Waldemar seemed a bit surprised. “Then you're luckier than my chief or your friends.”

“What do you mean-”

“There's a third one. And he's far more terrifying than those demons of yours, OR that cat!”

The lynx growled at Waldemar before she went back to licking the other cat's head.

Cylia crossed her arms at Waldemar. “I thought Reiszer soldiers don't fear anyone.”

Waldemar laughed madly, slapping his thigh. “Us? Girl, we're absolutely terrified. We’re but slaves with extra benefits. Those who call the strings are those from the West! Ragnar and your friends made the right call to kowtow because that Stagman is brutal!”

Cylia’s arms fell to her sides. “They did what?”

“Sold their pride.” Waldemar rubbed his knuckles. “I hid and watched. That man sent us on a death march. He's responsible for many deaths of our own—killed many of us personally. Ragnar had to bow. He was lucky that blue wizard boy coaxed the golden boy, or there would have been too many deaths.”

“I-” Cylia stuttered, not knowing what to say. Cylia was powerless. She lacked the skill or intuitiveness to be proactive. Getting lost in the desert all alone made her terrified for life. She hoped to return with her friends in the safe comfort and delusion of finding a home. With time running low and her friends at the enemy's hands, Cylia feared the future. She feared facing reality. “Is there nothing we can do?”

“There’s a way,” Na'amah said, brushing her teeth and gargling with mouthwash. “That’s why I'm here, to pinpoint you to the dwarves and next destination. Time’s almost up.”

Waldemar turned around. “I am not sure I'll like it.”

“You both will.” Na'amah spit out the mouthwash, gagging from the aftertaste. Putting a hand on her hip, she asked, “Do you two fancy an ambush and being a nuisance?”

Na'amah got them with the words ambush and nuisance alone. Cylia and Waldemar were all ears.