Sarthas awoke to the sound of crying. ‘A child? No. A baby?’ His eyes took in the green sky above and he felt the cold stone below. He reached up and touched his lips, the blood was still moist. ‘Someone… gave me something to drink?’ He turned his head toward the source of the noise.

“You’re awake. Good. I wasn’t sure if you’d survive or not.” Sarthas saw the male demon bouncing a mewling baby in his arms, the man’s voice was deep, rich… healthy.

Sarthas’s red eyes widened, ‘He’s not one of them…’ He realized and opened his mouth to speak, only for a rough, painful cough that tore at his throat to come out instead. His eyes shut, but he could hear the male approaching him, his heavy footsteps echoing in the cavern as he came closer.

“You’ve had nothing but the goat’s blood and water that I could coax down your throat for the last three days, you’re probably still in a lot of pain.” Sarthas heard him speak and did his best to nod, covering his mouth with his hand, his body shook with every hacking cough.

“Here.” Sarthas heard him say and then felt a bloody chunk of soft meat being forced into his palm. “Eat it if you can.” The stranger ordered, and Sarthas did his best to obey, his shaking hand shoved the meat into his mouth as soon as the coughing stopped.

The flavor burst on his tongue and he began to weep bloody tears at the flavor of his first real meal in a long time, he stuffed his cheeks and tore at the red flesh as fast as he could, and for the moment his throat cooperated, allowing the bits of chewed meat to slide down his gullet. He then shoved his moist fingers into his mouth and sucked the blood away to take in every bit of flavor and filling substance.

When Sarthas opened his eyes again, the male was rising to his feet. “Please.” He put a hand over his belly and went limp, “More. So hungry.”

To his relief, the stranger nodded. “You can have more, but when you’re that hungry you shouldn’t eat too quickly. Give it a little time. We won’t run out, I promise you.” The squalling noise of the baby was gone, tapered off to cooing from a stone cradle.

Sarthas looked up at his rescuer and asked, “Wh-Where are we? Who are you?”

“You’re in my mountain stronghold. My name is Sadrahan. I found you collapsed while on one of my foraging flights and brought you back here.” Sadrahan said, and Sarthas felt the jolt of lightning shoot through his spine.

“Flights?! You have your wings?!” Sarthas exclaimed, struggling to push himself up on his elbows, only to find his own body weight was too much for himself.

“Yes. I saw that you don’t… cut off?” He asked. “By humans?” Sadrahan guessed.

“Yes” Sarthas whispered. “My wings, and everyone else’s too… it was the first thing they did when we were captured.”

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Sadrahan pursed his lips tight as he took that in, “Where did you come from?”

“A… A village, weeks walk from here, I think. I don’t know. Our- our homes were attacked by humans in metal and leather… they killed most of us, the ones they didn’t, they cut our wings and made us travel back with them to their home.” Sarthas explained.

“Are they anywhere near here?” Sadrahan asked at once.

“No… no if they were they’d have caught me long before you found me.” Sarthas shook his head and shivered. “I came this way when I escaped the mines.”

“Mines?” Sadrahan asked and cocked his head, “What’s a mine?”

“They dig through stone to find metal rocks to work… I… accidentally broke through a cave wall with their pickaxe, and I made a run for it in the middle of the night. I’ve been running from there for… I don’t even know.” Sarthas gasped, “Water… please.” He asked.

Sadrahan obliged, putting the water skin into the lake a few feet away and while the cool clear blue filled it, he pressed further.

“Why did you come this way?” Sadrahan asked.

“Because it was away from them, and because one of the newer captives mentioned the mountains here, they heard from a human merchant how big they were and so… so I thought it might be safe.” Sarthas said, and Sadrahan shot to his feet.

“New ones?!” Sadrahan snapped, and then began describing every neighbor of his village, and a thrill of delight and horror ran through his body as Sarthas nodded at a number of the descriptions he gave, and when he matched them up with names, Sadrahan’s hold on the water skin tightened like a vice.

“So I’m not the last… some survived.” Sadrahan muttered.

“Your village?” Sarthas asked.

Sadrahan bowed his head in acknowledgement and brought the water skin to Sarthas’s lips, tilting it up slowly to help the weak demon drink. “Yes, I thought I and my daughter were the only survivors.”

“You’re alone here, and they never caught you?” Sarthas asked.

“Till you, yes.” Sadrahan acknowledged, “And no, I escaped, my wife wanted a wall built when the rumors came our way about villages disappearing. Nobody listened, but we built a small one around our own home, it bought us time to make a break for it. Lamash, she was a wise mate.” He closed his eyes briefly as if to shut out his own memories, and for several seconds there was only the sound of the demon greedily gulping down water until the skin was empty.

“More?” Sadrahan asked, and Sarthas shook his head.

“Are you the only one to escape?” Sadrahan inquired, “Or did you leave everybody behind?”

Sarthas glared up. “Of course not. Many of us ran, I was the fastest, others… I don’t know if they made it or were caught again, but they may be out there.”

Sadrahan gave a hearty grunt, “All clipped like you?”

Sarthas’s glare intensified, “We didn’t get a choice.”

Sadrahan crossed his arms.

Sarthas’s head lolled to one side, “Yes… why? What does it matter, do you want to disgrace me for it?”

“No. First I’m going to give you some more meat, but I want you to wait for one hundred drops of water to fall before you eat more. Then I’m going out there to see if I can find any more walkers, and if I do, I’ll bring them back here.” Sadrahan proclaimed and Sarthas’s head snapped over to look up at the big demon rescuer who now seemed to tower over him like a giant.

“You mean that?” Sarthas asked with breathless hope.

“I said it. So I meant it. My daughter will sleep for several hours after her meal, that’s plenty of time, and we’re safe here.” Sadrahan said as if it were just a discussion of the morning weather.

“Do this, rescue some of mine, and I am your demon for as long as I live.” Sarthas said before another coughing fit silenced him again.

Sadrahan didn’t answer the offer of loyalty except to put another hunk of meat into the shaking palm of the fallen Sarthas, and then leave the cavern after going to his daughter’s stone crib and kissing her forehead goodbye.