Chapter 19

Carrion birds filled the field in front of the castle where the fight had taken place. They carpeted the land in a sea of black, making it look like the Deadland forest had spread up to the walls. Soon, the smell of rotting meat and offal would become unbearable. Kale had people out there, faces covered in white masks to keep the insects at bay, burning the dead. This was the part of the battle that the books left out.

Sam walked through the orcs’ camp outside the castle walls, lost in thought, reviewing the battle in her mind. If Ayasse hadn’t been there, she would’ve died no matter what she wanted to believe otherwise.

Kale’s forces had launched a counterattack at the perfect time. The Demon King Lor, the king to the north of Kale’s land, had tricked everybody. He’d secretly moved his soldiers into position, catching the human army in a pincer. The surprise attack allowed Kale to move in, rout the Relancian men and take out the command. He’d been able to capture many of the human sorcerers, but there were still human soldiers lost in the forest. Without Akira and their leaders, they were easier to pick up, but still very dangerous. The new armour the humans wore, made them a force to be reckoned with.

Sam couldn’t believe it all happened in one day. It had seemed to take forever. Part of her wanted to stay until everything was finished. If she did that, it would mean she’d never get home.

First, she wanted justice for the death of the villagers. After that, she needed to recover from the poison, and then, finally, stop the humans from invading. But now that there was a lull, she was lost.

“What do I do now?” she said.

From what Akira said, it was possible to go home. If he’d talked to Lord Robert, a portal existed. Before, Sam only had her faith. However, going through the portal could be just as dangerous. If Akira was right, the reason she was even in this world, to begin with, was because of Lord Robert. Akira wasn’t the most trustworthy of sources, but he had described Robert down to his hatred of Sam.

“Why can’t the difficult decisions be easier?” Sam punched her hand and winced. The pain from the battle was still fresh. The demon realm didn’t have the same healing magics as the humans. She’d found a few potions in the humans’ camp that had fixed her up and taken care of most of Ayasse’s wounds. She couldn’t find a bone repair potion, though. His arm would have to stay that way and heal by itself.

Sam paced back and forth in front of the gates to Kale’s castle, contemplating her next move.

“Could you please stop wearing a hole in the dirt?” Hobbi appeared beside her. “I don’t want to have somebody following you to repair your damage anymore.” His scowl was not as strong today, Sam thought. She hid a smile. Maybe he was starting to like her?

“How is Kuma?” She asked.

“Lord Kuma is recovering well. Thank you for asking.” Hobbi’s scowl went deeper. “I wish to express my gratitude for not getting him killed in the battle.”

Sam feigned shock. “You’re thanking me? That must have been difficult for you to say!” She frowned in real concern. “Are you feeling, okay? Anything wrong?”

Hobbi ignored the questions and let out a sigh. “Lord Kale wishes to speak with you. He is in his private room. I’ll escort you.”

“Thank you.” Sam followed behind Hobbi in silence. The small goblin had hated her when they first met. She knew he still didn’t like her, however, maybe there was a small shred of respect there.

“Why does Kale want to speak to me?”

“He will tell you that.” Hobbi remained silent as they arrived at the painted wooden doors. The image on them reflected the black Deadland forest outside, although with a muted, relaxed feel. Sam thought the soft décor reflected what she knew of orcs themselves. Outside they were scary, but inside they were quieter and more reserved. She was going to miss this place.

She stopped. I knew I wasn’t going to stay here, even if Akira was still out there. While she had enjoyed her time in the Demon King’s castle, it wasn’t the same. She missed her home and Nadia. Sam squared her shoulders and pushed open the doors.

“Samantha, please come in. Have a seat.” Kale was sitting on a light brown carpet wearing a tan robe. A teapot, a cloth-covered plate and several cups were on the table. The room was bare and big enough for two people to sit in, and even then, they couldn’t move around.

“What is this place?” She sat across from Kale and adjusted her legs to get comfortable. It felt like the room was pushing in on her.

“In the world of violence, there needs to be a place where we can relax, safe from attack. This is my safe room, tucked deep inside the castle where we can reflect on our problems, and release them to find their way. A place to meditate and contemplate on our next step.”

Kale poured some tea for Sam into a small green cup. There was no handle so she had to grab it up with her hand. The heat from the tea leaked through the ceramic, burning her fingers. Letting go and shaking her fingers, she watched Kale and followed his example. He gripped it from the top where the thickened glaze was and raised it slowly to his mouth, using his other hand to steady the cup on the bottom. She ran her fingers over the rough bottom tracing the pattern up to the smooth glaze at the top, a sharp difference from the other cups she had been using.

“What’s this?” she asked Kale in confusion. “I’ve never seen a cup like this before.”

“This special design reminds us that rushing forward is not the best way to face our problems. It celebrates the idea that our troubles will fade away if we but wait.” He took another sip of the tea. “And I love how it makes the tea taste better.”

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Sam tried the bitter-smelling drink and coughed at the taste. She didn’t think it would ever grow on her. “Nice,” she said, pounding on her chest. “It would be better with some sugar.”

Kale smiled through his long tusks. “You don’t have to lie. The first time I tried it I felt my tongue rebel. It’s taken me a few years, but I have come to enjoy it. You have to sip it as well. Don’t gulp it.”

“Years?” Sam asked, surprised. She couldn’t stay here for years.

“Don’t worry, Samantha. I have no plans to keep you here.” Kale poured more of the tea. “I believe you and the other human will be leaving us soon. Is that not so?”

“Yes. Part of me would love to stay here, but I miss my life back in London. I need to get back and fix… something.”

“I understand the need to go home, Samantha. I shall supply you with some horses, clothing, and food to make your journey a little easier.” Kale winced as he took another sip of the tea. “The last part is the worst. You have to swallow quickly to get it all,” he said as he set the cup down.

“Why is that?”

“Without hardship and difficulty, there can be no growth. Reality tells us you have to take the bad along with the good. That is what this ceremony is for.” He reached for the small cake on a plate behind the teapot. “Besides, he smiled, “if you make it through the hardships, you can reward yourself with a treat.”

He handed the plate to Sam. There was a small round featureless cake on it, covered in powder. Sam picked it up and took a bite. The outside was almost tasteless. Inside it had a nice sweet green paste. After the bitterness of the drink, the cake’s sweetness was a refreshing palate cleanser.

Sam ate the cake in silence and tried the tea one last time. Grimacing, she placed the cup on the table, stood, placed her hands together in front of her chest —one fist inside the other’s palm— and bowed to the Demon King. He nodded back to her. Sam turned and left the room. She had to get ready. Ayasse may be able to go with her, but even if she had to go alone, she was determined to leave.

First thing though, she needed a disguise. There was no way she was repeating what happened the last time. The bounty was still on her head.

***

“Are you ready to go, Sam?” Ayasse asked. They were in the Demon King’s stables. She was saddling the horses, making sure everything was tight.

He’d spent the last two days talking to Healer. The dryad was fascinating and the medicine it created was exciting to behold. Who would have thought there existed a creature that could create an anti-venom just from ingesting a sample of tainted blood from a person? The frog-like thing was so protected against poisons that it immediately destroyed anything that entered its body. Master Thane would have loved it. She would have been acting like a young girl again.

He still couldn’t believe she was gone. When he ran his fingers over his shoulder, where his slave crest used to be, he still expected to find it. He wasn’t sure, but it felt like it was still there. There was also a slight drain on his energy, a pull that tugged on him. He could still use the shadows like before, but it was harder to move through them. Maybe I used them too much? Are they getting closer to taking me? He often saw them hovering to the side, eyes watching him. When he looked at them directly, they vanished. The darkness was still there, waiting. It hadn’t grown, but he could feel it pushing down on him. He would explore that after he was finished with Sam.

“What’s wrong? You don’t need to come with me,” Sam said, running her hand through her black hair. She’d gotten some black dye and changed the colour. It made her look like a different person, but Ayasse could tell it would only last a week at most. The scent reminded him of a cabbage, and that dye usually washed out after a few days. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself any more than what you have.”

“No, that’s not it. I’ve used my powers a lot over the last few weeks. I probably need some rest. I can make small jumps, but nothing too far,” he said, putting his bag on his horse. “There is one last thing I have to do here. Can you give me an hour?”

“Fine. But hurry up,” she grumbled, tapping her foot. “I want to be on the road before noon.”

Ayasse nodded and disappeared through the shadows. He reappeared in the hallway outside Kale’s practice room and staggered. The darkness seemed a little closer today.

Hobbi was waiting for him. “I’m against this,” he wrinkled his nose. “He has not recovered from the war, and shouldn’t be straining himself like this. Stupid man.”

“You didn’t tell Sam that Akira had managed to injure the Demon King. Why?” Ayasse asked, surprised.

“She doesn’t need to know everything. If you hadn’t been in the room when they brought him in, you wouldn’t have known either,” Hobbi spat out.

“I’ll only be a few minutes.” Ayasse entered the training room. Kale was going through basic sword movements. Ayasse had watched Akira often enough to see how skilled the orc was. Kale flowed from one stance to the next as if he was dancing, marred only by the occasional wince.

When he was finished, Kale put up his sword and grabbed a towel. Wiping his face, he turned to Ayasse. There was a long, barely healed slash across his chest stretching from his upper chest and going to his stomach. Healer had sewed it up, but Kale wasn’t wearing a bandage. The orc’s healing skills were quite strong, even if their healing magic wasn’t. They had a supply of healing potions, but the last battle exhausted their supply. Ayasse was lucky Sam found the ones she did. In orc culture, however, it seems that scars were a mark of honour.

“You wished to speak to me,” Kale said. “What about?”

Compared to when he talked with Sam his manner was gruff and abrupt. Ayasse could sense that the Demon King didn’t like him. There was no politeness, no respect in his tone. From everything he’d seen, Orcs respected warriors. An assassin like him would be the greatest of dishonour.

“I have been talking to the dryad Healer about the poison I used on you,” Ayasse started. “It was able to cleanse your body of Dragonfly, but the poison is quite strong and there is no known treatment that I know of.”

“Are you saying you’ve killed our Lord?” Hobbi pointed a finger at Ayasse. “That is unforgivable, no matter who your friend is.”

Kale held out his hand, palm up and Hobbi stopped speaking, his face turning from a dark brown to a crimson.

“Please continue,” Kale said.

“I’ve been able to gain a possible cure to the poison,” Ayasse pulled out a vial containing one brown pill. “This is the Master Pill. You may have heard of it?”

Kale nodded.

“I have left one with Healer. It is very sensitive to air and is kept in a vacuum-sealed jar. If you need it, he can administer it to you.”

“What is the catch?” Kale asked arms crossed over his massive chest, covering most of the wound. Without a shirt, the orc was even more intimidating.

“It will remove all poisons and impure influences from your system. If you take it in a weakened state, the pain from the cleansing could be greater than the poison itself.” Ayasse met Kale’s eyes. “It isn’t to be taken lightly.”

Hobbi was rocking on his feet.

“Thank you for telling me this. I will take your advice under advisement.” Kale placed his hands together and nodded his head at Ayasse. “Are you and Samantha almost ready to leave?”

“Yes, we’ll be on our way in the hour. I wanted to give you this information before we left. You have treated us with nothing but respect. I wished to return that.”

Kale was silent. He turned and pulled on a robe. “I have already said my farewells to Samantha. Have a safe journey.” He turned to Hobbi. “Come, let’s go see Healer. I will hear its advice before I make any decisions.”

The goblin let out his breath and nodded. “Yes, Lord Kale.”

“Thank you, Lord Kale.” Ayasse bowed, turned and left the room. Outside, he leaned against the door and wiped his forehead. Standing up he took a deep breath and moved into the shadows.