I went through the door and sat on the sofa, next to the talkative demon. The menacing one joined us a moment later, closing the door behind him. I was trapped in a small space, surrounded by giant, dangerous demons on both sides.

However, I quickly realized it was even worse. Not only were the demons sitting right next to me, but a few of them were also to my front. Two more demons sat across me, on another sofa, completely concealed from the outside world.

One of them was a female, noticeably smaller and far more gentle-looking than her male compatriots. She was the first demon that didn’t make disaster bells ring in my mind right away. Her long, black hair helped with that. Seeing someone with some hair was a refreshing sight, even though it was dark black. Unlike the other male demons, who were dressed identically, she was dressed in a nice, ladylike dress. It was noticeably shorter than a timkik dress, ending at the knees, but it was a nice dress nonetheless.

What stood out about her the most was just how tiny her eyes were. While the demons surrounding me were big and tall, their eyes were very small. And this female took it to the extreme.

But that wasn’t the weirdest thing I saw that day. Next to her sat a creature that came straight out of a nightmare. A demon whose skin was darker than the night itself. Ironically enough, his face wasn’t nearly as intimidating as that of the menacing demon, nor was his gaze threatening, but his skin color more than made up for that. The only creatures I saw with skin like that were Culiars. Surely, not even the demons would be twisted enough to sit next to one of them, in a chariot no less.

“There’s no way anyone would be born like that, demon or no demon. Some magic had to be involved,” I thought, “This has to be some kind of an archdemon. Only dark magic taken to the extreme could make someone look like that.”

I eyed the dark-skinned creature for quite some time, only stopping when it started eying me in return.

It didn’t look me in the eyes, though. Its eyes were fixed on my neck. I remembered the stories parents use to scare their children with, of vampires who chase after the children stupid enough to venture after the dark. How these demonic creatures capture, maim and torture their victims, after which they drink their blood. They’ll bite your neck with their fangs and suck all the blood out, to the last drop, leaving nothing but a dry husk behind them.

Those didn’t feel like children’s stories anymore. Especially once I realized that the female demon had also started staring at my neck.

A sudden, roaring noise made me jump straight up with a squeak. I quickly felt a big hand cover my own. Looking to my side, I saw the talkative demon smiling. His smile seemed as strange as before, but it didn’t feel threatening.

“No fear,” he said in a low voice, “no one is hurt you. This is chariot. We sit in chariot. See? See how we move?”

He pointed at the small window next to his head. I saw that the scenery was moving indeed.

“Noise is … magic. Magic moving chariot,” he added.

“No magic but near,” the black archdemon said in a male voice, making me realize he was actually a person.

“No introduce yet,” the talkative demon continued, “I name is Eric,” he said while pointing at himself with his entire hand, “Can I know you’re?”

“Oh. My name is Snirba, kind sir.”

“Snear-ba?”

“Yes, sir.”

Next, he pointed his hand at the menacing demon, who understood the clue.

“I name is Jens,” his voice was as deep as ever.

“I is Mun-Hee,” the female said.

The dark-skinned archdemon was the last to introduce himself: “Booker.”

As soon as they were done with their introductions, the demonic female started a conversation in their own tongue. Even though I had no idea what they said, the conversation was obviously gradually turning into a heated argument.

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And all the while they stared at me, sometimes even pointing straight at me.

More precisely, at my throat.

The black archdemon was the only one who didn’t stare openly at me. He was actually doing his best to look away, with a distraught look on his face. He would cast an occasional glance at me, only to jerk his head back right away.

His bizarre behavior got me thinking:

“I don’t believe that’s how an archdemon would act. A powerful demon wouldn’t be troubled by a slave girl. Maybe I got it all wrong.”

“Ah, I know! I see now! He doesn’t have black skin because he’s some powerful mage! He’s a slave himself! How stupid of me! Sure, his blackness is quite intimidating, but I was jumping to conclusions. It looks like the demons have more in common with us than I thought. The white-skinned ones are the nobles, while the dark-skinned ones are the commoners. And, since this guy is as dark as he could get, I bet that makes him a slave!”

“No wonder he’s troubled! Poor guy, I do feel for him. I would also be troubled if another slave came to replace me. An attractive one, lighter-skinned than me, one that isn’t the same sex as the master.”

“Yes, that makes perfect sense. He’s of a different race. His people are probably subjugated by the demons.”

“Hmm … I guess he’s also a demon. He has no ears or tails. Does this mean that the demons subjugate their own?”

“Why wouldn’t that be the case? We do the same thing! The demons are far more chaotic than we are, so it makes perfect sense. The poor guy worked hard to get such a high-ranking master, and now he’s going to lose everything.”

“Although, the menacing oaf must have dozens of slaves, so I doubt I’ll see the last of this black guy. However, considering that he’s here, I guess that means he’s some sort of advisor or something similar. He probably thinks I’ll take that position away from him. I guess he won’t be disposed of but will get a much tougher lot from now on.”

“That would be awesome! I would get my hands on some important documents that way! Sorry poor guy, but I care about myself much more than I care about you.”

“In fact, I don’t like you at all.”

---

The trip took a while. The demons never ceased with their conversation, not bothering to include me in it. The female was incredibly animated, raising her voice quite high on a few occasions, to the point of screaming. The menacing demon, known as Jens, didn’t speak much. He talked in a deep but low and composed voice, which surprised me. The way he spoke and his mannerisms were in stark contrast with his intimidating looks.

The female, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. While she looked like a proper, meek lady, she yelled with fury in her eyes. The conversation started politely and got more intense with each passing moment, until she dropped all pretense and started yelling over everyone who dared to speak. That led me to conclude a few things:

“She’s probably Jens’ concubine, and a high-ranking one at that. She must be worried that her privileged position is endangered, so she’s doing her best to show she’ll fight tooth and nail for it. That means she’ll be my main competitor. It would be best to get on her good side as soon as possible. I don’t want her making things harder for me. I better learn her name soon. I wasn’t paying attention back then because I thought she wasn’t important.”

“Hmm … she does appear somewhat different than the other demons … much like the black guy. She’s noticeably smaller and slimmer than the rest of them. And her face is different, much gentler. It’s not as sharp, and her eyes are noticeably smaller.”

“Maybe she’s of a different race too, like the black guy.”

“Would that mean that the demons have no issues with having a female of some other race as a high-ranking concubine? If so, that would be my chance! And it would also explain why this female is so upset. Although, I’d expect her to direct some of it towards me. So far, she’s only been chastising the other demons.”

“Now that I think of it … having concubines of other races makes perfect sense when it comes to demons. That would show their dominance over the other races, but not only that. I bet their females look like trolls.”

“Just look at the size of Jens’ arm! And his shoulders are too broad! He’s easily taking half of this sofa all by himself! Their females are probably the same. Who would want a broad-shouldered, strong-armed female as a concubine? Brutish as they are, I bet they also appreciate gentle, loving features.”

“Maybe it’s even possible that all of his concubines are of a different race? Maybe some of them aren’t demons? That would certainly help.”

“But what’s with this black male sitting next to the harpy? He isn’t so worried anymore. Is he … smiling? He is looking at her with joy in his eyes, and yet, I’d say he’s doing his best to add even more flame to her wrath.”

“Yes, he’s definitely doing it on purpose. It looks like this black demon and the talkative one are in agreement over something, and the female doesn’t like it one bit. Is … is he enjoying her yelling at him? Why would he smile otherwise? The more she yells at him, the broader his smile gets.”

“I can’t say if he’s enjoying tormenting her or is just insane. Maybe she’s his rival, and he enjoys getting a rouse out of her?”

“Could he … could he be yet another one of Jens’ concubines? I guess … I guess with them being the demons and all … I guess it’s possible.”

“No, there’s no way … there’s no way this hunk is into other males. He already has a female concubine … or …”

“… could it be that he will bend over anything that comes his way … he’s a demon after all … I guess they don’t really care …”

I stayed confused until we’ve finally reached our destination.