Inside the tent, Craydon prepared a meal for him and his daughter from the dried meat and bread he had on a bag he was carrying, and they ate while talking about what Meryda found out during her conversations with the soldiers and the Monster Tamers.
Thinking that it would be better to stay in the tent instead of leaving to talk with more soldiers and risk falling into some trap the General Commodore had prepared for them, they went to bed early, considering the Fae’s warning.
It was late in the evening when the noise of shouts outside made Craydon and Meryda jump out of bed, but before they could see what that commotion was all about, the Fae entered the tent and said in a low voice, “Send your Emptiness to go get the Drakes. We have to flee as fast as possible.”
Craydon grabbed the green being’s arm and asked, “What is the matter? What are you not telling us?”
“The Demons are coming to free Meryda. They sent a bunch of Monsters to attack the south part of the wall that surrounds this campsite, and a High Demon is coming to invite Meryda and you to go with her. She is going to make a hole in the wall next to where we are now and send a few Monsters to cover our escape. We can then use the Drakes to fly after her.”
“Her? Who is she?”
“Someone so beautiful that you might fall in love with her, and she is quite friendly. She was the one who created the Emptiness Monster many centuries ago.”
The screams outside, together with a call to arms, made Meryda jolt, and she asked, “The Monsters are killing the soldiers? There are so many screams!”
“From what we saw, they are not killing anyone, just avoiding the weapons and Magical attacks thrown at them while capturing a few soldiers alive and taking them to the mountain range.”
“What for? To eat them? We have to do something! We have to save them!”
The Fae grabbed Meryda’s arms and gently shook her while saying, “We don’t have to do a thing! They are not going to be killed! You will see when we get to the Demon's country! You might not believe us if we say no soldier that was ever captured alive was killed, so you better go and see for yourself. Get ready; she is near!”
The absurd noise of something crashing through the wooden wall that surrounded the campsite was the signal for the Fae to pull Meryda and Craydon outside, and with her Monsters following her and the small Emptiness floating ahead of them at high speed, Meryda ran to the massive hole, where a bunch of enormous, orange Salamanders were spitting fireballs left and right, only hitting the floor to keep the soldiers and Mages away from Meryda’s path.
As soon as Meryda and her group got out, the small Emptiness continued straight forward, directly to where the Drakes were waiting.
Meryda gulped when she looked up and saw a big Salamander nodding his massive head at her and then tilting his head to the small Salamander at Meryda’s feet as if it surprised him to see such a youngling snorting at him.
From behind that huge Salamander, a being appeared and greeted them with a soft voice. “Hello. I came to invite you to visit the Demon's country and to take you from those greasy Ooman’s hands. If you don’t mind following me, we can depart, so that I can tell my helpers to leave this filthy place as well.”
While gulping, Craydon spoke, “Fae… You were not kidding… She is gorgeous!”
In front of him was a woman smiling, with pointy fangs poking out of her mouth. She appeared to be a vampire-like creature with huge bat wings, dressed in a long, dark dress. “Thank you. You are also not that bad. For a Demi-Cat, that is. I am High Demon Manananggal, one of the Dark Height coven. I know you have Drakes with you, so if you call for them, we can fly away and-”
The noise of flapping wings made her look up, and she smiled while saying, “Nice, here they come! I hope you have been treating them well!”
Meryda slowly nodded, unable to avert her eyes from such a strange, beautiful woman. “I have… They are very cool… You are a Demon? A real Demon?”
“A High Demon. There is a difference. I can explain more after we get out of here. I have arranged accommodations for you and your father so that you will be fully rested to meet the other members of my coven and to visit our country, of course. You may ask anything you want, go wherever you want to go and talk with whomever you want to talk to while in the Demon's country. We are used to receiving guests.”
After shaking his head to get rid of the dizziness Manananggal’s beauty was making him feel, Craydon asked, “And we are also free to leave if we want to leave?”
“Of course. You are, by any means, our prisoners. But after seeing all the marvels we have, I doubt you will want to leave. Before you ask, no, the soldiers and Mages we captured in this small rescue operation are not going to die. We like Oomans and Demis, despite what Oomans say to the World. Well, we like Demis more than Oomans, actually, but that’s a minor detail.”
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As soon as the Drakes landed and the small Emptiness stooped next to Meryda, the Demon Manananggal crouched and said while smiling, “Well, look at you! Long time no see, my cute little thing! Where is your bigger half?”
The small Emptiness twirled a few times, and Manananggal said, “Oh, I see! Guarding a farm! Cool job, that one! Now, you will need to travel as fast as you can so that we arrive before the sun rises. Can you do that? Nice!” The smiling woman bat looked at Meryda and said, “Go to the Drakes, and let’s get out of here before some dumb Ooman comes and tries to kill my Monsters.”
Craydon picked up one of Meryda’s Sub-Monsters and the small Salamander and ran to a Drake, while Meryda went to the other and helped the other Sub-Monster to climb, but when she was about to ask what she could do about the two Black Shucks that were also with her, two other Drakes landed, and Demon Manananggal said as she went to one, “Send one Black Shuck with me, and the Fae can take the other! Quickly, we don’t have all night!”
When all the Monsters were on the Drakes’ saddles, together with a rider who was holding them in place, Demon Manananggal tapped her Drake, and the others quickly followed that one, and they all went for the sky.
As they were flying over the campsite, Demon Manananggal made what appeared to be a long, loud whistle, and all the Monsters that were still attacking quickly retreated, leaving behind scorched ground, tents, and holes in the soil but no dead bodies.
As they were flying in the night, way above the destruction below, Manananggal shouted, “Hang on tight, because of the wind currents above the mountains! It will stop as soon as we get to the other side! We will fly for a while straight to a City, and I will take you to a hotel for you to rest. By noon, we will have a late breakfast and then continue our voyage. We will probably take one entire day to get to our Capital near the sea, but I can promise the voyage will be worth it!”
“Can we stop once in a while? It is tiring to ride Drakes!” said Craydon, making Demon Manananggal answer, “Of course we can! As long as we make the Drakes fly as fast as you guys can endure so that we arrive before night falls! Keep the Monsters steady, or this flight will be their end if they fall!”
Craydon nodded, and he then remembered that he had just heard a familiar name, one that he hadn’t heard since he arrived in that World. “You said you were going to take us to a hotel? What is that?”
“It’s the evolution of your usual Inn, where Oomans and Demis often stay for a night during a voyage! It has four or five floors high, plenty of rooms, and some interesting features, like big bathing houses, indoor bathrooms, game rooms, and all. You will see when we get there!”
That description made both Meryda and Craydon wonder if what they heard was right. A hotel in that World? With those features? It made them wonder what kind of country the Demon's country was to have such a thing.
Like Demon Manananggal warned them, as they were flying higher to go beyond the mountains, the wind increased, and they all had to lean over the Drakes’ necks while gripping the Monsters that were with them.
After what seemed like an eternity because of the noise of the wind and its strength, the Drakes flew lower, following the terrain.
On the horizon, Craydon could perfectly see lights in what appeared to be a City. What was strange was that most of the lights were coming from tall, illuminated buildings, while other lights were near the ground.
As Meryda looked below, she couldn’t see much, besides some shadows barely visible under the moonlight, with a few scattered houses in complete darkness.
She wondered what those lights were that she could see farther ahead, and as they approached, she frowned, intrigued by the contours of the buildings, which looked like tall buildings and what appeared to be city lights coming from light poles.
Different from the other cities she had seen in all the other countries she flew over, that particular City didn’t seem to have a wall surrounding it; only several roads went to it.
The moment they got near, Craydon gasped. That was not a City, it was a metropolis. It was so huge that Oka’s capital looked like a village next to it.
Demon Manananggal tapped the neck of her Drake, telling him to land in front of one entrance to that City, and the others followed her.
When she landed her Drake, she jumped down while leisurely carrying the enormous Black Shuck in her arms, and the Drake walked to a nearby building that had a tall and extremely large entrance, perfect for his size.
Craydon, Meryda, and the Fae helped Meryda’s Monsters go down, and they also jumped out of their Drakes, watching as they peacefully followed the other Drakes to that strange building.
Demon Manananggal put the Black Shuck she was carrying on the floor and said to Meryda, “Tell your Monsters to go in there so that they can rest. You can keep the Slime, the Salamander, and the Emptiness with you if you want, but the others have to go there. We can’t enter the City with so many Monsters because they will occupy too much space. They will be well treated and given a place to sleep, food, water, and Magic. That building is exclusively for tamed Monsters, and the people working there know what to do.”
Seeing that Meryda was hesitating, the Fae said, “Let them go, Meryda. They will be okay; don’t worry. Besides, you have nothing to fear around here. I am with you, remember?”
With an awkward smile, Meryda spoke to their Monsters and watched as they entered the strange building. When the last Black Shuck entered, a being came from the building, holding some sort of wooden board with him.
It looked like an Ooman, but he had horns on his head. He was dressed in a dark blue suit and made a deep bow to them: “High Demon Manananggal, it is an honour to receive you and your guests. Who is the Monster Tamer?”
Meryda timidly raised her hand, and the strange man gave her the wooden board and said, “Two Black Shucks, two Sub-Monsters, four Drakes. Is that correct?”
“Yes…”
The man handed her the board, pointed to a sheet of paper attached to it, and said, “Sign both copies if you please and keep the first. The accommodations and food for your Monsters are already paid for. When you want to retrieve them, bring this paper with you so that we can confirm everything is in order.”
Seeing that Meryda looked puzzled, he explained, “That is a mere bureaucracy. No one besides you can take them because you tamed them.”
“I… just tamed two Drakes. The other two are not mine.”