54. Old Demons (1/?)

As Isaac approached the two of them, he heard Olzu say, “We must tell Lord Lucius—“ before the small demon abruptly cut himself off and spun around at the sound of Isaac’s footsteps. Olzu scowled and huffed.

“Do not scare me, insolent human!” He flapped his wings a few times and narrowed his beady eyes. “Were you spying on us?”

Isaac rolled his eyes. “You were kind of loud.” He turned to Sharil. It was odd seeing the demon on the ground and not in flight as usual. The sheer size of her snake tail and wings felt even more prominent like this. He furrowed his brow. “Is something wrong?” He watched the woman’s reaction carefully, noting the way her mouth twitched, as though barely held back from spreading into a snarl.

Olzu huffed and crossed his arms, hopping over so that he was closer. “I don’t think that’s any of your business,” he began, but Sharil simply held up a hand to shush him. She was watching Isaac closely with those solid yellow eyes.

“You’re the Traveler, so I suppose there’s no harm in you knowing.” The demon sighed and shook her head. “You recall what I said about old demon society?”

Isaac didn’t miss the way Olzu stiffened. He nodded slowly.

“Well, there was a previous king before Lord Lucius defeated him and began implementing changes.” Sharil didn’t bother to hide her sneer this time, displaying rows of crooked sharp teeth. “Lord Lucius was kind enough to spare his pathetic life, but it seems he didn’t learn his lesson, if he’s daring to show his face here.”

Isaac paused, digesting the information, and furrowed his brow. The only person they could be talking about was Remus, but he found it difficult to reconcile their reactions to the dazed, odd demon on the train that he’d seen. There hadn’t been any ambition or much emotion at all in the demon’s eyes, just a constant, pervasive listlessness that he would never associate with a former ruler. Especially not a ruler like the former king of the Inferno must have been.

Sharil sighed. “Either way, we must inform Lord Lucius, but I’m hesitant to leave that man entirely unguarded.” Her eyes darted off to the side for a second, then flickered back. Isaac blinked and turned the way she’d looked, but he couldn’t make out anyone distinct in the crowd. He was probably too far away for his human eyesight.

The demon turned back towards Olzu, having to hunch over slightly to speak to him. Isaac could understand why Olzu had been on her shoulder earlier; it probably made it much easier to talk. “Olzu, while you have your injuries treated, you must keep an eye on Remus. I’ll inform Lord Lucius of the situation and return soon.”

The color drained from Olzu’s face. “Oh no no no,” he squeaked. “Can’t I tell Lord Lucius instead?”

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Sharil frowned. “I’m not telling you to fight him, simply to watch. You shouldn’t travel with those wounds.”

Olzu shifted, and Isaac realized that the demon had been supporting most of his weight on one leg. He frowned, but Olzu kept moving his wings around to obscure his leg from view.

“It’s not that bad!” the demon insisted. Sharil scowled.

“Olzu—“

“I can tell him,” Isaac interrupted, not taking his eyes off the small demon. He wondered how he hadn’t noticed the awkward way he was standing this whole time. He shifted his weight. “I don’t really have anything to do before the other events start, anyway.”

“Are you certain? These are Inferno affairs; I wouldn’t want to get you unnecessarily involved.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I’m just sending a message anyway.” He turned away to face Sharil, but not before catching the grateful expression that flashed across Olzu’s face. “Did you just want me to tell him that Remus is here?”

“Yes, as well as what he would like us to do.”

Isaac nodded. “Okay, got it.” He turned to leave, pausing briefly to glance at Olzu. “The healing area should be more empty now, so you’d better hurry,” he said simply.

He half expected the imp-like demon to huff again, maybe flap his wings a few times indignantly, but instead, Olzu looked contemplative. He nodded, then hobbled over to the healing area. Once he’d ducked under the tape, Isaac turned away, gave another nod at Sharil, and headed towards the train station.

—

As he navigated his way between the crowds of chattering competitors and spectators, he kept glancing over to where Sharil had been looking. He was now close enough to make out Remus, sitting off to the side in one of the stands, the people around him spaced a little ways away from him.

The demon didn’t seem to notice him; his gaze was fixed vacantly on the now empty obstacle course field that hadn’t yet been cleared, traces of mud and branches still remaining. Isaac frowned, but as he made his way over to the train station, the demon didn’t turn his head once or move from his position. If Isaac didn’t know better, he might’ve thought that the man was dead just from how utterly still he was.

Turning away, he stepped into the subway station and made his way over to the red line platform.

Perhaps as a result of the tournament, it was even more empty than usual. The bumpy train ride was quiet and uneventful. Isaac kept his eyes staring outside the window at the tunnels rushing past in blurred, dark forms and lines.

The Inferno itself was just as empty, which wasn’t a surprise given the number of demons that had been present at the tournament. Still, it felt odd to not see at least one or two flying around, probably playing jump rope with the swinging bridges. That was another thing; the bridges were much more stable today, as were the walls. There was still movement, of course, but so much less than Isaac was used to. The sheer vastness of the Inferno cavern suddenly felt much more apparent than it ever had before. Even the heat, that blasted Inferno heat, was much less prominent with all the empty space.

Isaac frowned, slightly unnerved, and pulled up the live map. It seemed like Lucius was around the middle levels. Isaac counted it a blessing that he wasn’t near the ceiling as usual.

Turning off the tablet screen, Isaac turned and began making his way up the spiraling stairs.