That black fire magic had also an inappropriate, and very useful, way of being used. It could light up a fire in seconds, it didn’t need extra wood, and it never wavers. Not even when it rained or was freezing. And you could heat the water with it. For the first time in months, warm water touched his skin. He had completely forgotten that feeling. As he took the bath in a vast barrel, he began to think about his life. What the raven said was true, he couldn’t let himself be distracted with such things as vengeance.

The days after his mood improved, he still hated the hell out of that merchant. But he recognized him as a member of the same crew. The other demons were also happy with the change in Erik attitude. So much in fact that they changed the rules when they ate humans, Erik could go away.

There were at Icy spicy peak, only at a few weeks of distance from their destination Rhaven. When the order to land ensued. They had to make the traverse of the inland by foot. “Don’t worry, it will take a few days at most. There is also plenty of hunts, no monsters and lots of wood for fires.” many members were dubious of those affirmations.

Some preferred to remain aboard the ship and guide it to their port, while they took the shortcut. And soon as his feet begun to hurt, Erik resented not having remained there.

“I told him,” the eagle doctor told Erik, “It has been weeks since the last time we walked this much. Doing those marches so suddenly causes problems to muscles and articulations. Especially with this cold” he looked around and realized something. Demons were as fragile as humans outside their specialty. Many tighten their skin clothes around them while their companion, who had adapted to cold temperatures, cheer them up. Others cared carefully because their fangs were ill-adapted to snowy terrains. Still, others took the backpacks of their companions, to lighten their weight.

After a few hours he noticed something, there were signs and the skin was decaying on Thrallex arms. Seeing that Erik was watching him, he spoke “Those? Nothing at all! It's normal at the start to have some external...manifestations” The days marked on, the journey never seems to end. It began, Thrallex slipped while he walked. A few hours later, he started coughing. The day after he couldn’t crawl out of bed, his legs had become of a strange purple color.

“ITS NOTHING!” he screamed as he couldn’t stand up, “MERE STONES IN THE WAY” That day they decided that this had gone too far. They opened his backpack and picked the black tome from it.

Everyone was devoured by curiosity to see what the book said. Everyone except Erik and a few others.

“Were you there when it happened?” spoke the eagle-like demon to Erik Erik stood silent for a few seconds before realizing what he meant. An expression of disgust washed to his face,“ I was a simple pawn there. We are all small pawns here.” “Pawns can win the game if you don’t heed their attention.” he came closer to Erik, “besides, hiding bleeding scars is not a good idea.”

Erik drew back.

“You are never truly open. You never truly feel anything. So focused on surviving that you lost what made surviving worthwhile. Did you tell that girl what had happened to you?”

“I want...wanted so to kill them. All of them and eat them. On that ship no one understood me. I wanted to eat, I wanted to scream, I wanted to fight… Tear. Yet humans aren’t supposed to rip and tear, aren’t they? I wanted to rip the head off that girl and captain. That drama inside her head, can’t support people like those.” Erik shook his head,“ What I am saying?” Erik began walking, “I should go to sleep”

“It will only get worse with time if you don’t take action” “Worse? Worse what? I should go to sleep right now. Bye.”

Like some sort of contorted fairly tale, a pack of wolves begun to track and pray off them. Then another, and another. Soon they found themselves in a difficult spot. Even fighting demons begun to worry.

“It's that a white tiger?” said a Minotaur “Where?”

“There” he pointed at a hill not far from there

“Mmm….” “What is the problem?”

He shook his head, “Tigers aren’t supposed to be here. We are at least a thousand miles from their natural home!”

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.