The pain was intense, but it had to be done. Lodwin knew from Veduca that she needed to clean his wounds before healing them. Immortality was no protection against infection. Especially if the dirt was the blood of such a vile creature as the one he had just slain.

“Just a Moment longer, Lod”, Veduca said in a strained voice. “I’m almost done.

Slowly his vision cleared, and he could look around again. The first thing he saw was her relieved smile framed by her silver hair, shining like a halo in the pale moonlight. Despite her nature, Lodwin felt grateful for having her around. Not only because she was able to heal him, but also because she seemed much kinder than those who shared her nature usually were.

“Are you alright?” she asked concerned and frowned.

With some difficulty, he signed to her that he needed a few moments.

“Alright, I’ll take a look at the monster over there”, she replied. “We need to know what exactly it was.”

Lodwin nodded and closed his eyes. A gentle wind settled in, letting dry leaves rustle across the ground. The temperature was colder than before, but he didn’t mind. In fact, it was quite pleasant.

“How remarkable!” Veduca remarked with clear wonder in her voice.

Exhausted, Lodwin turned his head toward her. Despite her slender frame and the considerable size of the head of the monster, she held it up without one trembling muscles. Turning and twisting it around, she looked like a curious, innocent child, which made Lodwin smile.

“It looks like the head of a giant multi-eyed raven, but it has more in common with a dragon!” Veduca explained and placed the head back down. “Even the body seems more draconian in nature than avian, but it’s clearly meant to be one. I’ve never seen anything like this before. Huh? What’s that?”

With an inquisitive look on her face, she got on her knees and pulled the remaining front claw of the beast up. There seemed to be something at its chest, mesmerising Veduca into temporary silence.

Lodwin used this moment and pushed himself up. Since Veduca was preoccupied by her discovery, she didn’t stop or help him up, which he preferred. Upon standing up, he felt the blood-loss catch up to him yet again. Cold sweat covered his brow, while his vision became darker and his heart started to race. Still, he pushed through and forced his aching body to remain steadfast. Suddenly Veduca stood in front of him as if she had grown out of the ground right then and there.

“Oh dear, you need to rest”, said Veduca, and placed one of her warm hands on his cheek. “You’re awfully cold.”

Despite his reluctance and discomfort of touch, he leaned his head into her hand and closed his eyes. A heartbeat later, he found himself barely conscious in her arms on the ground.

—

Veduca had barely managed to keep Lodwin from hitting the ground like a sack of grain. As fast and steady as she could, she started to examine him.

At first, she suspected him to have become poisoned by the creature's strange blood, but to her relieve, what ailed him seemed to be merely anaemia. His deadly pale face as well as the fleeting movements of his eyes hampered her happiness. Sure, he couldn’t die, but this didn’t mean that he wasn’t suffering. And there was also the problem of how to get Lodwin back into the inn.

“I’m stronger than any ordinary human woman, but even I can’t carry him like this for such a distance”, she murmured, tense. “I’ve also expended a lot of energy using all those spells…”

Suddenly, a faint warm glow illuminated the ruins. A moment later, a huge hooded figure appeared between the pillars. Upon seeing her, the figure pushed the hood off and revealed the head of a giant goat with a multitude of eyes, accented by red markings in the rough golden fur, and two pairs of horns. One pair straight, the other twisted into tight spirals. All the while, the warm glow around the newcomer coalesced on the forehead of the goat into a bright flame.

“Father!” Veduca called out with a relieved smile.

“Here I am, dearie”, he said, his voice warm and deep, while moving towards her.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“What a mess”, said the goat-man while he surveyed the area as he approached Veduca.

“At least it was just one”, she remarked with a smile, which died the moment she lowered her gaze towards Lodwin. “I need your help.”

“I know”, he replied, kneeled next to Lodwin and took a long look.

Lodwin opened his eyes and gazed at the goat-man with contempt.

“Calling me a filthy demon isn’t very polite of you”, the goat-man said amused and licked with his long tongue over his lips and nose. “No matter if you just do so in your head or not. I would prefer you call me ’my saviour’ or ’master’? Ah, I understand… Well… Just call me Azazel, then. Again? Oh my, for me granting your wish of revenge, you’re awfully displeased with my service. Anyway…”

“He lost a lot of blood, father”, Veduca explained, while Azazel examined him.

“Yes, and he came in contact with the blood of the beast”, Azazel remarked with a disgusted look at the carcass of said monster. “The blood is a highly corrosive liquid, it seems, but you did well with the cleaning and partial healing of his wounds, dearie.”

“Do you know what this thing is?” she asked with a frightful glance towards the dead beast.

“I can just say that it’s nothing from this realm, nor from Hell or even Heaven. I feel the remains of an alien power within it, but… It’s almost as if what lies over there is just a mere shell, and what inhabited it has returned to its origin.”

“It’s insides, at least where Lod cut it open, seem to be missing”, Veduca remarked with a shudder.

“Empty vessel…”, murmured Azazel in deep thought. “Not so empty when alive but a shell when killed… No. My guess would be that it grew within the human it infested. Once the man had used up all of his energy and life-force with his summonings, whatever enabled him to call forth those shades had taken over and rearranged some of his matter into this monstrous body to shield itself and attacked.”

“I wish we had the time to study it”, remarked Veduca, barely able to hide her curiosity.

“How many of those so-called Dark Priests have you two killed?” her father asked, while picking Lodwin up as if he were just a small child.

“This was the third one so far”, she replied and went ahead to show him the path to the inn, after she had picked up Lodwin’s sword.

“The last two were still killed in their human form?”

“Yes. They had used only magic to attack and mind-controled a few people.”

“Did you take the time to examine their bodies?”

“We had to flee as one of the twelve knights of the Divine Lord appeared and Lod was badly wounded and unable to fight. I guess the knight send this one after us to finish what the others started.”

“Try, if you can, to perform an examination the next time you two manage to kill one before he splits open. I want to know if monsters like this inhabit just the body, or if my theory holds true. But only do so, if itks save to do so. I don’t want my precious daughter to be hurt, yes?”

“You don’t have to worry about me, father. I’ll take good care of myself, and there’s also Lod.”

“You tend to overexert yourself, dearie”, Azazel remarked.

“Oh, is it that apparent?” Veduca asked embarrassed.

“I’m your father, dearie, as such I always know”, he said with a fatherly smile, which looked quite grotesque on the goat head but made her smile nonetheless. “Please, remember to take things slow, yes?”

“I will!” she replied happy.

A few moments later, they arrived back at the inn. Thankfully, due to the late hour, there was no one around. Still, to make sure it stayed like this, Azazel whispered a few words, which covered the whole area in an aura of sleepiness and calm.

“Don’t be so ungrateful, Lodwin”, he suddenly said as they reached the entrance. “I won’t carry just anyone like they’re my bride. Patience, patience, my friend. I’m letting you down, don’t you worry. Veduca, dearie, can you take this ungrateful hooligan up to your room?”

“If he'd like to, I can take him piggyback”, she replied, amused.

“He just told me, he rather walks on his own”, her father said with a mischievous glance towards Lodwin’s grim frowning face. “Well, hero, let's see how far you can go.”

For a moment, Veduca suspected her father to drop Lodwin like a heavy brick, but he let him down quite gentle. Once he stood, he turned immediately away from her father and moved towards the front door. But the moment he touched the handle, his bad condition caught up with him again. With a slam, he stumbled against the door and nearly fell. Immediately, Veduca went to him and warped his arm around her shoulders to keep him up.

“I’ll help you up the stairs and into bed”, she said and caught a glance of his embarrassed expression, which he immediately hid with a turn of his head.

“I’m casting a protective barrier around this inn”, Azazel explained. “No one should be able to find you for a few days, but remember it’s just temporary. You two need any further assistance?”

“No, I think I can manage”, she replied and opened the door. “Give mother my kindest regards.”

“I will, dearie, I will”, he said with a warm smile and vanished in a golden glow, which slowly dispersed into golden sparks and then fully disappeared.

In the meantime, Veduca helped Lodwin into the inn. Everything there was as she had left before following him. Even the innkeeper was still on the ground, sleeping like a baby. Amused but also exhausted, she walked with Lodwin towards the wooden stairs and helped him up.

Back inside their room, she helped him onto the bed and placed his sword next to the nightstand. Since Lodwin could keep himself barely upright, let alone take off his armour, boots and the sheath of his sword, Veduca helped him with that as well. Once that was done, and he rested on the bed, she sheathed his sword and sat down next to him.

“Is there something I can bring you?” she asked. “Water?”

He nodded.

“One moment, please”, she replied and stood up.

But before she could leave to get something, he took her hand in his and pressed it gently.

“No need to thank me, Lod”, she laughed. “Rest for now.”

He nodded again and let go of her hand. With a warm smile and quite pleased, all things considered, Veduca went to fetch some water.