Page 26 of Their World

“This is our history book,” she explained as she opened it once Zoman was gone.

“Skip forward, Nana Druth,” one of the children said. “Don’t tell her the boring stuff.”

The hunched back female, Druth, hissed at the child, but flipped past several pages. She paused on one page, a painting of a beautiful female demon with thick, curved horns, and a long, thick tail that reminded me of a snake.

“This was the Third to Reign,” she whispered and stroked a finger down the page. “She was exceptional in all ways. And she was the one who delivered the prophecies.”

“Do you have many prophecies?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Only four; and three of those have already come to pass. Third to Reign had amazing premonition abilities.” Lowering her voice, she whispered, “Even better than the Grand Advisor’s.”

“What was the fourth prophecy?” I asked.

She repeated the same prophecy that the storekeeper had told me, the same one I had recorded in my book, except for one additional line at the end. “Yet she will not reign and will pass the throne to a warrior of renown.”

Opening my book, I wrote the phrase down.

The females gasped.

“You record in a book?” one whisper-hissed.

“It’s a very common practice among my people,” I said. “Do you not all do the same?”

“Here, it is mainly the females who record history on paper. The males, they only care for the battle histories,” the silver-furred female said and rolled her eyes.

“Grand Advisor does not like the recorded histories. He has tried many times to ban them, but so far King Jolmach has convinced him not to continue with that path,” Druth said. “Plus, we are very good at hiding our books just in case he tries to come and take them.”

Why would he want the histories destroyed?

“May I see your book? I can add some additional notes into it,” one of the women asked.

“Sure,” I said and held it out to her. This seemed the best place to get information on this world.

“Do you truly believe your prophecies?” I asked.

Druth held the history book to her chest and said, “We do not doubt the Third to Reign. She has proven true three out of four times and seeing you now, I believe her final prophecy is about to come true.”

My throat tightened, and it became very hard to swallow.

“Tell me more,” I requested.

Immediately, all the females gathered around, giving me information about their world, insights into their living situations, and a glimpse into a past that both surprised and saddened me.

They had moved to separate towns to raise their kids to reduce the number of attacks on the children. As their food sources continued to decrease over the years, the number of desperate demons willing to eat anything, including their own kind, increased.

I needed to find a way to help them. To fix this world with its own heartache and people. A world of beauty even in a sea of death.

As they continued to provide information, one word caught my ears, “goddess.” I turned to the demon female who had said it, the silver-furred, floppy-eared female who was writing in my book, and immediately put it together.

“You,” I whispered.

She smiled sheepishly. “Yes, it was me who guided you that day. I have a rare ability to feel when a fellow demon female is in danger.”

So, the Grand Advisor had lied! He hadn’t been the one to talk to me and that was why he refused to speak to me about the goddess matter altogether!

“What does a goddess mean to you?”

“A powerful magic user, like the Third to Reign,” she answered. “And, after our talks, I am certain you are her descendent. And that you are the prophesized one.”

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