Page 32 of Demon Bound

Azreth glanced down at her appraisingly. “We have an alliance.”

Chapter 11

As the sun began to set, Azreth veered closer to Raiya. The behelgi shied away as he approached. “There’s a settlement ahead,” he said.

“Really? I didn’t think we would reach the city this soon.”

“It does not look like a city.”

Raiya squinted toward the horizon. In the waning light, she could see a cluster of colorful tents in the distance. In the field beside them, there was a large herd of behelgi.

“Roamers,” she said, frowning. “They’re nomads. They take their herds with them where they travel.” She hadn’t expected to find them here, but she realized she should have—winter was coming, and they would be moving south toward a warmer climate. “My mother was a Roamer, though I’m not sure which clan. She was born among them and traveled with them all her life until she moved to the city and met my father.” That was all far in the past. Raiya knew little of their ways, but her mother had spoken fondly about that time in her life.

Azreth’s steps slowed. He waited for further explanation, or advice on what they should do now.

“We could trade the behelgi to them for some supplies and a place to rest for the night.” She gave him an apologetic look, knowing that rest was only necessary for herself. “Perhaps I should go ahead alone while you go around them. It would be easier to avoid—”

He shot down the suggestion with a simple, hard, “No.”

Apparently, he still didn’t trust her not to run off without him. Raiya crossed her arms. “Then what do you suggest?”

“Are these people dangerous?”

Her inclination was to say no. It was widely known that Roamers didn’t always follow Uulantaavan law to the letter, but perhaps that would be to their advantage. They didn’t tend to welcome lawmen or soldiers among them. It was said that their camps were safe havens for those skirting the line between lawful and unlawful.A bunch of freaks and criminals,her father had once said. That sounded like Azreth and herself.

But demons weren’t welcome anywhere. Not even in a Roamer camp.

“I don’t think they’re dangerous. But you should keep your glamour on,” she said.

“Perhaps I shouldn’t. I am growing hungry.”

She looked up at him in alarm, and she realized he was being facetious. “Are you suggesting you’d like to remove the glamour and run through their camp just to frighten them and feast on their panic?”

He gave her a look that was almost wry. “That is what every demon would like to do.”

Surprised by his sense of humor, dark though it was, she actually smirked. “Please do restrain yourself, if you can manage. You can feed from me later.”

She’d spoken without thinking, but as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she felt awkward. There was a stiff silence.

As they walked closer, a sentry approached them. She was a dark-haired, tawny-skinned Uulantaavan woman, like Raiya, with a bow slung over her shoulder and a sword at her side. To Raiya’s surprise, she seemed unfazed by Azreth’s size.

“Chianyehseg,”she said, giving the traditional Uulantaavan language greeting, then switched to Ardanian. Hardly anyone outside of the most isolated pockets of the country still spoke Uulantaavan as their primary language. “All are welcome here, provided they cause no trouble and they have something to contribute to the betterment of the clan.”

Raiya gave her a polite nod. “Chianyehseg.We have something to contribute.” She motioned to the behelgi behind her.

“All of them?”

“That’s right.”

“Hm.” She studied them briefly, skeptical. “Follow me. I’ll bring you to one of the shepherds.”

The camp consisted of several concentric circles of large, elaborate tents beside the road. There was a large cooking fire in the center of the camp, and several smaller fires dotted around the tents. A group of sun elves was preparing food, using their fire magic to tame the flames beneath pots and grills. Nearby, there was a trio of musicians playing a khuur, dombra, and drums for an enthusiastic audience. Children shouted and laughed as they played in the fields.

Azreth stared at everything warily, his eyes tracking every movement. He watched the children especially closely. Raiya thought he looked a bit like a nervous cat, ready to slink away in a hurry if someone made too loud a sound.

Originally, the Roamers had been a collection of northern Uulantaavan tribes, but over time, the clans had expanded to include people from various origins. They had a reputation for picking up outsiders and loners from wherever they stopped.Some even said that they kidnapped children to add to their numbers, though Raiya was almost certain that was a myth.

She could see some foreigners among them: a number of olive-skinned Ardanians, two ra’Hezirati from the deserts far to the southeast, a woman with oakmoss-colored skin and pointed ears who must have had some orcish blood in her, and the tall sun elves by the cooking fire. The latter were especially of interest to Raiya. Foreigners were rarely seen this far north, and non-humans were particularly uncommon.

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