Page 10 of Dark Mating

By the gods, what is this torture?

I stay still, trying not to give in to the invisible hand pulling me backward, away from the citadel.

And as I remain quiet in the shadows of the looming citadel, I see the path that has been cast for me.

Whatever it is, it wants me to leave the citadel. It wants me to go south.

It wants me to leave the search for the tome behind, even though the King will have my head for it.

There is an encampment of humans. I can see it clearly in my mind’s eye. And there, in that human settlement, is where I need to be.

It feels like magic, whatever it is, that urges me to go. It still hurts, but the pain eases the minute I decide to follow the pull.

Maybe it’s an elf, luring me to my death. At least killing the elf will be a lot more fun than this.

Or maybe it’s some old magic, an old curse. That will also be fun.

I need to slip out unseen, and I look around, ensuring that my fellow demons do not see me.

But before I do so, I pull my armor back on. I cannot afford to walk into a trap bare chested.

I’d never hear the end of it.

My heart lifts when I spot bright light streaming in from the ceiling. No sand has cascaded in from the opening there. It must be safe.

I take one giant leap upwards in the seconds when the other demons look away. Holding onto the ledge, I vault myself up and out of the citadel.

The sun was violently bright, and I had to blink several times. When my eyes have adjusted, I immediately set out.

Usually, we use equus to travel long distances. But even those sturdy creatures would not have made it in this heat, and we only had one for the old demon.

Luckily, I am as fast as I am strong.

Running toward the south should take me a quarter of the day. The sand kicks up with every step I take.

And all I can see is the small human settlement floating in my mind.

* * *

I arrived at dusk,and the air was beautifully cool. The only good things about the desert are the evenings.

They are incomparable in their beauty.

On the last stretch to the settlement, the pull dragging me there feels almost pleasant.

I can’t help but think of it as sentient because it almost seems to respond to every move I make.

When I walk into the settlement, the outskirts are deserted. Ahead of me, I see a gathering of humans and orcs.

They are standing in the middle of the settlement, and all the humans are looking down.

Of course, I know that the orcs have subjugated the humans. Those creatures are powerless against the might and strength of the orcs.

The only beings more powerful than the orcs are demons. But they do not know of our existence.

My stomach turns as I push past some humans. An orc chieftain has two children at his feet.

Two more orcs have sharp blades pointed at the necks of the children.

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