Into The Abyss (Demons of Astlan) (21 page)

"Uh, I'd really rather not say at the moment, sir."

"Hmm," strange little kid this was. Very well then, let him have his secrets.  At least here was a possible friend.  "What's your name kid?"

"Rupert, sir."

"Very well Rupert, you can call me Tom."

"Tom?"  the boy seemed a bit puzzled by this, but seemed relieved that no further questions about his beliefs appeared to be forthcoming.

"So, Rupert, where is everyone else in this little expedition of yours?"

"Well, sir.  Mistress Jehenna teleported away, as did Master Trisfelt with Chass, Gloria and
Sydney.  Everyone else, except for Jenn here, is dead.  I think."

Disappointing, but apparently the kids got away. From his inflection, Tom judged that the names Rupert mentioned
along that Master Trisfelt, to be the children he'd seen.  That fact was worth something.  It also seemed likely that the woman who called him, was this Mistress Jehenna.  She seemed to behave like a whack job of a wizard: save her own ass first, and only then worry about everyone else. 

At this point there was a groan from the girl on the ground.  Tom stepped back to give Rupert room, and to be out of her eyesight when she opened her eyes.  Rupert bent over Jenn's face, looking down at her intently.

~

Jenn's eyes fluttered open, the first thing she saw was Rupert's concerned face.  "Rupert," was all she could say, the whole horrible event rushing up on her.  "You're alive.  I'm alive!" she struggle
d as if to rise but Rupert held her down.  Fortunately, she didn't try too hard, so the boy was able to keep her down.

"Be still," he cautioned, "you just fainted, you don't want to get a head rush and do it again do you?"

"But how.  That demon, he was about to rape and kill me."  Tom grimaced as she said this, although she of course, couldn't see him.  "How come I'm still here?  How are you here?  Where is everyone else?  Where's the demon?!"  At this she sat up, accidentally knocking Rupert aside.   She came up, with her back to Tom, and didn't see him.  She looked all over the place, searching for the demon in front of her.  Then she noticed Rupert fidgeting beside her.

"Yes, where is it?"

"Uh, Tom's behind you," and he pointed.

"Tom?" she turned around.  "Ehhh!" she gasped.  Tom waved mildly at her.  She wobbled where she sat, put her hand to her forehead
, her eyes rolled back and collapsed back onto the ground.

"Why does she keep doing that?" Tom asked Rupert. 

"I really don't know, apparently demons radiate a fear spell that affects humans, and women in particular."

"Oh,"  Tom said, and thought about it.  It did after all make sense.  True he was rather frightening to look at, but just standing around shouldn't provoke such continual fright in people.  However, this made him think, "then why aren't you affected?"

Rupert again looked a bit uncomfortable, "Uh, well, like I said, women are more susceptible than men, usually.  And I, well, I'm just not affected as much, some people aren't.  Look at Lenamare, or any of the great Demonologists."

"I guess," Tom said.  "So you're a great Demonologist?"

"Uh, no.  I...I'd kind of like to be, sort of."  Rupert hedged.

"Anyway, we have to decide what to do with her.  Will she be all right?"

Rupert looked at Jenn, "I don't know.  Jenn?"  He shook her awake.

Jenn opened her eyes again.  Rupert was once again looking down at her.  The demon was still standing nearby.  What was she going to do
?  The ring was destroyed, the demon was standing there, probably about to torture them.  Why it hadn't already was a mystery.  In fact, why she was still alive was a mystery.  Apparently the demon had some sort of devious scheme in mind, and was simply holding off torturing them until it go what it wanted. 

She had to get a hold of herself.  This really was getting ridiculous.  She didn't know why she'd fainted in the first place, and she really couldn't keep this up. Despite how much she dreaded doing so, she would have to get up, face the demon, and try to figure some way to get Rupert and herself away from it.

She sat up and tried to compose herself slightly.  "All right demon.  Just exactly what do you want?"  There was no sense in beating around the bush, she couldn't hope to beat the demon in any scheme that it had.  Demons were notoriously tricky and she simply did not have the experience to outwit a fourth order demon.

"Nothing," Tom answered, "your friend, who seems to have deserted you, simply asked for my assistance and I gave it."

"Uh huh, well thank you very much, we appreciate it, now what do you intend to do with us."  The good thing was that the demon was no longer thundering at them, but its gravelly bass voice still sent shivers up her spine.

"Nothing, why?"

"Don't give me that, demon.  I know you're up to something.  What I want to know is why you're still here.  It is my guess that if you could harm us, you would have." Jenn hoped she was right, otherwise... "but you haven't.  So I want to know exactly why you're still here.  Did Lenamare or Jehenna tell you to stay with us?"

"No, and what makes you think I couldn't harm you.  I figured that demonstration with the ring would convince you that I'm not currently constrained by any summons."

Jenn got noticeably paler.  The idea that he wasn't constrained and could still harm them was exactly what she was afraid of.  "OK," she conceded, "I admit, that was rather convincing; however, if you are free to do as you please, then why haven't you killed us."  She knew she was taking a risk, she really didn't want to encourage it, but she felt she had to know.

"Look.  I'm not here to kill you.  If I wanted to, you wouldn't be talking to me.  The fact is, I just saved your ass from those people, and I'd just come down
the hill to see if you were all right.  OK?  I'm sorry if my concern for your well-being has upset you."  Tom was beginning to get annoyed at this girl.

"Don't give me that.  No demon cares about any human's well
-being.  You want something from us, otherwise you'd have left."  Jenn stated emphatically.

Tom was getting extremely annoyed, and so he spoke just a little bit louder now, "ALL I MIGHT LIKE--IS POSSIBLY
--A LITTLE GRATITUDE.  I JUST SAVED YOUR DAMN LIFE.  DON'T YOU THINK YOU COULD AT LEAST BE POLITE TO ME.  IF YOU WANT ME TO LEAVE, I WILL."  Tom stepped back in preparation for fading out, when suddenly Rupert ran up and grabbed his knee.

"Rupert!" cried Jenn in shock.

"Please, please don't leave, Tom," Rupert asked hurriedly, holding on to Tom's upper knee.  "Exador's people have just killed all of the people we were with.  More soldiers may be around.  If they find us, we'll be dead for sure.  Can't you just ignore her and stay with us for a while...until we reach somewhere safe."

"Rupert!  What the hell are you doing
?  You're asking a loose demon to save us from humans!  Boy, have you lost all sense of reality?"  shouted Jenn.

"I know what I'm saying
, Jenn," Rupert looked over his shoulder at Jenn.  "You know you couldn't protect us from a large group of soldiers. Tom could though.  Who's going to attack a fourth order demon?  No one!  He'd be the perfect person to escort us to Freehold.  Jehenna's abandoned us, we certainly won't make it alone."

Tom looked at the little boy, and then at Jenn.  For once he had to agree with the girl.  This Rupert must be a little weird.  From all he knew of demons and their relationship with Astlanians, if he were an Astlanian, he wouldn't ask for a demon's help. 

However, the kid did have a point.  Nobody would bother them with him around.  The more important question, though, was why should he bother?  After all, what had these people ever done for him.  Aside from killing him, enslaving him, and forcing him to kill others?  Actually the more he thought of it, the more reasons there were that he should just leave them. 

The only problem with that
, however, was that looking down at Rupert, who seemed to be almost desperate to have Tom stay, he really felt guilty as hell at the thought of leaving them.  The boy was right, there probably were more soldiers running around, somewhere, they probably wouldn't get very far.  Actually, maybe Tom did owe the kid something, the kid was the only person he'd met so far, except for Tizzy and Boggy, who treated him as a human being.  Not to mention the fact, that he had to admire the nerve of the kid. 

"
...Please Tom, just for a few days?"  Rupert was pleading.  While Tom had been thinking, Jenn and Rupert had continued their arguing.  Rupert had just turned back to plead with Tom again.  The other thing was, Tom thought, if I do leave, then I just sit in my cave until Lenamare calls.  That was a deciding factor to be sure.  He looked down at Rupert and over at Jenn,  who was now standing.  She really seemed to be going off the hinges yelling at Rupert, to get away, and to stop this nonsense.  She looked as if she wanted to come up and drag the boy away, but was too shy of Tom to do so. 

Tom cut her off abruptly.  "SHUT UP--GIRL!"  Jenn shut up.  Rupert shook his head to clear it.  Tom had been rather loud.  "Very well, Rupert," he said in a more normal voice, "since, YOU asked, I'll stay."  He rustled the boy's hair gently with his hand.  He looked at Jenn, "I am going to stay to help Rupert, if you want, you may come along.  But I won't force your company. 
I don't force other people to do things against their will."  Tom said pointedly.  He could tell this girl was going to be a problem.

“
Damn.”   Jenn cursed.  She appeared to be thinking about something, apparently weighing their options.

"There is no way I'll leave poor Rupert to you and your schemes.  I'm sure that's what you want, probably a nice young human soul to corrupt and consume.  But you're not going to get it without going through me first.  I'll go wherever Rupert goes, even with you, if necessary." 

Like he'd thought, reflected Tom, she's going to be a pain.  At least she does have a few more guts than she'd shown earlier.  Rupert was sadly shaking his head at Jenn's speech. 

"Good, I'm glad you
’re being more agreeable, Jenn, even if it is for the wrong reasons," said Rupert.  "Now, we'd better see if anyone else here is still alive, and what we can salvage."  Rupert set off to search through the remains of the wagon train.

~

Jenn simply stared after him.  There was something really strange about Rupert, he was not acting like a boy his age.  He was so business like, when he should have been scared witless, and to treat a demon so.  Surely he really had gone insane.  At least he had the decency to avoid the blackened corpses, and even get sick looking at them.  If he'd been able to do that, she'd known for sure he was lost. 

She looked back at the demon, who was watching Rupert, if she didn't know better, she'd swear it almost appeared as puzzled as her about Rupert's actions.  She suddenly had a horrid chill, what if, while she'd been out, the demon had possessed Rupert.  She'
d never seen such a thing, but, naturally, she’d heard of it. 
Could the boy already be a puppet of Evil.  Good Goddess, was this some monstrous plot to get her?

Jenn shook her head, no that was foolish, she was just an unimportant student wizard.  No fourth order demon would go to that much trouble over someone so menial.  Still, she'd have to watch them both.  The demon
had some sort of strange hold on the boy. 
Goddess, if only it wasn't too late already to save him
.  Finally, she came to a decision.

"Well, if we're stuck with you, until we reach safety.  Then I guess we had better head for Freehold."  That was the closest 'safe' place.  "So, I had better see what we can salvage."  Jenn glared challengingly at
the demon.  She then set off to look for her things.

They found no one else left alive.  They still had two horses left,
Timber Leaf and Bitterwhite, Chestnut and her partner were still paralyzed on the ground, eventually they'd be all right, but it would take a day or so for the spell to wear off.  So in the meantime, Jenn undid their harnesses, so that they'd be able to get up and move.  Unfortunately, all of the wagons were inoperable, Jehenna's guide poles had been broken when the horses fell, Trisfelt's had a hole in it and the rest were torched.  The hole in Trisfelt's wagon was most interesting.  Apparently, he was in such a hurry to leave, that rather than take the extra time to individually select the people and things that would go with him in his teleport spell, Trisfelt had simply done an area teleport, and taken everything within a certain radius of himself.  Aesthetically it was considered crude, but it was a considerably faster and easier way to teleport multiple objects, than the more traditional way; however, given the circumstances, few wizards would have faulted him for his inelegance.

Actually, it was all for the best, Jenn reflected.  The demon could fly or whatever it wanted to
do and riding horses would be considerably faster than pulling a wagon. Fortunately, Jenn had few, truly important belongings, her extra clothes, toiletries, a few notebooks and her diary.  The problem would be carrying food.

That problem was solved however by the demon, surprisingly enough, it did at least provide the service of going through the pile of melted soldiers and locating some leather saddle bags and other equipment, that could be used.  The leather was in bad shape from the fire, but enough was salvageable that they were able to get two complete sets of equipment.  Thus in only a few hours the
y were ready to go.