Page 22 of Craved By the Shadow Demon
I’ve been around dark elves my entire life, and I’ve seen how evil they can be, so I’m no stranger to the cruelness of nonhumans. But I’d be lying if I said that a demon like Rukh didn’t terrify me a little bit. But he doesn’t seem intent on causing me any harm, and I find myself unable to rest until I understand more about him.
As I follow him, trying not to call attention to myself, his long white hair flows behind him, those little black horns poking through at the top of his head. His black leather armor helps him blend in with the shadows of the night, making me wish I had my own set.
Suddenly, he whips his head in my direction, searching for me. Once he spots me, he does not look angry. Instead, he only puts a clawed finger up to his lips to signal that I need to be silent.
For some reason I can’t explain to myself, I feel something warm in my chest. It feels like approval, and why I would want the approval of a demon is something I don’t even try to justify to myself.
Still, those glowing red eyes narrow on me as I nod my agreement, and when he finally looks away, a shiver runs down my spine, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
It’s those eyes that scare me the most when it comes to him, and I’m not quite sure why that is. I mean, it’s not like I haven’t seen red eyes before. No, it’s something else. Maybe it’s the intensity with which he looks at me. Like he’s seeing something that I don’t. Like he’s looking into me, and I don’t know what he will find.
A noise sounds from up ahead. He stops, listening, before walking closer. I follow him, ducking behind a tree when he stops. The sound of cruel laughter follows, and it’s not coming from Rukh. I hold my breath, trying to hear as best as I can.
When Rukh moves, so do I. When he stops, I stop. We follow this pattern as he stalks what appears to be a group of bandits. It’s so dark that I can’t fully make them out, but judging from the shape of them, I think they’re dark elves.
“Ooo, what do we have here?” one of them says. My blood runs cold, thinking that they caught me, but their voices are too far away for that to be possible.
“Please, we’re just passing through. We don’t want any trouble,” a male voice answers.
“He looks scared,” one of the bandits laughs.
“Please, just leave us alone.”
“Ah, but what fun would that be?”
“No! Don’t get any closer!” the man begs. “Just take me, okay? Just take me and leave my wife and kids behind.”
High-pitched laughter screeches through the forest, making me cringe.
“How noble! But your bravery isn’t going to save you now, my friend. In fact, you just made this game even more fun. How would you like to watch your little wife be torn apart, limb by limb?”
“Oh, come on, Mefius. We can do better than that,” the first bandit chimes in. “Why don’t we start with the children and make her watch?”
The laughter sounds again, threatening to burst my eardrums. I dare to peek out, trying to catch a glimpse. The moon reflects just enough light down on the road to confirm that they are indeed dark elves.
I hide once more, before searching the spot I last saw Rukh at, but he’s no longer there. My heart speeds up, beating so loud that I’m afraid these elves are going to hear it.
If he left me here, I’ll kill him. That is, if the elves don’t kill me first. They’re so close, I’ll never be able to get out of here without them hearing me. I never would have gotten so close to them if I thought Rukh was going to leave me.
I rack my brain for any spells I could use to silence my steps, but I come up blank. It’s not that I lack the knowledge. But at this moment, I can’t think of one simple spell.
Maybe I can try to fight them off until Rukh hears my screams. He let me go alive before, so it’s not like he wants me dead. Surely, he would help me if he heard me. I want to believe there’s some kind of twisted kinship between us, even if fraternizing with a demon probably only spells bad things ahead for me.
The human woman screams, and I peek out again, watching as the dark elves snatch the two children and dangle them in the air. The kids can’t be much older than ten, one boy and one girl. Both of them start crying and thrashing about.
“How shall we kill them, Mefius?”
“Hmm, I think the mother should choose. What do you say, Mom?”
“Please don’t hurt my kids.” She sobs.
“I tell you what. I won’t hurt them. Well, not both of them. But you’re going to have to choose which one. And then dad here will be the one to decide how it dies. Sound good?”
“No! Please don’t do this!” the mother screams.
“It’s very simple. Either both of them die, or one of them dies. But you’re going to have to give me an answer, and soon, before I decide for you. And I think we both know what I’ll choose.”
“Mom, please!” one of the kids screams.