Darkstar: Chapter Three

Chapter Three
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The Sevlow-Erem demon was long and lean, covered in dark grimy fur. Yellow, lamp-like eyes stared unseeing around the room, but although it was blind, its sense of smell and hearing were uncanny. As it walked forward on its four long, clawed limbs, several people fled the area, knocking over a table in their haste. The resultant noise caused the Ihreakin's ears to flatten against its skull, and it opened its mouth to reveal a blackish purple forked tongue. As customers scurried away from the fallen table, the demon emitted a shrieking howl. Only an Ihreakin could make such a ghastly noise, and there were few in the inn that did not cover their ears to keep out the offending sound.

One hard tug on the chain, and the owners – whom Cail was convinced were demons themselves, for they would not have a Sevlow in their control otherwise – silenced the creature, though it snarled in their direction.

"What do you want here?" Raeg was the first to speak, protectively placing himself in front of his two sons at the counter.

The tall one's head swiveled lazily in Raeg's direction. "We are in search of someone," he answered, his voice somewhere between a drawl and a hiss. His eyes roved from the inn keeper, over the crowd, lingering on certain faces. "A woman."

Cail's eyes darted to where the Elven woman had been seated. He saw her cloak on the rack, but she was not there now. He sought her out and spotted her pressed against the wall, behind a crowd of taller people near the fireplace. Her eyes were even wider than before, her mouth in a tight, frightened line.

"She is young," the tall man continued. "Half Human. If anyone can tell us if they've seen her, we will be on our way."

Clever, Cail thought. If you had told us if she was half Elf as well, you'd never get any information. No one would dare turn in an Elf.

"Why should we tell you anything?" someone piped up from the middle of the crowd.

"Because," the shorter one barked, his voice guttural, "If you don't, we'll—"

"We can pay," the tall one interrupted, pulling a small pouch from his pocket. He tossed it onto a nearby table, where it spilled open, revealing several shining La'Nai coins.

Though some murmurs went through the crowd, no one stepped forward to claim the prize.
"She has dark hair, the color of dirt," the tall one went on. "Fair skinned. She has stolen something from us, and we want it back." His eyes continued to scan the crowd.

The woman kept very still, eyes never turning from the direction of the men and their demon.
"We don't want your filthy demon money," the Naityge spoke up, drawing himself up to his greatest height. "You'll not get anything out of us."

Several customers nodded and yelled in agreement, until a scream from the Sevlow silenced them.
"We're not here to cause trouble," the tall one said with some difficulty, his eyes narrowing. "I will ask once more before we start searching you one by one."

Cail felt a tug on his sleeve and bent down to look at Elio.

"Cail," the boy whispered anxiously, "Are they after that lady? They look like bad men. What if they want to hurt her? We have to help her!"

The young man put a finger to his lips, nodding. He glanced again towards the men, but they hadn't noticed their conversation. They were still surveying the crowd; the Sevlow at their feet paced in agitation. He was certain that they didn't want to merely get whatever was stolen back from the woman; it was more likely that they would kill her in addition. As much as he liked staying out of other people's affairs, this was concerning an innocent – Elven – woman and demons. He couldn't just stand by.

"Alright," Cail said in a voice so quiet that only Elio could hear, "Here's what we'll do. Very carefully go and get that woman's cloak off the stand and get it to her. It will help hide her face. If I were to do it, it might draw too much attention. We'll see if we can't sneak her out the cellar door."
Elio slid from behind him and began to walk slowly towards the fireplace, but Cail caught his arm.
"Carefully." he whispered sternly.

Elio swallowed and nodded. Cail watched the child until he disappeared behind a crowd of people. Sometimes he could see the boy's legs in the empty spaces between them, tiptoeing towards the stand.

Elio finally reached the cloak and lightly tugged at it until it fell neatly from the hook. He turned to head towards the woman, but a sudden shuffle of people scurrying out of the way caused him to alter his path. He was about to head for Cail when a large hand suddenly seized the front of his shirt.
Before he could protest, Elio found himself three feet off the floor, staring into the snarling face of the shorter man.

"Where do you think you're off to, runt?"

"I-I-" Elio stammered, staring horrified into his captor's cruel blue eyes.

"What have you dropped here?" the tall one asked silkily, sweeping the cloak off the floor.

Elio whimpered and drew up his legs as the Sevlow padded closer, sniffing the air.

"A cloak." The tall man held the garment up to his face and breathed in, closing his eyes. A moment later his eyes snapped open, their pupils wide and dark. "A woman's cloak!" He thrust it into his companion's face. "T'shar?" he asked in a language no one else in the room understood, dark and harsh.

The shorter man snatched it out of his comrade's hands and inhaled. As soon as he caught the scent, his eyes narrowed. "Zejav axu," he replied, his voice low, whispering. After darting about the room, his eyes centered on the boy he was holding. He drew Elio close and shook him. "Who does that cloak belong to? Tell me, or I'll flay you ali--" he cut off as he felt cold metal against his throat.

"Let him go." Cail said quietly, pressing his knife further into the scaly folds of the man's neck. "Or I'll slit your throat."

The slitted pupils of the man's blue eyes slid to face him."You don't know who you're dealing with, boy," he growled in response.

"Ihreakin scum," Cail snarled.

The man roared, throwing Elio to the ground, whirling to face Cail.

The young man's knife cut his thick skin, leaving a thin slash. Blackish blood started to trickle from the wound, and the man wiped it away with his thumb. "That's it, runt." He threw off his cloak and reached to his side, where a chain hung. But this chain was no ordinary one - it was weighted at one end with a large metal ball and sported a cruel looking hook on the other.

Cail jumped backward, knife ready in his hand.

"Arrodod," the tall one said, placing his hand on his comrade's shoulder.

"No, Nobrraz! This one's mine," he snapped.

Nobrraz bent almost double to whisper something in Arrodod's ear. The short man hesitated a moment, then started to grin. His smile, if it could be called such, grew wider, and Nobrraz straightened up, a smirk on his features.

Cail looked from one to the other. What are they up to?

"Alright, runt," he chuckled, "Let's see how you handle this." To everyone's horror, Arrodod unchained the Sevlow.

Elio shrieked, and Cail leapt forward, grabbing a handful of the child's shirt. He yanked him backward, then leapt onto a nearby table and threw the boy into the rafters, where he clung to a beam, screaming. He then jumped down from the table and kicked it over so the Sevlow wouldn't have any way of reaching the boy.

The demon slunk low and growled at the noise the child was making, black tongue snaking in and out.
"Elio! Be quiet!" Cail yelled, and the boy fell silent except for muffled whimpers.

The Sevlow began to head towards him, alerted by the yell, and Cail's mind raced.

He was injured. He was only armed with the small knife he usually hid in his boot. His reach wasn't very long with the small blade, which meant that he would have to get closer to the Sevlow than he wanted. His sword was in his room - there was no way he could reach it. And even if he managed to kill the Ihreakin, there were those demon-men -Nobrraz and Arrodod - to deal with. Would the others in the inn come to his aid? He certainly couldn't count on that.

The demon was getting closer. Cail stood on his toes, ready to dodge, leap, roll, do whatever it took to avoid those powerful jaws and long claws. If I'm going to die, I'm going to go out fighting…maybe I'll make it. I've survived worse than this. "Come on!" he yelled.

The Sevlow crouched, long limbs bent at unnaturally sharp angles.

"Cail!"

The young man's head turned at Raeg's voice, just in time to see a long silvery flash. He leapt out of the way just as the Sevlow pounced, stretching out his hand.

His fingers closed around the familiar leather-bound hilt of his sword, and he tumbled to the ground, rolling into a somersault to regain his footing. Confidence found its regular place in Cail's chest. Now that I'm properly armed, the tide has turned, demon.

The Sevlow hissed in dismay at losing its target and its head swung on its long neck as it sniffed the air.

Cail sidestepped away from the creature, his feet silent. He managed to reach its side undetected, but as he drew near to slice at it, it caught his scent and twisted. It was only years of fighting these demons and quick footwork that saved him. The Ihreakin's jaws closed on air, and it emitted another shriek. Taking advantage of its confusion, Cail thrust his sword forward and pierced the creature above its right foreleg.

It screamed and reared backwards. As it touched the air, the blood streaming from the wound instantly began to steam and boiled as it dripped to the floor.

Cail cursed. He had intended to strike the thing's neck, but it had moved too fast. Now he not only had to watch out for teeth and claws, but the blood as well. He had had his share of burns, and wasn't keen on developing further injuries.

It its pain-induced fury, the demon lunged forward, towards the front of the inn, away from Cail. Several people screamed, and this caused the demon to rush towards them. Nobrraz and Arrodod didn't seem concerned, and let the creature do what it would.

"Over here, you blind worm!" Cail yelled at it, throwing a flask of wine at its backside. Heaven forbid it attack anyone else! When it scrambled to a halt and once again turned his way, he felt a strange sense of relief. The feeling soon disappeared as the Sevlow came barreling towards him, foaming at the mouth. Cail dodged out of the creature's path, but as sure-footed as he was, he tripped over the table he had kicked over.

The demon's ears perked up and it whirled once more in his direction. Ears flat against its skull, it gnashed its teeth at him as it drew quickly nearer. It was nearly upon him when Cail finally found his feet again. Slinking low, it jumped at him.

"Cail!" Elio screamed.

The Sevlow missed Cail's leg by mere inches, and rounded at Elio's shout. In its furious desperation, it leapt at the beams above. Standing on its hind legs, it clawed at the main pillar.

Elio emitted an ear-piercing shriek, scrambling as high as he could into the rafters.

"Get away from him!"

Before the Sevlow could turn, Cail leapt at it and seized the remainder of the chain it wore around its neck. He yanked backward with all the strength he had, until the Sevlow toppled backwards onto him, shrieking hoarsely.

Then, with one swift swipe, Cail drew his sword across the demon's throat. As its boiling hot blood spilled out, he wriggled out from underneath. The creature writhed on the floor, until, with a last weak scream, was still.

Suddenly there was a roar of anger, and Cail leapt from the carcass just as Arrodod's hook-chain buried itself in the floor where he had stood.

Arrodod savagely yanked the hook out of the floor and advanced on Cail. "I'm going to rip out your spine!" he snarled.

"We've wasted enough time already," Nobrraz snapped. A humming noise filled the air as he pulled a strange device out of a satchel at his side and pointed it at Cail.

Although Cail had personally never seen one -- they were rare here in the Patriil side --  he knew what the thing was. A gun.

This one looked like it used electricity, for it buzzed and emitted sparks from its pincer-like barrel.
"Find the woman, Arrodod. I'll take care of the muraga." He said coolly, leveling the gun at Cail.
Cail froze. He had no idea of the gun's accuracy or range, but frrom what he'd heard, gunshots couldn't be stopped nor avoided.

"Farewell." Nobrraz hissed and began to pull the trigger.

A Trolisian merchant suddenly jumped from behind him and took hold of his arm, causing him to missfire. Nobrraz cursed, but before he could do anything more, the Naityge brought a bar stool heavily down on his head. The man fell to the ground like a bag of rocks.

Taking advantage of the moment, Cail dropped onto his back and kick into Arrodod's knees. A shock, like he had kicked into a tree trunk, traveled up Cail's legs, and to his amazement, the short man didn't even stumble. He instead turned on Cail, his eyes wild with anger.

Before Arrodod could act, a bottle flew from the crowd and broke upon his backside. He turned furiously, only to catch a powerful left hook from a Tibmagian. The punch barely phased him, but it distracted him long enough for the Tibmagian's three comrades to pile on top of his shoulders, dragging him to the ground. The Naityge wasn't far behind, a heavy bottle in his giant hand.
"Cail!" Raeg cried from across the room.

Cail looked in his direction, and saw that he was holding the Elven woman's arm and her cloak. The inn keeper beckoned to him. "Come on!"

Cail left Arrodod to the rest of the customers and turned his face towards the rafters. Elio was still clutching to the beam for all he was worth. "Jump, Elio!" Cail held out his arms, and the child hesitantly dropped into them. Carrying the boy in one arm, he ran towards Raeg, who stood at the cellar door. The inn keeper flung it open and ushered Cail, the woman and Elio inside.

Once in the cellar, Cail dropped Elio and didn't even wait for Raeg to light the lantern. He fumbled in the darkness for his armor; by the time Raeg had it lit, Cail had one arm nearly covered.

"You have to get out of here," Raeg said, holding Elio tightly against him.

"I know." Cail said impatiently. "Where are you heading?" he asked the woman.

"I don't know," she answered, wide-eyed. Her voice trembled.

"Well you'd better decide fast, miss. Those two won't stay unconscious long, and I daresay you have more than them after you, am I right?"

The woman nodded, swallowing visibly.

"By the time I get this armor on, you'd better have made a decision. If I'm going to help you , I need to know where you're going."

"I don't know this planet - I've never come here before."

"Where are you trying to get to?"

"I-"

"Off the planet?"

"Yes."

"We'll head for Gowna. They'll be looking for you in Lora and Tamm, Gowna too, but Gowna is big enough that you could escape."

"Thank you-- I really --"

"Do you have your things?" Cail interrupted, striding towards the cellar door. He pressed an ear to it. "It's gone quiet," he said after a moment. He put on a cloak Raeg had brought and his scabbard, which he slung securely in its usual place on his back.

Suddenly there was a loud thud on the door, and Cail placed himself in front of the others, sword at the ready. He carefully lifted the latch, opened the door, and halted his sword in mid-swing.

It was the Naityge, his arm raised in a blocking position. "It's me, young warrior," he said quickly, lowering his arm. "We've put those two fools on the backs of some Tantalions and sent them packing. That should buy you some time."

"Thanks." Cail said, sheathing his weapon.

The Naityge extended a furry hand and Cail grasped it near the elbow; the Naityge did likewise. "Good luck." he said.

"You all should leave the inn," Cail replied. "If they come back, it'll be trouble." He allowed the Naityge to pat him heavily on the shoulder once, a sign of trust, and then turned from the door.

"We have to go," he said to the woman. "Raeg, you should get your family out of here."

"You really think they'll return?" Raeg asked.

Cail turned, and Raeg found himself unnerved at the steeliness of his dark eyes. "I do."

He looked at the woman again. "Let's go." He flung open the door that led to the outside and was about to exit when the he felt a tug on his cloak. Turning, he saw Elio holding the end.

"Will we see you again?" he asked, obviously trying very hard not to cry.

Cail's throat tightened unexpectedly, but he didn't have time for goodbyes now. "I have to go, little one. Don't worry about me." With that, Cail stepped out into the night and, closely followed by the woman, was gone.