by V. Moody
My head was beginning to hurt. “I really wish what you’re saying was true, but I don’t feel it, Jenny. I don’t feel like I’m special.”
“You’re not supposed to. Other people feel it when they look at you. I bet Cheng does.”
“Okay, but I think you’re forgetting one minor detail. Fight Club wasn’t a documentary. It’s just a story. Maybe that’s how things should be, but they’re not. And I’m not whatever you think I am. No one’s going to follow me into battle or rally around me as I save the world.”
“I will.”
Not really much you can say to that. Especially when the person then climbs on top of you, naked.
“Would you mind not doing that, please?” said Noreen.
We jumped apart and turned towards Noreen, who was standing over us, glaring disapprovingly.
“We weren’t going to do anything,” said Jenny. “And we don’t make much noise, anyway.” Kind of contradictory.
“It’s not the noise that upsets the children, it’s the smell.” She flared the nostrils at the end of her snout and then turned around and walked out without even saying why she was there in the first place.
“Er, guys?” came Flossie’s voice from the doorway. “You ready to go? We’re all fookin’ starving.”
I was a bit peckish myself. We quickly got dressed and found the others waiting for us in the passageway. Noreen was standing with them, weaving impatience into her disapproval.
Thankfully we took the stairs this time. I filled in the others with a shorter version of what I’d told Jenny. I also prepared them for what Cheng looked like.
“So he changed from small boy to giant demon?” said Maurice. “Was it like the Incredible Hulk?”
“I don’t know, I wasn’t looking when it happened.”
“So maybe he distracted you and someone else switched places with him.”
That was actually possible, but looking into his eyes had felt very familiar. “I’m pretty sure it was him.”
“Oh, ah,” said Flossie. “Ah don’t know if I want to meet a demon.”
“He’s actually not that bad.” I decided not to tell her about what happened to his mother.
Somewhere around the eighteenth floor (I lost count but I’m pretty sure we were in the high teens) we were led into a large room with a circular table. There were six chairs and a throne. It wasn’t a fancy throne, but it was definitely plus-sized.
I had assumed the feast would be hundreds of people, but this was a more intimate affair which I preferred.
We took our seats and waited, nervously looking around and sipped from the cups of water which were the only thing on the table. Noreen stood by the doorway. She had her eye on me like she’d caught me taking a dump in her living room and wanted to make sure I didn’t do it again. I may have been imagining it, though.
After a few minutes, ripples appeared in the water suggesting either a T-rex was approaching or Cheng was. Everyone turned towards the doorway and their mouths fell open as Cheng walked in.
Even though I had gone to great lengths to describe his appearance, it still wasn’t enough to prepare them for the sight of an actual demon. Jenny, whose hand was on top of mine on the table, squeezed me so hard I felt I had a good case for calling it even between us.
Claire and Maurice shuffled their chairs closer together, and Flossie jumped out of her chair straight onto Dudley’s lap.
“Hello,” said Cheng. He sat down on the throne, ignoring the abject terror surrounding the table. He turned to Noreen who had followed him to the table. “I could eat a bear. Do we have any?”
Noreen nodded and left the room.
Since nobody else seemed like they were going to say anything, it was left to me to kick things off. No change there, then. “You said you would answer any questions we had.”
“If I can, I will.”
Here was my chance to find out all the things I’d been wondering since I got to this world. Start at the top and work my way down.
“What exactly do you expect from us? What do you want us to do?”
A deep, guttural croak rolled out of Cheng’s throat. “Hmmm. In many ways you are already doing what I would want from you. The Worm King has been born thanks to you, and from what I have been told, you—” he turned his gaze on Flossie “—are the Dragonrider. I look forward to seeing you in action.”
Flossie made a strange yeep! sound and pushed herself deeper into Dudley’s chest.
“Is there something wrong with your chair?” Cheng asked her. “Would you like a different one?”
Flossie shook her head.
Cheng shrugged and spread his wings out. His throne had obviously been designed with this in mind; gaps in the frame allowed the wings to extend out the back.
“With the first two parts of the prophecy taken care of, it only leaves the final part. I want you to find me a bride. Ah, the food is here. Excellent.”
Noreen returned with a number of other Mezzik females. They had an endless series of platters piled high with food which they placed on the table. Wooden plates for us, and a large wooden board for Cheng. Slices of red meat and an assortment of vegetables were served to us. Cheng’s meal was more singular—it looked like the entire leg of a bear.
“How do you know we’re supposed to find you a bride? How do you even know the prophecy refers to you? Maybe it’s my bride it’s talking about. Or someone else’s.”
Cheng picked up the bear leg, which looked like a drumstick in his hands, and bit out a large mouthful. He didn’t so much chew the meat as massacre it.
“True,” he said with chunks falling out of his mouth, “the prophecy is open to interpretation, but the original wording is quite clear, in my estimation, as to whose bride it will be. I can show you a copy later and you can see for yourself. Maybe you will interpret it differently.” More flesh was ripped off the bone.
“And where do you expect us to find this bride?” I asked him.
“Well, that at least is fairly straightforward. She is to be a Visitor, and a virgin.”
I guess Cheng wanted a girl just like dear old Mother. Although apparently he wasn’t all that familiar with the women of 21st century Earth. Where the fuck was I going to find a virgin?
Claire suddenly decided to join the conversation. “Why does she have to be a virgin? Why? Tell me.”
I don’t think Cheng was expecting a grilling on this point and for the first time since I’d seen him in this form he looked a bit uncomfortable. “Um, it’s traditional?”
“It’s always a virgin, isn’t it,” said Maurice. “I mean, in these sorts of situations.”
“But why?” Claire insisted.
Maurice shrugged. “Because a virgin is pure and untouched. Right?” He looked to Cheng for confirmation. Cheng didn’t have time to respond.
“What has being untouched got to do with anything? Are you saying a woman who’s had a cock inside her is unclean? Is she tainted?”
“I’m not saying that,” said Maurice, regretting his words and possibly his entire existence.
“What then? Is a virgin worth more than a woman who’s had sex?” Claire had more or less forgotten the demon at the table. Her focus was on Maurice.
“No,” said Maurice very quietly. “I’m not saying that either.”
It had been a while since Claire had let her rage off the leash. I'd forgotten what a maniac she could be once her insecurities took over. “Is it really so important to be able to go ‘First!’ and run around high-fiving your mates?”
“Claire,” I said, trying to curtail the rant before Cheng had second thoughts about not eating us. “I think Maurice is saying—”
“What? What is he saying that makes it alright to treat women like soiled goods?”
“I think he’s fine with it being a virgin because if it isn’t, then that would make you eligible. And he doesn’t want it to be you. He’s a selfish prick who wants to keep you for himself.”
“Oh,” said Clai
re. Her truculence evaporated. She leaned towards Maurice and rested her forehead on the corner of his shoulder. “Sorry.” Then she lifted her head and turned her attention back to Cheng. “There’s no way I’m going to be your bride.”
“I accept your decision,” said Cheng very quickly.
“She does have a point, though,” I said. “If it doesn’t specifically say the bride has to be a virgin in the prophecy, you’re just being an ass. No offence. I mean, if it’s that important, why not just marry a thirteen-year-old and hav—” I stopped mid-sentence as a thought struck me. “You know, I take that back. I have the perfect girl for you.”
Jenny jumped to her feet. “Yes!” I’d never seen her so fired up. “We’ll find you a bride.”
“You don’t even know who I’m thinking of,” I said.
“I know exactly who you’re thinking of and it’s the best idea you’ve ever had.” She turned back to Cheng and slammed the table with her fist. “Trust me, I will make sure he brings you a bride that will satisfy your needs. I fucking guarantee it.”
Well, at least she was supportive. She just had a really big problem when it came to princesses.
24. Way Of The Beast
Cheng didn’t seem all that convinced by Jenny’s sudden surge of enthusiasm for finding him a bride. In fact, he seemed a little suspicious of her motives. Can’t say I blamed him.
“Yes, well, I suppose there is room for interpretation. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a Visitor or a virgin, technically, but I would still prefer it that way.”
Jenny was still standing, leaning over the table. “As longs as it’s the right person, the details of who she is or where she comes from shouldn’t matter, should it? If she’s the right girl, she’s the right girl.”
I grabbed the back of Jenny’s shirt and pulled her back into her seat.
“Ignore her,” I told Cheng. “You know what girls are like whenever you mention a wedding. It’s like catnip to them. Drives them nutty.”
All three girls turned to glare at me (Noreen was already glaring at me, so she didn’t count).
“I still have a bunch of questions I want to ask, so let’s leave your nuptials to one side for a moment. Okay?”
This was aimed at the others as much as Cheng, but Cheng was the only one to nod in agreement.
“Good. Can you tell me how old you are, Cheng?”
“I’m fifteen.” It was strange hearing that number come out of such a monstrous and unteenage-like mouth. That’s puberty for you.
“And your mother, where did she come from? I mean, back in our world.”
“A place called Hong Kong. Do you know it?”
“Yes,” I said. “I’ve never been there, but it’s a very famous place.”
“She always claimed she had been brought here by something called the ‘Y2K bug’. Some kind of disease, I believe.”
That would mean she left Earth in 2000.
“And she raised you?”
“Yes, until I was five. Then…”
“Yes, okay.” I didn’t want to go into how she died, not with everyone primed to go off at the slightest provocation.
“May I ask a question?” said Dudley. Flossie had climbed out of his lap and he had been nibbling on what looked like a cob of corn, only bright orange.
“Yes,” said Cheng. “What would you like to know.”
“Did you care for your mother, even though she was human?”
“I did,” said Cheng. “She loved me in whatever form I took, it made no difference to her. She taught me to treat people equally no matter who or what they were, and not to judge by appearances. My father felt she was in danger of making me soft, which is why he killed her.”
A chill went around the table.
“He killed her?” asked Claire.
“Yes, he ate her.” Cheng continued eating as though he’d just mentioned a new restaurant that had opened down the street.
I almost got away with it. So close.
“Don’t freak out,” I said. “Remember if you judge them because they have a different culture to ours, you’re just being racist.”
It was a long shot, I admit, but the last thing I needed was for everyone to start throwing a fit because of the death of a woman we never met.
Nobody said anything for what felt like a long time. His statement was so absurd, and delivered in such a casual manner, that I don’t think it fully registered with them.
“Ah,” said Flossie. “Weren’t you a bit upset?”
“Oh, yes. Of course. At the time, I was inconsolable. But where he came from, it wasn’t considered a terrible thing. By right, he should have eaten her as soon as she gave birth to me, but he allowed her to nurse me and see me grow. For that, I am grateful.”
Did that make it better? Slightly?
“And if we bring you a bride,” asked Jenny, “will you eat her?”
“No.” Cheng looked genuinely offended by the question. “I would never eat my wife.”
I’m not sure how you go about killing an eight foot-demon but apparently you could hurt his feelings quite easily.
The atmosphere around the table slipped into something more apprehensive. Which was odd. You’d think having dinner with a demon would max out your senses, but there’s always room for a little more dread, I guess.
“Can you tell me about the Temple Under the Mountain?” I asked him, hoping to keep things on track. “How does it work?”
“I don’t actually know the mechanics, or who built it, but I can tell you it requires the sacrifice of a Visitor to function.”
“Could it send us back to our world?”
Everyone became much more focused when I asked this question.
“Possibly, although I am unaware of anyone who has tried. I know it allows travel to any place in this world, and the one underneath it.”
“Where your father came from?”
“Yes. It was my mother and her friends who summoned him. They were trying to fulfill the prophecy, or at least their understanding of it.”
“Did they sacrifice one of their own to activate it?” I asked.
“They sacrificed someone, whether it was one of their party or not I do not know. My mother didn’t like to talk about it. In any case, there were rather more sacrifices once my father appeared. My mother was the only survivor.”
The mood around the table had turned somber. Human sacrifices didn’t make for great dinner conversation.
It didn’t bother me if people went around killing each other. Pretty much what I would expect. I pressed on. “What about the spires? Do they work on the same principles as the Temple?”
“Yes,” said Cheng. “That’s how I knew they were active. Gargantua reported a white light that fell from the sky onto the fort. One moment there were thousands of men across the bridge, the next there were none.”
Which would explain where the soldiers had disappeared to, but made little sense otherwise. “Why would they attack their own soldiers?”
“They didn’t attack them. They were priming the weapon for firing. The men were fuel.”
“But they weren’t Visitors,” said Maurice.
“Visitors are the richest source of energy, but if you use enough normal humans it can do the same job. It’s not very efficient, though.”
“And what’s their target?” I asked.
“I do not know. It could be anywhere. The only place I know it won’t be is Fengarad.”
I was starting to understand why the lizardmen had been sent across the bridge. “So that’s why you sent an army there?”
“Yes. They can’t use the weapon so close to their own people, and if they use it on a target over here, we will attack. It is a stalemate, for now. My hope is that you will be the one to change that. If the prophecy is fulfilled, perhaps we can avert this disaster.”
“And you’ll show me the prophecy? The full version?”
“Yes. We can go see it right now.”
“No. I’d rathe
r wait until tomorrow. I’d like to discuss some things with you in your other form, if you don’t mind.”
“As you wish. I would also like to see the Dragonrider in action if that is acceptable.”
Flossie smiled, but her eyes didn’t look too happy. Whether that was in regard to spending time with Cheng or the dragons, I wasn’t sure.