Scorpio shrugged. “He barely looks human. If he’s as wild as Sam says, maybe we better leave him here.”
Sam moved up a little closer behind Scorpio, peeking out from the side. “Odif, all reason has been tortured out of him. He is mad. I know that if he sees me he will come after me.”
“He wasn’t afraid to knock himself silly,” Shilo smirked then said more seriously, “He didn’t like Sam one bit. I think she’s right, Thump here is not safe to be around.”
Frieda spoke up. “We cannot, in good conscience, leave anyone.”
“We can’t fight and watch him, too,” Hutch complained.
“Yeah, so what are we going to do with Thump?” Shilo asked.
Odif shot him a glare. “His name is Eric!”
“He might be Eric,” Scorpio reminded her. “How will we know if he is?”
“Sam can get into his mind and find out,” she told him.
Sam shook her head. “Oh, no, not again. When he comes to, I’m hiding. I can’t stress this enough--he really wants me dead.”
“Well, the question right now is, who’s going to carry him?” Scorpio asked. “We need to keep moving before anyone finds us.”
Frieda motioned to Shilo. “Carry him, stay behind me. Sam, you keep in the front so he can’t see you.”
Sam gripped Scorpio’s arm and looked at him pleadingly. He patted her hand and tried to smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep him away from you.”
“I hope so,” she said weakly.
Shilo gave a huff and hoisted the unconscious man across his shoulders with Odif’s help. He winced as she accidentally pinned one of his wings to his back, but managed to free it without damage. “Why do I get the dead weight?”
“Shut up, that‘s my father,” she snapped.
Shilo settled the weight across his shoulders. “Could be your father,” he stressed.
“Let’s move,” Frieda scolded.
They traveled long enough for hunger to start gnawing at them. They passed two more illusion-disguised entrances, which Entaurus turned into rock before they went on. A few hundred yards farther, the passage opened up into a natural cave. A split showed one side went on and the other angled up. Investigating, they found the one that angled up only went another bowshot before it ended.
Tired and hungry, they went up the dead end. Hutch discovered airflow from thin cracks in one wall. This time, Jo-Jo sealed them in so they could rest without being disturbed. Odif made a bright yellow light, splashing it onto an overhead stalagmite, causing the rock to glow.
“We won’t suffocate, and we can make a fire,” Hutch said cheerily.
“Hot food!” Theo grinned.
Frieda shook her head. “No fire. We do nothing else to attract attention.”
Much to their dismay, they sat down to cold jerky and hard bread. As they ate, Shilo sat cross-legged by the man he called Thump. Every now and then, he’d give him a poke to see if he was coming around. Sam sat behind Scorpio and Odif, staying quiet and doing her best to mask her presence. Theo and Hutch settled down by Shilo.
Hutch picked up Thump’s axe and hefted it. The heavy blades were curved around to touch at the top, and the metal shone as bright as silver. “This is a real good axe,” he said, turning it over. “The handle has bloodstains, but there’s not a chip in the blade.”
Shilo shrugged. “Maybe he bled on it.”
“It‘s magic, I can sense it from here,” Jo-Jo told him.
Tracing a scrape in the handle, Hutch showed it to Theo. “What you think, stone or bone?”
Theo inspected it. “Bone, definitely.”
Gloredaniel cast a look at the man. “How can we tell who this is?”
“When he wakes up, I’ll ask him,” Shilo said then poked him again. “Hey, Thump, you got a name?”
“Shilo, stop that!” Odif growled. She got up and walked over, plopping herself between them. She stroked the man’s hair, her eyes boring into the winged man. “I will talk to him when he wakes up.”
“Good luck,” he snorted.
***
He heard the voices and came awake when he was poked. He didn’t know what torture it had for him this time—it had never done anything like this before. This was a new trick. It couldn’t buy him with riches and hadn’t broken him with torture. He felt the hand on his head--was it going to try to seduce him again?
Instead of moving, he lay still and tried to absorb what was being said. The voices sounded human, except one female. That one was lighter and familiar, like someone he’d once known. The conversation came and went in spurts, but he got the idea they were hunting for something. A man said something about he couldn’t be the one, but they had to rescue him, anyway. Another man called him Thump.
Rescue? That had to be it. The demon was trying to make him believe someone had come here to free him. She had tried everything to make him break the pact by force, now she had sunk to a new low. The knot on his wrists was within reach. He thought about the pact, all the things he couldn’t do. The demon was devious, but now it had made a mistake. He could not hurt her minions, but nothing stopped him from hurting her. He ran the pact through his mind over and over to make sure he didn’t make a mistake that could get his family killed as he slowly worked at the knot.
He stopped as someone poked him again. “Hey, Thump, you with us yet, buddy?”
“Shilo, enough!” a woman said and slapped the one who had spoken to him.
He kept still until he was sure they were back to talking then slipped one wrist out of the ropes. He couldn’t reach his feet without moving. He would have to play along with the game long enough to get those free.
He had been in pain so long that a crack in the head was of almost no consequence; but he groaned loudly and shifted, curling his feet up so his hands could reach the rope.
Excitement filled the cave. The people by him jumped up, someone told another he’d protect her. He opened his eyes to face two dark men holding battleaxes ready to strike. On one side of them was a muscular woman in skimpy, tattered clothes and on the other side a man with wings. A stocky woman in brown robes and a man in a blue one embroidered with silver designs blocked his view of the others. Two more, a man and a small woman with pointed ears came closer to help block his view.
The woman in tattered shorts and shirt moved cautiously towards him, holding out one hand as if to keep him still. “We are friends, we mean you no harm.”
Yeah, right. “Who are you?”
The woman knelt in front of him. She had the nerve to look anxious as she said, “I’m your daughter, Odif. This is Theo, Hutch, Shilo...”
He listened as she went on. He glanced at the people as she introduced them but paid more attention to the chamber. It looked larger, but was still the same closed-off box he had always been in. Beyond the robes of the line of people, he saw two more pairs of feet farther back. One set was metal-shod, as a knight’s would be; the other wore leather.
“Who’re they?” he asked, nodding towards them.
“Two of my friends,” Odif explained. “I need your help. Can we trust you?”
“Sure.” They could trust him--until he worked his feet free.
Slowly, she started to reach behind his back as she watched him. “I am going to untie you, stay calm.”
He nodded, carefully plotting his move. He could not hurt them, and he wasn’t going to.
When she was bending over his knees to reach his hands, he sprang into action. Jerking the rope loose, he brought up a leg and planted a foot in her chest. Her face registered surprise as she sailed backwards into the robed men. She was quick--she grabbed his leg but only ripped off a piece of pants leg in her flight.
Scooping up two handfuls of dirt, he threw them at the robed women and dark men. As the dirt flew, he pushed off the wall and tackled the winged man.
One of the two he couldn’t see had to be the demon. Battling his way up, he grabbed the elven female by the front of her robe. Despite being hauled a
round, she gripped his arm and spoke a few strong words. Pain filled his arm as electric arcs shot from her fingers. He ignored the pain and swung her around to send her flying back into the men trying to grab him. The one called Odif was on her feet and running at him. Directly ahead, an armored man stood in front of someone, brandishing his sword. He caught sight of a piece of leathery wing--there it was!
He dove for the man, grabbing the top and bottom edges of his armor. The man stabbed him deep in the stomach. Odif and the demon screamed. He echoed the scream, planting his feet to fling the man into Odif.
It stood before him, wide-eyed and screeching a terrified howl. He jerked the sword from his stomach and grabbed the demon by her hair. Twisting around so his back was to the wall, he put the sword to her throat and pressed.
“You want to see it die?” he growled.
Odif was getting to her feet again, as was Scorpio. They all gaped at him, fear in their eyes.
He jerked the demon’s head back and pressed the blade in far enough that blood appeared. “Show me the way out, now!”
The heavy-set woman straightened and looked him in the eye. “You will put that down, and let her go.”
“You must think me a fool!” he spat. “Show me the way out or I’ll give you its head!”
“No!” Odif yelled, stepping closer. “We are your friends--please, trust me.”
He bent the demon’s head back and growled in its ear. “Trust, huh? Let me out or die here.”
The demon kept up her disguise well. Shivering in fear, she blubbered, “I can’t! Please don’t kill me!”
“That is not the demon!” Scorpio cried. “That is Sam, her daughter.”
He had to grin at how foolish the man sounded. “My daughter, its daughter--couldn’t you come up with better lies than that?”
“It’s the truth!” Odif cried. “Let her go, and let us help you. You’re bleeding to death.”
Death, now there was an amusing thought. “Then maybe I should kill it now.”
The brown-robed woman pointed at him and spoke firmly. “By Leighna’s light, let her go!”
He felt his hands twitch. For a second, his grip loosened. In that second, the demon grabbed his sword arm and pushed, slipping out from under his grasp. He tried grabbing her, but she flew into Shilo’s arms. The dark men closed in front of her, and the robed men now faced him. Odif came at him from the left. He swung too soon on purpose, slamming the sword into the wall. His bluff worked, she stopped and backed off.
The demon was now wrapped in Shilo’s embrace, crying hysterically. Her minions closed around her, watching him. Any chance he had of getting to her was gone. The only good thing was that no one was coming close.
Odif moved to face him, her arms out to the sides. He followed her with his sword but kept his eyes open for trouble from the group. Behind her, the man in armor tried to pull her back.
“Get away from him!” he said, pulling on one arm.
Odif twisted free. “Get back!” she barked. Moving slowly towards him, she kept her arms out, even though he pointed his sword at her heart. “Please, listen to me.”
He laid the tip of his sword over her left breast. “Don’t move,” he growled.
She swallowed hard but didn’t back off. “I know you will not kill me.”
Of course, it would have told them to let him hurt them. He couldn’t kill her. He couldn’t even cut her. The way she acted, though, she wasn’t sure if he would or not. Maybe this was part of the game. If they let on somehow that this was a trick then they couldn’t get him to believe it.
“Give me one good reason why.”
Odif spoke slowly. “I am your daughter. We have come to destroy the demon that held you prisoner.”
“Damn it, Odif, get away from him!” the man in armor cried.
The way the man said it, he was truly afraid Eric was going to kill her. The deception made him grin. “You really want me to believe this isn’t a trick.”
“This is no trick,” she stated.
The man in the blue robe with silver symbols took a step forward, glaring at him. “You hurt her, and I will kill you!”
He returned the glare. “Do it!”
Odif turned her head. “No! Entaurus, back off!”
“Enough games!” he roared, which made Odif spin back to him. “What’s next?” he snapped. “More little knives if I don‘t go along with you?”
Odif studied him for a few seconds. Her face softened, becoming sad. “You don’t believe we’re friends, and nothing we can do will convince you.”
“Convince me by leaving.”
“I know what holds you,” she said quietly. “My brother, your son, is dead. Your wife is safe in Tolina. The demon no longer has any power over you.”
He pushed the sword enough to dent her skin. “Then nothing is lost if I run you through?”
Odif stiffened herself. “Only that I will die. If that is what it takes to convince you I’m telling the truth then so be it,” She reached up and moved the point more towards the center of her chest, laying the tip on bare skin. “Right here, you’ll split my heart. That seems only right.”
In a chorus of cries, some shouted for her to get away, others pleaded for her life. She didn’t move; she just looked him in the eye, waiting to be killed. It was all very convincing, but he wasn’t going to be taken in. His memory was nothing but spotted dreams and nightmares, a collection of images from his tortured mind and bits of lies the demon had fed him. The only thing he felt was right was that, somewhere, he did have a wife. The elven woman reminded him of someone, possibly her. The woman in front of him was far too tall and muscular to be the child of an elf.
“If I got a daughter, you ain’t her,” he said quietly. He slid along the wall, distancing himself from her and the others. “I’ve had enough of this.”
He flipped the sword around to point at his own chest then fell forward. Odif screamed and dove for him. She knocked him to the side and kicked the handle of the sword so it fell flat. Before he could grab for it, she kicked it away then dove on him. He grappled with her, trying to get her off. For a woman, she was incredibly strong. She got behind him and struggled to pin his arms behind his back as she called for the others to help her.
More of them piled on him as he struggled to get away. He knew what always happened after its tricks. Chains and more torture waited if he was awake enough to scream. He vowed not to be. Flailing about, he got one arm free and shoved up hard, gaining his knees. Four people were on him now, and the rock jutted out of the floor just ahead. He shoved with both legs and a scream of determination. He and the pile on him lurched and came down hard. His aim was good--the rock caught him on the side of the head, the weight on him did the rest.
***
Odif shoved Scorpio and Hutch off Eric. She rolled him over and laid her hand over the bloody side of his head. Mending his cracked skull then his stomach, seemed easy. She thought briefly about bringing him to consciousness then decided against it.
“I don’t believe it,” Scorpio panted weakly. “I ran him through, did you see? I ran him through and it didn’t even slow him down.”
“I sent lightning through his arm, and look how much good that did,” Gloredaniel huffed. “I don’t even think he felt it.”
Hutch sat up to glare at Odif. “And you heal him so he can do it again!”
Odif glared back at him. “We have to make him understand!”
Frieda sighed and folded her arms over her chest. “So much for not drawing attention to ourselves.”
“You do not understand!” Sam wailed from Shilo’s embrace. She held her bleeding neck, her face white with terror. “That man has been here a long time! Look at him--he is covered with scars. Pain no longer means anything to him.” She sent a mental picture to Odif. “I once saw someone who was tortured so long he didn’t even know it when she cut him open. She roasted him alive, and he was happy to be dying. This man is in the same condition!”
O
dif gasped. The others didn’t see the image, but they still winced at Sam’s description.
“How long do you think he’s been down here?” Jo-Jo asked.
Sam gazed at him. She got the feeling what she was saying was starting to sink in. “To build up resistance to pain like that, many years.”
“Possibly twenty?” he asked, thinking of the knights’ failed attempt many years before.
“If someone has done something to anger her enough, that is quite possible,” Sam said. Looking at Odif she added, “Take a good look at him--that could be our fate.”
Odif sat thinking. “If he has been down here that long then he can’t be my father. Erica is only just over a year old, and the attack on King Alderlan’s caravan was about two years ago.” Disappointment filled her. She thought she had found the key to defeating the demon. All they had found was a mad knight. Silently, she cursed herself and Thump for not being who she thought he was.
“The Knights of Paladnia used to wear shirts like what he’s got on,” Gloredaniel offered. “There is still the question of what to do with him.”
Odif took a deep breath. “I’ll take care of him and see he doesn’t hurt anyone.”
Scorpio laid a hand on her arm. “I’m sorry he’s not your dad. I was kind of hoping he was.”
She gave him a half-smile. “Me, too.”
***
He awoke in another cave. This one was open on the end. Through the opening, he saw bits of light here and there high up. Below, a smooth dark surface reflected the lights. The reflections shimmered as small wavelets passed. He was bound tightly, not just his hands and feet this time but the length of his forearms where they crossed, his upper arms to his chest and the entire length of his legs wrapped tight. There would be no freeing himself this time.
In the cave with him were two people. The outline of one told him it was Odif. The other he wasn’t sure about, but he thought it was the demon. He just had time to register these things when Odif looked over at him.
“Sam, he’s awake. Join the others.”
The demon got up to leave, and he made out the stubby wings on its back. Odif got up and moved over to sit by him. “How are you feeling?”
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