"What! A demon!?" Hir screamed, slipping to the other side of the wagon and hiding behind a crate, trying to get as far away from James as possible. "Please don't eat my soul!"
"Not that kind of demon, idiot!" Ren exclaimed, hitting the boy on the back of the head again.
"Ouch! Then why did Mr. James call him a demon!?" The boy asked, looking at James, who quickly hid his tattoo again.
"I think Ren just got carried away by surprise, young Hir. He meant to say that James is a 'daeva' even though its literal translation is that of 'demon'" Borgelm replied, who after a few seconds started talking again.
"I must admit I'm surprised to see one in flesh and blood and even more so one alive…"
"Not all of us have disappeared… Is it a problem?" James asked, expecting confirmation from the merchant.
"Absolutely not! In fact, I feel much safer now. I've heard about the work of you daevas and please don't take my words as an offense, but your name doesn't do you justice."
"Master Borgelm, but who are these daevas?" Hir asked.
"Young Hir, don't you think it's rude to ask me such a question when we have one as a guard?"
Realizing his mistake, the young man immediately turned to James and bowed his head in apology.
"Ah! I'm sorry Mr. James I didn't mean to be rude and…"
"There's no need to apologize Hir. But I think you'll be disappointed, it's just an honorary title" James replied interrupting the boy and trying to calm him down. But the answer had the effect of making Ren let out a cold laugh.
"Sure, just a title my ass… You see Hir daevas are not just warriors, they are the infernal hunting dogs of the sultans. They are spies, bodyguards, assassins, the best, the most ruthless and bloodthirsty warriors of the desert. Djinn, angels of death, demons of the desert, monsters… These are some of the names they are called by commoners for the fear they have towards them."
James said nothing to contradict the black merchant. After all everything he was saying was true, daevas were nothing but assassins, secret police that answered only and exclusively to the sultan and for him they could even commit horrible acts.
"Ren my friend I think the boy has understood…" Borgelm tried to speak.
Ren however had not yet finished his explanation and everyone in the wagon could hear the hidden but still audible contempt in his voice.
"It is said that where a daeva spends the night no one wakes up the next day. I wonder if…"
"That's enough Ren! James is our guard for the journey hired by me and therefore by the Grand Canal company. So, I will not allow you to disrespect him again!" The Grand Merchant ordered his colleague who simply apologized with a few words before sitting on one side of the wagon in silence with Hir confused about what had just happened but preferring to remain silent as well.
James sighed preferring not to reply to the man and avoid further drama. He himself was not very proud of what he had done as a daeva. Even if it was to protect the sultanate and its inhabitants.
Understanding that he was no longer welcome at the back of the wagon, James stepped down and began walking parallel to it, approaching the front of the wagon in the hope that the horses would be more accommodating of his presence this time.
Taking advantage of the daeva's absence, Hir whispered to Ren, "Mr. Ren, are the daevas truly ruthless?"
"Ruthless and powerful. Being under the direct orders of the sultan, their word was almost law. At one point, even the nobles seemed to fear the daevas and their influence over the ruler, but they couldn't do anything as attacking a daeva was an act of war against the sultan. This changed after the death of Sultan Aslan. He died of illness, and his son, Gabram, came to power. Gabram banished his sister and her husband, reassembled the council of free cities, and presented evidence that the daevas had poisoned his father, intending to use the power vacuum to start their plan of controlling all the cities."
"So, Mr. James could have killed his king?" Hir asked in a hushed tone, his horror clearly audible to Ren.
"No one knows if it happened exactly like that, but the fact remains that after that council, all the nobles of the cities pressured their sultans to have the daevas executed for treason. Gabram set the example by displaying the heads of the slain daevas on spikes in the city center, and the other sultans followed suit shortly after. Those days are now remembered as the Great Demon Purge."
Hir reacted with horror to the described scene, bringing his hand to his mouth. "But... if they were all killed, then Mr. James..."
"He could be one of the few survivors of the purge, which could make him even more dangerous, as the story doesn't end there."
"Dangerous?... And what do you mean it doesn't end there? Is there more?"
Ren took a flask from his robe and took a few sips of the nectar he had purchased the night before. "A few months after his coronation, Gabram vanished into thin air during the night, while all his most loyal men were found dead in the deepest, most secretive wings of the palace. It is said that all the bodies had expressions of pure horror on their faces, their flesh torn by numerous blade marks. Many believe that the spirits of the slain daevas returned from beyond the grave as demons, seeking revenge on those who caused their deaths, before dragging Gabram into the depths of the earth where he would be tortured for eternity..."
When Ren finished telling the story, Hir's face turned completely pale, his expression one of terror, eliciting laughter from the dark-skinned merchant. "Hahaha... don't worry, Hir. I doubt the story is true or that daevas are real demons. It's more likely that some daeva managed to escape the purge and decided to take revenge on Gabram and his loyalists. As for where they took Gabram, I believe it will remain a mystery that we will never solve, and perhaps it's better that way..."
Meanwhile, outside the wagon, Borgelm decided to apologize to the boy for what had happened earlier.
"Please excuse my colleague, he is originally from the savannahs bordering the desert and his people have suffered a lot because of the expansionist ambitions of the free cities and their mastiffs. I think he has witnessed the work of the daevas himself."
"You don't have to apologize Borgelm, everything he said is true, so I have no reason to deny or get angry."
"I must tell you that I never thought I would meet one of you, I thought you had all been executed after Great Demon Purge."
"Most of us did, but some of us managed to escape into the desert."
"And why didn't you come back? I mean now that Gabram has disappeared, and his sister Samira has come to power with her husband you could be rehabilitated."
Upon hearing the name of the former princess, now sovereign, James showed a smile that in the eyes of the merchant told a certain nostalgia and affection towards the woman.
"No, it's better this way. The desert no longer needs demons, and it was time for me to continue my way and find my destiny."
At this answer the old merchant nodded in understanding and the journey continued in relative silence and tranquility for a few hours with the rain having diminished in intensity but still not seeming to want to stop falling.
In the late afternoon the group was forced to stop when they arrived at a wooden bridge that crossed a river that flowed towards the coast. The problem was that the river had gone into flood after the continuous rain and the current had damaged the supporting beams of the bridge causing it to collapse.
"This is a problem; we must find another way to Chipton. I don't want to spend any more time than necessary under this rain!" Borgelm said before kicking one of the still intact beams of the bridge.
James meanwhile was reflecting on what to do and remembered that shortly before they passed by a passage that could have brought them closer to the coast from where they could look for the main road. They would have been closer to potential bandits, but they had no other choice.
"We have no other choice but to get closer to the coast and take the main road" James said to the group.
"But Mr. James didn't you say that the coast could be dangerous because of bandits?" Hir asked.
"Yes, I said it and I still think so, but we have no other choice."
"And what will we do when we are attacked by a group of bandits?" Ren asked crossing his arms.
James looked him directly in the eyes and placed his hand on his axe head.
"You hired me for a reason, if it happens, I'll do my job."
At that point no one said anything else, and the group simply turned back with their wagon and took the road that would take them towards the coast.
When night fell, the group had already found the main road and was following it hoping to find another intact bridge. Before this, however, they would have to stop for the night along the road, as it was now late at night and the road was too dark for Borgelm to drive the wagon.
They therefore decided to stop in a natural clearing devoid of trees that was located along the road with enough space for the wagon and horses, and where they could spend the night.
The three merchants, despite their experience as travelers, were not used to traveling in those conditions and fatigue made it so that it didn't take long before the three fell asleep inside the wagon, leaving James alone to watch over the group.
James now left alone lit a small fire sheltered under one of the few nearby trees and sat down leaning against its trunk. After that, from inside his bag, he took out his diary which had remained surprisingly dry despite the rain that had fallen on the bag. Opening to the last pages of the diary James began to transcribe the events of the last two days and how upon arriving in Chipton his search would perhaps have ended.
'I wonder what awaits me in the future… even if I find the City of Towers, what should I do from now on…' The boy thought closing his diary after finishing writing and looking at the dancing flames rising from the small campfire. To the sound of crackling fire James closed his eyes and in his mind he went back several years in time and to lands far away from these. The landscape was very similar with tall trees and a biting cold, and a boy and a woman were sitting around a bonfire with a cauldron on top.
The boy shivering from the cold was trying to warm up as much as possible by the fire while the woman hummed quietly while using a small mortar to grind wild roots.
"Mother, why are we spending the night out here even though it's so cold?" The boy asked.
The boy had thick black hair and dark gray eyes, while his mother had eyes of the same color and long wavy light brown hair. Her face with gentle features and smooth skin made her a woman of rare beauty, and her sweet smile could capture the heart of any man who saw it.
(Image)
"I've already told you James, tonight the sky is clear and it's a great opportunity to observe the beauty of the night sky while we eat a good soup. Also, it's a great way to teach you how to camp and which plants can be eaten in nature, these are things you need to know young man, mama won't be here forever~" The woman said to her son putting the last ingredients in the cauldron.
"I understand the last part mother, but why is it so important that we look at the stars?" Little James asked.
"Simple my son, it's because we owe everything to them, it's from there that we and all creation come from. The least we can do is observe them and contemplate their beauty."
James looked at his mother with a strange expression not believing what she had just said.
"Mother you know you shouldn't say these things, the rest of the village will start looking at you strangely again and call Priest Calvus to scold you, again. And even then how is it possible that everything comes from stars if they are so far away?"
The woman chuckled at her son's words and ruffled his hair.
"You'll understand when you're older James, and don't worry about your mother. I'm a stronger woman than I seem." The woman then gently stroked her son's cheek.
"Another reason why we must observe the stars is because is where the Lady of the Gate resides using the stars to guide us to our destiny before welcoming us with open arms."
"Will we go to her too?" The boy asked.
"Yes my son, we all return to her, it is the final destination of our journey as it was the starting point. But until that moment she will be the guide for our path; so, every time you feel lost look up, she and the stars will guide you."
James only nodded to his mother before looking elsewhere where the spectacle of the celestial vault was showing itself to them, ready to guide them towards their destiny.
(Image)
James reopened his eyes with a slight smile on his face thinking back to what his mother had told him many years before. Unfortunately, now looking up James could only sigh in disappointment at seeing that at that moment, unlike his memory, the stars were not visible and completely obscured by the rain clouds.
'I guess I won't have anyone to guide me tonight, I wonder what you would do in this situation mother…'
As if mocking him, at that moment the rain increased in intensity bringing the bonfire almost to extinction.
'So this is how you want to play?' James thought irritably looking up at the sky. After that he looked around and towards the carriage making sure no one was watching him.
'Well, it looks like everyone is sleeping, so…' James thought before rubbing his hand on the ground.
Meanwhile inside the wagon Hir had just woken up due to the noise caused by the increase in intensity of the rain but unable to fall back asleep. His mind went back to Ren's story and how daevas had become devils and captured the sultan Gabram.
'Stop being a coward, Hir! You know very well that demons, ghosts or magic don't exist. They're just superstitions. Mr. James is just someone with a stormy past who is now helping us on our journey. It's not possible that he's a demon or something else.' He thought furiously getting up from his sleeping bag.
'Now I'll look out the window and see Mr. James calmly guarding us!' But before he could get close to the wagon window a strong blue flash came in from it scaring the boy who immediately hid in his sleeping bag.
'Demons don't exist, demons don't exist, demons don't exist, demons don't exist, demons don't exist, demons don't exist, demons don't exist, demons don't exist, demons don't exist!
.
.
…I hope…'