2 Painting the Town Red (1/2)
I woke to the sensation of being dragged along cobblestone. Not one of the most pleasant awakenings, but I'd take it over waking up in a pool of blood. My whole body hurt; my face in particular felt like one big bruise.
Noticing my eyes open, the demon girl who'd been struggling to carry my deadweight dropped me. ”If you're awake then get up.”
”What happened? I thought I was dead.” I gingerly touched my nose, it was definitely broken.
”I called you back.”
”You can do that? Call me back from the dead?”
She lowered her head and held it in her hands. ”I can't.”
”But- ”
”You weren't dead, you idiot! I just teleported you to where I was.”
”Oh.” I felt a little foolish at that point, but I think it was excusable. What with my head trauma and all. ”What happened to the Paladin? Is he still chasing you?”
”Probably, but I think we lost him. At least for now. Hopefully it gives us enough time to get out of the city, he won't be able to follow us out there. So hurry up and get moving.”
Clutching my aching head, I got up. My surroundings spun me and I grabbed a nearby wall to stop myself falling. ”Maybe you should just leave me. I don't think I can run like this.”
The Demon Lord's little red lips twisted into a sneer. ”You have to. I am not leaving you here after all the work I did to summon you in the first place.”
I strongly believed that her effort would have been better spent elsewhere, but I guess what was done was done. ”That's all well and good, but I'm injured here. All I can do is slow you down.”
She shook her head. ”We don't have time for this nonsense, just walk.”
She strode off and I followed, limping along as quickly as I could manage. Luckily it was still dark out, all the citizens were indoors where they wouldn't get in the way. It made me glad that the world's technology seemed roughly medieval.
God bless the lack of electrical lighting, or whatever it was that was keeping these people indoors at night. Passing through the streets, we emerged on a mostly wooden waterfront. ”Should we take a boat or something?” There was an ample supply of them moored around us.
”No, we're not going somewhere near the water.”
”Where are we going?”
”A place in the forest, it's not far from the outskirts of town.”
The forest? I suspected that she was from the lower rungs of society, but that confirmed it. There was no way she had wealth or status if she was hiding out in a forest.
Honestly, the idea that she was a 'Demon Lord' seemed laughable. Not that I was in much of a position to laugh, given that being her servant meant I was beneath even her in the social order.
As we made our way through the waterfront, something heavy slammed into the ground behind us. ”Fuck.” I wasn't that stupid, I knew without looking that it had to be the Paladin.
And sure enough, as I glanced back, there he was. Except now he was glowing again, too bright to look at. Just how dedicated was this guy? I whole-heartedly wished he'd take a break already. He must be tired by now, right?
If he was, he certainly didn't look it as he surged toward us. If anything, he was much faster than before. He blew right past me as I tried to intercept and seized the demon by my side before she could splatter him with blood again.
Holding one of her arms in each hand, he wrenched them until there was a series of loud snaps. The terrible sounds sent a shiver down my spine. Unsurprisingly, the Demon Lord screamed.
She was still screaming when I slammed, shoulder-first, into the Paladin. The impact caught him off balance and sent him reeling. Toward the water. Scrabbling for a handhold, he managed to catch the edge of the pier.
Right in time for my foot, in full swing, to catch his head. My foot hurt like hell, but it was worth the pain to see that glowing asshole sink.
The demon's breathing was quick and shallow. ”We need to keep moving.” She jogged off, arms flapping grotesquely. I couldn't stand the sight of it and grabbed hold of her from behind. Manoeuvring the struggling girl so that she lay across my shoulders, I ran. I don't know if it was just the adrenaline or what, but my fatigue and pain had stopped bothering me.
”What the fuck are you doing?” She struggled but could accomplish little with her broken arms.
”You're injured, you'll only slow us down. This way is faster.”
The grinding of her teeth was so loud it was clearly audible, but she didn't argue further. For a demon she seemed surprisingly reasonable.
Following her directions, I carried her all the way to a house beside the tall stone wall surrounding the city. I knocked on the front door and a tall woman with greying hair opened it. She looked both ways down the street, then gestured for us to get inside. Once we were in, I set my burden down.
The woman waited until we were inside before speaking. ”Are you alright, mistress? Do you need assistance?”
”It's okay, Junivan,” the demon said, waving her off as she came forward to offer her help, ”I'll live.
”I see that you were successful in your summoning. But you're awfully late, what happened to using the route we planned earlier?”
”A Paladin caught up with us before we had a chance to get there,” the Demon Lord said, as if it had been no big deal. ”I had to improvise.”
”I see. You did well to get here in one piece then. Your new servant must be quite competent.”
The demon made a disgruntled sound, but she didn't disagree. I risked my life after being pulled into this world against my will and that was the thanks I get?
”Seriously? You don't have anything nice to say? You'd be dead if it weren't for me.”
She sighed. ”I never said I wasn't grateful, but it's only natural that you'd protect me. That's part of your job.”
It sucked, but I couldn't really disagree. I don't know why I was expecting kindness from a literal demon anyway. It was a foolish notion at best.
Junivan led us through the simple, wooden house into the cellar where a massive tree root protruded from the ground. Nearly as tall as I was, its hollow interior was exposed for all the world to see.