Six Years

Levin took the report from one of his guard's hands. He glanced at it, then crumpled it up in disgust. At least fifty demons had been found and destroyed by his new tactic but still there was no word about the prince and that infuriating General Kana. Where were they? What was he missing? He growled in anger then threw an empty stein at the wall where it shattered into hundreds of pieces.

"Guards, bring me Talson. I believe it's his turn to try and locate the prince of that wretched noble. The institution of the Slayers was an excellent idea, but I believe that we need more," Levin said aloud as the guards exited the throne room. He gazed at the necklace of Niezon's fangs for a moment then slid down in his throne to brood. Why did the dead king have to have such an elusive son? Why couldn't things be simple? It had been over two years and still no clue, no lead as to where the prince was. How could a eleven, no, twelve year old boy be so elusive? And now he was closing in on his teenage years. He had to be killed soon.

"Ah, your highness, so glad to be in your presence," Talson said and Levin glanced at him. He was a fairly tall demon standing at around six feet with spiky slate blue hair and tangerine colored eyes. He wore a patch over his right eye and his left cheek bore two scars that looked suspiciously like claw marks. He withdrew a leather cat o' nine tails from its resting place on his broad black belt and uncoiled it. Levin laid a foot on the end of one of the whip tails and leaned forward. Talson grinned broadly as he withdrew a leather paddle. "Would you prefer this instead?"

"I didn't ask you to come here for torture."

"What did you want from me, then?"

"I'm giving you your chance."

"What?"

"I'm giving you your chance at capturing the prince. Don't screw up like your two predecessors did."

"Wonderful. I won't let you down, your highness."

"Talson, if you want to use that whip on the general when you find him, go right ahead. That bastard deserves a good beating."

"I've got something to look forward to, then."

"Was it Kana's men that destroyed your wings like that?"

"My wings?" Talson asked as he reached back and tapped one of his exposed digits. "Perhaps, and here I thought I lost my skin at sea. Perhaps it was Kana's fault."

"Then go and seek revenge."

"On my way, my master! Kana will regret kicking me out of his army," Talson said and ran to the open window and climbed up on the sill. He leapt out the window and caught hold of a tree branch that rested close to the window. One of the guards watched him scamper down the tree like a monkey then turned to face Levin.

"He's insane, my lord," he said and Levin nodded his head.

"Yes, I know, but perhaps he has more sanity than we know," he said and picked up a cigarette. "In any event, I am confident that he can locate Kana with ease. At least much better than Lucifer and Xylphara did."

"He reminds me of a wild animal," the second guard said and Levin turned his attention to him.

"Deranged wild animals can be the most dangerous of creatures in the wild. I believe he'll do fine on this job. In any event, he's not hanging around here. That should make the two of you breathe a little easier."

 

"Here. Allow me to help you," a stable keeper said as he held out his arms to Izo. Izo sighed and shut his eyes as he tried to keep his temper in check. They had finally made it to the next human village but the chivalrous nature of the human males was getting on his nerves. They were so eager to assist him, to practically carry him wherever he needed to go. He felt himself being lifted off of Firerain's back and being set on the ground. A teasing squeeze of the rump followed and Izo opened his eyes to see the face of a grinning young stable keeper. "Didn't mean to frighten you, miss. You're on safe ground now. I'll even carry your bags to make it up to you."

"Sir..." Izo whispered as the stable keeper unclasped the saddlebags from his horse. Kana walked up to him and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Patience. You'll be able to take the robe off in the hotel," he whispered.

"I don't know how much more I can take of this."

"I'll make it up to you soon."

"Your boy's getting pretty big," another gentleman said and Kana turned around.

"Thank you. He'll be thirteen soon," Kana said as the gentleman lit a pipe.

"In three years, he'll be able to join the Slayers."

"The what?"

"You don't know, do you? Well, I don't exactly want to say it in front of the young lady..."

"Then allow me to assist you in corralling our horses."

Izo watched helplessly as Kana walked off with the stable keepers then glanced at Ryo, who was trying not to laugh. A barrage of giggles came from the other side of the street and Izo glanced at a pair of women who stood on a porch in front of a restaurant. He squinted his eyes as he tried to place one then drew back in shock as one walked towards him.

"What's wrong?" Ryo asked as Izo took his hand.

"I think I know that girl," he replied as the woman ran up to him and bowed.

"Major, is that you?" she whispered and Izo stared at her.

"Poe? Why are you so far away from the castle?"

"Don't you remember? I was banished. Caedin threw me out."

"But why are you so far away from the castle and why are you in a human village?"

"You really don't remember, do you? I was banished for having a child of mixed blood. I was very young at the time and very foolish. My child died soon after birth and I wandered the forests until I came here. Now you know why I'm here, but why are you dressed up like that?"

"That actually, is a very involved story."

"I'd like to hear it."

"Some other time. It's too risky to tell it now. But, how did you know it was me?"

"I wasn't sure at first but I knew you were a male. You lack padding up here," Poe said and pointed to her chest. "Also, it was in the way you walked. You can't hide that military stride."

"The horses are taken care of," Kana said as he walked up to Ryo and Izo. "Let's go to the inn."

"Yes, sir. See you later, Poe," Izo said as Kana took his hand. She watched them walk off and sighed. She had the feeling that she would never get the chance to see them again.

"Who was that?" Kana asked as they walked towards the inn.

"Poe. Caedin banished her because she had a halfling. I knew she fled the area around the castle, but I didn't know she came this far."

"I just hope you didn't arouse any suspicion by talking to her. This looks like a pretty nice hotel."

"May I help you?" an elderly desk clerk asked and Izo looked at him. Why were all the desk clerks old?

"We'd like a room," Kana replied.

"For a family of three. You're lucky I've got one. Did your town get destroyed by the demons as well?"

"You...might say that. We're on our way to visit some relatives that live in a distant town. The state of the lands has put us behind schedule and it has left us terribly exhausted. Are there any good places to eat, by the way?"

"Kana's great at making up stories," Ryo whispered and Izo placed a finger over his lips.

"Our very survival depends on it," he replied as Kana turned around and glanced at the others.

"Let's go to our room," he said.

They followed him down a hall and into a medium sized room. Izo pulled off his robe as Kana closed the door behind him. He spread his wings and shook the braid out of his hair. Kana watched him for a moment then glanced at Ryo.

"I am so glad to be myself again!" Izo cried and Kana laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Easy, major. The walls have ears," he said as Izo ran his claws down his body.

"Sir, you don't know how humiliating it is to portray a female."

"I told you not to concern yourself with what the humans think. They are only humans. Now come on, I think you deserve something for putting up with them for so long."

"You are being too kind, sir."

 

Talson sat in a large oak tree listening to the chatter of a squirrel. He wrote its speech, or at least what he thought it said, down in jagged script on a tablet of paper then he nodded his head. The squirrel thumped its tail against the bark of the tree for a moment and Talson closed his eyes.

"So they came this way a month ago. How did you know it was them? Obviously they were in disguise," he said and the squirrel scampered off down the tree in search of edible nuts. "Come back! The interrogation isn't over with yet!"

He dropped down from the tree and gazed at his horse, who nervously took a few steps backward. Talson patted the handle of his whip then took it out. He held it out and swung it gently. His horse glanced away, hoping that its master was not intent on using the weapon on its hide.

"So, Kana is the reason why my wings look terrible. Kana is why I fled from the castle. It wasn't the voices that drove me mad. It was the heartless actions of the general. I will make you pay, general. You will regret kicking me out of your ranks. Bloodspawn..."

The horse twitched its ears and gazed off in a different direction. The stallion knew his master was insane but he didn't want his master to know that he knew. The horse grunted slightly as Talson grabbed his reigns and mounted the horse. Bloodspawn angrily flattened his ears against his head. He didn't want to go traveling. He was content right where they were.

"Bloodspawn, pay attention!" Talson cried and the horse shook his head. He did not want to listen to a word this demon said. "We must go to the north and we must hurry. My informant said they'd be leaving soon to seek the alliance of water sprites. We can't let them get away, let alone form any alliances that might jeopardize our master's cause," he said and dug his heels into the horse's sides. Bloodspawn whinnied slightly and reluctantly began to trot off in the direction Talson had specified.

The moonlight shone softly through the thick velvety curtains. There was not nearly enough light to see in. Not nearly enough light for human eyes to see in, but plenty for demon eyes. And what a certain demon's eyes saw, made all of his senses break down. He leaned forward and kissed Izo's chest then placed his hand over the major's right breast. Izo whimpered in pain as Kana dragged his nails down Izo's skin. He brought a hand down to his crotch and began stroking himself. Kana drew away and Izo looked at him.

"Something wrong, sir?" he asked and Kana pointed to his hands.

"Your hands are wandering. I'll fix that," Kana said and picked up Izo's belt. Izo watched as Kana tied his hands to the bedpost then watched as Kana placed his hands where Izo's had been.

"No fair, sir."

"Remember, no screams. The last thing we need if for a group of demon killers to burst into the room," Kana said and licked his lips. Izo watched him lean forward then shut his eyes tightly when he felt Kana's long silken tongue on his middle. He could already feel the heat within him rise as he felt his muscles enlarge and harden. Kana's touch was so soft but he knew exactly where to lick to make Izo writhe in pleasure. Izo groaned softly as a light breeze ruffled the curtains.

"Control yourself, major," Kana muttered as he watched Izo's movements.

"I...can't help it!" Izo gasped as he felt his emotions rise to a climax. He then sighed in contentment as Kana drew away and smacked his lips.

"This is perhaps not the best time to tell you this but Ryo's asleep," Kana said as Izo sat up.

"I know he's asleep," Izo replied as he climbed onto Kana's lap. Kana ran his hands underneath Izo's wings and smiled.

"That's not what I meant. I learned the truth about the Slayers when I went to take care of the horses."

"So what are they?"

"They are a group of humans that Levin has employed. He's come up with the story that Niezon was the false king and the nobles are the one causing the destruction. He says for peace to reign once again in the land, all the nobles must be killed."

"That's genocide," Izo said and Kana nodded his head.

"And the humans are quite willing to go along with his lies because most of them know nothing about our way of life," Kana replied and Izo sighed as he rubbed Izo's wings.

"Why do humans have to be so stupid?"

"Let's not worry about their lack of logic," Kana said as he shifted his weight slightly. "Let's just keep in mind that we've got to be extremely careful in public. We will have to fight eventually but I don't want to do anything that might get us into a battle prematurely."

"You're hesitant about a battle?" Izo asked and Kana tightly embraced him.

"I am always hesitant about going into battle. I do not like throwing lives away, no matter what the cause may be."

"I understand, sir. How about we just go to sleep now and worry about the morning as it comes?"

"A wise suggestion, major. I'll blow out the light."

He reached over and blew out the candle that dimly lit the room then watched Izo fold his wings and lie down. It was true that he still felt a connection towards Celcian, even though the demon was long gone but if he had still been alive, Kana hoped that he would have slept just like Izo. He shook his head as he cleared the thoughts of the past and the present from his head. Now was not a time for reflection, now was a time for sleep for there was no telling what the morning would bring.