Ballad Of Saymon

“G’mornin’, sir.”

Kyichi turned to face the speaker. It was a young man with red hair that swept back sharply from his brow. This strange sweep could easily have been overlooked, for it could have been an illusion created by plenty of water and a comb, but there was something odd about the man’s face, as if the extreme sharpness of his vulpine features was just too much. These oddities were the only hints towards his unholy origins. The man sat on the elevated platform on the front of the carriage, dressed in a dark coat that made his creamy skin stand out in sharp contrast.

“Good morning, Jack.” The demon replied, working to control his tone. He had managed to conceal his anger with the girl’s owner so far, but now that she was out of his line of sight he felt the rage rekindling itself.

“Sir? Are you alright?” Jack turned where he sat, one leg swinging over the edge of his seat as he turned to look down at Kyichi.

“Yes, just a bit annoyed.”

“Mind me askin’ why, sir?”

“Humans.”

“Eh?”
Kyichi leaned against the carriage, throwing a sidelong glance to the driver. Jack was a good listener, he reflected, and one of the few people he was willing to vent any personal thoughts to.

“I waited here two days for that girl, and when I came to get her today they had me wait a good three hours.” Jack whistled at this. “And what’s more they made a cattle show of it. Had everyone important out to watch her go.”

Jack’s eyes watched the space just above his employer’s head for a moment, before returning eye contact.

“Well, sir, at least ya got through it. We’re goin’ straight home from here?”
There was a pause, in which Jack craned his neck around to try and see behind the calash.
“Uh, sir, did ya bring her along with you or are we to pick her up from somewhere?”

“No, she’s inside.” Kyichi replied, gesturing to the back on the carriage.

“What, back there? Are you sure you want to keep her back there, sir? It’s a long ride back home.” Genuine discomfort upholstered the driver’s words.

“Yes, I’m sure. What time is it, Jack?”

“Uh, I’d say about a quarter to nine, sir. Why is she back there, sir? If you don’t mind my asking.”

“I thought it would be best if she wasn’t treated too richly, not so suddenly.”

“Ah, I see sir, to help her relax right? Help her adjust?”

The demon nodded.

“Now I think it’s time we were gone.” He added, pulling the door to the carriage open. He stepped up onto the edge of the calash, so that his head and right shoulder were the only parts of him that hung out of the structure. “And Jack,” he dropped his voice now, watching the driver’s eyes with a seriousness he did not like to frequent. “I’d bet my life that we’re going to be followed. If you see someone, try to remember their face, will you?”

Jack nodded smartly; he understood that this was of some importance if it needed to be commented on.

The demon then leaned into the carriage and closed the door behind him, leaving Jack to the horses and the road.


There were towers positioned throughout the Undercity that lead up to the world above. These usually took the form of great pillars of rock with roads carved into their surfaces, created long, upward winding spirals.

It was up one such pillar that Jack drove the carriage, and as he brought the horses closer to the rock face, his quick eyes noted another calash following closely behind. Turning momentarily, he studied the thing, but could only see the horses and parts of the metal work from where he sat. He returned his gaze to the road and resolved to keep an eye on the mirror that sat at his hip, which let on whatever lay behind him.


The ride up to the surface was a long on, and as the carriage rolled into the cloudy sunlight, Jack had to blink several times to help sped his eyes in adjusting.
It was a cold winter morning, and the sky held the threat of frozen rain. The horses’ breath turned to mist as it left their nostrils, and what had been puddles of rainwater days before were now glassy and slick.

Jack ushered the horses between these icy spots, and hoped the once they were out of the Uppercity’s limits the adjacent forest would have provided cover from the rain.


In time the Uppercity thinned and the main roads within it braided themselves together. This new path curved to the north, and let on a view of farmland on one side, and thick forest on the other. The horses knew this path well, and were able to move over the cold ground at a quick trot with little guidance from Jack.

The driver used this new freedom to watch the mirror behind him, and again he saw the
other carriage. Turning the mirror on its elevated hinge he tried to get a better view of the driver. He succeeded and saw that a burly man covered in furs held a thick bullwhip and the reigns of his horses as he lead the animals over the earthen path.

Jack smiled to himself, seeing how inexperienced the other man was with the driving of horses. He tried to look past the man and learn if there was anyone else in the rival carriage, but could see no one.

Jack focused again on the driver, and tried to remember the man’s face. ‘Big jaw, low brow, tiny eyes,’ he told himself, repeating the words over and over until they formed a tune in his head and he could have sung out the syllables.


The rest of the journey was similarly cold and simple. As the dirt road wound through the country, Jack led the horses up a rough back road that curved into the woods. The ride was much less smooth now, and he hoped that the slave girl would forgive him for the bumps and shaking each rock on the path caused.

The road soon tattooed itself onto the arch of a hill, and as the back wheels rolled over the peak of the knoll Jack saw the other carriage stop at the very bottom. From there they traveled alone.

The sun, which had hidden behind the silver-gray clouds, now lay close to the ground and from the corners of the sky a deep red light now glowed. Jack rubbed his hands together and spoke out to the horses, reassuring them that home was near. They tossed their manes in response and moved at the diminished pace.


Lila started out of the weak sleep she had achieved. Her mind ached, for the effort it had taken to fall asleep had been greater than the relief the rest offered. She shook her head but only made herself feel dizzy and sick. It took all her will power to look around her.

It hadn’t been a dream. She was still in the back of the carriage, her back pressed against the metal of the walls. She shifted and her skin peeled itself away from the smoothness of the wall.

The carriage had stopped, she noticed. But her tired mind failed to process anything else, and she curled up in the center of the compartment, falling again into the shallows of sleep.


“I saw ‘em, sir, the man you said would follow us.”

“So it was a man. What did he look like?” Kyichi inquired as Jack jumped down from his seat. The driver arched his tired back and groaned for a moment, before looking to his employer and thinking.

“Well, he was a big man, wide chin, small eyes, had a low brow. All dressed in furs, he was, and couldn’t handle his horses.” Jack smiled at his good memory.

The older demon shifted his big shoulders around, producing a low pop from a stiff joint.

“So he was driving. Was there anyone else with him?”

“Not that I could see, sir. He stopped down just at the bottom of that hill back there.” Kyichi’s eyes moved down the path, watching the hard dirt road tumble into the thick green of the forest below.

“What’s he want, sir?”

Kyichi paused. He didn’t want to tell Jack everything, for fear it would slip from the man’s tongue.

“I had some competition for the girl. I thought my opponent might follow after us in the hopes that she would jump out and fall into his hands.” The driver nodded and his eyes followed the demon’s words. “But if he’s done following, I think we’re safe.” Kyichi felt an odd pang of conscious at lying to the driver, but resolved that it was best he didn’t worry the man.

“Alright, sir,” Jack said brightly, he had learned to trust when his employer said things would be fine. “I’ll take the horses back to the stables then.” He mounted one of the rungs that jutted from the side of the carriage, and, gripping his seat, pulled himself up again. Settling himself, he took up the horse’s reigns and watched as Kyichi moved around the back of the calash.

The demon pulled the door to the hidden compartment open again, letting what little of the gray light there was left trickle into the space.

There she was, curled in the center of his vision, her knees to her chest and her back arched so that her breasts met her kneecaps. The light rolled off of her, only touching the very edges of her form. The side of her foot, the curve of one calf, the folds of the transparent sarong, the arch of her hip and the small mountains of her ribs. Her shoulder and the top of one breast were also touched by the light, along with the fingers of one hand that wrapped its arm around her chest.

His eyes moved to her face, and he began to smile as he saw how beautiful the light made her. Every detail, from the height of her cheekbone to the perfect curve of her brow, was illuminated. The light followed the arch of her forehead, and tapered slowly into shadow. Her eyes were both lost in caverns of darkness, but one set of lashes glinted silver. The straightness of her flat nose caused a sharp parallel from the silver light to the absolute shadow on its other side. Below that the light gleamed off of the plump curves of her lips, and again shifted into wisps of shadow at her chin. Her cheek glowed in the light and lines of silver flowed from the corners of both eyes.

He smiled now, watching her illuminated breast raise and fall as wind whispered past her slightly parted lips.

He had never seen anything so perfectly beautiful.


“Lila,”

The sound passed through her mind, making no impact on the haze of sleep that clouded and silenced her thoughts.

“Lila,”

Now it began to cut through the protective fog. She realized she was cold.

“Lila,”

Her breathing changed. Where it had been slow and deep it was now growing fast and erratic.

Something hot and smooth pressed against her side, and Lila shot up to avoid it. Her eyes were wide open now, but she was blind as she looked into a brightness of the withering light.

She blinked and backed away from the gray beams, not stopping until her back pressed against the far wall. Both her arms now covered her breasts, and as she shut up her eyes she felt more tears well up under her skin. How could she still have enough in her to cry again?

Lila choked on a sob, and bit into her lip to keep from whimpering. It was time to stop crying. Her master was here, she needed to listen.

“Come here, Lila.” Her long, black tipped ears flicked back as he said her name.
She lifted her eyelids by degrees, only able to look at the light as it was dulled by the criss-crossing shadows of her lashes. Lila stared into the bright grayness, her eyes straining to divine lines of her master’s form before her. He wanted her to move, come to him and leave the protection of the metal walls’ shadows.

One arm unwound itself from her chest, and was led by its hand to the wall beside her. Her weight moved from her legs to the outstretched wrist to the palm of that hand as she pulled her legs from under her and placed her weight on her knees. The light was closer now, and now she had to focus to keep from backing away.

One leg unfolded itself and its partner followed, so that she stood mere inches from the light.

Now she worried. What would it feel like to touch it? What would it do to her?
She wanted to fall back into the shadows where it was safe, close up her eyes and pretend none of this was happening. But what would he do then?

Fear pushed her feet on, and she closed her eyes as she took her first step into the light.

An odd warm crept up her leg, as if someone were breathing a single, continuous puff of heat onto her skin. Lila shook where she stood, but remained standing. She took another step and the heat pressed equally onto her other leg, now working its way up her illuminated hips.

From her memories of the confines of the compartment, she knew another step would have her at the opening where her master now waited. Even now she was within his long reach, why didn’t he just pull her out?

Her legs shook now as she realized how close he was. The arm on her breast pressed against her harder as her foot reconnected with the slowly warming metal. In a muffled sweep her other foot followed, meeting the heel of its partner as her bent to step down from the carriage.

Now her whole head was thrown into the light, and she repressed a squeak as the smooth heat of her master’s hands encircled her ankles.

“Now hold still.” The hands slipped up her calves and vanished for a moment, reappearing at her hips a second later. The tips of his long fingers pressed into her back as he tightened his hold on her and pulled her forward, lifting her out of the carriage. She hung for a moment with only his hands for support, before he lowered her to the ground.
Lila was shaking as her bare feet hit the cold dirt below. Both arms had returned to her chest, and she squirmed as one of his hands left her side and the other pulled her to turn back to the carriage. The demon said something over her head, but Lila was at a loss to hear it.

A moment later she heard the sounds of horses’ hooves and panicked. Horses were big enough to look her in the eye, and strong enough to snap her back under their hooves. She took a step back and made small thrashing moves against the renewed hold the demon took on her. The sound’s distance didn’t matter, she just wanted to get away from the animals.

“Lila,” his hands tightening around her forearms, his voice pounded its quiet intensity against the skin of her ear. “Calm down.”

She tried to stop, but as she stopped thrashing her muscles rebelled in small twitches. His hands kept their tight hold until she was able to relax against him. By then the sounds of the carriage wheels and the horses were long gone.

“Good, now open you eyes.” His tone had changed, its proximity had not.

“Sa-sa-sir, i-is ta-too mu-much bright.” She spoke facing forward.

“I know. But open them a little.”

She breathed for a moment, before lifting her lids again. The color gray light was gone, now there was only a bright stretch of dirt road before her. On either side of the path were the stretched bodies of trees, their tops so far off that only to lowest of the branches drooped to even her master’s height. The grass beneath them had been cut clear from the dirt road, but stood lush and bright grass at the roots of the trees.

One hand slipped away and the other pushed her along. She followed, moving in small, unbalanced steps in the direction he directed. He was at her side now, his hand more on her shoulder than her arm, walking along in long strides. Lila lowered her head and closed her eyes again.

“Keep them open.”

Lila pulled her head back up and lifted her tired lids again. Her mind was starting to ache, throbbing as if it wished to rival the pain in her stomach. By this point, anything her eyes showed her was blurred and gray at the edges.

“I know you’re tired, my dear, but stay awake for now.” He wasn’t looking at her, Lila thought. His voice was pointed in front of them, not towards her.

“Yes, sir.” She stumbled over the cold ground as her master half pulled her along. Lila was shaking now, the cold shiftless but heavy against her skin. Her stomach twisted inside her and she thought she would be sick soon if they didn’t stop.
She struggled for a distraction, her watery eyes sweeping to the right for something to think about besides her sickness. There were only blades of grass and the thick roots of the trees to greet her. Her eyes flicked up to her master, then away. She shouldn’t look at him, unless he told her to.

They walked for a few more steps before she looked again. She couldn’t fathom how he could exist. Yes, she had seen demons before, and none of them fit the human-like mold from which she must have sprung, but they had never seemed real to her. Most of them, at least.

But he was nothing like them, by the look of him. There were no unhinged jaws or extra eyes, overlapping teeth or strange pox-ridden skin. He didn’t smell of blood or bile, but of tobacco smoke and sweet-musky cologne. Yes, his features were inhuman, but they were not grotesque or deformed. Without those few details the scales and his long snake-like tail were the only things between him and a very tall human.

So how could he exist? How could this creature be a demon and be so… so…

She didn’t know what he was. He was a demon who wasn’t a demon. Perhaps that would be
enough.

He stopped, letting her go for a moment and reaching inside his smooth black cloak. Lila, looking around to see why they were stopped, saw where they had been headed. Before her was the front of a large structure carved from glossy white marble. The gray light bounced off of the smooth surface and made it shine, intensifying her headache. In the face of the stone a pair of tall doors were set, made of a hard, strong wood and held in place by thick metal fastenings. Her master’s hands were now occupied by the handle to one of the doors.

The portal through the stone was well high enough to accommodate the demon, and wide enough to give the illusion that both of them could move through together. Lila ran her eyes over the edges of the polished marble wall, seeing just how perfect it was. The hairs of black that decorated the white stone could have been the work of nature or that of a skilled painter, and the silence that pulsated from the surface kept all thought for her mind as she stared.

The jingle of a key in a lock and the rattling of gears reminded her of her master’s proximity. Her eyes rolled around in her skull to watch him as his long fingers retracted a detailed key from a niche in one of the metal slabs that held the door to its hinges. The key disappeared into the redness of his palm, and the other hand pulled the newly unlocked door open.

There was no other sound, not even the smooth sweep of the wood against the ground. Lila was becoming more and more aware of her own heartbeat, for her ears needed something to keep themselves occupied. This silence was so unnatural, and yet it was like a cool hand on the tempered heat of her mind. Her breathing steadied as her eyes moved into the darkness behind the opened door, and the twitching that had continually plagued her muscles relented.


Kyichi watched her as she stared at the space between himself and the other side of the doorframe. She must have been very tired, for he could see the fear that had populated her eyes begin to fade. Too tired to be afraid.

In a slow, surreptitious move, he wound one arm around her back, and maneuvered her forward. The electric jolt that characterized contact between them was gone, for she only followed his guiding arm limply.

He wondered at what could have made her so tired so fast. She had been aware enough to speak moments before, but as soon as they stopped she was out.
Kyichi watched the scars on her back warp the shadows of her shoulder blades as she walked two or three steps ahead of him. His arm pulled the door closed as he stepped over the marble threshold, and he heard the tumble of the lock setting as the wood ‘thunked’ back into place.


Lila’s steps over the threshold of her new home were always relatively the same. Whether she was starved or fed, sick or in health, weeping or trying to hide her smile, she always pulled her right foot over the doorsill and set it down immediately, bring the left foot over and forward. Even now, as her master pushed her inside, her instincts directed her.

As her feet, first the right then the left, connected with the stone of the floor, she noticed the odd heat that met her soles. The marble below matched the stone outside to the letter, the only anomaly between the two being the unrest of the black lines. But the floor was warm, as if there were a fireplace near. She looked around and found no such thing, only to find walls on either side of her that were a great distance apart. Before her there was an expanse of more marble that led quickly into darkness, though not before bringing a wide and shallow staircase into being.

Lila looked down again, the peace in her head allowed her exhaustion to take control again. She looked at her feet, bare and purple toed from the cold. For a moment she thought of the dull ache that came from her breasts, which had reacted to the temperature as well. But then all she could think of was her feet again, and how glad she would be when master allowed her to sleep. When would that be? Would he take her now, and force her to stay awake through all of it as others had done, or would he wait until she was rested more? She had heard tell that louder screams come from those who are more awake, and she knew this had more than just a grain of truth to it.

A hand on her back brought her forward, towards the wide stairway. She felt the smooth heat press here and there, knowing that the palm lay over one of her nastiest scars. Why there? Was he plotting to outdo that cruelty with his own, or was he covering it to keep his eyes fresh from such ugliness?

Lila was so lost in her thoughts that her foot bumped against the first step on the staircase without her noticing it. The muscles in her master’s hand moved and directed her upwards, and she brought her full focus to the stairway. As she ascended, her bare feet connected more neatly with the stone surface, Lila forced her eyes to take in the details beneath her. Each step was wide and low, and made of what looked to be one piece of stone. There were no chisel marks in the stone face, but in the steps themselves there were depressions made from time and busy work.

As they reached the upper landing, Lila turned to look at her master. It was a strange compulsion that overtook her suddenly, and left just as quickly. He stood over her, the shadows throwing each of his features into a dramatic contrast. One eye was visible, the other blackened by its brow. The discernible eye was that same hard amber to gold color, wet in the light and set above sharp bones. The lines of his jaws were cut out of the redness of his face, and more shadows cut canals out of his neck. She could see the curve of his Adam’s apple, and the hollow just above his collarbone as only blackness. Both of his eyes, she guessed, were on her, the extreme nature of the light making the obvious one illegible.

She lowered her eyes and saw the blade’s edge of light that illuminated one shoulder, and the lines that same light slashed across the folds of his cloak and the rest of his form. Lila felt his eyes on her still, the hand gone. This was a worse feeling, different from the scrutiny that was its predecessor but just as demeaning and powerful.

She pushed her eyes down to the shiny floor, and clenched her fists to keep her hands from shaking. The noise of her heart seemed to echo in loud pulsations around her, ripples of sound in the thick waters of the silence. A shiver raked her shoulders from side to side, and the muscles in her back tightened to keep more shakes away.

Of all the people to be sold to, why did she have to go to him?