AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s me.” Nur shuffles into the shadows.
Gorman scoffs. “The demon.”
“That’s right.” His claws scrape over the wood as he inches closer—not too close. The human’s smell is pungent with fear, but there’s bitterness, too.Death.
“What do you want? Come to gloat over my fate?”
Nur sits back on his haunches. The wagon master is a dark lump against the wall of the wagon, his arms and legs bound, the whites of his eyes flashing.
“I’m here to give you a choice.”
“Oh, decider of my fate.” He blows a breath out into the damp air. “Lay it on me, then.”
The rain thunders on the roof, the sound filling the small space. Nur inches closer.
“You’re sick.”
The man grunts. “That’s what they’re waiting to find out.”
“I know the truth—I smell it. I can let you go. You’ll run. Head into the desert, or follow the caravan and live off their scraps—doesn’t matter to me.” He leans in. “Or I can end it now. It’ll be fast and painless. None of your friends will have to do the job. What do you think?”
The man is silent, his harsh breaths brushing Nur’s cheek. Finally he chuckles. “You really are a demon, aren’t you?”
“In everything but name,” Nur replies grimly.
“How do I know you’re not lying about the parasite?”
He taps his thumb against the ball of his knee. “You feel it. It’s wriggling around in you. Its hunger has become your hunger. You want to be free, don’t you? But not to escape. To get closer to your companions. They’re so healthy, so strong and whole. Aren’t they?”
“Yeah,” the man rasps.
“You can smell them, can’t you? Your senses are much better now.”
“I can.”
“You know I’m not lying.”
His breath rattles. “I know.”
“What’ll it be?” Nur sits back.
If the wagon master chooses escape, Nur can kill him anyway in a couple days before he’s a danger to the others. The smell will tell him exactly where the infected man is. Either way, Arsene will be furious at him for meddling.
Gorman shifts, his limbs pushing against the floor. “Alright. Do it. Kill me.”
Nur does it.
He doesn’t eatthe soul.
He crawlsout of the wagon and staggers away, dropping to his knees behind the closest water barrel. He strips down and washes the black blood off his hands on the wet grass. Shivering, he scrubs himself all over. He’s a weapon. That’s all he was to the King, and all he’ll ever be to someone like Arsene. Not someone to cherish, but a blade to use up until it’s dull and cracked.
Chapter 16
ARSENE
After the rain,the high plains come alive. Lizards emerge from the grasses and insects wake and call to each other. Arsene lets the wind dry his clothes, unbothered by the chill. It’s good to wash away weeks and weeks of dust from his skin, like he too is an insect unfurling from a cocoon.
The humans mill around the camp, disorganized, but his usual annoyance drains away. Some set up tents where the ground has started to dry and others bring out the fire pit. There’s mud everywhere, and the pups have to be wrangled away from it. Arsene helps mark the barrels of fresh rainwater to denote it for cleaning only, or to be distilled later. It’s not until the pale lavender sky deepens to cobalt that he remembers he hasn’t seen Nur since the rain started.
