“Oh, Alex…”
Jay moaned quietly as she rushed to crouch down next to the demon who’d just made a mess all over her chest. Her very naked chest. Of course she’d taken off her clothes again. Not that the scraps of cloth she’d barely managed to get Alex to wear were clothes, really. Just some basic wraps that Sabina had cut to approximately the right shape and size so that Alex could wear them on her strangely shaped body. Still, they would have been better than the nothing Alex was wearing now. Though nothing would have been better than—what had Alex been eating?
“S—sorry,” Thea meekly spoke up from where stood in a corner of the basement. “I—I gave her my c—cookie b—because she, ah, asked for it.”
“She asked for a cookie?” Dys looked at Thea in surprise. “Alex never eats.”
Thea only shrugged at the question, her face a mask of nerves as she kept eyeing both the Magistrate and the High Priest standing just beside Syd. Not that Jadis could blame her quiet girlfriend for being nervous. This was a decidedly tense situation.
First impressions hadn’t been ideal, but Jadis hoped the embarrassing gaffe just helped make it clear how little a threat Alex was. Eating cookies while crammed in a wooden box in a basement wasn’t exactly the behavior of a dangerous monster. Maybe a blue fuzzy monster, but not a dangerous one.
Using a spare rag she found lying around to quickly clean Alex off, Jadis helped the demon get her clothes back on. Alex didn’t struggle; she never really objected to the things Jadis asked of her. However, Jadis was getting good enough at reading Alex’s body language to tell that wearing the clothing didn’t please the demon. Jadis wasn’t sure why Alex felt the need to be constantly nude, but that was just one of those language and culture barrier things that they were going to have to figure out together.
“Alex, say hello to our guests,” Jay repeated, making a second attempt at putting the demon’s best foot forward. Tentacle. Whatever.
“Hello…” the demon spoke in her strange, dissonant voice. “Magistrate… Vraekae… High… Priest… Gerhardt…”
Jadis smiled to see Alex catch onto their names so quickly. Full sentences were still beyond the demon, but the couple of weeks of teaching Alex Jadis had been able to work in during the trip back to the city had just reinforced Alex’s intelligence in Jadis’ mind. The issue wasn’t a lack of brains. Just a lack of common understanding.
Vraekae did not react to Alex’s spoken greeting. Her face was that same stone-cold expression she wore in all public and professional situations. But Gerhardt looked like he’d just swallowed something nasty. His left hand was clutched around the circular medallion he wore on his chest and Jadis could see that the man was shaking slightly.
“She doesn’t know all that many words yet,” Jay said after clearing her throat. “But she catches on pretty fast, considering. Body language works well, too, for communication.”
Vraekae stared at Alex, her red eyes boring holes in the demon’s black flesh. At least the Magistrate’s red orb of doom wasn’t boring any holes yet, but the vibes were definitely more hostile than not. Still, Jadis had done as much as she could to warn Vraekae of what she was walking into before they made it into the cellar. Gerhardt was the one stumbling largely in the dark, not the Magistrate. Still, what was coming made Jadis nervous.
Finally, Vraekae shifted her gaze to coldly regard Jay.
“What exactly is this supposed to prove?” The prim elf spoke with deliberate slowness. “Other than that you have taken leave of your senses. And somehow managed to cause the others around you who I expect better from to do the same. This demon has clearly subsumed the body of a human and is using that body to replicate words and behaviors. This repugnant abomination needs to be killed at once.”
“Hey now,” Kerr spoke up from the crate she had perched on top off to watch the goings on. “My senses are all present and intact, thank you very much, your highness.”
“You were not who I was referring to,” Vraekae snapped.
“…Walked into that one.”
Jadis bit back her strong response to Vraekae’s words. The elf had warned Jadis before they had come down to the basement of her plan to prod Alex for telling reactions. She had known that would involve harsh language. Jadis couldn’t fault the magistrate for her caution or her sense of duty when it came to making sure that her city and its citizens stayed safe. It still bothered her to hear Vraekae talk about executing Alex, though.
“You aren’t killing her,” Jay replied calmly while watching the demon through Syd’s eyes. “Alex hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“She has clearly killed a person.”
“So have I,” Dys challenged. “More than Alex, actually. And just like Alex, I killed those people because they were trying to kill me and my friends. That’s self-defense, not murder.”
“Jadis is right,” Aila said, catching Jadis off guard. “I’ve been around Alex since she hatched. She’s never taken any aggressive action that wasn’t in the defense of Jadis or one of us. She’s been otherwise completely harmless.”
Considering Aila had been one of the strongest proponents against keeping Alex around, Jadis was surprised to hear Aila coming to the demon’s defense. Jadis wasn’t sure if the redhead was doing it for Alex or for Jadis, but either way she appreciated the sentiment. Jay gave Aila a small nod of thanks when she caught her eye.
“The demon could still be hostile,” Gerhardt found his voice as he slowly recovered from the shock of the situation. “Though I find myself at a loss. I have never known a creature possessed to not attack once exposed.”
“I get the caution,” Dys said as she motioned towards Alex who had remained very still between her and Jay since speaking. “But what’s it going to take to convince you that she isn’t a threat? An oracle reading? We’ll have to wait a few more weeks before Eir can do another one of those.”
“We may be able to have one of the other high priests contact one of the gods sooner,” Gerhardt proposed. “It would not be the same as an oracle’s ritual, however…”
“Then we lock the demon into a cell until the gods can be consulted,” Vraekae stated. “Away from anyone that it may potentially cause harm to.”
“Vraekae,” Jay shook her head. “Come on now. Can we please be reasonable?”
“I am being reasonable,” the Magistrate replied coldly. “In fact, I am being overly generous by even entertaining this farce.”
“Cousin,” Eir pleaded, her expression pained. “I have told you the questions that Jadis asked Destarious and the answers given. Surely you can agree that the situation is not as dire as you are making it seem.”
“I would not trust everything that trickster says at face value,” Vraekae responded. “He has been known to purposefully lead his followers into folly on many occasions. I am certain High Priest Gerhardt can confirm.”
“That is not entirely untrue,” the old man said after a moment, his eyes still locked onto Alex. Though the priest was looking less apprehensive and more curious by the second. “I would argue that Destarious’ tricks have usually led to harmless results for the faithful. The crueler pranks spoken of in tales and scriptures were generally punishments for those who had done wrong.”
“But not always,” Vraekae insisted, her own gaze having never left the demon.
After a brief pause, Vraekae slightly shifted her attention to Jay. Her words were spoken with a coldness that made a shiver go up Jadis’ spines.
“Another test, then. Please do not react to what I am about to do. I will not cause any harm unless forced to. Gerhardt, Eir, please step back.”
“What are you going to do?”
As Jay frowned and questioned the magistrate, both priests quickly backed away towards the stairs where Aila waited. In the next instant, before Jadis could react, Vraekae’s glowing red orb grew large spikes across its surface and began spinning with incredible speed. Then, with deliberate intention, the orb moved towards Jay, Dys, and Alex.
“I am checking this demon’s priorities.”
The deadly spell did not rush towards them. Jadis knew from firsthand experience just how fast the red orb could move. Instead, it floated towards them no faster than a person would walk. It hovered in the air above the three, rotating at a speed that would tear flesh to shreds with even a casual brush against the whirring spikes.
Jadis did not move either of her bodies, trusting Vraekae’s word that she wasn’t going to hurt anyone. But Alex moved. Though the way she moved was probably not what Vraekae had expected.
Maybe the Magistrate had thought the demon would try to flee or lash out wildly. That would be what Jadis would expect any demon who had possessed a person and infiltrated a group of people to do when threatened with certain death. Take as many mortals out as possible before either fleeing or dying.
Not Alex.
Using her three large tentacles, two monstrously large arms, and several smaller, medium-sized tentacles that extended out of her back, Alex quickly wrapped herself around Jay and Dys’ heads and upper bodies, shielding her from the red orb spell. Alex even moved her own human-like body up so that it was between the two of Jadis and the spinning spike ball, two of her eyes locked onto the orb and the third watching Vraekae.
“Goodness me,” Gerhardt quietly exclaimed as he stroked his beard, watching Alex’s reaction.
The orb moved back and forth, changing angles. Alex followed every change, keeping the majority of her own body between the spell and whichever Jadis was closer.
“Stop… Please…”
That simple plea brought Vraekae up short. The scarlet orb hovering overhead immediately stilled, then slowly backed away to come to a rest above Vraekae’s shoulder once more.
“Well now,” Gerhardt said quietly. “I would say the Demon’s reaction is rather illuminating, isn’t it.”
Vraekae stared at Alex, her expression no softer but her back and shoulders less stiff.
“Yes, I suppose so.”
The blue elf turned her head to address Syd who was standing at her side. She arched a brow, her red eyes gleaming in the low light.
“You realize that we will have to bring this before the other high priests in the city and that this will most certainly extend the debates, yes?”
“Yeah, I figured,” Syd said dryly. “I bet you’re going to tell me that we’ll have to bring this before more than just them, too.”
“Undoubtedly. The emperor’s own court, in all probability.”
“Before tackling that horrifying prospect,” Aila said with a slight shudder, “is there something you can do to ensure Alex’s safety for the time being? I don’t think anyone here, even Jadis, is suggesting that she be allowed to wander the streets freely. However, some kind of guarantee or special dispensation to make sure a band of soldiers sent by a certain general don’t knock down the door in the middle of the night would be helpful.”
Vraekae took a step back, one finger pressed to her lip as the other arm wrapped around her torso. She concentrated, lost in thought for a moment, before slowly shaking her head.
“I will have to research what is possible. I cannot think of any precedent for this situation. The capture and study of demons is not unheard of, but this situation no longer has much in common with those tolerances. In a way, it is fortunate that the high priests have gathered here. Their knowledge and experience should help, especially the high priest of Metethys, Myron. He may have some records that would be of help. How long is she going to keep doing that?”
The last was a pointed question directed at Jay and Dys, who still stood with a demon wrapped around their heads and shoulders. Alex’s many tentacles had begun to worm their way under their shirts and Jadis was starting to have a hard time keeping the demon from putting her hands or tentacles somewhere inappropriate.
“Probably for as long as I let her,” Syd answered with a huff.
With the potential for violence diffused, Jadis sternly convinced Alex to crawl off of her two selves. Both Vraekae and Gerhardt watched with interest as Alex both listened to her commands while also complaining about the loss of contact at the same time. Somehow, Alex managed to come across as both perfectly obedient and incorrigibly bratty at the same time.
As Jadis disentangled herself from the wriggling demonette, Aila spoke with Vraekae on her aggressive behavior. The elf explained that she had purposefully tried to provoke Alex into revealing her true, hostile intentions by both talking of killing her and also displaying her own ability to kill the demon. In the past, demons who had infiltrated villages or camps had always tried to lay low until the opportunity to cause harm came along. That, or their cover was blown and their life was threatened. Then the demon would attack without fail. The fact that Alex had done nothing of the sort when faced with Vraekae’s obviously hostile intent, both verbal and visual, settled the Magistrate’s concerns significantly. Maybe even more than the knowledge that D had given the all-clear.
Jadis still would have preferred some more detailed warning about what Vraekae was going to do, but she understood the reasoning.
Since there wasn’t much room down in the cellar and Jadis was starting to feel cramped, she suggested they all move to the floor upstairs to discuss the situation with Alex further. Everyone agreed and soon, another completely bizarre and unexpected sight could be observed in the dining hall of Fortune’s Favored. The full compliment of the mercenary company, including the provisional new member Tegwyn, were sat around the large circular table along with the Magistrate, the local High Priest, and a barely clothed demon woman.
The look on Hans’ face was priceless.
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