The Legend of Black Eyes 141 The Mayor's Secrets - Part 2

I heard him disappear to gods know where. I sighed then pricked my ears for voices. I heard them alright. I activated my senses to pinpoint their exact location. They were the same five people I sensed before. There was another presence beside them, foreign, strong, and somehow familiar.

I crawled inside the narrow vent until I could see a light emanating from a hole in the distance. I crawled slower, making sure I didn't make my presence known to whoever stood down there. Whoever built this mansion, was a master of his craft. I felt the cool air ruffle my hair as I crawled. The vents were surely meant for aeration. I just couldn't tell why they'd need such big vents, unless they meant it for something else. Something I was about to find out about very soon.

I got to the hole and peeked out from it. I saw Lord Bodrick, the mayor, Jenkins the tanner, and two other people I didn't recognize. They were engaged in conversation. The mayor seemed as though he was the one pulling the strings. Something about the way he faced Bodrick told me he didn't fear the man at all.

"What if he doesn't show up?" Lord Bodrick asked the mayor.

"One sacrifice could do it, but it's always better with two," the mayor asked.

"We have already made one sacrifice," Bodrick said. "It didn't work."

"That man is a killer," Jenkins said. "If we sacrifice him, 'he' will surely accept to help us. He loves killers more than frightened lamb."

"We're not even sure he was the one to kill the fairy," Lord Bodrick said. "The mayor said it himself. He had help from a Sebyan."

"We can't sacrifice the Sebyan," the mayor said.

"I know that!" Bodrick cut in dryly. "What good is that one eyed freak if he didn't kill the fairy though? Huh?"

"That's why I proposed a group sacrifice," the mayor said. "We can appease the Dark Lord, I am sure of it."

I heard shuffling noises in front of me. I raised my eyes from the hole I peeked from, to see the bounty hunter approaching.

"Do you see Zoey?" he whispered.

I shook my head.

At that moment, the door to the room below us opened. Franz, the black haired guard stormed in.

"My lord," he said. "The tavern owner and the girl escaped. We suspect they fled to the forest with that maniac."

"We'll wait for his promised visit in the morning," Bodrick said. "Send guards down all the main roads. If he fails to show tomorrow, burn that forest to the ground. Bring him to me alive. Kill whoever gets in your way."

"Sir!" Franz put a fist to his chest then left the room.

"Bring the girl in," Bodrick told one of the men I didn't recognize. "Make sure she's gagged. I don't want to hear her shrieks."

"We shouldn't do it before schedule," the man protested.

"Do as he says," the mayor cut in. "He won't mind if it's a day early. Things have changed even in his world."

The man bowed then disappeared.

"You can start too," the mayor told Jenkins.

Jenkins disappeared to a corner of the room where my eye couldn't follow.

"I don't like this," the bounty hunter whispered to me.

"What are they talking about down there?" I asked.

"We should get going," he said. "Maybe we can save Zoey before they bring her in."

"How many guards do you think will be stationed around her?" I asked. "I'm more interested in what they're trying to do down there."

"She will die if we don't do anything," Peg Leg said. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

"You go then," I said. "You'll be fighting a losing battle. We can't fight our way out of this mansion, even if we get to her."

"Fuck!" Peg Leg swore.

"We'll find a way to get her," I said.

"There are only four of them down there. I saw we jump them, end this right here, right now," Peg Leg said.

"Is there a way for us to sneak out of that room after that?" I asked.

"No…" he answered. "The only way to get in there without being seen is through these vents."

"And we can't reach them if we go down," I said. I looked down.

Jenkins had just come back, holding a large black diamond shaped jewel. He put it on a pedestal in the middle of the room then started chanting. He repeated some words in rapid succession. I could only make out the words lord and shadows.

"It's started…" Peg Leg whispered frantically. "There's nothing we can do now…"

Black smoke started rising from the stone. It resembled the way Utar was summoned once by Agatha. The presence I felt before was getting stronger now. Slowly, the black smoke rose in the air, obscuring the men from sight. Jenkins's chants became louder, faster.

The smoke swirled about the room in the rhythm of the tanner's chants. It kept expanding until it covered the entire place. Then Jenkins stopped, and the thick, black smoke retracted to its point of origin. I could discern a shape then.

When the smoke completely dissipated, I saw what it was. It was three times larger than a human, and twice as tall.  

I saw black leathery wings at first. Then I saw its human, hairy torso. Then I saw the strong legs to which large hooves were attached, not feet. Then the thing turned to look at its summoner, and I saw its face. It had a goat face, dark and freckled like a moonless sky. Its eyes gleamed golden. When it spoke, its mouth didn't open, but its voice reverberated inside my head, as though it came from within the beast.

"What do you want?" the thing asked.

Its voice made my own bones shake. It was as if I tried to speak without opening my own mouth, as though I was humming something. Its presence was also oppressive. I only felt this kind of presence from one thing before, and it was not the Aeon. It was Sisha.

"My lord," Bodrick spoke. When I looked at him, I saw that he was kneeling. "Our land ails. Ever since that eclipse, monsters do not stop attacking our roads. We have a great threat that not even our most seasoned warriors could fight."

"Do you speak of the darkness that appears in broad daylight?" the thing asked. My bones vibrated again as it spoke.

"Yes, my lord," Bodrick said, or rather, whispered.

"You know the price," the thing spoke then approached the noble lord.

"We have prepared one for you my lord," Bodrick said. "I hope she can be to your satisfaction."

Bodrick clapped his hands and the door to the room opened. Two villagers came in, dragging Zoey with them. The man that Bodrick sent earlier came in and closed the door behind him. I noticed that he was holding a rather sharp looking dagger.

"No!" the bounty hunter whispered.

"What's this?" I asked.

"No, please don't, please don't…" he whispered, ignoring me. I could see he was shivering from head to toe, unable to move or think of anything else but the word "no."

"Acceptable," the demon's voice reverberated inside of me.

Zoey had just noticed the demon in front of her and started screaming. They'd gagged her mouth with a large piece of white cloth. Her screams reached my ears nonetheless. She struggled to free herself from their tight grips. One of them slapped her so hard the cloth gagging her was spotted red. She looked at the demon in front of her, and her eyes watered.

"Don't spoil the sacrifice," Lord Bodrick reprimanded the villager.

"I like them when they fight," the demon's voice reverberated inside my head. "Meat that's induced with fear… hmmm… delicious."

"Do you like her, my lord?" Bodrick asked.

"Bring her closer," he said.

The villagers looked at each other, fear gripping their hearts. I could see the hesitation in their eyes. Who wouldn't? That thing looked scary, creepy, and evil. I wouldn't approach it unless I was willing to kill it.

Bodrick urged the men to obey. They dragged Zoey who struggled even harder, screamed, kicked and jumped. She managed to free herself, and ran for the door. The two villagers were faster though. One of them kicked her as she tried to open the door then dragged her from her feet. She held on to a piece of tile that protruded from the ground. The other one reached her and stomped on her hands.

By the time she was in front of the demon, her face was bloodied. Her nails were broken, and her tears overflowed.

I shot a glance at the bounty hunter. Tears streamed down his cheeks and met at his chin. He was crying silently, shaking all along. I looked back down. The larger than life demon crouched to look at Zoey in the eye.

"Tell me child," he asked her, and in turn every single one of us heard his terrible, deep voice. "What's the most fearful thing you've ever laid eyes on?"

She looked him in the eyes and her fear somehow subsided. It looked as though she was hypnotized.

"So you have seen a demon before," the thing said. "Alas, that demon is no longer with us, killed by a mad wizard."

That bit of news shook me up. You may say that I had my priorities mixed, but what did you expect me to do against a demon? Things got out of hand, quickly, and unexpectedly.

"You also know a Child of the Forest," the demon went on. He stood up then looked at all the men present. His goat head landed on each villager. His stare lasted for about a second, but for each look, the villager in question would collapse to one knee or faint.

"You did well to banish him from here," the demon told the mayor after a while. "But I want his companion. Children of the forest are natural enemies of the fairies, and humans. He wouldn't befriend one if it weren't for his own benefit. If that human had ever killed a fairy, I'd want to consume him!"

"Yes, my lord," the mayor stuttered.

"Now," the demon went on. "To the matters at hand, I will accept this meager sacrifice. Bring me that man too, and I shall tell you everything you need to know about the darkness."

"W-we should d-do something," the bounty hunter whispered to me.

"Do you have any suggestions?" I asked.

I looked down again, and I saw the villager with the dagger approaching Zoey. She looked back and saw him approach her too. She started screaming, begging. I saw tears stream down her face. The cloth gagging her had become wet. She shook her head violently as the man got closer and closer.

"They'll kill her," Peg Leg begged.

"I can see just fine," I told him. "Do you really expect me to go down there and fight a demon?"

"You're good with a sword," he said.

"You need more than a goddamn sword against that thing," I hissed.

The villager reached Zoey, pulled her by her hair then cut it. Zoey screamed, and the demon laughed. An eerie vibration overtook me. I shuddered. The villager handed the hair to the demon, who took it with his long, gnarly fingers. He sniffed it, then let out a enraged roar. The vents in which we hid rumbled. The entire building shook as the demon's voice filled its walls.  

"Full of fear," he said. "Give her to me…"

The villager, with quick stabbing motions, hurled himself at Zoey. She screamed at first, but her cries died out after three stabs. At best, you could hear her gasp for air as the man stabbed her multiple times in the chest. Blood flowed out of her nostrils, painted her gag red, and drenched her clothes. The bounty hunter opposite me resumed his crying. I looked at him silently, then at Zoey, as life left her body.

The demon then got closer to the lifeless woman, and opened his mouth. I never thought I'd see such a gruesome scene. Sisha biting wyverns' necks was one thing, but seeing a goat headed demon with sharp fangs devour a human was another. In less than a minute, Zoey disappeared, flesh and bones alike.

The demon patted his stomach and licked his sharp teeth.

"The darkness, the thing you call merchant robber," the demon said, "has left this village. I may tell you where it hides, but you'll have to bring me the fairy slayer."

Chapter end