Lovely Creation - Chapter 23 No Demon King

The ground down below was littered with debris from the storm. As she flew higher, Kiterina could see figures moving about in the distance. Drawing closer to them, she saw all manner of creatures, none of them were human. This must be the demon army!

Swinging to the side, she saw a village in the distance, behind the advancing army, and decided to check it out. There might be people there who needed help.

As she flew closer, a strange sight appeared. Men were driving the creatures with whips and swords. The monsters who fell behind, were beaten until they stood up or were killed. Frowning, she flew closer and saw it repeated over and over. This was no army advancing to kill and destroy, they were creatures fleeing death.

Flying higher, to avoid being seen, she flew on to witness the same thing everywhere she flew. The village was devoid of people, and instead was a base of human warriors. The creatures she had seen being driven on, were the same type as the ones in cages she saw below her.

As dawn approached, she turned back, rushing faster than she had ever flown before, to get back to the people she had left at the old couple’s house. She had a lot flying through her head as she arrived back. The moment she landed, she was sprinting into the house, heading straight for the recruiters.

Crouching over them, she stared at their heads, and saw their dreams as they slept. One was dreaming of being home, and the other was dreaming of the biscuits his wife used to cook. Snarling silently, she pushed deeper into their heads. She was furious over the sights she had seen, and needed to know if these two had any answers.

Visions of the army marching, and people agreeing to go fight the invaders were all she could find. Leaving their heads, she allowed them to settle back into their previous dreams, feeling slightly drained.

She returned to the kitchen and threw some wood into the fireplace, to get the fire built back up. She knew the old woman would be up soon, and the house was a little chilly from the storm the night before.

Kiterina was pacing when the woman came into the room. She paused and they looked at each other for a moment, before the woman turned to the pantry and started preparing breakfast. Food was the last thing in her mind. She had committed to keeping her four people safe, and these two who had prayed to her the night before, had given her strength. She could safely assume they were now her people too.

“Goddess? Is something wrong?” asked Timmy, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

She stopped her pacing and looked at him. There was nothing marking him as hers. She moved up and began rubbing her head against him. He started giggling until she finally stopped. His hair was messed up, but he now smelled like hers. The creatures that were drawing closer would think twice about attacking him. She repeated this process with each of the young men when they entered the room. She ignored their questions, and they sat, awkwardly at the table.

“Is she sick?” asked Mike, softly to Lee, who shrugged.

“What is going on?” asked Henry as he sat at the table.

“The goddess has been acting like an overgrown kitten every since I’ve woken up,” responded Rose, setting a large bowl of biscuits down.

James laughed at that, grabbing a biscuit. “If she’s a kitten, can you imagine what she’ll look like when she’s grown?”

“Huge,” answered one of the recruiters as he entered the room. He looked awful, and Kiterina wondered if it was from her digging earlier in the night.

“We’ve heard of sphinxes growing massive as mountains far to the east, in the demon lands,” added the other recruiter, looking just as tired and worn.

“Now that you’re all here, we need to talk,” said Kiterina, standing before the fire. They all focused on her, still eating the food that Rose had just placed before them.

“There is an army, but it is of men. They are driving a line of creatures towards us with whips and swords. Those who fall are beaten or killed. I’ve seen people with children, fleeing through the forest all around us, but I need to know what you all wish to do. If I continue on towards the demon army, you will all be harmed or killed. And after what I saw last night, I’m relatively certain the stories we’ve been told about the demon army is false. I need to know what each of you knows concerning the demon king and his army.”

As each of them thought about the various rumors and stories, she quickly scanned their thoughts. It was just as she had thought. They were all the same. Raising her hand, before any could say a word, she shook her head.

“Never mind. It is as I was afraid. The story is fake. I’m not sure why the human king would do such a thing, but it is clear to me that we need to rethink our plans.”

“Wait,” said Timmy, looking at her, then at everyone else. ‘I’m confused. What’s going on?”

“I think what the goddess is trying to say,” said Henry, slowly, “Is that the warfront we were concerned about, where the two armies were fighting, isn’t what we thought it was. There isn’t two armies. Right?”

“Correct,” she said. “I saw a line of human warriors driving the creatures before them, and when I flew further, to the closest town, there was a human army stationed, with huge cages stuffed full of more of the creatures. There was no demon army, just slaves, forced to kill and destroy or be killed.”

“That’s horrifying,” said one of the recruiters stunned. The other just nodded, unable to say anything.

“So, what should we do?” asked Lee.

Kiterina saw Rose and Henry looking at each other, and nodded.

“I had thought about taking you into the mountains for your safety. Allowing you time to grow and learn how to survive, seemed like the best option before I knew what we were facing, but I’m not sure now. If there really is no demon army, how am I to defeat the demon king?”