Shadow Prowler

“Why?” I asked, puzzled.

“There’s a lot of food here.” His eyes narrowed again and glinted as they stared at me.

H’san’kor! The wrong question.

“I was wondering about something else. Why did all the other demons go back into the Darkness?” I said hastily to distract the hungry creature from bad thoughts about my own humble person.

“Ah,” said the beast, after considering the word “wondering” for a long moment. That was fair enough; it never does any harm to increase your vocabulary. “Some mortal read a spell that ended the freedom of demons in this anthill of men. I’m going to catch him and suck the marrow out of his bones. You haven’t seen anyone round here, have you?”

I shook my head desperately. I thought I knew which particular mortal we were talking about here.

“And who released Vukhdjaaz from the Darkness?” I asked, desperately seeking a way out of this unpleasant situation.

“The Master.” Another jolt.

“The Nameless One?”

The demon only snorted and seared me once again with that hungry glance. This creature had a really great talent for making me feel nervous. Just what was it he saw in me?

“Vukhdjaaz is hungry.”

“Yes?” I squealed, setting my finger on the trigger of the crossbow.

Of course, shooting at a demon with an ordinary crossbow bolt is like pricking an ogre with a pin. It only annoys them even more. But what else could I do?

“Yes. And Vukhdjaaz needs help, too.”

“Perhaps Harold can help you?”

“He can.” Vukhdjaaz inhaled my odor and a sticky thread of saliva dripped out of the corner of his mouth.

“No, with your business!” I wailed despairingly.

“Ah?” The demon seemed a little upset, but he moved his toothy face away from me. “Vukhdjaaz wants to stay in this world. The food is not so good in the Darkness. Harold will help Vukhdjaaz.”

“Of course, what do I have to do?”

“Soon I’ll be drawn into the Darkness. No matter how well I hide.”

The sooner the better, I thought, putting on the polite expression of an attentive listener.

“But if I can find something first, I’ll stay here for a long time. I can sense the thing. It’s here in the city. Vukhdjaaz is clever,” the demon reminded me yet again.

“What is this thing?”

“A horse.”

Well, naturally. There’s more meat on a horse than on a man. And this demon’s so big. And so hungry.

“All right.” It wasn’t really a very tricky job. “Tomorrow I’ll get you a horse. Which breed do you prefer?”

“You’re stupid,” the demon hissed, prodding me with a clawed finger. The prod sent me staggering back several steps. “Not a live horse, the Horse.”

“Aaah. That horse, why didn’t you explain straightaway?” I decided that stupidity was the quickest way into Vukhdjaaz’s stomach, and it was much safer to be clever, even if I didn’t understand a thing.

“I give you four days. Vukhdjaaz is clever. Get me the Horse.” The demon looked at me, waiting for an answer.

“Of course, of course. I’ll do everything.” I still hadn’t understood the point of the conversation, but I was really keen to get rid of this creature that found it so easy to appear out of walls and hide inside them.

“I’ll be watching.” The demon impaled me with its scarlet eyes. “Do as I order, or I’ll suck the marrow out of your bones. Vukhdjaaz is clever. You can’t trick him.”

The demon took a step toward the gray wall and dissolved into it. I stood there for a while, trying to calm the rapid pounding of my heart, which was about to tear itself out of my chest.

What do I make of all this? First a group of crazed Doralissians pursues me, demanding that I give back their horse, then I chant a spell that has been lying in the depository at the library for Sagot only knows how many centuries, and do what the entire Order was unable to do: I drive all the demons back into the Darkness. Or almost all. Then a ravenously hungry demon, the most stupid in the entire world, picks me up like a little kitten and also demands a horse. I wonder if Vukhdjaaz and the Doralissians are looking for different horses or the same one? Maybe I should introduce them to each other, and they can make their own deal about horses? Maybe horse- breeding was coming into fashion in a big way?

I walked home—and got my cloak—without making any attempt to hide, in the complete certainty that not a single creature of the night could get me, apart from the extremely clever Vukhdjaaz. I didn’t bother to change my lair, just set all my troubles aside until the morning, dropped onto the bed, and instantly fell asleep.

There were exactly six days left until the expedition to Hrad Spein.

6 DAYTIME SURPRISES