Charok
I stood on the wall beside Blossom, gazing down at the raiders. There were more of them now, including three sorcerers and their demons. None of the three demons were of my caste. I was... Well, the closest translation in the human tongue was "Sharp One," a reference to my claws, horns, and tail. The names of the three castes represented below translated to "Chain Beast," "Woman of Knives," and "Insectoid Engineer."
Chain Beasts, as a general rule, were dumb, and this one seemed to be no exception. Its sorcerer kept it close, and glanced at it frequently. Like all Chain Beasts, it looked like a man covered in chains. Thick chains shrouded its limbs and body, and thinner chains veiled its face. Its only visible feature, aside from the chains, was its glowing green eyes. Chain Beasts typically fought using these chains, which reached out to whip and strangle foes.
The Woman of Knives was also typical of her caste. Her figure was much like that of a human woman, but no mortal female had these proportions. Her waist was too slender, her feet too dainty, and her breasts too large. I thought the overall effect was more unsettling than beautiful, but many humans thought otherwise. Her face seemed as female as her body, right up until she smiled. Then you could see her shark teeth. This caste could materialize knives, and she was playing with one right now, flipping it from hand to hand. Her sorcerer seemed alternately aroused and unsettled by her.
The third demon, the Insectoid Engineer, was scuttling about shifting earth with its magic, making fortifications. In hell they made, guarded, and constantly renovated elaborate palaces full traps. It had four insectoid limbs, all tipped with segmented hands. Its body had two parts, similar to a spider. Its white chitin stood out against the darkness, as did its eight eyes, which glowed a bloody red. Its sorcerer was paying little attention to it as it did its work.
While sorcerers could summon and control more than one demon, they rarely did so. As a general rule, keeping one demon out a mischief taxed any sorcerer's patience. This was because every caste had their strange quirks. Insectoid Engineers were compulsive builders, and, unless explicitly ordered not to, would change human structures in odd, chaotic ways. Chain Beasts had a strange fascination with babies, and tended to carry them off if left to their own devices. Women of Knives liked to entrance men with their magic and eat them. My own caste... I smiled. My own caste liked to deliberately misinterpret orders.
"What do you think?" Stone asked Blossom.
He shrugged. "I'm no strategic mastermind, but it looks to me like they're gearing up for a siege."
"That's what it looks like to me, too, sir," the captain of the guard said, looking respectfully from Gossom to Stone. She knew about the agreement the two leaders had reached. Messengers had been sent out to notify others. Soon, the whole town would know.
Gossom frowned. "I wonder what happened to the farmers."
"Probably nothing. Rounding up and killing everyone outside the walls would slow them down too much," Stone said, but he sounded like he was trying to convince himself as much as anyone else.
Gossom sighed. "I hope you're right."
"With all due respect, sir, it's too late to do anything about that," said Captain Terria. "We need to worry about the problem we are facing now."
"You're right," said Stone. "I am wondering, however, how they got so close without us noticing."
Blossom shrugged. "They've got three sorcerers, and they used to have four. I'm guessing magic."
"That is likely an accurate assessment," said the captain. Stone and Gossom nodded.
Then Stone asked the question we were all thinking. "So, what do we do now?"
*
Blossom
I pondered Lord Stone's question. Lasting out the siege was likely out of the question. I recalled from my conversation with the barmaid the groundwater here was both scarce and so mineral rich that drinking it for a prolonged period caused health problems. Most of the water the people here drank was brought from the river, which I could just barely see off in the distance, beyond the raiders. If it weren't for the gold, building here would have been horribly impractical.
Trying to drive off the raiders was a bad idea. There were roughly as many raiders as there were town defenders. Under normal circumstances they would be evenly matched, but the demons changed the equation. Even the weakest demon was worth at least five humans in a fight, and I didn't think the ones out there were pushovers. Unbeknownst to the others, we had our own demon, but the odds were three to one.
I stood on my tiptoes to murmur in Charok's ear. "How tough are the three demons out there?"
"The one with the appearance of a woman is the strongest," murmured Charok. "She and I are evenly matched. The chained one is close to my equal, but I could defeat it were it alone. The insect is the weakest. It was likely summoned for its ability to swiftly create fortifications." He surveyed me. "Unless you have skills you have yet to exhibit, it is still stronger than you."
I sighed. "I kind of figured that." I was probably worth about 3 normal people in a fight. "Charok, we are in serious trouble."
"I have an idea, sir," Captain Terria said to Gossom and Lord Stone.
"Let's hear it, then," Lord Stone told her.
"I doubt we can defeat their entire group, not with the demons to deal with," the captain said, "But we may be able to get a small group through the lines. They could get help."
Gossom frowned. "What sort of help? We aren't allied with anyone who has an army."
"Mercenaries," said Lord Stone. "The Grimstone Company has funds set aside for just that purpose. This is not the first time a mine of ours has come under attack." He frowned. "Though it is the first time I have gotten caught up in the action."
Gossom smiled faintly. "I haven't been involved in a siege before either."
"I have," said Captain Terria. "When I worked for the Therosian Empire. It was a small town, but well supplied. We used this exact tactic to notify the local branch of the Therosian army of our predicament, and they came to help." She frowned. "Eventually."
Gossom looked over at her, curious. "Eventually?"
She bowed her head. "We were neither strategically positioned nor a major source of resources. It was several months before they bothered to rescue us."
Gossom frowned. "We don't have several months."
Lord Stone huffed. "We aren't relying on the Therosian army. Any mercenary crew we hire will be motivated to get here swiftly to break the siege."
"I hope so," muttered Gossom.
"We will need strong fighters to break through the lines," said Lord Stone. "Captain Terria, assemble a small group of your strongest guards. I will select a few of my people to join them." He turned to me. "Will you and your guard join them?"
I glanced at Charok. "What do you think?"
Charok glanced at me. "Yes. But we must rest first."
Lord Stone nodded. "Of course. Will you be ready to go by noon tomorrow?"
Charok nodded, and I said, "Yes."
"Good," said Lord Stone. "You will, of course, be well compensated for your efforts. We can discuss that after you have rested."
I nodded. "Great. Come on, Charok. Let's head to our room."
We walked in silence back to the inn. I glanced at Charok, wondering if he'd want to discuss the whole Chosen of the Sun thing now or wait until after he'd rested. He glanced back at me, his eyes boiling with suppressed fury. Odds were he wouldn't want to wait, then.
As soon as the door to our room closed behind us, I turned to my companion. "Charok-"
Swift as a snake, he grabbed my wrists with one hand and pinned them to the wall above my head. Behind him, his tail lashed. "We need to talk," he growled.
I squirmed. "Yes, I know. About the whole Chosen of the Sun thing."
Charok's eyes narrowed. "Not just that."
I blinked. "What do you mean?"
He bared his teeth. "You know exactly what I mean. Blossom, you used your power on me."
My eyes widened. "No, I-"
Charok clapped a hand over my mouth. "No more lies, Blossom. You manipulated me. You used me."
I stared at Charok, terrified. He knew. He'd realized exactly what I'd done. And, with my mouth covered, there were some real limits to how I could use my power. I wouldn't be talking my way out of this one.
"I didn't realize it until everything was over," Charok continued. "Until we were on the way here. But now that I see it, it seems so obvious. Your power, as one of the Chosen of the Sun, is to control other people. You used it on Gossom and Stone, to get them to agree. And you've been using it on me since we first met."
His tail whipped around to press the blade against my throat. "I should kill you for that," Charok hissed.
I swallowed. A small line of blood trickled down my throat as the tail tip nicked my skin. I could feel the points of Charok's claws against my cheek and wrists. But I wasn't dead yet.
Charok followed the line of blood down my throat. His blade moved back a bit. "And yet..." He shook his head.
*
Charok
I gazed down at the obviously terrified Blossom. Normally, scaring a mortal would amuse me, possibly even arouse me. But with Blossom... I snarled. He flinched.
How had he done this to me? How had he gotten me so twisted up in my own mind that, even now, after everything he'd done, I still couldn't bear to frighten him like this? How could he have manipulated me to the point that the line of blood on his throat made me feel like a monster?
I wanted to let him go. To soothe him. To promise him everything would be ok. And then, once I had him calmed down, I wanted to fuck him.
I growled. I should kill him for what he'd done to me. But I could not.
So what now? I couldn't kill him, and the idea of leaving him alone, unprotected, felt like a knife to the heart.
I sighed, and lowered my tail. "Fine. You win." I released Blossom and stepped back.
