Palan stood in front of a building with an open door and wrapped his tail around his torso. Sounds of chewing drifted through the doorway, and Palan smelled the scent of blood, causing his pulse to quicken. He stepped inside of the building, his back straight and chest out. The room was filled with circular tables that held chunks of raw animal flesh and armored demons who were occupying the seats. A few demons raised their heads to look at Palan, but most of them continued to eat with their heads lowered. There were no angels.Palan cleared his throat. The demons carried on eating in silence. Palan frowned and slammed the door shut with a booming noise that rattled the walls of the cafeteria. The demons stopped eating and turned towards Palan with their eyes narrowed, blood dripping from their teeth. “Alright, you miserable champions of Haalbeh,” Palan said and nodded. “That’s better. Who here is happy being a slave to the angels?” He looked around at the hostile glares. “None of you
Help with what?” Palan asked and snorted. “Although … Raea does need to learn how to take care of herself. Her halberd skills are mediocre at best.”“So that’s a yes?” Cleo asked. “I’ll have to charge double the payment for two people.” She nodded and was promptly thrown off of Palan’s back. Her cheeks puffed up. “I was joking,” she said and lowered her voice. “Just one-point-five times.”“Who do you think you’re extorting here?” Palan asked and picked Cleo up by her tail. “It’s fine if you steal from other people but not from me.” He retrieved the pouch that Cleo nabbed earlier. Palan carried the squirming Cleo all the way back to Raea’s room. Elrith was sitting outside, leaning his back on the wall next to the door.“She’s sleeping,” Elrith said, eyeing Palan and Cleo. Cleo quieted down and hung upside-down in the air with her body limp.Palan dropped Cleo and proceeded to the door. Elrith stuck his leg out, preventing the door from opening, and glared at the demon. “Didn’t you hear
A shirtless man paced back and forth in front of a child sitting on a bench. Two red suns in the sky hung directly above their heads, making their pale-purple skin seem orange. The child seemed to be about ten years old, but his body’s muscles had already developed well beyond his age. His bright-red eyes followed the movements of the adult ahead of him. Behind the man stood a tent that emitted a woman’s shriek every minute or so. The man’s pacing caused the line in the sand to become more prominent with each step. The woman’s screams stopped, and the desert fell silent. The man sucked in his breath and released it again as the screaming resumed. The child frowned and said, “You’re going to faint if you keep doing that, Dad.” The man glanced at his son and stopped mid-stride. He let out a sigh and nodded. “You’re right,” he said and clenched his hands. “Mom is a lot stronger than she looks.” Seconds later, his body shuddered, and he clutched his shoulders. He shook his head and star
A girl sat outside of a tent, looking up at the blue and green moon in the sky with her dark-red eyes. She seemed to be around eight years old with pointed claws in place of finger and toenails. Her pale-purple skin was tinged with green as the moon shone down on her. Her left ear twitched and she turned her head to the side. She blinked before narrowing her eyes and saw multiple figures trudging towards her through the sand. She stood up and held the hem of her dress as she walked backwards.A thin man with his ribs sticking out of his skin pointed at her and nodded. One of the men next to him asked him another question and the thin man nodded again while hunching his back and clasping his hands together. He faced the girl. “Andrea, come here.”Andrea bit her lip and continued to walk backwards, but at a faster pace. Her child steps couldn’t compare to the grown men walking towards her and they soon caught up. She let out a gasp when the moonlight illuminated a man’s face with a burn
The day passed uneventfully with the two siblings fast asleep. A few times, a beast would come by and sniff the tent, but it would leave after smelling it. One beast bit the tent, but quickly left afterwards. The suns set and were replaced by the green and blue moon. A beastial roar rang through the air, followed by a series of howls. Palan’s eyes flickered and regained their luster. “Andrea,” he said and gently shook his sister’s shoulder. “It’s night time. Wake up.” Andrea groaned and stretched her arms out in front of her body. She flopped to the side and nibbled on Palan’s leg. Palan winced and extricated himself from her jaws. Andrea rubbed her eyes. “Palan?” “Right here,” Palan said as he inspected his now-torn pants. A tiny trickle of blood dribbled down his thigh. “We’re going to town today.” Andrea yawned and sat up. Her stomach gurgled and drool leaked from her mouth as she blinked a few times. She turned towards Palan and pouted. Palan sighed. “There’s still half of th
Andrea squeezed Palan’s hand as she turned around to look at the gatekeeper’s back. She tilted her head as the two walked along a jagged stone road covered with sand. Her foot caught against an uneven rock and she stumbled.“Hey,” Palan said as he held her up. “Watch your step. Always pay attention to your surroundings.”Andrea nodded. “Why doesn’t he let everyone else in?” she asked and turned her head towards Palan.“He gets paid to keep unruly people out,” Palan said. “Troublemakers aren’t allowed in town. The boss decides who stays and who goes.”Andrea blinked as she stared at Palan’s chin which was still covered in blood. “You’re not a troublemaker?”“Nope,” Palan said and ruffled her hair. “The boss is a greedy glutton and I happen to be very good at feeding gluttons. This way.” Palan tugged Andrea’s hand and pulled her into a one-story building. Inside of the building was a counter with a middle-aged woman sitting on a chair behind it, chewing on a plant’s stem. A torch hung n
Palan and Andrea walked along the uneven road with a trail of sticks left behind them. There were only three scorpion kebabs left in the younger sibling’s hands. She nibbled off a scorpion claw while speaking, “Tell me the story.”Palan grunted. “That man’s name is Bogar. According to him, he was running through the desert, being chased by a herd of wildebeests when he saw a portal appear in the air next to him. He jumped inside the portal, figuring that it would be better than being trampled to death.”“The portals you throw things in to get stones?”“Yes,” Palan said and nodded, “those. He’s the only person I know who claims to have returned after falling inside one of them that actually has some sort of proof, the glowing stone. Of course, he could be lying and found it somewhere else. He said he was teleported to another world where the people he met were like children. They didn’t have any sins and they didn’t kill each other. Everyone worked together to help each other, even per
A group of three men sat around a campfire with an antelope roasting over it. The two suns shone overhead, causing the three men to sweat. One of the men tore off a chunk of slightly raw flesh and grinned.“Hey! Quit eating the bait,” one of the men said and snarled.“Ah, stop whining,” the man with the meat said. “‘Tis just a small morsel.”“If we can’t make quota, you’ll be the one finding shelter tonight,” the last man said and narrowed his eyes.“It’s fine,” the man with the meat said as he licked his lips. He pointed behind the two men. “Look, there’s already some coming this way.”The two men turned around and saw a sand cloud in the horizon. A tiny figure, that seemed to have two heads, could be seen approaching them. “That’s a person, you nitwit.”“So what? We can still rob ‘im.” The man threw the remaining meat to the side and drew his dagger.“Eh,” the other men grumbled as they unsheathed their daggers as well. All three of them may prone against the ground and waited.“Som