Pepper and the old devil sat quietly for a while in the void left by the fairy's departure. When Pepper finally reached for the water skin, the old devil said, "Don't drink too fast, or you'll get sick. Do you want something to eat?"
"I know. I won't. I'd like some food if you have any," Pepper said courteously.
A strange thing happened in his mind. The pain that had been suppressed for so long flowed out of him like sweat, and although it was dark outside, he felt the sun rising again in his mind, and the long night was coming to an end.
"Will you hide and run away again?" asked the devil.
"No. I want to stay now," Pepper answered. "Otherwise they won't know where to find me."
"How can I trust you?"
Pepper thought for a moment, and then said in his most serious voice: "I swear on the name of my father, I am Androchus the giant slayer, son of Palamonos of Decaya."
"I accept your oath. We don't have to worry about this anymore." The old devil said enthusiastically. After a pause, he asked: "Why is that little boy who can fly called Wolf Sca?"
?”
Pepper felt a smile spread across her face at the memory. He said "he made it up. He said it was the scariest thing he could think of."
"What the hell is he? Some kind of ghost?"
"No, he's a fairy."
"I don't know what it means," said the old devil.
"Nobody knows, except maybe Gabby. She's my sister. He said he remembers being a flower, or in a flower, or something like that, so we think he was once a nature spirit. But he talks a lot None of it made any sense. He didn't see the world the way a normal person would," Pepper said. It felt strange to speak after so long; he kept noticing his tongue moving in his dry mouth. He added: "But wolfsca
is a fairy, so the fairy is like a wolf sca
Same thing. "
The old devil nodded sagely and said, "I guess that makes sense. Here, take another sip of water. We have to get your stomach ready for food. Open it."
The old devil took out the water skin, and Little Pepper opened his mouth and tilted his head back. The water came out slowly drop by drop and tasted like honey.
The man felt that Pepper had had enough for the time being, so he said: "I have to tell you, little black tail, I don't know what to think of you anymore. This A
d
Okles. Is he your father? Why do you want to be with your master?"
Pepper thought briefly about how much he should say, but he saw no harm in answering such a question. Wolf Sca
I've already said it, they will find out soon anyway. "A
d
okles is my dad. Before we were caught by the alien Ancient Speakers. I was waiting for him to save me, but you took me away. "
"Ah, I see. There aren't many Skywalkers roaming the land. Their horses don't like to eat grass."
"Oh no, he's a stone man. From Glory. Laophilea
. They're kind of like xenomorphs, but they look different. They have darker skin, more hair, and darker hair. At least Dad's was. And, he was the strongest man who ever lived, except maybe some heroes," Pepper replied, some of his pride returning. "He saved us when Flower and I were starving, and then he Decided to make us his sons because...he likes us. Pepper wanted to say that because we are blessed by God to be as noble and strong as he is, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He was still used to thinking like a slave, just a little bit.
"You called him the Giant Killer. Why?"
"He slew a giant alone in the dark with a spear. It was Tartalo, if you know what that was. His people, well, our people called them Cyclops." "But that's not all. The most horrific thing he ever killed.”
"Ominous. That little boy said he would come to save you?" the old devil asked. Pepper detected a hint of worry in his voice.
"He will definitely come."
"What's he going to do if we try to stop him? By the time Skywalker comes in the spring, your trade value will be huge." asked the old devil.
"You can try," Pepper said, immediately feeling stupid. Dad said to be cunning, the devil could kill him at any time.
"I see," said the old devil. It picked up its thin and smooth tail, put the thick part close to its body, and massaged it like a pain. "What a strange child the gods have placed in our laps."
Pepper didn't know what to say, so he said nothing. He sat back and crossed his legs, awkwardly trying to find a suitable position to make the iron ring on his ankle more comfortable. As the chains jingled and the old man gave him an angry look, Pepper realized the old man must have thought he was giving him a hint. Sure enough, the old devil took out a small chisel from his pocket, put the tip of the chisel on the bolt that fixed the metal ring to Pepper's ankle, and struck it with a stone. The shackles snapped open and fell off, and the old devil lifted Pepper's leg to see if it was injured.
"There's barely any bruising. You're going to be fine," he said.
"Yeah," said Pepper. He already knew it. The slaves first caught him when he lost his first family and they kept the ropes tied until he bled. That time it hurt much more than this time.
"You know, I don't want to tie you down. I'm happy to free you. Come, I'll find you a bird and some bread."
The old devil picked up the water skin and pushed Little Pepper to the hole, but he didn't need any coaxing. Pepper stood up and walked out as fast as he could. His legs were a little wobbly, but he didn't fall. He stepped outside for the first time in days and grinned as a wave of joy washed over him. He couldn't help it.
"Let's go to my tent," the old devil said, patting him on the back and pointing. Pepper nodded and began to walk arduously along the path, which had more snow than the trail. When Pepper slipped and almost fell, the old devil caught him, holding on to his hand to keep him steady. Pepper was shy about it, but he needed help. At least for now, until he's healthy again. The demon's hand felt... normal. Just a normal hand.
The demons lived in thick tents made of furs, almost square-shaped, and they kept horses. However, they had no chariots, and their settlement looked more like a camp than a small village. The old devil led Pepper through the tent, walked roughly to the middle of the tent, opened the door of a tent that looked no different from other tents, and asked him to come in.
When he walked in, a warm feeling came to his heart. Burning coals in a round brazier shaped like a pot, raised slightly off the ground by tiny round legs, heat the entire space and cast a subtle red glow over everything. A small round opening in the ceiling let the smoke out. A pile of rough cloth and furs were spread on the ground as the floor. There were so many that Pepper couldn't tell whether the ground was ice or dirt.
Pepper sat down close to the brazier and began to warm her hands. He'd been warm enough in the cave with his clothes and furs that he wasn't bothered by the temperature, but now with real warmth he wanted to absorb as much heat as possible and store it for later use.
The man took a cooked bird from a covered basket and heated it on a spit on a brazier. The smell of meat quickly filled the room, and although Pepper was still thirsty, his mouth began to water. The old devil sat down next to the brazier. Opposite him was Pepper. He crossed his legs, raised his feet to a suitable position with his hands, and frowned slightly. He sighed and said, "Now, little black tail, why don't we start with your name? You never said that, and you haven't been willing to talk to me before."
"chili".
"Pepper? I could have guessed. It suits you. My name is Natuak. We know each other's names and you sit by my fire and eat my dinner. We are friends now. Tell me about your father." Well, that giant killer."
Pepper looked at the old demon Natuk, wondering if that man was serious. Natak just looked back at him, his wrinkled, stubbled face calm and plain, waiting for Pepper to start speaking. Pepper thought for a moment about how much to say and what the consequences would be. But he looked at the bird, inhaling its scent deeply with every breath, and thought it might be okay.
"Well...he's really tall. He's the tallest man I've ever seen. I could sit on your shoulders and he'd still be taller. He's also very strong. His arm muscles are as big as my head , or bigger. All the games he competed in left him with a lot of scars. He fought in the military all his life. He had a bad temper, but always kept his promises."
"Is he a good boxer?"
"He's the best fighter."
"Does he know our people?"
"He um... I don't think so. Not much. You're not at all like he told me."
"What did he tell you?"
"He had seen some of them in the army and he said they fought naked and didn't need any weapons. He said they were all crazy and no matter what you did you couldn't stop them. They only used teeth, claws and Tails. Their tails go right through the armor. One of them killed dad's best friend and he never forgot it. I think he was even scared of little Seph at first. He wanted Deanna to kill him, but She won't. But he must be talking about other demons, because you're not that kind of person at all. Is there just one kind of demon? Or are there many? Pepper asked. After being provoked so many times, now to say this It felt weird to him, but he wasn't scared anymore, that's all.
"Only one. An ancient, declining tribe. But I know what he means. We are unhappy with them. Who is Sev?"
"That's Deanna's little demon boy, she stole it from the Outlander. I think I know where she got him. There was a field with lots of flat rocks and a fire, and one of your women asked Dad Helped her move a rock and there was a child under it. I think Sev was under one of them."
Old Natook's face showed strong emotion for the first time. The man stumbled in his seat, clawing at the fur on which he sat, looking directly at Pepper. His silver eyes, which gradually turned dull gray with age, burned with intense fire. Pepper doesn't know what people are thinking like Flower does, but the demon looks both angry and excited. "Where is it? Do you know where it is?"
"No, but...well, I bet Dad can find it again." Or Wolfsca
. Dad always knew where things were. Or at least he said he did," Pepper said. "I'm sorry. Is this what you meant by trading me? For Children Under the Rock?”
Natuk leaned back and looked up at the hole in the roof. He yelled: "That's it. Someone has finally found where they are holding our children and he's coming here to kill us."
The old devil sighed listlessly, looking frustrated. Pepper felt a little sympathetic, but he didn't know what to say, so he tried changing the subject. "How did they get down there?"
"The pig-faced monsters are after our children. They turn them into berserkers and use them as mercenaries."
"Oh," Pepper said. His mind started to spin.
"You don't know what that means, do you?"
"Oh!" cried Pepper, as the thoughts came together.
"What?"
"I know! They kept them there until they..." Pepper trailed off as the thought took full effect on him. He knew exactly what that would be like. Every bit of anger and Hate, all like embers, burns silently under the rock until you break deep inside... This has started to happen to him, so recently he can still taste its bitterness in the back of his throat. When he realizes That's when it was almost himself, and an abyss of absolute terror opened up inside of him. That was almost him. He drew his knees up to his chest, wrapped his tail around them, and curled up into a ball.
"It's a terrible thing to say, isn't it?" said old Natook. There was a hint of sadness in his voice that struck a deep chord in his heart.
For a moment, Pepper stared inward at the growing abyss of terror within him, shrinking away. He began to shiver as if he were cold.
"For this reason, our children have always been valuable in the trade. No one else under the eternal sky can become a berserker - and in the process, it is Kalishek's blood that keeps us alive of.
"In ancient times, when our people became many nations and fought against each other, we would seize the children of the losers and make them into furious warriors. Sometimes, if we were desperately poor, we would sell our children, Because we can always make more. Did you know we used to live in Stone City? We lost them and our proud country and king were destroyed. That was in the time of my great great grandfather. Then we became like you Tribes that rode horses like this. My grandfather knew those days. We still kill each other, each other, and our own children. There was more than one tribe in my father's time. We are the only ones left now, less than five hundred of us, Only a few children remain among us. The king of the foreign kingdom searches for us with great cunning. I fear the ancient bloodline of Kalishek will soon be lost forever."
Any questions Pepper wanted to ask slipped into the pit of fear inside him, and it took all his strength to keep himself from slipping into it. He could hardly breathe. He imagined himself trapped under dark rocks, with the summer sun and winter storms passing overhead, even though he tried not to think about it. He imagined Flower and Sev beside him under the rocks, each suffering alone. There were kids like him everywhere. He hid under every rock in that land.
"The woman your father helped was probably little Aditya. She never came back to us." The old devil said.
"Wait, how do they get stronger sitting under a rock?"
"Ah, boy, this is only the first part of the process. There is more, each step worse. But beyond that, I will never tell. This knowledge must die if we are to survive."
The abyss of terror was still there, staring up at him from his imagination. The more he thought about it, the stronger the feeling became. The aliens stole the children and turned them into monsters, and then the monsters went to war with Dad's people and killed them. Dad's friend didn't have to die at all. If Dad knew the truth, his rage would level every tree to the ground. Mom would feel the same way and she would let him save the rest. He probably will. After all, he is strong and can lift rocks. After that, it's time for revenge. Everyone needs to stay away from him. Then they have to find a place to house fifty demon children...
"Pepper, let me tell you, you seem like a very sincere kid. I hope you remember us after we die," the old devil said, his voice drawn out with age and sadness.
Hearing this, a feeling of guilt crept into Pepper's mind, an emotion that came before understanding.
The old devil lowered his head slightly, and the tips of his ears drooped. He looked up at Pepper, frowned worriedly, and said, "Now that you know the truth, can you stop your father when he comes?"
Pepper moved uneasily and looked down at the brazier. "I...well, I can't. When he's angry, no one can get close to him, especially boys. I'm strong, but not that strong. He's got his thing, everyone around him falls down, and sometimes It also catches fire. Only mom can handle it."
Natuk stared meaningfully at the hole in the ceiling, a thin wisp of smoke drifting gently into the open air above the tent. "Perhaps in the days before your father comes you can learn a little about our ways. That way you will have something to tell your children."
"Well, he'll probably stop before killing everyone once he sees you're normal." He immediately realized that wasn't the right thing to say, so he quickly added: "And, um, I think it's going to take him Long time to get here. Wolf sca
Didn't say where he was. He may be far away. There may be...um..."
The old devil just gave him a look that was somewhere between despair and amusement, then handed him a piece of bread to chew.
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