The plan will work,Cahir thought.There is no other option.
Chapter 18
Seda
Silence. Too much silence.
Esper did not respond to Seda when she called out, and no one else appeared to be in the hall with them. Her cell grew colder as the hours went by. She paced back and forth, trying to warm up by rubbing her arms. She walked along the edges, feeling for the grooves in the walls and the placement of the bed to find safe spots to step. Ten steps lengthwise. Nine steps across.
She still felt sick from seeing the woman’s body and having her blood crusted on her skin. It was hard to avoid the slippery puddle on the ground, but she now knew it was exactly four steps to her right. Seda accidentally walked into the empty bucket and knocked it over; the sound echoed sharply off the walls.
A low, menacing growl echoed out, and Seda’s body went rigid.She couldn’t see anything, andsomethingwas with her in this area. Her throat constricted, and she swallowed hard.
Heavy footsteps and the sound of a dragging chain grew louder, drawing closer. She backed up to the wall, hitting her head again on the stone that jutted out a bit too far. Seda watched in fear, her eyes fixed on the darkness in the direction of the sound.
She gasped and looked up as massive, glowing red eyes appeared, their slitted pupils like those of a cat. The eyes were as big as her head. The creature sniffed the air, and heat radiated around Seda’s body. She remained frozen as she stared back into them, their glow casting a gentle light in her cell.
It must be an animal, but all the animals in Joro were small—usually cats, dogs, or birds. No, this thing was too big to be just an animal.
It’s a monster.
The creature stayed still, watching her every movement, every rise and fall of her chest.
“P-Please don’t hurt me,” she rasped, her voice catching.
Stupid, stupid woman! This thing wants to eat you. Don’t talk to it!
The creature squinted its eyes at her, and the room grew darker. A deep voice echoed inside her mind. “Humans are tasty. But you…” It sniffed the air again. “You’redifferent. Who are you?” Its deep, hoarse voice rumbled across the ground. Like a furnace spewing hot gas, the voice was heavy and warm, filling her cell with heat.
“I-I’m Seda,” she hesitantly offered back.
The creature tilted its head in confusion. “Seda,” it repeated, as if it were tasting her name in the air.
“W-Why do you have chains?” she asked, attempting to direct the conversation away from herself.
“Because, just like you..Seda The Spoken. I’m a prisoner here. They feed me well, though,” the creature chuckled deeply.
“Why don’t you fight your way out? Why do they have a monster here as a prisoner?”
The creature huffed and blew heat around her face, blowing her hair off her shoulders. “I’m not one of themonsters. I only eat to survive. I once was a protector, a guardian, but that was a very long time ago. I have failed my kin, and I cannot hurt the ones in uniform, for they hurt me in return. It is now my responsibility to oversee this section of the dungeon—to ensure no one escapes or enters without permission. It has been this way for longer than I can remember.”
“W-What goes on here?”
“Some call it a prison, others call it a camp or dungeon. You can call it whatever you like, but the results are the same. Humans come here to be bred or eaten. I’m here because…” He paused and closed his eyes, casting a dark shadow over the room. “I’m here because I do not owe fealty to the stone.”
“Stone?”
“Interesting,” it huffed. “Thedarkstone. The stone that controls. The stone that wields power. The Monster King stole the stone, and he uses it for his own gain.”
“What’s your name?” she asked the creature in front of her, bravely taking a shaky step away from the wall. It hadn’t tried to attack her; maybe it was safe?
The creature watched her approach slowly, its eyes tracking her movements with catlike precision, its pupils dilating.
“I’m named Elco,” it said quickly, snapping its giant, sharp teeth against the bars. Seda fell back, landing hard on the rough floor.
“Do not come near me,human, for I will eat you and gnaw upon your bones. I will slurp on your organs with pleasure. I can pull your body out of this cell if I wanted to.” It reached a sharp, claw-tipped finger the size of Seda’s forearm through her cell bars and scratched the sharpened tip against her foot, causing a line of blood to pool. She pulled it back quickly and scrambled back to the wall.
Elco turned around and slowly sauntered away, taking the soft, crimson light from his eyes with him.
