“A giant demon?” I feigned shock, whipping my head back and forth. “Where?”
Her high-pitched laughter echoed off of the tunnel walls and warmed my heart.
After a few moments, she cleared her throat. “If you don’t mind me asking, are you really a demon?”
“Why are you asking?” My tail whipped back and forth behind me as we walked.
“I always thought that demons were, you know, evil. You don’t seem evil to me.” Her voice was a faint whisper, as if she already regretted asking her question.
“I’m what’s called a cambion. My father was a demon and my mother was a human.”
“I’ve never heard of a cambion before.”
I took a deep breath. “Few have. My kind are often exiled. Not demon enough for the demon realm, and not human enough for the human world.”
“How did you end up here? In Dalwick Cave?”
I didn’t normally share these intimate details about myself, but with the parallels between our lives, I felt compelled to. Iris was worthy of knowing about my mother and my past. About how I came to be the Dalwick Demon.
“Considering we have quite the hike ahead of us, I guess I can tell you my story. But be warned, it's a sad one.”
She shrugged. “I’m no stranger to sad stories.”
“Alright then...” I took a swig from my drinking skin and passed it to Iris. When she was finished, I hooked it back to my bag and cleared my throat.
“Like you, my mother was a prostitute, pleasuring men who had money and power, but holding neither herself. One day a handsome man approached her, seeking her services, but he was a demon in disguise. She fell pregnant and she never saw him again.
“According to my mother, I was born on a dark and stormy night, just as the clock struck twelve. The midwife took one look at me and ran out of the house screaming, swearing that I was the devil incarnate. But to my mother, I was everything. For a long time, she hid me from the townsfolk and raised me in secret. She taught me to read and write, and since I had no other children to play with, I’d lose myself in the pages of a book.
“Just as I was on the cusp of becoming a young man, I was discovered. One night, the town guard and head priest stormed our home, ripping my mother and me from our beds. She begged and pleaded, saying that I meant them no harm, but it was no use.”
My eyes grew misty as I recalled that fateful night so many years ago.
As I struggled to find my words, a tiny hand clutched mine, and Iris drew closer to my side.
This sweet, innocent human. If anyone understood, it was her.
“They brought us to the mouth of the cave, and despite my mother’s protests, into the pit we went. As we fell, my mother wrapped her arms around me, using her body to cushion our fall. I heard the crack of her bones as we hit the ground, but the only injury I sustained was a cracked horn. Even in her final moments, my mother fought to keep me safe.” Tears tracked down my face, but I kept my voice steady and even. “I sat with her as she took her final breath. When she passed, I laid her to rest here beneath the mountain.”
Iris sniffled and gripped my hand even tighter. “I’m so sorry.”
I ran the rough pad of my thumb over the soft skin of her hand. “It’s okay. It was a long, long time ago.”
“How did you survive? How did they know you were down here?”
“I swear they knew my mother was going to sacrifice herself for me. Occasionally, they’d call out to me and throw rotten food down into the pit. I discovered my magic when I was desperately trying to make a fire, and in a fit of anger, my hand ignited. Things improved for me from there. I came to know the tunnels and found my way to the other side of the mountain. Marta and Elric, a couple from Belden, befriended me. They taught me to hunt and fish, and how to use my magic. I bring them each sacrifice, but for the most part, I stay here in the caves. I smoothed the walls of the pit and made the landing pad. I refuse to let anyone else die like my mother did.
“The guards and the church–I believe they kept me alive to use me. To drive fear into the hearts of the townsfolk and keep them obedient. It seems that humans fear what’s different, the things that they don’t understand. I was born in the unfortunate position of being one of those things.”
Iris clenched my fingers and stopped dead in her tracks. She looked up at me for a moment with fat tears rimming her eyes before slamming her body into mine. Her skinny arms wrapped around me as best as they could in a tight hug.
I stood there frozen, my body rigid and in shock.
I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had shown me even a hint of affection. And yet, here was this tiny woman who had every reason to fear me, showing me she cared.
I pulled her to me tightly, running my fingers along the waves of her hair as she cried against my bare abdomen.
“Please, Iris. Please don’t cry.” I leaned over and murmured in her ear.
