Hell's Fire

Chapter 5

As I tended to the newly made fire, I turned to check on the demon. He was laying down on the blanket I brought- his wounds that were once covering his body were now treated with  home remedies and bandages. In place of his crown, a cold cloth covers his forehead, as he recovers from his injuries.

After a long silence, the demon speaks;

"You could've killed me," he raspes, "Why are you helping me?"

"Well," I sighed, "I don't know why I'm helping you. It... I just feel like it's the right thing to do."

The demon scoffs, and he looks up at me curiously,

"What is a pretty human girl doing out in this place anyway? Trying to escape a betrothal, perhaps?"

I roll my eyes; though my family does want me to get married, I can't stand the snobbish 'batchelors' of the kingdom. They all see me as a prize to be won. I am no prize- I can defend myself, and live perfectly fine without the aid of a man.

"No, I came here to save my brother from the clutches of the Hellborn Triad," I say as I pick up the demon's obsidian crown- I notice a few of the spikes of the crown have cracked, and I give the demon a questioning look, "I suppose you wouldn't know anything about them, now would you, demon?"

The demon raised a single perfect eyebrow, and gave me a small smirk,

"Of course I would, darling," he draws out as he sits up, removing the cloth from his forehead, "I am Rezrath, heir to the legacy of the great King De'mentian, and leader of the Hellborn Triad...." he trails off and turns away from me, his expression hardening, "well, at least I used to be." 

It was now my turn to act surprised. What event occurred that would end in the leader of the Hellborn Triad half-dead?

"What happened?" I asked, and there was a moment of silence between us, until he turned to me; his red eyes reflecting in the light of the fire.

"We had found a knight and some of his squires traveling through our land," he began, "and my brothers were set on killing them- to send a message to your kingdom."

He turned to face the fire as he continued, "At first I wanted to send out some of our soldiers to get rid of the group, but my brother Kor'geden insisted that we go out ourselves- as a little entertainment. Seeing as we had nothing else to do, I agreed. We grabbed our weapons, and set out to where this knight was. We hid behind some rocks, and ambushed them. Now let me say, my dear, that I am not a fighter. I am a leader and a stragidiest- it is my brothers who are fierce warriors. When I heard the screams of the squires as my brothers struck them down with no mercy- I was terrified. I knew that war was- heh- hell, but I never imagined it to be as bad as this."

He squinted his eyes and swallowed hard, "The knight was definitely one of the greatest fighters I have ever seen, and he held out wonderfully against Kor'geden and Migmodor, as I stood frozen in fear. But before they could kill the poor knight, I managed to order them to stop. Though we are brothers, and essentially equals, I am the oldest, and they know to fear me... at least, they used to." He turned to me- his eyes were filled with fear and shame, and it took all of my restraint to not reach out and embrace him.

"I pleaded for my brothers to spare the knight's life, and they did- but then they turned on me. Calling me a fool and a weak leader, and a disgrace to my father's legacy. They beat me until I was practically unconscious, and when I awoke, they, as well as the knight, were gone."

I didn't know what to say. Any normal person would not trust the words of a demon, but something about him- this Rezrath- made me trust him. Not completely, of course, but something in the back of my mind told me that his words were true.

"I... I'm sorry, Rezrath," I say, after a long moment of silence, "do... do you think he's okay, the knight?"

"No, my dear, I don't," he replies,"he could be in the dungeon at best, or dead at worst. My brothers can be very unpredictable."

I nod in understanding, and stand up, stretching my limbs, "Well, Rezrath, I plan on going to your stronghold to rescue him- he's my brother, Peterkin the Mighty. My people have left him for dead, but I am not about to."

Rezrath smiles up at me, "That is very brave of you, Ms...."

"Briar," I finish his sentence, "and I'm trusting that you won't betray me to your brothers. Keep that in mind."

He chuckles quietly, and stretches out himself, "of course not, Ms. Briar. It's the least I could do, you saved my life, after all." He looked up to the sky, and then turned back to me, "In fact, let me help you. I can show you the way to the Fortress of Damnation, and I'm sure we would make a good team."

I find myself smiling as I nod in agreement, "Alright, Rezrath, it's a deal."

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