4-086, The 'Devil's Wage'

The creature raised one bony hand and pointed it directly at the commandant.  It hissed contemptuously, “You took my money, you did, you did.  Now give up your end to me, to me.  Now!…”  It laughed.  “Or be forever cursed!”

The stunned commandant’s face reddened in anger.  He was about to order his guards to attack the ‘beast’ when the torch light flashed off the two coins given him by the second guard.  He blankly stared at them.  His anger was now turned toward his guards.  “How many did it give you?”  When no answer came he shouted,  “How many?”

The first guard started fidgeting with his fingers, while his face twisted up with consternation.  At long last he stuttered, “ ’Leven, yea, ‘leven.” Then pointed toward the commandant’s hand  “Plus those two.”

“That’s thirteen!  You stupid fool!  Thirteen!”  The commandant glared at the creature, “What curse do you bring tonight?  Why the devil’s wage?”

The creature raised its hands in dispute, shaking its head.  “No curse, no curse…  Good little boys… pretty little boys.  Not hurt pretty boys…  Master said to give more money, more money.  Will remove the curse…” The creature lowered its voice and shook its finger.  “If little boys are good…  yes… Master will remove it.”

“Give me a lamp!”  The commandant demanded.  “Now! Get it now!”

The second guard hurried through the door, soon to come back with a flaming, oil-wick lamp.  Taking it, and motioning for the creature to come closer, the commandant bent down, shining the light so he could peer inside the hood.  He let out a short gasp, but lingered to have a good look.

Coal black eyes stared out from a death-white, pockmarked face with caked chunks of mealy skin hanging from it.  The creature’s mouth was a gaping black hole of a laughing smile, out of which some kind of juice drooled.  The commandant could also see strange marks and runes carved in the creature’s flesh.

The commandant stood up, waving his hand while making a face.  “God, it stinks… like something dead.”  He backed away, keeping an eye on the creature which patiently remained there, swaying side to side.

Nearing the guards, he whispered, “It’s a witch of the devil himself all right… or worse… maybe a demon.”  He nodded his head while attempting to reassure the others.  “If it had wanted to kill us, we’d all be dead by now.  I really do believe its business is not with us tonight, else you’d not have received the money.”

He asked the creature, “Who are you?  What do you want here?”

It hissed in anger at the question.  “I have spoken to the little boys… Not nice boys…. They were supposed to tell.”

Enjoy other posts: 

Prologue,

Destiny's Road 1-001, 1-002, 1-003, 1-004, 1-005, 1-006, 1-007, 1-008, 1-009,

1-010, 1-011, 1-012, 1-013, 1-014, 1-015, 1-016, 1-017, 1-018, 1-019, 1-020,

1-021, 1-022, 1-023, 1-024 & 1-025

Of Councils Great and Small 2-026, 2-027, 2-028, 2-029, 2-030, 2-031,

2-032, 2-033, 2-034, 2-035, 2-036, 2-037, 2-038, 2-039, 2-040, 2-041, 2-042,
2-043, 2-044, 2-045, 2-046, 2-047, 2-048, 2-049 & 2-050

Legend's Heroes 3-051, 3-052, 3-053, 3-054, 3-055, 3-056, 3-057, 3-058,
3-059, 3-060, 3-061, 3-062, 3-063, 3-064, 3-065, 3-066, 3-067, 3-068, 3-069,
3-070, 3-071, 3-072, 3-073, 3-074 & 3-075

Forges of Hell 4-076, 4-077, 4-078, 4-079, 4-080, 4-081, 4-082, 4-083, 4-084,
4-085, 4-086, 4-087, 4-088, 4-089, 4-090, 4-091, 4-092, 4-093, 4-094, 4-095,
4-096, 4-097, 4-098, 4-099 & 4-100

Or find your own book at:

Amazon.com; Smashwords.com;

Diesel-Ebooks.com, BN.com; ebookstore.sony.com