Turuk stood outside the main entrance, shrouded in his hooded cloak and glaring out towards the edge of the mountainside. This morning he pushed open the door to his dungeon only to find his preparation table void of its previous occupant. Evelda was so eager to leave after all he’d done for her that she’d not even bothered to say anything to him. Not a goodbye or even a thank you! With a snarl of rage Turuk hurled the bowl of soup he’d made for her against the far wall, shattering the china on impact.
So there was only one place to look for her. He walked back up the stairs, out the entrance hall and front door. And just as he had expected he found her there. Evelda was still covered in mud and had managed to wrap an old sack around her body. She’d knotted it under her right arm and it barely came down to her mid-thigh. She looked a state. Like she’d been dragged through the marshes face first. Her coppery hair was matted with blood and mud to the back of her head. Turuk stood in the entrance to his lair and simply watched her.
Mount Skygget. We’re inside the freaking mountain! Maker preserve me. I barely managed to crawl up the stairs and out here. How does Turuk expect me to scale down the shear side of Skygget?!?
Evelda knelt near the edge and held her aching body up with her hands on the cliff edge. There is no way down. No path. No hand holds. Nothing. I can’t get down…on my own. She groaned as she pushed herself to sit on her legs and hold her aching ribs. Damn it. I’m not meant to just leave. That’s why he didn’t bother to lock the door to keep me in before he can make his demands. He knew darn well that I couldn’t get down the mountain without his help so I’d have to go to him. Evelda raised her head to look up at the sky and took a deep breath into her sore chest. It was still worth getting out here. It feels good to feel the sun on my face. The air is really crisp up here. So quiet. Not even a bird in the sky.
Turuk couldn’t believe what he was seeing. When she sank onto her haunches he thought she was weeping with despair, having realised that she needed his help. Yet when he silently glided across the stone floor to glower down at her he was stunned. Even through the mud on her face her smile was…something else. Like an Earthen nymph, a dryad to nature, basking in the sun’s rays and paying homage to her beauty.
“Are you praying for-”
“AAAh!” Evelda was so startled by his sudden presence she fell onto her side and banged her bruised ribs. She hissed and held herself as she rode out the wave of pain.
“…oh by all means. Gather yourself first.” Gleaming orange eyes narrowed on her. “I’d hate for you to die of fear after all the trouble I went through to keep you tethered to this mortal coil.”
Evelda gingerly pushed herself back up to kneel before him and panted through her pain. She kept her head bowed and took a moment to steady herself. Great. He’s angry with me already. How can I help being scared when he appears out of nowhere like that?
“For-give.” Evelda coughed into her hands. Her throat was still very dry and it hurt to talk. “Forgive me.” She coughed again. “S-orry. I-”
“Stop talking.” Turuk snapped at her and lowered to one knee before her. His eerie cloak spread out almost like a liquid along the floor around them as he did so. “This will repair your throat and voice.” He thrust a hipflask towards her. It was long, thin, silver, and had an ornate pattern pressed into the metal. Like icy leaves and roses. The lid was already missing so she was able to shakily accept the flask and press it to her sore lips. “Then at last I will get an answer rather than that grating coughing.” As the liquid went down her throat she felt what felt like razor blades in her flesh soften and tingle. The flask was so thin that it didn’t hold much, so two timid gulps and it was empty. “Well?”
“Thank you.” Evelda handed the flask back and smiled. Her voice was back. A little quiet but clear enough to understand and it no longer hurt in the attempt. “Thank you Master.” She bowed her head once more.
“For?” He returned the flask to his cloak and stood to resume towering over her.
Of course he wants me to grovel. That way he’s forcing me to acknowledge everything that I owe him for. Evelda had quickly realised that you had to be very careful with what you told a demon, or what you agreed to. A basic conversation could come back and bite you in the ass. Nothing was straightforward when it came to dealing with Turuk.
“Thank you for the medical aid you have given me. I am glad not to be dead.”
“I did that to fulfil our agreement. You were technically injured whilst still in my service. Now, however, you are not.” Evelda kept her hands on the floor in front of her knees and her head bowed forward. “When I tended to you like a sodding nurse maid for two weeks I did that out of oath. The succour I gave you just now was also out of oath.”
“A great kindness Master.”
“Kindness? Pah.” He took a menacing step forward. The ragged edges of his cloak crept over her knuckles like possessed fingers. The sensation was light but eerie as hell every time a tendril ghosted over her hands. He’s going out of his way to intimidate me. “I provided a service. One that I intend to be compensated for.” So I was right. Evelda stared down at the cloak as it felt at her wrists. He really does want something from me.
Evelda was still hurting. She was exhausted and didn’t have the energy to play this game. She sat up, retrieving her hands from the unwelcome caress of his cloak to rest them on her lap. With bloodshot hazel eyes she looked right up into his curious flaming ones.
“Just tell me what you want.” Her voice was so defeated he decided not to berate her for being so direct. Turuk chuckled and lowered to one knee again. This time he was so close she could see the lower half of his face under his hood. Sharp white teeth peered out from his smirk as he gleamed at her.
“I want many things Evelda. You owe me for the expensive and priceless ingredients used to not only save your life, but to ensure you wouldn’t be a vegetable for the rest of your days. You owe me for my time and efforts these last two weeks to guarantee your recovery. You owe me for my time being taken from my endeavour to secure myself a wife. You owe me for the potion you just drank. And no doubt, you will owe me for your safe return to Douma.”
Evelda chuckled. It was tired and meek, but it was a chuckle no less.
“Oh I know all of that. I’ve been racking my head as to what you could possibly want in return.” She shrugged, then winced with regret from the shooting pain in her back that caused. “Unless of course you have a tear in that cloak you want stitching or a field that needs tending, I really can’t think of what you’re after. So please just tell me what you want Master.” His chuckle was a lot darker than hers. He brought a hand out of his cloak and opened his fist. A very familiar golden pendent dangled down from his middle finger. The orange crystal gleamed at her and her shoulders sagged. “…you want me to serve you again?”
“Yes.”
“Why?” Evelda dared to look him in the eyes again.
“Did we not just establish how you owe me for-”
“No, no that’s why I have to agree. Not why you want me to agree.” He smirked. It was easy to overlook that Evelda was as sharp of mind as Valdis was at times. Especially when she looked like a child of mud.
“Because you are useful.” He opened the golden chain of the necklace and used both hands to lower it around her neck. “Having eyes and ears in Douma has allowed me to make a better decision this time around than before.” He carefully freed her matted hair from the necklace and arrogantly tapped the pendent as it rested on the dried mud on her chest. “I have chosen my maidens, true, and they have agreed to come with me when I command it, but they are not ready. I will allow them to remain in Douma and I will visit them. To prepare them.”
“So what do you need me for?” Evelda didn’t have the strength to fear for her life. Questioning Turuk like this had always gained his wrath before. She could only reason that he was answering her as she hadn’t technically agreed to the deal yet.
“Didn’t I just say?” He cackled and tapped the end of her nose. “As my eyes and ears.”
Oh sweet Maker no.
“A spy? You want me to spy on my friends for you?” Tears welled in her strained hazel eyes. It was bad enough he used her to select her friends to belong to him, but now he would have her relay back to him what they did and said?
“Yes. Every evening I will come to you and you will tell me everything. I may even give you a specific task to perform. Tests for my maidens. After all, they all belong to me, but only one will become my wife.” Turuk patted the top of her head like the good dog that she was. “You will help me decide which one to marry. The pendant you wear will ensure you are honest with me each evening in your report.” He cleared his throat and rose to his full height. “And like before, you must never take it off. The reason for this is not just to show I possess you Evelda. I can sense where you are if I wish it. You can also use the pendant to summon me.” He turned his back to her fluidly, causing his cloak to flare out behind him. “Had you done so two weeks ago when under attack I would have prevented your near-death experience. At first I was cross that you didn’t do so, but upon reflection, I don’t believe I told you of this feature, so I’ve decided to forgive you.”
Oh lucky me. Evelda didn’t try to stem the tears that now fell and moistened the mud on her cheeks. “If you require my protection you will hold the pendant in your hand and against your chest. Call my name and I will sense your request. However.” He chuckled darkly. “It is up to me if I wish to respond or not. I suggest you only summon me if the situation is dire. After all?” He turned to look at her with a smirk over his shoulder. “If the good people of Douma discover your true involvement as my minion I doubt they would be kind to you. If you are witnessed summoning me they will likely draw their own conclusions.”
“That’s putting it mildly.” The quip slipped out of her mouth, but thankfully he laughed.
“Indeed. Let us make the agreement official. In return for repairing your body, as payment for my priceless stock used in the endeavour, and your safe return to Douma, you will once again enter into a contract of servitude to myself.” He turned to look at her from his doorway and his flaming eyes glowed at her. “As my servant you will be my agent in Douma. You will be obedient, you will observe and interact with my maidens however I wish and report to me at the end of every day. You cannot warn them or refuse me. You are my property to do with as I wish.”
“Until?” She staggered to her feet and followed him. “Last time you said our deal was done once you chose your potential brides. When will I have fulfilled the terms of the deal this time?”
“When I decide.” He smirked at the horror on her face. “You will serve me until I choose to release you. So I suggest you please your master. Otherwise, I will never free you. I did use priceless roots and herbs to save your life, after all. A lifetime of servitude wouldn’t be enough to repay me for my lost stock. But!” Evelda was starting to shake as she sobbed. The thought of serving Turuk forever made her mind fray at the edges. “I don’t forsee any need to keep you once I have chosen my wife, if you have been obedient.” Hope flickered in her hazel eyes. Turuk was torn between being glad and angry at her desire to be free of him. “So? You must say you agree to a demon deal for it to become binding. Of course, you could refuse but then you would be stuck here. My generosity towards you has now ended out of oath. I will not provide you with anything or allow you to steal from me. If you don’t agree you will perish on the side of this mountain.”
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