The longer Dodd worked at Nightfall Castle, the more she realized the true nature of Red Ochre. It was terrifying. It was horrific. The inhabitants of Red Ochre weren’t bewitched or oppressed at all. They just lived really sad lives.

Physically, the Red Ochrans looked like any humans you might find across the Gaian continent of Darshanna: middling height, copper skin. But when Dodd looked at them, she could practically feel the depressed, depressing aura coming from their souls.

Depressed. Depressing. Maybe that was just what humanity was.

Red Ochre was located right next to a very impressive lake. The lake was made of blood. The lake of blood had no purpose. In fact, two hundred and fifty years ago when it was first converted from a lake of water to a lake of blood, the only thing that change did was make all the marine life die. It had no other function other than to reek. Maybe there was a historical, war-related reason for it. Maybe someone had made an ill-fated deal with a devil. Or maybe it was a random act of supernatural malice, a demon drive-by.

...Yeah. Most likely the latter. It wouldn't be the first time and it wouldn't be the last.

Rather than doing something about the lake of blood, the Red Ochrans, depressed enough as it was, left it alone and simply found more watering holes elsewhere.

No mortal spell was strong enough (or strange enough) to turn water into blood. It had to have been a demon spell. Dodd didn’t know the history of Red Ochre’s blood lake, but she assumed it involved demon lords, maybe even archlords, descending upon the town and kicking it like their plaything. She knew enough to know that juggling Gaia like a soccer ball was a typical sport for those of the underworld.

The smell of lake blood hung over Nightfall Castle. That was the one thing all demons could smell: mortal blood.

***

This is what Lord Nightfall referred to as his “daily demon lording”:

Step 1. Exit Nightfall Castle (which, to remind you, is enchanted to look like an ordinary village hut on the outside).

Step 2. Assume the guise of a humble villager named Chutney. (Remember: it is not suspicious and definitely only a disguise. It is totally not the demon lord’s ideal form or, Hell forbid, the demon lord’s real form.)

Step 3. Experience a typical day interacting with people and asking for—I mean, about employment opportunities in the village. (This is called “surveying the territory.”)

Step 4. Realize that no work is available for you.

Step 5. Return home and celebrate anyway with a meal.

A sturdy, strapping, well-bearded young man entered Nightfall Castle and dramatically wiped sweat from his brow. As he stepped inside, he shapeshifted from Mr. Chutney The Strange But Athletic New Neighbor back into an elegant and striking demon lord.

Felicity and Dodd knew to stand by the door waiting for him around this time. They hurried in front of their lord and master with their hands neatly folded.

They said in chorus, “Another day of honest work, my lord?”

“Yeah, another day of stupid errands,” he sighed. “But it’s worth it when you have all this to come back to.” He gestured to the grand foyer all around them.

Felicity rolled her eyes at Dodd.

Now he made a beeline for the kitchen, like he always did. That, of course, was where all the best snacks were. On the way, he said, “Dodd, clean the welcome mat and get my hot bath ready. Felicity, check my room. Both of you, meet me in the game room in sixty minutes. And don’t you touch my snacks, Felicity.”

Felicity rubbed the back of her neck and faked a laugh. “Ha ha! Apologies, my lord. I couldn’t help myself. Your snacks are just too good!”

The door to the kitchen shut. An instant later, Felicity and Dodd got to whispering.

“You think it’s working?” said the fire imp.

The wood imp hissed, “No!”

Just yesterday, while the master was away, she had gathered up as many snacks as she could find, left the castle, and dumped them into the lake of blood. She had done this on trip after trip, and she never got caught—until Lord Nightfall came back early and found her reaching into the pantry.

Her master’s simplicity saved her.

“I’ve got another idea,” said Felicity. “We go out and get some monsters, or just really hungry wild animals, like raccoons.”

“No,” said Dodd. “We can’t keep doing baby steps.”

“These are not baby steps! My legs still hurt!”

“I’m sorry, Felicity, but...think of it this way: even if you get rid of the snacks, our lord will still have the games.”

Even mentioning “the games” made Felicity tense up. Neither imp was looking forward to another game night in what, for an ordinary demon castle, would be the torture dungeon.

“We’ll burn the games,” said Felicity.

“He would get more games,” said Dodd. “And he’d fire us. Or kill us.”

“It would be a mercy at this point.”

The two imps parted ways and started on their work. Dodd thought harder. Maybe Felicity wanted nothing more than to leave. Fine. But Dodd would stay. Because—and maybe this was just her sentimentality speaking—this was a job that she wanted to like.

And Lord Nightfall was someone that she wanted to...discover.

She was in the middle of heating Lord Nightfall’s bath when she found a way to discover Lord Nightfall. No, she didn’t find it...it found her. She'd just plunged her fiery hands into the tub of steaming water when a tik hit the window.

Dodd turned, curious but cautious. The window was behind a white curtain. She didn’t open it.

But that was fine. Whoever was on the other side wrenched it open—which, with all the enchantments on this castle, should have been impossible.

It was an intruder. If Dodd had blood, it would have gone cold.