60: Parting Ways
Liam
"So, you have to understand that a rune not only has to be put together in the proper way, but it also has to be put together in the proper order," Albert said.
Liam tried to pay attention to the lecture Albert was delivering into his ear, but it was difficult to focus because of what was happening all around them. Alistair had taken another leap that sent them flying over the forest. It seemed like the trees were going to smash into them, and maybe smash them to bits when they landed, but he managed to deftly wrap his claws around some of the branches and slow his reckless fall before they hit the forest floor again.
Alistair paused. He turned and looked over his shoulder at them, his six yellow eyes blinking at them all at once rather than out of sequence.
Idly, Liam wondered if a demon blinking out of sequence was a sign that it was feral and should be avoided, or if that was something that was peculiar only to a garzeth.
"I think this is about as far as I'm willing to go right now in the darkness," the garzeth said.
"Are you sure?" Liam asked, grinning. “That felt amazing.”
"That was amazing," Ana said.
Liam blushed at that. Part of the reason why it felt so amazing riding the garzeth, aside from the fact that they were riding on top of a massive six-legged creature that could deal death and apparently leap over massive bits of forest in a single bound, was that he'd been riding behind Ana the entire time.
It felt very good riding behind Ana.
Good enough that he'd worried something awkward might come up in between the two of them while they were on that ride together. It had taken a great deal of concentration for him to avoid just that scenario.
She turned and looked at him with a wide grin.
"That was incredible," she said.
"You enjoyed yourself?" he asked.
"What kind of madman convinces a garzeth to not only let them ride on its back, but allow them to do it while leaping through the air? I've seen a garzeth do that sort of thing before, but I've never seen it like this," she said. "I never realized this was even a possibility."
"Yes, well," Alistair said, looking a touch embarrassed at what had just happened, "I would greatly appreciate it if you maybe didn't tell anyone else about this. It would be rather awkward if any of my compatriots found out about this, or if any of them thought other mortals were getting ideas about that sort of thing."
"Of course," Liam said.
"I wouldn't dream of betraying your confidence, Alistair," Ana said, leaning down and patting him on the neck, and then running her fingers through his fur.
The garzeth made a noise in the back of his throat that Liam had come to recognize as something between a purr and a growl that sounded like the end of the world. But for the most part, it usually meant he was in a good mood and enjoying whatever someone was doing.
"You like that, don't you?" Ana said, talking in a voice that sounded like one of the cooks in the kitchen slipping a little something to one of the cats who wasn't supposed to be fed. Baron Riven had strong opinions about that sort of thing. He thought a cat that was fed was a lazy cat who wouldn't do their job of keeping the mice under control in the estate house.
"Yes, I do like that very much," Alistair said. "But again, I would greatly appreciate it if you maybe didn't mention this to any other garzeth you happen to run into.”
"Of course," she said, still scratching just behind his ear. Which had that low and rumbling growl reaching the point that it was shaking Liam from the insides.
"So, where are we?" Liam asked, looking up and around.
Alistair looked around and took in everything all around them. He let out a snuffling sigh as he took in the trees,
"To be perfectly honest, this is all human territory. This is all your home turf, as you might say. So I think if anyone should know where we are, Liam, it should be you.”
Both Alistair and Ana turned to look at him expectantly. He held his hands up.
"I think you might be expecting a little too much of me."
"What are you talking about?" Ana asked. "You are in human lands. Of course you would have all the maps of your territories memorized, right? At least the territories that are the property of this Baron you swear fealty to."
"Swear fealty to?" Liam asked, utterly confused.
"Well, he is your lord and master, right?"
Liam frowned. "I don't think that's quite how things are done in Baron Riven's territory."
"Well, then how would he do things?"
"How do they do things in demon lands?"
Alistair cleared his throat. It was probably meant to be a quiet thing, but it sounded like a mobile earthquake going on right next to them. Liam could still remember the last time an earthquake had hit. Everything in the Baron's territory had to be built especially strong for that sort of thing. There were still times where the place where the two worlds grinding together caused the ground to shake as though the world was about to end all over again.
"If I might," Alistair said.
Liam sighed, and then grinned as he hopped off Alistair. "You might, Alistair. Any time you want to tell me anything about how things work, I'm more than happy to listen."
"Really?" Alistair said, sounding somewhat surprised. "I don't know why that should surprise me, but it does."
"I mean, you do tend to drone on a bit," Ana said.
"Ana," Liam chided.
"What?"
"That wasn't a very nice thing to say," Liam said. "Apologize to him."
"Excuse me?" Ana said.
"You heard me," Liam said. "You should apologize to him."
"I can assure you that is quite unnecessary, High Princess," Alistair said quickly.
"No, it is necessary," Liam said. "You might be a High Princess of the Demon Realms, or whatever it is you say to puff up your opinion of yourself, but around here you're just another woman walking through the woods with two people who rescued you. I want you to show a little more gratitude to our friend here who was part of that rescue.”
"Friend?" Alistair said, turning to Liam and blinking all six of his eyes at once. Definitely not out of sequence any longer, and it still felt odd when he did that.
"Of course," Liam said, reaching out tentatively. He could well remember a time when the garzeth had tried to bite his arm clean off. It hadn't worked, of course, but not for lack of trying.
"You may pet me," Alistair said.
He reached in and ruffled the garzeth's fur, though he also kept an eye on the snout filled with those razor-sharp teeth. The thing really did look like drawings he'd seen of a grizzly bear in some of the books in Baron Riven's library. So much so that he wondered if there was some synergy between the creation of the human world and the demon world before Albert smashed them together that there were such similar yet dissimilar creatures wandering about both.
Something to ask the cat about later.
"Yes, well, as I was saying," Alistair said.
"No. Apology first," Liam said, turning and hitting Ana with a stern look.
"I don't have to do what you tell me to do," Ana said, and her eyes glowed a bit.
"That's true," Liam said. "You don't have to do what I tell you to do, but you should do the right thing."
"Might makes right," Ana said.
"That's what I was trying to tell you about the demon territories," Alistair said. "They're a little more hierarchical than what you’re no doubt used to in the human kingdoms, which tend to be more decentralized in the way authority moves out."
"Really?" Liam said, scratching at his head. "I mean, I read a little bit about politics, but it just seemed natural that there would be a king at the top, and then he has lesser nobles under him who administer lesser nobles under them, moving out into smaller territories. Isn't that the way everything works?"
"Well, that is how it works in demon lands, yes” Alistair said. "But those in higher stations exercise far more authority with those in lower stations.”
“Indeed,” Ana said. “Everyone knows their place. You wouldn't have anything like the lowly subject of some bumpkin country squire out on the border territories trying to tell a high princess what to do."
Liam turned to look at Ana, and he felt a wave of sadness wash over him. He was fairly certain she was acting this way as a result of how she'd been brought up. He tried to imagine living in a world where everyone catered to your every whim and did whatever you wanted, but he had trouble.
He'd been happy enough just to have a cottage of his own on the baron's property where he was close to the Felwood in case there was ever any trouble.
"Very well," Liam finally said with a sigh as he jerked his head in the vague direction of Baron Riven’s estate. At least if a brief glance at the stars was anything to go by. "Alistair, why don't we start moving this way?"
"Of course, Liam," Alistair said.
He started walking in that direction. Alistair followed after him, and then Ana moved to follow as well, but he turned to look at her.
He figured he was about to take a calculated risk here, but he also figured it was a risk that was necessary to take.
"You're not coming with us, Ana," he said.
"Wait, what?" she said, blinking and obviously surprised.
He put a hand up on Alistair's neck. He wasn't sure what he was going to do with the garzeth, but he was sure he would protect him even before he helped with the escape. Not that he thought Alistair needed much protecting.
"You said it yourself," Liam said. "I don't have to tell you how to do anything, but I also don't have to continue spending time around you if you're going to insult my friends and be so ungrateful about people who have come to your rescue at great personal risk to their own lives."
"You were going to be tortured by the Inquisition as well," she said.
"And I could've left as soon as I broke free, but I didn't."
He didn't mention that he couldn't very well leave her behind, but he didn't want her to know that. For all that there was an aching pain within him to say this to her.
Not because she was a High Princess, but more because he wanted desperately to spend more time with her. Even with the attitude.
"You aren't going to leave me behind," she said, staring at him, her eyes glowing in the darkness of the forest all around them.
"Alistair, let's go," Liam said, and he turned and made his way through the forest, again glancing up to the skies for a moment to check the stars.
Alistair hesitated for a moment, looking at Ana, and then back to Liam. Finally, reluctantly, he turned and followed.
"I certainly hope you know what you're doing," the garzeth said in a low voice that didn't come out as a rumble for a surprise.
"You and me both, Buddy," Liam said. "You and me both."
Ana's voice rang out through the forest a little distant.
"Wait, you were serious? Where are you going? Wait for me!”