Chapter 395: Rules Of Engagement
I felt like a bit of an idiot training without Sassafras, doing the same stuff over and over again, but I had to admit, by the time he trotted down the stairs to join us again, I was feeling a lot more confident about what I'd learned.
He made Meira and I go through our paces, one at a time, praising my sister while his snarky tone told me he wasn't completely happy with my progress.
Maybe he shouldn't have just left us, then, hmmm?
The moment we set foot outside the training ground I was accosted by another cousin. At least Calanothalmunon was only a Knight of the Fifteenth Plane. Considering I'd spent the afternoon practicing, his timing was unfortunate.
Sassy didn't have a negative thing to say as I swiftly countered the demon's attack and, seeing the weakness in the rigid shielding he held, honed my power into a chisel and hammer, shattering his protections around him.
Maybe my easy win and the absorption of Calanothalmunon's power should have made me happy, but instead it made me nothing but cranky.
Made worse when I had to stop and observe two demons fighting each other on the elevator platform. It was weird to be on the outside of a battle but it told me, loud and clear, this was the way things were on Demonicon. Meira and I weren't special in that regard. It was fight and win or lose and be reduced.
When the elevator was cleared, the victor marching off with a big smile on his stupid face, his opponent, dragging himself past us, eyes vicious, I had to sigh. The trip up wasn't so bad, so lost was I in the absolute absurdity of it all. I think I was ready for another when a girl confronted me two steps from my quarters.
I sent her packing, her shielding in tattered strips hanging from her, power now mine, mollified to see the furious look on Meira's face. Someone cared I was being treated like a punching bag.
Yeah, not quite. Seemed my little sister had her own reasons for being miffed.
As the girl demon whose mouthful of a name I'd already forgotten ran off, Meira pouted.
"Where's my battle?"
Oh. My. Swearword.
She glared at me as I laughed my way into my quarters, but I just couldn't help myself.
"Bloodthirsty." Sassy head-butted her leg. "But it's good, Meira. And don't worry. Your time will come. They will test both of you carefully, with powerful challengers and those who don't stand a chance against you," from the snort he gave he considered my last two opponents in the latter category, "until they understand your fighting styles and can use them against you."
"Way to make us feel better, Sass." I flopped down on the bed, all at once exhausted.
"I'm not here to coddle you, Sydlynn," he said. "My job is to keep you both safe. And winning."
When did pacing become my default stress release? The moment I started moving again the power flooded back into my limbs and my weariness faded. Had to be a side effect of winning. And while I felt powerful all over again, it still drove me to irritation.
"How can demons live like this?" I stopped and faced Sassy who observed me with his calm amber eyes. "In what reality does fighting for your life every five seconds, this non-stop battle for dominance, become normal?"
"I see you need a history lesson," he said, hopping up on the bed and curling into a ball. "Very well. I suppose it's good for both of you to understand why things are the way they are." Sassy settled his chin on his paws, gaze far away. "You ask why the fighting, why the ritualized battles. Honestly, it's the only way to keep this place from falling apart."
I sank down on the bed beside him, Meira stretching out on her stomach with her chin in her hands, feet bobbing behind her.
"It used to be demons killed each other all the time," Sassy went on. "Devouring each other's energy. Crossing planes to slaughter, pillage, build their power bases and do war only to have their armies decimated by demons more powerful and on higher planes than they."
Awful. Sounded like the Dark Ages.
"The first Ruler rose from the constant battling with the idea if he could assemble the planes together, he could control them all." Sassy's abrupt exhale was amused. "Don't for a moment think Zelmanharitopel's plan was to unify all demonkind for their own good. He did it for purely selfish reasons. But the results were the same."
"It worked," I said, fascinated despite myself. "The planes became one big one." The magic behind something like that boggled my mind.
"They did," Sassy said. "In order to keep the newly assembled Demonicon together, Zel had to use a lot of fast talking and a really big stick." He chuckled softly. "The royal historians will give you a different account, mind you, but this is the gist. Once he beat his dominance into the rest, he created laws, joined by his number one rival, Bringdalimenaria, gave her what we now call Second Seat and mated with her."
"The first ruling pair." Meira's smile seemed almost dreamy. "This is wicked cool."
Sassy flicked his tail at her. "The law stated no demon was permitted to kill another for their power. Instead, ritualized battles were created in order to facilitate the ebb and flow of magic, called status." He sounded sad again. "There were those who fought the new ways in the beginning, but they were stripped and sent to the lowest planes, the dregs of demonkind. Most saw the benefits of obedience and society began to form, culture to develop where once we had none."
Peace could do that for a people. Or whatever they called their compromise.
"I have to admit," he whispered, nose now covered with his tail, "I'm a little sickened by the whole thing now. I've been away too long." As though he were accusing himself of weakness.
I leaned in and hugged him gently, stroking his ears and the soft fur on the top of his head.
"We're lucky to have you," I said. "They don't deserve you, Sass."
"Nope, they don't," Meira said, kissing him.
"Agreed." We all looked up. How had I missed Dad's entrance? He smiled gently at all of us, though the feel of him was grim. "Why do you think I prefer your home to mine, girls?"
And yet, as we rose to hug our father, I couldn't help but think things really weren't all that different at home. Only our leaders used money and other kinds of power instead of magic.
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