Chapter 40 - Full Benefits

  Walking out of the establishment, Alex lets out a long sigh. “I don’t think I could eat another bite.” The hound at his side lets out a rumbling grumble of agreement. Even the crow, riding perched atop the ridge of crystals protruding from Hara’s spine, looks lethargic. The sundown bell had sounded while they were finishing up the meal, and the lower light of evening only adds to the drowsiness settling over the trio.

  Plodding down the side of the street, Alex can’t even muster the will to use intent-movement. Weighed down by full bellies, moving slowly just feels like the right call. There was still some pedestrian traffic milling about, but significantly less than the bustle of bodies of the earlier hours. That suits Alex just fine.

  “Can we eat there again?” Hara asks, looking up at Alex pleadingly. “Hara not remember what thing was called, but Hara want more of the spicy stringy meat.” Even having already eaten her fill, the hound was already wanting more.

  “I believe that was called Barbeque Pulled Pork.” Corvus answers her, chuckling. “Though, you also devoured quite the spread of other dishes. Ravenous fiends, the both of you.” He says in good humor, letting out a cawing laugh.

  Alex snorts. “Hey, when the ancient demon offers to pay for the meal, and tells us not to bother looking at prices, what did you expect?” He retorts and pats his stomach. “That smokehouse burger was amazing. Not to mention the fries. Or that shepherd's pie.” He huffs. “I’m actually a little shocked at just how much we all ate. You included, Corvus.” Alex reaches down to pat Hara’s head. “When I’ve got the income for it, we are most certainly going back.”

  Crossing to the next block, the trio’s meandering trudge is interrupted by a velvet-laced voice calling out. “Having a bit of a late night on the town, friends?” Alex turns, looking for the source of the voice. What he sees is a goat-demon leaning against the side of a building.

  At first glance, Alex has a hard time determining the goat’s gender, the soft androgynous features blurring the line between masculine and effeminate. But on closer inspection, the open vest that reveals a flat chest with an intricate red tattoo under the black fur gives it away. Alex lifts his hand and gives a friendly wave. “Just a bit of over-indulgence.” He says, patting his stomach.

  The demon pushes off the wall and saunters towards them, an easy grin spreading across his lips. “Indulgence? Now that’s my kind of night. Wanna keep the fun going a while longer?” He asks, brushing a lock of crimson-red hair out of his face and giving Alex a blatant once-over.

  The sudden realization of what the goat’s implying hits Alex, catching him quite off-guard. He can feel the blush spreading, making his face grow hot all the way to his ears. “I don’t… I’m not…” He stammers, swallowing hard. His voice fails him as the shorter man approaches.

  “What? Not interested? Oh,we both know that isn’t quite true.” He teases Alex, waggling a brow. “Or else you wouldn’t be turning all those adorable shades of red.” He says with a coy wink.

  Corvus’s telepathic voice cuts into Alex’s floundering reactions. “I see no threat from him, but be cautious. He is an incubus.” Corvus warns, but Alex doesn’t quite grasp what that implies.

  The goat demon thankfully gives Alex a reprieve from the flirtatious tormenting. “The name’s Uril’raya, though most just call me Uril.” He says, then taps his chin before pointing to Alex. “And you’re Alex.” Before the shock of the demon knowing who he is can register, Uril had already bent down to eye-level with the hound. “And this handsome girl is Hara.” His posture shifts into a kneeling bow as he turns his attention to the crow. “And Corvus, The Carrion Lord.”

  Stunned by the demon goat already knowing who they are, even Corvus in his guise, Alex falters, uncertain how to respond. He starts to focus his will to leap away with a quick intent-movement, suddenly wary of the seemingly friendly incubus. “How do you know who we are?” He asks, his tone guarded and hard.

  “Whoa, whoa.” Uril says, raising up again and backing away a few steps. “Easy there. I’m not here to hurt anyone.” When Alex’s guard doesn’t relax and Hara steps forwards putting herself just in front of Alex, Uril sighs. “Should have just stuck to flirting.” He mutters to himself.

  “You didn’t answer my question.” Alex asserts, eyeing the goat.

  Uril rubs his forehead, brushing the crimson fauxhawk out of his face again. “Look, I’m no threat to you, honest.” He spreads his arms and does a little spin. “Not even armed.” He insists. “As for how I know your names, full disclosure, I was told about you by Gravitas.”

  Hearing that Gravitas is involved doesn’t mean that things are fine, but being on somewhat more familiar footing lets Alex relax a bit. “We saw her going the opposite direction as we were on our way here.” Alex says, remembering the tense moment when the unnaturally attractive demoness had stopped to examine them.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Uril’raya nods with a smirk. “Yeah, something spooked all the Apex in the city. Nearly all of them, Gravitas included, went streaming out of here towards the Marrow Forest.” He leans towards the trio and affects a conspiratorial tone. “You didn’t have anything to do with that, did you?”

  Alex shakes his head. “I don’t think so. The only big thing I interacted with on the way here was the owner of the Abyssal Grotto.” Alex says, not mentioning Corvus’s detour. “And I don’t think Shalmond caused that.” The brief crossing through the Abyssal Grotto feels like a lifetime ago, rather than the handful of days.

  Uril chuckles, stepping closer again. “I’ve heard stories about that place. Never been though. Is it as weird as everyone says?” He asks, genuine curiosity lighting up his dark red eyes. “They say that The Waiting Breath originated from a Nexus Point nearly on the other side of Hell, and migrated all the way out here before establishing a territory.”

  Despite the previous unease, Alex finds himself relaxing more and even liking the incubus goat. “It’s strange, that’s for sure. But Shalmond is fascinating. The way he communicates is bizarre, but also really pure.” Alex says, launching into an explanation of the ‘conceptual’ communication and impending-dread sensation from any sudden action within the territory.

  The goat listens attentively, plying Alex with questions here and there until his curiosity is sated. During the conversation, the tension gradually bleeds away. Even Hara has relaxed, looking back and forth between Uril and Alex as each speaks.

  Corvus bides his time, waiting for the discussion to wind down. When it seems that Uril’raya has no more questions and there’s a long pause, he breaks in. “Uril’raya, as it appears you were already aware of us, there is little harm in making myself known.” He says, catching everyone’s attention. “I will be blunt and to the point. Does Gravitas have you bound to a Deal?” The question hangs in the air for a moment, threatening to return the uneasy tension from moments prior.

  The goat sighs, but shakes his head. “No, Lord Corvus, there is no Deal obligation between myself and Gravitas. I do work for her on occasion, and there are sometimes Deals involved. But in regards to Alex, Hara, and yourself, there is nothing binding me to any action.” He answers.

  The crow’s black eyes lock with the goat’s red ones. And after a moment, Corvus dips his beak. “Very well, then I must ask what is the nature of her intentions involving Alex?” He asks,tone softening somewhat to show more curiosity rather than demand.

  At that question, Uril has to pause and scratch his head. “Honestly, I’m not entirely sure. I’ll tell you what I can about what she asked me to do.” He say, then looks between the three, meeting each’s eyes for a brief moment.

  “A few days back, Gravitas came to New Europa. When she met with me, she said her Title was drawing her here for a purpose, and something about it drew her to me. She told me about you three, and that you’d be arriving in the city soon.” He pauses for a breath. “When I asked her what she wanted me to do, she said she didn’t know. She just told me to use my best judgement. And when I asked if she intended to make it a Deal, she said that her Title gave her a feeling that a Deal would be a mistake.” He looks at Corvus again. “So I’m under no obligation or bond to do anything. I’m here under my own will. But yes, Gravitas did point me in your direction.”

  Uril finishes the lengthy explanation, and Corvus has only one more question for him. “I see. Then you bear no intention to interfere with Alex or his goals?” The crow asks, cocking his head to the side.

  Uril holds up his hands in a placating gesture. “None at all. I swear it.”

  After a moment, Corvus announces, “I believe we can take him at his word. I sense no duplicity or malice from him.” Just before he finishes speaking, a bell-chime rings out through the city and the last of the sunlight vanishes from the evening sky.

  After a heartbeat, the lamplights of New Europa flicker to life. The streets are washed in a pale yellow light that holds too steady for a flame. Alex is distracted by the lamps, having been too tired to take note of them the last time. He had expected some form of magic or gas-light. But to his surprise, the streetlamps appear to have bulbs. And only in retrospect does he realize that the interiors of the buildings he’d been in were lit by electric lights as well. As that realization dawns on him, he starts putting a few things together.

  New Europa is modeled off of the Mortal Realm he’d come from. From the architecture to the roads, and seemingly more. The cables that run overhead aren’t just for show, they’re proper electric lines. All of it feels ‘old’ to him, out of date. But clearly it all functions appropriately.

  Before he can get completely lost in his thoughts, Uril interrupts Alex’s curious gawking. “We probably shouldn’t linger out here. You got a place to stay yet?” The goat asks.

  Alex rubs the back of his head. “I was planning on going back to the hostel that isn’t too far from here.” The looks Uril gives him with that answer catches Alex by surprise. “Is there something wrong with that?”

  “Only if you wanna keep anything you own. A few street-gangs watch those places. When they notice someone using them for a few days, they start watching. Pretty soon, you’ll get jumped, coming or going.” The goat-demon explains with a concerned tone.

  Alex groans. “Well, I did land a job today. I start tomorrow, so I can look for somewhere more permanent soon.” He says with a shrug.

  “It is likely that the presence of Hara and myself will deter all but the most determined of thugs.” Corvus says, rustling his wings. “However, given that such thugs will not possess the acuity of our hostess earlier, I doubt they would perceive me as much of a threat.”

  Uril waves those concerns away with a chuckle. “Tell ya what, why don’t you three come to my flat for the night? It’ll be a bit tight with four of us, but I’ll wager it’s more comfortable than the hostel.” He offers, extending a hand towards Alex.

  A bit shocked by the offer, Alex fumbles for words. “But you just met us. You don’t know us.” But even with the objections, the offer was sorely tempting.

  “Oh honey, don’t worry about that. I’ve had complete strangers in my home plenty of times. In my bed, plenty of times.” Uril quips back easily as a coy grin spreads across his lips. “Though, if you feel bad about accepting, you could always pay my rate for the night and enjoy the full benefits.” He teases with waggling brows, and is rewarded with Alex blushing so hard he almost glows in the dim light.

  As Alex splutters and trips over his words, Uril just leans over and grabs his hand. “Good, that settles it then. Come on!” The goat pulls Alex along, heading off down the street under the pale yellow lights. Begrudgingly, Alex follows with the others in tow.