"Isstvan sends his greetings, Garkin!"
I nearly jumped out of my skin at the words. They came from inside the hut, but not inside the pentagram! I whirled toward their source. A figure was standing just inside the door, blinding in a glowing gold cloak. For a mad moment I thought it was the demon answering Garkin's summons. Then I saw the crossbow. It was a man, alright, but the crossbow, cocked and loaded in his hand, did little for my peace of mind.
Garkin did not even turn to look.
"Not now, you fool!" he snarled.
"It has been a long hunt, Garkin," the man continued as if he hadn't heard. "You've hidden yourself well, but did you really hope to escape...."
"You dare!?!" Garkin spun from his work, towering in his rage.
The man saw Garkin's face now, saw the eyes, and his face contorted in a grotesque mask of fear. Reflexively, he loosed the bolt from his crossbow, but too late. I did not see what Garkin did, things were happening too fast, but the man suddenly disappeared in a sheet of flame. He shrieked in agony and fell to the floor. The flame disappeared as suddenly as it had come, leaving only the smoldering corpse as evidence it had existed at all.
I remained rooted to the spot for several moments before I could move or even speak.
"Garkin," I said at last, "I... Garkin!"
Garkin's form was a crumpled lump on the floor. I was at his side in one bound, but I was far too late. The crossbow bolt protruded with silent finality from his chest. Garkin had given me my last lesson.
As I stooped to touch his body, I noticed something that froze my blood in its veins. Half-hidden by his form was the extinguished candle from the north point of the pentagram. The lines were no longer glowing blue. The protective spell was gone.
With agonizing effort, I raised my head and found myself gazing into a pair of yellow eyes, flecked with gold, that were not of this world.
Chapter Two:
Things are not always as they seem."
-MANDRAKE
ONCE, in the woods, I found myself face to face with a snake-cat. On another occasion, I encountered a spiderbear. Now, faced with a demon, I decided to pattern my behavior after that which had saved me in the aforementioned situations. I froze. At least, in hindsight, I like to think it was a deliberate, calculated act.
The demon curled its lips back, revealing a double row of needle-sharp teeth.
I considered changing my chosen course of action; I considered fainting.
The demon ran a purple tongue over his lips and began to slowly extend a taloned hand toward me. That did it! I went backward, not in a catlike graceful bound, but scrabbling on all fours. It's surprising how fast you can move that way when properly inspired. I managed to build up a substantial head of steam before I crashed head-first into the wall.
"Gaahh. ..." I said. It may not seem like much, but at the time it was the calmest expression of pain and terror I could think of.
At my outburst, the demon seemed to choke. Several ragged shouts erupted, then he began to laugh. It wasn't a low menacing laugh, but the wholehearted enthusiastic laughter of someone who has just seen something hysterically funny.
I found it both disquieting and annoying. Annoying because I had a growing suspicion I was the source of his amusement; disquieting because... well... he was a demon and demons are....
"Cold, vicious, and bloodthirsty," the demon gasped as if he had read my thoughts. "You really bought the whole line, didn't you, kid?"
"I beg your pardon?" I said because I couldn't think of anything else to say.
"Something wrong with your ears? I said 'cold, vicious....' "
"I heard you. I meant what did you mean."
"What I meant was that you were scared stiff, by a few well chosen words from my esteemed colleague, I'll wager." He jerked a thumb at Garkin's body. "Sorry for the dramatics. I felt a touch of comic relief was necessary to lighten an otherwise tragic moment."
"Comic relief?"
"Well, actually, I couldn't pass up the opportunity. You should have seen your face."
He chuckled to himself as he strode out of the pentagram and began leisurely inspecting the premises.
"So this is Garkin's new place, huh? What a dump. Who would have thought he'd come to this?"
To say I was perplexed would be an understatement. I wasn't sure how a demon should act, but it wasn't like this.
I could have bolted for the door, but I did not seem to be in immediate danger. Either this strange being meant me no harm, or he was confident of his ability to stop me even if I tried to flee. For the sake of my nervous system, I decided to assume the former.
The demon continued to inspect the hut, while I inspected him. He was humanoid; that is, he had two arms, two legs, and a head. He was short but powerfully built, a bit broader across the shoulders than a man, and heavily muscled, but he wasn't human. I mean, you don't see many hairless humans with dark green scales covering their body and pointed ears lying flat against their head.
I decided to risk a question.
"Ah, excuse me."
"Yeah, kid?"
"Um, you are a demon, aren't you?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess you could say I am."
"Well, if you don't mind my asking, why don't you act like a demon?"
The demon shot me a disgusted look, then turned his head heavenward in a gesture of martyrdom.
"Everybody's a critic. Tell ya what, kid, would you be happier if I tore your throat out with my teeth?"
"Well, no, but...."
"For that matter, who are you, anyway? Are you an innocent bystander, or did you come with the assassin?"
"I'm with him," I hastened to reply, pointing a shaky finger at Garkin's body. That bit about tearing my throat out had me on edge again. "Or at least I was. Garkin. The one who summoned ... him!... I'm ... I was his student."
"No kiddin'? Garkin's apprentice?" He began advancing toward me, reaching out a hand, "Pleased ta ... what's wrong?"
As he moved toward me, I had started backing away from him. I tried to do it casually, but he had noticed.
"Well... it's ... you are a demon."
"Yeah. So?"
"Um ... well, demons are supposed to be...."
"Hey, relax, kid. I don't bite. Look, I'm an old buddy of Garkin's."
"I thought you said you were a demon?"
"That's right. I'm from another dimension. A dimension traveler, or demon for short. Get it?"
"What's a dimension?"
The demon scowled.
"Are you sure you're Garkin's apprentice? I mean, he hasn't told you anything at all about dimensions?"
"No," I answered. "I mean, yes, I'm his apprentice, but he never said anything about the demon-suns."
"That's dimensions," he corrected. "Well, a dimension is another world, actually one of several worlds, existing simultaneously with this one, but on different planes. Follow me?"
"No," I admitted.
"Well, just accept that I'm from another world. Now, in that world, I'm a magician just like Garkin. We had an exchange program going where we could summon each other across the barrier to impress our respective apprentices."
"I thought you said you were a demon," I said suspiciously.
"I am! Look, kid. In my world, you'd be a demon, but at the current moment I'm in yours, so I'm a demon."
"I thought you said you were a magician."
"I don't believe this!" The demon made his angry appeal to the heavens. "I'm standing here arguing with some twerp of an apprentice.... Look, kid."