Crossing her arms, Shalise frowned. There had to be more to being on watch than that.
But there was nothing to do. Nothing aside from getting lost in her own thoughts and worries.
Shaking her head, Shalise looked over the original occupant of the cell.
His neck, both wrists, both ankles, and his waist all had massive manacles holding him against the wall. Both the chains and the clasps were made from the same pitch black metal that seemed to adorn everything in the prison. A metal very similar in appearance to the stuff Eva’s dagger was made from.
None of the restraints had any seams that Shalise could see, though she couldn’t see on the back of his neck. She wasn’t feeling up to going too close to the demon, even if he seemed secure.
And it was quite secure looking. Only an inch or two of slack chain gave him any room for movement.
For such a large cell, he sure made use of very little space. Even prisoners on death row had some room to move. It was a pitiful state to be in.
Shalise narrowed her eyes. That just meant he did something to deserve it.
“Like what you see?”
The demon’s gravely voice jolted Shalise out of her thoughts. It jolted her enough that she jumped back. Her shock sent him into a fit of laughter. Not the roaring, rumbling laughs or dark chuckles that he used when they first met. They were quiet and honest laughs.
Consideration for Juliana? Shalise thought with a frown. Her blond companion hadn’t even stirred at the noise.
“Waking her up would delay my freedom,” he said, apparently reading her mind. “I have been in here for who knows how many thousands of years. Before I got here, I would never have considered myself the patient sort. In a way, I still do not. Watching you two grates on my nerves.”
The binding chains went taut as he strained and pulled. “I just want to–” His words descended into a growl.
Shalise didn’t move at all. If it were that easy to escape, he would have done so already. She knew that she wouldn’t have given up trying to escape after thousands of years of being chained to the wall.
The demon–Prax, Juliana had called him–closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, they blazed bright with unrestrained fury. The light died as rest of him slumped in his chains.
Crossing her arms, Shalise gave him a glare. He was clearly trying to manipulate her. She wasn’t going to fall for such a simple trick. Since his pitiful state came just after an implied threat, that made it all the more important to keep a clear head.
She could only hope that the sleeping blond would take that same care when she awoke.
The worst part was that Juliana was right, as far as Shalise could see. They had walked for hours upon hours. There was a chance it was all in the wrong direction.
And then there were the demons.
Not the locked up ones. Shalise wasn’t too concerned about those demons. If Prax was to be believed, he had been stuck in one spot for at least a thousand years.
It was the loose ones that sent chills up her spine, along with the possibility of another earthquake setting even more loose.
Then there were those imps. They couldn’t be the only ones trying to break other demons out of jail.
You should not have run from the imps. Such weakness will not go unpunished.
Shalise spun around.
There was no one there.
Juliana slept on. Prax remained chained against the wall. The hallway was devoid of life.
“What was I supposed to do?” she muttered under her breath.
Her wand was gone. Her lightning gloves were gone. The ring Juliana had given her did not work.
Juliana had fought the demons. With her fists, if ‘punching out’ one of the imps was to be taken literally.
Shalise wasn’t strong. Just walking as much as she had was tiring. Professor Kines’ club toughened her up enough for that, but not for brawling.
Even if he had no magic or couldn’t use his magic, Prax at least had an excess of muscle.
Abandoning your friend to the mercies of demons? She came out lucky.
Shalise closed her eyes and counted backwards from ten.
Not as lucky as you might think.
Shalise took three steps towards Prax. “Are you doing this?” she shouted. “It isn’t funny. And it isn’t going to make me let you go.”
Prax had the audacity to look surprised. The surprise shifted to a glare. “In case you have yet to notice,” he struggled against his restraints, “I cannot do much of anything.”
“You’re talking to me. Inside my head.”
“I am no–”
His eyes went wide and, for the first time since she had seen him, he created more slack in his chains as he pressed up against the wall.
Shalise took a step back at his reaction. “W-what is it?”
“Figures. Hell isn’t often host to mortals, at least not outside those screaming their heads off in the abattoir. Of course Void would take note of you.”
“What do you mean? Is that some demon?”
Prax stared. He slowly shook his head, as much as he was able to. “You are not a very good diabolist, are you? Some warlock’s new apprentice, right?”
“I’m not any kind of diabolist! I’m only–We are only here because someone doesn’t know not to mess with things she doesn’t understand.”
His eyes flicked down towards Juliana before returning to Shalise. More and more sharp teeth revealed themselves as a smile split across his face. “I see.
“No matter. That voice may speak lies or truths. Whatever is most advantageous to Him at any particular moment. If He tries to turn you against me, remember that I am your only hope for escaping this place.”
Careful, Praxtihr, or your new friends will think you’re desperate.
“You!” Prax roared.
Shalise pressed her back against the wall in the furthest corner of the room from the demon.
“I did nothing worthy of imprisonment save being born to that ovgpu! And yet after ten thousand years, you finally speak to this mortal?” Prax pulled against his chains like he never had before, at least not in Shalise’s presence.
The chains held. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of them giving way. No creaks, no bending links.
“Release me and I may see your pet mortals through this nightmare.”
Prax’s eyes darted around the room, never-resting on any one thing for more than a moment. After a short eternity, the demon yelled out. Nothing that came from his mouth formed words; just pure rage given voice.
The chains went slack. Anger spent, Prax’s muscles lost all tension. He collapsed in place, held up only by the restraints.
“Mortals once had gods, did they not?” he said so quietly that Shalise had to move closer to catch the last few words. “How nice it must be to be free of them.”
Shalise said nothing. What did someone even say to something like that?
Instead, she turned away, giving the demon some privacy. She wasn’t about to forget that he was a demon that could be acting out a script for sympathy, but it seemed genuine enough. And Juliana did have a point; they knew two demons, plus Eva, that were not all bad.
Two of those had even saved her life once.
The hallway was as barren as it had been the last time she checked. Even after Prax’s outburst, Juliana slept on. It was somewhat amazing, but then it was possible that Shalise had slept through as much or worse.
She rubbed her side where Juliana had poked her. It tingled, though that may have been nothing more than a phantom feeling.
Shalise turned back to the demon, intending to distract herself. “Why are you here?”
“Same reason anyone is here. We broke the rules.” He flared his large nostrils in a snort. Under his breath, he added, “you participate in one revolution…”
“Revolution?”
“Once upon a time, demons tried to conquer the mortal realm. Multiple times, really, but I was only a participant once.”
“And humans beat you back?”