Runt

Before he met Anita, Saban was a powerful demon lord, with over a hundred demons at his command. This is one of his stories.

*

Saban

I stalked through the forest, mind blanked, body low to the ground. Hunting. Hunting for demons. I'd found a trail of residue, and I was following it, my mind empty of all but the task at hand. Following. Following... Found. Two demons, in the clearing up ahead. One was the source of the trail. Perfect prey.

My thoughts came back in a rush. The two demons jerked as my mind abruptly appeared on their radar, and began to run, one of them dropping something blue onto the ground. They'd been playing catch with it, whatever it was. I grasped the demons' minds with ease, and they froze, trembling and low to the ground, like puddles in a high wind. Both were pleading with me to let them go. I ignored them, examining my catch.

Worthless. Neither one was particularly powerful, and I could sense no special talents. Both were fully grown, so there was no chance they'd develop into something more. Neither one had much energy in them, either. Not worth the trouble to drain them.

I lifted my pressure on their minds. --Go-- I told them in the mind language of demons. They wasted no time in running away. I sighed, and turned to look at the little scrap of blue. Maybe it was something interesting.

I jerked in surprise. The little scrap of blue was moving, crawling slowly toward the trees. It wasn't a toy. It was a newborn demon.

Not just any newborn. This was a runt. Its host either hadn't had enough energy to support it, or had been killed before the little demon was fully grown. The two demons that had fled dwarfed it even more than I dwarfed them. It would fit in the palm of a human child's hand. Its tentacles were like blades of grass, and its central body was the size of a walnut. Eyes the size of peas blinked up at me, on stalks like clover stems. So tiny. Pathetic. It would never survive.

And yet... Just because it was tiny didn't mean it couldn't grow. It might even develop special powers, given time. Something inside me said I should take this little scrap of a demon. It had potential.

So I scooped it up, ignoring its squeal of protest. Oddly I felt nothing from its mind. --Hey. You. Runt. You still in there?--

I felt a fleeting surge of panic from it, and then I heard a tiny voice...please let me go...

So, weak and quiet, but not brain dead. I reached back along its words and gripped its mind. It squealed again. It had never felt anything like this before. Behind a surprisingly thick mental wall, its mind was buzzing. It was trying to figure out how to escape. How cute.

I pressed my mind against it, marking it as my own. It managed to jerk free of my hold while I was concentrating and started toward the trees, again at a painfully slow pace.

I sighed, not bothering to catch it. --Stop.--

It stopped, trembling like a leaf with its desire to flee...what did you do to me?... it asked.

It had no idea what a demon lord could do. Unusual, but not unheard of. --We'll talk about that later, you and I-- I told it. --For now, though, I want to make sure you don't die on me.--

The runt was near dead from starvation, so I forced energy past its mental walls, working carefully. Too much energy too quickly, and the little thing would die from shock. As it was, the process was painful for the tiny scrap. It screamed, wailing in both voice and mind.

Finally, I'd forced as much energy into the imp as it could hold. One of its eyes gave me a doleful look. Then it passed out, its body and mind shutting down to deal with the massive energy influx.

*

Runt

I woke with a jerk, terrified to my core by the huge mind near mine. I tried to run, but something gripped me. Something huge and black and strong. What- What held me? Where was I? What was that huge mind?

I must have been wondering pretty loudly, because I got an answer. --I am the demon lord Saban. Do you know what 'demon lord' means?--

...i-it means you're p-powerful... I stammered.

The huge demon chuckled. The rumble shook me, and I saw one enormous eye, and eye as big as I was, peer at me. I realized that I was in the huge demon's grasp, held in a coil of tentacle. This was not good. I whimpered.

--Hush. I'm not going to hurt you. Demon lord doesn't just mean powerful. It means I have two very important abilities. One, I can command nearly any demon near me. I did that to you, if you remember.-- the demon lord continued.

I sent an affirmative, remembering him telling me to stop, and my automatic obedience...what's the second?... I asked. As long as the big demon kept talking, it wasn't killing me, and that meant I had a chance. A chance to do what, I didn't know.

--Two, I can mark demons. This mark keeps other demon lords from controlling them, and allows me to call my marked demons from anywhere on this plane. In addition, when they are close, it gives me unlimited access to their minds. Do you understand?--

Again, I sent an affirmative.

--I marked you, runt. That makes you mine.-- my new master told me.

...yours?... I whimpered.

--Yes. Mine. There's no escaping me now. You might as well accept that.--

We were moving, I realized. The big demon was covering ground much, much faster and more smoothly that I ever could.

...where are you taking me?... I asked.

--My home-- Lord Saban told me. --My fortress.--

I shivered...what will you do to me when we get there?...

--I haven't decided yet-- the demon lord informed me. --And I have no reason to tell you. Now, be quiet. No more questions. No more whimpering.--

I spent the rest of the journey trying to be as silent as I could. Escape plan after escape plan ran through my head. None had any chance of working. And if I tried and failed, I was dead. I couldn't stop trembling, helpless in my master's hold.

Then I sensed it...there's other demons ahead... I whispered, beginning to panic.

--Of course-- my master replied with a chuckle. --You didn't think you were the only one I'd ever marked, did you?--

...they'll kill me... I whimpered.

--They wouldn't dare-- Lord Saban told me, amused. --As I said, you are mine.--

I jerked, and then was silent.

The feeling of other demons got stronger and stronger. Then we entered a cave in the side of a hill. As I adjusted my eyes to deal with the darkness, I saw a dark green form heading toward me. It was another demon! I squeaked, and tried to hide within the coil of tentacle holding me. My master chuckled.

The green demon looked me over disdainfully. --What are you going to do with that? It's too small to eat.--

--I'm keeping him-- Lord Saban told her. --And speaking of eating, don't you have something for me?--

The green demon presented him with a basket of glowing mushrooms. My eyes widened. I'd seen these before. Well, one of them. I'd been hiding under a log, and I'd found a single glowing mushroom, just a tiny bit smaller than me. I'd gorged myself on the energy it contained, and, for the first time, had slept without hunger.

These mushrooms, though, were easily twice my size. And there were so many of them! A feast lay before me. I quivered with hunger.

Lord Saban took the basket, and then, to my shock, dropped me inside. --Eat as much as you can-- he told me. I greedily obeyed.

The green demon sneered. --A waste of good food-- she told the demon lord.

Lord Saban growled warningly. --Aricela, it's my food. I decide who gets to eat it.-- He examined me thoughtfully. --Besides, he'll grow.--

I was full now, beyond full, but I couldn't seem to stop eating. I tried to squirm away from the mushrooms, but Lord Saban's orders wouldn't let me. I struggled against the compulsion, and my draining of the mushrooms slowed.

A pressure in my mind made me speed up again. --That's it-- Lord Saban told me. --Eat as much as you can hold.--

I began to feel a bit woozy. He was going to make me eat until I passed out, I realized. Until the sheer amount of energy I'd taken in rendered me unconscious. I'd be completely, utterly helpless, unable to defend myself in any way, entirely reliant on my master's protection. And would he protect me? I whimpered. My master patted me gently. --Hush.--

Then everything went black.

*

Saban

I patted my tiny captive gently. --You'll be fine-- I told the limp scrap of blue. He shifted uneasily in sleep. Bad dreams. No surprise. I entered his mind and, with a soft nudge, ensured a dreamless sleep. He was mine now, and I took care of my own.

Aricela sneered. --Weak.--

I drew myself up threateningly. --Are you talking about me, or the runt?--

Aricela spread her tentacles in her own threat pose. --Both.--

I forced her down into a bowed position. --You dare? You truly dare?--

--Yes, I do, "master." And you won't do a thing about it. You've gone soft-- Aricela growled at me.

In a lightning fast move, I drove a tentacle straight through her body. Spikes shot out from it. Aricela wailed. --I'm sorry!--

Slowly, I pulled the tentacle out, letting the spikes tear at her insides. --NO, you are not, but you will be.-- With a final jerk, I pulled my tentacle free, leaving a gaping, torn hole. It began to heal, the edges closing in on the gap. I tore into Aricela's mind, making her wail with psychic pain, and did not stop until the physical wound had closed. No permanent harm done, but with luck, the memory of pain would make her think twice about defying me again. To make certain she remembered the lesson, I told her, --No dinner for you.--

Aricela's mind felt humbled. I examined it, looking for any remaining sparks of defiance, but there were none. Good. --He may be small and weak, but you are all weak compared to me-- I reminded her. --You may go.--

Aricela fled.

I finished the rest of the mushrooms, scooped up the tiny blue scrap, and headed towards my quarters. As I passed, my demons stopped to bow. Several approached me with problems. I solved a quarrel, clarified the new digging plans, and heard several accounts of a bully. Bullying and infighting were against my rules, and the penalties for both were harsh. I would deal with this bully momentarily. First, though, I needed to deal with the runt.

*

Runt

I awoke, and stretched with a happy sigh. I was in a nice, soft nest, and I could sense no other demons nearby. I snuggled into the soft stuff that cradled me, and wondered vaguely what it was. What had I made my nest from last-

Last night. Lord Saban. I jerked out of the nest, snapping to immediate awareness.

I was surrounded on four sides by mesh, its holes too small for even me to squirm through. The ceiling was more mesh, but floor was solid. Tucked into the nearest corner, I saw the nest I had been sleeping in. I blinked, and reached out a tentacle. I'd never felt anything so soft. In another corner, a number of mushrooms were stacked, more than enough for a fine meal. Aside from that, my cage was bare. Large, but bare.

I fought the urge to immediately start draining the mushrooms, and crept to the edge of the cage. What I saw was... Puzzling. My cage appeared to be suspended in the air above a room. There was a nest in the corner, just like the one in the cage but on a much, much larger scale. Lord Saban's nest?

That was the only item in the room I could identify. Some of the other items were wooden. Some were stone. Some were made of bones, or skins, or other lesser demon parts. Most, however, were made of materials I couldn't identify, in shapes that seemed utterly alien.

One set of items stood out to me, probably because they were so alien and familiar at the same time. There was a square scratched into the floor, made up of a bunch of smaller squares, half of which were black and half of which were grey, arranged in a diagonal sort of pattern. There were stones on some of the black squares. Three rows of black stones on one side, three rows of grey stones on the other. The stones were too regular in size and shape to have just been found on the ground. Someone had carved them like that. Why?

I searched for a way out of my prison. The only door out of my cage was latched, and I couldn't reach the latch. As for the room, there appeared to be only two exits. One was large, and blocked by a boulder. The other was small enough that no regular demon, not even a normal imp, would be able to fit through. However I, being small even for a newborn, would be able to fit just fine.

I wondered what the hole was for. It might be for air circulation. Certain things needed air to survive, but demons, even demons as weak as I was, didn't. What was Lord Saban bringing in here that needed air? Surely he couldn't be bringing lesser demons into his quarters. What would be the point?

The boulder started to move. I squeaked and hid among the mushrooms, my mind blanking. If I wasn't thinking anything, my mind was practically invisible. I wondered why I didn't feel the mind of whoever was moving the boulder.

As a gap appeared between the boulder and the wall, I immediately realized the stone must have been blocking my senses, because now I could feel a mind clearly. Lord Saban. I quickly huddled deeper into the mushrooms, and blanked my mind once more.

Lord Saban entered. He looked over at my cage. --Hiding is useless. The mark lets me sense you, however much you blank your mind. Besides, I'm not going to hurt you. How many times do I have to tell you that?--

I peeked out from between the mushrooms, but, when my master met my gaze, I quickly withdrew. Lord Saban chuckled. --You don't believe me. I could squash you like an overripe fruit, and you couldn't do a thing about it. I could have done it a thousand times since I captured you. I haven't. Doesn't that tell you something?--

...you want me alive... I murmured.

--Exactly.-- Lord Saban said with approval.

...alive for what?... I asked.

--To serve me, of course. Why else would I want you?-- Lord Saban told me. --No more questions. Eat, and then I'll see how much you know about your own powers.--

I ate. This time, Lord Saban didn't force me to overeat. Then Lord Saban opened the cage and scooped me out. He set me on a table. When I tried to scuttle off of the table, he placed a tentacle in my path and gently pulled me back to him. I stopped struggling as the tentacle coiled loosely around me.

--How much do you know about shapeshifting?-- asked Lord Saban.

...i've seen other demons do it... I shifted from tentacle to tentacle, uncomfortable with being the center of attention.

--But you've never done it yourself.-- Lord Saban postulated.

...no... I admitted.

--Try. It's not difficult-- my master told me.

I tried, but I had no idea how to even start...i'm sorry... I said, flinching.

Lord Saban looked at me thoughtfully. --It should be instinctive-- he said. --I wonder why it's not.--

I curled up in a miserable, quivering ball, awaiting execution.

--Stop that-- Lord Saban said absently, patting me between my eyestalks. --Shifting should feel like this.--

He pulled me into his mind, so that I felt what he felt. Then he shifted, growing a hard armored shell. I felt, in his mind, how desire became reality. Then he released me, and I snapped back into my own body.

--You try-- he told me.

This time, my shifting was flawless. I grew an armored shell, and withdrew into it. I found the darkness and the hardness of my defenses very soothing.

--You like it in there, don't you?-- my lord said, amused.

...yes... I admitted.

--In a real fight, that tactic is flawed-- Lord Saban told me. --Can you tell me why?--

I thought for a second...while I'm in the shell, I can't fight back...

--Exactly-- my master approved.

...except I can't fight anyway... I added...i'm too weak...

--You'll grow-- my master assured me. --Until then, though, this is better than nothing. Add some spikes.--

I swiftly added spikes, as many as I could.

--Very good. Now, do you know how to materialize objects?-- asked Lord Saban.

...is it like shifting?... I asked.

--Very much so. Give it a try.-- my lord told me.

After a few false starts, I managed to materialize a solid shell of rock around my hard, spiked body plates.

My lord laughed. --Of course you'd choose something defensive.--

I shivered so hard my little stone ball rocked...i'm sorry...

--No need to apologize-- my master assured me. --It's good you're practicing things you might need. Just so you know, items you create will vanish if you're not touching them. Now, get rid of the rock, and return to your previous shape.--

I hesitated, and then did what I was told. My master lifted me up into my cage. --Keep practicing both things-- he ordered me, --As well as exercising your strength and speed. I'll give you specific exercises later, when I bring you more mushrooms. For now, though, I bet you're tired.-- He nudged me into my nest. --Sleep-- he ordered me. Unable to fight his command, I slept.

*

I awoke with a start as I heard the boulder moving and felt my master's mind. I fought the urge to hide. It seemed to annoy him.

I felt more than my master's mind. Something... Something like the mushrooms, but not. Like a lesser demon, but not. A source of power, but of a type I'd never felt before. It felt tasty. My hunger rose.

My master shoved something before him. The source of power. It looked a bit like an ape demon, but, instead of being covered in hair, it was covered in something I couldn't identify, something separate from its body. It also walked upright, off of its front legs, and it walked like that was the way it normally moved around. I wondered what the point of having front legs was if you didn't use them.

It had no horns, claws, or spikes. No sharp teeth. No armored hide. No weapons or defenses of any sort. I wondered if it could grow them, like I could, or if my master had removed them. The latter made more sense, but I didn't see any places where anything had obviously been torn off.

My master entered after it. He was in a similar shape to this creature, the most complete shifting that I'd ever seen. I knew it was him only by the feel of his mind.

The strange creature pointed to me and made noise. At the same time, I asked,...what is that?...

My master laughed. He made noise at the creature, and then said to me, --That is a human. He just asked the same thing about you.--

I blinked...by making noise?...

--The noise is something called words. Humans can't speak mind to mind, so they talk with sounds, and sometimes with their bodies.-- Lord Saban explained. --Humans are very tasty, but very rare here. Do you feel the layers of his energy?--

Layers? Now that he'd mentioned it, I did feel layers. And outer layer, and an inner layer. I sent my lord an affirmative.

--You're a fast study.-- my lord approved --The outer layer is magic. The inner layer is life force. The outer layer regenerates, but the inner layer does not, and, when it is all gone, the human dies.--

I blinked...that's weird...

--I know.-- Lord Saban said. The human made noises again. Lord Saban replied with more noises. The two of them sat near the weird square on the floor. Then they began to move around the rocks.

After watching them for awhile, I began to notice patterns. My lord moved the black rocks. The human moved the grey. The rocks only ever moved diagonally. Whenever a grey rock went over a black rock, my lord removed the black from the table and got annoyed. When a black rock moved over the grey, the human removed the grey rock, and my lord got happy. Then, a black rock reached the side of the board near the human, and my lord got really happy. He placed another rock on top of it. After that he moved the two rocks together differently.