18 Chapter 18 Elder Demon

"I still don't understand why we can't just keep the money," pouted Guit as they stepped out of the inn.

"We don't need the money, and these people…" started Grey, when she spied angels flying over the city.

The people in the streets screamed in fright and cowered or ran against buildings, as if they expected the angels to drop things on them.

"What's going on?" asked Grey in confusion.

"It would appear as if they fear for their safety," said Airow.

"They do," confirmed Argen.

"But why?" asked Grey, turning to watch them as they dived just outside of the city walls.

"They're fighting!" exclaimed Guit in excitement and fear.

They all started running towards the gate, to see what was going on, and Argen sighed as he moved to follow at a much slower pace. As they arrived at the gate, they saw that a small group of imps had been heading towards the people who were waiting to get into the city. Watching the very young angels take out the simplest form of demon, Grey and Airow couldn't help glancing at each other. They remembered fighting groups like this when they were new angels.

"The elder demon must have sent the demons out to distract the angels," said Guit, out of breath from the short run.

As Argen arrived, he glanced over the battlefield and shook his head.

"He's playing some kind of game. This was on purpose."

"Big meeting in the square!" shouted a boy, running through the street. "The mayor has called a big meeting in the square! There will be food!"

They glanced at each other as the people, who had been cowering in fear, suddenly started running towards the center of the city. Following behind the crowds, they found the square was too crowded to get into. Ducking down an empty alley, they flew to the roof of one of the buildings and watched as the angels left.

In the square below, a very nicely dressed man was standing on a stage. When he started to speak, they all recognized him as the elder demon. None of them had a problem hearing him, despite the distance, and the murmur of the crowd.

"I have called this meeting today, because I had a great idea last night."

His voice was high pitched and slow, like the voice of a politician with a lot of time on his hands, after inhaling helium. As he slowly walked around the small stage, the crowd grew quiet, not realizing they could hear him clearly because of magic. He wore clothes resembling that of a jester. One pant leg was black, while the other was red. His shirt was opposite his pants, so the red only touched black and the black only touched red. Yet, no one in the crowd seemed to think this was odd.

"I was seeing people in the streets, sleeping next to garbage, and that gave me an idea. Stay with me with this. If we expand the city, we can deal with this homeless issue, and with the extra room, we can grow crops; food folks. I've seen a shortage of that!"

People in the crowd were nodding at his words.

"Now, all of you who are willing to work will get paid, and we can get you into those houses and put food in your bellies."

When he mentioned food, a lot of the people started to surge towards the stage, which caused him to laugh and raise his hands.

"I know how hard it is to work on an empty stomach, so I have food for everyone today. Tomorrow, those who are willing to work, will be given food to take home to their loved ones, so you can all feed your families."

Large men, holding bags of bread and other foods, started to hand out the food from tables that were suddenly set up on either side of the stage. It was obvious to the four on the roof, that those men were demons in disguise.

"They're so desperate for food, they're ignoring the obvious!" exclaimed Guit, as if it was genius.

"I know a lot of you, are wanting to work, to make sure there's food for tomorrow and the next day, so when you get your food today, you can go ahead and sign up to work tomorrow. We all know that those angels might not be back the next time demons show up, so the sooner we get this wall up, the better!"

The mad scramble for food slowed down, as the people had to sign up for work, before getting their food. Grey wanted to kill those demons right then and there, but she knew that there was no way she would succeed with the elder demon right there. Too many people would be killed.

Placing his hand on her shoulder, Airow said, "Do not fret too much. They are not signing away their souls yet, we still have time to save them."

"But what is he doing? Why is he trying to help them?" asked Guit, scratching his head in confusion. "I have to admit, they are so desperate, it's awesome how he can get away with hiding who he is, and what he intends, but I don't understand what he intends."

"It's obvious," said Argen, leaning against the roof edge and crossing his arms. "He's getting them so they will pray to him. He's going to get very powerful if he can succeed in overcoming the big things, they believe they need. It's just not very practical."

"What do you mean?" asked Guit.

"Once he has them houses and food, safe behind a wall, there will need to be something new to get them to want more than anything, to keep him being the hero in their minds. It's also a ton of work."

Grey watched as the people took their food and disappeared from the square. The elder demon was watching the crowd and smiling. Every once in a while, he would speak to some of the people who were close to him, but they could no longer hear his voice.

"If they want to eat, they will have to work, but none of them realize that yet," said Airow.

Returning to the street, so as not to be noticed by the demons, they noticed movement further down a dead end. Grey led, with her sword drawn. Airow had his bow out and charged as they drew close enough to see what was happening.

A shade, standing eight feet tall, stood over a man's body. In its skeletal left hand, a formless lump of light struggled while it proceeded to eat a foot. Then, as they all watched, it reached down and ripped off an arm. As it proceeded to eat it, Airow couldn't wait any longer, letting go the three bolts he had charged.

The three bolts all hit the shade in the head. There was no scream as it simply faded away to dust. The arm fell to the ground with a soft thud, and the ball of light, fell and rolled.

Grey ran forward, reaching for it, then stopped. Looking at Airow, tears began to run down her face.

"You have to get it. I can't touch it," she whispered.

He nodded, suddenly understanding. Moving forward purposefully, Airow gently picked up the light.

"That's," said Guit, licking his lips, "a soul."