A Demon Named Barbas

After finding the airship, Laki, Macha, and Tyr returned to the campsite. The crew detained Laki while the medics saw to Tyr's wound. There had been a great commotion when he revealed that he needed their assistance. Even Macha was surprised because he did not mention his injury to her.

After the healers left, Macha ran her fingers through his hair. "I was worried about you, you know. You should have said something. I could have carried the bags."

He moved a hand to the small of her back, "I know."

She nibbled her lower lip and gave a slight frown. "Are you upset that I wanted you to give your uncle a chance?"

A rueful chuckle escaped his lips, and he looked into the fire. Her forgiving nature was a trait he both loved and hated about her. It made her so unlike anyone he ever met.

"It's fine," he said with little emotion.

After saying that, he got up to take a shower. He needed to think about what to do with his deadbeat uncle. Just having the man around set his nerves on edge.

His sentences were short tonight, and it left her feeling uneasy. Usually when he responded like that, he was resentful or had a lot on his mind.

When he closed the door to the bathroom, she flopped down onto an orange silk pillow that lay on the floor. Then she noticed Aži curled up into a ball facing the corner of the room. He had never been sick before, but ever since they located the pirate's airship, he had been unwell.

"Aži, what's wrong?" she asked tenderly as she made her way to comfort him.

When Tyr finished his shower and opened the door to the bathroom, he found Macha sitting on the ground next to the wyvern. She stroked Aži's back and singing him a soothing melody in her native language. The syllables flowed, and he leaned against the doorframe for a few seconds enjoying the moment.

He was still learning English, so all he understood was that the song talked about not crying. It had a pleasant melody and matched the way she spoke.

She turned her head to him as she continued the last few lines, "Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, That's an Irish lullaby."

He sat down beside them and leaned on one arm. "What's wrong?" he asked.

It was unusual for the two to be in a corner like this.

Macha's face looked pained. "He has a stomachache. Do you think it was the shallots in the mice?"

It occurred to her that not all animals should eat the same things as people. The guilt began to weigh on her conscience. They were days away from Marseille and if he was deathly sick, it would be all her fault.

Tyr looked at his friend who used his wings to cover his embarrassment. They both knew what the cause of his stomach ache was. A deep frown formed on Tyr's face.

Brushing the wing aside, he said angrily, "Aži, why did you eat that damn hand?"

He knew it had not been the shallots. Wyverns could eat anything that people could. Never in his life had he heard of a wyvern or dragon being taken down from a shallot.

Demon magic was dangerous, and he worried his friend became sick. Tyr got up and went to find Laki. One of the most important things when dealing with demons was knowing its name.

From what he remembered, low-level demons were categorized by types. The higher level ones had names. Right now he wished Luna came along. This fell more into her area of expertise.

Laki lay sleeping in a cot when Tyr stormed into the room. The sound of the door opening and heavy boots caused the man to stir.

"Ahh, come on, let a fella catch some sleep," he muttered.

He turned over. It had been a long night, and he wanted to rest before having to pilot the airship all the way back to Marseille.

All of a sudden, a pair of hands pulled him out of his cot by his collar. His backside hit the floor, and the world spun. When his vision focused, he saw Tyr's green eyes. They were the same color as his sister's. They also contained the same coldness in them, which made him cringe.

Not wanting to bother waking his uncle up pleasantly, Tyr had hauled the man to his feet.

"What's that demon's name?" he demanded.

Laki scratched his head. "Barbas, why? Who cares..."

The urgency in his nephew's voice caught his attention and woke him up. Something had agitated the serious boy.

Tyr's brows shot together, "Where's the contract your Captain had with the demon?"

Every relationship with a demon had a contract. It was either a written parchment or an item. The contract is what gave the demon the gateway to influence things in their world.

What his nephew talked about sounded like gibberish to him. He did not hear anything about a contract. Those were details someone like him would not be privy to.

Laki's upper lip raised, "Hell if I know. I was just the guy who took care of the airship." Giving a smug look, he added, "I was the brains."

For a second, Tyr did not understand if his idiot uncle made a poor joke or not. When it became obvious he was serious, Tyr dragged the man out of the room.

He needed Laki to show him if there were any secret rooms or hidden compartments at the pirate's village. In the battle, he had killed everyone else, so this worthless scoundrel was all he had.

The moment Tyr exited the tent, Aži began to heave. It was a deep sound that made his entire body rattle. His wings lifted as if he were about to take flight, but shook furiously from his weakened state. Macha put her hands to his side to help his weak body stand up on all fours.

Her thumbs caressed his belly, running along his smooth onyx scales. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you sick…" she murmured woefully.

Four fingers rolled onto the floor, covered with his saliva. Three of the knobby fingers still had rings on them. The large rings shone with the light of the fire as the saliva dripped to the ground.

Macha recoiled backward and her eyes became wide. The color drained from her face and she looked at the fingers with horror.

The little wyvern flopped heavily on the floor and closed his eyes. His breathing continued to come out labored, but the tension in his body eased.

Macha grabbed a silver bowl and picked up the digits. Now she felt unsure if it had been the shallots or something else he ate. As she eyed the fingers, she tried to come to terms with Aži being a carnivorous killer.

She always understood he was a wyvern which was closely related to dragons, but she regularly imagined him as a cute little friend. By nature, he had a loveable and playful attitude and reminded her more of a cat than a dangerous creature. The idea that he would eat people seemed so removed from what she saw him as.