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I’m not blind to the way that Giroth dodges my questions, but I can’t be on his bad side. If he has something that he wants to show me instead of answering me, then I’m just going to have to tough it out.
It’s not that I’m truly bothered by the way he ignores me. He literally kidnapped me from my home so why would I expect him to be polite or cooperative? Honestly, I’m surprised by how nice he’s been so far.
What bothers me is that I can tell he’s doing so to hide something. I fight back a shiver as I consider what it could be. What’s worse than being dragged here and imprisoned?
My stomach twists violently as I chew it over, but it’s not worth tormenting my mind. I know that of all the horror I’ve seen, all the things my mind could conjure, the reality could be so much worse.
Instead, I see how excited he looks and decide to swallow down my growing frustration. I didn’t know that demons could look so thrilled but Giroth’s eyes are wide, his lips turned up into a bright smile, and I wonder when’s the last time I’ve seen anyone look like that—human or otherwise.
“Lead the way,” I sigh.
His smile grows wider, and he reaches out to grab my hand. I let him, surprised that although it is bony, he feels strong and soft somehow. I don’t recoil from it the way I had before.
He leads me through the city, but instead of diving deep into it as we had before, he skirts around buildings and takes the alleyways. He’s slipping out to the edge of the bustling crowds, and we finally break through a set of buildings to find one lone, stout structure.
It almost looks like a warehouse to me, and if I were just passing by, I would have assumed it to be as such. As Giroth pulls me toward it, though, I realize that there’s a flow of energy pouring out of it. It’s ghastly, the danger that seems to be emanating from the building, and my body is screaming at me to run.
As we approach, I realize that part of that low thrum that I thought was in my head is a deep, harmonious growl. I tense, terrified of what lies within, and I look to Giroth in shock. Is he about to feed me to some monster? Does he take delight in that?
He doesn’t even seem to notice my growing hesitation as he drops my hand and pushes open the door. Immediately, the harsh growl ceases, and the air is pierced with frenzied whining.
It doesn’t sound like whatever is in there is pained, so I creep closer, seeing the inside is illuminated well for me to take in whatever creature Giroth wants to show me.
“My sweet babies,” he coos, his voice going up in pitch. “Are you hungry? Oh, I bet you are.” I almost laugh as I creep closer to the building. “You deserve a treat, my good elf-eaters. Do you want a treat?”
There’s barking and yips of excitement, and it strikes me suddenly. Does this demon have a soft spot for dogs?
Feeling much less weary, I step into the doorway and freeze immediately. While they sounded like dogs outside, the only thing that makes them remotely resemble the pets on the ground is how they are on all fours and covered in fur.
My heart leaps to my throat as the ones closest to me bark and howl. I can see several with three rows of razor-sharp teeth. Another handful have barbed tails, two or three per dog, that wag excitedly as Giroth reappears into my view. He holds a bucket, and I can't tell what’s in it, but the creatures are overwhelmed with excitement.
The ones who had their eyes trained on me, immediately turn back toward their owner. He grins at them, and they leap over one another, trying to get at him. Their whole bodies vibrate as their excitement grows, greeting him by wagging their entire bodies.
They really are just puppies, gnashing at each other to get to him. He chuckles, and it catches me off guard. I haven’t heard him do that, yet. The sound is almost melodic, even though it’s deep and throaty. It reminds me of these soothing songs that I’ve heard men hum and sing as they work, their voices low and keeping a steady rhythm.
“I didn’t forget about you,” he tells them, crossing the room to pet them on top of their heads. “No,” his voice starts to increase in pitch again. “No, I would never. Never ever forget about my precious beasts.”
They lap at his hands, five of them descending on him at once. I notice some of the dogs even have two heads, and one of them stands on top of the other’s back to lick his face.
“Oh, did you miss me? I missed you.”
I press my hand to my mouth to hold back my smile as he continues to praise his pets. As ferocious as they look, with their sharp claws and red eyes, they are nothing more than loving animals.
I see the same change in Giroth. He may have been kinder to me as he showed me the city than he was during our chase, but I would say that he was only putting up with my presence. Here, I see true happiness color his face and fill his eyes.
It suits him.
He turns around, and he almost looks surprised, like he forgot I was there. “Come in. They won’t hurt you. I swear.”
Though my body says differently, I believe him. I doubt these animals would ever disobey him. I walk farther into the building, pausing in front of one of the pens closest to the door. “Are these your pets?” I ask hesitantly.
“These are my pride and joy,” he affirms. “They are prized Ur’gin hounds.”
“Hunting dogs?” I venture.
“They are excellent at that. I’ve never met another beast with such wicked tempers and a pension for destruction.” I gulp, and he quickly adds, “They are calm around me, though. Come. I want you to meet them.”
He swipes the bucket, dipping his hand in and pulling out a grotesque lump of shredded red meat and tendon. The dogs howl excitedly, but he holds it out to me. I wrinkle my nose as I stare down at his hand. “What do I do with that?”
