Before and Beyond

Demon in a Box

Ahlbhenzer hid behind the outcropping of rock and watched as the knight warily approached. The man looked so proud and uncomfortable in his metal suit, the sun reflecting brightly off its surface and eliminating any possible element of surprise. Ahlbhenzer wondered briefly if the man was suffering as much from the heat and sun as he was, then decided it must be worse for his prey. Ahlbhenzer, after all, wasn't walking around in an oven. His claws drummed nervously on the boulder, his tail stirred up dust behind him. The magician's orders were clear: stop all from approaching my castle.

It shouldn't be this way, he thought sadly; a demon under the thrall of a human. Without warning or explanation, his lord Fhennezel had plucked him like an apple off a tree and unceremoniously handed him over to the magician Cylydar, then vanished without another word. Since then he had been the human's to command and no matter how mundane or distasteful the task, Ahlbhenzer had little choice but to obey.

The knight was getting closer now, closer to the trap Ahlbhenzer had set. He must be getting tired by now, and discouraged, Ahlbhenzer thought smugly. Struggling up a rock-strewn path, laden with heavy armor. Did he have any charms? An enhanced blade, anything that might actually prove dangerous? The young demon forced the thought aside.

Ahlbhenzer pushed against his shielding rock one more time. Yes, it would roll quite nicely. Down the mountainside and into the narrow path leading to the castle. How fast can the knight run in his armor? he thought. Time to find out.

Ahlbhenzer let out an ear-piercing, soul-freezing scream, one that echoed and re-echoed off the walls of the canyon until it sounded like a virtual army of demons was preparing to attack. Then he dug the claws of his feet into the dirt and shoved with all the strength of his three-foot demon frame. The boulder resisted only briefly, then began its journey down the mountainside. Ahlbhenzer followed, his wings flapping, his screams of rage still resounding off the rock walls.

The knight stopped and withdrew his sword, then reconsidered when he saw the boulder coming his way. He quickly began a clanking retreat, one Ahlbhenzer encouraged by spitting an occasional ball of fire at him.