Lord of the Night

Chapter 45: Monster

I clasped Fraschkit's shoulder in a brief display of gratitude. Then before she could change her mind, I started off down the cobblestone path. Behind me, she murmured a command to a couple of other Guardians, and they jogged after me. I hoped they were there to deliver Fraschkit's decisions to whatever Guardians stood outside the cell and not to spy on me, but their intentions didn't really matter as long as they let me see Isalio.

The further we strayed from the plaza, the darker the village became. Soon, only the moonlight illuminated the thatch-roof shanties lining the path.

The Guardians accompanying me stopped outside a rundown brick building and gestured me inside. Light skipped over crumbled bricks like an eerie, toothless smile. Inside, a single human worked the front desk. Her eyes widened when we approached.

"This one will stay in the cell, too," one of the Guardians said, gesturing at me.

"But the other Guardians said—"

"Orders have changed. We have a directive straight from the new Leader."

The human frowned. "Is it true what they are saying? Is our Demon prisoner truly the High Prince?"

"So it seems," the first Guardian said neutrally. "Where is his cell?"

"Is he really as dangerous as everyone says?"

"Don't worry," said the Guardian. "The humans are safe. The Guardians have complete control over the situation."

I bit my tongue to stop myself from disagreeing. The humans' safety was in question, and the Guardians' control even moreso. Isalio would not harm anyone in here—I had to hold onto that belief—but other Demons or beasts certainly might. And I had little faith the Guardians could get Isalio to do anything that he didn't want to do.

Fuck, I sure couldn't.

The human pointed to a dark space at the far other end of the jailhouse. "He's in the cell downstairs."

I followed the other two Guardians past a dozen cells. The cells were all empty except for a worn mattress, a single chair, and a dim lamp, all framed by bent, rusty bars. Not desirable accommodations by any means, but clean and comfortable enough. I wondered if the village rarely experienced crime or if whichever petty criminals had been here were pardoned the moment the High Demon Prince was brought in.

As we passed the cells, the stairwell appeared, a winding stone pathway through a gap in the wall. The other Guardians and I had to turn sideways to fit through the stairwell's entrance, and the way down wasn't much better.

At the bottom of the stairs, darkness shadowed everything for a second before my Guardian vision illuminated the space. Kardki and one other Guardian stood watch outside a single door. Unlike the barred cells I had seen upstairs, this cell featured only a steel door buried in a stone wall.

"Fraschkit asked us to bring this Guardian to the cell," the Guardian beside me informed Kardki. "He will stay here tonight."

Kardki raised her eyebrows at me. "Brother Remgar? What happened?" Her gaze darted between the two Guardians who had accompanied me. "Why are we imprisoning the one who saved us?"

"It's fine, Kardki," I said. "I asked for this. I need to watch over him."

Kardki's eyebrows pulled close together, but after a moment, she nodded at her comrade. "Bring a mattress for Brother Remgar, please." Then she slotted a key into the steel door.

The door creaked open, revealing a cell that was—completely empty? No mattress, no chair, no lamp, and no Isalio. What had they done with him?

Then my gaze caught on the darkest corner, where a figure huddled, head low and legs pulled up to his chest.