Book 3: Chapter 47 (1/2)

Grimmy rolled a translucent jar back and forth between his two front paws. The devil inside had turned back into a potato-like shape with closed eyes, its limbs and distinguishing features having snapped off due to a previous session of violent shaking. Grimmy blew flames over the jar, but the devil didn’t react, causing Grimmy to roll the pot towards Lindyss, who was sitting on rock while reading a book. The jar struck her leg, causing her to hiss as she put the book down. “That’s hot,” she said as she kicked the jar away and rubbed her knees and shins with a hand filled with healing magic. She wiped her hand on her seat and stared at Grimmy. “What do you want?”

“Pay attention to me,” Grimmy said, a smile cutting across his face.

Lindyss snorted. “What are you, a dog?” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a book. “Here, you can read this.”

“Pass,” Grimmy said, holding his paw out in front of himself. “Human words are too tiny and flipping the pages is annoying.”

Lindyss stored the book and swiveled her head around, looking for anything to amuse Grimmy with. Unfortunately, the cave that they had chosen to reside in was relatively empty. There was a bear carcass in the corner—the previous owner of the cave. Lindyss scratched her head. “Why don’t you, uh, I don’t know, terrorize a few towns or something? That’s always fun for you, isn’t it?” She glared at him when he shrugged his shoulders in response. “Didn’t you come here with a goal in mind? All you did was trap a devil. Why don’t you catch the summoner or the people behind him as well?”

Grimmy exhaled, causing Lindyss’ hair to flutter backwards. “This is why you’re the ruler of only half the world,” he said and shook his head. “You see, summoning devils takes a lot of energy and resources, and the materials required for that are a huge pain to find. Well, not really, but it’s a hassle. If I want to capture devils, all I have to do is let those summoners summon more for me. I’ll achieve my aims without even lifting a finger. It’s a little like having the great idea of creating a massive undead army that I control but don’t have to maintain because I placed someone else in charge of the boring bits.”

“See,” Erin whispered from within Lindyss’ shirt. “He’s just using you.”

Lindyss flicked the fairy with her finger, causing her to cry out. “I already know that.”

“Then why’d you hit me!?”

“Be quiet,” Lindyss said. “Stop saying things that’ll annoy him because he’ll take it out on me in the form of relentless nagging or teasing.”

“…You deserve it,” Erin said in a defeated voice.

Grimmy’s head rose off the ground as his legs straightened. He turned around, his massive body scraping against the walls of the cave, kicking bits of dust and soil up into the air. “Something interesting is coming this way,” he said with a chuckle as his tail nearly knocked Lindyss’ head off. He lumbered outside, the moonlight gleaming off his black scales as if they were made of obsidian.

“What is it?” Lindyss asked as she stored the book in her hand. “Not many things are interesting to you.”

“Two phoenixes,” Grimmy said as he licked his lips, “and one very delicious species of turtle.”

“Aren’t all species of turtle delicious?” Lindyss asked, raising an eyebrow as she climbed up Grimmy’s tail. She made her way to the top of his head and sat in between his eyes with her legs crossed. “I want some too.”

“This species of turtle has a snake for a tail, so it’s a two-in-one package deal,” Grimmy said. “I thought they went extinct long ago, but it seems like we encroached on one’s territory.”

Lindyss nodded and swallowed her saliva. She hadn’t eaten for a few days because she was too engrossed in her book, and Grimmy hadn’t hunted anything either. “I think I can sense it, but it’s a very faint aura. It seems like an infant? If it’s on the verge of extinction, shouldn’t you capture it and start up a hatchery?”