Is this what was hanging over the priests' heads if they didn't perform, or were the priests apt pupils who were rewarded or punished according to their performance? My money was on the latter. They didn't have to torture the poor schmuck I'd hauled to the hospital. He could have been handed over whole, but he wouldn't have been.
When the priests were consumed, leaving bloody and torn clothing scattered across the field, the serpent regained his human shape. His seven apprentices all stayed the same, however.
"Go and feed upon the population, turning them into others such as yourselves when you sate your hunger," the god instructed before disappearing. The seven ugly creatures started walking toward the city. Well, god or no god, I was about to see if I could kill these things.
They didn't turn to fight until I'd already taken three heads. They can move in a blur if they're threatened though. I found that out as they rushed me. They also can't fight what they can't see—I learned that, too, going to mist when they all attacked at once. One got a lengthy claw into my left arm when I materialized to take his head, but he died just like the others.
Vampires turn to ash when they die. Humans and werewolves just drop where they're killed. These things, whatever they were, blasted out in some sort of heavy sand or particles when they died. It was as if they wanted a last chance at doing harm, but their particles weren't large enough to do much damage. By the time I was done, I stood there in that wide, empty field, holding my arm (which was bleeding sluggishly) and wondering just what it was that I'd killed. I was also feeling extremely thankful that vampires didn't explode when they died.
Still pondering my current list of ambiguities, I misted to the apartment and found Dragon sitting at the kitchen table having a cup of strong tea. "What happened?" he asked, eyeing my wound as I materialized inside the kitchen. Going to the sink, I turned on the tap, preparing to wash out my gash.
"You're not going to believe this," I said. "I followed twelve priests out to farmland north of here, and they stood out in a field, calling for their god. A man and seven others just appeared out of nowhere. The one who thought he was a god threatened one of the priests and sent him back to the temple. He then changed to this awful snake thing that had to be at least fifty feet long and ate four of the priests."
Dragon pulled a first aid kit from under the sink and had gauze in his hand when he drew in a breath and stared at me.
"You didn't get this from him, did you?" He had my arm in his hands quickly.
"No," I said. "His seven dwarves turned into something ugly and they ate the other priests after tearing them apart. The serpent guy changed back to his human-looking self, told the others to eat people in the city and turn some of them, then took off. I killed the dwarves, but one of them gave me this." I nodded toward my arm, which Dragon still held in his hands. He blinked at me; I noticed how dark his eyes were—they were nearly black. Dragon has nice eyes, when he isn't scowling.
"Those things are demons," Dragon informed me calmly while he took over scrubbing my wound. It hurt, but then it hurt when I was doing it, too. "I imagine you witnessed the dusting when you killed them?" He focused on removing a bit of debris lodged in the wound.
"Dusting? Is that what that was—when their bodies turned into sand particles and blasted toward me?"
"Yes. All of them do it and the older they are, the larger the particles and more dangerous and deadly they are. It is a final effort to destroy an enemy." Dragon poured more soap into my wound and kept working. Well, I'd been right on that account, at least, and was thankful these demons were relatively new.
"Where do the demons come from?" I asked. "Can they really turn people into what they are?"
"Yes. It happens quickly," Dragon answered my second question first. "All a demon has to do is bite a humanoid and within thirty seconds the humanoid's life is no longer his own. The demon's seed is in their saliva and is nearly impossible to eradicate, once it is introduced into the bloodstream. The serpent that you saw tonight is the enemy I hunt. He is a member of the race known as the Ra'Ak, and the demons are Ra'Ak young. If this Ra'Ak had sensed your presence, he would be hunting you, now. If you managed to escape, that is."
"That's comforting," I grumbled.
"I wish I had been there; I could have challenged him then," Dragon mumbled, rinsing my wound under the faucet.
"Is that why you're here? To kill that thing?" I studied Dragon's head; he was bent over my arm a little. His hair was the blackest I'd ever seen, hanging in a thick braid down to his waist.
"That is my purpose, as it is for every Saa Thalarr. We were created to challenge the Ra'Ak. They are a great evil and were never intended to be among the Worlds of Light. They destroyed the Dark Worlds, long ago. All but one, that is. The High Demons' world is still intact."
"High Demons? Are they like those things I saw earlier?"
"No," Dragon gave a quick shake of his head as he dried off my arm. "Will this heal during your sleep?" he asked, lifting his dark eyes to my face.
"Yes, but it might be a good idea to wrap it up a little, so the edges will close properly."
Dragon wrapped my arm. "High Demons might be indistinguishable from most humanoids," he explained as he wound gauze around my gash. "Until they become angry or turn for some reason. Then they are very dangerous. The Ra'Ak have no hold over them and cannot defeat them, unless there are many Ra'Ak to only one High Demon. That is why their world survives."
"Sounds as though the High Demons should have kicked Ra'Ak ass and kept them away from the things they didn't need to get into," I huffed.
"The High Demon agenda is known only to the High Demons," Dragon muttered softly. "We do not attempt to explain their doings."
"If I see Mr. Long, Coppery and Snaky again, what should I do?" I asked.
"Stay away," Dragon said. "Every part of his body is poisonous—teeth, claws and spikes. Each scale, even, is tipped with deadly poison. Those priests would have died anyway if the Ra'Ak had merely brushed against them."
"Good information to have," I drew a shaky breath. I had the f**ker's scent, now. I'd know him from half a mile away, in fact. There'd be plenty of time to get out of his way.
"Call me with mindspeech if you see him again," Dragon instructed. "I warn you, I will have to come within his presence by conventional means. If I employ my power, he will sense this and destroy the planet using the power and abilities that he has at his disposal. Any Ra'Ak has the strength to destroy worlds, but that is not their true goal. They survive upon the flesh and blood of humanoids. They seek a food source, first and foremost. It is the work of my kind to see that the Ra'Ak do not devour the universes."