Scientific Sorcery

Part 18

The demon Sponyani hovered in the air, his wings beating in long, slow flaps. His flight made no sound. He stared ahead at a blank spot in space. He had been staring for a very long time, but he was patient. He knew it was there. Right there. When he had been forced back into his own world, he had pushed through that point right there. He couldn't see it—the weakness in his universe was invisible to him. If he had possessed the power to travel between worlds, he would be able to see the fracture in reality. He would even be able to open it up—travel through it. But, even invisible, he knew it was there.

The demon had been around for over 100 years, and he had seen much. In his own world, he had wrought his own destructions, but creatures in his world were strong. There were greater demons here, so his power was limited. But in other worlds, the story was different. He had been summoned to fight in battles in other worlds. Dark masters had bent him to their wills. He had drunk the blood of innocent souls. He had toppled cities single-handed. His time in other worlds was always limited. Silly mages worried that their spells would fail and then they would have to answer to the whims of Sponyani.

Each time he had been returned to his world. Each time it was here. This was the spot right here. That is why Sponyani waited. While he didn't have the strength or ability to open a door between worlds, he knew that the door would open for him. Some magic would open a doorway to pull some demon through. When that happened, Sponyani would find a way through. He grew weary of his magical masters. He wanted to be free on one of those worlds to do as he wished.

Sponyani rolled his head on his shoulders, tensing and relaxing his neck. Behind him, his wings continued to swirl the air without making a sound. He could stay here for days if he had to. The door would open. He was patient.

# # #

Char tried not to gasp as he crested the rise. Frozen in place, his eyes followed the slope downward. The grass below was matted and covered with blood.

There had been a great battle here.

Beside him, Kerr nodded, solemn. "Yup. It's about what I expected."

Char shook his head. He had never seen so much blood. "How could one creature do all of this?"

Kerr pointed with his chin, "Well, it's a pretty big creature."

Char looked beyond the blood and saw it. He inhaled. "It's beautiful!"

Kerr whipped his head around, "Wait. What?"

Excitement bubbled in Char. Here it was... a real, living manticore. His master had told him stories of all of the magical creatures that used to roam these parts. Most of them hadn't been seen in a generation. The Union had killed them all. And yet here it was, sitting majestic on the ground below. It was huge, indeed—as tall as two men. It sat back on its lion haunches, while one of the women, one dressed all in white, stood next to him, one hand on his side.

"Is it tame?" With a skip in his step, Char started down the slope, walking fast.

"Wait!" Kerr protested.

Char ignored him as he bounded down the slope. Women looked up from where they knelt over fallen comrades, scowling at the mage as he made his way down the grass as fast as he could. He was more excited the closer he came. His mind almost refused to believe what he was seeing. The snake tail of the manticore was bigger than he imagined. It was the width of a man's leg. Char was mesmerized by the glittering green scales as the tail twisted in the light. The head of the snake looked formidable, with long fangs. The head had eyes. The tail had its own eyes! Char wondered as it stared at him if the tail could think for itself. Was it like a real snake?