Chapter Fifteen: The Children Part Three

“I’d just like some favors from you.” The room goes silent with those words.

Rashid is smiling in such a way that would make the Dark Gods of the past proud, with dark malevolence seeming to seep out of his thin and dry, cracked smile and his dark eyes looking at Lod with an intense, refined hate that seems to cut through the air between them.

His hatred is not directed at me, but I can know-, no, feel it from the waves of Aura coming off of him, smashing into me and pushing me away like driftwood in a raging typhoon. It fills my head with a haze of violence and hatred, vision of miles and miles of broken, dead and dying bodies, images of children and survivors being hunted and captured, and a monster fighting an undying army.

I take a step back from it before it can overwhelm me, reflexively summoning my Aura over myself for protection and feel a sense of relief and let out an audible sigh as the feeling and visions are muted, my Aura protecting me like a honey-colored cocoon. I can’t help but shake a little, but I take a deep breath and focus on my image, a not yet fully formed existing fragile like a snow flower.

My image is not completely developed, but It’s large and honey colored like my Aura and is in general human shaped standing over me like a protective honey-colored shadow.

Rashid said that an image comes from your subconscious and forms over time, slowly revealing itself, only through time and meditation can it be coaxed out…. Pff haha if you’re a weakling or coward. Or you could use the tried and true method of throwing yourself into combat time and again while Aura-clad to hasten its development like me! The only downsides include, but are not limited to, death and other unpleasantries.

Since I dare not step nearer to Rashid, I look at Lod who’s frozen like a mouse a under a snake’s gaze, not daring to blink or move as though he’s doing his best impression of a statue.

His face stuck with a blank expression that reveals nothing, well besides the fact he’s probably terrified beyond reason.

Cain is looking for her father and us, with worry and fear in her eyes. Not seeming to get the fact that her father is screwed beyond measure. She does seem to understand that they’re in some trouble with the way she is shaking like a leaf in a storm, or how a drunk does when the debt collectors come around.

Honestly, I can only look at this pair with the type of pity I would reserve to the parents of ‘special children’, ya know the type that gets put to death.

Cain still shivering and shaking under the weight of Rashid’s Aura, but she manages to get her shaking legs under her and stand up. I raise an eyebrow.

She tugs her father’s sleeve and says worriedly “Father?” Her eyes tearing up.

Then he blinks and makes an expression like someone slapped him with a mace, and looks to see Cain shaking next to him.

“Cain? What is it?” He says softly.

Tears are running down her face “Dad, are we going to be ok?” She whines and sobs.

Lod’s face hardens and pulls his daughter close, stroking her head. “Yeah, we’ll be fine.”

He turns to Rashid “Demon’s Warden!” He bellows.

“Yes?” Rashid says sinisterly.

“What are your conditions for us to leave?”

Rashid smiles widely “Eight favors that I might call upon at any time from either of you and Blood Oath Bounded.”

I blanched at his words and so does the duo.

Blood Oath Bounded that’s as serious an oath as it gets with absolutely no way of getting out of one. And eight favors to be Blood Oath Bounded too…. Shit.

Lod is looking in between us and Cain with a mixture of hate and fear in his eyes, Cain just looks confused and worried. Lod eventually settles on us and almost seems to scream at us before lowering his voice immediately to something resembling civil and polite “Demon’s Warden and Apprentice, please have mercy my daughter has done no wrong, let me take her punishment in her stead.” His eye’s all but screaming at us to do so.

Rashid narrows his eyes in disgust and annoyance, and says “Should have thought of that before attacking me and threatening my protege.”

Lod’s eyes are wide and frenzied. “But, please she’s only a child and has been nothing but an idiot and a useless gnat all her life, she is not worthy of being favor bound to you Lord Demon’s Warden.” He says progressively more desperate and scared, but Rashid is unmoved and says “Then you should not care if she’s favor bound or not, take my deal or die.”

Lod face seems to move from emotion to emotion at the sight of Rashid’s ruthless gaze and he looks around the room till he sees me and seems like lightning strikes him, and his face brightens up like the sun.

“Lord Demon’s Warden!” He calls out to Rashid excitedly.

“What is it now?! You are trying my patience, you unnatural piece of shit!” Rashid says irately.

Lod stands strong and says confidently “Lord Demon’s Warden, a certain knowledge is well known throughout my kind about you.”

Rashid’s eyebrows raise and a scowl, and he asks with irate interest “And, what pray tell is that knowledge?”

Lod smiles and says with glee “Your love of gambling.”

Rashid’s eye’s open us widely and he stares at him with what looks like feigned disinterest, before saying with barely held excitement. “And what type of gambling would you propose? Oh! And what wagers?!”

Lod looks like a snake that has a mouse fallen before him. “What I propose is a match between your apprentice and my worthless gnat.”

Rashid looks at me and Cain, before saying with interest “Ok, but what about the wager?”

Lod sighs “My wager is I’ll pledge my Unlife to you by a Blood Bound Oath if my worthless gnat loses and she will still be bound by eight favors to you, but if she does win let this worthless gnat” He pats Cain on the head, who looks still very worried and confused. “Be free from any favors towards you and let me, her father, take them in her stead!”

“D-dad, are you sure I don’t mind taking on-,” Cain starts to say before Lod clamps her mouth shut.

“Please excuse this child’s insolence,” Lod says in annoyance.

Rashid though didn’t seem to notice and seems to be in deep in thought and suddenly says “Sure, let's do this.” He pats me on the back and shoves me forward “Atlas! Show her no mercy!”

I look back at him in annoyance, and say “Don’t I get a say in this?”

“Shuddup, papa needs a new pair of slaves,” he says excitedly while rubbing his hands together. “Plus would you turn down this fight anyway? She’s at least as strong as those Defiled anyway.” He says while pointing to the liquid remains of the army.

“No, but I like to have my choices,” I say tiredly.

“Well, fuck your choices.” He says bluntly.

I add my breath. “So much from getting away from being treated like a tool.”

I start to move forward but Rashid stops me a while, before slapping his head. “Can’t believe I almost forgot.” He looks at Lod with annoyance. “He doesn’t think you can get away with not summoning an arbiter!”

Lod shrugs his shoulders, walks over to Rashid and holds out his hand which cut open by a silver flash and starts leaking an unnaturally dark color of blood, and Rashid holds out his hand which is also bleeding and clasps it with Lod.

They both then say at the same time in an almost musical sounding voice. “Lord of Oath’s we call upon you for your guidance, for we’re to make an oath of the highest caliber in your name to keep! We ask you to send and impartial judge to keep oath met!”

Their shared blood drips out of their hands in a dripping, bloody stream to the floor which forms into a circle, and starts to move eerily in complex lines and shapes, making my skin crawl just watching it, and soon it begins to glow because of course, it can.

Through the glowing circle, a figure emerges.

The figure that emerges isn’t all that impressive despite all the fanfare. He’s short around the height of a child and tin, almost starved looking. His skin is a dark crimson almost bordering on black.

He also has two small wings on his back like a bat's.

He’s also bald, with an over size head like a child's, but he’s ugly with a wrinkle sagging face and two small beady black eyes.

Oh, did I also mention that it’s a he because he going all natural and despite being child shaped, he certainly isn’t.

He speaks in a high pitch, but strong voice and says “I am the Arbiter of Oaths servant of Lord,-” He stops halfway through seeing Rashid and smile’s broadly “Well if it isn’t Rashid, what are you betting this time?”

Rashid smiles back “Oh, you know the usual Archie, the rights to some worthless cretins life.”

Lod says nothing, but flusters.

The Arbiter laughs at that. “Haha, never change do you, Rashid? But tell the Oath you two are making and let's get on with it.” He looks at Lod “You first.” He orders.

“I make my oath that if my daughter loses to his apprentice I shall serve the Demon’s Warden to my last and she shall owe him eight favors, but if she should win I shall only serve sixteen favors and she will owe him nothing and able to leave unharmed with me.”

The Arbiter looks back at Rashid and says “Now you.”

“When my apprentice beats that child over there,” He points to Cain. “Her father shall be my slave, and she will owe me eight favor that I might call upon at any time. But on the off chance that he should lose to her, her father shall owe me sixteen favors that I might call upon at any time and she will be able to leave unharmed with her father and owe me nothing.”

The Arbiter looks deeply into both of their eyes, before biting their hands drawing blood and swallowing. “The terms have been sat, and if either of you tries to renegade on the terms I will consume you.”

He looks a lit bit better after drinking their blood and much hungrier, his face saying how willing he would be to consume either of them.

He looks at Lod and says “You are so screwed.” Then looks at Rashid “This fool has no idea what’s about to come, I mean what did he do to get the odds weighed so heavily in your favor. Wait don’t tell me I’m still on the clock.”

He then spoke up again. “Now the terms for the fight, as the Arbiter I will decide to make it most fair. First up it’s till a knockout. Second no outside interference. Third have a great time.”

The Arbiter lifts his hand and Cain and I are jerked into a center of the room, before a crimson barrier forms around us, and force’s us a thirty or so feet away from each other.

“Alright begin! Oh, and remember no outside interference or I’ll consume you!