The Demon of Duty

The thunderous night reigning terror across the coastal jungle fades from my senses as his screeching call is to the tune of hell itself. A demon descends upon me. His wings are a parachute sewn from pale leather. The scars of torture are like lightning claws across its surface. Sizzling breath billows through its yellowed fangs, which protrude from a lipless smile. It stinks of motor oil and rot, burning my nostrils even at this distance. The heir of the Devil has bid with good fortune tonight. Swinging in the wind, my lantern draws them from the clouds toward their next victim.

My heart is only a brittle shell of the stalwart fort it once was. Its barriers are burning, the interior searing from a stinging loss. Tonight, our clan is one less. I do my duty and uphold our people’s laws in order to survive, but at a significant cost. The hole left in the wake of her departure fills with a swirling mass of opal. The monster of scale, tusk and claw sees its shine reflecting upon my ashen skin and bringing a sparkle to my tears as I sob.

It knows I need aid, that I need to numb the grief with ale and the company of men. Yet I stand solitary by the seashell marking the grave. The Underworld is swathed in the bright light of a solstice as it remakes her, while I remain in darkness in the Overworld. My companion now dwells in a better plane of existence. They’re free from the mermaid who drowns us, the neighbour who eats us, and the demons who comb the earth and ply their curses unto the vulnerable.

I lay my pal’s worn jacket across the damp sand she lies beneath. Keeping a wary eye on the beast above, I patch the crest of our clan into the shoulder: an asp entwining itself around a horseshoe. A new member, a lost member… but to me, she is everything. It shattered my soul when the council deemed she was the One. To be mine, I would have loved her. Instead, she is ours to be worshipped.

No law is broken; every cog of the machine fulfils its oath and thus the cycle is undone. I live to fight another day, and they die to join the Underworld as a Queen, like a phoenix from the ash they arise to glory. She pulls and tugs at my heart, filling me with ice, chilling me to the bone, running a shiver down my spine. I am like an ant at the mercy of a giant as I feel her influence grip me tightly.

The universe affirms our choice, as her ambience lifts from the crushing weight of a motorcycle to be as light as a feather. Her presence is the sweet caress of a lover, the smooth jazz of the soul, the fruits of the garden, the pool of sparkling aqua amid the heat of the Overworld. She is breathtaking. My Queen of the Underworld bestows her blessings upon me as I kneel at her burial site. The laws of my clan are unbroken. Without pause, I accomplished my task. Now she must execute hers.

The demon approaches and lifts his spear-like horns to the sky, stretching to fan his wings. No amount of intimidation phases me. A guttural cry rips its way from my chest as she spurs me to action. With nothing but a shovel to arm myself, I launch toward the creature. My thoughts are a whisper as her fury fills my being. I am her weapon thrust forward into the arms of death. Soon, we will be reunited.