#ladyofmirrors

When I first crawled out the river, new and hungry, I was not alone. The Serpentine, see, has been a river full of magic for a time longer than time itself. It ain’t ever had a point where it ain’t been flowin’ strong and flowin’ full, and plenty things like me crawled out of it. All different sizes, all different shapes. Some had callin’s, like me, and some didn’t.

Demons, despite that, ain’t all different. We call each other kin- though the bonds of that kinship ain’t exactly strong- and we most all have the same roots. Magic is in our blood, and it’s in our spirits too- most demons will originate from a place of great power, and return to that place every time they need to heal. ‘Course, gettin’ a whole load of demons returnin’ to one place isn’t wise, and I’ve had more than a few of my so-called brothers and sisters challengin’ me to my kingship over the years. I suspect a few return to my river when I’m not there, but they ain’t dumb enough to stay. They know that if I were to catch them there, that’d be the end.

I knew from the very beginnin’ I was the River King. The river sung to me. It sung to all of us, see, and we sung back. Young demons bubble with power, see, and the first moments of our lives we spend it testin’ our limits. Mostly this means rippin’ apart our kin to establish ourselves.

Now, y’all know I ain’t no minor demon. I’m a major player in the world of… Shall we say, suggestive merchantin’ and then the claimin’ of debts, p’rhaps the only player who matters. It didn’t take long for my kin to begin avoidin’ me, and for me to stay on the river for a longer time than the others did. Those that survived the first stages of their lives went off to hunt humans, the true callin’ of a demon. 

I took a little time to get used to the ravenous hunger inside me that threatened to tear me apart. It didn’t seem like any of my brothers and sisters had suffered this- and those that remained in the Serpentine with me seemed content to prowl along it, huntin’ travelers, and neatly avoidin’ me.

I was slow discoverin’ my limits and powers. Many of my kin had returned to the river more than once in the time that I had still been there- I heard them whisperin’. Still, the river sung to us, and to me more specifically, for around this time I began to grasp the true destiny I had comin’ to me. The people of the Serpentine arrived, and the deals began.

My kin were makin’ deals too. If y’all have spent much time around me, you know I can’t abide anyone takin’ what I consider mine. Did they make a deal with the Serpentine people? Of course not! Were they takin’ what was my tribute? Yes.

After a time, and more than a few nasty incidents where I caught others stealin’, I noticed they weren’t so much eatin’ the tributes as takin’ them away. Now, y’all will come to the same conclusion I did- takin’ them away to what? What use do demons have to keepin’ humans alive? I certainly still ain’t got no use, and especially not then.

My shadowin’ of these demons led me to be standin’ at the mouth of a cave, right near the source of the Serpentine. The magic was strong there, so strong new demons were steppin’ out even as I swam past. Magic was a significant smell that hung in there, like a well-to-do lady had sprayed some mighty strange perfume all around.

And inside the cave, starin’ up at me, were a great many demons. All small ones, wide eyed and unbelievin’ and stupid. Sharp teeth and big bellies but no sense of self. Not like the one I was slowly developin’.

“What the hell is all this?” I croaked, my voice hardly as smooth as it is now. Back then it was a struggle to speak, and I’d been speakin’ to humans all day. Back then I’d need a rest, but now I can do it without restin’ for days.

And then she stepped forward, as close as I come to a nemesis of my early days. Human shaped already, but undoubtedly a demon, with huge batlike wings and sharp claws. Her mouth was crowded with fangs, so many that around her lips dotted blood where her own fangs caught her flesh. Her proportions were wrong, too- human shaped, yes, but ain’t no human with arms reachin’ their knees and ears taller than her head. Ain’t no human with antler-like horns, neither.

“Why, brother, finally you’re here,” she crooned, and her voice was more used to speakin’ than mine. “I wondered when you would arrive. I’ve been waiting for you to join our operation.”

“Operation?” I echoed, lowly. What the hell kind of operation were they riggin’, on my river?

“Indeed. You’ve got a good set up here, River King- I believe that is the title the river conferred to you? And, well, we want to join in. We have been joining in.”

Her smile, highlighted with black blood, was hardly trustworthy. She spoke my name like it was a joke, somethin’ to be laughed at and spat, and somethin’ that she would tolerate for as long as it took the river to name her queen.I wondered, suddenly, what her true title was. Was she not obeyin’ the rivers song? Was she followin’ her own path?

A demon is not meant to disobey that purpose it was born with. I certainly haven’t.

The water dripped from the beginnings of stalactites from the ceiling, as I narrowed my eyes and regarded her. I looked around the cavern- humans, of all shapes and size, alive, pleadin’ for mercy. None of them had made deals. All of them had strayed on the wrong path of the river, and paid for it. I didn’t feel sad- I felt angry that these demons had thought this was the way to get in on my good side.

“Well, that ain’t how it floats,” I began, more shakily than I anticipated. “That ain’t what I want. And it ain’t what you’re gonna get.”

I saw her face twist in irritation.

“But brother, we’re kin. We’re brother and sister, meant to be ruling together. Meant to be hunting together. You are the strongest here, by far, can’t you see that? Work together, and we’ll have even more. Even more than the feast here already.”

Her words were like poison, trash on my ears that I could barely stand to comprehend, let alone consider. The river would run dry the day I would let someone like this rule with me. And, to be true, did she even intend half the things she said?

“I think you lie,” I replied tartly, barin’ my teeth. “I think you ain’t got anythin’ like partnership in mind.”

“No,” I continued heavily. “There’s only one king on this river, and only one demon here. Y’all best consider runnin’, and be wary I don’t catch you again.”I stood up on my hind legs, tall. Enormous, far bigger than any of the minor demons here. A few ran, and then a few more, bolstered by their kins cowardice to defy the queen beside them.

Her face contorted with rage and she looked me up and down, sizin’ me up, obviously.

Now demons ain’t noble. I would consider myself a gentleman, but I certainly ain’t noble or honourable. That distinction comes with the manner of the trade- ain’t anyone lurin’ folks into traps that still calls themselves honourable.Hence, why I anticipated the sucker punch from her. The quick dart of the claws to my face, and hence why I was able to twitch my face away and grab her arm in my jaws, hard.

She flailed wildly, and still more of her minor demons fled. Claws scraped down my face, and I let go, shakin’ my head rapidly. We attacked again, her wings spreadin’ to let her leap gracefully onto my back, and my movements rapid to press her against the damp wall of the cave, crushin’ her between my spine and the hard rock.

She screeched, shoutin’ for someone, any of them, to help her, to bring me down. But demons are cowards- or at least, the small ones are. Not too stupid, for minor demons, although I would still take great pleasure in removin’ them from the river when I caught them in the future.

She wiggled away, draggin’ her ruined legs behind her as she tried to crawl away from me. And then I struck with finality. 

Demon flesh tastes... odd. It ain’t like human flesh, and it certainly ain’t like anythin’ else that ain’t born of magic. It’s magical in the way that Void creatures ain’t. I guess to me, it tastes like eatin’ somethin’ ridiculously healthy would to a human.Make no mistakes, we ain’t got the qualms about cannibalism what you folks have. Each siblin’ consumed makes us stronger. 

And she was worth a lot. So I can say with certainty, that my early days weren’t just learnin’ and preyin’ on humans- it was establishin’ myself as a king amongst demons, as a demon that younger ones of my kin should be worried about.

That cave, though, now that I think of it, made a good storage space. I’d almost forgotten about it- there’s probably a few of my treasures stored away. I mean, after I promised the people inside freedom for a price, I used it as a hoard.