Sorrentegra the Half-Breed

The men jabbed at her with sticks as though to push her toward the demon. It hurt but the ropes had her tied.
“Ah- it’s no use- that brute is knocked out. Let’s wait until he wakes up.”
“We’re not going to make the boy bleed? Surly if the demon smells blood he’ll be ravenous-“
The men laughed. “Oh all right then.” One man said. He reached through the bars and Sorrentegra could feel them grab her hand. She went to bite him but it was too late. He took a blade to her arm and sliced. She could feel the warm trickle of her blood begin to flow down her hand.
“Nah- he’s not waking up- he got too much of his own medicine. They jabbed her painfully with another stick before walking off towards the camp.
She reached for the bars of the cage, her hands shaking in fright. Why wasn’t he attacking? Did the powder really have that much of an effect on him? She quickly uncoiled the ropes from her arms as best as she could with shaking hands. She reached for the bars, could she find a way out while he was knocked out? She cursed herself for being blind at a time like this.
Her side hurt from the jabs. It would probably be bruised for the next hour or until it healed. She slowly gathered her courage to feel around the bars and find the exit. She just had to get out. She felt to her right and found the corner of the cage they were in. She continued one bar at a time hoping to find the door.
Suddenly her hand brushed against something soft and thick and a growl came grumbling out from the demon. As a reflex she quickly jumped back in fright against the bars. SO he was still awake? It was now only a matter of time until he attacked her.
“Sorry-“ she mumbled, not exactly knowing why she was apologizing. Was it for touching him? For existing? She was scared. She curled in a ball unable to make her body move any more. Her heart raced and she shook with fright.
He was silent. She sighed with terror. Nearly an hour passed and she held her defensive position. The wind suddenly picked up and she could smell the scent of the powder less and less. It was blowing away. However, now that there was less powder filling her senses she could smell something else. A familiar scent. It was just below her, and herb the old woman used for healing the worst of wounds. Slowly she reached down through the bars of the cage and pulled up the bit of herb. It had spiny and waxy leaves that were large and banana shaped. They fit into her palm. There was only one leaf on this one. She pulled it off the stalk and stuck it in her pocket. If she got out of this alive she knew even her fast healing powers would need assistance healing.
More hours passed and the powder was definitely gone. Sorrentegra still stay huddled in the corner of the cage, tears leaking from her eyes from the stress. She had never cried before so at first she didn’t know what was happening. The tears burned the poison in her eyes so much but her vision began to gradually get clearer. She could finally see blurred shapes. But she couldn’t tell depth. It gave her a headache trying to see so she kept her eyes closed and leaking.
“You’re a female?” He said almost sounding interested under his breath. “You reek of humans-“ His tone changed darkly. Sorrentegra wasn’t sure how to respond, should she apologize for being a half human? She placed her head down on her knees. She was quite tired and frustrated at not knowing his intentions. She just concentrated on breathing when she picked up a scent of blood, only it wasn’t human blood, it smelled sweeter and thick. It didn’t have the rusty scent that humans had. It came from the direction of the demon. She also smelled a bit of something else, was it acidic?
“Are-are you hurt?” she surprised herself by asking. She meant to keep that thought in her head but it accidentally escaped. However if he was she would be in more danger. Animals always seemed to be fiercer when they were injured. A growl resounded around from the demon’s chest and Sorrentegra scooted closer to the cage away from him. SO he didn’t want to answer.
“I just thought- I can help you if you were-“ Why was she saying this? What possibly compelled her brain to make those words come out of her mouth?
Sorrentegra couldn’t tell if it was daytime or night time still. What did it matter now? Her ears pricked up under her hat as she heard the approaching footsteps of the men coming back.
“Wakey wakey, demon!” one of the men said. He jabbed Sorrentegra particularly hard in the ribs causing her to jump up and fall over. She fell on something soft and it growled. She tried to scramble up but she was tangled in his fabric and fur. She was just barely able to stand as the men came around.
“WAKE UP DEMON!” another man said. Suddenly that same poison front the night before sloshed through the bars, Sorrentegra took the full blast of it, blinding her completely again. She was standing in front of the demon, unintentionally shielding him. It burned against her skin in such a strong amount. She was in agony and she could hardly move to get away. If that wasn’t bad enough more powder was poured through the bars. Once again she shielded the demon from it and took the full blast of it.
She fell to the cage floor wanting to writhe in agony from the poison but she tried to hold still. She wasn’t sure what they would do if they found out she was a demon, or at least part.
“Aw- Brute- that was the last of the poison and the powder- what are we going to do if they get unruly this time? They could break the cage!”
“Of course they cant- the cage is charged with the power of the lock. They touch that and they are as good as dead- or they wish they will be.”
Sorrentegra wasn’t listening. She was in so much pain. She wished the pain would knock her out or the strong scent but they just under affecter her enough to keep her awake.
“What’s wrong with the boy? Why’s he acting so strange to that demon poison? Darn thing shielded that stupid dog from the last of it.”
“He was probably knocked out from fright. I don’t get why the demon doesn’t eat him though. Hasn’t eaten in weeks. Heh heh ah well- we won’t feed it anything else. Probably won’t be hungry until all that stuff is off of him anyway”
The men walked away. Sorrentegra closed her eyes and clenched her teeth. She couldn’t do anything until the pain was gone and all she could do was wait it out. If she annoyed the demon with her groans of pain surly he would want to get rid of her faster. Her stomach clenched in pain. Nearly a week ago she had been living an almost happy life safe in the house with the old woman and now she was in constant pain and was blind. She was also trapped in a cage with a terribly strong demon who could kill her at any moment but was waiting on that just to frustrate her.
She didn’t want death but she did want the pain to go away. The men walked off unsatisfied murmuring to themselves that the girls would be more entertaining. Sorrentegra clenched her hands in fists as well as her jaw. What could she do to make the pain go away? It seemed the longer it was on her the more it grew. She felt like she was on fire. She couldn’t hold back a groan as the pain escalated.
“You can still move?” the demon mused at her after she attempted to move away from him. The pain proved too great so she continued to lie still. She clenched her teeth unable to answer. She didn’t allow herself to cry again because the tears caused too much pain in her eyes. It hurt so bad that she was finding it hard to breathe. She couldn’t form an answer for the demon, why did he care anyway?
“You’re a demon-“ he said quietly. Why was he so talkative now that she was in pain? She wished she had learned a remedy for something like this from the old woman. The fire continued to rage on her skin and the powder annoyed her senses.
After nearly two hours the pain began to release. She breathed in harder, finally regaining her ability to breathe normally. After another few minutes she painfully crawled away from the demon and to her side of the cage now. He hadn’t attacked her yet, but she didn’t like being that close to him anyway. As soon as she was at her side she was exhausted. She once again pulled her knees up to her chest and put her head on them. What kind of power did these men have that caused her this much pain?
The powder had already disappeared and her sense of smell came back but her sight was still completely gone. She figured it would be another three days again before she could even see colors. To get her mind of the pain she decided to think. The first thing she thought of was accidentally landing on the demon when they had jabbed her.
“I am- sorry.” She whispered, hoping he would hear it. She couldn’t speak much louder than that if she tried, “I didn’t mean- to land on you.” Maybe an apology would forgive her of the deed. She could smell his blood too, hopefully she hadn’t made whatever his injury was worse.
He didn’t answer. She was frightened, though. He didn’t get hit with any of the poison so maybe he would recover faster. Her stomach growled silently. She was going on nearly a week without food. She didn’t dare complain knowing he had gone for longer. She closed her eyes and suddenly felt herself drifting off.
Her dreams were filled with nightmares. People were pulling on her tail and flicking her ears. They were all laughing at her and making jokes about her appearance. She then heard them accusing her of things she didn’t do. The scene changed and she was suddenly tied up and dangling in front of many demons. They were all reaching for her and salivating. One scratched her arm and others scratched her back. One particularly large, disfigured demon suddenly rose from the ground and lunged at her.
Sorrentegra awoke with a scream but suddenly covered her mouth. It was just a dream.
“Are you trying to call them over here?” The demon snarled gruffly. The carriage had stopped moving and Sorrentegra could hear the men down at camp being merry. She breathed deeply to calm her nerves down. What was that just now? She was probably was so scared even her mind couldn’t settle down.
She sighed with her head still on her knees. She turned her ears towards the carriage of girls around. They had stopped their crying had it sounded like the older ones were trying to calm down the others.
“Don’t worry- that demon can’t get to you.” One of them said.
“That’s right he’s in a cage over there.”
“But I heard that boy scream-“ one of the younger ones stated.
“Well they were probably just talking or something or telling scary stories.”
“Oh. Ok then- I want to go home.”
“I know- but right now we have to stay quiet.”
After a moment there was a bit of shuffling and the girls quieted down. Soon Sorrentegra could hear the sounds of the steady breathings of slumber. Once everyone was asleep one girl said to another, “That demon over there- he sure is handsome. At least I get to see him everynight, compared to the other boys in the village.”
“Shush- it’s bad to talk about demons like that. They should not be esteemed as more than dirt.”
“Why, that’s awful- why, what would he do if he heard you talking like that?”
“Well it doesn’t matter anyway- but you’re right. He is very nice looking.” The girls giggled and stopped their chatter. Sorrentegra figured that they had been captured for a while because of how comfortable they were in this kind of situation. She didn’t mind if he was handsome or not, she was just frightened at how scary he was. She was so agonized by fear that she wished he would tell her if and when he was going to eat her or decide to tear her to pieces. She shuddered at the thought.
The breeze blew by and the wind picked up the demon’s scent. It carried his blood smell directly to her nose. If he was still bleeding he must really be injured. She was only half demon and healed most of her wounds within hours, he was full and still had open wounds.
Most of the pain was gone from the poison now. The powder was gone and her senses were back to normal. All except her vision. She was still engulfed in a world of blackness. She didn’t want to fall asleep again, being attacked by her dreams seemed far worse than just sitting in a cage with a scary demon. The blood was thick and ran through her nose, she still couldn’t understand the acid like stench that his blood was laced with. Surly that wasn’t part of his blood either? Maybe it was what was causing the pain.
“C’mon boy’s” She heard one of the men yell from far away, “there’s a large village up ahead- that means more girls!”
There was a chorus of excited yells and screams from the men and after a few minutes of trampling feet and clattering they were gone. They were alone except for the girls, but they were sleeping soundly. Sorrentegra sighed again, her whole body shaking with fright. She only hoped it didn’t transfer through the cage.
“Are you frightened?” the demon suddenly asked. He didn’t sound curious, but more or less just saying something to say it. Sorrentegra was taken back. She didn’t expect him to try and talk to her unless he had to and she somewhat figured she’d do the same. She didn’t know how to answer, should she tell him this was the happiest she had ever been in her life? Of course not. What else could she say besides the truth?
“I’m terrified.” She whispered hardly audible to even her own ears. “I’m- I’m sorry- I’ve just been traded for a group of people I didn’t even like, and now I can’t even see.” For some reason she was so scared that she became choked up and couldn’t continue. She didn’t know what compelled her to say that much in the first place. The demon didn’t answer or make any sound that he even noticed she had said anything. She sighed and just continued to breathe.