The imp began jumping up and down excitedly. ‘Sandreena! Nalnar love Sandreena.’
The female Knight-Adamant of the Order of the Shield of the Weak looked on the imp with widened eyes. ‘Nalnar?’ Looking at Amirantha with hooded eyes, she said, ‘Putting on a show, are we?’
Amirantha chose to say nothing.
Pug said, ‘We have discovered that despite Amirantha and Gulamendis’s experience with demons, we are still too ignorant of their realm. We thought we might begin by interrogating one of its more tractable inhabitants.’
Sandreena sat, saying, ‘Well, my experience with this little monstrosity tells me it’s a little more intelligent than a dog, less reliable, and prone to very rude and inappropriate behaviour at inopportune times.’ She looked at Amirantha. ‘Why not Darthea? I’m certain you and she have had many quiet conversations.’
Amirantha looked uncomfortable, but said nothing.
‘Darthea?’ asked Jommy.
Sandreena’s expression was poisonous as she glanced at Amirantha, and the Warlock seemed genuinely embarrassed. She said, ‘Not all the residents of the demon realm are hideous. Some are . . . beautiful.’
Jommy closed his eyes in sympathy for the Warlock, while Father-Bishop Creegan looked appalled. ‘A succubus?’
‘Succubi?’ asked Jommy, his eyes wide with fascination.
Father-Bishop Creegan said, ‘We scarcely believe the lore, but the succubi are female demons of incredible beauty who seduce the righteous into acts of depravity and worse.’
Amirantha took a deep breath and said, ‘Those legends are vastly overstated.’ He looked at the faces now regarding him and said, ‘Each demon survives as he or she must, with whatever gifts they have. The succubi are . . . gifted with the ability to resemble a female of great beauty of many races. It’s just an illusion.’
Gulamendis smiled, and said, ‘My brother would be fascinated by such illusion. That is his area of expertise.’
Amirantha said, ‘Enough. I’m over one hundred years old and have put any embarrassment over my personal proclivities behind me; I’ve outlived a dozen lovers, so if I choose to seek comfort with someone who I know will be around in another hundred years, that is my affair.’
Sandreena flushed and her anger was visible, though she was silent.
He turned to her and said, ‘Again, as I have said on three other occasions, if I hurt you, I am deeply sorry.’ Then his expression turned hard, and his voice firm as he added, ‘But I made you no oath. If you cannot forgive me, that is your burden to carry, not mine.’ Looking at Pug, he said, ‘May we please return to the matter at hand?’
Pug had lived too long to find this sort of discourse anything but banal. He nodded and said, ‘Please, speak to your minion.’ Seeing the refreshments for the imp were at the door, he waved in the student carrying the tray and indicated that she should put it before Nalnar.
Without leave, the imp began devouring the cheese, bread, and fruit. Amirantha sighed, and with a slight inclination of his head, indicated he understood Pug’s impatience with Sandreena’s anger. He said, ‘Nalnar, tell me of those with whom you were spawned.’
‘Yes, Master?’ said the imp.
‘Perhaps if you were more specific?’ suggested Gulamendis.
Nodding, Amirantha said, ‘Tell me of Choda, Nimno . . .’ he struggled to recall the other names ‘. . . and the others with whom you were spawned.’
‘Tell?’ asked the imp. He said, ‘Tell what, Master?’
‘Tell us of your life, what you do when you are not summoned here.’
‘We live, we die, we fight . . .’ A light seemed to enter the creature’s eyes, and he said, ‘We began. We were not, then we were. Hundreds of us swimming in the beginning place. We fought. We ate, we grew. Of the hundreds, fifty endured. Fifty crawled out of the beginning place, and we fought those bigger and hungry. We were the clever ones, we nine. We banded together and killed those who waited, and devoured them. We became strong, and we were nine together. Those who waited ran from us and sought out those weak ones who didn’t band together.’ He shrugged. ‘We left the beginning place and hid.’
‘Hid?’ asked Amirantha. ‘From whom did you hide?’
‘All who were bigger, stronger, and hungry,’ answered the imp as he impaled a piece of cheese on a talon and devoured it. ‘Nalnar thirsty!’ With a narrowing gaze, he looked at Amirantha and asked, ‘Wine?’
‘No!’ said Amirantha. He looked at Pug and added, ‘You do not want to see him drunk.’ To the imp he said, ‘Water.’
‘Water,’ the imp repeated.
Pug motioned for the student who stood watching with fascination and had to wave vigorously to get her attention. The young woman nodded vigorously and hurried off, returning moments later with a goblet of water.
The imp drank greedily, then dropped the cup. He looked around the gathered onlookers, then howled in glee. Amirantha sighed and with a wave of his hand, banished the creature.