Chapter 31

It’s interesting what people do when they think they aren’t being watched. Peering through the hole in my metallic house, I caught Ozzie slipping away in one of the nicer rowboats. Probably going back to report to the Master.

“Good evening, Rose,” said Virgil, stifling a yawn. He sat on one of the smoother stones on the hill, a fabricata lantern lighting the overcast night.

I joined him in the yawn. “Wait, why are you tired? I’ve barely slept the last couple of nights, but you made it sound like you were nocturnal.”

“I might have been too excited to sleep much,” he said. His red face paled. “N-not that I’m trying to be flirtatious again, I just was looking forward to seeing you again, of course.”

I couldn’t help but giggle. How in God’s name I could find a devil adorable was a mystery for another day. “You’re fine, Virgil.”

He coughed into his hand, straightening his clothes. I hadn’t taken much notice of them before; I was always distracted, or he was invisible. Like most everything on Haven, it was ad-hoc; the jacket from one of the jumpsuits went with a pair of blue jeans, with a camo-colored cap that I probably didn’t want to think too much about.

I couldn’t stop thinking about it, though. As friendly as he is, he’s a devil, and he’s part of the system that’s been keeping these people enslaved for years. He’s sweet on me, but that could change in a heartbeat.

Straightening up, I looked him dead in the eyes. “Virgil, I need to leave.”

“You mentioned that,” he said.

“I mean soon.”

“Define ‘soon.’”

I told him about my so-called engagement with Kumar. The way his face fell, you would think I’d just told him that his parents were getting divorced.

“No! He isn’t good enough for you!” he roared.

“I’m glad we agree on something,” I said. “Are you too tired to take me around the far side of the island again?”

“Oh, no, you don’t want to go there,” he replied. “The Master’s coming home tonight.”

“He isn’t already there?” I asked. “Where else is there to go?”

Virgil shrugged. “He doesn’t feel the need to keep me apprised on his comings and goings.”

My imagination went to work. “Do you think he has more islands?”

“Doubtful,” he said. “He’s made a damn good trap here, and there isn’t another island this large for a day’s journey. We were lucky we stumbled upon it.”

“Lucky for you demons, at least,” I said. “Please, Virgil, get me closer. I don’t have much time.”

“It’s hopeless, you know,” he said. “Nobody’s ever escaped.”

“Let’s break that record, then,” I said, taking his hand. “You don’t have to get me closer to your master’s house; I want to see the work camps.”

“What could possibly be there?” he asked, his brow raised.

“There’s somebody I wrecked with who is rather dear to me,” I said. “I want to see him again.”

“Him?” asked Virgil, his tone suspicious. “What’s this man to you?”

I hesitated. It seemed acceptable to lie to a devil, but Virgil had been good to me. “He’s a friend from back home who I’m dating, I suppose.”

“You suppose?”

“It’s a little complicated,” I admitted. “It hasn’t been for long, but I have to see if he’s still alive.”

“I don’t see how that will help your escape,” he said, his hand growing clammy. “He’s going to be as brainwashed as everyone else.”

“I’ll feel better. How about this: if you help me with this, I’ll owe you a favor.”

“That’s a dangerous thing to offer a devil,” he said.

“Can you take my soul?” I asked with a quavering voice.

He shook his head. “We got out of that business when we made ourselves facsimile bodies and invaded. Still, I don’t think you’d like what I have in mind for a favor, my dear.”

“Non-sexual,” I said without hesitation.

His face went redder and he turned away. “Wait, I… not that I wouldn’t… I’m going to shut up now. Just know, it’s going to be big, whatever it is.”

“That’s the safest answer,” circling around, flashing him a comforting smile. “Look, Virgil, I need you. Please, I have to see that Zack is safe.”

He weighed his choices. “Fine, but we’re only going to the work camp, okay? I don’t like running into the Master when he’s well rested, but he’s been working on something at all hours lately.”

“I can deal with that,” I said, leading the way. I kept hold of his hand; he could hide us if we needed it, and I took some comfort in the closeness. We marched through the trees, taking advantage of the path the megapede had carved through the greenery. “Working on something? What?”

He shrugged. “Hell if I know. Didn’t I just say he doesn’t tell me anything? Nobody does. Every night, I go charge up the fabricata, and then they want nothing to do with me.”

“It sounds like a lonely life,” I said.

“That’s putting it mildly,” he groused. “I’d almost rather be working the fields; at least then I’d have peers.”

“How did you even end up here?”

“The Master fled the mainland because… I don’t remember well. There was a lot of shouting and spellcasting. He decided he’d make his own little fiefdom out here.”

“No man’s land is a good place for that,” I said.

“Yes, no man’s land,” he replied. “Nobody here but us demons and slaves.”

I was about to reply when a noise brought me up short. It almost sounded like a rainmaker from my school’s music classes, coming out of the jungle right next to us.

With a sudden surge of motion, the megapede burst out onto the path, rearing up onto its back legs. Those soulless compound eyes and clacking jaws froze me in place. That might have been for the best, since otherwise I’d have been screaming loud enough to wake Ruth and Sunny back in the village.

Virgil released my hand and walked over to the beast. “Well, look who it is. Hey there, girl.” He reached out and patted the top of the monstrosity’s head. The rainmaker sound continued as plates of its chitinous shell rubbed on each other.

“Girl? How do you tell?”

Virgril shrugged. “I guessed at some point and stuck to it. I don’t think she’s offended.” He moved his hand over, patting a section of its underbelly affectionately. It responded by flexing its exoskeleton more. It was almost like the giant roly-poly was purring.

My mind refused to believe what my eyes fed it. “How… they’re social? Giant bugs like that? How? She must have a brain the size of a pea!”

“They don’t need a lot of brains to do their job. Back in the Old World, the goblins used them as guard animals,” he said. “They set up a territory, and if you take care of them, they’ll come get you if an intruder arrives.”

That explained why it had fetched the orcs the night before. “Those orcs didn’t have much patience with the poor thing.”

“Yes, they’re a cruel bunch,” he said. “Come on over, they get itchy around the check. Give her a good rub.”

My stomach churned at the idea. “T-touch it? Whatever for?”

“If she decides you’re supposed to be here, she won’t alert the orcs. Is that enough of a reason?”

“I guess…” I edged over, every instinct telling me to throw a Magic Bolt into the giant creepy-crawly’s head. It pivoted, its black, compound eyes looking at me dully. “Are you sure she doesn’t bite?”

“Not unless you’re a fern,” he said, his lips twisted in a wry smile.

I knelt down next to Virgil, squeezing my eyes shut as I reached out for her. My hand touched her hard exoskeleton. I found I couldn’t dig my nails in like when I was petting a dog or cat, so I stroked her with the palm of my hand. The pseudo-purring intensified.

“What’s her name?”

“Name?” he asked, wrinkling his nose. “You don’t name megapedes.”

“I don’t know, you’re babying a megapede, so why not name it?”

“I’m not babying it,” he said, shooting me a hateful glare. “What an idea! Why not just call me an angel or a eunuch, as long as you’re insulting my devilhood?”

“Sorry, sorry,” I said. “I did notice she came right over to you.”

“Tending to the animals is part of my job.” He paused a moment. “Not officially, mind you, but it fills the time. Besides, the Dark Lord knows the orcs won’t do it.” He reached up and broke off a frond from a short palm tree. “She loves these, but she can’t get them unless they fall to the forest floor first.” The megapede grabbed it in her mouthparts before scuttling away. “You don’t need to worry about her, though. Megapedes can take a good beating; that armor can stop a bullet.” He turned, his face twisting into a frown. “Why are you laughing at me again?”

“Nothing,” I replied, forcing myself to stop chuckling, since he probably wouldn’t appreciate it. Haven is full of contradictions; why not a gentle devil? I took his hand again. “I don’t think the next thing we stumble on is going to be that friendly, though.”

“Probably not; Macrauchenia are ornery brutes.” With a ripple of magical energy, he vanished from sight, taking me with him.