Page 26 of Hell Sent

He didn’t like how he’d felt when she’d looked at him with fear and disgust. He didn’t want her to look at him that way again. So instead of killing Adamus, he looked to Raiya, waiting for her to decide what they should do with him.

The Paladin proceeded to give several verbose but meaningless apologies, and then after very little discussion, Raiya sent him on his way, unharmed. Azreth couldn’t believe it.

“Is this normal on your plane, to simply release enemies just because they ask for it?” he asked flatly, watching Paladin Adamus disappear down the road.

Raiya shrugged one shoulder. “Sometimes, if they’ve surrendered. It’s considered dishonorable to execute someone after they throw down their weapons. There are certain rules for conflict.”

“Rules? Who makes the rules?”

“No one, I suppose. It’s about honor, like I said.”

He understood that word,honor, but it was a mortal concept. In the hells, there was only individual survival by whatever means necessary. His people weren’t tied to each other by a shared sense of duty and pride.

If those Paladins had really been honorable, they wouldn’t have attacked Raiya, and they wouldn’t have sent a sharpshooter to try to kill him. They wouldn’t have attacked without provocation.

It was a silly concept. It seemed designed to punish people who were truthful and merciful, and reward those who weren’t.

Raiya was looking at him, as if trying to guess what he was thinking. Did she consider herself honorable? Did she think that he was not?

“I suppose it’s different in the hells,” she said finally. She sounded sad.

“In the hells, no one would bother to ask for mercy, because no one would ever grant it.”

There was a soft sound—hooves scuffing the ground. The Paladins had left behind their animals, and now they stood alert in the grass on the edge of the road. They were very still, their heads raised as they watched him.

They were tall and cervine, long antlers topping long heads perched on long necks. The antlers made him wary. But their white fur looked like it would be soft and pleasant to touch. Instead of running or attacking, they waited, as if they still expected riders.

They were so calm. He’d never seen such tame animals before.

Something about them drew him in. He approached the closest one slowly, hand raised to touch it. But as soon as he came near, it scrambled away, kicking up a cloud of dirt. The entire group started, edging a little farther down the road. Azreth lowered his hand, frowning. He could have caught it if he’d chased it—but that wouldn’t have been the same, would it?

Raiya came to stand beside him, tilting her head at him. “Do you… like animals?”

Did he?

Do you like…?It was such a mortal question.

What did he like? He liked things that didn’t kill him, and things that fed him. Was there more to it than that? What else mattered?

He thought about how he’d imagined it would feel to touch the animal’s fur. He’d hoped it was soft. He’d hoped the creature would look at him calmly, as if they were allies. He liked the idea of those things. Maybe he did like animals, then, when they weren’t trying to devour him. Maybe he just liked soft things.

He thought of the softness of Raiya’s hair when stray locks had brushed against him. He thought about the warm weight of her in his lap.

There was a scrape and a smear of dirt on her cheek where someone had shoved her face into the ground, but she smiled at him, still in good spirits.

He avoided her question. “Are they in danger here without their riders? Will something kill them if they’re left alone?”

“Possibly.” She gave them a thoughtful look, then looked up at him, perceptive. “You want to protect them.” From someone in the hells, it would have been an accusation, but from her, it sounded like praise.

“Yes,” he admitted.

“Why?”

There was no rational reason for it. He didn’t have a good excuse to give her. “They’re peaceful.”

She just nodded in agreement. “We’ll take care of them.”

Raiya went to gather the animals. She approached them calmly, slowing when they shied away, and when she raised her hand to stroke their faces, they didn’t run. Azreth felt a pang of envy.

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