CHAPTER 25: THE SCENT OF FEAR

The walls narrowed around us as we descended. The light fractured on the red rocks, stretching shadows long as claws.

The air was thick, saturated with an almost humid heat, and every breath brought back into my throat that metallic, acrid taste that clung to the tongue.

A low rumble came from below, at times mixed with guttural chants that echoed against the stone walls.

Beneath our feet, the ground had become nothing more than a mix of black sand and red dust, stained here and there with dark streaks. The smell... dried blood, burned leather, and something even more acrid.

Nyss walked to my right, silent. Her tail swayed slowly behind her, like a patient metronome.

Sae, to my left, scanned the heights, her gaze sliding from one overhang to another.

— Every tribe watches its territory, Nyss said in a low voice. The smaller ones sell themselves to the larger to survive. Here, no one offers hospitality for free.

I nodded, without slowing down.

The first ambush came quickly. A rumble of heavy footsteps, and they appeared ahead of us: eight male demons, armed with crude spears and axes, forming a half-circle. Between them, a woman — tall, her skin marked with dark lines, her hair braided and held by a bone ring. She held a short spear, but her gaze was sharper than her weapon.

I stopped, taking in the scene. Eight males, one leader. Small tribe. Not enough to stop us... but enough to be worth it. XP and expansion fed off one another. It was a matter of balance.

I raised an eyebrow toward Nyss.

— Interesting, I murmured.

Nyss stepped forward without a word. Her hips tilted slightly with each step, but it wasn’t seduction — it was a warning. The red light of the gorge slid over her bare thighs, and her eyes... darkened to a deep black. Her tail swayed faster, like an impatient whip.

An invisible breath spread around her. The eight male demons froze, as if their tendons had been cut in a single sharp stroke. Their pupils dilated, their weapons slipped from their hands. Two of them let out a foolish laugh, others trembled like beaten dogs.

The leader turned her head toward them, incredulous.

— What the...

Then she understood. Her own men had just turned against her. Not out of betrayal... but pure submission.

She stepped back, her fingers tightening on her spear.

— Who are you?

I took a step forward, without lowering my voice.

— Me? Just someone who’s saved a lot of time.

I swept my gaze over her eight "little toys" now motionless.

— I doubt you were going somewhere for nothing.

I left the silence on purpose.

— So... where were you going with them?

She hesitated, swallowed, then answered in a dry tone:

— To a coalition. Several small tribes... we want to form a big one. Enough to rival the Seven.

One corner of my mouth lifted.

— Perfect. Then you’re going to take us there.

Her fingers tightened further on her spear.

— No.

No hesitation. No tremor. Just that word, spat like a slap.

I stayed still, staring at her for a few seconds. Then I smiled, slowly, almost amused.

— Wrong answer.

Without another word, I pivoted slightly toward the nearest demon.

His head fell before he even realized what was happening. The blade of my dagger had passed clean through his throat, then continued on to sever the spine.

The head rolled to the ground, mouth still open, and the body remained standing for a second, swaying, before collapsing with a heavy thud.

No one moved.

The eight remaining, still under Nyss’s sway, stared at me with that vacant expression that makes death seem even more absurd.

The leader said nothing. Not a cry, not a step back. Just that tense silence where pride fights with survival instinct.

I ran my tongue over my teeth, then pointed my dagger at her.

— I’m going to show you why you don’t have a choice.

I walked toward another demon. Tall, muscular, his skin gleaming with sweat. His black eyes remained fixed straight ahead, expressionless under Nyss’s hold.

— Him.

My voice cracked like a command. Nyss understood.

With a precise motion, I drove my dagger into the joint of his shoulder. Then I slid the blade, clean and steady, down to the crook of his arm, neatly severing the tendon. A dry crack mixed with the soft sound of flesh giving way. I repeated the gesture on the other arm, then moved down to the legs. The Achilles tendons snapped under the blade with a wet sound.

— Release him.

Nyss barely nodded.

The scream came instantly. Brutal. The body collapsed like dead weight, but every nerve seemed to want to rip itself apart in agony. He thrashed like a trapped animal, his hands clawing at the ground to retreat, his feet kicking weakly at the air.

— Sae. Heal him... except the tendons.

She obeyed, impassive. Her magic closed the wounds, stitched the flesh, erased the blood... but mobility was still gone.

The man still writhed, his breathing ragged, broken by whimpers.

I started again.

A slash to the thigh. A scream. Sae closed it.

A slash to the side. Sae closed it.

Again.

Again.

Very quickly, the screams turned into strangled laughter, then sobs, then a shapeless mix of sounds that no longer resembled anything human. His tongue lolled, his eyes rolled in their sockets.

Behind me, I heard a dry sound. The leader had just vomited, unable to look away.

I straightened up, wiping the blood from my face with the back of my hand. It left a wide, sticky red smear.

I took a step toward her, a calm smile on my lips.

— You’re next.

I moved forward, step by step, the still-warm blood dripping from my dagger.

Each drop struck the rock with a faint, wet tap, and with each sound, the leader flinched as if a piece of her flesh had been torn away.

She tried to back up, but the wall behind her offered only dry, burning stone. Her eyes flicked from my face to the blade, then back to my eyes... and that’s when I saw the crack. It was no longer caution. No longer suspicion. It was raw, naked fear, the kind that crushes the air in your throat.

— You feel that? I asked softly, almost whispering.

She blinked, unable to answer.

— It’s your own fear. The real kind. The one that comes when your body understands before your mind that you won’t get out alive.

Her fingers clenched around her spear began to tremble so hard the weapon vibrated. She dropped it suddenly, as if the wood burned her hands.

— I... I’ve never...

Her voice broke, hoarse and strained.

I stepped closer. Our faces were now only inches apart. My breath mingled with hers, uneven and shaky.

— Never what?

She searched for words, but only trembling lips came. Then, with an almost painful effort, she spoke:

— Never... felt... that. Never... seen... a monster... like you.

One corner of my mouth lifted.

— Then remember it well.

Without looking away from her, I pivoted slightly toward the male I had broken earlier. He was still crawling, groaning, his hands scraping the rock as if they could save him. A single stroke of my dagger cut his throat clean. Blood spurted in a hot spray, splattering my forearms and the leader’s bare legs. The gurgling that followed echoed in the gorge before fading.

I turned back to her, wiping the flat of my blade on my blood-covered forearm.

— Because if you disobey me again... this feeling will be the last thing you take to the grave.

Her eyes filled with water. She nodded quickly, panicked, slowly raising her hands.

— I obey...

Nyss finally released the males.

The effect was immediate: they blinked, dazed, as if waking from a nightmare... only to find themselves in another. Where there had been eight moments ago, two were already gone. One lay decapitated, the other lay in his own blood, eyes open but empty, and their leader — the strongest among them — was trembling, back to the wall, unable to meet my gaze.

No one spoke. No one dared move. They had just understood that their world had changed.

I sheathed my dagger. The game was won.

When we set off again, the leader walked fast, too fast, as if slowing down meant ending up within reach of my blade again.

Her shoulders were rigid, her fingers clenched around her spear, and each step seemed to echo in the narrow canyon we crossed. The heat grew heavier, saturated with a metallic scent and burning dust.

The passage opened into a wide rocky basin. Below, a fortified camp spread out, surrounded by walls made of black stakes and polished bone. Silhouettes froze at the sight of us. Conversations died. Hammer strikes on anvils stopped. All eyes turned — first to me, then to Nyss, and finally to Sae.

Nyss advanced on my right, head high, her black eyes gleaming like shards of obsidian. Her tail swayed behind her, each movement measured to capture attention. Sae, on my left, moved without a word, the red dust clinging to her legs, accentuating the contrast with the deep black of her tight outfit. Their mere presence imposed a silence heavy with electricity.

The leader led us straight to the center of the camp, where a large circular black stone table stood, set on a raised platform. Around it, several imposing figures watched our approach: tattooed leaders, warriors with sharpened horns, shamans with skins covered in runes.

Upon reaching the table, the leader set her spear against the edge and took a seat on an empty chair, her back straight but her hands still clenched on her thighs. She didn’t turn her head toward me. She knew I was there.

I remained standing. Sae and Nyss on either side. A silent line behind her, like three shadows ready to fall on the slightest hostile move.

The leader finally broke the silence, her voice trembling slightly despite herself:

— Welcome... to the council of the tribes...

I swept my gaze over the table. Slowly. Weighing each face. Assessing who would speak first... and who would fall before the others.