Chapter 772

Apep continued to mumble under his breath and it was becoming clearer and clearer to the horned due that this guy really was just a kid, at least in attitude if not age. Everyone in the Tournament all had a certain air of experience to them. Apep, a name they still hadn’t heard, was someone who managed to Summon a demon somewhat intentionally without a clear plan. Must have been some expensive wine bottles he traded away.

*So should we interrupt him?* Apep hadn’t stopped mumbling and was now starting to pace slightly as well. There wasn’t exactly a lot of room for that so he just took two or three steps before turning around and repeating the process.

[I... I don’t know? Aren’t you the expert here?]

*Lily, I’ve been to less than a handful of worlds at this point and I don’t think any of them have been similar at all. There was a panicked king, a knowledgeable Queen, an apprentice who’s master freaked out, a person who does this for a living, and a guy who was kind of an asshole. I have no experience with kids that only half expected this to work.*

[Maybe we should interrupt him and find out what he’s actually called us here for? Also, do you think you still get paid in Candles if the guy only used wine to summon you?]

Pretty sure I just get paid in Candles regardless of what they use. As for asking him... yeah I guess so? I mean I don’t really see anything else we could do. He’s just sort of pacing. I don’t want to spook him though. He seems so out of his depth already that interrupting him might break what small bit of courage he seems to have.*

[Kat just ask the kid a question. He’s not a small child at the orphanage that’s going to run off. He had enough courage to SUMMON A DEMON FOR HELP. Have a bit of respect for that.]

.....

*Oh. Sorry.* “Excuse me?” said Kat to get the boy’s attention. When her standard volume didn’t work, Kat coughed and repeated “Excuse me!” at about twice the volume. Apep started as if he’d been shocked and slipped on the floor, arms shooting out and pinwheeling out. Kat growled and moved swiftly, shattering the weak protections around the circle and catching the boy before he fell over.

Kat pulled him back to his feet before letting him go and returning to the circle as fast as she could. A slight breeze was all the evidence she left behind. Apep sucked in a deep breath, hand over his chest before slowly looking over at Kat. “Did... did you just leave the circle?”

“Yes. Yes I did. It really wasn’t hard,” said Kat evenly.

Apep frowned and looked down at the circle which looked completely undisturbed. The only difference is the silver that once sparkled slightly in the light is now dull as the surrounding chalk it was mixed with. Lily eyed the change curiously because that is NOT how metal degradation is supposed to work. [What the heck did that do to the silver?]

“Um... that’s bad right?” asked Apep, no idea of the internal questions bubbling in Lily’s mind.

“I have no idea really,” answered Kat.

Apep frowned and looked over Kat slowly. It was an odd look, not sexual at all. It was like he was trying to find a hidden weapon on her somewhere or he expected a third eye or claws or something equally horrific. Of course, Kat looked as she always did, just with a cat in hand now as well. “So um... do you know why you’re here?”

“Presumably because you have a Contract in mind for me, but I have no clue as to the specifics,” answered Kat.

“Is that because I did the circle wrong? It really shouldn’t have been so easy to break according to those books I found...” mumbled Apep.

“The circle is just meant to ensure I can’t cause any havoc until the Contract is decided upon. Some demons do specialise though, so they’d expect roughly the same sort of thing every time they are summoned. Now. What is it you need? We can trade questions later if we need,” said Kat.

“Um... err... before I ask... I um... I have one more question. It’s relevant though I swear!” said Apep, in that overly earnest way only younger individuals truly can.

“Go for it,” offered Kat.

“Right um... have... have you got a boyfriend? Or... or a partner or whatever? Do demons get married? If you’re married that would work...” said Apep.

Kat raised an eyebrow and pushed her slight concern down the link only for Lily to send reassurance back. Taking that as permission Kat answered, “I’m permanently and irreversibly bound to my girlfriend Lily. She is currently a cat,”

Apep looked really hard at Lily, trying to decide if he was being messed with or not. Lily sighed and hopped out of Kat’s arms, walking behind her for a moment to transform and poke her head up over Kat’s shoulder. She didn’t exactly want to show herself completely in such lacking attire, but it did prove Kat wasn’t crazy.

The sudden appearance of a new girl caused Apep to flinch back in surprise before his brain caught up to everything and realised what had happened. When Apep closed his mouth, Lily left her hands on Kat’s shoulder and transformed. Her Memphis form appearing where her hands were before she moved back to Kat’s arms.

“Ah... I mean... sorry I didn’t know you were gay. Um... that might be better though...?” murmured Apep carefully. Kat just gave him a ‘go on’ gesture. “Right um... well you see... ah... how do I explain this... oooh... it’s a bit complicated,” Kat repeated the gesture, “Ok fine. You are currently inside ‘The City of the Sun’. The greatest city in the continent. We have more people in our city than some kingdoms do. This is in large part due to our aqueducts that transport water from ‘The Endless Well of Life’ across the city.

“It is our most important and heavily guarded monument. Any crops that the water touches grows at a rapid pace and is exceptionally high quality. It can’t really be transported outside of the city, but the spring IS endless as far as we can tell. The more water we drain from it, the more water it provides. The only issue is it needs to reach wherever it is going in less than forty-eight hours, and it has to be connected to the main spring, so bottling it up doesn’t work.

“This has led to our city becoming the single most important trade hub in the known world,” Apep’s voice was starting to firm up. He was clearly proud of his heritage. “My family are part of the ‘Ten Defenders’. We are descendants from the original settlers who found the water. It was actually a group of fifteen, but there were five couples amongst the original group already meaning it was ten families who found it.

“We have guarded this spring for at least ten thousand years and I am the current heir to my own family. This is mostly because my parents have yet to have any other children and there are rumours of my Dad’s retirement on the horizon.

“I’m not sure if that’s true or not, and really it shouldn’t matter but it kind of does? Anyway. The problem I have is with marriage. It is traditional for members of the Ten to get married before our eighteenth birthday. There are a few reasons for this. Originally it was to prevent our lines from dying out, but now it is more of a task. In a city as large as ours, it is considered bad form to have not found anyone you connect with by that time.

“Marriage... marriage in this city is weird, from what I’ve been told. It is both sacred and easily broken. Both partners in a marriage are responsible for making things work. For ensuring that each other are happy, and it is a great shame to fail at such a task. Yet it is considered a greater shame to remain in a relationship you can never be happy in.

“I think it makes sense, but apparently it doesn’t to some outsiders. Now... I umm....” Apep’s bold and confident tone slowly started to fail, back into nervous territory. “I... I have ended up in a slightly embarrassing position. I managed to overhear my parents planning to set up a marriage between myself and a good friend of mine, her name is Jara. She’s wonderful, and my parents genuinely think I’m in love with her based on some... evidence... that um... is mostly not what it looks like?

“I mean. Jara is really sweet, and I wouldn’t be opposed to marrying her I suppose. I mean, I’d do it if I had to... wait no that’s rude. Um... she’s my friend and I... I certainly COULD spend my life with her... and um... it’d... it would be no hardship certainly. The um... the awkward part though is... ahh... hmm...”

“It’s fine. You can share,” Kat said in her soothing ‘it’s all going to be fine’ voice.

“I’M IN LOVE WITH HER MAID!” blurted out Apep.