The Short Demon King

Chapter 3

"Alright, first let's cover up some of this blood so you don't scare all my neighbors when I bring you home," Kevin told me as he unzipped his hoodie and placed it around my shoulders. "Your pants look pretty torn up too... are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, my pants always end up like this. And don't worry, the blood isn't mine," I reassured him so he wouldn't keep asking.

Kevin seemed taken aback by what I said for some reason. He thought for a moment before responding, "I'm glad you're not hurt? I mean, I won't ask what happened then. Um... let's just get going then. You can wash it off once we get there."

Still holding onto his hand to keep from face-planting, I wobbled along behind Kevin. It took all of my focus to stay upright, so I didn't bother trying to look where we were going. It's not like I would be able to come back here on my own anyway. Plus, there was no way a puny human could hurt me. Being forced into a human body wouldn't take away my immortality... right?

Once we got off the wooden walkway, we stepped onto the small tan stones. Confused by the strange sensation, I wiggled my five toes against the grainy material.

Everything here was so strange... Who needed five toes anyway? Three were plenty.

We kept walking and the sky crept closer to darkness, the light almost at a manageable level now. I eventually began feeling more confident I could walk without having to stare at my miniscule feet the entire time, so I occasionally looked up to examine my surroundings as we went.

This new area looked very different from the windy one I woke up in. All that previous open space was now packed full of gray buildings that all looked like exact copies of each other. How could anyone train in an environment like this? There was barely enough space to run in a small circle. I instantly felt extremely claustrophobic, a shiver rushing down my spine.

We were apparently quite close to our destination when I started looking around, because Kevin stopped in front of one of those boxy structures. I even almost ran into him because I had been very distracted when he stopped so abruptly.

"You live in one of these boxes?" I asked skeptically.

Kevin gave me another weird look I couldn't understand. "This is what a normal house looks like... where did you say you were from again?"

"Doesn't matter," I replied, attempting to swoosh my tail as I normally would when walking away from conversations I didn't want to be a part of.

That's when I realized it. Humans don't have tails. This meant I no longer had my most powerful and versatile weapon. Tails were super important to demons, being a major part of our identities. Everyone's tail was different and allowed us to accomplish things that seemed nearly impossible. I sighed, disappointed that I would have to learn to live without it.

"Um..." Kevin started, but he seemed to fight himself as it took him a while to decide what to say next. He fidgeted with a pair of keys he took out of his pocket and mumbled incoherently.

Once he finally made up his mind, he asked, "Wanna head inside?"

"Sure, I would love to enter your weird box."

Kevin took a deep breath and unlocked his house. Apparently a flimsy door and small key was all it took to keep intruders out. Humans must be either really weak or really trusting, I thought to myself as I stepped inside. Kevin let go of my hand to relock the door as I scanned the room, searching for any immediate threats. Feeling confident my walking improved, I stepped forward, but instantly crashed into the wooden floor with a violent thud.

"Kevin? Was that you? Is something wrong?" A girl called out as her footsteps skittered around a corner.

Kevin rushed to my side to help me up before replying, "Yep, I'm all good. Jaye's just having a hard time walking on his own right now."