Of Master and Apprentice (Book 3)

Chapter 7

Luna awoke and looked around, noticing that she was surrounded by three walls with the fourth being made of sticks roughly tied together. Was she in some kind of cage? As her vision became sharper, she noticed something big and red outside and once it came clear to her, she noticed what it was.

The demon appeared to be taller than an average human being with horns protruding from its head. Its body looked like a big lump of fat sporting an apron made of the skin of whatever animal that can be found in the forest sewn together. One hand held a cleaver, whilst the other held the meat on the table that was to be chopped up into smaller pieces.

The butcher swiftly swung the cleaver down on the meat like a guillotine and the head of whatever thing was on the table came off. The butcher turned his sights towards Luna who fled back into the dark corners of the cage. "Already awake, are ye?"

The butcher attached a hook at the feet of the meat and hung it upside-down just as he did to the rest. Luna looked up and noticed that they're in some kind of cave, and in addition to the dead meat he just hung, she saw a lot more just like that with many different shapes and sizes dangling on the ceiling. "Don't worry, ye'll get yer turn. But first..." The butcher brought up a dead deer and began skinning it with a different knife.

Luna watched in horror as the butcher slowly but surely exposed the flesh of the creature. She can already picture herself being skinned alive and cooked with whatever disgusting meat on the pile the butcher had prepared.

Once the butcher had hung the deer just like the rest, he began making his way to Luna's cage. There in its farthest corners, she hoped that the butcher wouldn't be able to reach her. But as he opened the cage door, he grabbed her without any trouble. His large hands clasped on her perfectly and he carried her to the table. Luna's scream filled the entire chamber that the butcher had turned into his personal kitchen.

"Quiet now," the butcher said. "Ye'll be bothering the hounds." The butcher held her down on what Luna would call the execution table. But before he could reach for his cleaver, they heard a racket coming from the outside. It sounded like clashing steel, guns firing and cries of pain. They were confused for a while until a loud bang alerted them.

"Youch!" the butcher expressed his pain.

Luna looked at the doorway and noticed Janus standing there with his rifle. A sight which boosted her hopes. Perhaps she wouldn't die that day. She quickly slipped out of the butcher's hand and grabbed her revolver, which to her surprise was still there. She shot the butcher right in his fat belly and jumped down from the table. Another shot was fired by Janus, but it didn't seem to be able to kill the butcher.

"Lou, come on!" Janus fired another round.

The butcher grabbed his cleaver and with great power, he threw it towards Janus. Janus dodged the attack, leaving the cleaver to be stuck on the wall. "Lou! You must shoot him in the head!"

Luna took a good aim and pulled the trigger. She missed. The butcher turned his attention towards Luna and grabbed the same knife he used to skin the dear and started making his way towards her. She kept firing at the butcher until she had no bullets left.

Then, at the last moment, she heard a loud bang and the butcher froze before falling to the ground. Janus had taken it down. She ran towards him and gave him a hug.

"Come on, we're getting out of here," he said. He led her through the corridor shooting whatever demon that came too close to them. They arrived in a wide chamber where many humans and demons were fighting. Luna saw the death toll take on both sides, but it was heavier on the demons' side. They joined the fray by making long-range kills. Some cries of pain can be heard along with the loud banging of guns being fired, but in the end, the humans came out victorious. The rebels picked up the injured and left whatever place they were in by going through a long mine shaft.

"Is that everyone?" one of the Rebels asked.

"What should we do about this mine?" Another asked.

Janus examined Luna for injuries. "Are you hurt?"

"No," she replied.

"Alright, let's go back to Oceansong. Grab some supplies and seal this place off," a rebel said.

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So tell me what you all think of the Butcher. Was he intimidating enough? Leave it in the comments below, I'd love to hear from you. Also don't forget to hit that star button, I really appreciate it :)

I dedicate this chapter Jessicahehe. I made a cover for her book The Dragon's Land, so be sure to check it out.

-Zyrofern