The Hunters of Sian

The Instructor

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Chapter Six

The Instructor

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Nell's demon master put down his mug and rose, long pointed tail swaying lazily behind him. He gave a nod to the door.

'Come.' Nell left his new bag on the table and followed his master outside and down into the food hall for breakfast, mind still back in their chambers with his new books. As they entered the banquet hall, he was cheered up a little at the sight of Jeremy. The other boy grinned at him.

'Nice outfit. Now we match,' Jeremy said cheerfully. He stopped and gave a little bow. 'Good morning Master Sallos,' he added. Sallos inclined his head slightly but said nothing.

Following Jeremy's lead, Nell bowed to Jeremy's master. 'Good morning Master Furcus.' Nell said to the older demon. Furcus gave a grunt of acknowledgement. The hunter still looked half asleep.

'Grab me a steak and eggs,' Furcus rumbled and went to sit down with his smoking pipe.

'He always wants steak. Mind you, it is pretty good. Want one?' Jeremy asked as they sidled up to the banquet tables. That was the thing about the kitchens. They ran full time, so the smell of food was always strong and inviting. On platters were several different cuts of steak and Jeremy heaped two large cuts onto a plate.

'Sure,' Nell said, feeling his mood lighten further. Jeremy placed a steak on Nell's plate and Nell took some bacon for them both. Sallos always had a far more sensible portion and liked to choose his food himself. The dark-haired demon was currently talking with a whip thin blue skinned demon Nell had never seen before. The demon's hair was very odd, growing in a small circle atop his skull and tied in a plate that was so long it went down over his shoulder and under the table. Nell thought it made him look a bit like a monk. He had a long sort of face with rather haunting pale blue eyes. He glanced at Jeremy who shrugged, obviously not recognising the new demon either.

Nell and Jeremy took their heavy plates back to the tables and sat down, tucking in with enthusiasm. They glanced up when someone else came to join them at the table. It was another apprentice. It took both boys several seconds to realise the newcomer was in fact, a girl. She was dark skinned with almost red hair and dark brown eyes. Her features were quite unique and made him think of sand dunes and a blazing sun. Her hair was short and boyish. She looked about their age and didn't even glance at them as she sat down beside the blue skinned demon with a plate of what looked like a fruit curry and brown rice. Nell gave a friendly smile and Jeremy waved.

'Good morning,' they both said. The girl did not look up from her food. She sat rather uncomfortably straight in her chair with an air of snobbish indifference to the environment around her. At her silence both boys looked at each other again.

'Or not...' Jeremy muttered. Nell grinned and got up to get a second helping of bacon. They talked about their new books and Nell felt his good mood dip a little when Jeremy mentioned that he could read two of the three languages in their new linguistics textbook.

'Don't sweat to much about it. I only know scraps of several languages because I spent so much time at the fishing port. Ships came from all walks of life,' Jeremy said and when Nell didn't smile, he gave him a nudge.

'Don't worry, I'll help you if you help me, yeah?' the taller boy said.

'Yeah,' Nell agreed, feeling a bit better.

'You two gossip like old crones. Get up and clear the table. We are going to the stables,' Furcus grunted, interrupting them. The blue skinned demon and the girl were already standing to leave. Nell and Jeremy scrambled to take their empty plates and cutlery to the racks before chasing after their masters.