Ghost Monkey, стр. 21

Issi slithered quickly across the waters. Sugriva and Bagheer killed Fangs as fast as they could before the demonic Fang was on the mound. It hissed, "I will skin then eat you. I will wear your flesh as a reminder to General Humbari that he has no hold over this jungle. Sankive belongs to demons like me. I am Ravasha, the schemer. I am no simple Fang, but a demon lord."

Ravasha slithered up the branch like lightning and slaughtered the few Mibtha warriors left. He thrust the spear at Sugriva, and the monkey jumped on the metal shaft. Bagheer retreated, climbing higher for a better vantage point. It was the common routine, though there were usually more warriors to distract the foe.

Sugriva knew Issi was corrupt, but now he was a demon lord? The story of Ravasha wasn't unknown to Surgiva, either. He was a demon used in tales to warn children that scheming would only lead to failure.

The thoughts were interrupted as Ravasha jostled the spear. With Sugriva off balance, the demon swung his sword to cut Sugriva in two. A quick shift from man to monkey put Sugriva well below the strike, and he climbed up the unstable spear shaft.

Ravasha dropped the spear and grabbed the monkey. Sugriva shifted into a man, then used his staff to strike the snake's wrist until the demon let him go. As a monkey again, he climbed around the tree and avoided Ravasha, as the demon gave chase. Sugriva dove toward the water, grabbed the falling spear, and thrust it into Ravasha's coils. The spear penetrated the thick hide over and over. Black blood sprayed out and burned Sugriva's skin.

The serpent's tail thrashed back and forth from the piercings. Sugriva clambered up the tree, past Ravasha, until he was out of range of the snake. Bagheer ambushed Ravasha and slit his throat. Twin daggers stabbed down where arteries would be. But demons were crafty and did not follow snake or man biology.

Ravasha thrust at him with a dagger, but Bagheer avoided the attacks. Bracing his spear, Sugriva thrust into the demon's chest, coaxing a howl from the anathema.

"I am a demon lord, the demon Ravasha, and I have nearly conquered Jaya once before. I won't fail again." He tore Bagheer from his head and tossed him far into the air and onto the mound. Bagheer bounced and slid across the mud. Then Ravasha retreated, so Sugriva was out of range.

"Jaya is on its knees. Today I attacked all your villages, and they will never build again. Any remaining men or janaav will provide us with stock." He shifted so his hands were adders. “But maybe,” he muttered, eyeing Sugriva. One of the adders struck Sugriva in the forehead. Then Ravasha shifted into a vulture with four heads and four wings and escaped.

Sugriva's head was light and his eyes couldn’t focus. He replayed the death of Aavu and Bajjo. Then he created over and over in his head the ways Labda died. Rage exploded in his chest when he thought of Falak's ordered cowardice.

Shifting was impossible to control, as Sugriva flipped between man and monkey. Emotionally he shifted between weeping and roaring.

General Humbari left them for dead. The villages were not meant to survive. His parents abandoned him and did not take him with them when they were outcaste. His uncle beat him when Sugriva turned from the merchant dharma, ashamed his nephew chose the military. Children called him out for being the child of two outcastes. Every nasty thought from his past welled up in his mind and chest.

Then the tree they stood on turned black as an oil covered it. The oil turned into razors and spikes, impaling and cutting through the few villagers left. Ishku dodged a spike, shifted into an otter, and dove into the waters below. Sugriva prayed the remaining Fangs wouldn't get her as she fled.

Bagheer jumped up the tree, away from the oil. He shouted, "Sugriva, come to your senses."

The tree didn't harm Sugriva, even though he knelt mindlessly.

"I will kill everyone," Sugriva whispered, head lulling back and forth. He stabbed down repeatedly on the oil, and soon it formed up into another demon. It looked as a dog, though it had a mouth on its belly with malformed teeth. It had four tails, each barbed.

It charged into the tree trunk, and Bagheer chased after it. Screams filled the air, and soon the demon emerged, bleeding profusely. A dagger was stuck in the side of its head. Bagheer came out in his panther form and clawed and bit at the dog. Black blood filled his mouth, and he spat it out. The ichor slowed him down enough for one of the barbed tails to catch him and toss the panther in front of the demon. Before Bagheer touched the ground, the demon leapt and crushed Bagheer's skull.

Then the demon looked to Sugriva. The monkey roared and charged, but he had no control. He yearned for death and the release of all his pent up anger.

However, the demon shifted so it had a human face, and said, "You aren't that lucky. Ravasha wants you." Then he clubbed Sugriva.