Ghost Monkey, стр. 51
That evening, with the sun low and the lanterns lit by fire spirits, the girl appeared.
"You didn't ditch,” she said. “Thought you would." She sat next to him and patted her lap. "Got any food?"
Can we eat her today? But the voice lacked strength.
Sugriva displayed bread and rice to the girl. "Plenty today. Begging went well, though my search for the Ashtadash was useless."
Food fell from her mouth as she talked. "How much you have?"
The monkey was put off a bit. "What do you mean?"
She snapped her fingers, and a dozen orphans came around the corner into the alley. "See, told my friends bout you. Here they are." She went through their names, while Sugriva scowled.
We could eat them all.
"Can you feed us?"
"I'll be back." He continued to scowl, but helping the orphans would be his last act of charity before moving on.
Vendors closed up their stalls. Half the food was discounted, and the other half was free. The children feasted until most of them were full.
The girl snuggled into Sugriva. "You've nothing, but give us all. Why?"
He wrapped his arm around her and closed his eyes. The healing of her youth and innocence soothed the darkness coursing through him. "Corruption eats away at me, and I'll die soon. Why not help before I die?"
BLACK SMOKE WITH CRIMSON lightning snaked out from Sugriva and wrapped around the children. They're fresh. No one will miss orphans. The tendrils went up into the sky and blackened out the dawn sun. The girl was not there.
Sugriva's thighs fought against him, burning as he stood. Shoulders ached and stiffened. One boy looked up and saw Sugriva. His face contorted, mortified. "What are you?"
Perhaps the black wasn't a hallucination. His veins, smoky exhales, and pitch nails likely gave him away, too. Sugriva sprinted off, shifting into a monkey. People gasped wherever he went, and spirits and guards came after him, shouting.
It is done. You are finished. He could hear the grin, but he knew the voice was right. Within moments he would be a demon.
Winds controlled by elementalists ripped at his fur, though he didn't feel the pain as hair was ripped out in clumps. Under the bald spots, his skin looked like charcoal.
He got lost in a crowd in one of the city centers and made his way between legs, unnoticed by the distracted crowd. When the legs of the crowd broke, and he could see, there was a beautiful woman. She had red skin, like a ruby at night. Her hair was white and blue, the colors moving through the long tresses which reached for the sky like a flame. A man came up to her covered in boils.
Her finger neared his flesh and a spark jumped from her finger tip to the man. A burn appeared where the spark touched, and the man spasmed as the boils began to recede. Heat made him perspire, and his flesh turned red. By the time the final boil was removed, the man was limp.
The woman wept. "I am sorry. He was beyond my healing."
Guards took the family away as they mourned, and the body turned to ash as the heat ate him from the inside.
Another person was brought to her, his leg swollen from a snake bite. She touched the leg with the spark. His body reacted the same as the man before, but when the purple swelling went down, his skin turned white. Trembling, he got to his legs, bowed, and walked away. This continued for several more people.
Kill her, he heard in his head. Gut her, cut her open and run.
“You don’t want to eat this one?” Sugriva quipped.
The voice repeated, Kill her, over and over, taking control of the monkey. Sugriva grasped his head, swaying back and forth toward the woman, as his mind tried bursting through his skull. He would turn in a few moments.
He howled, dropping at her feet. "Release it. Release me. Burn me away, please." He looked up at her, black sludge weeping down from his dark eyes.
Fingers gently touched under his chin, making him look up. His heart nearly burst when his eyes met the woman's. She didn't flinch at his horrific visage. Then a bowl of water was brought to her, and she placed it on Sugriva's lips, tipping it down his throat. He swallowed through instinct, though the voice cried out, Don't drink it. Kill her.
A weight was released from Sugriva when he drank, and the voice became distant, though still there and nagging for blood.
"How?" Sugriva reached up to her, and she took his hand, pulling him to his feet.
"I am an Ashtadash.”
"WHAT IS YOUR NAME?" He could feel his skin smoldering, but at least he didn't feel the voice.
"Ishva, daughter of fire." She did not break stride, and it seemed she hastened with every step. The people grumbled when they saw the pair. "I am an Ashtadash, one of the few. There are more, though not here."
"I've met a few, I think. One on an ox, and another an old ascetic in the mountains. Can't you make more?"
"If all your generals were killed, would you pull more leaders from your farmers?"
"I understand."
It took all day, and into the night, before they reached ruins. Ishva used the fire of her body and hair to light the way. The fire gave off some heat, as Sugriva could feel it, but it did not ignite foliage, which Sugriva was grateful for.
"This is Ramaswam, an ancient city where spirits used to live freely, and the Ashtadash ruled with wisdom. Sure there were kings, and the Ashtadash didn't truly rule beyond the boundaries of Ramaswam, but they were consulted constantly, travelingtravelling to kingdoms to guide through times of difficulty. We only refused to get involved in wars between two righteous kingdoms, as we are not mercenaries."
The splendor and prestige of the city was