Demonic Po*nstar System Chapter 1108: New Ride

He touched a rune beside the door, stopping the carriage at a stone landing watched by Dungeon-Born guards. When he opened the door, the creature settled onto the paving and lowered its head toward Lucy.

*Krr...?*

"That’s his apology. You can touch him if you’d like."

Lucy shook her head at Kanut, her hands locked around Mrs. Weller’s arm.

"No, thank you!"

"I’ll do it!"

Milo surprised himself by getting up. His heart was still pounding when he reached the doorway, but the monster held its head down for him, waiting while he found the courage to put a hand against its scales.

They were warm beneath his palm. At his first stroke, a rumble passed through the creature’s throat, and he found himself smiling.

"Wow... So cool! But you should be more careful when there are girls in the carriage."

Ben made a noise behind him. Milo ignored it.

*Kree-ee.*

The creature dipped its head toward Milo, letting him rub along the ridge above its eyes.

"Can people ride these?"

"Certainly. The Skyfiends used to carry us across the cavern until the master introduced this vehicle. Though most of us still use them for transportation. We like to leave the carriages for the master’s ladies."

At that, the creature lifted a foot toward Milo and spread its toes.

"Me?"

It gave another inviting croak. Milo stepped onto the landing and caught its scaled leg with both arms, laughing nervously as its toes curled beneath his thighs to support him.

"Milo, wait!"

The wings came down with a thunderous beat, snatching him off the stone.

"AAAAAAH!"

Air tore at his jacket as the landing dropped away. He clung to the leg with everything he had, staring down at the spikes until the Skyfiend banked and its curled foot took his weight through the turn.

He was being held. He could feel it, the powerful toes supporting him while the cavern swept past and the carriage became a little box full of horrified faces.

His next scream broke into laughter.

"WOOOO!"

...

Celia Harcourt had risen from her seat with one hand over her mouth. Through the open carriage door, she watched the boy swing beneath a monster that had nearly frightened him into wetting himself moments earlier.

"Bring him back!" Mrs. Weller cried.

"He has a good hold on him, ma’am. And it’ll catch the boy before he’s impaled by the spikes."

"That’s not very reassuring, young man!!"

"Oh. I see."

Kanut beckoned the Skyfiend back with a raised arm, sounding perfectly comfortable with the sight. Lucy pressed against her teacher, trembling as Milo’s voice came back across the cavern.

"THIS IS AMAZING!"

Celia stared at him. How quickly children adapted! The boy had gone from cowering inside the carriage to stroking the creature, then accepting a ride over a pit full of spikes. Now he was laughing, utterly delighted with his new acquaintance.

She could scarcely bring herself to approach the open door.

"I’m as brave as Milo!"

Ben pushed past Kanut and bounded onto the landing, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"MISTER MONSTER! COME BACK! I WANT TO TRY TOO!"

"Benjamin, please-"

The Skyfiend swept back, keeping Milo cupped in one foot as it hovered beside the landing. Its free leg extended toward Ben, who grabbed it before Mrs. Weller could reach him.

"Hold on!" Milo shouted, grinning at his friend.

The creature curled its toes beneath Ben as well, then climbed away from the landing with both boys clinging to its legs.

"AAAAAAH!"

Their screams rose together, followed by laughter that echoed between the ledges.

Lucy pouted at the departing pair.

"Boys... They’re so stupid."

Mrs. Weller remained in the doorway until Kanut beckoned the Skyfiend back. Its toes opened only after both boys’ shoes touched the stone, and she caught their jackets to usher them aboard.

"I would like you both to remain inside for the rest of the journey."

"Yes, Mrs. Weller," they chorused, breathless and grinning.

The guide closed the door and touched the rune to set the carriage moving again. Outside, the Skyfiend kept pace long enough for Milo to wave before banking toward a high perch.

Celia sank into her seat and recovered the bag she had dropped. Ahead of her, the boys were whispering excitedly, leaning together to watch the last of the creature’s flight.

She had wanted to complain about their earlier mockery. After watching them fly, she was grateful they were too occupied with each other to notice how badly her hands were shaking.

Beyond the cavern, pillars lined the track. An armored giant stood between them with its hands resting on a maul larger than the carriage doorway, while smaller creatures waited above it with stone projectiles.

"That giant is a Monolith," Kanut said. "They hold the passage if anything attacks."

"Imagine fighting beside one of those," Milo whispered to Ben.

Celia drew her bag closer as the giant turned back toward the cavern behind them. Every enormous weapon belonged to Kaiden Grey, and he had promised these children his protection.

If the dungeon rejected her, he would leave her fate to Bastet and Calypso. She remembered the demoness smiling when he said it, and the ease with which the cat-eared woman had dropped from the roof to bar their way.

She had called them monsters to their faces, then agreed to enter their home.

"Would you like me to sit with you, miss?"

Lucy had turned in her seat to look at Celia. One hand still held her teacher’s sleeve.

"There’s room," she added, looking toward the empty seat beside Celia.

"I’m perfectly..."

Celia stopped. Her bag’s handle creaked in her grip, and the girl glanced down at it before meeting her eyes again.

She had been about to insist she was perfectly comfortable. Even this child would have known she was lying.

"Yes," she managed. "If you’d like."

Lucy looked to Mrs. Weller, who nodded to her before helping her across the aisle. Celia moved her bag onto her lap and shifted closer to the window.

"We’re all a little nervous," Mrs. Weller said gently. "It’s quite a lot to take in."

"It certainly is."

The child’s sleeve brushed Celia’s as she settled beside her. Celia had wanted a seat to herself when she boarded. Now she was grateful for the company with an intensity that embarrassed her.

"They belong to Mr. Grey," Lucy whispered, peering past her at the giant. "They won’t hurt us."

"Of course."

Beyond the pillars, the track crossed a basin filled with pale mist. Blue-green growth shone through it, and Celia tried to follow a ridge whose apparent distance changed as they approached. Kanut called the place the Twilight Sink, warning them that its haze confused the eye.

"Oh, I don’t like that," Lucy murmured, retreating from the view.

Celia understood her perfectly. She turned toward the aisle too, finding Mrs. Weller watching them from the next row.

"Thank you," Celia said quietly.

The teacher smiled at her.

...

When the mist cleared into sunlit forest, Milo leaned toward the glass again. Through the trees, a river curved past timber homes beneath the soaring towers of the Abyssal Palace, and he tried to see how high they went.

A child waving from a little bridge caught Lucy’s attention. She waved back as their carriage slowed beside the settlement, where more children were playing beyond the platform and people were leaving their cooking fires to receive the arrivals.

Mrs. Weller watched the families coming to meet them, her worried smile softening as the doors opened.

"Taigi..."