Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Before he met Anita, Saban was a powerful demon lord, with over a hundred
demons at his command.  This is one of his stories.

   *

   Saban

   I stalked through the forest, mind blanked, body low to the ground. 
Hunting.  Hunting for demons.  I'd found a trail of residue, and I was
following it, my mind empty of all but the task at hand.  Following. 
Following...  Found.  Two demons, in the clearing up ahead.  One was the
source of the trail.  Perfect prey.

   My thoughts came back in a rush.  The two demons jerked as my mind
abruptly appeared on their radar, and began to run, one of them dropping
something blue onto the ground.  They'd been playing catch with it,
whatever it was.  I grasped the demons' minds with ease, and they froze,
trembling and low to the ground, like puddles in a high wind.  Both were
pleading with me to let them go.  I ignored them, examining my catch.

   Worthless.  Neither one was particularly powerful, and I could sense no
special talents.  Both were fully grown, so there was no chance they'd
develop into something more.  Neither one had much energy in them, either.
Not worth the trouble to drain them.

   I lifted my pressure on their minds.  --Go-- I told them in the mind
language of demons.  They wasted no time in running away.  I sighed, and
turned to look at the little scrap of blue.  Maybe it was something
interesting.

   I jerked in surprise.  The little scrap of blue was moving, crawling
slowly toward the trees.  It wasn't a toy.  It was a newborn demon.

   Not just any newborn.  This was a runt.  Its host either hadn't had
enough energy to support it, or had been killed before the little demon was
fully grown.  The two demons that had fled dwarfed it even more than I
dwarfed them.  It would fit in the palm of a human child's hand.  Its
tentacles were like blades of grass, and its central body was the size of a
walnut.  Eyes the size of peas blinked up at me, on stalks like clover
stems.  So tiny.  Pathetic.  It would never survive.

   And yet... Just because it was tiny didn't mean it couldn't grow.  It
might even develop special powers, given time.  Something inside me said I
should take this little scrap of a demon.  It had potential.

   So I scooped it up, ignoring its squeal of protest.  Oddly I felt
nothing from its mind.  --Hey.  You.  Runt.  You still in there?-

   I felt a fleeting surge of panic from it, and then I heard a tiny voice.
...please let me go...

   So, weak and quiet, but not brain dead.  I reached back along its words
and gripped its mind.  It squealed again.  It had never felt anything like
this before.  Behind a surprisingly thick mental wall, its mind was
buzzing. It was trying to figure out how to escape.  How cute.

   I pressed my mind against it, marking it as my own.  It managed to jerk
free of my hold while I was concentrating and started toward the trees,
again at a painfully slow pace.

   I sighed, not bothering to catch it.  --Stop.-

   It stopped, trembling like a leaf with its desire to flee. ...what did
you do to me?... it asked.

   It had no idea what a demon lord could do.  Unusual, but not unheard of.
--We'll talk about that later, you and I-- I told it.  --For now, though, I
want to make sure you don't die on me.-

   The runt was near dead from starvation, so I forced energy past its
mental walls, working carefully.  Too much energy too quickly, and the
little thing would die from shock.  As it was, the process was painful for
the tiny scrap.  It screamed, wailing in both voice and mind.

   Finally, I'd forced as much energy into the imp as it could hold.  One
of its eyes gave me a doleful look.  Then it passed out, its body and mind
shutting down to deal with the massive energy influx.

   *

   Runt

   I woke with a jerk, terrified to my core by the huge mind near mine.  I
tried to run, but something gripped me.  Something huge and black and
strong.  What- What held me?  Where was I?  What was that huge mind?

   I must have been wondering pretty loudly, because I got an answer.  --I
am the demon lord Saban.  Do you know what `demon lord' means?-

   ...i-it means you're p-powerful... I stammered.

   The huge demon chuckled.  The rumble shook me, and I saw one enormous
eye, and eye as big as I was, peer at me.  I realized that I was in the
huge demon's grasp, held in a coil of tentacle.  This was not good.  I
whimpered.

   --Hush.  I'm not going to hurt you.  Demon lord doesn't just mean
powerful.  It means I have two very important abilities.  One, I can
command nearly any demon near me.  I did that to you, if you remember.--
the demon lord continued.

   I sent an affirmative, remembering him telling me to stop, and my
automatic obedience. ...what's the second?...  I asked.  As long as the big
demon kept talking, it wasn't killing me, and that meant I had a chance.  A
chance to do what, I didn't know.

   --Two, I can mark demons.  This mark keeps other demon lords from
controlling them, and allows me to call my marked demons from anywhere on
this plane.  In addition, when they are close, it gives me unlimited access
to their minds.  Do you understand?--

   Again, I sent an affirmative.

   --I marked you, runt.  That makes you mine.-- my new master told me.

   ...yours?...  I whimpered.

   --Yes.  Mine.  There's no escaping me now.  You might as well accept
that.--

   We were moving, I realized.  The big demon was covering ground much,
much faster and more smoothly that I ever could.

   ...where are you taking me?...  I asked.

   --My home-- Lord Saban told me.  --My fortress.-

   I shivered. ...what will you do to me when we get there?...

   --I haven't decided yet-- the demon lord informed me.  --And I have no
reason to tell you.  Now, be quiet.  No more questions.  No more
whimpering.--

   I spent the rest of the journey trying to be as silent as I could. 
Escape plan after escape plan ran through my head.  None had any chance of
working.  And if I tried and failed, I was dead.  I couldn't stop
trembling, helpless in my master's hold.

   Then I sensed it.  ...there's other demons ahead... I whispered,
beginning to panic.

   --Of course-- my master replied with a chuckle.  --You didn't think you
were the only one I'd ever marked, did you?-

   ...they'll kill me... I whimpered.

   --They wouldn't dare-- Lord Saban told me, amused.  --As I said, you are
mine.--

   I jerked, and then was silent.

   The feeling of other demons got stronger and stronger.  Then we entered
a cave in the side of a hill.  As I adjusted my eyes to deal with the
darkness, I saw a dark green form heading toward me.  It was another demon!
I squeaked, and tried to hide within the coil of tentacle holding me.  My
master chuckled.

   The green demon looked me over disdainfully.  --What are you going to do
with that?  It's too small to eat.--

   --I'm keeping him-- Lord Saban told her.  --And speaking of eating,
don't you have something for me?--

   The green demon presented him with a basket of glowing mushrooms.  My
eyes widened.  I'd seen these before.  Well, one of them.  I'd been hiding
under a log, and I'd found a single glowing mushroom, just a tiny bit
smaller than me.  I'd gorged myself on the energy it contained, and, for
the first time, had slept without hunger.

   These mushrooms, though, were easily twice my size.  And there were so
many of them!  A feast lay before me.  I quivered with hunger.

   Lord Saban took the basket, and then, to my shock, dropped me inside. 
--Eat as much as you can-- he told me.  I greedily obeyed.

   The green demon sneered.  --A waste of good food-- she told the demon
lord.

   Lord Saban growled warningly.  --Aricela, it's my food.  I decide who
gets to eat it.-- He examined me thoughtfully.  --Besides, he'll grow.--

   I was full now, beyond full, but I couldn't seem to stop eating.  I
tried to squirm away from the mushrooms, but Lord Saban's orders wouldn't
let me.  I struggled against the compulsion, and my draining of the
mushrooms slowed.

   A pressure in my mind made me speed up again.  --That's it-- Lord Saban
told me.  --Eat as much as you can hold.--

   I began to feel a bit woozy.  He was going to make me eat until I passed
out, I realized.  Until the sheer amount of energy I'd taken in rendered me
unconscious.  I'd be completely, utterly helpless, unable to defend myself
in any way, entirely reliant on my master's protection.  And would he
protect me?  I whimpered.  My master patted me gently.  --Hush.--

   Then everything went black.

   *

   Saban

   I patted my tiny captive gently.  --You'll be fine-- I told the limp
scrap of blue.  He shifted uneasily in sleep.  Bad dreams.  No surprise.  I
entered his mind and, with a soft nudge, ensured a dreamless sleep.  He was
mine now, and I took care of my own.

   Aricela sneered.  --Weak.-

   I drew myself up threateningly.  --Are you talking about me, or the
runt?-

   Aricela spread her tentacles in her own threat pose.  --Both.-

   I forced her down into a bowed position.  --You dare?  You truly dare?--


   --Yes, I do, "master." And you won't do a thing about it.  You've gone
soft-- Aricela growled at me.

   In a lightning fast move, I drove a tentacle straight through her body.
Spikes shot out from it.  Aricela wailed.  --I'm sorry!--

   Slowly, I pulled the tentacle out, letting the spikes tear at her
insides.  --NO, you are not, but you will be.-- With a final jerk, I pulled
my tentacle free, leaving a gaping, torn hole.  It began to heal, the edges
closing in on the gap.  I tore into Aricela's mind, making her wail with
psychic pain, and did not stop until the physical wound had closed.  No
permanent harm done, but with luck, the memory of pain would make her think
twice about defying me again.  To make certain she remembered the lesson, I
told her, --No dinner for you.--

   Aricela's mind felt humbled.  I examined it, looking for any remaining
sparks of defiance, but there were none.  Good.  --He may be small and
weak, but you are all weak compared to me-- I reminded her.  --You may
go.--

   Aricela fled.

   I finished the rest of the mushrooms, scooped up the tiny blue scrap,
and headed towards my quarters.  As I passed, my demons stopped to bow. 
Several approached me with problems.  I solved a quarrel, clarified the new
digging plans, and heard several accounts of a bully.  Bullying and
infighting were against my rules, and the penalties for both were harsh.  I
would deal with this bully momentarily.  First, though, I needed to deal
with the runt.

   *

   Runt

   I awoke, and stretched with a happy sigh.  I was in a nice, soft nest,
and I could sense no other demons nearby.  I snuggled into the soft stuff
that cradled me, and wondered vaguely what it was.  What had I made my nest
from last-

   Last night.  Lord Saban.  I jerked out of the nest, snapping to
immediate awareness.

   I was surrounded on four sides by mesh, its holes too small for even me
to squirm through.  The ceiling was more mesh, but floor was solid.  Tucked
into the nearest corner, I saw the nest I had been sleeping in.  I blinked,
and reached out a tentacle.  I'd never felt anything so soft.  In another
corner, a number of mushrooms were stacked, more than enough for a fine
meal.  Aside from that, my cage was bare.  Large, but bare.

   I fought the urge to immediately start draining the mushrooms, and crept
to the edge of the cage.  What I saw was... Puzzling.  My cage appeared to
be suspended in the air above a room.  There was a nest in the corner, just
like the one in the cage but on a much, much larger scale.  Lord Saban's
nest?

   That was the only item in the room I could identify.  Some of the other
items were wooden.  Some were stone.  Some were made of bones, or skins, or
other lesser demon parts.  Most, however, were made of materials I couldn't
identify, in shapes that seemed utterly alien.

   One set of items stood out to me, probably because they were so alien
and familiar at the same time.  There was a square scratched into the
floor, made up of a bunch of smaller squares, half of which were black and
half of which were grey, arranged in a diagonal sort of pattern.  There
were stones on some of the black squares.  Three rows of black stones on
one side, three rows of grey stones on the other.  The stones were too
regular in size and shape to have just been found on the ground.  Someone
had carved them like that.  Why?

   I searched for a way out of my prison.  The only door out of my cage was
latched, and I couldn't reach the latch.  As for the room, there appeared
to be only two exits.  One was large, and blocked by a boulder.  The other
was small enough that no regular demon, not even a normal imp, would be
able to fit through.  However I, being small even for a newborn, would be
able to fit just fine.

   I wondered what the hole was for.  It might be for air circulation. 
Certain things needed air to survive, but demons, even demons as weak as I
was, didn't.  What was Lord Saban bringing in here that needed air?  Surely
he couldn't be bringing lesser demons into his quarters.  What would be the
point?

   The boulder started to move.  I squeaked and hid among the mushrooms, my
mind blanking.  If I wasn't thinking anything, my mind was practically
invisible.  I wondered why I didn't feel the mind of whoever was moving the
boulder.

   As a gap appeared between the boulder and the wall, I immediately
realized the stone must have been blocking my senses, because now I could
feel a mind clearly.  Lord Saban.  I quickly huddled deeper into the
mushrooms, and blanked my mind once more.

   Lord Saban entered.  He looked over at my cage.  --Hiding is useless. 
The mark lets me sense you, however much you blank your mind.  Besides, I'm
not going to hurt you.  How many times do I have to tell you that?-

   I peeked out from between the mushrooms, but, when my master met my
gaze, I quickly withdrew.  Lord Saban chuckled.  --You don't believe me.  I
could squash you like an overripe fruit, and you couldn't do a thing about
it.  I could have done it a thousand times since I captured you.  I
haven't. Doesn't that tell you something?-

   ...you want me alive... I murmured.

   --Exactly.-- Lord Saban said with approval.

   ...alive for what?...  I asked.

   --To serve me, of course.  Why else would I want you?-- Lord Saban told
me.  --No more questions.  Eat, and then I'll see how much you know about
your own powers.-

   I ate.  This time, Lord Saban didn't force me to overeat.  Then Lord
Saban opened the cage and scooped me out.  He set me on a table.  When I
tried to scuttle off of the table, he placed a tentacle in my path and
gently pulled me back to him.  I stopped struggling as the tentacle coiled
loosely around me.

   --How much do you know about shapeshifting?-- asked Lord Saban.

   ...i've seen other demons do it... I shifted from tentacle to tentacle,
uncomfortable with being the center of attention.

   --But you've never done it yourself.-- Lord Saban postulated.

   ...no... I admitted.

   --Try.  It's not difficult-- my master told me.

   I tried, but I had no idea how to even start. ...i'm sorry... I said,
flinching.

   Lord Saban looked at me thoughtfully.  --It should be instinctive-- he
said.  --I wonder why it's not.--

   I curled up in a miserable, quivering ball, awaiting execution.

   --Stop that-- Lord Saban said absently, patting me between my eyestalks.
--Shifting should feel like this.--

   He pulled me into his mind, so that I felt what he felt.  Then he
shifted, growing a hard armored shell.  I felt, in his mind, how desire
became reality.  Then he released me, and I snapped back into my own body.

   --You try-- he told me.

   This time, my shifting was flawless.  I grew an armored shell, and
withdrew into it.  I found the darkness and the hardness of my defenses
very soothing.

   --You like it in there, don't you?-- my lord said, amused.

   ...yes... I admitted.

   --In a real fight, that tactic is flawed-- Lord Saban told me.  --Can
you tell me why?-

   I thought for a second. ...while I'm in the shell, I can't fight back...


   --Exactly-- my master approved.

   ...except I can't fight anyway... I added. ...i'm too weak...

   --You'll grow-- my master assured me.  --Until then, though, this is
better than nothing.  Add some spikes.--

   I swiftly added spikes, as many as I could.

   --Very good.  Now, do you know how to materialize objects?-- asked Lord
Saban.

   ...is it like shifting?... I asked.

   --Very much so.  Give it a try.-- my lord told me.

   After a few false starts, I managed to materialize a solid shell of rock
around my hard, spiked body plates.

   My lord laughed.  --Of course you'd choose something defensive.-

   I shivered so hard my little stone ball rocked. ...i'm sorry...

   --No need to apologize-- my master assured me.  --It's good you're
practicing things you might need.  Just so you know, items you create will
vanish if you're not touching them.  Now, get rid of the rock, and return
to your previous shape.--

   I hesitated, and then did what I was told.  My master lifted me up into
my cage.  --Keep practicing both things-- he ordered me, --As well as
exercising your strength and speed.  I'll give you specific exercises
later, when I bring you more mushrooms.  For now, though, I bet you're
tired.-- He nudged me into my nest.  --Sleep-- he ordered me.  Unable to
fight his command, I slept.

   *

   I awoke with a start as I heard the boulder moving and felt my master's
mind.  I fought the urge to hide.  It seemed to annoy him.

   I felt more than my master's mind.  Something... Something like the
mushrooms, but not.  Like a lesser demon, but not.  A source of power, but
of a type I'd never felt before.  It felt tasty.  My hunger rose.

   My master shoved something before him.  The source of power.  It looked
a bit like an ape demon, but, instead of being covered in hair, it was
covered in something I couldn't identify, something separate from its body.
It also walked upright, off of its front legs, and it walked like that was
the way it normally moved around.  I wondered what the point of having
front legs was if you didn't use them.

   It had no horns, claws, or spikes.  No sharp teeth.  No armored hide. 
No weapons or defenses of any sort.  I wondered if it could grow them, like
I could, or if my master had removed them.  The latter made more sense, but
I didn't see any places where anything had obviously been torn off.

   My master entered after it.  He was in a similar shape to this creature,
the most complete shifting that I'd ever seen.  I knew it was him only by
the feel of his mind.

   The strange creature pointed to me and made noise.  At the same time, I
asked, ...what is that?...

   My master laughed.  He made noise at the creature, and then said to me,
--That is a human.  He just asked the same thing about you.-

   I blinked. ...by making noise?...

   --The noise is something called words.  Humans can't speak mind to mind,
so they talk with sounds, and sometimes with their bodies.-- Lord Saban
explained.  --Humans are very tasty, but very rare here.  Do you feel the
layers of his energy?-

   Layers?  Now that he'd mentioned it, I did feel layers.  And outer
layer, and an inner layer.  I sent my lord an affirmative.

   --You're a fast study.-- my lord approved --The outer layer is magic. 
The inner layer is life force.  The outer layer regenerates, but the inner
layer does not, and, when it is all gone, the human dies.--

   I blinked. ...that's weird...

   --I know.-- Lord Saban said.  The human made noises again.  Lord Saban
replied with more noises.  The two of them sat near the weird square on the
floor.  Then they began to move around the rocks.

   After watching them for awhile, I began to notice patterns.  My lord
moved the black rocks.  The human moved the grey.  The rocks only ever
moved diagonally.  Whenever a grey rock went over a black rock, my lord
removed the black from the table and got annoyed.  When a black rock moved
over the grey, the human removed the grey rock, and my lord got happy. 
Then, a black rock reached the side of the board near the human, and my
lord got really happy.  He placed another rock on top of it.  After that he
moved the two rocks together differently.

   Several of the grey rocks reached Lord Saban, and the human did the same
thing with them as my lord had done with his.  This made Lord Saban very
annoyed, but he let the human do it anyways.  I wondered why.

   My lord didn't have many black rocks left.  The stack of two black rocks
got jumped over and removed, and this annoyed him very much.  He looked at
the board, eyes narrowed.  Then, suddenly, one of his tentacles snapped out
of his back and dashed the rocks off of the square.  My lord snarled
angrily, and the human flinched.

   Lord Saban blinked, and his anger died down.  He made noise at the
human. He appeared to be trying to soothe him.  I wondered why the human
didn't get punished for making Lord Saban so angry.  Then, the two of them
began to set the rocks back on the board.  When they were done, the whole
process started again.

   It was a challenge, I realized.  Like a race, or fight where no one
died. My lord was fighting this human with his mind.  Why?  Maybe it was
like my exercises.  Exercise the mind, make it stronger.

   I watched as the two fought, mind against mind.  This was starting to
excite me.  I followed the fight as first my lord, and then the human, took
the lead.  Then, my lord picked up the wrong piece.

   --Not that one!-- I burst out.  --That one!-- I sent him a picture of
what I meant.  Then I realized what I had done.  I had tried to tell my
master what to do.  I squealed, and hid in the now fully drained mushrooms.


   My lord laughed.  --So you've been watching?-

   ...yes... I admitted.  I quivered.

   --It's alright.  I want you to take an interest in things.  And I'm
impressed you figured out the rules.-- He paused thoughtfully.  --If you
have actually figured them out.  What did you suggest I do?--

   I showed him the move.  My lord looked at the board.  --It's legal...--
He mused.  --But is the strategy sound?--

   I sent him my projection of how the mental fight would go if he made the
original move, and then how it would go if he made the move I suggested. 
My lord blinked.  --Now I am very impressed.  You figured all that out just
by watching Garth and I play a game and a half?-

   I huddled back into the mushrooms. ...I'm probably wrong...

   --There's an easy way to be sure of how much you grasp-- my lord mused.

   He reached for my cage.  I squeaked. ...i don't want to come out...

   --Tough-- my lord told me.  --You're coming out, and I'm going to teach
you another new thing.-- I scuttled away from his reaching tentacle, but
was swiftly caught.

   My lord held me in his human front leg.  Ah.  Holding things.  That was
what it was for.  Then he reached into my mind.  --This will hurt if you
don't relax.--

   --No!-- I yelped, struggling to escape.  Whatever he was doing, I didn't
want it!

   I felt a burst of pain as something big was shoved into my mind.  I
squealed, shaking uncontrollably.

   I heard the human -Garth- make noises, but this time they meant
something to me.  "You're hurting him," Garth protested.

   "That's none of your business," my lord replied, also aloud.  "Besides,
it wouldn't hurt him if he wasn't fighting me."

   "He's fighting because he's terrified of you," Garth noted with
disapproval.

   "True," my lord admitted.  "Little demons are instinctively frightened
of bigger ones, and our sizes are about as different as they can get." He
patted me gently, smiling fondly.  "But you're ok now, right, runt?"

   I shivered, but sent an affirmative.  The ability to understand humans
was well settled in my mind, and now that the pain was done, I was glad I
had it.  I had been wondering what my lord and the human had been saying.

   "Can you take a small version of the human form?" my lord asked me. 
Then he shook his head.  "Nevermind.  You only learned shifting today. 
There's no way you can do a complete shift so soon."

   ...i can try... I mumbled, hoping to please him.

   "No.  You'll just wear yourself out, and we have more important things
to do than exercising your shifting powers," my master said.  "I want you
to finish the game."

   I blinked. ...finish it?...

   "Yes." My lord tried to place me on the board, but I clung to him.

   ...i'm scared of the human... I admitted. ...he's really big...

   In an instant, my lord had Garth bound in tentacles.  Garth swallowed.
With my new knowledge, I recognized the smell in the air.  Terror.  The
human was terrified of my master.

   "If he tried to hurt you," my lord informed me, "I'd have him bound long
before he could do serious harm.  Humans are weak and slow."

   He released Garth.  "Besides, Garth's too smart to try something that
dumb.  He knows what I'd do to him if he hurt you.  Right, Garth?"

   Garth swallowed again, and his fear scent grew stronger.  "I have some
idea, yes." His fingers traced a scar on his arm, one of many all over his
body.

   Lord Saban smiled.  "See?  Nothing to be afraid of." He placed me on the
board.

   I picked up the rock I'd chosen, which I now knew was called a checker,
and slowly moved it toward where I wanted it.  It was bigger than I was,
and heavy.

   Saban sighed, and picked me up.  "Where did you want it, again?"

   The game was enormously fun.  I lost, but, when the game was done, Garth
told Saban that I was talented.

   "He was right about that being the better move," he told Lord Saban. 
"Given time, he'll beat me regularly."

   Lord Saban sighed.  "More regularly than me?"

   Garth flinched.  "He might.  But it's just a game!  It doesn't really
matter."

   My lord smiled.  "Of course."

   Garth shook his head, eyes fearful.  "One of these d-days, you're going
to kill me when you lose."

   Lord Saban's smile grew dangerous.  "Perhaps.  But I'll definitely kill
you if I find out you let me win."

   *

   Saban

   I entered my room, looked over at the cage, and sighed.  My presence had
awoken the runt.  It was normal for demons to awaken when they felt other
demons nearby.  It was instinct, and, in the wild, a very good instinct. 
There, another demon, particularly a larger demon, meant danger.

   In a lord's service, even knowing the penalties for attacking a fellow
subject, those instincts were hard to shake.  For that reason, all sleeping
chambers had walls that could block mental senses.  I couldn't have my
subjects going without sleep just because they could sense each other.

   There were a few anomalies.  Inka and Aka, two sisters, shared a room
because they preferred to sleep together.  One of my demons, Gurg, could
sleep through anything, which would have gotten him killed long ago in the
wild.  Then there were various demons who could tolerate each other to a
greater or lesser degree.

   My favorite anomaly, though, were the demons who didn't react to my
presence in sleep.  They were the ones who trusted me, completely and
absolutely, not to harm them.  In battle, they were the ones who never
questioned my orders, knowing that my highest priority was to take care of
my demons.  They were the ones whose courage was absolute, provided I was
near.  And they were the ones I entrusted with positions of command.

   I sighed again.  For some reason, I'd been hoping the runt would number
among those trusting few.  That was foolish, and a bit sentimental.  Just
because I had saved his life didn't mean that he'd learn to trust me.  He
might not even realize how much danger he had been in as a runt in the
wilds.  He likely considered me more his captor than his savior.

   The runt peered out at me.  I realized that he was noticeably larger
than he had been when I brought him in.  Being able to eat as much as he
wanted was doing him good.

   ...good evening, my lord... said the runt, voice still tiny and a bit
nervous.

   --Good evening, little one-- I replied.  --How have your exercises been
going?--

   ...i can move a checker more quickly now... murmured the runt. ...But
complex shapeshifting is still hard...

   --Materialization?-- I prompted.

   The tiny blue demon perked up.  Then he looked down shyly. ...I can make
pretty complex items now... He lifted two tentacles, and, suddenly, he was
grasping a tiny version of an item I'd gotten from a portal to a human
realm.  Garth had called it a windup toy.  You twisted the tiny crank, and,
when you released it, the little monkey's head bobbed up and down, and its
eyes looked from side to side.

   I looked between it and the real version in my runt's cage.  --Does it
work?--

   The runt sent me a shy affirmative, and wound the toy.  The monkey's
head bobbed and the eyes twitched, just like the real thing.

   I didn't tell the runt that he was doing better at this than most grown
demons.  That would just make him embarrassed, and perhaps stunt his
progress.  I merely said.  --Good job.-

   I looked around at my hoard of human items, wondering what I should have
him mimic next.  Or should I try a different tactic?  --Try to make
something like that, except a bird, not a monkey.--

   The runt nodded reluctantly. ...i'll try...

   --For now, though, let's play some checkers-- I told him.  It was nice
to have an opponent besides Garth.  I'd tried to teach some of my other
demons, but most of them didn't really understand it.  The runt was clever
for a demon.  That, alone, made him worth the time, resources, and effort
I'd put into him.  Capturing him had been a good decision.

   *

   Runt

   After the game, Lord Saban left.  I swiftly scuttled to the cage mesh.
The monkey was not the only item I'd been working on materializing.  I
reached a tentacle out of the cage mesh.  Then I materialized the tool.

   It was basically a long, specially shaped hook.  It had taken me some
effort to materialize something that large, but I had managed it in the
end. Slowly, I worked it into the latch mechanism.  Then I tugged.

   The cage door popped open.

   Swiftly, I made my way up the outside of the cage, and then up one of
the wires suspending it.  I crouched, shifting my shape to one better
suited for jumping.  Then I lept.

   I landed squarely in the ventilation shaft.  Hurriedly, I scuttled along
it, out of sight.

   The shaft wasn't very long, and it opened straight to the outside.  With
a delighted squeak, I scurried away, rejoicing in my newfound freedom.

   It wasn't long before I got hungry.  I tracked down a small, insect-like
lesser demon and drained it of power.  Its empty husk crumbled to dust.

   Suddenly I felt a mind near me.  Another demon!  The demon reached for
me.  I scurried away, but it was faster.  It caught me, and, lifting me up,
examined me.

   Suddenly it dropped me, and then turned and ran.  I crouched low and
looked around warily.  What had made the other demon run?  Surely it wasn't
afraid of me!  I was tiny and weak.  But I could sense nothing near besides
it and a few tiny lesser demons.

   I continued on more cautiously.  Whatever it was afraid of, I should
fear as well.  Anything that could hurt it could pulverize me.

   I grew tired.  The eternal fire in the sky had not dimmed, but then, it
rarely did.  I found a small, empty hole.  The former owner of the hole
must have died long ago, or moved on, because I could sense nothing of it.
Then I lined the hole with blades of grass.  It was not as comfortable as
the nest I'd had back at Lord Saban's fortress, but it was well enough.

   I would miss that incredibly soft nest.  The easy access to food.  The
games of checkers, too.  For the first time, I wondered if I had made a
mistake in running away.

   *

   I awoke to terror.  What was going on?  I squealed as a giant red
tentacle grasped me and yanked me from my burrow.

   Immediately, I took my defensive form.  I heard my demon captor call to
another demon.  --Look at what I got!  It's a runt!  A well fed runt.-- A
giant eye peered in through one of the holes in my shell.  --Good eating.-

   I closed all the holes, but it was no use.  The big red demon smashed me
against a rock.  I squealed as my shell shattered, and then reformed as my
healing kicked in.  Before it could fully reform, the bigger demon pried
away one of the losened pieces.  Ouch!  It pierced my bare and bleeding
flank, and began to feed.

   I heard a shout.  --Anges!  Don't!--

   My captor turned to his companion.  --Why not, Ruges?  It's a runt. 
It's not like it's going to hurt me.  And it tastes so good!--

   --Look at it, Anges!  It's marked!  And by Lord Saban!-- Ruges backed
away nervously.

   A big eye peered at me, and then, suddenly, I was falling.  I hit the
rock beneath me with a crack.  Anges backed away, like I'd suddenly grown
to tree size.

   --Please!-- he begged.  --I'm sorry!  Please, don't tell your master!--

   Another mind appeared on my radar, this one familiar.  I could feel it
pulsing with rage.  A cold voice said, --It's a bit late for that.--

   Instead of grabbing Anges, my lord drove two spikes through him.  I
heard the red demon scream as he was drained.  --No!  Please!  Ple...-

   Ruges ran, and Lord Saban allowed him to do so.  As Anges crumbled to
dust, my lord scooped me up.  I didn't try to flee him.  What would be the
point?

   I shrank, trying to look humbled. ...I'm sorry, my lord...

   Lord Saban examined me thoughtfully.  --I should punish you-- he said.

   I shrank further. ...I know...

   --However... Did you learn anything from your little adventure?-- my
lord asked me.

   I looked up at him. ...you protect me.  even when you're not there, your
reputation protects me.  as long as I am yours, I am safe... I paused.
...if I behave...

   Lord Saban patted me fondly.  --Right answer.  And will you try to flee
again?--

   ...no... I told him. ...I...I was afraid.  I'm not anymore...

   Lord Saban smiled as I made myself comfortable in his grip.  --Good. 
Now, rest.  I'll take you home.-

   As the journey began, my eyes slid closed, and I drifted off to sleep.