The next thing I knew, I was in a different place.
It was like a cave, gigantic as far as I could tell at my size, but probably not much larger than a car or a wardrobe. There wasn't much light
other than an eerie blue glow than seemed to come from nowhere. The surface was rocky and uneven. On further inspection I realised I was
standing on junk. Boxes and bags and things. A few books, a few knives and swords and even a few pieces of clothes, all huge compared to my
size. Runt was nowhere to be seen.
My first thought was that this was Earth, since that's where Runt had said he was going to take me. I still wasn't certain it wasn't. If only two
weeks had passed where Runt had been in the thirty years that had passed in the Fey realm, who knew how far ahead Earth was by now? It
might not even ressemble what I was used to anymore. I felt a small pang of sadness at that, but I shrugged it off. I'd long ago given up any
hope of seeing Earth again. Then I thought of Ferus, and moaned quietly to myself. Getting back on my train of thought, I decided that this was
some other place.
I hobbled over the piles of things, which would shift dangerously under my weight. After so long being a minotaur, it wasn't easy to get used to
walking on all fours with such stumpy legs. I had quite a bit of practise at using a tail to balance, though, so it didn't take long to get the hang
of it. Using my hunter's instinct, I decided to find the edge of this place and walk the perimeter, to get a feel for the space. I'd barely got started
when I realised I wasn't alone.
I smelt it first. The smell of sweat and flesh. I hesitated, and tried to get a fix on it. I didn't know how well I could trust this new nose of mine.
But then I heard something move. My hunter's instinct told me to find a weapon, but a new, timid instinct told me to run and hide. As a result, I
stayed rooted to the spot. And then it found me.
A figure leapt over a nearby ridge of coin pouches and landed shortly in front of me. It crouched for a moment, sizing me up, ready to pounce,
before standing up. Clearly it thought I was no threat. I got a good look at it. Or him, I should say. He was clearly a demon. He looked tall to
me, though he couldn't really have been much taller than three or four inches. Like Runt, he had horns, though they were long and curled like
ram's horns. Like Runt, he had a forked tail, though it was longer and appeared strong enough to crush somebody. And like Runt, he was
completely naked, though he was much more muscular. Unlike Runt, he had leathery, crimson coloured skin, and despite being clearly very
sexy, I did not feel attracted to him at all.
"If you can understand me, nod your head," he said.
I did.
"Are you demon?"
I shook my head.
"Human?"
I nodded again.
"Hold on," he said, and approached me, "I think I have enough power for this..."
He massaged my throat. I felt something move inside my neck.
"Uh..." I said, "Oh. Thanks."
He fell back, and sat on the ground, breathing heavily.
"Are you alright?" I asked.
"Do you know where you are?" he asked me.
"No."
"This is a Keeper's Realm. It is a small plane existence for storing things. It belongs to me, though Runt has stolen it. I take it you know Runt."
"Oh, boy, yes." I sighed, "Who are you?"
"I am Ezekar," he said, "I am a Chaos Demon. I specialise in transformation."
"Like Runt?"
The demon flashed me an angry look. I took a step back.
"No," he said, "Not like Runt. Runt is a low level Incubus. His power is so weak, it only works on men and only when he's near them."
"That sound familiar," I said, "So how come he can transform people then?"
"He's cursed me, that confounded bastard!" the demon yelled, "He's keeping me prisoner here so he can drain my power! I swear, if I ever get
out of here I'm going to turn him into a warty toad!"
He leapt to his feet and kicked a nearby marble. It dinged off of a shield. After taking a moment to calm down, he said, "I see he's already used
my powers on you."
"Tell me about it."
"How about you tell me?"
So I did. How he broke into my apartment, how he turned me into a horse, then a pegasus, then a minotaur and how he left me for years. When
I told him about that last part, his eyes grew wide.
"The curse," he breathed.
"What?"
"Tell me, did you perform coitus with him?"
I hesitated. I had quite specifically left that part out. But I couldn't see the sense of hiding it any longer.
"He's got you cursed, I'm afraid," the demon told me, "Any human that is bedded by a Chaos demon is stricken with it. To live a life of eternal
change."
"What does that mean?" I asked, getting very worried.
"It means, every time you get used to a certain way of life, you will be destined to encounter Runt again. And when you do, he will completely
change your life, whether he means to or not. Coupled with transformation powers makes for one powerful curse."
I went over these words in my head. "Let me get this straight," I said, "Every time I settle down, he's going to appear and change me. Forever!?"
Ezekar nodded, "So long as he lives, you cannot die, you cannot escape him and you nothing will stay the same."
I gulped.