Ruling Weirdos @ MindSay 
The boy came to a stop in front of a large tree bearing bright red, round objects. He cocked his head quizzically, looking at the things that grew on the tree. Within moments he was climbing the tree, grabbing a couple of the objects before dropping down to the ground. He sat down, placing his back to the tree as he studied his new find. The boy had never seen an apple before. He had been born after such things became less common since the town that he had lived in had no trees like this.
The boy though had an instinct for picking out edible food and nothing about these things seemed wrong to him. He bit into one cautiously, remembering the distasteful lettuce his providers had fed to him one day. His cautious expression turned to joy though as the sweet juice hit his taste buds and he ate the remaining object with gusto. As he was eating the second red thing, a low growl froze him in place. A pair of wolves had sniffed him out and were slowly pacing in a half-circle, watching him.
It was the first time he had seen these creatures since leaving his town but he had heard their howls before. He stood up slowly, holding the half-eaten red thing in one hand and the third in his other hand. The wolves attacked without warning, streaking across the distance in silence. The boy cried out in fear, throwing the half-eaten apple ineffectively as he crossed his arms over his face. There was a crash and yelps of pain as something heavy blundered through the trees, striking the wolves.
The young boy peeked through his arms and then let them drop to his sides. There it was again, the giant creature from before. It had eight legs and an upper body like a woman. She used one leg to grab one of the wolves and smash onto the ground. The other wolf managed to escape being grabbed and sped off without stopping. The spider woman turned toward the boy, looking at him with her emerald green eyes. The boy felt no fear unlike the first time he had seen her. She had been the one that had rescued him, though at the time, it had seemed like she was attacking his providers.
But here she was again and although she had killed the one wolf with ease, she made no threatening gestures towards him. "Thank you," the young boy said. Not knowing what else to do, he held out the third apple to the spider woman. She moved delicately towards him, deliberately slow as she plucked the apple from his outstretched hand. She passed it to her hands, bowing slightly towards the boy before biting into the red thing. The boy had expected her teeth to be like fangs but he saw that they were normal like his.
He moved slowly toward the spider woman. She noticed his movements and bent lower down to the ground so that she was eye level with the boy. She ate the red thing, allowing him to touch her. "Why did you save me?" the boy asked, looking at her from the corner of his eyes. She was beautiful and scary at the same time, her dark black curls falling down to cover her breasts. The human part of her was free of the black hair that covered her spider legs. "Your powers brought me to you." The boy looked at the spider woman in surprise. "I don't have any powers. I'm just a boy!"
"The magic in you allows us to communicate. You are like me, before the transformation. Your magic called out to me to help you escape." "You mean...I'm going to be like you?" the boy asked. The spider woman nodded, tossing the red thing away. She stroked his face, pushing the hair out from his eyes. "The transformation is a few years away for you but I will stay with you and help you. You have nothing to fear," she said. The boy gazed at the spider woman anew, looking at her while trying to see how he would look. It wouldn't be so bad. He had always hoped to be something special, to have magic of his own.
"Come, we have a great distance to travel," the spider woman said. "What? We're we going?" "There is trouble in the air. The demons are beginning to gather up the humans around these parts. If we're to be safe, we must go to one of the kingdoms." "But why? Won't the others try to hurt you?" The spider woman smiled, taking a few steps back from the boy. Without a word she transformed in front of him, the legs disappearing until she had only two. Tight-fitting clothes formed around her body, black like her hair had been. "We're shape-shifters although we can only transform into spiders," she said.
The boy stood transfixed, excited at the idea of this new power that waited for him to transform. She changed back into her half-spider form and then picked up the boy. "This will be faster and safer if I stay like this," she said to him. He nodded, looking back at the slain body of the wolf. "What's your name?" he asked her. "Lydia," she answered with a smile. "That's a pretty name. I'm Michael, but I like Mike better." Lydia laughed, her laughter sounded like chimes in the wind. "Ok, Mike. Let's get going." Mike settled into her arms, glad to have a new friend as they made their way west into the setting sun.
The demon lord was a creature of grand power. He was a soul-stealer, his powers taken from those that he killed, amplifying his own. In truth, the demon lord should have long since been able to rid the world of humans, expanding his domain to the far corners of the world. But there were still the dragons to contend with, each one with their own power base, satisfied for the moment with whatever mountain, lake, forest or cave they could find. They were greedy, stealing from one another, pillaging both demon and human kingdoms to increase their own wealth, spreading death and destruction if they could.
The demon lord scratched one of his curved horns, glancing down from his throne at the hounds he had created. The pair was created from twisting together a wolf, for its endurance, a bear for its size, a leopard for its agility, a lion for its body, and the head of an eagle for its eyesight. The hounds had a wicked scorpion tail and the wings of furies to give them the strength to fly unimpeded through the air. They were fast despite their large size and could hold their own against a dragon if need be.
Unfortunately they could not take down a dragon since those blasted beings kept in pairs. Whenever one was spotted, you could be sure another was not that far away. For now, he would have to satisfy himself with building his army, awaiting the moment when he could strike across the world. But first, he would need to take the souls of that human king Darien and his bitch of a queen, Arden. He let the hounds go free to hunt as one of his servants came running into the room.
A goblin-like demon fell to its knees before the demon lord, looking up from the floor. “Sire, the three necros have just crossed into your domain.” “I hope that your brothers are not as stupid and lazy as you have been, Kraken,” the demon lord said. “No sire, of course not. They know how important the necros are. They’ll bring them nice and safe to your lordship.” “How are the crops doing?” he asked. “Good sire, very good. Five of the cattle gave birth sire. One of them had triplets, each one strong and healthy. Only one of the newborns was deformed sire”
“Come, Kraken. I want to see them dispose of the cattle,” the demon lord said. Kraken jumped to his feet almost joyfully, scampering toward the doors. The courtroom looked like a medieval castle although the walls and floor were splattered red with the blood of those who had displeased the demon lord or used as entertainment. The doors to the courtroom had been built from the skeleton remains of elephants.
They arrived outside in the grand courtyard. The sound of crying had been increasing in volume as they neared the courtyard. Kraken led the way past the holding pens of the cattle, spurring on his fellow brothers with, “Crack that whip harder,” “don’t make me bring your sister to do your job,” “teach that cattle their place.” They reached the other side of the cattle pen and entered one of the doors that led into the birthing room.
“Where are the parents of the defect?” the demon lord asked. Kraken motioned to one of the nurses, a tigress demon, and she left hurriedly. Within a few moments, two cattle were brought into the room amid the crying of the newborns. The female fell to its knees but the male stood tall until Kraken swiped at its knees, forcing it to kneel as well.
The tigress dropped the cattle’s young in front of the parents and the male reached out, grabbing the newborn before it could hit the ground. “Good catch meatbag,” the demon lord said. He stood in front of the two cattle, allowing his form to inspire fear in the two. He had heard before that he resembled one of the images of the human’s devil: he stood on two legs covered in black fur that ended in hooves that could shatter steel; a tail that had a spear-like tip, his skin was mottled dark red, almost black; his head was shaped like a human but his teeth were razor sharp and his eyes were as black as the darkest night; two wickedly curved horns grew from the top of his head; his arms were ripped, bulging muscles; his hands were clawed like most other demons.
The cattle mewed as they huddled close to each other, the male using its body to protect the young. After a moment, the demon lord said, “Let them run, if they can escape the castle grounds, allow them free access back to the human settlements.” The two looked at him open-mouthed, revealing the scarring from their missing tongues, which had been pulled out to keep them quieter. Kraken smacked the male’s head, “You heard my lord. Run now while you have your wits about you.”
The couple looked once more at each other before scrambling to their feet and out the door. After a moment or two, the demon lord whistled. Two streaks bounded through the doorway, howling and screeching with glee at being set loose. The demon lord stood in the doorway, watching the chase. The female looked back and cried out in fear; unfortunately when she did so, she didn’t see the male trip her. One of the hounds leapt onto the female, ripping into her body and causing her to scream in pain. The second demon hound ignored the woman, keeping its eyes on the male. The male glanced back, ducked its head and then threw the newborn behind it.
The newborn cried as it was flung through the air. The sound was abruptly cut off as the hound caught it, crushing its face. The male whooped half-crazed as he continued to run, dodging debris as he hurried to the castle gates. The male cried as he ran the last few yards faster. The first hound teleported in front of the male and stabbed the surprised male through its chest with the scorpion tail. The male gasped as blood formed in a bubble out of its mouth. The demon lord teleported in front of the two; making sure to stay away from the blood.
He didn’t want to get his human-skin boots messy. “See, Kraken. These humans are nothing more than animals, sacrificing whoever in order to live. Make sure my hounds are properly cleaned then return to your duties.” Kraken bowed, fawning shamelessly as he danced around the hounds, careful to stay out of their striking distance. The demon lord teleported back to his throne room to await the arrival of the three necros.