A demon’s rival. Natalie Yacobson

and hid under the seat? No mice or leprechauns in sight. But the dress had slipped off Samantha’s shoulder, and the star-shaped mole shone as brightly as if it had been a star. What an obsession! Samantha tried to pull up the sleeve, but it was torn. And the mole shone more and more dazzlingly.

      «It must be a fairy’s joke!» Samantha complained as the coachman struggled to hold the horses. It seemed the horses were frightened by something and might have gotten loose. Samantha could hear them snorting excitedly.

      What was going on in the forest that all the animals were so frightened? If the fairies were flying nearby again, one could ask them. If only they’d honor an ordinary Earth girl with an answer.

      «Hey, coachman,» Samantha called, and then bit her lip. Her accent and manner seemed too rustic. How would a highborn lady call her servant? While Samantha was thinking, the carriage stopped. It smelled hot from the darkness, like a furnace. So there really was a forest fire up ahead. It meant they’d never make it to lvilor. Samantha rejoiced. Now they could go home.

      She was early to rejoice. Neither the grooms nor the coachman responded. Had they been kidnapped by fairies? Samantha cautiously opened the carriage door. An unbearably bright light struck her eyes. A circle of fire was shining right on the road. Only a dragon could leave such a mark on the road. Samantha was frightened. Was here a dragon? Surely it intends to kidnap an innocent girl and take her to its caves. We must escape!

      The circle of fire blazed brighter and brighter. Tongues of flame rose to the dark sky, but for some reason they did not spread through the forest, even though the trees were close to the road, and dry twigs were lying on the road itself. Somehow it was suspicious! The fire looked like a witch’s circle. Samantha became interested. Curiosity was stronger than panic. The girl got out of the carriage and stood on tiptoe to peer into the circle. No dragon was there, but a small, skinny black creature was hopping around inside the circle. He had a long tail. Was it a demon? It was horned, ugly, and incredibly agile. But its voice was pleasant, like a minstrel’s. The imp was humming some kind of counting song.

      «All maidens away from Serpin,

      Or you’ll die like Evangelina.

      Though his crown beguile you,

      But there’s a devil on his shoulder.

      If you come near Serpin,

      You shall die immediately.»

      The nimble demon released his claws. Samantha was afraid that he would attack her and jumped aside, but the demon put his clawed paw on the throat of the dead girl, who was lying in a circle of fire. Judging by her dress with diamonds, she was no less than a duchess. Samantha looked at her jewelry with envy. Though was it wise to envy a dead woman? However, the demon quickly removed the jewelry from her, and they disappeared as if dissolved in his clawed paws. The body of the dead girl was mercilessly wounded by the demon, and he made some fanciful marks on the ground with her blood. He drew them with his claw more evenly than with a pen.

      «Let all who pass through here know what happens to those who cross me, the great Ibracimus of Hell!» The evil black creature proclaimed. «All travelers spread the rumor of how powerful I am! Or else you’ll be in trouble!»

      The demon suddenly noticed Samantha and wanted to jump on her. Now he would sink his claws into her throat and she would become the second corpse on the road. Samantha suddenly noticed that the coachman and the groomsmen were already dead, with claw marks on their throats. Pieces of meat had been torn from their bodies, as if a cannibal had feasted here. Demons must be feeding on humans. She’s going to die in this forest! That’s why she was so reluctant to go on the journey! Samantha waited for the fatal attack, but she guessed the demon had had enough.

      «Hey, girl!» He called out to her. «Do you swear to spread frightening news about me all over the neighborhood?»

      «Yes, of course, Your Infernal Majesty,» Samantha mumbled hastily, and even wanted to curtsy before the demon, but her legs wouldn’t bend with fear.

      «Then live! But if I find out that you kept what you saw on the road tonight from anyone, I will come to your bedroom and tear you to pieces with my claws in your sleep.»

      The imp jumped almost to the heavens and disappeared from the circle of fire. The fire immediately went out, but the dead body of the noblewoman was left lying on the road, and around it stretched a ligature of bizarre bloody symbols. The symbols must be witchcraft. Samantha was afraid to go near them. The dead girl was a very beautiful lush-breasted brunette. Her dress of the finest Alur’s brocade was embroidered with the ducal arms. Samantha would have wished her to rest in peace had she not feared the demon’s vengeance.

      «Does he really want everyone to know about his misdeeds?» She wondered. «He should be in the theater. He must have been thrown out of hell for striving for the stage.»

      The coachman’s body slid off the horses and fell to the ground. Samantha realized it was useless to wait on the road. There were no helpers in sight. Unless another pack of demons swooped down and tore her apart.

      It was hard for the girl to get on the goats herself and make the unruly horses move. They were so frightened that they refused to move forward for a long time. When the carriage did move, the horses went around the unfortunate circle and nearly broke their legs, for there was a ravine at the side of the road.

      «The lady is driving the carriage! That’s no good,» whispered from behind the puzzled voices of the forest fairies.

      Had the fairies begun to behave like high society gossips? Samantha herself knew that a lady should not replace the coachman. But with no coachman and a forest full of evil, what could be done?

      In the morning, Samantha thought she was just dreaming, but at court she spotted the fairies again.

      The Dwarf King

      After such a terrible incident, one could go home and do what the demon wanted: spread the horrible news about him all over the neighborhood. Everyone would realize that after the horrors Samantha had endured, she didn’t want to go to Ivilor. Or would that trick not work? Her mom said that even if she met a demon on the road, she couldn’t go back. Even though it was a metaphor, mom got it right. Samantha met a demon.

      «What do we do now?» In frustration, the girl kicked the wheel of the carriage. Naturally, the carriage didn’t move.

      She no longer had a coachman, no groomsmen. Her encounter with the demon had deprived her of her traveling companions. Would she have to drive the carriage herself?

      Samantha glanced at the empty road. No oncoming carriages or riders were expected. Maybe someone would show up in the morning. We should stay in the carriage and wait for help. What if the bandits showed up before the helpers did? Samantha had heard how often they rob carriages on the big roads.

      There’s no sitting still. She’s a lonely, defenseless girl, a tasty morsel for bandits and other dark figures. Only a devil would shun her. It’s unlikely the bandits will spare her either.

      Samantha would love to go home, but her mother wouldn’t forgive her. You can’t be such a coward. I mean, what if she met a demon on the road? She must quickly put this terrible incident out of her mind and go on with his life as if nothing had happened.

      «I didn’t see him! I was just dreaming about him!» Samantha admonished herself. That’s how you get rid of nightmares. It was better to think of them as an obsession or not at all.

      But she had promised the demon that she would tell everyone about him. What if she didn’t, he’d get back at her? What if she just forgot about what had happened?

      Samantha imagined her running around the village screaming about demons, and superstitious peasants searching for demons and robbing landlords’ estates of everything of value. Riots because of evil spirits are frequent. Sometimes it is better to be quiet, even if the demon is sitting next to you. After all, there is nothing scarier than panic.

      Samantha