I got a surprising two weeks of peace in my cave home before the first wave of retaliation came. This time they sent what they claimed to be an elitist team of warriors to try and deal with the peasant menace. I was able to dispatch them easily enough, not killing again though I knew that this could not last. I would either have to do much more killing soon or I would be overwhelmed. It was becoming a battle of attrition.

So finally, after weeks of waiting I decided to take matters into my own hands. I packed a few things and began to walk to the palace. Or at least I assumed so. I just went in the general direction that the soldiers had come from. It took several days of travel, which explained why the attacks were not as often as I had feared they would be. More than a small team would take time to organize and a lot more things to carry with them.

At the end of day four I saw it, the castle of Pride. It was just as large and opulent as I had expected but it was made of black stone that did nothing but make it look like a blight, a scar on the land it touched. I took a deep breath and walked boldly toward the entrance guards. They saw me and my reputation must have preceded me because they level spears at me and the younger one looked slightly fearful.

"I request a parley with your Lord. I have an offer which he may find interesting." I called out to them. I was surprised at the steadiness of my own voice because even though I was not scared, I was nervous. It was a long life I was about to commit myself too. They looked at each other and did exactly as I figured they would. They cuffed me as a prisoner and pushed me along.

They forced me into the throne room and for the first time in over five years, I saw the ruler of this realm. He was…well there was no denying he was a handsome guy. He was sat in a huge white throne meant to make him stand out against the black stone behind him. His hair was long and pulled back in a single long braid. He was well muscled and had a fighters build. He was not dressed as grand as I had expected, much more conservatively so. I was forced to kneel before him.

"Your majesty," said the elder guard, "This is the beast child that has been giving your soldiers such problems. He walked here willingly and requested an audience with you."

Pride seemed to barely be paying attention. He had his attentions turned to a kitchen servant girl who looked a little afraid as he flirted with her. The girl eventually scuttled away and now Pride turned the force of his gaze toward me. Now I understood what made Pride so dangerous. His gaze not only pierced me, it owned all of me. I was unable to look away. He had the eyes of a man that inspired soldiers not to war, but to suicide in unwinnable battles. Maybe this was why Slade never summoned him. I could not know because in that moment, he looked at me and I felt the beast cower. I had been tamed with a look.

When he spoke I was sort of disappointed. It is not that he did not speak with power, nor was he not compelling, but his voice was sort of plain in its tone. It did not capture me as his voice had.

"This is the whelp that has been giving my troops so much trouble?" He said, his voice was deep but still held no sway over him. "He does look intriguing. I will admit this, but I am disappointed that my troops are bested by someone so young. Take him to the prisons and prepare him for the ring."

I knew it had to be then or now. I broke the cuffs, it was easier than I had thought it would be. "Lord Pride," I said as I Stalked forward, "I am here to parley with you. You see I am strong, these men could not hold me if I did not wish to be held. I come with an offer."

While the soldiers lowered pikes and drew swords, Pride merely raised an eyebrow at me. He waved the soldiers back and motioned for me to continue. I had intrigued him. "My offer is such; take me as your prisoner forever. I will fight in your rings and provide entertainment for you alone. In exchange, leave that village I was found in alone." I said. I had contemplated saying leaving all villages alone but I knew that was a near impossibility. I settled for what seemed to be the likely.

Pride was silent for several moments. He regarded me for several long minutes, those eyes burning into me. "Intriguing indeed." He murmured. "Tell me, wild child, do you think you can entertain me for more than a few months? Most can't."

"Let me prove it to you. Give me your champion or champions. Set me against your monsters and I will show you who the real monster is." I said, the last part of the sentence was little more than a growl as I knew my eyes flashed yellow like a wolf. The beast was near the surface now.

"You want a challenge? So be it. If you live And I am entertained then you will have a deal." He said and waved him away. I was lead several levels down the palace, the cold kept growing. The whole feel was very Rome. I was the gladiator that had been chosen, and now I had to become the champion.

It was several hours before he was called out. Continuing with the Roman theme, a huge pair of wooden doors opened. He had been given a sword, a spear, a helmet and a leather breast plate. That was all. I stepped out and found myself in the center of a massive coliseum. Pride certainly had a flare for the dramatic. The crowd was massive yet still only took up a small fraction of the entire coliseum.

I was not given much time to take all of this in though. The moment I was completely free of the doors shadow Pride waved and I was charged, not by a human but by some kind of sleek monster. I first thought chimera but it was not quite right. The body was more reminiscent of a cheetah than a lion. It still had the hooved back half, the goat and feline heads and a snake for a tail. Maybe they came in multiple varieties in this world.

I had just enough time to roll to the side before the claws took me in a lethal hold. I lost both of my weapons at once. This time though, when it charged, I was ready. As it closed in I met it with the same kind of wild intensity, letting the power of the animals flow in my limbs. While in this shape I discovered I could use the strength and speed of the animals I mimicked but little more. I still had no claws, no sharp teeth and nothing to fight with. I had yet to master changing only parts of my body. I believed it was possible but now was not the time to try.

I held the monster by its wrists so the lethal claws could not reach me. Its jaws snapped inches from mine, the smell of fetid meat on its breath. I pushed it back, my strength more than sufficient to gain ground but with no attack strategy it mattered very little if I slow danced him around the ring. I needed something to do, so I went with instinct. I let myself fall back and planted my foot in its solar plexus and pushed, sending the beast flying over head and landing several yards away. This gave me time to regroup, though precious little.

Within seconds he was back on my trail, slashing and trying to trip me up so that it could get at my throat. It roared at me, at least one head did. The snake tail hissed and snapped though it could not reach me. I knew without reason that it would be poisonous. I returned the roar with the same ferocity, declaring my dominance as loud as I could. Such a sound usually could not be produced by the human throat.

As we closed again I changed into a gorilla and locked my arms around it, relying on the thick fur and muscle to protect me from its claws and teeth. I managed to trap the snake head in my wrapped hands and I started to squeeze. It seemed for a moment it was going to work but the goat head had just enough room to rear back and smash its horns into my face, causing me to drop the beast and stumble, changing back. It recovered faster than I did. It lunged and I let the momentum carry us both backwards. It latched its teeth onto my neck, I roared my displeasure but it was preparing the final strike. I knew that I had to do something. My arms flung out and touched something hard, which I swung with all of my strength and buried the sword, for that was what it was, into its back, nearly severing the spinal cord.

It went limp and I hoisted it up. Silence prevailed through the coliseum. My eyes fell only on pride, who had his hand out in the Caesar gesture of win or lose. It was silent up until he turned the hand up and I was reprieved. The crowd erupted and Pride left.

Thus I made my deal with the devil.