Khaj

The man that walked into the room was tall, taller even than a door frame, so he had to bend over to get in. He was wearing a full set of black and purple plate armour, covered in spikes and only a pair of bat like wings and two glowing eyes from inside the helmet told you that he was a demon. Everywhere on him there were markings, like glowing runes carved deep into metal, probably for spell protection. Seeing him Carmen quickly kneeled and gestured to you to do the same. You did it, as much as you current circumstances allowed.

"Report, freak." He said, his voice twisted by metal casket he kept his head in.

"Lord Khaj, the prisoner is collaborating. During the fight he has been possessed by a devil, which is now dormant in that bracelet. Unknown how long will it remain in that state." She kept it short, her voice completely neutral, not betraying any emotions.

"Does the human itself pose any danger?"

"Unlikely, my lord. He does not have any harmful magic, his strength is nothing compared to any guard, or even a simple servant like me. Every one of us could break him easily."

"You are NOT one of us!" Khaj snapped. A whip appeared in his hand, he took a swing, and next thing you heard was an almost completely silent scream of pain.

You instinctively tried to shift your bracelet and shield her somehow, but Ishtar still didn't respond nor allowed you to change her shape.

"Yes, my lord! I apologize, I forgot my place!" She said with tears in her eyes.

You wished you could do something, anything, but you were chained to a wall few feet away from them and most likely not strong enough to stop even one of his hands.

He did two more strikes before he made the whip disappear. From what you've seen he could probably summon weapons instantly, maybe that was his kind of magic.

"Kill the human and bring me the artifact."

"Lord Khaj, human made a pact with the demon. If I try to kill him now it will most likely trigger defense mechanisms and release a devil." She managed to say. You could clearly see that part of her back and wings turns into blueish bruise area and begins to swell.

He looked at her for a longer moment, before deciding.

"Extract the artifact first. Kill the human afterwards." He said, and walked out.

You looked at Chimera. Tears dropping from her eyes onto the cold floor of this cell told you way more than enough to guess what she felt.

"Escape with me." You said quietly, so guards outside wouldn't hear.

"Wh-what?" She asked, while getting up and closer to you.

"You could help me escape. And you would run from this life. From him."

She looked at you with complete dread painting on her face.

"There is no escape from lord Khaj. I already tried once, got like fifty miles north before I got caught... I don't want to go through all of this again."

You sighed. It seemed like there was no escape this time. She wasn't your friend, just one of your captors. You were strangely peaceful with all that. You didn't panic, your heart didn't start to race, there was no adrenaline. Just a cold calculation and waiting for any opportunity to run.

"Now can you please try and take off that bracelet?" She asked, while wiping away her tears.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." You responded. "I heard him, your orders are to kill me when you are done. And I don't feel like dying today. Also, Ishtar is still not reacting at all."

"Then I suppose I'll have to proceed with limb amputation."

She approached one of the guards at the doors.

"For the procedure I require a sharp tool, like that sword of yours." She said to an armed demon while reaching her hand out.