Reilo led Painted Skin into the empty room.
Behind them, the root-like folds of flesh twisted and intertwined, reconnecting as the exposed doorway closed once more.
After taking a seat on a stone chair, Reilo looked lazily at the three demons present. He made no effort to start a conversation, and his calmness caught Painted Skin off guard.
The old tree-man lifted his knife and fork and reached toward the girl in the center of the table.
As the golden-haired girl sobbed and whimpered, the old tree-man stopped at the roast beside her. A flash of his knife, and a piece of meat was sliced away, its cut surface smooth as a mirror. He speared it and chewed with evident relish.
After chewing happily for a while, he introduced himself. "I'm the Second Elder of the Elder Council. The First Elder had to leave on urgent business, so I'm presiding here for now. You may call me the Year Wheel King. I've lived here for a thousand years. Heh heh heh."
The old tree-man seemed rather proud of his age.
Hearing this, Painted Skin gave a cold laugh but said nothing.
Only then did the old tree-man point to the floating demon with nothing but facial features and explain, "This is Kappa. He's the Eighth Elder of the Elder Council of Nine Pools Dark Valley. He once traveled through more than a hundred Dark Valleys on his own before being invited to join ours. He's one of the strongest elders in our valley, second only to the First Elder."
Kappa nodded to Painted Skin and Reilo. A tongue suddenly flicked from his mouth, snatching up an unknown, repulsive fruit and swallowing it whole.
The other demon, a huge, fat pig-man, briefly set down the enormous roast he was holding with