Servants and Followers (The Legends of Arria, Volume 2) by Courtney Bowen

presence still lingers on in my mind, yet I
cannot control or fathom it.” Doomba said, ignoring the
lieutenant’s protestation. “There is just no clear distinction
between him and the mass of huddled people out there in the world,
yet just the mere hint of his presence drives me mad. It is too
much for me.”
    “ Calm down, sire, we
will find him.” The Ghoulman said.
    “ Search for him
then!” Doomba cried, turning upon the lieutenant. “Search far and
wide, never give up until you have found him . I, too, shall never
give up until I know he is dead, dead enough not to harm
me.”
    “ Harm you?” The Ghoulman asked, his ears , or what one could call his ears, narrow slits as
they were alongside his head , pricking up.
    “ Never mind that!”
Doomba cried, pushing back against the lieutenant with the force of
his power. “He cannot harm me anymore than I shall allow him.”
Doomba said, nodding as the Ghoulman lieutenant cowered in the
corner. “No mortal wound shall strike me down, I will rise up
again. The tiger is stirring, and we must find him!” He
insisted.
    The lieutenant nodded and left him,
skittering off, perhaps to pass on the order to his fellow
lieutenants and subordinates, or to cower elsewhere. It made no
difference in the end. Doomba slumped back into his throne. He had
waited for so many years, not just for the tiger but for other
things as well, that he had forgotten how to stand and move
properly. His body rotted from the inside out, what rotten luck,
and so he could not budge far from his chair with very little
physical strength. He was stuck here. The tiger was familiar to him
now, and Doomba desired to stand, and march out to stalk his
ultimate opponent, but it was only his inability to do much more
than sit, wait, and watch for the tiger that stopped him.
    Yet he still had his power, which was
able to sustain him and his network of shadows for all these years,
that was some good news.
    His senses stretched out across
Salarria, although he could not single out an individual for very
long with such a wide range, and some areas seemed to be blocked
out entirely. He gathered as much intelligence as he could about
these blocked-off areas from his Servants and Followers who were
able to slip in and out of these areas unnoticed, although
sometimes they weren’t heard from again.
    He was disturbed by these
disappearances and absences occasionally, wondering if there was
something taking place in those blocked-off areas that he was
missing, perhaps the tiger. But then again, these areas were so far
away from him that whatever was taking place there could not
possibly reach him, or at least not yet, especially when there were
so many Followers and Servants between him and there, ready to
shield him if necessary. Perhaps one or two or three Servants and
Followers going missing was nothing to worry about at the moment,
especially when they were taking such enormous risks, and it should
be expected that there would be losses, but eventually the tiger
would arise from his hiding place to strike at Doomba, and he had
to be ready to face this foe.
    His Servants and Followers were very
loyal to him, or as loyal as they could be when he sometimes used
them to sustain himself. He promised them immortality, a chance at
something more than themselves, and an opportunity to gain power.
He also promised that he would spare their miserable little lives
from his wrath and torment once he had gained enough power to
control everything.
    He gave them very little of what he
promised them during their lifetimes, though, as they often had
such short life-spans, and he often could sleep away 20 years in
the blink of an eye. He also didn’t trust them sometimes,
especially the humans, as they did have the habit of trying to grab
too much power for themselves, and occasionally would try to break
out of his control.
    Thus, he trusted very few of them with
knowledge of the tiger’s existence, what the creature could do