Zahir's Arc

Chapter 3 of 3

Zahir pushed the demon genealogy book back onto the shelf and stepped away from the library stacks. The volumes had given him clan names and bloodline markers, but he needed something more—a place where demons themselves gathered, where he could watch them and test his birthmark against living subjects instead of old drawings. His fingers drummed against his leg as he thought. Then it came to him. The market district. Demons passed through there every day, buying supplies and trading goods. He could station himself near the fountain where the crowds gathered thickest. His birthmark would tell him which ones mattered, and he could follow the ones that triggered the strongest reactions. Zahir pulled his journal from his shirt and flipped to a blank page, sketching a quick map of the market's layout and marking the best observation points. This was where he'd find them—the demons connected to his parent. The market sprawled ahead of him an hour later, busy with morning traders. Zahir wove through the crowds until he spotted the carved stone figures rising from the square's center. The pyramid of statues stood taller than three men, each demon face worn smooth by wind and time. He moved closer, studying the eroded features. These were old bloodlines, memorials to demon families that had lived here generations ago. His birthmark tingled as he reached toward the nearest figure. The sensation spread up his arm, warm and insistent. Zahir pulled out his journal and began sketching the statue's horn shape and jaw structure. If these honored the major demon families, then his records might match one of them. He traced patterns in the sand with his foot while he worked, comparing each stone face to his previous drawings. The third figure from the bottom made his birthmark pulse hard and steady—the same rhythm that three living demons had triggered before. His hand moved to clutch his arm. This was it. This statue marked the bloodline he'd been tracking. The answer to his parent's identity stood right here in stone.