Soul of a Demon

As the plates of food began to be distributed, the woman regarded the entire company and settled on as she spoke. "We do not have much time before The General will have this entire area searched. We need to either plan our attack or our escape."

The woman reached for the plate extended her by the he snatched it back out of reach. Scrutinizing the meat that had been placed there he gave a low growl of displeasure and approached the demon that had portioned out the roast. The woman could not hear the exchange, but looked on in amazement, one eyebrow slightly raised. The demon that had portioned out the meat looked sheepish under the watchers berating. assembled demons superior hearing picked up everything , and of them struggled to stifle laughter at what was happening.

Satisfied, the watcher returned to his spot and placed the plate on the designated hand off area. Picking up the plate, the woman was amused to see the meat had been into much smaller portions and arranged on the plate almost . She glanced at the watcher in amusement as well as gratitude, and when she made eye contact locked onto it. the watcher produced a small knife, so small he handled it merely between his thumb and forefinger, and set it delicately on the rock. No one was certain if he was afraid of startling her or afraid she might try to use it on them, but all were subconsciously relieved when she merely nodded thanks, picking it up with no semblance of aggression.

"She brings up a good point ? I believe you were telling us your plan." stated as he eyed the chunk of meat on the plate set before him. glared at his second in command and knew he could no longer stall for time. He needed to come up with an actual plan, and . As he contemplated, he noticed something strange; no one was eating.

Everyone had a plate, but all eyes were glancing sideways at the woman. Demons were not subject to waiting for prayers or another to start eating. You got food, you ate it, simple as that. , his entire command seemed unwilling to eat until the woman started. If she noticed, she hid it well. Picking up the plate and knife from the rock that now seemed to serve as the go between for her and the watcher, she regarded the meat as her horn was refilled. A low growl emitted from her abdomen, and she realized it had been ages since she had eaten. She knew she needed to be careful. Eating too much and too would hurt more than it would help.

Tentatively, she cut a small piece from the slab on her plate, stuck the knife into it and brought it to her mouth. She had no idea what kind of meat , and a part of her thought that was probably a good thing, but the spiced scent made her mouth water as she sank her teeth in and began to chew. Though slightly over done by her traditional standards, the best meal she had ever had. Feeling the eyes of the other on her she regarded the scout ; to her knowledge demon society did not recognize the need for the guest to eat first or give feedback.

one the demons all tore into their own portions. was relieved his company seemed to be taking to the woman as he had; it would be beneficial to have them on his side when he spoke with the High Commander, but he was still unsure what to do. His eyes met a times with his second in command, who sensed his distressed and was amused by it. had grown up with , learned tactics at the same time, even went on the same first mission. He understood far more than even the demon himself, which was infuriating. was annoyed that did not seem surprised about what had brought them into. As the meal was finishing, spoke.

"We cannot stay here. The General's men will find us soon enough. We must re fresh and regroup. We must bring the woman and speak of what has happened with the High Commander; surely The General will be sending a messenger to tell of your misdeed. It would be best if we reached him first. I would rather face the High Commanders wrath at the moment, not after he's had days to decide our fate."

The watcher seconded the sentiment. "We are all aware this could go ways. Best to face it and go from there. Let us be our way." As one, the rest of the demons nodded agreement, turning to pack their . The woman regarded .

"Wouldn't it be better to go our separate ways? While I appreciate what you have done for me thus far, you cannot be sure will take my presence well. The General will be sure to follow me, allowing you to reach free and clear."

The demons stared at her, some halting mid pack. Primarily they were amazed because they had not said who the High Commander was; secondarily because she pronounced his name flawlessly. Before could reply, the scout shouted, startling everyone, "Absurd! We will not leave you!"

In the sudden dead stillness that followed the scout realized he had spoken about well out of his wheelhouse and sheepishly returned to packing. The silence was by Meikosh's booming laughter yet again.

"He is right," the demon said, looking first at , then to the woman. "While I believe I understand your point, not our way. Like it or not little human, your fate now lies with us."

The woman chewed her lip in contemplation, then gave a minor nod. " well."

"Not to be a buzz kill, but how are we going to pull this off?" the watcher inquired of . "We cannot take to the air. First because The General will expect it and second because we are not sure what it will have on the little human. Over land then, , no offense intended, no way she can keep up on foot if we are to reach the main compound before the messenger. One of us could carry her...."

"That will not be a problem," she assured them, cutting off whatever thought the watcher was having. "Admittedly I do not have the strength to make the climb to the top, but once there I will manage fine." The watcher glanced at , but he did not know her abilities.

"I can carry her to the top as I did when I brought her here" responded, noting the chuckle that came from the watcher. Looking at the woman, he continued, "I'm not sure how much you may remember of the trip here, but it can be an unpleasant experience for the non winged the first times, I have been ." The woman merely nodded.

" well," the watcher exclaimed, shaking his head at them all. "I will leave my blanket for you to wrap yourself little human. Not so much to protect you from the chill, but to protect my commander from you. We do not have gloves that will fit you, but I trust can carry you without needing your arms around his neck." With that he all out laughed, placing his blanket on the same rock as before and giving no further explanation to the confused looks of his as he finished packing the gear.

Fire doused, one by one the demons left the cave. Jumping from the cave mouth, wings spread to bring them to the top of the cliff , so as not to stand out against the night sky and alert The Generals men. The scout managed the top before half the company had flown up, being agile and used to perching in precarious places, the climb was a cinch for him.

Wrapped in the blanket to avoid any skin on skin contact, the woman was lifted by . Looking toward the compound ablaze with lights, search lights piercing the sky in an endless motion, she breathed a to be out of there while vowing revenge. 's demon hearing picked up the search party nearest them; though off, they were closer than he liked.

The General truly was not wasting time trying to recapture this woman, which meant they had less time than they had thought to reach . He also picked up a slight murmuring coming from the woman, in a language he did not recognize. Glancing at her, he noticed her eyes were she seemed to be concentrating on whatever she was saying. The beauty of her struck him more than ever, and he was certain he felt a warmth radiating from her. He was almost sad the cave had not been further down the mountain as reached the crest.

Gingerly placing the woman on the ground and gathering the blanket for the watcher, turned to his company to plan their route home. While they could see well enough in the dark and move almost , he didn't want to risk them becoming separated, since he was still unclear what the woman had meant. The rest of the party was as well as the primary discussion revolved around what to do if they fell behind. All members accounted for, route planned and the watchers pack fully filled and closed, they turned expectantly to the woman. Before she could speak the scout exclaimed, "By the High Command, what is that!?"

Looking past him, was amazed and relieved. A streak of the same purple-red light he had seen her use was heading straight for them. As it got closer and took shape, he could stare in amazement. Paws the size of his hands moved against the ground, yet threw off sparks of purple like fireflies on the night air. The fur was thick and so black it stood out against the darkness of the landscape. The eyes glowed, dancing flames the color of blood. As if this was not enough to prove this was no normal wolf, the eyes were far too high. Sensing the sudden tension in the air, he realized he knew the woman was not in danger as the beast barreled toward her.

Before any of his company could uncoil from attack position, or he could tell them to stand down, the woman ran straight past them, toward the giant specter, startling them all. They could stare in disbelief. stepped up beside , keeping his eyes on what was unfolding he spoke low, " much you have yet to tell us about nights events, commander." could shake his head and shudder, thinking back to his first sight of her.

The woman stopped, and they were certain the wolf was going to run her over. Instead, it halted soundlessly 2 feet before collision and sat, staring at the woman. She held her hand up to the air and the beast sniffed it, nuzzled it, then lowered itself to the ground, and gave a puppy like whimper that unbalanced them all. The woman then knelt, putting her arms around the neck and scratching ears. The ' tail wagged, and with ever pat the fire around the wolf died until the eyes glowed. wolf then rolled slightly onto it's right side as the woman stood, grabbed a fist full of hair, threw a leg over its back and settled in as it stood to its full height.

approached , never breaking eye, or fire, contact. He wasn't sure what he expected, but the beast stared at him non-threateningly, at the command. The rest of his company followed, dazed by what they were seeing.

She gave them all that half smile. "I told keeping up wouldn't be a problem.... we should get going."

the one to save face, spoke first. "So, little human, you are full of surprises. I suspect the full story of your escape holds similar elements, and we are all curious to hear it. , now is not the time. I trust the beast's fire has been quelled and will not bring attention to us?"

Shaking off the amazement at the woman's nod, ordered the company to move out. led the way followed by , the rest of the company spread out and the watcher bringing up the rear as he had made it clear he took his responsibility to the woman . As they sped for the compound was impressed that like them, the beast made no sound. , it also added to his curiosity of how the woman was captured. Glancing back, he could not help but smile as he noticed his scout, who should have been side by side with , was beside the woman, though at a more than safe distance.

As they got closer and closer to the compound, 's mind began to race. He had not been able to explain to his own command why he had acted the way he did. How was he going to explain it to the High Commander? He knew, somehow, this woman was a much stronger asset than The General. How to explain that though?. Telling the High Commander he had acted on "a feeling" would surely get him and his soldiers thrown into the lower depths for a days. He had spoken some outlandish ideas before that worked out, but this was a whole other bucket of bats.