Waving a hand at the women, the demon said, aThese will be your servants. They will clean you up and get you decent clothes, as well as anything else you want. I will leave you to them for now. We will talk after you have been cared for.a Giving him a parting smile, it turned and left.

The women approached him. He didnat move until they tried to help him up. Pulling out of their grasp, he looked to see if the demon was watching.

aPlease, sir, we have to clean you up,a one woman said.

aIf we donat, weall be punished,a another added.

He looked up at her. aPunished?a She nodded. Flicking her eyes at the door the demon had left through, she said, aMaster will torture us if we donat obey.a He knew about the torture it could inflict. He nodded and tried to get up. His legs were too weak to hold him. The three gathered around and helped him to a large iron tub full of hot water. He let them remove the remains of armor and clothes.

He watched as one laid a battleaxe carefully on the floor. He had forgotten he had it. The blade and handle were covered with dark streaks--he had fought something with it...a long time ago. In a few of the nightmares he remembered, he had fought a giant, bone-covered beast. Had it been more that a nightmare?

As he pondered this, the women coaxed him into the tub and washed him. He sat stiffly as they combed his red hair and untangled his beard. He waited to be hurt by one of them, but they were gentle with him. While they worked, men and women, most of whom were green-skinned, brought in a table and chair, followed by a large tray containing a pitcher, a mug and food. A neatly folded pile of clothes was set next to the tub.

When they were done, the women dried him off and dressed him in a fresh shirt and breeches. The bright white shirt was very smooth to the touch. The dark-blue breeches were also soft, like well-worn flannel. The women helped him over to the chair and filled the mug for him.

The food in front of him smelled wonderful. It was only roasted ham, potatoes and carrots but looked like a kingas feast. He could not remember the last time he had eaten. The mug held water that tasted grand. Despite his caution, he dug in, wolfing down everything in front of him. He ate until his stomach hurt.

He had no more than taken the last bite he could when the demon came back in. It waved to the slaves to remove the leftovers, which they did with haste. Another chair appeared on the other side of the table. It slid smoothly to sit, elbows on the table as it clasped its hands.

aYou look much better,a Aliana said sweetly. aThis, and more, can be yours if you wish. Wouldnat you like to be free?a He looked down, ready for it to do something to him. aYouare gonna leave me alone?a he asked cautiously.

aBetter than that. If you want a castle, itas yours. Servants? Just ask how many. Gold, women, land, your own kingdom? Anything you want. All you have to do is say a few small words.a The offer seemed genuine, which heightened his suspicion. aWhat do you want?a aJust tell me you want to break our pact. You do this, and I will grant you anything you desire.a aMy pact?a he asked. aWhat pact?a aThe pact you made with me. That is how I held you. You allowed me to.a aI asked for...that?a He could not imagine asking to be tortured and killed over and over again. aWhy did I do that?a Its smile became forced as it said, aThat was your side of the pact, to be my slave. I no longer need you, so as soon as you tell me you break your pact, you are free.a He nodded slowly. If he had agreed to such a thing, there had to be a reason. aWhat was your side to this pact?a The corner of its mouth twitched. It looked at him for a few seconds; then a crafty smile etched its face. aI agreed to keep your woman and child safe. Your woman has a cute baby girl. I promise I will do nothing to harm them if you agree to break your pact.a He didnat know what it was, but something wasnat right. aIf you already agreed to it, why promise again?a Shifting in his chair, he said, aI donat understand.a aWhatas not to understand?a aYou tell me to break a pact, but then promise to keep your side even though I give mine up.a He shook his head. aIt donat sound right.a aIt doesnat sound right to be freed? Thatas all I want to do.a A tinge of anger crept through the sweet voice.

aThen let me go.a aI canat!a it snapped, causing him to recoil. Slapping its hands down, it growled, aTry to understand! I canat let you go unless you break your side of the pact!a The offer was very tempting. All he had to do was say yes, and it would let him go. Still it had to be hiding something. He didnat believe it would just let him go for no reason. If he had agreed to this living nightmare, there had to be something important it wasnat telling him.

aWell?a it asked with a sneer, aWill you prefer living free in light, with your woman and child, or in the dark, in pain?a He was right; this was some kind of trick. He had the feeling that, no matter what, head end up in pain anyway. If he did have a woman and a kid then the demon couldnat hurt them as long as he didnat break his pact. He braced himself, knowing that it was going to hurt him badly.

aI ainat breakin' nothina,a he whispered.

aWould you like to see your precious woman torn in half?a it growled.

aIf what you say it true, you canat touch her.a He looked up to see it giving him a cold stare. aIf you donat like the pact you say we made, you break it.a In a flash of motion, it swung a hand and slapped him so hard he fell backwards, chair and all. Throwing the table to one side, it grabbed his shirt, hauling him up. It glared at him malevolently. aBreak the pact or you will know pain without end!a His fear faded. The demon could torture him, it could kill him; but he wasnat giving in. aNo,a he sneered back.

Suddenly, he was back in his dark cell. Aliana tossed him against the wall and vanished. He sat up, noting the chains hanging empty on the wall. Briefly, he entertained the thought of trying to force the demon into those chains. He was fooling himself, of course. He couldnat even stand on his own two feet, let alone win a struggle against that monster.

Aliana did return, this time in her true form. She didnat come alone, either. The demon brought along four upright lizardcreatures with small knives. She tossed his battleaxe to clatter on the floor in front of him.

aLet me tell you your whole side of the pact. You vowed to be my slave and never harm any of my minions. These hoarcs are my minions. You will not be chained, but you will be stabbed repeatedly. Sooner or later, you will lash out and hurt one of them. When you do, the pact will be broken! This is your last chance to save your wife and child. If you refuse; then once you do break the pact, I will slowly rip their skin off and cook them alive in front of you!a He watched the demon quiver in rage--the things behind it looked eager to start stabbing him. He knew it would not be going through all this trouble unless his pact was protecting something very important. He had endured pain; he had endured death. The lives of his family were at stake. No matter what, he could not break the pact.

aI ainat breakin nothina,a he growled.

Turning to the lizards, the demon pointed at him. aDo as you wish to him, and make him suffer!a It then disappeared.

The knives the things held were laughably small, the blades no more than half a fingeras length. As they gathered around him, he quickly learned why this was. They started stabbing him, but not one did him serious damage. He screamed and tried to crawl away. A couple knives dug into his legs, pulling him back within their range. It wasnat long before the pain was unbearable. Pain and anger fueled his strength as he tried again to free himself.

Spying the battleaxe, he grabbed it and struggled clear. He swung, missing as his target ducked away. Rising to his feet in panic and rage, he cocked back to kill one of the cursed things, only to remember at the last instant what the demon had told him. He couldnat hurt his tormentors, but there was something he could do to escape this punishment. Dropping the ax between his legs, he swung up as hard as he could and buried it in his own forehead.

Aliana wasnat pleased to hear her food slave had killed himself. Instead of letting him do it again, she chained him and told the hoarcs to cut him until he broke his pact. After a while, all humans succumbed to torture; he would break eventually. She could not, however, wait for him. He might hold out for weeks, and Tayan had to be stopped before he could gather an army. Her plans were going well; she had no intention of letting him upset her hard work. The Great War had been a failure as far as conquest went, but it had taught her valuable lessons.

Sitting down to her lunch, the stuffed and baked torso of a slave, she thought how to best handle him. Simply making Tayan disappear would not stop the elves in Tolina. It might even stiffen their resolve. Once aHigh Lorda Tayan was safely in her custody, replacing him with a duplicate seemed the best answer. Under the leadership of her "Lord Tayan," delaying the elves and even guiding them into traps would be easy. She decided to recall Grief and let him take on the task of capturing and replacing Tayan.

In the meantime, she needed more forces to protect her city. The druid whore Odif had found her, and she was sure to lead anyone who would follow. Hans had weakened Longforest on his way through, but she knew better than to underestimate those damn tree huggers.

Besides these threats, many other things needed to be done. There were pilgyns to breed, vlaks to collect from the Jude and hoarcs to conjure up. Her lovely Lura would be the best at collecting the vlaks, and she had plenty of wizards on hand to conjure up hoarcs.

As she pondered these thoughts, she decided to track her daughter down and bring her back, too. Even if her rebellious offspring didnat accept Luciferas power and become one of them, she could use the little abomination as a sacrifice. The offering of oneas own children weighed heavily in gaining Luciferas favor. She knew it was the only way to bring servant demons into this world. Before this war was over, she just might need those demons.

The day was sunny as Sam hobbled along on the crutch she had made from the fork of a tree branch. The ankle one of the priests had smashed was useful only in sending pain up her leg from time to time. Burying the dead priests had been a long, hard task on one leg, but it was either that or move to another part of the wilderness to build a new home.

They had beaten her badly. Most of her bruises were gone now, and once again she could see out of both eyes. She had tried to splint her small wings and managed to get them straight enough so she could lie down at night; but the bones of her ankle had fused together with her foot forced down and in.

Walking was as much of a chore as living now. She sometlmes wondered why she bothered to keep going through her routine. Her traps caught few animals--most of her diet consisted of the tubers she grew and these daily trips to gather what she could find. The most comfort she got was the few times she slept deeply and dreamlessly. The pain was forgotten, as well as fear of someone else happening upon her isolated hut.

Hobbling over to the raspberry bushes alongside the overgrown road, she scanned the bushes for edibles out of habit. She picked only the dark-red berries, the juiciest ones. Her thoughts were not of berries, though; she was pondering the point of her existence. As far as she could see, there wasnat one. She had no one to call friend, but the entire world to call her enemy. The pains in her body were a constant dull ache. The long sleep known as death seemed to be her only release. She had even figured out how to do it painlessly. All it would take was to be sure she had plenty of coals in the fireplace then close the damper before she went to bed.

Her mother used to kill people like that, only she would tell them exactly what was going to happen then tie them down and watch them wait to suffocate as the low fire slowly tainted the air. Sometimes it took hours for the air to get bad. The victims had time to become afraid, to try and stay awake, to struggle to keep from slipping into the sleep they never awakened from.

As the days marched past, such a sleep was tempting. Just go to sleep and never wake up. Two nights ago, she had sat with the damper handle in her hand ready to shut it tight before she turned in. She still wasnat sure why she didnat. In a remote corner of her brain, hope held out like a fairy tale, a dream that would never come to pass. It was from wanting to believe this last spark of hope that she hadnat pulled the handle shut.

She knew her hope was just wishful thinking--logic told her that she didnat belong. In her own motheras words, she was an abomination, a mistake that shouldnat have happened. No one would miss her, and the few that even knew she lived would be happy she was gone. That little bit of hope she harbored was the same thing as putting her bad foot down every now and then to see if it would hold her up. It wasnat real hope she held on to, only the memory of something she had once thought possible.

She decided that she would do it tonight.

The day seemed a bit brighter now that she knew for certain what she would do. Picking berries stopped being a chore. She only had to gather what she wanted to eat today, for there would be no tomorrow. She got her berries and took in the scenery around her as she hobbled towards her next stop. She was glad to be outside, to see the trees and sky before her life was over. There were many in her motheras realm that only saw cold, dead rock before they were killed. Running away hadnat saved her the way she thought it would, but she took comfort in the beauty she found on the surface world. It was a small thing, but it was a victory. Tonight when she went to bed, she would dream of the trees and the large oceans of grass she had seen. Maybe if she dreamed about them hard enough, her spirit would stay on the surface and not be drawn down into the abyss, as her mother promised would happen. The only thing she hoped now was that souls remembered beauty.

Movement in the trees got her attention. The tall shape took form as one of her motheras soldiers, the ones she called pilgyns. The pig-faced giant hadnat seen her yet; it was only trying to keep the branches out of its face. Out of instinct, she searched its mind for what it was doing. What she saw made her eyes grow wide and her heart thump in fear. Another got her attention, walking behind the first. To one side, she saw yet a third. All of them were on the same task.

She hobbled back towards her hut, trying to mask her presence from the large creatures. They were simple-minded brutes, and their few wits were fixed on one thing. Find her and taking her back to Aliana.

Scorpio walked with one hand up to keep the branches off his face as they waded through heavy brush. He had the visor on his helmet down to stop the bits of leaf and twigs from poking his eyes out. Ahead of him, Odif seemed to just flow through the tangle, barely disturbing a twig. The people behind him had it a bit easier once he caught the larger branches and broke them back. He didnat complain, fearing Odif might send him to the back of the line. The way she had been acting since she came back from Tolina, he was afraid to let her out of his sight.

From the moment she returned, Odif had acted very strangely. She barely said hello to him before she started working on a peculiar weapon. He wondered why she was carving a piece of wood into the shape of a dagger. Very intent on her work, she refused to let anyone touch it. That was bad enough, but as soon as she had it shaped the way she wanted it, he found her covering her newly carved wooden knife with her own blood. She healed the wound in her hand then made a fire and charred the blade until the outside was black. Next she sat down and drew it though the dirt as if sharpening it. That night, she stood with the abused object over her head in a thunderstorm. He didnat see where the first lightning bolt hit, but he saw her get struck by the second. The lightning struck the wooden dagger she was holding, and her whole body glowed briefly before she collapsed.

Horrified, he had gone to help her, and she almost wrenched his arm out of the socket when he tried to get that damn thing out of her hands. The end came when she went to her morning ritual. She didnat have the knife when she returned, but now she sported a wide gash under her ribs on the right side. She refused to heal herself, and wouldnat let Mother Frieda touch her. Although the rip in her hide didnat bleed, he did get her to put a bandage on it. He decided right then he was going to stay tight by her side.

As if hurting herself wasnat enough, she insisted she had to go fight the demon she had finally told him about alone. According to her, she was one of the hammers the wizards had seen. Everyone tried to talk sense into her; but once Odif made up her mind, trying to sway her was like trying to move one of those large oak trees she loved so much. Zodiac couldnat talk her out if it, and she became furious when Scorpio stated he was going with her. Then Mother Frieda decided she had to go, counting on holy presence to tip the scales. Shilo wouldnat be left behind, which got Theo and Hutch to add themselves to the group. Jo-Jo said she would need his magic, at which Gloredaniel stated two wizards were better than one. Entaurus decided to go, and Porthalen, one of the elf sergeants, committed his squad to defend Gloredaniel.

By the time Odif left, she had most of the original Company with her. Zodiac was beside himself as he watched his friends march off on a foolas journey.

In the weeks of travel since they left the main force, Scorpio had begun to think Odif had lost her mind. She didnat look for the easiest route but tramped straight through whatever they came across. They slogged through marshes, fought their way through brambles and climbed up and down steep slopes through the wilderness. It seemed she was doing her best to discourage anyone from following her. Animals they came across seemed to give them awhat-in-the-abyss-are-you-doing-here?a looks.

Still, neither he nor the others gave up. They all knew Odif was going to need help. Besides, in the past week or so, no one dared go off on their own--only Odif knew where they were.

Bumping into her brought him out of his thoughts. She turned to glare at him then raised a finger to her mouth as he was about to offer an apology.

aGet down,a she hissed, as she waved for the others to drop.

He knelt, watching her as she peered off into the trees ahead.

aWhat is it?a he whispered.

She turned to face them, speaking just above a whisper. aPilgyns about a hundred yards ahead of us--Iam not sure how many. Porthalen, take two of the elves and scout ahead.a aWonat they see us?a the elf asked.

Odif shook her head. aThey're heading to the left, like theyare searching for something. Stay behind them and find out how many there are. Weall wait here.a aWant me to fly over them?a Shilo asked.

aNo.a Odif signaled to Porthalen to move. He indicated for one elf to go with him, and two others to check to the right. In a rustling of brush they were gone.

They squatted for what seemed to be an hour until there was new movement in the brush. One of the elves appeared in front of Odif wearing a satisfied grin. He gestured as he told her what they found.

aOff to the right we caught a wizard with the pilgyns. We shot him, and they didnat even know he died. All the pilgyns are moving off that way, towards a field, it looks like. Theyare coming together.a aDid you see any of those explosive spears?a Odif asked.

He shook his head. aSarge says a couple have globes, but if we sneak up on them we can set the damn things off on their belts.a Odif considered doing just that. aWhere is Porthalen?a aAbout one hundred-fifty yards that way,a he said, pointing a little to the left of their track. aA little farther ahead is a stone wall; he told me heall wait there.a Odif turned and stood up. aJoJo, Gloredaniel, take the elves and go meet up with Porthalen. Do nothing until I send out the insects then hit them with everything you got. Scorpio and Mother Frieda, stay with me; weall get ready to the left of them. Entaurus, Theo and Hutch, you get to the left of us. Shilo, go with them. Once they're set, fly over me. After we attack, do what you can to keep the pilgyns confused.a Shilo grinned and rubbed his hands together. aAll right!a aDo we dare spread ourselves so thin?a JoJo asked.

aBy the time they figure out where we are, they should be dead,a Odif told him then started out.

Following Odif when she was careful was not easy. Following her when she ran through the brush was nearly impossible. Scorpio had to use his shield to keep the whipping branches off his face. They hadnat gone far when the brush lightened into woods. Ahead, he saw the stone wall; and the three elves kneeling behind it. He followed Odif as she bore left, getting down below the wall just out of sight of the elves.

He got his crossbow cocked and loaded a bolt as he watched the field. There looked to be twenty pilgyns surrounding a small log hut. They started jabbing at it and grunting as they gathered.

aWhatas with that?a he asked quietly.

Odif shrugged and watched the sky. aAs long as it keeps them busy, who cares?a One pilgyn smashed down on the roof, caving part of it in. From inside, a woman screamed. Supporting his crossbow on the stone wall, Scorpio aimed at the back of one who was starting to tear down the chimney.

aWanna hurry up with those bugs?a A pilgyn reached into the hole in the roof then jerked his arm out, sporting a cut on his hand. They began to rip the hut apart. Inside, the scream became a wail.

Fearing for the woman in the hut, Scorpio became anxious. Looking up, he saw Shilo banking out over the field. The low humming of thousands of tiny wings grew as the cloud of insects flew over his head. Watching the pilgyns tearing apart the hut in earnest now, he settled his sights on one about to pull a wall down. The bolt sailed out to strike the giant in the back of his neck. It fell dead without a sound. A few seconds later, the swarm descended on the pilgyns, covering their faces.

No longer concerned with the hut, the pilgyns swatted and dug at their faces, trying to escape the tiny attackers. A forked lightning bolt from the right dropped two, and another from the left downed a third. Shilo dove into the confusion to crack one on the head, and then a spear of fire hit one that had staggered away from the hut. This one had purple globes hanging from its belt.

The detonation engulfed the pilgyn in a fireball that ripped it into burning bits and sent a shockwave to flatten the grass as it raced away from the explosion. Pilgyns were knocked off their feet--two fell into the hut, shifting the logs to a crazy angle as the remains of the roof were shredded by the blast. Three lay on the ground engulfed in fire, screaming and thrashing as they tried to put themselves out.

A figure ran limping from the ruined doorway. Her face was contorted with terror. Scorpio dropped another bolt into his crossbow and drew down on a pilgyn that had spotted the woman and was reaching for her. He hit it square in the forehead. It fell, and so did the woman as she tripped on something.

The explosion not only flattened the pilgyns; the air around the hut was full of falling bugs, also stunned by the blast. It didnat take him long to figure out that soon the remaining pilgyns would be on this poor woman. She got up to run again and fell flat a second time. He left his crossbow as he drew his sword and vaulted over the wall.

aScorpio, no!a Odif called, but he was already running towards the figure crawling for her life.

Another lightning bolt split the air then a bright white bar flashed by him. He dimly caught sight of Shilo diving down to hit another creature, as he focused on the woman. He closed on her, and she caught sight of him and turned to crawl away with a crying scream.

aNo! This way!a he called to her. Seeing that she was headed towards a puffy-faced pilgyn who was squinting out of one good eye, he raced ahead of her and got between them. She hit him in the back of his legs in her blind flight. Not knowing what else to do, he pushed her to the ground. aStay down!a He moved to the side and set himself as the pilgyn charged. It was then he realized that he was alone out here, and too many creatures were still standing. A few were blinded by the insects, but too many saw him as something to fight back against. Another bright white bar lashed out, beheading a pair who stood close together. Unfortunately, neither of them were ones who could see. aAww, shit,a he mumbled. There was no way he could get back himself, let alone take the woman with him.

He blocked the pilgynas axe with his shield, or rather he got it up in time to meet the blade. The impact tore it from his arm and knocked him down. The giant lifted its weapon and struck again. He rolled to the side, the blade ticking against his armor as it sank in the ground. He jumped up and stabbed under the thigh plate on the giantas leg. It dropped its weapon with a loud roar then grabbed him and threw him, leaving his sword stuck in its flesh.

Scorpio hit the ground on his back, driving the wind from him. He couldnat breathe and could barely move as the pilgyn picked up its axe and raised it high to kill him.

A shape flashed by the creature, leaving one of the long-handled halberds buried in its throat. It fell, clawing at the spurting wound as it kicked its legs. Above it, Shilo banked hard and dove down to grab the handle and yank it out. Blood poured out in a fountain and the kicks settled down into spasms as it died.

Scorpio managed to roll on his side as he struggled to suck in air. A short ways away, the woman looked at him from under a hood that was skewed partway over her face, showing a tangle of dark hair. He motioned to her and gasped, aStay down!a An explosion sounded behind him. He looked to see bits of tree cartwheeling through the air at the edge of the woods. That had been where JoJo and the elves were. Another globe sailed over his head. As he watched, Shilo flew up behind it and plucked it out of the air. He banked around and yelled, aDuck!a Searching for the remaining pilgyns, Scorpio saw three were left. The one only thirty feet away was cocking back with another globe to throw. He knew what Shilo was going to do. Scrambling over to the dazed woman, he pushed her head to the ground and pressed himself as flat as he could. He felt the heat of the detonation; then the wind tried to lift him up and turn him over. He slid a few feet forward, which put the womanas head under him. Dazed, he felt her pounding on his armor, attempting to get him to move. He had just enough energy left to hoist himself up and off. Lying on his back, he flopped his head over to see no more pilgyns standing.

Chapter 14.

Sam sucked in a breath then coughed out the grass that had stuck in her throat. She was beyond understanding what was happening. Being chased by pilgyns was bad enough, but now she was in the middle of a battle straight from the abyss. Magic flowed heavily through the air, not only the kind her mother did but also a new energy shead never felt before. She was familiar with the explosive globes and spears, as well as the cast magic from wizards. This new energy was different; it seemed to permeate the area.

The man who lay in front of her moaned and tried to get up then flopped back in place. She peeked up to see where the pilgyns would come from next; her jaw dropped when she saw not one was left alive. Her motheras powerful soldiers were scattered amid the smoking grass and the remains of her hut. Whoever was here had just killed all of them.

A winged man flew down and pulled a sword from the leg of a dead pilgyn. Walking over to the man in front of her, he slid the weapon into the manas scabbard and frowned at him.

aI think you just might be the perfect match for Odif. Both of you are nuts.a Looking at Sam, he beamed her a smile. aHey, lady, youare safe now, Iam here.a She knew demons, but this man had feathered wings. aWhat are you?a He gave a snort, as if shead insulted him. aIam Shilo, What else do you need to know?a Patting the chest of the man on the ground, he added, aAnd this crazy fool is Scorpio.a Looking at the other man, Shilo curled his lips in around his teeth to sound like an old man. aThe boy donat got a lick o' sense in him.a aShut up!a Scorpio groaned. aThat pilgyn was after her.a aYeah, and I had to come save both your asses.a Pointing up, he added, aI was watching her, and I had a better view that you did.a Whoever these people were, she knew she had to get away from them as quickly as she could before one of them found out what she was. She moved to sit up, and pain shot from her bad ankle. Letting out a cry, she gripped her leg in an attempt to choke off the sharp pain.

aWhoa!a Shilo exclaimed. Stepping over Scorpio, he helped her sit up and examined her.

Her ankle was turned out and broken; a piece of bone sticking out sported bits of dirt and grass. There was no way she was going anywhere on that.

aItas bad, but Odif can fix it,a Shilo assured her then gave her a stiff pat on the back. His show of affection shattered the partially healed wing. She arched back and cried out anew.

aOh, shit! Iam sorry, I didnat know,a he said, his face turning red.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to keep her head low enough to hide her forehead. aYou just scared me,a she gritted through her teeth.

aHang on, Iall get help.a Samas mind spun. What was she going to do now? She saw people coming out from behind the stone fence at the edge of the field. A pair of short, dark men walked beside a wizard in a blue robe. A heavy-set woman who wore the same brown robes as the priests who attacked her ran toward another wizard who was calling for help in the shattered section of trees . She sensed power from them--thatas how she knew the men were wizards. The woman held the opposite power from what her mother had.

The strongest energy, however, was not from any of them, but from the slim, hard woman striding towards her looking very angry. This one not only existed in herself, but in all the living things around her. She was the source of the insects that had attacked. Even though she looked human, all Sam could think of as she watched her approach was awolf.a Shilo stopped and pointed back towards Sam as he told Odif, aHelp that kid, sheas got broken wings. I know that hurts like hell.a As she looked at the wolf-woman, terror gripped her anew. The priests had hurt her badly, and they didnat even have any power. The one she locked eyes with now was powerful enough to destroy a troop of pilgyns. The woman would crush her like an insect. With a howl of terror, she stumbled up, arms flailing for balance as she tried to escape. She didnat feel the pain in her ankle as she tried to flee. What she did feel was the unfamiliar power flood over her. She tripped and hit the ground. Grass wrapped her tightly in place as the power surged though it.

aI didnat do anything!a she cried. Death was coming for her, and nothing would stop it. She quieted as she realized she had intended to die tonight anyway. This way wasnat going to be painless, but maybe they would show her enough mercy to kill her quickly.

For some reason, she found the movement of a single blade of grass very entrancing as it lifted up off her arm and returned to sway in the gentle breeze. The people gathering near her didnat reach her attention. She focused on the grass, for as long as she watched that single blade it would not hurt when she died. Someone pulled her hood back. As she expected, a sword scraped quickly out of its sheath to the sound of aSheas got horns!a Above her, the one they called Odif growled, aPut that thing away before I shove it up your ass!a Someone let out a sarcastic laugh. aFirst he wants to save her, now he wants to kill her!a Sam didnat resist as one arm was pulled back and taken out of the sleeve then the other. She winced as the cloth scraped against her broken wings, but she was no longer afraid. The dead didnat need to hide. She felt Odif grip the base of one wing, and the pain in that wing vanished. She imagined that the woman had vaporized it. After a moment, Odif let it go and gripped the other one, relieving the pain there, also.

aSee anything like that before?a Shilo asked.

aWhat do you think she is?a a man asked.

aGot to be part demon, or maybe part bat,a Shilo said lightly.

Odif shifted in place. aCould you go over there and argue? Iam trying to concentrate here.a aWe arenat arguing, weare discussing,a Shilo pronounced.

aWell, go over there and do it!a It occurred to Sam they were talking about her, but not of killing her. A twitch told her she still had both her stubby wings. As she pondered what was taking them so long to kill her, Odif shook her shoulder.