Daniel sprinted as fast as he could through the dense forest of poplar trees. Their high reaching boughs bore no leaves and revealed the luminescent moon above, it shone sharply down on the earth from behind its perch in the faraway mountains. Snow caked the ground making it hard for Daniel to run, his feet sank several inches deep with each tread he made, slowing him down significantly and tiring his legs at a frightening speed. A great high-pitched scream echoed through the moonlit forest.

The scream was not that of a wolf as you would expect in the forest outside Argbarion, but it was one that had begun to familiarise itself with the locale of the grand city. The source of the scream also made itself more familiar with foolish travellers in the night.

Daniel was urged on further by the corporeal howling. He felt goosebumps cover his neck and a cold and electrifying sensation run down his spine. He felt it was close. Watching him.

Daniel's panting became gradually more laboured as the towering parapets of Argbarion drew nearer, but still not close enough to be a haven for him. He wheezed through fear and exhaustion. He looked over his shoulder to see nothing but trees, nothing but the same trees he had seen minutes before. The poplar trees all looked the same to him. With his head turned away from his path he rammed his foot against a tree root that jutted up from the earth. He tripped, yowling in pain as he sunk into the shallow thicket of snow. He cursed under his breath and went to scramble his way off the ground but felt a sharp pain shoot through his right arm. He struggled up onto his feet without his right arm and began to hobble toward the stone walls of retreat. His ankle felt as though it was on fire. He saw the distant silhouette of a guard standing on the ramparts.

'Hey!' He screamed at the top of his lungs. 'Help!'

The guard didn't budge. Daniel tried to yell again but his drained lungs couldn't reproduce the noise of his previous call's vigour. A snap of wood made Daniel spin around and looked back. He had come to an absolute stop. His eyes followed his trail of feet in the snow. The blanket that dressed the ground was a perfect white. Pure like milk. Smooth like silk. Beautiful like the dove. He couldn't see any sign of the beast that followed him so fervently. He stood as still as possible, hoping that by some miracle he would live. His lips quaked slightly, the tremors uttering intermittent billows of condensation and prayers. He grasped at the small wooden talisman hanging around his neck. He felt protected suddenly. Another snap of wood echoed throughout the forest and a moderately sized branch thudded convincingly into the snow beside Daniel.

With realisation and resignation, he slowly panned his head upwards. He wanted to see the beast that would kill him, but before he could meet eyes with the full contour of its body, it descended upon him. As Daniel crumpled to the snow his hand fell to side, empty and without a talisman.

The next few days were filled with gruelling training and exercises, Lily found herself envying Theo and his days of training with Harry. She watched as each time they ran a course, he was ahead of her and every time they practiced their sword play, he would beat her. Theo never bragged or rubbed it in in anyway, but she was embarrassed and wanted to impress. She worked so hard one run that when she finished, she spewed up her breakfast. She felt embarrassed but Grongon praised her for giving it her hardest. She found improvement in her stamina and in her swordplay, she still didn't match up to Theo, however. Theo was ecstatic to have a good sparring partner in Grongon and was constantly churning up the earth the snow had made muddy and soggy as it melted. It was clear Grongon was easily parrying all of Theo's attacks but the thirteen-year-old was none the wiser.

Clouds still hung in the air and there was a cool sting to the air that emanated the winter season. Lily sat up against the tree she rested at when she was paralysed. It filled her with happy memories even though she had only spent a few hours under it. She watched Theo and Grongon spar in the distance, she had a newfound interest in the art of sword fighting and watched their footwork and hand movements as they danced around each other. She was broken out of her trance when the sound of hoof beats reached her ears. She turned to look the direction the sound was coming from and winced as the gash on her back pulled.

'Rufus, I hear a horse.' She called out to him, standing suddenly in fear.

'I know, I heard a few minutes ago,' he replied tranquilly. 'You hear that distinct jangling, sounds like poxy church bell. It is the sound of the Inquisition.'

'No, no.' she said in a panic 'What if they are hunting me because of my parents.'

Rufus walked up to her and put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed them softly and reassuringly.

'I promise it has nothing to do with whatever happened. Ok?'

'Yeah, ok.'

A man clad in a red robe burst from around a thick blanket of trees and reined in his horse a few meters away from Rufus and Lily. The courier looked at Lily suspiciously, but quickly searched his rucksack and fished a rolled up piece of paper. He unrolled the parchment and raised his nose at it before reading aloud.

'The inquisition,' he announced loudly and with authority, 'has decreed that you shall travel to Argbarion where a demon of unknown breed is preying upon travellers in the night. Hunter Rufus has been requested directly for this task for his experience and knowledge of demons and his contribution to the writing of the Book of Demons. This task is not to be subject to debate and shall be carried out in all haste by said personnel. If the task is succeeded in, then Hunter Rufus is required to return with all due haste to the Inquisition's main headquarters where further instruction shall be given. Good luck.'

The courier leant to the side in his saddle and handed the parchment to Rufus.

'Sounds like you have a serious one on your hands old boy.' the rider said sternly

'Looks that way doesn't,' Rufus replied, 'How has the job been Schrödinger?'

'Shit,' he said bluntly, 'I buried five yesterday, I drank with two of them regularly.'

'Damn, you wonder how the inquisition keeps the hunters with numbers.'

'Yeah, probably steals kids in the night.' Schrödinger said solemnly,

Grongon strolled casually up beside Rufus and took the parchment from his hands and began reading over it. Schrödinger looked warily at Theo and Lily.

'Who are your minstrels?' he asked with a nod to them both.

'Two trainees, we picked them up here in the forest, they were all alone and there were two imps they could have become fodder for.' Rufus explained with a wave of his hand. He glanced back at Lily as he did.

'You going to ruin another life,Rufus?'

'Come on, that was years ago.' he replied, suddenly and with irritation.

'The poor kid.'

'Can you stop scaring these two, he blatantly ignored my order and did something stupid. They have nothing to be worried about if they take my teachings seriously, you would know that too Schrödinger, that's why you are stuck riding a horse day and night instead of slaying blood beasts and furies.'

'Come on,' Schrödinger said defensively and raising his hands to show his innocence in the conversation. 'I'm just joking around. Well with the teacher’s anger I best be off. Best of luck Rufus, and don’t die. Any of you. I have fond memories of drinking with you pair.' he spurred his horse and galloped away, weaving between trees as the small bell dinged away.

'Shit.' Grongon groaned 'Unknown? What are we supposed to do?'

He scratched his head viciously and handed the parchment back to Rufus.

'We need to travel to Argbarion and investigate.' Rufus replied in his usual calm voice. 'My question is what happened to the hunters in the city, I don't like this. Any hunter in Argbarion would have looked for this beast, they obviously have died.'

'So, we are marching to our deaths?'

'No, no we aren't. I'm old but I'm not ready to go yet.' he stole a glance at Lily, but she didn't notice his glance.

'Well, I won't know how to fight this bastard if I don't know what it is.'

'Grongon, it is a demon, that is all that I need to know to fight it.'

'What are we going to do with these two.' He waved his hand carelessly at Lily and Theo, 'They are dead weight Rufus.'

'No, they aren't!' Rufus protested 'I let them in and I plan to keep it that way. I don't care if they can't wield an axe like you can or run as far and fast as you can. What does all that matter, there is more to life than being able to end life.'

'So, you have grown a soft spot, great. Your judgement is clouded and now you are going to get them and us killed.'

‘No Grongon, that isn’t what I meant at all' Rufus replied. 'Remember what we talked about, I'm over two hundred years your senior and you need to accept what I say even if you don’t agree with me. That is the first rule I make-'

'Your rules are shit old man!' Grongon roared 'Your old as the hills and you have nothing new to bring to the table. It is about time that you roll over and die Rufus. Let the young in to replace the old. You don’t think that learning what this demon is important before facing it and you aren’t even questioning the motive behind the inquisition. They are just sending us off to die.'

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Grongon stamped his foot and snorted in disapproval at his mentor.

'What? Not going to say anything? For a Ryakou, I expected much more. And what did I get, a second-rate demon hunter that thinks he knows a lot and has the fighting of an old lady.’

Rufus said nothing and stared up into Grongon's eyes firmly but didn't say anything. The muscle-bound man screwed his face up in anger and spat at Rufus' feet.

‘That's my thanks for the years you old shit, you'll see that I don't need you and your guidance. That beast will be slayed at my hand. Then I will be the one getting the special jobs from the Inquisition.' he spun around and stalked off towards his horse. He mounted it quickly and spurred horse off with a "Hyagh".

'No don't!' Rufus called out after him 'They requested me not you, they... He can't hear me.' he trailed off and lowered his head.

'He isn't coming back, is he?' Theo asked.

'No, no I don't think so young Theo.' Rufus answered.

'Rufus?' Lily asked, 'That isn't good, are we going to go after him, he is your friend after all.'

'That friendship has been teetering on the edge for a while, I guess I did omit that, he believes that I should be using all my skill and prowess to end the Inquisition. I'm not surprised, but he is going to get himself killed and I won't let anyone get killed if I can stop it. And Lily, sorry, I should have told you that I had trained others before you and that some of them had died.'

'I could put that together, it is okay.'

'Lily,' Theo said suddenly, 'Can we talk?'

Rufus looked at him before taking his leave of the base of the tree.

'What is it little brother?' Lily asked Theo

'I've followed your lead for several days now, I had to watch as you were dropped by that imp, and I had to wait around for the whole night waiting for you to come around. I was by your side all night before I went and slept when the sun rose. I care about you, and I love you, but... Following Rufus? It is madness Lily; you are actually going to get yourself killed. We need to just leave and get away from him, he is dangerous, and I don't trust him.'

'Theo... I... I don't know why I want to follow him, but he is the first person I've ever trusted, other than you are of course. But I don't want to leave and never see him again. We are family and we will always find a way to get back to each other, but I don't want to leave the company that I'm happy in.'

'You want to stay with this maniac over me? He is mental. He can't even keep Grongon as a friend.’ Theo crossed his arms and frowned in thought, ‘I've made my decision and I'm out of here, you can make whatever decision you want, but is this the life you want? An eternity in slavery to the Inquisition? I want to be free Lily. Free to do whatever I want.'

'I'm staying Theo, I'm safe with Rufus and you have been listening to what Grongon has been saying too much. You won't be safe if you go out there by yourself, there are so many terrible people.'

'Rufus!' Theo suddenly called out to the hunter.

Rufus sullenly walked back to the tree, his head was drooped, and his eyes looked at his feet, his arm rested comfortably upon his sword hilt and his other arm hang down limply by his side.

'I'm leaving.' Theo said to him, 'Do you have a spare sword, Grongon left his gear behind, and I wish to have something to protect myself.'

'Yes of course,' Rufus said without argument, 'Take it and anything else of his. Are you leaving too Lily?'

'No.'

Rufus sighed in relief that he tried his best to cover up. Theo walked to the pile of Grongon's belongings and hoisted a short sword from the pile and fastened it to his belt. He turned around to Lily.

'Lily... I'm sorry, I'll make sure to see you again. If either of us live.'

'Do you have to leave little brother? You are only thirteen and I'm worried that those people in the world are going to kill you or worse.'

'I'll take my chances,' He walked up to her and threw his arms around her. 'I'm sorry, but this is goodbye. I love you.'

'I love you too little brother.' Lily sobbed as tears began to fall down her cheeks and fall into the dirt.'

Theo broke the embrace and smiled the same smile he did when she gave her the toy soldier when life was still simple. He turned his back on her and walked off into the trees with a backpack slung over his shoulder and a short sword buckled to his hip.

Lily sunk to the ground and pressed her back up against the tree gingerly as the wound on her back began to ache with her heaving shoulders.

'I'm so sorry Lily, I truly am.'

She didn't reply but accepted the hug he offered her, and she wrapped her arms around him in return.

She sat comfortably on the horse, it walked slowly over the mud slicked road. She looked around the small village she was passing through, children chased after each other and the sounds of productivity carried through the air. The sounds were accompanied by the smell of fresh bread and manure that wafted up Lily's nose in a putrid combination that made her nose wrinkle. Rufus led the horse by the reins, he was covered in a large black cloak that Lily also wore. His head moved rapidly under the hood, scanning and surveying his surroundings. Lily pitied him, he was trained to always be on the alert, and he never seemed to relax.

They passed a tavern that had several men at a table who were discussing a very loud topic.

'Did you hear of Lord Vegarion?' She heard one of them say and she began to eavesdrop.

'Yeah, something wrong with that family.' Another explained,

'You know,' said a third, 'there was talk about them being possessed, like by demons.'

His last word caught Rufus' attention and Lily saw his head swivel around to listen to their conversation.

'Well, no one knows what happened to his children, they just up and vanished. I think that they both just buggered off, they ain't going to come back. There is no point filling up the board with pictures of their faces when we are looking for young lads to do our jobs.'

Rufus turned and looked at Lily who in turn pulled the hood of her cloak further down over her head. Rufus made a clicking noise and the horse began to move with a greater pace. They sped through the rest of the town quickly and were out on the road again with no one within sight or earshot.

'Lord Vegarion?' Rufus asked, breaking the silence like ice on a lake.

Lily didn't answer for a minute and instead took the time to think and take a deep breath.

'Harry Vegarion, supposed to be my father.'

'So... Do you care to tell me what happened?'

'Alright...' Lily said quietly, 'My brother and I are from the noble family, but we certainly weren't made to feel noble, Harry was abusive and would beat mum regularly. Then he told me I was getting married to someone, and he had a reputation for cult involvement, and I tried to get out of it by saying that it would hurt the family reputation.'

Lily took a deep, shaky breath and exhaled, her throat began to swell and her eyes teared up.

'He snapped,' She cried 'Went fucking mental. Threw me off a balcony. Butchered mum before our eyes. He pinned me down and was forcing me to say I had been a bad girl, and then Theo stabbed him. He was dead and I didn't know what to do, they were both dead and I just ran.'

Lily wiped away tears and sniffed. She looked at Rufus whose head was still covered by his grey hood.

'Are you going to say something?' She asked 'Anything?'

He stopped. He let go of the reins and reached for his sword.

'What are you doing?' She asked panicked

'Get off the horse.' he replied

'What?'

'Get off the horse, someone is following us.'

Lily clambered off the horse and folded back the bland textiles to reveal a sword hidden amongst the equipment. She waited to hear Rufus' sword ring as it was drawn from its scabbard before she did. She heard footsteps squelching in mud and looked down the path she had come from and spied the five men who were discussing the two possessed children back at the town.

'Well look here,' The largest of the bunch called out as they neared. 'Some weary travellers, drawing their swords on us poor village folk. Who else could it be but the demon girl herself?'

He hoisted the iron axe and pointed it at Lily. The other four men murmured their agreement and raised an assortment of scythes, pitchforks, and axes.

'Who is this chap here?' one of the gang members said with a nod towards Rufus, 'He ain't no kid.'

Rufus stepped forward and flourished his sword twice which made a few of the villagers look at each other nervously.

'Gentlemen,' Rufus addressed them 'I ask you to go back to your homes so there shall be no weeping widows come sunset.'

'Shut your fucking trap you bastard!' The leading man replied with a snarl. 'You are aiding a fugitive which makes you a criminal too. Hand the girl over and there will be no problems here.'

'She stays with me gentlemen, please don't do this.'

The lead man made a hand movement and each one of the villagers spread out, holding their makeshift weapons in their hand. They may not have been real weapons, but they were tools each of them were familiar with. Lily moved around her horse and stood behind Rufus who was still calm in the face of what felt like certain death. Rufus turned to his horse and reached under his bedding that was draped over his horse and pulled an ornate spear that was hidden from underneath it. He dropped his sword to the ground and held the spear, ready to strike.

'Lily,' he whispered, 'Remember your defence and stay clear of my spear.'

Lily backed off and gave Rufus space. The men approached them in a crescent, slowly surrounding them. The man with a pitchfork stared intently at Rufus, fear was in his eyes, but he didn't back away, he made a war cry and ran towards Rufus and thrust his pitchfork towards his stomach. Rufus stepped to the side gracefully and proceeded to quickly dodge the swing of an axe with a duck. He jumped towards the man with a pitchfork and slammed his spear tip into his sternum. The crunch of bone and the squelch of blood as it flew up into the air made the rest of the gang pause in surprise and fear. But a fearful crowd is a dangerous one. Two men with axes began swinging wildly at Rufus. He dodged and weaved, swiftly side stepping and deftly manoeuvring himself on the track. He dug his spear into the ground and flicked mud into his attackers’ eyes, they recoiled as wet dirt and rocks stung their eyes. Rufus stabbed one of them rapidly in the stomach before following through with a slice that ran across his throat. Rufus felt warm blood splash onto his face and felt it's familiar touch, its cold touch. He looked over his shoulder to see Lily backing up as two men circled her and pinned her up against a tree. He turned to the last axe wielder and used the butt of his spear to slam his nose and send him sprawling to the ground. He dashed over to the two men and ran a spear through one of their backs, severing his spine. Rufus tore his spear out and dodged the swing of a scythe. The man swung his scythe again but missed as Rufus cut the wooden shaft in half. Rufus stayed on the offensive with a swift and savage kick to the chest that folded the man in half as he collapsed to the ground.

Rufus turned around to look at his work. Three men lay on the ground dead, oozing blood rapidly. The leader of the gang stood before him with an axe in his hand, he looked at his dead companions and threw his axe to the ground.

'John, let's go.' He said to the man coughing up blood on the ground.

John staggered to his feet and began to run away with his hands folded across his chest and his head bowed low. The two men disappeared down the road. Rufus turned quickly around to Lily.

'Are you okay?' He asked, throwing his spear to ground and grasping her by the arms.

Her face paled as she surveyed the dead bodies. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

'Theo!' Lily called as he walked back into the green courtyard. 'How did it go?' She asked curiously.

'I got a rabbit Lily! I got a rabbit!' Theo smiled in excitement.

'Lily!' Harry boomed from his horse, he had a small deer draped over the front of his saddle, 'This isn't something for a woman to see, make yourself useful and go back to your mother and turn the stove on, and then stay where you belong until I bring in the meat.'

Lily dropped her head and ran back into the large oak doors. She sprinted down the hallway and turned away from the kitchen. She ran to the back door and peered through the window. She waited for Harry and Theo to enter the butchering shed out in the back of the yard before she opened the door quietly and slinked across the grass yard. She approached the building and walked around the outside of the wooden building until she found a small hole for her to look through. She pressed her eye to the hole to watch Harry and Theo.

'Once you have the kill, you need to skin and gut the animal. Here, let me show you.'

Harry took a carving knife that hung on a wall along with an assortment of other knives. Without hesitation Harry shoved the knife into the underbelly of the deer and sliced it open in a quick and proficient move that cause all its guts to spill out and onto the floor with a horrific splat. Blood spilled out and over the edge of the bench. Lily felt a wave of nausea seize her and she ran away from the shed and fell onto her hands and knees in the grass. She heaved up a flurry of vomit that stung and burnt her throat. Lily found herself unable to finish her meal that night and was beaten around the ribs with a stick for being ungrateful.