How had I managed to run out of money? I’d only been here for a week, surely my expenses couldn’t have been that high.

Yes, the cost of my room and meals would of course add up, and yes, I may have ended up soliciting Uvaia a few more times, but… ugh. I supposed this wasn’t implausible so much as it was irresponsible.

Well. I wouldn’t be bereft of ways to get more money quickly if I must, but the likely solution was that it was time to leave. A week had passed with no one coming after me, so Aconite’s parting shot about ‘hunting’ me was either meant just to unnerve or she had decided I wasn’t worth her time. The latter was much more insulting, and I wanted to punch her in the snout just imagining it.

After one last look for coins that might’ve been misplaced, I packed up my clothes, books and other belongings. I’d gotten the stench mostly out of my outfit, however much time and effort it took, so I could put my armor back on without people looking at me like something dead was on my face. I supposed I really should head to Hymetos next. Cities had opportunity, even if I’d never been to this one in particular. Before heading downstairs, I opened my third eye for the now customary check of any danger nearby…

A blinding presence practically knocked me off my feet. I fully was not expecting it, the experience like opening the curtains and seeing the suns were filling your yard. Swearing, I slammed my third eye shut and took a deep breath, massaging my now sore temples with both hands. What was that? Who was that?

No. They were exactly what I needed. An opportunity. The presence had come from off to my left, and hastening to look out the window I saw the woods that way, beyond the town’s last houses. Well, it seemed I had a new destination, then.

I made my way downstairs, still thinking on what I’d felt. That had to be an Archon, surely? I couldn’t think of what Dreadlord Camas would be doing out here, and any other Archons would have had to come even farther. But this was at least a demon on their level. Though even Bryonia hadn’t been that blinding – had she? – however much else she had going for her.

I stumbled briefly at the thought that they might be mortal, some truly legendary hero aiming to finish what Dame Marcella started when she killed the king. But no, it had been years since I’d run into any mortals, but thinking back they did have a different feeling to their mana, their auras.

And there was plenty of variety in demons’ own auras too, but… this was a demon. I was almost sure.

“Morning,” Sedum greeted me as I passed his desk, attention fixed on a book he had open. He looked up quickly when I slapped my key down in front of him. “Well, this is a surprise. Leaving so soon?”

“It’s been a week, innkeeper.” I was only half-focused on the conversation, thinking about what I should say, how I should approach this new player.

“Has it? With all the time you spend in that room, feels like I’ve hardly seen you at all.” He grinned briefly, but it faded as he took me in. “Heading out for good, then?”

“Most likely.” If I wanted to ingratiate myself with this new demon, I’d need to go with them wherever they wanted. …I hoped that wouldn’t be to invade Viletiu, though. The human border wasn’t far, but that would be a mess I would argue against.

“Uvaia will be sad to hear it,” he said a bit too casually, and that did bring my thoughts to an abrupt halt. Looking at him now, he wore an expression that veered into the judgmental, which would rankle more if I wasn’t suddenly thinking I deserved it.

“Oh. Yeah.” Thoughts of the pretty harpy with her soft warm wings and sad, hopeful smile did make my stomach twist with guilt. “Do you know if she’s here?” I looked back at the stairs.

“Didn’t see her in last night, either alone or with company. Probably with a customer at their house.” He glanced at the doorway, a dark look crossing his eyes.

“I’m sure she’s all right, Sedum.” I hoped that for her sake, not for her client’s, but had no doubt that if she wasn’t alright their suffering would be much more severe.

“If you mean that, lass, then you don’t know her as well as I thought.” He flashed me a smile again, more tiredly. “Won’t even stick around for breakfast, then?”

Maybe if I actually had money. But no: “This isn’t something I can leave waiting,” I told him honestly. Even if my stomach did grumble in complaint. I hesitated before asking, “Can you tell Uvaia goodbye for me?”

“If you’re sure.” The disappointment was clear on his face, but I tuned it out this time.

Because I was sure. These stakes were much bigger than one harpy, even one I’d come to consider a friend. “I appreciate it.” I shouldered my pack, turning to go.

“Stop by again if you can sometime, aye?” he asked behind me, and I stopped just briefly. “Could use more folk like you coming through.”

A startled breath of a laugh left my mouth. If only he knew. I didn’t answer, just heading out the door, not looking back.

I passed a few villagers on my way to the woods, most of whom I’d seen at one point or another eating Sedum’s cooking in the inn. No one tried to stop me, though, and with a couple minutes’ brisk walking I’d made my way to the trees, thick with the orange, reds and golds of autumn.

Taking a deep breath, I blinked my third eye open briefly. It would be easy to get lost in the forest, especially one without a path, and blundering off in the wrong direction from the demon was the exact opposite of what I’d want. Another glimpse confirmed they were still in my vicinity, and still painful to look at, but hey, I’d never thought I wouldn’t suffer for the cause. Forward bearing to my left, it seemed like.

In my mind, I ran through different scenarios of how to make a first impression, but discarded each of them quickly. This demon was an unknown unknown, the worst kind of circumstance in my opinion, but all I could do was wait to see what they were like and go from there. The one thing to be sure of was that I had to be careful.

It took a few more minutes, but I happened upon her. Strangely, without needing any more triangulating at all.

Another woman, or so I assumed from the chest and wide hips, with peach skin in unusually human tones given the curled horns above her face. Her hair was longer on one side and primarily pink, fading into aqua around her chin. A plain navy dress hugged her figure, and black shoes shined on her feet in the grass. And she looked youthful, the standard of a race that doesn’t truly age.

She didn’t look like the threat that I knew she must be. I’d never known my energy sense to be wrong, and she’d been blinding even at great distance with my third eye open. This close, I didn’t even want to risk looking at her with it; she’d already been like the suns, no need to fly up close to them and give a long stare.

I hoped I wouldn’t startle her by coming out. I’d been nearly obliterated more than once by my alleged ‘betters’, catching her in a jumpy mood might cut that streak short. Being reduced to ashes wouldn’t do much for my goals, so I called out from my healthy distance, aiming for inquisitive over a threatening tone. “Hello?”

The Archon-level demon jumped slightly and looked around, turning her head with an expression of innocent surprise. “Ah, hi there! Sorry, I’m not quite sure where you are?” she called.

That wasn’t a ‘how dare you address me, weakling’ or a ‘do you even know who I am?’, so a good start, all in all. But more than that, I didn’t think I’d ever heard a demon of her power apologize, let alone for something so unimportant. Something was strange about this one.

I didn’t like uncertainties, but somehow her manner still had me coming out from behind my tree. “Yeah, I didn’t want to startle you. Appearing out of nowhere when you’re alone wouldn’t give the best impression, right?” Actually, for that matter, what was someone like her doing all on her own? Where was her clan, her followers?

Her eyes widened as she looked at me, and coming closer I could see how they were sapphire-blue and very pretty. Not that the rest of her wasn’t, but those eyes really brought it all together. And the spray of freckles across her cheeks certainly didn’t hurt. “Right, right. Ah, so, you have… horns?” she asked, mouth hanging open slightly.

I bit back a sarcastic, reflexive response. Maybe someone had messed with her memories. Maybe she was unusually sheltered – it’d explain how I hadn’t heard of her before – and was used to being the only horned demon in her clan. Regardless, I didn’t want to mouth off to someone so cute. “Most mongrels do, that I’ve seen. Obviously not just us, though,” I added quickly with a nod to her head, in case she’d be insulted by the comparison.

She blinked, forehead crinkling in confusion for a second. She raised a hand – no obvious claws – to her own horns and flinched hard as she touched one, mouth and eyes rounding out with shock. “What- whoa, okay. Uh, am I dreaming right now?” she asked, urgency filling her expression as she raised both hands now, looking to be feeling out the contours of her horns.

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This was quickly getting even stranger. Even amnesia couldn’t explain that, and while I did have one idea, it couldn’t be likely. “I sure hope not. I’d hate if the whole life I’ve been living is just window dressing for your dream.” That seemed to startle a quick smile out of her, which I appreciated as I continued. “Do you mind if I ask your name?” I had the sense by now that she didn’t take offense easily, but some politeness couldn’t hurt.

“Um, I’m Gia. Gianni Thompson.” She looked at me hesitantly.

Not a demon’s name. A human name on a demon. Unlikely or not, it looked like my guess was right. “Well, I’m Anthurium, Gia,” I said, trying to reassure her with a smile. “I’m a demon. Don’t freak out.”

She didn’t scream or try to run away. Her expression just turned bug-eyed. “What, like a real demon?” Gia asked, smiling with a disbelieving look. “This must be a dream, then. Um, no offense.”

That was not at all what I’d expected, and it didn’t make much sense. If she had her memories from before, she should know perfectly well that demons are real. I’d never heard of newly Emerged demons doubting that, either. Shouldn’t she know what she is? “What’s the last thing you remember?”

Her smile died on her face, and she dropped her gaze, looking queasy. “I’d rather not talk about that,” Gia said, voice suddenly very small, and I felt a stab of guilt. “Or even think about it, really.”

Damn it, that was insensitive of me. If she was a brand new demon, her last memory might well be death. “Sorry. Forget that, then.” I racked my brain for an informative question that wouldn’t make her upset. “Ah, where do you live?” Not asking in the past tense was the least I could do.

“Like, my address? Uh,” Gia looked around, taking in the forest surroundings. “Maybe you mean more generally. Cadillac, Michigan?” She winced again, saying it.

“…Is that in Viteliu, Helveta, or Osterach?” I asked, wondering if I’d heard her wrong. “Or Undoz, maybe?” Throwing in the minotaurs’ realm couldn’t hurt.

“What?” She looked as bewildered as I felt, now. It would be generous to call that progress.

“Okay, you’re not from around here.” That, I was at least confident concluding, though not much else added up. A demon this powerful seemingly out of nowhere was strange on its own. Retaining her old life’s memories was nearly unheard of. But not knowing demons exist? Where could she be from to make that possible?

“Where is ‘here’, exactly?” her voice cut through my thoughts, and I saw Gia smiling nervously at me. “Sorry. I know this is a lot, and not just for me. But maybe if we can slow down and answer that?”

Right. Of course I wasn’t the only one confused. “We’re in southern Hesperia, nearby a town called Monem. I think this is Scaritida Forest, I don’t have my map on me.”

She nodded, slowly. “Um, can you tell me about Hesperia?”

I could tell her enough to bore us both to death. But the thrust of her question seemed apparent. “Hesperia is known as the demon realm.” Gia took that with good grace, nodding along with me, so I felt I could follow it up. “And everyone who lives here are demons.”

“Oh.” It took barely a second, to her credit, before her eyes went wide as understanding dawned. “Oh. Wait, so then, am I…?”

“Yeah. You’re a demon now, Gianni.” I tried to say that as gently as I could. Even if she wasn’t from around here, with how we were seen by humans, most wouldn’t take it at all well.

Her forehead crinkled as she processed that. “So either I’m dreaming or in hell. Would honestly prefer the latter option.” She seemed like she was talking to herself. After a second she took a deep breath, blew it out and looked at me. “Right, okay. Gia is fine, by the way. So, what does a demon do?”

I felt my eyebrows raise. Taking it well so far. “Are you asking for information, or for advice?”

“Well, kind of both, I guess!” She was smiling again, and though her eyes showed some strain, her smile didn’t look feigned, exactly. “Is there something that I need to do, if this is me, now? Like, I don’t really want to torture sinners, but if it’s that or wake up in the hospital I guess I’ll give it my best shot.”

Now her smile looked pained. More of a grimace, really. “You don’t need to torture anyone,” I assured her, hoping that would help. “And all the sinners here are demons. That’s where we come from, in fact.” Directly asking me what she should do was a new one. And the 'you should do whatever it takes to become the next ruler' answer was almost too obvious. But it wouldn’t do to come on too strong, so I tucked away mentions of conquest for later. “But no, demons in Hesperia live a lot like mortals do. You might have certain urges, or be pressured to act in different ways. But in the end, life as a demon is what you choose to make of it.”

I could see some tension leave her bearing, and Gia let out a sigh in relief. “Okay. Okay, that’s good to hear. I really didn’t want to torture anyone.” She brushed pink bangs out of her eyes, and then showed me a rather dazzling smile. “Thank you for that, Ann- uh. Anth-er…?”

“Anthurium,” I filled in, seeing her struggling. Her smiling made my cheeks feel warm in a way I tried to ignore. “I haven’t done anything worth thanking me for.” Maybe apart from correcting a strange, unfounded assumption about torture, but that didn’t count for much.

“You really don’t think so?” Gia’s smile widened. “I’m even more glad I met you, then.”

I held in a wince at that. I didn’t know when or how, but sooner or later she was bound to eat those words. “So you’re all right with being a demon?”

“Oh, well, it wouldn’t have been my first choice, but this sure is better than what I had back home.” She wore an odd expression as she looked down at herself, smoothing out her dress. “And I wouldn’t mind a mirror, but I know your horns look cute, so that’s a good sign.” Gia flashed another smile at me, but it faded into pensiveness. “Honestly, I’m still assuming this is a dream, or a coma or something. But I really hope it isn’t.” Her voice fell to something quiet and fervent. “God, I don’t want to wake up.”

I lowered a self-conscious hand from my left horn – no one had ever called them cute before – to focus on more important matters. “Well, assuming you’re not going to spontaneously poof out of existence,” Which would be just my luck, finding someone strong, sweet and tractable and having her disappear. “There are some things that you should know. A few more urgently than others.”

“Oh?” That got her attention, eyebrows raised and gaze focused on me. “Okay, sure. I’m listening.” She blinked, and a slight smile touched her lips. “Am I the chosen one or something?”

With difficulty, I did not sigh. If there were any doubts that she’d been human, an idea like that put them to rest. “There are no chosen ones here. Hesperia is at war, and new demons like you pop up all the time. We’re in a remote place right now, but everywhere and everyone is touched by the conflict eventually. War doesn’t care how young you are, it takes from you all the same.”

The hint of amusement fled from her face as I explained, expression sobering quickly. “Ah, a war, wow. Right, um, who’s fighting who, exactly?”

Who wasn’t? “Everyone, just about,” I said, chuckling bitterly. “There’s been no unifying ruler for over a decade, and that means opportunity for those who want more power. There’s dozens of clans and outlying tribes, but most have either been pressed into service or they no longer exist. Power is often shifting between different major clans, but most of Hesperia’s de facto under the control of four. Warlords who’ve carved out their territory and are unquestioned in their control.” For now, at any rate. “They’re known as the Archons.”

Gia’s eyes hadn’t glazed over, and she looked like she was paying attention, which put her ahead of Phlox and some others when I’d briefed them. “Archons, right. So they’re… fighting everyone who they haven’t taken over?”

That wasn’t quite right, but at least she was listening. “In a sense, but not exactly. Most of Hesperia has been taken over by one or another. There might be a few parts left that aren’t worth the effort,” And I saw her eyes light up there, which should have been a warning sign. “But in general, the Archons fight each other to seize more for themselves.”

Gia nodded, but didn’t speak yet, just thinking. “You made it sound like where we are wasn’t touched by the war, yet?” she asked, continuing as I nodded assent. “So, is it really that urgent that I know all of this? I mean, I do still appreciate you explaining,” she added quickly.

That was not a point I’d wanted her to make. “That’s more the background,” I said, switching tactics to put more weight behind my argument. “The urgent part is that demons will come for you.”

Gia squeaked. “For me? Why? What did I do?”

“Nothing other than be born with a rare amount of strength,” I told her, considerably understating the problem. “You have powers you can use to defend yourself, but there’s only so much you can do against an army. They’ll want you to fight for them, and if you don’t,” I hesitated, just briefly. “You’ll be fuel.”

Gia’s pretty face paled. “Saying that does not put good ideas in my head.”

“It wouldn’t be a good fate, either.” I paused for a second more, but… well, she did need to know the risks. “The easiest way for demons to get stronger is by consuming other demons.”

Her eyes went wide with fear. “Consume-?! Oh, geez.”

“Yeah.” I would have used a stronger epithet, but who knows, maybe that word was one where she came from.

“Okay. Uh, yeah, definitely important to know,” Gia muttered to herself, brushing back her hair and staring off over my shoulder. “God. I thought you said I could live how I want, as a demon.”

“I said you could live the life you made for yourself. Not the same thing.” I’d certainly had that beaten into me by now. Oh, yes.

She looked downright dejected, now, and seeing that and feeling an all too sympathetic pain, I said something which wasn’t terribly smart. “Don’t worry. I’ll help you.”

Gia looked up sharply at that, eyes filling with a shining hope. “Really?” she asked, something doubtful but joyful in her voice. “You mean it? Just like that?”

Well. I had already meant to help her in a sense. Not one she’d directly asked for, but really, had she asked for any of this? “I didn’t have anything else planned for today,” I replied, affecting a shrug, but with a small smile that no doubt spoiled it.

Gia giggled, a smile spreading back across her face. “Thank you. Thank you, Anthurium.”

That one, I didn’t contest. My help would be worth thanking me for.

It had damn well better be.