I awoke to my mattress sagging as someone climbed into bed beside me. For a moment I thought I was dreaming, and then warm skin pressed against mine.

I rolled over and looked up into the face of the innkeeper's daughter. Her eyes widened, and we both realized at the same time that she'd made a terrible mistake.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no," she cried, scrambling out of the bed and searching the floor for her clothes.

I pulled the blanket over my head, giving her some privacy, "I think you are looking for the room down the hall on the right."

She didn't seem to hear me, and continued searching frantically for her clothes.

"I am so sorry," she said, pulling on her dress. "I just... I thought you were someone else."

"It's alright," I said, trying to reassure her. "I'm sure you're not the first person to make a mistake like this."

"You must think I'm a harlot," she said, her voice trembling.

"No," I replied, shaking my head. "I think you're just a girl who made a mistake."

"I'm so sorry," she said again. She turned to leave, stopping briefly at the doorway, "Please don't tell my father."

"I won't," I said, but she was already gone, the door clicking shut behind her.

I sat in bed for a while, wondering what had just happened. That was the closest thing I'd had to sex in this new world, not that I'd had much luck back on Earth. The only relationship I'd had there was with my therapist, who turned out to be married, and the whole thing had ended badly.

I was just falling back asleep when I heard the door creak open again.

"His room is down the hall on the right," I said, rolling over.

"Is this a bad time?" Eliaria asked.

"Ummm."

She stood at the door, her hand on the knob. "Do you mind if I come in?"

"Ok," I said, sitting up.

She closed the door behind her and walked over to the bed, sitting down on the edge.

"So," she said, nervously. "I've been thinking about what happened earlier."

"What part?" I asked. "The giant worm or the bottle of wine you downed by yourself."

"Neither," she said, her cheeks flushing. "I was just... I mean..."

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine.

My eyes widened in surprise, but I didn't pull away. Her mouth was warm and soft, and tasted like wine and honey. I returned her kiss, my hands sliding up her back and tangling in her hair. Suddenly she broke away, her cheeks flushed and her eyes shining.

"What was that for?" I asked, still stunned.

"Sometimes the best things in life are the ones you take on a whim," she said, her face so red I could feel the heat radiating from her.

I laughed, "You're quoting Flint?"

She looked away, her embarrassment growing. "Even a blind squirrel will find a nut every now and then," she whispered.

I smiled, "I'm sure he'll appreciate the comparison."

She stood up, brushing her hair back and looking at me with a mixture of nervousness and excitement.

"I should go," she said, not making any attempt to move.

I could tell she was nervous. Her heart was racing, and her breathing was shallow and fast. After all we had been through, it was understandable that she would want to be close to someone. Hell, I'd felt that same desire, the need to touch someone, anyone, to remind me that I was still alive. But not like this, not drunk. I knew Elia well enough to know that she would regret it in the morning, and I would feel like shit knowing I'd taken advantage of her.

I looked into her eyes, the moonlight reflecting off them and illuminating her face.

"If you still want this when you are sober, I will be here," I said, and I meant it.

She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, and there was something about her that drew me in. Given more time, I might have fallen in love with her, but things were crazy enough right now without adding a relationship to the mix.

She bit her lip and I could see the wheels turning in her head.

Finally, she placed a hand on her chest and light flared. Her eyes came alive like she had been struck by lightning, and her hair flowed around her like it was underwater.

"You used an [Etherix]," I stammered, shocked.

A smile split her lips, "I'm sober now, and I want this."

Shit, how can I say no to that?

"Have I ever told you how much of a badass you are?" I said.

"Not lately," she whispered.

Her eyes were shining with desire, and her lips were parted slightly, as if she was waiting for me to kiss her. I couldn't resist any longer, I popped my own [Etherix] feeling a sudden surge of energy and clarity.

"No regrets," I said, not wanting either of us to have a single doubt about what was happening.

She nodded, and I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers.

***

With our purses bulging with the coin we'd gotten for the scalemaw scales, we bid farewell to Bartholomew and his daughter. There was an awkward moment where she wouldn't meet my eye, and the innkeeper had given me a look that was somewhere between suspicious and outright murderous. But eventually we managed to get away, and found ourselves back on the road, headed west.

It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, and the sky was clear. The landscape was a mix of rolling hills and moss covered stone.

"So, did you two have a fun night?" Flint asked, a smug grin on his face.

Eliaria's cheeks turned bright red, and she refused to look at either of us.

"No comment," I said.

"Oh," Flint said, his smile fading. "Well, uh, did you have fun, Elia?"

"Aha," she replied, her cheeks still burning.

"I see," he said. He glanced over at me and mouthed, 'Nice.'

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"Anyway," Flint said, changing the subject. "We should reach Kel'Veth by the end of the day, right?"

"That's the plan," I replied.

"What do we know about this place?" he asked. "Why would waves of demons appear out of nowhere and attack it?"

"I have no idea," I said.

"You know, I don't even know what demons look like," he said.

"They're just another name for monsters," Eliaria said.

"Yeah," Flint said, shrugging. "But I thought they'd be more interesting than that."

"More interesting?" she asked. "How so?"

"I dunno," he said. "Why did the Tower specifically call them demons? Why not just say monsters?"

He had a good point. The Tower had specifically referred to them as demons, not monsters. Demon was a common term on Earth, but in the Tower I hadn't run across it.

"I'm not sure," I said.

I was sure that there was more to this, but I had no idea what it was. How were Patches, the demons, a card that could summon a god and this village connected?

"It's probably nothing," Flint said, waving his hand dismissively.

"We will find out soon enough," Eliaria said. "The village is just over that mountain ridge."

***

It was nightfall when we crested the hill and saw Kel'Veth. The village rested high among the leaves of a colossal tree that glowed faintly, its bioluminescent flowers shining brightly against the darkening sky.

"Wow," Flint said.

I didn't disagree.

A ring of scorched earth surrounded the village, the vegetation blackened and smoke rose in thin wisps from the ground. The air was thick with the smell of ash and soot, and the night was still and silent.

"Don't move!" a feminine voice hummed with a melodic buzz.

I turned around. The tips of twelves razor-sharp spears gleamed in the eerie light, casting long shadows that danced menacingly around us. The spear men wore hooded cloaks that covered all but their yellow, glowing eyes.

"We come in peace," I said. "We're just travelers from Caldera, we've come to help."

The melodic voice responded from the shadows, its tone skeptical. "How do we know you're not one of them? How do we know you're not a spy?"

"This is bullshit!" Flint exclaimed. "We're not spies. I don't give a shit about you or the demons, we are here to kill some monsters and get some loot, nothing more."

The spears inched closer.

"Flint!" Eliaria hissed.

The speaker stepped into the moonlight, and I involuntarily reached for my dagger. She moved with lethal grace, clad in silk-woven armor. Her hair was a cascade of leaves and vines that framed a young woman with piercing yellow eyes.

As she walked closer, I noticed bioluminescent patterns glowing on her olive green skin and twin antennae protruding from her forehead.

She was ven'thik, and from her tone, not a fan of humans.

The ven'thik stood still for a moment, looking intently at us. Her compound eyes moved over our bodies, pausing on our clothing, my dagger, and Flint's quarterstaff. She seemed to consider each detail for a long moment, before nodding and turning away.

"First the waves appear, then the sun returns to our land," she said, "but it's you ground-dwellers that concern me the most. You are the second party to arrive over this mountain range, the last did not come in peace."

"Second party?" I asked, and I immediately regretted speaking.

The tip of a spear pressed into my chest, drawing blood, "Now is not the time for questions," said the woman. "You will come with us, our captain will decide what is to be done with you."

"Fine," Flint said, raising his hands in surrender. "Just don't stab me, ok?"

She started to walk away, gesturing for us to follow her.

"Wait, who are you?" I called after her.

"Sergeant Rhy’Lath," she replied without turning around. "And now you will come with us."

***

As we followed the ven'thik down the hill, we noticed the surrounding destruction. The earth was torn up, and trees had been uprooted. Arrows were embedded in the ground, and broken shields and pieces of armor were strewn about.

"The demons did this?" I asked.

"Silence," Sergeant Rhy'Lath hissed. "Do not speak again."

There had once been a forest here, but the only thing left were blackened trunks and ash. Whoever these demons were, they didn't seem to care about collateral damage.

Rhy'Lath led us through the burnt woods, until we came upon a clearing. A large bonfire blazed in the middle of the field, and a single ven'thik soldier wearing a black mask and cloak stood guard. Grotesque body parts, clearly belonging to the demons, burnt in the fire, the skin blackened and shriveled.

"Stay here," Rhy'Lath commanded.

I did as she asked and remained motionless while she went over and spoke to the masked soldier.

Flint took the opportunity to whisper in my ear.

"What have we gotten ourselves into this time?"

I just shrugged my shoulders in reply.

Eliaria stared at the fire, her expression unreadable.

I looked about, taking in the massive walls that surrounded the village and the spike covered gates. I could tell they were a recent construction, and I wondered how many had been lost building them in the first days of the demon attacks.

Sergeant Rhy'Lath finished speaking to the masked soldier, and she walked over to us.

"Captain Zak’Sho is in the command nest," she said, her voice dripping with venom. "Follow me."

Flint mouthed the word 'nest' and I shrugged again. I had no idea what to expect from these ven'thik.

"It's going to be ok," I said to Eliaria and Flint.

"Do not try anything," Sergeant Rhy'Lath threatened, her hand going to her sword. "I will kill you all if I have to."

The three of us followed her, they had left our hands unbound and I still carried my dagger. But the ven'thik soldiers surrounding us were armed with spears, and the masked guard had a curved sword on his back. I doubted that we would be able to take them all.

I wished I could have taken out my oracle glass and studied our captors, just to know what we were dealing with. It was hard to tell what rank they were or if they were card mages, but one thing was clear. They were scared and not above killing us.

***

We entered the village through an iron gate, and it felt like we had just entered a forest. The leaves above us were thick enough that only the faintest moonlight filtered through, creating a soft glow that illuminated every detail of the village.

Wherever we went, we saw birds and insects flitting about in the grass or hanging from the trees. The air smelled fresh and clean, like nothing I'd ever smelled before, and I couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of the place.

It’s hard to believe that such a beautiful place is the sight of so much death and destruction.

The streets were suspension bridges that connected different parts of the great tree. Some were made of wood, others of stone, and all had a distinct organic look to them, like they had been grown instead of built.

"This place is beautiful," Eliaria whispered.

I had to agree.

"It is," Sergeant Rhy'Lath hummed, her voice sounding less venomous and more melancholy. "Kel'Veth is a place of beauty and peace, and we will defend it to the last."

"I have no doubt you will," Flint said.

She glanced back at him, and for the first time, I thought I saw something resembling a smile.

We climbed a set of stairs carved into the trunk of the great tree and as my feet touched the wood I noticed that there was a thin barrier of magic around the tree making it impervious to harm. Sergeant Rhy'Lath led us across a bridge, which ended in a mass of branches and vines.

A single ven'thik soldier, dressed in black armor, stood outside. We stopped in front of him, and Sergeant Rhy'Lath said something to him in a series of clicks and hums.

The soldier nodded, and entered a wooden room that hung from a branch like a weaver's nest.

"What did you tell him?" Flint asked.

Sergeant Rhy'Lath ignored his question and continued to stare at the door, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword.

"Who are these two?" a gruff voice spoke from the inside of the nest, the sound vibrating in my skull like a swarm of angry bees.

"Captain Zak’Sho," said Sergeant Rhy’Lath, "These humans say they are here to help."

A hulking figure stepped out from the nest. A man whose chest and shoulders were as broad as a horse. He carried himself like a warrior, legs spread wide, hands resting on the pommel of a two-handed axe. He was definitely ven'thik, but where Sergeant Rhy’Lath reminded me of a praying mantis, his body was more like a stag beetle, with majestic antlers crowning his chitinous exoskeleton.

The captain strode forward, his great bulk shaking the massive branch beneath us, "Where are your friends?" he demanded.

I shook my head, "It's just us three."

He studied me for a moment, his great brow crinkled, "Two ground-dwellers arrived a few nights ago, they killed a patrol of my finest scouts."

"We're not with them," Eliaria said.

Flint and I exchanged looks, from his expression he was thinking the same thing as me. It had to be Patches.

"What did they look like?" Flint asked.

"We never saw them up close," the captain said. "They were spotted after the last wave, but the scouts I sent to investigate were found dead."

He turned away, gesturing at two of the soldiers. "Summon Nightclaw," he commanded, "We will need his advice on this matter."

One of the warriors stepped forward, "Sir, the ground-dweller mage is with the Pathfinders, they pursue a pack of demons that escaped into the caves after the last wave."

Zak'Sho cursed under his breath, "Very well, for now, you will remain in our custody. My warriors will accompany you until Nightclaw returns, he will decide your fate."

***