She was startled awake by a loud boom and almost fell off from her perch on a large oak tree. She balanced herself and looked in the direction her sprite was vigorously pointing to. A plume of fire light up the night following another boom, about half a mile from where she was.
Her mind immediately went to the small troop that she had come across earlier in the day. The troop leader had realized that she was a person of rank or nobility and had given her proper deference and respect, but she had chosen not to spend the night in their care. She did not care for the company of some low rank soldiers. However, that did not mean that she would not help them fight an enemy.
She grabbed her bow and quiver, nimbly dropped down the fifteen feet from her branch and sprinted towards the commotion. As she approached the location, a few minutes later, her sprite conveyed to her that it was only a single enemy. The sprite was a fae of darkness and she could sense things under the cover of the night. The information almost made her rush through the trees into the clearing but something made her take a more cautious approach.
“Nott, scout” she whispered to her sprite which fluttered its pitch-black wings and disappeared into the trees. She connected her mind to the sprite’s and watched through her eyes, as the fae went over to the clearing and hid within the leaves of a tree. Someone might’ve spotted her under the light of day but within the shadows of the night she was pretty much invisible.
A human in his late teens stood at the center of a small clearing, facing the troop leader and four other demons who were facing boy/man with their magic resistant shields raised in a defensive posture. Their sorry state was in stark contrast to the boy’s disheveled but almost unhurt appearance. Something had scratched his cheek drawing a little blood.
Fifteen dead demons with deep burns lay around the campsite, and she gave a sigh relief at her fortuitous decision to not rush in. She could not take on a whole troop of soldiers unscathed even if she got a jump on them. She might have a chance of killing the human if she teamed up with the remaining demons but the risk wasn’t worth it. Her life was more important than a few demon soldiers. Besides, she had other ways to get revenge.
So, she decided to observe the boy. He was good looking enough, but was not her type. She preferred tall lean men with a feminine charm to their features. He was almost the opposite. He was of middling height with a muscular body. Lean chest, broad shoulders, strong arms and powerful calves. He was built for a burst of speed and power. He had dark brown curly hair that appeared like the mane of lion. And just as she had the thought, he let out a heavy breath and scrunched his nose at the remaining demons. The gesture alone could have made her think that he was be a lion beastkin if she did not know any better.
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She tried to conjure up the boy’s face without the bloodlust. An image of a naïve self-righteous person who liked to blindly rush into things popped into her head. Even his character was not her type. She liked the intelligent, diligent and devious ones. Nevertheless, it was more apropos for what she intended to do.
She pondered her mode of approach as she observed the boy unsheathe a long sword from the scabbard on his back. It was a two-inch-thick and three feet long double-edged sword. The thickness of the sword made it seem fragile but the black gleam of the metal screamed otherwise. It was a demonic ebonite sword, probably picked up after killing a powerful demon. She grinned. This was going to be a kill that was well worth her efforts.
The boy held the sword in his right hand and sprayed a carpet of fire and smoke towards the demon soldiers. They instinctively held up their shields, and the magic resistance blocked most of the heat. But the boy wasn’t planning to hurt them with his fire. It was a smokescreen. He rushed into the midst and after he disappeared into the smoke she heard the sound of metal against flesh and bone followed by the sound of dropping bodies. Then there was a metallic clang and another explosion.
The troop leader’s body flew out of the smoke and slammed into a tree. He fell to the ground and coughed up blood. His back and will broken. His eyes stared at the boy’s figure in hopelessness as he slowly approached him. His bloodlust quelled, the boy’s face did not hold any anger, malice or hatred. Pity? remorse? She wondered as he plunged his sword into the demon’s heart.
She willed Nott back to her as she started transforming. Her night blue horns that curved around her head forming a protective crown started receding, as her red hair turned light blonde. Humans had red hair too but it was uncommon and hers was a conspicuous shade of shining red. Besides, she knew human-men had low defenses against blonde women. Her pale white skin gained a tinge of rosiness and tan, making her look like a mercenary or an adventurer who spent time out in the sun. She had thought about playing the lost helpless woman, but decided against it. Even if he seemed dumb, she did not want to make it blatantly cliché.
She could’ve also easily changed her other features but she was too prideful to change her looks, especially when she was planning on seducing the boy.
So, transformed to look like a pretty human woman, she worked up her lungs to imitate someone who had been running for a while and walked into the clearing as Nott dived into the depths of her voluminous hair.