Note: I'm about 2 chapters away from adding a character that introduces a drastic shift in perspective. I think I'll be adding a character who narrates in 1st person to most stories from now on. I do wonder if this story is terribly boring due to a poor narrative. I find it boring. Hoping the new character fixes that.

They took the right corridor first. According to the building layout, most of the Malssenin personal parts were on this side. They had to fight a single dretch in a formal sitting room and had a rather awkward encounter when the group barged in on the baron's son and his fiance. It was the unsettling way they reacted to the group's presence that put a bit of horror into the situation. The young couple were perfectly aware of the demons, but knew nothing about what was going on, nor did they seem particularly bothered by it. As if the creatures were just part of the scenery. Really the whole east side was clear, which left the west side. The west side was decidedly not clear.

The group cleared the west side without a single fatality. Mostly thanks to Un's ability to pull injured out of the line before they were slaughtered. The upper floor was cleared with four guards out due to injuries and the rest mostly holding together, all with minor wounds and looking exhausted. One staff member had to be removed. The people in the palace all treated the demons as if they weren't there, much as the demons seemed to completely ignore the staff. It was kind of fucked up. Everyone acted as if nothing was wrong. They were just happily working for their lady.

"We go down the stairs three at a time, shields out, next line keep your spears over their shoulders." Abernathy said while trying not to let his men see the concern written on his face. "At the bottom we fan out. First group to the left, next fall in alongside them. Prepare to follow orders from the Harbinger." He looked around. "You ready?"

The answer was no. Nobody said it, but it was written on their faces. The two guys with the splitting mauls were covered in gore and looked like they were either going to fall over or puke. The whole lot of the guards looked ready to lay down. Even Red's perpetual grin had faulted.

Abernathy let out a long sigh. "Okay. Let's get this over with."

The first line made contact the moment they hit the bottom. The second line pushed the single dretch back, but the noise alerted a more dangerous opponent. Alek, Un, and Red had just cleared the floor when an old woman poked her head around the corner. Unlike the other staff upstairs who often stared blankly at the group, this one looked angry. She disappeared for a moment while the guards tried desperately to get past the single dretch. The crone came back around the corner with a rod that she pointed at the group.

"Mage!"

Alek wasn't the only one that yelled the word, nor was he the only one to move out of the center. A white arch flashed out, reaching toward the group, then through it. Screams came with the explosion of light and sound. The smell of charred air, hair, and flesh mixed with the sulfuric shit scent of the dretch. Two of the guards were on the ground screaming. Another, Karen, if Alek remembered the only woman's name right, wasn't moving. A gaping hole in her chest leaked blood in a slow, steady drain that meant her heart had stopped, or been blown apart. Alek retaliated by throwing his spear and lifting a hand to cast his own spell. A deep purple line connected from his outstretched fingers to the woman and in a similar, but considerably lesser manner, another flash and crack of thunder hit her back. A thin green colored bolt hit her as well, probably from Red, but whatever it did wasn't readily apparent. Alek leaped over one of the wounded guards, snapped his fingers to summon his short sword, and impaled the dretch on his way past. It wasn't enough to kill the thing, but it would hopefully buy the guards some time. He got his shield up just before rounding the corner and finding a wall of fire washing over him. With his teeth grit against the pain and shield taking the brunt of the flames, Alek pressed forward in an unrelenting charge. The woman squealed when he collided with her and like most powerful spellcasters, her body succumbed to a blade quite easily.

"Poition!" Someone yelled.

Alek wanted to look around for more danger, but the desperate call had him rolling back around the corner. "Red! Catch!" To her surprise she found a small vial flying through the air at her. The dretch had been skewered by Un and one of the wounded guards was being treated by the others. The one he had jumped over however, was sprawled out on the floor, dead.

Looking around Alek searched for more danger. The rooms they found themselves in were equally parts living quarters and laboratory. A hallway to the south led to storage. They would need to check that. There was only one other demon in the mage's quarters and she wasn't going anywhere.

"You three." The sheriff commanded. "Block off that entry and watch for danger. You two, get him out of here."

The guards did as told, leaving only the three with shield and spear and a single guy with a maul and carrying the nets.

"What the hells was that supposed to be Red?"

She looked at the sheriff and shrugged. "What?"

"The green thing."

"What green thing?"

Abernathy glared at her, but returned his attention to the room.

Alek wandered around. The bedchamber held practically nothing of interest, but the dimly lit study had a lot of books and notes. Then there was the chamber containing a Tiefling looking woman chained to the wall and surrounded by circles of script on the floor. It also contained a man laying on the cold stone. He was bound, but still alive. Alek turned him over and after determining that he probably wasn't a demon, he picked him up and brought him to the stairs. He came back in time to see Red stuff a book into her pack while watching Abernathy in order to not be caught. She turned to stare at Alek, who cocked an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Find something interesting?" Alek asked the sheriff.

"Emixie is a succubus." He had his nose in a notebook and was squinting at it with annoyance. "This person's chicken scratch if fucking horrible though. I think something went wrong. She seems to really hate her."

"The old woman hates Emixie?" Red asked for clarification.

"Yeah."

"Anything about her?" Alek asked, pointing to the woman who was trying to watch them, but seemed kind of out of it.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

"Uh. I think this is an early book. Maybe look in those?"

Alek looked at the shelf full of notebooks. Instead he examined the woman. She tried to look at him, but wasn't really able to focus. She, in much the same way Emixie did, looked more human than he did. Her horns were small and slender, arching delicately upward the same way Emixie's did. She lacked wings and glowing tattoos, but did sport the same spaded tail.

"Can you understand me?"

She made a sound. A muffled chock that gave Alek some evidence to his hunch. He made his way to the kitchen and found a pitcher of water and a clean-ish cup. He set it in front of her and the woman practically lunged for it.

"Easy."

She didn't seem to listen, choking the water up almost as fast as she could get it down.

"The man was supposed to be food wasn't he?"

Her red eyes stared up at him once she placed the empty cup on the floor in front of her. She choked out an unintelligible word.

"More?"

She nodded. Well that answered the question of whether or not she could understand them. He didn't take the cup. Instead he brought back the entire pitcher.

"What are we going to do with her?" Abernathy asked.

"I'll take care of her. Depends on what she is. Best not to release her until we have a better idea though."

"I suppose we need to check the rest of the cellar?"

"Yeah. Let's get this over with."

The group made their way through the cellar in a slow search. Alek up front, spear and shield ready alongside the other three. They fought four of the foul little things, but they weren't bunched together. With Alek in the line and Un throwing the nets, it actually went well.

"I'll meet you up top." Abernathy said, staring at the woman chained to the wall.

"Mmmm." Alek replied tiredly. What a long day. He dragged a chair over to the woman and sat down.

"Can you understand me?"

"Yes." Her voice was dry and cracked, but understandable now that she had water in her system. That was the main giveaway as well as the reason he didn't just cut her throat and be done with it.

"I'll make a pact with you. You tell me the truth to anything I ask, and I won't leave you here to die slowly. Maybe I'll set you free, maybe I'll kill you, but I'll do it quick."

She thought about it for a while. Her desire for survival warred with the logic of no longer suffering. She was just out of it enough to agree.

"Agreed." She said, holding out a slender hand. Alek took it, clasping at the wrist. He watched runes crawl up her arm and disappear under her shirt. That was interesting.

"First question then, how human are you?"

"I don't know."

"Oaky. Are you mostly a succubus?"

"I don't know."

"What do you desire?"

She stared at him for a moment. Picking apart the words most likely. "I want this collar off my neck. I want food. And I want a bath."

That's not really what Alek was expecting. "Then what?"

She shrugged and his opinion of her humanity floated a bit more to the human side.

"What do you know about Emixie?"

"Not much. The hag hates her. Couldn't control her or something."

"Why are you chained here?"

"Hag thinks I'll accept unconditional service if she starves me."

"What do you know about the hag?"

"Not much. She wants control of the town, or county, or something. She doesn't seem to be successful."

"Do the runes affect you?"

She looked down at the rune circles. "Not really. It's a little uncomfortable."

Alek chuckled. "How did she manage to summon you?"

"I think she fucked up."

"You die permanently if I kill you right?"

"Yes."

Alek rubbed his temples. "Fuck." He sat there for a long while. The woman didn't volunteer any information. While she was answering questions, she didn't reveal more than asked. Maybe the bland, emotionless tone was due to thirst and hunger. "You have a name?"

"Yes."

"What is your name?" Alek was forced to ask.

"Raiah."

"Rai-ah?"

"Yes."

"Well Raiah. I'm Alek."

She said nothing.

"I'll probably regret this, but how about a pact? You serve me. You do nothing that would directly or indirectly harm or kill me. And I'll let you out of here."

"Too restrictive."

"Okay. You serve me in the form of an indentured servant for one year whereupon you will be released. You do nothing that would directly or indirectly harm or kill me."

"Too restrictive."

"Okay Raiah. What do you need to make that offer work?"

It took another thirty minutes of working out fine details before Alek was freeing the more than Tiefling, less than demon woman from her prison. This would either work out well, or go terribly wrong.

"... and I thank you Lady Malssenin, but I do need to take the girl." Said a voice that was most likely Abernathy’s.

Alek knocked on the door.

"Enter." Said a voice that was most likely Lady Emixie's.

Alek walked into a throne room that hadn't changed in any way other than a weary looking sheriff standing at the foot of the Dias and the Lady was missing her demonic features. The Baroness's face lit up at his entry. "Ahh. The hero returns."

Alek made a conscious effort not to roll his eyes. Abernathy gave him a sideways glare as Raiah stepped into the room behind him.

"Am I correct to assume that sheriff Abernathy filled you in on the details?" Alek asked, hoping to get this over with as quickly as possible.

"Yes, we just finished discussing compensation for the town guard. For your reward…"

Alek held his hands out to stop her, but added a slight bow so as not to seem too disrespectful. "Forgive me for cutting you off my lady, but I'm mostly just interested in leaving. Too many days away from the garden. If you feel the need to give a reward, gold is always welcome, but I'd like to go now." Alek bowed again as he took a step backwards toward the main door.

"I'm afraid the sheriff already talked me out of our reserve. For you I have land and title."

Alek froze. "I'm sorry what?"

"A title of nobility and the land to go with it."

Thrice cursed gods. Alek looked up. Emixie's face betrayed a wickedly sexy smirk. His stomach dropped out in a flutter of excitement, or terror. This was a trap, every bone in his body said it was. Thrice curse the Thrice cursed gods. He smiled. "My apologies my lady, I would make a terrible noble."

"And my apologies to you then as I can't just let The Harbinger of Wrath leave without a reward equal to his name. It's an optics thing, Harbinger. I think you would understand that."

This was clearly the fucking elf's fault. "Is there no way out of this?"

Emixie shifted in her seat, ending in a seductive pose. "No." She purred.

Alek bowed. "Then, thank you my lady. If I may take my leave?"

"Of course."

"Ah, the girl. You should send her home."

"My wine bearer? She is perfectly safe here."

"Yes, but her family may cause trouble if she is protected after the danger is gone. It's an optics thing."

The demoness gave him a devilishly wicked grin. "Oh you're going to be fun." She looked down at the girl. "Go."

The kid slowly moved away from her spot at Emixie's side as if expecting the woman to change her mind. Once she made it to the edge of the dais, she bolted to hide behind the sheriff. Trying her best to keep Abernathy between her and both Emixie and Alek.

Alek bowed and left. This shit was finally over.