“And I like it when you defend yourself,” Britt added. 

Max raised his eyebrows at her, “Well, as far as jokes go, maybe I can teach you how to tell one when this is over.”  

Britt shook her head, “I guess I deserved that one.” 

“I think that worked,” Max said, looking at her surprised. 

“What?” 

“Nerves are gone,” he said.  

Britt nodded and turned to face the city. She stared at the smoke rising in the distance, then looked back at Max. His face had gone pale again. 

He returned her look, “Never mind, it didn’t work.”  

“I’ll be right here with you,” she whispered to him, then called her crew into formation. She led them north along the river and toward the outer limits of Aquina. Britt looked over her shoulder to see the clans among the Rollo Island warriors beginning to form ranks in response to Red’s shouted orders.  

Britt led her crew into the fringe of the city; quietly sneaking into a township was a raiding tactic that all Rollo clans had practiced. Britt’s crew moved double-file following the path of the warriors in front of them. She remained close to Max just as she had promised. As ordered, they all had their weapons out and at the ready. 

To Britt the group’s every move seemed to echo through the silent streets. Britt and Max checked each cross-street before advancing. The dry dirt streets produced a cloud of dust around their ankles as they rushed to the next corner. Although they had miles to go before reaching the other end of Aquina, Britt began to think reaching the farthest city limit wouldn’t take as long as she’d thought. So far, they hadn’t seen or heard anything moving in the city.  

Britt noticed that the homes seemed to have been well lived in and recently abandoned. Clothes still hung on clotheslines and wagons sat stranded in the streets with their leather fasteners cut. Looking through some of the random open doors, Britt could see charred meat on a stove halfway through preparation. Whatever happened here caused them to leave in a hurry. The only thing they managed to take with them was their most important possession: their horses.  

Britt stopped abruptly upon hearing a scuff on the ground to her right. Her head snapped to attention as she searched the adobe buildings along the street. 

“What was that?” Max whispered.  

Britt noticed the dim glow of the crystal clutched in his hand and shrugged. Waving, she motioned her crew to continue. “Come on,” she whispered and led Max toward the next cross street where it seemed they’d heard the sound originate. When they neared the house on the corner, she slowed. Something metal hit the ground around the corner and out of sight. She stopped. She and her crew froze with their blades in hand. The moment of hesitation reminded Britt of the time Max led her through Brookside not that long ago. He had known his way around the town and seemed much more confident when he knew the layout of a place. Britt expected to see the same cautious expression he wore upon entering the city, but now he appeared more curious and engaged. He stepped closer to the corner. 

“Pssst,” Britt whispered, catching his attention. She motioned for him to wait. The crew was still trying to group up behind them. She walked to where he stood near the compacted and hardened clay building’s edge and pressed her body flush against the mudstone textured wall. Her heart pounded as she heard continued movement, a scuffling, from around the corner. Trying to slow her racing pulse, Britt listened intently for any clue as to what it might be. The only sounds she heard arose when something fell from inside one of the homes.  

Britt motioned for the crew to hold their positions. Looking at Max, she mouthed, “I’m going to look.” 

She approached the edge with caution, but the racing of her pulse slowed upon realizing that whatever was making the noise was isolated to one home and likely wasn’t something large like a dragon. Keeping a tight grip on her sword, Britt prepared to look down the street ahead. Just as she and Max had done in Brookside, she leaned forward and peered around the corner. Sticking out from an adobe house less than a hundred feet away, she saw a black tail. The entrance to the home was a standard size door, meaning nothing of significant size could enter without causing damage. Seeing nothing else but the black tail swaying back and forth, she racked her brain trying to think of what it could be.  

Another crash sounded in the house the black-tailed creature appeared to be ransacking. Britt motioned for Max to join her. He did and hummed when he saw what she was staring at. “What do you think it is?” she asked. 

Max shrugged, “Whatever it is, it’s bleeding.” He pointed, “See the trail on the ground near the door.”  

Britt saw the blood and nodded, then asked, “What has a black tail like that?” 

Max leaned forward, touching his chest against the back of her shoulder and whispered, “The only thing I can think of is a cat or a dragon, but the size doesn’t fit either.”  

The tail disappeared into the building. “Come on,” Britt said, stepping out into the street. She quietly closed the gap between the corner and the doorway, following the blood trail. When they had almost reached the door, Britt stopped. She could see into the house. There was movement.  

When Max settled next to her, she heard him stop breathing. Near the ground, the black tail hung from a crouched over human-looking monster. With its back turned to them, Britt could clearly see fleshy knobs sticking out of its shoulder blades. They looked rubbed raw and bloodied. She turned to Max who looked back with bulging eyes.  

“Demon,” he mouthed silently. 

Britt hadn’t seen the one that had terrorized into Brookside, but the size of the tall figure and the bloodied knobs where its wings once were confirmed it for her. She knew it was only a matter of seconds before the demon turned and saw them standing near the door.  

I could stab it in the back, she thought. I have a chance now. She stepped forward and froze instantly. The demon stopped sorting through the contents of the home. It lifted its head and smelled at the air.  

 Britt held her sword tightly anticipating that the demon would turn. If she didn’t have the element of surprise, she didn’t want to be trapped in a small space with the creature. It was better for her to fight it in the open where Max could get a clear shot at it with the magic.   

After a fearful moment, the demon returned to its rummaging through the home. Britt acted on instinct now. She’d never trained to fight this kind of enemy. For an instant, she doubted her sword could kill it, but seeing the bloody stumps where its wings had been and remembering that Anders had killed one with Lazuran, she continued toward it.  

As she came within striking distance, Britt couldn't stop thinking, This might actually work. I might actually strike at this thing before it can attack us. She stepped into an attacking lunge and sprang at the doorway.   

With lightning speed, the demon spun to face Britt. Before she had pressed her blade forward to stab the creature, it rushed out at her. She felt the icy chill of its hand catch her by the throat and lift her off her feet. Britt stabbed forward as she was carried backward through the air. She felt her blade move into an empty pocket of air where the demon’s body should’ve been. Not able to think before she landed on her back in the dirt street behind her, she was blinded by a white flash. The cold hand left her throat. In the blink of an eye, the demon and the light were gone.  

Max ran into view. Rolling onto her side, she saw another white light streak by. She realized Max had hit the demon with energy from the crystal when it attacked her. Britt’s throat felt like it was on fire as she pushed herself up off the ground. Max released a third explosion of light from the crystal and helped her to her feet.  

“Are you alright? Did it get you?” Max asked. 

Britt tried to speak but her throat still hurt from the demon’s hand, so she nodded and gave him a thumbs-up to let him know she wasn’t injured.  

“I lost it,” Max said, looking around frantically. “It moved so fast; the only time it stayed still long enough to hit was when it was on you.”  

Britt massaged her throat and asked in a raspy voice, “Where did it go?”  

Max pointed in the opposite direction from the way they’d come. “Should we chase it?”  

Britt paused for a moment, still massaging her throat, then shook her head, “Let’s regroup with the others.” They hustled back to the cross-street where they’d left the others when they saw a blur of something dark flash between buildings down the street. Britt stopped and asked, “I thought you said it went the other way?” 

“It did,” Max said, gripping the crystal. “That must be another one.” 

Britt considered it and shook her head, “It’s the same one. If there were others, they’d be flying in on us. This one’s wings are gone but it’s running too fast for us to keep up.” She saw the dark blur move between homes again, this time much closer. “Max,” she said warning him. “Get ready to use that thing again.” 

Max fumbled with the crystal, searching for the direction she wished him to fire on. Before she could warn him again, the wingless demon sprinted out from its hiding place and charged directly at them.  He wasn’t going to hit it in time. 

Trying to bring her sword up quickly, Britt planted her feet and readied herself for the attack. Suddenly, Max stepped in front of her, directly in the demon’s path. A ripple of thin light appeared in the air in front of Max. They heard a crunch as the demon slammed into their shield barrier. The next thing Britt knew, Max and the demon were knocked apart and crumpled to the ground. With the demon down, Britt wasn’t wasting any more opportunities. She jumped past Max and stabbed the demon in the chest.  

 The demon snapped awake again the second her blade slipped between its ribs. It hissed louder than the hiss of air coming from its chest. Foamy blood bubbled up around her blade. She felt the pulsing of the demon’s heart through the tip of her sword and scraped it side to side. She twisted and cut at the demon’s chest, trying desperately to kill it before it could escape. Though she was stabbing the demon in the chest, it still tried to crawl way from her.  

“The crystal,” Britt shouted, noticing that Max had come back around after his effort to stop the demon. He looked in horror at the demon that was trying to escape her sword’s grip. “Max! Use the crystal,” she called over the hissing. 

Max rose to his feet and flared the crystal’s power. The blast of energy exploded against the demon’s head, crumpling it into the ground. Britt held her sword firmly in its chest while the demon slowly went limp.  

“Why didn’t the others come to our aid?” she asked, pulling her blade from the demon’s chest.  

Max shook his head, “I thought they would have heard or seen the fighting. Especially because of that,” Max said, pointing down the street at the houses flattened by his missed strikes.  

Britt led the way back to the point where they’d left her crew. They should know to break an order, when they hear I’m in trouble, she thought.  

Rounding the corner, she looked down the street but nobody was there. Looking down all four directions leading away from the intersection, Britt asked, “We came from right here, didn’t we?”  

Max nodded and pointed to the side of the adobe wall they’d first peered around, “There are our tracks in the dirt.” They followed them back to the other homes where the crew had been waiting. The boot tracks clearly went back the way they’d come.