Battle With Fire (Demon Days & Vampire Nights)

“Roger might’ve been hesitant to kill anyone when we first came back from the Realm, but that was only because of where we were in the Brink,” she replied. “If anyone breaches his territory here, they go down. He’s done playing. Dad is, too.”

I could’ve guessed considering the way they were handling people trying to sneak in through the portal. I’d heard that if someone came through, they didn’t return home.

I saw the shapes standing just behind a cluster of trees, five of them in all. They’d chosen humanoid forms that weren’t very well proportioned, something I’d seen a lot of in the Underworld. They clearly hadn’t been up here in a long while, although none of the demons I’d met seemed too concerned with getting it right. Maybe they just liked being different.

“Why are you here?” I asked as I approached, putting up a hand to motion for those behind me to stay back.

The demon with orange hair sticking straight up turned a bit to face me. Its boobs fell down to its waist, moving within its “I heart San Francisco” sweatshirt. Tan shorts stopped at creamy thighs that didn’t match its deeply tanned face, and its knees were red as though from the cold.

“Cute,” I said, running my finger through the air over it. “A summer tourist to San Francisco, right? They think it’ll be warm and instead it’s freezing so they have to buy a sweatshirt?” Darius had taken me a while back, and I’d seen that scenario played out a few times over. “But what are you doing here?”

“Hello, your royal heinous. The Great Master has a few things he’d like me to relay to you. He would’ve come in person, but he is aware the shifters would not enjoy the joke.”

“They wouldn’t get it, no,” I replied, wondering what he’d actually considered doing to warrant calling it a joke. Simply showing up where he wasn’t wanted? Hard to say with him.

“He wishes for me to inform you that the unicorn lands have been created. Tatsu is able to communicate directly with them and had the Great Master fix it up to their specifications. He regretfully informs you, however, that they will likely join his side. He thanks you for sending them his way.”

“Super. Way to rub it in,” I muttered.

“He’d like me to relay the news that he will be marching on the elves within two days. His goal has not changed—he’ll seek to annihilate them. Given how vast his host has grown, he foresees their complete destruction. He respectfully requests that you do not stand in the way.”

“Denied,” I responded.

“In the event you deny, he would like to remind you that you and your silly friends are not enough to stand in his way. It would put you and them in danger. He urges you to reconsider.”

“No.”

“The Great Master would like to mention that he will extend the offer a second time during the battle before forcing the issue. If you go quietly at that time, it’ll give him the opportunity to save your dearest friends. If not, you will likely deplete his resources, and he will only be able to skirt you and Archion to safety. Your friends will likely perish, stuck between the two opposing forces.”

“He sure thinks highly of his situation,” Charity murmured, her sword still held up, ready to kill at a moment’s notice. “He lost last time, though, right?”

I nodded grimly, but this time would be different. He had more resources than the last time he’d fought the elves, and the elves had less. The power scales had tipped, and he knew it.

I wondered if the elves did.

The demon gave me a somber look. “Forgive my impertinence, your heinous, but you have a duty to your kingdom and your friends,” the demon said. “You cannot change the outcome of this war, not with how it is shaping up. You will see the truth of that assessment when on the battlefield. At that time, I urge you to really think about this offer. Save yourself, and save your friends. You will then have a chance to help Lucifer lead our people to greatness. It is an opportunity a great many would die to have.”

Part of that greatness this demon spoke of would be obtaining the Realm; any idiot could see that. Lucifer wouldn’t just wipe them out and walk away, not with the grudge he clearly held. He’d claim it for himself and expand his kingdom. That was what conquerors did.

“Thank him for thinking of me,” I told the demon, its words punching me in the gut. My old man was good—he knew dangling my friends in front of me would have an effect. It did. If it turned out that he had the forces he claimed, would he truly be able to stomp on us?