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  Sleep did sound good, but so did an orgy. “Let’s do the dancing spell first, and the boring divination one tomorrow.” Suddenly she wasn’t as eager to go home. This could be fun.

  “No. Divination first. I want to save this scroll for a woman I really want to see naked.”

  Az made a noise of disgust. Picky humans. Any naked, dancing person sounded fun to her. More fun than stupid divination. She could certainly wait a day though.

  “Okay. Where can I sleep?”

  The human handed her a blanket and pointed to a lumpy mattress on the floor. “I’m Alibeck.”

  “I’m Jan Schmidt.” Az couldn’t exactly give him her demon names. The old man’s would have to do.

  She curled up on the mattress and wrapped herself in the blanket. This was very comfortable. And there were bugs in the mattress so she could have as a snack when she woke up. Maybe she shouldn’t be in such a hurry to go home. Humans were interesting, and this Alibeck and his scrolls were worth spending time with.

  Chapter 3

  “You guys use a lot of chickens,” Az commented.

  They were on the roof of the house and she was worried the old man’s weak legs wouldn’t be able to keep her balanced. It would hurt like fuck if she fell off onto the cobblestones below. She glanced over the edge of the roof. It was about twenty feet down. Too bad it was nighttime and everyone was locked into their houses for the night. It would be wonderful to urinate down on a passerby. Or rip off bits of the clay roof and try and hit them in the head.

  “Are you going to cut this one in half too? Can we at least eat it when we’re done? That bread didn’t do much for me.”

  “No, the rooster is to scratch out the name of the demon that is coming after me.”

  Az eyed the bird with newfound respect. She hadn’t realized they were capable of written communication, let alone divination.

  Alibeck spread the parchment on a marked tile of the roof, and began stacking roots, herbs, and flowers in layers on top of the scroll.

  “Does the rooster eat those?”

  “Be quiet! I can’t concentrate. Just sit there and watch without saying anything.”

  Carefully, the human drew a circle on the roof around them. It was fairly round , considering they were on a roof and the tiles were little half circles. Az was amazed he didn’t fall off.

  “Stay inside the circle,” he instructed.

  Picking up the rooster, he began to chant, facing each direction and ending with east. The scroll burst into flames and burned everything, paper and plants to ash in a flash of fire. With a final incantation, he sat the rooster among the ashes and watched as it pecked and scratched on the only flat tile on the roof. Finally, the rooster finished and flew down to the street below.

  “There goes our dinner,” Az complained.

  “Hush. Let’s read what it says.”

  Az walked over to see. She didn’t recognize the script, and the human she Owned was unable to read.

  “Do you read rooster? Because it would really suck if we went to all this trouble and you couldn’t even understand the language of the divination.”

  “It’s not rooster. It’s elven. And yes I read it. How do you think I did my job for so many years?”

  “Well then read away, mighty sorcerer. I’m hungry. And I want to get off this roof before I slide over the edge and break a hip.”

  Alibeck knelt down and looked closely at the chicken scratching. “Paquit,” he announced.

  “What? No fucking way. It can’t be Paquit.”

  Why would the elves have contracted Paquit? He wasn’t even an adult yet. This human must be a real hack, not worth the money and effort to send a real demon after. Yes, Paquit had some status with that demon kill he’d took credit for, but it was still presumed status until his age of maturity. She looked at the human, reassessing him. Perhaps she should just Own him. He was probably unable to do anything once his scrolls ran out. He probably hadn’t even been much of a clerk.

  “Why?” Alibeck looked nervous. “Is he powerful? High up in the demon society?”

  Az laughed. “No. He’s a juvenile. A bully. He’s got a bit of a reputation, but trust me, it’s undeserved.”

  Alibeck sighed in relief. “Thank the stars. Then that little demon I bound can defeat him.”

  “Uh, no. There is no way Dar can take down Paquit. Not even if Paquit was half dead in a ditch, and Dar surprised him. You really need to summon a level three or higher demon. The higher, the better, because overkill is always a good policy.”

  “I can’t summon another demon. I used the only scroll I had and that little one is the demon I got. I’ll just have to make do with that one.”

  Az shook her head. “He’s not going to do it. Dar won’t go head to head with Paquit. That’s suicide.”

  “He’ll have to. I’ve summoned him into a circle and bound him. He is compelled to do as I command.”

  “You’re joking. That really works? Well, Dar will be dead. Then you will be dead. Better put your affairs in order, or whatever. Can I have your scrolls when he kills you?”

  Alibeck looked grim. “I’m going to call that little demon back. When this guy comes for me, I’ll send him in to battle, then try and get away while they fight it out. Hopefully the little guy can survive long enough to give me time to get away.”

  “Very clever,” Az commented. “Hope you run fast, because that fight is going to be over before you’re halfway down the block.”

  “Got a better idea?” he asked. The clerk was getting angry.

  “Nope. Let’s get off this roof and find something to eat.”

  They made it safely to the ground, then dined on bread and cheese. Az was still hungry, but there was clearly nothing else to eat. Stupid scribe shouldn’t have let that rooster get away. It looked tasty.

  “When did the rooster say that Paquit is going to appear?”

  “He didn’t.”

  “So you have no idea when this demon is coming to get you? Did the rooster say if he was coming through the angel gate or if he’s using one of the elf gates?”

  “The divination didn’t include that. There is an elf gate a couple of miles away. That’s the one I used. I bribed someone to let me through.”

  “He’s probably using the elf gate then. That way he won’t have to deal with the gate guardian. Plus he’s not even an adult. There’s a good chance he won’t be able to activate the gate on his own.”

  “Do you think we should watch the gate? How do you think he’ll be tracking me?”

  “Well, Paquit doesn’t have a human form, so that’s going to be his first order of business. Any odd human deaths should give us a head’s up. He’s really not that clever, and he’s very arrogant, so he isn’t likely to cover up the human death at all.”

  “That should help. I didn’t take any artifacts, or anything that is really traceable. Scrolls don’t give off a specific magic signature, so it may be hard for him to find me.”

  “He may Own an animal with a good nose. If the elves provided him with something of yours to sniff, he might be able to track you that way.”

  “Yeah. And the elves also have locator spells. They may have provided him with one of them.”

  “If this is the closest human settlement to the elf gate, he’s liable to head this way. He’ll grab a human, and probably be on you within a few hours. We’ll have a tight time window.”

  “Guess I better summon that little demon back. Just in case.”

  Az was thrilled. If this man could bring Dar back, maybe she could help him escape. Then he could activate the gate and they could both go back home. Although this was shaping up to be a fun and interesting adventure. Seeing Dar get reduced to a bloody, very dead, smear by Paquit would be entertaining, but he was looking to be her only ticket back.

  Alibeck got up. “If we hurry, we can be at the crossroads by midnight.”

  “Well I don’t hurry,” Az commented. “Not on these legs anyway. I’ll stay here an
d wait.”

  Alibeck headed out the door, grabbing his bag on the way out, and Az went and curled up on the mattress, pulling the scratchy blanket over her. This was actually quite nice. Yes, it sucked having an old, tired body that hurt when you tried to make it go fast. She was missing half her teeth. Thankfully humans didn’t seem to need teeth to eat bread and cheese, though. It would be nice to Own a younger human. Maybe once this interesting little adventure with the scribe was over she’d Own him. Or find a dancing naked woman and Own her. But for now, this old man was not terrible. It felt good to rest on the mattress, to doze off and dream of a smiling woman with golden hair. A woman who picked flowers and had creamy, soft skin. When she dreamed of the woman, the old man’s body didn’t feel so ancient. It didn’t hurt. It felt strong, and so alive. Humans were more fun than insects. Much more.

  She couldn’t have slept for more than an hour or two when she heard a noise, like someone bumping against a table. Without stirring, she opened an eye and saw a human shape stumbling slightly, as though it wasn’t used to walking on two legs. It wasn’t Alibeck. Grinning, Az sent a flame across the room to light a candle on the table. The figure yelped, and dove to the side, knocking over a chair and rolling in an awkward heap on the ground.

  Paquit. It had to be him. The light had revealed a young human male. Az accessed her human’s memories and realized he seemed to be about twelve years old. But even she, with her limited experience, knew this wasn’t really a human. Paquit sucked. He leaked energy. And his movements were completely wrong, as if a stag were stuffed into a human body. She laughed.

  “Sorcerer, you are mine.” His voice was squeaky, probably not the level of intimidation he wanted to project. Az laughed again.

  “Paquit, you worthless fuck. What are you doing here?”

  “Az?” he asked in amazement. “What are you doing here? And why, of all creatures, did you Own some decrepit man on the edge of death?”

  “So speaks the demon who Owned a child. Paquit, that’s disgusting. Children have no life experience at all. You’re worse than a fucking Low.”

  Paquit bristled at the insult. “At least I can move more than ten feet in an hour. Where did you get that bag of bones? Did you dig him up in the graveyard?”

  “At least my form is decent. As always you look like a pile of shit. Even a blind man wouldn’t mistake you for a human. The gate guardian is going to recognize you a mile away.”

  “Why are you here, Az?” he sneered. “Are the demons too much for you? Decided you’d rather slum it out as a beggar among the humans than face being a Low back home?”

  “I’m here to collect a bounty. The elves want some escaped human dead, and I’m just the demon to do the job.”

  Paquit turned an interesting shade of red. “That’s my job. You spied on me, and now you’re here, trying to cut me out. Bitch. Killing you just moved up to the top of my to-do list.”

  Az scoffed. “Right. This human I Owned is older than ten, so I doubt you could kill me. There are some babies down the street. Why don’t you go kill them instead. Be careful. They may put up a fight.”

  Paquit launched himself at her, miscalculating the distance and landing half on the mattress and half on the floor behind it. Az jumped onto his back, wrapping his head in her blanket, trying to smother him as he flailed about with arms and legs. Her old body was not very strong, and Paquit managed to fling her off into the table as he rose to his feet.

  Ow. Her back hurt terribly, and the one arm didn’t seem to function right. Stupid humans were so fragile. Paquit flung a small fireball at her, catching the edge of her shirt and setting the table ablaze. It took her a few seconds to realize that humans were not impervious to fire. The flames from the burning shirt licked at her skin, sending agonizing jolts of pain through her body and stealing her breath away. Gasping, Az ran into the street and rolled in the dirt, avoiding two more balls of fire that lit up a crate and a small pile of wood. Grabbing a log, she lobbed it at him, burning her hand in the process. Fuck, this skin was no protection at all.

  “Fire! Fire!” she shouted.

  The old man she Owned knew that nobody would leave the safety of their homes at night to stop an assault, but fire was a danger to the whole town. She threw more logs at Paquit as he tried to grab her, shouting and screaming as loud as her aged voice could. Just as Paquit reached her, knocking the log out of her hand and straddling her on the ground, people began to race from their houses.

  Paquit beat her head on the ground. He was such an idiot. He should have done this from the beginning, instead it was likely his fireballs would draw that guardian just a few miles down the road. Or an angel. With any luck, an angel would kill him before she had to.

  “Hans,” a female voice screeched. The woman was only a few feet away, but Az’s vision was rapidly blurring with the repeated blows to her head.

  “Hans, you leave that poor old man alone! Does your mother know you are out here this late?”

  Az felt Paquit’s weight leave her and saw him squirming, held by a stout woman who was slapping him on the head.

  “You are the devil’s own child. I’ll bet you started this fire. You just wait until your mother gets her hands on you.”

  The woman dragged Paquit off down the street, and Az pulled herself to a seated position to see humans frantically beating the fires with blankets and splashing liquid on the flames. She could easily put the blaze out, but it was very entertaining to watch the humans scurrying around, trying to save the wood and the building.

  “My house,” Alibeck cried, running toward the building. Dar was behind him, in the human form he’d taken last time.

  The fire was nearly out. Just a few smoldering areas remained. The wood pile and box were charred, the house reeked of smoke. Az struggled to her feet and hobbled over to look through the door. Her ribs hurt, her back hurt, her head ached, her one arm hung useless at her side. She’d need to fix this human before Paquit managed to get away from his captors and return. Otherwise he’d easily kill her. Not that she was a match for him in her demon form either. Old man, imp, Paquit always won. She needed to get away, free Dar from his compulsion so they could both escape. Then she could hide in the swamp forever.

  Alibeck had gone into the house. Az made her way over to the doorway to watch him, Dar hovering a discrete distance behind. Inside, the house wasn’t terribly damaged. The table and a couple chairs were probably no longer usable. The townspeople had pulled the little rug out into the street where it lay in the dirt, burned in half. Alibeck ran to his chest and examined it carefully, relieved to find it hadn’t been touched by the fire. Az wondered if he’d protected it by magic, or if he’d just gotten lucky. Reluctant to check his scrolls in front of a crowd of people, he moved the chest aside and began to clean out the burned items.

  “What happened?” he asked, seeing Az in the doorway. “Did you drop a candle or something?”

  “It was that horrible child, Hans,” one of the men said angrily. “I saw him. And he was beating up this old man.”

  Alibeck spoke with the man. Az figured she’d clue him in later that the boy Hans was no longer human. Right now she wanted to talk to Dar.

  Dar was standing outside, shuffling around nervously. “Az. What are you doing here?”

  “Everyone keeps asking me that question,” she complained. “I’m stuck here. That sorcerer wannabe sent you back and I can’t activate the gate. I came to him hoping he’d send me back like he did you, but he’s a hack and evidently can’t do it again.”

  “You’ve got to get out of here, Az,” Dar said. “That guy told me Paquit is coming to kill him, that the elves sent him as some kind of hit man. I’m supposed to kill Paquit when he shows up. He’ll make you fight him too.”

  Az shook her head. “No, he doesn’t think I’m a demon. For some reason everyone thinks I’m a human. Maybe they figure a demon would never assume the form of some ancient man who can barely walk. He’s been feeding me and putting me up a
t his house.”

  Dar looked at her strangely. “I don’t know how you’re going to get home, Az. Paquit will kill me, and nobody will come here to get you. Just stay away from Paquit and live here. You’ll eventually be able to activate the gates. I know it. You’re not Low, Az. Just different. Give it time.”

  “There’s an elf gate, Dar. Paquit came in that way, and so did this human runaway. The elves are really harsh on trespassers and might kill me. If I’m trapped it’s an option. But I’m not leaving without you.”

  Dar looked grateful. “The only way I can be released from this human’s binding is if I complete the service requested. I can’t kill Paquit. I’m not even an adult yet, and he’s so strong. He jumped that demon that taught you to breed and killed him. That guy was three thousand years old, and I’m not even three hundred. I don’t stand a chance against him.”

  “Paquit didn’t kill that demon, I did,” Az confessed.

  “You’re getting better at lying,” Dar said in admiration. “That was very convincing.”

  “Seriously Dar. I’m not lying. I killed him during our breeding lesson, and Pere covered it up. He didn’t think I could defend the level of status I’d get, but that Paquit could. So Paquit got the credit.”

  Dar stared at her in amazement, not quite sure whether to believe her or not.

  “He’s not as good as you think, Dar. He’s strong and he’s got power, but he’s really an idiot. And his pride gets in the way of his brains most of the time. We can take him. Together.”

  “Maybe you should try to breed with him,” Dar said. Even scared, his sense of humor hadn’t deserted him. “It killed that other demon, it would probably kill Paquit.”

  Az laughed. “I’ll get my petition ready right now. With any luck he’ll accept and be dead before the sun comes up.”

  The both laughed. Az doubled over as the pain in her chest was nearly unbearable.

  “You better fix your human form before you need to fight again,” Dar suggested.

  With a pop, she’d repaired all the injuries. If only she could make the old man younger and faster, she might have a better chance of taking on Paquit.