A/N: I'd been on such a great roll until I got to this chapter. There's always a chapter that just does not mesh well when you're trying to put the outline into scenes. But we got there in the end (I credit the motivation to getting this chapter out of the way before NaNoWriMo begins so it's easier to write later down the track) 

Hope you enjoy the chapter! 

"Follow the path around the bend. After you go under the overhand and crest the hill, you'll see the tops of the village's singular outpost come into view."

I left the poor woman grieving over the funeral pyre. I felt bad about forcing her to tell me where it was but she was nice enough to point me in the direction of the closest village amongst her tears. It had to be done.

She said Liones was quite a distance away, more than a few days and nights of travelling, but I had the right path. My heart lighter with that knowledge, I'd set off at a brisk jog.

I forgot to thank her.

She also warned that others wouldn't hear me. She had an uncanny ability to speak to animals, passed down by her father. Which sucked because trying to get people to point me in the right direction after the village would most likely result in pitchforks and fire.

~

I trotted through the overhang she mentioned, the monolithic stone speared towards the dropping sun. The shade was delicious on my sun-scorched fur. I'd been running for almost an hour. Foot weary, I let myself rest briefly.

The distance had been eaten up by my longer legs. I wasn't sure why I hadn't decreased size since dropping the ability to absorb mana but I wasn't exactly complaining. It made it so much easier to get anywhere.

And it would make fighting easier too.

The path sloped gently upwards in the distance, the trees thinning out once again. Surprisingly, I encountered no one else on the path. Worry was a knot in my stomach at the thought, for even the animals had been few and far between.

A quick stretch and I was on my way again. The demon stench began again not long after the overhang, confirming my unspoken theory that there was more than one in the area. Then came the smell of thunderstorms and dust interlapped with the stench.

Could it be?

No, surely not. I tried not to let myself hope. There had to be a reasonable explanation for the smells but a small part of me prayed even if it was outrageous, that they'd be this far from Liones.

The singular defense outpost was not hard to see amongst the shrove of trees in view. The roofing had either been made with gaudy red tiles or painted that way so it could be seen from a distance.

Farmland spread out in the land before the trees, little houses and lean-tos with smoke curling delicately from chimneys. Serene, peaceful, not a blade of glass out of place.

Except the people standing still as statues. Cautiously, I made my way closer, eyes searching for demons. I saw no evidence of them still around, just the slack-jawed humans, wide eyes pale and unseeing. The demon smell was almost unbearable this close to the humans.

The eerie silence made my fur stand on end and I passed through with barely a breath exhaled. The wind didn't even stir.

I was between a house and the trees when a scream tore the air. I darted into the shadows of a wagon, ears flattened, teeth bared. Nothing came at me and I clambered out when more screams and cries carried through the still air.

The town! My fur rippled in anticipation, a sudden spark of strange hunger blossoming. I bolted towards the chaos of noise.

Like frenzied ants, humans scattered through the narrow alleys and wide streets as a red demon lumbered behind, grating laughter coming from that grotesque mouth. Several people lay comatose at it's feet as it continued to prowl onwards, a hand held away from the ground with a swirling cluster of wisps in his palm.

It chanted something foreign and I felt a strange tug in my chest, before the people closest to him staggered and fell, the blue wisps like bubbles blown from their mouths. They floated directly into the demon's palm and it gave another laugh.

I had no time to waste! Static sparked down my spine before flames erupted on my tail. It barely even glanced at me as I slipped beneath its body and dispersed my static into the air around us.

"Firework!"

The explosion hit my back and forced me into the cobblestone with bone crushing strength. Blood and gore – what remained of the demon –rained down on me and the 'dead' humans.

Ick. I shook myself viciously but the blood clung to my fur like glue. The humans around me were starting to stand again, weeping in relief.

My bloodlust rose like it did once before, the quickening of mana surging the flames on my tail. The craving only grew stronger when I heard more growls from demons and the human screams.

A familiar bolt of lightning sent my heart singing with joy. Gilthunder! I'd never been so happy to see his powerful lightning. I bee-lined in that direction, shouldering past the wave of terrified humans.

I skidded out of the dust into a T-intersect, lungs heaving; then my breath caught in my throat at the sight before me.

The butt-end of a massive, spindly demon. This one was different to the red demons I'd encountered. It reeked like Hendrickson's demon form, had the same dull and gray skin. Even the though of that sent sparks crackling down my spine again. On its lower body, it had armour much like that of a knight.

I couldn't see my friends but with the way the demon stared hyper-fixated down the road, I guessed they had to be its next target.

Red glowed in its mouth and it blasted an attack that shook the ground. Cobblestone and building chunks flew through the air. This demon was a lot stronger and meaner than its red demon friends.

The thought sent a smile to my lips.

It crossed its hands near its chest. Pinpoints of black appeared, the scene all too familiar. All too deadly.

This time, I didn't hesitate.

I sank my fangs into the rough skin at the demon's heel just below the armour and with a single thought, poured red-hot flames into my mouth. My sizzling incisors seared through muscle, tendon and bone like they were nothing. I tore the hunk from its body as the demon screeched loud enough to shatter the remaining glass in the buildings around us.

It cancelled the Dark Snow to turn spiteful, soulless eyes on me. I licked the demon blood from my lips, the taste of metal and ash on my tongue, bloodlust pounding away in my ears. I nimbly evaded the stomps it aimed at me, trying to avoid landing in the growing pools of blood.

"You've got some nerve!" I heard a familiar voice cry, the surge of power emanating from him familiar but stronger. I back-pedalled from the demon, placing as much distance as possible between me, it and Howzer. "Rising Tornado!"

A dust tornado enveloped the demon and I sunk my claws into the gaps in the cobblestone as the air around me was sucked into it.

"Lightning King Iron Hammer!" came Gilthunder's call.

The lightning blast sent the air back under me and I was thrown away. I landed on all fours, a fine layer of dust now sticking to the demon blood. The air settled. The demon, head cocked back with a roar, trembled as it raised its arms.

An alarming spike in demonic power drained the feeling from my limbs. There was nowhere to hide, nowhere to escape to. In desperation, I cast Cold Fire on a stack of rubble. I'd never used it before on an inanimate object and I worried the blue flames dancing on brick would do nothing to protect me as I skidded behind it.

The demon threw its arms wide a split second later, a pulse of death destroying everything in its path. The flames flashed bright and a half-sphere of blue flames curled around my hiding spot with a hum.

Nothing remained of the village in a large radius around us. Had Cold Fire not worked, I'd be pulverised dust, without even a molecule of me remaining.

My legs trembled with fatigue once I cancelled my protective magic. Perhaps Cold Fire on an inanimate object did have a downside I didn't know about. Scrunching my toes, I cast Kitsune and the mana was trickling cold water over my skin.

No more big attacks. I'd have to rely on my tail. I swished it, the flames spluttering and whipping about like a candle in the wind.

The fight had continued. Gilthunder and Howzer stood close by behind along shield that looked a lot like Griamore's magic. A fourth individual had gone for the demon.

He slashed at the demon's wrist and drew blood, then hurriedly dodged the demon's retaliation. With sheer force on its side, the demon clipped him with his hand and sent him flying.

The man smelt familiar but I didn't have time to figure out why. He had a sword which meant he was a Holy Knight too so I couldn't very well let him be killed. Would look bad when I returned home.

I dashed up behind the demon's injured leg, pivoted and with a mighty roar, smashed my Enflamed tail into the wound I'd made earlier. It careened forward onto a knee as I landed, only to have to jump aside as it kicked out with its other leg.

The man with the sword darted forward, carving a deep grove into the demon's wrist. It howled and got back to its feet, eyes darting between the two of us. I snarled, hackles raised, multi-coloured sparks dancing around me.

We traded blows, the demon attempting to squash us, me landing crushing blows on the demon's ankles and backs of knees and the Holy Knight delivering strikes to its unprotected arms.

At one point, the knight and I crossed paths, the smell of him niggling at my memories. But I had no time to look or linger as the demon brought its fists down onto the ground. The shockwave threw us both off our feet.

I recovered fast.

The man reacted too slowly. 

Time slowed. The demon's fist unfurled to a flat hand. The man staggered to his feet, trying to raise up his sword with his injured arm. 

I bunny-kicked the man out of the way. The demon's palm smacked into me like a horse and cart.

I was stronger than your average fox as we all know but it seemed I didn't quite have the same level of supernatural strength as earlier. Being smashed into the ground had the same effect as it did for anyone human. Bones shattered on impact and I rolled head over heels until the world spun.

Pain! So much pain!

I whimpered in a crumpled heap. Dust tickled my lungs but my chest hurt too much to cough. The demon's face loomed over me, haloed by the sun.

My end. And I could do nothing except stare my second death in the face.

I haven't warned the others yet.

A lightning bolt to its side knocked the demon away from me. A shaky, short breath left my nose in relief as it granted me a moment's respite.

I willed the mana in me and from the earth into healing my bones. The world went fuzzy at the edges, black and red sparkles in my vision. Pretty sure I stopped breathing when bone connected back to bone and muscle connected back to bone. The muffled sounds of battle raged around me as I swam between consciousness and sleep.

Only when my tail bones reconnected to my spine did I gasp in a lungful of dusty, dank air. My vision sharpened again, just in time for the man I'd saved to land atop the demon's face.

"Purge!"

The demon fell over with a heavy thump. I rose on shaky legs, the ache in my body crippling. No matter though, I'd live to fight another day.

Griamore, Gilthunder and Howzer were all staring up at the man still on the demon corpse. Now that the chaos was over, I got a good look at him.

His face glistened with sweat that he swiped with a forearm, turquoise eyes sharp and bright as he looked around. His silver hair was dusty and he shook his head to try and dislodge some. Then his eyes fell on me.

The world narrowed on the singular person who'd ruined my entire life.

Snarling and spitting, I barrelled towards him. The stabbing ache in all my bones was nothing compared to the torturous grief and the all-consuming rage that swelled in my veins.

I watched him jump down, his hand tightening on his blade as he angled his body towards mine. My muscles bunched and coiled as I prepared to launch at his throat.

"Estra?" 

A/N: if anyone finds joined words, let me know with inline comments