I walked back to where Zachariah sat in the dirt. He was bloodied and beathing heavy, eyeing me warily. I suppose I couldn't really blame him. Even if I wasn't demon, I was the crazy lady that just slaughtered ten men without all too much effort and rather mercilessly to boot.

  The fact that beheading a wolf two weeks ago made me up chuck my dinner, yet the wanton slaughter of ten men barely made me bat an eye, wasn't lost on me. The truth was that my trauma went deep and I delt with the pain of it long ago and concluded that I was broken. And I'm okay with that. I didn't see a need to 'fix' myself. The 'me' I am now has served me well till fate stepped in and got me lasered in half and shunted off to a weird world. And I didn't think I needed to change here. If anything, my broken self worked better here.

  The wolf had been a shock. I hadn't expected it and my body reacted strongly. I knew full well that if those men did not back off when I asked them to, then I was going to kill them. I also knew that I didn't have the know how or restraint yet to finish those men cleanly. I was a rabid dog with fangs and claws that were too sharp for my own good.

  "You alright?" I asked when he didn't say anything.

  "I'm alive. And for a bit there I didn't think I would be... so I suppose I am." He said, stretching then leaning back on his elbows. "I'm in better shape than you are at least." He said giving me the side eye.

  "I'll be fine." I said, directing my attention to Drogin. I removed him from around my neck where he had stayed dutifully. It hadn't been perfect, but he had performed his job quite well for us never having worked together before. I was quite proud of the little guy. "How about you Drogin? Are you hurt?"

  He made a little grueling noise and then spread out one of his translucent wings, the setting sun making it shiny a pinkish-orange color. I saw that membrane was fine but one of the joints looked swollen. I clicked my tongue in distaste then knelt next to Zachariah. He twitched nervously when, attempting not to jostle my stabbed arm, I set the little dragon next to him in the dirt.

  "Is that a Dragon Newt?" He asked. Once he seemed sure the monster wasn't going to lunge at him, he turned curious. "I've only seen them once before, but I don't think they are supposed to look like that..."

  "He is a dragon." I said, glaring and daring the man to argue with the scary demon lady. He didn't seem intimidated at all. In fact, he smiled broadly. "His name is Drogin, and he is my partner. I'm a tamer." I held out my hand over the small animal which was waiting patiently. "Heil." I said and a pale green magic circle appeared beneath Drogin. The light shone dully for a second longer, the drain on my mana minimal, then faded. Drogin stretched out his neck and then flexed his wing experimentally. Satisfied he scrambled back up my arm and across my neck.

  "This evening just keeps getting stranger and stranger..." Sighed Zachariah, seemingly exhausted. He didn't look mortally wounded or anything, but he did seem down for the count. "The bandits were bad. But getting saved by a demon who tames monsters is just strange."

  "A man who can't fight, wandering round the countryside when it is well known that bandits are about seems weirder to me, to be honest." I grumped, stuffing my hand into my satchel and fishing out a couple healing potions. I literally rolled my eyes the first time I saw the glass vials filled with red liquid. Could there have been anything more cliché? But they worked and that's what mattered. I tossed one to him and he just barely caught it, then popped the cork off the other, downing it in a single gulp.

  Unlike video games the potions were not instantaneous, so as Zachariah drank his a little more sedately, I fished out a bandage and began to wrap up the hole in my arm. Between the potion and my faster healing speeds as a demon it would be good as new in an hour at most. For now, it stung like a bitch.

  "I didn't know there were bandits about." He said after a few more moments of silence.

  "Its kind of plastered all over every bulletin board in town, right there next to the fancy poster telling us of our great and noble saviors."

  Zachariah tilted his head sideways like a confused child. "I don't get out much. Do demons see the heroes as saviors?" He said the first sentence mater-of-factly like it was in the way of his question. There was no malice in his voice when he asked, just genuine curiosity.

  "No idea." I said truthfully. "The way I see it, is that I, personally, can just save myself. I'm sure the poor shmucks have enough on their plates to be dealing with then to have to go out of their way to save a demon girl."

  "Shmucks?" He asked, rolling the unknown word around in his mouth and I kicked myself for the slip up again. He seemed to discard it how ever and move on. "Why do you call them 'poor'? They are heroes after all, right?"

  "Why do you care?" I could think of a million other questions that could be seen as far more pressing than my opinions on the heroes.

  "I don't care. Not really. But I do think it intriguing. After all, most people don't get a chance to talk to a demon, do they?"

  "Don't they?" I asked snarkily, as I dragged my battered body to its feet. "For someone who doesn't get out much you sure picked a bad time to get out this time." I commented, attempting to steer the conversation away from myself.

  "Yeah." he said dejectedly. "I was doing research back at base and realized I hadn't left my study in, like, a week... The boss gets ticked off when I space out that bad, so I decided to get clean and then get some fresh air. But I got so absorbed in my book I wasn't paying much attention to where I was walking and ran into those bandits."

  I looked at the guy in sheer disbelief. This shut in had spent a week so absorbed in what he was doing that he forgot to live essentially, decided to go for a stroll to clear his head... and brought a book? A book that he thought was a good idea to read and walk while doing so... in a monster infested world. A crazy person. I risked my life and anonymity for a crazy person.

  Groaning, he got to his feet and attempted to stretch but winced. He side-stepped a body, turning a little green like it just occurred to him that we had been carrying on a conversation surrounded by death, and made his way back to the field. I didn't bother to follow and instead started dragging the corpses off the side of the road. There wasn't much I could do about the blood, but I could at least move the bodies so that people didn't loose their minds.

  "Not sure how I'm going to explain this one back at the guild." I sighed out loud.

  "Just come back to base with me. I'm sure the captain can sort it all out." Zachariah said, reappearing from the fields holding his broken bag and several dishevel looking books. "After all it was my fault."

  "Do you honestly think it's a smart idea for me to follow some strange man to his 'base' out in the woods? Seems sketchy too me."

  "I am not a pervert!" He huffed, then sighed. "I assume you don't want the people of Bellana knowing what you are, correct? Well, I'm sure the captain can say that he, or one of the other Ravens, took out these bandits, and you will be in the clear."

  "You may not be a pervert, but you clearly have a few screws loose. I am a demon, who just tore ten men apart in front of you! Shouldn't you be worried? Afraid? Screaming for the guards or something?"

  "No." he said looking at me like I was the crazy person. "Why would I think you would hurt me. You just went out of your way to prevent me from being harmed, getting yourself wounded in the process. Besides, just because you are a demon does not mean you are a bad person. There is so little known about your people that it would be foolish for me to pass judgment, just on rumors. I am a man of facts, after all."

  He was a man of many words apparently. The whole time he spoke he attempted to get his pages in order while crouched on the ground. Satisfied he pointed at the two books and said: "Reperay.". the two books made a fluttering noise and I saw the frayed edges repair themselves. I assumed the entirety of the books had been fixed. That done he repeated the process with the bag.

  Curiosity got the better of me and I asked, "That spell fixes things?"

  "Sure does. Well, nonmagical items anyway. I would need my tools and far more complicated spells to fix a magical tool, book, or weapon. But these are easy." He looked up at me with a smile. "Do demons not have repairing spells? Or are they just in a different language? How does demon realm magic differ from our realm?"

  "Woah, woah. Calm down." I sighed and decided to avoid the demon talk, witch I had less information on than him, I was sure, and answered with a truth. "I don't know much magic. Basically, just some taming spells..."

  "Really? Is that why you came to this realm? Because you had a hard time with magic in your own realm?"

  "Ugh! You ask too many questions. I'm sure you know more than me about it." I sniped.

  He shook his head and stuffed his books in the bag, slinging it over his shoulder and walking a bit away, avoiding the puddles of foul-smelling blood. "No one knows much of anything about demons. The demons that are summoned here are basically mindless puppets while under contract, and the few demons such as yourself that choose to come here haven't opened up... It is very frustrating. For instance, what does the demon realm even look like? People assume its all fire and rock and misery... but I say no! That sort of environment can't possibly support so much life, right?"

  I sighed and decided that I might as well follow the guy. He was harmless and would probably die when the sun finished setting in ten minutes or so. There was no way I was getting in the city before curfew now so I may as well go to this base. If it turned out to be trouble than I would take my ass out of there as soon as I could.

  "Oh, here..." he said and stretched out a hand towards me. I stepped away from him swiftly. "It's okay, I just wanted to get the blood off you. It can't be comfortable, and, to be honest, its kind of freaking me out."

  I eyed his hand warily then took a cautious step forward. "There is a spell for that too?"

  "Oh yes, it is very useful! Its not a substitute for a bath but it gets the surface grime off at least. Then you could walk around with out the locals screaming crazy demon lady!"

  I sighed and gave him a look that just made him laugh. I had no clue how to handle his type of person.

  "Scuro." He said softly and another bluish circle appeared beneath me, the light slowly rising my body. I watched, fascinated, as flakes of blood and gore seemed to evaporate off me as it made its way slowly up to my head. Once done I examined myself and though there were places in like the folds of my cloths and such, the spell missed, most of the yuck was gone. Handy.

  "Would I be able to cast this?"

  "Perhaps. It's a simple spell that costs almost no mana. It depends on your affinity to be honest. Scuro is a water-based spell so if you do not have an affinity to water, it may be difficult."

  "... and how do you learn your affinity?" I asked, fully aware that I was treading in dangerous waters about how ignorant I truly was about this world. Being a demon would only excuse so much lack of magical knowledge.

  "Um, you said you were an adventurer, didn't you?" I hadn't but I did mumble something about the guild, so I nodded. "The you already did the status exam there. Well, there is another exam you can preform as well, one done mainly by those looking to go into the magical studies, but sometimes others want to know too. It's preformed at any of the major cathedrals around the kingdoms."

  "Is it similar to the one I did already?"

  "A little. But less impersonal? Maybe? I'd describe it as a religious experience. You basically go and ask the gods to reveal the truth of your soul. Some people can't stand the truth of what they may see and never go. They just try and figure out their affinity the hard way. It can be a jarring experience after all. They say that the heroes always go through the process, however. But they are closer to the gods so..."

  "How are they closer?" I asked. It seemed that he was having too much fun having someone around who wanted to hear what he had to say to find my questions too strange. The main road split and Zachariah led me down the smaller path. Had I of been back on Earth, I would not have gone down this path in the darkening twilight with a strange man, no matter how innocent he looked. But I was a demon now, and the thought of this guy even trying any funny business was hilarious.

  "Well, it is the God Kradiff, that brings them from their world to ours, after all. Even if the spell is enacted by priests in the capital. They are literally touched by a god. Many people believe it is both this, and the world they come from, that gives them their crazy power and abilities. The strength to take on the Demon King..."

  "What about demons? Can they even go into your churches?"

  Surprised, Zachariah blinked down at me. "I hadn't thought of that... I was always told that they couldn't, but I have no proof. Not for free demons anyway. I know that demons under the control of a summoner can not enter. Demons summoned buy a master make a contract with them. The summoner gains use of the demon's power, both in the form of the demon's physical form, and in a boost to the summoner's own abilities. In exchange the summoner trades their soul."

  "Sound like a poor deal for the summoner to me..." I mumbled.

  "Many believe it is. They say it's a selfish contract and that a few years of power is not worth the loss of one's soul. And the demons who make the contracts seem to think them a good deal. I mean, most people who make the contracts are human, and humans only live an average of eighty years. Eighty years to your kind is like a blink, right? And after that blink, the demon can go home with the added power of a soul. I'm not sure what your people do with those souls, but I do know that there is a great deal of power in one." He was quiet for a moment, and I was lost in thought, so his next question surprised me when it came, merely because it was so off topic. "What is your name by the way? I've just been referring to you as "Demon woman" in my head and its kind of making me feel rude in my own mind..."

  My lips twitched. I could understand that, I guess. "My name is Sin. And I heard you say earlier that you are Zachariah Farset."

  "Zach." He said off handily. "You are a demon, named Sin? A bit on the nose, isn't it? Is that really your name?"

  "Its the name if had since I first drew breath in this life. I'd say it can't get any realer than that."

  "If you say so. I kind of like it though... Sin. Alright I can work with that. We are nearly at the Base. I doubt there is many people there, they had to port out this morning to attend a presentation ceremony for the heroes. I saw a note they left me when I stumbled out of my room."

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  "I feel like you should probably look after yourself a little better."

  He laughed and it was a warm and comfortable sound. "I have been told that by many people. But the others make sure I have food and water when I get all spaced out like I do. And once I start to stink, they drag me out and make me bathe."

  "Sounds unhealthy."

  "What can I say, my work consumes me." He chuckled.

  "And what is your work? Reading?"

  "Oh no! I'm an enchanter. Mostly of things like trinkets and jewelry. I don't really work well with weapons and such. I just read for fun."

  Suddenly I knew who this was. "Ah, so are the crazy, smart weirdo that Wells was talking about."

  "Wait, he called me crazy and weird?"

  I laughed. "Maybe not in so many words."

  "Hmm."

  We had left the field behind now and I noted a slight incline in the terrain. It didn't take long for trees to become more prominent. I may have been a little nervous, entering a forest at night, at one time. Not because of the man next to me, nor even the monsters that could be lying in wait, as said before I could handle those just fine. No, I would have been nervous about stumbling around in the dark, tripping over stones and roots. But working in Castor's Wood, sometimes even over night, the last couple weeks, showed me that my new eyes could see quite well at night. I couldn't pick up colors too well, and the more the moon had waned, or the more clouds in the sky, the harder it was to see. But having night vision was quite helpful.

  "Just so you know," piped up Zach after a few minutes of him nearly tripping every few steps, "Your eyes are beautiful, but very scary out here at night."

  "What?" I asked, confused.

  "They glow." He laughed. "Like two rubies on fire in the night. I think if anyone saw them in the dark, they would not mistake you as a beastmen."

  "Good to know..."

  "I think its fascinating. Given you are not tripping over your own feet like me I take it you can see quite well? Is it a heat vision? Or does everything look the same as it does in the light of day?"

  I sighed; this man really did not stop. Still, I didn't not like that about him. I could be obsessive too. I reached up and stroked Drogin's head. I had to admit that the thought of coming across and learning about other monster set a fire under my skin and made me excited too. "I see things in shades of black and silver."

  "Amazing! So, its like your eyes are supper sensitive to light? Or wait, maybe mana?" there was a moment of silence then- "Blow." There was a short flash or a magic circle, then a small wind brush past me, the areas shimmering with a glittering bluish dust light. I spun on my heel and hissed at the man. I didn't even know that I hissed... "Sorry!" he said, raising his hands. "Just wanted to test something. It was just a slight breeze!"

  I grumbled and narrowed my eyes at the man. "So? Did it look like anything?" He asked, a huge smile and a slight note of excited impatient.

  "What do you mean?" I asked, continuing down the path.

  "The magic? Did you see it? I was curious if your eyes could pick up mana or if it was just light."

  I rolled my eyes. "I saw the circle as always." I said simply. "Though there was a slight shimmering of blue light on the wind."

  "Amazing! Wait, you can see the magic circle on even small spells like that?"

  "Yes? Is that not normal?"

  "Not for humans. Nor for beastmen. Elves can, however"

  "Why?" I asked, feeling a little exasperated. I may have amused too if I hadn't been feeling the exhaustion of an adrenaline crash.

  "Its just a theory, but some suggest that the races blessed by greater levels of magic can pick up on mana levels better than other races. I find it interesting because this seems to prove that what I have suspected of a while may be true!"

  "And what have you been suspecting?" I asked, just because it was easier to go along with the guy's madness.

  "Well, there is some debate amongst scholars about weather or not demons are even magical at all as an over all race. Most believe that they are like humans and beastmen, where only a very few can really use magic in any significant matter. However, there are people like me who believe that, with out their contracts to bind them, demons fall more into the category the elves do and are blessed with great mana. One way to know weather or not a person is strong with mana is to test how well they can actually pick up on the flow of mana!" He was getting more and more excited as he spoke and barely even registered when I had to grab him to prevent his trip sending him sprawling to the ground. "And being able to see week spell circles proves that you are strong in mana!"

  "Um, I guess I am glad for your discovery... but you do know that that isn't solid proof, right? Maybe I am just very gifted. What's to say that all demons are."

  "Oh, nothing really." He said still sounding cheery even though I blew a huge whole in his hypothesis. "But its one step closer. I can't wait to share this discovery with the others in Larasta!"

  "I really rather you wouldn't..." I sighed. Yeah, there was no may me being a demon was going to be kept secret for much longer. I felt an ache inside I wasn't accustomed to and knew it was because I was getting attached. Attached to this world and the people I met here, to the life I was just starting to settle into. I was afraid that the small friendships that had just begin to bud around me were about to be shattered once they all knew that they had been friendly with a demon.

  "Zaaaach!!" I heard a female voice ring out. "Damn it where the hell are you...?" Who ever the woman was she sounded more irritated than concerned.

  "Oops! That's Sandra. She must have found out I left." He put his hands around his mouth and a braced myself for his shout. "Over here! I'm coming!"

  "Don't scare me like that kid!" the woman snapped, and I heard her grumble a few words that, had my hearing not been as good as it was, I wouldn't have heard at all.

  "Sorry!" he chuckled and turned to me. "Sandra is a witch and part of the Red Ravens. She specializes in plant magic and is a competent alchemist too. Unfortunately, she also has a bad gambling problem."

  Wow, this guy had no sense of boundaries. Did he not even think that his teammate may not want to have her dirty laundry and skills bandied about to strangers?

  He was going to tell everyone I was a demon...

  Feeling a little defeated, I helped Zach toward the area the voice had come from. After a second I saw candle light and then a massive building came into view. To others it probably would have just looked like a massive dark shadow with a few widows lit up. But to my eyes... to my eyes the place was lit up in a myriad of colours, almost like it was covered in an oil slick coloured mist that danced and moved over the stones...

  Maybe I should have spent more time out at night after all. Usually, I was in a hurry to get back to town before the gates were closed for the night and then I just spent the night in the inn. The few times I did stay out over night it was out in the forest where there was no concentration of magic, just bursts of it. Clearly this Red Raven base was bursting with it. In fact, squinting my eyes so I could see through the fog, I could see some magic circles on the brick surfaces.

  I stopped in my tracks and Zach looked back to me, confused and a little concerned. "What is it? You can come in. Trust me, someone being a demon is not that big a deal here. Half of this squad has been called one at least once." He said with a laugh, clearly trying to put me at ease.

  "This place is saturated in mana, and there are spell circles that I do not know... what if I just get trapped in there?'

  He looked surprised, then turned his head back toward the two-story mansion. Even through the mist I could make out the solid and massive double door and the many giant glass windows that ran the length of the building. Only the half of the building in front of me seemed to be truly tall. It was two stories, but clearly the first level was double height, so it looked more like three.

  "Oh." Zach said. "Your eyes must be awesome... There is a lot of magic here. It's a Royal Squadrons Base after all. Plus, half of us are always experimenting with something or the other. I promise, we are not going to trap you here Sin. You could leave right now if it really concerns you. But it is late, and I wish you would stay. You saved my life, the least I could do is give you a place to spend the night."

  I still wasn't overly comfortable with it but decided to enter anyways. Maybe curiosity was as big a fault with demons as it was with cats? I don't remember it being as hard to resist when I was a human, that's for sure. I would have been dead long ago.

  I followed Zach into the building, my body drawn tight like a bow string, completely expecting to be put in a magical bind of some sort. Nothing happened. Nothing but Zach laughing at my tense baring anyway.

  "See, you are fine."

  "And who is this?" I heard a woman ask as a candle was lit up ahead.

  By its light, and the light coming in from the widows I could see that I had entered a rather large room. I could tell that the room, full of wide spaces and some tables and chairs, extend a way to my right. Over there was skinnier than here, where the back of the room seemed to extend back a bit farther. Along the far wall was clearly a well stocked bar, the bottles reflecting the light in colors of amber and honey.

  It was by this bar that the woman stood, holding a decanter and eyeing me like I was a bug. She was taller than me but only by a few inches, her tall, Grass green witches hat added nearly a foot to that height. Her matching dress, long sleeved, body forming, and with an obscene amount of cleavage, showed off every curve as she leaned against the bar, looking every bit the witch, she was.

  She had a very pleasing face and wore only minimal makeup. I wasn't sure if that was how she liked it- she really did not need any- or if it was just because of the late hour. Sandra had large lavender eyes, a darkly tanned complexion, and a full wide mouth that curved up in an arrogant smile. Her hair, wavier than curly, hung to her shoulders in a purple color that shouldn't have looked natural but did.

  "This is Sin, she is a demon." Said Zach

  And there it was. Not even in other company for three seconds and he had already spouted out what I was. Called it. Oh well, adapt and move on. It's always worked before; all I could do was hope that it continued to serve me well now.

  "You don't say?" Drawled Sandra with a cocked eyebrow as she gave me another once over. "I don't see any horns. Or a tail. The eyes scream demon though."

  I sighed. No point hiding now. I uncurled my tail and let it rasp along the stone floors, reached up and took the tie out of my hair and let the black-red sheet fall to its full length. Sandra made a long 'hunnn' sound and came forward. As she approached she reached out a thin, brown hand toward my head. "May I?" she asked, fingers inches from my little horns.

  "I suppose so..."

  She smiled and poked the tip of her finger to the top of one of my horns. I didn't even feel anything. "They are so small." She said with apparent delight. "I have seen countless demons, and its true that they come in many shapes and sizes, but I have never seen one with such tiny horns." She laughed.

  "So glad I amuse you..." I said sarcastically, glaring at the woman.

  "Sorry." She laughed; I've just never had a conversation with a demon before. I have seen a few free demons of course. Even the royal guard who protects the queen has one. But I never had an occasion to speak to one."

  "Well then I am so very pleased to see that I can delight both you and Zach in that regard then."

  "Snappy! I like it." He chuckled before taking a step back. "My name is Sandra, human and witch extraordinaire." She did a slight bow that had me worried her breasts may fall out of the dress. "A pleasure to meet you, Sin."

  "Like wise." I said, not entirely sure I meant it. "Are you the only two here?" I asked. It seemed awfully empty. Sure, it was dark out, but it wasn't exactly late.

  "No, but almost." She said, sauntering back to the bar. Zach followed so I had too as well. That or stay standing at the door like an awkward freak.

  "I assume everyone took off to the capital?" Asked Zach, hoisting himself up on one of the tall bar stools.

  Sandra rolled her eyes. "You need to get out of your cave more often, Love. But yes, they are at the capital. We received word nearly a week ago that there was to be some big announcement or some such and the Queen called in all the captains. So, Rift took Leon, Dural and Vale with him. Vice captain Honey and most of the others are off on odd jobs."

  "So, the reason they went to the capital was to learn about the heroes then?" I asked.

  "Seems to be the case. I am not surprised. Things have been getting dicey for a while so anyone in the know was expecting this to happen sooner or later. I wonder who these new people are and what they are like..."

  "Well," I said, deciding to risk fishing for information again. I sat on a stool, mindful of my tail, and set Drogin down on the counter, stoking his back as if he were a fluffy cat. "What were the last heroes like? I mean I know the general history, but personality wise... or maybe more like their backstories?"

  "Hnnnn. I am older than many humans but not nearly old enough to know them personally." Said Sandra, pouring herself another drink and not offering one to either me or Zach. I figured Zach probably shouldn't drink. For some reason I felt as if he may blow things up. For science. "I hear that the world they come from is very strange though."

  "Yes, I have heard that too!" Smiled the boyish enchanter. "I investigated it once, trying to see what I could find from old reports and the like. Apparently, there is no magic there at all! Or at least the people there have no knowledge of how to access it."

  "I have heard that too. And, that there are not other races there. Just humans."

  "You don't say." I said, simply. "Not even demons?"

  "Nope. I read in the records that the humans there told stories of the other races, like they once may have met the other races far back in their history and now all that is left are legends." Explained Zach. He looked like he needed to lie down and sleep but at the same time, wired, as if the very thought of sleep was laughable. "Can you believe we live in an age where the heroes have come? I wonder if I will be able to speak with one of them!"

  "Zach, Love, the heroes being here is a biproduct of the end times. Do try and not sound so excited about that." Reprimanded Sandra, sounding exasperated but unsurprised. "Our Squad has a bad enough reputation; we don't need the kingdom thinking we were looking forward to the Demon King's return."

  "I am not excited about that." Zach replied with a slight frown. "Though if I could interview him as well that would be fascinating!" He continued, his face saying only that he was very excited.

  Sandra rolled her eyes at me. "This one has either got his nose stuffed in some old tomb, or he is tinkering with some odd bauble or another." She explained, using her drink to indicate Zach.

  "I didn't see you complaining when I enchanted that bauble on your hat!" Huffed the half unconscious man. Literally, his eyes were too drooped to even properly glare at the witch.

  I looked up at the lavender hat in question and noted that there was, indeed, a small golden chain wrapped around the base with a large amethyst in a golden setting dangling from it. If I squinted, I could see a feint haze like the outside of the base had. What kind of enchantments did it contain?

  "That aside," said the witch, Sandra. "You should get off to bed Zachariah. You are dead on your feet. When was the last time you slept?"

  Zach shrugged. "I guess you are right. I'll just show Sin to a room she can use first." He finished with a yawn.

  "Um-"I said awkwardly. I had no shame. I'd take a free room any day. But this was, essential, a military base that would be full of super powerful people who- by admission of two said members present- were probably mentally unstable. Did I really want my demon ass here for the night? What if one of them wanted to off the demon in the night. I wasn't cocky enough to assume that I could take on people like these. Zach, maybe, but I had no doubt that most of the people in this building would be able to kill me, an untrained demon with a tiny dragon.

  "Its fine." Yawned Sandra clearly tired herself. "Trust me, no one will care much. You got in, didn't you?"

  Well, that was a disconcerting comment. What the heck did that mean?

  A wicked grin spread across Sandra's face. "This place is spelled to ward off anyone with ill intent. Even if someone was powerful enough to get through those wards there would at least be an alarm going off to warn everyone."

  I glared down at the drowsy Zach. He had said that it would be fine, He never once mentioned wards.

  "What? I knew you would be fine. I told you." He said, clearly confused as to why I was upset with him. "You are a good bad person."

  "That doesn't even make sense..." I growled. A literal growl. Apparently, I hissed and growled. Who knew.

  "Come on. There should be a couple rooms on the first floor you can crash in." He said with a sleepy wave of his hand, sliding off his stool. "Don't forget your newt."

  "Dragon." I corrected. Though, Drogin was most definitely a newt. "And his name is Drogin." I said, accepting defeat and getting to my feet. Drogin had fallen asleep, so I scooped up the small, red, dragon into my arms and shuffled off after Zach, past the bar. I nodded to Sandra who gave me a cheery wave and downed the last of her amber drink.

  We pass the tight set of stairs and headed down a tight hallway. "That's the guild office." Said Zach waving a hand at a door as we passed. "You will usually find Captain Rift there if not in the common room. And up ahead there is the baths. Left side for women and right for men. And at the end of the hall is the training room. I avoid that like the plague." Apparently, Zach decided he was going to play tour guide. I wasn't sure why given I was just crashing here for the night, but I'm sure he would still do it if I brought up that fact all the same. "And tuning left here is the first-floor rooms."

  As we walked down the hallway, I glanced at he stones walls and doors. It was dark in here, with nose of the sconces lit that lined the walls, but I could see fine. Zach was seemingly fine as well, no doubt due to this being a stone paved hall without roots. That and his knowledge of the place that is. Even here I could make out feint magic circles and even whisps of mana here and there. Now that I was aware of it, it was suddenly much easier to see.

  "Okay, this one is empty." Said Zach, coming to a stop at a door around the center of the passage. "My room is one door back the way we came and across the hall. Though, most of the time I'm in my workshop."

  "Alright." I spoke. I scratched at the bandage on my arm. It was nearly healed now but the process itched like crazy. "Thanks."

  Zach smiled kindly. "You were the one who saved me Sin. I thank you." He chucked then interrupted the laugh with another yawn. "Giving you a place to be safe is the least I could do. Well, I will see you in the morning then." And with a cheery, if lack luster wave, Zach stumbled down the hall. True to his word he only went one door down and across the hall before nearly falling into his room with a muffled curse that made me chuckle.

  Sighing in resignation, I opened the door to my temporary sleeping situation. The inside was surprisingly spacious. Nearly three times the size of the room I rented at the inn for sure. Like my room in the inn however, there was no window. I suppose that was to be expected given my back wall was shared with the training room. Along the back wall were several empty bookshelves, a small bed, and a bedside table. To my left was a couch and a small sitting room table, while to my right was a round dining table and four chairs. Another glace and I saw there was also a desk against the right wall just beyond the dining table.

  It still wasn't all that late. had I of not just been in a life-or-death fight after using up a chunk of mana on taming Drogin, and had I been at the Inn where I knew where the candle and matches were, I would have had my customary look at my grimoire. But I didn't have it in me to hunt anything down, so I simply headed straight for the bed. I carefully crawled onto the covers and kicked off my boots before settling Drogin into the hollow between my side and arm. I was asleep before I even realized it.