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RUEN SQUIRMED OUT OF his sack when the sun went down, waking me from my peaceful slumber. He gave me a dour look for using him as a pillow. “At least you took the time to bathe and rid yourself of the gore that was clinging to you,” he said sourly.
Aurora yawned as she sat up and peered at me blearily. “Saige refused to wash herself in the pond when I filled up my waterskin,” she said.
“How did her fur get so clean, then?” the leech asked peevishly. His stomach was rumbling, which meant he was starving.
I pointed at the rats who were going about their business as if we didn’t even exist.
“The rats cleaned you?” my bestie asked incredulously as I ran a hand down my glossy fur. I nodded, feeling affection for the animals.
“That explains why you smell like rodent now,” Ruen muttered. “I’m going to find something to eat.”
“Bring me back a snack, will you?” Aurora requested. She hadn’t filled up any of the spare sacks with meat yet, since we’d eaten on the run. He nodded, then left the cave.
One of the rats approached me and sat up on its hind legs. I picked it up and snuggled it against my cheek. Its paws combed through the fur on my face, searching for any fragments that might have been missed. Hearing Ruen returning a few minutes later, I reluctantly put the rat down. The vampire would make fun of me if he saw me cuddling the vermin.
I caught Aurora’s eyes to see hers were filled with delight. “I’m definitely going to draw that scene when we get home,” she said. Her tone was kind rather than nasty, which was why she was my best friend. I was the most fearsome predator in this realm, but that didn’t mean I was completely awful.
“I caught one of those catlike creatures for you to eat,” Ruen said when he entered the cave.
Aurora made a face, but took it from him. “It’s way too furry for me to eat like this,” she complained. Shades of brown and gray, its fur was even longer than mine. It was far larger than any housecat on our world and would make a good meal.
I ambled to the pond to drink, while she butchered the animal. Ruen caught some birds and deftly plucked them and carved them up. We didn’t bother to cook our meals anymore. Demons could literally eat anything and I’d grown used to eating raw meat in my various forms. A couple of sacks were now full, so Aurora snacked as we continued our journey.
“What did you two get up to while I was sleeping?” Ruen asked as we made our way through the woods.
“Saige carried us and ran like the wind for a few hours, so we made up for lost time,” she replied.
He cast a surprised look at me. “I’m surprised she managed to focus for that long. How did you keep her on the right track? No, don’t tell me!” he said, holding up a hand. “You tied a dead animal to a stick and dangled it in front of her face to lead her in the correct direction.” He snickered so hard he almost tripped over a root. Only his sharp reflexes enabled him to stay on his feet.
Aurora gave him an exasperated look. “We did just fine while you were dead to the world,” she told him. “In fact, she was a lot easier to deal with without you constantly harping at her.” The vampire sniffed in disdain, as if he didn’t believe her, but he kept his opinion to himself for once.
The moon was full tonight and I heard a werewolf howl a couple of hours later. I growled beneath my breath, body quivering with the need to do battle. More yips and howls sounded, then a werecat roared. We were deep in the forest and this was shapeshifter territory. Each pack had their own turf and they would guard it with their lives.
“Don’t even think about it, Saige Sterling!” Aurora said sternly when she glanced at me and saw my face. My lips were wrinkled back from my teeth with the need to kill the potential threats.
“Did you know shifters lived in this realm?” Ruen asked quietly.
“They’re in most realms,” she replied. “They mostly live in remote areas like this. I’m guessing there are more than usual in the fifth realm, though.”
“Are we going to be able to avoid them without our pet troll going on a killing spree?” the vamp asked with a sneer in my direction.
“Can you control your instincts and not murder everyone we come across?” she retorted.
“You don’t see me snarling and growling right now, do you?” he said snidely.
“Come on, Saige,” my bestie said, taking hold of my hand. She winced when I squeezed too hard and I loosened my grip. The demon led me through the woods, heading towards the distant spell we’d come in search of. It was easier to ignore my instincts when keeping physical contact with her. I’d noticed it earlier when I’d been carrying them both.
“We’re moving too slowly,” Ruen complained after a couple of hours. “It’ll take a lot longer than two months to retrieve the scroll and return home at this pace. Not even Saige running for a few hours while I’m asleep will shorten the journey.”
“Maybe we should try holding a dead animal in front of her as a lure,” Aurora murmured.
I hated being treated like a big, stupid animal and decided I’d had enough of it. She squealed in surprise when I let go of her hand and tucked her under my arm. Ruen didn’t get a chance to spring away from me. My arm wrapped around him and lifted him off the ground. I could easily carry them both and my heavy weapon as I took off running.
“This is so undignified,” my former partner complained as he attempted to wriggle into a more comfortable position.
“Just go with it, Ruen,” Aurora said in annoyance. “You wanted to move faster and she’s giving you what you want. I wouldn’t be surprised if she tosses you over a cliff if you keep complaining all the time.”
“We haven’t seen any cliffs in this realm yet,” he said sulkily, then subsided into a pouty silence.
A bear-like shifter heard us approaching and lumbered into view. As large as I was, it reared up onto its hind legs as it sniffed the air. Its eyesight wasn’t much better than mine, but it caught my scent and roared in challenge. Racing straight up to it, I leaped forward and slammed my feet into its head. Knocked out cold, it wouldn’t wake up until we were long gone from its territory.
“Holy crap!” Aurora exclaimed when I landed without losing my balance and kept on running. “That was awesome. She didn’t even need to use her hands.”
“I just hope we don’t run into any of her kind,” Ruen fretted. “I’m not sure if Saige will be able to fight her way through an entire pack of trolls.”
“We’ll worry about that if and when it happens,” the demon figured. “Let’s just try to make it through the woods without being mauled to death by shifters.”
The woods were rampant with all types of shapeshifters. I could sense them before we got close and forced myself to ignore my instincts to kill them all. I zigzagged around their turf, following Aurora’s murmured directions so we could try to stay on course.
I ran for several hours before our luck ran out and I encroached on a werewolf pack’s territory. They smelled us and howled to draw more wolves to the hunt.
“Nice one, dunce cap,” Ruen snapped in annoyance. “Now we’ve got a pack of hungry werewolves on our trail.”
“We might be able to outrun them,” Aurora said.
Her hopes were dashed when several shifters howled directly ahead of us. We were surrounded and we would have to fight our way through them.
