Page 17 of Hell Sent

Azreth was dumbfounded. Mortal bodies were beyond his comprehension. She needed to eat thrice every single day? Was she already fading, then, after not having had a morning meal? How long would she last without feeding? Would she even make it to the end of the day?

He’d had no idea just how fragile humans were before he’d met her. It worried him. He didn’t know how to find things like food or shelter on this plane. But he was the one who’d taken her from the safety of her home, away from those things, so he was responsible for her health now.

He was relieved when he saw a single small dwelling perched atop a broad, low hill in the distance. The structure was simple, made of organic materials, nothing like the stone fortress Raiya had lived in. It was completely alone in the vast landscape, undefended.

“Where are you going?” Raiya asked as he turned toward the building.

“There is a house. We will find food there.”

Raiya’s steps faltered. He glanced down at her, sensing a dark emotion brewing in her. “Wait. I don’t think that’s wise.”

“Why not?”

“What if there’s someone inside?”

He lifted an eyebrow at her. It was unlikely that a mortal commoner or two would pose a threat to them. They wouldn’t try to hurt her while she was with him. But if they did— “I will kill them,” he assured her.

Her eyes widened. “No! Stay here and let me go alone. Please.” She ran in front of him, forcing him to stop.

He had thought she might be glad that he’d been thinking of her needs. Apparently not.

Quite the opposite, in fact. She wanted to leave him here while she ran inside to scheme with the other mortals. Maybe she thought they would help her escape him, or even kill him. He could think of no other reason for her sudden urgency. And he’d already witnessed her opportunistic nature firsthand, when she’d asked him to kill Nirlan.

Scowling, he stepped around her and kept walking. “You will stay with me.”

“But—”

“No.”

Raiya went silent. After a moment, he heard her following him.

There was a lone human working in the field outside the house. As they approached, the man looked up and stared. He was as small and thin as all the other mortals Azreth had seen, his scant muscles hidden by a layer of soft fat. The man made a strangled sound, then turned and ran inside, slamming the door behind him.

By the time Azreth got to the door, whoever was inside the house had gone quiet.

He hesitated, unexpectedly nervous.

It was just a house. There would only be mortals inside, and he could kill them just as easily as he had the guards at the castle. But the last time he’d underestimated mortals, he’d almost died in a cage. Fear had infiltrated his mind like a sickness.

He clenched his jaw. He was strong. This plane would not kill him. He could not let it.

He pushed on the door, but it didn’t move. Something was blocking it from the other side. In a controlled thrust, he drove his fist into the wood. It shattered easily.

Someone inside the house screamed in fear, which bolstered his confidence. He broke the door into pieces and pushed the remnants aside, then stepped over the threshold.

Immediately, there were more screams. He narrowed his eyes as he adjusted to the dim interior. The several humans inside scattered away from the door, pressing themselves against walls as far away from him as possible. None of them wore armor or carried weapons. Azreth watched their wide eyes trace up his body and over his horns, which were bumping against the ceiling. Bits of thatch tore loose whenever he turned his head.

They were terrified. He felt a peculiar combination of relief and unease. He wasn’t used to being stared at.

He looked around the room—for the entire house was just one single room. It was the warmest place he’d been since coming to this chilly plane. Along one wall was a space dedicated to cooking, with a fire and food storage. Something boiled noisily inside a pot.

He had heard that mortals had odd food preferences, and that they liked to boil many different carcasses and plants together into a sludge. It smelled of meat, but also of other unfamiliar and unpleasant herbal and vegetal ingredients. He wondered if they were toxic.

He heard Raiya’s feet padding carefully over the broken door behind him. Just as he started toward the cooking area, something hit him in the back, almost hard enough to hurt.

He spun to face her, but it wasn’t Raiya who had struck him. Beside her was a young man holding a shovel—the same small man they’d seen outside, who was now looking like he severely regretted what he’d just done.

How had Azreth forgotten about the man already? He should have counted the occupants of the house. He should have made certain he knew where all of his enemies were, including any lurking behind him. If it had been another demon instead of a mortal, such a foolish mistake would have cost him his life.

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