“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

He raised his shoulder slightly and attempted to keep his wince of pain hidden from me. “For the last time, I’ll be fine. I just have to let it heal on its own.”

I glanced at the membrane of his wings which I had injured in our fight several days ago. “Okay, but I think it might have torn even more. Should we find a Healer or-”

“I said I’m fine!” The growl in his voice sent shivers through me.  

We walked in silence down the gravel path that lead out of the forest. It was surprisingly quiet out in the open field, the only sound our six feet on the gravel road we were following.

Wait, six?

I glanced over my shoulder to see who was there. A person in a dark cloak was several yards behind us. The cloak’s hood completely hid their face. Slung over their shoulders was a large black sack with the universal symbol of trade. Something about them gave me a strange feeling. I shook my head and turned my attention to the road ahead again.

“Are we going to stop in whatever city is nearby? There must be someone to help you.”

“City? I wouldn’t really call anything around here a city, Kindred.”

“Do traders go to small towns out here? They only really go to big cities where I’ve lived.” I glanced over my shoulder, surprised by the distance the trader had traveled since I’d last looked.

“Stop looking at them, Kindred.”

I looked up at him in confusion. “Why? It’s just a trader.” The look on his face was troubling.

“Just don’t look back and they’ll go away.”

“I don’t think that’s how you get rid of people trying to sell you something.”

“They aren’t here to sell us anything. Just keep your eyes on the road.”

I shrugged and tried to ignore the ever closer footfalls. The sound compelled me to turn around, though. How were they moving so quickly with a bag that size?

A glance couldn’t hurt.

As secretively as I could, I peered over my shoulder and was shocked when the trader was almost directly behind us. I could have reached back and touched them. Their face was still hidden but their eyes were like burning embers. I became transfixed by their light, unable to move a muscle.

"Your friend is bad at following directions, Samriel." The voice that escaped the hidden lips was raspy like grain brushing against itself in the wind.

"Darkness damned, Kindred! What did I say?"

Samriel's yelling broke my hypnotic state. Within the blink of an eye, the trader had disappeared. I turned to ask where the stranger had gone and jumped when I saw them ahead of us.

Samriel moved in front of me, spreading his wings just enough to block my view. "We don't want anything from you, Azil. Keep moving and no one has to get hurt."

I assumed the cacophonous screeching that came from Azil was laughter of some kind. "Are you threatening me, Dealer? You think I'm afraid of you?"

I felt the crackling heat of a Fireblade, Samriel's own body temperature raising with it. "You should be, Trader. I'm not a student like the last time we met."

There was a tense silence between them. I took the moment to duck under Samriel's wing so I could see what was happening. Azil had lowered their hood to reveal their impossibly pale skin, small spikes lining their features. Black lines of Corruption slithered up Azil's neck, coming to an end just under their burning amber eyes.

Azil spotted me and gave a sharp-toothed grin. "Such a curious child you've found, Samriel. What is it he's promised you, little one?"

I glared at the other Demon. "I am not a child. He's helping me find a teacher in the mountains."

"And what terms did he lay out?"

Samriel growled darkly. "That's enough, Azil."

Azil tilted their head slowly, their eyes raising to meet Samriel's again. "You didn't lay out terms, did you? Dabbling in Bonded Deals, Samriel? I thought more of you."

The heat from the blade intensified. "We all do what we must in these trying times."

Another screeching cackle exploded from Azil. "He's playing you for a fool, Human. Whatever it is you think he can give you when you get to your destination, I can give it to you now."

Samriel planted his feet firmly in a fighting stance. "I'm warning you, Azil. Do not continue this."

Azil ignored my companion, fully focusing their intense gaze on me. "All I need is an item of Trade equal to the importance of your goal. I can give you what you want so much faster.”

I felt myself being drawn to the other Demon, my attempts to resist in vain. I tried to blink but was again lost in those fiery orbs. Before I finished taking my first step, Samriel threw me to the ground roughly.

Azil waved a finger condescendingly. "Is that how you want to be treated?"

Samriel looked over his shoulder, the whites of his eyes darkened again. "Do not get up." The growl in his voice shook me to my core and I felt frozen to the spot.

"He's using you for Power, little one. I promise he is getting the better end of this farce of a Deal. No worries, though. I will gladly free you from the terms." In an instant, Azil had crossed the distance between the pair, a Darkspear in their hand.

Samriel only just dodged, pulling me away by the collar of my shirt. "Run, Kindred!"

"I'm not leav-" I was cut short by a vicious growl from him.

"I said run!" There was nothing Human left in the Demon's voice.

I scrambled to my feet just as Azil leaped at Samriel again, piercing his already injured wing with the spear. Samriel roared in pain and managed to rip the spear from Azil's hands by sharply extending his wing.

I could hear the fight raging behind me but I didn't dare look for fear of drawing either of their attention. I could smell burning blood and Azil screamed, presumably skewered on the Fireblade. I panicked as I heard impossibly fast footsteps approaching me. I was relieved when it was Samriel who snatched me off my feet. Blood covered his face and throat though I couldn't tell if it belonged to him or Azil.

Before I could ask about the fate of the other Demon, there was a blood-curdling scream as if from thousands of cicadas that rang in my ears painfully. I clung to Samriel as we lifted off the ground, his injured wing only barely able to support us both.

"Hold on and close your eyes, Kindred. This is going to get ugly if we can't outpace Azil." There was an unnerving uncertainty in his voice but I closed my eyes as I tightened my grip on him.