CH 9 - Search and Rescue

The Incubus stalked across the waste, sniffing the air and scanning the broken rocks for signs of movement. Hunting, even as it was unknowingly being hunted in turn. It was a big one, half a taller than Logan, and almost beautiful.

The fair features were there. High cheekbones and a chiseled jaw framed an aquiline nose and a wide, sensuous mouth. Sharply defined muscles coiled beneath rust-colored skin and a thick, silken, braid of waist-length, blood-red hair.

But a handsome face could not hide the cruel anticipation of the hunt in its silver eyes. A spade tipped tail coiled and lashed behind it like a snake. Twisted, goat-like legs tore at the dirt with sharp, cloven hooves.

It wore armor that was strangely ceremonial, like a gladiator from ancient Rome. A sheath of black leather plates covered the left arm from shoulder to wrist. Leather straps across the chest secured a massive shoulder plate on the same side. Other than that, the demon was nearly naked, wearing only a toga-like wrap of cured fur and leather belted short sword around his waist.

A noise drew the demon’s attention from off to his left. He looked and saw a naked, female soul. For a moment, she could only stare in fright, caught in the demon’s hungry gaze and all that it implied. As soon as the demon moved, the paralysis shattered. She turned and ran. It grinned and gave chase.

Despite its bulk, it quickly outpaced and caught up to its prey. Claws caught her by the hair and threw the poor soul to the ground. It reached for her. The woman scrambled back on her hands, face stricken with fear.

“No! Stay away from me!”

The demon grabbed her by the legs and lifted her into the air upside down. Laughter rumbled in the demon’s chest.

“Not a bad catch,” he chuckled. “A little small though. Maybe I should let you go?”

“Please!” she begged.

“Sure,” the demon grinned. He flipped her up and around into a bear hug, nuzzling at her ear. The woman’s feet dangled a foot above the ground. “I will let you go if you tell me where I can find the nearest herd. At least three other souls as payment for my generosity. Your freedom in return for theirs. That’s a fair bargain, don’t you think?” His tongue traced a wet line up her neck. “Or perhaps you wish to trade something else? I can smell your desire. I know what you really want.”

“No!” the woman moaned and wriggled in his arms. “Too big!”

The big demon began to laugh, then howled in sudden, biting pain.

Distracted as the beast was, he never heard Logan’s slow approach. Logan’s newly acquired, metal knife tore through the tendon on the back of the demon’s leg. The woman dropped out of the demon’s arms as both captive and captor tumbled to the ground.

A maw full of sharp teeth bellowed in agony and anger. The Incubus awkwardly climbed up onto its unwounded leg. Metal hissed against leather as it unsheathed the sword at his side. His eyes glowed with a murderous light.

“Did that hurt?” Logan taunted and fell back into a combat crouch. “That looked like it hurt.” The teasing smirk fell from his face to reveal the simmering anger beneath. “No means no, jackass.”

The demon snarled at him, then laughed. “You will make an even better prize. I will deliver you both to my Mistress ... after I make you suffer.”

Logan waved the dagger at it. “I bet you say that to all the boys.”

“Where is your owner, dog?” The Incubus dared a quick look around and bellowed in a thundering voice. “Only a coward would send his pet human to attack me. Come out and face me like a true demon!”

Despite the show of bravado, the demon struggled to stay upright on its mangled ankle while avoiding a second bite of the dagger in Logan’s fist. The two males eyed each other. Logan braced himself to go in for the kill, but did not get the chance.

Beauty leaped down from the rock she had been carefully positioned on and landed beside Logan, facing the larger demon.

Logan cursed. “Dammit, Beauty. You remember that ambush we planned? This isn’t it.”

A slight smile touched her full lips. She gave a slight shake of her head and reached out to give Logan a gentle push back. “Change plan,” she replied.

“Oh, hell,” Logan grimaced. “You want this one for yourself, don’t you?”

The Succubus nodded without ever taking her golden eyes off of the other demon.

Logan’s instinct was to object, to want to protect her from harm, and knew that he had neither the right nor any good reason to try. Beauty was no damsel in distress to be coddled. This was her world, not his. If it was her choice to answer the other demon’s challenge, what could he say except...

“Kick his ass, Beauty.”

Logan stepped away to watch and worry. The enemy was almost two feet taller and a hundred pounds of muscle heavier then she was. He was armed with a sword and armored on one side. Beauty had nothing except her small, razor-sharp claws.

The Incubus sneered at her. “So fierce for one so young, and so foolish. When I am done, I will use your body for my pleasure before dragging you all to lay at the feet of the one I serve.”

The big demon lunged at her, blade first, in a surprising burst of speed. Beauty side stepped, ducked under a wild swing, and leaped back out of attack range.

He laughed. “This will be fun.”

“Yes.” Beauty bared her teeth at him and moved to attack.

The short sword whistled through the air where Beauty had been only a moment ago. By the time either male had realized what had happened, she had already struck twice. Her enemy staggered back in confusion. His arm bled oily smoke from several deep tears. His sword lay in the dirt where it had fallen from numb fingers.

The Incubus had claws as well. He roared a challenge and charged at her in a bull rush of raw strength and fury. Neither did him any good. Logan watched as Beauty opened his gut like scooping ice cream as the lumbering demon staggered past.

She could have ended it then, yet chose not too. Logan watched, caught somewhere between awe and terror, as she destroyed her larger, stronger opponent, one precise strike at a time, like a cat playing with a catch before the kill. Smoke boiled into the wind. Flesh tore.

The Incubus finally fell to his knees. “No more,” he pleaded.

Beauty snapped her teeth at him. “Beg.”

“Please,” he growled, furious at his own surrender.

She opened his throat with a single precise slash of her claws.

“No,” she replied as he fell to the dirt.

Beauty turned to Logan. “Logan ok?”

“Am I ok?” he laughed. “Woman, you are a certified badass. How did you do that?”

She smiled, shrugged, and pointed at the body. “Old. Strong. Much things. We take.”

“Agreed,” Logan said as they began stripping loot from the corpse.

After three successful hunts and a close examination of each one, he was beginning to understand his enemy, at least a little. Every demon he had seen so far, male or female, had been some degree of atractive, and every single one seemed to feed on sex. Older did seem to translate as stronger. Age was hard to determine, but he was beginning to see patterns. Older demons seem to have more exaggerated demonic features such as horns, wings, and tails, as well as being more comfortable with speech.

Best of all, age and status seemed to correspond directly to personal wealth. Like the nomads of old Earth, demons carried their wealth on their bodies in the form of luxury items, weapons, and clothes. This one had been their most rewarding target so far.