Of Demons and Fae

"You're sure this spell can locate demons?" I asked, looking down at the folder I held.

My aide, Terry, nodded enthusiastically. "That's what it said in the book! Now, I've transcribed what you need to do in modern english, and I think I was pretty clear, but feel free to ask questions if anything needs clarification. No ingredients are required. According to the description, when you're close enough to a demon for the spell to work, you'll just know."

I frowned. "How close do I have to be?"

Terry grimaced. "Depends on the power of the demon, but generally pretty close. I've arranged for a car to drive you around the city once you're done studying the spell. I don't think your studies will take more than an hour, but, if I'm wrong, please tell me so I can rearrange your schedule."

I raised a brow. "What have I got scheduled for today? Aside from demon hunting."

"One of the fae princesses wants to meet you. Not a major one; I think she's some sort of cousin. I've arranged a dinner at a local Japanese place."

I raised an eyebrow. "Japanese?"

He shrugged. "It's supposed to have really good sushi, and the fae steward who got in touch with me said she wouldn't mind something a bit exotic." He grinned. "I know it's been awhile since you've satisfied your sushi craving."

I grinned back. "You're the best, Terry."

He nodded. "Thank you. I've placed a dossier on her on your desk."

I nodded. "Great. Thanks. Any idea why she wants to meet with me?" Fae royalty seldom had much to do with humans, even powerful wizards like me.

Terry shook his head. "I asked, but the steward said she'd want to tell you herself."

I nodded thoughtfully. "I see." Probably not good news.

Terry smiled ingratiatingly. "Anything else you need from me, Agent Sanders?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Thanks for finding the spell."

Terry nodded and left.

I went into my borrowed office and sat down at the desk. True to his word, Terry had left a folder labeled Princess Roselet Thyme Meadowsweet. I glanced at it, wondering if I should go over it now, and decided to start on the spell instead. Locating the demon was priority. Analysis of my dinner companion could wait.

*

Studying the spell, as Terry had predicted, took less than an hour. Half an hour after that, I was in a patrol car. I'd decided to begin the search at the bookstore from last night, and work outward from there.

The policewoman driving me looked nervous, but, after introducing herself as Officer Carol, she kept quiet. Chanting quietly to keep the spell going, I mentally scanned the city.

It got pretty boring after the first hour. Sighing softly, I wondered how far the demon had gone after he left the bookstore. The amount of ground I might have to cover to find him was worrying. If I didn't find him today, odds were high that I wouldn't find him until he did something to draw attention to himself. Frankly, I wasn't sure-

A tug. In my mind. There. I had him. "Turn right! Now!"

With a squealing of tires the cop car took the corner. Officer Carol swallowed. "You've got him?"

I frowned, sifting through mental sensations. "I do. Get into the left lane. You'll need to turn left before to long."

"So he's northeast of us?" asked the police officer, lips in a thin, determined line.

I looked up at the sky, where clouds obscured the location of the sun. I'd never had a good sense of direction. "I'm not sure which way is northeast, but he's that way." I pointed.

The policewoman nodded. "I'll take us that way. That's pretty much directly to northeast, by the way, give or take a few degrees."

"I'll take your word for it," I said as we accelerated through a yellow light.

Officer Carol frowned. "Should I put on the siren?"

I shook my head. "If he realizes we're coming he'll run. Probably." There were worse things he could do.

It was a good thing I had a local driver. We were downtown, where the streets were a rabbit warren of one way streets and narrow alleys. If we'd been navigating by spell alone, we'd have been very, very lost.

Half an hour later, I told the driver to stop. "He's just ahead, under that bridge. I'd better go on foot from here."

Officer Carol frowned. "I can get you closer."

I shook my head. "With all due respect, Officer, dealing with this shit isn't your job. It's mine. I'll approach on foot. Wait for me in the parking lot for half an hour, or until you get some indication things have gone south. Then follow the standard procedure for paranormal containment of the site." Which basically meant surrounding the place with cops and calling in the PCB. In this case, that would be Greg and Greenwinter.

The police officer nodded, looking a bit relieved. "I'll do that, Agent."

I approached the overpass cautiously. The demon's warning ran through my head. "Next time we meet, things might end very differently." I shivered. It was entirely possible he'd try to kill me on sight. I fought the urge to draw my firearm. That would give him the wrong impression, as well as being entirely useless.

I stepped into the shadows under the bridge, and shined my flashlight into the corners. Nothing. I frowned. According to the spell, I was very, very close. I no longer felt the pull indicating his direction, just a general sense of nearness. I should be able to see him. How-

Swearing, I looked up just as the demon dropped from the ceiling, landing just behind me. Before I could turn, a tentacle pinned me against his chest. Other tentacles forced my arms to my sides and trapped them there, gagged me, and immobilized my legs. I twisted my head, fighting to dislodge the gag, but made no other move to resist. The idea was to talk to him, not start a fight I could not win.

"I remember you," the demon hissed. "I told you not to try to find me."

I stopped struggling and huffed out a breath. So much for talking.

The demon growled, the sound more frustrated than threatening. "What am I going to do with you? I don't want to kill you, but I don't want to get banished, either."

I made a small questioning noise, hoping he would interpret it as a request to speak.

He sighed. "No, I can't let you talk. If you can talk, you can cast, and, like I said, I have no intention of getting banished."

There was an easy solution to that. I ground my ass against his crotch, and moaned softly. The memory of our last encounter was already making me wet.

The demon inhaled. "I smell arousal. Is that why you came to find me? You want more?"

I shook my head, but continued to moan and rub myself against his crotch.

"I suppose that is a solution to our dilemma," the demon purred. "I drain you, to keep you from casting. Then we can talk without worrying about banishing spells and the like. How does that sound?"

I nodded my assent.

I felt the demon's erection swell against my ass. It was... large. I moaned. Then, to my surprise, I felt his clothing vanish. "Mmpf?"

The demon laughed. "The clothing is a projection of my will. I can get rid of it any time I like."

He reached down to undo my jeans. "Yours will be more difficult."

He released my legs to remove my shoes and jeans, but I didn't try to kick him. He felt my pussy. "Already a bit damp. Let's see if we can improve that..."

The demon bent me over, and nudged my legs a bit farther apart. Then, to my surprise, I felt him kneel. "I want to taste you," he murmured. I felt him turn around, and lean back. I looked down, and he smiled up at me from between my legs. And then-

I gasped as his mouth engulfed my clit. His tongue began to rapidly flick it, first one way and then the other. A single finger slipped into my moist depths, and rubbed me in just the right way. I squealed in delight.

His mouth separated from my pussy with a moist pop. He smiled. "More?"

I moaned and nodded, my pussy clenching around his finger.

He pressed his mouth to me once more. Soon, it was only his tentacles keeping me from falling over. I whimpered as a tentacle undid my bra, and my eyes widened as a pair of tentacles grew toothless mouths. Simultaneously, they licked their lips in anticipation as a tentacle lifted my shirt.

I gasped as the two mouths engulfed my nipples, giving them more or less the same treatment the demon was giving my clit. Three tongues, working against the three most sensitive parts of my anatomy... felt... so... good...

I let out a muffled, wordless protest as the demon's lips left my pussy, and his finger withdrew. Then I felt the demon turn and stand, and knew what he was about to do. I felt his cock against my entrance and I wanted it, oh, I wanted it so bad, but he just rubbed himself against me.

My eyes widened as another tentacle grew a mouth and poised itself over my clit. It licked its lips. Then it darted forward in a blur, and began to suck. I moaned as it coaxed my clit out from beneath its hood. Then I gasped as a tiny tongue began to lavish the nub with swift, powerfuls strokes.

I came as the demon entered me, ever so slowly. I came again as he prodded my g-spot, and again when he began to pump himself in and out to the same rhythm as the tongues against my clit and nipples. Oh... Oh... Oh-

Suddenly the earth shuddered. The demon stumbled, and swore. His tentacles separated from my clit and nipples with a series of wet pops. "What the hell?"

I smelled a rich, earthy scent, and saw cracks appearing in the pavement. Fuck. I knew what was happening. Something was awakening. Something fae. Based on the smell, and the size of the cracks, it was probably a troll. Not good.

Trolls were creatures of the untamed wilds. If they were out in the woodlands, they were harmless unless disturbed. However, in a city...

I moaned, and squirmed, still impaled on the demon's cock. Come on, I silently urged him. Please, let me go, let me get to my gun...

In a city, a troll felt the urge to return the land to its natural state. They tore up pavement, and shook down buildings. Vines grew in the area around them, doing further damage to all things manufactured. When there was enough bare earth, moss grew, and flowers, and trees. A troll created forest was a sight straight out of a fairy tale. The death and destruction they caused was not.

Normally, a gun would have very little effect against this creature of living earth, but I routinely carried cold iron rounds, which disrupted fae magic. I wouldn't be able to kill the troll, but I could slow it down, and, with a little luck, keep it from doing much damage before the cavalry arrived. My magical reserves were too depleted by the demon for me to put the troll to sleep, but Greg would be able to do that, or Greenwinter could use his fae magic to control it, at least for a little while.

More cracks appeared, and the pavement buckled as the troll forced its way up. The demon withdrew, and released me from his grip, but, before I could get my gun, he shoved me back against the concrete wall and took up a guard position in front of me. "Stay behind me," he said, eyes narrowed. "Whatever this is, your magic is too depleted for you to defend yourself."

I opened my mouth to tell him the nature of the threat, but at that moment the troll erupted from the pavement. Hunks of concrete flew in all directions. One headed toward us. I threw myself to the side, but the demon didn't even try to dodge. He blocked it with an upraised arm. I heard bones crunch, and the arm bent at an impossible angle. A bone poked out near his elbow.

"Fuck!" I swore. "You're hurt!" But as I spoke, the bone snapped back into place and the laceration healed.

The demon snorted. "We greater demons heal swiftly. I thought I told you to stay behind me."

The troll roared. It pounded the earth, and the ground shook. Cracks appeared in the wall behind me, and vines sprouted from them, widening them and opening new fissures.

I looked up. If the overpass came down, a whole lot of people were going to die. I dove for my gun, grabbed it, rolled, and came up firing. Six shots to the head, two to each limb, and the remaining six to the heart. Then reload. I knelt and fumbled in my discarded pants for a replacement clip.

The troll charged me. Before I could react, the demon was in front of me again, blocking the creature. He wrapped the troll's earthy form in green tentacles and slammed his shoulder into its stomach, arresting its forward motion.

Even with my bullets weakening it, the troll was very strong. The demon was stronger. He lifted the troll up, and slammed it to the ground.

I found another clip, and checked the markings that told me what the clip held. Silver. More effective against some fae, not to mention werewolves and vampires, but against a troll no more effective than regular bullets.

Vines grew around the troll and attacked the demon. He snarled as whiplike lashes drew blood. The vines attempted to burrow into the open wounds, but failed as the lacerations rapidly closed.

I winced as vines grew up the columns supporting the overpass. Not good. I found another cold iron clip and loaded it, then sighted on the troll.

The demon was still grappling with the earthy giant. Despite the demon's smaller statue, the rapid movement as they wrestled made it impossible for me to get a clear shot. "Hold still, damn it!"

The overpass above us groaned. I swore. I needed to disrupt the troll's magic before he took the entire bridge down. A few more cold iron rounds would do that nicely, but what if I hit the demon? He'd survive, I decided as I sighted and took the shot.

One bullet severed a rapidly moving tentacle, and another entered the demon's leg, but the rest went straight into the troll. The vine growth slowed. As I had hoped, the two missed shots barely slowed the demon down.

I heard sirens approaching, and smiled grimly. With any luck, someone would think to clear the highway overhead. It was no longer a question of if the overpass was coming down; it was a question of when.

I fished my cold iron knife out of my pants and raced to the nearest column. I sliced through the thickest of the vines, and darted back as the rest of the vines attacked me. Being torn apart by plants was not a pleasant death.

Fortunately, without the troll actively directing them, the plants were blind and stupid. I darted to the other side of the column and sliced through another vine, and then darted back. The vines near it attacked the spot I'd been a second before, but missed me.

I managed to clear the rest of the column this way. Then I raced to the next. The demon was still grappling with the troll. I wondered how much longer he could keep up the near instantaneous healing. Was it just me, or were the lacerations from the vines closing less rapidly than they had been?

Definitely not just me. The demon roared as a vine wormed its way into a cut. I could seen it moving beneath his skin. I swore, but there was nothing I could do to help him. Grimly, I started to clear the second column of vines.

I heard a crunch, and one of the columns gave way. Chunks of concrete fell to the ground, and the overpass shuddered. "Fuck!" I sliced through another vine. I was fighting a losing battle here. But I needed to buy the cops more time to clear the bridge.

By the time I'd finished clearing the second column, another column had given way, and the first column I'd cleared was once again covered in vines. I looked around me, swiftly calculating stress tolerances and estimating damage taken. I needed to work smarter, not harder, if I wanted to slow the collapse.

I raced towards the most heavily damaged column. As I sliced through the first vine, the column began to give way. I darted backwards, swearing, as it collapsed.

The overpass shuddered again, and cracks appeared. Shit. I was out of time. I raced towards sunlight and safety, knowing I would not make it, that I would be buried beneath the collapsing bridge.

Something slammed into me from behind. Green tentacles lifted me, and suddenly I was moving much faster. In fact, we were almost-

The overpass collapsed. A huge chunk of it was heading right towards us. I felt the demon throw me. I landed in a patch of grass, and rolled. I came up facing the overpass.

It looked like the cops had managed to clear it before it collapsed. I saw no cars in the rapidly settling wreckage. But the demon was gone.

So was the troll, but I knew that wouldn't last. Trolls were damned near impossible to kill. Its vines would break the concrete into gravel, and it would emerge from beneath, ready to continue the destruction.

A piece of concrete near the edge of the pile moved. I tensed, and my hands went to my gun. Or to where my gun would be if I were wearing pants. I swore. My pistol, my shoes, and my pants were buried beneath the rubble.

The piece of concrete moved again, and then lifted. I readied my cold iron knife, but it wasn't the troll emerging from the wreckage. It was the demon.

He looked like shit. He was still naked, and he was covered in dirt and concrete dust. A few cuts on his body sluggishly bled green fluid. One of his arms had an extra bend in it.

The demon shuddered, and sluggishly began to shift. Feathers grew, and he shrank. Then, abruptly, he snapped back into his human form. He swayed.

I ran over to him as he collapsed, and caught him as he fell. "Easy. Easy. You're going to be fine."

He tried to squirm out of my grip, but was too weak. "Let... Let me go..."

I tightened my grip. "Relax. I'm not going to hurt you."

He blinked at me. "You're not?"

"Of course not. You just saved my life," I told him. "Probably a lot of other lives, too. I'm going to take good care of you so you get better."

"I... I need to feed," he told me.

"Later," I promised him as sirens approached. "Later."