Page 30 of Witch’s Ruin

Only a single demon.

My eyes darted over everything. A male stood in a billowing nightshirt wielding a glowing fire poker in one hand, and a Nebrine dagger in the other. His nightshirt was stained with blood, his breathing labored.

The Kollm was small for a demon. Its shrunken head with sunken eye sockets where eyes ought to go, if it had any, gnashed at the open air, hissing each time the man caught it with the fire poker—

A whimper pulled my gaze across the room. Cloistered in the pantry near the kitchen were several small faces. A female stood just outside the door, kitchen knife in hand. Her face was pale, eyes wide. The blade in her hand trembled.

A mother ready to defend her children.

I cataloged everything in an instant as Rixon rushed in, sword at the ready. He sprinted across the room, sweeping his blade in a killing arc. The head was severed off the Kollm in a single blink. It dropped. Before it rolled more than once, I incinerated the body, careful not to burn anything.

The children were already traumatized. They didn’t need to see more than they had. Even still, they’d have nightmares.

The female cried out and ran for the male, throwing her arms around him. The children tentatively stepped from their hiding place. Rixon went to them. My heart burst as he sank to his knees and began speaking in hushed whispers—two young girls, no older than five, and a young boy, perhaps six or seven. The boy nodded, then took his sisters by the hand and led them away, Rixon at his heels, as they passed through a doorway. It led to their bedroom.

“Let me see to your injuries,” I told their father. His eyes widened and he stepped away, wary of me. “Please, I won’t hurt you.”

His throat bobbed. At last, he allowed me to lead him to a chair. I crouched down and began. Each wound brought a hiss of pain, until his forehead was beaded with sweat, his breathing heavy.

“What are your names,” I asked while I worked, trying to distract him.

“Finnigan,” he managed. “Fin, for short. And my wife, Karla.”

“Pleased to meet you. Though, I wish we were meeting under better circumstances.” I poured my magic into the gash along his bicep. “And your children?”

“Connor, Sarafina, and Zara.”

“Those are beautiful names,” I mused as I took his hand and knitted together the skin along the back of his wrist.

He hissed. “Does it always hurt so damn much, Lady Witch?”

“Always,” I assured him, then chuckled. “If it helps, I’ve had grown males—wielders—cry while I do it.”

“Yours?”

“Even mine.” A small smile pulled at my mouth. I heard Rixon snort from behind me. “But to be fair, he was nearly dead. I think he cried more for the situation than my healing touch. I will save you from the particulars.”

My mind jumped back to that day, when I had nearly lost him. The decision I’d made to save him had changed everything. There were a few points in my life, pivotal moments, like when I’d gained my magic and destroyed my sister in the process, that stood stark against the rest. Healing Rixon with a kernel of demon power was another of those.

Fin nodded, assuaged. Still, I didn’t miss the way he tried even harder to clamp down on his pain after that. As if he was determined to do better than even some of the bravest. I admired that.

His wife stood behind him, her hand on the top of his head, fingers brushing through his hair.

“There, all done,” I said.

He sank back into his chair. I rose to my feet, resisting the urge to groan at the ache in my body. Fatigue, not from magic, but from a long night.

“You did well tonight,” I said to them. “Very few survive a demon attack without proper training.”

Fin seemed to puff up even bigger.

“Lady Witch?” Karla asked . She had sandy colored hair, her face riddled with fine lines, laugh lines from a happy life. She moved around her husband and held forward a coin pouch. “For your services. For saving our lives.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head, closing her fingers over the pouch. “I will not accept payment for this. It was my duty, and if anyone pays me, it ought to be your king.”

She blinked. “You’re sure?”

“Positive.”