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With the daemon running interference, I took them out without getting bitten. He didn’t have much work to do, though. The pups were too invested in Aedan. Fishy or not, he must taste good.
“I see the party started without me.” Clay’s voice rang out. “I brought a present anyway.”
On my periphery, I noted the cage he hauled alongside him. “Look at you, Mr. Softy.”
“I feel bad we killed their mom.” He plunked it down. “I figured we could relocate them in her memory.”
“Very noble of you.” I hid a smile. “You better hurry, though. They won’t stay down long.”
A burst of colorful swears brought my attention back to Aedan and the pup attached to his calf.
“Vicious little beasties.” Clay gathered the unconscious pups. “They’re cute, though.”
Until their momma decided to use the daemon as a pincushion, I thought she was too.
With Clay cleaning up behind us, I focused on the remaining pup. “Circle back, Aedan.”
Daemons had incredible stamina, so I knew the loping-limp Aedan had adopted was due to injury.
Poor guy. I owed him another poultice or ten after this. Maybe a tub to soak in too.
When Aedan got close, the daemon grabbed for the pup and yanked, which made Aedan roar.
“If we don’t get it off you,” I explained through a wince, “you’ll get zapped too.”
I was improving with practice, the same as Colby, but I wasn’t proficient with my new magic yet. It threw me curves on the regular. Better to let him think the worst outcome was a certainty rather than to admit I had performance issues. That would only freak him out more.
“I don’t care.” He kicked his leg, but the pup clung to him. “Get it off me.”
Dialing down the intended jolt, I tapped Aedan, the bigger target, with the wand. “Sorry in advance.”
His spine bowed, knees collapsed, and he faceplanted in the dirt before anyone could reach him.
The stubborn pup’s eyes rolled back, but it had locked its jaws, and it hung from his mangled calf.
“Its teeth are still in his muscle.” Clay grimaced. “Maybe they’re not as cute as I thought.”
“Having second thoughts about your rescue mission?”
“No,” he said after a moment where he clearly sifted through second and maybe third thoughts.
“I stick finger in mouth,” the daemon offered. “It let go then.”
“You’ll break its jaw.” I patted his arm. “I’ll do it.”
Kneeling beside Aedan, I wedged my fingers into the pup’s mouth, pried it open, and removed it.
“There you go.” I tossed it to Clay. “Lock it up while I patch Aedan’s leg.”
Thanks to my practice with Colby, I was getting better at healing. Superficial damage, like this, while painful, was easy to mend. Aedan would be sore tonight, but he would be good as new tomorrow.
As I stood, I stowed my wand in my pocket and faced the daemon. “Would you mind carrying Aedan?”
“Leave him.” The daemon curled his lip at Aedan. “No one like him anyway.”
Laughter shook Clay, and I fought not to chuckle too. The daemon was cute when he was being bad.
“If you do, I’ll let you cook s’mores over the firepit,” I tempted him. “You love how marshmallows burn.”
