Demon Hunters

Conclusions II

"I should give the girls a hand. After all, my hunting skills haven't really been all that helpful," Florian sighed, getting up from his seat.

"Oh, you needn't..."

"Believe me, I do. I think Lucretia might have my head if I leave her alone in her battle against the dishes."

Florian grabbed his mugs and the bowl of soup he hadn't managed to eat and headed for the kitchen, where he laid them down near the stove upon which sat a large kettle was already coming to a boil. He heard the door open but didn't think much of it, assuming that the last patron had left. However, when screams rang out from the dining hall, Florian turned on his heels and dashed back, almost collapsing the pile of dishes on the table. As he reached the doorway, he took stock of the situation. Two men brandishing swords had appeared in the room, both currently focused on Solomon.

"You heard me! Hand over all the food and money you have – and make it quick!" one of the men growled.

Florian took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. Two opponents would not be too troublesome. The biggest risk was that something might happen to Solomon or the others, and to prevent that from happening, he needed to be as composed as possible. He drew his sword silently and took calm steps toward the invaders. The rest of the world became a blur as he focused his attention solely on the two men. He noted that they were wearing uniforms – meaning that they were deserters – but also that these uniforms bore different colours. In fact, Florian was fairly certain that the two different tones belonged to armies that were currently on opposing sides of the war.

United by purpose, I suppose. It would even be heart-warming, were that purpose not outright banditry, he thought as he approached the pair.

The closer of the two men was the first to notice Florian. He pointed his sword toward the demon hunter and grinned, revealing a mismatched set of teeth.

"Don't take one step closer, or I'll skewer you," he said.

Florian ignored the thug's threat and continued forward. The soldier grunted and raised his sword-arm, ready to cut Florian down. As the blade began its descent, the demon hunter grinned under his mask. It was obvious that the soldier didn't know who he was dealing with – had he realized he was up against a demon hunter, the soldier would certainly not have been so careless. Florian deftly deflected the strike to his side and riposted, his sword piercing the man's throat and spraying the ground with blood. He pulled back his blade and watched the man stumble for a few steps before collapsing to the ground.

"You might want to scram if you don't want to share your friend's fate," Florian said, turning toward the other deserter.

Unfortunately, the other man had already acted. He had grabbed the person closest to him – Laura – and was now holding his blade against her throat.

"Take one step closer and I'll slit her throat," the man hissed.

The deserter's hand was trembling, and there was a glint of fear in his eyes. He was absolutely terrified, but this also made the man very unpredictable. For her part, Laura was pale as a sheet and on the verge of tears. Florian glanced to his side. The last remaining patron was still inside the building – which made the situation extremely precarious.

Either he'll kill Laura... or she will assume her true form, Florian thought, sweat beading on his forehead.

Laura was a hybrid, a combination of a human and demon, and thus fully capable of killing the man holding her hostage – or at least she would have been if she was in control of her powers. Another pressing concern, however, was the customer. Were the man to see Laura's demonic form, Florian didn't know how the man would react. It was possible that he would even need to kill the man to protect Laura's secret – an act Florian knew neither Solomon nor Laura could ever accept.