The Demon Within

Chapter Twelve

Mei sat on a tree branch looking down into the camp her fellow demons had set up. Besides her, Kazuma was the only other Pureblood in their gang. Mei was now on the run from the Empire, seeing that the emperor had heard about her and knows that she has been reunited with the demons. Mei knew that the Shin Clan and the Yura Clan had orders to find and capture her using whatever means necessary. Mei sighed at the thought of having to face her old friends if it ever came down to a battle, knowing that they wouldn’t hesitate to swing their swords after all of this. Whenever Mei first joined the demons, they never questioned her authority. It seemed that they sensed the Desani blood that ran through her veins and something that just gave off the princess vibe was enough for them to call her leader. With her and Kazuma leading their small gang, they didn’t think the Empire would want to get involved with two Pureblood demons. But, once again, Mei was proven wrong as they were declared the most wanted, which made Mei giggle inside. Mei’s goal now was to gather the demons that the Empire had scattered throughout the land and free the demons that were captured before they were beheaded so she had a better chance in taking down the Empire. But the emperor had caught wind of her plans, and so he has been making it impossible to travel anywhere without being recognized as the enemy. Some of the emperor’s elites would attack towns and villages and then blame it on Mei’s gang, which angered the samurai clans even more. Mei put her head in her hand, cursing the emperor. Mei hated the emperor; mostly because of him it was why her samurai friends hated her guts now. Also because he was making her job even harder than it needed to be.

“Lady Mei!”

Mei looked up and spotted the demon soldier underneath the tree, waving up at her. “Yes?” she answered.

“We are ready to depart. Kazuma wanted me to let you know so you could get up to the front.”

“Thank you, head back to your position. We’ll be heading out shortly.”

Nodding, the soldier left and Mei disappeared. She reappeared near Kazuma who was observing his sword. He didn’t even lift his head when she appeared. Mei walked over to him and put her hands on her hips.

“You ready?” she asked with a smirk. Kazuma stopped and looked up at her, threateningly playful and smirked back.

“Damn right I am. You know those samurai are expecting us to come this time.”

“Only because they hold a demon prisoner, from what I hear,” Mei said haughtily. “If it weren’t for that I wouldn’t bother to show up.”

“I personally like to see them get frustrated whenever we are steps ahead of them.” Mei walked over and mounted her black mustang and gathered the reins in her hands. Kazuma looked over at her gravely, his eyes flickering with concern. “Kalik is sure to be there.”

“What of it?” Mei asked bitterly.

“He just might attack you,” Kazuma said with a smile as he mounted his black mustang as well. “He may mean to kill you. If that be the case, I won't mind stabbing him fifty times in the chest for you.”

“That won't be necessary. I'd like to see him try then. It’ll make him feel better,” Mei said, closing her eyes. “I don’t understand why men have to prove that they are right.”

“Mainly because we are usually right and women just question us too often.”

She looked over at Kazuma who was gently looking at her, and she knew he was trying to make her laugh. Smiling, Mei signaled for the other ten demons their gang had to mount up and then the raced down the path towards the village of Era. Getting there on horseback would be less obvious. If spotted at first glance, they would be mistaken for travelers. Mei was hoping to reach Era before they were spotted. The less blood they had to spill the better, in her opinion. There was no use wasting the blood of the samurai when they could be spilling the elites that work for the emperor. The elites that served the emperor were a disgrace to those who wielded a sword. Mei despised the elites, and had given the ‘okay’ for her demons to kill them without hesitation if they saw one. As Mei rode, her thoughts travelled to the Shin Clan and wondered what they would do if they found her. Attack me. That’s pretty obvious, Mei thought sighing to herself. Mei wasn’t going to hurt them; she still considered them friends. Plus, Mei had said she would help them in any way, which was a vow she stated, and she intended to keep them from harm.