Demon Hunt

Chapter 10 Part 2

Kado heard a roar to the southeast. The mountains. He considered leaving Auren to sleep. She was right when she said that he could move faster on his own, but he didn't know how long it would take to track it down. It wouldn't do any good for her to wake to find him gone. She'd likely assume the worse and panic.

"Auren."

He reached over to give her a shake, but she rolled over.

"I heard." She got to her feet and rolled up her blanket, shoving it into her backpack.

Kado covered the fire pit with sand. "Ready?"

She nodded. "How far do you think it is from us?"

"I'm not sure. His roar could have reverberated off the mountains, so he could be a fair distance. We'll have a better idea once we find his tracks."

They were walking along the lakeside to see if they could find where it came ashore. They'd have an easier time finding it if they had something to track. Unfortunately the sand gave way to grass and it would be harder to spot a print in the grass, especially in the dark.

"Wait!" Kado said, holding up his hand to halt her. There was a hole in the ground where a large rock might have been. The dirt underneath was still wet so it couldn't have been moved too long ago. Blades of grass were bent and pressed into the ground nearby, the size of the demon's foot. "It went this way."

Without the moons for light, it was darker in the forest, but it didn't take long for Kado's eyes to adjust. He was more concerned about the climb. Auren hadn't had a good night's rest in a few days, and their diet hadn't been all that great either. He wasn't sure if she'd have the strength to keep up with his pace. At least the hills on this side of the island weren't as high as the ones on the western side. She surprised him by keeping pace with him even though he was moving faster than normal. Maybe all their activity recently had increased her stamina.

Up ahead was an opening in the rock wall. A faint light came from within. This one must have been loaded with Etherium, which would make it a lot easier for them to keep up with the demon. They wouldn't have to slow their pace. The gap in the rock face was pretty narrow. If it wasn't for the odor, Kado might have assumed it hadn't gone this way. It didn't look like the demon could have fit. Gazing inside, though, revealed some deep gouges in the wall where it likely used its sharp claws to pull itself through.

"This way," Kado said, making sure she was still following him.

Auren slipped into the tunnel behind him. Once they were passed the opening, it widened enough for them to walk side by side. Despite this she still trailed behind him. When they came to a fork in the tunnel, Kado had to rely on the demon's scent once again to tell them which way it had gone. The demon roared again, sounding agitated.

Kadomoved faster. It was so close, and he was eager to find it and be done with allthe madness. He stopped for a moment to listen for it, but he heard nothing.Not even Auren's heavy breathing from running through the tunnels. When helooked over his shoulder, she wasn't there.