Escape From Evil

Chapter Three

Author's Note: Dedication to SatelliteDreamsxoxo for being the first person to read this story.

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Acheron had traveled the entire day and had decided to take a rest for the night. The only reason he was able to tell the difference was because he was between the borders of Dalkia and the Wilds. He could look back and see the blood red sky with black lightning that marked Dalkia, but he could also look in the other direction to see the dark night with the silver stars in the night. For him, the stars and the velvet colored sky was beautiful to him. He'd missed the sight of such beauty when the Mages of Dalkia had put up the imposing sky of the Empire, and now that he was gone from his home, he didn't miss it in the least. After all, it wasn't his home. No, he had no home and he could wander wherever he wanted to.

He could see in the distance the tall trees of the Wilds and he knew that those trees were the first sight of his new future. However, it was night time now and there was no reason for him to begin just yet. No, he would rest for the night and then begin when the sun was up tomorrow.

The Chaos Demon moved around, picking up different twigs and sticks for his campfire. Once his hands were full of the twigs of different sizes, he walked to a part of the grassy clearing and he dropped the wood into a pile. Then, he began to move around the grassy slope, placing sticks in a circle and then building a tepee of twigs in the center of the thick circle. Once he was done, he lifted a hand and drew on his magic. Flames began to lick at his hand and he touched the wood with his flaming hand. The wood caught immediately, going up in flames and burning bright. The orange and yellow flames cast shadows on his face, creating an eerie glow in the night.

Making a fire wasn't enough however. He listened to his stomach growl and he winced. He hadn't eaten anything for several hours. True, Demons didn't have to eat because they weren't mortal beings, but there were side affects to not eating. A Demon would grow weak in body and mind. They wouldn't be able to focus and their power would suffer because of it. Demons didn't need sustenance to live, but they needed it to survive. So, with the flames of his campfire leaping, he got to his feet and he walked away from his camp for the night, intending to search out food for the night.

He moved through the grass of the clearing, crouching low and reaching out with his aura to search out the aura of an animal. After several minutes of waiting crouched in the high grass, he felt it. A small aura only fifteen feet north of him and it was moving towards him. He licked his lips and waited for the being to get closer to him. He could tell from the size of its aura that it was a rabbit and he knew that it would be enough to fill him. He could tell that it was thick and juicy. He waited.

The former Assassin drew on his magic and a razor sharp dagger appeared in his right hand. When the rabbit was right in front of him, he made his move. His large; masculine hand shot out and closed around the rabbit's neck. The creature cried out in pain when he squeezed and drew the beast towards his face to kill it. It was in fact thick and juicy with thick dark brown fur. Its tiny black eyes looked at him, its fright a palpable thing. However, he would end the creatures fright quickly enough.

Acheron gripped the hilt of his dagger tighter and he plunged the blade into the rabbit's belly. The creature squeaked as it's blood leaked out and it struggled hard to escape. There would be no escape. After a few more seconds of bloodletting, the rabbit grew still and it's eyes glazed over with death. He said a prayer to the Goddess of the Hunt to take care of the little rabbit's soul and then got to his feet. His long strides brought him back to his undisturbed camp in less than a minute. The flame was burning just as bright as it had been before, but he knew that any normal flame would need tending to. Because this one was magical, it didn't need any sort of tending and it would continue to burn until he put it out.