Demon's Design

Chapter 6

The journey started out long and quiet, with the girls sleeping most of the morning and when their mother woke up she didn't speak. It wasn't until later when the two girls woke up that the silence broke. Immediately they started asking questions and demanding food, and after Tara split up their portions the two girls quieted for a time.

Of course, the time was short lived as the girls started asking Zandra a hundred different questions. "Where did you grow up? How many siblings did you have? Have you always hunted demons? Did you have any pets?"

Instead of being annoyed as she should have been, Zandra just chuckled at the diversity of their questions, "how about I tell you a story?" It would be best to do something to help keep the children busy for a time, not to mention it would help her pass the time as well. 

"What kind of story?" Erin asked eagerly, hugging her doll.

Gwen smiled, "is it about demon hunters?"

Zandra gave them both a gentle smile, "yes, it's about demon hunters. I will tell you what it was like to grow up in a demon hunter village." It wouldn't be the truth, far from it, but if she kept it interesting enough the girls would stay focused on her story. "Let's start with the demon hunter's village..." Zandra started to say, but was immediately disrupted.

"Is this where all the demon hunters come from? Do you all live together and train together?" Erin said eagerly.

Gwen shoved her slightly, "shh. Let her tell the story."

Erin put her head down and got quiet.

Zandra continued to smile and was impressed with the patience she didn't know she had, "there are different types of demon hunter villages scattered all over the kingdom. Although there may be various types of villages, demon hunters are all raised in a similar way. From the moment we learn to walk and talk we learn to fight, and from the moment we learn to read and write we learn about demons and how to defeat them. I was taught a bit more growing up, as my parents were the village leaders."

"Did you have any siblings?" Erin asked.

Gwen shushed her. 

"Yes, I had a sister who was couple years older than myself. Her name was Nina." She was sure Tara would figure her out if she used Sarah's name. "Nina was amazing, intelligent, and a quick study. We went to school together and learned to fight together. Of course, being a little older than myself she was stronger and had to help me a lot. There were times where she helped explain things that I didn't understand. One night we had been out walking and some demons attacked us. Nina had been quick to defend me before anything could happen. By the time the guards arrived she was already burning their bodies."

"Why?" Gwen asked. 

"As hunters, we burn demon's bodies to help erase their presence. Sometimes, their bodies can invite more demons." Gwen nodded and Zandra continued, "growing up we had a bit more to learn--being the children of the leaders. My sister tried to learn everything that they threw at us. While, she was learning how to be the next great leader, I was too busy causing trouble. They couldn't keep me still long enough to learn much of anything. I would sneak away at night and someone would always have to follow after me to keep me safe." Zandra laughed, "one night I wanted to head off into my own adventure, as I was quite fond of adventure books and the stories of our ancestors, so I suck out. Of course, I thought I was the most powerful child ever after mastering some spells in which to protect myself." She pitched her voice with exasperation, making fun of herself. "Going through the forest alone was not the smartest thing I have ever done. It certainly didn't take long for demons lurking nearby to find me. Let's just say I was in way over my head, but I managed to kill seven of the ten demons that had attacked me." Zandra shrugged and then paused a second before continuing, "not only was I the coolest kid in the village, I was also the most grounded." She sighed a bit while rolling her eyes, "my parents wouldn't let me out of their sight for months. Talk about the most boring time of my life." Zandra pretended to pout a bit and the girls laughed.