Fox Of Greed (Greedy Fox Book 1)

~~ FIFTY ONE ~~

A/N: When tying up loose ends creates like three extra chapters. Can anyone else relate?

Also, Leraj's armour - for reference - is in Ch35

Leave your thoughts below on the chapter :)

Meliodas, you owe me big time when this is all over.

The fact that Meliodas had asked me to find Leraj meant they definitely had history and I was going to prod that wound until he spilled. Until then, all I could was try and find the demon while also trying to keep an eye out for Diane and King and not get captured by Holy Knights.

My circumnavigation of the wall to the next gate revealed nothing. A lot of the citizens still milled about but they diverted away from the large groups of knights that tramped through town. Every so often, I spotted one with high ranking powers and went back the other way. I had no need to fight yet.

Hands on hips, I surveyed the surrounding zone but I had no clue how I was supposed to find Leraj. I rankled at the fact that I had to even waste my energy doing so but I saw the reason in Meliodas' words. It would be wise to have one more person on our side in a kingdom out to get us.

I tried my nose but all the scents in the town made it hard to pick one. I huffed and tapped my foot. Maybe I could just pretend I couldn't find him; or just wait for him to find me, since he always had a habit of doing that.

That's it!

Heido! He was Leraj's demon 'pet' which meant he could lead me back to Leraj. Which raised another issue: how to find Heido. He usually just appeared out of nowhere as a dog.

But...

I spied a ladder leading to a roof. Bird form might be roosting somewhere where he could keep track of everyone. It seemed like a strategic move Leraj might make. With ease, I climbed to the roof and crouched, wary that the knights might have sentries up here.

I strained my eyes in all directions but even with my enhanced sight, no birds. Heido wasn't here. I climbed back down, frustrated at having wasted more time. Back to square one, I headed back to the gate we'd come in. No sign of Diane and King on the horizon. I made note of the time on the clock in the square and began searching the town.

If I was a demon in hiding, where would I be? Unless he's in the castle. But that would be dangerous and downright stupid. He could have used magic to get back on Hendrickson's good side but I have a feeling that wouldn't end well.

I stopped walking suddenly.

What happens if he's dead?

I worried my bottom lip and cast the thought aside. There were too many emotions attached to that train of thought that it would be dangerous to go down. Think positive. He's here somewhere. If only I had something to find him with... My hands found their way to my neck.

Eyes widening, I gently unclasped the pendant and gave a sniff. His scent came through faintly, soft woodsmoke with a strange bitter tang. Now that I knew what I was looking for, I was able to narrow it down. Knowing my time was running out, I followed the closest woodsmoke smell.

~

After dodging yet another patrol, I stopped at the end of an alley and caught my breath. All this running around was testing my stamina. My nose burnt from all the concentrating on woodsmoke and I could feel time slipping away like the sweat down my back.

If I don't find him around the next corner, I'm stopping, I told myself, for what was probably the umpteenth time.

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end and I slowly turned my head to the end of the alley. Someone stood there, their back to me. A man by the looks of it. When he poked his head out into the sunlight, I spotted that golden mop, sparkling tattoos and familiar armour.