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There is an old saying that once God had created the world and filled the rest of the continents with animals, that he took everything he had left and placed it in Australia. And though I hadn’t seen any of the local wildlife yet, all the odd daemons I’d seen since arriving had convinced me that this must be true.

Lei took the point as my temporary triad slowly moved down the street while Nadia took a position a little behind her and to the side, ready to protect our sides or throw off any daemons who attacked from the front. Gretchen, the team leader and kaern of the group, held back just a little further behind Nadia and to the other side, keeping a careful watch for any approaching daemons and using her bow to shoot at any of the lesser daemons we saw.

I followed in last place, having picked the job of watching our backside in case daemons tried hitting us from behind. My senses were stretched to the limit, though unlike Gretchen who was scanning everything, I was focused mostly on tail. And though I could have used my bow to help Gretchen with the smaller daemons, I didn’t want to waste my arrows when she had everything under control. Instead, I had my sword drawn and was ready to fight if anything got to close.

“Incoming from the north-west,” Gretchen announced, just a moment before I sensed the daemon myself.

This daemon was rolling towards us along the ground, looking just like a boulder with a three foot diameter. It had rough gray skin, and if it had just been sitting still, I probably would have just taken it for a rock.

“Enocht,” Gretchen spat out as she fired an arrow at the creature. I wasn’t sure what the word meant, unless she was saying what kind of daemon it was. Lindrell hadn’t covered these ones in her lessons yet. The arrow hit but didn’t seem to do any good, much to her annoyance. She muttered, “Sheisse.”

Without a word, Nadia put the tip of her pike onto the ground, sending a wave of concrete at the daemon and knocking it back. The daemon stopped rolling and just remained where it was for a moment before it opened its mouth…which formed about half its body. Now it looked like a rock with a massive mouth, filled with sharp stony teeth.

“It’s Pac Man,” I blurted out, noticing an obvious similarity between this daemon and the video game character. If Julie had been there, she would have chuckled at the reference, though none of the three women with me showed any sign of catching it.

Gretchen raised her bow, and I could feel the surge of essence as the energy she had stored within it flared to life and ran down the string into the arrow. I didn’t see any visible effect, but when she released the arrow straight into the daemon’s mouth…it froze...literally. Frost and ice crystals erupted from the mouth. I wasn’t sure if it was dead or not, but Lei made sure by smashing it with her hammer.

“So far, we’ve encountered seven daemons,” Nadia commented as she leaned on her pike. “Most of them lesser daemons…no real threat.”

“That merely means that we haven’t encountered the real threats yet,” Gretchen pointed out. “The daemonites who brought them here should be nearby.”

“We need to find the other triads,” Lei pointed out, casually kicking a chunk of stony daemon hide.

“Agreed,” Gretchen responded, her eyes going to the three story building that was nearby. It was probably the tallest building in this small town, so I immediately saw what she was thinking. “We’ll have a better view from up there…”

“Why didn’t we do that sooner?” Lei asked casually slinging her hammer over her shoulder.

Gretchen didn’t bother saying anything, and a minute later we went into the building and up the stairs. There were blood stains on the floors and wall, and a little piece of something that looked like it had come from a human being. However, I didn’t see any sign of a living person, which made me even more worried about my friends.

I felt like stopping and emptying my stomach, and the only thing that kept me from doing so was the fact that I didn’t want to look like a wimp in front of these other Val Kyr. Because of that, I tried to ignore the blood and gore and focus instead on finding my friends.

We made it to the top floor without any problems, then had to climb a ladder up through a hatch in order to reach the roof. I looked around nervously, half afraid that we’d be met with an army of daemons, though fortunately, the roof was just as empty as the rest of the building had been. However, from there, I could see several daemons running around the streets…but still no people.

Gretchen looked out from the edge, trying to see any signs of the missing triads, so I went to the other side of the building and looked out from there. Seconds later, she called out, “I see them…”

I immediately ran to her side of the building and looked out to where she was pointing, focusing my senses until I could see them as well. Julie, Lindrell, and Shannon were outside the town, fighting a daemon that looked like a giant snake. And from what I was seeing, it looked like they were losing.

“Sheisse,” Gretchen exclaimed angrily. “They’re too far...”

I glanced to her bow, then stared out at my triad, gulping as I did so. They were pretty far away, further than any archer would normally be able to reach, at least with any form of accuracy. And then I looked to the quiver on Gretchen’s back, remembering that she’d already used up all her stored essence. Even if she could shoot that far, her arrow probably wouldn’t be able to do much against a snake that large…not unless she happened to get it perfectly through the eye or something.

“I’ll try,” I said, nearly shaking with fear as I watched the massive snake snap out with its tail, hitting Lindrell and sending her flying back. She was still moving, but I didn’t know how much longer they’d last.

“Don’t bother wasting your arrows,” Gretchen told me.

I ignored Gretchen and pulled out an arrow. Then, taking a deep breath, I charged my bow, suddenly getting a look of surprise from the triad leader, who probably didn’t realize I could charge my weapons that quickly. I notched the arrow, took careful aim, using every bit of my senses and focus to make sure I had the path right. The snake had raised its head and was obviously poised to strike at Shannon.

“Please work,” I whispered, preying to any god who would listen as I let loose the arrow.

My arrow shot through the air, propelled by my essence so it moved faster and further than any normal arrow possibly could. I held my breath, feeling my heart race in desperate worry until the arrow struck my target, catching the snake right in the head. An instant later, the remaining essence exploded out of the arrow, destroying the head and causing the rest of the snake to collapse motionless to the ground.

“You hit it,” Gretchen exclaimed, giving me a look of surprise.

However, I barely paid Gretchen any attention as I was still watching my triad, relieved to see that they were all right. Shannon stared at the dead snake daemon for a moment, then looked around for the source of the arrow. She looked straight at me, so I waved to her, knowing that she’d be able to see me just as easily as I did her…if not more so.

“They know we’re here now,” I said unnecessarily since Gretchen would have seen Shannon waving back as well.

“We know where Lindrell’s triad is,” Gretchen told Nadia and Lei. “Let’s go retrieve them.” Then she turned and gave me an odd look before nodding faintly and simply saying, “That was a good shot.”

The four of us hurried back down to the street then started in the direction where we’d seen my triad. We saw another minor daemon run across the street in the distance, but at the moment, it was also a minor problem, not worth chasing down yet. Our first order of business was to meet up with my triad.

“Keep an eye out for Constance and her triad,” Gretchen reminded us.

I nodded at that, not needing a reminder since Nicole was a member of that triad. I might not have been as closer to her as I was to Julie, but I still considered her to be a friend and I’d been worried about her.

Suddenly, the air was filled with the sound of a gunshot, making me freeze in surprise. Just as I realized it must have come from one of the other triads, everyone from the triad I was currently traveling with all started running in the direction of the noise. As soon as I realized I was being left behind, I raced after them as well, wondering how I’d gotten into a position where I was running towards the sound of gunshots instead of away.

There were two more gunshots before we found the source, a woman in one of the buildings who was shooting at daemons from a window. At first, I thought she was one of the Val Kyr, until I got a look at her. She was terrified, determined, and obviously one of the people from the town. In fact, she was the only living one that I’d seen.

The daemon looked like it was part frog, part alligator, part snot, and all nasty. Gretchen shot it through the eye with one of her arrows and the creature howled with rage and pain. It started to run away, onto to have Gretchen shoot two more arrows at it. Then while the daemon was stuck in one spot, twitching and snarling but too injured to move, she casually walked up, drew her sword, and drove it right through the daemon’s head. It finally stopped moving.

“It’s dead,” Nadia called out to the woman in the building.

“Who are you?” came the suspicious response. “You’re dressed like those other women…”

“Other women?” Lei responded. “You’ve seen our friends?”

The woman cautiously peeked her head out the window, letting me get a good look at her. She looked like she was probably in her mid-forties, with a tanned skin and rough features that couldn’t quite be called pretty. “They showed up a couple days ago,” the woman responded. “Said they were hunting some rabid critters outside of town. We just figured they were poachers, bonkers…or both.” There was a pause, then the woman admitted, “I just thought that if those crazy sheilas wanted to hunt bunyip, they welcome to try, just as long as they stayed away from town…”

Gretchen nodded faintly at that. “Then I assume the daemons came into town…”

“Is that what these things are?” the woman demanded, her voice shaking. “Demons?” She was silent for a moment, then added, “They sure turned this place to hell fast enough…”

“We’re here to get rid of the daemons,” Nadia called to the woman.

The woman didn’t answer at first, and she’d ducked back so I could no longer see her through the window. Seconds later, she cautiously stepped out the door, holding a shotgun in her hand and looking at us suspiciously.

“How do I know your friends didn’t bring those things here?” the woman demanded, not pointing her shotgun at us, but I could tell she was ready to do so at a moment’s notice.

“They came because they knew some daemons were nearby,” Gretchen answered her grimly, “and their job was to kill them before they hurt anyone. Unfortunately, there appears to be a lot more than we thought.”

The woman hesitated a moment before nodding and relaxing just a little. “I’m Debbie…Debbie Martin.” Then she looked us over again before asking, “You Americans?”

“Nyet,” Nadia responded with a smirk while Gretchen simultaneously answered, “Nein.”

Lei shook her head while I raised my hand a little and said, “I am…”

“If you come with us,” Gretchen told Debbie, “we’ll try to get you out of here alive.”

Debbie hesitated, glancing back and forth down the empty street before she cautiously approached us. “Safety in numbers, and all that…”

“How many other survivors are there?” Lei asked Debbie.

“I don’t know,” Debbie answered grimly, shaking her head and staring at the ground with a haunted look in her eyes. “Those things showed up last night and started tearing through everyone…” She shuddered visibly before adding, “I just hunkered down and shot any of those buggers that found me…”

“You’re lucky you didn’t run into any of the bigger ones,” Lei told her with a grim scowl. “A lot of them are too tough to be taken out by a shotgun.” Debbie just gave us a skeptical look, as though not quite believing that medieval weaponry would work where modern firearms wouldn’t. I couldn’t blame her for that in the least, though fortunately, we did have a dead daemon to convince her with.

“We need to continue,” Gretchen pointed out, glancing towards the dead daemon. “I would like to unite with Lindrell’s triad before we begin hunting the daemonites and larger daemons.”

Debbie looked like she wanted to ask some more questions, but her eyes went to the massive hammer than Lei had casually swung over her shoulder. The woman’s eyes went wide and she gulped visibly, then kept quiet and followed along behind us as we continued our mission. However, I noted that she kept her shotgun ready to use again the moment she spotted another daemon.

The town was pretty small, and I guessed that there had only been a couple hundred people living there before the daemons arrived. I felt sick when I thought about what must have happened to all those people, so I tried to focus on just keeping an eye out for more daemons. It didn’t take long to reach the edge of town, which just abruptly ended, and we could see Lindrell, Shannon, and Julie all walking in our direction. All three were dirty and seemed to be splattered with daemon blood, but none of them seemed to be harmed at the moment, much to my immense relief. We remained where we were and waited as they came to us.

“Michelle,” Julie exclaimed once she was closer, right before she ran at me and grabbed me in a hug. “What are you doing here?”

“I decided to go on a walkabout,” I joked weakly. Then I asked, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Julie responded, suddenly looking self-conscious. “I’m bruised all over and a daemon broke my ankle this morning, but Lindrell healed it up pretty quick…”

“Michelle,” Lindrell greeted me, giving me a worried look. Then she looked to Gretchen, “Thank you for your assistance earlier. That was a well-timed shot…”

“It was,” Gretchen agreed before gesturing to me. “But I’m not the one who made it.”

Lindrell gave me a look of surprise while Shannon looked faintly smug. “I told you…”

“You killed that daemon?” Lindrell asked me, giving me a strange look. When I nodded, she grinned proudly. “Well done.”

“You one-shotted that thing,” Julie exclaimed, giving me a broad grin. “Awesome…”

I grinned at that, feeling rather proud of it myself and appreciating the recognition. “Thanks.”

“What happened?” Gretchen asked Lindrell. “I thought this was a hunt for some minor daemons…”

“It was at first,” Lindrell responded grimly, her eyes going to Debbie, who was standing in the back and looking awkward. “There were a few of them outside of town, so we focused on hunting those down. Then last night, a lot more suddenly appeared…along with more powerful ones. We were overrun before we realized it and have been trying to stay ahead of the daemonites since.”

“We’d separated from the other triad before this happened,” Shannon added. “We’ve been out of contact since.”

Lindrell and Gretchen talked for a few more minutes as they filled each other in on everything that was happening. When they were finished, Lindrell turned her attention back to me, giving me a curious look.

“Not that I’m unhappy for your help,” Lindrell told me, “but what are you doing here? Freya specifically ordered you to stay behind…”

“Freya also gave permission for her to come,” Gretchen assured her.

“Freya banned her from coming for minor daemons,” Shannon exclaimed in surprise, “but allowed her to come for this?”

“Things have changed a little since you left on your mission,” Lei assured her with a chuckle. “For one, she has a mentor…”

“Really?” Lindrell asked in surprise. She stared at me with a faint scowl and said, “As your primary instructor and triad leader, I should have been informed…”

“All right,” Julie told me with a tired smile. “Congratulations… Who is it?”

“Um…,” I started, not sure how to answer that one.

However, Lei just burst out laughing, then slapped me on the shoulder, hard enough to make me stagger. “You’ll never believe this. Her mentor is Freya.”

Julie, Lindrell, and Shannon all had looks of stunned disbelief at that revelation. Then Julie burst out laughing and responded, “You almost had me…”

“Actually, Freya is my mentor,” I said a little self-consciously.

“But Freya doesn’t mentor anyone,” Shannon exclaimed, giving me another look of surprise as well as confusion.

“I think this discussion can probably wait,” Gretchen reminded us. “We have a mission to complete.”

“She’s right,” Lindrell agreed with a scowl. She held up her axe and used it to point to the middle of town. “We have daemons to kill.”

“I’m out of it for a little while,” Julie announced, quoting my favorite scoundrel as she gave me a curious look, “and everyone gets delusions of grandeur…” A moment later, she stuck her tongue out at me before following after Lindrell and Gretchen.

I adjusted my quiver and the bow that was slung across my back, then started to follow after them as well. However, Shannon put a hand on my shoulder and caused me to pause.

“Excellent shot,” she said simply, giving me a faint nod. “Thank you.” And with that, she followed after everyone else, leaving me to bring up the back.