Night sucked. Even when you know nothing is out there, watching you, waiting to chomp down on you as if you were a big mac, it was hard to kick the fear. It was even worse when you actually knew a bit about what went bump in the night; knew that there were actually inhuman things out there more than willing to do bad things to you just because you were human. You could go weeks, afraid of your own shadow every night.

Then something would actually come out of the darkness, and you'd remember why you feared; why the fear took over until you were unmanned. Because the things out there waiting to kill you or worse, were much stronger than you, and you could only fight them at all if they let you. That your fate was not in your own hands, or even close.

Tonight was one of those nights.

Flares popped off around us, some streaking skyward, some staying land-bound, and all making enough noise to wake the dead. They had been tripped on purpose, of course. Our entire line, hit all at once? Had to be a demon; no demon immediately visible? It wanted us to stew.

How long it wanted that was important; I doubted I had time to brush the sleep out of my eyes. the others, they could be picked off at leisure, but the moment I was spotted, I'd be killed. Probably the blinding flares were the only reasons I haven't died already.

"Grex, veni huc!"

Grex seemed to understand the situation even before he fully materialized, as he put himself together right above me - just in time to take a charge from something small and fast.

He manhandled it easily enough, throwing it off into the dark. "Use your skill, my Mistress."

Right, I should have done that first. With a thought, time slowed down.

This time I could see what slammed into Grex. An imp that looked vaguely like a skinned monkey, and about that size. From a different angle than he'd thrown in; was there more than one?

There was, a second, looking like a wizened old man of about a thousand, and a third, looking kind of dog-like, were even now streaking in at the speed of molasses. At least they weren't targeting my soldiers.

No wait, two more, looking like twin monstrosities, were targeting my soldiers. Lewd and Dod. Why were there so many imps around?

At any rate, they were more helpless than I was, despite being up already and slinging guns. I moved out of the jaws of the pincer aimed for me, throttling time down even more, and to Lewd's side. A swift stab with my athame ended her problem.

Dod was firing by the time I got to his side, and that cost me a second because he forced me to dodge.

The two meant for me had touched down, and were now looking for me. Grex had the one that attacked him in hand; he was throttling it with cold precision. What a slacker.

I shived the last two and let my hold go; time resumed it's normal flow.

There was some sporadic fire on my side as the flares dropped. "Situation is in hand for now, stand down."

The fire stopped, but the wariness didn't. Not that I blamed them for that, I wasn't entirely sure I should be sounding the all clear. Five imps was a major incursion back home, but there might be more running around.

I turned to Grex. "Ask it how many friends it had."

Grex turned an eye to me, still throttling. "Friends?"

Jerk. "Whatever, companions, allies. How many other demons he came with."

Grex turned back to our intelligence source. "You heard her. Tell me how many foolish demons you came with."

The imp could not resist, of course. "Five, traitorous great one."

One more then. "One more! eyes peeled!"

I stabbed the grinning imp casually, sending it back to hell in a cloud of ash. "Go find it Grex."

He was gone in a flash, as I used a minor trick to extend my own senses. I wasn't sure how the troops would react if both I and my demon appeared to vanish at the same time, so instead I'd save speeding up my own flow of time as a last resort.

I'd rather lure one in than let it get away. Any demon who escaped would know exactly how my team did things, and how I responded. They might even know who I was by what I could do. I didn't think that information had trickled down to the lowest rank and file, but I couldn't say for sure.

But nothing attacked. Nothing went after my team, huddled together back to back with eyes out, and nothing attacked me, off to the side.

Grex popped back in, all business, no games. "I've found nothing. The fifth demon must have ran the moment the others attacked."

We both knew the imp couldn't lie to me. "Ran and left no trace you could follow? A talented sort, then."

Probably not an imp. Whatever it was stayed just long enough to order the imps in, and then left like the veritable bat our of hell. It wasn't a flyer or we'd have seen it. A burrower perhaps? Maybe even something strong enough to gate, though demons couldn't gate from hell and back without a contract. So that was out, unless there was a rogue summoner running around.

"It can happen, if one is prepared. You of all people know how the eyes can be fooled." Grex opined.

Yes, invisibility was a thing, but Grex was supposed to be better than that.

"You're sure? Nothing around, no demons, no unpleasant surprises?"

Instead of answering with words, Grex chose to glare at me for a long moment instead.

I decided to press. "Well?"

"No, nothing like that," Grex finally said with as melodramatic a sigh as he could manage. "Where is the trust for your bosom companion in the face of all life's adversity?"

"Lacking." I turned to Golem. "Reset what you guys can. We aren't moving."

"Understood," Golem answered simply, then turned the team. "You heard the boss! Santa, E.T., Rigger, you're up! The rest of you, cover!"

I winced. He was a little loud, but I guess that could be my improved senses talking.

I really needed to figure out a way to incorporate wards somehow into our camps without them being sniffed out. If I could just fix that little problem, I could help summoners the world over. Well, maybe. Not everyone could just do what I did.

I turned back to Grex. "You know how I said you had a night off? Well, now you don't. Keep watch, and mean it. Any casualties on our side you're getting punished for."

Grex knew I meant it; he straightened up and gave a fist over heart salute. "As you command, my Mistress."

Then he flew up, and perched in the nearest tree overlooking us, as if he were a giant crow, the weirdo. Next he'd be crapping on cars or something.

There wasn't going to be any rest for the wicked, since I couldn't sleep either. But those who could, I wouldn't hold it against them. I was curious.

It took my soldiers less than three minutes to reset everything. "Alright, back to sleep unless you were set to watch."

Wonder of wonders, not only did those who were sleeping settle back in, but most of them went right off like little babes, judging from the breathing patterns. That was either some hardcore trust, or hardcore fatalism.

I dug into my coffee, and tapped my time powers a bit. I knew it would make me bored longer, but maybe I could get some research in; my notebook was waiting.

Maybe some sort of automated wards writer? Kind of like a protractor, only for dirt and wood? It would have to be capable of bloodletting on the fly too, because that would be the only way to power something like that... but then you run into a few issues with getting the blood flow to stop. Hm, this was more complicated than it seemed.

Maybe if you infused silver beforehand, and used that in a reservoir....

The whisper that came to my ears was not attenuated. "Look lively, Mistress."

Whoops, boredom really was no excuse not to pay attention in a war zone.

Another imp was inbound; Grex had already moved to intercept.

Well, one imp posed no threat, but the imp had to know that. So, what was in the other direction, or circling behind us? My eyes were still enhanced, I could see in the low light with no problems, but I saw nothing.

Some special powder on the eyes to reveal the unseen, and I took another look. Nothing, again. Why would a lone imp attack?

"Grex, ask him why he's here. This makes no sense. Ask him somewhere a bit farther out," I whispered back. Our sentries had yet to spot anything amiss, and I'd love to keep it that way; they needed their rest, even more than I did.

Grex did as ordered, and returned within the minute, resuming looming in his former location. "It seems we are being tested."

"We in general, or we as in us specifically?"

Grex paused. "A good question, and one I did not ask. However, the impression I got was the United States Military in general."

Wonderful; tests like that meant we had been shipped just in time, to a war zone about to go hot. Why else would you probe like this? "Just perfect."

Someone had to be ordering these imps. If all they had were imps to use, they couldn't be very strong, either. So the immediate problem would be finding the summoner on the ground, and dealing with them. After all, taking them out would stop crap like this, deal a blow, and send a message all at once.

If we could find him; so far he was good at covering his tracks. "Did you ask him who sent him, and where from?"

Grex's mouth didn't even move as he whispered back. "I did, and wonder why you didn't think of it before. However, the imp could not say, even under threat of dismemberment. The master has managed that much, at least; I am unsure on how, as my orders were accepted."

Which meant mine would work too. We were likely in little danger.

I wasn't sure I believed that, but so far this was all easy. Too easy. I really wanted to talk to Golem, but doing so would distract a pair of eyes I wanted searching for threats. Plus saying such a thing out loud was just asking for it. I couldn't even ask how much ammo we were down, for fear that I'd reveal crucial intelligence to a hidden enemy.

Sometimes I really hated being an adult; adulthood sucked.

Wait, there was a way to spy on people with spells, and I could stop that if I tried. Even if I didn't have that creepy eyes on me feeling my instructors said I'd feel, it was at least something to do.

Pity I'd never learned the reverse, with the bowl of water and the Greek elements. I could be an oracle.

I drew the runes into the air with my athame, allowing my power to infuse them. It led to a nice 'fire in the air' effect that was pretty cool, but potentially dangerous - you didn't want one rune sort of flowing into the other. I wouldn't even do this normally, but this was more busy-work than anything.

Just as I thought, there was nothing; no one was watching us from range.

Grex must have spared a glance at my handiwork, because he whispered: "You did it wrong," at me.

"Gee, thanks. Never used it before," At least it didn't explode. "How bad is it?"

"Not bad - it just won't work. I suggest using your paper next time. For the record, nothing is watching us by those means."

Heaven forbid I want to try something new. Heh, they probably would.

"At least it won't explode," Grex whispered, mirroring my thoughts. "It looks very pretty. Almost as if you're doing something."

"Hush demon; you only get to be insufferable with words if you find the ambush."

"There is no ambush to find, yet. Please stop ordering the impossible."

Well, so snark and requests now. When did this happen, exactly? He wasn't actually trying to subvert and destroy me at every moment, with every act and breath. There was... banter.

No, I couldn't trust it; Grex was probably just playing the long con. He wasn't after the family anymore, Golem had a point before. So whatever he wanted was either with me, or me. And demons did not like to wait; he would never wait until I died naturally when he could get my soul early.

The other demons I could summon were even more dangerous; they had no stake in my survival at all. Really, being an adult sucked.

Mind back into the now; there was nothing to be gained worrying about a tomorrow before it comes. There was no attack to sniff out, according to Grex. We were safe for now.

I had to make sure. "So you;re saying there's no demons, or attacks of any kind, out there that you can detect?"

Grex sighed just loud enough for me to hear, and rolled his eyes. "Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying. You and your mortal friends are as safe as can be for the moment."

That was pretty ironclad. "Thanks. Keep up the good work."

Staying awake was the proper thing to do. But I was going to run out of coffee if I kept this up, which was a problem. Getting more wasnt not going to happen while Grex was on duty, so to speak.

When did I become so pampered? I used to be able to go out into a desert with just a knife and survive. I needed to get back to that, somehow. Later. I packed my bedding, just for something to do.

More boredom, as hours pass. I could almost hear the endless loop of the jeopardy thinking music in my head, no matter how much I wanted not to. I was aware of the shift change, as Golem, Dod, and Perry took watch.

When the sun broke past the horizon, even though it wasn't past the tree line, I felt it. It was almost a relief.

"Alright, everyone up. Let's go, time to break this all down and move."

Once again, the team was packed and ready to go with all the traps and traces cleaned up just shy of six minutes.

Golem was less than happy about that, and everyone could tell, despite the fact that he didn't say a word. I appreciated his discipline. The morning felt... wrong. Heavy, full of portent somehow. This wasn't a horror movie; bright sunlight helped sometimes, but it was no proof against the stronger things we faced.

Usually imps hated bright lights though; some even burned in it. But of course I never got that lucky; every demon I faced was one that had no weaknesses, more power, and better reactions than I could pack. At least I could fight back when sent into the meat grinder, unlike my living shields. How much worse did they feel about all this?

I needed to stop wondering about things I couldn't help or change.

"Alright, let's move. Black, you're point, Olympic, Thorn, left and right wings. Musad, you're the trail."

The trail was our backside. Arguably one of the worst positions to take, survival wise. Even worse than point, but someone had to take it, and it was his turn. I'd rather have Grex on it, but he needed to stay close.

"Grex, you're on overwatch."

We moved out, and I checked to make sure we were on route. We were, and on schedule besides, which was something at least. Just a few more days, and we could turn around and work our way back.

Knowing our luck, the person that sent the demons was outside our patrol range, just laughing it up.

That the summoner was still active and had not just walked off was confirmed just before noon when Grex spoke for the first time today, whispering in my ear as if the intervening space did not exist.

"I see something odd ahead, just beyond the range of your left-most scout."

"Odd how?" I didn't stop the column; I didn't want to tip off anyone without concrete data.

"Odd as in a lone demon, standing in the open." came the answer.

I signaled the halt; chances are the demon would notice, but it was better than walking into something that was clearly a trap.

Everyone halted just in time, and I signalled the approach. We needed to consolidate or we'd get picked off. Which might be the trap, but I'd take the chance.

The demon noticed. A lone imp, busy tearing something small apart; it looked like an animal of some kind, but it was hard to tell, because the demon had been at it awhile. It was the very picture of homicidal boredom.

Golem didn't question the situation, he was learning for better or worse. "What's wrong?"

"Imp ahead, just standing out there. I don't like it, it looks too easy."

"We sure this is just one guy? This sucker has too many resources."

It could be a group. But it could be one summoner with years of prep time. But, how likely was that really? Normally, each of these imps would require a contract, and a more standard one written in blood and paid for in advance if they weren't the first or main demon.

It would be for one summoning unless otherwise specified, and the recovery time would be... long. Each time. Possible, but what the heck kinds of long, time wise.

No, I needed to know what was going on. "Take positions."

Then I whispered so that only Grex would hear. "Grex, do our thing, go over there, catch that imp, take him somewhere, and ask him why he's here, who his master is, and what the trap is. If you can, get a picture of what's going on here, and how many are involved."

"Yes, my Mistress," Grex answered, all business.

I used my power again, in order to catch the incoming ambush that may or may not be coming. It offered the bonus of seeing Grex flash forward and grab the imp before the ugly little creature could even squeak; it even dropped its little dead toy.

Golem's words were drawn out, but still understandable; I wasn't dipping as hard into the flow of time as I could: "Where'd it go?"

The team was still getting set up.

I took care to slow down my response. "Grex is handling it. I want answers."

Golem blew a shuddering breath. "Right. I'll just be over here."

Not a minute later (my time, not normal time) Grex returned, without the imp. "The summoner is gone. His name is Mr. Werner, and he is a German slave owned by a demon; I was not able to get the name of the demon who owns him, but I was able to uncover the plan.

It is a series of tests for the American army and their policies, in order to prepare for an invasion. The theory is, the imps are to test us to see how we respond. The lack of so called survivors so far has been noted as a response of sorts all its own. That might set back their plans, but it is far more likely they will simply use more force."

"So the imps are tripwires?"

"Yes." Grex answered impatiently.

"How many more are around? And more importantly, when is the attack coming?"

"The imp didn't know, either question. However, he did know one curious fact."

I shouldn't ask, I shouldn't ask... "What fact?"

Grex smiled. "Mr. Werner wears an old military uniform, and is one hundred and twenty-one years old."