Three days had passed since the night at the inn, and Hood had yet to find any fresh traces of her quarry. Three days spent walking all day and drinking herself into a light stupor each evening. Just a light one, though, barely enough to blunt the edges of her nightmares. She didn’t dare incapacitate herself further in wolf-infested woods. Because of this she was greatly relieved when she finally caught the scent of demon in the air. A sharp coppery smell mixed with wolf musk and rotting meat. It was a scent she wouldn’t forget even if she lived to see the end of the universe, which she fully intended not to do despite her circumstances. She tied Lumpy to a tree and drew a ward on the ground, empowering it with a whispered incantation and a drop of her own blood. The ward was one of the old magics, created long before the written word in the very infancy of civilization. As such, it wasn’t as efficient as word-magics, but it was robust enough not to be warped by her own demonic corruption. It would hide her horse and packs from demons and tainted beings as long as it remained unbroken. She then marked the trees around the ward to help her locate it when she returned. After all, she could no longer see it or its contents. She removed her boots, instead wrapping her feet in cloth designed to muffle her footfalls, and then tested the wind to determine the source of the scent. Once she had found her direction she set off running through the woods, her footfalls incredibly silent given her speed. As she ran she found tracks, unusually deep and clear for a greyback. She took this to mean the beast was enraged, not taking as much care to avoid being followed as usual, just as she had assumed the demon would be. She sped up now that she had a clearer trail to follow, thanking whatever deities might still look favourably upon her that the wind was in her favour and hoping against hope that she found the beast before it found anyone else. Her hopes were dashed when she came upon a small settlement. It was barely even a village, just a few families eking out a meagre living in the poor woodland soil. Or they had, at any rate. Now she rather suspected the lot of them lay in the big pile of bones and gore stacked up next to the well. Narrowing her eyes, she spotted the culprit sleeping atop this gory throne, her usually grey fur dyed blood red by the remains of the villagers. She was a formidable beast, well worthy of the great wolf she was once the mate of. Blinking back tears of frustration at once again arriving too late, Hood stalked closer to the wolf, her footfalls silent as the grave and the noxious wind in her face. As she came close she drew her sword, ready to take out her frustrations on the demon resting in front of her. Finally judging herself close enough to the beast, she lunged, only to find her sword blocked by a claw as hard as steel. She swore as she found herself face to face with the grinning she-wolf and realized that she had been tricked. With another curse she leapt backwards to dodge the wolf’s answering attack, the razor-sharp claws of its mighty paw passing mere inches from her throat. After regaining her footing she went on the offensive, her sword flashing in the afternoon sunlight as she slashed, blocked and parried in a frantic dance of lethal intent. But with each exchange the flow of the battle shifted subtly in her favour as she proved quicker than her adversary. However, just as she prepared to make a wounding strike, a set of teeth closed around her sword arm. Ignoring the burning pain, she turned around to find a young wolf-demon, barely more than a pup, with his teeth locked around her arm. The distraction proved to be her undoing however, as she felt her first opponent’s claws bite deeply into her side. As she fell, she cursed her own stupidity at letting herself be so completely and thoroughly misdirected by her quarry. She hadn’t even considered the possibility that the wolf she slew might have had a young pup to avenge him as well as a mate. Reluctantly, she realized what she had to do. It was something she hated doing for more than one reason, but there where no living human beings in the area, and the situation left her little choice. She drew a deep breath and called upon the corruption entrenched within her body and soul. With the demonic forces smouldering within her, she bellowed out the true name of the Blood Moon, the foul, guttural demon tongue suffusing the air around her and violently ripping the very life from any untainted animal or plant it touched. Drawing breath once more she consumed the tainted life force floating around her, forcing it to serve her in healing her wounds and lending her strength. Her eyes burned as the demonic taint wormed its way further into her core, but she ignored the pain as her body was flooded by adrenaline and stolen power. With a single motion, she shook the wolf pup from her arm. A chunk of her flesh was ripped free of her arm by the wolf’s teeth, but the stolen life she had consumed quickly replaced the loss, new muscle fibres sprouting forth from her unharmed flesh like worms and twining around each other to form new muscle tissue, and new, unblemished skin practically melting onto the newly grown flesh. As soon as she once again had full control of her arm, she lunged at the dazed pup, her sword easily cutting flesh and splitting bone as she cleft the young demon’s front from its rear, blood and innards spilling onto the dead ground. A blow from the enraged mother sent her flying and she landed hard on the rotting grass. She was quick to recover, however, and by the time the wolf attacked again with all the might and fury of a bereaved mother she was able to block the blow. The exchange that followed was clumsy but fast, both parties lost to bloodlust as they traded blow after blow. But in the end Hood wore the demon down with her stolen strength and was able to land a blow that speared the creature’s heart. Half lost to battle-madness, she screamed her triumph to the skies and repeatedly stabbed the corpse of her opponent with a senseless grin on her lips. It took another few minutes before the demonic forces ravaging her body finally overcame what energy she had left and dragged her into unconsciousness. The red moon shone overhead as she hunted, her heavy paws hitting the frozen earth beneath her as she gave chase. Ahead she could just barely make out her prey, running for its worthless life through the snowclad woods. She could smell its fear in the air, spurring her on as she hunted. She grinned as she imagined how succulent that flesh would taste when she sunk her teeth in, and the bloody light of the moon above glinted off her razor-sharp teeth. She saw her prey stumble upon a root and fall to the ground, and increased her pace yet further. With a final, triumphant howl she leapt upon the fallen girl, relishing the fear she saw in those ice-blue eyes. Pinning the shivering child to the ground, she leaned forward to rip out her throat… Hood awoke with a gasp, sitting up as her heart beat wildly in her chest. The coarse sheets underneath her were drenched in sweat and her hands were clenched so tight her fingernails nearly drew blood. As she calmed down she realized she certainly hadn’t fallen asleep in any bed, and looked around to ascertain her position. She found herself in a small, hard bed in a sparsely furnished room. Judging by the shape of the ceiling, she guessed she was in a small cottage, probably no larger than two or three times the size of the room she was in. She also found her sword and armour nearby, both of them cleaned rather professionally. With a start she looked around for her cloak, but relaxed as she found it lying untampered with at the foot of the bed. Sitting up to get dressed, she realized she had been stripped of her undergarments as well. She was also remarkably clean, meaning someone had stripped and washed her while she was unconscious. Feeling a mix of gratitude and suspicion, she decided to reserve any further judgement until she had met whoever was responsible. In the meantime, she looked about for something to wear. She could, she supposed, wear her leathers with no undergarments, but that would get uncomfortable very quickly. Luckily whoever had brought her here had also laid out breeches and an undershirt for her. They turned out to be a little big for her, but not enough to bunch up and chafe under her armour. Once dressed and equipped, and feeling a lot safer for it, she opened the door and found herself in a rather cosy room. A brace of pheasants were roasting above a merry fire in the centre of the room, and aromatic herbs hung drying from the rafters. A young man was seated at the one table in the cottage peeling some type of fleshy root. His long brown hair was tied into a tight braid and his green eyes were a bit red and puffy, like he had been crying recently. When he heard the door open he turned around and gave her a tired smile. “Oh good, you’re awake. You looked rather out of it when I found you.” “I was. Thank you for your help, and the clothes.” “They were my sister’s. Still, it’s not like she’s going to miss them.” His voice grew a little thick towards the end of the sentence, and Hood winced as she remembered the pile of half-devoured remnants she had fought upon earlier. “I’m sorry for your loss.” “As am I. Still, at least you got the bastard that did it, right?” He attempted to smile at his own retort, but it came out more as a grimace. “Yes, I suppose I did.” The conversation lapsed into an awkward silence, only to start again a moment later with an equally awkward question. “Are you a demon?” “What?” “Your eyes. The have that curly writing in them, like demons do.” Hood cursed silently to herself. Of course the demonic markings would be plainly visible after the kind of stunt she pulled in the village. “No, I’m not a demon. Well, maybe a bit of one, but I’m mostly just human.” The young man looked rather nonplussed, but didn’t pry further. “Well, either way I’m grateful for what you did. I was just about to run and get my axe and probably get myself killed trying to avenge my family when I heard this… sound. It was the strangest thing I’ve ever heard, and I felt this sharp tug like something was trying to rip me apart. When I came back to my senses enough to run and see what had happened, I found you laid out on the ground and the demons dead and bleeding out. The whole place looked strange, too. Like anything that had been alive there had died and begun to rot in just the time I was gone.” “Well, that was because of me. It’s because of something I had to do to kill the wolves.” She purposely left out the fact that the same would have happened to him if he’d been just a bit closer to the site of the battle. “That must have been a powerful spell or curse you used. What kind of magic can do something like that?” She considered lying, but didn’t really see the point of it after all that this young man had seen already. “Demon tongue.” The young man gasped and reflexively formed a holy symbol with his hands, and then hurriedly stopped as Hood recoiled with a hiss of discomfort. “Oh, I’m sorry… I didn’t think…” He said a tad sheepishly. “No, it’s quite alright. You couldn’t have known.” Again the awkward silence descended, and this time neither party found any good way of breaking it. After a few tense minutes the man went back to preparing dinner while Hood excused herself to go use the lavatory. They had shared a meal in relative silence, exchanging no more than a handful words. The food itself had been simple fare, but very filling. Now, in the deep silence that permeated the lonely cottage, both parties tried to think of something to say. “I just realized I’ve completely forgotten to introduce myself.” The man began. “My name is Ulrik Berg.” “Hood.” “What, just Hood?” “Not really, but It’s all I ever use these days.” “Come on. I won’t tell a soul, I promise. What’s your full name?” “Very well…” She said with a sigh. “My full name is Ruby Rose Hood.” She didn’t even raise an eyebrow at Ulrik’s poorly disguised snort of laughter. “And that is exactly why I go by Hood.” “Sorry, sorry. I mean no offense. It’s just, well… Ruby Rose doesn’t exactly bring to mind the image of a demon hunter, now does it?” “Not really, no. Then again, I never said I was a demon hunter.” “Aren’t you, though?” “Well, yes. But I could have been something else. You shouldn’t assume.” “You killed two wolf-demons. What else could you have been? You’re too short to be a soldier, too civil to be Fey and I really doubt you’re a holy warrior what with using demon magics and all.” “Fair point, I suppose.” The silence that followed was less awkward than before. Almost companionable, in a way. Fairly soon they both decided it was time for some rest, Ulrik being tired after a long day and Hood still feeling worn out from her abuse of the demonic energies within her. At her host’s urgings she took the bed while he slept on a bedroll in the main room. The nightmares were far less harsh than usual that night, and Hood woke up early feeling rested and well. Carefully she gathered her things and snuck out of the house, making sure not to wake Ulrik as she left. He was a nice young man, and he had quite enough to deal with without the additional trouble that would inevitably come to him if he further associated with a demon hunter like herself. Using the rising sun to orient herself she set out towards the ward she had left, not even bothering to detour to the village to collect the heads of the demons she had killed. If Ulrik had any sense he’d take the heads himself and use the bounty to make a life for himself somewhere else. It wasn’t like he could remain here. The very land itself was dead for almost a mile around the village, and nothing would live or grow there for decades. It was only a matter of time before the whole area became barren as animals instinctively shied away from the blighted ground. Finally finding her way back to the group of trees she had marked she scuffed the area where she remembered placing the ward with her foot and saw her horse and pack fade into view in front of her. Lumpy greeted her with a happy whinny and she patted him on the neck and fed him a small treat for being a good boy and waiting patiently. Packing all her things and putting on her sturdy travelling boots she once again set out with her horse in tow. After all, while she had slain her most recent quarry, the hunt was far from over. There was one wolf that had eluded her for a long time. One that she had chased all over the northern woods, and now into these leafy forests as well. The hunt was still on.