The forest broke and she stopped, her gaze swinging behind her searching for a dark, deadly man. Maybe his magic wasn’t as good as she thought because he was nowhere in sight. Good, really good. She took in the scene in front of her. The strangeness of it was enough to make her want to stick to the forest but it didn’t seem very big or like the best choice right now. In front of her was rocky, dirt-laden land. Two crumbled stone buildings looking ages old reminded her of an ancient battlefield. What she didn’t find was anything that looked like a city or town and no people.

A sound made her freeze and flatten her back against the tree. She strained, pressing her lips together and breathed as quietly as she could through her nose as she listened. There it was again. The whoosh of leaves being brushed. He was closing in on her!

Without a second thought, she took off on a sprint for the stone building where a small rocky hill led up to it. The incline was too steep to run up so she went on hands and feet and crawled up, kicking up chalky rocks and sending them tumbling down behind her. She winced at the noise she made but continued.

Breathing hard she made it to the top. Her energy waned fast and she found it took her longer to stand up and run for the temple than she wanted. She made it and breathed a sigh of relief as she darted inside. With her back to the cold stone, she tried to collect her wild thoughts. The ceiling of the temple had caved in on one corner, and the inside was empty save for the stone floor.

“Abbigail!” the wild demon roared.

She squeaked then slapped her hand over her mouth to stifle the noise hoping like hell that she wasn’t too late. God he sounded close.

He yelled her name again, this time sounding farther away and off to the left. Her eyes shot wide at her one chance. He’d check in here for sure. Hell, she knew she would if their roles were reversed. She spotted her next goal out of the crooked opening of the temple and saw a fierce mountain in the distance. It looked unused and old. Trees and foliage grew thickly up to the white peak. She didn’t need to go up it; maybe if she could get to the base she could trek around it until she lost him. The forest looked thick enough that she might be able to lose him.

“Abbigail!” His voice came back, closer to the temple.

This was her chance.

She tore out of the opening, her feet slapping against the dirt and rocks. She didn’t turn back to see if he saw her, just kept her eyes on the mountain and mentally calculated the distance. A couple hundred yards at least. The land wasn’t flat but lifted and dipped in waves. Eyes wide, more scared than she’d ever been, even when the demon had come to her house, she let her instincts burst inside her, and flat-out ran.

The mountain came closer and closer, getting bigger as she neared. The heavy, thick tree line surrounding it beckoned her with welcome arms. Something flashed in the trees. She kept running. An animal. A stroke of fear went down her spine but still she ran straight towards it.

A distinct sound came from behind her. Her heartbeat pounded like drums in her ears as she pushed her body harder. He’d spotted her and his heavy steps were coming right after her.

Another flash of movement darted in the forest. She had no clue what kind of wild animals lived in the nether-realm where a variety of demons resided, but none could be as bad as the demon after her. None of them had threatened to kill her mother.

She smiled with joy. Less than fifty yards—nearly there. She’d make it. She heard him calling her name, his heavy steps beating the rocks. After she got a safe way in the forest she’d turn and look back, but not now.

Movement flashed again in the forest. Something shorter than her. That’s all she got to see before it disappeared behind a mass of wide tree trunks. She neared the forest but never got to enter it.

A creature stepped out and she dug her feet into the ground to stop. A scream curled up in her throat but never escaped. Something nasty and very scared uncurled inside her. This thing would kill her without blinking, she just knew it.

It looked like something out of a nightmare. Evil yellow eyes with red spider web veins glared at her. Its bony body looked undernourished with knobby knees, elbows, and knuckles with extra-long fingers sporting a set of black hooded claws worthy of a bear. Surrounding its bony body was a layer of hard looking muscle. Its greenish skin looked leathery and rough to touch. Black claws stuck out sharp looking from its fingertips. The creature peeled its blackish lips back and hissed, bearing rows of sharp pointy yellow teeth.

She’d heard about other demonic creatures in the rift. Evil, horrible ones that feasted off living flesh, whose poison could kill within minutes. Was she staring at one of these creatures?

Abby started walking backwards. Her hammering heart pounded recklessly as the creature took a step towards her and didn’t stop. She wanted to turn and flee but couldn’t give this strange, hairless creature her back. It had green skin and was short probably not even five-feet tall yet its small size didn’t ease any of her fear.

Its jaw snapped open wide like a snake’s mouth detaching its jaw to eat a large prey, then a horrible ear-piercing cry split the air. Abby couldn’t fight her instincts anymore. She turned and ran—straight into the arms of the crazy demon.

“Stay back!” he demanded.

Finally, an order she could comply with. He thrust her away and she toppled backwards landing hard on her butt. Half scooting backwards on her butt, she watched as the demon lifted his arms over his head and unsheathed the two swords from his back.

The creature’s eyes swung to the tall, dark demon, then sprang jumping the clear twenty feet that separated them as if he had bounced off a trampoline. The demon didn’t move. Abbigail watched wide-eyed as time slowed. The demon’s teeth bared, its claws spread open ready to slash as it fell towards the king with a nasty cry. And yet he never moved.

Abby crushed handfuls of dirt in her hands. Her muscles tensed as the creature neared the demon. “Watch out!” she screamed. She didn’t know why she’d decide to help the demon now but she couldn’t take back her scream.

She didn’t need to say anything apparently because as the creature nearly landed on the demon, he slashed his swords in a cross pattern. The creature howled in agony and goopy green blood spurted from its body. It dropped almost neatly at the demon’s feat, twitching as it died.

Abby couldn’t catch her breath. She knew she was shaking but couldn’t do anything about that either. The demon stepped over the creature, and then turned so he faced her. With a cold, hard look in his eyes, he lifted his sword then swung it down in an arc.

Abby screamed as the creature’s head flew from its body, severed.

She couldn’t catch her breath. Her heart wouldn’t slow down. She was breathing too fast and she knew it. All she could do was watch as the demon strode towards her, sheathing his blades with practiced ease. He stopped in front of her with an expression she could only describe as enraged. His hands hung at his sides, curled into tight fists.

“This land is dangerous and you’re not going anywhere. You need me,” he said.

She agreed, but she couldn’t form any words. He studied her, a slow frown forming at his rather nice looking mouth.

“Breathe slowly, Abbigail.”

She shook her head hard. No, she couldn’t. Her breaths came too fast and shallow. She knew a panic attack gripped her. She’d had them before. The most embarrassing of which happened during her first real crime scene.

The demon knelt beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She tried to push away from him but couldn’t do anything more than raise her hands to his chest and curl them in his wet shirt.