The rough stone of the chimney walls dug painfully into her back and feet, but still she waited in silence. The scrabbling outside was growing louder. The demon had caught her scent and seemed intent on getting in to find its prey. She waited, shifting her grip on her harpoon and trying to shift a bit further up. She winced as her arm scraped a small protrusion of rock.

Suddenly, the rubble pile gave way enough to allow the demon entry. It spoke in a guttural language. Its voice was harsh and taunting as it cast around following the human scent. Emi stayed as still as possible as she tried to follow the demon’s movements by the scratch of its clawed feet on the stone floor. For all its seeming hurry to get into the cave, it didn’t seem to be in a hurry to actually find her. That, or it was just too dumb to figure out where she else she could be if she wasn’t in plain sight.

“Hungry!”

The word came clear as day to Emi’s ears. She scowled, realizing what it meant. Apparently, her knack for picking up language even included demon-speak. It also meant that it had already been around five minutes since the demon got in the cave.

Great, just what I wanted, to be able to understand what the demon is saying as it eats me!

Slowly the scratch of talons on stone came closer. A few more words were starting to become more understandable. Emi tried to ignore the mutterings about snapping bones and sucking out the marrow or the ponderings of if it should take the time to build a roasting fire or just eat her raw.

Emi took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, trying to settle her nerves as she shifted her feet slightly. The demon’s head snapped to the fireplace as the telltale sound of trickling dirt reached its ears.

“FOUND!”

The scrabbling grew louder and faster as it hurried to the fireplace and stuck its scaly head inside. Emi stabbed her harpoon between her legs as hard as she could and was rewarded with squeals of pain. She winced as she scraped her arms and back on the rocky passage as she lost her footing and fell.

“This food fights back!”

The harsh words of the demonic language irritated her throat and felt rough on tongue. The demon scrambled away from the fireplace in confusion and pain muttering about human weapons.

“Speak demon?”

“Learn fast. Find other food.”

Moonlight began to filter through the now open cave entrance. The demon sat on its haunches in the moonlight, looking at Emi. Its confusion and curiosity about a human speaking demon had gotten the better of its hunger and now it sat trying to puzzle it out. It didn’t seem much bigger than her and it had a gaping wound on its shoulder dripping blood on the ground. The demon didn’t seem to care about its injury as it tilted its head to one side in puzzlement.

“Humie talk like demon. Humie have sharp claw. Hurts. But hungry now.”

Emi didn’t answer. Using a language solidified the learning of it and this was one language she didn’t care to learn well. While she waited for the demon to make up its mind, the moon lined up with the cave entrance and filled a narrow path, directly on the demon. Her eyes now adjusted to the tiny bit of light, Emi readied her harpoon. Slowly, she wrapped the end of the return rope around her hand.

Only one shot, wait for it.

She slowly moved a bit forward to give herself more space for the throw. She stood and drew her arm back. The demon finally realized she’d moved and started to stand.

“What humie d-”

Its words cut off as the sharp Lhunstone blade pierced through its neck and severed its spine. Emi yanked on the rope, pulling her harpoon free and back to herself, ready to throw again. She shuddered as she watched the demon convulsing in death until at last it moved no more.

She stood in shocked silence for a moment then carefully approached it to make sure it was well and truly dead. A sigh of relief escaped her as she finally allowed herself to relax. She used some rags that may have been bed linens at one time to clean the blade and cover up the grotesque corpse, then settled in to stay awake the rest of the night. When dawn came she would head back to Etherea just as fast as could manage. She had gotten lucky with this demon. It had been both stupid and weak. She might not be so lucky next time.

“I’ll go back and help the wounded in Etherea. That is how I can be of most use. Demon slaying is definitely not my wheelhouse.