Newly Summoned Demoness - Chapter 60 – On the Run (Patreon)

Elania bit down on her bag as she finished absorbing the remaining bodies on the street, shoving the excess power into the mana shard contained inside. Then she bounded after Yolani, who shoved the slightly bent doorframe of Aetherhart’s Artifice open. Henri watched mutely as the two disappeared inside.

The door groaned as Emerald Eyes shoved it back shut, then directed her wand at a drop bar. The metal suddenly turned red, and it fused into the wood and stonework.

Elania tilted her head. She knew there was a window. Maybe they would be jumping out of it? But then they’d still be exposed to the ones who hunted them outside.

Sniffing the air, the familiar scent of the shop had overpowered the stench of blood and magic that had hung in the air outside. Yolani was a whirlwind of action, fetching a large bag and shoving things seemingly at random into it. It was a big bag.

Elania sat on her haunches and watched. It was going to be heavy, and she was unsure how Yolani would carry it. She let out a meow in worry that she’d be expected to carry it on her back. She was not a pack animal!

Although… she probably wouldn’t mind if Emerald Eyes wanted to ride on her back.

“I’m hurrying! I need my charge crystals and my back-up brace! Shit, where are the camo-cloaks?” Yolani’s words came out in a rapid chatter that had Elania tilting her head as she watched. A belt of wands of various shapes was shoved into the leather pack.

A few minutes later, the sounds outside caused her ears to twitch rapidly, and she let out a warning hiss.

Yolani froze and stared at the door. “It should hold—”

There was a loud crack upstairs. Elania whirled and growled at the upstairs door.

“The window is warded, and they won’t get easily even if it’s open. Elania, come here,” Yolani ordered.

Pausing in her growling, she loped over to Emerald Eyes eagerly, but when she saw what was in the girl’s hands, Elania let out a hiss and stopped on her haunches.

It was a collar and harness! She was not a pet!

“Calm down. It’s for holding things and carrying stuff! We don’t have time to argue!” Yolani yelled at her.

Elania’s ears went back on her head, but she stepped closer and let Yolani put the thing on. Why did she even have a Darkwalker shaped collar, anyway?

It turned out to be a very configurable harness, probably meant for something even bigger, like a Ralfot Bull. It was actually shrunk down to fit her. There were nice hooks on it, and Elania played with her bag, sealing it shut and hooking it onto the new feline outfit.

She still eyed the giant bag Yolani prepared warily.

Almost as if reading her mind, the other girl answered. “It has a weight artifice on it, so it doesn’t weigh as much.”

That would be handy. But how did someone manipulate weight? Was it gravity magic? The sudden interest evaporated as a loud explosion sounded on the other side of the door. Someone was trying to break in—with magic.

Elania began to pace nervously around. Emerald Eyes hadn’t told her how to escape! Coming into the confined building felt like a mistake to her instincts. It would have been much better to sprint away and find a dark shadow to hide in before pouncing on the enemy.

But she couldn’t leave Yolani unprotected and alone.

Her ears swiveled as she listened to the sounds of attempted intrusion and danger, holding still while Yolani clipped several more bags to her harness. Her earlier indignation at becoming a pack animal resurfaced, but she pushed it away. If helping carry things would help, then she would do so.

The pounding explosions outside became incessant. It honestly surprised her how resilient the shop was. It sounded like they were pounding on it with artillery. Actually, remembering the cannon at the checkpoint. Maybe they were?

“Elania! We need to go! Come on!” Yolani shouted from the back room.

Turning and loping after the other girl, she found that there was a hatch built into the floor beside the shower contraption. Elania sniffed at it in dismay. She hadn’t had a chance to try it out.

A hand grabbed onto her collar and tugged her downward. First instinct was to claw the preparator, but she didn’t want to hurt Yolani, so she let out a low growl. The collar was not for tugging on her! She submitted and jumped down into the hole. The trap door closed above them.

“If you don’t like that, just wait until you see where we have to go through…” Yolani mumbled.

Elania sniffed the cool air. It was icky. Acrid with a tang of rot. Her fur suddenly stood up in alarm. No!

“The drain goes to the Row’s sewer line and into the main network.”

Sewers. Ugh. A low growl escaped.

“I agree,” Yolani replied.

Elania nudged her with her nose, taking a sniff. It was probably the last nice thing she would smell in a long time.

A grate blocked their progress, Yolani pulled out a simple, ordinary wrench and undid the bolts holding it in. There was a membrane filter of some kind held behind the grate and as soon as it was removed, the stench hit for real.

Elania laid on her belly and covered her nose with her paws.

“Gods, you’re such a drama cat,” Yolani said, a hint of laughter in her voice. The girl smiled at her. How could she smile? Everything was ruined. They were being hunted. Elania stood up and nuzzled her before licking her face.

“Ehck! You have bad breath! Stop!” Yolani pushed her away gently.

Elania let out a purr. Well yeah, of course her breath was a little off. She just ate some rotten people. Yolani slid through the opened grate and landed with an icky sounding splash before pulling her stuff down after her.

There was a moment of silence as she stared at the dark hole.

Emerald Eyes sparked in the dark, urging her to hurry. “Elania, come!”

This was the worst. It would have been better to fight the entire city! Still, she couldn’t turn around now. Elania laid down on her belly and did a cat maneuver to squeeze into the new tunnel, landing with a splash. Her paws were soaked with nasty liquid. Raising one to sniff it made her feel like she needed to spew her earlier meal.

She let out a low yowl.

“Stop that. We need to hurry!” Yolani was already moving down the tunnel at an intersection.

Moving to follow, she had to keep her movements controlled to prevent excess splashing. If the nasty goop got matted in her fur…

It would all be over.

The sound of explosions slowly grew fainter as they traveled through the sewer tunnel. It was mostly a straight shot; Elania was able to easily picture all the uproar and chaos just a few meters above their heads as they escaped.

Another intersection appeared as the line cut into a large tunnel. This one had a dry shelf of stone to stand on, but the damage had already been done. Yolani raised her artifice lantern and lit the way as they continued.

Elania followed quietly. The other girl didn’t explain where they were going, or how they would stay hidden. Without a voice, she couldn’t ask. The low hum of air flowing through the space was like a blanket on the conversation between them. Well…the one-sided conversation. It was sort of hard to respond either way.

The tunnels slowly grew wider and more intricate as they ventured deeper into the system. It was nearly the size of what she would have considered a subway tunnel when the first sound of voices pricked her ears. Elania jumped in front of Yolani and growled.

“We’re in the Mercenary District now. I don’t think that’s the Guard,” Yolani said as she reached down and stroked Elania’s back.

Her hair stood up pleasantly, her tail standing up straight on its own. They continued and Emerald Eyes turned out to be right. The voices weren’t from the Guards. Evidence of inhabitation appeared, strewn debris and furniture outside a growing number of scrap metal shacks. [Darkvision] worked well, allowing her to see further down the tunnel than the dim lighting would have normally allowed, and she spotted human shaped figures moving and lounging about.

The slums of the Mercenary District seemed wonderful in comparison, and they had been terrible.

As they continued, Yolani’s grip on her wand tightened visibly, and her eyes darted nervously between the shadowed corners and ragged figures huddled around. A few dim fires dotted the corridor, and the inhabitants' attention was squarely focused on the two newcomers. None of them offered a greeting.

Elania prowled closely beside Emerald Eyes, brushing against her legs several times. Her eyes glowed with predatory intensity as she watched carefully as they passed by every potential threat. When one person stood up nearby, she let out a low warning growl that sent the man tumbling onto his ass with a yelp.

An old crone cackled from her seat. “Watch your steps with that one, girlie!” Her laughter echoed off the dank walls. “Not every creature that slinks in the dark is as docile as it seems!”

Yolani paused, giving the old woman a wary glance before continuing forward without a world. Elania replied with another rumble of her throat, but followed suit.

They reached a large chamber, and there were even more people. It looked to be a market where the sewer dwellers exchanged goods or bartered. They hurried through, avoiding the eyes on their backs.

Yolani finally paused at an intersection on the other side of the chamber, then picked the right-hand path. It was less populated and there was less debris and items visible. The narrow water channel flowed freely, and they hopped across it to the other side to reach a small chamber that was set in the side.

The entrance was narrow and would offer them a choke point to defend…at the expense of being trapped inside. It made Elania feel uneasy, but at least they were out of sight from prying eyes.

“We’ll rest here for a bit,” Yolani said quietly, looking around before pointing to a dry spot near the entrance. “I need to organize our things.”

Elania settled beside her and let the other girl detach the packs from her harness. Her paws were too nasty to consider licking clean, and a dirty feeling pervaded her senses enough to elicit a whine.

“I’m sorry,” Yolani whispered.

Fingers moved deftly in the dim light, sorting through the packs attached to Elania’s harness and the large pack that Yolani had carried on her back. She brought out bundles wrapped in oilcloth, glass vials filled with colorful liquids, and various other tools and supplies. One by one, she attached an assortment of items to Elania’s harness—elaborately carved talismans and brooches, each one giving off a soft inner light.

“They’re artifice wards,” Yolani explained absent mindedly. “They’ll protect us from magical detection and provide minor deflection of magical energy.”

Pulling off her shirt, Yolani grimaced as she leaned over and looked at her side. Livid red blisters marred her skin, and the scent of burnt skin filled Elania’s senses with worry. A blue vial came out of a bundle and the girl poured the liquid onto the injury. It began to glow.

Without thinking, Elania leaned in and licked the area, spreading the liquid around the wound.

“No licking,” Yolani chided softy, gently pressing Elania’s head away before scratching her between the ears.

Pleasurable shivers ran down Elania’s spine, and she let out a pleased purr.

By the time Yolani finished organizing their supplies and setting up their wards, she looked utterly drained. Green eyes were heavy with exhaustion and she leaned back against the grimy sewer wall.

“We should get some rest,” she suggested quietly. “We don’t want to stay here too long, but I don’t think they’ll find us straight away.”

Elania watched as Yolani closed her eyes with a weary sigh. Moving closer, she could feel the girl’s body heat through their close contact and listened to the irregular rhythm of her breathing. A twinge of worry pricked at her heart, but she pushed it aside. Complex thoughts were easy to ignore when the present was now.

They were safe here for now; Emerald Eyes needed rest. Getting comfy, Elania set her chin down on Yolani’s thigh, keeping a single blue eye riveted on the entrance while her ears remained alert for anything or anyone that might approach.

All they had was each other now; that would have to be enough.

There would be time to search for their prey when they woke up.