Nyx: The Worst Hero is the Best Demon

Kardem

"They will probably shoot her on sight." Huffed Marie from up ahead.

I wasn't sure if I was meant to hear it or not: My hearing was better than a humans, but she also wasn't really shouting it. Mind you, she wasn't bothering to lower her voice by very much either. I figured that she was just bitter enough to mean for me to over hear it. I could respect that.

"They didn't have much of an issue with me at the last village." I said, deciding to disillusion her if she really did think I was deaf to her snide remarks.

"Not every town is the same." She said to me, glaring over her shoulder. The lack of surprise confirmed that she knew full well I could here her.

"I never saw any demons there." Tilly piped up. The little red head was in far better spirits after a nights sleep and a belly full of leftover rabbit stew. She was currently riding piggy back on Edric. The prince didn't seem to mind too much, which was good as the child was eyeing Pride pretty hard at first, and I wasn't so sure of the hellhound's temperament.

"That is not unexpected." Stated Edric, hands on the little girls knees so she did not fall off her perch on his shoulders. "Demons, though largely vilified and enslaved, are a rather rare race when all is said and done. Outside major metropolitan areas, or extremely eccentric lord's mansions, you are not likely to see many if any at all."

"I am constantly impressed by your random tidbits of demon knowledge." I sighed, shaking my head.

"I am here to serve, my Lady." He said in a droll voice but I could see the humor in his eyes.

I rolled my eyes. "Either way, we are going to risk it. Its not like they will shoot us full of arrows with Tilly on Edric's back, now will they?"

At that announcement, Marie spun on her heel and hissed at me. "You would hold a child hostage?!"

"Ah, yeah." I said. Was this girl slow in the head? "I won't be hurting her. I'm not a monster, you know. Just a Demon."

"I would say you are both."

I really did not see the issue. It wasn't like I was going to hold a gun to the kid's head or some such. Nor was I even threatening to do harm to her. I would just me monopolizing on the fact that they were less likely to fill me with holes so long and the cute little munchkin was seated exactly where she was right now. A little under handed? Sure. But inherently evil? I would hardly think so.

"Forget it Marie." Said Ryan, tugging on the girl's arm to get her moving forward. HE looked back at me, not seeming very impressed either. But his eyes were more assessing than anything. "It's not like we could stop her either way. And-" HE added with a rather dramatic sigh. "I really do think she has no ill intentions. It's not like attacking Kardem will get her anything, you know?"

"What the heck are you saying Ryan? She could get what ever she wants by attacking; she's a demon. And what do you mean we couldn't stop them? The lord has his own army-"

"Don't be stupid Marie." Ryan said, not sounding angry, so much as resigned. "She is a summons. Even a dud can be better than half a dozen common soldiers once they have a little training in them, and she isn't a dud anymore, now is she. Who knows how strong she is. If everything the Stella empire says is to be believed, then even weak demons can be a challenge. Even id Nyx is weak- which I rather doubt at this point- I grantee that the dog isn't."

"Hellhound." I corrected with narrowed eyes, noting that Pride was also displeased with the moniker. He wasn't called Pride for nothing. Though, given how much he had been drive out of his comfort zone- dealing with humans and the like- he might need to be renamed 'Patients'. "And, you are probably right."