While Myles was inside the tree house:

For the first time in ten years, Raiya felt in danger. Death loomed above her. How far was the Church willing to go in order to retrieve their treasure? All out! That’s what Raiya was thinking as the Wyvern’s molten fireball subsided.

She was still facing five flying lizards. She heard cheers coming from the woods, somewhere up north. They were approaching her position, rapidly. ‘It’s now or never, dear old companion,’ she told Sisha. ‘I’ll go all out, if I ever fall in battle, take me and disappear.’

Sisha purred softly in response. ‘I’ve grown fond of you little woman. I wouldn’t want to eat you today. Stay strong, show them the strength that subdued me!’

Raiya couldn’t help but smile. Being praised by a demon was a rarity. Being praised by one who’d jump at the first opportunity to consume your body was unheard of. She straightened up, looked at the wyverns in the sky then at Sisha.

‘I’ll create an opening,’ she said. ‘Make sure you terrorize them!’

The riders up above screamed in unison, they got into formation and their wyverns opened their deadly jaws at once. Five fire balls were hurled at the witch. She held on to her staff which now glowed green, focused all her energy then pointed it at the upcoming projectiles. It all happened quickly, too quickly for the naked eye to completely understand it.

An ethereal bird flew off the staff to meet the projectiles. The bird, a representation of the wild winds, repelled the fireballs, sending them crashing all around the tree and away from the warlock.

Raiya sent yet another bird at the flying creatures. It was easier to target the bigger threat than focus on the smaller riders. The bird quickly reached the wyverns then exploded. A strong gale blew them apart. Each rider struggled, along with his mount, to stay airborne. One of the bunch, an especially apt pilot, managed to readjust his mount on time then hurled another fireball at the warlock.

Raiya didn’t have enough time to react. She conjured up another bird which exploded immediately upon release. The fireball hit the tree, which swayed dangerously to the left. By the time the commotion was over, something else had happened.

Sisha had leapt on a wyvern, dug his sharp claws in its belly and his spiky fangs in its throat. Wyvern and rider came hurtling down while Sisha jerked his strong neck right and left. Blood seeped out from the wyvern which was struggling to kick the demon away. Its sharp talons had finally found the demon’s back and hit it.

Talons hit flesh and sharp spikes but the demon didn’t let go until it bit a sizeable chunk off the creature’s neck. The rider fell to the ground and the wyvern lay on the ground, its wings flapping about helplessly. It was losing too much blood and the rider, afraid, terrified, was backing away.

Although the cat demon was injured, he leapt at the rider and swallowed him in one, quick bite. The nasty gash left by the wyvern’s talons was instantly healed. Sisha turned to the other four wyverns remaining, and snarled.

Raiya was lying on the ground, destabilized. The previous gust of wind she released to repel the fireball had hit her as well. She squinted at her companion, tried to warn him but her mind was in shambles at that moment. Her ears buzzed and her legs wobbled. The remaining riders didn’t give her time to breathe either. The wyverns had come back in formation, wings flapping, jaws wide open.

Sam appeared from behind the trees. Sisha hadn’t notice the boy sneaking up on him. He was too focused on the wyverns that threatened to obliterate the warlock. One punch from the young man and Sisha went flying, rolling down the scorched earth next to his companion and master.

More fireballs came at them. This time, the riders made sure to order their mounts to fire more than one projectile. Each Wyvern shot three fireballs in rapid succession. Raiya dug deep into her mind, in search for her connection with the demon, and she found it. She summoned a strong shield, half a sphere, around them. Her energy and Sisha’s were now working in harmony, powering up the shield.

The fire balls hit, exploded and shook the earth. Myles rolled down the ground as he tried to crawl toward the potion cabinet. He looked out the window and saw the warlock and her demon on the ground. The odds didn’t favor them at all. Two more riders and their mounts had joined the fight. Hundreds of paladins had now surrounded the tree house.

Raiya urged the boy to get out of there. She didn’t think they’d make it either. She’d decided to go all out. If she was going to fall then, she’d preferred to go down in a spectacular fashion. She got up, dusted her leather trousers and looked at the army that surrounded her.

“YOU THINK YOUR NUMBERS SCARE US?!” She screamed. She took a long look around her. There were hundreds of armored paladins, eyeing her with their weapons held high and their shields brought closer to their chests. They feared her, and they were right in doing so.

‘Sisha get the hell up,’ she screamed at her cat demon. ‘We’re being made to look like fools in front of a bunch of fanatics with sticks and clubs! GET UP!’

‘Jeez you’re a scary woman,’ Sisha replied. ‘What’s your plan?’

‘There’s no goddamn plan!’ Raiya answered. ‘Go all out, take those flying lizards out! No holding back!’

Sisha let out a long, eerie howl. His elongated, dug muzzle had creased and his sharp fangs glistened as sunlight fell upon them. His hind legs tensed. One could see the defined muscles underneath his shaggy gray fur. The dark aura that previously died out was now back. The demon let out another howl then started speaking, for the first time since they’d given Agatha up as offering.

All the paladins surrounding the forest held their heads, fell to their knees and started screaming. Sisha opened his mouth and aimed it at the flying lizards. The wyverns, realizing danger out of primal instinct, started flapping their wings and retreating despite their riders’ protests. Some, who had bonded well enough with the creatures, heeded their warnings and let them fly away from danger.

The others, four of them, struggled to keep their creatures in formation. That’s the trouble with well-bred soldiers. They obey all orders to the letter, no room for improvisation. The demon cat-dog hybrid released a dark beam from his mouth, the same beam that had obliterated the mage and his escort earlier.

The flying creatures started dropping down like flies. Only two remained.

‘I leave the rest to you,’ Sisha told the warlock. ‘I need time to recover now.’

‘Don’t take long,’ Raiya said. ‘And stay out of their firing range.’

She then charged the bewildered paladins. Two were down before the others could regain their composure. Demonic language affected people differently. For saints and the pure of heart, demon language could destroy the person, render them insane. Raiya took advantage of the opening her demon companion had created.

It was a stunning display of power. A warlock going all out, against a hundred armored paladins, coated with protections against deadly spells. What they weren’t protected against, however, was Raiya’s devastating melee combat prowess.

She’d been assisting hunters in the Three Headed Dragon’s guild long ago, before she’d met Myles for the first time. She learned to fight like a hunter then. After summoning the demon Sisha, she’d learned more about handling a warlock’s staff. She was, in other words, a one man’s, more precisely a woman’s, army.

She was surrounded by twenty warriors now. They all hacked at her but she didn’t care. She dodged, danced around their blades, maces and war hammers, and counterattacked. Each hit dealt by the warlock sent the victim flying backwards and into his comrades. The bout lasted about a minute during which the two remaining wyverns rained hell down upon the demon.

Sisha had the ferocity of wild dogs and nimbleness of the untamable bobcats. He’d leap out of range the instant the fireball left any wyvern’s throat. Frustration grew among the invader’s ranks. Paladins were already retreating, afraid of the psychotic warlock who repelled all their attacks with her magic then pounded at them with her mighty staff.

“Leave her to me!” a cold voice rung from behind the numerous rows of paladins.

Everybody, upon hearing that voice, made way for its owner to approach. They immediately moved aside, as thought they’d already rehearsed that as a battle formation. A man, tall and devoid of armor, walked slowly toward the warlock. He had no special features to speak of, save for his aura that exuded dominance. Raiya felt it and her heart sank.

On the other side of the battle field, Sisha had regained some of his strength and went on the counteroffensive. He’d leapt on one of the wyverns and torn its right wing. He couldn’t finish the job though as the other creature came to intercept.

In the air, Sisha didn’t have the upper hand, but he managed to ground the second monster as well. He’d leapt off the first wyvern, crushing its rider beneath his enormous legs and sharp claws, then somersaulted and bit the second on the neck, bringing it down as gravity did the rest.

He was now facing two angry and injured dragon kin. They circled him, hissing and producing fumes from their flared nostrils. Sisha growled and snarled, threatening to attack as soon as an opening was provided.

He was running out of time though. Raiya’s sacrifice had given him a chance to use a devastating spell which, in retrospect, should have been well planned. They didn’t hit all wyverns, and here he was now, facing two of them while feeling his consciousness slip away.

Around Raiya, a circle had been created. All the remaining paladins, close to eighty, were watching as the man with the cold voice, black hair and oppressive aura approached. He was a High Priest. Raiya could tell from his white attire and, most of all, from the energy reading he gave. She was now too weak to deal with him and he knew it. That was probably why he waited until then to attack…