“DEENA! DE---AH HUH H” Xellie spluttered as the sand buffeted her face, accidentally inhaling some. She grabbed her scarf and pulled it back up over her nose, coughing as she did so.

Deena didn’t answer, she simply raised her hand to about shoulder height, a crackling glowing energy formed in her palm.

“How... how are you even here?” Xellie stuttered in bewilderment. “What are you doing?”

The reply came as a ball of lightning hit Xellie straight in the chest, sending her tumbling down to the bottom of the sand dune.

Dazed, Xellie sat up. She realized she needed to think fast. This person looked like her friend Deena and used magic like her friend Deena, but the horns and the grey pallor of her skin weren’t right.

Another ball of electricity hit Xellie and sent her flying backwards. This was no time to think! There was no chance of out-running a crazed mage firing off lightning magic either. The only option was to fight.

“I really don’t want to hurt you,” Xellie told the person who looked like her childhood friend, getting to her feet and holding her sword out before her, wavering slightly. “Deena if that really is you... please stop this.”

Deena cocked her head to one side quizzically, as if she was taking time to process what she had just heard.

“But... I want to hurt you.” Deena replied in a raspy voice, readying another lightning ball in her palm.

Pre-empting Deena’s next shot, Xellie jumped to the side and watched the ground next to her explode into a puff of sand. There was no way she could get up the dune to physically attack Deena. This was going to hurt, but Xellie decided her best option would be to lure Deena onto flatter ground. Bracing herself to get hit by the electricity on the way, Xellie turned and ran as fast as the sand would allow her toward the city. She stumbled, almost falling as a lightning ball hit her in the back. The city walls were getting closer, thankfully. Soon enough she was at the gate and waving to the guards to let her through.

Deena didn’t seem to be following her through the first set of walls, so once through the gate, Xellie flopped on the ground, trembling and gasping for breath.

“I hate electricity so much,” Xellie complained to herself. “Where does it even come from?”

After taking a few minutes to recover, Xellie glanced up at the darkened skies and turned her thoughts to Mattos. Hopefully, he had found somewhere safe for the night, rather than venture into the desert.

The desert was crawling with demonic energies that manifested in animals and even the sand. Anshara’s magical barrier maintained by priestesses from Jota kept the city safe most nights, though occasionally some greater demons would attempt to break through.

If he was out there, Mattos was in trouble.

Xellie stretched out and stood up, holding her hands out before her. She was still trembling from the shock of the electrical magic Deena had thrown at her. Her tunic was covered in scorch marks and burnt patches.

Niko was going to be so annoyed with her. These magic-infused tunics cost a lot of money!

The guard at the inner city shook his head, holding back a laugh as Xellie slunk past in embarrassment in her burnt and scorched clothes.

“No luck?” Ary asked as Xellie entered the villa alone.

“No, I don’t know if we’ll ever see him again.” She sighed in response, striking a match to light an oil lamp in the corner of the room. “I just hope he’s safe.”

“What happened to you?” Ary pointed at Xellie’s burned tunic. “Were you in a fight?”

“Let’s just say I should have studied magic instead of physical combat,” Xellie replied, inspecting her clothes. “I don’t even know what happened.”

“So what next? You’re still going to look for Ashmeviti?”

“Ah.” Xellie thought about Ary’s question for a few moments. “I’ll have to sleep on that and come up with a plan. I thought Mattos might have some knowledge from all his research that would help with finding him.”

“He’d be crazy to pass up your help. He’ll be back.”

“Mmm.” Xellie found herself thinking back to the fight in the desert. Could that mage have really been Deena? Her magic seemed much stronger than she remembered, although many years had passed since they had last seen one another. Perhaps it wasn’t Deena at all. Maybe it was a demon, but that would have required them probing into her memories to impersonate someone she had once been close to.

Still feeling weak and tired from the confrontation earlier, Xellie rolled her sleeping bag out on the floor of the villa’s living room and slipped inside to get some much-needed sleep.

****

Trebu, a small city in the subtropics was a common destination for holidays. It lay blanketed in forest, close to the beach, the weather hot, humid and sticky. The homes were a combination of small round huts with thatched roofs and small square houses built into the towering trees, reached by rope ladders.

Legend had it that life itself had originated in Trebu, this small coastal city in the southwest of the continent, that worshipped trees as divine life givers, thus the trees in the city were hundreds of years old.

The young trio of friends, Xellie, Tane and Deena were visiting Trebu for a short holiday. The demon hunter school was closed for a week for staff training purposes - and not wanting to waste any time, the aspiring demon hunters had decided to visit Trebu where there was a cave, supposedly haunted that they planned to visit. It was a tourist attraction, with various parts of the cave off-limits to visitors.

“Do ya think it’s really haunted?” Tane laughed as they waited in line with a few other people. “I thought ghosts would have been exorcised out of the place.”

“You’d think so.” Deena mused. “It’s gotta be demons, right?”

“Well...” Xellie bounced over from the noticeboard she’d been reading. “So it says that the ghosts in the cave can and have been exorcised, but after the fact, more and more appeared, threatening the people living here. So they’ve made a pact to leave each other alone.”

“Yep, that doesn’t sound like ghosts,” Tane said thoughtfully. “It kinda reminds me of Anshara and their pact for knowledge.”

“Come come!” The tour guide beckoned the group into the cave, handing Tane a flaming torch to hold, along with a few others in the tour group. “Please respect our instructions, please respect the spirits!”

The cave was cooler than the outside temperature but still very humid. Water dripped down the walls of the cave with a resounding splash each time a drop hit the floor. Soon the narrow passageway opened up into a large cavern with steps cut out into the wall so they could walk down the sides, to a ledge that overlooked a steep drop.

“Behold!” The guide gestured into the air where a faint mist appeared to be hovering in mid-air.

“I think it’s just a trick show,” Tane whispered to Xellie.

“Well, there’s gotta be some truth to the rumours about this place.” She whispered back. “Hey look over there.”

Tane discretely looked in the direction Xellie had tilted her head. There was a passageway that obviously led deeper into the cave, a rope across it saying to keep out.

“No...” Deena said with a tut. “This is starting to feel really bad.”

“Eh...” Tane said hesitantly. “It’s obviously roped off for a reason.”

“What are you scared of? The cave or a ghost?” Xellie giggled. “What harm can just looking do?”

“I guess it’s safe enough if they let tourists anywhere inside this cave anyway.” Tane conceded.

The trio waited until the guide had finished demonstrating the mist that seemed to hover and twist into shapes in the air, and started to guide everyone toward the exit.

Tane, Xellie and Deena lingered around toward the back, then acting as if they were going to follow, before watching the tour group disappear.

“Now this feels like a real adventure!” Xellie said happily as she slid under the rope and into the passageway.

With Xellie leading the way, the trio walked through the narrow passage until it opened up into a cavern similar to the one they had just left, this one with an enormous chasm splitting it in two.

“How far down do you think that goes?” Tane asked, leaning over and taking a look.

“Tane be careful!” Deena snapped. “That’s dangerous.”

“I think I can see something....” Tanee muttered. “Come look.”

Xellie sat down on the edge with her legs dangling into the abyss, while Deena, after rolling her eyes at this blatant disregard for safety, lay down on her front to peer into the darkness.

A blast of air shot out of the chasm and extinguished the touch Tane was holding, leaving the trio in pitch-black darkness.

“Tane light it! Light it!” Xellie exclaimed.

“I dropped it!” Tane replied through the darkness, feeling around for the torch. “Shit!”

“Get away from the edge at least!” Deena told Tane.

“Everyone stay still...” Xellie said as the sound of footsteps filled the cavern. “Who’s there?”

“Why have you intruded into this place?” Rung out a hollow, metallic voice. “Do you seek a contract?”

“Ghosts don’t ask humans to make contacts!” Xellie retorted while Tane managed to light the torch with a fireball spell.

The demon stood a few feet away from them, his form of a man clad in bulky silver armour, holding a lance.

“You’re just children.” The demon said, sounding a little surprised. “I felt the presence of something much stronger.”

“That’s right.” Xellie held her dagger out, pointing it at the demon. “You don’t know what you’re messing with.”

“Don’t trash talk the demon.” Deena chided Xellie. “We didn’t mean any disturbance.”

“Don’t apologise to the demon,” Xellie told Deena with a huff, raising her dagger at the demonic creature.

The demon didn’t seem perturbed by this display of aggression by Xellie, rather he stepped closer and tilted his head inquisitively.

“What’s your name?” The demon asked.

“Don’t tell him.” Tane hissed. “You know the rules.”

“I’ll tell you when we next meet... where you belong!” Xellie responded, much to Deena’s visible disgust.

“Can you stop?” Deena elbowed Xellie hard in the ribs.

“Since you’re only children, I’ll do you a deal.” The demon chuckled to himself. “I’ll take one of you, and the other two can leave.”

“Not happening!” Tane summoned a fireball in his palm. “We are all leaving today.”

Xellie was done waiting and talking, she sprung at the demon, slashing across his chest with her dagger. Much to her surprise she fell through the demon’s immaterial form, nearly tripping up and hitting the ground in the process.

“Tane I can’t!” She exclaimed, regaining her balance and running back to the group.

“I’m on it,” Tane said, hurling his fireball at the demon, which simply went through the apparition and dissipated against the wall. “What the..?”

“JUST RUN!” Deena yelled, pushing Tane toward the way out. “RUN!”

Tane didn’t need to be told twice. He ran a few steps and then looked behind to see if he was being followed by his friends. Xellie was hesitating, glaring at the demon.

“Go, stupid!” Deena gave Xellie a shove toward Tane, which caught Xellie’s attention, so she darted out of the passageway, faster than her friends.

A bone-chilling scream filled the cavern behind them. Xellie and Tane stopped in their tracks to see what had happened.

Deena stood in a puddle of blood, with her eyes wide open and the demon’s sword through her abdomen.

“NO!” Tane screamed. “NOOOOOOOOOO!”

Deena silently fell forward to her knees, then sideways into the chasm.

“We will meet again.” The demon said curtly, vanishing into a wisp of black smoke.

“D...D...Deena....” Tane stammered, making his way over to the abyss and staring downwards. “No, this can’t be...”

Xellie stood watching Tane, not sure how to react. After a few moments, she slowly walked to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

“GET OFF!” Tane yelled, throwing her hand away forcefully. “THIS IS YOUR FAULT YOU KNOW!”

“Tane... I....”

“SHUT UP!” Tane continued his tirade, giving her a shove. “This was your stupid idea. Everywhere you go, shit like this happens. You’ve always got to find trouble, you’ve always gotta stir stuff up! I’m done with you!”

“It’s not my fault!” Xellie answered back, her eyes beginning to water. “I didn’t know this would happen....”

“Yeah go on,” Tane growled. “Go ahead and cry.”

With that Tane turned and stomped off into the darkness toward the cave exit. Having no source of light, Xellie followed him until she could see daylight from the entrance of the cave, then sunk down to the ground and started to cry.

After that day, Xellie didn’t see Tane again. He quit the demon hunter academy that they attended and all but disappeared.

****

Waking up with a start, Xellie looked around the dimly lit villa. The oil lamp was almost completely burned out. She sighed, and slipped back into the sleeping bag, pulling it over her face and staring up into it.

---

Deena’s death had always weighed heavily on her. There was no question in Xellie’s mind about where the blame lay. She had pressured them into exploring the cave. It had been at that moment her friendship with Tane was destroyed as he pointed out the uncomfortable truth, that those around her always ended up in some trouble.

Did the demons really know so much about Xellie that they were able to pull tricks such as disguising themselves as friends from her childhood? This question floated around in Xellie’s mind as she treated Ary to breakfast at a local cafe.

“Hey!” Ary exclaimed. “Are you even listening?”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Xellie grabbed some bread and chewed on it thoughtfully. “I was just thinking about your abilities and I have a favour to ask.”

“Okay. What is it?”

“You can talk to the dead, right? Can you talk to specific people?” Xellie asked. “A friend of mine died some years back and....”

“Y... yeah... I can do that.” Ary nodded. “Not here though. We can do it at your villa. Who is it?”

“An old friend of mine called Deena.”

“Tell me about her. I need as much information as possible. What she looked like, what she liked to do, where she lived, stuff like that.” Ary prodded. “Everything will help.”

“Umm... let's see. She lived and studied magic in Kunnigsburg city. She loves elemental magic, especially lightning for some reason. She has icy blue hair and wears blue and white magician robes. Err... She dated my friend Tane and attended the Elite Demon hunter academy in Jota. They had plans to start a demon-hunting business together.”

After breakfast, they headed back to the villa, where Ary sat down cross-legged in the courtyard under the tree.

Xellie watched apprehensively as Ary closed her eyes and appeared to be talking under her breath. After what felt like hours to Xellie, Ary’s eyes snapped open.

“I can’t find her,” Ary said, shaking her head sadly. “This is quite unusual, let me try for a little longer.”

“Can I do anything to help?” Xellie asked, kneeling next to Ary. “Anything at all?”

“No, no.” Ary waved her away. “I need to focus.”

Ary closed her eyes once more, appearing to slip into a trance-like state. Eventually, she opened her eyes and looked away from Xellie.

“W..what is it?” Xellie asked.

“I didn’t find her but... well... I heard a cry for help...”

“Dammit.” Xellie stood up and kicked the tree. “That didn’t even cross my mind.”

Was the demonic-looking mage Xellie had come across in the desert really Deena? Had she been reincarnated as a demon?

“What didn’t?” Ary stood up and dusted herself off.

“I saw her die years ago. But I saw her in the desert last night... and she was pale, almost grey, and had these like umm... Horns, on her head.”

“Sounds like necromancy or possession,” Ary muttered. “A demon killed her?”

“Yea.” Xellie nodded, looking around the courtyard feeling unsafe. “I believe it’s the same demon that is chasing you.”

“He calls himself a lord of the dead,” Ary told Xellie. “He’s angry at my people, said we crossed him somehow, but he never explained why or what... and I didn’t wait around to find out.”

“This is not an average demon....” Xellie said quietly, beginning to pace the courtyard. “This isn’t like some possessed dirt or plant or even townsfolk, this is... wow. We’re in trouble. What would Niko do...?”

“Niko?” Ary asked. “Who’s that?”

“My brother. He deals with all kinds of problems.” Xellie continued pacing the courtyard as she tried to figure out what her brother would do. He was in contact with Raye, perhaps she helped him in dangerous situations? “Can you wait here?” She asked Ary.

“Uh... sure.”

Xellie went back into the dark villa, and up the stairs to what had once been her room, checking behind her on the way that Ary had not followed.

“Raye?” She whispered as loudly as she dared. “Are you there?”

“You can’t just call me every time you come across a problem.” Raye reprimanded her as she phased into existence. “This necromancer, he is a servant of Ashmeviti. If you can’t deal with him, then how do you expect to deal with the real problem?”

“How though?” Xellie pleaded. “I’ve not had to fight any of the ‘big’ demons, I only fight mooks.”

“Looks like someone has some growing up to do,” Raye replied curtly. “And find Mattos. That will help you.”

“How am I supposed to find him?!” Xellie exclaimed throwing her hands into the air. “He could have gone into the desert, he could be anywhere in this huge city, for all I know he’s huddled in Ash’s basement plotting my demise with him for having the wrong mother!”

“Such drama.” Raye tutted, pausing in consideration, then giving a small sigh. “Okay, I’ll help you just this once... He’s staying in the inn on the southern side of the city's central plaza.”

“Thank you, Raye, thank you!”

“Don’t start depending on me to help you like this.” Raye chided her. “Look, you’re supposed to be proving yourself. The only reason I’m willing to help you with Mattos, is that you may have a point when you said that it’s our fault, not yours, that he despises our kind so much. However, we are still depending on you to fix that.”

“It will take a lot of explaining to make him accept me, let alone...”

“No excuses,” Raye said abruptly, vanishing as she did so.