Iron Crowned Page 0,11

air near the demon dematerialized, forming an opening to the Underworld. Grabbing my silver athame with my free hand, I approached the battle, cautious of both the combatants and the forming gate.

Volusian hovered over the demon, keeping its eyes directed high. I sneaked up unnoticed. With well-practiced speed, I snaked out with the athame, drawing an arcane symbol on the demon's chest. Usually, banishing a demon back to its domain kept it from returning. A binding mark like this ensured it. I didn't want to take any chances.

The demon's roar of rage echoed through the woods, and it turned toward me. I'd anticipated this and had already scrambled away, keeping out of its reach. Really, I'd been lucky the first time it hit me. It had the strength to kill me with one blow. Volusian came forward again to pull the demon's attention back - only, it didn't work. The demon recognized the threat I was and could feel the opening of the gate. Volusian, attacking and attacking, was a nuisance - a painful one - but one the demon could apparently ignore as it came toward me.

"Shit," I said. I backed farther and farther away, but the demon was quickly closing the distance. Its massive feet could trample the underbrush that slowed me so much. I worked hard to ignore just how dire my situation had become and instead concentrated on the gateway. That door grew more substantial, and soon, its power began calling to its own - sucking the demon back. The creature paused in its attack. The problem was, the gate wanted to pull Volusian too. Orders or not, he moved out of range for self-preservation, which I didn't exactly blame him for. Only, without my minion to beat on the demon, it now had just enough strength to fight the gate and keep coming toward me. It had to know that if it could take me out, the gate would go away too.

Suddenly, I heard something approaching us, sticks and leaves crackling under strong feet - or, to be more precise, paws. A red fox - much larger than a normal one - sprang out onto the demon's back, sinking its teeth into the furry brown hide. This brought another shriek from the demon - and gave me a moment's respite. I threw all my power into the gate and jerked the demon toward it. The demon flailed, unable to fight being sent back to its own world. The fox had the sense to get out of the way, its services no longer needed. The demon gave one last mournful cry and then faded from our sight. I stretched the wand toward where the demon had disappeared, sending my energy through the wand's gems to banish the gate as well and reseal this world.

Silence followed, except for my own rapid breathing. Slowly, birds began to sing again, and the forest's natural state returned. I leaned against a tall, leafless oak in relief. The banishing hadn't been as easy as I expected, but it certainly could have ended worse - like, with my death.

"We didn't need your help," I said. "We were doing just fine."

The fox was no longer there, as I'd already known. It had transformed into a tall, muscled man, with deep, golden-brown skin and black hair that barely touched his shoulders. He was a kitsune, a shape-shifting Japanese fox from the Otherworld. Actually, he was half-kitsune. His mother had been the kitsune; his father a mortal from Arizona. Power-wise, it made little difference.

"Yeah," said Kiyo, crossing his arms over his chest. He needed no coat and simply wore a burgundy T-shirt. "You seemed to have it all under control."

"We were about to," I retorted.

"Actually, mistress," said Volusian, deadpan, "your death was probably imminent."

"Oh shut up," I snapped. "You're dismissed. Go back to the Otherworld." Volusian vanished.

I turned back to Kiyo. "What are you doing out here anyway?"

He shrugged, and I worked hard to ignore the effect his physical appearance always had on me. "Same thing as you. I'm on Wil's mailing list. When I heard about the Bigfoot sightings ..."

I sighed and turned back the way we'd come. "I don't need your help."

"I wasn't coming to help you." He caught up with me easily. "I was coming to kill a demon bear. You just happened to be here first."

Considering the trouble Volusian and I had had, I doubted Kiyo could have taken out the demon through brute force. Kiyo was strong, yeah, but hardly