The faint sound of murmuring awakened Elaine. They had been traveling for what seemed like hours. The blood from her back was dried and caked around the bag releasing a pungent metallic odor into the air.

Elaine could barely make out the light from the sun shifting between the trees through the thin fabric of the bag she was stuffed inside.

She was curled in a fetal position and her glamour had long since been dropped. Her wings remained limp, weak, and lifeless. Silvia had stabbed her back, it was, probably, just the pain from her nerves that made her wings feel so dead.

It was unbearably hot outside and she hoped the witches would get tired soon
Maybe, they would get let out of the bag.

Abruptly, the demon stopped walking. 

The bag was set down and unzipped at the top. Elaine took in Silvia's cold stare as the witch peered down at her.

Silvia signaled for one of the witches to bind Elaine's hands after the cruel demon lifted her by the hair out of the bag and onto the rocky ground. Elaine was too weak to stand up and escape. However, she felt like she could move her limbs. The witch must have revoked the spell.

"We will camp here. I want the tents set up in rows. Petunia, you can be on the lookout with Serena for any demons. The rest of you find food and wood. Meet back here in an hour!" Silvia screeched.

Elaine wondered if the witch knew there was already a demon among them. She watched silently as most of the witches scattered away deep into the woods.

"How are you feeling? Silvia mocked. "You're not as tough as I expected. Finnick, you are to keep watch until we reach the coven." 

Finnick? So that's his name, Elaine thought while looking at the demon.

Silvia walked off across the tent area. Elaine's heart plummeted. Out of all the witches, Silvia told the demon to keep an eye on her. 

"Hello, little faery girl," the demon greeted while crouching down to her eye level.

She hid her face from him feeling completely defenseless. 

"Leave me alone!"

He snatched her up in his arms. 

"I'm going to be doing quite the opposite."

Elaine squirmed and hollered.

The man carried her away into a grey cloth tent. The tent was held up by a thread strung across the dead branches of a tree. The demon walked inside the tent and dropped her onto the ground. She cried from the hard impact of her fall as she landed right on her injured back. 

Elaine sluggishly scooted back into the furthest corner of the tent. She wished her hands weren't tied. She wished a lot of other things, too.

The man was very tall. His head was in the top of the tent as he stared down his nose at  Elaine.

Goosebumps crept up her arms as he remained quiet. To think she was finally putting a face to the voice that haunted her for so long.

"Who are you?"

He mocked her tone, "Didn't you hear the witch? I'm Finnick." 

Elaine scowled as he approached her.

"You're a liar." 

"Many demons are, such as, Colt."

"He would never lie to me. What do you know about him, anyway?"

A long minute passed. The demon turned away and pulled back part of the entrance to the tent to see outside. He quickly turned back and resumed observing her as she cowered away.

"He never mentioned my name, did he?" the man asked.

"No."

Darkness seemed to constantly swirl in his eyes, including, when Silvia was telling him what to do.

He walked up to Elaine making her feel cornered. She spat in his direction.

She didn't care if it made him mad. She felt miserable and alone. Colt was more sophisticated and seemed more human than the one standing before her. This demon appeared to embrace the reputation of the creatures of hell.

Her spit landed near his feet.

"You're going to have to be nicer if we are to leave this domain together. The witch has something I want, and when I get it, you won't be needed anymore. You can reunite with your companions-"

"You said you would kill them."

"I'm so glad you remembered."

"You're the demon the faeries are after!"

The demon tensed up at the news. He remained silent for he knew they were after the wrong demon. Surely, they had found his brethren, instead, since the faery in front of him was clearly on the run with Colt. No one knew of his identity, yet. 

He wondered what Colt was doing with the girl. She did not have a mate glued to her side when the witches found her. However, the demon knew not much about the faery way of life and did not think much more about it. What he knew was the woman in front of him would be the key to his freedom. 

Outside the tent, his ears perked up at the sound of the returning group of witches. 

"Come," he said in a hushed voice. 

Elaine knew he could see her struggling to move to obey his command.

She went rigid when he helped her to her feet. With such a cold and brooding outward appearance, she was surprised to feel how warm his touch was. He propped her limp form up against his chest. Her face was soaking wet from crying and dampened the material of his black cloak. Her heart pounded in her chest as she had a much closer look at him.

There was nothing familiar at all about his face, but she felt like she knew him from somewhere.

His confused stare mirrored her own. 

She may have been in a weaker state than he, but she had no other choice. She had done it once before and it worked. Besides, she was standing now and felt she could manage to get away if just a few feet to make it outside the tent away from the demon.

Elaine felt something liquid tickle the wall of her throat. She held his gaze as she mustered what the demon thought to be a weak innocent smile. Then, she threw up her faery dust. He grunted and released his hold on her. Elaine's sparkling faery dust was splattered all over him in a glittering layer of pink liquid goop.

Before she could make it out of the tent, he yanked her arm and she stumbled back landing on the ground in a heap by his feet as the shiny substance dripped off of him.

***

Lorcan knelt down beside Colt watching the witches move about their camp.

"So, let me get this straight. You took us here knowing this psycho demon brother of yours wants you dead. How exactly does that work? You know..." Lorcan snarled, "Since we're still in hell! You knew he was the demon we were after and kept silent! Elaine is in danger because of you!" 

Colt could easily transport himself inside the tent he knew Elaine to be in. His shadows had already found her and someone else, too.

It would be so easy to leave Lorcan behind and just do it himself. It would be risky leaving him behind, though, and if a witch were to find and kill him, it wouldn't make him look good.

"You were the one who failed to deliver her to her parents, Lorcan. Besides, you cannot blame me for the actions of others. It is only natural a demon like him wishes to escape and use whatever means necessary to do it."

"What was his name again?" Lorcan wondered.

He was imagining the demon poisoning Elaine's mind more and more each second they lingered at a safe distance. Colt explained the demon was some form of dreamwalker who was able to read and control the minds of his victims.

Once they got separated from Elaine, Colt admitted his suspicions about the identity of the demon who had stolen away his mate. Colt hoped to never have the need or reason to speak the name of the demon again. It was the reason why the town they previously visited with Elaine had been previously smothered in flames and also explained the absence of Heslin. The former was searching for the very demon they sought after now. He supposed they had just so happened to find him first, or more accurately, Elaine had.

"Viktor," Colt answered.

Before Lorcan could argue against it, Colt grabbed the faery man's neck in a chokehold and used his shadows to transport the two of them right in front of the tent Elaine was being held captive in.

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