The look of death was grim on Erika, in her attempts to survive she had left her stomach wide open. Entrails coated in coagulated blood slipped from the eroded stomach wounds, it poured out in a steaming pile of bile and excrement from the large intestine. The feathers had proven to be uniquely useful and were a major threat when it came to self-defense. Julian couldn't help but look back towards the corrupted and corroding body, it smelled of brimstone. He'd lost something in himself, though it wasn't exclusively bad; in fact the very moment he'd killed her, he realized there was some real darkness within him that he didn't like. He turned towards Fiodora who had earlier helped him and had her hand in a bloody rag of a mess. She had attempted to use her fae powers to heal the wound, but it would take longer than expected due to the hellfire properties.
Fiodora shook her head and spoke with disgust, "To think I trusted that bitch..." She sighed. "Now we'll have to leave this place or they'll know it was us that killed her." Julian thought of something quite morbid and he spoke it out loud too. "What if we make it seem like she's alive, running the shots, don't you have anything that can mask the dead?" Fiodora actually raised a brow at his suggestion, he was right, there was a special case of deceitful magic that could create a doppelganger of a sort in order to trick the demons into believing Erika was alive. "Seems like stress agitates that brain of yours. That's a good idea, lad, but first, we have to clean up this mess. Go check for rags and sponges and buckets, we've got to move fast and quietly. There was a bucket just outside on the balcony, be dear, and fetch it for me."
Julian nodded and made his way to the balcony; the bucket was there, but so too was a crowd of floating faeries looking at him. They had sensed the death of Erika, they had known her to be wicked but had not made an uprise in fear of dying at the she-demon's hands. Julian froze and called to Fiodora who was still in the other room, figuring out a way to clean up the mess Julian had made of the demon. One of the faeries approached Julian and held her hand out to him; he touched it and for a moment he could see her thoughts. More of them joined hands and within seconds, Julian had acquired the memories of dozens of the civilians. This was the reason why the guards did not bother him, nor did anyone else see him as a threat; they were secretly hoping he could save them.
Once he pulled his hand back, they stared at him with puppy eyes, nearly begging him to stay to save them from what was to come. Julian didn't know how to address the situation, he had just been attacked and barely got out of it alive, well he thought so. "I won't leave until this settlement is safe, okay? Now please go back to your houses before you get me in trouble." They refused, and as they did Fiodora came from the other room, looking at the winged creatures with disappointment. "You expect him to save you, but you can't even follow his word? How shameful. You know, the man who saved you bunch would be writhing in his grave if he found out his successor was ignored by those he gave his life for." The fae all looked at each other, but nodded in agreeance, she was right, it wasn't their place to challenge his word so they took flight and returned to their homes except for the guards. Three of them levitated in place with staves at the ready, they were made from the same woods surrounding them. "As Mistress Erika has perished, we serve her destructor, you Master Julian. Please command us so we may bring honor to your name." Julian looked confused, and stood there for a moment like 'Um, what the fuck are you talking about'. He didn't say it, but he sure as hell felt that way.
Fiodora nudged Julian's shoulder. "Give 'em an order, after all, you've killed their boss, they are bound to you now," Julian grunted. "Fine. Recruit more guards, we're going to need nothing short of a militia if you wish to survive against an onslaught." The guards nodded, among them the chief of the guardsmen, a short but brave looking halfling. He sported a red beard and blue eyes, with his hair braided around his forehead and combed back. He was a stocky fella, but by no means fat. "Sir, how would we recruit, our guardsmen only amount in the twenties, we'd need to reach out to other settlements to recruit, will you allow us?" Julian nodded to the sage wisdom in that. "Do so under considerable wariness, and do not give your position away." The guard chief nodded and took off with the other guards.
Julian sighed again and picked up the bucket on the floor only to turn and face Fiodora who had a big smile on her face; she looked over his shoulder and caught the guardsmen cheering on their new fearless leader. "As much as I enjoy watching you awkwardly give those knuckleheads orders, we must press on with more important matters. If you are serious about protecting this settlement, you must learn to defend yourself and others with magic. It may be difficult for you, as you're only a halfbreed, but considering those wings you might be stronger than even me, given the time and practice. Now come on, bring the bucket and get the sponges from the kitchen." She commanded Julian much as a mother-figure should.
It took hours for both of them to clean up the remains, but they did so; night had fallen upon them, though and it was obvious that if they didn't send the demons a message they'd come looking for one of their own. Fiodora looked frantically all over the house, until she found a key in one of Erika's dressers, hanging from a chain necklace like some trophy. She matched the key to a small chest in the demon's room and opened the chest to reveal a scrying crystal ball, this was how she was telecommunication with the demons from afar. "Looks like we've found our telephone line." She said, chuckling and beckoned for Julian to bring some of the tissue leftovers from cleaning the demoness. Fiodora had gathered ingredients and boiled them in a cauldron; with the last ingredient being the tissue of the diseased, she could transform for a brief period of time into the dearly departed. With a cup, she drank of the cauldron's contents and her body began to shift with a sparkle of light into the appearance of Erika. Julian had left the room, the very sight of her appearance infuriated him, and he didn't want to ruin anything with his presence in the same room.
Fiodora cast the telecommunicating spell on the scrying crystal ball and it activated, swirling in and out of focus on a demon on the other side. It was a lesser demon that was in charge of taking messages from all across the world. "About damn times, the boss has been waiting to hear from you. Tell me, is the boy dead yet?" Fiodora felt anger boil in her veins, but she remained calm and collected. She mimicked the dead Erika with nearly exact verbatim. "Yes, the boy, Julian, is dead, and it was a delectable treat." The demon on the other side laughed. "You sick bitch. Alright, I'll let the boss know to carry on with his plan. Our army will be there as promised in a week, so be ready to receive them." Fiodora nodded in her puppet suit of illusions and let go of the connection between the two, shutting the scrying crystal ball off. "Fucking bitch..." She muttered under her breath.
Julian was on the other side of the room, listening in on the conversation, he'd heard enough to piss him off and he too seemed to be under the same effects of rage that Fiodora was. "That fucking bitch..." He muttered under his breath. Fiodora came through the door, to bump into Julian and she jumped back. Julian put his fists up but smiled and shook his head. "Close one, eh?" Fiodora chuckled. "Oh yeah, you bet."
"So when is the spell wearing off?" He asked her. "Soon, I think, it should only be active for an hour, but it could take longer," Julian grunted with disgust. "Hate that bitch." Fiodora nodded. "You're telling me. I trusted her, told her things in confidence, now I have to backtrack my steps, and hide us from them all over again."
"About that army..." Julian brought up the conversation. "Yes, Julian, an army is coming here, so we better be prepared to either fight them or coerce them into joining us. The choice I'll leave up to you, but know they are a rogue army of demons that were sent to serve this bitch. We may get lucky and be able to recruit them but I seriously doubt that will happen. Best case scenario they join us and we can continue training you. Worst case, they fight us and we have to move again."
This gave Julian much to think about, but if he was to survive any ordeal with the demons he would need wit and lots of it. He tapped his chin and looked back to the balcony where a couple of faeries had once more gathered. "Who are you? What do you want?" Julian uttered, to which the fae responded with small shrieks and the commencing of shuddering. "Oh come on, I didn't mean it that way...How can I help you?" One of them approached him, it was a small girl with brown hair and yellow eyes, she was as pale as the mushrooms around him. "Mister, Mistress Erika promised us food if we didn't tell you about her...We're starving sir, please take pity on us, could you give us some food?" Julian looked at the fae and noted that they were indeed mostly skin and bone.
Fiodora came from behind Julian and smiled. "Yeah, come on in, I can make you some food so you can take home." The faeries screamed and flew away with haste, terrified of having defied their mistress. Julian shook his head and watched as they scattered. "You forgot didn't you?..." Fiodora looked down at herself and laughed. "Oh shit, I guess I did. I better go inside before I make any more of a fuss." Julian held the bridge of his nose and wore a smile. "Hey, guard!" He shouted at one of the guards near his inherited estate. "Come here." The guard acquiesced and flew up towards the balcony awaiting orders. "Take some food from the pantry and follow those faeries flying away. Give it to them okay?" The guardsmen saluted him and made his way into the house, to take the food from the pantry and leave. "On my way, sir." He said at last and departed.
Julian walked back inside and trotted over to the kitchen where Fiodora sat down enjoying a glass of orange juice. "Now what?" He asked her, not really knowing how to address the whole situation of demons coming to wreak havoc on the settlement in a week. "Now, we wait and see what happens. But there is a book on the nightstand by your bed that I accommodated for you, read it and learn some spells, they might come in handy in our next endeavor. Julian nodded and took off, walking through the hallway and entering his room. It felt weird living in the same place where the demoness had tried to kill him, but at the same time it felt kind of good, he felt like some kind of tricky bastard taking over someone else's estate; like in the many video games he'd played. He opened the book on the nightstand and frowned when he couldn't read the letters. "What the..." He sighed and shut it, he'd learn more in the morning, he was too tired now and sleep sounded like a fantastic idea. Julian laid his head on the cold pillow of his bed and closed his eyes.