The night outside Xier's house was cloaked in an almost supernatural stillness. The moon hung low, bathing the edge of the forest in silvery light, while the occasional whisper of wind carried faint rustlings from the trees. The house itself, surrounded by wildflowers and creeping ivy, seemed untouched by time, its soft glow spilling from the windows like a gentle beacon in the dark.
Shadows played across the ground where moonlight couldn't reach, shifting faintly, almost alive. Crickets chirped rhythmically in the grass, their quiet melody weaving with the faint hum of leaves swaying in the breeze. The tranquility was deceptive, a calm veneer masking the subtle, otherworldly presence lingering just beyond the edges of the property.
Suddenly, the stillness broke.
A small, rapid shadow darted through the treetops with unnatural speed, leaves rustling violently as it moved. The silhouette zigzagged through the branches, agile and swift, almost playful in its movement but carrying a sense of urgency. Its form was hard to pin down—a small figure, vaguely humanoid but wrong, with wings that flapped in sharp, rhythmic bursts.
It hit the ground lightly, landing in the overgrown grass just beyond the front steps. A faint chittering sound escaped its throat, somewhere between a laugh and a hiss, as it scurried toward the door. Up close, the creature was no taller than a small child, with leathery wings, clawed feet, and glowing yellow eyes that burned like embers in the dark. Its tail flicked impatiently behind it as it approached.
Stopping at the door, it balled its tiny clawed hand into a fist and began to pound on the wood with surprising force, the sharp knocks echoing through the silent night.
"Mistress! Mistress!" it hissed, voice high-pitched and frantic, though muffled slightly through the door. "I bring word! Open up!"
The creature paused, one ear twitching as it listened for movement inside. Then, it pounded again—harder this time, wings flaring slightly with impatience.
"Mistress, hurry! It's important!"
---
I had barely woken up when the frantic pounding on the front door jolted me fully awake. The sound was sharp, insistent, and completely out of place against the still quiet of the early morning. I sat up groggily, rubbing my eyes, and glanced over at the bed.
Xier was still curled up in the middle of her impossibly soft bed, her long, dark hair spread across the white pillows, her breathing slow and steady. She looked so peaceful, so completely lost in her dreams that I didn't have the heart to wake her.
Who the hell is at the door this early?
With a grunt, I pulled myself out of bed, still feeling the faint soreness in my limbs. My body had mostly recovered, but something about yesterday still left me feeling… well, drained. Shaking it off, I threw on a t-shirt and padded toward the front door, muttering to myself as the pounding grew louder.
"Alright, alright! I'm coming!"
I yanked the door open and blinked down at what was… well, not exactly what I'd been expecting.
Standing there was a tiny creature—no taller than a child—with grayish skin, glowing yellow eyes that were wide with shock, and a pair of leathery wings tucked awkwardly against its back. It had a tail too, thin and twitching wildly, like it couldn't decide whether to lash out or run away. Its claws hung midair, frozen as if it hadn't expected someone to actually answer the door.
We stared at each other for a moment—me, a sleep-deprived guy in a t-shirt, and this… thing.
"…Uh, morning?" I said finally, unsure what else to say.
The creature flinched and let out a startled squeak, its wings flaring slightly. "What—? What in the demon's abyss is this?!" it screeched, pointing a clawed finger directly at me.
I arched an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
The little demon hopped back, its tail now flicking erratically. "A human? Here?! Mistress has a human in her house?!"
Mistress? My brain stalled for a second. Was it talking about Xier?
"Who are you calling mistress?" I asked, half in disbelief, half amused.
The creature ignored me completely, eyes darting past me as though trying to see into the house. "Mistress!" it called frantically, its voice shrill and indignant. "Wake up! There's a human! A human in your house! He opened the door!"
I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying not to laugh at how absurd this was. "She's asleep," I said flatly. "And I'd appreciate it if you stopped shouting."
The little demon froze, its glowing eyes narrowing suspiciously as it turned its gaze back to me. "Why are you here?" it hissed. "You shouldn't be here. Mistress doesn't need humans in her house! What… what did you do to her?!"
"What did I do?" I repeated, incredulous. "I live here. I'm renting a room."
The demon blinked. Then it blinked again, slower this time, as if trying to process my words. "You… you what?"
"I. Live. Here." I said slowly, folding my arms. "I'm the tenant. You know, rent, roof, housemate?"
The creature gawked at me like I'd just grown a second head. Its tail froze mid-twitch, and its mouth hung slightly open as if it couldn't believe what it was hearing. "She let a human move in?" it muttered under its breath, almost like it was talking to itself. "What madness is this…?"
I was about to reply when the demon suddenly hissed and darted toward the doorframe. It stared at me, then poked its head inside cautiously, sniffing at the air like a stray animal. "You smell like her…"
That was when I'd had enough. I stepped forward, blocking its way into the house. "Alright, listen here, little guy—"
"Imp!" it shrieked indignantly. "I'm an Imp! Not a guy, human!"
I sighed. "Fine. Imp. Why are you here? What do you want with Xier?"
The Imp puffed up its chest and straightened proudly. "I am here to deliver a message! A very important one! I serve Mistress faithfully!" Then it glared up at me again, claws waving angrily. "*And I don't have to explain myself to a human!"
I opened my mouth to retort, but a soft voice interrupted us from behind.
"Kevin?"
I turned to see Xier standing at the end of the hallway, wrapped in a loose blanket, her hair tousled from sleep. She looked between me and the Imp, blinking slowly like she was trying to make sense of the scene.
The Imp froze completely, its yellow eyes widening. "Mistress!" it screeched, flapping its wings furiously. "What is this human doing here?!"
Xier sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Why are you shouting so early?"
I crossed my arms, giving her an amused look. "Friend of yours?"
The Imp spun back toward me, pointing again with its claw. "HE CALLED ME A FRIEND! MISTRESS, YOU MUST EXPLAIN THIS!"
Xier gave me a tired smile, ignoring the Imp's dramatics entirely. "Kevin, come back inside. You'll catch a chill." Then, turning her gaze to the Imp, she said sharply, "What are you doing here? Explain yourself."
The Imp seemed to shrink under her glare, wings folding tightly against its back. "I… I bring urgent news from the other side," it mumbled, suddenly far less confident. "But—but there's a human here!"
Xier rolled her eyes and sighed again. "Yes, I know. Now get inside before you cause a scene."
I stood there, utterly bewildered, as Xier turned and padded back toward the living room, the Imp scuttling nervously behind her.
What the hell did I just get myself into?
---
The Imp scurried into the living room, still glaring at me suspiciously with its glowing yellow eyes as though expecting me to sprout horns at any second. I couldn't help but smirk a little at its overblown paranoia.
Xier gracefully lowered herself onto the sofa, wrapping her thin blanket tighter around her as she sat with quiet elegance, despite the early hour. Her gaze softened as she looked at the Imp, though there was a lingering weariness in her expression—likely from being rudely awakened.
"Alright," she sighed, resting her hands in her lap. "What's so urgent that you had to come pounding on my door like the apocalypse has arrived?"
The Imp's eyes flickered toward me briefly before snapping back to her, still vibrating with barely-contained nerves.
"Mistress…" it hissed, its voice dipping into a low, conspiratorial whisper. "The Demon Guild… something's happened."
Xier's posture straightened, and for the first time, I saw something sharp flash across her expression—a glimpse of authority, of someone used to hearing bad news and acting on it.
"What happened?" she asked coolly, her voice steady but with an unmistakable edge.
The Imp wrung its clawed hands together, its wings twitching with agitation. "Five lower-tier demons… found dead. All of them… butchered."
The room felt like it froze.
The Imp continued, its voice grim and hurried: "It happened near the old crossing, close to where the barrier between realms is weakest… or was." It hesitated before adding, "*There were… marks.**"
"Marks?" Xier repeated, her tone razor-sharp now.
The Imp nodded quickly, its breath coming in frantic gasps. "Runes… carved into the ground. Something ancient, something wrong. No one knows who did it… or how they got through.*"
My stomach twisted, even though I barely understood half of what they were saying. The mention of "demons" and "runes" sounded like something straight out of a fantasy novel, but seeing the genuine fear in the Imp's trembling form made it very clear this was no story.
"Why come here?" Xier demanded, rising slowly from the sofa, her blanket slipping from her shoulders. In that moment, she looked… different. Stronger. Fiercer. Like the quiet, warm girl I'd been living with had vanished, replaced by something powerful and unyielding.
The Imp bowed its head low, its wings folding tight against its back. "You're the only one we trust. The others are… scattering. No one knows who's next.*"
Xier's jaw clenched, her eyes flashing with a dangerous light. I could see her calculating, analyzing every piece of information the Imp had spilled, her mind already working through the possible threats.
And then… she turned to me.
"Kevin…" she said quietly, her voice still steady but with an unmistakable severity behind it.
I met her gaze, my heart pounding. "What's going on?"
She hesitated, her expression flickering between concern and determination. "Something… from my world," she admitted carefully. "Something dangerous."
The Imp's tail lashed nervously. "More dangerous than anything we've seen in centuries."
The air felt heavier now, like the shadows themselves were listening, waiting. I could feel the weight of something looming, pressing against the edge of reality.
This wasn't just some weird magical mishap.
It was the beginning of something far worse.
---
The room remained heavy with silence after the Imp's last words. I could feel the tension radiating from Xier as she stood perfectly still, her sharp gaze locked onto the trembling little demon.
"Five demons…" she repeated, her voice quiet but piercing. "You're sure they were killed?"
The Imp nodded rapidly, its wings twitching nervously. "Butchered, Mistress… brutally."
I clenched my fists unconsciously, even though I didn't fully grasp what they were talking about. Five demons… killed? For some reason, I'd thought demons were… invincible.
Xier narrowed her eyes, pacing slowly across the room, her bare feet silent on the wooden floor. "Humans couldn't have done this," she said flatly. "Not in this way. Not with runes."
The Imp nodded again. "Exactly. That's why the Guild is in chaos. Humans have strict rules for dealing with us—and we follow them… mostly." Its voice dipped into a faint snarl. "We stay hidden, we obey The Accord. No pointless killings. No reckless hunts."
I raised an eyebrow. "There's… rules for demons?"
Xier glanced at me, her expression unreadable. "We're allowed to be here, Kevin. But only if we blend in. No violence. No public displays of power." She paused, her gaze darkening. "Breaking those rules… means being hunted. By them."
"The Enforcers," the Imp hissed, shivering. "The humans' hunters. They don't care if you're guilty or innocent… only if you've been seen."
My mind reeled at the idea of some secret demon police force hunting rogue creatures. "So... what happened this time?"
The Imp's claws tightened, and its tail flicked sharply. "This wasn't humans. No mortal could leave marks like those, ancient, forbidden runes. This was something… old. Hungry."
Xier stilled, her eyes narrowing further. "Someone… broke the rules."
"Deliberately." The Imp hissed, voice trembling with anger and fear. "More demons have gone missing lately… lower-ranked ones. No one cared at first—they thought it was random."
"It's not random." Xier's voice was cold and sure. "Someone's targeting them... or something worse."
The Imp swallowed hard. "There's talk… whispers in the dark. Some say an exiled elder is back. Others think it's a new power, something that doesn't care about The Accord."
My chest tightened. This wasn't just demon politics. This sounded like the beginning of something... bad.
Xier's gaze turned thoughtful, her fingers tracing slow, deliberate patterns in the air as if calculating unseen possibilities. "Who else knows?"
The Imp's wings fluttered again, its face grim. "Few. Most are running, scattering into the shadows… too afraid to fight back. But they know... something's coming."
Xier met my gaze then, her expression dangerously calm. "We can't stay out of this," she said softly. "Not anymore."