[Sarah]

They walked slowly through the square, making sure to look interested in the different costumes and browsing the windows of a few stores. Viola’s Demons knew they would be pursued, they had wanted it, but Zli and Arc were hunters by nature; neither was going to be so obvious in their pursuit. Did Annabelle plan on granting the Original lordship in secret? Or was there something else the Queen was after? Zli couldn’t even begin to guess at what Annabelle might want out of the damned city that he might not be able to provide.

[Sarah]

They were out of the square in half an hour, having scoured the place for any lingering Demons. Any demon they had come across had been one of Zli’s. The two carefully slipped into an alley. The shadow of coming night, as well as the tall buildings around them allowed Zli to literally cover them in shadow. To anyone passing by, the alley would look a bit darker, but it wouldn’t – or shouldn’t – be anything anyone would investigate.

[Sarah]

The stench of Demon filled the alley and Zli spun around. Behind him Arc only grunted, but kept facing the square. It would be foolish for both of them to have their backs turned. A woman stood a few yards away, arms crossed over her chest. “Enjoying the festivities?” she asked. Shadows cloaked her just as easily as they did Zli and Arc, it was almost impossible to tell who she was, and actually impossible to tell what she looked like.

“Artemis,” Zli said with a grin. He strode forward, closing the gap between them until he practically on top of her. His hand darted out and he grabbed her chin. “Whatever do you think you’re doing here?” he asked.

[Sarah]

Artemis grinned, showing two rows of sharpened teeth. They broke any illusion of beauty Zli might have seen before. He clicked his tongue and dropped his hand. “Always a buzzkill,” he scolded.

The woman shrugged. “It isn’t my job to give you a boner, Zli,” she said dryly. Zli only grunted and took a step back. She bowed her head slightly and looked at Arc. “It’s good to see you so involved,” she said.

“What else would I be doing?” Arc asked, his eyes still on the festival.

[Sarah]

Aretemis frowned and looked back to Zli. “Tell your Master that this city is no longer his,” she warned.

Zli grinned, oh this was good. Viola’s contacts didn’t know Annabelle had sent him here herself. Why would Annabelle hide something like that, what was there to gain? Zli wouldn’t pull out until Annabelle told him to, tomorrow his demons would go back to work - would they encounter other hostile demons? “My Master has no interest in this city,” he replied.

[Sarah]

“Then why are you here?” Aretmis asked, her golden eyes narrowing.

“One of the biggest holidays takes place in this city,” Zli began. “I know it’s kind of hard to tell, what with the gold decorations, and vendors, and abundance of people, but that holiday is taking place right now,” he informed her dramatically.

She was glaring at him now. “Very well,” she hissed. “I hope you enjoy the festivities,” she added.

“Don’t pout dear, you’ll get wrinkles,” Zli said sadly.

[Sarah]

“I’m going to kill you,” Artemis growled and lunged forward. Before she could get her hands on Zli, he was being whisked away. The string tying him to Arc was stronger than he first thought. There was a jerk and Zli had been falling backwards, the Fallen had used magic to unbalance him. And then strong arms were around him, and they were practically flying away.

“That was stupid,” Arc growled into Zli’s ear. They were above the city, shadowed by the lights that glared below. Night had fully descended, and somewhere far off fireworks were being lit.

[Sarah]

Zli untangled himself from Arc and rubbed his wrist. If the tug had broken anything it had healed already, but it was quite sore. “So much for having a day off,” he grumbled.

“There’s still time,” Arc said. He sat on the edge of the building. Fireworks popped and fizzled in front of them. Zli sat next to the Fallen and watched the show for a while. Silence stretched out between them, but it was a comfortable silence. Zli realized suddenly that Arc liked him. He couldn’t help concealing a large smirk, but he was able to keep his mouth shut. The last thing they needed in this relative peace was teasing, as much as it pained Zli to say nothing.

[Sarah]

Teasing could come tomorrow. Tomorrow when Zli would have to tell his Demons to watch out for their own kind. Tomorrow when a war might break loose in the midst of another war. Infighting was not uncommon, especially from Viola’s group, and it was always a pain in the ass. Zli could only hope Sevastion would come to get him, as Annabelle was content to see him rot in this city. As beautiful as the city was, including its people, it was called the holy city for a reason – and Zli had thought Annabelle wanted it to stay that way.