SIX (ISELEN POV)

"Be careful, let me help you..." Terra gets closer to Ruby and holds her arm to cross the small stream, stones are slippery due to the moss and the human was about to take a bath in ice cold water because she's carrying one of Maeve's cakes. The druid managed to bake eight apple pies so those stupid gnomes will have what they wanted when they invited us. "This way, please..."

The werewolf leans her hand on the pretty woman's waist, in fact, she's almost as beautiful as a forest nymph and we lost three days trying to find out if one of them is her ancestor, but no... She's human, definitely. I'm afraid we'll need to find a new line of research if we want to know what the hell she's doing in the Wind Rose. Witches and necromancers talk in whispers behind me, laughing excitedly at the prospect of eating cakes, dancing and getting drunk like they don't have a single concern in their lives... I guess that's true. They don't have to take care of a massive house, paying bills, buying tons of food every month, keeping a big property off the human grid, watching ghosts and other supernatural creatures so they don't get out of control, making sure a druid and a demon don't hurt each other while training with knives... Dealing with a werewolf that used to be my enemy... and fighting depression every time I lean over the edge of the dark pit in my head.

Ruby laughs amused while Terra tells her something, pointing at the trees, and I can't help frowning with my eyes fixed on their backs, getting angry but I don't know why. I still don't understand why I confessed everything to Ruby so openly while we ate a sandwich in the kitchen, coming out to her in a way I never did before except maybe to the werewolf, probably even more... I don't think my furry friend is aware of the darkness lurking in my mind, waiting for me to put a foot wrong to swallow me. But Ruby Rose understands this intuitively... She told me she'd been inside that pit and I believe her because Maeve searched for information about the actress and model on the net, about her job and family, about the sad circumstances of her childhood... her life wasn't easy. I wonder is that has something to do with her presence here, surrounded by magic despite she's not one of us.

Anyway, this human is a weirdo and has odd ideas. She thinks I'm in love with Terra and don't dare to tell her. That's ridiculous... Well, it's true that I'm fond of her and value our friendship, we've lived through complicated times working hard to move forward the important project we both got involved in. We're friends and trust each other, which is weird taking into account that our races hate the other instinctively... And sex is great between us, passionate while we fight for dominance, none of us likes to give up, I'm afraid... Although it's been a while since the last time we...

It's a pity that the best days of the Wind Rose are coming to an end but I can't keep her here now that the war seems to be under control. I'll be sorry to see Terra go... I'll miss her while traveling around the world far away from this home we've created together: her jokes, laughs, her witty remarks, her blue eyes... But the wolf deserves to be happy with her people. And with Ruby... It's pretty obvious they get on well together, they felt a connection from the beginning, even before I scared the death out of her. Luckily, she doesn't seem to hate me so much now and doesn't flinch startled every time I get closer to her unexpectedly holding a glass of wine and blood.

I wonder how the human tastes like, her scent tells me she'll be sweet but not too much, exactly how I like it. What could be the best way to persuade her to let me try her neck? I could tell her it's necessary before continuing to investigate how she managed to walk through the perimeter, only a small sip to check if she's 100% human... "Or maybe she's interested in a threesome after all..." I think licking my lips involuntarily while fixing my eyes on the bird tattooed on her nape. Her eyes shone yesterday when I suggested it and her skin got beautifully flushed, it's obvious that Ruby likes the plush toy and I wouldn't mind pleasing two gorgeous goddesses in the same bed before stealing some sips of delicious blood from them.

"Oh wow, this is beautiful..." The human's voice brings me back to reality and I look around, bewildered, I was too focused on my thoughts. We've reached the clearing near the lake where the party has already started and the truth is that it looks amazing, fireflies shine everywhere copying the stars in the sky, colorful dragonflies fly around us playing with the fairies, small lanterns hang from the trees, leaves are starting to turn brown, yellow and red and contrast sharply with the green grass where some wild flowers from last summer still survive thanks to the magic in the atmosphere. A huge table covered with a white tablecloth creaks under the weight of lot of food and drinks are cooling in boxes sunken in the lake.

"We'll leave these pies on the table... Hello, everybody..." Gnomes with pointy hats wave at Maeve happily and help us with the food and other treats we've brought. Ruby decided to leave the dogs in the house because she feared they could chase small animals through the forest although they didn't seem happy and Ru didn't stop barking angrily behind the kitchen locked doors.

"What do you want to do, dancing or eating?" Terra asks excited, she's caught the festive mood from the witches because they're already jumping in the middle of the clearing with the necromancers while elves play flutes and fairies sing a happy tune.

"I need a drink," I whisper getting closer to the boxes in the lake, pouring a glass of homemade berry liquor the nymphs brought.

"Be careful, this year is too strong..." a pixie warns me when I start coughing feeling the fire down my throat.

"Geez with the nymphs," I answer out of breath. "They must have a fucking strong liver."

"Is there any pear wine?" Raven asks and the pixie points at one of the boxes. "Iselen, help me to carry some drinks for our friends." I nod because changing the liquor for wine is a good idea since it has less alcohol and we get some cold bottles that we take to the table. Half of the apple pies have vanished already but we manage to eat a couple of pieces while watching Terra and Maeve trying to teach Ruby how to dance an old traditional song to honor Mother Nature.

"Don't you dance?" I ask confused and the young demon grimaces, sitting next to me with her wings folded behind her back. "Raven, are you okay?"

"To be honest, no. My stomach feels weird... I don't know... Maybe it was the dinner or this wine... But I've been feeling a little sick since we left the Wind Rose..." The truth is that the girl looks pale under the lanterns light, paler than usual, and her long dark hair is wet around her temples.

You're sweating... What's wrong?" I ask worried but she shakes her head and grimaces, it looks like she's about throwing up on my boots. "Zara!" I yell waving my hand to grab the attention of the witch who's an expert in healing herbs but she can't hear me because of the loud music. However, Terra has seen me and runs closer followed by Ruby and Maeve.

"What's going on?" the wolf asks while the druid kneels down on the grass in front of her good friend who's getting even paler.

"I don't know... She's not okay..." Raven's hand around my wrist startles me, her grip is so hard that she's almost hurting me despite she hasn't moved from the chair and it's really difficult to hurt a vampire because we're too strong. She looks right into my eyes and I realize that hers have turned totally black, shining the same way her horns do under the fireflies' light, standing out against her pearly skin.

"It's getting close..." she whispers and sounds like a voice from the grave... my back gets tensed automatically. My brain reacts without thinking twice and I put my arms around a very surprised Ruby Rose who holds back a cry when I hold her tight against my chest while looking around anxiously. I fix my eyes on the darkness under the trees, scanning the clearing perimeter feeling Terra getting tensed next to me too, sniffing the breeze cautiously.

"Iselen, what...?" Ruby leans her hand on my shoulder, struggling to pull away from me but I don't let her move and close my fist grabbing the fabric of her jacket on her back to make sure she won't run away. "What's that horrible smell?"

"A demon," Raven answers getting up abruptly and shoving Maeve behind her to protect her with her body. At the same time, a dark and shapeless shadow storms into the clearing reeking of rotting garbage and elves, fairies and gnomes run scared seeking protection under the trees, screaming out loud. "Watch out, Alfonso!" That thing, whatever it is, seems to grow bigger in front of our eyes, standing tall and threatening like a dark wave. Necromancers run towards Lea and Zara that are trying to join forces to cast a protective spell over all of us but it's too late and the boys jump on top of the two women, trying to use their bodies as shields when that thing falls on them, unstoppable, swallowing them.

"Fuck! What's that? We need to help them... Raven! What should we do?" Terra asks confused but our half demon seems paralyzed with a blank mind due to the shock while watching the black blob twisting on top of our friends on the clearing ground and only reacts when Maeve tries to move away from the wings that are protecting her.

"I don't know..." Suddenly, a flash of white light illuminates the lake and something explodes with a loud bang. Our attacker falls apart, disintegrating in thousand of small pieces that land scattered around the grass, and I realize that the witches had enough time to cast the protective spell after all because necromancers have got up unharmed and are dragging the exhausted girls towards us, seeking refuge behind the table that's still full of food and drinks.

"That thing stinks!" Alfonso yells holding Zara who can barely stand on her feet since the powerful spell has drained most of her energy.

"Take them home while we try to stop the powerful demon so it can't follow you, fairies will light up the path and you won't get lost..." I point at the trees and the boys nod. "No, not you..." I hold Ruby tighter against my body while she struggles to free herself again. "You won't leave my side so I can protect you in person," I explain with a harsh tone of voice and she stares at me perplexed despite the fear she's feeling.

"Here it comes again..." Maeve whisper scared and I realize that the different parts of the demon are slithering across the grass, gathering in the middle of the clearing till forming a pile that stands tall and threatening again. "Are those beetles? That thing is made of thousands of beetles, spiders and stinky worms! Disgusting..."

"Fire!" Raven yells all of a sudden. "These kinds of demons hate fire."

"Really? They're supposed to come from hell, aren't they?"

"Iselen, it's not the right moment to ask silly questions," Terra growls taking her jacket off with fast movements. "Protect the human... And you two, bring those torches and more bottles, tear my T-shirt off, Ruby's scarf, the tablecloth and whatever you can find and use the nymphs' liquor as an accelerant to make Molotov cocktails... You better be careful when aiming at that thing, do not burn my precious fur..." My friend takes her clothes off and her flawless naked body covered with tattoos shines under the fireflies' light for a second before she jumps to the middle of the clearing. When she lands... she has four legs.

"I told you she was hot..." I whisper while Ruby stares at her in disbelief.

"Oh my God..." she answers out of breath. "Is that Terra?"

"Aham..."

"She's stunning, big, strong, gorgeous... but scary... Plush toys don't have teeth like those." I nod quietly while watching the massive black wolf with blue eyes jumping on the demon and kicking some of the bugs with her paws, throwing beetles and spiders as far as possible, our enemy growls and regroups moving faster than I expected but not as fast as the werewolf. My friend is agile and keeps trying to stop it while the druid makes the cocktails and lights the fuses with torches.

"Fuck, that's disgusting..." I mumble when hearing something creaking and I understand she's crushing beetles with her strong jaw, chewing them before spitting them out. "I'm not kissing her ever again."

"Liar, you're dying to kiss her," Ruby replies tripping over my foot when I drag her a step back, further away from the demon.

"You don't know what you're talking about," I answer angrily while Maeve and Raven throw the first bottles that hit the thing. Terra jumps back to avoid them and the shapeless blob writhes in agony under the flames, the horrible smell is even worse than before when worms start burning. Some gnomes are watching us hidden behind the trees holding buckets ready to run to the lake and get some water to put out the fire the moment the demon escapes or we burn it completely.

"You're in love with her..."

"Would you shut up? You're unbearable... I'd push you towards those spiders if it weren't for the fact that I can't wait to drink a sip of your blood..."

"Whatever... But loosen the grip, bloodsucker, because this human needs to breathe..."

"Why are you fighting in such a moment? What's wrong with you?" We both blink, coming back to reality, and find Terra standing in front of us naked from the waist up while buttoning her jeans and staring at us confused. Behind her, the last worms and disgusting bugs are burning on the grass watched closely by Maeve and Raven while the gnomes make sure the fire don't reach the tree branches.

"Have you seen her boobs? I told you, the furry toy is hot..."

"Iselen!" The werewolf and the human yell at the same time, both blushing hard while I smile amused, Ruby pushes me to be able to pull away and I let her do it because she's not in danger anymore although I remain on alert. I don't like this, it's not usual for demons to attack during the autumn equinox festival... I'm not saying they respect the celebrations of other magical creatures but they know they'd lose a fight easily given that fairies and nymphs can be dangerous when they feel cornered and their magic is powerful since it comes from the original source: Mother Nature.

"What was that?" I ask pointing at the beetles crushed on the grass when Raven and Maeve get closer. "Tell me all about it while we walk, we should go back to the Wind Rose and make sure that Lea and Zara have managed to reach the house with the boys, nymphs will clean this mess and will eat all the pies as a reward... Are you okay?" Terra nods zipping her jacket up on her bare chest because her T-shirt was used as fuse soaked in alcohol.

"Yes, it was easier than I expected when that thing arrived suddenly, to be honest..." The wolf turns her head to spit on the ground before drinking a sip of pear wine. "It tasted awful... yikes..."

"I think it was a sentinel, not a warrior, demons made with bugs are crawling around gathering information for other demons, more powerful, usually... That's why it was easy." Raven explains walking slowly, Ruby and Maeve must watch where they put their feet because we don't have fairies lighting up the path and stones are still slippery.

"Demons aren't interested in the Wind Rose, what kind of information do we have that can be useful for them? It's ridiculous..." I ask baffled for a second before looking at Ruby, raising an eyebrow. "You..."

"What?" The human steps back, scared, getting closer to the wolf.

"We didn't have problems with demons for 300 years, you show up here and, suddenly, Mr. Stinky Beetle attacks us... Do you believe in coincidences?" Everybody except Ruby shakes their heads. "Here we have our new line of research. Raven, we'll need your help..." The brunette girl looks at me worried.

"You know I hardly talk to my family and only keep in touch with my sister every now and then... They don't like me and are cruel to me..." Maeve moves closer to hug our half demon and Ruby stares at her sadly. "Besides, they prefer to stay away from humans so I don't think they know anything about Ruby, I'm pretty sure they haven't watched her movies... And pure breed demons, the ones who really live in hell, despise hybrids... I don't know how I could help you..."

"You were able to feel that thing before it got close..." Terra mumbles pensively while pointing at the house lights in the distance, it seems to me that witches and necromancers managed to make it here safe and sound and are waiting for us in the kitchen, worried. "You could be useful as an evil demon detector while we search our library and ask some questions around. Someone in the supernatural world must now something about creatures from hell attacking us. This is weird, the underworld doors are supposed to be closed and it's not easy to sneak out and climb up here."

"Have you ever summoned Satan, played with a Ouija board or attended a voodoo celebration? Have you sold your soul to be successful in your professional career?" I ask Ruby while we walk around the pool.

"Of course not, are you crazy?" The human shakes her head and bends down to take Ru in her arms, the dog keeps barking nervously till we get into the house and lock the door while I look at her mistress suspiciously.