They did not linger after that, instead they stayed only long enough for her to pet the lamb again and then they were gone, the angry old man ignored by them even as he yelled obscenities at them.
They headed back down into the passage and then through the tear and into a new location.
They only paused after they were gone from the homeland of the Surale and then Daemon turned on her, his face livid and her calm indifference to his fury only seemed to enrage him further.
She wasn't listening to whatever he was yelling and after looking calmly into his face, she simply turned and walked away from him.
The scuffle was loud and she knew someone was stopping him from coming after her, but she felt relaxed and warm as though the Surale had wrapped her up in a coat.
Looking around, she found they had stepped out into a rocky region and she approached the edge of an enormous cavern, looking down into the hole to find it weirdly circular with a flat bottom a very, very long way below.
Crouching down, she picked up a black clump of rock and she examined it, turning to look at the mountain they appeared to be on.
It was a uniform black, until about halfway down where blackened trees finally merged into blades of sparse grasses and flowers. They were on top of an active volcano and she looked down at the distant surface inside the hole. It had been a while since it erupted, a solid crust had formed on the lava.
Deciding the mouth of the volcano wasn't the best place to be, she placed the rock back down on the ground gently and backed away, bumping into someone.
Looking back, she found a smiling Uzo, his arms going around her.
"Good job," he whispered in her ear and turned her suddenly, her eyes going up to find that Daemon had lunged for her, staggered when she was suddenly gone and then turned.
"Now you cut that out," Uzo said calmly, his arms warm around her.
"Give her to me. You're going to get yourself killed!" Daemon was yelling and she focused on him, curious.
"They were harmless Daemon," she said and lifted a brow as he pulled a knife out of his pocket.
"He was armed, you stupid girl!" he yelled and she looked up at Uzo, who shrugged.
"Nothing happened. We got the magic and now we have moved on."
Her calm only enraged him further and Jaia had stepped between the raging demon and her, Kai coming up beside her but Versalis wasn't paying attention.
A soft cough had them all looking around and freezing in place.
The beast was enormous, a huge wet nose of the lion sniffing at them, a sharp beak of the eagle had come around to their right, sharp teeth of the dragon to their left and a long snake had slithered around to encircle them.
"Morning…" Versalis said in false cheer as the chimera stared down at them, contemplating them as dinner.
She had never seen a fully grown chimera in person and it was terrifying just how big it actually was. The eagle could have eaten her in one bite and she found herself pressing into Uzo's chest as it peered down at them, seeming amused at their argument.
"What brings you up here, little creatures?" the snake asked, slithering around to hover before Versalis, who was looking a little nervous.
"We've come to ask for your assistance," the vampire said and the chimera looked between them, curious and haughty and hungry all at once.
"Assistance from me?" the lion asked, wondering.
"Yes, we have a favour to ask of you,"
None of the rest of them dared open their mouths, leaving it to Versalis to tell the Chimera whatever was needed to ensure they didn't get eaten.
"I don't think anyone has asked me for a favour before," the chimera said and withdrew.
The body was enormous, front paws padding the ground while black talons shifted. Halfway down the long body golden fur shifted smoothly into golden feathers and then to white, reptilian wings folded and the long, serpent tail swayed.
There was no denying it was a beautiful creature and yet absolutely terrible.
Versalis smiled charmingly and set off on a pieced together story that the chimera listened to with polite interest, eight eyes settling on her and while six remained, the snake turned back to Versalis as his story continued.
She wanted very much to melt into Uzo's chest and vanish, but those eyes on her had her locked in place.
When Versalis had told his story, the chimera made a soft humming sound of thought and settled itself down on its front paws, the great lion head resting atop giant paws.
"If I give you this, you will come back here and keep me company," the chimera said and Versalis looked taken aback.
"Me?" he asked, sounding shocked.
"Yes, you little vampire. I like you."
Versalis looked at them and they simply looked back at him, scared for him.
"How often?" Versalis asked warily. "And can I send a substitute?"
The chimera smiled with all four heads, enjoying the game.
"If you can find another who is as interesting as you, then yes. But I still insist on you coming still. Shall we say twice a year, with one of those being a substitute if you can find one?"
Versalis nodded once, willing to take it on if it meant they would be able to leave quickly.
The lion eyes turned to her once more and grinned in a creepily human way.
"Come then little Goddess," the chimera said and she sighed, stepping forward and she had intended to kiss the lion's great nose, but then suddenly hot arms had gone around her and she was tugged off balance, the arms holding her weight up as very human lips found hers in a disturbingly hot, deep kiss.
She was too shocked to respond, simply taking in the magic and then the arms were gone and she dropped the last remaining foot to the hard ground.
The chimera was grinning down at her, yellow hair and warm honey skin, feline eyes and two rows of dragon teeth. He had eagle feet and a long, serpentine tail with little patches of scales that were both dragon and snake.
She stared up at him, fascinated and terrified as his eyes bored into hers, a maniacal grin on his face.
"Run along now little kitten," he said in a creepily growling voice and she inched herself back from him, his eyes catching every tiny movement.
She had the disturbing feeling that he was resisting the urge to kill her and eat her corpse, his eyes snapping up to Versalis as the vampire helped her to her feet.
The two men stared at each other with an expression she couldn't understand, the vampire nodding once. The chimera laughed a high-pitched sound and then Daemon was on them.
The Chimera was back, enormous teeth coming down and hot breath was the last thing they felt as Daemon viciously ripped his way through realities an instant before they would have been consumed.