They fell through the opening and onto grass, panting and shaking as they tried to take in their new surroundings. They were at the entrance of a cave, on the outer edge of a large forest with a city not far away to the south and when she had decided that they were safe, she collapsed onto the grass.
"That bastard tried to eat us…" she whimpered, the feeling of his eyes on her making her skin crawl.
"Chimera aren't predictable creatures," Uzo said, flopping down at her side and she huffed out a breath as his head found her stomach.
"I need a holiday," Kai complained as he sat down at her other side, taking her hand.
Jaia only grunted and plopped down at her head, lifting her head into his lap and she looked down to see Versalis drop at Uzo's other side and Daemon was glaring at them all.
"Come take a break, Daemon, we've been going nonstop for weeks," she coaxed, and his eyes narrowed.
Deciding it was best to just give in, he flopped down over her legs and groaned as the angle made his back pop.
They stayed there for a good several hours, just trying to comprehend their adventures and their almost being eaten.
"Why do you do it?" Uzo's quiet voice reached her ears, low enough not to disturb the sleeping forms around her. Opening her eyes, she looked up at him to find he was studying her face.
"Do what?" she whispered, smiling as his fingers traced over her hair in a tender brush.
"Why do you let them hurt you? You could… you know. You could stop them all, but you just don't," he trailed off, face pinched as he studied her face.
The question threw her, staring into those incredible blue eyes. Did she let them hurt her? She supposed one could look at it that way, and the more she thought about it, the more she had to agree. The reason though, had tears filling her eyes as the realisation burned into her soul.
"I want to belong…" she breathed, hating herself for her own weakness. Uzo's brows furrowed, but before he could reply, she continued. "I don't want to be alone any more, Uzo. I want to be happy."
"But they hurt you," he said, anger burning in his voice.
"Yes, but I'm not alone. I belong here, this is where I matter."
Smiling, she bit the inside of her cheek as his tender fingers brushed away a tear.
"You aren't weak, Etani. You are the strongest, bravest woman I've ever met, and you deserve better. One day, I will show you that."
His tenderness soothed her, but she wasn't entirely sure she believed him.
She had fallen asleep under the gentle stroking of her hair and it was just going on night time when she woke to a gentle touch on her forehead.
Her eyes met Jaia's and he had frozen, his kiss against her forehead meant to go unnoticed.
She smiled slightly and closed her eyes again, listening to the slow breathing of those around her.
It had been so long since they had stopped that they were simply glad for a chance to pause and relax.
"Did you hear that?" Uzo asked suddenly, sitting up and looking around in confusion.
She hadn't heard it, her attention focused on the feeling of fingers trailing through her hair and the purring snore of Kai at her side.
But when she focused, she could hear it, and she opened her eyes and looked up at Jaia, who had stopped his combing of her hair to look in the direction of the cave.
Sitting up, she earned a grunt from Daemon, who had moved to use her stomach as a pillow much as Uzo had.
Twisting to look into the mouth of the cave, a weird dragging sound was growing louder and then something stepped out of the mouth.
The shape of the creature was unnerving, because he seemed to be well over six feet tall, but his legs were only around a two feet long. His arms would reach his knees, only a good foot off the ground and he had a wide chest, giving him an almost teardrop shape with skinny legs and a huge chest with a mass of stringy grey hair and a thick beard.
His face was covered in old blood, lips a disturbing pink colour with tiny, baggy eyes.
He wore a coat and his pants were baggy, both decorated with shrunken human skulls.
His right leg seemed to be sideways, accounting for the dragging sound.
The sight of him sent terror through her at a speed she had never felt before and she was frozen, even as Daemon yelled out in greeting.
"Yril'Lysyr!" he boomed and the disturbing creature looked up, squinting through the dim light before his face split into a grin with far, far too many little teeth.
"Eros!" The creature called out in a wizened old man's voice and hobbled in their direction.
Uzo looked at her curiously as she shrank back into Kai's chest, her fear drawing him and the vampire's attention to her, itching their hunting instincts.
"It's just the bogeyman," Uzo whispered to her as the demon and creature embraced roughly, seeming glad to see each other.
She shook her head, feeling only slightly relieved when Kai wrapped his arms around her.
She did not want to kiss that creature, he seemed to have no real lips anyway.
"I heard you were wandering around hunting old friends down," the bogeyman wheezed and he joined Daemon as the demon led him back to the group.
"You appear to have quite the collection. I knew you liked all sorts, but do you really need so many?"
Uzo snorted and stood to shake the bogeyman's hand.
"We're not his consorts, just traveling companions," Uzo said cheerfully.
It seemed to her that she was the only one afraid of the creature and she had to wonder at her new fear, not understanding where it had come from.
"The rumours about us are spreading like wildfire," Daemon said with amusement and the bogeyman nodded.
"I heard three different stories in the last week alone," his almost white eyes found her and she shuddered, his smile fading slightly at the sight of her.
"This is your girl?" he seemed rather unimpressed by her.
Daemon was frowning at her, unsure of her response to the bogeyman.
"She's not normally so timid," the demon said, squinting in thought and then grunting. "Surale gift."
The bogeyman laughed and she shrank back at the sound.
"So you are running around collecting magic, huh?"
The bogeyman extended one knobbly hand to her and she froze, staring up at him.
"Don't be rude Etani," Daemon snapped and she reluctantly took the offered hand.
His skin was dry and tough but his touch was gentle as he took it and he bumped his cheek against her knuckles.
The flood of magic into her made her jump and she sucked in a breath, her fear seeming to melt away and her eyes narrowed on him.
"Surale are timid creatures at the best of times," the bogeyman said cheerfully, patting her hand and letting her go.
"A heathy dose of evil should fix that," he said and laughed at the slow smile on her lips.
Daemon swore at him and the bogeyman laughed harder.
She found herself lounging in Kai's arms rather than cowering in fear, her eyes lingering on the bogeyman before turning on Jaia, who seemed to still be struggling somewhat with her previous fear.
She smiled at him, biting down on her lower lip and his eyes locked on her lips. Releasing her bite, she slowly traced her tongue over the softness of her lips and his eyes widened slightly, his cheeks flushing and he forced his eyes from her.
She laughed gently and Kai growled, but she ignored him.
***
They lingered there for several more hours, the demon and bogeyman talking about their travels and the others taking advantage of the break to take a swim in a nearby river and clean up.
The water was freezing, but it allowed them to get clean for the first time in what felt like forever though it had only been a few days.
Swimming down under the water, she watched the fish avoiding the vampires and her like they were sharks, finally breaking the surface and turning when Daemon yelled for them to return.
Wading out of the water, she ignored the appreciative whistle of the bogeyman and bundled up her clothes, still damp but there was nothing she could do about that.
Tearing some moss from the side of the tree, she used it to dry herself off and dressed, her hands making quick work of her dripping hair, and she looked around, the others following her example to dry themselves off and get dressed.
"What are you lot after next?" the bogeyman said, his eyes still on her and she smirked, making him blush.
"Basilisk and then Loki," she said, using the tree for balance as she pulled her boots back on.
She glanced up and frowned at the size of the moon, biting her lip.
"We still have a few days," Daemon said, catching her glance upwards.
She nodded her agreement, but wasn't sure how they were going to handle her as a wolf.
"How are you handling all these different variations?" the bogeyman asked her, and she shrugged.
"Honestly, it's just confusing. I'll be glad when it's all over." She bent down to tie up her boots and tapped the toe to settle her feet.
"I find it fascinating that you can be all these creatures and not simply be a blob."
She squinted at him. "It's strange at times. I do not always take on part of them. Sometimes it is just my mind that changes."
He nodded and glanced up at the sky, sighing at the passage of time.
"The sun will be up soon, not much point in going to the village. I'm going back to my cave and you all should be heading off."
Daemon and the bogeyman hugged tightly, and they watched as he shuffled his way back towards the cave and they glanced at each other.
"Where do we find a basilisk?" she asked
"That one should be fairly easy. They're a common creature," Daemon said as he bundled up their bags and he frowned at the low supply of blood for Jaia and Kai.
"We might have a problem," the demon said, and she stepped to him, staring down at the almost empty bag and then looking at the twins.
"We can feed from humans if we need to," Jaia said dismissively.
"Will that work?" she asked.
Kai shook his head slightly. "Not really, but we have another month to worry about it."
"Can't you feed from Uzo?" she looked to the Fae who shrugged.
"It doesn't usually work," Jaia said.
"What do we do?" she demanded of Daemon who was frowning, trying to decide.
"We will have to think on it," he said and took her hand, drawing her close. "If we have to, we will drop them off in Ayathian and go on without them. They will be crazed but they will survive until we can get you back," he whispered in her ear, and she nodded, worry settling low in her stomach.
"Speaking of which," Uzo said as he approached her and held his arms out to her.
She glanced at Daemon before going to Uzo and he drew her against him, her lips going to his throat eagerly.
His blood was sweet and delicious, filling her with a sense of him and leaving her tingling to the very tips of her fingers.
She didn't want to stop, but he forced her back and smiled sternly as she pouted, licking her lips.
"Come on, you lot," Daemon said gruffly as he threw the bag to Kai, who slung it onto his back, and she saw the look exchanged between the twins.
She understood their reaction to her fear then, realising they had been on starvation rations for long enough that they were both on edge and only barely clinging to sanity.
Taking Uzo's hand at the end of the line, she glanced back at the stream and frowned as she saw something moving towards them at a slow shuffle, its pace swaying and arms limp.
She watched it for a moment, but then Uzo was pulling her and she followed him forward into the tear and they stepped out into a flat plain whose soil had been tilled and turned.