The walk north of town was arduous for Sheema's weak little body. Melsuria was going to have to get lots of exercise to fix that. Fortunately, she had just the activity for it. She smiled inwardly as she huffed and puffed.

  The human boy Charlie had been useful, so she didn't mind too much that Tom Walker had made a promise on her behalf. She had sort of offered at one point, after all. All during the walk, she'd been driving Kevin to distraction with little teases, keeping him in a high state of lust, feeding her some much-needed sustenance. So, she should have enough power to spare for whatever was required.

  A lot depended on what state both parents were in. If she was going up against a full shard of Quazulin, that would be doable, but likely violent. If the man had not yet fully succumbed and the woman was clear, it would be easier, and she could use a bit more finesse.

  The group included Tom Walker, Charlie, Piper, Kevin, and Varga, in addition to herself. Varga was the only one who had a chance of knowing what elven Healers could and could not do, and she didn't seem the sort to pay close attention to things that didn't directly concern her. Melsuria could probably improvise with her demonic powers and no one would be the wiser.

  I've run things far too close to the edge far too many times, lately, she brooded. I could easily have gotten myself killed at multiple points since my escape. Escaping the Rivermarch Temple, fighting Sheema for this body, facing off against Quazulin, and repeatedly dancing around the caution of humans, elves, and even a dwarf! Can't believe I actually teamed up with a cursed dwarf.

  It was finally a piece of good fortune that the sealing formation was broken in the fire. Of course Quazulin would have targeted it, but I'm glad his shards succeeded. I might have been trapped in that town with suspicious humans and eventually discovered. Yet again, I might have been banished or even killed. This need to avoid spreading my shards is extremely hampering.

  The sooner we get far away from here, and far away from Arthalax, the better. I have little idea where the murderous monster has gotten to, but I fear we might both be headed generally south. Well, the southern coast is wide. Hopefully, I can steer my group away from him and reach safety to spread my shards before reaching the Southern Freeze, for Lust's sake!

  The need to get air into Sheema's lungs was getting more distracting, so Melsuria concentrated on that for a while, placing one foot in front of the other while avoiding tripping on tree roots, rocks, or abandoned scrap lumber. Charlie's youthful exuberance was mildly annoying, but she kept any sign of that from Sheema's face. Finally, the boy sobered up as they approached his farm, and the child had to face the fear that this might not work. They stopped at the edge of the property.

  “All right,” Tom Walker said in Western. Melsuria remembered to pretend that she couldn't follow the conversation. “Charlie, Piper, I'm going to need you both to scout for us. Charlie, find out where your Papa is. Piper, find Charlie's Mama. We might have to stop your Papa from running, or from hurting your Mama, Charlie. Can you do that? Can you two find them and come let us know the situation?”

  The children nodded silently, for once not bickering. “Mama should be in the house. The kitchen is at that end.” Charlie pointed it out to Piper. “If she's doing wash, it'll be on the other side of the house from here. Papa might be gathering kindling, or pitching hay. I don't hear him splitting logs for firewood. He's probably real mad that I didn't come home last night.” The children decided on hand signals, checked that they had them right with minimal argument, and then split up, heading across the first field.

  Melsuria waited patiently, and had to talk Varga down from scouting for herself; she was the only other person present who spoke Elvish well. Before long, the children reported that the adults were separated, which was fortunate. Melsuria headed towards the kitchen Piper had indicated. Tom, Kevin, and Varga spread out to prevent the father's escape. The demon left the capture of the man to the mortals, and entered the house with Piper.

  “Who are you?” the woman demanded as they walked into her kitchen, both fearful and angry. Melsuria took in the black eye and bruises in an instant, forming a picture of what life had been like in this house lately.

  “Are you Charlie's Ma?” Piper asked.

  “Yeah, what's he done now? And who are you?”

  “I'm Piper. Charlie's Pa has been real mad lately. This nice lady is gonna fix him.”

  Melsuria stepped forward with a little bow, and pulled her cloak off, revealing that she was an elf, a slave—and a stunning beauty, if she did say so herself. She put up one finger in the human gesture for silence, and stepped closer. Remembering to use broken Western, she said quietly, “I...help. You...pain?” She held out one hand slowly.

  “You a healer?”

  “Healer. Yes. I...touch?”

  “My husband—”

  “My friends are getting Charlie's Pa now. They'll bring him here,” Piper promised. Right on cue, they started hearing shouts, and sounds of a brawl. “It's all right. Mr. Walker is really big and really nice.”

  “Now. I touch. Now,” Melsuria urged. She was already reaching out with demonic senses, but the elven ones were sharper for some things, and they required contact or near contact to activate. The woman reluctantly allowed her to grip her hand, and Melsuria got to work.

  The bruises were obvious, and a bone in her hand that was cracked but not broken. The demon looked deeper, and found old internal scars. “You...no baby?” She saw the emotional pain on the woman's face at the question, but the human nodded.

  Can I spare the power for this? I'll need more from Kevin. Melsuria debated how much to meddle, and decided on a path she liked. “You...want...baby?” she asked the woman gravely.

  “You can...fix me?” The woman's eyes grew round. Melsuria could tell that she barely dared to hope.

  “I...maybe...fix...Pa... fix... you.”

  The sounds of the scuffle had ended. There was a rap at the door. “Excuse me, ma'am, we have your husband here, may we come in?” Tom Walker called.

  The woman got the door. “Charlie! What have you done?!”

  “I got help for Papa!”

  “We can't afford a healer!” the human mother hissed.

  “May we bring him in, ma'am?”

  “Who are you?”

  “Tom Walker, ma'am, just passing through, but I've got an elven healer here, and Charlie did me a big favor yesterday, so we've come to do what we can.”

  The woman dithered a moment, then beckoned. “Yes, yes, in here please!” She led them to the bed, and Tom laid the unconscious man down.

  “Sheema? What do you think?”

  Melsuria took a deep breath, and reached out to Charlie's father. She could already feel the discomfort of the concentration of an alien Concept, almost the opposite of her own. “Hold him down,” she told Varga in Elvish. Then she gripped the man's arm and pushed her power.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  He began thrashing on the bed, and Tom and Kevin quickly got him under control. Melsuria breathed harder and slapped her palm against the man's forehead in addition to his arm. She could feel the screams in her soul as she forced her own Concept in, purging the Hate. It was deep-seated, and she ended up needing to replace it with Lust, to make sure it was all gone. She prepared her soul for the self-sacrifice, as she had so many times before, focusing on her shard's mission.

  < I am sorry, Child. They will likely find and purge you. Yield when that happens, release your host, but take what enjoyment you can in your existence until that time. Be gentle with the woman. Good luck. >

  < Thank you, Mother. To you as well. >

  The thrashing stopped, and Melsuria nodded to the others that they could release the man. She took a couple of deep breaths, and then turned to the woman with a smile. “He...good.”

  “He...you healed him? Of...whatever it was?”

  She must not have even heard about the demon this far from town. Just as well. Melsuria nodded. “Now...you.” She pointed, indicating that the woman should lie on the bed beside her husband. She did so, and Melsuria took her hand again, placing the other hand on her belly. “Pain...good...” she warned. The woman nodded and closed her eyes.

  The demon reached out with power both elven and demonic. She sped the healing of the bruises, and then got to the real challenge—ripping apart small scars and replacing them with healing tissue. It was difficult and brutal work. The woman screamed repeatedly, but each time met Melsuria's gaze and nodded for her to continue.

  You have borne a child. You know this pain. You know the pain of birth gone wrong. Feel it now, again, in reverse. HEAL.

  This was proving more difficult than expected. HEAL.

  Melsuria was weakening, but dug in stubbornly, drawing more demonic power from the earth, ignoring the danger of the dwarf in town noticing. HEAL!

  Finally, the woman's body felt right. Melsuria panted heavily, for she wasn't done yet. The woman's body by rights should heal for weeks, but she wouldn't have time for that, so Melsuria gave her more strength, yet more power, and ended up nearly passing out as she spawned another shard.

  < My Child, your vessel is fragile, wounded. I am sorry. Take what joy you can in your existence before you are hunted down. Yield the host when you must, and let her live well. Good luck. >

  < Thank you for my taste of life, Mother. Good luck to you as well. >

  Melsuria smiled, and knew no more for a time.

  ° ? ? ? °

  Her head hurt when she woke. What happened?

  Her soul actually felt shaky for a moment. What did I do to myself? I am too weak! I must feed! Feebly, she reached out, trying to sense Lust, but aside from the whisper from the two shards on the bed nearby, there was nothing. Alarmed, she forced her eyes open.

  No, Kevin is here. She met his worried gaze, and with an effort managed a flirty expression, and her weakly moving fingers teased his hand. She felt relief, and then, finally, some hints of Lust returning. It tasted sweet. It tasted like infatuation, like Tom and Diavla did, and Varga with Diavla. She clung to the lifeline. She was so weak even her Concept was rattled.

  “Sheema! Finally!” Varga shoved a roll covered in something sweet-smelling at her face. “Here, this should fix you up. You really pushed yourself hard this time. What did you do?”

  “Purged...the demon...and healed...her womb,” Melsuria told her, then switched to Western and spoke to Tom. “Good now. Hurt. Slow. Good.”

  “Thank you, Sheema. You did good.” The human looked impressed, as well he should. “Charlie, you need to watch over your parents for a while, all right? Bring them water and food if they need, keep them warm with rocks from the fire, all right? Just like they do when you're sick.”

  “I will. Is Papa going to be all right? Is Mama?” Charlie naturally sounded very anxious.

  “Papa...good. Mama...good,” Melsuria told the boy. “No now.” She made a vague gesture to indicate the future. Tom Walker picked up on it.

  “I think she means that they're weak right now, but they're going to be all right, Charlie.”

  Melsuria detected bitterness in the room, and turned her head. Piper was slinking out the door. Ah. Poor child is jealous.“Piper?” she called faintly. The girl didn't stop. Melsuria didn't have the energy to spare to raise her voice.

  “Thank you, Miss Sheema. Thank you so much!” Charlie shouted.

  “Easy, Charlie! Easy. Let them sleep,” Tom urged. The big human seemed to look back and forth a moment, checking out the windows. He scratched his head and growled a moment, then looked at Sheema. “Ugh! I hate to rush you, but we're burning a lot of daylight, and we need to get away from Oak Mill as fast as we can.” In Elvish he continued, “We...go...now.”

  “I can't walk,” Melsuria told Varga. “Can't even...ride Kevin.”

  “Don't worry,” Varga told her with a grin. “I'm sure you'll be riding Kevin again very soon.”

  “He's fun,” Sheema whispered. “You should try him out.” I desperately need anything that will feed me more Lust.

  There was some bustling about, and Charlie gave them his own blanket. They slung Melsuria inside it, with Tom carrying the front corners and Kevin the back. With the best of intentions, Varga kept shoving sweet foods at her, which helped the Elven side but did nothing for the weakness of her demonic soul.

  What in the Core came over me, to spend that much of myself? I almost killed myself! Again! There's something wrong with me.

  I must just be weak. I need another few orgies. I'll feel better then, surely.

  ° ? ? ? °

  Melsuria continued to feel weak as they traveled. Weak and cold. She swung side to side as they carried her, which didn't help. She desperately wished she had the strength to get back on her feet.

  The cold rain that had helped to save the town from fire was still going, making the travelers miserable; Melsuria did not escape it, as water found its way to her despite their best efforts. Well, at least it gives a good excuse for Varga to keep her hood up. They'll be looking for elves on the road soon, if they aren't already.

  An eternity of plodding later, during which Varga switched off with Kevin for short periods, she heard Tom say, “Piper! Run ahead and let them know we're behind them.” The street squirrel didn't vanish into her hidey-hole yet, then. Several hundred paces later, she heard a clamor of elven voices.

  “What's wrong with her?”

  “She pushed herself harder than ever,” Varga told them. “She's been wanting to stand up for a while now and she's too weak.”

  “Did she succeed? Did she help Charlie's father?”

  “She said she did. I hope for Charlie's sake that she's right.”

  “Put her in the front wagon next to Diavla.”

  Melsuria felt herself get hoisted up and deposited in the wagon bed, and the filthy blanket finally stopped surrounding her, revealing Diavla on her right. The amber-eyed elf looked at her with concern and made inquiring gestures.

  Melsuria managed to mutter in Elvish, “Don't know what's wrong. Head hurts. Drained. Need cuddles. Need sleep.” The wagons started rolling again.

  “She pushed herself too hard,” someone said.

  “...Apparently, Kevin, Summer and Piper will be traveling with us as far as Middleton,” someone else commented. Melsuria realized that she might have lost some time in there.

  After a while, Tom Walker handed off the reins to come check on the invalids. He had a smile for Sheema and a much bigger one along with some kisses for Diavla. Melsuria grasped at the traces of Lust like a trickle of water in the desert.

  ° ? ? ? °

  They traveled as far as they could in the waning light, and pulled far off the road for the night, paying to use someone's fallow field behind a screen of trees. They wanted to celebrate, but kept things fairly quiet for safety's sake.

  Tom Walker looked back the way they had come. “Everyone...thank you.” Sensing that he had something to say, the rest of them quieted down, except for Eubexa's translations.

  “Ladies, I'm sorry there's so much sickness and injury among you.” Melsuria thought about it and realized that all the invalids were women. “But I am grateful that all of you are improving. Diavla's throat will heal. Sheema will hopefully sleep off her exhaustion. And don't think I haven't noticed, Eubexa, that you're moving a lot more easily and quickly than before. I am very glad for that.

  “I am grateful that we all made it out of Oak Mill alive. We still have our freedom...to travel,” Tom amended, after an embarrassed glance at the pile of slave collars. “We have our gear, our clothes, our armor and weapons, most of our gold, and our trade stock in hides and salt. We have wagons and oxen to move them.

  “And above all...we killed a demon.” That statement didn't make the same impression on Melsuria that it did on the others, but she smiled politely.

  “We killed a demon!” Tom repeated, sounding incredulous. “I never thought that I'd be a demon slayer. But it was all of us, working together, who beat Quazulin. We are stronger together. We are better together. We are more together. I count myself very fortunate to have met every single one of you.”

  He's got a knack for this, Melsuria noted with approval. There are hidden heights to the man. He raised his mug.

  “I never wanted demon wars to happen in my lifetime, but the gods willed them to be now, and they gave us the strength to pull through. So, if wars there will be, then I say, one down!”

  “One down!”

  The phrase was unfamiliar to some, but everyone repeated it in Western, and they all drank.

  Melsuria managed a genuine smile as she lifted a water skin and then sipped. You think it is one down, and two to go, Tom Walker.

  But it's one down, and one to go.

  Elf-Made Man 2: Oak Mill!

  Redhill, though depending on how fast the plot moves, I may change it to The Road to the Sea. I originally envisioned this as a trilogy, but their adventures take as long as they take.