Amelia

The inside of the covens house looked absouloutley nothing like the outside. The floors were a deep mahogany, along with the walls. There were couches, an oak table, and the most beautiful rug I had ever seen. A small lamp sat in each corner of the main room as the beautiful witch walked me over to the couch, where two more sat.

"Miss Sparrow, I am Alice. This is Martha, and Paisley" she says, pointing to each witch in turn, both either giving me a smile, or a small nod of acknowledgment.

Martha was a blond haired petite thing with chocolate brown eyes that held a warmth to them, while Paisley had deep red locks with bright burning blue eyes. Both had full lips, and were covered in the same type of cloak as Alice.

"A pleasure to meet you ladies" I say, tipping my head. Even if I didn't like being in the coven house, I still had to show them my respect or I wouldn't get the information and they would give the request to another, incompetent hunter. Like hell I would let go of a request like this one.

"Please, have a seat" Alice says, motioning to the chair on the other side of the table so we could see each other. I sat in the chair as alice took a seat in the third seat of the couch. I decided to keep any awkwardness at Bay by clearing my throat. "So, I saw you guys put up this request, how can I help?" I ask. It was so hard talking to witches without offending them. Warlocks were so much easier to talk to.

"Yes, we were on our way to a nearby village, when our cart fell into the trap. Luckily we were controlling it with magic and we weren't riding in it as we rode our horses" Martha states, lifting a cup of tea to her lips. "We put protection spells on all the goods, and we lost them a few nights ago. With how valuable they are, they should be in a tent of their own." Paisly adds, fixing her hair.

"We want you to scope it out, take as many demons with you as possible, and we'll come help with the rest" Alice says with finality, sitting back in her seat. I grin as I stand, giving the a curtious nod. "I won't let you down, ladies" I say, starting towards the door.

"Be careful on your journey!" They call to me. "Thank you?" I call back to them leaving the house. I pull out a map, looking at the nearby villages. Two were in the forest, which was more likely to have the demons hideaway, but one had a smaller path. Easier to build the trap and wait. Dense enough thickets to deter any travel through the forest with a cart.

"That's it then" I say to the empty air, walking back over to Philip and untying him from the post. "Ready boy?" I ask, earning a huff of air that I was taking as a 'yes'. I chuckled, climbing onto his saddle once more and patting his neck. "Let's go Philip" I murmur, taking the reigns and leading him towards the road so we could be on our way.

•••

After an hours walk, we made it to the three roads, each branching in opposite directions, but all coming to the same point near the east river a few miles after the three towns each road leads to. I took the map out once more, and started down the third road that was winding down the dirt path through the thickets of the forest.

We went at a slow pace so we wouldn't fall and die in the pit. I rummaged around in my bag, pulling out the holy water and reaching up to hold the beads of rosary around my neck. I took a sip of the holy water, shaking my head at the slight burn. It was trying to purge me of my cuss words, I suppose. I hadn't ever had to drink holy water, so I was only guessing at this point.

We walked on the trail for a couple more miles, until I saw it. "Woah, Philip." I said, pulling him to a stop. "Stay right there" I say, petting his mane and walking over to the large pit.

It was about three feet deep, with jagged, sharp stakes pointed up from the ground. I winced just thinking about how painful that would be. Death would either be slow, where you'd be stuck bleeding out, or straight away, like if it impailed a vital organ like the heart or the brain.

Shit, I'm pretty dark. Oh well, at least I know where to hide now. "Philip, go back to the witches house" I mumbled, betting his neck gently. Philip wasn't a normal horse. My big boy was a fey horse, which just meant that a fey gave it the power to understand humans speech better, also making them faster,  stronger, and not afraid of wolf's or were kind. They were the ideal breed for hunters like me.

Philip let out a whinny, turning around and trotting back toward the withes house. I hid in the dense thickets of the forest on the left side, waiting for night to fall over the land.

•••

Darkness kissed the sky, painting it a beautiful baby blue, streaks of pink and purple and yellow falling under it's heavy blanket. Stars dotted the blackness, twinkling with a subtle shine.

A branch cracked, and my eyes shot towards the murder pit. 'Shit' I thought, biting my lip. A large demon came from the woods. A fucking greater demon was here? They never came around here! If they were on earth, that means that Shô is getting more powerful.

I grabbed my crossbow, aiming my bow at his leg. On the end of the bow was a small, magic infused tracking sort of mechanism. The demon wouldn't feel the magic, but I would be able to trace it. Neither of my parents were magic, so me being able to trace it was odd for these times, but no one questioned it.

I shot the demon in the leg, earning a roar of pain. I hid in the grass, and the demon slapped its leg, thinking it was a bug that had bit him. Thinking he had it, he checked the pit, grabbed whatever was in there with his magic, and went on his way. Now, it was time to move.