Nothing To Fear ....

This Is A Test

      It woke to throbbing pain in its arm , and made its way out of the dark , musty closet it had chosen to conceal itself during the daylight hours . It had barely made it inside in time to avoid the sunrise , which would have been painful despite the clouds .

      Inspecting its injuries , it noted that the only thing of significance remaining was the ugly , oozing burn caused by the damnable neckpiece . As it looked , it instinctively flinched at the sight of the holy rune that was now permanently branded into the flesh of its hand . It was painful even to look at , and it began to consider that perhaps it was time to begin searching for a new host .

      Perhaps , when it had whittled down the numbers sufficiently , one of the humans in the dwelling it had marked would serve . It gave a rusty - sounding chuckle as the notion of occupying the wizard passed through its mind . But almost as soon as the thought blossomed , it was put aside . This would be entirely too dangerous to attempt , and would gain no extra benefits , as it wouldn't be able to access the mans magical knowledge when he took over his form . 

      No matter , several others appeared fit and sturdy , perfectly adequate for its needs . Perhaps one of those who had released it , or the one who emitted the strange vapors from his mouth . It would have to consider the matter further .

      As it sat in the dark , frigid ruin that had once been its prison , it began to ponder another idea . It had fed on several animals the previous night , since the peculiar cold substance covering the ground didn't hinder it , as it seemed to do to the human weaklings . The livestock were far from ideal , to its thinking , but it needed to rebuild its strength , and there had been considerable gain , in spite of its recent setbacks . Perhaps it was time to see how much progress had truly been made .

      Once darkness had completely settled , it left the old house and began making its way through the snow toward the building that housed its intended prey . It crept to the edge of the treeline and looked toward the house , seeing the magic - user and the girl , along with another male , engaged in some sort of activity . Of the others , it saw no sign , so it assumed that they were elsewhere in the dwelling , as their traveling devices didn't seem to work in the strange , cold powder covering the area . 

      Moving a bit closer , it was suddenly gripped by an unpleasant sensation , making it reluctant to continue its approach . It stopped , and narrowed its focus onto the building , and the reason for the uncomfortable feeling became obvious almost immediately . The thrice - bedamned wizard had warded the home , denying it access to the nourishment that it so desperately craved !

     'So be it . If my plan succeeds , I can test the limits of his skill .' , the demon told itself .

      It sank to its haunches in the drifting snow , holding its thin , misshapen hands out in front of itself , and muttering as it did so . Its voice , cracked and faint from disuse , became stronger as it continued its chant , as it began to move its hands in a series of complex gestures .

      After a time , its ears began to register a faint humming , an indication that the incantation was taking effect . It redoubled its efforts , repeating the chant , and the arcane gestures , and it was finally rewarded with the sight of what appeared to be a rip in the air in front of it . 

      A few seconds passed , then a hand appeared in the opening , clawed , spindly fingers wriggling . This was quickly followed by a short , hairless , obese body , which was nearly obscured by the depth of the white substance surrounding it .

      The demon observed this with a mix of disappointment and vague pleasure . It had hoped for a more powerful servant ; apparently , its power was still less than it should be . But this creature could still serve a purpose .

      It stood before the more powerful demon , staring at its summoner with blank white eyes , waiting for a command , which was soon given .

      'Find a way into that building . Do whatever you must to overcome their defenses .' , it ordered the lesser creature . 'Do not stop until you succeed , or are destroyed .'

      The small , rotund thing opened its mouth and hissed , then turned away from the other demon and began pushing its way through the drifts toward its objective .

      It watched the other things progress , pleased with itself for devising the plan , gaining some benefit from the initial disappointment . Soon , it would either have a means of entry , and access to the prey , or it would have a more accurate understanding of their strength , and could begin to form a contingency plan .

      No matter what the outcome , its efforts wouldn't be completely wasted . So , it settled itself against a tree , and awaited the results of its experiment .

      The minor demon began flinging itself against the door , attempting to rake through the wood with its claws , screeching at the pain inflicted by the magical runes that had been placed there . 

      It chuckled to itself as it heard one of the males shout , "What the hell was that ?" , and the other creature redoubled its efforts as it heard the noise , wanting nothing more than to reach the source of the sound and sink its claws into living flesh .

      The demon's superior vision allowed it to distinguish the movement inside , despite the reduced amount of light , and saw when the others gathered at the windows to gape at the sight before them .

      Its mouth opened in a wicked grin , displaying black , jagged , needle - sharp teeth , and leaned back against the tree , waiting for the outcome of the minions attack to be determined .

      Hopefully , it would feed well this night .