The Summoner

Chapter 20: Incubus

Now the contract was complete, Kylihr had full access to his magic and he wasted no opportunity to demonstrate it. Each night after the wood was stacked, no matter who was on duty, Kylihr would light the fire first. When they chose a place for camp, Kylihr would clear away the snow with a wave of his hand. And when they were invariably attacked by denizens of the forest, he waited until one of the humans was in mortal danger before casually finishing the creature.

That, of all his antics, pissed Kaylen off. She was used to the flamboyance of demons – like with humans some demons simply couldn't help showing off – so the little antics around camp and on the trail she ignored. They made it harder to work with the men – Brenden especially loved to demand she 'control her demon, Glafain curse it' – but she understood Kylihr's antagonism.

Understood and silently supported him.

Which was probably why he continued.

At the same time, he seemed to miss that she was thoroughly unamused by his behavior in battle. That the inattention was deliberate pissed her off even more.

Kaylen fumed as she drove Night through the spine of another fire salamander. The creature belched flame as it died and she was forced to roll out of the way. A scream of pain from behind her had her spinning and charging before she located the source. G'ldrae got there first. The stallion reared on the back of a salamander his weight and deadly hooves crushing it where his teeth were unable to break through. Flame shot from its mouth and the soldier in front of it – Terran she thought – screamed again.

"Elon!" Kaylen shouted at the wizard and pointed to Terran – definitely Terran – as she rushed to help her horse. Fire Salamanders were notoriously hard to kill because of their thick hides and, though G'ldrae had done it before, Night was more effective.

And Shadow but Kylihr had a fire ward erected where he sat in a tree watching the chaos and did not look to be interested in helping.

As she and her stallion finished the last of the fire salamanders Kaylen shot a furious glance up at her demon. He waved back and she gritted her teeth against the urge to turn some of his own magic against him. He'd block it, but she was a hair's breadth from throwing reason to the wind and venting at least a fraction of her frustration.

Sensing her intent, Kylihr thickened his ward. It shimmered from the reds and oranges of fire to the amethyst of his eyes and magic and Kaylen had to close her eyes and breathe through the fury till she remembered why she couldn't attack him. In front of the men.

They cannot see us fight, she reminded herself.

Amusement danced through the bond.

Kaylen glared at him then turned away before she forgot her own words and went to check on Terran. She crouched beside Elon, watching him work but not speaking so he could focus. The burns on his left shoulder looked painful but not threatening. It was the ones on his thighs and calves that worried her. He'd be hard pressed to ride. They wouldn't make town before evening as she hoped. The thought of what a congress of fire salamanders was doing this close to the edge of The Wilds made Kaylen anxious. She wanted to be back in the relative safety of buildings and many people.

She sighed and went to check on the rest of the men. Pierce's sword had melted in the melee and his palm bore a mark of proof. He released it to the salamander's mouth soon after and the burn wasn't severe enough to require the wizard. Kaylen had a salve that she used before wrapping the tender skin. Pierce thanked her and Kaylen clapped him on the shoulder as she checked on the others. Allen was cold to her while Draven was outright hostile. She didn't bother to check on the nobles having seen the captain there already.