“Are there bears in there?” Toby asked as they stopped.
“Better than demons. Go.”
The angel looked up at him doubtfully then picked his way across roots to the pocket in the tree trunk. Rhyn scavenged for what dry wood he could find and took the armful back to the tree. Toby was huddled in the small cave, shaking with cold. Rhyn focused the little bit of magic he had remaining on the wood. Fire sprang up. With it, Rhyn felt a stitch of the seam binding his power snap. More magic leaked into his body, warming him.
“Ever skin a demon?” he asked Toby.
Toby looked surprised.
“What’d you think we’d be eating?”
“I don’t want to eat a demon.”
“Oh, that’s right. You didn’t plan ahead when you jeopardized my suicide mission,” Rhyn said. “If I’m doing the hunting, you’re eating demons.”
The place where Katie touched him in his dream stung. Rhyn moved out of the drizzle, close to the fire, and peeled off his shirt. There was a welt resembling a bee sting where she’d touched him. He frowned.
“I’ll eat tree bark. But I’m feeling sleepy now,” Toby said suddenly in a rushed tone. “You should go hunt.” The angel ducked into the cave, clutching his backpack to his chest.
Rhyn looked around, wondering what spooked the kid. He sensed nothing and pulled his shirt back on. The angel was still shivering despite the fire. He needed dry clothes and probably, human food. There was one place where Rhyn could find them.
“Stay here,” he said. He went back to the deer trail and jogged through the forest to keep his body warm, making it to the castle in an hour.
Rhyn crept carefully through the demon scouts positioned throughout the forest surrounding the castle. The demons wore the Dark One’s uniform of all black with waterproof cloaks and hoods. The demon side of him rendered his presence similar enough to a full-demon’s that the others wouldn’t be alarmed. He sized up each demon he passed, until he found one who appeared to be his size. The creature didn’t hear his soft step, and the snapping of the demon’s neck was the only other sound in the falling rain.
Rhyn stripped and changed into the demon’s warm clothes. He pulled up the hood and strode into the forest, towards the castle. Beneath the hood, he took in the numbers of demons present. There weren’t as many as he expected but far more than he could fight without his magic. He entered the castle, and his step slowed as memories he’d buried wriggled free.