We stood on the top of a cliff, or rather, a very tall and fairly steep hill that cut off at the back end as if a massive knife had sliced through the hill near the top, rendering it a sheer drop. To our backs, beyond that cliff, was a swirling, rocky ocean. A few rocks poked out of the surface, hinting that there were more below. Some formations looked as if they might be ships that wrecked there or were brought there by storm to drown.

Zaavi and I stood watching the landscape below, eyeing his army. They stood at perfect attention, uniform only in formation. The demons in their varied forms made for a colorful block of soldiers, though they all seemed tough and competent. They were situated at the base of the hill, on our end of the clearing. The outside of the clearing, edged by a dense, dark forest, felt mysterious and dangerous. I assumed that Zaavi had hidden the rest of his forces in there, lying in wait for the inevitable battle and ambush of my friends and family. I shivered. I wished more than anything I had some way to warn Selissa and Hazuzu; they were up against a master demon sorcerer who had armed his demon army to the teeth with magical artifacts, whatever tools they could get their hands on.

At the opposite end of the large clearing was Hazuzu and Selissa’s army. I could tell it was theirs, because first of all, who else would be here? And second of all, the army was filled with both demon and human soldiers of varying types. Instead of being evenly distributed, some sections of the block of soldiers were clearly demonic, while other sections were simply human. This block was larger than the one Zaavi had positioned at the base of the hillside, but still, I feared for them. What they didn’t know could certainly hurt them, and there was nothing I could do about it. I just hoped that they had the smart idea to expect a trap, much like Zaavi had.

“Are you ready?” he asked me, jolting me from my dark thoughts.

He looked ever the fierce soldier, wearing black armor that shone dully in the bright sunlight. It only complimented his black hair and vibrant eyes, though now I knew that this wasn’t what he truly was. I remembered how the healer looked, how his kind eyes looked through mine as he had healed my injuries, given me advice. Though his words soured in my memory, as it had to have only been a ploy by Zaavi to get me to cooperate, I still felt a melancholy for the persona of the healer. If that was Zaavi’s true form, and in turn his true self, then maybe there was something good in him after all. I shook my head, trying to dispel those thoughts.

What a stupid thing for me to think. Just because I thought somebody was handsome didn’t mean they had redeemable qualities. Attractiveness isn’t enough, you have to actually be a good person. The little I knew about Zaavi extended to how he had been so violent and successful in his conquering of the demon and human realms, that an entire guild of demon hunters had to be created to contain him, then he kidnapped me the second he got out in order to try and exact revenge on his adversary from centuries ago. Those weren’t exactly the actions of a saint.

I shrugged as my answer to his question. Was I ready? Would anyone ever be actually ready to engage in a hostage exchange, as one of the hostages, willingly and knowingly trading yourself for your newly found father? Your father, who happened to be a demon king in his own right, the leader of an entire faction of demons, who was allied with your foster mother, and oh yeah, your captor’s archnemesis. This just all boiled down to a perfect evening.

Zaavi waved some complicated shapes in the air, drawing with his fingers, muttering under his breath, as the air bent around him. It wiggled, as if he were poking the fabric of space itself. I didn’t think I would ever actually get used to seeing magic performed. Light spilled from his fingertips, and he drew a wide circle on the ground, not quite closing it.

He held his finger at the ground, the line of light still pouring from his fingertip onto the ground. “Step inside.”

“This is bullshit,” I said, eyeing the circle. I didn’t trust him, or anyone, right now. “What is that?”

“For your safety,” he said, nodding his head towards it. “I promised you no harm would come to you.

I narrowed my eyes. “I thought the agreement was to trade me for Hazuzu. How are you supposed to trade me if I’m stuck up here in this stupid fucking circle?”

He smiled mischievously. “It’s to make sure… that my leverage is secure. It will show your friends that you can be retrieved at their leisure, once I get what I want.” His smile grew as he watched my unease grow in turn. He gestured to the circle with his free hand, the other still pointing at the ground, waiting to seal it. “This is a magical cell, so to speak. No one will be able to enter while it stands, including me.”

“Fuck it, that’s all you had to say,” I said. “If it keeps your ass away from me, I’m all for it.”

It was obvious that Zaavi had ulterior motives. If he could get Hazuzu, and had me tucked away somewhere, who would force him to hand me over? He would have both of us at his mercy, however much of that actually existed.

I stepped past his hand and into the circle he had built. His finger finished the circle, the light surging in intensity. The magic burned the grass where he’d drawn it, the singed smell unpleasant. I stood with my arms crossed, staring at him. Even though I’d agreed to his terms for the moment, that didn’t mean I was going to behave every time he asked me to. For now, staying inside this circle was the only course of action I could see.

“You’re rather obvious, you know,” I said to his turned back. He didn’t turn around to face me.

“Irrelevant,” he answered. “I will succeed regardless.” He twisted his head to look at me over his shoulder, his eyes practically glowing with anticipation. “Your friends will soon be dead, and I’ll be the rightful demon king.” His eyes looked off into the distance. “Just as it should have been.”

I scoffed. He gestured that a few soldiers come by, stationing them strategically around my circle of safety. I sighed, settling into a cross-legged pose on the grass. Might as well get comfortable since it looked like I would be in here for the foreseeable future.

Even seated, the cliff we sat on was high enough that I could see clearly down into the bowl of the clearing. This was both a curse and a blessing. While of course. I wanted to know if my friends were okay, and how the inevitable battle would be going as my future was staked on it, I also knew that ignorance was bliss. Unfortunately. I was to be cursed with knowledge and a front row seat.

“It’s time,” Zaavi said, his voice sounding strangely muffled from the magic of my prison. Hopefully, I’d be spared some of the sounds of battle. My imagination was vivid enough.

He stepped away, alone, and walked down the hill, approaching the clearing. Below. I watched as Hazuzu parted from the block of soldiers that they had amassed. He must have noted Zaavi’s movement. With Hazuzu stood a few other people, and while it was a far off distance, I could make my assumptions as to who they were. Selissa, my foster mother, walked beside him, unmistakable in her standard shining silver battle armor, complete with royal plumage. It was more of a look than effective, and she usually didn’t fight in the battles she led, although she was always present in some capacity. Next to her and Hazuzu was another figure, tall and lanky… it must be Tom. He held something in his hands, something that shone in the light as his arms swung, catching the sun as he moved.

I watched as Zaavi waltzed down the hill towards the others, followed by a single soldier he’d plucked from the block formation. An extra form of protection, I supposed. I felt a pang of fear as I pictured the healer fighting, drawing blood, having blood drawn from him. What was wrong with me?

Finally, Zaavi reached Hazuzu and Selissa. They were too far away for me to hear what they were saying, but I could see what they were doing. The two parties faced each other, with Zaavi’s back to me. They must be speaking, and while it wasn’t as if I could see their mouths move, I knew my foster mother enjoyed speaking with her hands. She waved them, gesturing to Zaavi’s army and everywhere else. I wondered what they were getting at.

Then Hazuzu and Tom stepped forward. Hazuzu held out his hands, and Tom stood in front of him, blocking my view. What was he doing? His head was down, as if he was staring at Hazuzu’s feet, but that didn’t make sense. Whatever he was doing, it had to be a part of their agreement, but the nature of it was a wild mystery to me.

Tom stepped away, and Zaavi swept an arm back towards me, tilting back to allow the others to see. They obviously had already deduced that he had brought me with him, but not down to the meeting.

Zaavi beckoned that someone follow him. After a pause, I saw Hazuzu take a step forward, and then another. And then, his feet were in step with Zaavi’s, returning with him. They had made the trade, or at least, one side had. Zaavi leaned backwards and began to retreat without turning him back to them. A smart move, truly, as I knew my foster mother well. Anger her and then turn your back? Expect a knife sticking out of it. Hazuzu was coming back with Zaavi, and presumably, Zaavi would be giving me back, releasing me from this prison. But I couldn’t help but feel a sickening weight in my stomach, sinking and settling somewhere in my toes. This wasn’t right, something felt very off.

I could see Zaavi’s forces by the tops of their heads, looking down upon them. They watched Hazuzu and Zaavi approach, one step after another. Then, a lone arrow launched itself from the mass of Zaavi’s forces, unbidden. No order had called for it, Zaavi had made no signal, but the mystery archer let loose their weapon, nonetheless.

It hurtled through the air, burying itself in the dirt only about twenty feet in front of where Selissa and Tom stood. Tom jumped, but my foster mother stayed still, cold as ice. I knew what her next move would be.

Hazuzu and Zaavi continued onwards with their pace, nearly reaching Zaavi’s forces, despite the arrow having disrupted the fragile peace between the two awaiting armies. Every single muscle in my body held taught, though I still sat cross-legged, my back was stick straight, my thighs squeezing, my fingers clenching my knees, and my eyes were as wide open as they would go. Selissa was about to attack, and that meant that Zaavi was about to attack as well. Regardless of the numbers, blood would be shed here, and I was going to be forced to watch it all unfold in front of my eyes.

Selissa raised her arm. A flurry of bows readied themselves, aiming at Zaavi’s army. They were too far away to reach them, as proven by the stray arrow before, but that didn’t mean Selissa didn’t have something else up her sleeve.

She lowered her arm with a firm, precise purpose, then turned and left for the safety of her guard. She left Tom standing there, alone, as a shower of arrows leapt from the bows and sprinkled the dirt in front of Zaavi’s army. They had gotten closer than Zaavi’s had, but there were none that hit their target. It was a warning.

Zaavi and Hazuzu had reached Zaavi’s army, and he too rose his arm into the air. Instead of indicating that archers nock their arrows, instead, he shot a tall beam of fire into the air from his fingertips. It would’ve been visible from anywhere in the clearing. And, it occurred to me, it would’ve been visible from the woods, too. My jaw dropped. He was calling in the guerrilla warfare.

The woods erupted with screams. From my vantage point, all I could see was the ruffling of leaves and foliage as whatever happened under those branches rustled and caused the vibration of trees. Screams echoed out onto the clearing, and the two armies rushed at each other, weapons bared, battle cries rocketing off of the lips of soldiers.

They met with an audible clang.

Panicked, I remembered that Tom had been left alone in the center of the clearing. Where had he gone? In the mess of battle below, I could barely distinguish which soldiers were which, whose side was whose, and even worse, who was winning. From here, it all looked like death and destruction. I could see blood spraying from swipes of swords, dotting the faces of the survivors, splattering the ground below, and dripping from the wounds.

Everything below was death. Everyone was dying, left and right. There was no clear victor, no one had the obvious advantage. And it wasn’t just happening in the clearing – it was happening in the woods, too, though fortunately, I couldn’t see much of what was happening beneath the branches.

But where had Tom gone? My heart was beating so fast, my breath short pants, as I worried about his safety. There was no way he’d survived that clash of enemies, but I held onto the one singular hope that he’d somehow gotten out of the way. We’d pulled out of stickier scrapes than this, hadn’t we? I ignored the fact that I couldn’t think of a stickier place to be in than the center of that battlefield.

Something heavy thudded behind me, then screeched. The air grew cold with a sudden gust of icy wind. I whirled around to see a giant figure of glinting ice, all angles and straight lines forming a vaguely humanoid creature. It screeched, the sound of scraping ice against metal, and blew an icy storm at the demon guards who had been caught by surprise.

Ice formed on their skin, freezing them from the inside out, turning them into statues. The ice breath from the creature battered against my magical prison, becoming visible as the protective magic warded it off, buffeting around it. At least Zaavi had done something right. Whatever was happening now, was certainly not in either of our plans.

The ice creature stopped and stood straight up. Light from behind him shone around and through his icy form, and he melted into the ground below. He left nothing but a large, muddy puddle a few feet away from my prison. The guards remained frozen in time, and hopefully, still living. Although I didn’t have much hope for that. If they were alive now, they were suffocating, as I noticed their chests were not rising with breath. Whatever that creature was, it appeared to be thorough, freezing every single muscle and securing their every move – including the intake of oxygen.

I looked up from the puddle, realizing that a woman stood there. I scuttled back a bit, careful not to touch the wards Zaavi had placed around me. I didn’t want to test what would happen to me if I tried to force myself through. But I also didn’t want to be anywhere near this sorceress, or whatever she was. She was obviously dangerous.

Whatever magic she’d done to summon that ice creature had apparently been quick and easy for her. She didn’t look winded or even concerned. She tossed a long dread over her shoulder, the strand of gold thread interwoven within them glinting. She smoothed her heavily tattooed hands on her earth toned wrap, and then looked at me with a benevolent smile. It didn’t reach her eyes.

“Hello, Callisto,” she said, her voice warm and smooth as honey. She settled herself on the ground next to me, outside of the circular magic prison I was sealed inside, seated in a cross-legged position as I had been. She looked out over the battlefield, smiling to herself at the bloodshed. “I’ve been waiting.”