Pitt wandered around the city in the dark. His headache got better the more he exerted himself. His stomach still wanted food, but he didn't see any place that was open for business. It looked like he was going to have to wait for the sun to rise before he got anything to eat.

His stomach didn't like that at all and informed him of its opinion of the decision making process. He told it to settle down before he hurled.

The last thing he wanted was to throw up when he was still getting over the pain in his skull.

He turned the corner and paused. Four people he recognized had engaged a small coterie of demons in the middle of the street ahead. He turned to walk away.

The last thing he wanted to do was get involved in someone else's problems.

One of the demons noticed him walking away. It broke from the fight and charged him. The others could kill these meddling knights and their cleric. He had an easy target to stab in the back.

The demon brought its sword down to stab as it rushed forward. The point of its twisted blade missed as the target spun out of the way. Then an arm struck it in the chest and didn't move. Its legs kept moving while the rest of it was knocked backward. It hit the ground with a thump.

“I think you should work on your swordsmanship before you come at me again,” said the man in the coat. “You're really terrible.”

The other combatants paused and backed away from each other. A new force was on the field. That could change the rest of the way things could go.

“Now I'm going to walk away and let you people get back to killing each other,” said the man in the coat. “I don't have an interest in getting involved. I think you should honor that before you really get hurt.”

The demon decided that the blow that had dropped it on its back had been luck. It scrabbled for its sword to stab upward at its human enemy. It missed with the extending motion. One hand grabbed a furred wrist. The other swung against the demon's arm. Snapping sounded in the air.

“I warned you to leave it alone,” said the man in the coat. He caught the sword's hilt as it dropped out of useless fingers. He stabbed down into the demon's chest. The thing exploded in a cloud of ash. It left a straight blade of gleaming silver in the stranger's hand. “Anybody else want what he got?”

The demons looked unsure what to do. They hadn't seen what happened in the trust-countertrust.

The cleric recited words in the quiet. The demons looked at him with their various eyes. Light erupted from his hands. The wave washed over the things, burning them away.

“That's good,” said Pitt. He dug the point of his new sword in the ground so it would stand upright on its own.

“I know you,” said one of the knights. He pointed at Pitt.

"No, you don't,” said Pitt. “And with a face like that, I'm sorry to have met you this time.”

“I do know you,” said the knight. “You stopped the frog demon.”

Pitt frowned. How did he get out of this? He didn't want to sit around and jaw with these four. He wanted to get home and put his feet up.

“Sir Edward is right,” said the cleric. “How do you do? I'm Warton Macomber, cleric of Pantalus.”

“William Pitt,” said Pitt. “I have to be moving on.”

“We're in the middle of a demon surge,” said Sir Edward. “There's nowhere you can go that demons won't be there.”

“You would think that, wouldn't you?,” said Pitt. “But as long as I am moving from their summoning point, I'm good to go.”

“How would you know where that is?,” asked Sir Edward. He looked at his three comrades. They looked as confused as he felt.

“Clerics know where demon summoning points are,” said Pitt. “He just has to ask for the direction. Then I can go in the opposite direction.”

“I can do that?,” said Macomber. “I don't think so.”

“Repeat after me,” said Pitt. He said something nonsensical in a singsong that none of the four had heard before. He gestured for the cleric to repeat what he said. Macomber did so the second time.

A tower of light erupted against the dark sky. Tiny comets flew into the air before burning out.

“Good job, Macomber,” said Pitt. “You have shown all your fellow clerics where to go to stop the demons.”

“I didn't do that,” said Macomber. He pointed at the burst of fire heading into the air. “I don't have the standing to do that.”

“Who else could have done it?,” said Pitt. “Now that I know where the demons are coming from, I can go the other direction.”

“I think you should stay with us while we escort you to a temple,” said Sir Edward.

“I think you should stay with me,” said Pitt. He picked a random direction and started walking. “Since I am heading away from that, I think you should too.”

“We can't do that,” said Sir Edward. “We have a duty.”

“Well, I have a headache, and I want something to eat,” said Pitt. He paused his walk. “I don't see how my wants line up with your wants.”

Macomber touched his sleeve and said a prayer. The headache cleared from Pitt's head. He reached into his bag and pulled out a packet of field rations. He offered it to the strange swordsman.

“So this makes a bargain between us?,” said Pitt. “I don't think so.”

“I actually think it would be better if you helped us,” said Macomber. He gestured with the field rations.

A roar split the air. The four knights looked up. Pitt rubbed his face with his hand.

“Give me that,” said Pitt. He took the packet and put it in his coat pocket. “Give me those.”

One of the knights indicated himself with a finger.

“Yes, you,” said Pitt. “Give me the bow and arrows.”

He held his hand out and wiggled his fingers.

“Go ahead, Brian,” said Sir Edward. “This is our scout, Brian Talltree.”

“The way he's going, he isn't going to get any taller,” said Pitt.

“Is that some kind of threat?,” asked Brian. He seemed much younger than Pitt had thought.

“No,” said Pitt. “This is a threat. Give me the arrows, or they'll be calling you Beaver for the rest of your life.”

“Give him the bow and arrows, Brian,” said Sir Edward. “Let's see what he can do with them.”

Talltree reluctantly handed over the quiver and bow. He stepped back.

“If I were you, I would hide until the demons found me,” said Pitt. He draped the quiver over his shoulder, holding it by its strap. “They got some big monsters out in the real world from the sound of it. You guys wouldn't have a chance against that.”

“What makes you think you have a chance?,” asked Talltree.

“Because I have the arrows,” said Pitt. He walked into an alley and took to the shadows.

He used the narrow space between the two buildings to bounce up to the flat roof of one. It was a feat he didn't want the knights to see. They already suspected him. He didn't need to add fuel to the fire with something he couldn't deny.

At least now he could do something without everyone thinking he was going to save the day for them, instead of saving his own skin.

Pitt looked around. He put the quiver on the roof as he checked the bow. He pulled one of the arrows from the quiver. He took a breath. He was about to change the odds for the city. He hoped the defenders could do the rest on their own, because he was heading for the wall, and then home after he was done.

He wasn't going to fight for the city if he could make his escape once he was done with this one simple job.

Three titans had emerged from the demon summoning point. The flames behind them outlined their misshapen bodies. He frowned at the amount of power it would have taken to make a hole big enough for those monsters.

Pitt notched the arrow to the bow string. He pulled the bow string back as far as he could without breaking the bow in half. He took aim, accounted for the wind, and let loose.

The arrow caught fire as soon as it cleared the roof. It left a silver trail until it hit the massive demon juggernaut. It cored out a hole as it kept going. The fire winked out as the arrow headed for the ground. The demon followed it in a cloud of ash.

Pitt tipped the quiver up so he could pull another arrow from it. He took aim at the next closest behemoth. He loosed the arrow. A limb tried to block the deadly missile, but it went through the appendage and came out the other side. It struck and rocked the target back, but didn't kill it.

Pitt pulled another arrow from the quiver. The demon had moved faster than he had thought it could to protect itself. He notched the arrow and took aim. He wondered what would happen if he shot it in the legs first.

He couldn't see individual legs. He shook his head at that. It looked like he was going to have to try for another body shot and hope that the thing couldn't block another arrow.

Pitt took aim and loosed the arrow. It screamed across the sky. It hit the wounded demon and kept going. He smiled as it broke apart.

Number three marched across the city toward his shooting spot. The thirty red eyes he could see looked mad at the damage he had done with the two successful kills he had performed.

Pitt allowed it was fast moving. He was also fast. He sent arrow after arrow at it as it blocked his attacks with its appendages. Finally he slipped an arrow into an eye and blew out another on exit. That was enough to blow it apart.

“Good shot, Roland,” said the dead Montague.