The sound of heavy footsteps roused Alex from an unconscious state. Her eyes cracked open to see the landscape slowly passing by. Her mind was cloudy. Her head felt like it weighed a ton. She tried to lift her arms but she found it hard to move. It took her a moment to realize that she was tied down. The men carrying her noticed she was awake and stopped their marching, calling out for someone to come and see.
A man approached her, the pointed tips of his ears showing through chin length locks of black hair. His eyes were a peculiar golden hue, with a black slit for a pupil that was trained on her. He looked young, with broad shoulders that tapered to a narrow waist. He was shirtless and Alex found herself taking in every dip and dent in his ridiculously well carved torso. Even though he looked inhuman, he was decidedly handsome and Alex felt her cheeks heating up as his attention focused on her.
“Who are you?” Tavi demanded. “And what business do you have in these lands?”
All Alex could do was stare dumbfounded back at him, unsure of how to answer or what to even say to him. His questions had barely registered through the haziness in her mind. She tried to remember how she had gotten here.
“Answer,” he barked. Alex jumped a bit at the harshness in his voice.
“I…I’m Alexandra,” she sputtered.
“From what land do you come?” He asked, his eyes examining her carefully as he knelt down to look at her more closely.
“Where am I?” Alex asked, her voice cracking as she looked around at the other creatures that were staring at her. “Who are you?”
Tavi narrowed his golden eyes at the young girl before him. Without another word he straightened and turned away from her, speaking over his shoulder at the others to keep moving.
The small group of around fifty men marched most of the day and partly into the night. Aside from the few words that were exchanged earlier, she was pretty much ignored the whole time. She tried to speak with some of the men that were marching in close proximity to her, but they didn't speak back. They continued to march on, acting like she wasn’t even there. When they finally stopped for the night, the men went to work putting up tents and building fires. Alex was left alone, still tied to the makeshift cot she was being carried on, in one corner of the small camp. She shivered as the chill in the air bit through the thin fabric of her pajamas. A light blanket had been given to her, but it didn't help much. Her stomach churned with a mixture of hunger and anxiety. She wasn’t aware of it, but all the men in the camp could smell the fear in her aura.
Once everyone was settled, pots of food cooking over the open campfires, Tavi made his way over to Alex with a bowl of stewed meat chunks and a crude gravy paste. He stood over her, studying her for a few moments before untying her hands and handing her the bowl. Alex gazed helplessly back up at him, wondering what his intentions were for her, wondering how long he would keep her captive like this. As she began to eat the food, Tavi sat cross-legged on the hard ground in front of her. His movements were so fast that she hadn’t even registered him moving until he was already sitting.
“What are you?” Tavi asked, his voice much softer than it had been before. The girl’s scent was strange, like nothing he had ever encountered before. She had an even stranger aura. He inhaled deeply. Her scent was almost intoxicating. Tavi found himself growing slightly uncomfortable at the intensity of her aura.
“I don’t understand,” she said, shaking her head helplessly, her eyes misting over. “What do you want with me?”
Tavi leaned forward a bit. “I want you to give me some answers,” he said coldly. The girl’s aura betrayed her rising fear, the heady stench hanging in the air.
“I’m…human,” she said, hoping that was the answer he was looking for. She didn't know what else to say to him. “American,” she stuttered as an afterthought.
Tavi stared calmly back at her, but internally his mind raced. Humans were a myth. At least he had always thought they were. He had no idea what an American was, but he assumed she was referring to her kingdom.
Tavi studied the girl’s features more closely. He noticed she had rounded ears, and short, blunt nails. Intense green irises surrounded a rounded black pupil. He didn't know what humans were supposed to look like, but given the girl's strangeness he was inclined to believe that she was one.
“Where am I?” Alex asked, breaking into Tavi’s thoughts. Her voice shook a little with fright, but she did a good job of keeping it from her face. Tavi could admire that.
“You are in Devas,” he said, his voice losing some of its edge, “My people have tales of humans, but I have never seen one. I did not believe they truly existed.”
“What are you?” Alex asked, even though she feared learning the answer to that question. She half expected him not to answer at all.
“I'm a demon,” he said, a twinkle in his eye that unnerved Alex and sent a shiver down her spine. He stood up and hovered over her for just a moment. “You are in the land of demons, girl, and I'm going to bring you to Lord Balthazar.”