Demon Queened Ch. 11

My goal was walnuts. By focusing my magic energy into four walls around me, and then slowly expanding those walls outward, I could detect all the walnuts in the area. Then, pulling the walls back, I pulled the walnuts out from the trees and up from the ground, causing them to fly through the air and roll across the earth to land at my feet.

The second part was even simpler than the first. I reached into my Empty Bag for a large pot and placed it on the ground. Then I used my magic to gather up clumps of walnuts and crush them, dumping them all into the pot. Once I had them all inside, I pulled some water from the humid night air and dumped it in the pot as well, using my magic to heat it to a boil and then lowering the temperature of my spell to bring it down to a simmer.

Staring at the pot and waiting for the dye to finish cooking proved a boring task. Sitting myself down on the ground, I reached again into my Empty Bag, pulling out a plate of fries that were still hot from the oven. I followed that up with a romance book and began to read while I ate.

When I judged that about an hour had passed, I put my book away, released my heat spell, and placed my hand on the ground. Taking hold of the earth beneath me with my magic, I dragged three walls of dirt and stone from the soil and enclosed the pot within them, making sure to leave gaps for airflow. That would be more than enough to keep the pot safe and still for an evening.

"And now it's my turn..." I shot another pulse of magic through the earth, forming three walls of earth beside my little pyramid, and then adding a roof. I walked through the opening and, with a wave of my hand, sent ripples through the 'floor' of my makeshift hut, smoothing out the ground into a solid, flat surface. Kneeling, I dug back into my Empty Bag and withdrew a rolled-up quilted mattress, which I unfurled on the ground. Since I seemed largely immune to the effects of heat and cold, I didn't need a blanket, just something soft to lie on for the night.

I was about to crawl inside and raise the final wall of my shelter, to close myself in for the night, when I heard a familiar voice calling out to me.

"Eena!? Eena, are you out here?"

"Lissera!?" I called back, not bothering to hide the shock in my voice. "What are you doing out here?"

The light of a lantern swung toward me, a familiar smile illuminated by its glow. "I brought you my blanket! I thought you might be cold? You can just drop it back off in the morning, so don't worry about that!"

"You should wrap it around yourself, instead. I barely feel the cold."

"...Oh. Well, maybe you could use it for padding, then? It must be hard sleeping on the cold ground."

"I brought plenty of padding with me," I informed her, trying to keep the irritation from my voice as I gestured to the quilted mattress behind me. She was worse than Abigail, honestly.

"...Oh," she repeated, nudging the toe of her shoe against the forest floor. "Well. Maybe you can take it anyway?"

"Why?" I demanded, unable to hold back an irritated huff. "Why is it so important that I take this blanket?" I pressed her, spreading my arms to make myself look just a bit more intimidating. Why was she so insistent? She would need it more than I ever would. She likely thought I couldn't see it in the dark, but she'd been shivering throughout the entire conversation.

"Because if I give you my blanket, you'll have to give it back."

"And what would be the point in that?" I sighed, resting my forehead atop my fingertips.

"It would let me know you're alright, for one thing! I know you're strong, Eena, but even you can't defend yourself if you're asleep! Lots of monsters come out at night, too. They don't bother us in town, but if you sleep out among them who knows what'll happen? I know I can't convince you to stay with me tonight, and... I know that's sort of my fault, but at least if you bring the blanket back, tomorrow, I'll know you survived the night! And I won't have to worry about what happened to you, even if you never visit again..."

I stared at Lissera for a long moment, before releasing a long sigh and dropping onto my mattress. "Get in."

"Huh?" Lissera's brow wrinkled in bewilderment. "What do you mean?"

"I meant exactly what I said. There are monsters out, are there not? And you are freezing, besides. We will cuddle under the blanket together tonight, and you will return home in the morning. That way neither of us will have to worry between now and my next visit."

"Really? You mean you'll visit again? And I even get to sleep with you!?"

"I'm starting to regret this already," I muttered, laying down upon my bed. It seemed I'd have to spend the night clothed. Sigh. "Just get in here already."

"Right away, Eena!" Lissera gleefully replied, throwing her blanket over my body before hunching over to crawl into my shelter herself

"That's not my real name, you know..."

"It isn't?" Lissera's mouth popped open in surprise. She didn't stop moving, though, rushing to get under the blanket and snuggle up against me.

"If you're this determined to entwine your life with mine, you might as well know. My name is Devilla. Devilla Satanne."

With those words, I closed the final opening of our shelter and settled down to sleep.