Tanin shook his head wildly, swallowing down his disgust. He flew on, pity roiling his belly, leaving the creatures behind upon the path. Soon their wails faded, but as he flew, Tanin's heart wouldn't unwind, and his chest felt so tight he could barely breathe. Had those things been demons, animals, or . . . humans?

Please . . . kill us . . .

An image shot through his mind: his family twisted into creatures too, wailing upon a ruined path, begging him for death he would not grant them. In his vision, Issari pleaded among them. She had the same delicate, beautiful face, her skin olive toned, her eyes green, her braid black, but her body was the body of a centipede, thrashing, pattering its feet, and—

No.

He snarled and flew on, banishing those visions. He looked at Issari again, soaking up the beauty of her glimmering scales, small horns, and long claws. She was beautiful and pure—both as a human and dragon. He vowed that he would never let her fall.

"How will we do this, Issari?" he asked. "How will we take over the throne, and how will we summon back the demons?"

Fire flickered between her teeth. "Eteer lies in ruin; its people hold my father no love. When I would walk through the city, saving those I could, I heard nothing but hatred for Raem. As he flies north, I will march into his palace. I will sit upon his throne. If his soldiers too mourn the destruction of their kingdom, they will obey me. And so will Angel."

Tanin shuddered to remember Angel, the Queen of Demons. "Does she fly with this army too, seeking Requiem?"

Eyes dark, Issari shook her head. "The Queen of Devilry remains in Eteer, sitting upon the throne until my father returns. She will serve whoever rules Eteer—my father now, me if I can claim the kingdom. It is her we must dethrone. It is her we must tame."

Belly knotting, Tanin looked down at Issari's front foot. The amulet of Taal was fused with the flesh, a remnant of Issari's battle with the Demon Queen. His own body still bore the scars of his last encounter with the demon.

So we will battle again, Angel. And this time we will tame you.

He had a thousand more questions, and he was about to ask them all, when he saw the village below.

Or at least, what was left of the village. The settlement lay within the dark path, as wilted and ruined as the land around it. Huts lay smashed. Globs of demon drool covered the fields. Bones and gobbets of flesh lay in the village square, the animal pen, and the fields, and demon dung steamed in piles. Tanin wanted to fly away, to keep following the path south to the sea, but when he heard the wail his heart froze.

This was no demon voice. A human was crying out below.