Warrior Demoness

CHAPTER 1

SHE HAD volunteered for the assignment, just as she had done all of her life. The consummate warrior, death wasn't a stranger to her or to be feared. How does one fear that which will never happen? Once she had commanded fifty legions for her liege. During the Great Battle, she had lost many demons and minions to the Twin's brigades and never completely recovered from it, perhaps because she never knew where they went when they disappeared. Demons didn't die; at least, that was what she believed.

The Underlord had been grateful for her efforts but was reluctant to release her from her oath of loyalty. Good commanders, who weren't overly ambitious, were hard to find in the Underworld. Had it not been for the intervention of his wife, Lilith, Sabnock suspected she would still be leading his legions and that would have bored her to death. Even though Dis maintained a strong force, there were no more great battles left to fight. The feud between the Underlord and his Twin had become more civilized. Neither of them seemed to take much of an interest in mankind nowadays. Each left the fate of humans to their own devices or to the mischief of the two immortals' subjects. For that, Sabnock was grateful. Being short-sighted, demons and angels tended to focus more on individuals than humanity as a whole. It gave her plenty of opportunities to keep her skills honed and her sanity intact.

*  *  *

"Sabnock! Get your head out of your ass and get over here!"

Sabnock smirked. Sgt. Wilkins could be such an asshole but he was proficient at his job and a good leader.

"Yes, Sergeant!" she yelled back.

Throwing her rifle over her left shoulder, she loped gracefully over to his position and saluted.

"Reporting as ordered," she declared, knowing her actions would aggravate him.

"How many times have I told you not to salute enlisted men, corporal? Didn't you learn anything in basic?"

"No sir, Sergeant, sir! That's why I'm still a corporal, sir," she bellowed, standing at attention.

Shaking his head, Wilkins didn't know if she was serious or pulling his leg. One moment she seemed totally incompetent and the next almost brilliant. There was definitely something about her that he couldn't quite figure out, but as long as she did her job, he had no complaints; and Sabnock always did her job when it came to the important matters. Had she shown some ambition, she would have made sergeant a long time ago.  It was almost as if she was intentionally sabotaging her chances to rise in rank.

"The C.O. wants someone to check out a small settlement ten clicks to the south. Intelligence says there are several insurgents stashing weapons and explosives in one of the homes."

"And how are we supposed to locate these insurgents, Sarge?" Sabnock asked. It was the right question to ask even though the corporal knew she had the ability to find them if she wanted to. Such were the powers of a demoness when she chose to use them. She had decided not to in order to live a more human existence. Sabnock wanted to experience their feelings and emotions as much as was demonly possible. It was the only thing that gave meaning to her life now.

"That's your problem, Sabnock. The C.O. doesn't want questions. Only results. He knows you've been doing this long enough to get the job done right. Why you keep pissing him off so much is beyond me, but that's your business. Now, get a move on it."

"Yes, sir."

Saluting, she pivoted in true military form and trotted off to see who would volunteer for the mission. She knew most of the troops were gung-ho so it wouldn't be hard to get a dozen soldiers to accompany her. Everyone who knew her believed she had some magic charm that would keep them safe. Sabnock could have. She chose not to. Still, it was interesting watching everyone around her behave confidently, especially knowing that belief was the real reason for their luck.

"Hey Sabby!" yelled a deep voice as she approached the brown camouflaged tents scattered near a partially destroyed building. The area had been secured three weeks earlier. Now, except for the occasional trusted villager wandering by, no one came within a quarter mile of the encampment without being checked. Security had to be tight to protect the troops.

A tall, lanky soldier with sandy blond hair waved at her. Sabnock smiled. Lanny's voice didn't fit his looks. Baritones were supposed to be big stocky men, not scrawny boys like him. He was a good soldier, though, and had a nice personality.

"Sarge wants us to check a village nearby. There have been reports of insurgents in the area."

"Now? We just got back from a field op."

"That was eight hours ago. Plenty of time to have rested."

"For you, maybe, but the rest of us need more than a few hours to recoup," Lanny grumbled.

"Well, the Sarge didn't say when we have to leave so tell the guys to get a couple more hours of sleep and report to me at 1300 hours. I'll go ahead and requisition the supplies we'll need. I imagine we'll be away for a few days."

"Thanks, Sabby."

Sabnock knew her buddies were exhausted from a two week stint in the foothills near Sarhadd, a small village in the Wakhan Corridor of the country. Because of its proximity to Pakistan and China and the rugged terrain, it was the perfect location for insurgents to pass unnoticed between Afghanistan and the adjacent countries. Sabnock and her unit had been in the area for eight months, trying to eliminate the resistance. During that time she had sustained several injuries, but nothing serious enough to cause her to be transitioned out. Unfortunately, three of her comrades had been killed, something she regretted deeply, knowing she could have prevented the loss had she chosen to use her skills as a demon. Her decision not to intervene, however, was not a real problem. In order to understand humanity, she had to play the part the best she could. That meant letting fate have its way no matter how painful the consequences.

Shaking her head, she tried to push the troubling memories aside. Reminiscing was always painful, but it kept everything in perspective — or at least helped, in a perverted sort of way. One memory in particular would haunt her forever. It was the worst decision she had ever made in her many lives.

Walking over to a stack of crates, she slid down to the ground and rested her forearms on her bent knees. The sun beat mercilessly down on everything, causing everyone but the guards to stay in their tents. Sabnock loved these moments. It was the only time everything seemed to stop and it reminded her of home, a place she hadn't returned to in several hundred years. There was nothing or no one in the Underworld waiting for her. She had been a loner for as long as she could remember, but once... once. Burying her head in her hands, she closed her eyes and let her thoughts wander back to a time when she had been loved: not as a demon by a demon but as a human by another.