The woman stared in horror at the scene unfolding in front of her eyes. The black-winged demon did not move, yet just as each dark flame sprung to life and instantly disappeared around him, at least one of the other demons was destroyed. How could...this be...

Vine stopped and looked behind himself as there was a soft thud of something hitting the stone floor. Great, what timing for the girl to faint.

And the dream-eaters were still closing in.

"What does it take for you to give up?!" he snapped at them. A barrier of huge spikes rose from the floor between him and the creatures like called up by his words.

Vine swallowed. He was using too much power. With this rate he'd also end up as food.

Carefully but quickly he lifted the woman on his arms. The child took a few steps back and pulled the key he was holding closer to his chest.

Vine remained kneeling a bit longer. "Grab on or be left behind, kid. If I want your treasure, I can just come back later to take it from your remains."

The child made an...interesting expression, but jumped on his back between his wings, small arms wrapping around his neck. Vine hissed as he could feel the power in the key even through his clothes, but fought down the urge to dislodge his slight burden. No human deserved to be left at the mercy of those creatures.

The demon took to air and escaped through the broken window just in time before the dream-eaters broke through his makeshift barrier of spikes. Fortunately they could not fly.

Unfortunately, neither could he with this much weight to carry, not for any longer period of time. So instead of flying higher he dove under the cover of the trees as the clearing ended and let his wings disappear the moment his feet hit the ground running.

~*~*~

A good while later - and a good distance from the church - Vine left his companions to wait at the foot of one sturdy-looking tree and climbed up until he found a suitable branch at least 30 feet above ground. At his touch the surroundings wood bent and molded itself into a nice little hollow, barely large enough for three. Once that was done, he carried first the girl and then the kid up. So far so good. Apparently they had lost the dream-eaters for now.

With the two humans left in the shelter, Vine climbed even higher and when the branches ended, took to the sky. This might reveal his location, but if nothing was done, even the humid forest would burn to cinders.

A bright blue light pierced the darkening sky, like a pillar between heavens and earth. The next moment first raindrops fell, followed by dozens and then hundreds more.

He watched with satisfaction as the downpour washed over the jungle before descending back to the treetops. It was hard to fly in such a heavy rain even if the black feathers of his wings deflected most of the water hitting them. On his way down to the little hollow he picked a few fruits for his human companions.

The girl had finally woken up and tried to move back as Vine entered the shelter. There just wasn't much room to go anywhere.

The demon settled at the opposite wall and laid the fruits down on the floor between them. "I don't rape women or eat children, if that's what you are worried about. I don't particularly like violence." He grinned. "I even came to the service almost every time, just to listen to your singing."

She was eyeing both him and the fruits suspiciously. Vine just continued brushing his feathers dry the best he could with his bare hands. "Yes, I did kill those things back at the church. Would you have rather been eaten by them?"

Silence.

It was the kid who broke the standstill by grabbing one of the fruits and starting to eat it.

Vine chuckled. "At least someone has some sense in them."

The woman cautiously followed the kid's example, but still made sure that the demon stayed on the opposite side from them.

Vine watched as both humans ate and in the end the kid fell asleep with his head resting on the woman's legs. She gently moved him to lie on her lap.

Taking care of a lost child, like she was his mother...She was a kind soul, just like Vine had thought upon first seeing her. He studied them a bit longer. Nah, not possible. The kid had tanned skin and dark hair like the locals, whereas the woman was fair-skinned and blonde-haired. And although he looked very young, 4 years old at most, she had not been in the area that long.

"What's your name, girl?" he asked.

"Katherine."

"I see. I'll call you Kat. And the kid?"

"I don't know. He hasn't said a word since he came to the church."

"Hmph." Vine looked again at the child. He was still protecting the key like it was the most important thing in the world, even in his sleep.

"Um...What's your name?" Kat asked.

The demon smirked. "I'll leave that to you to figure out which fallen angel I am. But I go by Vine in this world."

"So you're really..."

"Yes, I was one of the rebels. Slipped to the world of man before god decided to lock us up in hell, though." He paused, frowning. Although demons could influence mortals through their dreams and desires to some degree, physically leaving hell had been impossible without considerable amount of divine power. Somehow he doubted that god would have done such a thing, so that only left the possibility that humans had found some way to break the seal. "And now someone has opened the door to the prison."

Kat gasped in horror. "Are all those creatures fallen angels?"

"Nah." Vine leaned back. "They occupied hell even before the rebellion. They feed on dreams first and if given a chance...on human - or angel - flesh. Quite single-minded vermin, nothing more. Only their numbers make them a threat."

And if they were the result of some earlier rebellion...he did not know neither wanted to. It was not a pleasant thought that his former comrades might also be reduced to...something like that.

"If you're not sleepy, keep watch and wake me if they draw near. They shouldn't be able to find us this high up, though." He squirmed a little until he found a relatively comfortable position - although he liked plants a lot, hard wood was not among his favorite sleeping spots - and closed his eyes.

"I...I didn't think angels or demons needed sleep."

Vine cracked one eye open. "I may be a fallen angel, but I'm not all-powerful. I've already used too much of my strength today. So kindly be quiet and let me rest." Then he closed his eyes again.

It was quiet for maybe a total of five minutes. Then Kat started...whimpering was probably the closest word.

"What is it now?"

"S-s-snake..."

The demon sighed and held out his hand to the reptile. It slithered straight to him and coiled around his forearm. "Nothing to be afraid of. No animal of natural world would harm me." Then he guided the snake to move to a branch above them and away from their little shelter. "You're also safe as long as you're with me."

Kat looked cautiously around herself as Vine resumed his attempts to sleep. Then she scooted to his side, carrying the child asleep on her lap along.

Vine smiled slightly and wrapped one wing around her. 'Lesser of two evils, is it...'