“Morning handsome” four sparkling eyes looked at Moggy. It was like looking into a nebula, they were mesmerising. 

“Get off me you creepy little shit” Moggy tried to struggle but found his limbs bound by rope. Pain rushed to his head as he recalled being hit by the brick. Looking around he realised he had been moved into his bedroom whilst unconscious. 

“Now now! You’ll mess your fur up. It already took me ages to get all the blood out.” He poked his tongue out as to imply he’d cleaned Moggy with it. “Sorry about that by the way. I didn’t think so much would come out. It was like whooshing out like crazy!!” He leant up and made whooshing and explosion noises and flung his hooves in the air in a cute yet autistic way.

“What’s your plan? Where’s the piece??” Moggy struggled again, trying to kick out.

“Oh! I buried it miles away. You’ll never find it.” 

It was difficult to really understand what the demon looked like. A goat maybe, Moggy thought to himself. It would sort of shimmer around the edge of Moggy’s perspective, like he wasn’t really there, yet he could feel his weight pressing down on him. The demon was petite with wide feminine hips and long hair. He had four horns roughly six inches each, with white fangs and little bat-like wings. He was lovely and made Moggy’s heart race.

The demon leant back down, holding onto Moggy’s paws firmly. He kissed Moggy passionately on the lips and hissed gently. Moggy struggled at first but eased into it. It’d been a long time since he'd been kissed. The demon introduced tongue and worked it around Moggy’s who soon returned with equal effort. He closed his eyes and embraced the situation, his heart beat increasing. 

The demon pulled back and smiled down at the wizard cat. 

“What is this?” Moggy asked.

“Maybe it’s just some fun… maybe it’s all part of the plan!” the demon cheekily teased. 

“What do I call you?”

“Saraka, and you’re Moggy O’Brien”. 

“How’d you know?”

“It’s written on your underwear” 

Moggy blushed before Saraka leaned back in for another kiss. Suddenly with a quick blast of fire magic Moggy released himself from his bounds. He slashed at the demon with his claws and hissed before casting a portal and making his escape. Saraka looked sad whilst he held his face that was now bleeding purple, he then melted through the fabric of the bedsheets into the shadows.

Moggy emerged through the other end of the portal just by his horse, whom he quickly mounted and sped in the direction he could sense the brick. It was a vague feeling, but he certainly felt something in a north eastern direction of the tower, about six miles away. After he could collect his thoughts he felt a surge of worry at leaving the tower unattended. Could this have been Saraka’s plan all along, to draw him out and then summon an army of demons to attack the tower? He reassured himself though, the tower was still well defended despite letting one through. It’d take too much time for more of them to get inside, it was a priority to get the piece back and repair the tower quickly before any more damage could happen, which would make things easier for the demons to get inside.

The presence of the brick was getting stronger, Moggy was close by he could tell. He cast a light spell that made the nearby trees twinkle like Christmas trees. At the foot of an oak tree was a fresh patch of dirt. Moggy jumped off his horse and started digging the soft ground with his paws in desperation. Thankfully the piece was there, safe and intact, he lifted it up then noticed he wasn’t alone. He was surrounded by the horned creatures who were slowly advancing on him. Moggy summoned his wizard staff and hit the ground causing a rush of air to erupt past the demons, making them unsteady on their feet. He mumbled some enchantments and moved the staff in rhythms before pointing it at one of the demons who was blasted with a brilliant flash of sparkles in many shades of red and blue. The others stopped to reassess the situation before one of them melted into the ground then reappeared in an instant behind Moggy, karate chopping him in the back. Moggy fell forward but regained his footing and span round, smacking the demon’s head with a blast from his staff. Two others drew black knives that oozed an unpleasant thick liquid. They tried to stab Moggy through the neck but were quickly disarmed. Moggy’s competency at magic was on full show, keeping him a step ahead of whatever the nightmare creatures threw at him. Others hissed and bared their fangs, causing Moggy to laugh and return the gesture. Then his horse burst into flames, it let out a whinny of agony before it’s flesh fully burnt away leaving behind a living skeleton. It’s eyes glowed a deep and shadowy purple before letting out a blood curdling shriek then rushed at Moggy, ploughing him over. He clambered back up and with great regret cast a spell that caused the bones of his once friend to jellify and wobble to the ground in a puddle of mush. Suddenly hundreds of decaying hands burst out of the ground and grabbed Moggy’s feet causing him to fall and drop the piece of the tower. Then an intense flutter of three eyed bat creatures rushed around Moggy making it difficult for him to see his attackers. The demons landed a few hits before Moggy was able to burn the bats away and return some blows. He wiped some sweat from his forehead then proclaimed “Is that all you’ve got?”.

A larger demon, with huge horns stepped forward and glared down at Moggy.

“Oh, don’t you worry, cat boy. We’ve got plenty more surprises for you” 

At that moment the sun started to rise. The demons groaned and complained before vanishing one by one. The large demon threw a punch at Moggy but dissipated mere inches before making contact with his face.

Moggy collected the brick then made the track back to the tower. He managed to cast a portal to get him somewhat closer but after the fight he was too exhausted to manage it all the way back, he had to walk the remaining distance. Confusingly his horse was there, tied up outside the stable, perfectly fine and not turned into skeleton jelly. It was a relief for sure, but it left Moggy with unease, causing him to doubt the evening's events. Was he just dreaming again? No, he was certain it was real. Once in the tower he grabbed a cup of water and gulped it down before plopping himself into bed. He set his alarm for 11am, a few hours was better than nothing. He knew he needed to give himself time before nightfall to figure out how to properly repair the tower by returning the brick and blocking the hole up. He relaxed and stretched out in bed before feeling a familiar chilly body once again, he rolled on his side and saw Saraka smiling back at him, who had a plaster on his face where Moggy had scratched him earlier.

“How about we try again without me tying you up and you keeping those claws away till later?” 

Moggy sighed then kissed Saraka whilst bringing his body into an embrace before the pair fell asleep together.

Originally posted in issue 7 of my webzine!