I had been wandering on the beach when I first saw him. He was a mountain of a man, but I sensed gentleness when he took me in his arms.

I also sensed a vast ocean of lonliness in his heart. He had lost someone dear to him.

He lay me down on the bed and got out a first aid kit.

I remembered my wounds. The world of demons was vast and everchanging. But humans remained the same. I had been hunted for sport, made to grant them luck and help them do ghastly things.

I used my abilities to sense the man's name. Domovoi Butler.

I opened my mouth to speak, then thought better of it. It was best if he thought me a common animal.

After gently dressing my wounds, he sat me on a pillow where I drifted off to sleep.

Xxx

Butler knew at once that she was not a normal fox. He had been with Artemis long enough to know a magical creature when he saw one.

It was his hope that when she recovered she would help him pluck Artemis out of space and time and return the boy to his home.

Perhaps she would do this if he cared for her for a while.

Butler wasn't used to having to ask for favors. He was a man of action, not diplomacy. A soldier.

But he felt surprisingly comforted when she rested her nose on his leg and slept.