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Seriously? How many people does a girl have to kill to get the right reputation around here?"

Standing amidst the heaps of corpses, all of whom had dared to attack *my* home in the name of some made-up fucking hellgod, I wiped the worst of the gore off my talons, blade long ago lost in the twilight struggle.

You'd think the wings would give it away, but noooo. "Do you see any white feathers behind me?" I'd asked, trying to get these imbeciles to realize I was actually on their team. "Any halo? No, you don't!"

They hadn't listened of course, and had made to attack the small tavern I'd made my home these last few years, on their way to some awful bloody struggle or another. Some arrogant pricks thinking the whole world was theirs, and they could take whatever they pleased along the way.

Well, I supposed*, they're not going to be taking anything else.*

I waved the kids back inside, frowning at what was bring tracked onto my just-swept floorboards. It'd take at least a week to get that out, and probably more if I didn't want to replace at least a few pieces. Granted, the outside of the tavern looked pretty beaten up too, with more than a few shattered windows, but that was the least of my troubles.

How was I going to clean up this mess?

Finishing off one of the few still crying amongst the field, I saw a well-armored man raise his visor and look in my direction. The mayor. Not that I could have mistaken him for anyone else, what with that battered plate he still insisted on wearing, ridiculous black crown and all.

"I really hope this is the last time", he commented. "I hate having to do this every couple years, even if they do bring it upon themselves." He sighed. "Attacking a demon, her kids, and her friends? What a stupid fucking way to die."

I chuckled. It had taken a few years for the locals to realize I wasn't going to... I don't know, eat their souls or something? I still wasn't clear on that one.

Mostly, I just wanted a safe place to raise my kids, and given the wide variety in demonic children, scaled, fuzzy, and everything in between, I really had my hands full. Even had to ward the inn to protect it against the fire-breathers, though I guess that had come in handy when the mages cut loose a few hours ago.

Funny thing was, the locals respected me, and even took care of my kids on occasion. Oh, there were a few that their own mages, trained by yours truly of course, could barely handle, but that always made for the best stories. Good thing some of the others were pretty proficient in healing, though... else, some of those would have ended badly.

I sighed. "Yeah, me too. I don't mind a good brawl now and then, but this entire mobilized army stuff needs to stop. One of you is bound to get hurt one of these days."

He shrugged. "Our town, and we're not going anywhere. And they don't get a say in who's welcome here, neither." Wincing slightly, he continued, "though I do have to say it's terrifying when you really... cut loose."

I laughed, eyes blazing in the night. I still remembered how glorious it felt for my viciously sharp hands to glide through plate and flesh like it was hot tallow. "Sometimes a girl has to have a little fun, you know?"

He paled at that, making a holy symbol with his free hand before he even thought about what he was doing. I just quirked an eyebrow, laughing yet again. As though that would do squat against me.

"Still, I continued, I can't quite get why they seem to think I'm an angel of all things. It's bad enough the Holy armies come at us from the other side, but at least they can tell I'm a demon."

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Unheard by those below, the kids giggled from the upstairs window, releasing the glamour that had frustrated all attempts at diplomacy. "Woohoo, we got to stay up late!"

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Black wings furled behind me, I shook my head. Such a waste.