It wasn’t his fault, actually. It wasn’t the demon’s fault. I’ll give him that. When he ran into the party, somebody was chasing him.

Or something. “Uh…somebody…lend me a mask?”

I wasn’t sure a mask would help. “That’s my stray plus one,” I murmured to Kanesha.

“Do we help him or…?”

“I’ll probably get in trouble with the Old Man if we help him unless what’s chasing him is even worse.” Which I had a feeling it was. I shifted position, so the sword hung in a better position for drawing. I might need it.
Somebody did indeed toss the guy a spare mask. He put it on, and seemed to change appearance a fair bit.
Some kind of spell that needed a focus, I supposed. Martin ducked into the group of people in masks.
Right as a really big guy with a club came pounding in after him. It wasn’t a fire giant. I saw what others saw and the reality overlaid. “Okay. Maybe that’s worse.”

“If he says fee fi fo fum…” Kanesha quipped.

“I don’t think Martin’s English.”

The big guy paused, then, “Okay. Nobody has to get hurt here. Where is that slimy little…?”

“What do you want with him?” I stepped forward, aware that he likely knew who I was.

“Oh, come on. I just want to toss him back where he came from. We don’t have a quarrel here.”

“You’re ruining the party,” I informed the giant. Not a fire giant. What was he? He was ugly as sin, was what he was, but at least he wasn’t a demon. He didn’t have that emptiness. Instead, I felt a sense of nature and darkness, of a predator.

“You’re hiding him.”

“No. They are. Let’s not involve random people in this.” I didn’t say mortals. I wasn’t sure what they’d hear or remember. From the way Kanesha was holding her scythe, my guess had been right. She’d set it up to be perfectly usable as a weapon.

“Oh, fine.” Martin slid out of the group. “I’ll go. I’ll go already. Just leave the mortals out of it.”

Great. He had to use the m word. But the giant turned and left with Martin following.

“I haven’t seen the last of him,” I asided to Kanesha.

“No, you haven’t. He’ll go back through one door and come in through a different one. Or he’d never have surrendered.”

I knew she was right, but I also hoped I wouldn’t have to see him and deal with the confusing feelings for a while.