Prologue

Normally jobs weren't this easy.

I guess I shouldn't complain, I thought to myself as I scaled the wire fence carefully. I blew a strand of raven black hair from my face as the moonlight glinted off the sheen line of sweat on my brow.

This fence was unusually high for a residential estate, but still nothing compared to the wall I had just traversed through minutes before. The "Wall" being the one built ten years ago in order to keep the humans, like me, out of demon territory. It still made my blood boil with anger every time I thought about it; how the demons lived lavish lifestyles on this side of the Wall while the humans starved and suffered on the other side. Crossing the Wall was a big no-no for humans, but luckily that was of little importance to professionals like me. Those damn demons still hadn't discovered the tunnel I dug years ago that was now my daily ticket to Demonland. Things had changed drastically for humans since The Revolt.

Which is why I wasn't going to feel an ounce of guilt for this demon I was about to steal from.

Kagome Higurashi, World's Greatest Thief, at your service.

I couldn't suppress the tiny grunt as I pulled my upper body over the top of the fence, but luckily the estate was pitch black; either the demons were resting or off doing…I don't know, demon shit. I preferred not to think about what those heathens did in their free time. Lifting my right knee to meet the fence, I pushed the rest of myself over in a single leap and landed on the soft grass below. Still no movement from inside the house…that was a good sign. I had assumed that this place would be more heavily guarded, considering the type of, ahem, establishment it was. My eyes scanned over the enormous garden just to the left, and immediately my sense of smell was assaulted by a strong earthy fragrance.

Yep, this was definitely an illegal plant patch.

Hey, they may be heathens, but they still have rules too. And growing a plant like this, the Night Swell to be exact, was used to sedate injured patients, and in large enough doses, could even kill humans and demons alike. They were supposed to be regulated by infirmaries only, but that didn't stop others from using them for recreational purposes. I had half a mind to report this demon scumbag, but then stopped myself short and released a breathy laugh. Like demon authorities would listen to a little ol' human like me. Who wasn't supposed to be across the fence in the first place.

I dug out a strip of cloth from my satchel and held it in front of my nose, as the scent was already making me dizzy. I had to hurry. I dashed to the nearest stalk and tore at the stem with my bare hands. The purple flowers tickled the side of my arm as I uprooted them from the ground. Damn, these things were tall. I stuffed three gigantic stalks into my satchel, hoping it would be enough. As I adjusted the strap on my shoulder, a giant flame erupted on the inside of the window.

Ah, a fire demon. Wonderful.

"Who's there?" A deep voice bellowed with rage. I must have woken cranky-pants from his sleep.

My pulse quickened as I dared a look over my shoulder. I had my bow and arrow with me if this came to a fight, and the demon still hadn't noticed me yet through the tall stalks, so I had the element of surprise on my side. My hand twitched in anticipation of grabbing the bow when a ball of flame shot out through the now open window. It singed a path of earth a few inches to my right, barely missing me. It took everything I had to hold back the surprised shout from my mouth.

Aw HELL no.

I dashed back towards the fence and clambered up the chains as fast as I could, my knuckles turning white from the intense grip. Another ball of flame shot out and the demon roared its fury.

"There you are, little fly," it said to me in disgust, "I'll squash you!"

I couldn't risk a look behind me to see the demon's form, but I could tell it was huge just from the rumble of footsteps as it clambered to reach me. The air smelled like burnt coals and made my eyes water, but I focused on the task at hand. I couldn't die here. Not now.

Distracted by fear, I didn't notice that the demon had breathed its fire onto the fence and the temperature warmed immediately. The metal pulsed orange with heat and as I gripped the chains, a searing pain shot through my hands. I cried out and almost lost my grip.

"That's it," the demon cackled with joy at causing me pain, "release it now or burn your puny hands off."

I grunted, tears streaming down my cheeks, but kept climbing.

The demon snorted. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy reporting you to The Clan. They should know about this cunning little human thief."

"Not tonight, asshole."

At that point, I reached the top of the fence and swung my legs over the side to straddle the top. Luckily, the flame hadn't reached this high and the metal wasn't scorching hot on my butt. I swiftly pulled the bow from around my back and notched an arrow. It sailed true to its mark and struck the demon right in the chest. Green sluggish liquid oozed from the wound as the demon glanced down at it in shock. Now that I had a chance to see him, I noticed that he was basically the equivalent of a massive mound of snot. Gross. It roared in pain and struggled to take the arrow out of its flesh, to no avail. It was a special kind of arrow, designed to stay put inside a target until it bled to death.

The perks of knowing an alchemist.

I jumped down off from the fence with more steadiness than I felt. My hands were blistered and pulsing with pain, but I stayed to watch the demon take its last breath.

Once upon a time, I would have felt bad for it.

Once upon a time, humans and demons got along.

I shook my head and started for home.

Once upon a time, my parents had been alive until they were murdered by demons.