Chapter 2: Some Things Change…

Leah lay sleeping on the comfy bed in her room, enjoying a relaxed early morning. The first rays of dawn filtered in through the open window, and Leah groggily raised her hand to shield her eyes from the unwelcome awakening. She sleepily opened her eyes, only to jolt awake at the sight of a crimson red, clawed hand in front of her face. She sat up suddenly, frantically looking around for the danger… only for her to face-palm at her own stupidity a second later.

Good job Leah, you almost gave yourself a heart attack.

She looked down at herself. "Shit…" She cursed under her breath. She must have shifted in her sleep.

She reluctantly got up out of bed to look in the standing mirror, sighing at the creature looking back at her.

She tried to part her hair in a way that it didn't sit oddly on her horns. Yes, her horns. The ones that stuck up and sideways out of her forehead and then turned backwards. She eventually gave up. Fussing with her hair had never helped before, and it certainly didn't today.

She had been lucky, her face was relatively unmarred, save for the reddish glow to her eyes. Shifting her gaze down, she touched the wicked spikes jutting out of her shoulders, they looked like some sort of Goth spaulders. As if they belonged to some strange set of armour worn by a knight who wanted to look cool more than he wanted to be functional.

Feeling an itch, she scratched her back. Her skin from her chin down was reddish and leathery, and what looked to be some sort of exoskeleton ribcage covered her midsection. Luckily or unluckily, she hadn't decided yet, her bosom, while covered in the same skin as the rest of her, was relatively unchanged. And a real pain to fit in a bra. She thought to herself as her tail swished back and forth in agitation.

Yes, she now had a tail, and it didn't help that it had sharp barbs running down it. They stuck into anything softer than stone, including beds, chairs, tables, clothes, it was a nightmare. At least it had been before she had mastered turning back to normal. Or was this her normal self? The verdict was out on that too.

She shifted her weight from foot to foot, bouncing a little on the floor. Her legs were covered in nasty-looking spikes that jutted out and upwards, but they still had a distinctly feminine shape to them. Not that it really mattered, they were still demon's legs.

Finally, that left her feet, thankfully not hooved, but still clawed like her hands.

She stood up to her full height. About a foot taller than when she was human, but not nearly the size of just about every other demon.

The resemblance to her father Diablo was unmistakeable, and she hated it. Only a year ago she had fought alongside her friends to bring an end to the Lord of Terror's evil. So it's just her luck that she had ended up as a twisted mockery of herself in his image.

Leah looked herself over, once, twice. The same routine that she did every time, trying to adjust to her demonic visage. She tried a smile in the mirror, and it looked genuine enough, if the glowing eyes didn't put you off. Letting out a frustrated groan, she shoved the mirror against the wall with a thud. Her claws left deep gashes in the wooden frame. "Damnit!" she cursed aloud.

She sat down heavily on her bed. She didn't ask for this. She didn't want it. Every day she had hoped to wake up and find everything back to normal. That Uncle Deckard would calm her and tell her stories of the old horadrim to cheer her up. That she could just lose herself in old tomes in some dusty library and forget that the outside world existed. Instead, every single day, she woke up to the reminder that nothing would ever be normal. Not for her.

A tear slid down her cheek. Uncle. The memory of her loving guardian of many years brought a fresh wave of grief. It had only been a year since she had lost him, but so much had changed. Pulling her legs up to her chest and hugging her frame, she cried silently for the things she had lost.

She suddenly felt something against her side, and turned to find her cat purring and rubbing up against her. The feline was half trying to cheer her up and half scratching himself on her spiky exterior. She let out a sigh and picked up the grey tabby cat gently in her hands. "You're not afraid of anything are you Mr Snugglesworth?" She asked, holding the cat at arm's length. Mr Snugglesworth let out a small affirmative meow as if he understood her. She put him back down on the bed, where he continued to rub up against her and purr.

A sudden knocking on Leah's door startled her, and the cat jumped off and hid under the bed. A familiar female voice filled with concern came from the outside. "Leah, are you alright? I heard a loud thud." Valla must have heard her shove the mirror!

"Uh, don't come in! I'm fine Valla. I'm just changing and I um, accidentally bumped the mirror into the wall." She lied. Thankfully, her voice was still her normal voice, no matter what she looked like.

Valla obliged with her friend's request. "Ok but I will warn you, I feel an unease, as if a demonic presence is near. Please be vigilant my friend." With the sounds of receding footsteps, the huntress left.

Leah sighed in relief, but Valla's ability to sense demonic presence had almost gotten her into trouble. She quickly changed into her day clothes and into her normal guise in case she had any other unexpected visitors.

She looked in the mirror once more. The Leah everyone knew and loved stared back at her. She looked tired. Heck she was tired. She had been up most of the night worrying about what to tell her friends, and what little sleep she did get was plagued by nightmares of a monster stalking her in the forest. A vision? Or just another dream? She would probably ponder it later, but she currently had more immediate matters to attend to.

She had decided last night that she had to tell her friends the truth. Trust went two ways, and if she expected them to trust her, then she had to trust them in kind. After all, they already knew that she was the spawn of Diablo, maybe the new demonic form wouldn't be that big of a surprise to them?

Or they could shoot me on sight and burn my remains… She started worrying all over again. No, they will understand. You just have to be honest and non-threatening. She thought back to her attempt at a smile in the mirror just a few minutes earlier. Yeah right, non-threatening. Ha-ha. With a sigh, she collected herself and prayed to whatever deity lived in the heavens that wasn't Imperious that things would go well that day.

With her wake up routine finally finished, Leah left to get her inn up and running, and hopefully not screw up the friendships that mattered most to her.


The main room was empty besides the three. The mercenaries from the night before were likely hungover from their celebrations, and the local patrons rarely boarded overnight.

Leah entered the room from the staircase to the second level. She saw Valla and Kormac sitting at the bar speaking in hushed voices. They looked concerned.

The last step made a creak as Leah put her weight on it, causing her friends to snap their attention towards her. "Ah there she is. Our lovely host. You wouldn't happen to have anything that could pass for a breakfast would you?" Kormac gave her a warm smile. Valla, tried for a smile as well, but the worry still showed.

Leah relaxed a bit. "Of course. I hope you don't mind oatmeal." She replied cheerily.

Kormac let out a guffaw. "The breakfast of champions. Sticks to your stomach. I think I speak for the both of us when I say it would be splendid."

Valla nodded her approval as well. "Thank you Leah."

Leah went to the kitchen for a few minutes and returned with three large bowls of oatmeal.

"So," Leah began, "What brings you guys to my lovely inn in the middle of nowhere?"

Valla swallowed a spoonful of oatmeal before replying. "We have been hired by the local authority to help the people of this town, as there have been reports of a powerful demon hiding in this part of the countryside." She looked her friend in the eyes, very serious. "It is our job to find this demon, and kill it."

Leah gulped nervously. No, they couldn't possibly be looking for her. She hadn't done anything wrong! Sure, one time she had run out of tinder and had to light the hearth with hellfire, but that didn't hurt anyone. Or maybe it was the time that she scared away a huge bear that had gotten into the cellar one day by growling at it. No wait, it had to be the time that she accidentally stumbled onto a bandit camp when exploring the woods nearby. She hadn't killed anyone, but there was a new charred clearing where the camp had been, and she was sure as hell that the bandits were never coming back.

Wait wait wait. Don't get ahead of yourself. None of those things count as terrorizing the locals.

"So, this demon," She queried, "What has it done exactly?"

Kormac took the opportunity to speak. "We have reports of people disappearing suddenly. Some of the farmers report that large footprints are found at each of the victim's house, among signs of a struggle."

Valla took over the explanation. "We visited some of the houses already. I could feel the dark corruption on every one of them, but every one of them had a cold trail. It had been too long since the attacks, so whatever residual essence had once been there was long gone."

Leah thought over this new revelation. It sure sounded troubling, and it was true that some people had gone missing as of late, but she hadn't really considered that it could have been a demon at work. "So what are you guys planning on doing?" She asked.

Valla was the one to answer "Today we are going to scour the surrounding woods again in search of any signs of demonic presence that could lead us to its lair."

Kormac wanted to add his two cents. "We hope that if we manage to find the beast soon, some of the missing townsfolk could still be alive. Some demons like to play with their prey before devouring it."

Leah was still lost in thought over the new information when Valla decided to switch topics again. "So Leah, now I get to ask the questions. Last night you promised us an explanation as to how you survived demonic possession by the Lord of Terror himself." The huntress asked expectantly. Kormac leaned in closer too.

Leah suddenly felt very self-conscious. A few minutes ago she had been prepared to tell them everything, but now, with this new revelation, she was afraid that she might implicate herself as a suspect in the attacks. She tried desperately to think of a way out of the conversation.

"Okay, where do I start?" Her mind raced, "So, Diablo possessed me. You all know that." Leah shuddered at the thought. "It was terrible. I was a prisoner in my own body, no control over it, yet I could feel all the terrible things he did using me." Another shiver passed through her as the memories of the war in Heaven came back to her. "You know most of it. Fighting Imperious, leading a demon army to the High Heavens, and so on."

She tried to rush through the next part, not wanting to dwell on it any longer than necessary. "All I could do was watch… And when you came? I prepared for the end. I knew you had to defeat Diablo, no matter the cost." Leah took a deep breath, remembering the anguish she had felt during that battle. "The angels cast Diablo from the heavens when you were done with him. As he, or we, I honestly don't know, fell through the sky, all I could feel was fire. I felt Diablo leave me then. To where I have no idea. But at that moment, I thought I would die. I was prepared to die… I almost wished I had died."

All that Leah had said so far was true, but now she had to skirt around some details. She paused, trying to decide what to share next. "Only, I lived"

"I managed to survive, miraculously. I was badly hurt, but something must have been looking down upon me with mercy. All I got was this." She motioned to the scar on her left cheek. "I found myself far away from home, and with no way to contact you guys. By the time I got to a town, Malthael and his corrupt angels invaded and I bought this inn for real cheap as a way to house refugees. After all was said and done, I just kept it." She sighed tiredly, "I'm sorry for leaving you guys, but I think I'm more trouble than I'm worth."

She didn't tell them that she was pretty sure that it was only her blossoming demonic strength that had saved her from the fall from the heavens. That her shame over her actions, done under the influence of a Diablo or not, weighed heavily on her. That her hideous form made her feel revolted. Of the time and effort it took her to get her demonic powers under control so that she wasn't a threat to anyone. Those things she didn't feel safe sharing, for fear of her friends and how they would react.

Kormac looked sympathetic, and so did Valla to an extent, but judging by the look on the demon hunter's face, she knew that Leah was withholding information. Damn, it is impossible to get anything by her isn't it?

However, Valla seemed to decide that it wasn't worth prying over at that moment. "Thank you for sharing Leah. I can see how hard this is for you. Just know that we are here for you, anytime you need us." Valla tried to reassure her friend and gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder. Leah tensed under her touch, afraid that Valla might feel the demon lying under her skin from the contact. Her fears were unfounded however, as Valla didn't show any sign of unease.

Kormac wanted to ask some questions too. "So Leah." He started, but then looked around the room to make sure they were alone. "Last we saw you, we had all just found out a pretty important revelation. So tell us…" He lowered his voice further. "Any more emerging, err… magic as of late?"

Leah was afraid of his question at first. They all knew her magic stemmed from her demonic lineage, but Kormac didn't seem threatening, just curious. Valla too, looked more interested than anything else. Leah was relieved that they didn't despise her for it, at least not now. Still, they just thought that she had a little demonic magic at her disposal, they didn't know the half of it.

"A bit" She admitted, confirming their suspicions. She took the opportunity to show off a little parlour trick she had been practicing for fun. Raising her hand in front of her, she summoned red hellfire in her palm, the flames dancing across her fingers. Valla and Kormac looked impressed, and she gave them a sheepish smile. "I've been practicing. Getting a hold on it. No more explosive episodes for me."

Valla looked relieved. "That is great to hear Leah. I'm proud of you."

Kormac gave Leah a hard pat on the back. "Amazing! Have you ever thought of becoming a sorceress?" Leah shot him a disapproving look and he laughed. "I jest, I jest. But it is good to know that your, uh, questionable heritage no longer rules you as it once did." He tried his best to not insult his friend, but she knew what he meant. She had demon blood. Tainted blood. And more than that. Still, it was a start.


The three were finishing their breakfast when the mercenaries finally came down from their rooms. After an hour and a good meal for them, the mercenaries left with a thank you and a large tip, stating that should they ever pass thought the area again, she could expect their business.

Leah looked at the mid-morning sun filtering through the window of her inn, and a concerned look passed over her features. Valla noticed her friend's expression. "What is it Leah?"

"It's just Jason, my hired help, is usually here by now. That man is never late." She lowered her gaze. "This is so unlike him."

Kormac, overhearing the conversation, decided to chip in. "Well, seeing as you do not have any other customers right now, why don't we check on him? I'm sure I would love to meet this fellow." He offered eagerly.

Leah thought about it for a moment. She was usually unwilling to leave the inn unattended, but she also was really worried for her friend. "Ok, let me lock up and we'll go check his house. He doesn't live far."

Leah started the process of locking the place down, and on her way out of her bedroom, she noticed her old bow, unstrung in the corner. She hadn't had to use the weapon since she opened the inn.

She looked at it for a moment, debating taking it or not, before stringing it and putting a fresh quiver of arrows on her back. Hopefully she wouldn't need it, but if she and her friends were attacked, she sure as hell would not be using her claws.

Leah descended the stairs only to find her friends already suited up and waiting for her. Just like old times. "Ok, I'm ready." She took a deep breath. "Let's go."