We head into the woods

"Alva?" I asked, pulling the Dryad along by her wrists. With my stomach full, the Exciser hadn't wanted to waste time putting a 'follow me' sort of command in the Dryad. Though the monster, back in their original state, didn't seem inclined to run, Alva hadn't wanted the risk. "Tell me something?"

"What?"

"You mentioned Church records a few times." I played idly with the end of the rope connected to my Dryad. "What do those records say about my kind?"

"They corrupt things." Alva didn't look back. "They are dangerous."

"There must be more."

"There is." Alva's shoulders slumped. She whispered something, I could barely hear it. "Don't just say the words, fool. Live them."

"Alva?"

"Incubi and succubi are the same thing; different words for the same kind of demon." Alva slowed and matched my pace. "They possess a certain aura that lures in people, they possess physical attributes that most would describe as attractive. They each have a high capacity for the magic arts, and their bodily fluids are an enchanted narcotic. These are things you know. They are an upper-middle class demon."

"You called me a Cambion."

"Blanket term for any half-hybrid with demonic blood, similar to how monster-bloodeds are classified as Changelings." Alva explained, pulling her hood down. "Cambions tend to possess power-sets similar or identical to their parent, often with complications deriving from their human nature. The way your body wastes away, or recovers once you eat, is testament to that nature."

"Well, isn't that fucking great."

"Demons aren't strictly physical beings, they are something summoned. They fade away without magic, but you have a body where life and magic are one. It complicates things." Alva looked at me. "You call us Church Knives, and that is true enough; those with the gifts of an Exorcist or a Healer are rare. Often the only practical solution to these sorts of problems is to remove it. You, for example, could only be killed or recruited, your innate demonic powers can't be sealed or removed without ending you."

I mulled that over for a moment, feeling a spark of rage towards my absent mother. The succubus who ruined my life in the act of creating it. "So, there isn't much else I can do?"

"Your powers are simple." Alva agreed. Then she fixed me with a stare that froze my fucking blood. "Simplicity is power."

I wiped the fear from my face, hoping that nothing of it had showed. I looked back at my Dryad, who'd come up close and hugged my arm. "Magic. What about that?"

"Complicated."

"Alva."

"This isn't a lack of trust," She narrowed her eyes at the Dryad. "I don't know much about it; the only spell I know is 'Mana Bursting'. Most of my abilities are gifts from the Goddess. As a Cambion, you won't be able to use them."

"Why the fuck not?" I had an idea, but I didn't like being pushed.

"Miracles use your body as a medium for the Grace of the Goddess. Are you familiar with the term 'Anathema'?"

"Familiar enough." I shrugged. "****?"

"Yes."

The woods grew more dense and I became aware of a niggling sensation between my shoulder blades. I looked at my Dryad, who was humming quietly, and back at Alva. She seemed totally unconcerned, despite having brought a largely uncontrolled tree-monster into the middle of a forest.

"Alva?"

"What now?" The Exciser sighed. She followed my gaze to the Dryad and raised her eyebrow; the expression was adorable on her, to my consternation. her hand touched the hilt of her sword. "That's not a problem."