Alice and the Mad Hatter

We'd crossed the Border hours ago.  Samael carried me in his arms like I was a child, following the mongrel's scent.  The trail of bloody paw prints grew fainter as the moon rose high.  He paused every now and then to look at me fondly.

“Remind me why you're dragging me along?”

“Because,” Samael said quietly, “otherwise you're a demon chew toy.”  He sailed through the woods without touching the ground.

“Aren't I already?”

“No.  More a feral lapdog.”  He leapt into a clearing, wings outstretched to buffer his fall.  I got a mouthful of feathers. 

“Umf.”

“Yes, nice scenery.”

The morning star twinkled above.  A stone pedestal stood under an oak whose roots grew in tangles around it.  The tracks came to an end.  The corpse of a girl lay atop the stone.  Her blood dripped down the its cracks.