Logan stared in disbelief. Only moments ago they had been engaged in hot, passionate sex. The scent still hung in the air.

“You can talk? How? When?”

Beauty snapped her teeth in frustration and held a hand up.

“Ok.” Logan took a breath and spoke slower. “Fewer questions. Got it. Still, why haven’t you spoken before now?”

She shook her head, then pointed at one ear. “Hear. Learn.”

“You learned to speak.” Logan pointed at himself. “From me?”

Beauty tilted her head, then nodded.

He blinked at her, wide-eyed. “You have been around me for a grand total of two days. You learned to speak… in two days.”

Again she paused to consider the sound of his words. Again she nodded.

“Holy hell,” he muttered. “Beauty, you are amazing.”

She squinted at him and tilted her head.

Logan chuckled and scooted close enough to gently touch the soft skin of one shapely leg. “It means astonishing, incredible, beautiful, sexy…”

Once more, she held a hand up to stop him, but she was smiling as she did it. It seemed she understood at least the idea of what he was saying. That made Logan happy. She had a gorgeous smile. He thought he might like to see a lot more of it.

“Perhaps you will understand this better.” He leaned in for a long, soft kiss. Beauty hummed with pleasure and kissed him back. In truth, she wasn’t a very skilled kisser, but, like so many things, she was learning uncommonly fast.

“Yes,” she purred and nibbled at his lower lip.

“Glad you like it,” he smiled. “Me too.”

*****

Logan sat cross-legged next to their tiny fire. Spread out in front of him were all the spoils of war he barely could remember having taken from the two dead demons. Beauty sat against the wall, silently watching.

“This is how you got the water skin you gave me,” he told her. “I thought you traded for it, but no. You just went out and fought for it, didn’t you?”

Beauty flashed her sharp teeth at him in what could have been a grin, or a silent snarl, or both.

He chuckled and that made her smile back.

One by one, he held the other items up for examination. “Then we have our loot from the two yesterday. Two leather belts with pouches and flint. A ceramic flask in a leather hip holster with some kind of sour whiskey. A cat-o-nine-tails whip, kinky but not much use in a fight.” Logan held up a dagger and watched the firelight slide over its oily, black surface. “Ten-inch dagger, metal unknown. Very nice. And then there is this…”

He picked up one of ten bronze-colored, hexagon-shaped coins and bounced it thoughtfully in his hand. On one side was a profile of a handsome, horned demon. On the other side was a beast with three heads.

Logan held it up for Beauty to see. “This is really interesting. The rest of this stuff…” He waved at the collected items. “…could, with a little skill and practice, be made by anyone for their personal use. At somewhere around a medieval level of technology, I suspect. But coins… well, coins exist as a means of commerce and trade, and they have to be minted and standardized to maintain value. By some degree of higher authority. Which means some flavor of civilization, maybe even cities.”

Beauty tilted her head at him.

“City, um…” Logan paused to consider. “Many people.” He pointed back and forth between Beauty and himself. “Tall buildings?” He made vaguely square gestures with his hands.

Beauty nodded slowly, then pointed at the fire. “Smoke. Many smoke. Many people. City.”

“Yes!” Logan could only stare in wonder. The demon girl’s mind was razor-sharp and as hungry as her other appetites. Even his poor efforts at teaching and charades could not prevent her from grasping new concepts like a sponge soaking up water. He grinned. “Excellent. Then allow me to introduce you to the exciting world of commerce, dear lady.” He set some of the items in front of her. Logan divided the coins by size into small piles, then held one up before placing it on the ground by her foot and took back the ceramic flask. Logan repeated the process by taking the dagger and leaving two more coins at her feet.

She frowned at the coins for a moment before taking back the flask and the weapon and pushing the money back to him. Beauty then gave him the flask back and took one of the smaller coins, holding it up for Logan to see. Picking up the dagger, she scooped all of the remaining coins over to her side before placing the hilt into his hand.

“Yes?” she asked.

“Yes! Trade,” Logan grinned. “Buy.” He gave a coin and took an item. “Sell.” He reversed the process and took the coin back.

“Trade. Buy. Sell,” Beauty repeated.

“Yes, that’s it exact-” Logan paused and glared at her. “Wait a minute. You just established a specific value on these items. Which means you already know exactly what I am talking about, you sneak! This is humor. You’re teasing me, aren’t you?”

Beauty just blinked her golden eyes at him, the perfect poker face.

“OK, sneaky girl. Where is this city? Have you been there? How far?”

She pointed somewhere beyond their shelter and held up four fingers. “This many sleeps.”

“No so far. Can you lead me there?”

Beauty frowned, then pointed at him. “Hurt. No hurt.”

“Does that mean danger?” he asked. “Is it dangerous?”

“Yes,” she nodded. “Danger. Much, much danger.”

“Danger, how?”

“Many.” She mimed, drawing flowing lines on one side of her face. “Show, no show.” A growl of frustration rumbled in her throat.

Logan could see the struggle on her lovely face. He did not understand, but at least he could empathize. It seemed her newly formed vocabulary was not sufficient to express the concepts Beauty was struggling to communicate. At the astonishing rate she was learning, that would not be an issue for much longer. Her brilliant adoption of language skills would see to that, but for now, it seemed they were at an impasse.

“Damn,” he grunted. “Ok, Beauty. I trust you to know what you are talking about. For now. However, danger or no danger, the reality is we are in desperate need of supplies. Supplied these coins can provide us.”

“Trade.” Beauty held up a coin and pointed again toward the outside world, then at herself.

“I can’t do it, but you can?” Logan scowled. “I suppose you have a point, but what about danger? For you?”

She held up a clawed hand and snapped her teeth at him.

“You can take care of yourself,” he translated with a chuckle. “I don’t doubt that, but I do not like the idea of you going alone.” Logan heaved a great sigh. “In the meantime, if we are not going anywhere for now, then we have to find better shelter. This crack in the rock was never intended to be a permanent shelter for me, and it sure won't work for two. Having seen that geyser, I’m thinking there may be caves around here. We can start our search where we terminated those two Incubi bastards, collect some water, and hunt food at the same time.”

“Food. Yes?” Beauty asked and reached for the zipper on his denim jeans.

Logan laughed and lifted his hips as she pulled his pants down. “Woman, you are going to be the death of me, but what a way to go.”

*****

They set out as soon as the night cycle had ended. Nothing of value was left behind. Each of them wore one of the belts and pouches. Beauty had the flask, the whip, and coins. Logan carried the dagger, the various pelts, a newly shaped spear, and the mostly empty drinking skin.

A new home was the goal, but food had to be the immediate priority. The critter Beauty had provided in trade had now been consumed, as had most of the beer. Supplies were, once again, running dangerously low.

Fortunately, Beauty’s hunting prowess proved exceptional. Having a partner allowed Logan to work out a strategy where one of them flushed game into the open, and the other took it down. By that method, they were able to catch, not just one, but two of the bristly, pig-like creatures, assuring enough food for at least the next few days. He resolved to acquire salt or some other preservative as soon as possible. The ability to cure meat would expand their ability to keep meat edible by several weeks or even months.

Other priorities proved less successful. They discovered no caves, only sandblasted, solid rock. Water also proved elusive. The geyser was an obvious source, but the scalding temperatures made it impossible to collect, much less drink. It seemed to taunt him, so much water that he couldn’t touch! Logan found a bare few of the plants he could break off and drink out of the stem. It was enough to survive, but only just. At this rate, a single day of bad luck could lead to disaster.

That night cycle found them back in their tiny shelter. Logan was bone tired and deeply worried. He let Beauty feed but could offer no enthusiastic effort in response. He knew it was less than ideal for both of them. The moment she finished him off, he fell into an exhausted sleep.

The next day cycle had them trudging ever further into the wastes, and again the day after that. No hunger pains were the only silver lining as they wandered the blasted landscape. Ever fewer water plants left him thirsty and irritable. By the end of the third day-cycle, there was nothing to show for their efforts, and it was getting late. They would have to start back soon if they hoped to reach camp in before the shadows fell.

Beauty came leaping over a low ridge. There was a sense of excitement in her expression and movements. “Yes.” she grinned.

“Yes, what?” Logan grumbled. He stopped and blinked at her. “Yes, you found something? A cave?” He made gestures to define what a cave was.

“Cave,” she nodded and smiled. “Yes!”

Logan reached out and kissed her fiercely. “Oh, you gorgeous creature! Lead the way!”

She led him to a jagged cliff, gestured for him to wait, and began to climb. Logan was happy to comply and enjoy the view. About twelve feet up, Beauty vanished into scrub plants clinging to a ridge. Her head appeared a moment later, looking down and gesturing him up. It proved to be a simple enough climb once he knew where to grab. He found Beauty sitting on a natural shelf in the cliff rising above them. Behind her, an irregular shaped, eight-foot gash in the rock revealed a descent into darkness.

They had prepared for this. Both carried branches soaked in animal fat and tinder to start a fire. Logan started to set up a temporary camp. Less than an hour later, they had light and were ready to delve deeper.

The ground immediately sloped downward and ever deeper into the earth and into velvet darkness. The ceiling stayed mostly level as the floor descended deeper until Logan could stand straight with no fear of striking his head against the stone. A sharp turn in the tunnel brought him up short.

“Oh, wow,” Logan muttered.

A shaft of light shattered the absolute black through a tear in the ceiling, revealing a large cavern. Stalagmites and stalactites formed random columns where they met and stone teeth where they did not. Steam curled into the still air from two pools of green liquid. Between the damp and the light, away from the scouring wind, a few plants and a carpet of moss managed to thrive and soften the rocky floor.

Perhaps most astonishing was the cluster of glowing crystals. It looked like quartz yet glowed with a faint orange radiance. The largest crystal was nearly a foot long.

Logan walked over and sniffed at the largest pool, then dipped a finger in and tasted it. Logan turned to Beauty. “It's a sulfur pool. Natural hot springs and I think it's drinkable.” He walked over to her. “No more scrounging for every sip of water, and that's not all. You know what else this means, my beauty?” His face split into a huge grin. “Hot baths! We can get clean again!”

Beauty sniffed at the air and nodded. “Cave empty. Is good?”

“Good?” Logan picked her up and spun her around with a shout of pure joy. “It’s damned near perfect!”

She laughed at his foolish antics. The cavern walls echoed with their play.

Beauty slid down into his arms, the curves of her body molding against him. They kissed, tenderly at first, but with a growing hunger for more. The cave moss proved to be thick and soft as he guided her gently down.

Before long, the cavern walls echoed with the joyous sounds of a different kind of play.

*****

After moving into their new shelter, the next few days settled into what could almost be considered a routine for Logan and Beauty. Her language skills grew rapidly. They hunted together, slept together, and made love in the warm waters.

But routine was not safety, the cave was not a home, and survival was not enough. Cave moss was only moderately better than bare rock for use as a bed. Logan was learning to hate the taste of fire scorched, bristle pig meat. The flat, bitter-tasting beer was all gone. And always, hell waited outside.

Logan thought about all of these things as he sat in front of the cave entrance beneath the rock overhang with Beauty sitting by his side. In his hands was the empty drinking skin. He traced his finger over a loose stitch. It would soon need repair. That would require needle and thread, of which they had none.

“Logan make face.” She pantomimed a brooding scowl that made him smile. Beauty tapped the skin. “Why? Want more beer?”

“Yes,” he heaved a great sigh. “As a matter of fact, I would like more beer. And a bed to sleep on. And real food. And a change of clothing.”

“I trade.” She rattled the coins in her belt pouch. “Buy.”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Tempting, but booze might be a luxury we cannot afford. We need basic survival supplies before anything else, and I suspect those coins won’t last long.”

“We take more,” she replied. “Like Beauty took beer.”

“You have a mercenary heart, Beauty.” Logan grinned.

“Logan say all in Hell is predator or prey.” The Succubus leaned forward and tapped him once on the chest. “Predator or prey?”

He thought back to the two Incubi and the poor woman they had seduced, then fed upon. Logan recalled the haunted eyes of the Hispanic man, wandering and lost somewhere out in the waste. Demons ruled here, and human souls were their toys. Predator and prey. The ecology of Hell.

“When in Rome, do like the Romans,” he quoted.

Beauty tilted her head at him.

Logan smiled and kissed her. “It means you are brilliant, and I don’t know how I would manage without you. It also means you are absolutely correct. Sexy girl, I do believe it is time to get out there and misbehave.”

“Sex?” Beauty kissed him again and slipped her tongue between his lips. Her breasts rubbed against his naked chest as she pushed him onto his back.

Logan broke into laughter as they tumbled together onto the moss. “Ok, I guess I will misbehave later.”