30. Rubane Secrets
Rubane Secrets
C ulis did indeed interact with the members of the hunting party in a way that seemed familial. His expressions were soft as he spoke to Black Berran while they shaved in the morning. His shoulders were low and his laugh came easily as he cooked bacon over a tiny crock pan alongside Arran and Lyria.
However, his walls came up again as soon as he noticed Mila or Tarett in the vicinity.
Interesting.
She tucked that information away. Knowing who he felt comfortable around and why was invaluable for plotting her escape. Earning their trust would help to earn his trust again. Then it would be easy to steal the sister stone and run.
Despite her anger and confusion towards Culis, Mila found it immensely reassuring to now have Tarett around. His belief in the plan gave it the legitimacy she’d been struggling to find and it made the rest of the trip far easier on her conscience – the Natalee predicament notwithstanding. She also enjoyed simply talking to him as they pushed through the rainforest towards other townships. It had been a long time since she’d spoken freely with another ikarei about ikarei affairs, and she both felt and saw that he, too, was enjoying it.
She noted Culis observing them with interest, and when they moved onto the town of Nettleton, Culis surprised Mila by making an announcement loudly and proudly in the village square.
“I am Christopher Culis, adventurer extraordinaire, and I openly share with you all that I have arrived in your fair town with demons in my employ. These demons are helping me in an endeavour sanctioned by the God-King himself. They are not to be harmed or arrested during my stay in your fine town.”
The local acolyte’s arms could not have crossed over his chest more swiftly, yet he made no move to impede their visit, despite the deep furrow that burned into his forehead.
The change in tactic turned out to be a masterstroke, for now that their presence had the local authority’s begrudging acceptance, Mila and Tarett were free to roam the village. The additional formidable presence of Culis’s hunting party provided a shield that effectively protected them from any petty harassment or persecution they might encounter.
For the first time in Mila’s adult life, she was able to wander freely throughout the town, looking in shop windows, and buying wares without having to pretend to be human. Tarett also reveled in it, and his enthusiasm reinvigorated Mila’s own feelings of lightness and joy. He moved through the street with his horns fully extended, a wide, bright smile etched onto his face. His exuberance could not be dimmed, and for the rest of the trip, Mila caught him playfully putting all manner of objects into the tiniest of containers just for the fun of it. To Mila’s delight, he chose to pick on Baird, in particular, and the poor man always seemed to lose his boots or his pocketknife or water skin, finding them in all manner of peculiar places, such as his tiny, leather penny pouch.
With Tarett by her side, it was also far easier to convince other demons to join the venture, and it wasn’t long before two more demons, Marie and then Flue, joined their ranks. Marie was a tiny, mousy little woman whose power was the ability to touch any written document and instantly know what it contained. Flue stood out from any crowd with their tall, slim legs, long silver hair and beautiful, androgynous features. Their power could make anyone remember them fondly, regardless of the nature of previous interactions between them. Flue informed the small group that, hypothetically, their power meant they could treat someone terribly, even cause physical harm, and the victim would only recall pleasant associations with them. In fact, enough repeated exposure to Flue’s powers could cause a person to develop an outright obsession.
“I can’t believe no one has ever thought of monetising these gifts before,” Culis muttered in awe when Flue finished their explanation. “You’re…divine.”
Flue flinched at the terminology. “I am not Divine. I am mortal.”
“I meant divine, as in exquisite,” Culis amended. “Although, if we had some Testing Cats here, perhaps they’d be able to see you too.”
Mila blinked incredulously at his words. Culis had always hinted at being irreverent, but since leaving behind Jeralusah, his strange and sacrilegious offhand comments had grown far more frequent and condemning. None of the hunting party seemed fazed by them, yet if a passing priest had heard his implication that Midas had somehow tricked the Testing Cats, he’d be next in line to be sacrificed, regardless of the fact he was human.
It made Mila wonder what they’d seen on their many travels to have caused such disillusionment, and she was reminded again of Keras and the land where ikarei were known as zoi and were worshiped. Midas and the Church only ruled the nation of Artor. Why should she stay here? Would the other ikarei want to come with her?
Mila dedicated the rest of the trip to befriending her new brethren and enjoyed the process of learning how to do it. She hadn’t consciously tried to make friends with anyone since she was fourteen, and she felt in her bones that this experience was good for her. It was right that she should be around her own kind, and thankfully, they were all easy to get along with.
Once Tarett was comfortable amongst the group, he truly came out of his shell and revealed that he didn’t have a serious bone in his body. His constant grin and sharp wit kept Mila from dwelling too fiercely on thoughts of escape, or the confrontation she knew she was going to have with Natalee on their return. And while Mila had befriended the members of the hunting party on their way up, it was Tarett who won over everyone’s hearts and minds by the end. At times, she even found herself wondering if it was he, rather than Flue, who was possessed with the power of affection.
Flue kept mostly to themself, but was friendly when approached, and Marie was shy, but kind. To Mila’s disapproval, she seemed to bond particularly well with Arran, and the two were often found walking and talking together, away from the others. Mila wondered if he was telling her about Keras, too, and what the other woman might make of the idea of escaping there.
There was hardly a chance to ask her, or any of them for that matter, for she dared not raise the topic while Arran was present. He was too loyal to Culis, and somehow, he always seemed to be around their little group. Mila wondered if it was because he was truly enjoying the company of his fellow ikarei, or if he was spying on them.
She suspected the latter .
One night, when the group of ikarei were the only ones seated by the fire, Mila asked Flue how they could know if any of their interactions or relationships in life were genuine.
“It’s a good question." Flue replied. "A few years ago, quite accidentally, I discovered a herb, which I can distil into a scented oil that mutes my power,” they swept their waist-length silver hair back from their neck before indicating a necklace at their breastbone.
It was a tiny silver ball on a chain, covered in pinholes. Flue shook it gently, and Mila smelled rubane essence waft from it.
“I wear it to protect others, and myself. I cannot have the villagers becoming obsessed with me. It is better to pass by innocuously where possible.”
“What is the scent?” Marie asked in her high, quiet voice, but Flue shook their head and smiled gently.
“My secret, I’m afraid.”
Mila chose not to divulge that she recognised it. She knew she was probably one of the few people in the entire nation who could name it. Rubane’s power muting properties were not widely known. In fact, Mila had never met anyone else, other than Flue, who used it as she did.
She dwelt on this fact long after everyone else had gone to sleep.
* * *
Once the hunting party had collected Tarett, Flue and Marie, Culis declared the end of the expedition. He couldn’t hide the delight he felt in having procured a small handful of demons, each with objectively rather useful powers, and Mila could tell he was itching to start advertising them.
The return journey seemed to go much faster than the initial foray into the rainforest, and when they all finally arrived back at the manor, Mila caught herself feeling, for a fleeting moment, as if she were returning home, rather than having just left it.
Tarett, Marie and Flue were each given a small suite of their own, and like Mila, they were permitted to see the days out however they best saw fit. Each of them knew their stay here was temporary.
“After enough time has passed to ensure your notoriety has spread,” Mila overheard Culis telling them, “I’ll pair each of you off to a suitable master.”
Mila was grateful that, although they were understandably a little nervous, for the most part, the small group seemed happy and content with their decision to trust her and come live at Culis Manor. None of them were forced to don a vasium necklace either, but then again, all of them thought they were here under their own free will.
They had no idea about Natalee.
When Mila arrived back at the manor, she quietly sought out Nemecca to inquire about Natalee’s whereabouts and found out that she was being kept in a basement below the manor. She knew she needed to go visit her and try to entreat her to wilfully join the plan. But day after day passed, and still she was unable to force herself down those steps to have that conversation.
Still a coward, she realised as she lay in bed one night after yet another day of avoiding Natalee. Many things had changed since that morning when she’d first stood and wordlessly watched Jezebel condemn Jahan to his blinding, but not this. She’d been a coward then and was still a coward now.