Chapter 18 #2
Casrian’s mouth thinned. “The fae were deceived. The queen had been stricken with a wasting illness and the king became desperate to find a cure. He was the one who breached the veil to the shadow world where demons make their home. He called upon a demon to heal the queen. By all accounts, she was healed. Her body, at least. But the king didn’t see the creature that had taken up residence within her skin until it was too late.
The prince heir died killing the abomination his mother had become and the corruption spread.
The remaining fae died when they attempted to seal the breach between worlds. ”
“But it isn’t sealed.” It couldn’t be. There were still witches in the world.
“Demons can no longer cross freely of their own will, as they could when the breach first opened. They must be summoned.”
“No one is summoning demons on purpose.”
“You’d be surprised.”
She leveled him with a skeptical look.
He shrugged. “Some people pursue power whatever the cost. Others reach beyond what they can hold and are snared. There’s no way for a witch to know how close she is to the line that will send her tumbling into hell. It’s better to cast no spell at all than to take the risk.”
That last was a warning.
“Don’t you have any relics to send the demons back where they come from? Or that will keep them from coming here altogether?”
“The Church is working on it. The scholars at the Academy. Until they find a way to sever our connection with the world below, this is the way it has to be.”
They fell silent for a time, watching the moth dance among the sparks above the fire. Another moth joined the first, circling, drifting closer and then away. She could hear the soft rush of their wings over the fire.
She felt the witch hunter glance her way.
“You still have time to go back if you want to,” he told her.
“If you set out for Toam in the morning, you’d be out of the woods before dark.
You’re unlikely to meet any bears going back.
We’re only at the edge of the witch’s influence now, and you could go around that patch of corruption.
It would be safe enough, safer than continuing on. ”
“We have a deal. I can’t go back now.”
“I’ll get you your two hundred cord. And you have my will if I don’t come back. You get paid no matter what happens.”
“I agreed to help you find your men and guide you to the fort.”
“I don’t think you realized what you were getting yourself into. You’re just beginning to see it now, aren’t you? The bear.” He lifted his chin toward the woods. “This place. You can go back. I’ll figure it out even if you just point the way.”
She slowly shook her head. “There’s no way you’ll make it to the fort without me. I know how to get us through the woods even with the rot. And I’m a good tracker. I’ll find your men.”
She was the best chance he had. He almost sounded like he wanted her to go. It was a little insulting, honestly.
They watched the fire and the moths. It was strange to see more than one of the great moths at a time.
Usually, you’d just catch a glimpse as they drifted by at the edge of the firelight.
At least that’s how it was in the summer.
She’d never been out in the woods overnight this time of year. Maybe this was when they mated.
“Why not turn back and take the money?” he asked, seeming genuinely curious.
She gave him an annoyed look. “I made a deal, and I’m going to hold up my end of it. I don’t back out of things when they get hard. Bargains are sacred things in Toam. Really, they’re the only currency we have. Just because I’m poor doesn’t mean I don’t have a sense of honor.”
He grunted.
He probably didn’t believe her. He’d made his opinion of Toam and its residents clear enough.
But she was telling him the truth. If she was lying to anyone, it was herself.
Because it wasn’t just about the money. She needed that two hundred cord even if he thought it was nothing.
But she wanted to help him too. She didn’t like the idea of abandoning nine men out here when she might be able to help save them.
She wanted to help the trees. Clear the rot so the woods could heal.
Now, that was something she couldn’t tell Casrian—that she could feel the trees’ pain. He’d probably brand her on the spot.
There was a fluttering sound near her ear. She flinched away from it, raising her hand. Something landed in her hair and she jerked back, shaking her head, trying to dislodge it.
The witch hunter moved toward her. “Stay still. I’ll get it. It’s just a moth.”
She couldn’t have stayed still, even if she trusted him. There was something trying to crawl in her ear. A petal-soft brush against her cheek. Casrian was saying something that she couldn’t hear over the sound of beating wings. She twisted away.
The blanket fell from her shoulders into the dirt. She didn’t care.
That sound.
Hard hands clamped on her arms, pulling her back. “You’re going to fall into the fire. Stop fighting me. Be still.”
Something in his tone reached her, and she went still, squeezing her eyes shut as he worked the thing free of her hair. Flung it away.
“Got it,” he said. “You can open your eyes.”
She opened her eyes. The witch hunter smiled at her with a crooked smile, his eyes warm, a lock of dark blond hair fallen across his forehead. He didn’t smile often. She blinked, struck by how much younger it made him look. Softer, too.
His hands slid down her arms, warm and comforting. “It was just a moth.”
Releasing her, he leaned over and grabbed her blanket. He shook it out and wrapped it around her shoulders. His knuckles grazed the side of her neck and a shiver passed through her.
Casrian’s smile faded. “You all right?”
“Yeah,” she said, stepping away. “Yeah, I’m fine. Good. It just startled me. I hate moths.”
He was going to think she was weak. Jumping at shadows and insects. Turning away from him, she looked back at the fire and frowned. There was only one moth now circling the fire, rising until it disappeared into the night.
“I’ve never seen them do that. They don’t like people.” She shook her head. “They don’t even seem to like each other. I’ve never seen two in one place before.”
She expected him to laugh at her again, but he didn’t. He pulled her back to her seat beside the fire. He threw another log on and looked out into the darkness. “They’ll go back to normal once we kill the witch.”
The woods seemed to quiet at his words. It was probably her imagination. She rubbed her arms, trying to work warmth back into her limbs. She tried to forget the sound of those wings beating in her ear.
Casrian glanced her way, something in his expression softening when their eyes met. “You want first watch or second?”
“First.”
She wasn’t going to be able to fall asleep right now after all the talk about witches. Especially not with the image of that pale-faced specter haunting the edges of her mind. The shadows were too deep. The woods too quiet. She might not sleep ever again.
His brows drew together. “Sure you’re all right?”
“Of course.”
He didn’t look like he believed her, but he rolled himself into his blankets and quickly fell asleep.
Like an innocent babe. As if he hadn’t been dripping with blood earlier that day.
She shivered and moved closer to him. In case the moths came back and one of them tried to land on him. Not because he made her feel safe.
She watched the moths dance above the flames until they drifted away. Then she stared into the dark, flinching at every sound, huddled into her blanket until it was time to wake him.