Chapter 9 #2
Despite my new clothes, Erlinen still wore a dress.
I followed her downstairs into the front entryway where Feron waited with a bag of his own supplies.
Vaelor stared out the window, his arm leaning against the pane and his eyes fixated on the outside.
The fancy suit from the past few days was gone, replaced by a loose shirt, trousers, and boots.
Apparently, he could choose what clothes appeared on his spirit form.
Tension radiated from him. His jaw was clenched so tightly that the muscles along it bulged. It wasn’t fair that he even had a muscular jaw.
“She is ready, my lord,” Erlinen said with a slight bow.
Vaelor turned to look at me, his gaze traveling over my body in a way that felt like an inspection. I fiddled with the strap on the bag.
“Thank you, Erlinen.” Vaelor stepped away from the window, approaching me.
He grabbed two swords off a front entry table and held the larger one out to me. “Draw it.”
“Do I really need?—”
“No, I need it. Now draw the weapon.”
Right, for when he possessed me. The idea still made my heart sink into my stomach. I wrapped my hands around the cold hilt and pulled it from its sheath.
The tip at once dropped to the stone floor. I gripped it with both hands and slowly raised the sword, grunting with effort.
Vaelor sighed, his lips etched in a deep frown.
Taking the blade from me, he grasped it without any issue as he slid it easily into the sheath. After setting it aside, he held out the second sword. “Try this option.”
It fell through his hand and clanked on the floor. Vaelor swore.
I bent over and gripped the hilt, unsheathing it. It was heavy and unnatural in my hands, and yet it was much lighter than the other behemoth of a sword.
“You’ll take that one,” Vaelor said. “Feron, get it belted on her waist.”
Feron lumbered forward and picked up the sheath. I handed over the weapon, and Feron re-sheathed it before strapping it on.
I held still while Feron worked, a tremor running through me from the demon’s proximity. “This will slow me down for certain,” I said, trying to distract myself.
“Better to have it than not,” Vaelor replied.
“Throk has commanded that the spirits gather in a few minutes. That is when the Final Proving will begin. I must attend, but so must all the spirits. The instant I leave here, your protection ends. You must leave with Feron and Erlinen and travel ahead of me. Feron will get you over the rear wall, and then all of you will make for the Rushing Stream near the Blackfang Cliffs. I’ll meet you there. ”
I had no idea where any of that was located, and my mind spun a little at the thought of going out into the wilderness where there would be hundreds of demon spirits looking to kill me.
“We’ll get her to the stream, sir,” Erlinen said.
Vaelor nodded. “Once Throk releases us to start the Final Proving, most of the spirits will head into Kingdom Aeria or toward Terra Monstrum. Most demons despise Misophae, so hopefully few will venture that way.”
My brow drew together in confusion. “Is that the kind of body you want? A body that isn’t pure-blooded?” It didn’t matter to me. A demon was a demon. But I knew enough that most demons disdained Misophae because of their mixed blood.
His jaw exhibited a slight tic. “It will have to do.”
Why was he choosing to go there? Surely it wasn’t for my sake. I had poisoned him. I narrowed my eyes. “What is this really about?”
His wings spread at the challenge in my voice. “You dare question my judgement?”
There must be some ulterior motive. “You can’t be doing this to protect me—risking bonding with a body from Misophae to keep me safe?”
“Would you prefer I lead you into a place where we’d be overrun by enemies, and you’d be killed within the first few minutes?”
“I want the truth.”
Erlinen’s hand cracked across my face. “You don’t deserve truth from the master. You are lucky he is keeping you alive.”
I grasped my stinging cheek and glared at her.
Suddenly, Vaelor was there. He grabbed Erlinen’s wrist, wings spread, eyes ablaze. “It is not your place to touch her.”
Erlinen’s gaze grew wide, and she blurted, “Yes, master. Forgive me, master. I am loyal. You know I am. Feron and I, we stayed behind when all the others left. Forgive me, please.”
I looked between Erlinen and Vaelor. How the hell was I supposed to take this?
Vaelor released her and stepped back, his wings snapping closed. “Misophae may be the last choice for most demons, but some will head that way anyway because of less competition. Denara must stay hidden.” His sparking gaze met mine.
I nodded to show I understood, though nothing made sense. Not his reasoning, not his reaction to Erlinen. Had I overlooked something?
Erlinen still looked mortified but assured, “We‘ll hide her well, sir.”
He spun away from us and glanced out the window again. “It is time.”
His head straightened before he walked to the door. His image blurred, then disappeared as he faded through it, stepping out into the daylight.
My heart sank as I watched him leave. After the past few days of relative safety I’d found here, his absence felt unsettling. Without him, I no longer had any protection within the manor.
“Come,” Erlinen said to me with a twinge of resentment in her movements. I didn’t know what she was upset about. I got slapped.
I followed her through the halls, heading for the rear of the manor, with Feron coming up behind me.
We moved through the kitchen. My hands tightened on the strap of the bag over my shoulder.
There existed a possibility that the food within had been poisoned, yet Vaelor’s extensive efforts to preserve my life made that less likely.
At least for the time being.
We walked out the back door into the crisp early morning air.
It had been two days since I entered the manor, sure I’d never leave it alive.
And now, here I was, leaving to assist Vaelor in obtaining a body.
I had no other choice, and I felt certain he’d abandon me upon discovering a more desirable form.
The realization left me cold. I needed to be on the lookout for a chance—any chance—to run before that happened.
We headed out a door and cut across the small park to the large rear wall.
“All right, Feron, take Denara first,” Erlinen instructed, taking the bag he held from him. “And then come and get me.”
Feron lumbered forward, and I stumbled back. “Wait, hold on.”
Erlinen sighed. “Feron has to lift you over the wall. Or perhaps you prefer we go out the front gate where all the demons will be gathered and can see in which direction you are leaving?”
I certainly didn’t. Taking the bag off my shoulder, I took a deep breath. “Go ahead.”
My spine locked as Feron’s arms came around my back and legs, lifting me.
His large wings extended, and I settled my bag of supplies in my lap.
He grunted as he took off. My stomach dropped out, and I gasped, throwing my hands around his neck.
He had to work as he gained altitude, flapping hard, and then we passed over the wall.
We soared over the glassy moat before he descended to the open field that led to the forest. Gliding to an easy landing, he set me down and grunted again, motioning for me to remain there.
With a spread of his wings, he ascended and sailed once more over the wall for Erlinen.
They returned a short while after, and Feron landed, carrying Erlinen. He set her on her feet, and she hurried forward. “This way.”
Erlinen led us in the direction of the tree line.
I studied the demon harpy in front of me, her leathery skin and her one good wing pulled to her back while the other remained lifeless.
Her head bobbed slightly as she walked. “You and Feron stayed behind even after Lord Vaelor had sent away his other servants?”
She cast me a suspicious glance as if unsure why I asked this. “We did.”
“Why not save yourselves and be free?”
Erlinen snorted. “You know nothing of his lordship.” Feron rumbled his agreement.
“Did he do something for you?”
She paused and rounded on me. “Your ears are not worthy of that story,” she said, snapping her beak. Feron laid a hand on her shoulder, and she softened a bit, then faced the trees. “Enough talk. We must focus on reaching our destination in time.”
I didn’t argue, but as we walked, I pondered what Vaelor could have done to inspire such loyalty in someone like Erlinen. From her limp and torn wing, it was clear she’d had a rough life. I glanced at Feron, who lumbered silently along, noting the long scar that cut clear across his face.
Both she and Feron must have had a difficult past.
Soon we came upon a stream. A large boulder rose on the side, covered in moss and ivy. Erlinen walked over to an overhang and brushed the ivy aside, revealing a small, wedged opening. “Get in.”
I looked down. There was only room for one. “What about you and Feron?”
“Do as you are told,” Erlinen snapped.
I crouched and crawled into the gap.
“You’ll wait here until his lordship comes for you,” Erlinen said.
“And you?”
“Feron and I are just extra weight. We are leaving to reduce the burden of care on him.”
“You’re leaving me here alone?”
“There is no place large enough for us to hide, and our presence would give you away. Do not move from this spot and you’ll be safe.”
Unease curled in my chest. They weren’t much, but at least with Erlinen and Feron, I was safer in numbers. I gave a slow nod.
Erlinen hesitated, then added. “Remember, human, there are those who terrorize and those who protect.”
I held in my scoff. Only one type of good demon existed. A dead demon.
She turned away. I heard Feron’s wings flapping as they disappeared into the sky after the ivy fell shut. The dark woods would soon fill with spirits seeking to kill me, and they’d left me utterly alone.