Page 14 of The Demon’s Delight (The Demon Princes #3)

Chapter 13

Seir

I slept more that night on a thin bedroll next to a dying fire under the stars than I had since that first night at the little way-house cabin. I would always fondly remember the pallet she’d made for me out of the bed’s soft blankets.

My intriguing companion had my name and could easily write my sigil from memory, which brought me more relief than I’d thought it would. If we were somehow separated and she attempted to summon me, I could return to her.

I liked the idea that she could bring me to her side whenever she pleased. A lot.

The notion lightened my feet as we efficiently broke camp and started down the road once again.

“Is it odd that there aren’t other travelers out here at all?” Hailon asked after our lunch stop, a crown on her head made from a chain of white and purple daisies. She’d made it while we ate our increasingly mismatched food. It was whimsical and suited her, though she’d donned it with endearing hesitation. It was almost as though someone had made her afraid to be playful. I hated that for her and swore to always encourage her to enjoy little things like flower crowns.

“Yes,” I answered plainly. In truth, the lack of other traffic had been increasingly worrisome. There hadn’t been any other people on the road since we’d left Eddington, and even then, none of the wagons had been going the same direction we were. The lack of friendliness with those sparse interactions felt odd as well, the more I thought about it.

The Emankor Valley was a whole group of little villages and towns, a whole area rich in farmland and commerce. To see nobody coming or going at all on what had to be a main road between it and the southern towns was very noticeable. Additionally, the ill temperament of the horses we did encounter was unusual. Surely they couldn’t all be that unhappy.

The second day headed north along the river, trees became more closely grouped together along the sides of the road, and I could feel the incline of the road changing as well. The smell of the water nearby was stronger, though we had yet to really see it unless we wandered a reasonable distance off the road.

Conversation had fallen off once again, as we focused on one foot in front of the other. Thankfully, the weather had become cooler and there was a nice breeze.

I stretched my arms out wide, then followed that with my wings, prompting a startled squeak out of Hailon.

“Sorry.”

“It’s alright. I just saw them in my periphery and…” She trailed off. “I can’t believe I’m saying these words out loud, but I’m used to seeing your tail moving somewhere around your legs. But the wings are right at eye level, so they surprised me.”

Amused, I flexed them, a nice stretch and relax so the tip of the one nearest her touched her shoulder, like a fingertip tapping to get her attention.

“Hey.” She brushed me away with her hand, but a relaxed smile graced her mouth.

“How do you know so much about demons?” I tried to reach for my magic, to encourage my body to lift from the ground, but nothing happened.

“Aunt Sal.” Hailon looked away from me, her focus on the road straight ahead as she spoke.

“And the magic?”

Hailon’s hands rose to her hair, the nervous habit she had of tugging at the uneven ends as I’d neglected to offer braids before we left our rough camp. “She’s a wise woman.”

“So, she knows more than most?”

“Yes.” Her eyes flashed, her expression serious again. I missed her smile. “She prepared me for every possibility she could think of, especially when my healing gift revealed itself.”

“Then the real question is more ‘How did Sal know?’” I said the words in a playful way, wings still out wide and getting their own workout while we walked.

“I have no idea. But she taught me about demons and angels. Some about the fae too. The history as we knew it about them all. Witches and magic in all its forms, and how we could both recognize and use it.”

“Is your aunt a witch?” I asked, excited and intrigued. “Are you?”

“Sal may be, but I don’t think her power is very strong if she is. Her magic is more in skill as an herbalist.”

“And you?” I prompted again.

Hailon shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not talented in anything other than my healing ability, but my only teacher in that arena was Sal, so who knows.”

“Well, the good news is I know several, so if you find yourself near Revalia and you’d like an introduction at some point…”

“That’s kind, thanks.” Red dotted her cheeks. I enjoyed that nearly as much as her smile.

“Are there no other healers in Ravenglen?”

Hailon shook her head. “Sal was the first in a very long while. I guess everyone used to wait for a traveling healer to come through a few times a year before her.”

“Was she born there?” I asked. Something about this situation wasn’t adding up for me, but the ins and outs of human city life were not my area of expertise.

“No, we moved there after my parents left me with her.”

“I see. And Sal’s good with medicines?”

“Very. She can take herbs and flowers and turn them into a syrup or tincture to battle whatever the ailment is. I was out doing the seasonal gather when I was taken.” She paused, eyes unfocused like she was recalling something, but it was fleeting. “Between Sal and I, we keep everyone well—as much as we are able, anyway. Nothing is foolproof.” There was sorrow there, I could see it in the way her eyebrows pinched together. Any good healer lost patients. It was just part of things, though that didn’t make it any easier when it happened.

“That sounds very like a couple of my sisters-in-law. So do you have a shop in the city?”

“No, just our house.” Her mouth pinched. There was something there she wasn’t ready to share with me quite yet.

The road started a noticeable climb shortly after, the path getting narrower and the embankment up the side down to nothing more than rocks and trees.

“What are we climbing to, I wonder?” I muttered mostly to myself, keeping my body closest to the edge of the dirt road. Hailon stuck to the centermost point of the path as possible, the road rising up with a steep slope down either side.

The wind had begun to blow more aggressively as well, great gusts chasing up pine needles and leaves and dirt straight into our faces. It almost felt personal, which was… odd. I tucked my wings down, but didn’t yet stow them away.

“Let me have your pack, Hailon.” I reached out a hand for it, trying to see as far ahead as I could. The perspective seemed unusually narrowed, like something was blocking us from seeing more than perhaps a hundred paces.

“I’ve got it,” she argued, thumbs hooked into the straps as she trudged forward, watching her feet.

I frowned, uneasy. Everything felt off. The weather, the trees. The way the road had suddenly narrowed and climbed several hundred feet with no relief to either side without a painful slide down through the trees. My tail whipped around, seeking the source of my agitation.

Our pace had slowed, Hailon’s breath had become labored because of the incline.

“Here,” I said, pausing to dig out a waterskin for her.

“I’m okay. Let’s just keep going.”

“No, you need to have a drink.” She accepted the jug from my hand in a gesture that could only be called a snatch, and I was rewarded with a sassy swig and side-eye as she drank deep.

“Satisfied?”

“Not hardly. What else can you offer me?” I winked at her, just to continue the banter. To my amusement, the corner of her mouth twitched as she shook her head. Flirting with her was as easy as breathing, and I only wanted to do it more often the longer we were together.

“Let’s just keep moving, ridiculous demon. This place makes me uneasy.”

“Agreed.” I scanned the trees, seeking a reason for the watched feeling. Still, there was nothing obvious. Then it hit me. “There are no birds. No insects. It’s too quiet. There’s magic here.”

“You’re right.” Hailon’s voice was barely above a whisper as we stopped walking and both looked around. “What is this place?”

“I’m not sure. Let’s not linger. If I had to guess, the place where the road curves can’t be too far off. I expected us to hit it by nightfall.”

As I slid the waterskin back into my pack, I stepped closer to the outer edge of the path. The soft soil gave under my foot, and I flung my wings out wide. A gust of wind pushed me further from the center of the road, then with one leg dangling off the side as I tried to right myself, I was no longer on the road at all.

Wondering how I’d managed such a thing, I was a clumsy mess of limbs and wings, desperately trying to claw into the dirt with my fingers to slow myself down or grab a little tree with my tail. Hailon shouted my name from somewhere above me as I tumbled down the embankment, narrowly dodging trees and taking a fair beating from the stones that happened to be in my path.

I skidded to a stop at the very bottom and could only watch in horror as Hailon began the treacherous descent herself.