“Well, for one thing, you jumped when I talked to you, and I can see the tension in your body. Your tail is flicking nervously, too,” Niadra said, glancing down at the tail with a raised eyebrow. “All in all, you have the look of someone waiting for a wall to fall on you.”
Glancing down at her tail, Kitania scowled at it and carefully forced the tip to stop flicking as she muttered, “Traitor.”
Niadra laughed, her voice bright in the confines of the carriage, and she smiled as she spoke gently. “Come on, Kitania, what’s wrong?”
“I’m just nervous. I’m going to be the only demon in the city, at least as far as I know, and… well, the hells are dangerous enough that I never went anywhere unarmed. I know that it would make the locals nervous, but it still makes me… anxious,” Kitania admitted, glancing at the city again as she sighed and shrugged helplessly. “You know that I’m completely out of my element, don’t you?”
“Yes, but it’s good for you,” Niadra said, clicking her tongue in slight disapproval. “You need to try new things in order to get used to them, and you’ll never adjust if you hide. As for being unarmed, we have a dozen guards, you have your magic, and you have those fangs. They might not be much use in a fight, but they’re something.”
“My fangs aren’t for fighting,” Kitania replied, folding her legs uncomfortably as she suddenly remembered something about them, something she’d forgotten over the years, along with a few other things. It was enough to distract her from the city, in fact, and she continued. “And I know all that, but it doesn’t make me any less nervous.”
“Oh? If your fangs aren’t for fighting, what are they for?” Niadra asked, frowning as she thought for a moment, then her eyes widened. “You don’t drink blood like a vampire does, do you?”
“Hellfire and brimstone, no! Drinking blood? Ick, that’d be disgusting,” Kitania replied, shivering in revulsion at the thought. “Not that I can’t, but it’s… well, let’s just say that I’d never do it by choice. No, my fangs serve a completely different purpose. They… inject.”
“Inject what?” Niadra asked, looking even more curious now, and Kitania shifted slightly, trying to resist the urge to squirm.
“An aphrodisiac, of course. I’m descended from an incubus and succubus,” Kitania replied unhappily, and blushed more as Niadra stared at her, looking down as she added softly, “I’d removed the glands when I had the enchantments to change my body created, but when I reverted… well, there isn’t much I can do about it.”
“I see. That’s an interesting admission, and I’m glad I didn’t cut my tongue,” Niadra murmured, prompting Kitania to look away with a blush. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“Mostly because I forgot about it until you mentioned my fangs,” Kitania admitted sheepishly. “I suppose I could have noticed if I’d cut myself on the fangs, but I have a lot of practice avoiding that. It just wasn’t something I think about most of the time.”
“Well, if you haven’t had the… poison for that long, I guess I can understand it,” Niadra said, her surprise seeming to ease. “I just didn’t expect you to be poisonous.”
“I’m not poisonous or venomous. The latter is accurate for something like a snake or other creature that bites you,” Kitania corrected, shifting slightly as the flush in her cheeks faded. “It’s a mind-altering drug. It doesn’t damage the body, which is why it works on me as well. You’d think I’d be immune, but no, that couldn’t possibly happen…”
“I stand corrected. Or sit corrected,” Niadra teased, then smiled and nodded toward the window. “We’re entering the city now, if you want to look.”
Kitania paused, then realized that the teasing had served to distract her from her nervousness, and she gave Niadra a chiding look before she turned to watch as they entered the city. The guards didn’t stop their carriage, and in moments they entered the tunnel of the gatehouse, which proved surprisingly long, before they entered Mist.
All around them, Kitania saw a market with cloth booths, with predominantly elves and humans trading coin and items as they spoke cheerfully to one another. Her eyes flitted across the colorful stalls, the immense variety of foods, and the buildings that bordered the market, and ever so slowly Kitania relaxed. While she knew better than to believe she’d be welcome outside immediately, the city was much like Silken Veils, though the appearances of the inhabitants were far less varied. She did see a few dwarves, and thought she caught a glimpse of angelic wings for a moment, but they were only in sight for an instant.
The carriage didn’t stop, though, and Kitania considered for a moment before speaking. “So, where are you planning to take me, aside from the seamstress and jeweler you mentioned? I doubt that you’re planning to only take me to those.”
“Of course not! There’s a lovely teahouse that I think you’d enjoy, and I thought we’d go see some of the fountains in the city as well. There’s also the House of Serenity, a healer college of sorts, but I think that’ll have to wait for another day,” Niadra said promptly, smiling broadly at Kitania. “I think that getting you clothing and everything else will take a while as it is, and I think there will be plenty of time to visit all the sights over the month.”
“Very true,” Kitania agreed, reaching out to take Niadra’s hand, then hesitated for a moment. Overcoming her worries and the spike of loss the thought of Isalla brought to mind, Kitania slowly, gently, drew the princess closer to give her a kiss. Niadra didn’t resist, but instead kissed Kitania in return.
The carriage slowing prompted Kitania to break the kiss, and Niadra grinned at her, speaking brightly. “So, which first? The jeweler or seamstress?”
“Hm… I’d say the seamstress, since it’ll likely take the longest,” Kitania said, even more of her anxiety easing at the smile on Niadra’s face. The princess was such an enthusiastic presence that it made her life brighter just by staying near her.
“Alright, then we have a destination,” Niadra said, and turned toward the nearest guard to let him know.
Kitania turned her attention to the cobblestone streets, watching the people outside with a slight smile on her face. Even if she didn’t feel like she belonged here, Kitania appreciated the bustling city.
“I came as soon as I received word of your arrival, Lady Haral,” Corram said, hanging up his cloak after shaking off most of the rain near the door. The man looked unhappy, but she couldn’t really blame him. “To think that they’ve openly allowed a demon to accompany one of their princesses in public… I never thought I’d see a day like this.”
“To be fair, it isn’t as though Princess Sellis has been among the more powerful royals here, so she doesn’t have as much to lose,” Haral said, shaking her head in disbelief. “Not that it makes this any better, mind you. Even if they’re only humoring the demon, allowing her to prance about the nation as though she were a common mortal… their shortsighted view astounds me.”
“Agreed. I might have had a few reservations about your plans before this, but now that’s changed,” Corram said, his lips pressed together tightly as the angel looked at Haral directly. “Would you like me to have the demon eliminated? If she’s traveling between the palace and Mist frequently, it should be easy to have a few extremists eliminate her. Possibly the princess as well, as deep as the rot has obviously spread.”
“Ugh, that is a horrid thought, isn’t it?” Haral said, shuddering at the thought of the elven princess and a demon being together. She shoved the thought out of her head as quickly as she could manage it, focusing instead on Corram’s suggestion. No matter how tempting it was, she quickly shook her head. “No, I don’t think that’s a wise idea.”
“Truly? I’d really hoped to get rid of the monster,” Corram replied, looking rather disappointed. It improved her opinion of him slightly, since he had been a little hesitant for her tastes, if still useful.
“Yes, and if we were in another position, I’d wholeheartedly agree with you. The demon needs to die, but if we do any
thing now, it’ll alert Alserah, and that’s something we can’t afford. Not yet,” Haral said, reaching up to play with her necklace nervously. It was her fail-safe, but she really didn’t want to have to use it, since it’d mean that everything had gone wrong.
“Not yet?” Corram asked, perking up at the qualification, and he smiled happily. “You mean that we’ll kill her later, then?”
“Yes. She has more information that we can use, and I’m tired of making mistakes,” Haral said, her lips curving into an angry smile, anticipation coursing through her. “I’m not going to leave her alive, and we’ll get every drop of information out of her. Even if she can regenerate, death magic will work well enough to deal with her. Once the preparations for the end of the Forest of Sighs are made, then we’ll strike, Corram. Not until it’s too late for Alserah to stop us.”
“Very well, Lady Haral. Tell me what you need done, and I will ensure that it’s taken care of,” Corram replied, standing up straight.
“Excellent. Fortunately, there isn’t much to do. Continue drawing down the staff and materials kept in the country. I want you long gone by the time we do strike. You’re the only one here that knows almost as much as I do,” Haral cautioned, resisting the urge to get ahead of herself.
“Of course, Lady Haral,” Corram agreed, though he looked a little disappointed.
“I’m glad you understand. Now, let’s ensure that we have the right placements for all the creatures. You have the number of people in most of the garrisons?” Haral asked, stepping over to the table.
“Yes, of course. It was a little tricky, but the quartermasters weren’t nearly as tight-lipped as they should’ve been when I was discussing their purchase orders,” Corram said, pulling a sealed message tube out of a writing desk. “I’ll get a map so we can figure out exactly where you want the packages.”
“Excellent. We’ll also need a nearby location where we can deal with the captives, once that comes up, and…” Haral began, focusing on the problem in front of her. While she desperately wanted things to be finished, she needed to focus on each step in turn. Only then would they be able to achieve total victory.
Chapter 29
The trip to Hragon’s coast went smoothly, and soon enough Rose and the others found themselves aboard Eternal Song, the schooner that Lady Azalea had traveled from the Forest of Sighs on. They’d only briefly stopped in Port Blackcrag after bidding Seiber a polite farewell, and Rose was glad to get aboard the ship since she’d felt eyes following them from the moment she’d entered the seedy, dirty city. Human cities always startled Rose with how some of them could be breathtakingly beautiful, while others could be the most ramshackle, ugly, smelly places she’d ever seen. And that included some of her forays into terrible demonic strongholds. Estalia’s capital didn’t qualify, but some of the others were horrid.
On the other hand, Eternal Song was a beautiful, sleek ship, though smaller belowdecks than any of the angels liked. Even once they’d used the magic items to hide their wings the ship was crowded, but at least they had bunks to sleep in. Eziel, Isalla, Rose, and Vinara had all been assigned the same bunkroom, and the crew of the ship had seemed quite confused when they saw angels alongside a demon, though Vinara had promptly used magic to shapeshift to appear as a mostly normal, green-haired elf with her same physique.
The morning after their arrival, Eternal Song cast off and they started toward the Forest of Sighs, the ship’s sails filled with a magical wind conjured by the helm’s windstone, which would allow them to make the passage much more quickly than they’d have managed relying on natural winds. Rose and the others tried to spend most of their time above decks, watching the clouds and taking deep breaths of the sea air.
While they stood there, Lady Azalea finally approached them, and Rose kept an idle eye on her, adjusting her position to allow a crewman to get to a line and adjust it. She also ignored how the man was ogling the four of them.
“Vinara? I just have to ask… why green?” Isalla suddenly asked, and Rose blinked, looking over at her friend, then at Vinara, who smirked. The question startled Rose a bit, but obviously Vinara had been expecting it.
“What do you mean?” Vinara asked, raising her eyebrows.
“I’ve never seen another succubus with green skin, you have green hair now… why green?” Isalla clarified, shrugging as she shifted her position, her shoulder bumping into Rose. Isalla hesitated, then relaxed as Rose laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders gently to hold Isalla in place.
“Ah, I see. Well, I’ve always liked greenery, and once I saw a nymph with green skin and vine-like patterns on her skin, and I liked how it looked. So when I grew up and had the chance, I had a few transmutations performed to give me green skin and the tattoos. I just like the color,” Vinara replied, shrugging. “Besides, I’m fairly sure that some elves have hair this color naturally. Isn’t that right, Lady Azalea?”
“Yes, some do, but it’s a fairly rare thing. It usually hails from some fey heritage, from what I’ve seen,” Azalea said, looking slightly surprised as she reached the railing. “You’ll likely get less attention with that appearance than any of the rest of you, even with magic hiding your wings.”
“Huh. Well, it does look good on you. I just was curious,” Isalla said, reaching up to toy with the necklace that hid her wings. “I was wondering… have you gotten a message from Kitania yet, Lady Azalea?”
“I’m afraid not. Perhaps they told Kitania that the message space in the book is limited, but I’m not certain,” Azalea said, shaking her head, and Rose let out a soft sigh of disappointment.
“Drat. That’s unfortunate,” Rose murmured unhappily, looking up at a seagull as it swooped down to try to land on one of the spars, but missed and had to circle around for another try.
“It is,” Azalea agreed and fell silent for a moment. When she spoke again, her tone was slightly curious. “However, the captain brought something up which I hadn’t asked about before. Once you’ve retrieved Kitania, how are you returning to Estalia? Not many ships make the passage to Hragon, as closely as they’re monitored, so it might be difficult to find one to hire.”
“We aren’t returning to Estalia, at least not immediately,” Isalla said, shaking her head slowly, then hesitated before adding reluctantly. “Well, maybe Kitania will be, but I don’t know about that for sure. I doubt it.”
“May I ask why not? I’m sorry to say, but demons aren’t exactly welcome in the north, even if angels are,” Azalea asked, glancing at Vinara as she added, “My apologies, Lady Vinara.”
“It’s fine, Lady Azalea. You’re simply speaking the truth,” Vinara replied, smiling as she looked at Rose, adding, “I’ll leave it up to you how much you want to tell her, though I will caution that we aren’t precisely in private.”
“An excellent point,” Rose agreed, glancing at Isalla as she considered what to tell Azalea. It took a few moments, but the encouragement in Isalla’s gaze convinced her to tell the elf at least enough to give a general idea of the situation, so she took a breath and spoke calmly, trying to keep her voice low. “Isalla and I didn’t end up in the hells by choice. Each of us were betrayed by other angels, even if we don’t know entirely why, and when we failed to die, they even sent others after us to ensure our deaths. Their attack is how Kitania ended up in Alserah’s courtyard.”
Azalea’s eyes flashed with shock for a moment before she managed to control her emotions and she frowned and replied dubiously. “I see. I was wondering about that, but… I can tell there’s a lot more to it. However, Lady Vinara isn’t wrong. Gossip can easily spread. Do you mind if I report what you’ve told me to my superiors in the palace?”
“I wouldn’t have told you if I did mind. However, Isalla might have her own opinion,” Rose said, looking at Isalla curiously, hoping she hadn’t said too much.
“No, you were speaking for both of us. We’re not going back to Estalia because we want to make sure those who betrayed us get their just rewards
,” Isalla said, smiling thinly. “After that… who knows where we’ll go? I’m not entirely sure myself, but I probably won’t be comfortable in the heavens.”
“True, but—” Azalea began, only to be cut off as the captain almost burst out of a nearby hatch, the sandy-haired man looking pale.
“My apologies, Lady Azalea, but we have a problem,” the man said quickly. “One of the men was feeling unwell earlier, but he just started vomiting blood. The healer is with him, but it’s all he can do to keep Emmer alive, and it looks like he was poisoned.”
“What? How was he poisoned? Are any of us in danger?” Azalea demanded, and Rose turned, her blood suddenly running cold.
“I don’t know,” the captain said grimly. “None of the others have reported feeling unwell, but we took on a lot of supplies in Port Blackcrag, and I’m not sure what did it. He can’t reply in his current state, either.”
“If you take me to him, I can purge the poison from your man’s body,” Vinara offered briskly, looking surprisingly calm as she interrupted. “I’m not the most versed in healing, but there are enough poisonous plants in the hells that I learned to remove toxins early in my training.”
“Truly? Would it allow the victim to recover, then?” Azalea asked, silencing the captain before he could speak.
“Assuming your healer can keep him from expiring from the damage he’s already taken, yes. As I said, I’m not an incredibly skilled healer,” Vinara said, shrugging slightly. “If it’s a magical venom it’ll be harder, but I can deal with those too.”
“In that case, please follow me. I don’t know how much longer the man can last,” the captain said, and quickly started down the hatch. Vinara nodded and followed.
As Isalla began to follow them, Rose caught her arm and asked, trying to keep her tone gentle, “Isalla, are you versed in healing poisons?”
Mortal Gods (Mantles of Power Book 2) Page 24