by Kyra Quinn
“I see your protection spells still haven’t worn off,” the demon said, his first words since our encounter. His voice rasped as he spoke, as if he spent his days inhaling tobacco by the pile. “Potent magic you’ve got there.”
The more he said, the less I understood. “Magic isn’t real.”
A howl of a laugh left his lips. “Where did they raise you, a cave in the forest? Get over here, you obstinate little brat. I have no patience for your games.”
Magic or not, the demon’s attempts had failed twice. For reasons I couldn’t understand, he didn’t appear to be able to hurt me. Would it be a fool’s gamble if I continued to test my luck? What prevented his claws from ripping through my flesh?
My thoughts flashed towards the wolf in the woods, the way he’d fallen over dead after his attempted attack. Did the same magic protect me then? And how could I strengthen its force now? My heart raced as I struggled to recall every detail, the panic in my bones in what I thought would be my last moments.
“What are you doing?” The beast whimpered. “Stop!”
I swallowed and concentrated harder on the pit of rage in my chest when I pictured Father’s lifeless face. The monster in front of me deserved to suffer. The world did. I gritted my teeth until my jaw cramped as the demon shifted his weight, his eyebrows high. A whine left his throat as he danced from side to side, his face scrunched in pain.
“What the Fey is this? Stop!”
Seconds later the demon burst like an overfilled balloon. Sulfur and burned flesh assaulted my nostrils. A thick blue-black goo covered the trees and ground like an exploded barrel of oil. I glanced down, the bottom of my dress stained with guts. My stomach lurched as I fell to my knees in the grass. I dry-heaved into the brush, body trembling. But I didn’t have the luxury of falling apart, not out in the open. Survival depended on my ability to remain out of sight.
I sprinted as fast as my legs would carry me down the cobbled street. Fear and adrenaline numbed me to the ache of my bare feet. The train station couldn‘t be far. I didn’t have a hope of seeing the next morning unless I left Faomere and found help.
By the time I reached the terminal, the platform stood almost empty. Out of the handful of people in the area, only one man lacked an official employee uniform and hat. It was unlucky to travel during the twilight hours. Two massive cast iron and timber locomotives sat on the tracks. Burning coal tickled my nose. Swirls of wet steam poured from the chimney.
The moment my feet touched the platform, I sank to the ground. Shoes weren’t the only thing I’d forgotten in my panic. Money. I didn’t think to ask about money for the train. I couldn’t pay for tickets in charm. My journey was over before it ever began. The demons would find me and drag me away to whatever vile place they called home. My luck had run out.
“No,” I whispered. Father hadn’t given his life for me to throw my hands in the air and surrender. It didn’t matter if every fiber of my being wanted to curl up on the ground and wait to die. Father’s killers were still out there, and they would come for me next. If I didn’t listen to him and find the man called Remiel, I didn’t have a prayer against the strange creatures who’d broken into our home. How would I get my hands on a weapon or a way to protect myself? I needed to be ready for the next attack.
I rose to my feet and marched over to the tracks. A few people wrinkled their noses as I passed, but no one spoke. I moved as if invisible, everyone preoccupied with their own affairs. A small part of me waited for someone to shout or grab my shoulder, but it never came.
“Miss Lilianna?” a voice called as I reached the train destined for Mulgrave.
I froze as a chill ran down my body. Time had run out. A dull ache spread through my chest as my blood turned to ice. I’d done everything I could, but I still failed in the end.
“What are you doing out here so late?”
I turned to find William meandering towards me with a quizzical expression, his hands in his pockets. My arms ached to embrace him and collapse on his chest. Had William heard about the events back at the manor? Did he know his employment had expired?
“Mulgrave?” He eyed the train. “Alone? Pardon my saying so, Miss Lilianna, but your father would—”
“Father is dead,” I interrupted, my voice flat. Even as I said the words, an invisible knife twisted in my chest. I’d witnessed him die with my own eyes, but I didn’t want to believe it. I wanted nothing more than to wake up in my bed with the whole horrible evening behind me.
William blinked as his jaw fell to his chest. “Sorry, what?”
I shook my head, too tired to explain. “I need to go to Mulgrave and locate a friend of Father’s. Safe travels.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
“I can handle—”
But William stepped onto the train. “Mulgrave is nothing like Faomere, Lili. It isn’t safe. Let me help.”
“What are you doing here?” I arched a brow. “Father didn’t mention approving leave for you.”
“He didn’t. I have personal business to attend to. I’d planned to return by sunrise.”
My throat tightened. “What?”
“Get on the damn train and come find out.”
I scurried to the back of the car and slipped into the bench. No one else had boarded, but I sank into the chair next to William, regardless. I pressed my forehead against the cool glass of the window. A rush of emotions flooded me as I stared out at Faomere. Would I ever return to the place I called home?
“Gods, give me strength.” Not that it mattered. The gods had answered none of my prayers. Either no one was listening, or they didn’t care about the trivial concerns of the creatures they’d created.
William sighed as he hung his head. “I’m certain it doesn’t help, but you have my deepest condolences about your father. He was a good man. Everyone in Faomere respected him.”
I pulled my knees to my chest and chewed my lip as I peeked out the window. How long before the train took off? The more time I spent in one spot, the more of an easy target I’d become. Whoever attacked us had asked where to find me. I didn’t recognize him, but that didn’t matter. My name had ended up on his list of people to hunt down.
A sharp whistle rang through the night. The train doors closed, the massive vessel creeping down the iron tracks. I’d never ridden a train. I’d only been outside Faomere once to visit an eccentric aunt with an ambrosia addiction. Father always said trains transported goods better than people; even carriages moved from city to city with more grace and less smog.
The scene outside the window changed, the train station replaced by stretches of empty fields. Harvest season ended months ago, the land barren until spring returned. The moon remained absent, the gloomy darkness of the night a perfect mirror for my mood. Tears rolled down my face as the weight of my loss crashed over me. Never again would I see Father smile or join him in the kitchen for breakfast.
Out of tears to cry, my eyes grew heavy. I fought to stay awake, positive only nightmares waited for me in my subconscious. My body failed me within moments. I didn’t have the strength or energy to think. Before we’d left Faomere, my eyelids drifted closed for the rest of the ride.
CHAPTER FOUR
Into the Night
“Final stop: Mulgrave Terminal.” A sharp feminine voice rang through the car. I bolted up in my seat and rubbed the slumber from my eyes as the train rolled up to the platform and wheezed to a halt. A woman in a pressed navy uniform stood next to the exit with a plastic smile plastered to her lips. The doors slid open, a cool breeze released into the car.
William stood and beckoned for me to follow. My knees wobbled as if the bones had disintegrated in my sleep. I staggered off the train in a daze. Dizziness swarmed my head. I gripped the side of the metal door frame for support. I blinked the spots from my vision and stepped onto the platform, the surface cold against my bare feet.
On the surface Mulgrave and Faomere did not differ much in appearance aside from the coa
stal influence. Thatched roofs overhung limestone cottages, the tallest structures clustered in the city’s center. Salt water and wet grass filled my nostrils. Humidity choked the air as waves crashed around the sleepy town. Traces of dawn replaced the pitch-black nighttime, the sky a brilliant shade of lilac.
I had no idea where to search for the mysterious man called Remiel. Father had given little direction beyond Mulgrave. From what I’d observed from the window of the train, Mulgrave was at least double the size of Faomere. I had a lot of ground to cover and next to no time to accomplish it.
It was illogical to think I might find him lurking around the station. I took a step forward, the tile cold. The sun would rise soon. My disheveled appearance and bare feet wouldn’t earn me many friends. I scurried off the platform in search of the main street to dress myself in something that might match the rest of town.
“We need to do something about your appearance first.” William crinkled his nose and studied me. “No one will speak with us if they assume you’re deranged.”
I grunted but didn’t disagree. No proper woman in any town would dare be seen wandering the streets in a nightdress. “Did Father send you with any funds?”
“Only enough for the ticket I purchased before I spotted you. Worry not, though. Most servants develop a talent for sleight of hand.”
I arched a brow. “You mean theft?”
William dismissed me with a wave. “It isn’t theft if the owner never misses it. We prefer to think of it as re-homing. Come, let’s locate a tailor or dressmaker in this shithole of a town.”
We walked along the well-trodden dirt path towards a cluster of sandstone buildings. Pain shot up my foot and into my leg with each step, my heels blistered and bloodied. A strange mix of emotions gnawed at my gut, a sensation I couldn’t quite put into words. I opened and curled my fingers as my jaw clenched. Let the demons come for me. I was ready for a fight.
But as my eyes flickered around the strange new place, my hope flickered like a candle next to an open window. We had to be close to Center City. Paved roads replaced the dirt path, a concrete walkway on either side. I paused and marveled at the massive buildings towering over me. I’d never stood before structures so grand in real life. Why did people in Mulgrave need so much space? What did they do inside?
“We can tour the city after we’ve cleaned you up,” William reminded me as we turned down a darkened side street.
I rolled my eyes but continued to follow a few steps behind him. Most of the surrounding businesses hadn’t opened for the morning. My eyes wandered from sign to sign in a desperate attempt to locate anything that might help. A tavern. A tobacconist. A weapon smiths. Nothing useful, at least not for what I needed. Where in the damned settlement had they hidden the dressmaker?
“Is it too soon to ask you what happened to Lord Trevil?” William asked, his eyes on the ground.
My throat tightened as my mouth went dry. “For now. I still don’t want to believe it happened.”
“Understandable. May I inquire more about this man we’ve come to find?”
“If only. I’ve told you everything Father had time to tell me before—before they—”
I couldn’t bring myself to finish the sentence. William nodded to spare me the pain of further explanation. We walked along in a somber silence, each of us lost to our thoughts. I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to quiet the whispers in my mind. But nothing I did overpowered the guilty thoughts.
I let him die. After all he’d done for me in raising me alone, I’d run away when he needed me the most. It didn’t matter if he told me to run. A worthy daughter would have done something. Anything. Why didn’t I try to save him?
A low snarl interrupted my pity party. William and I froze, one of his feet still mid-stride. His face paled as a set of claws shot through his midsection. Blood poured from the gaping hole in his abdomen, every inch of the demon’s claws covered in crimson. William’s eyes glossed over as his body stiffened, the life in him gone.
The beast cackled from behind William’s corpse. Heat rushed through my body as my vision blurred. The rabbit, the wolf, Father, and now William. Anyone close to me died a painful and bloody death. The monsters had taken my home, my family, and my only ally in the span of a night.
A pained squeal echoed through my ears. My hands clasped the sides of my head as I dropped to my knees. My head throbbed as my lungs constricted. The screaming stopped, and for a moment I couldn’t be certain if the sound had come from me or the creature. I curled my knees to my chest and waited for the pressure in my skull to ease. What had he done? And why hadn’t he finished the job yet?
Though the headache didn’t ease, my vision cleared after a few moments. I sucked in a breath and scanned the area for the demon. But I was alone in the center of the street. The monster and William had vanished. Only a puddle of William’s blood remained as evidence. Tears stung my eyes as bitterness flooded my mouth.
I didn’t want to go on alone. Though I hadn’t rejoiced in William’s company, I couldn’t deny the comfort of a familiar face in a strange place. How long would it take before another monster found me? And what about the creatures from the manor?
I lifted my head to find a woman frozen in her window. The scowl on her face intensified when she met my eye. How long had she stood and watched? How many people had witnessed William’s death?
I pulled myself from the ground on shaky knees. Out of ideas or better options, I steadied my breathing and forced my feet to shuffle down the street. I couldn’t let the demons find me alone and defenseless. My nails dug into my palms as I forced myself to ignore the tiny voice in the back of my mind pleading to surrender before the monsters hurt anyone else. The only upside to losing everyone I loved?
I had nothing left to lose.
* * *
The sun in Mulgrave burned hotter. With no bonnet or hat to secure my hair beneath, the beams of warmth tingled against my scalp. My legs ached as I wandered through the streets. I moved as if in a daze, no longer worried about who might see me or what they might think. The growing body count on my hands consumed my every thought. William and Father’s faces danced through my mind. A sharp stab tore through my chest each time their screams filled my head.
People soon poured from their homes out into the streets. Carriages rolled by down the narrow cobblestone. The sound of chatter filled the air like music as the town came alive.
The people of Mulgrave didn’t dress or socialize anything like Faomere. While some men sported formal suits and canes, others wore far more casual slacks and wrinkled shirts. None of the women wore heavy velvet gowns or corsets. Instead, flowing ruffled skirts and loose blouses with puffy shoulders and sleeves in every color of the rainbow surrounded me. To my surprise, a few even sported trousers. Everyone spoke with an ease I’d never seen in public. They embraced each other with smiles and warmth reserved for intimate gatherings in Faomere. Under different circumstances, I might have found the quaint port town charming.
“My gods.” A voice from behind turned my legs to stone. “Pardon my asking, but are you all right, Miss?”
I turned to discover a woman frozen a few feet behind me, her mouth a perfect circle. Silver hair sat piled on top of her head in a neat bun. She clutched a ring of gold keys in one hand, the other in front of her open mouth.
Unsure what to say, I gave a slow nod. “I am. Now. I know I must look a sight.”
“I’ll say.” The woman snorted. “Do you live nearby?”
My face fell. “No. I…I’m from Faomere.”
The woman’s thick brows wrinkled. “Faomere? I don’t understand. How did you wind up here in your nightwear?”
“It’s difficult to explain. I doubt you would understand.”
“Don’t be so sure,” the woman said with a chuckle. “I’ve been in this world for a long time. There isn’t much I don’t believe in after the things I’ve seen.”
Her eyes drifted down to my bare feet. “Where’s yo
ur shoes?”
“I should go—”
The woman stepped closer and reached for my arm with her free hand. “Wait. I didn’t mean to pry. You look like you could use a hand. That tavern over there? It’s mine. Why don’t you come inside? I’ll make you a hot breakfast and dig up something for you to wear.”
Food. When had I eaten last? I had experienced no hunger pains, but I’d also remained preoccupied with other problems. My hand drifted to my stomach. Hungry or not, I’d be a fool to turn down a free meal and proper clothes.
The woman ushered me towards the tavern, her steps quicker than I had expected for someone her age. As we walked she said, “My name is Maev. Perhaps I should have led with that.”
“Lili,” I responded in kind.
“How many years are you, Lili? You appear too young to be wandering around Astryae by yourself.”
Tell the demons. I raked a hand through my hair, my tongue swollen as I tripped over my words. “I turned eighteen yesterday. I have no desire to wander anywhere alone but...my father, he…they…he told me to run here before he died.”
Maev gasped. “Oh, gods. Oh, you have my sincerest condolences, dear. Come on, right in here.” She ushered me through the doors and into the dark tavern. “I’ll fix you something to eat and you can tell me all about it.”
I didn’t want to tell her, or anyone, all about it. Reliving the worst night of my life didn’t sound fun. But I had no better ideas on where to look for Remiel, let alone where to find clothes without money. Inconvenient or not, I had no choice but to follow the woman into the dark sandstone building.
“Lights!” she shouted as we entered. Candles along the walls flickered to life to cast a warm glow over the empty room. Tiny bumps covered my arms as I took a small step away from Maev. Did everyone in Mulgrave use magic in the open? Was I the only person in Astryae who never realized it existed?
Chairs sat piled on top of round wooden tables, a cold tile floor beneath our feet. An aged empty bar sat towards the back of the tavern. Wide-necked bottles of ambrosia filled the rack behind the bar from top to bottom, not a single space empty. Two lop-sided swinging doors hung against the far wall. A hand-painted sign above the empty bar declared the space ‘The Cold Crossbow’ in a thick sapphire ink.