Dangerous Times (Skies of Fyir Book 0)
Page 21
Specks of blood became visible as he continued, although they were few in number. He bent down and examined it, seeing that it had yet to fully dry up. They had travelled this way, but Amnur still could not see whoever he was tracking. The demon hurried on, both worried and wary. Further blood became visible, each pile he found was fresher than the last; whoever they were, they were actively bleeding. Amnur wished he could shout out to get the individual’s attention, but the risk was too great for him if someone recognised the voice.
As the trees began to thin, a figure caught his attention, and he stopped still. Slowly, to keep himself hidden, he approached them until he reached a distance where he could see with greater clarity. The figure was indeed a demon and given by the blood he could see on their leather attire, he had found his target. It was a woman, and she was slumped against a tree, causing her sleek, black hair to flop over her face. Despite that, Amnur could see the edges of her horns near her cheeks, meaning that the horns curved downwards before curving back up, likely looping behind her ears. He knew what that meant, but it surprised him; she was an individual of northern heritage. That fact alone made him wary, but also curious; it was unlikely that she knew who he was, given how strong the curve of her horns was.
Amnur took a deep breath and slowly crept closer, taking in an increased array of details as they became visible; her skin was pitch black, with patches that held a faint shimmer in the spring light. Her eyes were shut so he couldn’t see her eye colour, but he could see that her fingers were like claws. Seeing her deteriorating state, he decided to take a chance with her.
“Can you hear me?” he spoke, dropping his spell, so he was fully visible. She hissed and pulled her head up, pausing when she saw that her new companion was a demon, not an angel. Amnur found himself in awe when he saw her eyes; they were a beautiful, rich purple, unlike anything he had ever seen before. He snapped himself out of his trance, putting his mind back on track. “There’s a settlement nearby, I can get you help there.”
“Please,” she replied, taking Amnur's hand as he offered it to her. He managed to stand her up, noticing that the thought of carrying her was going to be impossible; she stood as tall as he did. Seeing no other way, he put one arm around her shoulders and steered her towards Linlake, watching with worry as blood speckled the ground as they went.
The distance to Linlake wasn't a far trek, but by the time they had arrived, Amnur could tell her consciousness was fading. He shouted to the huts in an attempt to get help, unsure who was still around as the residents were often away during the day. After a moment of silence, Abel came rushing out of Crono's house and hurried over to the mage.
"This is where our mysterious demon blood came from," Amnur stated, holding the woman steady while Abel crouched down to investigate. He carefully moved her leather jacket aside and saw the magically inflicted wound underneath; the attack had hit deeper than what Amnur had experienced, although he suspected that the overall wound wasn't too serious if the bleeding could be stopped. Abel turned his head up to inform Amnur and saw her northern heritage, freezing on the spot. The blood dripping onto his hand posed a dilemma. She needed treatment, but her heritage was an issue, a big issue. "Abel?"
"Come," he sighed; the North was a place rife with turmoil, due to the oppressive control the ruling family had for many thousands of years. This woman could well be someone who managed to escape, as opposed to a spy. The Central Isles was an important strategic position, despite their minute populations compared to the other continents, as surrounding the two interconnected main isles is a vast system of other, smaller isles. Those islands block easy access the North has to the South and vice versa, forcing any potential fleets to have to negotiate access with the ruling bodies of the Central Isles unless they wished to travel across the untamed continents that lie in the east and west. While most of the isles are used for farming due to the lack of space on the main islands, fortified outposts exist along the stretch to keep an eye on the situation. A threat from the North or South is far greater than any internal threat, a fact which sits deep in the minds of the locals.
As Abel's thoughts stirred, Amnur followed behind him until they had reached a spare bed, where he placed her down on.
"What's your name?" Amnur queried.
"Lilith," she panted, digging into her last reserves of energy to take her leather top off, pulling at the fastenings either side that kept it together. Amnur debated helping but didn't want to upset her by getting too close to her skin. Eventually, Lilith had everything loosened and tossed the top to the ground, allowing Amnur a look at the wound. There was a deep hole penetrating into her body with an area of familiar burning around it, right near a potentially fatal area he noticed.
"You sure that's only magic?"
"Highly concentrated magic yes, obliterated the flesh it was directed on and burnt the surrounding area. It was intended to be fatal, though her assailant either misjudged the location or had interference, luckily for her. She wouldn't have lasted much longer though, regardless," Abel replied, settling himself down on the floor, so he was optimal height to reach the wound. He summoned the light elemental and temporarily connected the being's aether to his, allowing him control over light. With that prepared, he carefully sapped the lingering aether out by creating a gradient, luring the concentrated aether to an area of lower concentration. For there to still be so much aether within her body, her assailant was either still alive, or recently dead. Aether didn't persist once the original host had perished, but it could take up to a day usually to fully dissipate, depending on where it was embedded.
Abel teased and teased until he could no longer locate any trapped aether. Once that was done, he used the aether link to gently heal up the wound, continuing on until it had stopped bleeding. Light and darkness can be used to heal one another's hosts, but it came with a risk of rejection. Conveniently for her, that hadn't been the case this time. The rest of the wound would heal better if left to natural healing, to prevent the body stressing and rejecting the initial heal.
"I either need some medical tools or a healer with them," Abel told Amnur, who nodded and hurried out to see which he could find. After a short period, he returned with a bag and grabbed the table that sat against the wall, placing the bag's contents in neat rows along it. The shaman picked the desired tool and dipped it in a wooden bottle, before offering the liquid soaked end to Amnur. "A flame, please."
Amnur did as requested, watching the tool ignite and ripping through the liquid before extinguishing. Abel worked swiftly, patching up the wound until he was happy with it. Once he was done, he wrapped bandages around her and glanced up, noticing Amnur keeping her upright. The mage, seeing that Abel was done, gently laid her down, placing her head on the pillow and covering her with the blanket.
"A northerner, didn't think I'd see one of them again," Abel whispered, ending in a sigh.
"I know the North is bad, but it seemed wrong to condemn her when we know nothing," Amnur replied in a hushed tone.
"You're right; I'm just wary, that's all."
"If she does prove to be dubious, we can always deal with her; whether that's through Sebastian or through other means, well."
"Fair point, she's heavily outnumbered if it came to that."
***
Lilith recovered from her wounds due to Amnur and Abel's intervention, something she was grateful for. She had told them how she had hidden in the masking swamplands after managing to slip out of the reigns of the North, only to encounter an opponent she had never fought before; an angel. The wound came about as a misjudgement on her part, something she aimed to prevent happening again. They told her that while angel attacks were decreasing in number, it was always advised to be vigilant.
Lilith went on to describe the northern continent, to Amnur's amazement. She told him about the beautiful Sakura trees and their brilliant but fleeting blossom displays in the spring, the sudden blast of heat in the summer and then the frigid onset of the winter mon
ths. Amnur wasn't so keen on the idea of perpetuating cold, but the spring sounded remarkable. Abel, although he was still wary, joined in the conversation. He had to admit, however, that the swamps had nothing overly positive to say about them, aside from their safety. Constant damp and biting insects weren't positives, along with the bland selection of food. It didn't appear to phase her too much though, the idea of freedom coming above everything else.
Amnur found himself attracted to this new stranger, so he decided to talk to her more privately when Abel was out doing various tasks. Lilith seemed to enjoy his company, so he decided to brave the next step; telling her his past. He didn't want anything to be built on lies, even if it meant her rejecting him for it. She remained silent until he had finished, taking a moment to think about it, before placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. The mage was delighted by her support, and soon the two grew close, with mutual displays of affection.
Abel was unsure but didn't let it come between their friendship. He asked Crono if there was a spare house available, as living in separate rooms in a shared house wasn't exactly a romantic space. The demon mentioned an abandoned house that sat within a reasonable walking distance from Linlake, although he didn't know who its previous owner was. They investigated it and found a run down, but still structurally sound, house sat on a wooden decking suspended above the swampland. It needed care and some pest control, but it proved to be of a decent size. With Abel's help, they got it back to a livable standard and moved in.
Amnur offered Abel to pick his room, but he politely declined, stating that Valmeadow had given him their main hall to use as a residence recently after noticing his falling out with his sister. The mage understood and heartily told him that he's always welcome as a guest, whenever he wanted to stay over.
The two settled well in the house, although Amnur started to see Abel less, their meetings were always joyous encounters. For the first time since coming to the Central Isles, Amnur felt truly at home.
Afterword
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