***
Pulchra woke early again the next morning and went to the kitchen to prepare a breakfast for Aleckasia. Halfway to the kitchen she realized that she did not know about Aleckasia’s tastes. Akaru would eat a wide variety of things for breakfast. Rare steaks, baked song birds, fried liver, sometimes even the rats Tobart so enjoyed. Tobart had said that daemons could be very particular about their food and Pulchra did not want to offend Aleckasia.
Luckily, as she approached the kitchen, Pulchra smelled something already cooking. She entered the room to find Celisha and Carmina busy at work.
“Good morning, mistress,” Celisha greeted her. “We did not expect you to be awake so early. We will prepare your breakfast as soon as-”
“Don’t worry,” Pulchra interrupted her. “I was hoping to help in preparing Aleckasia’s breakfast.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, mistress,” Celisha said. “We didn’t know. I’m afraid it’s almost ready.”
“She woke in pain nearly an hour ago,” Carmina said. “We gave her medicine and changed her bandages and then she asked for something to eat.”
“What are you making her?” Pulchra asked.
“Stewed chicken gizzards,” Celisha answered and Pulchra grimaced.
“I’ll go check on her,” Pulchra turned to leave. “Bring the food when it is ready.”
Pulchra walked back across the garden. As she approached Aleckasia’s room, she heard a soft whimper and her heart again went out to Akaru’s wounded daughter. Entering the room, she found Aleckasia in a sitting position in the bed, leaning against several pillows. Her long, white hair had been combed and she had been dressed in clean silk robes rather than the blood-stained garments Pulchra had last seen her wearing.
“Do you always enter without knocking?” Aleckasia asked hiding the pained expression that had been on her face. Her voice was still so weak and yet harsh.
Pulchra ignored the question and said, “Good morning. Your breakfast will be in shortly.”
“I know, I ordered it.”
“I had hoped to wake in time to prepare it for you.”
“You do not have to play the part of my mother,” Aleckasia said as the door opened. Celisha brought in a tray and laid it on Aleckasia’s lap.
“Celisha, please bring my breakfast here when it’s ready along with a hot pot of tea,” Pulchra ordered and then turned back to Aleckasia when Celisha had left. “I am not playing the part of your mother. Just as no one could ever replace my mother in my heart, I know that I could never replace your’s, nor do I want to. However, your father holds an even dearer place in my heart than my mother does, and I see him in you.”
Aleckasia seemed to accept Pulchra’s words and slowly stirred her stew. Pulchra drew a chair close to the bed and sat quietly as Aleckasia ate. She did not eat much. Presently Carmina arrived with Pulchra’s eggs and pastries followed by Celisha with the tea. Pulchra poured herself a cup and then poured another one for Aleckasia.
“What is this?” Aleckasia asked.
“Tea, it will help soothe you,” Pulchra answered and Aleckasia tasted it.
“I would prefer wine,” she said. “But it does have a pleasant flavor.”
Aleckasia slept again after they had finished their tea and Pulchra went to Akaru’s library. She selected a number of scrolls which she brought back to Aleckasia’s room. She would have liked to read in the huge room with the tall columns and painted ceiling but she wanted to keep an eye on Aleckasia. The girl slept fitfully throughout the day, often stirring and moaning and Pulchra was not sure how to help her other than to keep a cool cloth on her forehead.
Looking at her Pulchra again wondered how old she was. Celisha and Carmina had said that Akaru’s first wife had died over sixty years ago, which meant that Aleckasia must be at least three times Pulchra’s age. Yet she looked years younger.
As the sun began to set, Aleckasia awoke in pain and Pulchra leaned over her and reached to open her robes. Aleckasia bared her teeth and hissed, “There is nothing more to be done. Let me be.”
“Let me look,” Pulchra said holding her down and pulling back the bandage covering the long gash. The edges were red and the wound filled with puss. Pulchra pulled the cord to call Celisha and Carmina. “The wound is infected.”
“Not surprising,” Aleckasia moaned. “Daemons’ claws often carry infection. The healing herbs will help. I will be fine.”
“Just hold still,” Pulchra turned to Celisha and Carmina as they entered the room. “Bring me fresh bandages, herbs, and a jar of honey.”
“Honey?” Aleckasia asked.
“Trust me,” Pulchra said. “I saw some in the store room, bring a jar.”
Celisha and Carmina hurried to bring the requested items. Pulchra dabbed a wet cloth on Aleckasia’s warm face until they returned. Then she passed the cloth to Carmina and took the honey from her, slowly pouring it into the wound.
“What are you doing?” Aleckasia protested.
“Mistress,” Celisha said. “That honey is a precious commodity.”
“It will stop the infection,” Pulchra explained. “My people have kept bees as livestock for generations and found that along with its sweet taste, honey can be good for one’s health.”
“You are full of surprises aren’t you?” Aleckasia grimaced as Pulchra placed a fresh bandage over the honey. Pulchra washed her hands and when Aleckasia did not show signs of returning to sleep, she suggested that they should have their supper. Aleckasia nodded, “I could eat some lamb.”
“Bring enough for both of us,” Pulchra ordered. “And more tea, please.”
“Right away, mistress,” Celisha said and she and Carmina withdrew. Pulchra and Aleckasia shared a quiet meal. Again Aleckasia ate very little. After supper Aleckasia returned to sleep and Pulchra returned to her reading.
She didn’t know when she dozed off but when Pulchra opened her eyes, the sun was rising again. The scroll she had been reading had fallen to the floor and for a second she thought she felt Akaru’s presence. But what she felt was harder, colder than Akaru and only a whisper of the strength it could be. Pulchra turned and saw Aleckasia already sitting up in her bed and hungrily devouring breakfast. Pulchra was struck by how much she resembled her father.
“Good morning,” Aleckasia said, her voice still weak though stronger than the day before. “I think your honey worked better than I thought it would.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Pulchra said, pulling herself upright in her chair and rubbing her eyes. She pulled the cord to call Celisha and Carmina and asked for some breakfast to be brought for her.
“You don’t have to stay with me,” Aleckasia said. “You can go eat in comfort.”
Pulchra looked over the daemon. Her eyes were open and she apparently had an appetite but she slumped against the pillows propping her up and she still looked exhausted. Pulchra knew she was not out of the woods yet.
“I don’t mind staying with you,” she said smiling. “After we eat I would like to check your wound again.”
The wound was improving though the infection was not gone yet. Aleckasia spent a week in bed with Pulchra never far from her. Though she never expressed gratitude, Pulchra liked to believe Aleckasia was grateful for the company. On the eighth day, Pulchra helped Aleckasia out of bed. She leaned heavily on Pulchra on her right and Celisha on her left as they helped her to a chair in the garden. Despite her slim form, Aleckasia was surprisingly muscular and heavier than Pulchra anticipated. Aleckasia’s face brightened being outside and she spent many hours in the garden sipping tea with Pulchra. The experience reminded Pulchra of the meals she had shared with Akaru in the garden and she became worried for his safety. There had been no word from him since he left.
One afternoon in the garden Pulchra stood behind Aleckasia’s chair combing her hair. The straight white hair was so long that much of it lay along the ground when the daemon was sitting.
“Would you like me to braid it for you?” Pulchra asked.
>
“No,” Aleckasia answered stiffly.
Pulchra began imagining different styles that would be perfect for the long length. She said, “Or I could put it in-”
“Just comb it,” Aleckasia interrupted her.
Celisha approached and urgently asked Pulchra to come with her. She led her mistress to the first large store room where she had just opened a fresh barrel of grain. She gingerly pulled back the cover revealing at least a dozen large rats inside.
“Close it quickly!” Pulchra shrieked. “Where did they come from?”
“Rodents have a way of getting into places,” Celisha answered. “We never had a problem before because Tobart always ate so many of them.”
“But what have you done during other times when he has been absent?” Pulchra asked.
“This is a relatively new residence,” Celisha said shrugging. “He has never been absent from this house for an extended period of time.”
“There are many more contaminated barrels and jars as well,” Carmina reported as she joined Celisha and Pulchra.
“Alright, here’s what we’ll do,” Pulchra said, growing calm. “Seal the bad containers again and we will roll them out into the forest. Then we will put a fresh layer of plaster on all of these walls. Hopefully that will be the end of our problem.”
Removing the rat infested food stores took the three women the rest of the day. The vast majority of the food had to be removed. They emptied two of the store rooms, consolidating the remaining food stuffs into a single room. It was after nightfall before Pulchra returned to help Aleckasia back to her room.
“More than half the food is gone?” Aleckasia asked after Pulchra explained the situation to her.
“A good deal more than half,” Pulchra said struggling to keep them both upright as they approached Aleckasia’s room.
“That will complicate things for us in our conditions,” Aleckasia sighed.
“Don’t worry,” Pulchra said and reached out to open the door. “I will take care of you.”
“I will soon no longer need your nursing,” Aleckasia said with more than a hint of irritation. Then her tone softened. “But it is not only myself I worry about. You should have noticed by now that daemons have large appetites, even before they are born.”
Pulchra dropped her stepdaughter on the bed causing her to grunt. She stammered, “How did you know that I am carrying a child?”
“The signs are quite obvious if you know what to look for,” Aleckasia straightened herself on the bed. “And as I said, as my half sibling grows, so will your appetite.”
“Well we aren’t in danger of going hungry yet,” Pulchra said. “Akaru will return soon and even if he doesn’t, I can buy us more food at the market in Angustia.”
Pulchra turned to leave the room, but after a second’s hesitation she turned back and whispered, “I’m scared.”
Aleckasia made no response. Her eyes were closed. Pulchra assumed the daemon had fallen asleep and again turned to go when Aleckasia whispered back, “What are scared of?”
“I am afraid of what this child will be,” Pulchra answered in a wavering voice.
“If that frightens you, then you should not have lain with my father.”
“I am not afraid of it being a daemon,” Pulchra sighed. “I hold no prejudice against your race. I want my child to share in his father’s nature, but that is what scares me. Tobart explained to me that only the children of two greater daemons with similar natures will inherit their parents’ nature.”
“That is true,” Aleckasia said softly.
“Then what will this child be?” Pulchra asked as a tear slowly made its way down her cheek. She remembered Celisha and Carmina’s story of their tortured childhood, and also the look on Tobart’s face when he mentioned the injustices lesser daemons faced.
“I don’t know,” Aleckasia answered, still without opening her eyes. “No offspring of the union of a human and a daemon has ever survived.”
More tears fell down Pulchra’s face. She wanted to shout something at her stepdaughter, but instead she hurried out of the room. If she had opened her mouth she would not have been able to control her tears. In the garden she sat among the flowers and regained her composure. Surely Aleckasia was not an expert in these matters, surely there must be hope for her child.
Pulchra spent another day working with Celisha and Carmina to replaster the store room, though in the night more rats had infested a number of the remaining containers of food. These also had to be removed, though not before Aleckasia demanded to eat the offending rodents.
“You can’t eat them,” Pulchra stated. “They are what spoiled our food in the first place.”
“Their filth and the pestilence on their hides have spoiled the food,” Aleckasia retorted. “Not their flesh. That is still edible.”
“I am not going to allow you to eat rat meat,” Pulchra put her hands on her hips. “There is still other dried meat that was untouched. You can have some of that.”
After the plaster dried, no further pests appeared but a great deal of damage had already been done; and as Aleckasia had warned, Pulchra’s appetite greatly increased. It was not long before the store room became quite sparse.
Aleckasia was obviously concerned. One afternoon she rose from her chair in the garden.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Pulchra said stepping in front of her.
“I am going hunting,” Aleckasia stated and staggered around Pulchra. “The meat is gone and I am not eating anymore of your horrid eggs.”
“You can barely walk, you can’t go off by yourself,” Pulchra insisted and grabbed Aleckasia’s arm. The daemon wrenched herself free, but lost her balance and fell to the ground clutching her wounded chest. Pulchra knelt next to her and called, “Celisha, Carmina come help me!”
“I am hungry,” Aleckasia snarled at Pulchra. The fierce look in her golden eyes made Pulchra shiver, but she said nothing more as she was helped back to her bed.
“Celisha, I suppose we cannot wait any longer,” Pulchra said once they had settled Aleckasia. “You will come with me to buy food in the town. Get a veil to cover your feathers and make sure you wear a dress long enough to cover your feet. Carmina, you will stay with Aleckasia. Make sure she stays in bed.”
“Yes, mistress,” Carmina said. “Won’t you need more help to carry the food though?”
“If we have to we can borrow a cart and I don’t want to leave her alone.”
So that afternoon Pulchra and Celisha, with a veil carefully covering her feathered head, entered the town of Pulchra’s birth and made their way to her father’s house. Pulchra noted that few of the townspeople offered a greeting and some even scowled at her as she passed. Hardly the warm welcome of her last visit. Presently they arrived at her parents’ house and Pulchra knocked on the door.
“Pulchra?” her father asked as he came to the door.
“Father, it is good to see you again,” Pulchra said stepping forward, but her father did not embrace her or step aside to let her in.
“Pulchra, there have been some rather unsavory things said about you lately,” the magistrate said in a somber tone. “I don’t want to believe them, but they must be addressed before I can welcome you.”
“What kind of things?” Pulchra asked.
“Recently there have been a number of bandits sighted in the valley when we have never had any such problems before,” the magistrate said. Pulchra knew that if this was true it was because Akaru and the daemons who usually protected the valley were at war in the south, but how could she say that? The magistrate continued, “People claim that your husband is somehow involved.”
“How can you say that?” Pulchra gasped.
“He has never presented himself but he sends fine gifts of gold and jewels,” the magistrate said. “And you tell us tales of a marvelous mansion where no nobleman is known to live. Who could your husband be but a bandit?”
Pulchra was horrified. How could her father s
ay such things about her sweet Akaru who had done so much for their town? She fought to remain calm as she spoke, “Father, I assure you my husband Akaru is the finest of gentlemen. He is away on important business but upon his return I shall insist that he present himself to you and you may judge him for yourself. In the meantime, I am in need of food from the market.”
“The fact that your husband cannot account for himself nor can he supply food for his wife does little to alleviate my fears,” the magistrate said as Pulchra turned to go. “I’m afraid I cannot welcome you into either my home or my town until this matter is settled.”
“Then I shall leave as soon as my shopping is done,” Pulchra snarled and stepped away from the house.
“I’m afraid you will not find a merchant who will sell to you,” the magistrate called after her.
“I have coins,” Pulchra called back. “They will sell to me.”
“Not after I have instructed them not to.”
Pulchra felt a sense of fury and desperation. Her stomach growled and she entreated, “Father, I beg you for the sake of your grandchild which I bear, allow me to buy what I need to feed my household.”
The magistrate blinked in shock, but then his expression turned stony again. “Leave town immediately,” he said and disappeared behind the closing door.
Pulchra put her hand on Celisha’s shoulder to brace herself as she blinked back tears. Celisha looked at her mistress sympathetically, but she said nothing. What was there to say? They walked to the market and visited several merchants, but as her father had warned, none would sell them anything. They turned for home feeling dejected.
Just outside of town, an old sheepherder Pulchra recognized was driving his flock home. He gestured to Pulchra and said to her, “My lady, I can tell by your expression the reception you have been given. Please know that not all of us are so easily swayed by vicious rumors. To prove this, please accept this ewe from my flock.”
“Oh, sheepherder, thank you,” Pulchra cried. “You have restored my faith in my own people and saved me from a most desperate situation.”
Pulchra and Celisha took the sheep and returned home. That very evening the ewe was slaughtered.
The ewe did not last long and the food stores continued to dwindle as both Pulchra and Aleckasia craved more and more to eat. Celisha and Carmina began spending afternoons foraging in the forest for nuts, berries, and insects to feed themselves but this did little to slow the rate at which the household’s food was consumed.
“Soon I will be able to hunt again and feed us,” Aleckasia said munching on the last of the mutton.
“You are much improved but you are a long way from being healthy,” Pulchra said. She felt helpless. “We have had no word from any other daemons and at this point I see no other choice. We will have to leave the house and go to where we can find food.”
“I can think of only two places you could be referring to,” Aleckasia sighed. “One is the southern border where we could reunite with father. However, I still cannot fly and a journey on land would take weeks. The other possibility is your father’s town, but given what you told me of your last visit I don’t see how going there will help our situation.”
“But there is food there and very little left here,” Pulchra pointed out. “Besides, that sheepherder said that there were others who don’t agree with my father’s opinion of me. Besides, magistrate’s orders or no magistrate’s orders, merchants are always interested in profit and we have plenty of gold and silver. Someone will eventually sell to us.”
The next day, Pulchra led the way through the forest toward Angustia. Aleckasia leaned against her and Celisha while Carmina pushed a wheelbarrow containing the remainder of their food, a tent, some packed clothes, and extra bandages. Pulchra had a bag of coins slung over her shoulder. According to her plan, they pitched the tent just outside the forest where it could be seen from the town but they could move into and out of the trees without drawing attention. Celisha and Carmina unpacked and helped Aleckasia get comfortable while Pulchra again went into the town.
Book 3
Pulchra pulled her veil over her head as she walked into town hoping to avoid being recognized. Knowing the reception she would receive at her father’s house, she bypassed the residence and made for her brother’s house hoping that she still held the support of her siblings. She approached the door somewhat timidly but desperation drove her forward and she knocked.
She was greeted by her brother’s steward, a kind balding man who had always been friendly toward her. She pulled back her veil and the steward exclaimed, “Miss Pulchra, please come in, come in. Master Fortis is not at home but please wait while I get him and tell him of your visit.”
He led her to a comfortable sitting room and brought her a fresh pot of tea before hurrying out of the house to find Fortis. Pulchra wondered how her brother would react to her visit. He had always been a caring big brother and she knew he loved her, but he was also fiercely devoted to their father, who had decreed that Pulchra was no longer welcome in the town.
Pulchra did not have to wonder for long. She heard the door open and stood with a sheepish look on her face, but a second later Fortis entered the room wearing a wide smile.
“Pulchra,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her. “I was hoping you would come back. I heard what happened between you and father and I was afraid we might never see you again.”
“If my situation were not so dire, you might not have,” Pulchra said as she and her brother sat down next to each other.
“The situation is quite serious,” Fortis said, not knowing that Pulchra was not referring to her relationship with her father. “Several of the farmers and herdsmen have lost livestock and two young girls have gone missing.”
“What?” Pulchra gasped. “Father only told me that bandits had been seen in the valley.”
“And really that is all we know,” Fortis nodded. “Four herdsmen have reported seeing a large band of armed men though no one has caught them in the act of stealing or kidnapping. And of course the connection to your husband is pure speculation caused by rumors which have spread through the town.”
Pulchra frowned. For her whole life everyone in Angustia had shown her nothing but respect and kindness. How could their sentiments toward her change so quickly?
“Who would spread such rumors?” Pulchra asked quietly.
“Someone who is jealous of you,” Fortis said without giving a name. “Father told me that your husband is away for now. I think it would be best for you to wait until he returns. Then the two of you can answer the allegations and put an end to these rumors.”
“I wish I could, Fortis,” Pulchra sighed. “My reputation is not the only thing in danger. Three lives are now in jeopardy and unless I am able to find help they will all perish.”
“What has happened, Pulchra?” Fortis asked leaning closer to his sister. She told him of how her household’s food stores had been contaminated leaving her husband’s wounded daughter as well as herself and her unborn child without nourishment.
“I wish the situation were not so grim so that I could suggest a celebration for the conception of your child,” Fortis said after he had heard Pulchra’s story.
“The situation is grim,” Pulchra agreed. “But I have brought gold and silver, eventually the merchants will grow greedy enough to accept it. Until then I will rely on the generosity of the citizens who have not allowed their minds to be poisoned against me.”
“If your camp is visible from town, father and other concerned citizens will be watching,” Fortis said. He stroked his chin in thought. “Though I suppose if you retreated into the forest you would be in more danger of falling victim to bandits yourself. You are wrong about the merchants, though. In all the towns across the nation, not only here, all businessmen have been strictly instructed to only use coinage minted in the capital for all transactions. Ignoring the decree would lead to heavy fines and scandal. No merchant will take the risk.”
&
nbsp; “What am I to do then?” Pulchra asked almost in tears. “My family and my home town reject me and my husband is unreachable. How am I to survive?”
“Not all of your family has rejected you,” Fortis said taking a coin purse from his belt. “Take these. I will send more when I can, along with food. For now, be careful who you talk to. The entire town is on edge and there is no way to be sure who will be friendly toward you. But stay strong; I will see you through this.”
“Thank you, Fortis. I cannot thank you enough.”
Pulchra embraced her brother and left the house. She went to the market and, careful to keep her veil over her head, she was able to use Fortis’ coins to purchase some dried beef and fruits. She then returned to her camp which Celisha and Carmina now had well organized. Aleckasia sat in a small chair just outside the tent.
“You were able to buy food already?” she asked as Pulchra approached. “The situation must have improved. Go buy enough to fill the wheel barrow and let’s go home.”
“The situation is worse than I thought,” Pulchra said setting down her packages. “The merchants will not accept our coins now or a month from now. I was able to buy these because my brother generously gave me a purse of his coins.”
“Then we are saved if he can support us,” Aleckasia said hopefully.
“I fear he will not be allowed to lend his full support,” Pulchra said. She turned to her maids. “You can survive on what you forage for in the forest. Could you make a trip across country?”
“Yes, mistress,” Celisha said. “Our diet is much simpler than that of greater daemons.”
“But we have never made a long journey on foot before,” Carmina added.
“I hope that I won’t have to ask you to make your first,” Pulchra said. “Hopefully we will be able to survive here, but if not someone will have to go to the southern border for help.”
“I already told you it will take weeks to get there on foot,” Aleckasia sighed. “Longer for these two. They have never even spent a night under the stars before.”
“Then pray that we are able to continue to find food to eat here.”
They shared a meager dinner of porridge and then retired into the tent for the night. Pulchra would have much preferred the big golden bed with the silver Cupids to the few blankets she now slept on. Throughout the night she awoke cold, hungry, and wondering if her plan hadn’t been a huge mistake. But where else could they have gone?
Finally the sun rose and Pulchra was thankful for the excuse to quit her makeshift bed. She stretched as she stepped out of the tent. Celisha was striking a flint over kindling while Carmina gathered more wood for a fire. Breakfast would be another small bowl of porridge. Aleckasia was sure to be grumpy about that. Pulchra stuck her head back into the tent to check on the daemon, but looking about she did not see her stepdaughter. She stepped back inside the tent and lifted blankets. Aleckasia was not there.
“Have either of you seen Aleckasia this morning?” Pulchra asked her maids as she again stepped outside.
“No, mistress,” Celisha said turning from the small flame in the fire pit.
“Isn’t she still sleeping?” Carmina asked.
“No, she isn’t,” Pulchra answered and scanned their surroundings. She saw a few farmers in the fields in the distance, but no one else was visible and Aleckasia was not likely to go towards the town anyway. “She must have gone into the forest.”
“You think she would try to hunt in her condition, mistress?” Celisha asked as she rose to her feet.
“I’m afraid she would,” Pulchra started forward. “Put out the fire, breakfast will have to wait. Celisha, I don’t think she would be in the fields, but check them anyway. If you don’t find her look in the forest to the south. Carmina, run back to the house she may have gone back. Check the forest in that area. If you don’t find her by noon come back here.”
Pulchra herself headed north. That obstinate daemon was going to get herself killed. A part of Pulchra felt that it would serve her right. She shook her head and pushed through the underbrush. This was Akaru’s daughter, she couldn’t let her hurt herself.
“Aleckasia!” Pulchra called as she pressed onward. If she had known the course her life was to take she would have insisted on accompanying Fortis into the forest and up the mountainside when she was younger. It was difficult making her way and she wondered how she would find her way back. The forest grew all along the mountain, and over the next mountain, and the next down the range. It was huge, it was endless. How could she find one slender girl in such an expanse of trees? She could be anywhere.
On the edge of despair, Pulchra reminded herself that Aleckasia was injured. Had she been healthy she could disappear without a trace, but in her present condition she could not have gotten far and she would not be able to move effortlessly through the brush any more than Pulchra could.
Figuring that she had gone as far north as she needed to Pulchra turned to the northwest planning to turn again after searching for a time in that direction. She continued crying as loud as she could, “Aleckasia! Where are you?”
Breathlessly Pulchra put her hand against a tree truck to steady herself. The tree felt smoother than she expected and on closer inspection she saw that some of the bark had been rubbed away. A deer could do that. She looked around and around. Where had it gone after rubbing against the tree? She spotted a shrub with a broken limb and quickly moved towards it. Something had passed that way. On the other side of the scrub was a patch of open ground and in there dirt were fresh tracks. Alongside the hooved prints of a deer were the barefooted prints of a human foot. At lease it looked like a human foot at first glance. Pulchra stooped and was overjoyed to see the indentations of claws just in front of the toes of the foot prints. A daemon had followed the deer.
With renewed hope she ran in the direction the prints lead. She could only follow the trail a short way until she lost it where the deer and the daemon had crossed a patch of soft moss. Again wishing that she had asked her brother to teach her more about the forest she continued in the general direction her quarry had traveled. However, the deer may have turned at any point. With even a few miss steps Pulchra could be far from the trail. Then she saw the first drops of blood on the forest floor.
There were only a few at first, then longer strips of red pointed the way. Crashing through another clump of shrubbery Pulchra nearly tripped over Aleckasia who had collapsed at the base of a tall oak.
“Aleckasia!” Pulchra cried as she knelt beside the pale girl. “You foolish child! What were you thinking?”
“Do not…” Aleckasia whispered weakly. “Call me ‘child’. I am older…than you.”
“I will call you a child as long as you act like a child,” Pulchra sobbed as she rolled Aleckasia onto her back. Below her was a red pool of blood. Pulchra tore the tunic open across her chest and pulled the drenched bandage off the wound. As she had suspected the stitches Tobart had placed there were torn. Turning to her own dress Pulchra wrenched a thick section off the hem and pressed the wool against her stepdaughter.
“Hold this,” she commanded and placed Aleckasia’s hands over the improvised bandage. She then stood and started searching through the surrounding trees and underbrush until she found what she was looking for. A fat spider sat in a large web spun in the crotch of a tree. Ordinarily Pulchra would have cringed at the thought of touching the creature, but in her desperation she hesitated only a moment before reaching out and crushing the spider between her thumb and forefinger. With its inhabitant disposed of, Pulchra gathered the web into her hands and rushed back to Aleckasia.
“Lift the bandage,” she said even as she was pushing the soaking wool aside. She carefully arranged the spider web over the wound and then replaced the bit of her dress hem over it again.
“What was that?” Aleckasia asked.
“Cobweb,” Pulchra said and held the daemon down as she tried to sit up. “It will stop the bleeding. Now lie still.”
“W
hy did you come?” Aleckasia whispered, her breath came slowly. “Without me, your child will be father’s heir and he will have no other attachments. Nothing holding him to the past.”
“I don’t think that’s true,” Pulchra said remembering Akaru’s face when they had talked about Talecta. “I had to come. I could not let you die. I would never forgive myself.”
“You are too soft to kill for my father’s domain?”
“I have never been interested in your father’s domain. I have only ever wanted to be able to be of some benefit to my own people, to my own father. I don’t think that is possible at this point. At this point I just don’t want to cause your father any more pain. I love him, Aleckasia, and you are his daughter. So how could I not love you?”
Aleckasia did not respond for a long time. When she did speak she said, “There was a deer here. I nearly had him.”
“I know,” Pulchra smiled. When the bleeding finally stopped Pulchra told Aleckasia to keep holding the bandage, then she softly kissed her forehead and ran back through the forest.
This time Pulchra was grateful that she wasn’t a skilled woodsman. She had disturbed the undergrowth so much that it was easy to find her way back to the camp. It was nearly noon so she did not have to wait long before Carmina returned.
“I found her in the woods to the north,” Pulchra told her as she grabbed a blanket and a skin of water. “When Celisha gets back follow my trail as quickly as you can.”
“I can leave a note for her and come right away, mistress,” Carmina suggested.
“Alright, hurry,” Pulchra said over her shoulder as she set out again. Carmina caught up to her long before she reached Aleckasia. They gave her some water, wrapped the blanket around her, and were on their way back to the camp when Celisha arrived and helped carry the wounded daemon.
Pulchra was exhausted by the time Aleckasia was safely sleeping in the tent. Carmina was with her re-stitching the wound closed.
“Celisha,” Pulchra said to her other maid. “I think we can afford a slightly larger breakfast after our efforts this morning.”
Two days later when Pulchra pushed the tent flap aside and stepped outside she saw Fortis walking across the fields towards the camp. She looked back into the tent. Aleckasia was still sleeping soundly which was for the best. Celisha and Carmina, who were already awake and sitting outside the tent, pulled veils over their heads. Pulchra doubted that her stubborn stepdaughter would have been so cooperative about disguising her appearance.
As he approached Fortis looked about warily and Pulchra worried that Aleckasia may have recovered enough strength to exude a presence potent enough alarm her brother. But Fortis was not a timid man and when he saw his little sister wave a welcome to him he hurried to her and embraced her.
“You are looking well today,” he smiled. “Perhaps camping agrees with you.”
“It does not,” Pulchra yelled and slapped her hand playfully against his chest. “I’m glad you came.” Then turning she said, “Fortis these are my maids Celisha and Carmina. They graciously came here with me.”
“Thank you for looking after my sister so well,” Fortis said and took each of their hands in turn. “And where is your husband’s daughter?”
“Still sleeping and I’d rather not wake her,” Pulchra said sitting next to the fire pit that had been dug next to the tent.
“Of course I recall you saying she wasn’t well,” said Fortis. He took three sacks from around his shoulders and presented them to the women before him. “I’ve brought you a good bit of flour, some vegetables, a little honey, and here’s some smoked pork. I also have some good news.”
He looked suspiciously toward the tent as if he suspected a spy was inside listening. Pulchra could feel Aleckasia’s weakened presence and, though she would have liked to spend the day with her brother to keep her company, she found herself hoping that he would be on his way before Aleckasia woke.
When he turned back to Pulchra Fortis told her that the missing girls had returned to Angustia having gotten lost in the forest rather than being the victims of kidnapping. After that, Pulchra’s father had allowed Fortis to bring her food openly though he sent word that she still was not welcome within the town limits.
“Why is he being so harsh?” Pulcha asked sadly.
“As I told you there have been vicious rumors circulating,” her brother said laying his hand on her knee. “But don’t despair. Now at least I can bring you food and anything else you need. And soon we will sort all this out and you will come stay with me if father will not have you at his house. Just be patient.”
For the next month the four displaced women were able to get enough to eat, though they were still not allowed into the town. Fortis also brought them candles, more blankets, and cushions so the camp became quite comfortable. Pulchra’s belly quickly began to swell and her appetite only increased. Aleckasia said it was because daemon children grew faster in the womb than human children did.
Aleckasia herself continued to grow stronger and eager to move about. Twice she again tried to venture into the forest to hunt. Both times Pulchra intercepted her before she was able to get far. After the second time, Pulchra threatened to bind her hands if she didn’t stay in the camp, but was sure the daemon would ignore her words.
Halfway through their second month camping outside Angustia, Fortis did not arrive with food at the usual time, which did not necessarily mean something had happened. Perhaps he was attending to important business, perhaps he was speaking with father, perhaps he had met an old friend or even a woman. Still Pulchra was worried. She waddled back and forth in front of the tent, her belly swaying before her.
“It’s not time to panic yet,” Aleckasia told her. “You’ll wear yourself out. Besides, if he doesn’t come I will catch a deer for us.”
“And leave half your blood in the forest before I find you?” Pulchra said shaking her head. “I’m not letting you do that again.”
“Mistress,” Celisha said and held up a basket. “We found a bush heavily laden with berries. I know it won’t satisfy your hunger but it’s something.”
“Thank you, Celisha,” said Pulchra. She stopped her pacing and took a handful of berries. “You should eat some, too, Aleckasia.”
“I will wait for meat,” Aleckasia snorted.
“Carmina, would you start a fire please?” Pulchra asked. “Let’s assume Fortis is simply running late and will be here presently.”
The group huddled by the fire as the sun set. They had fortunately been left unmolested by men or beasts. Pulchra believed this was due to the fact that Aleckasia’s presence, though still weak, was now noticeable. It was enough to keep most from approaching, but not enough to scare a brave man like Fortis; though he had become more and more wary on his subsequent visits to the camp. Pulchra wondered how her brother would approach once Aleckasia grew even stronger. Indeed she wondered how she would be able to remain close to the daemon.
As Pulchra wondered, two young men approached the camp, their faces glowing in the firelight even at a distance. Pulchra recognized them as two goat herders who were employed by her family. One of them, Pulchra remembered, had shown her how to milk the goats when she had once visited her father’s barn.
“Miss Pulchra?” one of the goat herders called hesitantly.
Pulchra was afraid the two men would be frightened by Aleckasia’s presence or even by her appearance. “Go into the tent,” Pulchra told her. Though it would not mask her presence, the tent would at least hide Aleckasia’s gold eyes, pointed ears, and claws.
“Don’t order me about like a child,” Aleckasia said calmly. “I’m not leaving you alone to face two strange men in the night. Not while you are carrying my sibling.”
Pulchra grabbed a shawl and threw it over Aleckasia’s head. It would at least hide her ears and white hair. She turned and was relieved to see Celisha and Carmina similarly covering their feathers.
“I’m here,” Pulchra called to the young men and th
ey drew closer.
“Miss Pulchra,” they both bowed to her. “Your brother Fortis sent us.”
“Is he alright?” she asked.
“Of course, nothing has happened to him,” one of the herdsmen answered. “He sent us to bring you news. This afternoon a couple o’ the boys from town found five bodies in the forest. They had been savagely torn apart.”
“None o’ them were from Angustia,” the other goat herder continued. “But it still enraged the magistrate, your father. He addressed the entire town this evening sayin’ how killers were on the loose, and we were all in danger. He went on to blame you and your companions for being involved and expressly forbade anyone from lending you aid.”
“Your sister spoke in favor o’ his words,” the first goat herder said. “But your brother and many o’ the town people spoke against ‘em. The majority agreed with the magistrate though so the magistrate set new rules for the town including a curfew enforced by officials which kept your brother from comin’ to you himself.”
“How were you able to come then?” Pulchra asked.
“We have ways around the patrols,” one of the goat herders said smiling at the other. Then they held out two leather sacks which had been slung over their shoulders. “Besides, we were not among the majority and we don’t come empty handed. We slaughtered the finest goat o’ the magistrate’s herd and brought the choice cuts for you.”
“You should have brought all the cuts,” Aleckasia said in a soft, harsh voice and the goat herders jumped. They hadn’t noticed she was there until she spoke.
“We would’ve but this was all we could carry if we were going to get out o’ town unnoticed,” one of them said apologetically.
“You did very well,” Pulchra reassured them. “Would you care to stay and eat with us?”
“Oh no, miss,” the young man blushed. “We need to be getting back.”
Pulchra thanked them heartily and they disappeared into the darkness. Celisha and Carmina insisted that she sit down while they prepared the meat. Pulchra hadn’t noticed until then how weary she was.
“Something may have happened,” Aleckasia said pulling the shawl off her head.
“Oh, I would say something happened,” Pulchra replied. “I have now been officially banished by my own father.”
“I was referring to the dead men,” Aleckasia said. “There are beasts capable of such an attack in this forest. Bears, wolves, but they rarely attack men, even without daemons around to direct their hunting.”
“You think it was a daemon?” Pulchra asked frowning. “But all of Akaru’s supporters went with him to the southern border.”
“And none would go against his ban on eating men,” Aleckasia said and Pulchra shuddered. “Tykar, however, enforces no such rule.”
“You think his army has made it this far?”
“Not his army, no,” Aleckasia said. “But advance scouts could have slipped though the battle lines. It’s a tactic that has been used before.”
They ate their dinner in silence. The next morning Aleckasia was not in the tent when Pulchra woke. She prayed the daemon was not out hunting again. She would never heal if she kept reopening her wound. Pulchra spend the morning worrying and was relieved to see Aleckasia returning around lunch time. She was also glad to see that she was leaning on a walking stick rather than pushing herself.
“Where were you?” asked Pulchra putting her hands on her hips. “I was out of my mind with worry.”
“I don’t need your permission to go for a walk,” Aleckasia said and sat down picking through some left over pieces of goat meat by the fire. “I wanted to investigate the killings the goat herders told us about last night.”
“Did you find them?”
“The humans buried the bodies so there wasn’t much to see,” Aleckasia said chewing on a piece of meat. “But I walked all around the town and deep into the forest and didn’t feel any daemon presence.”
“That was very reckless of you,” Pulchra scolded. “What would you have done if there were some of Tykar’s daemons in the forest?”
“There is another large group of men east of the town,” Aleckasia said ignoring Pulchra’s question. “Men from the lands east of the valley beyond this nation’s borders. They are hard, fierce men more than capable of brutally slaying their fellow men. I think we have nothing to fear.”
“Nothing to fear?” Pulchra frowned.
“Even half dead I could kill twenty of the strongest men in five seconds,” Aleckasia said with such confidence that Pulchra felt reassured.
The next few weeks were difficult. Fortis sent messengers with food when he could but many nights Pulchra and Aleckasia went to bed hungry. Pulchra began sitting next to the road outside Angustia and asking passersby for food. It was degrading, it was humiliating, but she was desperate. Her appetite had grown so much that even after what seemed like a large meal, she still felt absolutely ravenous. Some travelers were generous toward her, but even with her large belly many men looked at her with lust in their eyes as they passed. At such times, a high-pitched howl would come from the camp and even at a distance Aleckasia’s golden eyes could be seen flashing and the men would hurry along.
Pulchra, the daughter of a magistrate and the wife of a king, had been reduced to a beggar. How could such a horrific thing have happened? How could her father be so cruel? How could her husband abandon her like this? She often held the small statue of Tutela in her hands and prayed for aid, any aid, but the deity seemed to be deaf to her pleas. Many nights she cried herself to sleep as Celisha and Carmina tried to comfort her, but Aleckasia was always silent.
One day as Pulchra slowly made her way back to camp she decided the time had come to send Celisha and Carmina to the southern border. There was nothing else to do. She only hoped that she and Aleckasia could survive the month it would take them to get there and send help back. But when Pulchra opened the flap of the tent, Aleckasia quickly pulled her inside and held her finger to her lips telling her to be quiet. Celisha and Carmina were huddled in a corner whimpering.
“What is it?” Pulchra whispered and Aleckasia glared at her. Then she felt it. Distant but definitely there was the presence of greater daemons approaching. Pulchra’s first thought was that Akaru had finally returned and they were saved, but then she noticed that the presence was aggravated. Pulchra had felt such a presence only once before: when Renanne’s presence had suddenly changed and shocked Pulchra during their first meeting. Pulchra was surprised that it did not bother her nearly as much to feel such a presence this time as it had that day.
Before Pulchra could voice an objection, Aleckasia had slipped out of the tent. Pulchra didn’t know what to do. After a few seconds she looked outside but Aleckasia had disappeared. She looked back at Celisha and Carmina and then slowly stepped outside. She only had to wait a minute before they stepped out of the forest-five male and two female greater daemons all with pointed ears and claws and varying colors of bright eyes.
“It’s not a daemon,” one of the females said. “Why did we feel such a strong presence?”
“Ain’t it obvious, Torine?” one of the bigger males said looking at Pulchra’s belly.
Pulchra defensively wrapped her arms around her enlarged stomach. They could feel a presence from the child? Did that mean it would be a greater daemon? She took a step backward, and tripped. She heard a soft rustle and when she looked up, huge white spikes protruded from four of the daemons’ chests. Two others lay under gleaming claws and the last was locked in the grip of fanged jaws belonging to a huge white cat with golden eyes.
“Aleckasia!” Pulchra gasped.
The four spikes were at the ends of Aleckasia’s four tails. She was just as large as her father but with more delicate features and thinner spikes along her spine. Her large, white wings were held outspread over the carnage. All of the daemons except the one in her mouth, the female Torine, were dead.
Pulchra scrambled to her feet and Celisha and Carmina rushed
to help her. Aleckasia shook the corpses off her tails and stepped off the ones under her claws. She must have climbed a tree and jumped on them, transforming as she fell, but Pulchra was amazed that she could deliver six simultaneous death blows. Torine gasped for breath and blood flowed out of her mouth. Aleckasia sat on her haunches and folded her wings back before she spat Torine onto the ground and laid a tail over her. She then licked a paw and cleaned her face in a very feline fashion.
“I guess the child wasn’t the only presence we felt,” Torine gasped. She began crawling away.
“Where is Tykar?” Aleckasia asked, still casually cleaning herself. Torine ignored her and continued to crawl away. Pulchra stood dumbfounded as Aleckasia rounded on Torine as she crawled just out of reach and batted her back with a paw, cutting new slashes with her claws.
“Aleckasia!” Pulchra gasped again.
“Have you ever watched a cat with a mouse?” Aleckasia asked, speaking to Torine. “They will catch it, wound it, then let it go. Then they catch it again, wound it again, and let it go again. Now tell me, how far has Tykar advanced?”
Pulchra looked away as Torine tried to crawl away again, but she heard the scream when Aleckasia sank her claws into her again. Pulchra bent over and vomited out the little that was in her stomach. Celisha and Carmina tried to usher her into the tent but she shooed them away and turned back to the gruesome scene. There was not an inch of Torine not covered in blood.
“We were sent…” Torine gasped. “To find and kill…any reserves…supporting Akaru.”
“I already guessed that much,” said Aleckasia, her voice turned icy. “What I want to know is where Tykar and his main force is right now.”
Torine lifted herself to her hands and knees and Pulchra stepped toward her but was stopped by a glare from Aleckasia’s harsh, golden eyes. She lowered her head so that those menacing eyes looked straight into Torine’s.
“I’m going to bite you again,” she hissed. “And if you don’t tell me, I am going to bite harder and harder until I snap your spine.”
“Aleckasia, I think-” Pulchra started.
“Silence!” Aleckasia growled and scooped Torine back into her mouth. Sharp teeth sank into flesh. Torine moaned but was too weak to scream.
“Stop, Aleckasia, stop!” Pulchra cried and pulled at one of her paws, but she didn’t even turn her head. With a soft crack, Torine died. Aleckasia put the corpse down and began to peel the flesh off the bones. Pulchra ran into the tent unable to watch the grizzly meal.
An hour later, Aleckasia entered the tent, again in her human form and looking quite satisfied. Pulchra couldn’t look at her. A cat with a mouse indeed. That was all she was: a giant, white, cannibal cat!
“Celisha, Carmina, could you finish burying them?” Aleckasia said, wearily sitting down next to Pulchra who did not turn to look at her. After a long minute of silence, Aleckasia picked up a comb and began running it through her long hair.
“Is there anything left to bury?” Pulchra finally whispered. Aleckasia did not answer at first.
“Why are you angry?” she whispered back after a second. Pulchra whirled toward her.
“Why am I angry?” she yelled. “What you did out there…a cat and a mouse indeed.”
“That’s exactly what it was,” Aleckasia hissed back, then her voice calmed. “That girl was a daemon with a rodent nature just as my father, mother, and I have a feline nature. Cats eat rodents; you have seen Tobart eat enough rats to know that. It is the way of nature.”
“And the others?” Pulchra asked almost in tears. “Were they all rodents?”
“I only ate the one,” Aleckasia said softly, combing her hair again.
“I don’t believe you,” Pulchra said. She stood and threw open the tent flap. Outside Celisha and Carmina were digging and six intact corpses lay on the ground next to them. Beside them was a patch of freshly turned earth where Torine’s bones must have been buried. “You were telling the truth.”
“I have no reason to lie,” Aleckasia said. “I have done nothing wrong.”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
“You think I should have let them kill you and my sibling?” asked Aleckasia, her voice growing harsh again. “I had to stop them.”
“You didn’t have to torture that woman.”
“Have you ever seen a cat with a-”
“Don’t say that again!” Pulchra shouted. “There was no reason for you to do that.”
“There were two very good reasons,” Aleckasia said calmly. “First, we’re starving and a large meal presented itself to me. You haven’t exactly been supplying much meat lately.”
“And the second reason?”
“Didn’t you hear what she said?” Aleckasia asked and Pulchra thought back. “She said that they were sent to find and kill any reserves supporting Akaru, which means that father is still alive. If he had fallen in battle, his supporters would now be supporting another daemon.”
Pulchra had not realized the significance of Torine’s words. After so long with no word she had begun to worry that her husband had been killed. But he was alive, alive and still fighting. Fighting to protect them, even the child he did not know about. Pulchra burst into tears.
“He’s alive,” she moaned between sobs. Aleckasia laid a hand on her shoulder and let her cry.
“I have to leave,” Aleckasia said when Pulchra finally quieted.
“Why?” Pulchra asked. She looked at her stepdaughter through teary eyes. “I am not so angry with you that I would send you away.”
“That’s not why I am leaving,” Aleckasia answered. “What happened today proves that I am strong enough again to fight and father will need my help.”
“No,” Pulchra said suddenly becoming concerned. “You still have not fully healed and you didn’t find out where the enemy is.”
“I need only fly south and eventually I will find the battle,” said Aleckasia.
“But-”
“If the fighting has gone on this long then the two forces are well matched,” Aleckasia interrupted Pulchra’s objection. “Father will need all the help he can get.”
Pulchra could not argue with her reasoning.
“I have never heard of any,” Aleckasia said.
“What?”
“When I told you before that no half daemon children had ever survived, I know I upset you,” Aleckasia said with an uncharacteristically sympathetic tone to her voice. “That is true, but only because I have never heard of any ever being conceived. I did not know that such a child was possible until you conceived my sibling.”
More tears welled up in Pulchra’s eyes. She did not try to hold them back.
“I do not know what he will be,” Aleckasia whispered as she embraced her stepmother. “But care for yourself and for him, and I believe he will live.”
Pulchra was truly sorry to see Aleckasia spread her wings and fly away. Celisha and Carmina joined her as she watched Aleckasia disappear over the mountains.
“What will we do now, mistress?” Celisha asked. Pulchra couldn’t send them south now and be left alone. Besides, hopefully Aleckasia would find Akaru quickly and tell him about their difficulties.
“We wait,” Pulchra answered softly.