“Thank you,” I murmured, then leaned back into him.
There were only a few miles left between us and the eastern plain, and I wanted to spend them in the warm safety of his arms. I wanted to go over everything he’d just said, and figure out what was happening in his head.
I then remembered the dream he’d mentioned after Minah’s death. A dream that involved me. We’d yet to talk about it. This wasn’t the right time, but I needed to find a good moment to get him alone and ask him about the dream and my presence in it.
Why was he dreaming about me? Why was he watching me? Why was he paying attention to me?
I’d hoped I’d come out of the Valley of Screams with fewer questions about everything. Leave it to Neraka to double down and give me more to think about on my way out.
Harper
(Daughter of Hazel & Tejus)
I was at the front of our reunited group, riding on Caspian’s horse. To my surprise, he’d left it behind. Jax and Hansa were next to me, sharing an indigo mount, while Scarlett and Patrik were right behind us, along with Caia and Blaze, Avril and Heron on separate horses, and Vincent with Fiona. Cadmus and the Correction Officers stayed at the back, their eyes constantly darting around the gorge as they looked for any signs of movement. There was still the risk of invisible daemons coming out before we made it back to the field.
Screams echoed from behind, their frequency increasing with each hour that passed, as if the Valley of Screams were angry and lashing out for what we’d done to its horned inhabitants. More creatures were falling victim to the daemons, but there was nothing we could do at this time. Even with a dragon, we needed more literal firepower to launch a full-scale attack.
The daemons were much better organized than we’d initially assumed. We were now dealing with two classes of hostiles—the invisible hunters and the armored fiends. It got worse if their ranks included pit wolves, creatures that scared and fascinated me at the same time. I couldn’t help but wonder whether there were other beasts in their ranks. Worse, even more vicious creatures that obeyed the daemons.
I shuddered, and I felt Caspian’s horse react beneath me. It was a beautiful stallion, with peculiar blue eyes and a long white mane combed to one side. It was strong, and, judging by the length of its legs and its strong muscles, it was perfectly capable of impressive speeds. I stroked its neck, and it gave me a huff in return. It liked my touch.
I couldn’t get Caspian out of my head. He’d followed us deep into that gorge, he’d nearly gotten himself killed to help us, and then he’d vanished without so much as a goodbye, and even left his horse behind. Surely I’d see him again in Azure Heights, but still, his behavior baffled me. He switched from cold to hot, then back to freezing when I least expected it.
There was a slight pang in my stomach whenever my mind wandered toward him. He rattled my senses and stirred emotions I’d never thought I’d experience—a confusing ensemble of anger and excitement, all at once. Was I starting to like him? Was that the reason I was having such a hard time keeping my cool in circumstances that required a clear head?
He was a dangerous creature to fall for. He’d helped us so far, but he kept way too many secrets. I didn’t like being kept in the dark, not when so many lives depended on me and my team. Regardless of his motives, Caspian didn’t seem to trust me, and I sure as hell wasn’t willing to trust him in these circumstances—at least not beyond what we already knew about each other.
One thing was clear, though: I wasn’t the only one he was keeping secrets from. The other Lords, and even his Correction Officers, seemed to be in the dark, as well.
I glanced over my shoulder and got a quick look at the rest of our team, Vincent, Cadmus, and the other Maras. We were all quiet, the air between us and the Exiled Maras thick with tension and distrust. The more we uncovered about this place, the sketchier they looked, even when they swore they had nothing to do with daemons. But that swamp witch magic came from somewhere, and, according to their own records and accounts of the past, the only swamp witch to set foot on Neraka was part of the Druid delegation.
The air rippled behind us. I heard feet shuffling on the ground.
“Daemons!” I shouted, my instincts immediately kicking in as my heart jumped into my throat. We were in for another rough tumble.
I caught glimpses of red eyes emerging from crevices on both sides, as well as from behind. The Correction Officers drew their swords, and Caia whipped out her lighters, while we closed our ranks and drew our nervous horses together.
“Blaze, let some of that fire out,” Hansa said. “Keep them away, and let’s speed up. The plain is less than a mile away!”
Blaze jumped off the indigo horse and slapped its rump, prompting the animal to neigh and run ahead, darting past us at great speed, with Caia still on its back.
“Blaze, be careful!” Caia yelled, concern furrowing her brows.
We all nudged our horses and galloped through the gorge, racing for the opening just eight hundred yards away. I looked back and saw Blaze bursting into full dragon form. The daemons were left behind and forced to face him as he filled the entire space between the gorge’s limestone walls.
He growled and exhaled a column of fire that spread out and engulfed the daemons in amber flames. I heard screams and wails. The daemons hadn’t stood a chance. Blaze roared and released a bright orange inferno, the flames licking at the walls as they consumed everything in their path.
We galloped through the last hundred yards of the gorge, and I breathed a sigh of relief once my horse reached the tall grass of the eastern plain, the mountain rising tall and proud in the distance. Its lights twinkled, its white marble buildings glimmering in the early evening shade. The sky was a deep purple, with a faint orange glow beyond the Valley of Screams, where the sun had set.
We made it…
More roars erupted from the gorge behind us, but we kept going. Caia was right in front of me, constantly looking over her shoulder, and frowning as she saw the dragon fire fill the ravine and scorch trees, bushes, and the dozens of daemons we’d left behind.
I thought the fiends had learned their lesson by this point. We had a dragon, and we’d killed plenty of daemons in two short-lived battles already. Yet they persisted. Were they stupid, or were they simply relentless and hopeful?
Halfway through the plain, I heard Blaze’s giant wings flapping before I saw him flying overhead, his enormous shadow covering us for a split second. I checked the back again and saw thick black smoke billowing as burning daemons spilled out from the gorge. Some had made it into the stream, but I doubted they had enough strength left to come after us.
We reached the main road leading up into the city just as Blaze landed on the infirmary level and shifted back to his original form. We met him outside on the outdoor platform, just as one of the six Correction Officers still guarding the perimeter gave him a cloak to cover himself.
I got off my horse and went straight to one of the Maras standing next to Blaze.
“Has there been any suspicious movement while we were out?” I asked, and the Correction Officer shook his head.
“Did your people seal the tunnels?” Jax came up next to me, briefly scanning the terrace.
“It’s currently in progress,” the guard replied.
“I’ll go check and report back within the hour,” Cadmus said, still on his horse.
“Please do that.” Jax nodded. “The sooner you have the underground tunnels sealed, the better. Patrik will prepare the protection spell again, for us to apply to the underground level as well, just to be sure.”
“I shall see you shortly, then,” Cadmus replied, and motioned for his group of Correction Officers to follow.
They trotted up the street, then spread out and scattered throughout the city’s upper levels. Fiona slid off Vincent’s horse and joined us in front of the infirmary door, while Patrik disabled the protection spell he’d cast upon it.
“Will you be okay?” Vincent asked
Fiona with a concerned expression.
She gave him a weak smile, then nodded and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“I’m always okay, one way or another,” she replied softly.
“Good,” he sighed. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to break the news regarding Sienna to my mother. I hope to see you all later, and, should you need my help with anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
He then rode his indigo horse up the main alley toward the top. We left the six Correction Officers behind and went inside the infirmary, where the dead daemon and Minah were still well preserved under Patrik’s Druid magic.
“Okay, there is clearly a lot we need to go over,” Jax said as we gathered around the table, which still had maps of Azure Heights and the Valley of Screams spread out on top of it.
I remembered the meranium medallion that Caspian had left for her, and fished it out from my back pocket, then put it around her neck. “Wear this at all times, it’ll stop daemons from eating your soul. Won’t stop them from trying to kill you, though,” I murmured.
“Thanks.” she nodded, offering a faint smile in return.
“Let’s start with Fiona. What details can you tell us about the daemon who took you?” Jax asked.
“He was way stronger than me, which kind of says something,” Fiona replied, placing her hands on the table and leaning onto them. She looked tired, and frankly, I couldn’t blame her. She’d been through quite enough in the span of twenty-four hours. “He wasn’t very chatty, but he was extremely confident in his abilities and those of his people. He repeatedly said we’re in over our heads here.”
“He and Caspian would get along great, then,” I muttered. “Great minds think alike, after all.”
“I don’t know anything else about him, other than his name,” Fiona continued, staring at the map of the gorges, her gaze tracing our route along the stream, which was marked with a thick blue ink line. “He had tattoos on his upper body, and I imagine they represent some kind of social status among the daemons.”
“Which would make him superior to our friend over here?” Heron asked, pointing at the dead daemon. Only then did we notice the ten black markings on his upper arm, obscured by smudges of dried blood. They were tattooed into his tanned skin in a vertical sequence of squares, triangles, and circles.
“He definitely had more tattoos, covering his arms and chest. It would be reasonable to assume that, yes.” Fiona nodded slowly, her eyes narrowing as she analyzed the daemon’s marks. “Zane had a cave in the gorge next to the one I found you in. He was fiercely protective of it, and didn’t even allow other daemons to get close. He went out after them as soon as he heard movement outside. There’s a hot-water pond in there, and he keeps a fire burning for warmth. And I spent most of my time in a cage.”
“Would you be able to find it on the map?” Jax asked, following her gaze as she looked for it.
“I can try… or at least give you an approximate area,” she replied. “To reiterate, first he knocked me out with the yellow powder, as soon as we got out to the plain last night. I woke up in the cage and, naturally, tried to pry the iron bars apart so I could get out. He’d yet to reveal himself to me at the time. He blew red dust in my face, and my limbs just turned to jelly. I could still move them, but I lacked my usual strength. That’s when he showed himself to me, by bathing in the pond.”
“Yeah, we found out that trick after we tested the elements on this bad boy,” Patrik said, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the daemon.
“Glad to see you had a specimen to work with.” Fiona gave him an appreciative smile. “Otherwise you would’ve gone in blind, and that really would have sucked for us all… I can’t believe it’s swamp witch magic, though. I could’ve sworn it was some feature of the daemons as a species…”
“It’s not identical to the invisibility spell we use.” Patrik frowned. “And I didn’t get any samples, not from this daemon, nor the others back in the gorge. It all unraveled too fast before Blaze burned them all down.”
“Maybe they altered it or something, because I know for a fact that the invisibility spell shouldn’t be sensitive to water.” Hansa pursed her lips.
“That might be a possibility, but I think we need Viola and the swamp witches’ magic tome to verify it.” Patrik shook his head slowly.
“And you said the dusts he used on me were also swamp witch-related?” Fiona asked.
“Yes, definitely. They’re part of a series of stunners, as the swamp witches called them. Ten powders in different colors, made from certain crystals and prepared with specific incantations. Each serves to disable parts of or the entire body, and has a direct impact on a creature’s nervous system,” Patrik explained.
“That makes sense,” Fiona muttered, then shifted her focus back to the map. “But they don’t last for too long, and Zane didn’t seem to take that into account. I felt the effect of the red dust wear off and managed to escape as soon as he went out to confront some daemons.”
“I thought you said he let you go,” I said, slightly confused.
“Yeah, he did.” She nodded, then gave me a half-smile. “I was out of the cave and running when daemons caught up with me. I got injured in the process, and they actually overpowered me. One of them started eating my soul…”
I gasped, my eyes wide. I stared at her, and pain clawed at my heart at the thought of her suffering.
“Damn…” Heron breathed. “How are you still standing?”
“Zane got to me.” Fiona shrugged with a pained expression, as she recalled the string of events leading up to her release. “He killed the daemons and brought me back to the cave. I blacked out, I was in so much pain. I can’t possibly describe what it feels like to have something gnawing at your soul. I didn’t even think it was possible for a vampire to suffer like this. Thing is, I only had chunks of my soul consumed. Zane gave me his blood to drink, and it sped the recovery process. He said that, in the absence of daemon blood, it would take a long time for me to heal.”
A couple of seconds went by as we all processed the information, while Fiona stared at the map.
“What is it about daemon blood that heals your soul?” Hansa asked.
“It probably has to do with the fact that he consumed souls, as well. The soul itself is pure energy. Once absorbed into the bloodstream, it functions as fuel for the organism. So, I basically ingested bits of someone else’s soul through Zane’s blood, and healed mine,” Fiona replied. “After that, he blew orange dust in my face to shut me up and keep me still, and brought me to that part of the gorge where I found you all. He said he didn’t want us to spend too much time in there, basically, because our dragon was making a big mess. He sounded as if he couldn’t be bothered to deal with us. He didn’t seem scared at all…”
“Did he say anything else?” Jax scratched his growing stubble and pinched the bridge of his nose. He, too, was tired.
“Not that I can remember,” Fiona said. “But if something else comes to mind, I’ll be sure to tell you. I’m still reeling from it all, to be honest.”
“Can’t blame you,” Avril replied, putting an arm around her shoulders. “We’ll get you to bed early tonight; you need to take it easy. At least for a few hours.”
“What about Vesta?” I asked, looking at Hansa and Jax. “What was up with that?”
“I know, I’m equally baffled.” Hansa raised her eyebrows. “I didn’t expect to come across a fae in these lands…”
“Can we even guess how she made it here? She looked very young,” Caia added.
“And she really didn’t like Maras,” Heron muttered. “I mean, with me and Jax it was slightly different because she’d seen us fight, but as soon as she heard and saw the Correction Officers coming in, she darted.”
“I have no clue whatsoever,” Hansa replied, resting her hands on her hips. “But we could try to look for her in the coming days. I was hoping we’d come up with some answers from this expedition, but it seems
like all we got were even more questions.”
“The most pressing one being: how the heck did the daemons get their claws on such complex swamp witch magic?” I sat on the corner of Patrik’s bed, my shoulders dropping. I wasn’t tired, as my entire body still buzzed with Caspian’s energy, but I was feeling mentally exhausted. Everything got murkier with every step we took, and it didn’t look like it was going to clear up anytime soon. “And Caspian split as soon as the fight was over… I can try to press him for some answers. After all, we did survive the gorge.”
“Yeah, what happened to him? How did he vanish like that? He even left his horse behind, didn’t he?” Heron frowned.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Maybe he just didn’t want to be around when Vincent and his Correction Officers found us. He did stress the importance of our discretion regarding his involvement.”
“That does make sense,” Hansa mused, then clapped her hands once. “Okay, everybody go back to the inn. Have a hot bath, freshen up, fix your suits, replenish your combat resources, grab some blood and some food on your way out, and let’s meet back here in a couple of hours to discuss an action plan. In the meantime, I imagine Cadmus will be back and will confirm whether all the underground tunnels were sealed.”
We all nodded and moved to leave the infirmary. I walked out last, glancing over my shoulder to see Jax and Hansa left inside. I closed the door behind me, then walked across the terrace to Caspian’s horse. I’d left the indigo mount grazing one of the flower pots, and it was still there, bright red petals occasionally popping out as it chewed them over.
I brushed its strong neck with my fingers, and it nudged my head with its nose in response. I couldn’t help but giggle as it sniffed my hair, then huffed with delight.
“Time to take you back to your master, don’t you think?” I asked the creature, gazing into its left eye, mesmerized by its deep blue.