Page 91 of Demon Bound

She reflexively gripped the handle of her baton beneath her cloak. It was filled to the brim with power, so much that it felt hot to the touch. They were as ready for this as they could be, but that didn’t stop her heart from drumming an anxious beat in her chest.

She glanced up at Azreth. Finally, something good had happened to her, and she couldn’t help but fear that the universe was conspiring to take it away.

As if he’d sensed her unease, he looked down at her, reaching over to put his hand on her shoulder.

She just nodded reassuringly, not trusting the steadiness of her voice enough to speak. Azreth bent to kiss her cheek, and warmth flooded through her. He must have noticed the bloom of emotion, because he smirked conspiratorially at her before he straightened.

As they entered the town, a new chill came over her, quelling any warm feelings she’d had. The town was silent. Eerily so. Normally, there would have been people bustling about even after dark, but today, the streets were empty. Still-burning lanterns swung in the wind, snow swirling around the soft, golden balls of light. With no one to disturb the snow, untouched drifts were gathering in doorways.

She’d half expected to find it overrun by screeching hellspawn. She was relieved that was not the case yet, but she was not particularly comforted by the odd quiet. Even less so by the smears of what looked like blood that she occasionally saw beneath the thin layer of snow, and the torn awning here and broken lamp post there.

She spotted a face in a dark window of a house before the curtains quickly closed. A while later, she saw another. So everyone was not gone, just hiding. At least they were not all dead.

“This is your home?” Jai asked, gazing around at the empty streets. Her voice was low but clear. The snow dampened any echo that might have otherwise carried through the stone streets and buildings.

“It was,” Raiya replied.

“Not anymore?”

“I’m… not sure.”

“Home is where your friends are,” Jai said, looking up at her encouragingly. “A real home is wherever you choose to make it.”

“That’s not true,” Madira said. “Kuda Varai will always be our home, no matter how long we spend away from it.”

“Well, maybe Raiya doesn’t want this to be her home anymore,” Jai pointed out. “The place where you were born isn’t always the place that feels like home. Especially not when you’re no longer safe or welcome there.”

“You’re both right,” Raiya said, glancing up at Azreth.

The sound of flapping wings drew her attention. Down the street was a group of the same large black birds they’d seen on the road. They were gathered around a misshapen form that, after a few moments of scrutinizing, Raiya realized was a corpse. The birds were pecking at cold bits of flesh.

They passed the corpse and the demonic birds without comment. The birds never looked up from their morbid meal.

Raiya led them to the northeast, where she could just see the dark outline of the castle on its hill outside of town, illuminated by the half-hidden moons and shrouded by snowfall.

She blinked rapidly at it. Through the haze of snow and darkness, she could see a red glow suffusing the castle, almost like a magical fire burning the stone.

“What do you want to bet that’s where they’re coming from?” Raiya said, nodding toward the castle.

“I wouldn’t take that bet,” Jai said.

A distant screech split the air, and Raiya stopped short. They all waited, listening, and another screech followed.

“What’s that?” Raiya asked, looking up at Azreth.

He’d cocked his head toward the sound. “A thresher, or a winged nyra. Stay close.”

When they reached an intersection of paths, the source of the sound became clear. Down the street, armored men were battling a nightmarish creature that scrambled around with alarming quickness. Raiya recalled the baker’s daughter describing this thing—like a pale human on all fours. Long, needle-like teeth protruded from its jaws, dripping with saliva.

It lunged at one of the armored men, sinking its teeth into the man’s throat.

Raiya drew her baton, but she didn’t know if she could hit something that moved that fast.

“Thresher,” Azreth confirmed absently. He held out his hand, and a length of magenta light appeared in his palm. A spear. In one quick, powerful motion, he raised the spear and hurled it, looking like a champion gladiator. It flew at blinding speed and tore through the thresher’s neck, stopping its movement abruptly. The spear disappeared, and the thresher dropped to the ground.

All the men spun toward Azreth. It was only then that Raiya saw their red cloaks and the sword emblems. Paladins. Theyraised their swords as they moved their attention to their next threat: Azreth.

“Wait!” someone shouted. “Stop, damn you!” Adamus pushed his way to the front of the group. He was wearing his armor again, but it looked like he’d scraped the Paladin emblem off the breast of the cuirass—certainly a statement, though Raiya questioned whether it made any real difference.

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