Page 27 of The Demon's Delight
“We’ll find an inn soon, probably,” I assured him. “There may be towns not shown on that little map, besides. Honestly, I’m surprised that last one was, since it’s so small.”
He turned to me, tense expression melting into a smile. “Perhaps, yes. If not, maybe we’ll run along another way-house. There’s not much out here, and those are mainly intended for weary travelers with no other option in places such as these.”
I lovingly remembered of the little cabin we’d left behind. The soft mattress, hot water bath, and plentiful food. We weredefinitely not as badly off as we could be, but the comfort and luxury of that place would stay with me for a very long time.
“Are you familiar with all of Cyntere?” I asked. I thought I knew the answer, being that he’d found me so easily in Olinbourg and seemed to know where Ravenglen was in comparison.
“No, not all.” He kicked a stone with the toe of his boot. “I’ve visited some places, but my way of travel is not something that requires good directional ability.”
“I’m not sure I understand.”
He quirked his mouth to the side and glanced at the sky, as though searching for the words to formulate his response.
“You understand how portals work?”
“Yes. They’re like doorways to other places.”
“Exactly. And sifting? Or jumping?”
“That’s where you can move somewhat long distances, right? Just by thinking of the place you want to go?”
“Yes!” He clapped his hands and did an interesting little hop, clearly pleased with my answer. “You know a great deal about many things, Hailon Derne. While those two are very, very handy for fast movement, they don’t need anything other than minimal information to work. I was able to find you in Olinbourg, for example, because I knew of a nearby portal. Had you not told me the name of the place, I wouldn’t have found my way back easily, not even having your face as my focal point.” He flashed a wide smile, as though pleased he’d managed to get that key information out of me when it was most important. “And when we were leaving, I was going to use my ability to take us where you needed to go based on how I remember Ravenglen… feeling.”
“Feeling?”
“Yes. Every place has a certain way it leaves an impression on you, wouldn’t you agree? I think of that as how a town or regionfeels. Sometimes it’s a certain smell, or the way the wind moves through the trees. The color of the sky… could be anything.” He gestured to the sky with a flourish, his long fingers splayed wide. The lacquer on his nails had gotten so chipped it was nearly gone altogether. I wondered what he’d used and if there was a way for him to replace it soon. I rather liked the black gloss on his tan hands.
“That makes sense.” I accepted the water flask he offered, resisting the urge to make a face when he smiled and bobbed his head encouragingly. We’d made some progress as a traveling pair. He’d taken to suggesting things that would keep me more comfortable, and I was doing my best to not be quite so eager to ignore my needs in the interest of traveling faster.
“So going by foot is a lot harder, for obvious reasons.” His ears reddened. I could only assume that meant he was embarrassed. My ears burned terribly both when I told lies and when I was feeling shame about something. “It seems I underestimated how scarce horses and wagons might be, to start. I’ll admit I was excited by the notion of journeying slowly, but this much time by foot wasn’t really a consideration. I expected to have my wings, if nothing else.”
“I feel like somehow that may be my fault,” I muttered.
He frowned at me, the abnormal seriousness in his golden eyes intense. “Not at all. We’ll figure out the reason soon enough. My point is, I’m not used to having to navigate much. Directionality while being bound to the ground is an added layer of difficulty I should have anticipated but did not.”
“You don’t have to know what direction you’re going when you jump or anything?”
He shook his head, the flush that had started in his ears deepening and spreading to his cheeks as well. “No. Portals, sifting, those are a simple exercise in trust and visualization of your destination. There’s no walking, planning for camp, ortracking the way the sun and stars move required. And with wings, one can gain a distant perspective on things from the sky. Walking is far more complicated.”
“Ah. I see.” We fell into a quiet lull for a while. I thought about how little I’d ventured beyond my sleepy town settled up against the northern mountains. Despite that, I’d learned how to find north by the stars and to stay put if I ever wandered too far into the woods. I knew the sun rose in the east and set in the west, and the phases of the moon. A demon, one who didn’t even spend a significant amount of time on Earth wouldn’t have much reason to know those things. “Can I look at the map?” I asked. “When we stop for a rest, I mean.”
“Of course.” Seir smiled over at me, but his normal lighthearted personality was weighed down by his thoughts.
“I don’t thinkanything on here is very well scaled,” I said over a mouthful of the dry biscuit-like bread the widow had packed for us. “But that would be difficult with anything drawn this small. It seems to heavily favor the southern area too. There’s not much at all over near Vincara, and Austern is almost an afterthought altogether.” I turned the map his direction, tracing with my finger. “I think if we follow this line, the water, that’s probably our best bet.”
“Agreed.” Seir studied the little map a bit more, then rolled it up and put it away. “We should be able to follow alongside that creek or river until it disappears into the mountains. Once it starts to curve, we can go the opposite direction into the Valley and then north.”
“And avoid the ruins.” I nodded, glad to have some kind of plan even if that meant I was walking another several days.
“Sadly, yes.” He frowned. I understood his personality enough now to know that missing out on a vengeful spirit haunting a crumbled castle was almost certainly a terrible disappointment. “The closer we get to that many villages and towns, the more likely we’ll encounter wagons and other road traffic, perhaps even multiple roads to choose from.” This notion perked him back up, and we continued on until it was time to make camp again for the night.
Sitting around our little fire after a hasty rinse in the frigid stream with yet another version of campfire stew, I finally asked a question that lingered in the back of my mind.
“What is it that you do, exactly?”
Seir grinned, breaking off a chunk of the hard bread with his teeth and stirring it into the contents of his bowl to soften before answering. “I’m a prince. I have twenty-six legions under my command, though I don’t often use my title or my men these days. Because of how I’m able to travel, I’m mainly a messenger and given far more freedom to do what I like than many.”
“Is it like how humans have kings, princes, and all that?” I used some of the softened bread to soak up the last of my soup, wiping the bowl clean before I ate it.
