We followed the path that Aetherin had shown for most of the morning. The sun was high when the ground slowly started to raise, and the path wound up to join the rest of the plain. Soon we would be out in the open again.

It had been many hours since the unexpected guests had arrived at Aetherin’s house. It was unlikely that their bodies would have been found yet, but if anyone had checked up on the disappearance already, they might have realised something was up. At the very least they would find her house deserted.

Aetherin stopped for a moment at the head of the group. “We’re going to be exposed soon. If you need to take a break, you would be best to stop now whilst you still have cover.”

“It’s about that time anyway. Let’s stop for lunch before we head into the open.” Answered Serin.

We had been walking all morning and had little rest the night before. No one was going to complain about taking a short rest already. Everyone slung their bags on the ground and sat down on the sloping edges of the small valley. As everyone else reached for food and water, Liz pulled the map from her bag. She called Aetherin over as she spread it open on the ground.

“Do you know where we are now?” She asked.

“Yes, we’re here.” Aetherin said highlighting the location on the map for Liz.

“Good, we’ve travelled further than I thought. Where next?”

“We’ll have to walk in the open for a while, but if we take the route here, we can take most of the remaining distance through the forest.” Aetherin said outlining the route on the map.

“Hmm, good. Then the next stretch will be one the most dangerous.”

“Yes, until we approach the shrine.”

“We should fill up now then. If we’re lucky we can make it across without a stop.”

“That’s our best bet to stay unnoticed.”

The sun was beating down overhead while we stopped for food. It was bad enough for me and I wasn’t a vampire. I knew Aetherin said it wouldn’t kill her, but I couldn’t help feeling like she wouldn’t be out in this sun if she didn’t have to be. I looked on as she finished talking with Liz and she wasn’t showing any signs of discomfort at least. As Liz folded the map back up Aetherin turned to me and smiled, before coming to sit next to me.

“Everything sorted?” I asked her.

“I believe so. I’ve shown Liz the safest route I know, the rest will be down to our luck.”

“That’s all we could ask for.”

“What about you, have you enough to eat?”

“Yes thanks. I made some lunch before we left yours, so this is pretty good for on being out the road… Don’t you eat, no I suppose that’s a stupid question. But you did have a stocked kitchen.”

“I do eat, and what I suppose you would call normal food. I don’t need to, but I do find the process enjoyable from time to time. That’s why the kitchen was stocked.”

“I see, that explains it. Well, do you want some?” I asked while handing my food towards her.

“No, no. I’m quite alright. You should save that for yourself. You need to keep your strength up. I’ll be sustained by your blood for some time now.”

“Okay, good. I’m glad.”

“I’m pleased you’re enjoying the food. You were welcome to take anything you wanted.”

“This was more than plenty. I couldn’t have taken anymore, as it would have spoiled while we walked.”

While we were talking Altria jokingly elbowed Serin in the side.

“Hey!” Complained Serin.

“Look at that. You might need to up your game, you’ve got competition for best wife material now!” Altria said whilst she laughed.

“I-I don’t know what you mean.”

“Shouldn’t you be worried too?” Beth asked joining in the conversation.

“No. I know I wouldn’t make the best wife. That’s not what I bring to the table. I wouldn’t even try to do that sort of thing. It wouldn’t work for me anyway.” Retorted Altria.

“Really? You went for a lot of trouble to get Theo his relic though didn’t you.”

“I did. But I’m still sticking to what I’m good at, I didn’t say that I didn’t want to be with him. I’m more than happy to be honest about my feelings.”

I could obviously hear every word of their conversation and not wanting things to continue anymore I coughed loudly hoping to bring an end to it.

“Oh, my dear Theo, I hope you haven’t caught a cold.” Altria said with a laugh.

She was immediately shoved from either side by Serin and Beth. The three of them laughed and that was the end of them discussing me in my presence, for now. Just as Aetherin had suggested we had a decent break for our lunch. We filled up on food and water, waited a while to let it all settle before we decided to head off again. The plan was to make it all the way to forest before we stopped again. The next section of the route was right out in the open, with little to no cover. If someone was going to spot us, it would be this section. Hopefully no one was looking for us yet.

Eventually we made our move. After travelling the last of the section of the path out of the hidden valley, we reached the open plain once again. The forest was a long way off, I couldn’t even make it out from where we were. It felt as if we could see for miles in every direction. This meant we would have a lot of warning before anyone approached, but it also meant we could be spotted from far away. As it was there wasn’t another soul in sight. As we climbed up onto the plain, we walked in formation. It was open but we needed to be alert here. Altria and Celine both took the lead scouting ahead. Behind them was Beth and Serin. Liz took position in the centre of the group, while Aetherin and I took up the rear.

We were suddenly much more exposed to the sun than we had been down in the valley. I glanced at Aetherin and for the first time I could see signs of discomfort on her face. She still looked composed, but the faintest of twitches at the side of her mouth gave her away. As soon as she noticed that I was watching, her expression changed into a smile.

“Is everything okay?” She asked.

“I’m fine, but are you sure that this sun isn’t bothering you? It’s tough enough for me and I’m human.”

“It doesn’t bother me at all.”

“Okay…”

“That is quite impressive if that is the case.” Liz added from in front after overhearing our words. “I know that one such as yourself wouldn’t be injured by the sun, but as far I’ve heard the experience is pretty unpleasant for you. Am I wrong?” She asked.

“I can cope with it.” Answered Aetherin.

“I’m sure you can, but you don’t have to put on a front. If you start to struggle you should say something. I think we would all rather a short break if we find some shade over something happening to you.”

“She’s right.” I added in agreement with Liz.

“It isn’t unbearable. If I find myself in difficulty, I’ll be sure to let you know. I wouldn’t want to cause you any inconvenience. Thank you for your concern.”

“We all need to look out for each other.” Answered Liz.

We pressed on across the open plain. Liz mentioned stopping if we found some cover, but there really wasn’t much as far as the eye could see. Perhaps the odd dying tree here and there, but this was mostly a grassy plain. I’m sure That Aetherin knew there would be little opportunity for her to shelter before we reached the forest.

We had been walking for about another thirty minutes then all of a sudden Altria signalled from the head of the group for us to halt. Celine zipped out of sight for a second as the group stopped. Moments later she reappeared next to Altria and the pair exchanged a few words before they headed back to the rest of the group.

“What is it?” Serin asked calling up to the pair as they ran back.

“We’ve got trouble coming. They’re still some way off, but they’ll be here soon enough.” Answered Altria.

“What’s coming?”

“Harpies!”

“We need to do something, there’s no way they won’t spot us out here.”

I squinted as I stared into the distance at the sky. There was barely a cloud in sight and at first, I couldn’t make out a single thing, but then I noticed some small black specs way off into the distance.

“She’s right. It is harpies. You need to get to cover.” Aetherin said from beside me.

“But where?” Beth asked from up ahead.

The whole party was looking for something that could cover us while they flew over, but there was nothing in sight. Nothing that we could reach in time.