Chapter Sixteen
Roadwork Ahead

To Vera, winter mornings had always been different from others. In spring, it came softly and gently, accompanied by birdsong and the starting of the day. In summer, the crickets and grasshoppers played their instruments, the air warm before the first light really hit the ground. And in autumn, it was a reminder of summer, gently reminding her that even on cold, rainy days, the sun was right there, behind the clouds. 

But winter mornings were different. The sun took a long time to show if it was there at all, hidden behind the thick fog that didn’t seem to want to leave. It was morning in only the most technical sense of the word, a transition from night to not-night, and that was all there was to it. 

Night had come and gone. Breakfast was mostly quiet, as winter morning breakfasts often were, except for Flaveo and Rubicus’ occasional attempts to have an easy conversation between the two of them, not saying anything of consequence because, when they did, they’d be back on the mission, and Rubicus seemed to need a moment. He’d been more thoughtful than ever since the night before, and his worried expression was put aside only to chew on some dried jerky. 

Vera didn’t really mind. After the conversation from the night before, she wasn’t highly keen on talking to either of her former comrades any more than she had to. And Prince Clarus was… keeping her mind occupied. He sat next to her and kept his cloak over her shoulder, to keep her warm. It was working, in more ways than one. She looked up at him occasionally, but when he turned to ask her if she wanted to say anything, their faces were so close together she worried he’d feel the glow coming off of her. She’d nearly fallen over herself to pull away, pretending to get herself some more coffee, while Aesling quietly giggled away in her head. 

“Love, you’ve got it bad, don’t you?” Aesling said, and Vera made sure to keep her head turned away from Clarus so he couldn’t see her trying and failing to keep a straight face. 

“Quiet, you,” Vera said, but a stubborn little smile kept pulling at the corners of her mouth and betraying her. “Like you don’t feel the same way.”

“Oh, I do. But I’ve no misgivings about my own feelings, Vera. You, however…” Vera could feel the amused looks Aesling was giving her coming from inside her little grove. For a few seconds, Vera focused on pouring and drinking the coffee, letting the tin cup warm her hands in fog. She could feel Aesling pacing back and forth inside her own head.

“What are you?” she asked. “I know you’re a spirit of some sort, but is there a… name? And don’t say A—”

“Aesling,” Aesling said with a snarky grin. “And yes, there’s been many names for beings like me. Personally, I’ve never been all that bothered with them. A quiet forest has only the trees and the critters that live between them. A bird has no need for words.” She seemed to ponder for a moment. “I quite like the word your countrymen have for those like me, for what it’s worth. Meliae. It rolls off the tongue quite nicely. Or Nymphs.”

“Huh.” Vera emptied her cup and quickly dabbed it dry, before stowing it away, still making sure not to make too much eye contact with Clarus. 

“Do he and I need to have a conversation?” Aesling asked out of nowhere. Vera nearly choked on her own tongue. She waved Prince Clarus away as he tried to help her with her coughing. At least it gave her a reason for her head to be as red as it was. 

“What about?” she asked when she’d caught her breath. 

“About you and him, child.” When Vera didn’t respond, Aesling pushed on. “You seem quite taken with him, and he certainly has a soft spot for you. Do he and I need to talk?”

“No,” Vera mumbled as they broke up camp and saddled their houses. “There’s no need, Aesling. I promise I won’t get between the two of you.” The thought of that conversation was drawing a dark cloud over her thoughts quickly. “I won’t be a pr—”

“Girl,” Aesling interrupted, “no. That’s not what this is. If you and I are going to be coexisting like... well, this, then Clarus and I will likely share some intimacy, and unless we acknowledge the fact that your feelings for him and his beautiful, stupid face are getting strong enough for me to touch, that’ll only cause hurt in the future.”

“You’re not wrong,” Vera said. “Does it even matter? We might not even make it through this. I… We need to focus on moving forward. On catching up with Caerella.” As she mounted her horse, she saw Rubicus helping Flaveo onto the back of his. “Speaking of which… Flaveo!”

“Hmm?” He turned to look at her, like this was his first time seeing her. She decided not to make a big deal out of it, though not rolling her eyes took some effort. 

“Caerella. Which way?”

“South,” Flaveo said as they began to ride. Clarus brought his own steed up on her other side and Rubicus kept his eyes straight ahead. “I didn’t see much of her, though whatever that thing did to her, it seemed to have her in its grip.”

“What did it do?” Rubicus said. “She seemed to become… something… worse.”

“I’ve seen it before,” the Prince said. “The Cavean will take the strongest warriors he comes across and make them into something other altogether. I don’t know if they can be saved, but while they are this way, there is no reasoning with them.”

“Why not do that to everyone?” Flaveo thought out loud. “I would think the Cavean might quite like the idea of turning an army against itself, no?”

Clarus shook his head. “Too unpredictable. Easier to kill its foes and use them to create its Demon army. Those it turns are powerful, aye, but I believe it finds them hard to control.” Vera frowned and looked over at him. 

“Then why do it at all?” she asked. “And why Caerella?”

“Because it makes them powerful,” Prince Clarus said. “And because the Cavean, despite all of its power and loyalty to its master, is cruel in the smallest ways. Turning friend against friend is not worth the effort it takes from a tactical viewpoint, but it’ll do so anyway. Because it can.” They rode in silence for a bit with Clarus’ words hanging over them. 

“Can anything be done about it?” Rubicus asked. “I’d like to avoid losing ano— a friend if I can help it, Your Highness.” Vera pretended not to see the sideways glance he’d shot her. 

“I believe so,” Clarus said. He looked at Vera quite pointedly. And at who was with her. “Aesling might be able to bring them back to who they are. They’ve not been drained of life like so many of its victims.”

“Yes,” Aesling said. “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve kept a darkness at bay, and that was the Cavean. Something weaker than that, I might be able to drive out entirely. Might.”

“Aesling’s the demon inside C— ‘Vera’, right?” Flaveo said. “I’m not sure we ought to trust the word of a creature that isn’t even human, Prince Clarus.”

“While I appreciate your candor, master Flaveo,” Clarus said, “I’ll not have you question the integrity of my companions in my presence. Question my sanity, if you must, but know that Aesling was with me for quite some time before you and I ever met. And she is no demon.”

“If you say so, Your Highness,” Flaveo said with a bow. “In that case, I hope you are right.” He glared at Vera. “If she comes back, we’ll know if what you say is true, ‘Aesling’. I’ve no desire to see my friends hurt, but I’m a vengeful bastard when it comes to them.”

“That’s enough, Flaveo,” Rubicus said quietly, but with a viciousness to his tone that was hard to ignore. Even Flaveo seemed stunned for a moment. “Just… focus on the task at hand. Caerella. The Cavean. Then we can worry about spirits and such.”

“Right,” Flaveo said. “Well, then.” He seemed grouchy for a moment, and then perked up. “At the very least, it shouldn’t be too long for us to catch up to her.” Everyone turned to look at him. “I saw the Cavean giving her — or trying to, leastways — orders. I don’t know what they were, but as it left, Caerella didn’t go with it. She left an hour or so later, alone.”

“What are you thinking?” Rubicus asked. “One woman can’t do much damage.”

“Not to a nation,” Flaveo said, “but to one person? I think it knows you’re following it.” He nodded at Clarus. “Might be more worried about the Prince than it let on.”

“Speaking of which,” Clarus said, “why leave you behind?”

“To make Sorcerers,” Flaveo said. “It needed a magecraft to make magic as a base. It used what I had in my pack, but I was stalling for time to avoid giving them the ammunition to make more.”

“What of the people in the village?” Clarus asked. “It was empty;”

“Dead,” Flaveo said, and that was, it was clear, that. The Cavean had an army of Demons at its beck and call by now. Even if it took several people to make a single Demon, they’d be numbering in the dozens by now, and those creatures were not easily beaten. 

“So we’ll likely see Caerella soon, then,” Clarus said. “You’ve all known her a long time, what am I to expect? What could we do to subdue her?”

“I… hadn’t considered that,” Rubicus said, and he seemed to deflate in the saddle a bit. Vera couldn’t blame him. Flaveo was easily underestimated in a fight, Clarus’ bladework was masterful, and Rubicus was a warrior through and through. But Caerella was… 

“She’s a killer,” Flaveo said. “If there’s anything of her left in there, there’ll be no fancy swordfighting, no battle as you think of it.” He looked at Clarus with a grim resoluteness in his eyes. “She’ll kill you where you stand if you make a single wrong move. She does not and has never cared about subduing an opponent unless it was an absolute requirement.”

“I take it she won’t hesitate to attack us, the way she is now?” Rubicus asked. The Prince shook his head. 

“Indeed, she won’t,” Prince Clarus said. “Although she may stay her blade once. I’ve seen creatures like her hesitate, although never for long.”

“Not something I’m willing to gamble on,” Flaveo said. “I’ve never seen that woman hesitate to do anything in her life. I don’t see her starting now.” He chewed his tongue for a second. “That’ll be the only way to subdue her. We have to fight her as if we are fighting to the death. She will be, and if we’re not willing to harm her, she’ll use that against us.”

“I will do what I can to restore her if she does come to harm,” Aesling said. 

“If she’s hurt, she can be healed,” Vera passed on, “like I did with Rubicus.” The large man rubbed his abdomen where he’d been wounded only the day before. When he looked at her, she couldn’t quite read the emotion on his face. Conflicted, to be sure. “I think we need to get her on the ground. From there, I think we might be able to bring her back to her old self.”

“Good,” Clarus said. “Very good. Hah!” He smiled jovially as he brought his horse closer to Vera’s. “Thank you again, sweet Vera. And Aesling. Speaking of which…” he lowered his voice. “I would like to speak with Aesling tonight, Vera, if that is alright with you.” He caught the stunned expression on her face. “Oh, no, nothing like that! I truly wish to have a conversation with her. It’s been some time since we’ve had some time to really spend time, her and I.”

“I understand,” Vera said, her heart hammering in her chest as she still tried to stop her brain from coming up with alternatives to what that ‘conversation’ might have meant. Aesling, struggling not to laugh, stepped forward with her permission. 

“We’ll speak tonight, love,” Aesling said. As always, it was slightly strange to hear her own voice so differently, coming out of her own mouth. The Prince reached over to touch her face, but with a look to the others, seemed to change his mind. As Aesling slipped back into her grove and Vera stepped back, both of them were fighting their respective disappointment. 

“And you and I will speak more, too,” Aesling said, “There’s a lot w— LOOK OUT!”

Vera saw the attack out of the corner of her eye, and moved with a speed she wouldn’t have been able to before she’d met Aesling. Her hand shot out, and caught the arrow mere inches from Clarus’ face. A shadow dropped down from a lone tree down the road.

“Well,” he said as he drew his sword, “it seems we’ve found our quarry. Or she’s found us.”