I went to sleep in Seyari’s arms when we traded Nelys and Taava for watch, but I woke up as the big spoon. I shivered a little and turned up the heat. Seyari mumbled and snuggled against me. The air was cold and crisp, and my breath came out as a hot, dense mist.

When we managed to untangle, dress, and heat up again, the reason for the chill became obvious. A thin layer of white blanketed everything; the first snow of the season. In the lowlands this far north it wasn’t much, but most of Edath, Linthel included, would soon be covered in white (if it wasn’t already).

Someone else had started the fire, but the flames sputtered in the damp. I reinvigorated them with a quick jet of fire and as Phol and Taava pulled closer, I asked the other two who were setting up, “Anyone cold?”

Nelys rushed over and gave me a hug while I worked as a living heater. Taava joined in, purring lightly. Phol refused, but Seyari blew hot air at him anyway.

“Myrna?” I extended an arm.

She looked at me as if I’d grown a second head. Nelys continued to hug me.

“What? Never hugged a demon before?” Taava smiled. “Trust me, despite all the pointy bits, she’s a great hugger. Just look at all those arms! And that tail!” She spun away from me with a coquettish smile, her boots kicking up powder. “Just ask Seyar-oof!” The mouthy kazzel caught a blast of powdered snow right to the face.

“It’s gusty this morning, Taava; you should be careful,” Seyari said coolly, hand still outstretched.

“Oh, I guess this is awkward, huh.” I scratched at a horn—the chip from my fight in Lockmoth was finally gone. “I can just make a hot breeze with Sey.”

“Yeah,” Myrna replied with her hand covering her mouth. “Do—snrk—that.”

I pointed a clawed finger at her. “You’re trying not to laugh aren’t you!”

The merchant nodded. She was dressed for the weather, with a woolen hat tilted to cover the bare side of her head. I could still see the chill on her nose and cheeks, however. Seyari put a bit more force than necessary into the breeze and I rushed to retrieve Myrna’s hat.

***

The pretty snow of morning turned into slush and then mud. By the afternoon, a cold rain started. Everyone else hid under the tarpaulin while Myrna drove and I kept watch. I assumed she didn’t mind that I radiated heat.

“Do you mind if I asked you how a demon came to be working as a mercenary for a well-established company?” Myrna broke the monotony of hoofbeats on wet dirt.

“Not really.” I stared straight ahead at the misty, winding road. “I just want to live a semi-normal life—that’s the short of it.”

“And a mercenary company is backing and legitimacy for that, I assume?”

“Exactly.”

“Hmm.” Myrna pursed her lips.

“Hmm?”

“That’s it.”

I sighed. “Alright, keep your secrets. Do you want me to look like a human in the town?”

Myrna raised an eyebrow “I like the idea of repeat customers, so yes.”

“Darn,” I clacked two claws together, my own version of a finger snap. The claws got in the way of snapping my fingers “normally.”

Myrna slowed the wagon down through a deeper mud patch. “Your personality is disarming, Zarenna.”

“Uh, thanks?”

Myrna leaned back and glanced over at tarpaulin covering everyone else. “I never thought I’d have a normal conversation with a demon. I know the world’s a big place, but damn.”

At the merchant’s words, I thought back to my long journey home. I’d been on the road with Seyari for the better part of a year and now, this guard job was the start of the last leg of that journey. This trip might be the last adventure for a while—at least until we meet with Kartania and expose Mordwell.

Ideally, whatever Sovereigns were behind the recent uptick of demonic incidents won’t do anything drastic. Then all we’ll need to do is gather what evidence we can and put out small fires as they happen. If I had the power to, I’d go after Avarice and Envy myself, but all I’d do at the moment is run around blind painting a massive target on my back.

I kept to my thoughts while we trundled along, listening to the rain and soft conversation around me.

Myrna pulled off to make camp earlier in the evening than the day before. We took the same watch schedule. Before I knew it, we were rolling into a small forest town the next day. The clouds had cleared, and blessed us with a relatively dry—but immensely cold—morning.

I leaned back and slung an arm along the top of the wagon’s front bench. Behind us, Taava sang a more traditional song, while Nelys and Phol chatted about sailing. Turns out the kid always wanted to go on a ship and that was part of the reason he signed up with Myrna in the first place. Seyari was quiet as she looked out into the trees around us, but her expression was serene.

In a way, I supposed, this was our “normal” and a chance for us to relax.

Myrna pulled the wagon straight through and stopped in front of a large apothecary. The building was worn, but well-kept with a peaked roof and a colorful sign. Phol hitched the horses, and Myrna beckoned for me to follow her inside. The others stayed out to guard the wagon with Phol.

I ducked after the merchant through the doorway, and was immediately hit with a wall of pungent scents. Tinctures, dried plants of all sorts, and brewing supplies were all stacked neatly on large shelves. A little bell rang above the door—the sound bringing a sudden rush of childhood memories of stores in Linthel. I couldn’t help but smile at the nostalgia.

A thin, middle-aged Ordian man walked out from behind a shelf. He smiled when he saw Myrna, and the smile reached his dark eyes under his spectacles. “Myrna!”

“Aleric! I’m surprised you remember me.”

“I remember all my good customers.” He shook the merchant’s hand, then glanced up at me and the spear on my back. “You must be her new guard?”

“She’s with the Gelles Company actually. I did get a new guard, a kid named Phol, but he’s outside with the rest of Zarenna’s group.” Myrna sighed. “With all the rumors going around I imagine things have been pretty rough here?”

“We’ve been spared the worst of it.” Aleric gestured for us to walk with him behind a small counter and into a large back room.

The smell in here was earthier—slightly less complex, but still just as eye-watering. For all I knew, my sense of smell wasn’t any better than a human’s. Either it’s getting stronger, or I just have a sensitive nose. Or these two are used to it.

“I’m looking for mostly the same stuff as last time, although I’d like some nightsbane as well, if you have it. I have a lot of extra expenses this year, so I’m afraid I’ll need to buy cheaper.” Myrna layered her voice with mock sadness.

So that’s why she brought me in with her.

Aleric rubbed his chin and sighed. “We can talk price in a bit. Why do you want nightsbane?”

Myrna cocked her head to one side. “Haven’t you heard the rumors of demons?”

Aleric shook his head and walked over to a sack on a shelf labeled “nightsbane.” “I heard about an incident in one town, yes, but most of what I’ve been hearing about are bandits and wild animal attacks.”

“What does nightsbane do against demons?” I asked.

“Against a full demon?” Aleric opened the sack and pulled out a dried sprig topped with a brilliant gold flower, its hue bright despite having been pressed and dried. “Not much. Nightsbane is a magically active plant that gathers trace amount of holy mana; it is useful for warding off or detecting demonic corruption.”

“Detecting?”

“Yes. In the presence of demonic mana, it changes color to black.”

I looked at Myrna like she was crazy. Would me being near it ruin her entire stock? I forced myself not to take a step back.

“We’ll take what you can spare then, along with the same order as last time.”

Aleric smiled. “I’ll get the books then. We’ll discuss the price—your guard can come with if she wants to.”

“Thanks,” I looked at the nightsbane, “but I don’t think I need to be in the room.”

Aleric chuckled. “I don’t blame you. Haggling with any merchant is difficult and Myrna is one of the more difficult sort.”

Myrna smiled at that, seemingly proud.

Before we left, I snuck a glance at the sprig of nightsbane Aleric had left sitting on the sack. The gold flower glowed faintly in my aura sight—faint enough that I may not have noticed it without knowing what to look for. Playing my part of quiet, stoic guard, I followed the pair out and stood outside a room while they deliberated inside.

Unfortunately, thanks to my hearing, I could make out every word. Myrna drove a hard bargain and used my hiring and the danger as justification to basically get the nightsbane for free, which seemed like quite the deal considering the astronomical price Aleric originally quoted. Apparently, the flower is quite rare and this town is one of only a few in Ordia where it grows.

When Myrna returned and Aleric left to get her purchase ready, I leaned down and whispered, “is it okay for me to be near the nightsbane? Am I going to ruin it?”

“What, do you think it’s more than an old wives’ tale?” Myrna whispered back, eyes on the door to the rear.

“Yeah—the aura is faint, but it’s there.”

“Don’t touch the stock then. We’ll test a flower when we’re out of here.”

Say it like that and I’ll think we’re robbing the place. Then again, with the deal she got we might as well be.

Aleric returned with three full-looking sacks and Myrna gestured for me to take two of them. She took the last one—hopefully the nightsbane—herself and we returned to the wagon. Phol hurried to untie the horses and the sacks went in the back to get roped down.

“We’re leaving already?” Nelys asked.

“Time is money,” Myrna answered, climbing into the driver’s seat.

Taava grumbled something about a tavern and pay, and then we were off. The small town rolled by quickly, and soon we were alone in the forest once more.

“We’ll rejoin the main road tomorrow.” Myrna answered the unasked question in a businesslike manner. “Phol, get one of the golden flowers from the smallest bag and pass it up to Zarenna.”

The guard voiced no complaint and did as he was asked. Notably, he didn’t let his hand touch mine and his fingers shook when he drew back.

“Phol,” I tried to sound reassuring. “I’m not going to hurt you. I know that’s a bad line coming from a literal demon in human guise, but I, uh...” I frowned, staring down at the gold flower. It tingled in my hand. Even with my human guise on (that blocked my aura), black veins started to run through the golden petals. “Sorry, that just sounds bad, doesn’t it?”

“It’s fine, Miss Zarenna,” Phol answered with relative calm. “Just a bit of the shakes—I don’t mean anything by it.”

“Thanks.” I handed the now-black flower to Myrna after holding it up for the others to see. “Looks to me like they work as advertised.”

She took it and smiled widely. “Now I almost feel bad for the deal I got. Almost.”

I sighed and leaned back. “This means I should stay in human form when I’m close to the cart. I really hope I don’t leak demonic mana.”

“It could be only on contact if you’re not using magic,” Seyari mused. “Are you okay to wait until we stop for the evening to confirm this? I assume since it’ll probably only take one more sprig, Myrna will approve.”

“Hmm,” Myrna looked from the road up to my best puppy-dog expression and winced. “One sprig. Fine. But we’re not stopping until we have to camp.”

I crossed my arms under my chest and huffed. “Agreed.”

Good weather and idle talk got our group through to the campsite in the evening. Despite a tail cramp that went away quickly, I survived the ordeal. I also found out, thankfully, that I did not leak demonic mana and would only corrupt a nightsbane flower either by touching it or by proximity to any active magic I used. Unfortunately, we rejoined the busy main road midafternoon the next day, and I had to ditch the horns. Well, I didn’t have to, but I understood the practicality.

I was doubly certain of my decision to look human when we passed a contingent of drilling Ordian guard next to a fort by the river. They were mostly on top of a hill above the road, but we got a decent look at their flank and the sheer number of soldiers—hundreds at least. We were told they were recruits by passersby, but seeing that many soldiers from relatively close by made me glad I hadn’t given any cause for someone to make my existence an issue.

That night, we stopped at a town. The caravan had largely already left, but we still separated our horses from the wagon for the night to be fed and groomed. The mud we’d been through clung to them and wagon both. With a town came an inn and Seyari and I got a real bed—for some of the night, anyway. Since she had us, Myrna insisted we stand guard over the wagon despite it being in a locked bay for the evening.

At least we’re earning our keep. Even if that means standing in a freezing cold stable for the back half of the night. Morning couldn’t come fast enough. We’d stopped in too late to get dinner, and the tavern was basically empty the night prior, so I was very ready for breakfast.