I ate ravenously, listening to the others talk tactics over breakfast. Seyari and I hadn’t exactly taken time to get food the previous night, preoccupied as we were with… other things. Before we slept, she’d shared some of what she’d heard in her own investigation and her anger had taken the edge off my hunger.

Emotions, however, were no substitute for real food. I guess in a technical sense they were, but what my body considered adequate was far different than what my mind needed. And my mind needed four bowls of porridge—soon to be five. Winter may have reduced the available food, but porridge, honey, and dried fruit was almost a good substitute for meat and something fresh.

Almost.

“Ya eatin’ for all of us, Renna?” Taava asked, interrupting Seyari’s explanation of a potential pattern to the killings.

Instead of a response, I stared at the bard and watched her cheeky smile drop as I tipped the bowl up and emptied it.

“Uh, boss?”

I set the bowl on the table and smiled at Taava, letting my sharp teeth show through the transformation.

While Taava blanched, Seyari smirked. “You’ve got something in your teeth.”

Immediately, the intimidating effect was lost. I boxed the giggling kazzel on the ears and quickly closed my mouth, catching a glimpse of Nelys laughing before I turned away.

“As I was saying,” Seyari cleared her throat and continued, “there’s a pattern to the killings—almost like a trail.”

“Two trails!” Nelys chirped.

“Two?” I asked, keeping my lips over my teeth and running my tongue along them.

“Yeah! One of them—the less messy killings—doesn’t have too much of a pattern. It’s just clusters.” Nelys pulled my porridge bowl over and made some indents with my spoon in the film left in it. “Like these.”

“The second trail overlays the first?” Seyari asked, leaning down toward the bowl.

Taava reached over quickly and stuck her finger in bowl, sharp nail tracing through the film from one of Nelys’s indents to an errant berry. “What’s the berry then?”

Nelys pouted and met Taava’s shit-eating grin. Deliberately, they moved the berry to one edge of the bowl. “The berry’s Gedon. And this—” they took a spoon and made a line through most of the spots from the first trail, connecting them “—is the second trail. The nasty one.”

“One trail follows the other?” I asked.

Nelys nodded. “Yep! There’s a delay—the killings stop and then start again in any given spot.”

I was starting to form a picture. “Are there any killings from the second trail off the first?”

Nelys frowned, then nodded, curls bouncing. “A few, yeah. And the second trail doesn’t really follow the same order. The same time order—whatever the word for that is in Ordian.”

“Chronological order,” I said in my best teacher voice. “So it’s not chronological? How could we track it then?”

“That’s what I’m stuck on!”

For a few moments we all stared into the empty porridge bowl.

Surprisingly, it was Taava who spoke up. “What about places? A thief’s not gonna hit the same place twice, and I’d bet a murderer’s not gonna do that either.”

Seyari raised an eyebrow. “It must be different for contracted killings then. I know from experience that demons and murderers who kill in passion or for pleasure often either return to the scene or kill in an area.”

Now, it was my turn to frown. “What do you think’s going on here? Nelys?”

Nelys rubbed their chin. “I think it might be both? Maybe? Taava’s more right in this case, I guess. It’s clusters and then it moves. But it doesn’t come back unless other deaths happen, and that’s only been a couple places.”

I leaned down to look in the bowl. The line in the porridge jumped all over the place, and I couldn’t know how much was Nelys’s artistic liberty and how much was what actually happened. I tried to trace along it. “Does it end in Gedon?”

Nelys nodded. “Yep. But it’s been in and out—here and south.”

“That matches up with what I found. Something’s happened in the south recently, and there was something being planned by those thugs. I can’t be sure if it was in retaliation or not though.”

“Hmm,” Nelys hummed thoughtfully. “Well, I don’t think whatever or whoever’s doing the brutal killings knows what happens before other people do. They don’t kill for a while—days to weeks.”

“And that means, without any fresh murders, there won’t be another potentially-demonic killing?” Seyari concluded.

“So we’re screwed?” Taava sked. “’Cause unless Renna’s gone strange, we’re not gonna kill someone for bait.”

I glared harshly at Taava.

To my surprise, she deflated, ears drooping, and she rubbed the back of her head with one hand nervously. “Uh, sorry boss. That was in bad taste—even for me.”

I could swear Seyari’s jaw hit the table. Taava apologizing?! I gave my girlfr—fiancée—a small smile and a nod.

Nelys groaned. “We might be stuck, though. All I’ve got is that the trail ends somewhere between south Gedon and next closest farming town about two days away.”

“When was the last death that fits our description?” I asked.

“Weeks ago—in a hamlet to the south,” Seyari replied. “I met the relatives when I was searching in town.”

“What about the last, y’know ‘normal’ killing?” Taava asked earnestly.

“Just a few days ago, near where we were searching,” Nelys replied. “But I don’t know who did it—just that it was a group.”

I frowned. “Ordian or Edathan dead?”

“Ordian.”

I winced. “I might know.”

I took a few minutes to, with some exceptions, detail what I learned. “I plan to go to the guard and report it later today.”

“You should,” Seyari nodded. “But for now, we should check the area where those people met, find out who they knew, and look near the area of the last death.”

“I agree!” Nelys chirped, standing up from their seat. “Let’s go!”

“Hey—” Taava interjected, half-standing before sitting back down. “I might know somethin’.”

Nelys sat back down and our eyes all fell on the kazzel.

“There was this guy—unreliable sort, people told me not ta trust him. He told me he saw a demon—his words—like a demon-blooded, but more. Red, horns, spikes, a little misshapen. Y’know, the works.”

“Why didn’t you say this earlier?” Seyari asked, clearly annoyed.

“It’s fine!” Nelys insisted. “I guess you just didn’t trust the information?”

Taava nodded. “Yeah. He said a lotta other things too. Bullshit, mostly—ta try ta get in my pants.”

I thought of the other wrath demons I’d met. Verrux, the demon contracted by Malich whom I’d killed in Baetnal, leapt to mind. “I think that’s a good lead. Where did he see them?”

Taava shrugged. “In the woods, campin’ for the night on the way back up north. Prob’ly a week or so ago. Saw it walkin’ on through the trees. I guess it stuck out ta me ‘cause it wasn’t something big or fancy like everythin’ else he said.”

I shivered a little bit. “That’d certainly leave an impression though. I’d be scared too.”

“Would ya?” Taava chuckled. “’Cause ya don’t got the spikes, but you’re big and red and pointy all the same. Ya scared Myrna and Phol half ta death a few times.”

“Oh. Uh, sorry, I guess—too late to say that now.”

“I talked with Myrna about it early on,” Seyari said calmly. “Really, you weren’t that scary, and it certainly sounds like whatever this was wasn’t either.”

Nelys, who’d been thinking, spoke up. “That fits with our culprit. If they didn’t think they were seen, they probably wouldn’t attack—they’re going after specific targets mostly anyway.”

I nodded. “Yeah. Any other rumors or sightings, anyone?”

Seyari shrugged. “A few, and I guess they could be similar. Big hulking figure to some, a demon to others. I only heard a few people mention things, and none of them leapt out to me as really important.”

“Why not?” Nelys asked.

Seyari sighed. “I guess I just assumed them to be the usual empty rumors.”

“Fair enough,” I said easily. “Is that all then?”

Taava and Seyari nodded.

Nelys jumped out of their chair again. “Let’s go then! This time for real!

I stared down at the empty porridge bowl for a longing moment, then determined I was full enough, got up, and picked up my spear and shield from where I’d set them leaning against the table. “Nelys is right—let’s get paid up and get going.”

Seyari and Taava stood too, the half angel taking my hand in hers. We should tell the others soon. Taava, meanwhile looked at me and then the bowl and asked, “Ya want some ta go?”

“Taava!”

***

We didn’t make it very far from the inn before I noticed a familiar figure with two short brown braids walking toward us. Vivian was armed even more so than usual, and the magic I got off her equipment made me wonder what sort of connections she had to acquire all that in a single night. Like the last times I’d seen her, she was wearing hunting leathers, though this time with the bulk of armor underneath.

Seyari and Taava tensed next to me, and I felt my own shoulders tightening. Around us, the city was busy with the hum of late morning, a clear sky melting snow only where the sun touched. Vivian continued to walk with purpose and head low, so I waved to her. Surely she wasn’t going to try to attack me in the middle of all these people?

“Vivian!” I called out. “Fancy running into you here! Did you report what happened last night?”

The lone mercenary walked closer before replying. “I did. Pity they attacked first.”

So that’s your angle. I decided to play along for now. “A pity, but they’d shown more than enough for their guilt. Why meet us here?”

“Your offer,” the mercenary added, studying the faces of my comrades—only Nelys smiled and offered their name. “I intend to take it.”

“Good,” I nodded. “The strange one is Taava and the dour one is Seyari.”

To my surprise neither voiced complaint at my introduction. Safe to say they trust Vivian less than I even do, then.

“Have you found anything?” Vivian asked, turning to walk in the direction we’d been headed.

I followed her, the others behind me. “I have. Someone or some thing is killing the killers so to speak. They don’t seem to have any unusual awareness of the deaths, and they move between here and the smaller towns to the south.”

“Are they here now?”

I shrugged. “Maybe—they were here last.”

“Then I may know where to look. Do you believe the hunter is a demon?”

I thought for a moment before replying. “I do, yes. The behavior is unusual for a lesser wrath demon, so I believe them to be a greater wrath demon—or potentially a demon of another kind.”

“Can wrath demons have human guises?” Vivian asked in the tone of someone who already knew the answer.

“Rarely,” I answered vaguely.

Vivian nodded. “Then it would match with sightings I’ve heard talk of: a hulking, near human monstrosity with red skin and big claws. A demon, to most.”

“Where did you hear of sightings like that?” Seyari asked. “The best I could get were vague rumors and secondhand accounts.”

“Perhaps you weren’t persuasive enough—or you didn’t check the right places,” Vivian said smugly.

Seyari seethed.

The lack of sightings was starting to make more sense the more I thought about it—particularly if the demon was near enough to human shape to move about semi-unnoticed. The dead were, in general, found in isolated locations, so there were few witnesses. Perhaps the victims were lured. Still, someone had to have seen something, so I didn’t doubt Vivian’s information. Concern over her methods however? I had plenty of that.

“If we’re going to work together, we should at least be passingly courteous,” I said to no one in particular, myself included. “Do you have any leads, Vivian?”

“I do. One dead last night. Apparently, while we were having a chat, someone else was being ripped apart. Lucky for you, that means I know you didn’t do it.”

“Lucky me,” I replied with obviously fake enthusiasm. “Where did it happen?”

“An old church in the south of Gedon. Mostly abandoned from what I gathered, but I’ve not been over there yet myself since I didn’t hear about it until I visited the guard.”

“Let’s go then!” Nelys asserted.

“Yes,” Seyari agreed. “Let’s.”

“Very well,” Vivian relented. “You all can come along. I suppose Zarenna’s friends count toward taking her up on the offer of working together.” She turned and started to walk away, clearly intending us to follow. So I did.

I wasn’t quite certain whether to expect a trap or an actual lead, but given the solo mercenary’s zealousness and the potential that my tirade last night had an effect, I tried to stay cautiously optimistic.

Unfortunately, the newcomer’s presence wasn’t well-received by my friends and the walk through the city was tense. Seyari knew all that happened last night, but Taava and Nelys didn’t know everything, and I felt bad for cutting them out of the loop, even accidentally.

While we walked, I tried to get more information out of Vivian. “So, any idea where the culprit might be?”

“It has to lair somewhere in the city to avoid being found out. And given the location of the killing, and the lack of sightings, I’d bet it didn’t go far.”

“And you think you might know where it’s hiding in a dense part of the city?” Seyari asked. “How?”

Vivian shrugged, weapons rattling. Without turning around, she answered the half-angel. “I don’t know exactly where, but I know the neighborhood, and I have a lot of experience with this sort of thing.”

Seyari clicked her tongue. “Fair enough… I suppose.” I felt a little sympathy with how she forced her tone to stay cordial.

For all she’d disowned her previous life, Seyari always had a sore spot when it came to people implying her inexperience. Given she was half-angel (more, actually, but saying three-quarters-angel would both raise eyebrows and take too long), most people assumed correctly she was older than she looked.

Vivian seemingly ignored the angel part of her. I was honestly a little surprised the mercenary hadn’t asked why a demon was traveling with a half-angel.

Right now, however, wasn’t the time to ask. Dressed, armed, and in a group as we were, we drew plenty of stares. Vivian walked with a purpose, glaring at anyone who looked at us too long. Seyari did the same, and I had the unfortunate feeling I was alone with Nelys in trying to mollify the people who hurried away from our group around corners or into buildings.

Really, I imagined Nelys was the only one who managed to look pleasant. Seyari had told me my resting expression was… stern I think would be the best word. Honestly, she’d called my face a lot of things last night. And the rest of me. And I’d done the same to her.

With some sadness, I wrangled my thoughts back in place just in time for Vivian to announce we were getting close to the area. We turned off the main street and onto a dirt side street where the buildings quickly grew smaller and more densely clustered.

Hopefully we’d get to the bottom of at least one part of this whole massive mess today.