Clouds rolled along the barren snow-capped peaks. This high in the mountains, there was no longer a tree or any plant life for that matter in sight. The patches of land that weren’t lightly dusted in snow were composed only of gravel and rock. In the distance stood great walls made of white stone, encompassing many great spires of white and gold. Smoke could be seen rising from the chimneys of residents within the city walls.

The city atop the clouds, the city of light, Lumedia was in sight.

— Bridget —

Stacy had let me down to walk on my own before we reached the city’s gates. It would be embarrassing to walk into town and have everyone see me being carried.

…Though I couldn’t say that I didn’t like being held like that.

Stacy knocked hard on the wooden gates which rattled loudly from the force of her fist.

To one side of the gate, a smaller door opened, and a group of men wearing white plate armor emerged. Their long shadows reached out to us as their armor glinted in the light of the setting sun.

“What business do you have in the home of our goddess, vampire?” one of the men asked with a grating voice.

“I’m Stacy,” Stacy replied calmly. “I have business with the second church of Ashmay.” I didn’t know if it was true or not. I knew there were temples in the city which I wanted to visit, but I didn’t think Stacy wanted me doing that. Come to think of it, I didn’t actually know what we were doing here. Aside from escaping the castle. I had never asked.

“Stacy?” one of the guards asked incredulously. “Stacy Who?”

“Stacy. The Vampire.” She replied bluntly, like she expected them to have heard of her.

Another guard emerged from the door, addressing the others. “She is a member of the second church,” he confirmed. “Let her through.”

The doors creaked loudly as they swung open, revealing a wide cobblestone path flanked on both sides by large stone buildings rapidly expelling smoke from their chimneys. There were merchant stalls set up on the sides of the streets and many people going about their business.

Stacy grabbed my hand a pulled me into the city before the gates closed behind us.

“So we’re going to the church of Ashmay?” I asked as my eyes darted around all the sights.

“The second church, yes.” Stacy clarified.

“What’s the difference?” I asked as she pulled me along.

“There are two churches to Ashmay in this city,” she began to explain. “They both worship Ashmay, of course. But in different ways. First church is all uptight and stuffy. It’s stupid. Second church is where Leslie lives.”

Oh, so we were going to Leslie’s house. That made sense. I nodded.

Stacy guided me through the crowds of people. I was glad that we were mostly ignored, aside from a few odd stares. Hopefully nobody would give us trouble. It seemed most people didn’t trust vampires, and everyone we’d met was able to tell Stacy was a vampire just by looking at her.

We passed by a huge building with a large staircase leading up to its entrance and stained glass in its windows depicting a the figure of a woman surrounded by flowers. People in white and pink robes stood in front of the building. One of them sent a disdainful gaze in our direction.

I thought it looked like a church, but not the one we were going to apparently because Stacy didn’t even stop to look in its direction. Instead we kept moving until we came to a rather unassuming looking building.

“This is the place,” Stacy announced.

I looked over the building. “This doesn’t really look much like a church,” I remarked. It was large, to be sure, though nothing like the grand looking cathedral we had passed. It had rose-tinted windows set into its white stone walls, and above the door was a sign that read Ashmay’s Kiss.

Inside was a large furnished room with carpets and fancy tables, and a counter in the back with a receptionist. The room reminded me of the guest house back at the castle. It was almost like a hotel. There were some people seated at a few of the tables, a few of which I identified as succubuses… succubi? I didn’t know which was the right word. But I recognized them from the signature spade-tipped tail.

We approached the receptionist and Stacy held a a hand. “Room for two.”

“Miss Stacy,” the receptionist recognized her. She handed us a set of two keys, and Stacy handed one to me. “Actually, Miss Levire has requested to see you in her room.”

“Oh, so they arrived before us after all.” Stacy turned to face me. “I’m going to check on the others. You can go ahead to the room and get some rest if you want.”

I shook my head. “I’ll stick with you.”