White floor. Yellow walls. A thin wooden table. I’m seeing through her eyes again. A memory.
Olexandrya’s breaths are heavy. Each one comes with a shrill noise in her throat, as if it hurts her to even breathe.
But, why am I seeing this now? It’s been days since this has happened. A part of me wonders if it has to do with Olexandrya. Is it on her mind? Is she trying to remember? Is the fragment of her soul within me responding to that struggle?
“You don’t understand.” A man speaks quickly. I can’t tell where he’s speaking from. “Alexandria, listen to me.”
He pronounces Olexandrya’s name strangely. I don’t see him anywhere and Olexandrya isn’t moving.
A figure moves at the edge of the room, low and dark. It walks on four legs and its gray fur rustles as it does. A pair of black eyes turn towards Olexandrya, appearing within the mess of fur.
A dog.
I wake to the movement of Olexandrya’s hand on my back. I’m bound in her arms, lying against the soft warmth of her chest. One of her legs is between mine; my legs curl around it. My arms are folded across my chest.
Neither of us are wearing trousers. It’s easier to feel the heat of her skin that way.
Her fingers move from my shoulder blades to my spine and slowly travel along it. My skin tingles under her touch. She pauses on a scab. I recognize it as where Jeremias grabbed me in the Capital.
I don’t open my eyes. Is she looking for something? Assessing damage? Trying to wake me up?
Her fingers keep going, eventually pausing again at the small of my back. Her hand flattens, drawing me a bit tighter against her.
I manage a quick breath before I’m smothered against her breasts.
They’re softer than the rest of her. Her stomach is soft as well, but there’s muscle packed beneath that softness.
I recognize the shape of her erection moving against my thigh.
I turn my head enough to get air and decide to speak up.
“What is it?” I ask, opening my eyes.
I find her staring at me. She has a strange look on her face. Hungry.
“What is what?” She asks, rapping her fingers against my back.
I hesitate to clarify. Maybe I’m overthinking. I decide to redirect.
“I need a dagger,” I say, raising my chin slightly. I’d considered using the Soul Cleaver, which is currently under Olexandrya’s bed, but I don’t like the risk of accidentally nicking myself and dying on the spot. “I feel incomplete without one. Do we have any…”
Olexandrya’s lips quirk.
“Any what?”
“Jewels? Coins? What do you people use as currency?”
Olexandrya laughs, her chest quaking as she does.
I glower at her, even though it’s a bit comforting to see her do it.
“You’re so out of touch,” she says when the laughter dies down. “Yes. We have some coins. I’m sure we can find a bladesmith in the Capital.”
“How many ‘coins’ do ‘we’ have?” I ask. “I wouldn’t want to spend all of Suella’s meager savings.”
“Sue’s rich,” Olexandrya shoots back. Her hand travels lower, following my hip to my thigh. Her grip tightens as she does. “She has plenty of coin to ‘waste.’”
I glance down at her hand, and she pauses.
“What’s this?” I ask. “You’re handsy this morning.”
Olexandrya lets go and raises her hand.
“I’m only human,” she says. “You’re naked in my bed, what am I to think?”
You’re not human, though; is what I want to say.
“You’re a breathing blanket,” I say instead. “You’re not supposed to think.”
She grins, taking my leg and lifting it. With a push, I’m on my back and she’s above me, positioned between my spread legs.
I inhale sharply when her erection pokes me right in my clit.
Olexandrya plants a hand beside my head and lowers herself slowly, angling her cock against my folds.
I meet her eyes, my breath unsteady. Her face is inches from mine. Is she getting closer?
“Are you…” I search her eyes, trying to regain my train of thought. The heft of her shaft is distracting me. The motion, up and down the lips of my pussy, has a hypnotic quality to it. I hope she at least plans to be gentle with me. “You’re going to have your way with me?”
She pauses, staring back at me.
“Don’t say it like that,” she mumbles a bit indignantly. Then, her brow furrows. “You do want to do this, don’t you?”
I’m at a loss.
“I told you,” I say. “I’m not interested in sex.”
Her face falls, literally. She plants her forehead against my chest with a long sigh.
“But,” I add. “I figured it would come to this when I pleasured you the other day. Do what you will.”
I’ve rarely given thought as to what sex would be like. I’m sure I could tolerate it. Especially if I may be dead in a day anyway.
But Olexandrya seems to have changed her mind. She rolls off me, landing on the bed with a thump.
Maybe she was joking. Maybe she isn’t that interested in me after all. Why bring it up, then?
“Well,” I say, sitting up. I’m instantly colder, despite the blanket. “How much does a dagger cost?”
Olexandrya turns onto her back, groaning as I get up.
“Couple of gold coins, most likely,” she says. “Depends on how good it is.”
I pluck my trousers off the floor and step into them. Then, I turn and fix and flat look at her.
“It has to be perfect,” I say. “Or else it’ll be useless.”
She shrugs, sitting up.
I turn and cross the room in a few steps. I decide that I’ll make a trip to the bath. Maybe I can use a rag instead of having to risk drowning.
But when I open the door, Smetchen is standing there, looking lost.
I stare at him for a moment.
His wide eyes hold mine for a fraction of a second before he looks past me at Olexandrya.
His face turns red. Did he hear us? No, there wasn’t anything to hear. We’d been pretty quiet. Can he tell somehow? Has my face flushed? Is that it?
“Oh. Um…” he drawls and clears his throat.
“What is it, Smetchen?”
“There’s a demon outside.”
I stare at him.
“There’s a demon in front of you,” I say. “There’s three… four demons in this house. How long have you been standing here?”
“I was too scared to knock.”
I shut the door in his face and turn, finding Olexandrya splayed across the bed with her eyes shut. She’s completely naked from the waist down and basking like a tired lizard.
Oh. That’s probably what Smetchen was reacting to.
“You don’t care if that boy sees you?” I ask, walking to the window.
“What?” She sits up, yanking the blanket over herself. “He saw me? Why didn’t you warn me?”
I hadn’t thought of it, really.
“Sorry,” I say, pulling the curtains back.
Sure enough, I find Lloyd standing face to face with a twenty-foot beetle. Its shell is black and is littered with purple spots.
Lloyd’s wings are bound, and he looks like he’s trying to talk to it.
“What’s going on?” Olexandrya asks, sliding out of bed.
“There’s a demon outside.”
She doesn’t bother putting her trousers on; she just joins me at the window.
Lloyd is waving his arms, grinning at the beetle.
“Oh, it must be friendly,” she says. “Or at least… chatty?”
I glance at her, curious about what’s drawing these assumptions.
“Lloyd isn’t stupid,” Olexandrya says. “He’s pretty good at reading people.”
I immediately question that. This is the boy who was promised apprenticeship by Jeremias and took it at face value.
“Right,” I say. I let the curtains drop. “Maybe I’ll take a bath.”
“Want me to join you?” She asks, fetching her trousers off the floor.
I glance at the curve of her shapely ass as she does it. I wonder if it’s soft.
“No,” I say. “I wouldn’t want you to see me naked.”
She laughs. I know she’s already seen me naked, and I know we were a heartbeat away from sex a moment ago. But I couldn’t think of a good excuse, so the joke will have to do.
I don’t need Olexandrya knowing that I can’t swim and that I’m a bit terrified of drowning in this magical basement bath.
Luckily, I think she gets the hint. Because she doesn’t press.
“I’ll be here,” she says with a yawn as she settles under the covers.
I’d completely forgotten Smetchen was at the door when I return, planning to head downstairs.
“Demon,” he insists. “Outside!”
“Let’s go,” I say, deciding to investigate after all. “I’ll have a look.”
I follow Smetchen down the stairs and to the front door. He doesn’t say a word about what he did or did not see in the bedroom.
There’s no sign of Rakel, Pepper, or Suella. Maybe they went out, or they’re in bed.
I push the door open and march down the front steps.
“If I could do that,” Lloyd is saying as I approach. “I’d definitely win, right?”
The beetle has four eyes on its heavy head. They’re each big orange orbs.
“It wouldn’t guarantee your victory,” the beetle says. “But it would greatly increase your odds of survival.”
“I don’t care about survival! I have to win!”
“The demon talks…” Smetchen mumbles behind me.
I steal an annoyed look at him, hoping that it reminds him that I’m just as much a demon as that beetle is. And demons talking really isn’t that impressive.
“Hey,” I say. “Lloyd, what’s going on?”
Lloyd turns, and I spot a stone in his hand. Glowing white symbols linger on the surface.
A seal. The Demon Lord’s magic.
“Oh, Ms. Aerida,” Lloyd says.
“Where did you get that?” I demand.
“My name is…” the beetle’s words fade into repetitive clicks and heaves.
“I’ve been calling him ‘knower,’” Lloyd says.
“Not that!” I snatch the stone from Lloyd. It’s hot with magic. The heat is familiar.
“Jeremias gave it to me,” Lloyd says, looking a bit annoyed. “If I say a certain word when I’m holding it, I can summon this guy.” He sticks a thumb over his shoulder at the beetle.
“I will teach you the spell,” the beetle says. “If you truly wish it.”
“I do!” Lloyd declares, turning away from me. “If I don’t get some serious power, I’ll end up looking like a joke.”
It makes sense at the most basic level. Jeremias and Lloyd are on the same team. Jeremias understands that Lloyd will have to get stronger for them to succeed.
I toss the stone back to Lloyd, and he catches it.
“So, the demon is okay?” Smetchen asks, hovering next to me.
“Why don’t you ask it?” I grumble.
He cringes.
Today is the last day. Tomorrow is the trial. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be doing. We’ve been training every day. Rakel hasn’t gotten any better at mana manipulation but the boys are progressing impressively fast.
You can’t teach someone how to react in a life or death scenario overnight. They’re still kids.
I don’t know when it’ll happen. The break of dawn? Whenever Remrey decides to kick things off?
I hate not knowing. I leave Smetchen and Lloyd, heading back inside.
Rakel, Pepper, and Suella are gathered in the front room now. I have to assume they just popped in. Suella always seems to be popping in and out.
Rakel is laughing, and Pepper’s hands are smoking. Suella drops into a chair, tossing an arrow aside.
“We met the orange team,” Rakel says, grinning at me. “They’ve got a hotheaded archer with them.”
“I ought to have killed him,” Pepper says, stomping into the other room. Her hands leave trails of smoke behind her.
“Is Drya still in bed?” Suella complains. “If you’re up, why isn’t she up?”
Why am I being lumped in with Olexandrya? She speaks of us as if we’re a unit.
I catch Rakel watching me in the corner of her eye with an odd look on her face. For some reason, I’m taken back to her question yesterday afternoon.
‘Are you and Drya…’ she’d had that same look on her face when she’d asked it.
“Orange team? What’s with them?” I ask.
Rakel clears her throat.
“The archer, obviously. And there’s some kind of swordsman, and a… skeleton.”
“A skeleton,” I echo. “Does it talk?”
“It punched me.”
“Lovely.”
“Yeah. We were in the capital looking for a tailor. Need new armor, you know?” She looks me up and down, and her brow furrows slightly. What does she see? What’s she looking at?
“We’re going to Lociege,” Suella grumbles. “Should’ve gone there to begin with. I said, ‘No good tailors in the Capital.’ But you lot didn’t believe me.”
“Where’s that?” I ask.
“Lociege is a tailor,” Rakel corrects, bumping me with her arm.
“Where’s he?” I ask a bit indignantly.
“Far,” Suella says, standing. “Is everyone in the house?”
“The boys,” I say. Is she going to move the house? I suppose it’ll be nice to see the mechanics of how it works. “They’re outside.”
“Get em,” she says.
Rakel sticks her head out the front door, calling Lloyd and Smetchen.
“How does it work?” I ask, folding my arms in front of Suella.
“How does what work?” She leans back in the chair, eyeing me.
“The house. How does it move?”
Behind me, Lloyd and Smetchen come inside. They’re mumbling about second-class spells.
“Old magic.” Suella says. “Our family, me and Drya, passed this house down for a couple generations.”
“And that makes it move?”
“Quit interrupting me!” She barks, standing up.
“What’s going on?” Smetchen asks.
“We’re moving,” Suella says, spreading her arms.
Rakel returns to my side. She’s standing a bit close.
“The house is enchanted,” Suella says. “There are several seeds scattered all over the country.”
I decide not to ask what a ‘seed’ is in this context. No point getting snapped at again.
“What’s a seed?” Smetchen blurts. I silently thank him. It’s nice not being the only one out of the loop.
“It’s a designated landing spot,” Suella says. “Technically speaking, this house is physically at every one of these locations. Or a ghost of it, at least.”
“It’s like sticking your finger in a book to hold your spot,” Lloyd supplies. “But with magic. And you’re holding a bunch of spots.”
“That’s absurd,” Smetchen mumbles. “What if something changes the spot?”
“They’re sealed off, obviously,” Suella snaps. “You can thank me for that. I’ve wrapped all the ‘seeds’ with barriers to prevent anything from interrupting the space the house would occupy.”
“It sounds so simple,” Smetchen says. “Easy, even.”
“It isn’t. This is magic I don’t fully understand. That’s why I don’t look too closely at it. All I got were instructions on how to move the house. I had to infer the rest.”
Pepper stalks out of the other room, her hands bound in bandages. She pauses, watching.
“Think of it like a bunch of strings pulling one object. When I do this…” Suella flicks her wrist at me. “I’m able to choose any of the seeds, or strings if you will. And for a moment, that string’s pull overpowers the others. The house is taken to that location.”
The explanation doesn’t satisfy me. Because now I have more questions. What about us? Why would we be brought along? Even if the house is at all of these places, we’re still being physically moved. What if I took something out of the house? Like part of the floor. Would it still be brought along?
Rakel claps, drawing my attention.
“Smooth as ever,” she says dryly.
I look around. There’s no flash or any movement of mana.
“When does it happen?” I ask.
“It already did,” Suella says, sitting down. “We’re in Umaeda.”
I share a look with Rakel. She just nods at the door.
“Go see,” she says.
I turn to walk to the door, but Smetchen runs past me, throwing it open.
A wall of thick trees greets us. The grass is painted with patches of sunlight and shade. A dirt path cuts through the forest, leading presumably to this ‘Umaeda’ place.
“Woah!” Smetchen shrieks, leaning out the doorway. “Where’d the beach go?”
Lloyd joins him.
“The beach didn’t go anywhere,” Lloyd says. “We’re somewhere else.”
“Well, we’re a ways walk outside of Umaeda,” Suella adds, her head lolling over the back of the chair.
“This house doesn’t make sense,” I mumble.
Rakel laughs.
“Alright,” she says. “We’re going into town. All of us have to be fitted for armor. Let’s go.”
“I don’t have any coin,” Smetchen says, shrinking into the wall.
“We’ll pay,” Pepper says, joining Smetchen and Lloyd at the door.
“Is there a bladesmith in this town?” I ask.
“Probably,” Rakel says.
“That’s all I want.”