by Joe Jackson
“You don’t mean he’ll kill them...?” Kari asked, shocked.
Samuel waved off the comment. “No, he will not kill them,” he said. “There was a place prepared for them where they could live apart from rir and humans alike. It is a secret place, and we are bound to not speak of its location. Our lord ushers the more…feral, I guess you could say, of his people to this place.”
“May I ask you something?” she asked, touching his arm lightly. “If your deity is the lord of demons and mine is the hunter of demons...why don’t they speak to each other?”
“I am sure they do,” he said. “Kaelariel is now the head of the pantheon, and Zalkar was his ally during the War. I am not certain they speak of Kaelariel’s plans, however; your lord has been long at his task, and your kind has hunted Kaelariel’s charges for over a thousand years. It is entirely likely that Kaelariel is unsure how to approach your deity with his current plans, and if the behavior of your partner is any indication, I can understand why.”
Kari shook her head. “Our gods need to talk to each other,” she said, wringing her hands. “You can talk to Kaelariel, right?”
“To an extent; my contact with him is limited, but what did you have in mind?”
“Tell him my Order is still killing his people at will,” she said. “Tell him he needs to talk with Zalkar, and he needs to tell the Unyielding everything you’ve told me. Our love is justice, but only when it’s tempered with mercy. If we don’t have to just kill the serilis-rir indu…”
“Indiscriminately?” Samuel offered as Kari stuttered.
“I think that’s the word,” she said. “If we don’t have to do that, Zalkar will change his orders. But Kaelariel will never convince his people to trust our people unless we stop killing each other on sight.”
Samuel nodded, and Kari walked over and kissed Makauric on the forehead. “I am sorry, my friend. But thank you for all you’ve taught me,” she intoned quietly. She turned around and fixed the priest with a curious gaze. “Where has his spirit gone?”
“I am not certain,” the priest replied. “My lord has dominion over death and the dead; he could have sent the brys’ spirit anywhere he wished. He may have sent Makauric’s spirit to his realm in the heavens or anywhere the young brys wished to go. But I cannot say for certain.”
Kari smiled after a moment, and she laid her hand on the brys’ chest. “I have a feeling I might know where he’s gone to, if the choice was his,” she said, and she sniffled.
“Kari!” came a call from across the temple.
She recognized Grakin’s voice immediately. She looked up as he hurried toward her, and took him in a tight embrace. “Grakin!” she cried happily, and he held her tight and kissed her.
“I thought I may have lost you when Erik arrived alone,” he said. He pulled back from her and cupped her face in his hands. Grakin’s eyes were filled with tears, but after a moment he saw the corpse of the brys. “Oh no, is this the brys who was helping you?”
“Erik mentioned him?” Kari asked, surprised.
Grakin shook his head. “Nay. Sonja used her spells several days ago to monitor your whereabouts and mentioned that you were traveling with a brys. Erik told me I could find you here, but made no mention of him or that he had been killed,” he said. Grakin pulled Kari back in for a tight hug as fresh tears rolled from her eyes. “You grew close to him?”
“He was a good friend,” she said quietly.
Grakin drew away from her lightly and kissed the side of her snout, and he turned to the other priest. “Greetings, brother,” he said. “I am Grakin Tesconis. Thank you for comforting my mate.”
Samuel rose and shook the half-demon’s hand with an unmasked smile. “Grakin, the healer?” he asked, and Grakin nodded. “I have heard much about your work. I am Samuel Tirar, ranking priest of our lord’s church here in Raugro. Welcome to our temple, brother.”
“What happened to the brys?” Grakin asked Kari, but she shook off the question.
“Can you cremate Makauric’s remains so I can take them with me?” Kari asked Samuel. “I’d like to take him home to the rainforest when we leave.”
“Yes, of course,” Samuel said. “I will have his body prepared tonight; you may come for him in the morning. Is there anything else I can do for you, my lady?”
“Just what we discussed earlier,” she said. “I’d like you to do it. Grakin is my mate, so I think the message will carry more weight coming from you.”
“I understand,” Samuel said with a polite bow. “Farewell to you.”
Kari and Grakin bid Samuel farewell, and she walked with her mate as he led her to the inn. The others rose to greet her, and Typhonix nearly crushed the life out of Kari with a bear hug. It was an amazing feeling, like being welcomed home by family, something she could rarely remember feeling across her two lives. Once all of them said their hellos, she took a seat at the table with them and saw that they were going over some sort of map and a set of notes that sat before Aeligos. Erik’s expression held the same impatience she recalled from so many times during their journey: the arrogance that came with his belief that he was correct and had little time for others’ thoughts or feelings.
She didn’t pay much attention to what Aeligos said initially. Instead, she stared at Erik and Typhonix and tried to understand how they could be demonhunters when they were serilian-rir. While demonhunters also hunted the demons of the underworld, most of their time and effort was spent combating the serilian demons. If the priest was accurate, if Kaelariel really did want to integrate his people into mortal society, then having serilian-rir hunting their full-blooded forebears, regardless of type, was as counterproductive as possible.
Erik’s complete disregard for Makauric’s death would have been understandable had the brys not been as good as a friend to them. Kari thought perhaps she’d been mistaken in not telling Erik of everything that transpired while he was unconscious: that the brys had guarded them, hunted for them, and that she believed he would have fought for them had the situation arisen. As she thought about it, though, she realized Erik had to have come to those conclusions himself, and that his disdain for the brys was a conscious choice in spite of the facts before him.
Kari had precious few good, true friends in her life, but despite all their differences, she couldn’t deny that Makauric did everything possible to be a friend to her. She regretted that she never had the opportunity to fight by his side: she always wanted to witness the prowess of a brys in the heat of battle when its ire was not directed at her. While she served with a number of brys in Jir’tana’s unit during the war, they were mostly scouts and ranged support, so it wasn’t the same. Her mind flashed across the days she had traveled beside Makauric, and she recalled how accommodating he was toward her when everything in her training and experience pointed to such being unheard of for brys. And, of course, there was what Samuel had mentioned regarding Makauric being attracted to her; how had she missed it?
Kari looked around the table and realized she already missed him. Though he wasn’t overly personable or talkative, she had gotten used to his presence and the fact that she could talk to him without reservation and without fear that he would judge her. When it came to Erik, she was very cautious about things that were personal to her; she could talk to him about her many accomplishments, but she refrained from telling him about her personal life. She knew Makauric probably hadn’t cared about most of what she told him, but whatever the case, he’d never given her dirty or surprised looks. He'd simply listened when she needed an ear.
Sitting at the table, she felt the weight of Erik’s disapproval as he sat at the other end and spared her glances only now and then. After he confronted her in the rainforest when they first departed from the rest of the group, Kari thought perhaps he’d learned his lesson. She further thought his night with the czarikk girls might have changed his attitude, but she realized that if Erik ever changed, it would take a very long time to happen. She sighed lightly and closed h
er eyes, and Grakin’s hand fell on her leg. Aeligos stopped speaking, and after a few moments, Kari rose from her seat and pushed it in.
“I’m sorry, I need some time alone,” she said. The others watched her walk over to the innkeeper, and she asked him about a bath. The innkeeper gestured toward the back room and told her he’d bring hot water for her, and Kari escaped her friends’ scrutiny quickly.
Mr. Guzman brought hot water for her and Kari settled into the tub. She always loved a hot bath to sit and think in, and the steamy water helped massage her body and feelings alike. Within minutes of settling in, there was a brief knock on the door and Aeligos approached. She was shocked that it was him and not Grakin. Aeligos knelt beside the tub and wrapped Kari in a hug, and she returned it after a tentative moment. When he released her, he sat back on his heels and studied her eyes closely, and he gave a soft shake of his head. Kari could see the light and the concern in his dark eyes, and she remembered how highly Grakin had spoken of his brother during their journey. In those brief moments, Kari could see her feelings about Aeligos were off-base, but she still wasn’t sure what to make of him.
Aeligos picked up the scrub brush beside the tub and gestured for Kari to lean forward so he could wash her wings. “Are you all right?” he asked as he began to scrub the leathery folds.
“No,” she said quietly with a sniffle. “I was expecting Grakin to come in.”
“I know, but Grakin’s just going to comfort you. I need to talk to you first,” he said, and Kari turned to face him. “Did Erik do anything to you while you were tracking the demon?”
“Other than to accuse me of being a fake and tell me to leave his brother alone, no.”
Aeligos shook his head again with a sigh. “I might have guessed,” he said. “But he didn’t hurt you, or put his hands on you at all?”
Kari grimaced. “He did this to my wing, but it wasn’t his fault,” she said. “He fell under a charm from the sylinth we fought, and it forced him to attack me.”
“Did what to your wing?” Aeligos asked.
Kari took hold of her left wing to show Aeligos the scar tissue where the severed bone had been healed, but there was no trace of the wound whatsoever. Kari was confused; she didn’t know how the wound had healed completely without the ministrations of an experienced healer. “Well, that’s weird,” she said. “He cut through one of my wings when he was charmed.”
“That was all?” he asked and Kari nodded, though she was concerned at what he was implying. Aeligos touched her face and gave her a chaste kiss on the forehead. “I knew it was a bad idea to let you leave without trying to tell Erik the truth first. I’m sure you’ve seen the way he treats Eryn; I was afraid he might treat you the same way or worse when no one was around to mitigate his temper. He’s more like our father than he cares to admit.”
Kari beheld him curiously but said, “I can take care of myself.”
“I know you can, but the point of being part of a family is not having to,” he said. Kari looked at him in wonder and he flashed his boyish smile. “Sonja and I will talk to Erik and try to get this all sorted out. Do you want me to send Grakin in?”
Kari nodded. “Thank you, Aeligos,” she said, reaching for a hug, and he obliged. They turned when the door opened and Grakin approached, and the priest smiled as he drew close and knelt beside his brother.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” Aeligos said, and he patted his brother’s shoulder before he rose and left the bath chamber.
Kari met her mate’s eyes as the door closed behind Aeligos. “We were just…”
Grakin waved off the comment. “Kari, I know. Aeligos is not just my brother, he is my best friend,” he said. “If anything ever happens to me, I trust him to take care of you.”
She wondered why she’d even bothered trying to explain it; he trusted her completely. She stroked his face and they kissed briefly. “It seems even after a few months, there’s a lot about your family I still don’t know,” she said. “Aeligos seemed to be trying to tell me he thought Erik was going to hit me when we were alone.”
“Did he?” Grakin asked, clearly perturbed by the thought.
Kari shook her head. “Grakin, if your brother had hit me, one of us wouldn’t be here right now,” she said. “Anyway, how was the journey for the rest of you?”
“Long, and lonely,” he said, and Kari giggled with him. “I was unsure how well Aeligos would lead in Erik’s absence, but he did well, and I am already beginning to wish he was still in charge. He is less demanding, and much more humble. Erik is just…”
“Erik’s not a bad leader, he’s just a hardhead when he thinks he’s right,” Kari said, but she waved her hand dismissively before Grakin could press the issue further. “I’d really rather not talk about it. Honestly, the hunt with him went very well, just not the beginning or the end. Tell Aeligos to get the others back together and we’ll go over his maps and strategy when I get out of the tub.”
“You are all right to be alone?” he asked, touching her jaw lightly.
“I lost a friend today,” Kari said with a sniffle, but then she met Grakin’s eyes evenly. “But I got six others back…and more importantly, you.”
Grakin gave her a parting kiss and then made his way out to the common room, leaving her alone to wash and relax. Kari sank down into the water a little more, put her feet up on the far end of the tub, and let out a calming sigh. She tried to massage her feelings with reality, and she reminded herself that as long as she lived the life of a demonhunter, she would always be in danger of losing friends. It was simply the way of things. She could quit the life of the hunter and become a commoner, but the risk of death would always be present. It was not something one could shut themself away from.
Her thoughts turned to Trigonh, and she began to look at the erestram and what he had done in another light. He made no secret of the fact that he loved Kari in a romantic sense, and although she didn’t share his feelings, she considered him a friend. They’d traveled together on only one occasion, but he’d shattered everything she knew about his kind in the span of a few weeks. He was an oddity among his kind, but that didn’t diminish the kindness and gentle side he demonstrated during the short time they spent together. Even when she refused him, he stayed with her, and he was by her side when her end came.
As her heart fluttered once more with the thought of Makauric’s death, Kari considered how Trigonh – and indeed even her friend Carly – must have felt when she died, and whether they went through the same turbulent emotions. It had to have been so, and she bit her lip as she considered how rude she was to Trigonh when she was resurrected and stood before him. He had given her a gift, and though she hadn’t fully appreciated its scope and significance when she initially received it, she felt ashamed now at her reaction. She had a mate now, and many beautiful chapters of her life to write with him, all thanks to the selflessness of a demon.
She chuckled, considering the strange way life worked, and the sudden shocks of surprise it sent one’s way when one became too deadset in their thinking. Kari thought about Erik, and although his attitude and closed-mindedness upset her, she realized that at times she had been like him. She remembered her first encounter with Trigonh and his master, Celigus Chinchala; she recalled her doubts when Kaelariel rose to power and the people began to trust some of the serilis-rir; and she was sharply reminded of the fact that the Light forces of the Apocalypse were led by the lord of the serilis-rir and a demon king.
Kari recalled an old human proverb and chuckled again as she considered that life was teaching her new tricks. A smile came to her face, punctuated by tears, though they were closer to tears of joy as she thought of her brys companion running free somewhere in the heavens, no longer hated or hunted on account of his skin color or who had created him. She was fairly certain she knew where he had chosen to go if Kaelariel indeed gave him a choice, and she smiled more broadly imagining it. Run free, my friend, she whispered in her mind.
Kari
lost track of time, so she began washing herself more quickly, not wanting to keep the others waiting too long. After a couple of minutes there was a knock at the door, and Sonja entered. She seemed to be on the verge of crying, but when she knelt by the bathtub she met Kari’s stare. Kari could see the amazement in her friend’s eyes as they held each other’s gaze, and she smiled to let Sonja know she was all right. After a moment, the larger woman reached for a hug, and Kari obliged. “I’m sorry to hear about your friend,” Sonja said with a sniffle. “Are you feeling all right?”
“I’m all right,” Kari said, and her smile didn’t dissipate. “I just had an epi…epip…”
“Epiphany?” Sonja finished when her sister-in-law paused.
“Yea, one of those,” the terra-dracon woman said. “It hurts, but I think I understand. He’s teaching me as much in death as he did when he was alive.”
Sonja nodded, but it was clear she didn’t entirely understand. “Are you mad at Erik?” she asked. “I don’t mean to butt in, but time is growing short and we can’t afford any delays. If you two can’t work together, that’s something we need to address before we move forward.”
Kari shook her head. She gathered her hair, wrung some of the water from it, and then threw it in a bunch over her shoulder. “I’m not mad at Erik,” she answered. “I think your brother just is the way he is, and nothing’s ever going to change that unless he wants it to. I know he wants to be Avatar of Vengeance, but it’s honestly scary to think of him in that position, the way he brushes aside what other people think or feel. I’m a demonhunter, too, but as much as my duty to Zalkar means to me, it’s not what makes me who I am, Sonja. With Erik, I don’t think there’s much more to him than his duty to the Unyielding…and to you, his siblings.”
