The thought hadn’t even occurred to Saer—another source for magic.He exhaled a long, thoughtful breath.“How do blood drinkers hold up against them?”
“Blood drinkers hold the edge in strength, but they’ll burn to a crisp in sunlight or fire.While the elves prefer sunshine, they aren’t restricted from the dark.”Arek shrugged.“The world’s gotten complicated since you decided to stop playing, Saer.”
Scoffing under his breath, Pride shook his head.“The decision to stop playing is an illusion, Areknar.”
“Fair enough.”
Alus haggled with the baker as Saer and Arek observed from afar.While they couldn’t hear the conversation, Gluttony made expansive gestures, taking a basket from the vendor and filling it up with various bread goods.The baker raised his voice, his arms waving with irritation.
“We have three of that poor bastard’s baskets already,” Arek confirmed.“Alus keeps saying he’ll return them and never does.”He sighed and parted ways with Saer then, approaching the breadmaker and his brother.
As Saer watched the Twins go to work, the perfect balance to one another, he couldn’t help the tangled mix of gladness and yearning under his ribcage.
This was a good place that Arek and Alus had found.
He took the last few moments to memorize the faces and forms of the Third and FourthDaemoenica.The way Alus’s eye corners wrinkled with his ever-present smile.The hard set to Arek’s mouth, which seemed his default.They were a handful.They balanced one another beautifully.
They were complete as a pair.
Saer tore his gaze away, leaving them to their negotiations.He walked down to the shoreline and the rowboats which had been left only the day prior.The ship he’d arrived on remained anchored in the bay.
No goodbye said, Pride made his departure.
32
DuringSaer’syearswithNeyu, Kalia drifted in and out of their lives, sometimes turning the duo into a trio.
Hunting for her, and the time it ended up taking, turned into a challenge Saer hadn’t anticipated.
Though what did an immortal, revenge-fueled demon have but time?
His exploration spread twofold—he never wasted an opportunity to look for Errshek as well as Kalia.
Of all theDaemoenica,Kalia harvested with the least bravado and as little effort as possible.Sloth wouldn’t seek to elevate her status.Assuming the role of a noble might appeal at first glance, until she realized all the work which went into such a title.Saer also ruled out extremes in temperature and setting.Too hot, too cold, too remote—none would appeal to the least motivated of Lucifer’s children.It left him with fewer, but still vast options.The subtlety made her almost impossible to find.
Almost.
Traveling by ship only to jump from one continent or island to the next, Saer spent months, and eventually years traversing hundreds upon thousands of manmade roads, stopping by villages and cities to make inquiries.On the day he landed upon a stroke of luck, he’d ended up as far north as he suspected Kalia might go, considering the usual chill in the air.However, fires tended to be lit aplenty in the settlements he passed through, and the temperatures stayed otherwise mild and consistent.
The warmer months still displayed rain every three to four days, turning the land lush, green, and beautiful.While the sky was overcast and gray, the rivers twisting through the land shone pristine and smooth as glass.
Saer secured another horse he hadn’t bothered to name.With a dark hooded cloak made of wool to shield his face from the rain, he rode down a muddy trail.The road in question connected the town from which he departed to his destination.
After interrogating the townsfolk, he hesitated to feel any inkling of hope.Yet, the more he inquired, the greater his certainty.
Those who ended at his target location tended to stay.Furthermore, family members who went there with goals and aspirations were said to have fallen into a pattern of uselessness and indifference, often in sharp contrast to their prior nature.The location stretched at a snail’s pace into desolation, with upkeep only maintained by necessity.
Yet, more and more bodies drew to this terminus upon hearing the rumors—a girl who spoke with angels resided there.For many, it was the chance of a lifetime to witness such a miracle, if true.
The clouds broke as Saer drew nearer, and he lifted his head to draw the hood back.
The sun glistened over the blackened depths of a silken river.He rode parallel to the water, struck once more by how verdant the surrounding foliage grew.Rolling, bosky hills of luscious trees extended up and beyond that which he sought.
Astride the river, a great manmade structure stretched wide.To one end furthest from the waterway, a behemoth tower rose high into the air, topped with shallow crenellations.Breathtaking arched windows and doorways boasted all along the construction’s base.Disorganized but beautiful sheets of ivy decorated the tops of the ashen and clay-hued stones.Even from far away, the architecture could be described as nothing short of stunning.
Why Kalia had chosen to take up residence within a human-constructed series of buildings dedicated to the Grandfather, Saer itched to discover.
He tapped his heels into the mare’s flanks, spurring her towards the abbey.
