Across the room, the whimpering brothers cried out in alarm, and a few returned to pulling and scratching at the door.Useless.
Saer released her and stared, baffled.“This wasn’t—”
“I toldyou to go!Why in the Hells don’t you everlisten?” Sloth screamed, pounding her fists with renewed vigor against his torso.She may have been the youngest, but she was stillDaemoenicand stronger than a mortal.The breath slammed out of him as she landed a particularly brutal blow to his diaphragm.
He wheezed.“Kaliaspher, stop!”
Other humans outside had finally taken notice of the chaos within the calefactory.The brothers wailed, panicked.“Let us out!”“Abbot Maurice is dead!”“They’realldead!”
With a shriek, the demoness turned, wrenching out of Saer’s grip, and stretched out a hand.She aimed the brunt of her fury at the wooden warming room door, flames exploding with her Hellsfire.The usually composed and easy-going Kalia roared to everyone in the room, human and demon alike, “Out!”
Even those burnt and blistered monks scrambled to obey her with a frantic will, though they quailed at the inferno.Exasperated, Saer gestured to the flames and siphoned them into himself, leaving the frail, smoking aftermath of a door.
The brothers crashed through the burnt remains, scrambling to escape the horrors of the warming room.
Kalia’s stilted breathing filled the smoking expanse.Echoes of perpetual alarm and pain distanced themselves.
“Kal—”
“Frenzied Hellsfire, Saer.”The demoness slumped as though she’d spent every last reserve of energy she had left.“Haven’t you done enough?”
Pride’s first instinct was to snipe back at his youngest sister, to scream at her that they’d ended up here for the sake of saving her.For the sake of saving all of them!
She is afraid.She is alone.
The thoughts were his, but more reflective of something Neyu might remind him of to stay his hand.This realization, greater than anything, startled him out of his reactive anger.
‘Pieces of her live in you.They’re easy to see for those of us who knew her.’
Saer was learning to watch for them as well.
Lines creased his face in a deep frown, and he allowed the quiet to simmer.Saer shifted his legs under his body and stood with a grunt.
Kalia’s hushed and raw voice filled the emptiness.“I know you didn’t mean to.”
Pride winced.Of all theDaemoenica,Kalia wasn’t one to hold a grudge, always the quickest to let go.Even so, Saer wasn’t used to forgiveness, especially when handed out so readily.He answered with equal softness.“Are the ones our maker slaughtered—?”
Sloth gestured to her side with a tired sigh.“The abbot and brothers’ souls are here.I’ll get to it when I get to it.”The spirits must be confused and asking a multitude of questions or pleading.She seemed well-versed in ignoring whatever they tried to say.
An arm lifted as though she meant to brush her mousy brown locks back, then Kalia remembered her upper limbs were bathed in blood, and she dropped her hand in defeat.She tossed her head instead to get the hair out of her face.“Why don’t you go home, Saer?Let this go, apologize, resume your duties, and give the rest of us some relief.”
Saer growled, and she rushed to say more.“Father’s so preoccupied with what you’re doing, he doesn’t acknowledge or care how hard the rest of us work.”
Though Sloth whined, Saer’s growl ceased as he absorbed her words.The Twins had said similar, even asked him to consider her in all of this.And he wanted to.Truly, he did.
And yet…
“I can’t do that.”
“Because Errshek has to die.Because somehow that’ll make all this better.”Kalia’s tone came mocking, and Saer’s patience from before, snapped.
“He can’t be allowed to get away with it!”
“With what, Saer?Helost her, too.”
“All the more reason he deserves to suffer the same.He should have known.”
Kalia let out a wordless holler of frustration and snatched at the corner of her bed linens to wipe off her hands.“You are impossible.”
