And burned.
They burned as the demons filled the space with conflagration which was, mercifully, the hottest fire imaginable.They died, all of them, within seconds.
Brittle silence fell.
Once over, only withered, black remains occupied the triangle between theDaemoenica.Residual crackling and the smell of burnt flesh, hair, and clothing wafted through the atmosphere.Kalia’s eyes widened, and Neyu averted her gaze with a set jaw, gestures that stirred the first inklings of unease in Saer’s stomach.
None had taken part of a collection so large, and he’d been prepared to compartmentalize it as all the others—as he’d done for each harvest since Ruki.He was a weapon.They all were.
So, why did Neyu’s expression of distaste and Kalia’s shock spark disquiet in his otherwise collected mind?
Their hush settled while life transitioned to afterlife, from flesh to spirit alone.
A shimmering collection of individual souls floated from the bodies, dazed and trembling—invisible to mortal eyes but apparent to theDaemoenica.None made a sound as Saer motioned half of them to Neyu’s resigned form, the other half to a stunned Kalia.Saer would stay behind as he always had.He wouldn’t risk Lucifer seeing him and Neyu together.Not when they’d just found one another again.
Not one soul questioned where they were sent as quiet acceptance shone on each glimmering former-villager’s face.Like children waking from a long dream.
Neyu and Kalia shed their human skins, shifting to their fullDaemoenicforms.Only then did a handful of the spirits show panic and cry out.Apprehension resurged, churning in Saer’s stomach.
Why was this time different?Because Neyu was here?Because he knew the task she had ahead of her when she returned?
Bound, the souls couldn’t stray from the guardians they’d dedicated their souls to.Lust and Sloth gather their charges near.
They had been created for this.This was the purpose they served.His maker would be pleased and Neyu would return to him; that’s what mattered.
A blinding inferno engulfed each grouping, and Neyu caught Saer’s gaze with a meaningful look just before they all disappeared—souls andDaemoenicaalike.
Saer stared at the charred circles left behind, anxiety stirring in his guts.He blinked, made a soft noise in the back of his throat, then walked back to his hut.
19
Saersortedthroughvariousbits of parchment over his desk.He’d tossed the robe into the corner of the hut and stood newly clad in a plain linen shirt and pants tied with scratchy cords.
Learn the culture.Gain trust.Pull sins.End the ones who promised themselves to theDaemoenica.Steal their souls and hand them over to his kin.
Relocate.
Again, and again, and again.
Was this all there was?
Would it be different with Neyu by his side from now on?
Neyu…
“Another job well done, it seems.”
Saer froze, then all at once his shoulders slumped.He shook his head, keeping his attention on the task at hand.“Go away.”
“That’s not my decision.Where you go, I follow.Remember?”
Saer growled.“I have hopes, each time I relocate, that you’ll find something else to do rather than track me down.”
The voice shifted position as it moved across the room.“It doesn’t work that way.I’m not any happier about this than you are.”
Saer forced his focus on the task at hand, separating bits of parchment from others.
“Future prospects?”The bitter mutter sniped at Saer’s back.
