As he travelled on, he stumbled across a small farmhouse. The windows glowed through the darkness and appeared to be inhabited by an old demon lady. Raxx watched her, picking at a cross-stitch beside the fire for a moment or two, before growing bored and deciding to head back to the camp. He circled around nearby, until he was certain the faeries were asleep, before sitting beside his commander. They had some important things to talk about.
Though Raxx did not exactly approve of Lephas’s relationship with Lori, he was keen to know as many details as the man would divulge. Lephas was known for being very strait-laced and the shadow demon supposed teasing the commander wasn’t all that friendly of him, but the bastard had punched him. Lephas deserved to squirm a little.
After startling the commander by appearing from nowhere beside him, Raxx proceeded to question him, knowing that Lephas wouldn’t likely give away any details – something the commander did not have in common with Lori, if the vulgar conversations Raxx had overheard between the sisters were anything to go by. It was only when Lephas’s face fell serious, that Raxx cut him some slack and changed the subject. A soft snore from the tent opposite drew his attention.
“They are quite alike, aren't they?” Raxx muttered.
“More so than I'd thought they'd be,” Lephas agreed. “I wonder if the older one, Sivelle, is anything like them too.”
“She sounds like a barrel of fun. Faye has told me a little about her as we've travelled.”
“Are you curious about her?” the commander asked. He was trying to be subtle, but Raxx knew exactly who he was referring to.
“Faye?” the shadow demon asked, playing dumb.
“I just thought maybe a girl like that might pique your interest. She's a majborne, like you.”
Perhaps he wasn’t doing as good a job of hiding his interest in Faye as he thought. Raxx stared into the fire, carefully picking his words before he replied. “And that’s where the similarities end. It hurts my eyes just looking at her when the sun is shining.” He hadn’t intended to be so bitter, but even Raxx couldn’t deny that’s how he sounded.
“Hey, don't get defensive. I was just curious.” Lephas grinned, holding up his palms apologetically.
“It would never work out.” Raxx shook his head, ignoring the familiar sinking feeling in his chest. Deep down, he knew that was true but it hurt to admit it, especially given the extra complications of the fortune crystal. Perhaps Raxx would have found it easier to chalk this up to bad luck if it weren’t for that blasted stone burning against his thigh whenever he was around her. The mystique made it difficult to walk away from Faye.
“Maybe you're right.” The commander paused. “I've been meaning to ask – what does healing majick feel like?”
“Why?” Raxx fixed him with a curious stare. Lephas had never shown much interest in majick, other than attempting to learn the odd healing spell.
“Just humour me. Does it hurt?”
“It doesn't hurt the person being healed, no, but it can be uncomfortable for the healer on occasion. It depends how much majick you need to use.”
“How much could you heal? I know you and Haros have patched me up when I've been in some sorry states before now, but I'm just wondering how far the limit is.” Lephas asked.
“With certainty, it's death,” Raxx replied grimly. “You can, in theory, heal anything if you are strong enough, provided the body you are imbuing the majick into is still living.”
“And what is classed as dead or alive?” Lephas pushed.
Where was he going with this? Raxx frowned. “A still heart and no brain activity, I would guess. Now tell me, why are you asking?”
“You won't believe me. I'm not even sureIbelieve me.” Lephas scratched the back of his head.
“Try me.”
“Well, when we were out there Lori and I got into a bit of trouble. We crossed paths with a sable bear,” Lephas explained.
The shadow demon's face fell. “Shit. How did you get out of that?”
Lephas gave a short laugh. “I didn't. I died, Raxx.”
Raxx paused. Surely the commander must be mistaken.
“The bear ripped me to pieces. I was looking down at my own forearm in tatters, I felt its claws piercing my organs. It was over.” Lephas raised his arm. The right sleeve of his thick leather tunic was shredded. Raxx had assumed it to be wear and tear from the wilderness, but apparently it was something much more sinister.
“You look pretty good for a dead man. A vision maybe?”
“No, cold as day. I died Raxx, I swear it.”
“So, what happened?”
