“You know about Lori healing Lephas?”
“ResurrectingLephas, from what I’ve been told.”
“I suppose that would be a better way to describe it. Have you ever heard of anything like that?” Faye asked.
“No, but I have read about it – in this book, as a matter of fact.” The shadow demon gestured to the large tome in his hands. “I was hoping to ask you a few questions about it.”
Faye glanced at the food on her lap and scowled. “Is that why you brought me here? Thinking you could buy my cooperation with food and drink?”
“Not at all, princess. You’re welcome to stay whether you help me or not. I’m troubled by the whole situation and want to understand it better. Majick is a dangerous thing when left unchecked.”
Faye swallowed her last mouthful of cheese and placed the empty plate at her feet. She looked down at the glass of wine in her hand, taking another sip before turning to face the demon.
“What would you like to know?”
∞∞∞
“I’d say that chapter, about emotional inertia, is the closest to Lori’s account of events.” Faye lay on her stomach, side by side with Raxx, atop his bed. Books of all shapes and sizes were littered around them, spread open on pages of interest.
Raxx hummed in agreement, flicking through the pages of a smaller book. “It’s not something I’ve ever come across. So few texts mention it, I presumed it to be no more than myth.”
Faye turned to lay on her hip, resting her head against her hand. It had been a pleasant surprise that when his curiosity was piqued, Raxx’s conversational skills improved. He wasn’t exactly chatty, but the princess had never heard him talk as much as he had in these last few hours.
It turned out that Raxx was intelligent – much more so than she had believed. He was well read and, judging by the scribbled notes present in many of the books, had a good grasp of scripture too.
She was ashamed to have assumed that all demons were going to be dull and uneducated. The levels of schooling here were bound to be inferior to those experienced in Awrelwood, but Faye was surprised at just how advanced the shadow demon was.
Raxx sat up on his elbows. He extended his arm and Faye startled as a quill, pre-dipped in ink, fluttered across the room into his outstretched hand.
“Where did you learn to read and write?” she asked curiously, watching him scribbling a note next to the chapter she had mentioned.
“Surprised that I can?” he replied, not looking up from the book.
“Honestly, yes.”
“My mother taught me.”
Faye stilled. It wasn’t something she had considered before – these demons she and her sister were travelling with were more than just soldiers and Zelrus’s pawns. They were individuals, with lives and families.
When she didn’t immediately respond, Raxx turned to look up at her with a wry smile. “Don’t tell me, you didn’t think I had one of those either?”
“I was just thinking how rude of me, that I haven’t asked you much about yourself since we’ve known one another,” Faye replied sheepishly.
Raxx shrugged. “We had more important things to do.”
“So, tell me now.”
“What would you like to know?”
“What are you willing to tell me?” Faye countered with a smile.
“My mother is no longer alive. She was killed during a King’s Guard raid.”
Faye’s blood ran cold. She immediately wished she hadn’t asked. Sensing her discomfort, Raxx stretched to put his quill down on the bedside table and, leaning on his elbows, he turned to give her his full attention.
“It was a long time ago,” he explained.
“What was she like?” the princess asked quietly.
