Chapter 118: Forlorn Isolation

“How do you plan to find the culprit?” I asked Vivian as she walked forward, scanning the jumble of buildings.

“Have you been through here, demon?” she asked, now apparently comfortable enough with our surroundings to call me a demon openly.

The question caught me off guard. “I haven’t been through this exact area, no. Why would that matter?”

“Hmph.”

“You’re using nightsbane, aren’t you?” Seyari asked confidently.

“I am. We’ll see what we can find where the killing happened and go from there—talk to a few people. I’ll need some space, demon, unless you want to give a false signal.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “Unless I use my magic or touch it, I’m not going to turn nightsbane black.”

Vivian turned and raised an eyebrow. I chose not to elaborate.

As if to test me, she held up a sprig of nightsbane, frowning when the golden flower didn’t blacken. After giving me a glare, she resumed walking. “That makes this easier. The simplest way then is to test this at several locations around where the remains were found. I’d advise against moving too far apart as we don’t know what the demon we’re up against is capable of.”

“And because ya want ta keep an eye on us!” Taava spoke up cheerily.

“Of course,” Vivian replied simply, tying a sprig of nightsbane around her wrist. She passed out sprigs to everyone except me. “Stay close,” she said, taking the lead. “See that church at the end of the street? That’s the place.”

Seyari grumbled, but didn’t seem to find anything she needed to comment on. Nelys looked to be deep in thought, observing our surroundings and glancing surreptitiously at Vivian.

I followed Vivian’s finger to the only notable building in the area, an old church. Despite the rough state of the surrounding buildings, the church wore its age and wear with a sort of quiet dignity, even fading into decay. From here, a lichen-covered statue and symbol of Dhias were visible, each capped with snow.

Such a stark image made me wonder whether the church was declining in Edath. After all, until Ordia’s original conquest of the region, Dhias had been at best a minor faith. Some parts, the south particularly, held onto old ways, at least in part, revering demons. I doubted they did so in the same way someone would revere Dhias, but still.

“Sounds good,” I said with a nod, once I realized everyone was looking at me.

“Wondering if you’ll burn in the church, demon?” Vivian taunted acerbically.

I shrugged. “Not really. I don’t think Dhias himself has anything against me personally. Also, if a demon killed someone inside of the place, I doubt it would set me on fire.”

Vivian scowled, and without a word, she started to walk toward the disused church. “Do you have any abilities that could help us search?”

“Aura sight.” I activated the ability, and the mercenary glanced my way. “But I’m not the best at recognizing an aura as specifically demonic.”

Vivian looked at my eyes, clearly noticing the fact they no longer looked human. “Don’t let anyone we might talk to see you like that.”

“Do you really think I’m that oblivious?”

Vivian didn’t answer and instead resumed walking. The few people out and about avoided us, but I didn’t see any unusual magic, or catch anyone running somewhere in a hurry.

“So,” I started softly. “I won’t apologize for my rant last night, but I’d like to know what got you into tracking down demons without being a part of the Church of Dhias. If you don’t mind that is.”

Vivian shrugged, glancing once again down at the golden sprig of nightsbane. “Simple. Demon did me wrong. Church did me wrong.”

“Do you mind if I ask what—”

“Yes. I do mind.”

I sighed. “Fair enough. Do you often kill people like last night?”

“Not if I don’t have to. I’d been after that lot for a couple weeks, hoping to lure out something nastier. No luck, and when I saw them with you, I figured something was about to go down. From what you said, I wasn’t wrong.”

“I suppose you weren’t,” I said quietly.

I didn’t try any more small-talk.

As we drew closer to the building, I took a moment to appreciate the old stones of its construction.

Iconography made it clear the church was for Dhias, but I didn’t feel much of a… pressure? coming from the building. While Vivian checked the door, and Seyari and Nelys checked the large windows, some panes of which were missing or destroyed, Taava kept watch.

I laid my hand on the cold stone of the church’s wall and thought about the shrine in the woods where Seyari and I had spent the night. Even abandoned, the shrine had held a sort of presence that this building lacked. So, it wasn’t an absence of worshippers that could remove the feeling of a holy place, but something else. This church wasn’t destroyed, but it certainly looked ignored.

Perhaps that was it—disinterest decayed what absence couldn’t.

Satisfied with something, Vivian moved from the door to me. “You go in first, demon. If I have your cooperation, I’m not going to hesitate to use you to shield myself.”

I nodded silently. I didn’t mention feeling no presence to Vivian, but I did open the door and walk inside. As I expected, I felt nothing, but I definitely saw something.

Inside the church, beyond a small entrance under the tower, the nave was in ruins. Pews, scattered, shattered, and burned, were strewn across the floor. In sharp contrast, the pulpit stood undamaged over the wreckage. Two small, closed doors sat at the back, clearly leading to more rooms. Whoever died here had gone down fighting, and it also probably explained why the killing had been found so quickly—and why Vivian knew about it.

As I walked in deeper, my footprints in the dust followed the sole recent pair that moved beyond the entranceway. Cold winter light streamed in through windows far above my head, unconcerned by breaks in the glass.

I kept my wits about me, even in the silence, as I strode forward into the ruined nave. Behind me, I could hear the others entering quietly.

Here and there my eyes caught dark dots of blood spatter. A dark pool, still not quite dry in the cold afternoon, sat in the center of a cleared area, the stone floor under it cracked and scorched.

I inclined my head toward the place, then kept walking, taking the steps up to the raised area around the pulpit. Behind it sat a statue of Dhias, surprisingly intact. I turned around and looked out over the ruins. What a sight to preside over…

Vivian reached the body and we both saw the nightsbane blacken. At this point, I wasn’t surprised. Seyari’s eyes glowed as well, as she glanced about the scene before closing them and sighing heavily. She motioned for me to come closer, so I did.

“Demon. Wrath would be my guess,” Seyari whispered.

Vivian frowned, glancing at me. “As I suspected.”

“You know I can’t have done this,” I hissed.

“I do.”

Taava joined us, her eyes the kind of hard serious that usually accompanied a sharp change in accent. This time, however, they didn’t. “No one’s gone through the windows. Breaks’re all old—no blood either.”

To one side, Nelys was still investigating the nave.

“So, what now?” I asked Seyari, then turned to Vivian. “Do you have more nightsbane? Would it have turned?”

“I do, and it should be safe—lingering magic is rarely strong. We should check the other rooms, then the exterior—find out when and how the demon escaped.”

“It wasn’t out the front door unless it flew,” Nelys said, joining the group. “There’s only one set of footprints in the dust that goes all the way in and isn’t ours. There are two sets from one of the back doors, though, and they look the same. They also don’t have shoes.”

“No shoes?” I asked. “Claws?”

Nelys nodded. “Yeah, like yours but a little less human-shaped a little. Big—” they held up a finger’s width “—claws.”

Vivian raised an eyebrow. “Show me.”

I could tell the lack of confidence rankled Nelys, but they smiled anyway and showed us all the prints in the dust. I couldn’t really make out the features Nelys had mentioned, but Vivian seemed satisfied.

She inclined her head up at me. “You first.”

“You know, I’d be a lot happier if you’d just point or stay silent. I’d volunteer on my own, you know.”

Vivian responded by pointing silently at the door the footprints led to.

I sighed. Walked into that one—though I can’t say she did it for the joke. I doubted Vivian had any real capacity for humor. Sad as that may have been, it also wasn’t my business.

I opened the door to reveal a small room. Another door, open, led to a back hall. A pair of spare pews sat along one wall, backs against the floor. The dust in here was very heavily disturbed, and also a lot thinner.

I motioned toward the hallway.

Seyari nodded, so I walked slowly down the small hall. Aside from another couple empty rooms that looked untouched, there was a door that led outside. I opened it slowly to find a narrow side street, cramped with buildings. Slushy mud by the entrance shone stark brown against the off-white of old snow.

I closed the door and returned to the others. “Empty. But there’s tracks leading outside onto a narrow street. Some of the buildings looked empty—a lot of them actually, and it’s dense.”

Vivian cursed softly. “That’ll take time to search.”

“Why are the buildings here empty?” Nelys asked.

Vivian looked curiously at the small human before responding surprisingly candidly. “The war. Gedon was right on the frontline, and the Edathan population in particular suffered from the war. This is a poor Edathan area of the city. You can figure the rest out.”

Nelys’s expression darkened and they nodded slowly. Taava had a faraway look that she hid by glancing away, while Seyari’s expression remained hard.

“The demon’s somewhere out there?” I asked.

Vivian took one last look around the room and frowned. “Well it’s not in here.”

Nelys glanced around, particularly at the floor, seemingly unsatisfied. “I think we’re missing something.”

“And I think we’re wasting daylight,” Vivian snapped. “Are you lot with me or not?”

I ignored her. “What are you thinking we missed, Nelys?”

They shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe I’m just wrong.”

“Then we shouldn’t waste any more time. Let’s go.” Vivian stalked toward the rear door.

I gave Nelys a questioning look, but they brushed it off with a forced smile and followed Vivian out and into the dense back alleys and decaying buildings.

***

The sun was starting to dip low when we left the latest house. Aside from someone sharing another sighting of a “demonic” figure, we’d had no luck. Worse yet, I knew Nelys was still thinking about the church. I was too. Something about all the traffic in the back room versus the nave itself.

But the room was empty. Empty save for the pews on the floor. On the floor. Why were they laid with their backs facing down? That would take up so much more space…

“Nelys?” I asked excitedly. “What about the pews on the floor in that back room?”

Nelys looked at me, confused for a moment, and then their eyes went wide. “They could be covering something up! We have to go back!”

I nodded, and looked to Vivian, expecting her to argue.

Instead, she cursed. “Damn. You might be right—and we’re finding fuck all out here anyway.”

For once in agreement, the five of us legged it back to the church. The inside was much darker now without as much natural light, lending the whole place in a sinister air. Once inside the room, I lifted up one of the pews. Sure enough, underneath the old church bench was a trapdoor.

“I wouldn’t think a city like Gedon would have basements,” Seyari said, surprised. “Don’t they flood?”

“Not this far up from the river—at least not as often,” Vivian answered.

“I’ll go first,” I volunteered, beating Vivian to the punch.

Lifting the wooden trapdoor was easy, and I found myself moving down a surprisingly sturdy ladder into complete darkness. I could see just fine, but that didn’t stop a small thrill of fear at just what I might be climbing down into.

The answer turned out to be both a huge lead and massively disappointing. The stone-walled cellar was damp and nearly empty. Rotting racks may have once held wine, and the few crates down here were probably broken before this place fell into abandonment.

There was, however, a dry area in the corner that held a pew from upstairs, now covered in rags and fabrics, torn in places. A bed. Someone’s—some demon’s, more likely—bed.

“It’s safe,” I called up to the others. “Someone’s been sleeping down here—and there may be more clues I didn’t see.”

One by one they descended the ladder. I lit an orb of fire above my hand just as Vivian lit a hooded lantern and drew it open.

“Cut the fire,” the mercenary said. “We don’t want smoke or burning.”

Begrudgingly, and in the face of another source of light, I did as she asked. The five of us, Taava included, searched the small cellar.

“Sure is a sad place ta be livin’, but I’ve seen worse. Warm—mostly dry. Private.” The kazzel fished her arm out from under the bench. “No nasties under here.”

“This may just be a place to sleep,” Seyari answered. “But there’s no food.”

“I also noticed that,” Vivian agreed. “No food, and I doubt it’s because whoever’s staying down here is particularly neat.”

“More than that,” Nelys interjected, “there’s gouges on the bench as well—deep ones, too.”

Vivian glanced around the room again, then frowned. “What I don’t get is how a wrath demon could stay like this. It’s too clean—something’s up.”

“Vivian, I—”

“Shhh,” Taava interrupted with a hiss. Hear ears swiveled around. “There’s someone up there.”

We all tensed. A small room like this could become a deathtrap for most of the people here. Everyone but me and Sey, really—unless Vivian was hiding even more than I assumed she was. In the stillness, I heard someone walking upstairs, a clacking sound following each footstep. The trapdoor was open—they had to know.

And then a door opened and closed. Everyone exhaled. Into the quiet, I drew in a breath to speak, but was interrupted by shouting coming from inside the main room.

I couldn’t make out words, but shouts quickly turned into the sounds of a fight.

Vivian was the first to react while I was thinking whether to go quiet or loud. “Up. Now,” she hissed. “Demon, you first.”

She didn’t have to tell me twice. I nodded, reverted my transformation, then dashed past her toward the ladder. As I thundered up it, I heard Seyari behind me.

“Stay safe,” she said to Taava and Nelys. “Stay hidden and wait for an opening!”

With Seyari behind me and my pulse pounding, I ran from the back room toward a murder-in-progress.