25 – Tensions

Walking down the tower stairs ahead of the hunters was awkward. Well, more awkward that following behind them was.

Somehow, Lars decided it was a good idea to walk backwards, down curving stairs. Even more mindbogglingly, he actually managed it well. Whenever I looked over my shoulder at him, he was keeping pace well while also focusing his gaze on the group of three behind– err, in front of him.

At least the captain’s mild surprise provided some amusement to distract from the fading pain in my eyes.

Looking down at my only mildly blood-stained shirt, a question presented itself.

“Why didn’t all the blood burn up? That’s what that stupidly bright fire was for, no?”

“The purification only affected materials touched by demonic corruption.” He sounded like that was the most obvious thing ever.

“Huh. Useful, I guess. Seriously though, please at least give a warning next time. You already knew I was sensitive to strong light. I might almost assume you did that on purpose.”

The only answer I got in return was a non-committal shrug. Bah, screw you too.

“What would that have done to the cursed artifact dagger? If it was in the room?” I asked only a few steps later. Much as I wanted to, my curiosity was too strong to keep the judgmental silence going.

“Most likely not much. Too dense and powerful compared to a bit of mildly-corrupted liquid. Though a demon’s avatar like the one you described seeing would have lit up like a festival pyre.” The way his lips widened, combined with momentarily closed eyes, gave me the impression he really liked imagining that scene. Maybe the captain had seen something like it before.

“I assume it would’ve been bad had I been possessed or something then? Since I didn’t catch fire, that should be a good indicator of my truthfulness on that part. The bright light notwithstanding.”

Another non-committal answer, this time a wordless grunt.

After what felt like three times as many steps compared to the way up, we arrived at the ground floor. As my entourage gathered in front of the door, the three hunters moved closer to the knife in the back.

“I know you’re probably already planning on it, but I’d appreciate if you could deal with that thing. Or at the very least take it with you to someone who can, if you aren’t able to destroy it here.”

Ignoring my comment, the three surrounded the knife. Only a short inaudible discussion later, the captain handed out two more of his coin-things to the others, then all three of them carefully placed one in a triangle on the floor around the blade.

Despite what I expected, there was no light-show. Seemingly satisfied with their work for now, the group headed over.

“You wanted to see the prisoners. Mia will guide you again, though you’ll have to decide whether to visit the unconscious one first or not. Since he’s in the manor proper, it’d be faster that way ‘round.” The captain accepted my suggestion with a nod. Well, isn’t someone suddenly cooperative? Why couldn’t you be like this from the start?

A short trip of less than a minute that felt like at least half an hour later, we were back in the manor. The sun was continuing to rise and was at an angle that the parasol was very awkward to use. Still, I managed. The only things damaged were my comfort and peace of mind.

The infirmary visit was short.

None of the three hunters were skilled healers – or at least they didn’t want to reveal such – so there wasn’t really anything they could get out of the unconscious man. They did confirm what priest Tristan had said about the man’s soul being demon-touched. Not in the same words, but close enough.

Fortunately for me and my comfort, I was surprisingly not required to follow the hunters to the prison. I was a bit unsure why not, but took the chance to relax a little. Lars stayed by my side, while Mia fulfilled her role and continued guiding the group. I felt a bit bad for her.

As the minutes passed, I began to pace in the entrance hall. Nothing too unusual was happening in the prison from what I could detect with my heart sense. The prisoners – and Mia, who followed along – were agitated, but the hunters didn’t spend too long with each one.

No, what was worrying me was the absence of Tristan. It was going on half an hour or more now. More than enough time to get here, even if my messenger had to literally toss the priest out of bed. And yet, no sign of him.

Neither of my two road-watching rats had seen anyone approaching. He also hadn’t somehow slipped past them and entered the manor through the side entrance, since I could’ve felt his heart from here.

Something was delaying him. Either that, or something happened to my messenger. Both not great options.

Before the possible demon hunters finished up with their interrogations, I took the opportunity to send a pair of guards to the town. Hopefully they would return soon with the priest in tow.

An unusual occurrence pulled my attention back to my heart sense.

Though she obviously didn’t like it very much, Mia had been present for the brief interrogations of the two traitor guards. Now though, she’d just been sent away from the room holding the former steward. That’s what I guessed happened based on the cluster of hearts she was leaving.

The old man’s heart was beating furiously, but he was surprisingly not very stressed from what I could tell. It felt more like… excitement.

Shit.

There wasn’t really anything I could do in my current position. After a moment of contemplation, I grabbed my pendant and turned to Lars.

“Have the extra guards join us. I have a bad feeling.”

In less than the time than it took the steward’s ‘interrogation’ to complete, I was surrounded by twelve armed guards plus Lars. The normal soldiers carried their standard halberds, side-swords and several had grabbed crossbows as well.

They would be no match for the enemies in close combat, but even someone with a superhuman body had to be careful not to get turned into a porcupine. Well, someone with a moderate level of strength anyway.

I knew – or could reasonably guess at least – that the two normal hunters were weaker than Lars individually. Any special items at their disposal notwithstanding. The captain himself was, unfortunately, a complete unknown. If he was too strong, then any resistance would be futile. But until that was confirmed, I would do my utmost not to die.

When the three left William’s cell, they cornered Mia. My hands clenched into fists while listening to the poor girl’s heart race. I almost cut my palm on my own, instinctively extending claws.

Fortunately, it didn’t appear they were actively hurting her, or I would have tried to intervene. Even if it blew some of my cover in the process. But the three were keeping reasonable distance, even the captain, whose location was hard to pinpoint.

Minutes trickled by, agonizingly long. Right when I was about to intervene anyway, the group separated from Mia. Based on her location in relation to the three prisoners, it appeared she was in a cell.

It barely took a minute after that for the doors to swing open.

Three people walked inside, weapons on full display. The captain had drawn a slender blade about the length of his arm, its tip pointed diagonally at the ground for now.

For her part, the woman had a short spear with a blade-like tip, only about two meters in total. Where she’d gotten it from was not obvious at first glance. Though after a split-second of investigation, I noticed multiple seams along its length. Likely broken up into pieces and fastened to her belt or something then.

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Lastly, the glassy-eyed man wielded a hooked hammer and a kite shield that covered his left fore-arm.

The bastards didn’t even close the door behind them, so I was left squinting at them through the morning light spilling in.

Overall tension in the room spiked immediately, everyone on my side drawing or otherwise readying their weapons.

Before any of them could say a word, I shouted. “What did you do with my personal attendant?! Why is she not with you?”

Instead of answering my question, the captain made a pronouncement.

“Kalin Steelheart, you stand accused of hiring false demon hunters to cover up your involvement with a demon! Surrender yourself for capture and interrogation, or face the wrath of Dawn’s Blades!”

All three of them raised their weapons into ready positions at that.

“What? Are you crazy? Where did you get that stupid idea? I’m the one who called for real demon hunters! You’re obviously the fake demon hunters, sent to eliminate me. You can’t fool me, pawns of that despicable old man! Or do you work for that so-called ‘Lady’ instead?”