And then, of course, there were the things he saw in the Catacombs. That creature called Roth, for example. He knew he was not imagining things when the beast turned to look at him. It was Danyel Illurian, his mother’s cousin, the Speaker of the Phoenix Empire and Nadya’s betrothed. The man went missing a full turning of Krishin’s short cycle, one full turning before Illurian City fell and the demon hordes took hold of the Phoenix Empire. He looked at Nadya, unable to speak of what he saw, not to her; not yet. The boy at the far end of the catacombs bothered him too. He’d seen them, yet had not. It was a puzzle that the tirsai prince tried to work out to no affect. He did not even want to think about the green thing that attacked Aisling. The gryphon hunkered down beside her audaen, making the tiny room seem smaller still with her size but no one complained. They didn’t have the energy for it.
“Where are we now?” Aeron asked, looking at Nadya. She, in turn, looked at a young man named Adrian one of the few scouts they managed to meet up with after leaving the Catacombs. Jaxiam Delquire was another - a duende man with a boorish accent that made him difficult to listen to. However, the focus was not on him, but on Adrian. The young man had a mop of matted blonde curls on his head and "spoke" using odd hand signs and gestures that Aeron was not familiar with. He had gray eyes and a pallor to his skin that suggested he was at least part Shade like so many were in Kormaine. It was rude to ask such things, so Aeron bit his tongue.
“Here,” Nadya said, pointing to a spot just beneath the third letter of the nation’s name on the map Adrian carried. It was roughly the midway point as they’d back-tracked a great deal after the incident at the Catacombs. Vasily looked over Nadya’s shoulder, frowning in thought, then at Jaxiam and Adrian.
“Is it worth it to try to make it into the Imperium?” Aeron asked in a low tone so as not to disturb the king. While the Phoenix Empire had positive relations with the Gingetsune Imperium, they were not in the majority and the king had quite a plagued history with the kitsune of the Imperium. Considering the trauma they’d already endured, bringing more was not Aeron’s goal. He knew that Damaskha and Baruche also openly dealt with the Imperium but everyone else avoided the kitsune nation like a plague upon mortal- kind.
“Take us from one set o’ monsters to anovah,” Jaxiam drawled. Aeron tried not to wince as the words settled on his pointed ears.
“The Imperium isn’t looking for us and are less likely to rip our faces off. Plus, in theory, having Shiro with us might help,” Aeron pointed out. Demyan’s name was not immediately known to him and a new one given during his time with the kitsune. Growing up a slave did them no favors, but having someone familiar with their customs might help if it came down to a choice between demons and kitsune. For Aeron, the choice was clear. “But we can’t stay here, and we can’t go east. Going north will put us right back in the thick of it and, I don’t know about you, but I have neither a ship nor wings hiding in my back pocket to get us to Itahl.”
Adrian tapped Nadya’s shoulder, making signs and symbols with his hands. Aeron frowned at it, curious about what was said and, more importantly, how to learn it.
“Adrian says that we can Shadow Walk,” Nadya said, clearly understanding him.
“That will not get us very far,” Vasily said. “It has limits and dangers.”
Aeron sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Without the Baron, they were floating through the nation on prayers and adrenaline. That would not get them very far either and was even more dangerous than traversing the Realm of Shadow. Aeron glanced around at those that were left: Nadya, the king and queen, Adrian, Jaxiam, Vasily and himself. That was it. Everyone else had been taken or killed.
“How far can we get by shadow?” Aeron asked.
Adrian shrugged, making a thoughtful face as he considered the question. He raised seven fingers after a time and shrugged again. “Seven what?”
“Leagues,” Nadya and Jaxiam said at once. Further than Aeron expected, but not far enough.
A rumble of thunder took their attention as the sound created vibrations that were strong enough to shake the small home they hid in. Dust fell from the ceiling, making everyone cough and shift uncomfortably. The storm made Aeron’s head hurt. Nadya complained of the same. It had an effect on casters, though Aeron did not know enough about Hex Storms to know what kind of effect or why. The one above Kormaine was too large, too violent to be anything natural and filled with enough fell magic to put a blight on most of the nation. The thought of someone making a Hex Storm the size of what lingered over Kormaine made Aeron want to cry.
“We cannot stay here anymore,” Vasily said. Everyone around Aeron nodded making the young prince sigh. He was being made the leader by default. He glanced over at Demyan who did not look well at all and sighed again.
“Okay,” he said. “Give Demyan a few more minutes, then we’ll leave. We make our way to the coast then head south into the Imperium. With luck, we might be able to charter a ship before we reach the border. Vasily, see if you can convince the family here to leave after we’ve gone. It isn’t safe for them to stay anymore.” Again, everyone nodded. It may not be the best plan, but it
