It took most of the rest of the day, but eventually Hakara was recovered enough to consider moving, without having to dash for a someone to dry-retch. Jalmi had left, escorted away by a mixture of guards and her own followers, to the general cheers of the crowd. She took her time, walking through the crowd, shaking hands, talking to them, smiling and happy-looking. Well, there were definitely worse people to be thrust into power, and at least she probably wouldn’t do anything as stupid as demon summoning. Having to leave so soon was a bloody nuisance though, even if she understood the reasoning behind it.

At least they hadn’t been here long enough to pick up much extra stuff, save for a few enchanted items and some other loot. With Parth having gone off somewhere, then the settling of accounts would have to wait – there must be some elven ritual or something she had to attend. Did she have queenly duties to attend to? Although from how far apart her regions were, she’d spend virtually all her time travelling, if she actually had to do any work for it.

Brina was still far to happy to sleep the entire day away, blearily blinking at Stathis, who flicked her forehead to wake her up. She grumbled at the sunlight, pulling the blankets over her head until Stathis yanked them away.

‘Sun’s up, time to earn your pay!’

She muttered something under her breath, but managed to push herself into some level of consciousness.

‘This sucks, but I’m leaving now.’

That managed to penetrate, as Brina opened her eyes fully. ‘Already? It’s still mornin’, what’s the rush?’

‘It’s actually afternoon. And we’ve been asked to leave – it sucks, but I agree with Dalin, it’s probably better for me not to be here, in case anyone asks awkward questions.’ She kissed Brina on the forehead. ‘Although you get to stay on, if you want to be diplomatic at people.’

Brina grumbled again, slumping forward against her. ‘Gods, shoulda guessed this job would suck, it paid far too well.’

‘It seems to have gone pretty well, I think. City freed, demons killed, you’re now an ambassador or something, rather than working as a guard. I’m sure there’s quite a lot of nobility that would be glad to have you guarding them, so you’ll probably be welcome. Should be fun for you.’

That seemed to perk her up. ‘Some sweet young thin’, worried about demons in the night? I reckon I could manage night-time guard duty.’ She leant forward, kissing Stathis. ‘Be nice to meet some time when there’s not all kinda shit goin’ down, though. There are some places to eat at up on the cliff, way outta my range, but I reckon you could afford it. All kinds of posh stuff there!’

‘Maybe next time. Just keep an eye out for shapeshifters or that weird metal stuff. Or any other demons! Dorothia’s probably going to send some other agents, make sure they don’t get carried away. She sometimes forgets that this stuff isn’t just a matter of notes and numbers in her journals, but is actually people’s lives. She’s not a bad person, but gets carried away sometimes. Try and keep things calm here, if you can?’

‘Is that an order?’ Brina kissed her, moving into a hug.

‘I don’t think so, formally I don’t have any power over you.’ Stathis grinned, hugging Brina back. ‘Just watch out for anyone that’s up to anything shady, and try and let me know. Although I’ve no idea where I’m going, so you might need to send something via Dorothia. She will read it, and quite possibly my Mother as well though, so nothing too personal. Unless you want a personal interview from them both.’

Brina drew back. ‘What? Wait, did you never tell your Mother about Redcastle?’

‘About the vampires, yes. Considering that we came up right in front of her, fighting them, that was quite hard to avoid. That I spent most of the rest of the time afterwards with you? No, I said a friend was showing me some new things. Which was very much true, but she assumed I meant being shown the town, not anything else. It’s not really any of her business, and there’s some prophecy bollocks stuff that she feels the need to keep track of that apparently involves who I sleep with. So I try to keep that private, as much as I can.’

‘If it gets me outta that interview, I’m fine with that. Not gonna lie, that sounds terrifyin’. Although you’re gonna have to make it up to me next time we meet.’ She pulled herself closer against Stathis, giving her a long kiss, Stathis taking her time to respond, before they broke apart.

‘I hate doing this, but we really have to leave soon, I don’t think we have time for anything fun.’

‘Duty of the Iristari, right? Shame. Although I guess I should find Jalmi, see if I can score a fancy suite, now I’m an ambassador.’ She pulled further back. ‘So I guess you’ve got that wizard lady to deal with, with the fancy name and the fancy ‘n tight clothes?’

Stathis sighed. ‘Yeah, Janaxia’s getting to be a handful. Don’t suppose you know any legends about magical demon books that eat magic and make the carrier… well, like Janaxia?’

‘Well, sexy ‘n evil sorceresses are pretty common, but can’t think of much about their books. That’s more of the creepy, old ‘n beardy sort of thing, the type that holes up in a tower, rather than havin’ a fancy palace and charmin’ folk into being their slaves and whatnot. She doesn’t seem too bad though. Except for bein’ spooky ‘n stuff, but I still wouldn’t say no though. Magic eatin’ books though, that’s rarer. There’s Gaffinador’s Quest, although the book in that was more friendly. Or Obsidaran and the Crystal Bridge. Not a lot of sexy stuff in that, either. And the book was weird ‘n cryptic, rather than anythin’ else. Course, there’s all the elven tales about the black book of destruction or whatever, but that’s from back when they had an empire ‘n stuff. That thing was meant to fly and rain death ‘n darkness over the land though. Can’t you get your sister to look her over? She’s in tight with the gods.’

‘I don’t really want to get her involved, she tends to get rather intense when there’s anything she thinks might be demonic around. Plus those two tend to distract each other.’

‘What? She and Carissia are, like, friendly? Friendly-friendly? Huh, didn’t expect that. Although if Janaxia is demonic or somethin’, then wouldn’t Carissia notice?’

‘She’s not normally checking things like when she’s around. And, well… I have more of a sense for these things than she does. And given how often she changes gods, I suspect her senses may vary a lot depending on who she’s sworn to at any given time.’

‘Ah, part of your’ she mimicked wings with her hands ‘thing? So you’re pretty sure there’s somethin’ up with her? Hey, maybe she used to be all ugly and made a pact to get all pretty? There’s some stories about that kinda thing around, and her family probably have all sorts of old stuff hidden away she coulda picked up. If she used up some ancient family thing, explain why she’s on the outs without them.’

‘Could be. That would explain a lot, actually. Although she’s been through an area without magic, and didn’t change forms or anything, so it’s a permanent change if that’s true. If you get the chance, ask around about her. Seems her family are up to something, so bundle it into that. If you find anything out, let me know, but try to keep her out of it. I don’t want to get involved in anything stupid when Iristari bounty hunters come after Janaxia and I have to fight a load of people I know or trained with!’

‘Will do. Although would you get hunters sent after you?’

‘Me personally? No. But spies and stuff tend to get things mixed up or confused, and then there’s assassins not sure who to target, and the entire thing gets outsourced to the lowest bidder who don’t really care who dies as long as someone does, and it’s all just something I’d rather not have to deal with. So if anyone officially asks about Janaxia, then just tell them I’m handling it, and keep it vague. They’ll probably assume it’s some deep cover, double-agent mess or something, but it’ll keep them off my back. And I’m sure I can think of something nice for you next time we meet up.’

Brina smiled. ‘Howsabout we meet up without anyone tryin’ to kill us, for once? Or tryin’ to kill you, at least, and draggin’ little old me along with it all.’

‘I’ll do my best, but I make no promises! But a meal or something would be good.’ There was a shouting from outside. ‘Dammit, I need to go see what that is. Have you got all your clothing? Might be awkward heading back dressed in something taken from here.

Brina got out of bed, finding her clothing from the floor. ‘Sure, go look after your big, important adventuring party. Just don’t forget me!’

They kissed again, Stathis heading outside. Janaxia and Semari were squabbling, as Janaxia tried ordering Semari to load gear onto a horse. Janaxia shoved a bag at Semari, who pushed it back with significantly more force. As Stathis moved to intervene, the bag broke at the seams, contents falling to the ground, as a variety of clothing exploded outwards. From the amount of lace, silk and leather, it had been taken from the dressing room, along with quite a few other items, an assortment of straps and buckles glinting in the sunlight.

Janaxia’s face reddened, as she started putting them all back, trying to wrap them up as quickly as possible, stuffing them back into the bag, squashing the fabrics together, pushing a riding crop into one corner.

‘Can you two not fight? Also, is that stuff you’ve taken from here - do you need it? Don’t you magic up all your clothing anyway?’

Janaxia seemed flustered, hair-lash almost pink as she picked up a chunky leather choker and pushed it into the bag. ‘It may be useful to have a variety of clothing on hand, should occasion arise to make use of it. And it was only going to waste here, and I did play no small part in rescuing this city from demons. Considering the rather indecent haste with which we are being evicted, and unfairly so at that, it really does seem the least of prices.’

‘What kind of occasion are you thinking of? Most of the clothes looked pretty skimpy. I’m not even going to ask about the other stuff! And you normally go for the refined and elegant look, anyway. Seems a bit of a change for you.’

Janaxia seemed to take that as praise, preening slightly. ‘Thank you for noticing, I do try and retain a certain amount of style, regardless of circumstances. But I may wish to experiment with a few new styles going forward. I suspect this little revolution may encourage a drift away from the more conservative and aristocratic styles, and I wouldn’t, of course, wish to behind the mode. Give me that!’ A magical force reached towards Semari, who had picked up a bottle of oil from the floor and was currently sniffing it. ‘And if you would care for another massage, I found some items that might make it more pleasurable.’

Stathis felt herself redden. ‘That does sound nice, but how about we at least get moving first? We’ve got a lot of road to cover.’

‘If Semari had simply helped load everything as I wished, this wouldn’t be an issue! Anyway, do you not need to see farewell to your friend?’

Looks like Janaxia still had some issues with Brina. ‘Already done. Would have been nice to spend a while longer and properly catch up, but it looks like we’ve got to go. I think you would have liked her as well, you’ve got a lot in common.’

Janaxia sniffed. ‘I highly doubt that. Although without her around, perhaps you will be less distracted? You really should focus on your leadership, Stathis, rather than wasting time on such trivial dalliances.’

‘You could maybe have mentioned that you started a revolution! Gods, just load up and let’s go. You as well, Semari. Keep an eye on Hakara, she’s still a little green-looking. Try not to let her drink quite as much in future.’

Semari shrugged. ‘She needs to learn to say “no” sooner! But mixing in shots was probably a bad idea, for her at least. Don’t you need to get healed though, from that screaming-ghost-lady?’

‘That’s been dealt with, I’m all better now.’

Nice! Now you can, like, get messed up by some other monsters. Fun times!’

‘I really hope not. Now, can we get a move on? I’d like to at least make it to the next village by sundown.’

‘Sure, sure!’ Semari waved a hand negligently. ‘Bet I could race there before you.’

There was a magical haze as Janaxia repaired the bag, although stray wisps of silk, leather and lace were poking out, along with several suspicious-looking bulges. With more effort than seemed necessary, and a lot of overt sighs and mutterings, she managed to secure it onto her horse.

Brina appeared at one of the windows, waving goodbye as they finally began making their way out of the city, Janaxia glaring at her as Semari led Hakara’s horse, Hakara herself still drifting in and out of consciousness. The guardposts were now entirely empty, no-one stopping them as they rode through, although there were still signs of recent violence. No strung-up bodies though, which was probably a good sign.

As they rode past the city walls, Stathis nudged her horse over to Semari. ‘So, any idea where Parth went? She doesn’t talk much, but it seems odd for her just to head off without saying anything.’

‘Dunno. Think it’s, like, elf business. Probably got a stone circle that needs to be sung to. Or a tree’s feeling sad, something like that. Might be that Janaxia’s being a bit too spooky, maybe? That thing where she went all super-evil and sexy was, like, totally creepy.’

‘I’ve asked Brina to look into it, see if there’s any old legends or stories about something like her book. I think she’s better now though. And if she wanted to do something evil, then she had ample opportunity, she could have joined up with the demons or helped them. Plus she healed my wounds, by draining the evil out of them.’

Semari made slurping, moaning sounds. ‘That what you call it? Wondered what you two were up to in there.’

‘It wasn’t anything like that! She just gave me a massage, but her touch drained away the evil infection or curse or whatever it was. Although it felt really good, she’s actually quite skilled at it. You should give it a go sometime.’

‘Sounds a bit creepy to me, all that touching and prodding. Sure she didn’t do anything else? Like, spooky mind-magic or anything?’

‘I think I’d notice if she summoned up a flaming crown, that’s pretty hard to hide. No, just a normal massage. Except for curing my wounds, at least. But could you ask around, see if anyone knows anything about that weird metal, or demons, anything like that? See if Kethys knows anything, if you can get in touch with her.’

‘Sure, might take a while though. Reckon there might be more of them?’

‘Well, there was that one we met down in that weird underground city, that was something to do with Carissia. So I’ll ask her if she knows anything, as I forgot to the last time we met. But I’ve not heard about anything else similar. It might be best for us to lay low for a while. We can probably get some gigs out in the borderlands, if you’re up for it?’

‘Hey, as long as we, like get paid, I’m good. Gotta get that gold, right? Lots of beasties out there to fight, should be fun.’

‘Pretty much. What do you even need money for though? You don’t need weapons, when was the last time you even bothered with armour, or weapons? Other than food and drink, what do you spend it on?’

‘I dodge better without heavy stuff. I’ve been giving it to Parth, she’s, like, got plans for it.’

‘Really? What’s she going to do with it, buy a load of plants?’

‘She’s got plans. Big plans. Don’t worry, you’ll find out. Eventually.’

Semari ran ahead, apparently bored with the conversation after dropping that bizarrely ominous comment.

Stathis dropped back to check on Hakara. Hakara still looked grim and grey, but was at least awake now, although she looked to be in pain. She gave a wan smile, pulling herself up a bit straighter.

‘You feeling OK? You drank rather a lot yesterday.’

‘Better, thank you. Some of the drinks provided were rather strong. And very exotic – they even had Maidensblood, from Setha in the Ash.’ Some distaste must have shown on Stathis’ face, as Hakara clarified. ‘Don’t worry, it’s not really blood, just very thick, sticky and red. It’s fantastically expensive though, certainly not something I ever expected to be able to try myself! Although it doesn’t mix well with beer. Not well at all.’ She grimaced.

‘Glad you’re doing well, anyway. Looks like we’ll be heading to the borderlands, get some work over there. Be taking us quite a way away from the main cities, if you’re OK with that? Don’t know what we’ll find, but hopefully less demon cults and the like!’

‘Yes, I much prefer empty ruins, rather than all that mess. And cities are always filled with the worst kind of people.’ She scowled bitterly – clearly, some unpleasant past experiences there.

‘Well, not everyone in cities is bad. Although, yeah, we do seem to meet a lot of criminals. But Jalmi wasn’t too bad, was she? Or Brina?’

‘I suppose. Although the whole thing did seem very rushed.’ She coughed, then lowered her voice, making her sound croaky and sick. ‘Were you able to discover anything more of Miss Janaxia?’

‘Not much, no. But if you could keep an eye on her, let me know if you work anything out. Just don’t let her find out, she’ll get pissy about it. See if you can work out what her magic is, and hopefully that she’s not going to turn into a demon or something.’ Hakara immediately looked worried. ‘Don’t worry, I don’t think that’s going to happen. Worst case scenario, Semari can punch her out and we’ll tie her up and get her dunked into holy water or something. But keep an eye out, if you could.’

‘I’ll try. But maybe not today.’

Stathis patted her on the back. ‘Don’t worry, I think she’s in a good mood today, so just rest. We’re not in any hurry. And Parth needs to catch up with us as well. You know of any elven rituals that might be going on right now, are the stars in alignment for something?’

‘I don’t know. Sorry.’

‘That’s fine. Let me know if you discover anything.’

Stathis left Hakara, returning to the front of the path, where Janaxia was riding. ‘You OK with a trip to the borderlands? Might not be quite as fancy as what you’d like.’

Janaxia didn’t look at her, keeping her eyes straight ahead. ‘On occasion, a certain amount of roughness can be invigorating. Although I do hope that you try to keep us out of any such disorganised incidents in future, they are most upsetting. But I’m sure the borderlands will have sufficient work to keep us occupied. And even petty nobility are normally appreciative of true elegance and class. It gives them something to aspire to, I feel. It would help if you were to make more of an effort, of course. I’m sure something can be found to fit with your more martial themes.’

‘Nothing from the brothel, I hope!’ From the look Janaxia was now giving her, options were being assessed.

‘You really could do better then some battered armour. At least something rather more flattering about the waist, and a little brighter, maybe. And surely you could pay more attention to your hair?’

Stathis settled back, letting the chatter wash over her. With her wounds healed, and the benefit of at least one decent night’s sleep, it was actually quite a nice day, although it was a shame to have had to have left Brina behind so quickly. Still, hopefully Brina would be able to get some information dug out. And Carissia might know something as well. As long as they didn’t get attacked by more of those monsters! Or if Janaxia didn’t turn into a demon herself.