“Just relax,” Tia said, holding his hands.
So soft, he thought, his mind going blank. Not only was Tia drop-dead gorgeous tonight, but all eyes were on the pair as the music started up.
“Follow my lead,” Tia said, guiding him through strange movements.
The motions came awkwardly, stilted, and he could swear he heard snickering from behind him.
“Just think of it like combat,” his partner whispered into his ear. “Flow from one move to the next.”
Vir refocused and pretended he wasn’t dancing, but rather practicing a Kalari form. Almost immediately, his movements changed. His steps grew slightly more polished.
“That’s it. That’s good. But don’t look at my feet,” Tia said.
“Easier said than done…”
“Param? Look into my eyes. Look up!”
Vir found the experience incredibly discomforting. Without his eyes on her feet, he was afraid he’d step on her toes. Not only would that hurt her, it’d be incredibly embarrassing.
“Trust my lead,” Tia said. “I’ve done this a lot. It’ll all be fine, so long as you trust me.”
Vir ceased resisting and allowed the beautiful blonde to guide his steps. It wasn’t hard—all he had to do was stare into her bright blue eyes, and everything else just melted away.
Before long, they were dancing as if it was their hundredth ball together.
But after gazing into her eyes, Vir found something he hadn’t seen before. Sadness.
“Tia?” he whispered. “Can I ask you something personal?”
“Sure, but I can’t promise I’ll answer.”
“Have… have you come across any other demons? After, y’know…”
For the first time, Tia’s steps faltered, but Vir covered for her, taking the lead. She allowed it.
“No,” she whispered. “No, I haven’t. Not sure if I ever want to.”
“I-I’m sorry, Tia. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
His partner shook her head. “It was a long time ago. But I’ve never forgotten. Demons may be considered Ash Beasts, but they’re far more cunning. I’ve seen them kill adults and children without batting an eye. The look of hunger in their eyes. It seems their only goal is the destruction of humanity.”
Ash Beasts? She thinks demons are Ash Beasts?
Vir fell silent for a moment. She probably harbored similar feelings to demons as he felt toward Hiranyan royalty. Then again…
“Demons are used as laborers, aren’t they? Even if these ‘feral’ ones exist, they can’t all be bad, right?”
“One would think. Matali outlawed slavery and indentured servitude long ago, so we do not use demons for that purpose. And we’ve gone to great lengths to negotiate with the demons in our country. Every time, it ends with the ambassador’s head on a pike. After a few centuries of this sort of behavior, one… gives up. Who’d bother, knowing the effort would result in their deaths? Is that unreasonable?” she asked, staring into his eyes, sadness etched onto her face.
“I couldn’t say,” Vir said, breaking his gaze. Looks like their history runs deep. No wonder she had such a violent reaction to the topic earlier.
They spent the rest of the dance in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.
“Thank you,” she said at last.
“For what?”
“For defending my honor. For… being someone I can be open with. Haymi and Vason are great, but there are things even we don’t talk about. It’s nice. I don’t get that opportunity very often.”
And what would you say if I told you I was a demon, Tia?
Would she retaliate, abandoning him? Would she strike him down where he stood? Or would she be reasonable, recognizing that the person before her was no different from anyone else?
Vir wanted to know. He wanted to know more than anything. Because if she accepted him… he’d finally have a place to belong. People he could call true friends.
But tonight was not that night. It was far too risky to divulge his secret. Perhaps one day…
He could hardly believe how lonely he felt, being right next to those who couldn’t accept him. Far more lonely than when he traveled alone.
“We should head back to the Brotherhood,” he said at last. “We’ve got a long day ahead of us.”
14EKAVIR — DUNGEON DIVER
Vir stood alongside Neel and Bumpy, surrounded by dozens of mercenaries at the mine entrance—a gaping hole in the side of the South Legion Mountains. The crack was old enough to look natural, though the mining cart tracks that led inside told a different story.
By his count, nearly fifty had shown up for this contract, all idling around. Many shivered or rubbed their arms to warm up. The sun had only just peeked above the horizon, leaving a lingering chill. Vir didn’t mind it. Once he’d learned how to keep his prana from leaking out, the elements bothered him less than the average human.
Glancing at Tia, he found her embroiled in a tactics and strategy discussion with her party.
Ultimately, she’d kept silent about her invitation by the Avi royal knights and her arrival at the party escorted by an Avian official. Vir hadn’t pried, either. It was hardly fair to dig into Tia’s secrets when he kept so many of his own. Even so, he wondered whether it was safe, or even sane, to travel with them. The sensible part of him knew that the more time he spent with Spear’s Edge, the more likely it was that they’d learn his secret. Vir couldn’t see that ending well, given Tia’s stance on demons. Logically, he ought to leave them at the first opportunity.
And yet, something stopped him. He enjoyed their company, sure, but it was deeper than that. The past week had only proved it. They were the friends he never had growing up. For so long, he’d watch Camas and his lackeys hang out together, wondering what if? What if he wasn’t Ashborn? What if he was normal? He’d longed for that so badly, and without Maiya, he might very well have succumbed under that pressure. But now, Maiya was gone, and he’d grown closer to Tia and her party, almost automatically. It all felt so good. Which, of course, only made it harder to walk away from.
At the center of the congregation was a raised wooden podium, upon which a mining company representative now stood. The man cleared his throat and addressed the crowd.
“Thank you all for attending. Before we begin, I’d like to share further details that may help you. The mine behind me was devoid of life until our miners penetrated through the lowest level, unearthing an ancient tunnel from which beasts poured out of. Your goal is to eliminate every beast that roams within.”
“Will you guide us to this tunnel you speak of?” someone asked.
The representative shook his head. “I’m afraid it would be far too risky for whoever guided you. Instead, we have prepared maps for each of you,” he said, gesturing to a stack of paper beside him. “The maps will be your guide.”
Guess I won’t be needing my charcoal this time, Vir thought.
“Note that the maps only cover the tunnels we’ve dug. The ancient tunnels we bored into remain uncharted, so please exercise caution.”
Maybe I will, after all… Vir doubted many other mercs would bother charting out those tunnels, and the mining company would probably pay a pretty penny for a map of that region.
“Now, as for the rules of engagement, each hunter will be given badges to place on their kills. This will inform us of who each kill belongs to, once our people retrieve the corpses. We claim all the corpse materials, though we will compensate you appropriately for the material’s worth. To prevent foul play, we encourage you to leave a hidden mark of your own on each kill. Our people can determine the freshness of the wound, so should two or more parties lay claim to the same kill, we can identify the oldest one.”