“I’m okay,” I said. “You?”
“Surprisingly, yes.” His deep timbre rumbled through his chest, and I was glad he was using his voice again. “I thought we’d have to figure out sleeping schedules, but at the moment I don’t need it.”
“I can run with you, you know. You don’t have to carry me.”
“I want to,” he said simply. I suspected it was because he’d feared for me before the dragon fight.
Sounded fine to me, both because of the contact, which was comforting, and because I was lazy.
I thought over the things we’d seen and heard. One thing stuck out. “Clown Demon said he hasn’t seen a human—which really means half human or less, obviously—since my dad enhanced the fog. Other demons seem to hate anything human, but aren’t surprised to see us in their territory. Even beyond the edges. Don’t you find that strange?”
He was quiet for a moment. The makeshift caravans fell away and the land turned wild, though not unpleasant. A strange sort of…grass, I would call it, formed a bumpy meadow. Twisted and gnarled trees rose to the sides and began to creep closer. It was like a pleasant hillside in a Jane Austen movie mixed with The Nightmare Before Christmas. Weird, but once you realized the gothic feel of it, kind of nice.
“That fog must’ve been put in long ago,” Darius said, angling right as we raced through the trees. I knew he was altering course from the straight shot to our destination. And since my memory was freaking awesome now, I also knew he would skirt the edges of a place called Caritas. If my Latin, which was dicey, was correct, that meant affection, love, or passion. Maybe all of the above—Latin confused me. He was answering my wish for a momentary diversion from the violence. “Demons are immortal unless killed, like vampires. Like gods. Some will have long memories and little concept of the passing of time. A human in their midst won’t seem like many lifetimes ago to them. The term enhanced, however, suggests that the previous fog wasn’t doing its job. Which would account for the difference between mine and Ja’s experiences.”
“Why’s he trying to keep everyone out, do you think, including creatures he’s fine with being on the edges?”
Darius shook his head slowly. “Ja spoke of the many delights in the Dark Kingdom. The beauties. Why go through the trouble of creating those and then hide them? Unless he’s tightening the borders to keep the influx of other creatures from tarnishing his creations. The elves tried tightening the Realm’s borders once. At least, that’s what they called it. What they were really attempting was to wield an iron fist of control. With new species come new ideas, and that can create control issues for a leader. Make your people dependent on you, ensure they learn only the information you would have them know, and what a smooth ride you’ve created for yourself as a leader.”
“Did they fail to realize that vampires won’t let anyone have a smooth ride?”
“They learned that lesson the hard way, which was why their attempt failed. Miserably.”
“I’ll bet.” I brushed my fingers against the base of his neck, thinking. “I think we are ignoring the dragon-sized elephant in the room.”
“Was that creature real? Or a demon assuming the shape, like the lion at the front of the sect?”
“I don’t know about the lion, but the dragon was a dragon. They might call it something different here, but it was a dragon. No demon could mimic those scales. My sword couldn’t even scratch them. Do you think that fog is there to keep the dragons a secret, like the unicorns?”
“There has to be more to it than that. If it wasn’t for the effect of unicorn blood, they wouldn’t have to be guarded and kept secret.”
“Not to mention the importance of the part they play in creating new vampires.”
“That as well.”
I watched the subtly changing landscape for a while, noticing the trees becoming denser and adorned with more foliage. “Whatever the reason for that fog, I doubt it’s targeted at humans. That’s not the thing that erodes at humans’ mortality down here. The other heirs of Lucifer were able to get past it, but still ended up dying.”
“I agree. Without that fog, humans might be able to get in for a time, but I doubt they would be able to stay for long. How long depends on their power level, I imagine, but only a certain type of half-breed human can survive down here. They must have a lineage of immortality on their human side. For you, it is the bloodline of the gods passed down through your mother’s side.”
“What about the other species with that bloodline? Like elementals? Why couldn’t Lucifer breed an heir with them that would last down here?”
“Each species poses their own challenges for reproduction, but it seems, unlike strictly magical people, humans are able to handle almost anything.”
“We can basically breed with anything magical?”
“A great deal of magical species, yes. As far as I have seen.”
“Weird.”
“Regardless, whatever Lucifer is hiding, I want to know what it is. Vlad is probably already trying to find out. Right now, I am leading the race. I want to cross the finish line first.”
“Ah. So it all boils down to: you are competitive, and want to beat Vlad.”
Darius was quiet for a moment as he ran through the trees, not once flinching despite a couple of last-minute saves from running headlong into various branches and a tree trunk. I, on the other hand, flinched a great deal. I wasn’t used to running at those speeds without the adrenaline from battle pumping in my veins.
Finally he answered. “At the heart of it, yes. But I do wonder what is being kept from me. And how I can get in to discover it without being noticed.”
“Your suit, obviously.”
“I am wondering if the suit does less to hide me than you do. When the clown demon, as you called him, realized someone must be carrying you, he could see traces of me. Until that instance, no one even tried. The suit cannot fully contain what you are, so you’re easily noticed. Before they can look around and notice me, you’re ripping them apart in some way.”
“You really need to stop with that. It was just a couple of occurrences, but I don’t like to talk about…” I chewed my lip. “I hope the rage issue wears away when—if—I get out of here.”
“You will get out of here. There is no doubt. The question is, will you make the situation worse rather than better?”
“Wow. Talk about a truth bomb.”
“If you weren’t with me, I wonder if people would notice me more easily. I’d be granted admission—it seems all one needs to do is get through the fog for that—but I wonder if I’d be met with hostility.”
“And if you were?”
“Magic works down here, so most of the demons wouldn’t pose a challenge. Some of the more powerful ones would. If they wanted me dead, especially if they were willing to work together to that end, I have no doubt they would make it happen. Which would greatly put you at risk.”
“Why? I wouldn’t be here with you.”
“What would you do if a demon killed me?”
A stab of pain pierced my heart and spread fear, remorse, and then, as was usual down here, rage throughout my body.
“Yes, mon ange. You would blow apart the gates of hell and teach them what terror really looks like,” he said softly, and gave me a squeeze. “Which would draw Lucifer to you. You would deliver yourself into his hands, since you are no match for him. Not yet.”
“I’m learning, though. The magic. Their weaves are really complex, but with the memory upgrade, I am building on everything I’m learning. I feel like a bionic woman.”
“Keep analyzing. Learn all you can.”
The landscape changed. Gradually, the dark, muted colors of the forest morphed into tones of purple. The ground lost the grassy look and changed into soft tufts of something like lavender, all blooming. Puddles formed and merged as we traveled, eventually forming a small stream. Strings of leaves dripped down from the trees, some brushing the ground. Instead of green, like a weeping willow, they were all a vibrant shade of purple to complement the overall look.