Another person buffeting his wings as they took the remaining limited space on the bench broke Jorvanultumn’s concentration. He knew who it was, and was even expecting the arrival, but it still startled him a little as he had not heard the individual’s approach. Given Hedromornasta was a mentalist, he was quite capable of approaching unheard, but he usually gave Jorvanultumn some warning.

Jorvanultumn lowered his head, but did not try to look behind as he knew such shifting about would annoy Hedromornasta. “How was your day?”

“Exhausting, as always. Please do not disturb me while I meditate.”

This was how these semi-regular encounters always began. And they always continued exactly the same way despite Hedromornasta’s insistence that they not speak to each other.

“I had to follow Felitïa Asa Folith and Miana Ting around the whole city today. Their trip was pointless and meaningless. There are so many important things to be doing, and they waste time with frivolous mating rituals. It doesn’t surprise me that Felitïa Asa Folith would spend her time so recklessly, but I’m disappointed in Miana Ting. They always seemed more level-headed. I actually heard them laugh today.”

“Is laughter a bad thing?” Jorvanultumn asked.

“No, of course not. That is not what I meant, and you know it. I just think—”

“I know, and I understand. However, doesn’t Miana Ting deserve some time to relax once in a while? The same goes for Felitïa Asa Folith. She works extremely hard most of the time. Doesn’t she deserve rest once in a while?”

“I don’t get rest,” Hedromornasta grumbled.

This was what Hedromornasta’s complaints always came down to, and Jorvanultumn could not blame him. Hedromornasta deserved rest and Mikranasta was not giving it to him. “That is not Felitïa Asa Folith’s fault, nor Miana Ting’s.”

“There are demons coming.”

“Yes, possibly tomorrow. All more the reason to relax while it’s still possible, don’t you think?”

Hedromornasta scoffed. “I need to meditate, then sleep. Please be quiet.”

Jorvanultumn chuckled quietly to himself. “My apologies.”

“Please talk to her.”

“Who? Felitïa Asa Folith?”

“No.” Hedromornasta hesitated before saying anything else. Just as Jorvanultumn was about to ask again, he said, “Mikranasta.”

“You asked me not to.”

“I know, and I’ve changed my mind. She...listens to you. More than she does me. Please tell her how tired I am. Surely by now, I have proven my ability to endure difficult mental and physical challenges, but there is a limit to everything. Please.”

Jorvanultumn had never heard Hedromornasta so desperate before. Mikranasta was a harsh teacher, and Jorvanultumn had to assume there were good reasons for it, but in this case, she was obviously taking things too far and working Hedromornasta far too hard. “I will talk to her.”

“Thank you. Now, please let me meditate.”

They remained in silence after that, and Hedromornasta was the first to finish his meditations and leave. Jorvanultumn remained a while longer, pondering how to talk to Mikranasta about how she was treating her own siare.

By the time he finished, it was already fully dark outside, and the servants had been through lighting the candles in the chandeliers and wall sconces. If Hedromornasta was sleeping right now, that meant Mikranasta would be watching Felitïa, who might retire to sleep soon. Usually, Hedromornasta was on night shift, but if he had had a full day with Felitïa, Mikranasta might take the night—or part of the night, at least. Talking to her once Felitïa was in bed was probably the best time, for no other reason than Mikranasta could not make excuses to leave. Plus, she could be very difficult to find when she was not monitoring Felitïa.

Unfortunately, Felitïa could sometimes stay up quite late, and it would not be proper to talk to Mikranasta about such personal matters while Felitïa was awake. He had to hope she did not stay up so late that Mikranasta and Hedromornasta changed shifts again.

He decided to give it an hour before checking on Mikranasta. In the meantime, he headed outside, and wandered the grounds of the palace. It was snowing lightly with a soft breeze blowing, which was a relief from the palace with its fireplaces and countless candles burning. Spring was approaching, but it was not terribly hot yet.

There was a possibility the fourth demon would attack tomorrow. The previous attacks had been nineteen days apart, so Felitïa’s reasoning was that the last one might keep the pattern. It was not much of a pattern, Jorvanultumn felt, and Felitïa had agreed, but they had little else to go on. Meleng had not discovered anything that would indicate such a pattern for them, but he had also not discovered much about them at all.

“The Dragon said they have no official names,” Meleng had said when he had filled Jorvanultumn in on his findings, “but he called them elementals. They’re virtually indestructible. You can cut them up, crush them, burn them, anything. They’ll come back from it all. There’s only one way to destroy them completely: a sword called Daemonslayer.”

“Do we have any information on this sword?” Jorvanultumn had asked.

“Zandrue thinks it might be Rudiger’s sword. She says Lidda Plavin certainly thinks Rudiger has Daemonslayer, and she wants it. However, there’s apparently disagreement amongst the Darkers whether it’s really Daemonslayer or something. Zandrue says she’s not sure of the full details.”

Rudiger called his sword Slay, and it was magical, so there was certainly a possibility it could be the sword referred to by the Dragon. Zandrue, Agernon, and Sinitïa had been working with the Pearl all day, trying to figure out how Sinitïa was making it work, so it could be used to get to Rudiger. They had a current theory involving colours, but that was not working yet. Sinitïa had also not yet been able to take someone with her, and Felitïa had stated in no uncertain terms—to which Jorvanultumn fully agreed—that Sinitïa should not be sent to find Rudiger on her own.

The idea that the secret to controlling the Pearl had something to do with colour made sense. Colour was something Sinitïa had a strong affinity to. Indeed, it was such a strong affinity, it was interfering with Jorvanultumn’s attempts to train her. He had known it would be difficult to break her affinity to light magic, and, in truth, it had not truly been that long yet, but nevertheless, he was finding it much more difficult than he had expected. He wished he could find someone who could train her in light magic, but that was an impossibility, and he could not let her self-experiment and burn herself out, likely even killing herself.

But that was something he could worry about another time. Right now, the demons were a higher priority. Tomorrow, he and Fevionawishtensen would be on patrol, flying over the city. If the demon attacked, hopefully they would spot it before it could do serious damage. They might not be able to kill it, but at least they knew they could stop its attacks temporarily.

But before that, there was Mikranasta to talk to.

After an hour, he returned to the overly warm palace interior, and headed to the library. Felitïa was there, still awake, with Zandrue and Agernon. Mikranasta stood in a corner, watching.

“Ready for tomorrow?” Felitïa asked when he entered.

“As ready as is possible,” Jorvanultumn said.

Sinitïa appeared out of nowhere in the centre of the room, and Jorvanultumn stumbled back a little. She had not appeared very close to him, but it still startled him. This was the first time he had actually seen the Pearl in use.

Sinitïa stumbled a little herself, and she turned to face Felitïa, holding out the Pearl. She nodded a couple times. “I know, but I’m tired.”

With a comforting smile, Felitïa stood up and approached Sinitïa, who sighed and nodded again. Felitïa took her sister’s hand—the one holding the Pearl—in her own, and they looked into each other’s eyes.

After a moment, Sinitïa said, “Okay.”

Felitïa stepped back, now holding the Pearl. Taking a deep breath, she stared at the Pearl, and…

Nothing.

After a moment, Felitïa shook her head and handed the Pearl back to Sinitïa, who then immediately vanished.

Jorvanultumn approached Felitïa. “You are still having difficulty?”

Agernon laughed hoarsely. “Difficulty is an understatement!”

“We’ll figure it out,” Felitïa said, her face tight in concentration.

Not wanting to interfere, Jorvanultumn continued across the room to Agernon and Zandrue. The old man was leaning forward in his chair, supporting himself with his cane, while Zandrue was standing and fidgeting in place.

“We’re thinking now it’s a combination of colours,” Agernon said. “We couldn’t get any individual colours to work. Felitïa’s observing Sinitïa again to try to find any more clues.”

Sinitïa reappeared in front of Felitïa again. They looked at each other for a moment, and Sinitïa passed the Pearl back to Felitïa. They continued to stand there in silence a little longer, before Felitïa nodded to Mikranasta.

“I think we’re done for the night,” Felitïa said.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t more help,” Sinitïa said.

Felitïa patted Sinitïa’s arm. “You’ve been a lot of help, Sinitïa. Remember that.”

Sinitïa nodded meekly.

Felitïa patted her arm again. “Go get some rest.”

Sinitïa curtsied, then hurried over to Jorvanultumn. After they’d greeted one another, she said, “Sorry I can’t stay longer, but I’m really tired. See you tomorrow?”

Jorvanultumn smiled at her. “I have work to do tomorrow that it is best you are not present for, but we will see each other again soon for another lesson.”

She grinned, kissed him on the forehead, then hurried off.

Agernon rose to his feet, huffing as he did. “I better go too. It’s late, and I still need to get back to the Hall of Knowledge.”

“You could spend the night here,” Felitïa said. “Anita won’t mind.”

“Ha!” Hitting the floor heavily with his cane, Agernon headed for the door. “You know what I think of that idea.”

“But it’s already after dark. Do you really want to cross the city now?”

“I’ll be fine!” He stomped out of the library, calling back, “See you tomorrow!”

Jorvanultumn went over to Felitïa. “I have noticed he is often angry about being here.”

Felitïa nodded sadly. “He is. He feels I’ve betrayed him. In some ways, he’s right, and I feel terrible about it. I’m sorry, Jorvan. I’d love to talk more, but I should get some rest too. I hope tomorrow is… Well, at the moment, you and Feviona are our best hopes.”

“We will do whatever we can.”

Felitïa smiled. “I know you will.” She nodded to Mikranasta and headed for the doors.

Mikranasta crossed the room, but stopped at Jorvanultumn. They touched foreheads.

“I was hoping to speak to you,” Jorvanultumn said.

“When Felitïa Asa Folith is asleep. I will be outside her chambers. Come to me in an hour.”

Jorvanultumn bowed his head. “I will see you then.”

Mikranasta continued across the room and followed Felitïa out of the library.

Jorvanultumn looked about. Zandrue had left without him seeing, so he was now alone. This “library” did not have a lot of books, but he passed the time by leafing through the few there were.

After an hour, he found Mikranasta outside the door to Felitïa’s rooms. She was standing with her head raised in contemplation. Not wanting to interrupt, he stopped and waited.

I know you’re there, Jorvanultumn. You may come forward.

Jorvanultumn approached her and they touched foreheads. “Thank you for seeing me.”

Why would I refuse you? However, I suggest we stick to mental communication. It is unlikely Felitïa Asa Folith would hear us, but I don’t want to take any chances. She needs her sleep.

Of course, Jorvanultumn said.

What did you wish to speak to me about?

Ironically, about sleep.

Mikranasta tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. Not about Felitïa Asa Folith’s sleep though, I take it?

Hedromornasta’s.

He is sleeping right now, or should be.

Yes, he is… Jorvanultumn hesitated.

But…?

You are working him too hard, Mikranasta. He is overtired.

Mikranasta nodded sadly. He is, but there is no other choice. He and I are the only ones who can maintain the shield around Felitïa Asa Folith, and it must be maintained at all times. But there is good news. Felitïa Asa Folith is progressing faster than I initially expected. It may not be necessary to maintain the shield for much more than another month or two.

But he takes two thirds of the time, Jorvanultumn said, sometimes more. Can you not split the time up more equitably?

I am sorry, but I have too many other things to do. Don’t think that I am not also working during those hours I am away from Felitïa Asa Folith.

Doing what?

Mikranasta stared at him. It took her a moment to respond. Dealing with important business. Plus, this is a good experience for Hedromornasta. The rest of the world will not care about how tired he is. He must learn to deal with discomfort.

But he—

You question how I train my siare?

Jorvanultumn took a deep breath and shook his head. No, of course not, but I am concerned for Hedromornasta. I...I worry about him.

Mikranasta smiled and placed one hand on his shoulder and the other on his opposite cheek. I know you do. Despite your differences, I know you care for him deeply. Believe it or not, he cares for you, too, though he will not admit it. She sighed. Very well. I will see what I can do to reduce his load. I may be able to take on an additional hour of monitoring Felitïa Asa Folith. It’s not much, I know, but it’s something.

Jorvanultumn bowed his head. Thank you, Mikranasta.

With another smile, Mikranasta stepped back from him. I have always had too soft a heart for your requests. Now, allow me my contemplations. May the night be short, Jorvanultumn.

May the night be short.

When he was out of sight of Mikranasta, and hopefully out of her mental range as well, Jorvanultumn stopped for a moment. He had not expected to talk Mikranasta down much, but he had assumed that she had been working Hedromornasta so hard because she was a harsh taskmistress. She always had been, and she had always worked Hedromornasta hard—sometimes, like now, too hard. But this was the first he had heard any mention of other “important business”. What business? She had come here to Quorge at Jorvanultumn’s behest to help Felitïa. What other business could she possibly have? She had never been to Quorge before. She knew no one outside of Felitïa’s circle, and the only other Isyar that had been in Quorge was dead now.

Perhaps Felitïa had her doing something. Yes, perhaps that was all it was. He would have to ask Felitïa next chance he got.

* * * * *

A warm breeze blew past, carrying with it snow whipped up from the tops of buildings. The sun shone brightly in a nearly cloudless sky, its heat diminishing as it sank slowly towards the western horizon. It had not been an uncomfortably warm day—indeed, most of it had been fairly pleasant—but it had been warm enough to melt small patches of snow or ice, and was a clear sign winter was nearing its end.

Jorvanultumn was standing on the roof of Night’s Tower at Saints Cathedral, looking out over Quorge. Although the cathedral was in bad shape, this and Nature’s Tower were undamaged and stable. They were the highest points in Quorge and offered a good view of most of the city. It was impossible to see everywhere, but it was useful to watch from here while resting from flying. He and Fevionawishtensen were taking turns flying over the city to look for any indication of the air-based demon.

It was also a fitting location since it was the same place he and Zandrue had first discovered the demons. They were not here now, of course—he had double-checked to make sure—but there was a certain symmetry to watching from here and not Nature’s Tower, which offered the same view.

So far, he had not seen anything. Neither had Fevionawishtensen. It had been a long and dull day, and it was beginning to look as though the demons would not be holding to their nineteen-day pattern.

Accompanied by a refreshing gust of air from her wings, Fevionawishtensen landed on the roof a short distance from Jorvanultumn. They touched foreheads and wing tips. Then Jorvanultumn said, “Anything?”

Fevionawishtensen shook her head. “I’m not surprised. If I were the demons, I would not attack on a day I was expected.”

“Then why not attack before now?” Jorvanultumn said. “We will expect them every day from now on.”

“We can’t maintain constant surveillance.”

“I suppose not.” Jorvanultumn leaned against a crenellation, and gazed out over the city. “But we can be prepared.”

Fevionawishtensen’s hand touched the back of his neck, and he leaned into it, savouring her touch.

“I suppose I should start my patrol now.” He wanted to stay here with her a little longer. Did a few more minutes matter?

Much to his disappointment, Fevionawishtensen let go of him, but then she pointed.

“What?” He followed where she was pointing, towards the far side of the cathedral, near one of the side doors. A figure stood there, reaching out to open the door. A winged figure. He looked at Fevionawishtensen. “Is that…?”

Fevionawishtensen frowned. “You said she was acting strangely.”

Jorvanultumn looked back. The figure had already gone through the door, but there was little doubting it. It had been Mikranasta.

Fevionawishtensen flew off the tower and down towards the door.

“Wait!” Jorvanultumn called after her, but she either did not hear or did not listen. With a sigh, he flew after her.

What could Mikranasta be doing here? Was it something to do with whatever other work she was doing? That made the most sense.

The side door led into the region behind the main worship area, a region where, as Jorvanultumn understood it, there were offices and other administrative locations. The small entry area had a pair benches and several dying potted plants. A short flight of steps led into a slightly larger foyer where a message board hung on one of the walls. To the right a full flight of stairs curved around a corner, presumably leading up to the next level. Two passages branched off from the far side of the foyer, which was decorated with more dying plants.

Fevionawishtensen stood at one of those passages, looking down it. She turned as Jorvanultumn entered, signing exasperatedly, “I don’t know which way she went.”

“Perhaps we should just call out to her,” Jorvanultumn said.

Fevionawishtensen frowned, but nodded.

“Mikranasta!”

Fevionawishtensen ran a finger along the wall by her, but Jorvanultumn could not tell if she was writing an equation or just running her finger through the thin layer of dust that had accumulated everywhere.

“Mikranasta!”

“I would be careful of excessive volume in here.” Mikranasta came around the corner on the staircase. “This region of the building is reasonably stable, but others are not. You do not want to cause further collapse.”

Jorvanultumn bowed his head. “My apologies.”

Mikranasta strode over to the smaller flight of steps to the entry area and stared down at Jorvanultumn. “Why are you here? Should you not be watching for demon incursions?”

Jorvanultumn bowed his head again. “We were watching from the top of Night’s Tower. It provides a good view.”

“I would agree,” Mikranasta said, “so why leave it?”

“We saw you enter and—”

“And you let your curiosity about what I was doing get the better of you.” Mikranasta shook her head sadly. “If you were my siare, Jorvanultumn, I would be very cross with you. As it is, I am disappointed in you. You endanger lives by abandoning your post, even temporarily.”

“Again, my apologies,” Jorvanultumn said.

Behind her, Fevionawishtensen signed, “She is hiding something.”

“I would appreciate it if you did not speak behind me, Fevionawishtensen.”

With a scowl, Fevionawishtensen raised her hand with her forefinger and pinky extended.

Mikranasta’s lips twitched. “And your tendency to resort to such crude gestures can be very exasperating.” She had not looked back at any time to see Fevionawishtensen’s signing. “If you must know, Felitïa Asa Folith asked me to investigate the disappearance of Father Victrin Bandren.”

“Is it not likely he died in the attack?” Jorvanultumn said.

“It is possible, but his body has still not been found. Indeed, no additional bodies have been found in some time, so it is seeming more and more likely there are no more to be found.”

Fevionawishtensen pushed past her—Mikranasta scowling slightly—and came over to stand beside Jorvanultumn. “Why come here then?”

“I wanted to investigate his office. Perhaps there are clues there to his activities. However, you interrupted me before I could begin a search.”

“Sorry,” Jorvanultumn said.

“So you keep saying. I think it is time the two of you returned to your duties. If you want to speak more of it later, we can, but not now.” Mikranasta turned and returned up the stairs.

Her story made sense. It had been foolish of him to doubt her for even a moment. He took Fevionawishtensen’s hand. “We should do as she says.”

Fevionawishtensen pulled back from him. “I still think she is hiding something.”

“Then we can ask her about it later. She said she’ll talk later.”

“She’s up to something.”

Jorvanultumn sighed. “The two of you clash over many things. Are you sure it’s not just your dislike of her biasing your view?”

Fevionawishtensen’s eyes narrowed and she scowled. “Are you sure your love for her is not biasing your view?”

“What else could she possibly be up to? What reason would she have to...to do whatever you think she’s doing?”

“I don’t know, but she’s doing something.”

“Yes, investigating—”

“No, more than that. Why has Felitïa not told us of this?”

“Felitïa has been stressed and overworked. She might have forgotten.”

“And Mikranasta conveniently didn’t tell us either?”

“You know what Mikranasta can be like.”

“Yes, I do, which is why I don’t trust her.”

“I still don’t understand what you—”

“Oh, forget it.” Shoving her way past him, Fevionawishtensen stormed over to the door. Then she turned around and glared at Jorvanultumn. “Do you really not care that she used her magic to invade my mind just now?”

“What? What makes you think…?”

Fevionawishtensen flung her hand up. “Fuck you, Jorvanultumn. You’re on flight duty. I’ll watch from the tower top. We’ll talk later when I’ve cooled off.” She spun around, stepped outside, and flew straight up.

Jorvanultumn stared at the spot where she’d been standing a moment earlier. Surely Mikranasta had not been reading Fevionawishtensen’s mind. She would never do something so inappropriate. There had to be another explanation for how she had known what Fevionawishtensen was signing. A quick glance around showed there were no mirrors visible. However, there was a window beside the door. Perhaps from the right angle, it had caught Fevionawishtensen’s reflection. Yes, that had to explain it. Mikranasta would never read someone’s mind without consent. However, she was very observant, and could easily have spotted a reflection and made use of it. She also would not have mentioned the reflection. Fevionawishtensen would understand that once she calmed down, and he had a chance to talk to her.

Feeling a bit better about the situation, Jorvanultumn headed back outside and took to the air.

The demon did not show.