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“Oh, Linda’s driving us to Ni’En too?” Cleo asked as she yawned and sat up. For some reason, she dreamed she was flying and woke up when she crashed into a building. Her head also felt a bit sore. “That’s great. It’s so much easier to sleep here than on the lumpy spider.” She lifted her arms and stretched them towards the ceiling of the carriage.
“I never agreed to this,” Linda said as Palan ignored her and walked outside of the carriage. His tail extended fully before coiling around his torso. Linda made a face and turned towards Elrith. Her back straightened and her expression disappeared. “Going to Ni’En will cost you extra. Another twenty stones per person.”
“We’ll pay,” Elrith mumbled. “Get it from Cleo.” He groaned as he rubbed his eyes. “I need a pillow.”
Sally reached over, and pulled his body down, resting the back of his head on her lap. “How’s that?” she asked and tilted her head. The ribbon Elrith bought touched her shoulder. It looked orange due to the light from the flames coming from the bonfire outside. “You’ve worked hard. You always sleep the latest and wake up the earliest while transporting all of us.” Sally rested her right wing across his chest and part of his stomach. “Get some rest. You don’t have to worry about anything since Palan and Raea are here.”
Elrith let out a sigh. “That’s exactly why I’m worried,” he said. “I have a feeling that Palan is going to bring about a whole lot of trouble if I fall asleep.”
“Nah,” Cleo said as she walked past the two to exit the carriage. “He’ll do that regardless of whether you’re awake or not. It’d be best to just sleep, so you’ll have the energy to deal with it in the morning.” She scrambled after Palan who was stomping towards the bonfire at the center of the rest stop. “Wait for me!”
“You’re not going with them?’ Linda asked Raea as they watched Cleo climb onto Palan’s back, resting her chin on his shoulder.
Raea shook her head. “I don’t like how people look when they see me,” she said. Her brow furrowed before she let out a sigh, ejecting black flames from her mouth.
Linda let out a dry laugh as she shuffled a few flammable products away from Raea’s face. “I can relate … a bit,” she said, causing Raea to tilt her head. Linda shrugged. “People think I’m greedy after hearing my prices and my refund policy.”
“What’s your policy?” Raea asked.
“I don’t have one,” Linda said with a smile. “Isn’t it great?”
Raea blinked. “Are you a fallen angel then?” she asked. “You have to be a greater angel to drive something of this size.”
Linda raised an eyebrow. “You’re never going to find a fallen angel who’ll admit they fell,” she said. “You know, with the punishment being execution and all. I tend to introduce myself as a greater angel of bravery. It’s not like anyone can prove you aren’t.”
“What’s bravery do?”
“Aren’t you a Caelum? Shouldn’t you know?”
“My education about powers is lacking,” Raea said. “My parents were afraid I’d go astray if I found out what minor virtues could do.”
“I see. Well, bravery provides some resistance to illusions and hypnotism,” Linda said. “Of course, no one’s going to try to put you under, so it’s a great disguise.”
A scream reached Raea’s and Linda’s ears, drawing their attention outside. Palan was stepping on an angel, holding a severed arm in his hand. A whitish, round bone could be seen sticking out of the end. Linda blinked once at the sight before walking outside and puking over the side of her carriage. Raea just sighed and shook her head. Once upon a time, she would’ve rushed outside to stop Palan and heal the poor angel he injured, but now … there was a sense of superiority that came with watching Palan bully others. Like her demon was stronger than everyone else’s and only belonged to her.
Linda knit her eyebrows as she wiped away a strand of puke from the corner of her mouth. A shiver ran down her spine when she saw the blissful expression on the fallen angel’s face. She reached for a flask of water and took a swig, turning her back on the carnage. Cleo was pointing at people and demanding their items under the threat of slaughter, but only the shiny things, while Palan shifted all the responsibility onto Elrith by using his name. Soon, the people retreated to their respective carriages, coaxing their horses to rush off into the darkness of the night as Palan gathered all the food around the bonfire.
Raea pinched her own cheeks before settling on a normal expression. “Was that necessary?” she asked Palan as he climbed onto the carriage, his hands dripping blood. Linda frowned at the drops of blood, but didn’t say anything as she wiped it up, avoiding eye contact with the demon.
“Yes,” Palan said. “I was getting rusty and needed exercise. You don’t survive by being complacent.” He frowned as an image of a floating blanket-demon appeared in his head. “Unless you’re a sloth.” His gaze turned to the corner where he heard Elrith snoring. Sally was smiling at his sleeping face.
“I heard you using his name a lot,” Raea said, following Palan’s gaze. “He probably won’t like that.”
Palan shrugged. “The sooner I can become an archdemon, the better,” he said.
“You know you’re putting us in danger, right?” Raea asked. “Can you take responsibility if one of us dies?”
“I won’t take responsibility,” Palan said. “I’m not forcing any of you to follow me. Cleo and Sally are both free to go whenever they want—Elrith too. You can easily order me to go about it differently, but you haven’t.” Raea pursed her lips.
“What about me?” Linda asked herself and sighed. “Am I free to go whenever I want?”
“You can go, but I’ll take your carriage and maybe your life,” Palan said and snorted.
Linda’s brow furrowed. “You can take my life, but leave my carriage out of this,” she said. “Forget it. I’m going to sleep. We’ll have to depart early if we want to make it to Ni’En by nightfall tomorrow.” She sighed as she pulled out a woolen blanket while Raea pulled Palan to a corner. “I couldn’t even sell any of my wares before you chased everyone off.”
“It’s okay. We took all their stones,” Cleo said as she glanced around the carriage. Elrith was sleeping on Sally. Palan’s and Raea’s bodies were intertwining and making kissing sounds. Cleo shook her head as she waddled over to Linda’s blanket and slipped inside. “Greetings, new sleeping buddy. I hog blankets, and my feet are perpetually cold. Let’s get along.”
Thanks for the chapter.
Like that last line, funny.