“You two will stay behind. Megan and I will venture into the vilge and give a report.” Roharu drums his cws on his arms. “Apollo, you will stay behind as well. I do not want them to know we have others with us. You will wait for my signal, should we need you.”

  Katsuro yawns and scratches his ear. “Looks like a poor vilge, if ya ask me. Ya sure they sold ya out? I think ya just being paranoid.” Chloe nods her head in agreement.

  I keep my mouth shut, but I agree with Katsuro. Roharu is always going on about how someone or something is out to get us. Maybe if it had come from someone other than the scared inn employee, I would be more skeptical, but I don’t think she was trying to set us up. Roharu twists his lip back and snarls.

  The longer I am with Roharu, the more apparent it is that he does not like others having a different opinion from him. Is it a demon thing? Or is it because he’s so guarded?

  “Oh, come on,” Katsuro grumbles. “Ya always being paranoid. Ya was paranoid about this beast and now look at cha, all besties and shit.”

  “Okay,” I say, trying to keep the peace because Roharu keeps flexing his hands as if he pns to puncture Katsuro’s kidneys. “It doesn’t hurt for everyone to fall back while we go give a status report.” I motion to the beast on the floor. “And a gift always goes over well. Especially if they are starving.” Everyone loves a peace offering.

  “They are not starving,” Roharu says. “But they do not have much.” He picks up the beast that looks a little like a zebra and carries it over his shoulder. “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Megan.”

  “Ugh, fine. I was just admiring your muscles.”

  “Are you two newly mates or something?” Katsuro asks.

  Mates?

  “You ask too many questions,” Roharu replies, holding out a hand for me. “Stay low. This should not take long.”

  Is he not going to address it? I peer at him from the corner of my eye, but Roharu is more focused on what’s ahead of us. Okay, it’s not that big of a deal. Katsuro is a cat demon, so his sense of smell is on par with Roharu’s.

  Oh. No.

  “Are you up for this?”

  “I’m fine!”

  Roharu stares at me for a moment. I pster a smile on my face and give him a thumbs-up. No way am I about to bring up what Katsuro may or may not have smelled. “I’m fine,” I reiterate. “Ready to help some vilgers and make the long journey to this capital.”

  He squints and then nods. “We will most likely run into the cupcake assassin there. Unless he has been baked.”

  “You want to run into him again?” I move closer to his side as we approach the vilge.

  “I want information,” he corrects. “He went after you... or rather, he was to go after any human he found in the forest. Something is amiss.” Roharu shifts the beast to his other shoulder and then tugs me closer to his side. “Stay close and I will do the talking.” His ears twitch.

  Right. No talking. No staring. Ugh, what a pain. We get some looks, but no one stops to confront us, nor does anyone make any remarks. Roharu kicks open the door to the inn and strides in. The door sms and still, no one bats an eye.

  “What can er’ do for ya?” the innkeeper asks. He sets down the gss and then picks up another cup and dries it with a towel. “Ain’t expect to see ya again.”

  “Came to trade.” Roharu pces the beast with its yellow and purple stripes on the counter. “The spider beast is no more, so you are free to hunt once more.”

  The innkeeper pauses. His pitch-bck eyes are creepy. “You slew the beast? What of the curse?”

  “Would we be here if there was still a curse?”

  There are too many eyes on us now. I chew on the inside of my cheek to stop from fidgeting. How can he stand to have so many people looking at him? Feels like I am under a microscope, and someone is waiting for me to make one wrong move so they can hold it against me.

  “What do ya want?” The innkeeper sets the cup behind him and pces a hand on the beast. “This here is a mighty good catch. Could feed the vilge for some days, yeah. What you want for it? Another night’s stay?”

  “Bags. Clothes. Soaps.” Roharu angles his head and looks at the patrons. “We have no need for coin today, nor do we need to rest here.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out three talons. “Make it quick.”

  The innkeeper snatches the talons and holds them up. “OI! Tamnna get yer ass down here!” He strokes his chin and nods to himself. “She still pliable? Or do you want this?” He bends and pulls out a bck box.

  “I will stab you in the neck,” Roharu growls. “Give me the items I asked for before I decimate this inn.”

  My mouth parts. What happened to lying low? One misstep and Roharu is threatening people.

  The innkeeper ughs. “Tamnna! Hurry it the hells up.” He chuckles and puts the box back under the counter. “Mighty testy about yer human.” He leers for a moment and then leans back against the cabinet filled with cups and keys. “Ya gotta be careful with that one, but you already know that.”

  “Sorry!” the employee from st time says. Her eyes widen. “You did it? Syed the beast?”

  I give a quick nod.

  “They want supplies. Get em’ some clothes, soaps, and some bags to carry it. Make it quick or I’ll dock yer wages,” the innkeeper cuts in.

  “R-right. Uh, this way,” Tamnna squeaks out. “We have to go across to the general store. They’ll let you have your pick.”

  This is killing me. Not being able to talk. There’s so much I want to ask, but everyone is watching us, maybe more so now. Roharu pces his hand on my lower back as we follow Tamnna out of the inn.

  “I’m so happy you two returned,” she says. “I thought you would have been killed, like many others.”

  “Your vilge would do well to prepare itself,” Roharu says. “Your males are weak.” He looks at me and huffs. “This vilge is cking because of the scarcity of food. Now that the spider beast has been sin, and the curse has been lifted, there may be an uptick in travelers, which means more opportunities for someone to take this vilge for themselves.”

  Tamnna stops. Her hand hovers over the doorknob. “Would you protect us?”

  Roharu’s ugh is sharp. I elbow him in the side. He snaps his fangs at me and then raises a brow. “Protecting a vilge that looks down on Megan does not interest me. It is because of her you still live. Stop dallying and let us have our pick so we can be on our way. We have wasted enough time solving your problems.”

  Tamnna squeaks and opens the door. She expins the situation to the store manager, a diminutive demon with white eyes and purple skin. He has three horns, like the innkeeper. I pick out clothing I think will fit Chloe and me, while the store manager tries talking up Roharu. The choices suck, but it’s better than nothing. I am a little over wearing the same clothes every day.

  “Ya should give some thought to what Tamnna said,” the manager says, not looking at me as I set the items on the counter. “We ain’t been growing like we should because of the scarcity. Could use someone with some battle sense. The warriors we had died to that beast or got lost in the forest.” He shrugs one shoulder and stuffs the clothes and soaps into a bag. “Could use someone like ya. Even if ya got a thing for.... humans.”

  Roharu cracks his neck and then taps his cws on the counter. His tail swishes behind him and brushes against my leg.

  Oh boy.

  Is it going to be like this in the capital? Maybe not. Roharu said there are more humans in the capital, so maybe it is the further out we go, the less tolerable others are.

  “We are leaving.” Roharu grabs the bags and reaches for my hand. I gnce over my shoulder as we leave the vilge. So many eyes. So many people watching us.

  “Kind of reminds me of a small town from back at home,” I say after we are a good distance away.

  “How so?” His ears twitch. Does he ever let his guard down? Rex sometimes?

  “Being wary of those different from them. I’m guessing they look down on humans for being weaker?”

  “A falcy. You could kill them with a flick of your wrist. You just need practice.”

  I ugh. “Me? No way.” Roharu doesn’t ugh. “You can’t be serious. Some of them were like seven feet tall. Thanks for not killing them.”

  “They will die soon enough.”

  “Roharu?”

  He smirks. “I have done nothing.”

  “Great, you did something.”

  “Who are we killing?” Katsuro asks, dropping from a tree. Chloe stretches her arms above her head and yawns. “Y’all took forever. The hell were ya doing?”

  “Shopping. Kind of.” I motion to the bags. “Got some stuff for us. Clothes. Lots of soap and some brushes.” Apollo nudges me with his head. “Sorry, didn’t think we were gone that long. They kind of kept talking.” What an understatement. Thought they would never shut up or stop trying to convince Roharu to join them. I really don’t get why they wanted Roharu so badly when he threatens them every time they look at him.

  “... But who are we killing?” Katsuro asks again.

  “No one,” Chloe says with a sigh.

  “How do you know? You didn’t go with them.”

  “That vilge is not friendly to humans,” Roharu says, strapping the bags to Apollo. “But they are also weak and with the forest now open, they are susceptible to attacks.”

  “I mean, couldn’t someone from the other direction attacked them?”

  “Few travel from the Undead Forest, but there would have been no point in conquering a poor vilge.” He shrugs. “What happens now is on them. I, for one, care not if they live or die.”

  “So, you want them to die,” Katsuro says.

  Roharu shrugs. “I would not be upset if they perished.” He rubs Apollo’s head and then motions for us to follow. “It’s a long trek to the capital. We keep moving, and we do not stop to help any other vilges.”

  “Nothing wrong with helping others from time to time.” I brush my shoulder against him. “Besides, we’ll need sleeping bags eventually. So, we’ll have to make a stop.”

  “Sleeping bags?”

  “Uhhh, like a portable bed for when you’re out in the wilderness like this. Sleeping on the ground isn’t good for my back.”

  “Then sleep in my arms.” He runs his cws through his hair and then flicks it back. “There will be plenty of inns in the capital if it is a bed you desire. For now, it is more important that we get there as quickly as possible. There is something amiss with these mages and I wish to stop them before any more damage is done.”

  Roharu sets a brutal pace. By the time night falls and we find a cave to camp out in for the night, my legs are on fire. The vilge didn’t have any shoes, at least not any that would fit me or Chloe. I bend slightly and remove my shoes. Roharu sits in front of me and reaches for my foot.

  “What are you doing?” I lean back against Apollo. He’s a lot softer than the cave walls and warmer, too.

  “Taking care of you.” He presses his thumbs into the sole. “If you are hurt, then you will be no good on the road.” His brows pinch together. “Katsuro and Chloe will return with food.”

  “Surprised Chloe enjoys hunting so much,” I say. “Hey, I’ve been thinking since it’ll take some time to reach the capital and all... could you teach me how to read the nguage here?”

  He stops. “I thought you didn’t want to stay here.”

  “Do I have a reason to stay here?” I blow out a breath and pat Apollo. “I might not have a choice. You don’t have to teach me if you don’t want to.”

  “I’ll teach you,” he says after a moment, and then he smirks. My heart rate quickens. I love it when he smiles. His eyes lighten. “You just want to read what my markings say.”

  Oh... I wasn’t thinking about that, but now I am. My pulse beats as loud as a drum.

  Do I want to know?

  AutumnBanks

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