“Are you sure about this?” Emerie asked, kneeling on Ingram’s back while he was in his more monstrous form.
It still wasn’t super comfortable, but she was getting used to riding him like this. She’d figured out if she sat just a little further up his back where his bigger spikes were, she could slot her pelvis between them. Honestly, it’d been an accident from when she climbed onto him – she’d been planning to re-adjust like usual, but then discovered she didn’t need to.
She trailed her gaze away from the back of his raven skull and small goat horns to look at the descending path he was taking.
Bright sunshine bathed them and the Veil’s canyon wall in protective light. The rocky path was wide enough to just fit his massive, hulking body, but it was a steep decline. She had to lean back on straightened arms or she worried she’d roll forward right off him.
“The swamplands are the quickest way,” Ingram answered, his voice deeper and more distorted than usual.
The inhuman way his voice reverberated, like it was split into three different levels of bass, used to make her skin crawl. Now, though, it made pleasurable goosebumps prickle all over.
“Yes, you said that,” Emerie croaked, her throat thick from the way her body reacted to his voice. “But is it the safest?”
While she waited for his response, she warily eyed the forest creeping closer with every step down Ingram took.
She wasn’t sure if it was justified paranoia or not, but she swore she could feel a set of red eyes hungrily watching them. She tightened her Demonslayer hood over her head, hoping it was enough to hide she was human. Her uniform was stained in streaks of dirt and dried Duskwalker cum, and at first, she’d been utterly grossed out by having to wear it.
The closer she got to hell on Earth, though, the more thankful she was that it might be hiding her scent. Who cared if it was spunk when it could save her life?
It took her a while to notice that Ingram wasn’t answering her.
Her brows drew together and her lips tightened underneath her mask. “Ingram, is it the safest?” she repeated.
“Nowhere is safe,” he bit out with a huff, turning his skull so he could look at her from the side. “The swamplands are one of the most dangerous parts of the Veil.”
Gripping two spikes on the back of his shoulders, she tugged. “Then stop. Let’s find another way.”
He shook his head. “We cannot. The creatures that linger in there... they are no ordinary Demons.” He faced his skull forward to watch where he was going. “However, other Demons are also afraid of them. I don’t know if it is safer, Emerie. I know I can fight against one Demon, but I have... I have already learned that I cannot win against a horde of them.” Once more, he glanced at her by flashing the side of his raven skull. Blue orbs, filled with sadness and loss, were bright even in the sunlight. “I worry that if I take you any other way, we will be overrun, and if I get separated from you, I may not be able to save you.”
“Damnit,” she muttered under her breath, palming the side over her mostly covered face. She squeaked when he dipped and she had to right herself. “What are we going to do if we find ourselves in a fight? I don’t have any weapons besides my dagger.”
She hadn’t put her weapons belt back on before the female Duskwalker stole her, and he hadn’t thought to pick it up – only her bag.
“Just stay low, stay quiet, and hold on tight. Hopefully we will not need to fight. The swamp Demons mostly leave us alone. If they try anything, I will run in order to protect you.”
She narrowed her eyes into a tight glare, her lips thinning with them. He could avoid the ugly truth, but she needed to be prepared for anything that might come her way.
“Yes, but if a fight does happen, I’ll be in the Veil, Ingram. Not only will I be surrounded by Demons, but you might turn on me. I’ll be a sitting duck.”
“Duck?” he asked, tilting his head in the direction of their path. “You can change forms? And why would you sit when in danger?”
“Ughhh!” she groaned, throwing her head back. “It’s an expression. It means I’ll be defenceless.”
“If a fight happens... run north. Find the green or yellow lights, or the salt circle. They are wards belonging to three Mavkas, and the Demons cannot get through them.” He halted and tensed beneath her thighs. He didn’t face her as he said, “Just survive until I am me again, Emerie. No matter how.”
Until I am me again, her mind repeated, pity aching in her gut.
He knew what could happen, that his mind could switch over into some feral, frenzied state. It hadn’t taken long for Ingram to start developing a fear of his enraged self, and she was acutely aware it was because of her presence.
He’d likely once embraced that side of him, so she couldn’t imagine how it felt to suddenly be fearful of it.
He doesn’t want to hurt me.
And yet, his hands touched the bottom of the canyon and he immediately headed for the shaded and eerie trees of the Veil. The mist cloaking it was thick and white, making it appear like a haunted graveyard. Just staring into it brought on a wave of disquiet that had all the tiny hairs on her body standing on end, alert.
Emerie laid down on her chest to make her and her black uniform blend in with the darkness of his scales.
From above, and standing at the cliff’s edge, she’d been able to see out over the Veil. In the short distance, there had been noticeable gaps between the trees where there was space – she assumed they indicated where the swamplands were.
It didn’t take them long to reach them, but the ground had been miry under Ingram’s steps long before they truly did. No Demons attacked them, and weirdly enough, she found that more disturbing than she should have.
A place even Demons are afraid of.
Rather than letting his hands and feet thwap against the sticky mud, his movements were cautious and quiet as he slipped through mushy grass. He was wisely moving in a swift crawl, assessing each step before he took it. Moss and duckweed on top of the water’s surface gave the illusion that it was solid.
At first glance, had she not known any better, she would have thought she was above the surface of the Veil.
Since the canopy of leaves above wasn’t thick, dappled, dust-filled light filtered throughout. The area was bright when she expected it to be dark and foreboding. It was serene in its own way, and quiet except for the odd buzzing dragonflies that skated on the cloudy water’s unmoving surface.
Due to the cold moisture in the air and condensation from the sun, thick mist blanketed them wherever they went. Ingram, as much as he could, tried to remain in the sun, and she assumed it was for two reasons. First, because it was unlikely the Demons would attack them in it, and secondly because there was less mist to impact his vision.
She eyed the brightly lit, blanketed water they were skulking past. She knew, despite the light and heat, the greenery provided the perfect shade beneath the water’s surface. Everything was still.