2

Three days passed, Cecilia sat beside him and waited. The only thing she could do was watch the movements of the exorcist in the village. Sometimes the light flickered and once it shone gloriously, but mostly it just stayed dim. There were still demons in the town, or, there had been. The exorcist was gathering sufficient information, but it didn't matter. On the morning of the fourth day Kael stirred.

"Ah," he moaned, "Cecilia, you don't know what that feels like."

"I'm glad you're alright."

Without warning she collapsed, letting him catch her easily in his arms, "It took so long, I'm sorry."

His bent foot was still in a splint, but it moved fine. With Cecilia laid beside him he pulled it apart and stood to test it. It was tender yet, but he would take her to the village nonetheless. He wobbled on his feet as he picked her up, unable or unwilling to put so much weight on his right foot. It was quite a trek back to town and without her it was bound to be dangerous. The spring and the bug were probably looking for them still. With a slight limp, Kael set off to the village with his friend in his arms.

The inn was modest, but it was all he could afford for her, given their circumstances. The woman who ran it had promised no charge for the stay, but he insisted that he work to help her for it. The wood split cleanly and he glanced up at the room where she was still sleeping as he grabbed another log.

"I wonder how long you'll rest- we should find the exorcist soon."

"Mr. Kael, could you bring some of the wood in right now? I need to make a fire," the owner called from the doorway.

"Of course," he followed her with an armful of wood.

There was a man at the one of the tables in the kitchen.

"I'm sorry," Kael said as he bent to collect the load of wood, "I just tripped over the threshold." He eyed the stranger from low behind the counter, "I have to leave sooner than I thought," Kael whispered.

"I heard from the men last night that you killed those two monsters, that's amazing," Kael stiffened; she was still talking to that stranger.

Kael slammed the door to Cecilia's room, quickly glancing up to see if she had awakened. She was still unconscious; her breathing smooth, but the circles under her eyes were dark. He sighed. There was enough firewood downstairs to last the inn for a season; he had no regrets leaving now.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you rest here," he touched Cecelia's shoulder gently, "Cecilia, I know you're tired, but we don't have time now," he stopped, though she didn't wake up.

"The mountain?" it was the owner downstairs, "there were two travellers who came last week asking about it, too."

A demanding voice responded immediately, "Who were they?"

"My, well, they're the two upstairs right now. The girl didn't seem to be in good shape though."

'Shit. Cecilia, I know this is going to be difficult, but I just can't wake you up yet. Forgive me," he opened the window and, cradling her in his arms again, leapt out.

His foot caved, he wobbled painfully with a firm grimace. She was light and he often carried her, but he didn't want to jostle her when she was so vulnerable. The alley beside the inn was dark; he darted in.

"Oh? They're gone. The window's open…?" the owner was probably in the room with the stranger, "and it seemed like they would stay a while."

Only a grunt answered. Kael risked peering around the corner. The stranger was looking out the window. Now he had to hurry.

"Sorry," he said softly to his worry.

Though he raced and jumped- a limp still prominent- through the village and, after, the surrounding forest, she didn't open her eyes and her breathing remained just as even. He smiled down at her despite their sudden flight. The nearest town was miles away, and the stranger- the exorcist- would expect them to go so far. Kael contemplated stopping in the middle of the forest, the two demons looking for them had been destroyed after all.

"You deserve better than that," he insisted and continued.

"Kael…" he stopped to listen, but she was still asleep.

He stared down at her, "You would want me to stop, wouldn't you. Fine."

He sat her against an old, thick tree and watched her squirm uncomfortably. She shivered until a heavy coat was placed around her shoulders.

"Just cold, right?" he smiled at her and sat down next to her.

A ready weapon was placed at his side, one hand hovering over it, prepared as always. No demon came for them that night and in the morning Cecilia was ready to move on.

"Thank you. This isn't where I let you rest though," she wandered about looking at her surroundings, "Why did you move us?"

Kael glanced back at where they had come from, "I took you to town, to let you rest. An exorcist was there. So I had to move."

"Did you speak to him?"

He shook his head, "No, but he was asking about the mountain," his fist clenched tightly, "he killed the demons, too."

She held his hand and smiled, "It's all right. I believe in you, no matter what."

He couldn't smile back, "What do you want to do."

He knew. She chanted her spell and they walked back to the village, her sight guiding the way. Sometimes he wondered what lights she saw, all he could see were the trees and the darkness beyond. She stopped suddenly.

"His light isn't there anymore, he's gone to the mountain," she told him.

"Shall we leave it for him at the inn then?"

She shook her head, "We don't know if he'll go back. We'll have to do it the other way."

"Where next then?" Kael questioned.

"I can't see anything from here. So we have a ways to go. Shall we say, west?" she skipped ahead, "We need to find a village for this," she held up the package, "anyway."

He followed without question, knowing it could well be days before there was any sign. They had often gone weeks without any notion of where they would end up next; sometimes it was only a matter of luck. On the in-between days, as they wandered, Kael often destroyed the demon tormenting villages and received minor favours and hospitalities to keep them going. With that exorcist so nearby, it was entirely possible that they wouldn't find any need to help the villages nearby- the exorcist might have already done so himself. A tremor tingled through Kael's body, sending his fingers into spasms. He clenched his fists again.

"Ah, that exorcist seems to be climbing the mountain, poor guy," Cecilia was walking backwards blindly.

"Serves him," Kael growled.

She chuckled, "You're so mean."

"And you're not?"

"It's here."

A small town next to a sprawling forest lay before them. Nestled between the mountains, it was easy to miss- hopefully the demons had passed it by. There were tiny figures moving about the roads, even from a distance, Cecilia could see that, surely, this village was still safe.

"Let's go," Kael started off again.

"Right."