Disclaimer reminder: I don't own Shadow Hearts 1, 2 or Covenant (but that doesn't stop me from fantasizing ).

Part 4

Early the next morning the car took Nicholai and Karin north to the airfield. Covered in a canvas tarp and then covered in branches, the little SPAD was ready and waiting and Karin sighed with the thought of the long flight back in cramped quarters. The pilot seemed proud of his plane and she would not speak ill of it or him and so climbed in, squeezing into the spare space of the housing. Nicholai again took the seat and settled in, allowing her to rest her back against his knees, and the plane took off.

The flight was long on their return and it afforded Karin time to reflect on their adventures in Italy and the curious behavior of Nicholai Conrad. His explanation of the Mistletoe object, the Yadorigi, seemed logical enough, but that did not explain his whereabouts when he left the hotel, nor did it explain the voices she heard. Who was visiting him? Perhaps it was her own female curiosity, but something about it bothered her, and mysteries had no place in the German army – or so her commander used to say. And there was something else at play here too; was it her imagination, or was he attracted to her?

At any other time she would have found that flattering for she found him attractive as well, perhaps, too attractive. She recalled her first reactions to him in General Heimann's headquarters. She had been equally surprised at her orders, as well as the appearance of the young cardinal from the Vatican. He caught her eye and she had quickly swallowed it in decorum, but what if she had not? What if she were free to express her thoughts and emotions? Would she tell him how she felt?

Karin shook her head, the constant roar of the SPAD's engine like a buzzing bee, annoying her. She shouldn't be wasting time on these thoughts she chided herself. I should be concentrating on our mission, on the demon of Domremy, but every turn of those thoughts brought her back to Cardinal Nicholai Conrad, and her heart beat a little faster, and at the same time that little voice in her head reminded her there were too many mysteries, too many unknowns, including how she felt about him.

No, I know how I feel about him, she thought as the plane banked and began to descend. It's how he feels about me that I don't know.

"Why are we descending?" she asked Nicholai, realizing that it was too soon and that they could be nowhere near their goal of Domremy. The priest shook his head and reached up, banging on the housing to attract the pilot.

"What's happening?" he shouted into the noise of the engine.

The pilot shook his head and, with one hand, pointed down to the ground below. Nicholai stretched, peering over the side, seeing thin clouds shredding around him and below, the grey and brown of a forest. Wisps of smoke, yellow and white, rose on a ground breeze and were moving over the forest, and Nicholai could see the trench lines and No Man's Land awash in fog.

"Gas," Nicholai said and his breath was ripped from his mouth. He bent down to put his lips close to Karin's ear.

"Gas below," he said loudly and Karin nodded. "The pilot will have to take us somewhere else to land. Any suggestions?"

Karin thought quickly. The nearest hope of getting to Domremy through the battle lines would be "Nancy," she said. "Tell him to land us near Nancy."

Nicholai relayed the message and the pilot nodded, banking the plane once more to head further west.

The German army, in their attempts to get the French and English to surrender, had begun using poisonous gasses; clouds of poisonous chlorine, phosphene and mustard gases rose above several battlefields, notably to the north, where the second attempt to take Ypres was taking place. Their original flight plan was to take them into occupied Alsace and a small airfield, but now, landing in Nancy would mean a bumpy ride on a dirt track. And, to Nicholai's mind, bumpy didn't quite describe it.

The plane came down in a steady descent, the wind whipping over the housing and howling in the struts. Bits of cloud shredded in their passing, leaving drops of water on cowl and cloth, soaking Nicholai's shoulders with heavy condensation. After a few minutes, the motor throttled back, and Nicholai peered over the side once more before cringing and pulling back, a prayer on his lips. The plane was coming down in farmland, the pilot aiming for the nearby tilled field, and Nicholai hoped God was in His heaven today and not out walking the trench lines. In the next minute, the plane touched down, the wheels spinning, the plane bouncing once, twice and again before staying on the surface, bumping, bouncing, and finally coming to a terrifying halt just short of a fence line. At his feet, Karin muttered a Danken Sie Gott to which Nicholai replied ut deus sic mos.

They spent the night with that same farmer, his wife not happy to serve the German army, but Nicholai persuading her with a gentle smile and a promise of evening prayers. Karin was surprised at the devoted nature that Nicholai was showing, and rebuked herself again for not remembering he was, in fact, a priest before he was an exorcist. They shared a simple supper of lamb stew and fresh bread and later, by the fire, Nicholai joined the household in family prayers. And when it came time to sleep, Karin found herself bedding down with the farmer's younger children in a side room, while Nicholai slept on the floor by the fireplace. As she lay there, listening to the gentle susurrus of the children's breathing, she reviewed in her mind the steps they would have to take in order to reach her troops, waiting just outside of Domremy, in Vosges Forest. The troops had been bivouacked just past the nearby woods, and Karin was pretty sure she knew the way from her earlier sojourn. Let us hope, she thought silently, that we meet with little resistance en route to Sergeant Kemler's base.

Karin apparently had the ear of God, as the sun broke into a world of low-lying clouds and mist. It meant slow going, but it also meant they would have some ease in hiding from any enemies in the woods. They bid the farmer and his family good day, took the offered sack of bread and cold mutton, and headed south-west through the farmer's fields and crossed into the woods. They stuck to a forest path avoiding the main road, and the possibility of troop movement, and with Karin in the lead they made their way deep into Vosges Forest.

Vosges was an old forest, surrounded by farm and field; its canopy of deciduous oak and spruce and tall stands of evergreen were broken up with meadows of yellow daffodils and meadow sweet. Occasional houses could be seen nestled against a hill, surrounded by the woods, and Karin wished she could investigate these small outposts of humanity that had thus far escaped the ravages of the war. By mid afternoon, the sun had peeped out of the clouds, and they stopped to eat the cold food provided by the farmer.

Nicholai had been quiet during their trek, keeping an eye open for trouble, but also fascinated by the local flora and fauna. He was not a naturalist, but he found the atmosphere of the forest very much like a cathedral. And that thought brought him to the approaching confrontation in Domremy. As he ate, he went over in his mind the steps he'd taken to assure victory against the demon. He had sent helpers to infiltrate the village and take out a little insurance against interference – providing Lenny and his troops managed to corral all the locals - and he expected everything would move smoothly once he and Karin arrived. The only factor that might prove difficult was his guide, Karin. The lovely lieutenant was an unknown; would she remain loyal to her army? Would she balk at what had to be done – for once the truth was revealed, he could not be sure she would remain at his side. Perhaps if he could convince her...

"Karin," he began, his voice lowered in the late afternoon woods. "I've been meaning to ask you a question." Karin looked up from her meal, gazing at him with an open expression, as if this were a picnic in the park. So trusting, he thought. "Karin, I wanted to know how you got involved with the army."

Karin blinked, the sudden personal question catching her totally unprepared. She worried the question for a moment then shrugged.

"You know the kind of story – old family, poor, family honor..." she said it almost casually, but there was a note of truth that leaked out, and Nicholai caught it.

Family honor eh, he thought. How that must rankle. "I've heard of such things of course," he said, putting down the scraps of his meal and brushing crumbs from his coat, "but as I don't have a family..."

Karin looked surprised at his confession. "Because you're in the church?" she asked.

Nicholai shook his head and a long strand of corn silk hair fell across his eyes. "No, because I'm a bastard child with no parents," he answered, then realized how harsh that sounded. "I mean, well, I knew my mother of course."

"But not your father?" and the look of sympathy was both alarming and delightful.

"Oh no, I knew him. But he was beyond my mother's social station. I saw him once or twice; but then I was admitted to the seminary and," he shrugged. "I haven't given him much thought since then."

"I don't believe you," she exclaimed before catching her self. She pulled at her hair, done up in its ponytail, and just barely refrained from biting her lip. "I'm sorry. I realize it's none of my business, but even if you were a total orphan, you'd think about your father. Especially as you were a boy..." she stopped, suddenly embarrassed.

Nicholai smiled, his green eyes sparkling. "Yes, I was a boy," he said with a chuckle. "And I did think of him. I dreamed sometimes, hoping he'd come for me – take me in, love me; all the silly things children hope and pray for. But that was not my fate; instead, I was spotted by my teacher at an early age and he took me in when my mother grew too ill to manage me. Then, when I grew older, he sent me to seminary. I became a priest and, because of certain innate talents," he said with a small smile, "I became an exorcist. My meteoric rise to cardinal was influenced by that, I'm sure," and his voice was tinged with irony. Yes, his rise to power in the Vatican had been because of his powers; and also because of his smile and his wit and his backing. But also because of his ambitions - what man in the Vatican did not have ambitions? Even the Pope himself had desires beyond the scope of his priestly powers.

"I didn't mean to pry," Karin said.

"No-no, I began the inquiry, so it's only fair. Do you plan to stay with the army, Karin? I mean, with this war on... it's only going to escalate."

Karin folded up the paper wrapper from their bread and mutton and looked around for a place to bury it, choosing finally an area beneath a nearby tree with plenty of old fall and leaf matter. She pulled aside the debris, sliding the wrapper under the dark soil, and covering it, before standing and wiping her hands clean.

"I – I suppose I must," she finally said, looking around the nearby woods. Just beyond the next stand of trees was a meadow, yellow flowers, their heads open and brilliant beneath the pale afternoon sun, waved gently in the air, and Karin thought how lovely it would be to simply settle there, and raise a family. She looked askance at the young cardinal and laughed at herself. He's a priest, for pity sake. He's not going to leave the priesthood for some silly notion of living on a farm and raising kids. Pity.

Nicholai stood and dusted off his clothing, looking ahead. "I suppose we should continue on" he said. "It's getting late."

"Right. We're still some miles from Sgt. Kemler's base. He's stationed about five miles from Domremy."

"Right, then let us proceed," Nicholai said and let Karin take the lead.

Reviewers!

Raven Shinobi: You're back for more! Glad you're liking this. And as you discovered, nope, not at Domremy yet. But they will get there, and yes, there will be some relational problems.

Amratis: Sorry if the chapters are short. You see, this isn't a chapter story. It's one looooooong piece that I didn't think anyone would want to read in one go. I'm sitting at around 100 pages and 30000 words or so right now, and I'm almost done. But I doubt most folks have the time to devote to something that long, so I broke it up into smaller packages.

Sable! Welcome back. Glad you're "entranced"... hehe. Hopefully I'll keep you that way throughout.

Andularia: melts from totally delicious praise... Well, you know what comes next.