A/N: Yay, day four in a row! Thanks for reading, people, it makes me very happy. Oh, and the disaster mentioned actually wasn't the nuclear war, I forgot about the 'more recent' one. This crazed hitler-esque scientist in North America decided to modify the gene pool. He practically destroyed all variation, and ended up with only dark brown haired and blue eyed people. (Only in NA though) Except there were also these weird albino people, who were discriminated against and forced into slavery. When the scientist's rule was finally overthrown, people stopped teaching science at all. Word spread to the other continents. Okay, so now that's out of the way, enjoy the chapter!

xxxxxx

"I can't believe it." Ridillyn murmured, staring at it. I was wondering if this was a trap. How could it be so easy? But then I remembered what he had told me about the book. It was powerful and magical. The book on the ground did not have an aura of any kind. It was just that-- a book. I was about to say so to Ridillyn, but he spoke before I could. "I can't believe how stupid whoever it was thought we would be. They didn't even do any rudimentary spells on it, to make it magical enough to be detected."

"Maybe they didn't know." I said. The thought just came to me. If a normal person saw it, they would probably think that it was the book. Then again, I didn't know, because I'd never actually seen the book before. I assumed that it looked similar to the other volumes of the Demonica, which Ridillyn had shown me. In any case, the person who stole the book might not have known that it was magical, only that it was valuable.

"Perhaps. We can see. If there is a trap waiting for me, then the person really thought that we would fall for it. But we will fall for it anyways, because I will have gone into the trap, and, well, this is going in circles." he muttered under his breath. "It does look to be a remarkably good copy, aside from the lack of magical aura." Then, what he had said before hit me.

"Wait, you're just going to walk into some trap? Maybe they were right in assuming that we'd be stupid. What if it kills you?" I blurted. Then I realized that I must have sounded dense, because he was a vampire, and probably couldn't die that easily. He answered seriously, however.

"If it kills me, it will have a demon to deal with. That's one of the perks of not being a spirit. I can root myself to the earth, even if my bodily self dies. And yes, I will be walking into 'some trap' as you call it, if there even is a trap. Of course, you will be standing by to get me out of it. I doubt that there will be magical wards, since the book is so plain. You don't really need to do anything, just let me direct your power."

And just like that, Ridillyn stepped into the clearing. He stopped a meter away from the book.

"Oh! How rudimentary. Did they really think we'd fall in? Well, perhaps they did, if they though we would go for the fake. Harrumph." I didn't understand what he was talking about. Ridillyn snapped his fingers, and the book flew into his hands.

"Why couldn't you have just done that from the edge of the clearing?" I shouted at him, annoyed.

"Because it would have taken more energy, it would have prevented us from finding out if there were traps, and it wouldn't have irritated you as much." he stated, turning on his heel and stalking back into the wood. I followed him along, huffing.

"Why'd you stop before you got to the book?"

"They dug a pitfall trap. If we walked near the book, we'd fall in. As if a true vampire couldn't see the difference in the ground from up close." he replied, nose in the air. "Like I said before, this book is a well made copy. Of course, the pages are blank. We've confirmed that our enemies are onto us. We've also confirmed that the enemy isn't magical, and probably doesn't believe in magic. This is good."

In my opinion, it was very bad. How could it be a good thing that our enemies were onto us? They knew that we would be searching for the book, and tried to thwart us! It was a lame attempt, but they were trying. Maybe next time, it would be more dangerous.

"Oh, bother! I forgot." Ridillyn muttered crossly. I wonder what he forgot. "We should fall into the pitfall. Correction, I should fall into the pitfall. Then it will look plausible. No one could have gotten to that book without at least disturbing the trap without magic."

"How are you going to get back out?"

"Some anti-gravity and a bit of imagination. It'll be fine." he stated confidently. I sighed and followed him back to the clearing. He ran and fell into the hole. I couldn't help but laugh, the scene was comical. There was a thump as he hit the bottom.

"Are you okay?" I called from above.

"This is extremely strange." came Ridillyn's voice.

"What is?"

"There's a bed of straw down here. It's like they don't want us to die!" he exclaimed

"That's good, I don't fancy dying." I replied sardonically.

"It's strange! Well, I'm coming back up. Back away from the edge of the pit, please." I did as he asked. A moment later, Ridillyn seemed to fall up, landing on his feet at the rim of the trap. "I have to compliment whoever did this. The trap is very neat. If a normal person tried to climb up, they would have extreme issues. The wall is rock up until the top half, when it becomes soft sand, and then mud at the very edge. A climber would slip and slide all over."

"You're wasting time complimenting the enemy? I think I'd rather just leave before said enemy arrives." I said, grabbing him and walking away. After a while, we came upon Sirros, who was sprawled on the ground next to Kysis, asleep. Kysis was still in person form, which meant that it wasn't night yet.

"Wow Kite, I'm impressed. You managed to get us back here!" Ridillyn exclaimed.

"It sounds as if you wouldn't have been able to get us back." I muttered, glaring at him with narrowed eyes. He looked at me innocently.

He strolled over and kicked Sirros in his side. "Get up, you lazy vampire. I bet Astromid never let you off for idling when you were supposed to be guarding something."

"I had to sleep, didn't I?" Sirros retorted indignantly, rubbing his eyes. "And I'm thirsty." Screw him. I was not giving my blood to him too.

"Let's see what's in the cabinet. I bet Kite's hungry as well." Ridillyn uncovered the cart and opened the cabinet doors. I gaped when I saw all the things inside it. He rummaged a little, and then came up with an apple and a flask of something burgundy. He tossed the apple to me and scrutinized the flask.

"Is it at least mixed?" Sirros asked him. What was he talking about?

"Yes, thirty percent, courtesy of the head chef. Hey look, there's a note in here." Ridillyn remarked. He handed the flask to Sirros, who thanked him and took a long draft, shuddering.

"Good thinking setting up a connecting cabinet. I'll see to it that there's food and blood for you. If you need anything, leave a note --Lanveld." Ridillyn read aloud.

"Well, that's convenient. If he's stocking up, we'll be well taken care of. This is when I'm glad that Lanveld is a bit witch-like in his thoroughness." he said. I took a bite out of the apple. It was pretty good, and I was hungry.

"What else is in that cabinet?" I asked, after I'd finished my apple.

"A load of food and some rimwood juice. Help yourself." I scanned the goods in the cabinet. There were assorted fruits, some vegetables, and jugs of milk and water. Cups and bowls had also been provided, along with a knife. I took a cup and filled it with milk.

"There's a knife in here." I informed Ridillyn. He took it and scrutinized it.

"Not sharp enough. That'd hurt more than my teeth." he responded.

"That's not what I meant." I grumbled. I wasn't giving him more blood unless there were extenuating circumstances. Ridillyn smirked. I had the uncomfortable feeling that there would soon be extenuating circumstances.

"Let's see. Our enemy is smart, but does not appear to be acquainted with magic. Either that or they are trying to get us off course. Let's hope it's the first. In that case, our query is narrowed down considerably. We shall be setting a course for Cyvit's castle, which, by chance, leads us through Elta, your hometown. I wonder how they'll react seeing the so called witch they sentenced to death come back in less than a week?" he whispered conspiratorially, grinning widely.

"With a vampire no less." I added.

"Two vampires." Ridillyn corrected. "Even though Sirros and I are nothing alike."

"Why would I want to be like you?" Sirros interjected.

"I'm more intimidating, a wizard, and the crown prince." Ridillyn replied pompously. I giggled.

"How are you more intimidating?" Sirros demanded.

"I'm taller, and I have claws and fangs."

"You are not that much taller."

"Fine, but I still have claws and fangs, and you don't." This argument was starting to sound childish. However, it caught my interest.

"Sirros doesn't have fangs?" I asked, curious. I thought part of being a vampire was the fact that you bit people.

"Of course he doesn't. He was born relatively normal. I say relatively because his father was a chimneysweep, and the children of chimneysweeps are always screwed up somehow. I mean, he got himself killed at such a young age, there's something wrong there." Ridillyn told me.

"Hey, don't insult my father." Sirros snapped.

"I wasn't insulting your father, I was insulting you." he drawled. Sirros glared at him.

"I'm hungry." A new voice said. I started, before realizing that it was Kysis, waking up.

"What would you like?" I inquired.

"How about an apple?" I tossed her one. She did look rather horse-like when she was eating. It must be weird being a night mare.

I got to watch the transformation first hand as the sun set. It was rather gruesome, really. Kysis doubled over, and started getting bigger. Her hair flattened out and spread into dark fur. Leathery wings sprouted out of her shoulder blades, and her neck elongated. The front of her face stretched into a muzzle. Finally, her fingers receded and turned to hooves, and she settled down with a clump.

"Right, let's be off. I don't want to waste a second of the precious night." Ridillyn declared, putting the cabinet back into the cart and climbing in. I got on after him. I wondered how we were going to get through the trees.

The answer to my question came as a sudden jerk. We were being lifted up into the air. Kysis was hitched so that the leather straps were even distances to the corners of the cart, and we were rising steadily. I avoided looking down at all costs. It didn't take long to move out of the forested area. We were now flying above snow capped peaks, and the frigid air was numbing me to the bone. Sirros seemed unaffected, but Ridillyn was huddled in his seat, just like me.

Then, we started to lose altitude. I panicked, thinking that we were falling, before realizing that Kysis was lowering us onto the ground. I wondered how she would land without squishing us. The cart touched the ground, but Kysis remained fluttering in the air. Sirros reached up and unhooked the clasps. She flew off and came in for a proper landing.

"Is it morning already?" I asked, trying to thaw out my extremities.

"No, but we'll be moving normally now, through Xen's Pass. Kysis can't fly for too long carrying us." Sirros responded. Sure enough, after a quick food break, Kysis was hitched up again and moving at a slow trot. I suddenly realized how tired I was. Curling up into a more comfortable position, I fell asleep quickly.

xxxxxx

We were already out of Xen's pass, and heading into Ken's wood when I regained consciousness. Hey, Xen and Ken rhyme! It was nearly dawn, however. I felt extremely nervous. Technically, since I was now Sonfian, the residents of Elta could do nothing about my alleged 'witch-ness.' We were in Lytas legally, since we passed through the Gate. I just wondered how the people would react when the saw me, alive and mostly well. When I asked Ridillyn what he thought, he only gave me a huge smirk that showed off his many sharp teeth. That didn't bode well.

Dawn came, and with it Kysis' normal form. She and Sirros decided to get some rest. Ridillyn turned to me.

"If you gave me your blood, I could move the cart magically, and we'd get there faster." he said. There he was, trying to wheedle it out of me. I knew I should never have let him have any the first time.

"I'm not in that much of a hurry, thank you." I told him.

"But it'd be a more dramatic entrance, don't you think? A self moving cart!" he exclaimed, sweeping his arms grandly.

"I don't care if we're dramatic or not." I snapped.

"Come on, just a little." He was trying a different approach. The nerve of him!

"No."

"Please…"

"No!"

He gave me the cute puppy dog face.

"That doesn't work on me." I told him. He frowned. Then he went all "evil demon" and loomed over me. "That's not going to work either." I said. He harrumphed.

"Just a tiny, itty bitty little bite." he begged, pouting.

"You sound like a little kid." He was really getting on my nerves.

xxxxxx

Ridillyn was holding me tightly, pressing his teeth to my neck. He had finally "persuaded" me after a couple hours of pestering, which had ended like this:

"Please? Please please please please please?"

"Ugh, no!"

"Pretty please with a unicorn on top? Pleeeaaasse?"

"Arrgh! Alright, fine! Just shut up and promise not to ever pester me again."

"Okay!"

So there we were.

I felt squeamish with Ridillyn at my throat, but I decided not to complain, because he probably would have just started annoying me once more. As he sank his teeth, fiery pain shot through my nerves. I ignored it, because anything was better than his constant nagging and soliciting in my ear.

It wasn't so bad. His slurping actually felt nice. What disturbed me were the happy noises that he emitted sporadically. I think he enjoyed himself way too much. But at least he had self control. I could tell he was almost done when his sucking turned to licking, and he produced his wand.

When he finished, he hugged me. That was unexpected.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!" he squealed. This was starting to get weird. Ridillyn moved away and lay down on the floor of the cart, looking at the forest canopy dazedly.

"Did you get intoxicated on my blood or something?" I asked him. He was acting out of sorts.

"Maybe." he muttered, licking his lips.

"Yeah... let's keep going then. I want to see you move the cart magically."

"Okay." He sat up and put his palms on the floor. Then he started humming. Sure enough, the cart began to move. It was kind of creepy how it trundled along all by itself, but I got used to it. We were in town before noon, so I didn't complain. I was amazed at this display, even though I was still a bit annoyed that Ridillyn had been able to get me to give him blood again. Speaking of blood, the "drunkenness" seemed to have worn off, and I was relieved.

"Wow." I murmured. The people in the town were gaping, wide eyed. I was sitting in the cart, and it was moving all on its own. If I didn't look like a "witch" before, I definitely did now. The cart rolled to a stop and the townspeople just stared. Ridillyn stood up.

"I'm sleepy." he declared.

"The inn's that way." I pointed. Ridillyn steered the cart onto the side of the road, then jumped off. I followed him. He prodded Sirros awake and we walked towards the little inn near the outskirts of town. Ridillyn stumbled as we came into direct sunlight. "Are you sure sunlight doesn't affect vampires?" I asked dubiously. This was the second time he had showed weakness when in exposure to daylight.

"Well, it weakens my magic. Eirros shines in the day, and Darkness goes away until night. But it affects me not because I'm a vampire, but because I'm a demon." he explained as we trudged to the inn.

The innkeeper tensed fearfully as we walked in. Ridillyn ignored his expression.

"We need two rooms." he said simply. How could he induce such terror in people, even when he was calm? It was completely irrational.

"W-What're your n-names?" the man stammered.

"I'm Aire Miro, this is Sirros Alor, and this is Kitaek Fen. We're from Sonfun" The innkeeper's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he heard my name and saw me. He paled even more at the mention of Sonfun. I followed Ridillyn's example and ignored him. I felt a mixture of pity and mirth. It was funny how being accused of witchcraft made me so intimidating. Well, maybe it was the fact that I came back alive from Sonfun as well.

"Our rooms?" I reminded the man, since he was still frozen in place. He nodded numbly and handed us two keys. Ridillyn passed him some money, an amused expression on his face. We headed to the second floor. He and Sirros shared a room, while I got my own.

The place was pretty nice. It was plain, but cleanly. I knew that inns could be in much worse condition. I was tired. I had spent half of my morning being aggravated by Ridillyn, and then had my blood drained by him. I collapsed into the straw bed and fell asleep immediately.

xxxxxx

There was a knock on my door. I sat up sleepily and blinked the blurriness away. I felt cold and weak.

"You should get some dinner." Ridillyn's voice sounded through the door. I didn't see why not, food would do me some good. I got up, stretched, and trudged to the door. "Here." he said, handing me a flask of orange liquid. I recognized it as a healing potion.

"Thanks." I muttered. Even though he had been the cause of my blood loss, I was glad that he at least cared. I drained the half of the concoction in one gulp. It was tasteless, but refreshing. Ridillyn escorted me downstairs to dinner. I grabbed some food and began shoveling it into my mouth. I hadn't realized how ravenous I was until now.

"Feel better?" he asked after I'd finished.

"Yes." I conceded. The medicine's effects were starting to kick in. I decided to take a bath. Ridillyn accompanied me up the stairs and to the bathroom. After an hour of soaking, I felt much more relaxed.

As I walked back into the eating area, people stared. It was mainly because at this time of night, little girls weren't supposed to be going into the pub of sorts that it had changed into. Also, they seemed afraid of the wrath of the so-called "witch."

"We'll skip tonight and tomorrow. Kysis needs her rest as well." Ridillyn told me as I found him and sat down. "What're you all staring at?" he snapped at the onlookers. They quickly turned around and tried to act normal.

"She's in the stable?" Ridillyn nodded. "Why exactly are we going to Cyvit's castle?" I asked.

"This bit of Lytas, namely the state of Inctum, seems to hate Sonfun especially. They are also very anti-magic. It is probable that Lord Normin will have the book. He's not too dangerous, though. If it really is him, he'll just ask for money or some other payment for the book back. No big deal. However, there are other people in the castle who could have it. And of course, it might not even be there at all!"

I groaned. Just like with the Nolls. Hopefully we wouldn't need too much concentrated magic, I didn't fancy becoming Ridillyn's official blood donor.

xxxxxx

After a night and a day of idleness, through which I mostly slept, we were back on the road. I saw that my father's house and workshop had already been converted into some flower shop. It had only been less than a week since I was gone! Ridillyn interrupted my thoughts.

"Have you ever been up to the castle?" he asked.

"No. I don't think we're allowed, unless we're being arrested." I answered. He laughed lightly.

"Do you know anyone from the castle?" I'd started to shake my head, when I remembered.

"Wait, yes I do. The inquisitor who accused me!" I suddenly felt an inexorable flare of fury. For a second, I thought that there would be nothing sweeter than the sound of the inquisitor's choking gasps as he struggled against death. Ridillyn saw my face.

"There will be time for revenge later. If he truly has the book however, I'll be glad to take care of him for you." he drawled lazily.

"No, it's okay." I said. He wouldn't need to kill the man. I'd have finished him before he even got there!

"Hmm, we have an advantage, of course. I can do normal magic without any issues. It's mental attacks, telekinesis, and illusions that drain me, but I doubt we will need them." he murmured absent-mindedly

"Can you teach me some of the basic spells? I'd like to be better armed." I said.

"Yes I can. Some magic needs channeling, though. You won't be able to use that until you've got your own wand or staff. Now, the simpler things will be very easy for you, since your magic is strong. However, you need detailed knowledge of whatever you are casting on."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, let's take for example, healing. If you want to heal a wound, you have to know the depth and damage of it. You have to be able to imagine what you are repairing, see it come together in your mind. When this jars your magical power, you will be able to create that effect. However, you do need a wand for this, to direct the healing." Ridillyn explained.

"Oh, I understand. You have to be able to see what you want to do happen in your mind." I said.

"Yes, for basic 'making things happen' magic. It's a little different if you want to wound someone, however. You have to see and know what's under the skin, and that's hard to predict." he replied.

"Well, teach me that later. Right now, this is good." We had arrived at the base of the hills that led up to the castle. The first lord of Inctum wasn't a very bright man, and he had named the peaks the Mountains of Ice. It was a boring and rather inaccurate name, considering there was almost never any ice in the area.

"The sky is clear tonight." Ridillyn remarked. He was lying back in his seat, gazing upward. I copied him, letting the vast openness and the steady "clip-clop" of Kysis' hooves lull me into a semi-conscious state.

"Ridillyn, there's a bit of a problem." The sound of Sirros' voice jerked me out of my reverie.

"What is it?" Ridillyn inquired, alert. Sirros buried his face in his hands. We were at a fork in the road. The sign read "Ken's Wood Village." on one arrows and "Cyvit's Castle" on the other. The road to Cyvit's castle had a huge hole in it, and a sign that read, "Road Closed."

"The road, it, well, why don't you come over and see." Sirros muttered. Ridillyn got off the cart and walked over. He stopped at the front of the cart.

"Yes, this does seem a bit of an issue, doesn't it? I wonder how it works." This was beginning to confuse me. How what works? It was just a closed road! I decided to check it out for myself. I ambled over to where they were, and ran into something. The something seemed to be a solid wall of air. Or maybe just a solid wall.

"Ridillyn, what if this is an invisible wall. Or even a building?" I asked excitedly.

"That's a good point! We should check if there's a door or a corner to this." He put his palms on the wall and started edging away. It looked really comical, like some sort of mime show.

"Oh my." his voice came from behind the wall. I started, because I couldn't see him through it.

"Kite, it's a fence of some sort. And it's not invisible. It's only a good illusion. A very good illusion. Come around this way." I followed his voice. When I turned the corner, I gaped at the sight. Behind the wall stood Ridillyn, and behind him was the road, perfectly unscathed.

"Why would anyone want to trick people into thinking that the road to the castle was closed?" I muttered.

"And I don't think it's anyone at the castle doing this. This is magic, and Inctum doesn't tolerate magic."

"Does that mean we have another enemy?" I moaned.

"Perhaps."