Nurturer of Nightmares

Cain

Nothing.

Nothing on the cameras surrounding the entirety of the city of Pangorama, nothing in the frosted plains where we’d driven, and nothing in the ruins of the Caliem Manor.

They’d just vanished, without a trace! There was nothing to even indicate a fight, but with the snow that covered the plains, it might simply have been covered over.

Now, Xarran and I were crouching in the snow, our second rented car humming behind us, studying the ruins left behind by Jezebel when the Manor had been destroyed.

We’d spent the past three or four hours just scouring the Manor, torches in hand as the sun began setting behind us, and we hadn’t found much.

There had been plenty of things to find; Michael’s hideout from after the Manor had collapsed, built into a small alcove beneath a huge chunk of onyx that was held up by more rubble, and filled with curtain material to try and keep the warmth in as best as possible. There was a broken screen leaning against one of the pillars, half-crushed beneath it, and a handful of supply boxes. This had been where the storage room had been, with the tracking system that was used alongside the chips in all of the Heirs arms. It made sense for Michael to have chosen the remains of this room as his hideout. There were plenty of boxes and bags that may contain supplies, including an abandoned satchel that looked vaguely familiar. Plucking it up from the snow, I peered inside.

A handful of meagre supplies, and, at the bottom, a pile of letters.

Frowning, I reached in, grabbing one of the letters and unfolding it. It was written in Tatiana’s handwriting, and a letter I had seen her writing. It was about Nihila arriving in Tarvenia, just after we’d discovered that Ordeallan had fallen.

Why would this satchel have a letter like that?

Handing the letter to Xarran, I coughed out, “Hold onto that for a moment.”

I grabbed another letter, this time recognising one of the court members of the King of Karmona as the writer.

To The Borderlands,

The city of Karmona thanks you all for your patience during these difficult times. This is the latest information, provided directly from the war camp, on the Immortal War that is currently occurring in the Dimension.

It is under the order of King Avalon of Karmona that all citizens begin stockpiling supplies in case of a widescale evacuation. If an evacuation is to occur, head to the shoreline and wait for the boats that will be dispatched.

The cities of Tarvenia, Lamia and Ordeallan have fallen. Regrettably, King Radomir, Princess Romalize, and Queen Destiny had been considered deceased, deceased, and captured respectively.

Karmona is now preparing for a full-city evacuation, as we have received word that Caliem will be advancing on the city by nightfall.

Despite this, the war is not over, and efforts will continue to be made by our soldiers to recapture Ordeallan, Karmona and Tarvenia from Caliem’s grasp. We welcome any donations that can be delivered to the Old Mill Inn in the form of food, gold, or other supplies- such as cloth. Below will be a list of approved donations:

-Food that can be easily preserved- such as dried meats, tinned fruit or vegetables, and jars of soup, stew and jam.

-Money in the form of gold or silver

-Cloth

-Materials such as metal, wood, string, rope, etc.

-Weapons

-Tents

-Old furniture

-Cooking ingredients- Flour, eggs, milk, etc.

Queen Tatiana is currently preparing for the next stages of attack. Until the cities can be recaptured, it is advised that all citizens, and any soldiers that may find themselves separated from the war camp, to remain where they are (provided it is safe to do so), or head to the Old Mill Inn. From there, you will either remain if you are a civilian, or head to the Forest of the Damned if you are a soldier.

We thank you once again for your patience, and advise everyone to remain calm.

Some of the handwriting seemed off, forged, perhaps? Except I knew this letter, too. I had seen it posted around The Borderlands- our final letter that served as both a warning and a call to action.

So why was it written so strangely?

It was only certain letters, placed so that they were almost unnoticeable if you were reading quickly, and I said, “Do you have a pen on you, Xarran?”

He reached into his pockets, pulling out a switchblade and saying, “Nothing but this. All my other supplies are food, money or clothes.”

Grabbing the switchblade, I flicked it open, shrugging as I leaned over and began scratching letters into the screen of the old TV.

S… E… T… H…

Seth. A secret message.

Grinning, I wrote out the rest of the message, which read, ‘Seth, go to Demon’s Crest’, and exclaimed, “So this is why Seth knew where to go! He’d been given this letter!”

Reading it over my shoulder, Xarran shook his head, saying, “Except he was caught at the Old Mill Inn. Do you think he meant to follow the message?”

“Yes. He had been missing for quite some time when we sent this out. The King of Karmona must have instructed whoever wrote this letter to hide the message in it.”

“So why is this letter here?”

“And why are there so many letters? There has to be at least a handful here.”

“Well, read them. Maybe it’ll give some clues to something. At this point, I’d be happy for an explanation to anything that I’ve witnessed in the last few weeks.”

Reaching in, I grabbed another letter, scanning it for hidden messages as I read. It was from one of the Generals in Ordeallan, detailing the fall of Ordeallan, but the final letter was from Destiny, addressed to Seth.

And it discussed the possibility of them courting each other!

She’d ended it with an awkwardly written ‘I love you’, like she had been shaking as she’d written it, and since I knew the very fear that ran through her veins at the sound of those words, the implication behind them, I knew she had been shaking.

How scared had she been to take that step towards love, and even further away from the Manor?

Xarran read it as well, his face falling slightly, like he was in pain. Noticing it, but not wanting to bring too much attention to it, I simply said, “They’re Connected, you know.”

“I’m aware,” he said tensely, staring at the simple note Destiny had written Seth.

Xarran wouldn’t have been the first person to catch feelings for my cousin. There had been that soldier in the war camp, and Ray Junior, and even a few humans on Earth, but what would separate Xarran from someone sensible and an idiot would be how he reacted to those feelings.

The look on his face right now made me think he was willing to be an idiot about it, especially as he swallowed thickly, gritting out, “They don’t seem suited.”

Raising my eyebrow, I replied, “He brings something kinder to her, makes her listen to her human side.”

“We’re Demonic-beings. What use would being kind be?”

“She was kind enough to throw herself from the car to save all of you. Perhaps take that into consideration, Guardian. Which reminds me- Zeella lied about Desterium’s Guardians, but since you’ve been officially hired, and Desterium isn’t here to fire you from that position, you’ll need to understand some things. You are fourth in that order. There’s Desterium, Nym and Lydiav. After them will come you.”

“Wasn’t there a third?”

“He left the Manor to seek a new life, and Desterium let him go willingly. They’re friends, and he’s still willing to protect her, but he isn’t officially hired. You are officially hired. You will have to get along with Nym and Lydiav if you want to remain with Desterium.”

“What if I don’t?” He challenged, and I replied, “Then you’re fired, whether through Desterium, or through me. Nym, Lydiav and Bal’gag have been her friends since Earth, and that won’t go away just because you come along. Another thing: There are plenty of people who will try to challenge you as Destiny’s Guardian. You need to learn how to ignore them. Desterium places a huge focus on dignity in her inner circle, and if you can’t keep your cool around people, don’t bother staying.”

“I get it,” Xarran snapped, “So where does her Connected sit in that pecking order?”

Ah… A matter of dominance. Destiny would have been pissed to know Xarran was willing to compete for her hand, but no matter. I could handle it before we found her.

“Her Connected is that exactly- her equal. He’s a Prince of Hell, so he can technically order you around.”

“If they were to marry-”

“Then you remain Desterium’s Guardian. You aren’t under any obligation to protect Seth, but most Guardians will protect the loved ones of their employer. It’s a matter of loyalty. Nym and Lydiav have both pledged to protect Seth.”

“Have they been courting for a while?”

“No. They were very close friends. They shared a bed, though. They slept together once or twice, too.”

I could remember that, learning about it from the Septem Peccatis, and then from Seth and Destiny when Selphien and Syrphien had begun telling people around the camp about Seth’s affair.

The way they had explained it, all blushing and stammering; My cousin had sat silent, staring at her hands as she turned red, while Seth choked out an explanation, apologising along the way. I’d ended the conversation simply by explaining that so long as they were both happy, I didn’t care what they did with each other, and I certainly didn’t want to know. If they’d done it since then, I hadn’t heard about it, nor did I want to.

“Slept together? She barely seems to know him!”

“She was miraged. They knew each other quite well.”

“Regardless, they’re gone.”

“Yes. They are. And it’s our job to retrieve them. Both of them. And Xarran?”

The Guardian lifted his head up expectantly, watching me, and I said, “You wouldn’t be the first to catch feelings for her, and I doubt you have them now, but if you do, be careful. Her and Seth are happy together.”

“I- She’s a Princess of Hell!”

“Exactly. He’s the Prince of Hell. Right now, they’re going to need each other more than ever.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because there’s only one place they could have gone.”

They weren’t in Pangorama, the cameras had confirmed that, and they weren’t in the ruins of Caliem. So they’d either somehow made it through the Divider and into The Borderlands, or they had gone to Earth.

Zeella had taken Destiny home.