wearing thin. No wait… Scratch that. Her patience had been worn thin a long time ago and now only an extreme amount of self-control kept her from punching Alassane’s lights out.
Two weeks had gone by since they had left the temple of Issara. And in two weeks he hadn’t stopped complaining. Complaining about everything. If she thought he had been a pain before, it was nothing against spending every minute of the day with him.
At the moment he was grumbling about something concerning street vendors. But even if her life depended on it, she couldn’t say what his problem with them was. For the sake of what was left of her sanity, she had stopped listening a long time ago.
Tuning him out, she turned her attention to her surroundings instead. This town looked just like the one before it. And the one before that one…
In the two weeks they had traveled together, they had come through several Sinarian towns. In the beginning she had been convinced that Alassane had a destination in mind, but now she was starting to have a sneaking suspicion that he didn’t know where they were going any more than she did.
“—that has no use of… Are you even listening to me?” She heard him say.
“Absolutely.” She reassured him absentmindedly. She had no idea what he had been talking about.
He huffed annoyed and muttered angrily to himself. Selissa thought she heard the words “insufferable woman”, but she couldn’t be sure.
Out of the corner of her eye, she studied him for a moment. In the time they had spent together, she had learned a lot about him, both good and bad.
Alassane was in every way a rather strange individual. She had learned that underneath the sarcastic attitude… Well, there was more sarcasm and more than a few annoying habits. But underneath all that, he was rather intelligent. He knew a lot about a wide range of subjects and seemed to be able to find a solution to most problems.
On the other hand, when it came to social interaction, he had about as much common sense as a cactus.
Selissa was not sure he intended to, but somehow he managed to insult almost every single person he came into contact with. She couldn’t count how many times she had had to interfere and apologize before they were thrown out of various taverns or shops. She winced as she remembered the butcher who had tried hunting them down with his large butcher knife swinging over his head.
But annoying attitude and troublemaking aside, she found herself almost liking to travel with him. Not that she would ever admit that to anyone.
“So…” She interrupted his angry mumbling. “Where are we going? We have been on the road for more than two weeks, and you still haven’t told me where we’re heading. “
Alassane finally stopped talking. He seemed to consider her question before answering.
“We’re supposed to go to Var’Nori.” He said slowly. Selissa looked at him in surprise.
“Var’Nori?” She asked. She had heard of the city before. It was a neutral city, lying on the border between Sinaria and Ver’Dohna. It was home to the most prestigious magical academy found in both countries, and she knew that a lot of famous mages and sorcerers lived there. Sinaria and Ver’Dohna had both fought for control of Var’Nori for years, but had never been able to get past the powerful, magical protection around the city.
“The mages there study very powerful magic. Someone there might be able to help us find a way to subdue the Demios. And there is no doubt that the Demios are interested in the city. They might show up there.”
The Demios. Selissa shuddered as she remembered what they had done in the temple. If they went that far to give them a warning, how far would they go to obtain the power of Var’Nori’s mages?
“What do we do if we meet them?” She asked. Alassane sent her a long, serious look.
“We fight or we die.” He said simply.
ℓ
“My sister and I need a room for the night.” Alassane told the innkeeper. “Two beds.”
Selissa didn’t bother to ask about the sister part. By now she had been his sister, his niece and his apprentice. She didn’t really understand the need for changing the story every time, but then again, she didn’t understand a lot of things Alassane did.
The innkeeper handed Alassane the keys with an uneasy look at him and Selissa. She couldn’t really blame him. An abnormally thin man, who mostly resembled a living corpse, and a strange, silver-eyed girl did kind of stand out.
An hour later Selissa lay in her bed, deep in thought. There was something she had been thinking about ever since her and Alassane’s conversation earlier.
“Alassane?” She said quietly into the dark room, hoping he was still awake.
There was silence for a moment. Then she heard him shift in his bed. “What is it?” He asked.
“I was thinking…” She started and resisted the urge to throw something at him when she heard him mumble something along the lines of “Don’t hurt yourself.”
“I was wondering about something…” She said instead. “Have you ever met a member of the Demios?”
He was quiet for a long time, and for a moment Selissa thought he wasn’t going to answer her. Finally he spoke, this time in a low, serious voice.
“I have.” Was all he said.
Selissa considered dropping it, but her curiosity won. “What are they like?”
This time he didn’t hesitate. “Ruthless.”
“I kind of figured.” She mumbled. She might not have met them face to face, but she had seen what they would do to an innocent boy. That was not an act of mercy.
She heard Alassane sigh. “The Demios have devoted their entire lives to the demon world.” He elaborated. “Once upon a time they might have been like everyone else, except born with a demonic ability. They were probably just like that Marked girl at the temple.”
Nadia, Selissa thought to herself. She had a hard time believing that Nadia could ever hurt anyone.
“But being involved so closely with demonic magic has warped their minds. I doubt there’s much left of their human conscious.” He continued. “And their insanity is clear for everyone to see.”
She had nothing to say to that. She wanted to ask how he had come into contact with the Demios to start with, but she knew she would get no answer. Silence fell over the room.
She didn’t get any sleep that night.
12
They arrived at Var’Nori at midday three days later.
Selissa marveled as she saw the walls of the mage city rise before them. The pure white stonewalls seemed to shine in the sunlight and it made them look like nothing more than an illusion.
They rose so far into the air that they completely blocked the city from view and made it appear like a fortress.
As they came closer to the city gates she felt the powerful presence of strong magic. The entire area was surrounded by it, and it almost overwhelmed her. She looked at Alassane out of the corner of her eye, but he seemed unaffected.
The city gates came into view. The first thing Selissa noticed was the guards. In all the cities they had passed through, the guards had been clad in light armor and had had weapons by their side.
The Var’Nori guards looked nothing like those men. The men by the gates were dressed in heavy, pristine white robes. The cloth was embroidered with intricate silver patterns. The guards themselves were unarmed and stood up straight, barely moving.
So even the guards are mages, Selissa thought. She began to understand why no one had ever managed to invade this city.
The guards turned to her and Alassane as they approached.
“Reason for visiting Var’Nori?” One of them asked in a solemn voice. Selissa couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Damn mages and their conceited behavior.
“We’re seeking counsel with one of your higher-ranked mages.” Alassane said, while bowing his head to the guard.
What’s with that polite attitude? Selissa thought. Who is this guy and that did he do to Alassane? Alassane ignored her weird looks and co
ntinued to focus on the guard.
“We will have to inspect you before you can enter.” The guard said, before nodding to his companion.
Conceited Guard Number Two stepped forward and raised his hand towards Selissa. A soft blue glow appeared around the hand.
Selissa cautiously took a step back. “What are you doing?” She asked warily.
“I’m checking for negative magical influence.” Number Two said simply. He stepped closer to her and led his hand to her head. She stood rigid, watching him suspiciously. He traced his hand down in front of her, hovering a few inches away from her body.
For a moment she thought nothing was going to happen, when suddenly the glow changed from blue to a bright white.
Both the guards stiffened and stared in shock.
“How can this be?” The first one whispered to the other, sounding stunned. She couldn’t hear the other’s reply, because he lowered his voice. The two mages started a hushed conversation, obviously upset about something.
Selissa looked from one to the other, before turning to look at Alassane. “Was it something I did?” She asked flatly. Alassane just sighed and shook his head.
Meanwhile, the mages’ conversation was getting heated. They were clearly having an argument about something.
Finally Selissa’s patience ran out. “So, are you guys going to tell us what this is all about or should we just expect to be standing here all day?” She asked. The mages looked at her like she had grown a second head. Just to be sure she felt around her neck. No extra body parts sticking out. Good.