Corabelle returned, mind finally clear.

  Tracking a number of tree rodents hadn’t been difficult, but with the Dewsilver distorting her spells, actually capturing them proved to be a bit harder than she anticipated.

  She realized as she tried to climb after them, leaping across the small gaps between branches, she’d gotten out of shape.

  Castle work was too physically easy.

  She was disappointed in herself; Her self sufficiency and stamina had been replaced with an overreliance on magic.

  “We were just about to leave without you,” The alchemist commented dryly, as she approached the group.

  “I had to clean up first,” She answered, truthfully.

  She had found a small creek to wash away the visible blood from her face and hands. The denizens of that bunker didn’t need to see a monster more than they already did and as strangely accepting as the majority of this group tried to be, they didn’t either.

  “We should go,” Sterling said before the argument budding at the tip of the alchemist’s tongue could bloom. “We have maybe six more hours of proper darkness.”

  Corabelle fell into step with him as they walked, “As I told Martin, It’s safer to travel during the day. Most Faedemons and Lesser and can see at night. They’ll see you long before you can see them.”

  “It’s safer,” the alchemist butted in. “For us to travel at night.”

  “Faedemon missions are often carried out at night as well, there are more out on patrol, more likely to spot you,” Corabelle replied calmly. “I don’t want to fight with you, but it really is safer in the day.”

  Sterling fell back, stepping between them, “Cora, I appreciate the information, but River’s Runebind allows her to hide when it’s dark and Val has Gods’ Eye. What Ev is trying to say is that whether or not it’s generally more dangerous at night, it’s safe for us specifically to travel at night.”

  The Alchemist, Ev, glared daggers into him as he named her to the Demon in front of him, “Yes,” She spat. “It’s safer for us to travel at night.”

  “I was just trying to help,” Corabelle told her.

  “I know,” Sterling added gently, leading Corabelle a few steps away from the fuming Ev. “I will tell the others at home what you said. I appreciate you trying to keep us safe.”

  The rest of the journey was uneventful; silent save for the buzzing of bothersome insects. Fortunately, they didn’t seem to care for her blood as much as they did her traveling partners’. Even River’s location was fairly obvious from the swarm surrounding her.

  As the village appeared in her vision, she stopped in her tracks

  “Hold up,” Sterling instructed the team in a low voice.

  “What’s wrong?” Val questioned hesitantly. “What do you see? I can’t see anything.”

  “This village,” Corabelle replied in confusion. “There’s no… There’s not supposed to be a village here.”

  “What do you mean there’s not supposed to be a village here?” Ev questioned incredulously.

  “I know these mountains and those fields; but the village that used to watch over them, It was on the hillside, there,” She pointed to the manmade plateaus carved into the side of the mountains. “But it burned years ago, right after the start of the war. There’s no village here.”

  “Then what is this then?" Ev drawled.

  “The silo,” Sterling muttered. “Cora, Is there an in-ground silo down here?”

  “I don’t know,” She replied, confusion sinking further. “I don’t think so. The mills were just below the village. I doubt they’d build the silo and mills so far apart. It wouldn't make any sense.”

  A disturbingly excited smile spread across the alchemist’s face, “So I was right then!” She beamed at Sterling. “There has to be something good at the other end of the silo. Let’s go!”

  “Ev wait,” Sterling grabbed her arm before she could start off toward the village. “If it was a smuggling den, or even a grow house, why would anyone waste the resources to build a fake village? No one would look for a den here. If anything the village draws more attention to the area.”

  “I don’t know,” Ev rolled her eyes. “But you know what would make less sense than building a fake village to hide a smuggling den? Building a fake village to hide nothing. So there’s something there!”

  Sterling turned his attention back to Corabelle, “Do you have any idea why this would be here?”

  “I really don’t,” She replied truthfully. “But she's probably right. If there’s a silo here, it has to be hiding something. Though I do agree with you too, it seems pointless to build all this for smuggling. The fields are dead, looters would have no reason to come here. The only thing I could possibly imagine would be maybe they needed a way to mark the entrance and the rest of these buildings are to divert thieves from the real valuables?” She shrugged. “But even that seems rather pointless.”

  Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

  “Let’s go,” Ev urged. “We can check it out. Worst case scenario, there’s nothing good. We grab a few bags of grain and leave.”

  “Fine,” Sterling huffed. “But we have to be quick and careful.”

  ------

  Everyn’s heart raced with excitement. The possibilities made her as giddy as a child, though she kept it concealed.

  If this was a growhouse, things could be so much better, for everyone. If it was a smuggling den, silks were at least cloth and spices are food. If it was jewelry, metals were always useful, carved gems could make decent arrowtips.

  The Demon walked behind her as they crept down the narrow walkway, down the dark expanse toward the far end.

  “This place seems too big,” She heard the Demon comment softly to Sterling. “Only strong magic users, and a fair number of them, could clear a space this large. I don’t think this is from smugglers.”

  “Maybe it’s another group of survivors, like us.” Valan piped up.

  After tying a rope so they could get back up, he decided to come with them. This strange place would need every hand if something went wrong. So Sterling placed a Runic Trap above the ladder to alert them if anyone tried to follow.

  “No,” Ryala’s soft voice echoed around them. “We would know about them and like Sterling said, building a fake village especially so near where one was razed, would draw too much attention.”

  “I think we should stay quiet,” The Faedemon spoke. “This place feels wrong and I won’t be able to protect you while the Dewsilver is altering my spells.”

  Her words drive a spike of rage through Everyn, “We don’t need your protection,” She snapped.

  “Shut up,” Sterling interrupted. “She’s right, stay quiet.”

  As much as Everyn hated it, they were both right. If it was Mages, they were clearly very confident in their abilities or, more likely, mad.

  After a few more minutes of walking, the end of the walkway finally illuminated in the soft glow of Sterling’s Spark wisp.

  In front of them was a wooden door, well carved but old and it fit strangely into the doorway, like it didn’t really belong there. The doorknob was gold, inlaid with a pretty red gem. The door looked like something that might have belonged in a palace not in a dank bunker or smuggler’s den. The frame of the door was poorly forged metal inscribed with a number of hand scratched Runes.

  The language… it’s not human.

  The thought surged through her like a lightning bolt, a cold sweat coating her skin in an instant. They needed to leave. Now.

  Everyn started as someone tapped her shoulder.

  She turned to see the Faedemon, pulling her hand away quickly.

  “That is Fae writing,” The Demon confirmed before Everyn could alert the group. “But it’s Lesser Fae,” She added. “But this place hasn’t been disturbed in a good while and It’s not on any of the Pearl's Keep patrol routes. This might have been where they housed Lessers in the early war, but I don’t think anyone had been here in a long while.”

  As much as she wished she could disagree, the dust that had settled atop the doorknob and floor surrounding the door seemed to indicate that the Faedemon was probably right.

  “Is that spell a trap?” Sterling questioned.

  “It’s not even a spell,” The Demon slid past them to get a better look at the door. “The Lesser Fae and High Fae dialects are a little different. I know High Fae but I can tell this is just… vandalism? It’s childish scribbles of rude words and little messages.”

  A strange sensation washed over Everyn.

  Childish? She’d never thought that the Fae were once children.

  The Lessers were still Fae but this almost made them feel… like people?

  She despised the thought.

  “Let me go first,” The Demon spoke. “I doubt anyone’s here, but just in case.”

  “Cora,” Sterling spoke. “If this is Fae, we shouldn’t be here.”

  “I would usually agree, but there might be something useful left here. The Lessers were often dragged out. Any food stores, tools, equipment they had, it would all be left behind. I promise, I wouldn’t object if I thought there was danger and even if there are Lessers here…” her voice cracked. “They’re also scared of Faedemons, so they won’t try to follow me when we run.”

  “Why would Fae be scared of you?” Valan questioned.

  The Demon released a slow breath, “We’re monstrosities, even to the Fae. The only difference is that the High Fae aren’t afraid of what they control.”

  Valan didn’t respond to her, his eyes turning away in discomfort.

  “Alright,” Sterling finally broke the tense silence. “Ev, you and I will wait here while she checks. River, Val, go wait at the top of the ladder. Be ready to get us out if this goes poorly.”

  Valan left with a nod, hurrying back the way they came.

  “You can not be serious,” Everyn snapped. “Are you insane? This place is Fae. I was willing to risk human mages, but no. I’m not fighting Fae, not even Lesser. Not here. We’d be killed before we saw them.”

  “I think Cora’s right, Ev,” Sterling said firmly. “No one but us has been here in at least a few months. The Fae stole everything. If even part of one of their stashes are here, that could help so many people.”

  He had that look in his eye, he wasn’t going to relent. If she was here or not, he was going in there with the Demon.

  She gritted her teeth, “Fine.”

  At least Valan and Ryala were safe. She herself could outrun an attack if they hesitated and If the Demon was telling the truth, they would.

  The Demon took her words as final confirmation, “I would put a protection spell on the both of you if I was sure it would work correctly. But I’ll block the doorway as best I can just in case. Stay back.”

  Sterling grabbed Everyn’s arm, pulling her back with him without waiting a single moment for her to move on her own.

  She ripped away from him with a scowl. Though she’d argued with every other thing the Demon said, she wasn’t about to object to her offering to take the first hit.

  Sterling should at least know that.

  The Demon waited for them to retreat into the darkness, her form barely illuminated by Sterling’s Mote.

  As her hand closed around the doorknob, the only sound heard was a light creak as she rotated it. Though the sound should have been quiet it echoed deafeningly through the silo.

  A soft white glow spilled into the space as the door opened, illuminating more scribbled vandalism on the walls of the silo.

  The light creak of the opening door silenced suddenly as the silhouette of the stopped, paralyzed, staring at whatever lay through that door.