The Demon Lord And His Hero

"Kida," Rei raised an arm in the air and waved once.

The approaching avian made a cursory wave that was half-hearted but done out of compulsion. At first glance, the man's hair colour appeared to be black but a closer look showed that it also had a sheen of dark blue like Riaku's wings. Akida's floral patterned robe did not detract from the man's cocky walk and masculine good looks. He even had a permanent dead-eyed look on his face that made it appear like he was perpetually annoyed with life.

"Rei, I heard you were babysitting a healer and his brother."

"Sort of," Rei couldn't tell Akida that he was the one being taught and babysat by the brothers. It would lead to more questions he couldn't answer.

"We're staying in this shitty place? I've seen brothels with more class." Akida looked around the place and commented. The innkeeper was starting to sweat.

"We dont even have a place to use as a toilet," Syryn added. He was starting to have a good feeling about Akida.

"You hear that innkeeper? The healer doesnt have a place to piss at. You should know not to fuck with healers." Akida's half-mast eyes rested on Syryn. "Get him a place to take care of his private matters." The way it was said didn't need a warning. Akida was the warning.

"Yes, yes, I will immediately have a grand bathroom constructed. The builders are arriving right now even as we speak, sir." The poor innkeeper's clothes were soaked with sweat after the exertion he'd had on the way here following an avian whose walk was faster than anyone he'd ever met.

True to his words, a trio of builders arrived with their tools. Akida didnt appear too happy about the dearth of workers.

The innkeeper was a clever one. He understood fast and acted even faster. "I'll go back to the village and hire five more workers! Please wait for their arrival."

Frankly, Rei thought the innkeeper was just being bullied at this point. "Kida, would you like some food?" He asked the surly avian.

"What do you have?" He then walked over to Gosan and examined his amputated leg. "Tch. Your wife is worried to death about you. Send her a letter." Without waiting for Gosan's response, Akida went to receive the bowl of hot food that Rei was holding out for him.

"Healer, we're to leave as soon as your brother is better. Cure him fast." He said it as if it was a foregone conclusion that Lucien would be cured of whatever he was suffering from.

"You're really bossy," Syryn replied.

Akida ate his food without giving any indication of having heard Syryn. The avian was rude but reliable, the alchemist surmised. The two scabbards hanging at his waist indicated a unique skill that Syryn could appreciate if the man had any. At last, he could finally leave Lucien and meet Dinah for their hilltop date.

"Rei, I'll leave Lucien to you," Syryn told the healer who was feeding Gosan his quarterly dose of antibiotics.

"Healer, Riaku charged me with watching over you. I'm coming where you're going."

"I'd rather you stayed with my brother," Syryn replied. "I can take care of myself."

"He's right, Kida. Syryn isn't exactly a helpless healer. Lucien needs you more than Syryn does." Gosan's words had their intended effect though Akida still hadn't said anything.

"Where are you going and with whom?" The avian finally asked Syryn.

"To the house on that hill with a priestess named Dinah. There's a sick little girl who I need to see." Syryn pointed to the northwest while explaining.

Akida's eyes landed on the house that Syryn was pointing at. It was hard to miss. "Estimated time of return?"

"Before nightfall."

"Can you use magic?"

"Yes?"

"Send a signal if something untoward happens." A feasible idea since the house was so easily visible from where they stood.

Syryn wondered if Akida was planning to sit outside the cabin and watch the hill like a lunatic. He was at least thorough about his job. A flashy signal for the bossy avian, maybe he could set the hill on fire. But Syryn wasn't expecting anything serious to go down.

-----

Half an hour later, he was with Dinah, climbing the hill again. The place was more welcoming during the day. The footholds carved into the steep hill had a rustic charm about them. Syryn could see plenty of butterflies and other insects hovering over the tiny wildflowers that spread across the slope like a pretty carpet.

"I saw another avian show up. One of yours?" Dinah asked the alchemist.

None of the avians was his but Syryn nodded anyway. "Hes our newest guard."

"A strange one."

"What do you mean?" Syryn asked the priestess.

"I overheard him asking the innkeeper if there were brothels around town. Anyone would think he was looking for a lay, right? But when the innkeeper told him that there were none, the avian seemed satisfied rather than get upset by the revelation."

"You're right, he's strange."

"Look, she's the same." Dinah and Syryn both observed the statue like girl who was seated on a chair in a shaft of sunlight. Cami's mother, who was next to her, was a picture of misery. Together they sat, side by side, like frozen clay dolls.

"Why have you come here again, priestess?" It was the old woman who spoke. She was standing out in the sunlight holding a bamboo tray that held blue petals.

"We want to help Cami. I know you don't believe me but I come with good intentions," Dinah replied.

The old woman turned her back to Syryn and Dinah. Placing the circular bamboo tray in the sun, she began to sift through the petals. "Cami starts crying if we dont let her see the forest. That's why she sits there and stares, just like her father." The old woman's voice was weighed down by resignation.

"Can I take a look at her?" Syryn asked the old lady.

"Do as you wish. Cami needs a real priestess."

Dinah did not react to the old woman's words. Nevertheless, Syryn placed a reassuring pat on her shoulder before walking over to the unmoving child.

The first thing that Syryn noticed was the wet patch of urine under the child's chair. Drops of it were still moving down the legs of her seat. Syryn then hunched down to her eye level but Cami did not show any indication of seeing him. Her eyes were dull and without any spark of life in them. And when Syryn touched her cheek, it was cold, like he was touching a doll. He placed a finger on her wrist and found her pulse to be sluggish. And through the paper-thin skin on her wrist, Syryn couldn't see the colour and telltale signs that pointed at a healthy vascular system.

His finger hovered just under the child's nose and noticed an uneven breathing pattern. Cami was dying. Syryn knew without a doubt that her body was slowly breaking down.

"When was the last time she ate?" Syryn asked the old woman.

"This morning. We fed her a vegetable gruel."

"She responded to your attempts at a feeding?" It was a surprise considering the symptoms of her dying body.

The old lady turned around and fixed her wet eyes on Cami. "She swallowed the food if that's what you're asking."

Syryn internally debated the wisdom of asking for a blood sample. When a patient was so gone to this extent, Syryn could no longer save them. It was too late to conduct a test, too late to make the drugs appropriate for her sickness. And this wasn't even considering how lacking the place was for rare ingredients.

"How long did Cami's father languish from his sickness?" He asked the grandmother.

"He was possessed for almost two weeks before the ghost carried his spirit away." This time it was Cami's mother who answered. Her eyes were as lifeless as Cami's but she didnt have the emptiness that her daughter exhibited. Syryn furtively glanced at her blood vessels but he couldn't discern much. If the sickness was contagious then why hadn't the other members of the family fallen ill as well? Or was the progression of the disease unique for different people?

Syryn stepped aside and looked towards the forest. It appeared harmless, and nothing was beckoning to him from it. He turned back to Cami and saw a hint of a smile on her face for a second. It was eerie. A strong gust of wind blew right then and sent a thick perfume of several kinds of flora up his nose. Syryn blinked away the headache that came from smelling such sweetness. He would not get used to living in a place like the valley of flowers.

"Are you done?" Dinah asked Syryn.

"Yes." His muted reply brought a worried frown to Dinah's face.

After that, the duo walked down the slope together.

"Can you help her?" She asked Syryn.

"No. I dont even know what she's suffering from. Symptomatic treatment is useless at this stage of her sickness."

"So she's going to die then."

"I'm afraid her prognosis is bad. Cami- I hope she doesnt suffer for too long like her father."

The clear cloudless sky showered the valley with sunlight. The cheery sight was at odds with the strange happenings at the top of the hill and it made Syryn feel like he was stuck in an illusion.

He recalled the way Cami had smiled. "Dinah, how sure are you that she isn't possessed?"

"As sure as I am that I will live another day." A surety held by everyone unaware of when death would claim their souls. Dinah's answer perfectly conveyed her feelings about the entire situation. She had never been wrong about possessions but there was always a first time for everything.