Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 142916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Tora had told her that male Carpathians lost their ability to see in color or feel emotions. They lived in a bleak, gray world century after century. She’d also revealed that Carpathians choosing to give up their souls to feel the rush when they fed became vampires. Silke had lain awake often over the years thinking of how horrible it would be to live with honor for centuries and then, in a moment of weakness, become the very thing you hunted.
She was responsible for guarding the soul of a Carpathian warrior. It was told in the stories handed down from her ancestors that he would come with others to help them in their final battle with Lilith’s demons from the underworld. She feared he wouldn’t arrive in time. She was also very nervous. The idea of a stranger having a claim on her bothered her immensely. And there was that casual line about demons Tora had mentioned when Silke was fourteen. Tora wasn’t volunteering an explanation.
Once more, Silke looked up at the black rolling clouds. The edges seemed frayed, as if the vicious wind would suddenly reverse directions and rip at the clouds to pull them apart before once more aiding the demons in their quest to spy on the village and forest.
Tora had covered the forest in a shroud of dense magic weaves that appeared as fog so that even with the canopy swaying in the wind, it was impossible to penetrate the layers to see inside the forest. Silke had done her best to seal the ground to make it impossible for demons to enter that way. They needed the forest to remain a mystery to their enemy. It would be their chosen place of battle, just as it had been in AD 28 when their ancestors fought off the Romans.
“Tell me what you’re afraid to say about Carpathians and demons, Tora.” She wasn’t going to be a coward, and she needed as much information as possible.
Tora sent another wave of capricious winds to counter the violent storm, this time toward the waterspouts whirling their way toward shore. The wind shifted at her command, stilling just on the surface beneath the spouts, so the rotating winds propelling them abruptly ceased and the spouts collapsed.
“Stay still,” Silke advised. “I feel their scrutiny. They’re wondering if something or someone is countering their commands.”
“They won’t be able to detect my touch,” Tora said with confidence. “They can try, but I’m hidden from them.”
“One of them is a sniffer,” Silke cautioned. “That isn’t his official demon name, but I call him that. He has a long snout, and the others depend on him to ferret out their prey when they fail. If you left any trace behind, there’s a good chance he’ll catch your scent even if he can’t track you.”
Tora tilted her head up to better look at the faces in the clouds. The wind she’d sent pulled more of the clouds apart, so the faces were even more distorted than before. “I thought I knew a lot about demons, but your knowledge is much more than mine.”
“It’s the only area I might have an advantage on you,” Silke conceded. “I was born with the knowledge of my ancestors imprinted on me. Every demon slayer in the family contributed until now I’m a walking encyclopedia of demons.” She made a face. “That’s not a good thing when I try to sleep.”
Tora had a strange expression on her face, one that indicated guilt. Or at least she was anxious, which was so unusual for her friend that it alarmed Silke.
“We’re back to what you don’t want to tell me,” she said. “Just say it, Tora. We’ll figure it out.”
Tora reached for her hand. “You’re my family, Silke. I love you the way I would a sibling. Or even a daughter at times. I’m always proud of the way you face every new threat. You have such courage.”
That little speech didn’t bode well, although she knew Tora meant every word. She waited in silence for Tora to explain. The heavy rains lessened, along with the wind. The overhead clouds lightened from ominous black to a dark gray. The faces faded as if they’d never been, but Silke wasn’t deceived.
“They’re still there, hidden in the gray.”
“For demons, they have quite a lot of power,” Tora observed, speculation in her voice.
Silke frowned, the puzzle pieces turning this way and that in her head. Those particular demons were at the top of the hierarchy, but they couldn’t command weather. They had various skills, such as the one she named Sniffer. Two others had excellent vision. One had amazing hearing. Altogether, the skills would allow them to ferret out secrets or find their potential prey easily. But Silke and Tora had unusual training, allowing them to hide from the demons.