Chapter 18: A Ray of Hope

Dulheim

         It was still dark when the sound of sharpening the axe woke May from her sleep. She mentally cursed Baltar for being so loud and tried to get back to her slumber, saving her strength for the day. However, it was hard to sleep with the impending threat of death. The day before she somehow managed to save her life and fool Aedain into a pointless trip. The downside was, she had only three days left until the demon found out that it was a lie. May didn’t have any delusions about what would follow – painful and gruesome death.

         She rolled on her back and stared into the night sky, considering her options. She had to escape and take Erik with her, but so far there hadn’t been a ghost of a chance. It would take a miracle for an opportunity to present itself within the next three days.

         May sighed, looking at the shining dots over her head. The moons were crescent today, so the stars were very good visible. May’s thoughts were wandering around the troublesome topic of escape while her eyes looked at the foreign constellations. She knew some of their names already; she recognized the Monkey Queen, the Pilgrim and the Table.

         The Table.

         May rubbed her eyes and pinched her cheek, making sure that it wasn’t a dream. She would surely wish for something like that to be true. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them after a while, but the strange vision seemed real. The Table constellation was supposed to consist of four stars yet now there were five of them. The odd one shone brighter than the others and it appeared as it was moving very slowly and had a barely visible tail. May realized that the star wasn’t a star at all – it was a comet. In addition, it was a bit reddish, just as the scroll described it. She couldn’t believe her luck. There was no doubt about it – it was the Messenger, the very comet which was appearing every three centuries when the portal in the Riada Swamp could be opened. It looked like it would be in the position in a night or two. It was a one in a lifetime chance to come back home!

         However, the main obstacle was Aedain. The question was how to run away from a person who has senses so acute, that could track you easily no matter where you go? To make the matters worse, it was impossible to outrun him; it’d be like trying to race a jet on a bike. During the past weeks, she observed the demon every day, trying to find his weakness, but so far she didn’t manage to spot any. After all, who could defeat a genuine dragon?

         “May, Erik, you two, get up,” Baltar’s voice woke May from her thoughts. Erik only groaned and kept sleeping, but the Laismaran children awoke without complaining. The mermaid girl, now in a human-like form, stood up and picked up her baby brother.

         Aedain’s eyes snapped open, as though he wasn’t sleeping at all. He nodded to Baltar, before saddling Meirch. When he patted the beast’s side, Meirch neighed and batted his wings enthusiastically. Then Aedain made a gesture to the Laismaran girl to come closer.

         “Meirch will keep you safe,” the demon said, grabbing the little girl and lifting her onto the saddle. She took the reins unsurely, careful not to drop her infant brother. Aedain passed her his cloak, and she draped it around her small frame and the baby, smiling to the demon warrior thankfully.

         “I will never forget what you did for us,” the mermaid girl said as tears began welling into her eyes. Aedain smiled back to the girl.

         “Be strong, child. Meirch will lead you to a man called Fealan. Tell him that Aedain, son of Kaellach, wants him to pay his debt. He will take you under his roof and keep you safe,” the demon said. “Now go.”

         With these words, Aedain patted Meirch and the beast jumped forward, batting its wings. After a few feet of a running start, its clawed paws were already off the ground, and Meirch sailed into the sky.

         “I hope they’ll be okay,” Erik said, yawning. May smiled to the boy.

         “I’m sure they will,” she helped him get on his feet, and they followed Aedain, who already began walking north, toward the ancient ruins of Dulgard.

         The fact that every minute counted didn’t make it easier to think about the escape. Somehow she had to get to witch Lavena, but she still had no clue how to do it. May knew that she would have to devise a flawless escape plan, and she should do it now. She shivered, when she remembered, he promised to kill her, when she would try to run away from him. Hers and Erik’s lives were at stake, so she would have only one chance, what meant she had to be prepared. If she was to get to Lavena’s tower, she had to know the way.

         May bit her lower lip, considering her options. There were only two people she could ask, and she ruled Aedain right away, what was leaving Baltar. She sighed, hoping she wouldn’t raise too many suspicions, before she picked up the speed and joined the muscled bald demon.

         “Hey, Baltar!” May called. She smiled as nicely as she could and thought how she could ask him about the way to Lavena’s place. She began beating around the bush. “I was just curious, how that witch Lavena knew Aedain?”

         Baltar shrugged his shoulders.

         “Everyone knows her.” He shrugged his shoulders, giving May a surprised look, as though she was asking the silliest question possible. “She’s the wisest and oldest of your race, it’s said that she uses her magic to prolong her life. Besides, her grandmother was a renowned Lasimaran sorceress. If I’m right Lavena’s over one hundred and thirty years old, she was by Aedain’s birth, although she was just her mother’s apprentice then.”

         May raised her eyebrow.

         “You’re kidding, right?” she muttered.

         Baltar shook his head.

         “Aedain’s father, the king, insisted that the Lavena’s mother should be by his birth, give her blessings, predict some future, eat free food and stuff like that, nothing special. We had a peace agreement with humans back then,” the bald demon said casually, scratching his goatee. His gaze went distant as he remembered something, blissful smile appearing on his roughly-carved face. “I remember that day well. The witch came with the escort… three lovely red-haired babes, pretty like flowers. Lavena was a little kiddy back then. But there was this girl from the escort…”

         May’s eyelid twitched, as Baltar’s tale began straying more and more from the course she wanted to set; she wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear that anymore, but the demon had an uncontrollable urge to share his memories with the girl.

         “I was a brat then and after the hag and the ladies left, I followed them. You know, I was in ‘that’ age,” he said, winking at May, who winced, grimace of horror on her face. Baltar wasn’t discouraged though. “Anyway, all the way until the Swamps was a piece of cake, but then… I barely made out of it alive. It’s a nasty place, the Riada Swamp. No one goes there if they don’t have to, only those sentenced to death. They say that once you step into the Swamp, you’re a dead man. However, not if you know one trick.”

         “What trick?” May asked, holding in her breath.

         Baltar didn’t notice her strange reaction and was continuing, unknowingly to himself giving May very helpful directions. He grinned.

         “Not many know it,” he said in a self-satisfied tone. “But I do. There are paths everywhere in the Riada Swamp, and once you find them you’re safe. There’s a plant growing all around on the trees on the edge of the marshes. It has big red flowers that glow in the dark and don’t like water very much. All you have to do is to walk straight and watch the flower. If it curls into a ball, find another path for you’ll get swallowed by the swamp.”

         “Oh,” May muttered, quite shocked that Baltar had just unknowingly told her how to make it safely through the deadly swamp.

         Aedain glanced at his group over the shoulder. Erik was napping while walking as the woman was bickering with his comrade.

         “Hurry up, you lazy bunch!” he snapped at Baltar and the two hostages who were dawdling in the back. He growled, seeing their surprised faces.

         May rolled her eyes and tried walking faster, while Baltar continued his story.

         “… it took some convincing, and I had to kill this one guy who courted her, but it was a night to remember,” Baltar finished with a dreamy look at his face. “The witch wanted to cut off my…”

         The bald demon paused when Erik’s rumbling belly interrupted the amazing story of his sexual conquests. A split second Later May’s stomach joined the boy’s in a chorus. She pressed her hand to her belly in a hope of calming it down. The feeling of twisting inside was bearable, but burdensome – she ate only one meal the day before.

         “You two okay there?” Baltar asked, worry briefly flickering in his yellow eyes. May smiled to him faintly while Erik hung his head, too weak to answer. The muscular demon sighed and looked ahead. “Aedain! I think the humans need something to eat!”

         “They will have to wait until tomorrow,” Aedain responded, without even glancing at his hostages.

         Tomorrow? May looked at Erik and squeezed his hand. The boy kept stumbling and tripping; she was practically hauling him as the murderous marching took its toll on his frail body.

         “We won’t last until tomorrow,” she said. “Erik is too weak to walk anymore.”

         Hearing about the boy’s condition, Aedain stopped and graced both May and Erik with a brief glance. He scowled, seeing the child sway on his thin legs, and his grimace deepened as his gaze rested on May who had dark circles under her eyes.

         “Weaklings,” he muttered. He crossed his arms on his chest, as though pondering what would be the appropriate course of action.

         Baltar scratched his shiny head and yawned, pointing at the nearby hills.

         “There is some human settlement over there,” he hinted.

         When Aedain looked in the direction, Baltar pointed, he furrowed his brows, a grim expression adorning his face.

         “We have no choice,” he muttered. “Baltar, make sure the boy gets rest. I will get the supplies.”

         Baltar nodded, taking his cloak off. Quickly, he spread the garment on the grass under a bush. Before Erik knew what was going on, the muscular demon snatched him, tearing him apart from May. He placed him on the cloak in an ungentle manner, although tossed would be a better word to describe his action, and wrapped him in the cloak tightly. Erik blinked, surprised, when he was laying like a butterfly’s larva in a cocoon.

         “Now sleep, kid,” Baltar ordered with a satisfied smile plastered across his face. Aedain raised his eyebrow.

         “I think it is your best time so far, Baltar,” Aedain said.

         Baltar petted his goatee and waved with his hand, as though he was abashed by the praise.

         “Only because this kid is way well-mannered than you were at his age,” he responded. “I recall that when I wanted to get you to sleep, I had to knock you out.”

         “Baltar!” Aedain hissed, glaring at his companion and pointing with his eyes at May, who was listening to Baltar’s recollections with a certain dose of interest. “Watch the boy!”

         May walked over to Erik and crouched already, about to seat herself at his side when Aedain grabbed her by the collar of her petticoat and yanked her up. Startled, she looked up at his face, but he didn’t bother to offer her any kind of explanation. Instead, he changed his grip, trapping her wrist in his strong fingers, and started dragging her toward the hills.

         “Hey, let go!” May snatched Aedain’s palm and unsuccessfully tried pushing it off her wrist.

         “The more you struggle, the worse it will get,” the demon said in a casual voice and as a demonstration, he squeezed her hand. May hissed from the pain when her bones felt like cracking and drew a shaky breath.

         “Freaking psychopath,” she muttered and lowered her other hand, giving up on her attempts to free herself from Aedain’s grasp. Just as she did so, the demon’s grip lessened until the way he was holding her wrist could be described almost as gentle. May sighed, feeling defeated, and let him lead her to the settlement behind the hills. Her gaze wandered around her, skimming over the meadows and crops in the distance, and stopped on the sky. She shielded her eyes from the sun with her other hand.

         “Is that a bird?” she asked, observing an animal, which was flying above her.  The creature was as big as a vulture and come to think that was behaving like one as it was circling her and Aedain persistently. It wasn’t waiting for her to drop dead, was it?

         Aedain glanced into the sky as well.

         “I have not seen such an ugly eagle before,” he admitted. “It is bald.”

         May furrowed her brows and stared at the shape below the clouds – to her, it looked a little bigger than a dot. Aedain must have had an insanely good eyesight to discern the details like that. She was about to ponder about the featherless bird more, but a forceful yank brutally brought her back to the reality. She stumbled forward and almost fell down, but another pull put her back on her feet.

         “Walk faster, woman,” Aedain admonished her. His malicious glare only strengthened May’s conviction that he was holding a grudge against her because of that scroll. She gritted her teeth.

         “I can’t,” she hissed – even though she was walking fairly fast for a starved girl with blisters all over her feet, her pace was no match for Aedain’s. “I can’t keep up with you!”

         Suddenly, Aedain ceased hauling her and stopped. May sighed with relief, glad to have a moment to catch a break. However, her joy was premature.

         “Put me down!” she shrieked when Aedain snatched her off the ground and swung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He knocked the wind out of her when her belly collided with the solid surface of his armor, and her forehead banged against his back. “Ouch!”

         May moaned, rubbing her aching head – there would be a bump there for sure.

         Once she caught a breath, she banged on Aedain’s armor.

         “What are you doing?”

         “I’ll stop when you put me down,” May retorted and enjoyed the deep, but not too pretty sound the metal was making. She smirked when she heard Aedain groan from the anger – somehow it eased her own frustration. After all, she should be planning her great escape instead of being dragged along on a shopping trip with her greatest enemy.

         “Fine!” Finally, Aedain gave up. May yelped when she felt the strong hands envelop her waist. The demon effortlessly lowered her onto the ground, as though she was light like a feather. Gracing her with a murderous glare, he grabbed her shoulder and unceremoniously turned her around, so that May would face the right direction.

         Now that she saw something more than Aedain’s back, May could take in the view. The orchards and grasslands were already past them; the human settlement was in plain sight. A shabby-looking fence, which encircled the village, looked like it has been erected centuries ago – the wooden stakes were no longer sharp; some were rotten, other simply missing. The settlement itself was of a size of a small stadium.

         The time of sowing was already past, thus there weren’t many people outside the village – only a couple of youngsters that were leading cows back to the settlement. The boys were staring at May and Aedain with their mouths open agape before they began whispering to each other. From time to time, they were glancing shyly toward her and the demon.

         “Why are they looking at us like that?” May asked quietly. Aedain sent her a long gaze and raised his eyebrow.

         “Perhaps they would not be staring if you were not dressed in underwear,” he suggested, pointing with his finger at May’s petticoat, which served as a dress. When she put her eyes around her defensively, the demon smirked. “Come, woman,”

         “Jerk,” May muttered and followed him toward the village. She was looking around curiously as it was her first contact with humans since Aedain kidnapped her from the Thoen Strongold. She was so enticed in taking in the sight, that she almost missed the strange behavior of her captor.

         As they were nearing the village, the pained grimace on Aedain’s face became more profound, turning from a delicate frown into a full-fledged scowl. Just when he was a foot away from the shabby-looking fence, he stopped abruptly and clutched his head with his both hands. He groaned, as though a powerful migraine hit him.

         “Haign,” he cursed in Laismaran. “I have not expected that they would have a barrier stone in such a small village.”

         May’s gaze wandered between Aedain, who seemed to have a headache of his life, to the plainly looking settlement. She failed to make the connection why he reacted the way he did.

         “What’s wrong?” she asked, but the demon ignored her question. He reached for his armor and fished a packed pouch from underneath it. He weighed it in his hand and tossed it to May. “Go and buy the provisions, woman.”

         The pouch hit May in her belly with such a force that she bent in half, but caught it. Gasping for air, she straightened her back and glanced inside the pouch. Her eyes lit as she found a handful of shining, golden coins there. There was quite a lot of money there. But why was Aedain giving it to her?

         “What are you waiting for? Go!” the demon hurried her, the tone of his voice rude as ever.

         “You’re not going with me?” May asked, finding it strange that all of a sudden Aedain was insisting on her venturing alone into the village when he used to watch her like the hawk.

         “No,” he grunted, expecting May to hike her skirt and run toward the gate. However, she was still standing there, with a questioning look on his face.

         “Why not?” she asked. Aedain looked at her sharply, most probably to come up with another snappy remark, but apparently he realized that it wasn’t the right way to deal with May.

         “I cannot enter the village,” he explained briefly as he was running out of patience. “Now…”

         “Why?” Another question interrupted him in mid sentence.

         May wanted to satisfy her curiosity. However, Aedain didn’t look eager to give her an answer. She furrowed her brows, set on figuring this out. He said he couldn’t enter… come to think of that, it was strange that Aedain couldn’t barge into the Thoen Stronghold – he had to kidnap her from the spot outside the city walls. A little moment ago he said something that the villagers had a barrier stone, whatever it was. May cocked her head as she remembered distantly someone mentioning the barrier stone, Aedain was talking about. Maybe it was Leif… she smirked as she came to the conclusion. “So this barrier stone prevents demons from entering the place they guard, right?”

         Aedain’s snarl ensured her that she was right.

         “Laismarans,” he corrected her. “Quit bickering and get the provisions. And do not dare to betray my plans to the humans. Do it, and I will retract my idea to let you and the Guardian live.”

         May bit her lower lip.

         You’ll kill me anyway after you find out that I lied about the Spear’s location, she thought.

         “I won’t utter a word,” she said out loud. Aedain nodded, suspicion never leaving his golden eyes and waved his hand, gesturing her to hurry up.

         May hummed as she entered the village, a town to be exact. If she had a better knowledge of the Callesmere Empire’s geography, she’d know, that the village was called Tokaley. Thoughts were racing like crazy through her head – she was among people again, and she was free from Aedain. More, neither he nor Baltar could enter here, for the barrier stone, which was apparently somewhere in this village, prevented them from getting nearby. She was safe.

         May stopped, considering her makeshift plan. If she waited it out here, she could stand a chance. Aedain would eventually head off toward the Ruins of Dulheim – she doubted he would pass on the opportunity to get the Spear only to snatch her back. After all, she was virtually useless to him; she was merely tool meant to blackmail Erik with.

         May looked into the blue sky. It was daytime, so the Messenger wasn’t visible yet, but she knew the comet was there. In one or two nights, the doorway home would be opened – she could race to Riada Swamp, where the portal was, and leave all her misfortunes behind.

         However, there was one hole in her brilliant plan – Erik. The boy had the Key, and May knew that without it, the idea of getting through the portal was just a dream. Anyway, she felt reluctant to leave Erik behind. The days of captivity spent together made her feel close to the unlucky boy; she would never forgive herself if she ran away alone.

         “Damn,” May cursed, realizing that an opportunity like this may not appear again, especially that she had two days left until Aedain punished her for the attempt at thwarting his plans. She was forced to go back to the demons and try escape later, this time with Erik and the Key.

         Sighing heavily, May strolled toward the center of the village, as she expected to find a market there and buy some food. She ignored the curious looks and whispers of the farmers when she was walking down the narrow, muddy main street.  The settlement didn’t make the best impression on her – the houses looked like they were in a desperate need of repairing; thin, stray dogs were shambling around.

         Although poor, the village was swarming with life – the peasants were running the errands. A young couple was walking side by side, the young man shyly brushed his fingers against his companion’s hand; both of them blushing violently. A couple of children ran past May, laughing happily.

         May felt a stab of sadness and guilt in her chest, when she took in all life and happiness, that pulsed in the village. The people here seemed to be so happy with their lives, oblivious, that a merciless demon intended to put an end to their joy very soon. After the eclipse, once Aedain obtained the power of the Dragonslayer’s Spear and lead other demons to the great war, the world these people know would crumble. First, men would be summoned to fight and die in the futile attempt to resist the attack. Then, women, children and the elderly will follow – hunger, diseases and enemy would finish Aedain’s plan.

         The worst was, that May could prevent that. All she had to do, was to tell those people of Aedain and the war that was to come. Someone could stop him before the eclipse. However, she knew that he would act on his word and make her and Erik suffer the consequences if she uttered a word.

         Clenching her teeth, she chased the grim thoughts away, and focused on her task – getting food. The market was situated in the middle of the village; the peddlers’ stands were circling a modest statue of the goddess Illiana. The figure of the pregnant goddess probably used to be painted golden, but now nothing remained of its original color – the wood was weathered; the rain and wind smoothed the sculpture so much, that it barely resembled a representation of a person. The pose of Illiana reminded May of the figure in the temple near the Thoen Stronghold, but there was one detail differing the two sculptures. Goddess Illiana from Tokaley had a shining gem of a size of a man’s fist placed where the heart was supposed to be. The stone shone sparkled brightly, but it wasn’t simply reflecting the sunlight – it was glowing, like Erik’s pendant. May had a hunch that the gem was magical. Was it the barrier stone?

         The villagers showed no desire to converse with a girl dressed in a petticoat – May had an impression that the farmers thought she was a prostitute. Not feeling comfortable under the hail of disapproving stares, she purchased some bread and was already on her way back into Aedain’s clutches. As she was heading outside the village’s gate, she felt a dull, persistent pain develop in her abdomen. It wasn’t pleasant, but bearable, so she ignored it.

         Just when she was about to set her foot outside the fence encircling the settlement, she heard a piercing shriek. She saw a young child dart past the gate into the arms of her mother. The little girl had panic in her eyes, her breathing hitched.

         “Karla, what happened?” May heard the child’s mother question her.

         “The demon, the demon is out there!” the child exclaimed in between sobs. May stiffened, hearing this. She stopped, staring at the little girl, comforted by her mother. The kid couldn’t stop trembling. “He wants to get in!”

         May clutched the bag with food tighter.

         Aedain got impatient, she thought. Perhaps she shouldn’t have dawdled so long in the village – he might have assumed that she was planning to escape. Not eager to anger him more today, May gathered her skirt and ran toward the gate. She dashed past scared farmers.

         “Wait, you’ll run into the demon!” she heard the little girl’s mother scream to her, but she ignored the warning and got out of the settlement as fast as possible. Just when she set her foot out of the area protected by the barrier stone, she stumbled upon a very agitated Aedain.

         The demon was wielding both of his swords, and he looked as if he was only waiting for someone to use them on. May brought the bag with bread closer to herself, holding it in front of her like a shield. She expected to receive a malicious glare from Aedain and a nasty rebuke, surely with a topping of a death threat. However, it didn’t happen. As strange as it seemed to May, when he saw her, Aedain’s face softened, the frown disappeared. She could almost swear that she saw relief briefly flickering through his eyes.

         “Are you fine?” he asked, sheathing his swords and encircling her, as though he was checking whether she had all limbs still attached.

         May nodded, staring at the demon and wondering why he seemed so… worried.

         “I got the food. Sorry it took so long, but…” she began, but fell silent when she saw what Aedain was doing.

         The demon closed the distance between them and proceeded with further examination. She gulped and hesitantly looked at him. Damn, his height alone was intimidating. May shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny as Aedain lowered his head. When she heard him sniffing her, she snapped.

         “What the heck are you doing?” she exclaimed, placing her hands on the demon’s chest and pushing him away. However, Aedain didn’t let her off the hook so easily – he snatched both her wrists and pulled them up so that May couldn’t fight him with her hands. She hissed from frustration and tried to wriggle herself out nevertheless. The demon was holding her for a while, but then he released her, a displeased look on his face.

         “I will ask you only once. Who hurt you?” Aedain asked, his voice oddly calm, not betraying a hint of anger or irritation.

         "Eh?" she was baffled. What the hell was he talking about?
         Seeing the May's confusion, the demon rephrased his question.
         "You are wounded. Who did this to you?" he asked again, slowly, as though taking her for an idiot.

         "No one, I'm fine," she replied according to the truth.
         "You are lying. I can smell your blood," he hissed, beginning to glare at her.

         May stared blankly at Aedain, the wheels in her brain turning slowly. Blood? Suddenly, everything became clear to her – it was hard to keep track of dates and weeks here as the flow of time was a bit different than on the Earth, but it had to be it - the slight pain in her abdomen was a dead giveaway. She moved her thighs a bit and cursed mentally when she got that unpleasant slippery feeling.

         Crap, not now.

         May was squirming under Aedain’s scrutiny and struggling to avoid his most unnecessary attention. Unfortunately, the luck wasn’t on her side today – instead of becoming disinterested the demon grew more persistent.

         "Show me your wound," Aedain demanded. That was too much for her – May’s cheeks turned crimson. Why couldn’t he leave her alone? Was he that dense?

         "So embarrassing," she muttered, covering her face with her hands. She tried to turn away from the demon, but he put his arm on her shoulder, holding her in place. She peeked at him from between her fingers and mentally screamed, seeing the focused look in his golden eyes. “Just forget it, okay?”

         Aedain sneered.

         “I do not like the idea of losing my hostage because she bleeds to death,” he said. “Now show that wound. I intend to dress it.”

         He reached with his hand, but May slapped it, taking a step back. As she did so, Aedain quickly closed the distance.

         “It’s alright, it’s not like I’ll die from it,” she laughed sheepishly.

         “From blood loss? I am not a fool, woman,” Aedain hissed.

         Oh yes, you are, May thought, staring at the demon in disbelief. The situation was… awkward, to say the least. Didn’t he make the connection? Obviously not. It seemed that if she didn’t explain it to Aedain, he would never leave her alone. She took a deep breath, wishing she could stop blushing like an idiot.

         “Aedain, I have a period!” May said as quickly as possible. She sighed with relief when she managed to get her message across and looked at the demon with a hope that now when he knew that, he would stop lingering on the topic. However, May was in for a surprise.

         Aedain furrowed his brows – judging by the baffled expression on his face, he didn’t seem to be enlightened at all.

         “Explain,” he ordered in his high-and-mighty tone, making May want to slap herself in the face from dismay.

         All she wanted was to walk toward the cozy-looking bushes over there and handle the unforeseen situation, not to explain such embarrassing issues to Aedain, of all people.  Maybe they didn’t use the word “period” in the Callesmere Empire.

         “Look, I’m talking about the time that comes once a month…” May paused, thinking how exactly long were the months here, and frankly, she had no idea. “Well, regularly. But it doesn’t matter. What matters, is that I have it now, and I need to go to the bushes…”

         “Not before I know what is transpiring here,” Aedain interrupted her.

         May stared at him, encountering his serious, unyielding glare. Wasn’t she specific enough? Even an idiot should get it by now.

         He has no clue, she came to the conclusion. Holy crap, the guy is like hundred years old and still doesn’t know a thing about it.

         “Umm… you see… women bleed every so often. It's absolutely normal,” she explain hurriedly.

         Aedain cocked his head, disbelief all over his face – he looked as though she tried to convince him that Santa does exist.

         “I have never heard a more foolish thing,” he replied.

         “Maybe it’s a human thing?” May suggested. Aedain arched his eyebrow.

         “Perhaps,” he muttered. “Where do you bleed from?”

         May stiffened as he asked his question. She looked sideways; it was hard to look him in the eye now, as the level of awkwardness rose to a ridiculous rate.

         "… you know… that place…" she uttered, her face glowing red. She peeked at Aedain and felt a barely controllable urge to scream from frustration, when she saw the lack of understanding on his stoic face. She took a deep breath. “It’s between my legs.”     

         For a while that seemed like eternity, the both of them were standing in silence. Aedain stopped staring instantly. He broke eye contact and set his gaze somewhere on the village’s fence. It was obvious that he was struggling to maintain his poker face as his mimic muscles were twitching slightly.

         “I’ll be going to the bushes over there,” May said quietly.

         “Go,” Aedain replied in an equally timid voice.

         Neither of them noticed a huge balding eagle which circled them one last time and seared toward the horizon.

         Aedain was surprisingly well-behaved, when he and May were on their way back to Baltar. Not only did he not make a move to haul her by her wrist or arm, he also kept a considerable distance between them. In fact, it seemed that he was hesitant to approach May now. However, it didn’t escape her attention that he kept glancing her way. He was doing it discreetly, but it started getting on May’s nerves when they reached the top of the hills.

         “Can I help you with something?” she asked sarcastically.

         As soon as she talked to him, Aedain snarled, but the nasty grimace on his face made May only to roll her eyes.

         “I can’t believe you didn’t know about a period,” she commented and smirked, seeing that the topic clearly made the demon uncomfortable – he looked away; his sneer vanished. Serves him right, May thought. After all, why should she be the only one to feel embarrassed?

         She reached for her bag to get the loaf of bread and tore it in half. She was munching it while looking around. Her gaze stopped for a while on the sun, then wandered toward the road in the distance – it looked like it was leading south from the village. May added the image to the mental map she was creating. Even though it wasn’t her strength, she tried her best to know where she was, just in case she would have an opportunity to escape.

         She took another bite of bread when she felt the disturbing sensation once again – the damn demon was staring at her again. She turned her head as quick as possible, but Aedain managed to assume his poker face already, pretending he didn’t glance at her at all. May furrowed her brows.

         “Why do you keep looking at me?” she asked. Aedain didn’t grace her with a single gaze.

         “My father told me never to trust a creature that bleeds and does not die,” he said and quickened his pace. May sighed heavily. Well, he summed up women nicely.

         She stuffed the rest of the bread into her mouth and jogged after Aedain. Baltar was already in sight, sitting near Erik, who was wrapped in his cloak like in an overly tight sleeping bag. The bald demon smiled and greeted his superior with a casual wave. When he stood up and took a few steps toward Aedain and May, Erik made use of the opportunity. The boy wriggled himself out of the makeshift cocoon.

         “Sure you two took your sweet time…” Baltar called out. Suddenly, the bald demon paused, furrowing his thick brows and looking around. He stared at Aedain.

         “You feel that?” Baltar asked in his raspy voice.

         Aedain stopped and nodded.

         “Quite a lot of power,” the bald demon stated, readjusting his armor like he was readying himself for a battle. “I didn’t feel anything like that since... only your father and Zhawn possessed that strong presence.”

         The long-haired man didn’t answer right away, a focused look on his face.

         “Damn it,” Aedain cursed. He clenched his teeth when air shimmered around him. His limbs increased their length. Skin and armor turned to crimson scales as he assumed a form of a fearsome dragon.

         “Don’t do anything that could draw attention to the boy or to our destination, Baltar,” Aedain commanded. “I will mislead them.”

         The long-haired demon stretched out his wings and waved with them energetically, jumping into air.

         May was staring after Aedain until the winged beast became a tiny dark dot against the sky and then vanished completely in the clouds. She felt the spark of hope in her heat grow a bit; for the first time  the terrifying demon left her and Erik. This might be the best chance ever to escape, a chance which wouldn’t happen again. A comet which appeared once in three hundred years, a mysterious opponent that conveniently drew Aedain’s attention away from her… Such a big amount of luck was surely a gift from heavens. But there was one problem left. May glanced sideways at Baltar. His massive frame radiated with raw strength; he wasn’t a bad companion, but the girl had no delusions – if he caught her red-handed on escape, he’d just snap her neck with one hand.

         Think, May told herself. The drops of sweat began forming on her forehead as she was painfully conscious how precious every passing minute was. She set her gaze on Baltar, assessing his strong and weak points: he was one hell of a fighter, but was rather dumb. That was the weakness she had to exploit.

         “Hey, Baltar,” May spoke, trying to sound worried. “Do you think Aedain can take this very strong person on alone? I mean… it’s probably risky. Shouldn’t you help him?”

         Baltar growled, the veins at his temples pulsing as though the girl had just pulled some string in him. He was clenching and flexing his fingers, eager to take a hold of his axe.

         “Aedain told me to stay,” the bald demon said through the clenched teeth. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Baltar would sell his own mother for the opportunity to take part in this fight alongside Aedain and May was intent on sending him there.

         She cleared her throat.

         “I was just wondering… what will happen to you if Aedain dies?” May asked innocently.

         Baltar closed his eyes.

         “Well, I’m a royal guard, and I’m supposed to watch his back… damn, if that reckless son of a bitch gets himself killed, I’ll be shamed forever,” Baltar said with horror reflecting on his face.

         “And how are you supposed to watch his back if you’re not even there?” May asked in a scolding tone, resting her hands on her hips. “Aedain might be dying out there right now. You've got to help him! Only you can do it!”

         Baltar gasped.

         “You think so?” he muttered, looking straight at May. “But he told me…”

         “We’ll be fine!” May interrupted him and gave the bald demon a reassuring smile. “Nothing bad will happen if you leave us for an hour or two. Go help Aedain!”

         May couldn’t believe her eyes, when she saw Baltar nodding energetically as he grabbed his battle axe. He gave his weapon a swing and smiled wildly when his already big body grew into a form of a huge dragon. He batted his wings a few times and leapt into the air.

         Both May and Erik were waving at him until he was finally out of sight. Once left alone, the boy looked up at the girl.

         “Baltar is really stupid, isn’t he?” Erik asked rhetorically.

         “Yup,” May responded. “More than I thought.”

         May took a deep breath and looked at the nearby fields; there was a human settlement not far away, the buildings were visible in distance. She grabbed Erik’s hand.

         “Erik, we’re running away,” May stated firmly, dragging the child after her. “I’ll take you somewhere safe, to a place where Aedain won’t get you.”

         Erik nodded.

         “I trust you,” he said quietly with a faint smile.

         That simple sentence made May’s determination double – the escape had to work out, not for herself but for Erik. This child deserved to live in safety and happiness.

         “Let’s hurry,” May breathed out – every minute was precious, as Aedain and Baltar could come back any moment.

         She and Erik ran through the fields to the village. The jog was long, but they haven’t slowed down even for a moment. The settlement looked poor with skinny people and nearly ruined shacks. May’s legs began to hurt as she dashed along the dusty street, heading toward the wealthiest-looking house. When she made to its fence, Erik slid to the ground panting.

         “A horse!” May managed to utter between fighting to catch a breath. “I need a horse!”

         A man, who was sitting in front of the house, stared at her, as though she was an alien. He tilted his head, not hurrying to go and get the damn steed. May narrowed her eyes, pissed off by his sloppiness. She reached for the pouch hidden beneath her dress and got five golden coins, what should be enough to buy a whole herd of horses.

         “I’ll pay this much, just get me your fastest horse NOW!” she shouted to the man, who immediately sprang to his legs, woken by the sight of money and May’s scream.

         The girl didn’t have to wait long until she got her horse; the animal was a farmer’s horse, but it should be faster than walking on feet. Without delay, May helped Erik get onto the saddle and climbed herself up, seating herself in front of the child. She clutched the reins firmly.

         “Which way to the Riada Swamp?” she demanded.

         The farmer horse’s owner made a shocked face, but pointed southwards. Before May left, the farmer shoved a sheathed knife in her hand.

         “You may need it, child,” the man said.

         May didn’t even bother to thank him, she only nodded. She kicked the horse’s sides forcefully and the animal neighed, leaping forward, speeding to the gallop.