Fated lovers are insperable.

~Aine, Goddess of Love and Vengeance

Now that Nin was rested and well-fed, the next leg of the river went more smoothly. Both of them learned quickly, and before long, Nin was laughing and hooting as they navigated dangerous rapids.

Having a boat that wouldn’t flip definitely made it less harrowing but still thrilling. The further down the river they want, the more Daemons they spot up on the canyon ridges. Some could even climb lower along the more gradual sloping cliffs to get down near the river.

While the ones above shot arrows and threw rocks, they never came close to hitting any of them. The danger was along the banks where they could climb down. Crow didn’t hesitate to put arrows into any of them that got too close.

Another bit of bad news was that Lily claimed no more banks that didn’t have Daemons. Now that they knew prey was on the water, they were camping out, waiting for a chance to take them down.

Lily mimed an archway and then rowing. Crow shook his head, unsure what she meant.

“A cave?” Nin asked. Lily snapped her fingers and pointed at the dragon.

“A cave we can paddle into?” Crow expanded, and Lily nodded. “Is it safe?”

Lily shrugged but then drew a map of the river in the air. After pointing toward where the cave is, she pointed at another spot mimed a waterfall.

“Last stop before the big drop?”

She nodded, and Crow weighed his options.

“We’ll risk the cave.”

At dusk, they hit a very rocky part of the river. The boat slammed into so many things, Crow was feeling sick. Even Nin looked pale, but there was no avoiding the rough ride. Most of the night was like that, and even if one of them wanted to rest, it was impossible.

Lily tried to help, but exhaustion sapped their energy and ability to control the boat. In the end, she just gave up and sat on Crow’s shoulder, trying to give him a jolt of energy to resist his fatigue. Of the two, he needed it the most.

Crow was just glad they both were here to journey with him. This entire journey would have been more brutal without them.

“Is it safe for you to explore that cave?” Crow asked the Fae, but his voice sounded weak. Lily tilted her head and then shrugged. She didn’t know. In the end, Crow decided not to risk it. “Never mind, just stay with us.”

She stood up and kissed him on the cheek. Lily was getting more and more bold. He’d given her a few sets of his clothes, and she’d been cutting them down into her clothes. She now wore a tiny skirt that was very risqué, and her top only covered her breasts—barely. It was an attempt to make her appear like a woman, but he could only grin as it was hard to treat her as such when she was barely bigger than his hand.

***

Daylight was breaking by the time they reached the cave, and when he saw it, he was unsure what to do. There was no way this thing formed naturally, and now he understood why Lily hesitated.

However, the water around the entrance was extremely calm, with hardly a ripple. Crow made a makeshift anchor—a rock tied to the end of a rope and dropped it over the side. The water was only a meter or two deep, and he figured it would be enough to prevent them from drifting.

“How about we just sleep here?” Nin whispered next to him, and Crow shouted and almost fell out of the boat. He didn’t even feel the boat move and didn’t expect her to be right next to him when she spoke. Nin’s laughter echoed through the canyon, and she grabbed Crow’s face to kiss him. Lost in the moment, he didn’t realize Lily flew up next to his face.

Zap!

Lightning struck his cheek, forcing his jaw to lock. In doing so, he accidentally bit Nin’s lip hard enough to draw blood. Seeing both their faces, one slack the other shocked, Lily laughed so hard she was rolling around in the air while holding her sides. Nin flicked her and sent the Fae flying while absently rubbing her lip. At first, she thought Crow did it on purpose and got excited but seeing his disgruntled face, she chuckled too.

“Ahh dammit,” Crow grumbled.

Lily flew back and got in Nin’s face, pointing a finger and stabbing it into the tip of the dragon’s nose. Both stared at each other before snorting and looking away. Crow could only sigh but did so inwardly. He didn’t want those two to team up on him.

A few big flat rocks were near the cave entrance, but he hesitated since they were by the cave. In the end, he pulled the anchor and paddled over to one and helped Nin climb up. After following her up, he took the boat into his Vortex Pin and then pulled out his bed mat and tossed it down. The surface area of their tiny island was about three meters squared.

Briefly, he thought of cultivating rather than sleeping, but his body quickly gave up that idea. Eyes drooped shut, and before he knew it, he was out. However, it felt like they were barely when he was startled awake and on his feet instantly. The haunting wail from within the cave filled him with dread.

“What the hell is that?” Nin asked, and as a dragon, her nerves were like steel.

“That is probably a Ben Sidhe,” Crow told them.

“Banshees again… like that one that chased you?” Nin chuckled.

“You realize they are heralds of death, right?”

“I don’t believe in that nonsense.” The dragon really didn’t buy into most of the folklore of humans.

“Husssband…” A singled word echoed out of the cave, and his head snapped toward the sound, his face pale.

“P-p-please say that I’m hearing things…” Crow said, his face pale. Although Nin was shocked, she burst out in laughter—call it nervous laughter. She tried to clamp it down with her hand over her mouth, but it couldn’t be held in.

“… fffound you…”

“No, you fucking didn’t,” Crow said and took off running.

From the rock he was on, he jumped to the next and the next. He leapfrogged down the river with Nin chasing behind him, and not far behind them, an obese banshee escaped from the tunnel. Crow spied her and almost fell in the river as she looked worse than last time. Her short black hair was messy, and the black stuff covering her eyes ran down her chubby cheeks like tears made of the bubonic plague. She even puckered up her black lips as if trying to kiss him. Her pale jelly-like boobs were so massive they burst out of the white lacey dress that looked three sizes too small for her.

Nin couldn’t stop laughing, but she continued to follow Crow. Impressed that he could move down the river in this fashion. Leaping across wet rocks wasn’t easily done, and she only managed it because of her dragon-based strength. Crow’s feat was a mix of skill, agility, power, and control.

She worried he’d fall into the water, so she spewed fire toward the fat banshee hoping to drive it away.

“Don’t bother,” Crow grunted. “It isn’t afraid of fire, and as far as I know, other than certain spells, only salt and iron can harm it.”

Nin looked ahead and realized where her lover was headed. The roaring of the waterfall was getting louder, and now she knew why he didn’t pull out the boat. Still, she feared they were running full into a corner without any form of retreat. It was that awareness that finally chilled her laughter.

“Go find your own husband, you insane bitch!” Nin growled, and Lily nodded.

“Husssband…mine.”

“You are a bad husband,” Nin grumbled. “Even fucking ghosts are stalking you.”

“Pfft,” Crow laughed, but under that distraction, he tumbled into the river.

“Crow!” Nin shouted.

“Get. In. My. Soulscape!” Crow finally spat out. Water was churning and splashing as it crashed over him and tossed him about in the river. She jumped toward him, and he pulled her into safety. Strangely, the banshee didn’t follow him into the water. Even in his current situation, he understood why immediately. He hadn’t thought about the orangish color on some rocks and realized it was iron oxidation. In other words, the water was filled with iron that the banshee abhorred. It didn’t explain the cave or why she came running across the water there, but his best guess was that the water was calm, no splashing, so little risk of it touching her.

*Crow, what are you going to do now?* Nin asked from inside his Soulscape. He finally managed to grab onto a rock and pull himself toward the shore once more, but the banshee didn’t chase after him. She stood there staring as if she couldn’t see him. Clambering over some rocks, he reached the edge of the water and inhaled sharply. The drop was straight down, and the sheer bluff actually curved inward.

Lily flew in front of him and pointed over his shoulder. Turning, he saw that the banshee finally took notice of him once more.

“Husssband…come to meeeee.”

*Don’t do it, Crow!* Nin roared as if sensing his next move.

“Be ready, Nin. I may need you shortly.”

*You idiot.* She sighed, unable to prevent him. The problem was that banshees typically weren’t aggressive. It was their keening that scared people, but this thing was an anomaly. Being a creature of spirit, she could quickly sap Crow’s vitality with a touch.

“I’m not dying underneath something like that. I’d rather take my chances jumping off this cliff.”

It was two steps to the edge of the cliff, and he suddenly surged forward before leaping with all his might. He had to jump far enough away from the waterfall, so he didn’t get sucked under its torrent. He only had one thought as he plummeted toward his death—How the fuck did the fat goth banshee find him?