Chapter 35

Tirr walked through the gates of Vilea with an unimpressed look on his face. They had been traveling for four days, staying away from other villages and towns along the way. When Claire had first announced they would be stopping here on their way to the Capital, Tirr had been excited. He felt some pride and ownership now over the small village he had awakened in but part of him still missed the comforts and excitement of civilization.

However, after entering the stone walls of the town Tirr found the sight a disappointment. There were more stone and brick buildings then the village had but nothing like the alabaster towers he remembered. “Why are we here?” Tirr asked, now in a bad mood as they walked along.

“I told you, Count Vilea is an ally of my younger brother Claus. I’m hoping he’ll be able to send him a message and help us get to the Capital. I’m worried that we haven’t run into any trouble yet.” Replied Claire, she was dressed in muted clothes and had a cloak and hood drawn tightly over her as she tried to avoid attention.

“Hmph.” He grunted, holding onto Garm as they continued forward.

“The more danger we can avoid the better…” Said Doron and Maria agreed.

As they walked the shouts of nearby stall owners called out over the crowd. Tirr felt his nose tingle as the smells wafted over him. He strayed just a bit, drifting off through the crowd to the nearby stalls, looking at the interesting food and trinkets for sale.

At one stall he came to a stop, unable to resist the bright red fruit he found there. Memories of the sweet and tart mix combined with crisp texture left his mouth-watering. There hadn’t been any apples at Road’s End and seeing the familiar sweet left him feeling nostalgic.

Looking over the friendly-faced stall owner, he pointed towards one of the apples. “I’ll take one”

The owner gave him a cheerful smile, “Three small coppers!”

The price threw Tirr off, as he was used to just getting what he wanted. As he turned around to look for the others, he noticed they were gone, having moved ahead in the crowd.

The stall owner looked at his baffled expression and frowned, before waving Tirr off. “If you got no coin kid come back with your parents. I got a living to make”

Tirr frowned back until a hand pressed down on his shoulder. He turned, surprised that he didn’t sense someone approaching, to see a young man standing next to him.

The young man had a mess of unkempt white hair and eyes to match, on a face that gave a friendly impression as he smiled down at Tirr before looking back at the Stall owner. “An apple for me and my friend here.” He said easily, still smiling charmingly as he handed over the coins.

“Who are you?” The child god asked, suspicious.

“Just a friendly big brother.” The young man replied grinning. “You remind me of my siblings.”

“Lucky for you then boy.” The stall owner responded as he handed over the apples. The young man handed one to Tirr and started to leave. Tirr started to call out to him again but lost track as the young man disappeared into the busy streets.

As he stood confused over the encounter, he suddenly heard a voice call his name. He looked over to see Maria hurrying towards him, looking worried.

“You shouldn’t have wandered off like that, we need to get to the Count’s manor.” She said as she reached him.

“I’m fine, was just hungry.”

“Claire says we’ll have plenty to eat there so come on.” She grabbed his hand and started pulling him along. They moved back into the crowd as tried to catch up with the others

He didn’t resist and instead focused on eating his apple. He bit into happily, drawing Maria’s attention as she looked down in surprise.

“You didn’t steal that did you?”

“Somebody bought it for me.” He answered, ignoring the accusation as he continued to eat. They quickly caught up to the others and continued towards Count Vilea’s manor.

The white-haired young man watched as the group headed off, smile still on his face as he turned around and went the other way. He whistled as he glided smoothly through the busy traffic, slipping easily by as he worked his way to a nearby house. He opened the door and entered, closing the door softly behind him.

As he turned back, he was greeted by the sight of a young family, tied and trussed together as they whimpered quietly in the corner of the room. Parents and their three children, the huddled together, looking terrified of the strangers in their house. He took out the apple he bought and walked over towards the family, giving it to the youngest child with a smile.

He turned back and sat at the table near his hooded colleague who was responsible for watching the house. “Tell the others to prepare for tonight.” The young man said cheerfully.

“You found them? With all the others spread throughout the town?”

“Yep! I just had to find the one person my intuition told me not to fight.” He replied with a laugh.

The young man turned to the scared family, “Just one more night and we’ll be out of your hair. We’ll even leave a few coins for the trouble.” He said with a chuckle.

“Is it that dangerous?” The cloaked man asked.

“Shouldn’t be too hard.” The young man said quietly, his hand reached back and pressed against the pulsing Shard hidden under his hair. He rubbed it gently, feeling it’s power coursing through him while thinking about the child he had just met.

“Nothings hard for the Reaper I guess.”

“Just make sure you do the job. And keep it clean, we got paid for one death alright? I’ll keep the kid busy, you lot deal with the princess…”