15.

Departure

Dominic could not find sleep that night, his thoughts only ever returning back to the same place. It kept him up, it moved him from his bed, out of his room, carrying his feet over the streets and eventually over the sand.

The fog enveloped him like it had been expecting his arrival. The blurred beacon of the lighthouse slowly came into focus, and he found that Midi was already there, perched on a post at the end of the pier, watching him approach.

“You returned quickly,” the owl remarked.

“I didn’t mean to.”

“Something must have happened.”

Dominic brushed past him and walked towards the shore, pebbles grinding with every step. The water rolled rhythmically over the beach, but it was impossible to see it through the haze, the fog even obscuring the light of the moon. Midi followed and landed lightly on his shoulder.

“Why did you come back?” he asked.

“I just needed somewhere to think,” Dominic replied.

“And this was it?”

He stared down at the stones beneath his feet. He kicked one, and it landed in the water with a plunk.

“Better than the castle,” he said.

He took a breath. The scent of salt surrounded him, dry but strangely comforting. Perhaps it was the ubiquity of it, the fact that nothing here existed but the fog, that made it easier to focus.

“What are you thinking about?” Midi asked.

Dominic was reluctant to answer. He didn't know how to—he was thinking about too much at once.

“Vaine,” he finally replied. The one word that said everything.

“How unfortunate.”

He agreed. Many of the memories that had been conjured up were ones he’d never had any desire to go back to.

“Do you intend to return to Vaine?” Midi continued. “It won’t be easy.”

Dominic knew that better than anyone. Part of him wanted to simply close that chapter of his life and put it behind him, but another part of him wanted to look out across the water and see the opposite shore.

“You could just settle down in Helwin,” the owl said. “You’d live a life of comfort. The lord would cater to your needs, since you know his secrets. And you have people waiting there, who trust you. This could be the start of everything.”

“The start of everything is still based on the last twenty years,” he replied.

“Do you wish to keep circling around the past? You might exhaust yourself.”

Dominic smiled dryly.

“I’ve been exhausted, Midi.”

The owl studied his face, quiet for a moment.

“It seems like peace is not what you’re looking for,” he said.

“Perhaps peace isn’t possible until I resolve all my old business.”

“Perhaps your attachment to that old business is what’s preventing you from finding it.”

Dominic paused, then nodded slightly.

“Maybe you’re right,” he agreed.

“So you should let go of those memo—”

“Maybe I never wanted peace to begin with.”

He looked to the owl, those obsidian eyes wide after being cut off in the middle of a sentence.

“Midi, what do you wish for?” he asked. “Every time you talk of Vaine, your mana smells like fire.”

The owl’s expression turned serious.

“Even though you talk of peace,” Dominic said, “I don’t think you want it either.”

Midi shut his beak and narrowed his eyes.

“You’re annoyingly perceptive, boy,” he murmured.

He huffed and fluttered his wings, gliding over to the post at the end of the pier. Dominic turned and watch him land there, talons gripping the wood.

“You’re not going to answer?” Dominic commented, walking over.

“You already know it,” Midi replied.

“You also have old business, then.”

“There will be fire when the day I can leave this place comes.”

“It seems we were thinking the same thing.”

A gust of wind blew in from the water. He pulled his cloak tighter around himself.

“The path you have chosen is not one of rest,” the owl said, his black eyes sharply reflecting the hazy moonlight.

“I could always run away and return to Helwin if I tire of it,” Dominic replied.

“You’d never do that.” The owl snorted as if it was obvious. “You were never a coward.”

That took him off guard for a moment. His mouth parted to speak, but no words came out. He pursed his lips and put up his hood.

“I never thought I was,” he said.

Midi seemed to smile slightly. He raised a wing, swiping Dominic’s hood slightly to the side, the tip of his feather softly touching his ear.

“I meant to ask, but what is this?” he said.

It took Dominic a moment to realize what he was talking about.

“It’s just an old piercing,” he answered.

“I didn’t take you for someone who bothered with jewelry.”

“It wasn’t for anything like that.”

The owl hummed in thought, retracting his wing.

“Would you consider re-piercing it?” he asked.

“Why?”

“Caspar enjoys your company. I could make something for you so we could keep in touch.”

He nodded towards Dominic.

“It can be an earring, if you want it.”

“I’ll…think about it,” he replied.

Midi studied his expression, then seemed to retreat from the topic.

“Alright,” he said. “Regardless, I’ll give it to you now. Do what you will with it.”

He waved his wing, and from under his feathers appeared a single gold earring with a design like crossed arrows. It floated in the air before dropping into Dominic’s outstretched hand.

“From anywhere, if you use that, it will connect you to me,” Midi explained.

“Would you want me to use it often?” he asked.

“Not in the slightest,” the owl replied, snorting.

Dominic managed to smile, wrapping his fingers around the tiny piece of jewelry.

“I’ll take care not to lose it.”

“I wouldn’t mind if you did.”

“Thank you.”

Midi was silent for a moment before turning his head away and ruffling his feathers.

“Whatever. Now are you going to bring that demon back with you?”

“Silas?”

Dominic raised an eyebrow. He had forgotten about him in the chaos of the day.

“Has he caused you any problems? I assumed Caspar would enjoy having somebody around.”

“He does,” Midi grumbled. “I don’t.”

He raised a foot, a red chain of mana appearing in his talons and leading into the lighthouse.

“So if you’ve finished up your work, hurry and take him from me.”

Dominic took the chain from him and stared at it for a moment, resting in the palm of his hand.

He then clenched his hand and squeezed it harder. It cracked, then broke entirely. The mana shattered and dissipated, the crimson glow fading away and leaving the beach grey and barren again.

“I’m not taking him back,” he said, glancing up and meeting Midi’s annoyed gaze.

“Why not?” the owl asked.

“If I take him back,” Dominic reasoned, “he might tell others about the lighthouse.”

He shook his hand, the last bits of mana clinging to his palm flaking off.

“Isn't it better to keep him here instead?”

“Even though I don't want him here?”

“Have you asked Caspar?”

Midi clicked his tongue.

“I won’t be taking him back,” Dominic continued, steadfast. “If you really dislike him so much, then just assign him more difficult chores.”

“You are terribly irritating.”

“I know.”

“If you’re not going to take him, then get out of my front yard already.”

He ruffled his feathers in annoyance.

“I won’t be seeing you out.”

Without another word, he took off, fluttering back to the lighthouse, leaving Dominic alone on the beach.

He opened his other palm, staring at the piece of gold jewelry that was still glittering in his grasp. That owl really knew how to dig up subjects he’d buried long ago. He hadn’t thought about that piercing in a while now. He had almost forgotten why it had been there.

Dominic let a length of thread unravel from his glove, spinning it, sharpening it, forming it into a needle.

This time, there was no pain as the old wound reopened. A single droplet of blood dripped down his ear, then onto his finger as he pushed the earring through.

He injected a bit of his mana into the metal, activating the mechanism it had been programmed with. It glowed slightly blue.

“Calling already?” the owl said, the sound of his irritation coming through clearly.

“Just testing it,” Dominic replied.

“You don’t trust my capabilities?”

“Nothing like that.”

Dominic brushed the smear of blood off his fingers, smiling slightly to himself.

“I’ll see you later, Midi,” he said.

He removed his mana from the earring, deactivating the call before the owl could respond.

He turned and headed back towards the city.

∞

Thelo unexpectedly called for him in the morning, only a few hours after he had returned from the beach. He had thought the new lord would do his best to minimize contact, but Dominic found himself standing in his office, Aster lounging in crow form on the desk, staring as a sheet of paper was slid across the tabletop.

“You have an invitation,” Thelo said.

Dominic knew that he wouldn’t be able to read any of it.

“Explain it to me,” he replied.

“It’s a letter from the Duchess of Alobast,” Thelo answered. “In short, she wants to meet you.”

Dominic frowned.

“But I’m dead,” he said.

“You are,” Thelo agreed, “but this is still addressed to ‘Dominic, the healer.’ An invitation to speak with her, in Alobast.”

“How does she know I’m alive?”

Thelo shrugged.

“That old lady’s over a thousand years old already,” he said. “Her intuition is probably omnipotent at this point. I doubt she ever bought the story that the viscount died a quiet death in the first place.”

Dominic almost brushed past the detail before backtracking to make sure he heard correctly.

“…She’s how old?” he asked.

“1089 this year,” Thelo replied, not thinking anything of the absurd number. “She’s one of the few who still remember a time before the Rift.”

Dominic’s eyes moved over to Aster, who froze under his gaze. This seemed like very basic information on demons that he had never been told about.

“You didn’t ask,” the crow whispered.

He clicked his tongue. Thelo raised an eyebrow.

“Did you not know?” he asked.

“Just pretend I don’t know anything,” Dominic answered.

“Sure. By the way, I’m 74.”

The look on Dominic’s face must have been more incredulous than he thought, because Thelo let out a short laugh in amusement.

“Wow, you really didn’t know.”

“Are all demons like that?” Dominic asked, still trying to sort it out in his head.

“No,” Thelo responded. “Our lifespans are connected to our magic power, so regular people live regular lives. How old are you, Aster?”

“I’m sixteen.”

“See? He’s normal. I’ll never live to be a thousand either. The duchess is just a monster.”

“How old was the viscount?” Dominic asked.

“209 years and 87 days when you killed him,” Thelo answered instantly.

Dominic rubbed his temples.

“What about you?” Thelo asked.

“I’m twenty.”

“So you’re definitely human. Considering your magic power, if you were even a tiny part demon, you’d already be decades older.”

“Should I take that as good or bad news?”

Thelo tapped the letter in front of them as he thought for a moment.

“In this situation, it might be good,” he finally answered. “The duchess still remembers a time when humans were strong. She respects the ones that still manage to be powerful, and pities the ones that end up weak. But I wouldn’t count on it.”

He clicked his tongue, obviously distrusting.

“Somebody who’s over a thousand years old will never be predictable. Do you know what she wants with you?”

Dominic shook his head.

“Not a clue.”

“Well, you’re going to need to figure it out,” Thelo said bluntly. “She could blow your head off without lifting a finger. You’ll have to navigate carefully.”

“What if I refuse the invitation?”

“That’s beyond rude.”

“Just present me as an outsider who doesn’t know any etiquette.”

Thelo seemed to consider the thought for a moment, brow furrowing as he turned it over in his head.

“You could probably get away with it,” he admitted. “I doubt her interest in you is high enough for her to actually bother. And she’s not so petty that she’d spite Helwin over it. But Dominic…”

He tapped the table, finger restless.

“…This is also an opportunity. Helwin is a small, relatively powerless territory. Alobast on the other hand is only one step downwards from the crown. If there’s something you want, isn’t it better to go up? The duchess might flick your head off, but she could also help you out.”

“I doubt it,” Dominic said. “I’m not that interesting.”

“Honestly, I doubt it too.”

Thelo glanced down at the letter, then shrugged.

“Well, it’s your head on the line, not mine,” he said, sliding the letter over the desk. “Make your own decision.”

“You wouldn’t mind if I died?” Dominic asked, taking the paper.

“If you return in one piece, I’ll welcome you back.”

“Ha.”

Aster strutted over to Dominic, taking a perch on the back of his hand and huffing. He didn’t seem happy with how the two of them were talking.

“I’ll take my leave then,” he said, raising his hand and letting Aster step onto his shoulder.

“Go ahead,” Thelo replied.

Dominic left the office. He felt Aster shuffling his feet, anxious.

“…Are you going to go?” the crow asked tentatively.

Dominic nodded.

“I will.”

“Do you need to?”

“Are you against it?”

Aster hesitated.

“…The duchess is strong,” he said quietly. “And healers are weak. You won’t even be able to protect yourself.”

“Neither of us are going to start a fight,” Dominic replied.

“It’s still dangerous.”

“Then don’t come.”

“Eh?”

“If it scares you, then don’t come,” he repeated. “I’ll go alone.”

He meant it in its simplest fashion. There was no reason for someone who was fearful of the duchess to have to confront her. The invitation was only for him in particular from the beginning.

“No!” Aster replied, to Dominic’s surprise. He leapt off his shoulder and turned back into a boy midair. “I’ll go, brother.”

“…Why?” Dominic asked, perplexed. Aster was hardly even involved, if at all. He should’ve been finally relaxing with his siblings in their new house and eating nice meals.

“I told you I’d follow you anywhere,” he said. “I’m going.”

Dominic raised an eyebrow.

“Even if it scares you?”

“I’ll learn not to be afraid.”

“That’s no good.”

He flicked the boy lightly on the forehead.

“If it scares you, then you should just run away,” he said. “You’re good at it. Don’t let your skills go to waste.”

Aster frowned.

“That’s not something to be proud of,” he replied, rubbing his forehead.

“Would you have gotten here without it?” Dominic retorted.

Aster didn’t respond. Dominic didn’t genuinely believe the duchess would be as volatile as Thelo warned, but bringing a child who didn’t even know how to value himself was out of the question. Aster was useful, but it would be too risky.

“…Okay,” the boy finally conceded. “I’ll do as you said.”

“What’ll you do if you’re in danger?”

“I’ll run away.”

“If you’re afraid of something?”

“I’ll run away.”

“If you vaguely feel like something might be wrong?”

“Uh, I’ll run away, but not too far away, and then I’d probably turn around and watch what’s going on.”

Dominic chuckled.

“You get a passing grade.”

“Does that mean I can come with you, brother?”

“Sure,” he replied. “Let’s go see Alobast together.”