“We make for Liúng.” Nai decred.

  Emilia scrambled to her feet.

  “I thought you said we were four hours away from the vilge? The demon is still out there, there’s no guarantee it’s not between us and the town right now.”

  Nai was already unching herself up into the saddle, back straight as she regarded the girl.

  “How fast can you run on foot?”

  Emilia hesitated. “Not as fast as a horse can-“

  “This demon can directly affect the physical world. That means it was a powerful spirit before it went mad. If we want to have any hope of outrunning it, then we’d better run into it on horseback.”

  Emilia bit her lip, but was already moving to mount her horse again, the animal compining as she settled awkwardly on the saddle, pulling the reigns to line up behind Nai.

  “Will the horses make it? My uncle told me horses can only run so far without giving up.”

  Nai shook her head.

  “They’ll have to. Hah!”

  Nai kicked her heels, driving her horse in a headlong charge out of the enchantment that surrounded the safe house. Emilia tightened her grip on the reigns as she kicked her own mount forward, the horse sluggishly driving along after its companion. Her heart was pounding. The images, of the headless man and of Lan’s ruptured chest, terrified her by implication. His story indicated that if the demon caught up to them, there wouldn’t be much that they would have time to do.

  Her heart pounded as the sound of hooves filled the night air, accompanied by the sounds of countless other night creatures prowling the dark. The wind picked up, biting and cold, and Emilia huddled into her cloak against the pressing chill, folding herself to he saddle, barely able to keep her eyes open.

  The half-moon thankfully allowed her to see Nai and her mount without too much difficulty, making their reckless charge through the dark at least possible. Emilia hoped that Nai knew how to reach the vilge ahead, as in the dark, each sign they passed was nothing but another shadow rushing by the side of the road. After what must have been at least a few hours, she was tempted to doze off. The moonlit fields around them were shaded, but silver grains and leaves illuminated by starlight made the light apear almost dreamlike.

  She spped herself, reaching one hand back to grip her sword’s handle.

  Behind you….

  Emilia sat up as the winds gathered into words at the edge of her thoughts. She turned in the saddle as her horse charged forward-and the road errupted behind them.

  Emilia screamed as the demon burst out from the fields, long talons raking through the air where she had been a moment before as she ducked, her horse bucking and charging forward fanatically. She had only a moment to actually observe the thing, but she knew it was the same one that had attacked the safe house. It bore a canine’s body, but its head was a horrifying mix of canine and cervid features, twisted and warped together, a mess of snarling fangs, tattered flesh, and wicked antlers that glistened in the silvered moonlight.

  Nai gnced back once, and Emilia watched the woman’s eyes go wide as she reached back and drew a small hunting bow from it’s pce on her saddle, the woman turning almost effortlessly as she rose onto her toes in the stirrups. She knocked an arrow to the string with a practiced precision and loosed it, the small bolt shearing the air near Emilia’s head to pierce the monster’s eye.

  It screamed as it tumbled to the dirt in a roll, a keeping cry that pierced into Emilia’s ears and drew tears from her eyes as she felt the bones of her skull rattle. The creature was hurt, but she didn’t dare allow herself to think the thing was dead. She drew her sword, the steel singing from its sheathe as she gnced behind her again. Her mount was now abreast with Nai’s, the women locking eyes for a moment. Nai immediately rose in the saddle again, loosing arrow after arrow into the dark behind them, as Emilia desperately tried to bring her Liuqin around to the front. Demons were, to a degree, spirits. That meant that her goddess’s magic should be able to wound it. She flipped her sword to reverse grip so she could use her fingers to control the notes of her Liuqín, rapidly using the bracer on her wrist to strike up a frantic rhythm from the instrument.

  Light leapt to the strings almost instantly, as she began to weave the notes together. Fast, hard pressed. She felt power surge through her soul, and she willed it forward, the light fring at the tip of the arrow Nai was setting on the string.

  The beast lunged, leaping through the dark to pounce on Emilia, right as Nai loosed her arrow, the bolt smming against the creatire’s chest. Light fred in the dark as the creature was smmed back, dropping to the ground with a keening shriek, writhing behind them.

  Emilia could smell the charred flesh, and willed her blessing into the next two arrows that Nai loosed before the woman returned the bow to it’s pce and took the reigns again. Nai pushed forward, and Emilia determined not to discredit the woman by falling off of her horse now. She turned around. The monster stood rising to a full height that would have looked down on her even astride her mount.

  Emilia watched the thing rip the arrow from it’s eye, dropping the shaft to the ground. It’s eyes fred red, as its gaze met her own across the distance as they pulled away, before it bounded into the grasses that bordered the road.

  The sound of hooves and the panting of breath were the only sounds aside from her heartbeat that Emilia could hear. Shadows warped and twisted, as the night grew more oppressive still. For a moment, she thought that perhaps they had outrun the enraged spirit, or monster, or whatever this thing was.

  Clearly, the gods decided it was amusing to prove her wrong.

  The demon leapt from the grasses, talons raking again towards Emilia’s head as its padded paws drove into the soft earth. She locked eyes with it, the world slowing as its twisted form approached. Its head looked like a deer’s skull, flesh and skin tattered and barely hanging to the face. Cruel antlers branched from the forehead, and a maw of serrated teeth was open wide to cim her.

  She screamed as she shed out with her sword, the bde glowing faintly as she felt the briefest touch of La-Catrina guiding her desperate ssh through the air, the bde cracking against the skull right before that mouth would have cmped down on her, batting the creature to the side.

  She cried in pain as a stray talon cut deep into her arm, falling against her horse as her mount screamed in terror, kicking into a frantic gallop.

  Emilia barely managed to keep a grip on her sword as blood ran down the woven linen of her shirt, making the leather handle slick, but she managed to keep the bde in her grasp.

  She turned to look behind her again. The monster was clutching its face. Emilia felt her blood run cold as shadows danced around the thing, a hatred pure and unyielding boiling off of it into the night.

  She shuddered, and turned to face forward again as she gripped the reigns. She pressed herself ft against the saddle, and do her best to ignore the wind driving her horse’s mane into her face.

  Nai-

  All that mattered right now was that she keep up with Nai. The servqnt woman still stood in the stirrups, an arrow nocked to her bow, although she had at her drawn the string back for another shot. Emilia kicked her mount to speed up, praying she didn’t look as terrified as she felt as once again she found herself abreast of her maidservant. Nai said nothing, as they crested a hill in the road, dropping into the saddle with a grace that spoke of practice as her bow was returned to it’s pce on her saddle, the nocked arrow to it’s quiver

  They didn’t slow their pace untill their horses refused to go any faster, the pair putting as much distance between themselves and the creature as they could. Even then, both women were nearly as skittish as their mounts. Twigs snapped, creatures called, and twice more they heard the keening cry of the horrific thing, although it seemed distant.

  Both of them knew better than to trust their senses in that regard.

  By the time the lights of Liúng came into view before them as they crested a hill, Emilia could barely stay in the saddle. The moon was fully at it’s zenith, as clouds obscured it’s already dim light, making the bright warm glow of the town stand out in the thickening darkness that enveloped the trees around them. Emilia only noticed then, seeing the town, that her sword was still held in a white knuckle grip. She also became painfully aware of the pain burning through her legs, the sting of numbness in her feet, and the ache of exhaustion that settled into her bones as her eyes fought to close.

  “We’re almost there, Spirit-Guide.” Nai snapped. “Hold yourself together until we pass the lights.”

  Emilia nodded, forcing herself to focus on the nterns hung from carved standing stones at the edge of town. Most towns had simir rituals- standing stones, or fences, to ward off twisted spirits. To protect against demons. Each town approached the problem differently- but it was a clear goal Emilia understood. Cross the line- and the Demon would not be able to follow behind them.

  She forced herself to sit up in the saddle, nodding once to her assigned maid-servant, and kicked her mount once again.

  The beast was foaming at the mouth, panting as it barely managed to break into a canter. The horse under Nai wasn’t doing much better, although Emilia noted it didn’t fight the woman nearly as much. They dropped down into the valley, their horses picking up speed with the descent, and Emilia let out a breath she hadn’t noticed she was holding as they passed the ring of dark stones. There was no sensation that accompanied their crossing that critical threshold, no tingle or pressure like their had been at the safe house.

  It didn’t matter to Emilia- she knew the magic carved into those stones. She’d been learning for two years the kinds of deals made with countless spirits to weave an unseen barrier around the town. No Demon would be able to pass through.

  Finally, they were safe.

  There were cries and shouts from a few vilgers who stood on towers that had been erected atop some of the rooftops of the town, and a few others rushed out of their homes, rushing up to the women.

  “Newcomers! Travelers from the road!”

  A man who seemed to have some kind of authority in the town-judging by the ornamental staff he held in his hands, rushed up to Nai, taking her reigns as the woman sat straighter in the saddle.

  “What happened?” The man asked.

  “We come representing Lord Langshen.” Nai decred, causing some of the vilgers to recoil. “He has deemed your problem to be of enough importance to send a Sporit-Guide to aid you.” She gestured to Emilia, the girl trying not to look dead in the saddle as she put her Liuqin back in it’s proper pce.

  “A spirit guide! Then you know about our problem?”

  Nai nodded.

  “We had the misfortune of meeting your ‘problem’ on the road, roughly an hour’s ride from here. It killed the two tax collectors who came through here yesterday.”

  Murmurs began among the the townsfolk. A group of women rushed up to Emilia with bundles of fresh linen, and through the fog of pain she could barely make out the scent of medicinal oils as well. In the fog of pain, Emilia heard one woman mutter to a man-likely husband- asking if that meant the collectors would be back again early.

  The leader lowered his head.

  “I’m sorry, I was not aware Meil’yeostli was able to leave our woods into the fields beyond, we have long believed the roads safe from her fangs. I do not know what penance the spirit guide will have us do to restore the spirit from it’s madness, but we will do whatever we can for our goddess’s return to sanity!”

  Emilia nearly fell out of the saddle, as she dismounted. Within moments a sturdy farmer rushed to hold her up as she clung to her saddle with one arm. She realized her sword was still drawn when the women of the vilge rushed up, pulling her damaged clothing away from the gash across her arm, and she finally released her grip on the bde, the sword falling into Nai’s waiting palm.

  Emilia froze.

  “Wait-Meil’yeost?”

  Nai looked at the girl puzzled. The vilgers looked at each other confused.

  “Yes- our vilge’s guardian spirit. We have a bargain with her to have permission to cut the the north, she’s become furious, has started to kill our tree-cutters!”

  Nai dismounted, gently taking Emilia’s hand.

  “What is the problem, miss Yun?”

  “Yeost means fox.” Emilia said quietly. She turned to the chief. “Is your guardian a fox-spirit?”

  He gnced at the other townsfolk, before nodding dumbly.

  “Yes, spirit-guide. She is the god of this valley’s trees, and tely has not allowed any of our menfolk to enter or leave. She won’t speak to us, even in signs or omens, and the predators of the forest have begun to kill our livestock.”

  Nai turned to Emilia.

  It was the girl who spoke the realization they both shared.

  “The demon we found on the road appeared to have been a deer-spirit before its madness.” Emilia said. Nai nodded, grimacing.

  “It’s not just one spirit.”

  “It’s two.”