mirror shards // matthew fairchild {1}

five // pscipolnitsa

A/N: Surprise, I'm back before I said I was going to be! P.S. Matthew's back, in case you're wondering where he disappeared to in the middle of his own fic.

The carriage jolts over a loose brick, and Sydney takes a moment to adjust herself in Matthew's arms. Lucie has been watching them in disapproval since they got into the carriage. Sydney is too exhausted and too deep in shock to care.

After finding Sydney sitting like a child in the grass, Matthew practically dragged her to the carriage to go home, and he's been holding her like this since they got in, as if he's worried she'll slide off the bench onto the floor and break something. Sydney finds she doesn't mind it – he's nice and warm and strong, and he smells like licorice, and overall, it's comforting.

"I still don't see how it's possible," says Lucie. "Demons don't come out during the day. They simply don't."

"Pscipolnitsa does," Sydney mumbles.

"Who?" asks Matthew.

"Pscipolnitsa," Sydney repeats, her voice still quiet and hoarse with exhaustion. "Lady Midday. She torments the workers in the fields, pulls their, cuts their hands and feet, and gives them heatstroke."

"One of your Romanian legends," says Cordelia, "isn't it?" Her eyes are bright with interest.

"Da," answers Sydney, snuggling further into Matthew's arms. Without preamble, she drops into a feigned sleep.

"I've heard of demons appearing under thick cloud cover before," says Cordelia. "If no sunlight could get through –"

Matthew laughs. "That was no natural storm. Yet I have never heard of demons who could control the weather, either." He reaches for his flask and finds it gone. Right. He gave it to Sydney earlier.

"Did you see the wounds?" Lucie asks. have never seen anything like it. Barbara's skin was turning black at the edges where she was bitten –"

"You have never seen anything like it because there never has been anything like this," says Matthew. "Demons who bring their own night with them? Who attack us when we are vulnerable because we believe we cannot be assailed?"

"Right," says Sydney, cracking one eye open. "Because in London you have all been so very sheltered."

"Matthew," Cordelia snaps. "Sydney, you too. Stop frightening Lucie when we do not even know what we are dealing with yet."

Matthew shrugs. "Lucie doesn't get frightened, do you, Luce?"

Lucie crosses her arms. "I am frightened for Barbara and Ariadne, and for Piers," she says. "Are you not concerned? Barbara is our family, and Ariadne one of the kindest people I know."

"There is no special protection in this world for kind people," Matthew begins, and breaks off as Cordelia glares at him. "Yes, I'm being a beast. I know that perfectly well."

"Then stop doing it," says Cordelia.

Sydney laughs.

Cordelia glares at her. "My father always said that to panic before you have all the facts was to fight the enemy's battle for him," she finishes.

"But who is the enemy?" asks Lucie. "Demons, I suppose, but demons usually attack without strategy or method. These demons avoided every mundane in the park and went straight for us."

"Demons aren't always random in their actions," Cordelia answers. "Perhaps a warlock who has summoned a pack of demons is responsible, or even a Greater Demon amusing themselves. Ordinary demons are like animals, but if I understand it rightly, Greater Demons can be quite like people."