FIREFANGED

Chapter 4 (Of Monsters and men)

Spending the following night in the town's jail, I had a cell and a cot all to myself. My forearm was bound in a rigid leather sleeve, from elbow to palm, and my torso was wrapped in a soft, clean cloth. Over that, I wore a plain gray shirt. There wasn't an emblem on the shirt to denote who owned me like the soldiers outside, but I would wear the Vigil's mark forever. Doctor Loeb provided a drink to dull the pain when I entered the jail cell, and I slept like a rock until dawn.

Shortly after sun-up, Loeb returned to examine me. With Sentinel Glenn at his side, neither man looked well-rested, and this somehow made me feel better. I was glad that neither the town bailiff nor his assistants were anywhere to be seen.

"What the feth is a Kjaira anyway?" I said, startling Loeb.

He seemed surprised that I could talk, or maybe that I was talking to him after yesterday's ordeal. I had to admit that having my arm reset and wrapped had done wonders for reducing the constant pain of the past month. I could almost feel it healing now. Loeb finished checking my bandages and fit a sling around my left arm.

"How about we get out of here and discuss that over breakfast?" he offered.

I was all in for that.

"So, what do I call you?" I asked them both as we walked outside. "Inquisitor? Doctor? Sentinel?"

"I go by Cornelius," said Loeb, "Though my function within the Order of the Vigil also defines me, so doctor or inquisitor also works. I was a doctor in Stonnberg when Vigil Snow found me. It seems my exceptional ability at healing was related to a kind of clear sight that Vigil Snow mentioned yesterday. It comes in handy when vetting those useful to our cause or, more commonly, patching them up. It also helps me with sniffing out demons and their corruption."

Sentinel Glenn stepped in, "My official name is Sentinel-Captain Broward Glenn. I'm the captain of Vigil Snow's House Guard. You can take your pick of which names to call me. I'll not be offended. Just so you won't be confused, we often use 'the Vigil' to refer to the broader Order of the Vigil, while we just use 'Vigil' as a title of office for Vigil Snow, the individual."

"Ara," I said, extending my right hand to both. "I'm a bit short on titles or names at the moment, but you can call me 'Ara the Hungry' for the time being."

We arrived at a local tavern, the Red Horse. It was once a stable but that had burned down decades ago, and the owners rebuilt the site into a broad, one-story drinking and eating establishment. The smells flowing up the kitchen chimney provided all the menu anyone needed. Today we were having pork sausages and fresh bread. It was a popular place, and there were a couple of tables of gray-shirted sentinels sitting nearby. I swear I recognized several faces from the Mayor's meeting room last night. Loeb ordered a round of food and tea for the three of us, and we dug in.

Nearing the end of my breakfast, I pushed the doctor for an answer to my earlier question. "So, what is a Kjaira? And why should I be on the lookout for its sisters?"

The doctor replied, "A Kjaira is a named demonic assassin. I say named because, unlike the lesser demons that we normally encounter, each Kjaira has a unique name among all the beings in Hell. Each is explicitly known to the Powers there, as any Kjaira would be a threat to their Houses. A Kjaira is always born in litters of six, so there might still be five siblings left to finish its job, and just like this one found you, you can bet that the others already know your scent.

"The good news is that they are quite rare in our world, and I have never heard of more than one encountered at any given time. The more powerful the demon, the higher the cost to be paid in crossing over from the Infernal Domain. The chances are quite high that that was the only one sent through the breach with the rest of the Horde. Lis-Xiana's brood never fails in its mission. How you survived that death-demon's trap was simply incredible."