The Bad Fairy (girlxgirlxgirl)

32. The Heaven-Reaching mountains

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The Heaven-Reaching mountains are just as large and steep as they sound, reaching far up into the clouds of the skies. The tip of the mountain is white from snow and pierces through the clouds like a sharp knife, giving the impression that it rises all the way up to the upper realm. It gets more difficult to breathe the higher they go, and there are fewer and fewer trees. The fog that surrounds them towards the late afternoon, combined with some light snowfall, makes it utterly impossible to see the sky above.

That's why they didn't catch it when it flew above their heads. Them. Catch them.

The Heaven mountain pass is the lowest point between the two mountains, where there is still grass and a few trees around, with nothing but a thin layer of melting snow around them. Two large mountains rise up on either side, and the road is rocky and difficult to walk on. There are few animals and even fewer bugs around because of the cold and the harsh environment, and Chepi finds it fascinating how different it can be, just half a day away from the hot and fruitful village that they left.

She is following her brother, Dieq and Eang, and they haven't stopped to rest for more than five minutes since the morning. It's beginning to get exhausting, but Chepi is already used to the constant walking without stops. She did a lot of that with Evangeline and Anemone, and now that they can't ride their horses because of the steep ground, it reminds her of those days again. The days that were just half a week ago, when she walked with Anemone and Evangeline through forests and meadows, tired and exhausted but constantly on edge.

And it's silent. Awkwardly silent around them, because ever since their argument, the boys have refused to talk. Chepi is fine with it though. Forcing them to hug seems to have done the trick, because now they are no longer angry enough to argue, as their anger has been replaced by the embarrassment and frustration over having to had embrace each other despite being angry with each other. Still, annoyance, pettiness and embarrassment is a million times better than their loud and childish arguing.

The silence is enchanting, almost, as nothing but the odd wind passing through the Heaven mountain pass can be heard for miles and miles. They haven't seen another person in hours, with nothing but themselves to keep them company. That, and the few mountain animals that stare at them suspiciously as they pass by on the goblin-made road. Chepi puts one foot in front of the other, climbing up a slightly steeper part of the road as they pass by a small grove of pale but large trees.

She looks up at them, admiring them while the mountain snowfall hits her face from above. It seems like the heat is finally letting up, the weather turning into a continuous storm and rainfall again. The storms will be worse this time.  

"Evangeline, look at these people."

The familiar voice makes her freeze from the inside all the way to the outside. 

It creeps into her ears and falls out with her shocked breath. A sense of horror drips down to her stomach into a heap of shadows and darkness, and she feels nauseous enough to suddenly throw up over the cold ground. She doesn't dare look up anymore. Her gaze falls down as if drawn by a magnet to the snow, even though she can hear the voice of an all too familiar demon still echoing in the mountain pass around her.

The others around her, however, are less willing to freeze up and more wanting to look up and draw their swords. What they see is nothing less than horrifying. A demon laying on one of the highest branches of the dead, wintery tree, and an angel sitting next to her, playing with her sword in her hands. Anemone's voice is playful and smooth, but the threatening glint in her eye does not go unnoticed, and the black sword in her hand appears as if out of thin air.