Eye of the Needle: Into the Reikai

DeMain XI: Journey to Nowhere

The village was in shambles, and it wasn't something the townsfolk could repair with some wood and elbow grease. DeMain had been given a lay-down of all that happened after some convoluted stories, but they'd been able to piece together a few key things.

Firstly, Avery had arrived and stayed about half a day before burning the Kami Tree. Secondly, he was undoubtedly a Xanthist, which was a new term DeMain had never heard of. Thirdly, the town's Kami Tree had been burned, which had weakened its protections against spirits significantly. Instead of them wandering just out of view, they now actively crept into town with intent to cause active harm. He himself had been on the receiving end of a spirit who he initially thought was some kind of child wearing a ghost costume, but which tried to devour him whole as soon as it caught him alone in his house.

It'd been horrifying, but one swish of his spiritblades had reduced the spirit to flickering fragments of what once was. DeMain had no use for it, nor a way to store it unless he wanted to lug around another cage. Nobody he offered it to wanted it either—there was little they could get in return for it. So he tossed it to the wind, watching it disappear forever as the remnants of its self dispersed in the wind and soil. A brief part of him felt sad for the spirit's limited existence, but he had no other choice.

Returning to the points made, the village wasn't in a stable enough environment to continue housing people as it had. Their guardian spirit Ma'Iingan could only do so much to upkeep protection. DeMain was thankful the wolf spirit was loyal and intelligent, and that it knew he had made an honest mistake in thinking the roles of hero and villain were switched. A surprising few witnesses blamed DeMain for trying to protect Avery from the spirit and not knowing better, but he still felt like a fuckup for it. Kaiyo wouldn't look at him without glaring daggers, and though she knew it wasn't his fault there was little else around to direct her anger at. Yolanda made sure to prattle him about how stupid it was to go rushing in, but even she hadn't known what was going on at first.

"—Well I had to do something!" DeMain snapped. It felt like an argument with his mom, except neither of them were old enough to fulfill that role.

"Well yeah, but assess the situation a little first. I was going to blast Avery with my wand (once I completed my dance) but you were almost on top of him when I was done!"

"Didn't he run off? Could have shot at him then."

"I was busy trying to make sure Ma'Iingan didn't eat you or something! You're lucky he's a good boy instead of a rabid mutt."

Because of DeMain, the little arsonist had gotten away with a lot less punishment than he deserved. Avery had put people out of safe homes and murdered innocents. DeMain was lucky these people were understanding, but nothing beat the soul-crushing feeling of having ruined something so badly. Kaiyo hated him, and Kurt wasn't here to crack a joke in DeMain's favor to save face.

It was difficult not to rush out of town and follow Avery. The problem came with leaving children and the elderly in a defenseless position. If any more able-bodies were gone, they'd be unable to protect anyone left behind. The townsfolk needed to leave, but discussions on where to go fell flat. They had to relocate to a safer establishment, but the only other one they knew was the Salmon Anchor Town based in Ireland. Worse, it was impossible to tell where that might be in the shifting pieces of the Reikai. Ferrying everyone by train across the globe wasn't an option either, the town didn't have enough money between its members to allow for that. Plus, all of them traveling at once on the other side of the Veil could be a bad decision if the world decided it wanted to rid itself of a few more witches. They'd be fish in a barrel no matter which way they went. There were whispers of other possible homesteads in Japan and Russia, but the Reikai was again impossible to predict and traverse. They'd have no ability to plan for anything. It got DeMain to think.