Villainous [Wattys 2021 Shortlist]

29: Irkalla

Delilah stood and gazed at the crack in the earth. She rather liked the feeling of the wind tugging at her, threatening to push her off the edge of the cliff she stood on. The danger was exhilarating. Awakening.

Vale lay on the other side, and Hawk and Dante couldn't stop looking at it.

"Come back to the fire before you fall in, you idiot," Hawk drawled from behind. "If you do, we'll leave you for dead."

"Such a gentleman," she purred, finally turning from the black abyss and stalking through the night. Her skin prickled. It seemed so dark, and their camp, small as it was, looked like a beacon.

"She-Wolf," Hawk muttered.

She flung herself down beside him and nudged him. "So even you have started calling me that. I didn't know you thought so highly of me and my fangs, Captain."

"Only out of habit. No one uses your real name in Irkalla. The children of Vale believe you've ensnared Dante - how does it feel to know that innocent children are afraid of you?"

"It warms my heart," she said sweetly. "I feed on fear."

"I feed on child-flesh," Kaya called from across the fire.

Delilah flashed her a sharp-toothed grin.

"That's corny, water-girl," Hawk said, shaking his head. "Not even dramatic."

"It's more realistic, bird-brain. Fear is intangible - flesh would provide me sustenance."

Dante, sharpening his sword on the opposite end of their camp, seemed to be studiously ignoring them all. Nell was standing guard on the edge, where light met shadow, and she looked like an Opal-wraith. Safir was tugging half-heartedly at the rope around his wrists. That was a precaution - just in case he decided his destiny wasn't worth travelling with them.

Their three allies were hungry for details of the journey, but Dante had merely given them the barest account of what had happened. He'd spent the past few hours interrogating Hawk on Irkalla: what it had been like before they'd left, which councilman had made what decision, who had voted on some tactic Delilah couldn't remember, which noble family was still angry at another... On and on until she'd been yawning in the saddle.

"We're running rather low on food," Nell said.

Safir stirred, and spoke for the first time since leaving Ziran. "I know how to find edible plants. There's plenty of food out here."

"So do I," Nell replied.

Hawk just snorted. "Keep your leaves. I want meat."

"We cannot afford to stop to hunt," Dante said icily.

"Salad it is, then," Kaya said with a groan, flinging herself down on her back where she began to toss and catch a little knife. "We'll waste away before we get back to Irkalla."

"No, we won't," Nell retorted.

"I have to agree with the kraken over there," Hawk muttered.

Delilah noticed how his eyes were still fixed on Kaya, and gave him a not-so-subtle nudge. He glared at her while she wriggled her eyebrows at him.

"What?" His voice was flat. A danger sign.

"She's very pretty, don't you think?" Delilah whispered.

"No. Now get away from me."

"If you had to choose between Kaya and me -"

"Stop talking." Unlike Dante, Hawk was easily riled, and he had a short temper.