An Ember Among Shadows

Chapter Five

"The end of a season marks the beginning of another, and so do life."

- Sacred Scripture, verse one of the Cycle.

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The afternoon breeze blew across the forest in all its mildness, making its way between the trees, rustling their leaves. The sun was already low and hidden behind thick clouds. Even in the cool temperature, Ruqa was sweating. He admitted, at around midday when the wide path leading out of Gessi had gradually turned into a smaller trail, that he was rather nervous about this whole thing. He turned his head and looked behind him, as if doing so would bring him back to the comforts of civilization.

"Keep twisting your neck like that and maybe you'll break it," Nezha, who had been riding beside him, sneered. She had put on a red cloak with soft, white fur lining the hood. She flashed him a playful smirk. Even if Ruqa had been in a good mood, he wouldn't have entertained her. He needed to have been born playful to play along with her quirks. Anyone would have to.

"I was just staying alert," he replied lamely. He did not want her to think he was scared. Not that it worked.

"Scared, exorcist? You can still turn back now. Someone needs to take care of Seoji and who else is more fitting to do so than his own brother?"

"You must have had your ears plugged when the mayor explicitly said I was to get to the bottom of this."

"And you must not understand language when Pahko said I was to come with you. Besides, having me around will be helpful."

Oh, yes, thought Ruqa. Helpful indeed. She had been very helpful so far; helpful in warding off the much needed silence. If he were to have it his way, he would have preferred to do this by himself. He was so used to doing things independently. Having people around him was disadvantageous in two ways.

First off, in his line of work, it was risky to keep a company. He recalled his first exorcism case. It had been easy because he was assigned to it while he was still residing in the monastery. He had all the tools and space he needed, even a monk as his assistant. But then he'd made a mistake. His error had caused the spirit to possess the monk, and somehow, the monk didn't survive. At the monk's funeral, he vowed to keep everyone at arm's length. Becoming an exorcist was a lone journey, and he was fine with that.

Secondly, having people around would only slow him down. He was always a fast worker, and an efficient one at that. The presence of another might not be able to keep up with him. And in Nezha's case, she was the latter. For the past ten hours or so, she had insisted on taking a break four times. Ruqa had allowed it, but he was getting agitated with each passing minute.

He planned to join one of the groups of traders and merchants who regularly use the Huyan pass to travel to the outer parts of the Southern Highland. They often travelled in numbers to avoid getting looted by thieves and bandits, but not too many to crowd the narrow gap in the mountain range at one time. The thing was, the last group of travellers would depart at around this hour to avoid having to cross tricky terrain in the dark. If he misses the last group, he would have to wait until the next morning before another group arrives. Which was why the longer it took for them to reach the fringe of the pass, the more likely they would be to miss the group.

And Ruqa wasn't too keen on travelling alone at night with a sorceress.

"Hey, Ruqa. What's your plan? You haven't told me how you're planning to get to the north."

"It's none of your business." He liked knowing something she did not. "The less you know, the better. I don't want anyone sabotaging my plans."

"What if I know a quicker way than what you have in mind now?"