Demon-Killing Sword

13.2 Pass

Curious, Muninn sniffed herself. Over the musty scent of the coat, she couldn't smell anything, but the coat smelled so strongly it didn't mean much. Maybe it's the coat that's the problem, she thought, then shrugged mentally. A little break wouldn't hurt. It would give them time to convince Niina and Vivi to keep going, too.

Vivi gestured. Muninn and the others followed her along the river. They hadn't been walking for long when the narrow ravine widened. The river spilled into a broad waterfall as the slope increased from the nearly unnoticeable incline to a sharper angle. Rather than a single flow of falling water, the waterfall was tiered. Many flows snaked across the stony riverbed. Where the water pounded down from each of those flows, little pools had been carved in the rock. Water collected in those, deep and cool, before spilling away off the edge and down the slope again. Can it even be called a waterfall? Muninn wondered, tilting her head. She'd been picturing a grand sheet of white water. This was more like the river had tripped and tumbled down a hill than falling water.

"Pick your pool!" Vivi said, gesturing around her. "There's some off a ways in the trees if you'd rather have some privacy."

Kjell sat down on the edge of the waterfall. "Sounds like too much effort," he groaned. Laboriously, he shucked his boots and threw them aside, then relaxed into the water.

The waterfall crashed down, a roar like she'd never heard before. Even if it didn't look quite as impressive as she'd expected, it sounded impressive. Muninn glanced around. Where should I go? She didn't want to go too far and get attacked by the monsters, but she didn't want everyone to see her bathe, either. Kjell sat blissfully on the edge of the waterfall, eyes closed. It didn't look like he'd move anytime soon. Vivi and Niina had vanished off across the other side of the waterfall, doubtless to some distant hidden pool. Mid-peeling off his coat, Huginn caught her looking and stopped. He stuck out his tongue, then jumped down toward a lower pool.

Muninn rolled her eyes at him. I didn't want to see you, anyways. She shook her head and started up the hill. No one had investigated the higher pools yet. She should be out of sight up there, but still close enough to run to the others at the first sign of danger.

Near the top of the waterfall, she found a quiet pool shrouded by reeds. Muninn squatted behind the reeds and pulled off the birdskin. Her outer layers joined it, then her boots, toes squelching into the thin, soft muck that barely coated the rock riverbed here out at its fringes. The Demon-Killing Sword she laid atop the coat in case she had to snatch it up. She hesitated there, uncertain, then decided to leave her underclothes on. If a demon does attack, I don't want to have to run naked.

The water was clear, but icy cold. She eased herself into it an inch at a time, toes, then feet, then heels. Muninn ducked to the water and took a sip, then sucked in a deep breath and plunged into it all at once. Icy water clutched at her chest and armpits, somehow colder wherever she'd been warm. She stood up and gasped for air. Hair clung to her face, underclothes tight on her body. Muninn shoved her hair back, then plopped back into the water. It wasn't so bad once she was used to it. The water might be freezing cold, but it was warm enough outside that it wasn't so bad.

Her wing snagged on her undershirt. Now that the water was weighing it down, there wasn't enough room to move it comfortably. She tugged her shirt around until her wing could pop out the wide-cut neck.

A dark blob in the water caught her eye. Is that my reflection?  But that can't be right. Muninn held perfectly still until the ripples calmed. She stared back at herself, hair limp and wet, shirt clinging to her body. She hadn't changed much, except for one small detail. Over her shoulder, her wing stretched as broad as a raven's wing. Muninn raised her eyebrows at herself, and the reflection moved. That's me. That's a part of me. She reached the wing out, straining as far as she could. It flexed, feathers shining like ink. It's really mine. But her wing had been a tiny chicken wing, not even fledged properly.

The miasma. She swallowed. It's changing me.

A high-pitched cry startled her. She jumped. Her feet slipped on the slick rock, and she plopped down into the water. What was that? Muninn searched the treeline for the culprit.

There! She narrowed her eyes. A lesser valkyrie stared back at her. Its claws bit into a pale branch on a dying oak. It cried out again, then took to the air. She watched it vanish into the forest on the far side of the waterfall.

When she looked down, she was no longer alone in the pool. A man stood across from her. Though he stood thigh-deep in the water, he was fully dressed in mourning black, from the cape pooling in the water to his surcoat to his armor. Ram's horns twisted from the sides of his helmet towards the front of his face, tight to the sides of his head. He had his back turned to her, his head bowed.

Muninn held her breath. A demon! Her eyes flicked to the coat. Atop it sat the Demon-Killing Sword. It laid on the edge of the pool, so close, but so far. She pushed off the rock and slid backward in the water, afraid to stand with the demon right there. As long as I stay in the water, he might not hear me.

"I see you, child," he growled. The words rumbled through her bones.

Muninn froze, halfway to the coat. A drumbeat sounded in her chest, rapid as the crashing waterfall. She stared up at the demon, then glanced around. Is he talking to someone else? With his back turned, he couldn't see her. Her eyes slid back to the sword. A little further. It was almost in reach.

"I see all."

She leaped for the sword. Traitorous water splashed, giving her away. Her fingers wrapped around the hilt. She spun and pointed it at the demon, ready to face him down.

Nothing. She was alone in the pool.