Demon-Killing Sword

18.1 Capital

The city grew around them. From crumbled ruins to full houses, it climbed out of the forest and up the hill. Huginn peered around as he led the way deeper, swiveling to every little sound.

"Are there demons?" Muninn asked.

Huginn gave her a look. "Are there demons," he repeated flatly.

She rolled her eyes. "You don't need to get—"

Huginn slapped his hand over Muninn's mouth. She glared at him, then heard it, too: a low rumble that was almost beneath the range of her hearing. Muninn froze. Suddenly, all the windows were full of motion, shadows shifting in the depths of the abandoned houses. Was that a curtain, or a demon walking by? That low shape beyond the broken glass, was it a monster or a sofa?

Hooves clattered over the weed-choked road ahead. Muninn glanced up. A horse? Had they gone wild here?

The horse that appeared was no ordinary horse. It was beautiful, a beast unparalleled by any of the knights' mounts on the far side of the wall. Long, dark fur draped its body, silky despite being tangled. It strode delicately around the corner, sharp hooves pricking the stones. Big, liquid black eyes glimmered in the sunlight as the horse looked down on them, its head as high as the first story of the houses. Its ears flicked toward them, and then the horse's nostrils flared; it huffed in and flicked its ears back. White teeth shone as it lifted its lips.

Muninn threw her cloak over Huginn as well, pulling him under the feathers.

The horse paused. It sniffed again. Its ears twitched forward, and it stepped, once, uncertain.

A trio of lesser valkyries burst out of the nearest house, two of them chasing a third one who had her claws deep in a horned squirrel. The squirrel screeched madly, still alive, while the three valkyries shrieked at one another. The third one lunged into the air, but the second had grabbed onto the squirrel with its eagle claws. The first kicked the second, who reared her head back and bit the first.

Startled at the sudden bustle, the horse whinnied and wheeled away, so graceful it almost seemed to glide. Entranced, Huginn watched it go until Muninn gave him a shove. Go, go, go! Now is not the time to sightsee! The valkyries were still busy with the squirrel for now, but if they decided to attack the two of them, they'd be out of luck! 

Huginn stumbled, but followed her lead. They lurched down the street after the horse, deeper into the city. Huginn kept pulling ahead, and then the coat would grab at Muninn's neck and yank her forward. Annoyed, Muninn slung her arm around Huginn's shoulders and held him even with her. After a second, he reluctantly returned the gesture.

Almost immediately, she found herself regretting it. The cloak itself was hot, but holding someone up against her on top of it was too much. She could feel herself start to sweat. Muninn waved at herself with her free hand. Hot, so hot!

"Then let me go," Huginn muttered.

A dog-sized lizard lurched out of a doorway ahead of them. Muninn yanked Huginn to a halt. They both froze while it licked at the air. Beady eyes inspected them, and then it scurried away, off on its business.

"Still want me to let go?" she whispered back. If they'd been yanking back and forth, who knew if the lizard would've passed them by?

Huginn grunted.

The streets grew busier the deeper they went. A pair of shaggy-haired jotunn crouched an alley, crunching on something. They half-turned as the two of them passed, one with a chunk of raw meat hanging from her mouth. Despite herself, Muninn found herself relaxing into the blast of cool air, relieved of the heat for a moment. A squeal from underfoot caught her attention, and she stopped just in time to avoid stepping on a tiny demon barely as tall as her ankles. The lead one squealed indignantly at her, and they swarmed past, a half-dozen of them carrying off a dead rat. From above, the snap of wings catching the air made her duck, to Huginn's dismay. When nothing caught them up in claws, she glanced up and found a bird with a human face gliding from one of the buildings down to ground level. It landed and hopped off, half-fluttering as it went. Behind it, a larger scaled demon barked warnings from the window. It reminded her of the demon village she'd seen earlier, but larger. More chaotic.

Less... human. It was a city of animals. There was none of the order she'd seen in the village. None of the demons wore clothes. None of them had weapons. Even the jotunn, human as they looked, ate their prey raw. Is this the miasma's effect? It would be thicker, closer to demon territory. Any waves where the miasma pushed its thick fog forward into human country, like the one they'd sheltered in the tower, would last longer here, too. For a second, Muninn pictured her mother as one of them, her dress torn, hair wild, hands bloody as she tore into a dead rabbit. She swallowed. I won't let that happen.

But first, she had to get the sword back.

The castle towered above them now, sheer white walls imposing. Muninn gazed up at it, thoughtful. "You think they'll still go for the treasury?"

"Now that they've got the sword?" Huginn considered, then nodded. "Definitely. I bet Kjell thinks he can defeat any demon he wants, now."

"We should wait for them there," Muninn suggested.

Huginn frowned. "The castle is overflowing with demons. It would be safer to ambush them outside."

Her eyes traced the shape of the castle, the narrow arrow-slits and the broad windows. Sigurd was a noble. So was Brunhild. I've seen so many of their memories. If I get close...maybe I'll see something. "Let's at least take a look," she said.

Huginn hesitated, then nodded. "It's worth a shot," he agreed.

Sweat trickled down her face. Muninn wiped her brow. "Can we find you your own cloak first?"

"Sure, just wait a second while I kill a demon," Huginn deadpanned.