‘Ent gonna let you down!’

‘Don’t you worry about us, we’ll still be cuttin’ wood demon when you get back!’

Arlen held up a fist, and they fell silent again, though the energy was thick in the air. ‘Had the honour of standing with a lot of you in this very place, shedding blood and more than our share of coreling ichor right on the cobbles beneath your feet. Lost some good people, and still more came out with wounds they carry to this day. But we gave better’n we got, beat those demons down and watched them burn when the sun rose.’ He looked back to the Krasians. ‘In Krasia, that makes this sacred ground, and it makes us all family.’

There were nods and grunts of agreement from the crowd, though none dared speak, hanging on Arlen’s words. ‘For more than three hundred years, we been waiting for a Deliverer to come and save us from the demons. And while we waited, we forgot that we, each and every one of us, was strong. Strong enough that together, ent nothing can stop us. But the Deliverers of old didn’t do it alone. They get the credit, ay, but they wouldn’t have had a chance without the thousands, nay, millions, of good folk like you at their sides.

‘So you stand up for you and yours tonight. You stand proud, and come Waxing, when Hollow County’s still standing tall, someone asks who the Deliverer is? You can give honest word when you say “Ay, that’s me.”’

The crowd cheered again, shouting, ‘Deliverers!’ again and again. The Krasians did not join the chant, but they clattered their spears against their shields to add to the cacophony, and seemed mollified by the words – a careful dance that avoided any claims that Arlen was the Deliverer, or that Jardir was not. Now was not the time for division.

Arlen let the energy flow through the crowd, driving away their fears, then held up his hands, patting the air until there was silence once more. ‘Don’t know where the attacks will come. The outer boroughs, I expect, but it’s hard to say. That’s why we’re staging here. Cutter’s Hollow is the centre of the net, and we’ll be able to move swift to support the folk that need it. Demons will be on the rise soon, but the minds won’t come till later, when the dark is long and full. For now, keep your weapons ready and look to your commanders. Be ready for a run.’

With that, he hopped lightly down from the stage to join Renna.

‘Hunting mind demons?’ Renna asked.

‘Much as I can,’ Arlen said. ‘Same goes for you as the Cutters, Ren. Can’t hold back tonight. Ent leaving you behind ’cause I think you ent got what it takes, but come night I’m gonna have to go where I’m needed, and fast. Maybe faster’n you can keep up.’

The words grated on Renna, a reminder of the warning Arlen had given her when they first left Tibbet’s Brook. You either keep up, or I’m dropping you at the next town we come to. Harsh words, but Renna had worked hard and sacrificed much to keep pace. It still wasn’t enough. Arlen could dematerialize and slip into the greatward, travelling to anywhere in Hollow County in the time it took to take a deep breath and let it out again.

‘Could if you’d teach me the trick,’ Renna said.

Arlen shook his head. ‘This ent like embracing pain or knowing how to twist a demon into a throw. Took me years of absorbing magic and eatin’ demon meat before I could even dissipate, and months from there to learn to do it at will and pull myself back together. And that’s just learning to tread water. This is swimming in current so strong it can sweep you along like a twig.’

Renna frowned. ‘Can’t say I like the sound of that.’

Arlen shrugged and smiled. ‘Can’t say I do, either. But I’ll do what needs to be done to keep the Hollow safe. Need to know you will, too. Cutters are strong, but with me out of the picture, you’re the strongest one in the Hollow. Without you to shore the line, they may break. No running off on your own tonight. They need you.’

‘Think I don’t know that?’ Renna snapped. ‘Hollowers been good to me. Good in ways I never knew folk could be. Die before I let ’em down.’

Arlen touched her face. ‘That’s the woman I promised. Just,’ he kissed her, ‘don’t forget to breathe.’

She stuck a finger in his chest. ‘And you don’t forget that you belong up here,’ she pointed to the cobbles, ‘and not down there taking on every demon in the world. You leave us, I’m coming down after you and dragging you back by the stones.’ She reached between his legs and squeezed tight for emphasis. Arlen let out a sound that was half squeak and half laughter.

‘Honest word,’ he said, his voice tightened to a squeak, and Renna laughed.

Easier than expected, Arlen thought as Renna released him. He could smell the emotions warring within her, heightened by the magic. For the last week, she’d kept better control of her temper than since she first tasted the magic on the road from Tibbet’s Brook, months ago.

His mam might have said, ‘Married life suits her’, but it had as much to do with the revelation that he knew all along that she was eating demon flesh. He felt lighter himself after letting go the weight of that lie. He kept silent at first out of respect, thinking she would tell him and was just waiting for the right chance. But as the days and weeks passed, he realized that wasn’t it at all.

It became a test to see if she ever admitted it without being caught. A test of her judgement, and her love. A test of how much he could trust her. Renna had a lifetime of bad decisions behind her. She was supposed to be starting fresh, but day by day she built on a lie.

It was only now, having confronted and forgiven her, that he understood how stubborn he had been. Too proud to reach out to someone that needed him until she proved … what? Arlen’s past was hardly without bad decisions, and he had never hesitated to keep his own counsel. What right did he have to judge her for doing the same?

‘What?’ Renna asked, and Arlen realized he’d been staring at her.

‘Nothing,’ he said, putting a hand to her cheek and moving in to kiss her deeply. ‘Think maybe married life just suits me.’ He smiled, and her scent filled with love.

He turned away quickly, wanting to hold that sight and scent in his mind. Even if he’d trusted himself not to spoil it, there was no more time.

He moved over to where Evin Cutter, Yon Gray, and a pair of Wooden Soldiers stood with the horses. Shadow paced nearby, and the horses, even Evin’s own, shifted nervously. Only Rockslide, Twilight Dancer, and Promise held their ground, watching the giant wolfhound the way a dog might watch a cat. Even a nightwolf was no match for an Angierian mustang.

Gared and Captain Gamon joined him, mounting up at his nod. Arlen was used to towering above everyone when mounted on Twilight Dancer, but now Gared loomed over even him. The baron and the giant stallion still regarded each other warily, but in battle they were a terror to behold. Arlen had seen in their auras how people looked up to Gared, trusted him, and whatever else he might see in the baron, Arlen did not think he would let them down in the days to come.

Leesha, Rojer, and the count came soon after, followed by Rojer’s wives and their silent bodyguard. They would wait in the graveyard with the others as scouting parties like Arlen’s patrolled the border, waiting to see where they would be needed.