Lucian sighed, hands on his hips as he studied the abandoned chariot. "If we leave this here, some overeager demon will turn it into firewood. Then we'll be stuck. Unless..." He flashed Dante a grin. "You want to be stranded? Had enough of my sparkling personality?"
Dante snorted, kicking dirt with one hoof. "How do you even know about this place? This festival?"
"Ancient books, family drama, the usual." Lucian waved a hand. "Forbidden rituals make the best stories." He grabbed the chariot's edge and shoved it toward the trees. "Help me hide this before someone uses Kael for target practice."
Grumbling, Dante clamped his teeth on the chariot's rail and pulled. Together, they dragged it into the underbrush. Lucian tossed branches over it while Dante watched, unimpressed.
"Why aren't we taking him with us?"
Lucian crouched beside Kael, checking his pulse. "Because right now, our fearless demon slayer is as useful as a soaked match. We need supplies. And this festival?" He stood, dusting off his pants. "Is our best shot at getting them."
Dante's ears flattened. "You're dragging us into that nightmare? After what just happened?"
"Relax. It's only slightly suicidal." Lucian smirked. "Or would you rather wait here? I hear demons love horsemeat. Especially the chatty kind."
Dante shuddered.
"Humans, too," Lucian added. "Desperate fools think this festival can save them. Pathetic. But useful."
"Fine," Dante growled. "But how do you plan to sneak me in?"
Lucian's grin widened. "I was hoping you'd have a trick. You are the legendary fire horse, aren't you?"
Dante glared. "Back up. Now."
Lucian barely leaped aside as flames erupted around Dante—a whirlwind of fire that shrank inward with a whoosh, leaving only an ornate brass lamp and a pile of bones where the horse had stood.
"I'm in here," Dante's voice echoed from the lamp.
Lucian burst out laughing. "Brilliant! Do you do children's parties?"
"Shut up and put my bones in a bag," Dante snapped. "If you wander too far, I'm stuck like this."
Still grinning, Lucian scooped up the bones and stuffed them into his satchel, then tied the lamp to his belt. "For a horse, you're full of surprises."
"And for a human, you're unbearable."
"Flattery won't save you," Lucian said, stepping onto the muddy path leading toward the festival. "Now, let's go do something stupid."
The Festival of Unseen Faces stank of smoke, sweat, and meat that had probably seen better days. Lucian weaved through the crowd, the lamp bumping against his hip. Around him, stalls lined the dirt road—some selling potions, others food that looked as suspicious as the people buying it.
"Charming place," Lucian muttered. "Smells like regret and bad decisions."
"Then you should feel right at home," Dante said from the lamp. "Why are we still here?"
"Kael needs medicine. And food. And possibly a priest." Lucian tossed a coin to a vendor and grabbed a vial of murky liquid. "This might stop his insides from melting. Or kill him faster. Hard to say."
Nearby, a group of wide-eyed pilgrims huddled around a fire, whispering about miracles. Lucian rolled his eyes. "Look at them. Praying to a god who hasn't shown his face in centuries. Pathetic."
"Just get what we need and leave," Dante said. "Before someone realizes what you are."
Lucian paused at a tattered tent, its flaps stitched with black-eyed crow feathers. A hunched woman sat inside, her knotted fingers spread over a cracked crystal ball.
"Ah, a seer!" Lucian said, grinning. "Let's hear my doom, shall we?"
The old woman grabbed his wrist before he could pull away. Her nails dug into his skin as she studied his palm. Then her milky eyes widened.
"The end walks with you," she whispered. "I see it—oceans boiled to dust. Mountains split open like rotten fruit. The earth screams under fire... and you stand at the center." Her grip tightened. "Darkness is coming. For you. For all."
Lucian yanked his hand back. "Charming. Do you do birthday parties?"
The woman hissed, knocking over her candle. "Leave, doomed one! Your shadow is too long for this world!"
Lucian tossed a coin onto her table. "Thanks for the pep talk."Back in the woods, the leaves rustled.
A gloved hand pushed aside the branches hiding the chariot. A figure in a blood-red cloak stood over Kael's unconscious body, head tilted like a bird eyeing prey.
The air turned icy.
Somewhere, a crow cawed