The wagon bounced awkwardly over the uneven ground the next morning as they trudged along in complete silence. They'd left as soon as a strip of sun appeared. Whether it was because Spark and Kait had been healthy enough to move or because they wanted to put as much distance between them and the dead demon they left behind, Opal wasn't sure.

-----

Opal hadn't screamed. She stumbled back to the group, trying to keep the contents of her stomach in place. The plate was in her hand. He wouldn't need it, after all. Proga was the first to notice her hovering. The expression on her face had him on his feet.

"Opal? What's wrong? Did he hurt you?"

"No. He died."

"Reugu's dead?" Gabbro pulled himself to his feet. She'd nodded and watched as he, Kait, and Yue went to investigate.

She'd allowed Proga to take the plate away and gently push her to the ground. She was thankful for that because it occurred to her she'd been swaying a little while standing up.

They retuned with grim expressions.

"What happened?" Opal asked.

"He was sicker than he wanted to admit." Gabbro said. "It was probably one of the flying demon's poison or..." he cut off, looking at and quickly away from the sleeping Spark.

"It was the poison." Kait said firmly. "It must have been." She glared daring someone to disagree.

"Kait's right. You got burned, and Yue did once too." Opal nodded her head repeatedly.

Yue frowned. "Not that extensively... but," he added quickly seeing Kait's expression and Opal's fearful eyes. "It doesn't matter now anyway. We need to return him. Gabbro- did he following any Earth spirits customs?"

"Not that I know of."

"I'd be shocked if he did." Proga sighed, head bowed. "I don't know any shifter that does."

"So, we don't know what to do."

"I do." Proga took a steadying breath. "If Kait brought any iron with her?"

"No."

"I did." Gabbro went to the wagon and returned with his bag.

"Should... we wake him up?" Opal eyed Spark. "He already almost ran off twice when he woke up confused."

Kait frowned. "Obsidian, brother, can you stay with Spark? We... have something to do."

Obsidian jerked his head twice. "He was a monster. May his energy awaken in a gentler demon. Yes, I will stay with his murderer."

"Obsidian." Gabbro warned.

"Yes big brother. I will watch my tongue. Please bring me the best rock you see by him."

After everyone had knelt around the corpse, Proga had laid the iron bar across the dead demon. To Opal's shock his body began to shrink until he was a small, gray brown creature with a fluffed tail. A squirrel.

Kait was the first to put her palms on the ground. Yue and Gabbro followed suit. Opal, not knowing what else to do, did the same.

Proga took a deep breath, chanted something in a language Opal, and it seemed Gabbro and Yue as well, didn't recognize. Only Kait joined in for the last part. The tiny body began to shine, silver as the markings had been on Reugu in life and then spread along the ground like thick, snaking veins, pulsing like they were slurping the blood from him. Opal almost pulled her hand up as one approached her but it slid past, lighting up the earth as it went and dimming into regular soil a moment later. She watched it go and when she turned back the body was gone.

There was a long second where everyone sat still, hands still firmly planted. Gabbro leaned back, dusting off his hands on his knees and stood. He picked up the iron bar resting on the ground and stuck it straight up. "Goodbye, Reugu."

-----------

Opal rode on the wagon next to Spark and Kait. Proga and Yue had insisted on it seeing as she hadn't slept all night. She didn't feel particularly bad about Reugu's death and that's what kept her up. She still didn't understand normal but after living with the humans in monotony, all of this danger this death and injury didn't seem correct either.

"Do lots of your friends die?" Opal glanced at Kait who was attempting to rub some clear ointment over her fingers again. She put down the bottle, frowning.

"No, not really. Why? Because of Reugu?"

"And Ermine." Opal tapped the side of her head and gave a rueful smile. "Even though I don't have a great baseline for these things, none of you seem bothered."

Spark yawned, stretching out to lean on his elbows. "I've seen tons of demons die, ones better than that sicko. Hordes don't really get the comfort of guards to protect them while they sleep in castles."

Kait ignored the pointed look he gave her and returned to caring for her fingers. "I've never been in a castle. Darn." Kait dropped the bottle as her one of her hands appeared to cramp up. Opal reached for it before it spilled but Spark got to it first.

"Hands." He demanded. Kait held them out. It was strange to see the same demon that had created such destruction doing something as gentle as massaging a friend's hands. The bracelets were dull black.

She watched Proga walking beside Obsidian, cheerfully accepting every rock and stick he handed to him. His arms were now very full. She pictured him angry, the creeping tendrils like hollow vines reaching out from the shadows. Never again.

Even Kait at times had startled her with surprising viciousness, when she'd grabbed that flying demon who'd tried to attack Yue it had made a terrible noise. Looking at her hands she could only imagine what type of injury the other had received.

"Yue and his brother brought you all along for protection, right? Or at least, like Corax said, Princes don't travel with useless companions. Do they always travel in such large groups?"

"Not always. Yue normally would have a few more demons with him than just us if he was truly visiting Lster from the north territories."

"That's what I thought. It's been bugging me- I know I don't understand what Guardians are exactly but I think we are on to something that Guardian candidates are the ones being attacked. If they were just after Princes, wouldn't they have waited for them to visit with a less impressive entourage?"

"They did attack Yue in Lster." Spark gave her a confused look.

"Yes but whoever attacked before already knew he might have been a candidate. They attacked when it would be most difficult because that's when they knew for sure. If they were after royals they had plenty of time before. And they've been keeping tabs on all of them."

Kait's eyebrows knitted. "They would have had to know we escaped from the encampment, then. It couldn't be a coincidence they returned to Lster just before us. We'll need to get Gabbro to talk about everything he knows before we get to Tixe. This could be a trap."

"He wouldn't do that."

"Why?" Spark challenged.

"He's just trying to help his brother." And he said he'd do anything to keep him safe.

Kait squinted at her. "Opal, what's going on between you-"

"Pull over up here!" Yue's voice called from the front. Opal jumped off the cart to steer it easily towards him, happy to escape the conversation. She would tell everyone that she knew Gabbro from before. She just needed to figure out why that was first.

"What's up?" Kait had pulled her hands away and rested them over the side.

"The Road should be up here in a kilometer or two. We need rules when we get there."

Opal tilted her head, waiting for Proga to steer Obsidian over. He was only partially successful, and it took awhile for him to redirect the demon from a tree he'd starting to climb. Yue's eyes closed as though trying to compose himself.

"The first thing everyone needs to remember about The Road is-"

Opal put her hand up. "What's the road?"

"It's just a giant path." Spark grumbled.

"No not a road, The Road. Whose been on it before?"

Kait and Proga both nodded.

Yue looked between Opal, Spark and Obsidian. "Great. None of you know." His voice suggested this was anything but great.

"Depending on what territory we pass it will look different, parts of it move, parts of it are just sand but the big thing to keep in mind is that plenty of demons travel on it and we need to keep a low profile."

"Just like last time?" Proga asked, a hint of a smile.

Yue shot him a look. "We won't be on it long but keep to ourselves. Tempers run hot on long trips. Obsidian, please, please do not stray far from us. Or attempt to take things from other demon's carts or- that. Don't do that either." He pulled his hand away as he tried to weave flowers into one of his braids.

"Prince Yue, don't you want to look beautiful?" Obsidian put a hand on Yue's cheek, his expression grave.

"He's already pretty enough, Obsidian." Proga told him. "Any prettier and he'd be a danger to everyone around him."

"Proga can you-" Yue shut his eyes and pressed a finger to his temple as Obsidian immediately started untying the flowers mumbling "pretty dangerous, pretty dangerous" to himself as he did so. "Can you be serious, please."

Proga seemed to be fighting himself. "Yes, Prince."

"Good. Opal."

"Yes?"

"When you ask questions, can you do it quietly? And not to other demons?"

"I'll just not ask questions."

Spark laughed.

Opal glared at him.

"Spark, you should also avoid talking to anyone. And just... just don't set anything on fire."

Opal stuck out her tongue at him and he bared his teeth.

"Well, I suppose this is as good as we will do." Yue grimaced, looking pained as he took in the group.

"It will be fine, Prince." Proga nudged him. "But you'll need to stay in the cart. You're the one who got us in trouble last time. That's the most important rule."

Yue didn't argue with this. "And if you start turning heads, you will too."

"There's probably only room for the two of us unless we want to snuggle in."

Yue shook his head. He again seemed worn out.

-------

After a quick lunch they rearranged the cart the best they could to hide the more impressive items they were carrying and traded out their clothes for something more 'normal'. Opal didn't understand, per usual, but allowed Proga and Kait to give her a flowy shirt and pants to tuck them into. Yue traded out his tattered, extravagant cloak for a simple gray one and took the bright orange cape away from Proga who was trying to it sneak out of a crate.

Kait opened and closed her fingers. "You know Opal, sometimes there are merchants on The Road that are open to selling goods. I got a box of centipedes for only two stone bottles once."

"Oh- um, wow."

"Yeah!" She looked down at her hands. "I won't be able to do much trading like this- if we do find a pinching insect seller would you help?"

"Uh." Opal wasn't sure how to say 'no' strongly enough.

"Some of the stuff you get excited about is real weird." Spark examined her hand which was less purple than before the ointment.

"That's- I'm- I know a ton of uses for centipedes its not weird!"

"I agree with Spark."

Kait looked flustered and then pointed a finger in both of their faces. "One day you are going to want to know if you should use a yellow-foot scorpion or a bark centipede to help with joint swelling and I won't tell you!"

"Oh no." Opal kept her face neutral. "Spark, whatever will you do if someone's ankle starts to hurt?"

"According to all you assholes I'd probably just burn off the limb." He snapped off a thread on his shirt, frowning.

Opal burst into laughter. It took a second to compose herself. "See, Kait? No need for bugs."

Kait still looked annoyed but Opal had watched her fail to hide her laughter behind a hand.

It was only later as the group finished re-organizing how disturbing it was for her that she'd laughed at that knowing the likelihood that he'd killed someone with burns only hours before.

------

They heard The Road before they saw it. Like listening to stampeding animals, barking dogs and, for some reason, singing.

"Wh-"

"Singing is a good pass time while travelling. And supposedly it builds comradery. Demons are less like to have Road Rage after sharing a song. Once one demon starts usually other pick up the tune, words are a little repetitive though." Proga watched her with his usual grin.

"That wasn't even what I was going to ask."

"Oh, yeah? Well, what was your question then?"

"It- I was- um... what I was going to ask was uh... where does this road go to exactly?"

"Sure it was. This particular stretch goes way up-" he motioned towards an outcropping of rocks. "north and then down to the ocean towns. Tixe is just a little hike off The Road."

"With any luck, we'll be in town in two days."

"Yue, what about our time together has been lucky?"

"We aren't dead. That's a pretty lucky."

Proga nodded. "True."

"Great. Now, Opal if you please, pull the crank to hide me from the rest of the world."

Yue laid down, arms behind his head, looking quite comfortable.

She turned the crank, watching as the metal popped from a hidden latch, pulling a thick sheet of golden and black fabric. At first she thought it was just a pattern but then she heard Kait groan.

Opal stepped back to see a likeness of Corax woven into the fabric. He was posed with a sword like knight from a human faerie tale.

Spark snickered. "Oh yeah, no one is going to look at that."