I am weak, Death thought. That is what he’d determined on the long road back to Sekoi. The emotions I feel are a weakness, I must resist Snow’s smile and hands, they are causing me to crumble when I don’t wish to. I will return to power; I will be feared; I will not be a man who enjoys the luxuries of relaxing in bed with women at either side; I will fight, murder, rule, and nothing will—

  “Look at him,” Snow teased. “He’s having murderous thoughts again, ain’t that adorable.”

  “Put those scowls away!” Vera squealed. “We’re comin’ up to Sekoi and I bet they drew you with an ungodly frown on the bounty list. Smile, they won’t even recognise you.”

  The sun was out, a cloudless sky, the snow had condensed to a thin sheet of sludge that was melting by the minute. The gates to the town were wide open, cheerful trumpets and drums as a parade of happy and joyful peasants linked arms and circled the small fountain central of their home.

  Gods, that music is enough to torture a man—I should keep an eye out for dragons, they would surely come here to stop this parade and save their eardrums.

  “Wonder what’s got them all so fruitful and rowdy,” Snow said.

  “Perhaps they discovered the fresh carcass of a dog and plan to pass it around before the flies come,” Vera said. “Bet they’d still use it even if rotten, fuckin’ Sekoi, I hate this place.”

  “Never say that again,” Snow begged. “My stomach is so full of eggs and pancakes, you’re gonna make me vomit.”

  “Dead puppies, dead kittens! Maggots!” Vera teased. “Think of a bird exploding the same way Finnso did!”

  Snow broke into laughter rather than illness. She wiped her tears of laugher after imagining a poor seagull bursting into flame without any reason. She gave Death a kiss on the cheek, then pointed her finger at a stable with a loud squeal of happiness. “Stop the cart!” she ordered. She didn’t wait for it to stop, muddying her knees and hands from the drop as she ran for something the other two didn’t spot. “Come on! Follow me!”

  “I’ll put the cart somewhere,” Vera sighed. “Go run after her and make sure some Sekoi freak doesn’t kidnap her.”

  “Fox,” Death said low. “You did well in that fight with Deilon. You are a faithful servant, and if you continue this path I will reward your efforts.”

  She blushed a little and thanked him.

  Dumb fox, ‘twas not meant to make you feel special, just ensure you listen to my commands in all future battles, he wanted to say. He kept his mouth sealed and hopped off the cart. He went to pull up his hood, forgetting he was in more official-seeming clothes now that he’d stolen Finnso’s large and loose clothing, and kept his head low to avoid attention of anyone who may recognise him as the man who slaughtered half of a tavern in under a minute.

  A friendly passerby tipped their hat at Death. “Good day to you sir, a blessed day may you have.” He stopped walking and seemed to want a conversation. “You look like a businessman.”

  “Disgusting creature,” Death snarled. “Do not speak to me.”

  “Oh, alrighty then! You have a good day!”

  I hope that guy dies tonight.

  Death hopped over a fence, pushing through two squares of hay and stepped over an attention-seeking chicken that clearly had a death wish. Snow was arguing with a bald man, his bony fingers jabbed into her collarbone and nearly triggering Death’s command to slaughter all that touch Snow inappropriately.

  Behind them, Esroh, munching on a carrot while the bald man pulled her reins towards him. “I looked after her durin’ the blizzard, I kept her fed, the horse is mine,” he claimed. “Ye can’t just dump a beauty like this and not expect someone to look after her.”

  “I expect people to look after! I don’t expect some baldy bitch to lay claim to a horse I raised from a foal!”

  Death came to their argument and made the man feel small, yet still he argued his claim. “It’s my horse!”

  “Nuh uh!” Snow exclaimed. “My horse!”

  Death crossed his arms and put himself between the two. “It’s her horse,” he said flatly. “Is there a problem with that, peasant?”

  The bald man furrowed his brows and gritted his teeth. “We’ll see what the guard have to say about this!”

  Esroh stared at the bald man, peeking over Death’s shoulder.

  “Take the horse and you shall suffer,” he said. “A warning, not a threat, handling a horse can be dangerous.”

  The bald man took the rein and make a second claim about how he was going to find a guard to settle it.

  Death sighed, then slapped Esroh’s backside, she reared up then kicked the bald man in the jaw, breaking it—he stumbled away with pained groans and raised his fist, promising revenge.

  I hate this town, Death thought. I’ve only been here twice and I pray this is the last… I see why Vera and Snow think this place is a shithole. It’s slightly cleaner than when I was last here, I suspect that is simply just the melting water washing away the piss puddles.

  Snow cuddled Esroh’s head, stroking her muzzle and crest. “Oh yes, that’s a good girl… such a good girl, all bald people want to steal you and cut off your beautiful hair… kick them all, my sweet little horse, aim for where the sun bounces.”

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  “Now that we have your lazy horse, may we add her to the front of our cart and leave immediately? When we get recognised by some bounty-hungry mongrel I’ll have to kill more people.”

  “And you think that’s a bad thing?”

  Hm, I never thought of it that way. “Smile at more people,” he ordered. “If we get recognised I’ll kill the whole of Sekoi.”

  “We should try find more friends like Beion and Rica,” Snow said. “It was nice spending the night with them.”

  “They are not our friends,” Death growled. “Acquaintances, a temporary alliance of mutual benefit.”

  “Is that what that was last night, hm? Your hands, our waists, a mutual benefit huh? You can just admit that you enjoyed it, c’mon, no one else is around to hear you confess.”

  Death leaned over with a flat look, making their heights equal. Snow tried to keep eye contact but couldn’t. “I will eat your horse,” Death threatened. “Do not accuse me of such things.”

  “You wouldn’t eat Esroh! She’s too much of—what is that?”

  Vera waved at them while a handful of carpenters brought the horses to a still, carting a new wagon behind it, one with walls, cosy windows, a door, all lined with a strong metal to keep it together.

  “What’d’ya think of that?” Vera yelled. “Got two more strong horses to go at the front, bought someone’s already-crafted wagon, now we’ve got a house on the back of our transportation!”

  “You did all of that in a few minutes?” Death said suspiciously. “How did you afford that?”

  Vera reached into her cleavage and pulled out a few shiny rubies and tiny blue diamonds. “Ya didn’t think I was gonna let Beion take all of our riches, did you?”

  Snow explored the new wagon. The inside was cushioned, two beds on either side, lots of storage, a door at the back that could be opened to white curtains and a view outside. “This is so cool! Why are there a bunch of people hammering nails into it?”

  “I told them to add a bunch of stuff,” Vera said smugly. “More wheels for more weight, some hidden storage for weapons under the front if we’re in a mess, a bunch of lanterns and candle holders, even got a quick order in for some soft bedsheets, should be coming any moment now, no more sleeping in the cold! I also bought a large tent, massive, we can put it up and give the horses a place to rest if we don’t find a stable.”

  Vera’s ears perked up and looked at Death, clearly searching for gratitude and a ‘well done’ of sorts. He sighed, patting her on the head, telling her she did a good job.

  “Is there space for Esroh at the front?” Snow asked.

  Vera grabbed one of the carpenters and gave him a tiny jewel, ordering the reins to be adjusted for another horse at the front.

  A familiar voice called out behind them. “Snow?” it said. “Is that you?”

  Oh great, we’ve been recognised, time to slaughter this whole shitty town. Death attempted to wield his sword; Snow put a calm hand on the pommel, pushing it back in.

  Snow gave the man a quick hug. Oh, I know this man, this is the one whose head I turned monstrous when they locked me in that cell. Wait, why is he being friendly, should he not be trying to take off our heads and claim the bounty?

  “And you!” the man exclaimed. “I’ve been feeling good about myself since we met—I forgive you for the whole nearly killing me thing… you changed my life these last few days, I’ve been able to pick up my mother and help her more, I feel stronger, she’s on the path to getting better because I can help her more.”

  I aided in the recovery of a peasant? Disgusting.

  “My name’s Rarret.” He offered a formal handshake. Death only did it after seeing a silent threat from Snow to order him to do it. “I didn’t think I’d see either of you in Sekoi again.”

  “Why would we return?” Death said. “We have a bounty on us, heard it from the Cum Master himself.”

  “The…who…? Doesn’t matter—there is no bounty on you two, not now anyway.”

  “Huh, why?” Snow said.

  “That rampage brought a whole investigation; turns out half of the people you killed were involved in a secret child-slavery trade conducted between Sekoi and a few traders from Naveen. They were selling Valan children to be eaten for gold nuggets, that’s why all the people are celebrating—we got a new council ruling Sekoi, they say things are going to get better now… those bunch of bumbling barnacles took you off the bounty list, hailed you as unsung heroes, a pardon from the gods, just don’t do anything bounty worthy and people won’t give you a second look.”

  “Does burning down a city count as bounty worthy,” Vera said.

  “Burning down a what now?”

  “The fox said nothing.” Death slapped her across the back of her head. “She is mentally stunted. An anvil fell from the sky when she was a teen and missed her by inches, then she tripped on a root and cracked her skull on it.”

  “Oh.” Rarret gave her a sympathetic smile. “Oh! Killian Entrail and Captain Quinn were here recently, they were asking about the bounty on you two—word should’ve reached them by now that you aren’t wanted for the crimes, be safe!”

  They traced our origin to Sekoi? I wonder if it was Vera that lead them there… but then that would suggest they knew she was on the outskirts of this town the whole time, odd of the Cum Master to not come and claim her Vatanil bounty especially when she lived next to a body of water.

  “Snow, be safe in your travels, they also said three dragons had attacked Caron. Thank the gods that Captain Quinn of Bianca’s Bastards waws there, the people say he killed it in a direct duel of fire versus water, a trident right in its maw, did you hear about it?”

  Snow wasn’t happy. “They’re saying Quinn killed the dragon?”

  “Yeah, sounds cool right? Wish I was there to see it.”

  One of her eyes twitched. “I bet it was a magnificent shot that got it out the sky… must’ve been… great.”

  “Well, I must get going,” Rarret said. “Stay out of trouble, I’ve been given charge of a small number of guards now, wouldn’t want us to have a second scuffle. Farewell, Snow and friends, save travels and good fortune.”

  The mere thought of so much joy caused by his actions made Death feel hatred for himself. He entered the new wagon and sat on the bed after the workers had replaced it.

  Vera and Snow sat with him. He unfolded the letter stolen by Beion from his pocket and broke the seal to open it. The letter was on thick paper, cursive handwriting in blue ink.

  It detailed Caron and where to find their subject, explicit details on how they wanted the ritual to be performed—a cut throat, a spell, intestines pulled, scalp peeled. There were no names given, however the letter had been signed off with a heart.

  Death sniffed the letter, a scent of roses and lavender.

  “It is likely a woman who wrote this,” Death said. “But the indicators unreasonably convenient, it could be a man attempting to cover his tracks. I suggest we take this letter to Vatanil and search for any high-ranking women, see if we can match their style to this.”

  “I can’t go to Vatanil,” Vera reminded. “I’ve told you this.”

  “Just keep your head down and you’ll be fine.”

  “Ahem, have you ever been to Vatanil? No? Have you, Snow? I didn’t think so—I lived there, you don’t know what it’s like there, I would go if I could, mister Death, but I can’t, I would be killed.”

  She has a look on her face that shows she isn’t lying but can’t find the courage to talk about it. Fine, fox, I will stave off your death by planning something else… actually, no, I don’t see any path to take other Vatanil, that must be our next course.

  An idea popped into Death’s head.

  “Snow,” he said. “Take me to the ruins where you found me in my tomb, I wish to explore my prison, I should’ve done this upon awaking.”

  “I love exploring ruins!” Vera exclaimed. “That’s better than Vatanil! I’ll do that!”

  “We’ll have to pay one of these men to travel with us and look after the cart while we explore, leaving something like this out in the open is not wise,” Death added.

  “I remember where it is!” Snow assured. “I could never forget where I found my husband.”