Chapter 242: THE MASTER OF SIN. The last stretch

There was no one there, and the feeling of being watched soon dissipated, but I still couldn’t rest well all the way until Glesk. It was not because of fear, though. I was assured by now that, thanks to our efforts with the traps and the scents, the hunters were thrown off our trail.

Most of my restlessness came from the endless irritation that my companions brought me.

Humans. Slow, weak, prone to chills and unable to bear the weight of their constant hunger without stuffing themselves with food. And even when they had it, they were picky. They needed it to be warmed up and boiled in water, needed water themselves, better also boiled, and when lacking any of the aforementioned comforts, soon grew even weaker and slower.

All these problems were easier to bear when the humans under my control had the opportunity to have all these luxuries, but now, when we couldn’t risk lighting fires without a good cover in fear of alerting a patrol or a wandering monster, when we had to walk all day long and sometimes couldn’t find a convenient stream to wash in and take water from by the end of the day…

They grew dangerously close to being entirely insufferable.

The worst part was that the human who was normally in charge of solving such problems—Bishop—suffered from them the worst. His teeth, more than a few of them lost with age, had the hardest time in gnawing through the hard blocks of salted meat and dry bread that were our most available food. His body needed the most warmth and his legs creaked almost audibly after just a few hours of walking.

Slow walking.

He did not complain, which took an edge from my ire and replaced it with respect. Bishop had the perseverance that was a seed necessary for a demon to grow out of a human’s soul. Now, though, we weren’t in Hell, and the only thing that could grow out of Bishop was his own cold corpse.

I and Yvenna had to carry him. We did so in shifts, since our strengths were enough to do that with relative ease without help of another. It became even better when Gi came up with an idea to take two long poles and tie a cloak between them, creating a construction that allowed to carry Bishop over the ground with less effort and the same speed. We left a heavier trail, but at this point, it was unimportant.

Yvenna and Gi took the road the easiest. Yvenna was clearly used to long and cold expeditions, and Gi appeared to be used to a lot of things, except for the sun. That was a common point between us, though we never spoke about it.

Even after almost a week in the mortal realm, the sun still stayed as unbearably bright, and the sky still as unbearably high. If I didn’t know otherwise, I would’ve thought they were the gods. The unfathomable power beyond a mortal’s comprehension…

But they were simply there.

When the surroundings and landmarks began to show that Glesk was just ahead, people rejoiced, only to grow silent and lost again as soon as Bishop reminded that we were still searched after by templars—and after that time, the news from Tinaris must’ve long ago reached Glesk. We would be stopped at the gates if we came as we were.

Which is where my plan came to an action. All these spare clothes we were hauling until now on my orders… It was time to use them.

“You will disguise yourself as different humans!” I declared. “Cut your hair, hide women’s chest so they would be boys, and boys will have something stuffed there to make them women…”

Hector’s eyes brightened. While everyone else was still in the varying states of shock, he added, “We can put coal into hair to darken it! We can put coal on your face, too, Gi!”

“No way!” Yvenna crossed her hands in denial and shook her head. “You ain’t gonna cut my hair!”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Yvenna… You are a truly stunning woman, in more than one regard, but to my highest displeasure, at the moment this means that you are one of the people that are the most likely to be recognised. You were seen, you are known by name, and the colour of your hair, eyes, as well the sight as your weapons and armour, will immediately cause alarm. Therefore… Your changes would have to be the most radical. And I will accept. No. Refusals. In fact,” I smirked, anticipating some fun, “I think I will work on you myself. This way, even if you try to fight your helper off…”

I let Yvenna finish the sentence in her own head. She might’ve not been sure if she was stronger than me or not—people like her always held hopes until they were beaten into the dust, sometimes repeatedly—but she had sharp instincts.

I smiled wider, showing the teeth, and gave said instincts another thing to think about.

“My brothers and sisters, and especially you, my girl Yvenna,” Bishop came up to me, attracting everyone’s attention to himself, “This might sound like a humiliating thing, but the Master of Sin is right that it is necessary. But more than that, the fact is that it’s a small sacrifice. Your hair will grow out. The coal and dirt will wash out even sooner. You, people who are ready to lay your lives for the sake of our goal, why you are hesitating now? How can you truly call yourselves devout when you falter at such a small thing?”

Even Yvenna swallowed her further complaints. Bishop was truly a master of words when he wanted to be… He knew his people better than I could hope to learn in the short time I had, and he definitely knew Yvenna the best.

She might’ve not agreed vocally, but her stiff nod was an agreement enough. I looked at my claws and wondered if they will be sharp enough for what I wanted to do.