The Deceiver's Path - Chapter 144 - Sledding With Demons (Patreon)

Piper stepped into her room and gently closed the door behind herself. She walked over to the table between the two beds and placed the letter she had received from Selene on its wooden surface. Then she removed her cloak and tossed it aside.

While the room didn’t have a fireplace, there were vents winding their way through the aspirant building that led to a furnace room below. She didn’t understand exactly how it worked—whether it was magic or technology—but it always kept her room nice and toasty.

Flopping onto the bed, she stared up at the ceiling. Normally, farmwork barely tired her out. But today she felt exhausted after milking and feeding the cows. She hadn’t even stayed for the mucking, leaving that to the other workers.

She’d used [Demonic Blood] several times since awakening from her coma. However, she wasn’t sure if her exhaustion was a lingering effect from the poison or something else. Though it wasn’t even lunchtime, she was seriously considering taking a nap.

The thought had barely formed in her mind when the door to her room banged open. She looked up from the bed to see Ophelia standing in the entrance with a silly grin on her face. That expression usually meant trouble for Piper.

“What are you planning now?” Piper groaned. “Just so you know, I’m way too tired to go hunt down a wyvern. Plus, it would probably eat us both without breaking a sweat.”

“It’s nothing like that.” Ophelia pressed her lips together. “Although, now that you mention it, someone probably should take out the Wyvern—”

A pillow hurled by Piper made the young woman duck and interrupt her sentence.

“No wyvern hunting!” Piper cried out.

Zenos poked his head into the room from the hallway. “Did I hear something about wyverns?”

“Not you too,” Piper groaned. “Is anyone sane in my group?”

Zenos grinned. “Defeating the wyvern might be a good way to earn some renown. I hear there is a powerful Bone Monarch nearby as well.”

“Now I know you’re pulling my leg.” Piper eyed them. “What do you want?”

Zenos held out a rickety-looking sled. “Want to have some fun in the snow?”

Ophelia practically bounced as she grinned at Piper. “We’re going sledding!”

At that, Piper perked up slightly. She’d always dreamed of sledding with the other kids, but she’d never been able to because of her illness. Though she had watched some of the neighbourhood children sliding down a nearby hill. And from her wheelchair, it had looked incredibly fun.

Her exhaustion was immediately forgotten as she rose to her feet. She wasn’t going to miss out on the chance to do something she’d wanted to for years. “Do you have one for me?”

Zenos reached outside the door and snagged another sled that had been hidden from sight. “Would I leave you out? I managed to convince the servants to lend us three. They were sledding yesterday, and it looked like tremendous fun. Besides you look like you need to forget your troubles.”

“It has been a rough couple of days…”

The tall man placed the sled against the doorframe and then swung his pouch around. He fished around inside for a moment. His hand then emerged, holding a bottle of wine. “I found us some spirits to keep us warm.”

“No drinking!” Piper exclaimed, her eyes widening. It felt like almost every time she drank, something bad happened. When Zenos gave her a perplexed look, she hurriedly explained, “Usually, things go horribly wrong when I drink.”

“Ah…” Zenos thrust the bottle back into his pouch. “More for me, I suppose.”

Ophelia danced back and forth. “Come on. What are we waiting for? Let’s go sledding!”

Piper shook her head at her friend's enthusiasm, though truthfully, she felt a surge of excitement welling up inside of her. The last few weeks had been filled with danger and suffering; she deserved a little fun after all of that.

Gathering up her cloak, she took a moment to slip her feet back into her boots. She then followed the others outside as she tied the wrap into place. They passed several other aspirants in the hallway, but thankfully they didn’t run into Joanna and her entourage.

Though now that she thought about it, Nikandros had been strangely friendly the last time she’d encountered him. At some point, she needed to get to the bottom of that mystery. Most likely, he was just pretending so he could get closer to her for some nefarious purpose.

The three of them hurried down the hallway and then through the double doors at the end. Outside, the sun was trying to come out, and golden rays peeked through thick clusters of dark clouds. At least the snow had finally stopped.

The snow crunched underfoot as she walked, and her breath fogged the air as she followed the others across the courtyard. The knowledge that Asterion would never teach aspirants here again sent a pang of loss through her chest.

I have to find out who poisoned us.

But that was a concern for another day. And it wasn’t like she could figure out who had done it when the much higher-level adventurers had all failed. While her class was powerful, it didn’t make her a better detective.

The three of them reached the bottom of the nearby hill and struggled up the steep slope. In some places, the snow reached their waists and made for slow going. However, the fluffy snow was perfect for sledding.

Zenos stopped and glanced back at Piper. “Any chance you can summon a woolly rhino to pull us up the hill?”

She briefly considered the request, but then shook her head. “I don’t think Lysander would like me doing that.” Anyway, she didn’t enjoy showing off her powers unless she had to. Not that there were many people outside at the moment.

Ophelia slipped and grabbed Piper’s shoulder to catch herself. She shook her head and grinned. “What about a wyvern? It could fly us to the top of the hill.”

Piper rolled her eyes. “Don’t you see any problems with that plan?”

Her friend pressed her lips together, and then her grin grew even larger. “Nope. Not a one.”

“So, you think no one would panic at the sight of a wyvern descending on the villa? The adventurers would probably annihilate it the second it showed up. And we’d probably end up as collateral damage.”

“Just have it breathe fire on them.”

“I’m not going to do that! And you know my illusions don’t work that way.”

Ophelia simply shrugged and continued to trudge up the hill.

As Piper watched her friend wade through the snow, she couldn’t help but wonder if her illusions could fly. In the past, when they’d been smaller, it hadn’t really been a consideration. But could she conjure up something like a wyvern to terrify her enemies?

Later, she’d have to sneak off to experiment with her illusions. A flying mount would also solve a lot of her problems. That way, they could leave without having to worry about the snowed-in roads.

Still, she doubted that it would be as simple as conjuring a mount with wings. She’d probably have to get the scale right, and she seemed to recall something about birds having hollow bones. But it gave her a goal to work towards.

They finally reached the top of the hill, and Zenos handed her a sled. She was a little touched that he’d been kind enough to carry one up for her. It was far more basic than the ones she’d seen back on Earth and consisted of little more than boards nailed together with runners underneath.

Zenos placed his sled on top of the snow and then awkwardly climbed on top. The front of the runners sank slightly into the snow. With a push of his hands, he launched himself down the hill.

She watched him rocket forward, white flakes spraying out to either side. He had to keep pulling up the nose of the sled, but it seemed to work pretty well.

Piper couldn’t wait for her turn.

Ophelia went next. Instead of carefully balancing her sled on the snow like Zenos, she simply jumped on top of it and shot down the hill face-first. She let out a holler as she sped toward the villa.

Piper prepared her own sled, her lips curling up into a smile. But a throaty voice whispering in her ear nearly made her jump out of her skin.

“This is not a good use of your time,” the voice murmured.

“Sarnyxia?” she gasped, immediately recognizing it. “Holy crap. Where did you come from?”

“I stated that I would watch over you until the demons are dealt with.”

“Have you been hiding in Wraithskin this whole time?”

“I have been fulfilling my duty.”

Piper placed a hand against her chest, her heart thundering. She vaguely recalled the demon saying that she was going to watch over her. But after being poisoned, she thought that her summons had returned to the infernal realm.

“You scared the heck out of me. Wait, have you been with me everywhere? Like in the bathroom and stuff?”

“I watched over you every moment since you returned to the villa.”

“That’s not all right! I… need my privacy.”

“I doubt your enemies care about privacy.”

“I’m trying not to think about my enemies today. All I want to do right now is have some fun sledding.”

During her discussion with the demoness, the others had reached the bottom of the hill. They were looking up at her expectantly, probably wondering what the holdup was.

“Shouldn’t you be training or attempting to master new skills?”

Piper's lips turned down into a frown. “I can’t master any new skills unless I’m fighting.”

“I may have found a way to help you. When the others retire tonight, come and see me.”

Piper wanted to ask a follow-up question, but she wanted to sled more. With a cry of excitement, she launched herself headfirst down the hill, copying Ophelia.

Her sled raced down the snowy slope until the skeletal trees on either side of the hill blurred past. She hit a bump and was nearly launched off the sled before slamming back down.

Piper reached the bottom and tumbled off her sled. She lay in the snow, grinning like a fool. Sledding was even more fun than she thought it would be.

“That was so much fun.” She lurched to her feet and brushed the icy crystals from her cloak. “Does anyone want to go again?”

“Are you kidding?” Ophelia said. “I want to go ten more times.”

Zenos reached inside his bag and pulled out the bottle of wine. He ripped the cork out with his teeth and then placed it in his hand. He took a long swig from the bottle. “Are you sure you don’t want some?”

The idea of alcohol was enticing, if only to ward off the cold. After all, she had shared a flask with Selene recently, and nothing bad had happened that time. She hesitated for a moment and then held out her hand to Zenos.

She grabbed the bottle and lifted it to her lips. She took a swig of the fruity wine and winced. A burning sensation immediately spread through her mouth and down her throat. She coughed and nearly gagged.

“Let me have some!” Ophelia took the bottle and upended it into her mouth before Piper could warn her.

The golden-haired young woman’s eyes went almost comically wide before she sprayed the wine out of her mouth. “Is that from a fire mage?” she spluttered. “It’s burning my mouth.”

Zenos took the bottle back and chuckled. “It’s fortified wine I bought from one of the servants. Eventually, you’ll come to enjoy the taste.”

Piper placed her sled under her arm. “Are you going to do another run with us?”

“I suppose I can do several more,” Zenos replied. “However, I promised to meet some of the servants for a game of dice later.”

Piper looked at him sharply. “You’re still gambling? Please try not to lose your cloak this time.”

“That was just a run of bad luck,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “And after paying back Lysander, I’m nearly broke. This will give me a chance to recoup some of my losses. I only need to win a handful of games to break even.”

Ophelia giggled. “Or end up naked.”

Zenos glared at the young woman. “I won’t make that mistake again. It’s impossible for my run of bad luck to continue.”

Piper could only shrug at his words. She had a feeling he was only going to lose what little money he had left, but it was his choice what he did. And every second they stood there talking was another that they could be sledding.

Without another word, Piper spun around and hurried up the path they had taken for their first run. She called out behind her, “Last one to the top is a dirty rotten egg!”

As she ran, she heard the others racing after her. She tried to hide a smile as she pumped her arms and increased her pace. It was days like this that let her forget all the problems facing her in this world.