Chapter 13: Escape from Bramholt

Jenny woke up on the lap of a Demoness who was gently stroking her hair. It had been three days since the fight with the Inquisitors. Or better put, three days since she failed to assassinate her father. She accomplished nothing, and now the city was on lockdown and Iskaldor, the capital of Hochwalden, decided to send reinforcements to secure the city and purge all heretics. She had heard so from Klaus, who was constantly complaining.

What’s more? According to Konrad, the Chauffeur disappeared a day ago. Thankfully, he shouldn’t know anything useful. But Jenny still felt bad for him. It was her fault he was caught up in all of this. She also felt a little regretful that she had given Dravisha part of her name to save someone who was going to die anyway.

“Good,” came Dravisha’s soft purr, interrupting Jenny’s thoughts. “You’re awake. You look surprisingly well for someone who was teetering on the edge of death just three days ago.” Her amber eyes gleamed with amusement as she reached over to a steaming cup of pureed soup. “Say ‘ahhh,’” she said playfully, guiding the spoon toward Jenny’s lips.

Jenny hesitated, her pride bristling, before awkwardly opening her mouth and accepting the spoonful. She swallowed quickly, avoiding eye contact. “I don’t need to be babied,” she muttered. “I’m recovered enough to feed myself.”

“Oh, sure you are,” Dravisha replied with a sly chuckle, circling another spoonful in front of Jenny’s face. “But I find this method far more entertaining.”

Jenny sighed, exasperated but too weary to argue. She opened her mouth reluctantly, letting the demoness continue feeding her. For the past few days, she had kept teasing her about knowing a new part of her name. Each time Davisha called her Nyxandra, it felt like a hook tore into her heart.

Klaus disrupted their weirdly intimate moment as he entered the room. Dravisha quietly groaned, displeased, but then kept a neutral expression.

“I found a way to get you two out of the city discreetly. But you need to do exactly what I say, understood?” He looked at Dravisha specifically with narrowed eyes. “Understood?” He repeated.

Dravisha arched an eyebrow, feigning innocence. “Understood,” she drawled, her voice laced with mock compliance. “Why so distrustful? I’ve done nothing but assist you thus far.” She threw up her hands theatrically, as if offended.

Klaus shook his head, clearly unimpressed by her antics. “I’ve bribed a guard to guide you through the aqueducts and sewers. He doesn’t know he’s aiding fugitives or that you’re the ones the Inquisitors are hunting. Keep it that way.”

Dravisha nodded, “Smart. When can we set out?”

“Soon,” Klaus said. He indicated for Dravisha to follow him.

The Demoness picked up the limp witch, cradling her against her chest. For Dravisha, there were few things better than casually holding a cute girl in her arms. Especially one she had so much control over now. There was something thrilling about the fact that she was now so close to completely owning the witch. Of course, she enjoyed the slight resistance the witch offered. Perhaps the hunt was more fun than the catch. But she was going to savour the catch nonetheless.

She followed Klaus out of the mansion. It was noon, the sun glared sharply through the clouds and spires, and the streets were busy, though there was an eerie atmosphere hanging over the people that wasn’t there when they first arrived. Inquisitors and guards dressed in black moved through the streets like vultures. Their eyes checked the civilians for anything unusual.

Dravisha lowered Jenny to the ground, and the witch groaned quietly as she stood upright for the first time in three days. The beating she had taken still made it painful to stand, let alone walk.

“Can you walk?” Dravisha murmured, her voice low and smooth, laced with both concern and mockery. “We can’t afford to draw unnecessary attention.”

Jenny nodded with gritted teeth. “I’ll manage.”

Klaus approached them, pressing an envelope into Jenny’s hand. “This contains everything you need to get out of the city undetected,” he said, his tone clipped but urgent. He quickly outlined a route through narrow alleys and shadowy side streets, directing them toward a rendezvous point where the bribed guard awaited. “Follow these instructions exactly. If anything goes wrong, don’t come back here. You are on your own now.”

Before turning away, Klaus hesitated, then wrapped his arms around Jenny in a tight embrace. She returned the hug, her throat tightening as she realized this might be the last time she saw him. “We likely won’t see each other again,” he whispered gruffly, his grip lingering for a moment longer before he finally let go.

Jenny clenched her fist at her side as she watched him go back to the mansion, concealing her turmoil as she watched him leave. Taking a deep breath, she turned around and began limping across the intersection, Dravisha close behind. They slipped into a narrow alleyway, the dim light casting jagged shadows on the damp stone walls. Every few steps, Jenny had to stop and lean heavily against the wall, her side burning with fresh waves of pain. The impact from hitting the cobblestones days earlier was taking its toll, and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could endure it.

Dravisha stopped and looked impatiently at the witch. “You know,” she purred, tilting her head with a smirk, “it might be better if I carried you after all. You’d enjoy that, wouldn’t you?”

Jenny shot her a glare, though part of her couldn’t deny the appeal of being spared the agony of walking. But she knew drawing attention was the last thing they needed. Swallowing her discomfort, she pushed herself off the wall and forced herself onward, ignoring the sharp protests from her body. Each step sent jolts of pain radiating through her ribs, but she refused to give in

The alleyway eventually opened up into a bustling plaza filled with small shops and crisscrossing intersections. Pedestrians milled about, their hurried footsteps echoing off the cobblestones. Jenny and Dravisha navigated carefully, sticking to the edges of the crowd as they made their way toward a quieter side street. At the end of the street stood a small arched bridge spanning a narrow canal. A single guard leaned casually against the railing, his posture relaxed but alert.

Jenny and Dravisha walked up to him. He had a medium grey stubble and pale blue eyes. His salt and pepper hair peeked out beneath his guard helmet. He wore a black uniform and had a musket slung over his shoulder.

“Ya lookin’ fer somethin’, girls?” he drawled, his tone indifferent yet tinged with suspicion. “Or just passin’ through?”

Jenny stepped forward, clutching the envelope tightly in her hand. “We’re here to meet someone,” she said with a steady voice.

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The guard gestured toward the envelope with a nod. “Let me see it then. Ya came to the right place.”

She handed him the envelope, watching as he tore it open with the tip of a dagger. He unfolded the paper inside, scanning its contents quickly before nodding. “Follow me.”

He led them to a small canoe tied to the edge of the canal. The vessel rocked precariously as Jenny attempted to climb in, nearly tipping herself into the murky water below. At the last moment, Dravisha’s hand shot out, catching her wrist and steadying her. Jenny glanced up at the demoness, embarrassment colouring her cheeks, but Dravisha merely smirked, her amber eyes glinting with amusement.

With effortless grace, Dravisha settled into the canoe, her movements fluid and deliberate. The guard followed suit, he and Dravisha taking up their paddle and motioning for Jenny to sit in the middle. As they pushed off from the wall, the narrow canal swallowed them whole, its shadowy waters reflecting faint ripples of light from above. The sound of dripping water echoed around them, punctuated only by the rhythmic splash of the paddles cutting through the surface.

It didn’t take long for them to reach their destination. It was a rusted metal sewer gate embedded in the stone wall of the canal. The guard guided the canoe as close to the iron bars as possible, then reached out and grabbed hold of the gate. With a groan of protesting hinges, he pulled it open.

They stepped out of the canoe into shallow, murky water that lapped at their boots. Slimy walls lined either side of the narrow passage, glistening faintly in the dim light. As soon as they entered, the air grew thick with the stench of rotten eggs and decaying algae. Jenny wrinkled her nose and waved her hand in front of her face as though she could physically bat the foul odour away.

“Ugh, I might start retching,” Jenny muttered.

“Pff, you think this is bad, you should smell He… I mean my… uh… orphanage,” Dravisha said, correcting herself mid-sentence as she realized she shouldn't reveal her demonic origin to the present company. Jenny shot her a glare, to which she could only give an apologetic shrug.

The guard grunted in acknowledgment, unfazed by her stumble. In his left hand, he held up a lantern he’d retrieved from the canoe, its flickering flame casting eerie shadows on the damp stone walls. He led the way through the labyrinthine tunnels, each step squelching softly against the wet ground. The sewers stretched out like an intricate web, a chaotic tangle of pipes, tunnels, and canals built over centuries by various rulers of Bramholt. By now, the system had become so dense and convoluted that even seasoned explorers could easily lose their way without precise knowledge or a detailed map.

As they ventured deeper, memories stirred in Jenny’s mind. When she was younger, children whispered tales about flesh-eating colonies rumoured to dwell in these very tunnels. According to legend, anyone foolish enough to enter would meet a gruesome end, devoured alive by unseen horrors lurking in the shadows. Of course, Jenny knew better—these stories were nothing more than myths meant to scare kids into staying away. But rationality did little to quell the creeping dread clawing at her chest. Here, surrounded by suffocating darkness broken only by the weak glow of the lantern, every childhood fear came rushing back. Instinctively, she edged closer to Dravisha, seeking some semblance of comfort amidst the oppressive gloom.

Suddenly, a rat scuttled past. She jumped. A squeak tore from her throat. She clutched the Demoness. Her heart hammered.

Dravisha couldn't contain her laughter. "Who knew you were such a scaredy-cat? It's just a rat."

Jenny took a deep breath, hand still pressed to her hammering heart. "I hate the sewers."

"You, of all people, scared of a rat? After everything we've been through, I really didn't expect it," Dravisha said mockingly, shaking her head.

"I'm not... shut up," Jenny said defensively. She scanned the dark halls as if expecting dark, clawed hands to reach out and drag her into the abyss. She dug her fingers into Dravisha's arm. "Okay, maybe I am scared. So what?"

"Ahh, don't worry, little Jenny, I'll protect you from the mean old rats. Maybe we'll find something far more scawwy... like an itsy-bitsy spider," Dravisha cooed mockingly, walking her fingers up Jenny's arm like a spider.

Jenny rolled her eyes but continued to clutch the Demoness's arm. In a choice between humiliation and fear, she chose humiliation.

The guard grinned at her, then turned to look ahead again, his voice dropping ominously. "Rats be only the beginning, lass. Soon, roaches be droppin' on ya, lass."

Jenny shuddered, burying herself deeper into Dravisha's side as she frantically scanned the surrounding rocks for any sign of the bugs.

"Sewers ain't no place for a comely lass," He added, looking back at her. "Takes some guts to make it through here. Try not to squeak at every turn."

It took Jenny every ounce of self-control not to flinch at every insect that passed. At one point, a flock of roaches swarmed past, several of them falling onto her. She freaked out, much to the amusement of both the Demoness and the guard. She frantically shook herself off, but could swear she still felt bugs crawling over her. The sewer gas also started to make her slightly lightheaded, and the abysmal smell only added to her growing anxiety.

"Don't worry, they're harmless," the guard said, flicking one off his shoulder.

"I hate the sewers. I hate the sewers," Jenny repeated like a mantra.

Her steps became more hurried; she wanted out of this place as soon as possible. Despite her pain, she maintained a fast pace. It took them about two hours to reach their destination. Waste moved through the tunnel out to the Havendorn River, the largest river in terms of width and depth in the Ecclesiastical Domain. A manhole entrance allowed access to the outside. Beyond that manhole, freedom awaited.

The guard went first up the ladder. He had told them to wait for his say-so. A while later came the all clear. Dravisha ascended the ladder next. If anything went wrong, the Demoness was better equipped to handle it. Jenny went last. As soon as she reached the outside, the cold, moist air of the river hit her. They were surrounded by jagged rock, and the city wall was only a few meters from them.

“Stick to the rocks and duck yer heads, ya don’t want to be seen,” The guard said in a gruff voice. He had to raise his voice over the sound of the river, which was cascading down a slight fall in the distance. “This is as far as I go, ya on yer own.” He went back to the sewers, leaving Dravisha and Jenny alone.

Crouching low, they used the uneven terrain as cover, inching forward cautiously. Overhead, crows circled lazily, their harsh cries adding to the tension. As they crept along the rocky shoreline, the unmistakable sight of a mercenary camp came into view. From the banners fluttering in the breeze, Jenny recognized it immediately: the Eiserner Adler Company, infamous mercenaries led by none other than Sebastian von Adlersburg—the Scourge of Witches.

She had heard countless stories about him from the witches of Silberwald, especially from Eryndor Veyling. They spoke bitterly of how the region once rebelled against the Church’s crushing tithes. Peasants stood up after many had starved. Sure, heretics and witches supported the uprising, seeing it as a way to weaken the Church, but it was based on the needs of the peasants first and foremost. Prince Archbishop Heinrich von Falkenstein hired the Eiserner Adler Company to crush the uprising. What followed was brutal and merciless: villages burned, civilians tortured, supplies looted, and anyone suspected of harbouring rebels or witches was tortured and executed without mercy. Sebastian earned his nickname that day, and his reputation struck fear into anyone who dared oppose the Church.

“How do we get past them?” Jenny whispered.

“We could take a swim in the river,” Dravisha shrugged.

“My sides still hurt too much. I don’t think I can swim that long.”

Dravisha thought for a while. They couldn’t get past the encampment undetected, not unless it was dark. Really dark. Then Dravisha could use her shadow magic to conceal them both, and they could sneak towards the forest. But they would need to wait hours on the rocks, in the cold air.

“We wait until nightfall, then we move,” Dravisha whispered. “That’s our best bet.”

Jenny huddled closer to Dravisha and clutched her coat tightly. One nice thing about demons was that they were always warm. “There is no better alternative, is there?” Jenny asked.

Dravisha shook her head. “Not one that I can see. When we move in the cover of night, I can envelop us in darkness, and we can move virtually undetectable through the night.”

Jenny’s stomach growled, and she sighed miserably. “So be it.”