by Logan Jacobs
The truth was, I wasn’t just concerned about the bandits or the upcoming heist. We could stop it, I knew we could, but a few ragtag groups of criminals hadn’t put all this together on their own. I wanted to figure out who was behind all of this, and the only way to do that was to find the rest of the bandits. Inry might not have known who he was working for, but the others might have more information, or the rest of the coded message could provide a clue. Either way, it wasn’t something we could figure out from our guild hall in the city.
“We’ll keep hunting down the other groups,” I said finally. I would have liked to set out right away, but we’d hardly slowed down in the last twenty-four hours, and after the fight we’d just had and our narrow escape from the caverns, I knew we all deserved a break. “Let’s take a few hours to rest here, then we’ll figure out exactly where we are and make our way to the nearest town.” There, we could ask around and see if anyone recognized any of the other bandit symbols from the notes. At least we knew they were all groups that operated around Ovrista, and the locals they preyed on could be a good source of information for us.
The excitement of the night had taken its toll on the guild, and the warm sun and birdsong were perfectly lulling, but as the others settled in to catch a few hours’ sleep, I found that I was still wide awake. I couldn’t stop replaying the conversation with Inry in my head. I was sure there had to be some sort of clue I’d missed, something that could hint at the identity of the mastermind who’d plotted this whole scheme. After a few minutes of trying and failing to relax, I decided it was hopeless and got up. Merlin, who’d had no such trouble falling asleep, lifted his head with a confused purr and blinked at me.
“I’ll be right back,” I assured the puca as I scratched him behind the ears. “Just going to go for a walk.”
Merlin stood and stretched, then trotted over to where Aerin was stretched out on the grass with her cloak bundled up under her head as a pillow and curled up next to her instead.
I smiled to myself and started down the narrow trail I’d noticed that wound between the trees. Maybe a short walk would help me clear my head, and even if it didn’t, at least I would be free to pace without disturbing the others. There were still a few straggling leaves clinging to the branches here, unwilling to accept that winter was just a month away. They formed a canopy of gold and orange that shifted like a flickering candle flame whenever the crisp breeze stirred them.
As I took a deep breath of the clean, cool air, I remembered that it had been autumn back on Earth when I’d come home to find Theira, the elven Goddess of Luck, in my apartment, and my whole world had changed. It felt like lifetimes ago. I realized suddenly that I couldn’t remember what color my old couch had been. I’d barely thought of my old life since I’d come here, and it had all faded like a mundane dream. I didn’t miss it. This was where I belonged, where I could be who I was always meant to be.
I held my hand out in front of me and turned my wrist in a practiced motion, and my mana tingled in my veins as it coursed down my arm, then formed in front of me as a life-sized clone replica of myself. I performed the motion a few more times, and three more clones joined the first.
“You’ll have to teach me how you do that someday.”
The clones vanished as I whirled around to face Emeline, and the panthera woman smiled apologetically. I hadn’t heard her follow me.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” she said quickly.
“It’s alright,” I replied. “I just thought everyone was asleep. You’re not tired?”
The dark-haired mage lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “I just keep thinking about what that elf said back there, about the person who put all this together. It’s like—” She broke off suddenly, and a blush rose into her cheeks.
“What?” I prompted.
“It’s like a mystery story, except it’s better, because we actually get to be part of it,” Emeline finished. She dropped her gaze. “Etienne would probably say I should be taking it more seriously. I know there’s a lot at stake.”
“Hey.” I walked over to her and raised her face to mine. “It’s okay to be excited about it.”
The panthera woman’s mouth curved up in an appreciative smile. “So, what were you doing out here?”
“Nothing important,” I replied as I glanced back at the spot where the clones had stood. “Just practicing while I can.”
“I meant to thank you for what you did before,” Emeline said then in a quiet voice. “In the tunnels, I mean, saving me and Lena from those lobster things. I thought we were goners for sure.”
I was a bit surprised to hear Emeline admit that she’d been afraid. It always seemed like the danger we faced was just part of the adventure for her.
“Of course,” I replied with a gentle squeeze to her hand. “I wouldn’t let the best pyromancer in Ovrista get eaten by sewer monsters.”
“My professors didn’t even think I was the best in my class,” she murmured. Then she made her voice stern and nasally. “‘You must focus, Emeline. Your magic isn’t a toy, Emeline.’”
“Well, I’m impressed,” I told her with a smile.
“No one’s ever believed in me as much as you, Gabriel.” Her green eyes met mine, suddenly serious, and then she stood up on her tiptoes and kissed me on the mouth. Her soft lips had barely brushed mine when she jerked back again just as abruptly, a furious blush coloring her cheeks. “Sorry--” she started, but I cut her off as I leaned down and kissed her again.
She sighed slightly as she leaned into me, and she wrapped her arms around my shoulders as I slid my tongue into her mouth.
I held her close with one hand against the back of her neck, the other at the small of her back, and deepened our kiss. Emeline made a pleased sound in her throat and threaded her fingers through my hair as she kissed me back.
When we finally separated, both of us were panting.
“That was, um,” the panthera woman cleared her throat and twisted a strand of her dark hair between her fingers. “That was not what I expected.”
“Disappointed?” I teased.
“No!” she answered quickly. “No, it’s just, well, I haven’t actually done that before.”
“Really?”
“The university tower isn’t really the most romantic place,” Emeline replied. “And most everyone there didn’t like me very much.”
“Well, I like you, Emeline,” I told her, and I pressed another kiss to her full lips.
“I like you, too, Gabriel,” she replied. “I, uhh, I’d like to do more than kiss you. Is… uhh.”
“I want that too,” I whispered as I gently kissed her on the lips again, “but I want to make love to you when we don’t smell like the sewers.”
“Oh! Yes!” she gasped and then her cheeks blushed bright red. “When the time is right, then.”
“Yep,” I replied, and hand-in-hand we walked back to the clearing where the others were resting.
Chapter 8
It was around midafternoon when we set out again in search of a road after about half an hour spent trying to determine where we were on our map. We could trace our path to Dredfen just fine, but since we had to take a different way out than we’d gone in, all we knew was that we were somewhere within a few miles’ radius of the old bandits’ hideout. Unfortunately, we were too far from Ovrista to see the city walls, or any other landmarks, for that matter, and the trees here looked exactly like the trees everywhere else in this region, so our only choice was to start walking until we did find something.
“Can’t your puca turn into a bird or something and fly up to see where we are?” Lavinia asked.
“I don’t know if he’d understand what we wanted him to look for,” I replied. Merlin’s intelligence was remarkable, but it was difficult to get him to focus on things that weren’t food or shiny trinkets. It was worth a shot, though, so I scooped the puca up. “Hey, buddy, you want to turn into a bird?” He’d understand that much, at least, and if I coul
d get him to shapeshift, I could try to get him to help us navigate.
The puca swatted at my face and tried to twist out of my hands, more interested in the butterfly that had just flitted past his nose than doing tricks on command.
“There’s a pear in it for you if you do,” Aerin said quickly. She reached into her pack and pulled out a ripe green pear and held it in front of Merlin’s face.
That got his attention. He turned to the healer with wide eyes and chirped.
“You have to turn into a bird,” Aerin told him.
He twisted in my grip again, and this time, I let him jump down. Almost before he’d even touched the ground, Merlin shapeshifted into a falcon with shiny black feathers. He hopped in a semicircle and then looked up at Aerin, or rather, at the pear she held and cocked his head as if to say, “Well, I did what you wanted. Where’s my food?”
I crouched down between them and looked Merlin in the eye. No matter what shape he changed into, he always had his natural bright green eyes with rectangular, goat-like pupils.
“Alright, Merlin, we need you to fly up.” I pointed up into the cloudless autumn sky to help illustrate my point. “And look for a road.” That was the part I was worried wouldn’t translate.
Merlin hopped forward a few steps and screeched, obviously annoyed by these additional demands, but when he realized he wasn’t going to get his treat until he obliged, he took to the air.
We all craned our heads back to watch as the black falcon flapped hundreds of feet above us.
“I think he got it,” Lena said hopefully as Merlin turned in a few short circles. Even Lavinia seemed impressed.
“About time that thing contributed,” the ladona ranger remarked.
Merlin soared in one more tight loop before he dove abruptly, and Aerin yelped as the falcon tore past her in a dark blur and snatched the pear out of her hand. He landed in a tree nearby and began to tear off large chunks of pear with his curved beak. He eyed me warily as I approached.
“Which way was the road?” I chose my words carefully, but I was still worried he might not understand. After all, a creature that could shapeshift into whatever animal he wanted didn’t really need to think about roads.
Merlin finished his pear and then fluffed up his feathers before he shifted again to his natural form.
“Road,” he repeated in an uncanny echo of my own voice. Then he fixed me with a cat-like grin.
“Yes, road.” I nodded, pleased that he was at least still paying attention. “Which way?”
“Horse,” Merlin said. “Road.”
That seemed like a promising association, at the very least. Better yet, if he meant that he’d seen a horse, we must be closer to civilization than we’d thought.
“Where did you see the horse?” I asked. I dug into my bag and pulled out a bit of dried fruit as an incentive. Merlin honed in on it immediately and reached out a tiny paw to snatch it, but I closed my hand before he could. “Where’s the horse, Merlin?”
The puca’s eyes lit up, and he jumped down from the tree branch and vaulted off my shoulder before he tore off into the woods to the east.
“Come on!” I called to the others as I raced after him. Merlin wasn’t keen on waiting for us, but since I still had his treat, he paused every so often to allow us to catch up before he darted off again with a cackling cry of “horse” or “road” or “pear.” We might have been able to follow along a little easier if Merlin had found an actual trail, but I supposed he was taking us on the most direct route, and while the puca jumped from branch to branch above, the rest of us had to force our way through the thick undergrowth. Our efforts were rewarded not ten minutes later, however, when the trees stopped abruptly at the road, and it wasn’t just any road.
The road that stretched before us now was a paved driveway of pale stone, and it was one I recognized even before I saw the estate and the gardens in the distance.
Merlin had led us to Yvaine’s home.
I grinned as I pushed my way through the undergrowth and stepped out onto the paved path. We were farther from the city than I’d anticipated, but this was lucky. Perhaps Yvaine could loan us a carriage. Perhaps she knew something about some of the bandits we were looking for. Well, it was unlikely that she’d know about them personally, but the guards she employed would definitely have some information that could help us.
As the others crashed through the brush behind me, Merlin came up and tugged on my fingers with a tiny paw to demand his reward for having led us here. I chuckled as I uncurled my fist and let the puca take his treat, and he licked up the dried fruit eagerly before he clambered back up onto my shoulders.
“Good boy, Merlin,” Aerin cooed as she came up behind us. “Do you think Yvaine is at home?”
I hadn’t considered that she might be away and I felt a twinge of worry. Someone on her staff would recognize us, at least, even if the marchioness herself was out.
“Let’s go find out,” I said and I started up the wide, paved road toward the mansion.
Yvaine’s estate seemed untouched by the season. Every tree and rosebush in the sprawling gardens that stood before the house was still in full bloom, as though it was spring and not autumn. I assumed magic was involved, though I’d never encountered any enchantments or spells like that in my studies. Then again, I wasn’t studying magical horticulture.
As we drew nearer, I realized there was something different about the gardens. They were immaculate. The statues in the fountains had been scrubbed until they practically gleamed, the hedges had been trimmed and the cypress trees were pruned, and not a single leaf or petal in the entire garden was out of place. That fact alone wasn’t strange, Yvaine was fastidious about the upkeep of her household, but there was a pronounced quality to the perfection of the place now, as though it had been set up for a display, and there was a trail of tall lanterns with streamers tied between them along the garden paths that hadn’t been there a few weeks ago when we’d last visited. The noblewoman must have been preparing for something important.
“It looks as though Yvaine is expecting guests,” Maruk commented, in an echo of the conclusion I’d just reached myself.
“Hope she doesn’t mind if we crash the party,” Lavinia said as she shifted the strap of her quiver on her shoulder.
Just then, someone came out of a side door that was almost completely hidden by topiaries, and when he caught sight of us, he waved and jogged over. As he neared, I recognized the man as Rezo, one of Yvaine’s staff, who had accompanied us on an errand for the marchioness a few weeks before.
“Shadow Foxes!” Rezo gave us a little bow. “I wasn’t aware you all would be joining us this evening.” There was an anxious note to his tone.
“Well, we were just in the area and thought we’d stop by,” I replied. “We don’t mean to intrude, is there something special going on?”
“Oh.” Rezo relaxed slightly. “My lady is hosting a soirée. I’m sure she’d be overjoyed to have all of you attend, as well. If you’d like to come inside and make yourselves comfortable, I can go get her. I believe she’s overseeing the dinner preparations.”
We followed Rezo inside where he invited us to wait in a parlor room while he notified his mistress of our impromptu arrival. After tromping through damp sewers and crumbling caves all night, I was somewhat hesitant to dirty up Yvaine’s nice furniture, especially right before a party, but Rezo assured us that it was no trouble, and after quickly shedding his spiky armor, Dehn didn’t need any more encouragement before he threw himself in among the plump pillows that lined a brocade-patterned loveseat, so we all collapsed gratefully into the plush chairs and couches.
“Oh!” Maruk sighed as he ran his hand over the upholstery. “Feel that! That’s real velvet. Quality velvet, not like that scratchy imitation--”
“Don’t you get any ideas,” Aerin cut him off.
It was a mercy to be off my feet, and as the soothing notes from a piano somewhere else in the grand house drifted down to us
, I felt some of the tension I’d been carrying around leave my shoulders. It wasn’t long before I heard the click of heeled shoes on the marble floor, and Yvaine swept into the room. I didn’t know how it was possible, but the noblewoman was more beautiful each time that I saw her.
At the moment, her cascade of dark hair was drawn over one shoulder and pinned by a clip set with pearls. A matching necklace and pair of rings adorned her throat and long fingers, and the dress of periwinkle satin hugged her curves and flowed gracefully with every movement she made.
The marchioness’ large gray eyes lit up when she saw us, and she didn’t hesitate to wrap her arms around me in a close embrace when I stood to greet her.
“Oh, my dear Gabriel,” she purred seductively in my ear, “if I’d known you were coming, I would have been better prepared to receive you.”
“Sorry,” I said quickly. “We would have sent word ahead, but we just realized where we were. I know you’re having a party--” I was going to repeat what I’d told Rezo, that we didn’t want to intrude, but Yvaine interrupted me before I could finish.
“Yes!” she said with a squeeze of my arms. “Oh, you all must stay for it. Some of the highest-ranking nobles in Ovrista will be in attendance, all dear friends of mine, of course, it’s going to be absolutely magnificent. Rezo, see to it that additional guest rooms are set up.”
“We appreciate the invitation, but--”
This time, it was Maruk who cut me off. “I didn’t bring anything to wear to a party!” The orc’s expression was fretful. “These aren’t even my nicest boots!”
Yvaine seemed to notice how travel-worn we all were for the first time, and she frowned thoughtfully.