Earth

by Rosie Scott

  “Oh, yes! Very, very good. Have you ever been to Nahara?” The man questioned, clearly buttering Nyx up to buy his foods.

  “Not yet,” she replied, watching the man flip over the meat. I knew she was hungry. Nyx was always hungry.

  “So you have never eaten scorpion, correct?” He smiled at her like a true salesman.

  “Scorpion?” She held two deep purple fingers in front of her, a few inches apart. “They're tiny. How would you eat them?”

  The man laughed joyously. “No, nooo, my friend. Naharan scorpions are as big as a man. Their stingers are this high.” He rose his hand to his forehead. “Their meat is delectable, but highly dangerous to obtain. You are lucky to come across it, yes?” He nodded toward the meat.

  “This is scorpion?” Nyx glared at the meat, before turning to me, a look of shock on her face. I could only chuckle. The man's sales tactics were working.

  “You like to try?” The salesman grabbed a clean skewer from a cup on his stall.

  “Oh, hell yes.” Nyx watched with hungry eyes as the man stabbed a piece of scorpion meat with the skewer, and offered it to her.

  “Now, scorpion is very expensive, as I'm sure you understand. Many die to harvest it.” The man watched as Nyx chewed the meat. She glanced over at me with a look which said she was in heaven, before offering it over to me.

  I leaned forward, taking a bite of it out of curiosity. The meat had a natural buttery flavor and seemed to melt straight onto my tongue. I had to admit, the salesman wasn't lying. I gave Nyx a thumbs up in the midst of chewing, and she turned back to the salesman.

  “I give you sample so you buy, yes?” The man smiled expectantly.

  “Hell, give me two,” Nyx said, greedily eyeing the skewered meat.

  “Two?” The salesman laughed. “To share?”

  “No, not to share with these mooching bastards,” she replied, flashing a smile back toward us. “They can get their own.”

  “How do you stay so thin, my lady?” The salesman gave her a beaming smile, even as he prepared two skewers for her.

  “Wouldn't you like to know?” She retorted. It was more flirtatious than rude. Given my friend had gone so long without sex, I knew she craved it.

  “Ah, I meant no offense,” the salesman replied.

  “I took no offense,” Nyx said, before pulling out her coin purse. “If we happen to come across one another later tonight, give me a holler.”

  The man appeared pleasantly taken aback. “I will be sure to do that, my lady.” He paused, before turning one of the skewers over. “I normally charge five silver per skewer, but I would take eight for both for a good customer.”

  Nyx's flirtations had caused even the best of salesmen to haggle themselves down in price. I found it amusing, though I had seen such offers thrown her way before.

  “Well, I appreciate that, but all I have is gold.” Nyx flipped a single gold coin onto the counter of his stall. Since one gold coin was worth ten silver, the man would be paid full price.

  “Ah, you are too kind.” He took note of her heavy coin purse. “Are you a soldier?”

  “Nah, I just kill a lot of things which hoard gold,” she replied with a smile.

  We were on our way before long, with Nyx tearing into her snack as we took in the sights. Because the sun was in the midst of setting, we didn't plan on doing too much shopping tonight. We would stay the night at an inn and go about trading first thing in the morning. There were particular products and services we were all searching for, and it was possible we would be unable to fully stock up within one day of shopping. At most, two nights was all we could spare.

  We settled for the night at an inn that was larger than it had any right to be. Though it was only four stories high, it took up the entirety of a city block, so its floors were large and held many rooms. It was a building made entirely of cobblestone, with clear windows on the first floor and stained glass windows for the rooms on the upper floors. Inside, the first floor held dozens of tables, and instead of only having a bar, the floor was a fully serviced restaurant, with a full menu utilizing all sorts of imported goods.

  Up on a stage, puppeteers were putting on a show for a group of children of various ages and races. My companions and I sat at a round table in the corner. Despite having eaten two scorpion skewers less than an hour before, Nyx's stomach audibly rumbled as she read over a menu.

  “I think I'll just spend all my gold here,” she commented, after a moment.

  Theron chuckled, looking over his own menu. “Nahara deals in trade, anyway.”

  I took note of his knowing words. “Have you ever been there?”

  “Aye. Many years ago. It is a harsh land with all manner of beasts.” The ranger's eyes stuck to his menu, unconcerned.

  “Well, given they have scorpions as large as a man...” Nyx trailed off, before a shrug.

  “Those are tiny in comparison to some,” Theron said.

  “How big are we talking?” Cerin spoke up, for the first time in awhile.

  “Creatures that rival cities,” the ranger replied, glancing over to Cerin from above his menu.

  Cerin's eyebrows raised, impressed. “Large enough, I suppose.”

  It was as if this concerned no one but me. “As large as cities? Where do such creatures come from?”

  Theron smiled at my shock and intrigue. “Myth says some have grown since the time of the Ancients. Some migrate over from the beastlands to the east, which is an even harsher land than Nahara, and it is untamed. Some rumor that they were created by the gods.”

  I sighed. “More talk of gods. I tire of everything being attributed to them.”

  “Well, then you tire of Nahara before we even arrive there, friend,” Theron stated. “Nahara is a very religious land. Temples are plentiful in its cities, and there are many cults which live lawlessly in the desert.”

  “I'd sooner deal with cults in the desert than Sirius's armies here in Chairel,” I mused.

  Nyx leaned over to me from my left, tapping her finger on the alcoholic section of the menu. “They have honeyed ale for your weak tongue,” she teased.

  “As I'm sure they have sludge for yours,” I retorted, before looking up to Theron and Cerin. “I will pick up the tab.”

  “I will buy my own,” Cerin protested.

  Theron was not so quick to argue. I had been unable to buy him drinks since promising I would way back in Whispermere. “Thank you, friend.”

  We ordered our food and drinks. I noticed Cerin was the only one to order a non-alcoholic drink, and I realized then that I'd never seen him drink any spirits. I wondered if there was a reason for that, but figured now was not the time to ask. As the evening slowly crawled toward the night, the puppeteers from the stage left to make way for musicians, and the clientele slowly switched out from tourist families to rowdy groups looking for a good time.

  I savored my cooked meal, as I had not been able to eat cooked food for the many weeks since leaving Sera. It was possible we would be able to risk campfires the rest of the way to Nahara, since the Twelve had been defeated. Armies would continue to be sent after us, but armies moved slowly across the land. A dozen soldiers on griffons had been able to catch up to us much more easily.

  As the night wore on, Nyx went off to the bar to try to pick up an unsuspecting man or two, and I wished her luck before reserving three rooms for us under the name Kai Berg. Berg had been Bjorn's last name, and given he was the closest thing I'd ever had to a father, it felt only natural.

  Theron, Cerin, and I all began to take our things to our rooms, while Nyx remained at the bar. I unpacked my things in the room Nyx and I would share, and prepared a hot bath using the fireplace and pots provided. I bathed pretty quickly but remained in the hot water until it cooled, enjoying the heat on my aching muscles. Hot baths and hot food—those were what I missed most during constant traveling.

  Even when I was clean and dressed in fresh underclothes, Nyx had still not returned. I figured she had found
a man to sink her teeth into for the night—most likely literally—and had taken up residence in his room. Not yet ready to go to bed for the night, I pulled my cloak over my underclothes, and hurried out of the room, locking it behind me.

  It was funny—I had been through so much within this past season, and had been jerked through the emotions of fear, and loss, and anxiety. Yet, when I stood just before Cerin's door, with my hand balled up in a fist and ready to knock, the pounding of my heart rivaled its races through the last battle.

  I finally knocked, just to get it over with. On the other side of the thick wooden door, I heard footsteps, and then the click of the lock in the door. It swung open, albeit barely, and two piercing silver eyes appeared in the crack separating me from his room. When it registered it was me, he loosened up a bit and opened the door further. He, too, had taken his bath, his long black hair appearing longer due to holding water.

  “Kai,” he said, simply. He took note of my casual clothing beneath my cloak, and my socked feet. His gaze was warm and curious.

  “Nyx has not returned from her rendezvous, and I have grown bored,” I rambled, before an awkward laugh.

  “Ah,” he commented, glancing past me and down the hall. “Boredom brings you here.”

  “Among other things,” I admitted, before my face heated. My words hadn't been intended to sound flirtatious; I had only meant I desired his company. In either case, the words were already out. “Do you want company?”

  He watched me carefully, before one side of his full lips raised slightly. “Do you?”

  I chuckled nervously. “I do, but I don't mean to infringe on your privacy.”

  “Nonsense,” he said, backing up and opening his door, inviting me inside. My heart thudded against my rib cage as I entered his room. Cerin and I had grown close over the three seasons we had been together thus far, but neither of us had really made a move to take it further than friendship. Perhaps we were both simply inexperienced in the ways of such things; Cerin had, after all, lived by himself for the six years before I had come across him again. I, on the other hand, was unused to revealing my emotions. I had crushed on Silas years ago when he was my bodyguard, but we had not developed a relationship until he had made the move. Maybe it was just a case of needing to know I was wanted before revealing my true feelings. Given my childhood and my lacking relationship with my adoptive father even before all of the recent happenings, needing to feel wanted was a personal demon of my own which continued to rear its ugly head.

  I sat on the edge of Cerin's bed, because there were no other seats. He secured the door behind him, before walking toward the bed himself, and sitting on the other side of it.

  “At what point would you begin to worry?” He asked, breaking our short silence.

  “About what?”

  “Nyx. You say she has not returned.”

  “I would only worry if she did not show in the morning,” I replied, before turning on the bed to be more comfortable, so I could face him as we spoke. It wasn't like I wanted to miss the view, anyway. “I am used to this. Sometimes she is gone for a few hours, sometimes she is not back until the morning. It all depends on the man. How many men.” I shrugged, before a chuckle. “How good it is.”

  “And how old they are,” Cerin commented, with a smile.

  “Ah. Yes. Well, you said it, not I.”

  “You two could not be more different,” he mused, before turning on the bed himself, and leaning back to relax.

  “It is what keeps things exciting. The most important things are those that we share.”

  “She looks out for you.”

  “Oooh, yes, she does. She's rabidly loyal. If someone so much as insults me she'll be threatening their lives.” I chuckled, thinking of a few different memories where that was the case. “It is one thing which differentiates her from most Alderi.” I tilted my head to the side. “She looks out for you, too. She's the one who found your captured posters in Sera, and she scouted the route to the dungeon the night before we rescued you.”

  “I didn't know that,” the necromancer replied, looking thoughtful. “I'll be sure to thank her.”

  “Are you glad you joined us?” I questioned, because it was something I had wondered for a while. On one hand, he was on the run with us, but on the other, he was used to it. This time, at least he had companions.

  “Of course,” he replied, amused. “It was a long journey for me to admit that to myself. Internally.” He turned his face to look toward the stained glass window, where the street lights outside glowed behind the thick, foggy glass. “I did not know just how lonely I had gotten until I was around others again.”

  “You never came across anyone? Surely there were others who lived in the forests.”

  “There were, but I avoided them. I lived, for a time, in a small house deep in the forest. I watched the place for a number of days, before breaking in. There was a halfway decomposed corpse in a bed, but everything else was relatively untouched, like they had just died naturally during their sleep despite planning to wake up the next morning. It was the closest thing I ever had to normalcy of living, but I had no companions.”

  “Why didn't you stay in that house?”

  “The orcs.” Cerin raised his eyebrows, as if to say of course.

  “They took the house?”

  “One of their war parties was passing it and they attempted to loot it. I woke up from them breaking in the door and tried to defend it, but it was torched during the battle.”

  “Speaking of orcs...” I thought back to the day when I was reacquainted with Cerin after six years apart. “What did they want with you? That was an army you defeated, that day.”

  Cerin huffed with amusement. “Yes, it was. Orcs and I don't get along. They expect to demolish everything in their path, and their egos make them sore losers. I'd run across the orcs so many times and defeated so many of them that they were dead set on taking me out, but the more they sent to come and kill me, the more bodies piled up in the forest. The ogres only started showing up in the last year or so before you came. I'm not sure where the orcs were getting them. I have heard ogres prefer caves and mountains, so I assume they were teaming up with ogres which came from the Cel Mountains.”

  “It must have been exhausting for you to be constantly pursued,” I commented.

  “You might be able to sympathize, at this point,” he replied, evenly, watching me with interest.

  “I'm hoping that will change once we reach Nahara,” I admitted, before finally leaning back on his bed to relax beside him.

  “Nahara relies heavily on Chairel for trade and magical services,” Cerin said. At first, the sentence seemed random. Then, I realized I should ask for clarification, given that he was not one to speak without a purpose.

  “What are you saying?”

  “I am saying it is evident we are headed to Nahara, given the trail we are leaving. If Sirius wants to send his armies into Nahara after you, he will find a way to do so. Nahara relies too much on Chairel to refuse its armies access to the deserts.”

  I was silent for a while, thinking. I knew Cerin was right. We might be safe in Nahara for a season or two. Eventually, however, Sirius would hunt us down, and he would negotiate with Nahara to do so.

  “Maybe we could be of use to King Adar of T'ahal,” I finally murmured.

  “Now it is my turn to ask what it is you mean,” Cerin replied.

  “I do not plan on running from Sirius my whole life,” I said, the necromancer watching me carefully. “And Bjorn once told me various kingdoms requested my services from Sera. Nahara relies heavily on Chairel, that is true, but Chairel also utilizes Nahara for both work and trade. If we could work with Nahara to impose sanctions on the armies of Chairel—”

  “You would be asking a country to threaten war for the sake of keeping you safe,” Cerin murmured. “As much as that would be wonderful, there would be nothing in it for them.”

  “You misunderstand me,” I protested, lightly
. “I am talking about offering my services to Nahara. Helping them to rise in world power.”

  Cerin thought about this, slowly nodding. “It will be hard to convince them you are capable of this.”

  “Will it?” I questioned. “I have the blood of the gods, Cerin, and Nahara is a country of religion.”

  Cerin listened to my words, a smile breaking out on his face. It was one of admiration and slight disbelief. “What gives you such drive?” He asked me, his silver eyes warm in my own.

  “Revenge. The quest for true power. The desire to ruin Sirius and rebuild Sera under my own beliefs,” I admitted. “I desire for necromancy to be legal, Cerin, and I don't want Chairel to hold magic hostage. There are scores of people dying all over the world simply because they cannot afford to pay a healer. I want to change this. I know now that I am part god; I have both the power and the lifespan to change the world.”

  “Your motivation makes me feel as if you will.” Cerin readjusted himself to face me as we spoke. “And I can't wait to be there for it.”

  Five

  Knock knock knock knock.

  I forced my eyes open at the frantic knocking, only to see Cerin hurrying across the room to answer the door. The events of the night before swarmed back to me. Cerin and I had spoken far into the night, before I'd eventually fallen asleep. We had talked of our plans for the future, and our memories of the past; I had shared with him more stories of Bjorn and Terran, because even though both were now far removed from my life, I still loved them dearly.

  Cerin opened the door, finding Nyx standing on the other side. “Have you seen—” Her black eyes darted past his shoulder, and white teeth revealed themselves between her dark purple lips as she smiled. “Well then, isn't this an interesting development?”

  Cerin glanced back at me, where I still laid on his bed. His pale cheeks began to darken. “It is not as it seems,” he protested, turning to face the Alderi again.