by Bryant Reil
“My mom made those,” Kyla said. “She's a really good artist. People used to buy her stuff, huh, mom?”
Lianaria offered a weak smile. “Used to. I seldom have time for it now.”
Aspen gave Kyla a careful look. She still looked anxious, though coming home had relieved her considerably. “You should tell your mother.”
Kyla's slight smile disappeared. “Yeah.”
“Tell me what?”
Kyla recapped the story of Denzig, and Whitehall, and the worker's strike, and the Halloween party, and the dwarf. Kyla became increasingly emotional as she told of her meeting with Linkin in the clearing. Lianaria's face was stern, though not uncaring.
As Kyla reached the part where Eunoe appeared with Castor, they were interrupted as an elf with long brown hair entered the shop. At first Aspen thought it might be Kyla's father, but as he brushed the hair from his face she frowned as she recognized him. Marik. To be certain she noted the hilt on his sword which was uniquely carved into the shape of a woman. Aspen gave him a cold stare. Something about him felt unsettling.
Kyla, her face now red and tears streaming down her cheeks, gave a smile. “Marik!”
Marik's eyes widened. “Oh, hello. Kyla, right? I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I think you mentioned you live here. I had quite forgotten.” He smiled.
One winter, years ago, Aspen had tried to sleep in a strange tree. Outwardly it looked strong and inviting, yet as she passed through the bark she found the wood inside had been infested with insects and become hollow and rotted. Marik felt like this tree. On the outside he was pleasant and strong, yet there was an infestation behind his smile. Kyla either didn't notice or didn't let on.
“Mom, this is Marik. He's the guy that found me in Whitehall. This is my mom.”
“Lianaria.”
“Who do you know in Aspengrove?” Kyla asked.
Marik bent down to brush off his shoes. “Just you, I suppose. And the dryad. Aspen, right?” He looked at Eunoe. “I'm sorry, I don't recall your name.”
“That's Eunoe.
“I'm lodging in the room above the bakery for a few days to rest up from my trip. Just visited a friend down in Apple Lake, and now I thought I'd go back and pay Equinox a visit. See if they have any job openings for a charming, handsome elf!” This drew a chuckle from Kyla. “Turns out all this walking has worn my boots through and so they said I should pop in here.” Marik looked at the girls in turn. “Equinox hasn't been shut down, has it? Over the star situation?”
“No. I just had to come home for a bit. Family emergency.” Kyla's face went dark. “I can't talk about it.” She brightened up again. “Here, try these on!” She grabbed a pair of fur-lined boots made of animal skin. There was an intricate design of an elk's head dyed on the side in dark blue. Marik slid off his old boots (which looked in fine condition to Aspen, but what did she know about such things) and slid on the new pair.
“Perfect fit!” Marik smiled. “How much do I owe you?” He pulled a small bag from his belt and pulled out a pair of silver coins.
Lianaria grabbed his hand and closed his fingers. “On the house. For helping my daughter.”
“Oh, dear, I didn't do anything! Just walked her home is all. Take the money! I insist.”
“Please. I owe you this and much more. It would mean a lot for you to accept this humble gift.”
Aspen wanted to protest, but couldn't think of a good reason. Marik had been nothing but helpful, and she couldn't explain why she didn't trust him. Yet seeing him offered gifts made her feel ill.
“Well, I thank you.” Marik turned back to the door and looked at Kyla. “Perhaps I shall see you around.”
Kyla nodded. “You should come for dinner! You can meet my dad!”
Marik gave a smile that made Aspen want to punch him in the face. Her own violent thoughts were making her uncomfortable but he was just...just like an eel drenched in oil, was the best comparison she could conjure.
He opened the door to leave. “I would love to have dinner but I already have arrangements. I'll see you again! Thank you very much for the boots.”
He left and Kyla picked up his old boots. “Might be able to salvage the materials,” she explained as she put them in a bag hanging on the trunk of the tree. Aspen watched through the window as Marik disappeared through the forest.
***
“So what have you been up to, Bit?”
Bit shrugged and continued eating his mushrooms, though his eyes were glued to Eunoe. Kyla and Bit had once been best friends, but the last few years he had grown sullen and quiet. Puberty, mom said. Kyla had been wild and rebellious at that age. He had become gloomier and lazier. She thought he should have grown out of it by now.
“So you knitted that? That's some fine stitching.” Kyla's father, Philosthenes, sipped at his peppermint tea as he looked at Castor through the window.
Eunoe shrugged. “I've been working with animals for centuries. It's kind of intuitive now.”
“The tiger isn't knitted,” Kyla explained. “Eunoe makes a really long scarf with these magic beads on it and then something something and makes an animal!” There were a few middle steps she hadn't seen.
She noticed Bit's eyes widen. “How old are you?” he asked Eunoe with a whisper.
“None of your business, that's how old!” Kyla flicked his ear.
Eunoe smiled. “We nymphs don't usually keep track, but I'm at least three hundred.”
“Nymphs are immortal, honey,” Lianaria said as she poured Bit some peppermint tea.
“Yeah, fish-brains!” Kyla said, which earned her a displeased glance from both parents. She had meant it to tease, but lately her parents were insistent she treat Bit with more respect. She missed the old days when they used to play and make fun of each other and laugh about it. Now she had to act all grown up.
“We can die,” Eunoe corrected. “We just don't age. Chop off my head and that'd be the end of me.”
Aspen, who was eating nothing, looked down at the table. “Please don't talk about that.” An awkward silence followed.
Eunoe sat up and smiled. “About those stars, right? All going out at once?”
“What is that about?” Philosthenes asked. “I haven't heard anything.”
“What did they tell you at the Assembly?” Kyla looked over at Eunoe.
“They were vague. They said to be alert but there was nothing to worry about, but everyone on campus with ties to the military have either been called home or organized into patrols.”
Aspen looked down again. “Ach'vach had to go home. The orcs were all called back.”
Eunoe put a hand on her shoulder. “He'll be alright. I'm sure it's nothing.”
Lianaria leaned forward. “Kyla? You look like you're going to be sick.”
She felt like she was going to be sick. She shared a glance with her mother, who nodded.
Philosthenes sat up stiffly in his chair. “What do you know?”
Kyla swallowed her food, set down her fork, and pushed the plate away. “It's Erebus.”
Bit snickered at this which earned him a smack in the back of his head from Lianaria.
Kyla recapped the story to her father. He was less stoic than her mother, and came around the table to hold her as she talked about the attacks from Dunkin and Linkin. She sobbed as she spoke. “I meant to tell you! I started writing a letter but then I didn't know how to say it and I thought maybe you'd worry, and then maybe you'd make me come home and I didn't want to because then I wouldn't get to see Aspen and Eunoe anymore!”
“It's alright,” he assured her. He always said that, and it had always been true. However, until now Kyla had only ever dealt with skinned knees and missing toys. “I do wish you had told us. We're here to help you, after all. We'll just give them what they want. It'll be fine.”
“I can't! That stone they were after – I guess it's some kinda thing to help free Chaos. I don't have the stone but I made a rubbing of it and they know about it. I think t
he other dwarf was spying on me. He's been spying on you, anyway. That's why I came home. He said he was going to hurt you if I didn't give him the copy I made. But I can't give it to him. They'll destroy everything! What should I do?”
Lianaria got up and looked out the window, though Kyla knew she wouldn't be able to see much with all the trees surrounding the house.
Philosthenes wiped the tears from Kyla's cheeks. “Have you told Director Anh-Bul?”
Kyla shook her head. “No. I tried to find Professor Ciana right away but he must have been at the Assembly. And I just wanted to get home as soon as possible.”
Everyone at the table went silent. Bit let out a little laugh, half-expecting it to be some joke, but upon seeing everyone's faces he went silent again.
“How long has he been watching us?”
“He didn't say.”
“But he knows where we live. And he knows where you live.”
“Why did you go off alone?” Lianaria frowned. “You should know better.”
“He tricked me.”
“You are not to go anywhere without telling me. Phil, we need to alert the Elvingaard about these dwarves.”
“Of course. I'll send a message to Scarsdale in the morning. In the meantime, keep that tiger around.”
***
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Growl!
Kyla's eyes shot open. She tapped her light orb and threw on a robe. Eunoe, curled up on the floor, rubbed her eyes and sat up. “Castor!”
The girls ran downstairs to the shop.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Someone was knocking at the door. They could hear Castor growl another warning, and a panicked but muffled cry. Kyla stood away from the door and ducked low behind a shelf.
“Let me get it. You stay back.” Eunoe picked up a heavy-looking boot – which unfortunately was the most threatening item in the room – and crept up to the door. There was another thud, and Eunoe whipped the door open and held up the boot, ready to swing.
“Hi!” came a cheery voice.
It took Kyla a moment to realize who it was. “Marik?”
There were footsteps from above and Kyla heard the hatch from the upper level.
“What's going on?” came Lianaria's worried voice.
“It's ok!” Kyla shouted back. “It's Marik!”
Marik stepped inside, dragging a bound and gagged Linkin, and threw him to the floor.
“Found this gentleman skulking around outside. He made some veiled threats. Thought I'd see what you wanted to do with him?”
Kyla shouted back upstairs. “Actually, mom, you'd better get down here right away!”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The Weakest Linkin
Lianaria watched the dwarf through slotted eyes. This dwarf had attacked her daughter and threatened her home. She stepped forward and crouched down to get a better look at his face. Marik stood on his neck, the point of his sword in the dwarf's ear. The dwarf was writhing and his eyes darted madly.
“Get him out of the house. We'll deal with him outside.” Lianaria wouldn't have this creature sully her home. She turned to see Philosthenes climbing down the ladder. “Go get Vendrik. Marik and I will tie this sack of crab-apples to a tree.”
Kyla's eyes widened. Lianaria often reprimanded Kyla for her foul language and doubted she had ever heard her mother swear. Lianaria had never felt so furious. How dare this dwarf terrorize her family!
Philosthenes took a hard look at Linkin. “I don't want to leave you with the dwarf. I'll send Bit.”
“Huh?” Bit climbed down behind Philosthenes. He looked confused, likely awakened by the commotion.
“I'm not sending Bit out alone. Not with these thugs hanging about.” Lianaria kicked the dwarf in the chest to indicate to whom she was referring. “There could be more.” She turned to Kyla. “Get the rope out of the trunk by the wash-basin.”
As Kyla nodded and clambered upstairs, Marik grabbed the dwarf by the hair and pulled him to his feet. He pressed the point of his blade to the dwarf's throat. The dwarf mumbled something. Lianaria couldn't make it out. She led them outside to an aspen tree.
Philosthenes grabbed Bit by the arm. “Very well. Come on, Bit. You're coming with me.” Bit resisted at first, wanting to see what was going on, but acquiesced when Lianaria put her hands on her hips.
“Get that tiger over here,” she told Eunoe. “If the dwarf tries to run, he can eat him.”
Eunoe beckoned for Castor, who growled at the dwarf. The dwarf let out a small shriek before growling back and then laughing.
The dwarf looked about madly as they pushed him against the tree.
“You and your family are dead!” he growled. “I know where you live. I know where she lives.” He looked up at Kyla as she ran out of the house. She had the rope, as well as a light orb and a bag of candles.
“What are you doing?” the dwarf shouted as Kyla placed the light orb over his head. It hovered when she let go. The dwarf stared at it, panicked, and then looked at Marik helplessly.
“Linkin travels through shadows,” Kyla explained. “I saw him do it.”
Lianaria doubted this. The dwarf already would have escaped, if that were the case. As long as it made Kyla feel safe there was no harm in it. She watched as Kyla set a circle of candles around the tree and took out a firestick. She lit the first candle and used it to ignite the rest, so that the dwarf was encircled in light.
“There. No shadows, no escape!” Kyla said. Meanwhile Marik was binding the dwarf's arms behind the tree. Lianaria saw him give the dwarf a wicked grin. Marik appeared to be enjoying this.
There was a sound of footsteps running through the trees. Marik's sword flashed in the direction of the noise, though he was nowhere near it.
“He's gone,” Bit panted.
Philosthenes burst from the darkness. “Emona said he went to Scarsdale. Elvingaard reserves were called in.”
Lianaria frowned. “Wonderful. Now what do we do with him?” Vendrik was the only person in Aspengrove with any combat experience or military connections.
Kyla looked up. “We can send someone from Equinox. We can fly back on Castor.”
Lianaria had come to Aspengrove because it was such a safe place to raise children. Philosthenes could have had a more profitable career in a larger center. He had wanted to, but had sacrificed his professional interests for his family. But trouble could be found anywhere, it seemed, and Lianaria had been a fool to think she could avoid it.
She wasn't so much a fool to realize she couldn't protect Kyla on her own. Marik stepped forward and held the blade up to Linkin's throat. “I could finish him for you,” he offered. A trickle of blood slid down the dwarf's neck into his jerkin.
“No! You wouldn't!” the dwarf looked scared and pressed back against the tree. “I'll slaughter you when...no, please don't hurt me. I'll do whatever you want!”
“Please, no.” It was Philosthenes. “We don't solve our problems with violence.”
Linkin laughed. “Violence is the solution! Maybe. No, it isn't. You should let me go. But it's MY solution! No. It's Dunkin's solution. But I'm going to kill the lot of you when I escape!”
Lianaria clicked her tongue. “I don't think you're going to reason with this one, Phil. And my knots are good but I can't say he won't break free.”
Marik waved his sword in front of the dwarf's face. “Just let me know if you change your mind.”
Philosthenes lowered the blade with his hand. “No. I agree with Kyla. You girls head back to Equinox. It's safer there. Send someone for the dwarf as soon as you arrive.”
Lianaria thought about this. She hated to separate from Kyla, but Equinox would be safer. And she felt it wise to have Kyla far away should the dwarf escape. “You girls head back. Send someone to pick him up.”
“Huh? Oh. Yes, mom. We'll go first thing in the morning.”
“You'll go now, Kyla.”
“Are you sure? We just got—”
“NOW!”
Philosthenes stepped forward. He gave Kyla a hug and helped the girls onto Castor. “Keep those candles lit!” Kyla shouted as the tiger started flapping its wings. “Or else he'll get away!” Lianaria just smiled.
After they disappeared through the treetops she looked at Bit.
“Go to your room,” she ordered. “Phil, please sleep in Bit's room tonight. With your sword.” Philosthenes was no swordsman but he had been trained in basic combat. However, he balked at leaving Lianaria outside with the dwarf.
“I'd prefer to keep an eye on this fellow.” He put his hand on Lianaria's shoulder. She smiled at him. The children had never seen her in this state, but he had. She could be a tyrant in an emergency, and he understood why and was patient with it. And, what's more, he trusted her judgment, which was why she loved him more than she had loved any other man.
“Please protect Bit,” she said, taking his hand. “Marik, do you mind helping me keep an eye on our friend here?”
Marik grinned. “I would be happy to help.”
Lianaria looked back at Philosthenes. “Please, Phil. There's another one out there somewhere. Maybe more. There's only one way into Bit's room, and I need you to guard it.”
“Of course.” Philosthenes gave Lianaria a quick kiss.
“Come on, Bit. You're going to bed.” Philosthenes headed into the shop but Bit didn't follow.
“I want to see what's going on!” he complained.
Lianaria shot him a glare. “Go. Now.”
“Sleep tight!” Linkin giggled as Bit mumbled something and walked into the shop after Philosthenes. “I'm going to find them and kill them. You can't protect all of them. Not all the time!”
Lianaria made sure Bit was inside before she stepped over the ring of candles and clutched Linkin's mouth closed. Her words dripped as she whispered in his ear.
“If you threaten my family again, I'll kill you.”
The dwarf giggled, and looked as though he might challenge her threat, but when he looked into her eyes he clamped his mouth shut and fell silent.
***
It was a cold night which gave Marik an excuse to make some tea for Lianaria. A few drops of passion flower extract, pilfered from her own cupboard, put her right to sleep. He supposed Kyla would shortly be back at Equinox and he didn't know how soon security forces would arrive, but some of the King's soldiers could teleport so it was probably time to call it a night. Marik hadn't planned on sticking around but in truth the light orb and candles effectively blocked Linkin from escaping so Marik, with his soft heart, thought he should facilitate Linkin's liberation.