by Joe Kuster
“Uh…” was all Rachel could say.
Stretching his back, he let his wings unfurl. The spatial magic inherent to them relaxed, allowing them to extend to their fullest. “What you saw the night we met wasn’t a spell. I, uh… really hope this doesn’t change your mind about trying to start a relationship. Humans and Breeze Dancers are basically the same, but, uh… well.” He motioned to his back, then his eyes. “You get the idea. It didn’t feel right, with you not knowing.”
Rachel stood, dumbstruck for nearly a minute as she gawked at his outstretched wings. They were over twice as wide as he was tall and were mostly white, with a smattering of gray feathers here and there.
“They’re… beautiful,” Rachel said in awe. She reached out a hand but stopped short. “May I touch them?”
“Sure, you won’t hurt them. They are pretty tough, to be honest. Just don’t pull on the feathers. It’s like having hair pulled, but worse,” he said.
She leaned in close, examining the leading edge and the transition from the softer down feathers to the firmer median and secondary coverts that supported flight. Finally, she leaned in close to the longest primaries at the tips. She puzzled over the layers, and the size changes as if she’d never really inspected a bird’s wing up close.
He continued, “I wasn’t sure how humans would react. It’s also why I didn’t want to wear armor that covered up my back. I felt like an idiot walking around out there. I could have just flown overhead to scout, although I don’t think I could have killed them with my crossbow. Hovering is hard, and I’m not a good shot. If we could have gone loud without worrying about them holing up in the cave, I could have torn them up,” he said.
Her hand hesitated, but she pressed her fingertips to a feather. She then ran the back of her hand across several.
“They’re so soft,” she said. “Although, I see why you didn’t say anything. I don’t think the villagers would handle this well. I’m not sure if I should say what you look like. You seem to avoid naming the divine races.”
“I’ve learned that words have power, so I’m doing my best to avoid calling the attention of those that ran my village. That means no names, preferably not even calling out their race or those of their relatives or assistants. I’m not one, but even someone throwing around the ‘A’ word in my proximity might cause us problems. Someone dropping that in a prayer would almost certainly cause an investigation that’d get me dragged back for execution and possibly kill everyone that was harboring me,” TJ explained.
Rachel went quiet for some time as she glided her hands over his body. Rachel went so far as to peek into the slits in his robes, seeing how it all connected. She ran her fingers gently across the white down that lined his back in a way that evoked a tenderness and sensuality he hadn’t been prepared for.
He waited, trying to be patient, but his anxiety rose the longer his companion silently stared at him. Finally, when he felt like he couldn’t take any more, she turned and stood before him.
With a soft smile on her face, she drew him into a tender kiss. Their lips parted, and she dipped her head to his chest. She embraced him wordlessly for some time before they broke apart.
They stopped at the creek to wash the blood and layers of mud from their bodies. Once as clean as they could manage without stripping entirely, they spent some time in each other’s arms watching the water flow.
As he sat with his back against a tree, he spread his wings out and encircling Rachel, who rested in his lap. He idly caressed her hair as the petite woman snuggled into him. His thoughts drifted from the idyllic scene to the fact he’d almost died.
After a bit of soul searching, he decided not to leave things left unsaid. Perhaps it was the oaths, but he had somehow fallen in love. It was foolish, reckless, and with the urgency of youth, but love, nonetheless.
“Rachel, I know we haven’t known each other long, but, well, you’re smart, you’re beautiful, and you’re strong. You’re really an amazing woman,” he said.
She blushed, then rewarded his flattery with a long, tender kiss.
TJ continued, “I don’t want to go into another monster den without saying this. I think I’m in love with you. It might be my oaths, or…”
Rachel cut him off, “Shush. Don’t confess loving words, then temper them. I love you too, TJ. Despite, well… everything, we fit together like two puzzle pieces. I felt that way before we were bonded, but it’s only gotten stronger since.
“Hopefully, we have a long time to figure this out, but if we don’t, I won’t leave anything to regret. I would have died the night we met. Then I did die, but you called me back. Life can be short and brutal in this realm, so I don’t want to waste another day. There are formalities I need to observe, but don’t take those as a sign that I don’t love you.”
Not knowing what to say to that, he remained silent. With the way she turned into him and began adoringly petting his jawline, he decided that was the correct action.
They lay there for a long time, listening to the birds and gurgling water. It was the first genuinely peaceful moment he’d had since he arrived. Faith seemed content to stay at the edge and tap the water with her tiny paw, trying to lure minnows to their doom.
Amused, TJ called out, “That’s not going to work.”
Watch.
Rachel tensed at the voice, then looked to the shadow cat, then back to TJ.
Understanding the question, he nodded. “It seems my familiar has telepathy.”
He’d nearly forgotten about her request as her shadows shifted, and she used it to form an inky black tentacle. The shadowy appendage struck with lightning speed, and she hauled up a small fish. It flopped, trying to struggle free, but she sunk her teeth into it, ending its life.
She then carried her prize next to the pair to begin working at defleshing her meal. Seemingly unconcerned, Rachel reached out to stroke the little predator’s back while Faith gorged herself.
Once Faith had devoured as much as she could, the cat hopped into his companion’s lap.
Pulling her toes from the water, Rachel sighed. “I’m sure the ladies are getting anxious. We should probably head back.”
“Sure. Although it was nice to have a bit of a rest. I’m assuming we won’t have as many quiet moments once we’re on the road?” TJ asked.
Rachel looked at him thoughtfully. “Normally, I would argue that the road is quiet and boring, but you’ve proven that any expectations are only there to be broken.”
Chapter 17
As Rachel and TJ approached the horses, they found Bethany and Abigail quietly kneeling in the grass with heads bowed. As their boots crunched on the dirt path, both women jerked their heads up, looking surprised and pleased in equal measures.
Bethany began, “Sorry, we were worried.”
“We didn’t interrupt anything, did we?” TJ asked.
Both women shook their heads.
Abby explained, “We heard a bit about your divine patron. When you didn’t come back, we prayed to your goddess for your safe return.”
TJ’s jaw dropped slightly, not sure how to respond. The concept of someone praying to the sexy goof he was bound to was mind-boggling. He hadn’t even given them any details aside from what they’d picked up from context. He supposed at some point he must have said ‘her’ somewhere, but he didn’t think he’d dropped Serina’s name around them.
Seeing that he was dumbfounded, Rachel stepped in for him, “Thank you, both. While it was challenging, we were successful in TJ’s quest and eliminated a goblin encampment. We have plenty to carry back, although I think we’d both like to rest a bit and have lunch before we trek into the cave again.”
Bethany gave TJ a devious grin. “Does that mean rest, or recharging your magic?”
TJ responded with a wink, then looked to Rachel for confirmation.
“You really are a cad to do that right after our talk by the river.” The noblewoman rolled her eyes. “Fine. I guess I knew what I was getting into.
You don’t even have a concept of monogamy, do you?”
TJ opened his mouth, then closed it. He thought over his words carefully, but they all sounded stupid in his head.
Abby looked between them, confused. “Do ze powerful here not have multiple partners?”
“Uh… well, yes,” Rachel awkwardly admitted. “But…”
Sensing Rachel’s discomfort, Bethany explained, “Certain types of merchants are known for having more than one wife, or… less savory situations. Nobles, on the other hand, tend to only have plural marriages as part of securing territories or brokering for power. The more land they control, the more it happens. King Leogon has been known as a master peacemaker of sorts and ended up with four queens, ten commoner wives, and dozens of concubines. Most were sent to him as a tribute to solidify trade deals, peace treaties, and the like, but it’s not common outside of the extremely rich and powerful.”
“Zen TJ shall become equally as formidable. I do not see ze problem,” the redhead asserted.
Rachel covered her mouth as she held back a laugh. Once she’d collected herself, she gave TJ a soft kiss, pointed him toward Bethany, and gave him a little push.
The blonde didn’t hesitate and gently tugged him off the path. She’d prepared a secluded picnic and spread a blanket under the boughs of a dense tree. TJ couldn’t help but feel like he was swept up in the current of the women around him. His magic gave him a hard nudge, daring him to complain. He mentally shrugged and scooped a hand under Bethany’s backside as he lifted her into his arms.
She called back with a giggle in her voice, “I’ll bring him back as soon as he’s ready.”
After a satisfying tumble or three, the near painful need from having his magic depleted had waned. Once he could finally think straight, and blood had returned to his head, he pumped a portion of that power back into Rachel and Faith. He wasn’t sure what the cat could do with the essence, but she’d given a contented purr as he let it slip between them over their bond.
Adequately healed and feeling much better, they’d trooped back to strip the cave of anything valuable. It was surprisingly hard work hauling the heavy loads of armor through the cave. The squeeze section, in particular, was a pain to deal with.
Neither of the escorts had complained. Instead, they had stripped to their underclothes to avoid coating their dresses in mud. It hadn’t really worked since as soon as they were done, the pair had to put the clothing back on before they returned, but they’d tried to keep the fabric from being ruined.
Once the last of the valuables had been claimed, the ride back to the village had gone smoothly. In only a few hours, they again found themselves in the Red Briar and in good spirits.
“Well, that’s one less threat to Larton. I can’t believe they were so close, and we didn’t know,” Rachel said.
TJ hoisted his cup. “To our first victory in Lady Serina’s name. I appreciate not being dead due to religious horseshit. Now show me that loot!”
There were chuckles and smiles around their table as everyone raised their drink. Piles of treasure from the goblin horde encircled their table. Abby counted out the currency and marked it out on paper, although her handwriting was all strange swirls and symbols. Whatever she was jotting down, it was in her original language.
She dropped stacks of coins into marked bags, each with the same value. “Zat is seven hundred and seventy-three gold. Six thousand, eight hundred, and one silver. And… enough copper zat I hesitate to give it a number without a recount. Mistress, I believe everything else will require being assessed, is zat correct?”
Rachel nodded. “Yes. It’ll be best to have a professional in Ardsville examine and appraise anything we aren’t certain on the value.”
TJ held up one of the colorful rocks. He tried pumping a bit of his magic into each, but nothing happened. “I don’t think I can use these. I might hang onto them until I can talk with Serina again, but we can probably exchange the peasant rocks for more trail rations or something.”
All three of the women broke down into laughter.
“Peasant rocks?” Bethany asked as she tried to catch her breath. “Do you mean those ridiculously valuable gems?”
TJ scratched his head. “Uh… is this one of those realm differences again?”
Rachel seemed to be trying not to crack up as she nodded slowly. “They are worth quite a bit of gold each, dear. That handful is probably worth at least triple the gold we found.”
TJ’s eyes went wide. “Oh… well, crap, I guess I’m gonna be clueless in trading things for a while. They are pretty dry, but I’ll keep reading all of those books you gave me.” TJ scrunched up his face in thought. After a moment, he turned to the two women who were still wearing their mud-stained dresses. “Ladies, I apologize. You offered to watch the horses but being pack mules wasn’t part of our agreement. I’d like to show my appreciation for the help.”
He glanced at Rachel and got a nod in agreement. He quickly split the pile of coins in half between him and Rachel. He then took several sacks of each type of currency from his share and slid them in front of Abby and Bethany.
“It wasn’t just carrying things out of the cave. There was a risk we hadn’t caught all the goblins, and you knew that. It means a lot to me that you’d put yourself in danger to help us like that,” he said.
Bethany slowly opened her small sack of gold, then began blinking quickly as she wiped tears from her eyes. She had to turn away and dabbed at her face.
After nearly a minute, she swallowed hard. “You… you don’t know what this means, TJ. Rachel might, but… this is…”
“Enough to choose a different path if you want,” Rachel suggested gently.
Bethany nodded slowly. “I… I don’t really know what to do with this, much less how to thank you. It’s not enough I could live on for more than a few years, but, well, I’ve got a lot of thinking to do, I guess.”
TJ reached over and took her hand in his. She squeezed it tight, tears welling up again before she pulled away. “Excuse me a moment. There’s something I want to do.”
Her makeup an absolute mess, she pulled one of her bags of coins from the table, then slipped behind the counter and disappeared into the back office.
“Is she ok?” TJ asked.
Rachel let out a long sigh. “I can take some guesses. Her father wasn’t exactly a nice man. I’m betting she’s been told her entire life that the only worth she had was what a man could take from her. He passed last year, and her brother isn’t any better. The asshole has probably been taking out loans from the madam to pay for his initiation fees into the church and having Bethany handle the debt.”
“I didn’t mean to make her upset. Did I just make things worse?” TJ asked.
Both women shook their heads.
TJ turned to Abby, “You’re not upset, are you?”
Abby bounced in her seat as his attention shifted to her. “Yay. I like gifts.”
“It’s payment,” TJ said. “You helped out a lot, and you probably stained your dress beyond saving.”
Abby shook her head, sloshing her curls back and forth with a mischievous grin, sliding the sack of money back. “No. I want a token.”
“I… uh… sure?” TJ responded uncertainly.
Still confused, but willing to play along, he picked a black choker with a large sparkling emerald from the loot pile. He decided that it didn’t matter what it was worth. It was pretty and would match her eyes. He placed it in her hand and scooted the sack of coins back in front of her.
He barely got out the words, “Here’s your token,” before Abby made a happy squeal that caused other patrons in the inn to turn at look at them.
Practically vibrating, she pulled the small golden disc from her cleavage and held it next to the necklace. “My second token so soon. Mother would be so happy.”
Cocking his head to the side, he looked to Rachel for advice, but she seemed equally perplexed.
Still grinning, Abby said, “I did n
ot help for money. Zat matters very little to me.”
“You might want to give Madam Cintra some of those coins. You haven’t been ‘earning,’ as she tends to put it, so whether or not you know it, she has a tab with your name on it,” Rachel whispered.
Abby made an O shape with her mouth, then slid the coin purse into her pocket. “Zen I shall ensure I even ze scales. Is zis enough that I can exit her service and travel with you both?”
Rachel nodded, then paused to do some rough math in her head. She quickly added, “One of the gold ones should be plenty. If she protests, you can give her two, but if she says you owe more than that, come get me.”
Abby nodded in appreciation, then continued gazing at the necklace and golden disk as though they were the most wondrous things in the world.
Feeling as though it were the right thing to do, TJ leaned over and gently took the necklace in hand. Abby’s eyes glittered as he slipped it around her neck and secured the clasp.
Her hand drifted to caress the stone, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. She sniffed, then proceeded to down her wine in three quick gulps. Rachel eyed her curiously, then refilled her own wine glass, then Abby’s from the bottle on the table.
TJ nodded back to the back room where Bethany had disappeared to. “Are you sure Bethany is ok? She looked upset and has been gone a while.”
Abby pulled out the dense language guide she’d been reading on their ride. She studied it, flipping back and forth between the dog-eared pages. She mouthed words silently, trying them out in her head, and began writing on the paper she’d used to tally their money.
Everyone waited patiently while she found what she was looking for and worked out how to say it.
Holding up her paper, Abby replied, “I suspect she had no options other zan what she has seen here. Her best chance was to lure a man zat would take her in as a kept woman. As ze village became less prosperous, her chances at a better life disappeared. Zat has changed. She now sees other paths and perhaps a different view of her self-worth and what she has had to sell of herself. If I am using ze word correctly, she is at a crossroads.”