by Emma Hamm
“Do birds always allow you pick them up?” Lyra asked.
“No.”
“This one is special?”
“This one knows she’s going home.”
He reached towards Mungus and settled the bird in the skeleton’s hands. The makeshift cage would have to do until she was back out in the air where she belonged. It wasn’t ideal. He would have prefered a metal cage, but Mungus had a way with animals. He took after his creator.
“Take her back to the air, Mungus.”
Lyra shuffled her feet. “You really shouldn’t call him that.”
Wolfgang arched a brow. “Mungus?”
“You said his name was Charlie.”
“He doesn’t care.”
“How do you know?” Lyra licked her lips as though she was nervous. “His name is Charlie. You rose him from the dead; you could at least call him by his first name.”
He had never considered it before. Mungus was created to be little more than a servant. Wolfgang hesitated to think of him as a slave because he had somehow become a rather strange friend. A first name made him even more familiar with the dead man.
Yet, there was an emotional quality to her thoughts. Wolfgang was a practical man. He did not think about what would affect other people’s emotional state.
“Perhaps you are right,” he murmured. “Charlie, would you take the bird outside?”
If the dead man had lips, Wolfgang thought he might have smiled. Alas, he no longer had flesh. Therefore, Charlie Mungus did little more than bow and leave the room with the bird cradled delicately in his hands.
Wolfgang watched Lyra rather than Mungus. Her eyes lingered upon the door long after the reanimated man left. Worry made him linger upon darker thoughts. Was she terrified of what he could do? Of what he had created?
“Why are you so opposed to helping the Five?” Lyra’s question burned bright in his mind.
There was no answer to her question. He did not work for anyone. The dark spells that burned on his tongue and left him with the taste of ash refused to allow him a diversion from his purpose. He had enough to worry about here in his kingdom underneath the ground.
He had created a graveyard of living things that had previously only wriggled in the soft earth. He had given them purpose and allowed them a safe home. No powerful being would ever tear him from that.
But he could not tell her that. He could not tell her the dark thoughts that he constantly battled. She would shrink away from him in fear when she realized he truly was a monster made of rotting flesh and broken bones.
“Wolfgang?” she asked.
“I want to show you something.”
He held out his hand for her to take. His fingers were nearly as skeletal as Mungus’, but she did not hesitate for very long before her hand slid into his. She was warm. So much warmer than he had been in years.
No one had touched him for as long as he could remember. He had not felt living flesh against his own for a very long time. This would not do. The distraction was far too great.
He shifted to move her hand carefully into the crook of his elbow. From there, he could still feel the heat of her body but she was at least not touching him directly. Wolfgang chose to ignore the curious expression on her face as he guided her from the room.
“What are you showing me?”
“Something I believe you will find very interesting.”
“I don’t like surprises.”
He chuckled. “I can certainly believe that.”
They trailed down earthen hallways that were suddenly alive with creatures. A woman walked past them and flickered a snake tongue as she tasted the air. A family of dwarves wandered past, one of the children laughing in a guttural tone as it tugged upon its mother’s beard.
He tried to see his home through her eyes. The floors were well packed earth from many feet traversing through the tunnels. Floating candles drifted in the air to guide their way. Many dark creatures existed here, yet they were all smiling.
“There are more people here.” Lyra’s brows were furrowed as they passed by a few men with delicately pointed ears. “Are those…?”
“Elves? Yes. Unfortunately they are still being hunted.”
“Why wasn’t there anyone here last time?”
“I asked them not to be.” He lifted a finger in the air. “No more questions.”
“But—”
“I said no.”
She pursed her lips but remained silent. He had to think. He was guiding her through crowds of people who considered him their leader. Rumors were likely going to start, and he was going to have quell them.
Or perhaps he wouldn’t. He glanced at her as she stalked through his people covered in leather and little else. She wouldn’t be a bad queen at his side.
The thoughts were nonsense. She would never agree to remaining around him for very long. And he was gathering wool.
Wolfgang remained silent the rest of the walk until they turned down a corner where there were no more people. Very few candles hovered near the ceiling, and the end of the tunnel was shrouded in shadows.
“Is this where you kill me?” Lyra joked. “You won’t have a very easy time of it.”
“I have no plans to eradicate you.”
“Interesting way of saying that.”
He held onto her firmly as they walked into the darkness. She did not show any signs of fear, but he sensed a stillness in her body that suggested she was ready for anything. His Lyra was not an easy one to frighten.
His Lyra. She was not his. Nor was she likely to ever be his.
“Do you trust me?” Wolfgang asked her.
“No.”
Honest as well, so it seemed. Someday he would revel in words that drifted from her lips that suggested she did, in fact, trust him. That day was not this day.
“That is an acceptable answer,” he replied.
He stepped away from her. Her hand fell from his arm, and he felt a small sense of loss. Although he also knew how much excitement he was about to bring her.
His hands curved until both of his palms touched as he held his hands away from his body. Between them he felt warmth as he began to murmur a quiet spell. Slowly he pulled his hands away from each other. Lightning danced between his fingertips.
The ball of energy that was created slowly drifted out of his hands. It hovered for a few moments in front of him before it began to slowly bob down the rest of the tunnel, which was revealed in its light.
He felt he owed her some kind of explanation. “My visitors know not to travel down the tunnels that are unlit.”
“They don’t just walk down here with a candle?”
“They cannot. Flames are incapable of existing here.”
“Nice trick,” she said.
“Your compliment, though sarcastic, is appreciated.”
He held out his arm once more for her to take. They followed the ball of blue light for a few moments until a door appeared before them. His creation drifted to the bottom and squeezed itself underneath the crack at the bottom. Blue light glowed from underneath the sturdy wooden door.
“Are you ready for your surprise?” Wolfgang asked her.
“As I’ll ever be. You aren’t showing me the skeletons in your closet are you?”
He blinked a few times as he tried to understand what she was saying.
Lyra sighed. “Just open the door. We’ll work on your understanding of my jokes later.”
She wouldn’t be joking for much longer. He was about to show her something that he was certain she would thoroughly enjoy. He did not draw out the reveal of her gift. Instead, Wolfgang flung the door open and allowed her to step into one of his most sacred rooms.
He had created an artificial glow along the ceiling. Fog swirled above their heads and mimicked the gentle roll of clouds. Their feet sank into deep moss that sloped down into a deep pool of water that was lit from underneath with a golden glow. Long tendrils of vines hung down and swayed in a breeze that gent
ly kissed their skin.
A whispered spell caused a tattoo on his ribs to glow and burn. The pain was worth it as a swirl of golden glitter danced upon the wind over the water and caused bright ripples to dance towards her. Lyra’s eyes watched the landscape around them as though she had stepped into a storybook.
In a way, she had. Wolfgang had created this place long ago as a refuge for himself. This room above all others was a place to find oneself.
“It’s beautiful.” She turned towards him. “But I do not understand why you’re showing it to me. There are many beautiful places in this world.”
“Ah, but there are not many with them.”
He pointed behind her. She turned with a gasp as the echo of water drops signified they were not alone.
Three tiny women were in the pool. Two remained with just their eyes above the water blinking at them. One had her hands on the moss as her hair tangled around her body and hid most of her form from their eyes.
“What?” Lyra went pale as parchment when she saw them. “Are you keeping them captive here?”
“No.” He had not thought he would have to explain. “They are Nixies I saved a long time ago.”
“Oh.” Her quiet murmur was stunned. “How?”
He knew what she was thinking. Nixies had never managed to exist easily in the human world. They were creatures that lived almost entirely underwater. No one before the merge of the dimensions had thought that they wouldn’t be able to survive.
Their souls were connected deeply with water. Human bodies had to live in air. Because of that, most Nixies had died from sorrow that they were unable to experience the beauty of their underwater realms. They were extremely delicate creatures and very few existed in this world.
Wolfgang had three of them.
He moved to settle his aching body by the water. “They needed a home, and I was capable of creating an environment they could exist in.”
Lyra walked towards them but stilled when the Nixies started to move away. “Why? Why help them?”
“Because I could.”
The more curious Nixie pulled herself out of the water enough to reach out and touch a delicate finger to his calf. Though covered with velvet, he felt water from her hand seep into the fabric.
“Yes.” He nodded at her. “It is healed.”
“What is?” Lyra asked.
“To provide them the necessary gills to exist underwater, I needed to create a new spell. Such things are not comfortable. Nor precisely safe.”
He had nearly lost his leg. The spell had cut him to the bone and stolen the muscles from his knee down. He had done what he could to heal, though his leg would never be the same. It was a sore sight to look at. Chunks of flesh had never grown back and long black tendrils still moved of their own accord underneath his skin.
Lyra took one step closer to him and froze again when the Nixie started to move backwards into the water. Wolfgang tsked at the shy creature.
“They are not trusting of many. Unfortunately, their life has not been an easy one.”
He patted the moss and gave his girls a severe look so they would understand that Lyra was welcome. They knew it was a rare day when Wolfgang would ever scold any of them. Though they dearly loved to cause mischief, they appreciated what he had done for them. Their world was a safe one.
The movement of moss when she settled next to him was enough to make his chest clench in a most unpleasant way. He wasn’t certain what this change she had brought about in him was, but he knew it was not easily tolerable. The scent of saltwater and fresh air tickled his nose when her hair swung near him.
It was torture. Pure torture to be this close to her. And he simply had no idea why.
“So you save lesser known creatures and raise people from the dead,” she said as she stared at the other women. “Why?”
“The Lords were created to help those in need.”
He startled when she snorted loudly. “You’ll excuse me if I don’t believe that for a second.”
“Why?” And truly he was intrigued. She always had the most unusual way of thinking.
“I have a—” she paused, “friend who has a deal with Bones. He is less than kind at exacting his payment.”
“Ah.” This was all starting to fall into place. Now he understood why she instantly chose to distrust him. Now he understood why she flinched so easily and was frightened of Blood Magic.
Lyra leaned forward to touch her fingers to the water. Her movement was entirely innocent if he had not known what she was. Sirens were meant to be in the water just as much as a Nixie.
The other women stared at her fingers for a moment before they all started to move together as one. He rarely saw any of them without the others. Though they were entirely human in body, in mind they were more animalistic. They were similar to Trolls in that way. The humanity that had gifted them life drifted away in the currents of their magic.
Curious as always, his favorite of the three reached out to touch Lyra’s fingers. A small bubble rose and burst between them in response. Magic such as only their creatures could make.
Wolfgang’s face twisted in sad smile. He had seen such reactions before. When a creature found something that was akin in spirit and mind, there was always some kind of happenstance. The more common species, like the many shifters, frequently saw strange things occurring when another of their kind was in close proximity. Shelves would move, winds would raise, harmless little things that were a warning or a welcome to the other.
He would never feel such a thing.
“If the Lords were created to help people,” Lyra murmured, “then why aren’t they?”
Wolfgang rose his frail arms to gesture around him. “Am I not?”
“Sort of.”
“Explain,” he demanded of her.
“You’re keeping them in captivity. That’s not exactly helping them.”
“You want them to be free?”
“Wouldn’t they want that?”
Her brilliant eyes turned towards him. He saw much in those eyes, which hid the rolling of great waves and the thunderous crash of water. But he also saw a deep sadness that could not be hidden in their depths.
Wolfgang did not have an answer to such sadness. He did not have an answer to many of the questions she had not yet uttered.
“If they were free, they would be dashed against the rocks their bodies are unable to swim away from. They would be devoured by magically enhanced sea creatures that are far stronger than their soft human bodies. Here they are safe. Every desire is looked after. If they choose to leave then they may do so.”
One of the Nixies swam to his side and reached out a hand. Her fingers trailed along his leg in greeting before the other did the same. This was the ritual for all three. Every time they saw him they lingered upon his wound because a long time ago they may have been able to heal it. Now he did not permit them to waste energy upon one such as he.
“You’d be hard pressed to convince me the Lords are doing good with their work,” Lyra huffed.
“We all have our methods. I provide a safe home for my territory and passage to the other Lords sections of the Black Market. Above my home I ensure that the streets are safe.”
“I heard of that.” She turned towards him. “How do you do it? There is virtually no crime in this section of the Market.”
“Ah.” He shook his head. “Now that is a secret I cannot tell.”
“A secret for a secret?”
“Intriguing,” he murmured. The thought was a tempting one. She was sincerely the most odd creature he had ever met. Not to mention the only thing that currently devoured the empty spaces of his mind. It wasn’t a pleasant way to exist. But perhaps knowing more about her would assist in clearing his mind.
Although, his secrets were unlikely to make her impression of him any better. She already distrusted the Lords. He didn’t need her to tell him. Wolfgang could feel how uncomfortable she was was with the topic as though her emotions were ta
ngible. The more she found out about him, the more likely she was to realize that he was not precisely a good man.
He was an average man with good intention who frequently realized his actions made him a bad man. Everyone had their flaws.
“Agreed,” he finally said. “On the condition you trust me enough to begin.”
“I haven’t even thought of my secret yet,” she said with a laugh.
“Why did you really come back?”
Lyra stared at him with a shocked expression on her face. He hadn’t thought it was such a difficult question, but perhaps to her it was. He already knew the answer. Wolfgang simply wanted to hear her say it.
“Because I need to do what the Five tell me to do.”
“Lie.”
“Because I wanted to ask you about the Lords.”
“Lie again.”
She huffed out a breath. “Because I was bored.”
“Why do you insist upon lying when we both know the true answer is rather simple?”
Wolfgang discovered he enjoyed when she stared at him with that angry expression on her face. Perhaps he had won a battle. Yet the war between them was unending.
She licked her lips, and his gaze followed her movement. “I was curious about what you were capable of.”
“And?”
A muscle on her jaw ticked. “And I was curious about you.”
“Now was that so hard to say?”
He leaned forward to swirl the water near their feet. A small spark of blue light erupted from the tip of his fingers and giddily jaunted across the pool until tiny waves decorated its surface.
Small bits of magic such as this were what entertained him. There was so much he was capable of, and so much of it had a harsh price. He had found in the many years that the things he most enjoyed were the smallest bits of magic. A slight breeze that knocked petals from a tree or a moment where one experienced more vivid color than the earth could create was infinitely more enjoyable than a magician’s greatest trick.
“Wolfgang?”
Her soft murmur was as much music to his ears as the sound of wind in a seashell. When had he become so enamored with her? Poetry suddenly filled his head on how a whispered breath from her lips was alike to the kiss of a wave upon sand.