by Andi Van
“Well,” Zaree said as she dusted herself off, “I guess bringing my staff was kind of useless. She was too close for me to use it the moment I came through.”
Jorget stepped out of the light then, looking quite a bit paler than he usually did, and Zaree had to assume he’d been expecting a rough ride. He stumbled away from the stone circle and blinked a few times as he observed what was in front of him. “So she really was waiting?”
“So it would seem,” Yldost said dryly. “She attacked the moment I came through, and when Zaree came through, she changed targets.”
“Can you help her?” Zaree asked as Emlynn and Bahz joined them. “I know she’s acting violent, but it’s breaking my heart to see her like this. She deserves better.”
“I agree,” Emlynn said. “Bahz has told me many stories of her, all of which portray her as an impetuous but brave lady. It would be nice to see her restored to that.”
Kelwin and Daro stepped through, and the light behind them disappeared. The portal was closed. “Well, that was far less horrible than the last time,” he observed.
Yldost craned their neck around to look at the rest of the group. “I’m going to need you to leave us for now,” they said. “This is going to take concentration and time.”
Zaree looked over at the blocked entrance. “That’s all well and good, but where exactly are we going?”
The dragon let out a huff and growled out something they didn’t quite understand. The rubble parted, giving them a clear path out.
“Convenient,” Kelwin muttered. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.”
They fell silent at the elf’s words, obediently following like so many ducklings when he left the room. Zaree was more than slightly tempted to go outside and try to find the gryphon they’d run into previously. If she was polite, perhaps the gryphon would let her coo over the hatchlings. Having seen both young birds and young cats, she imagined that young gryphons were likely quite adorable.
She looked to her left to see Emlynn staring at her as she kept pace, and Zaree raised an eyebrow at the giantess. Emlynn’s gaze stayed on her for another moment before she bent close to Zaree to whisper. “Are you okay? You seem distracted.”
Zaree would have laughed, but that likely would have been a little too noisy. “I’m fine,” she whispered back. “Just impatient. While I absolutely agree that Falcon needs to be seen to first, that doesn’t mean I’m not worried about Reikos. And the others.” She added the last quickly, her face heating as she did
Emlynn, however, was not fooled. “We know you’re fond of him,” she sighed. “There is no reason to deny it. It’s obvious to us that he feels the same for you. There is no shame in worrying for him. Even the strongest person appreciates when someone cares.”
“I suppose,” Zaree said slowly. “But I can’t afford to get too close. You know what I am, Em. So you know how this is likely to end up.”
Emlynn pursed her lips, just barely keeping her obvious irritation at bay. “Yes, I do know what you are. You are Zaree, sister to Tasis. You are a beautiful, loving woman who anyone should be honored to have caught the interest of. And if Reikos tells you otherwise, what I did to Sireti’s face will look like child’s play compared to what I’ll do to him.” Her chin tilted up, giving her a rebellious look, and Zaree couldn’t help herself. She gave the tall woman a hug and smiled.
Emlynn patted her back, and they stood there for a while, until Zaree finally stepped back. “Better?” Emlynn asked.
“Yes, thank you.”
“We’re going to finish here, and then we’re going to go see what we can do about Reikos.”
Zaree nodded.
“And once we take care of that, you’re going to tell him what you need to tell him.”
Zaree grimaced, but she nodded reluctantly.
“And if he’s rude to you I’m going to break him in half.”
Zaree was forced to stifle a surprise laugh and nodded again.
Emlynn nodded. “Good.” Without another word, she turned and made her way to the others, patting Zaree’s back as she walked by.
It still kind of amazed Zaree that she had stumbled upon so many people who accepted her as she was. Til’anu had been like a wasteland in terms of acceptance. Even among her own people, the people of her birth, she was treated like a curiosity much of the time. Not out of any sort of malice, but just because there weren’t many like her among them. Sireti’s outright bigotry was certainly the exception and not the rule, but even those who meant well were often rude without realizing it. It had a tendency to make things awkward. The only people she had truly felt comfortable with growing up, aside from her father, had been Evina and Tasis. She looked at the others, who were still watching as Yldost and Falcon glowed ever brighter, and smiled. Her chosen family, the people whom she felt she could truly be herself around, was growing, and she was glad for it.
She rushed to catch up to the group, and nearly ran into them when they paused. Thankfully she managed to bring herself up short quickly enough to keep from looking like a complete idiot. “What is it?” she asked, wondering what the holdup was.
“I don’t like it,” Kelwin said. “Leaving Yldost alone with her, I mean.”
Jorget let out a snort. “They’re a god, Kel. More to the point, they’re the god who made Falcon the way she is. They’ll be fine.”
“I wonder if that’s what Yldost’s people look like,” Emlynn mused, more to herself than to the rest of them. “Triv and the others look like Vashk, to a degree. Or rather, they’re in a form that matches his environment. Perhaps Falcon isn’t so much of a harpy as she’s been put in a form to match Yldost’s environment.”
“It’s a sound theory,” Jorget said with a nod, and the giantess smiled widely, looking for all the world like Jorget had said the most romantic thing she’d ever heard. It was kind of adorable, actually, and Zaree found herself grinning. “Possibly it’s only her mind that was broken and not her body. Though I imagine if I were in her place I would have preferred to have been asked first.”
“Well, yes, obviously,” Zaree interjected. “But Yldost wasn’t faring much better. We’re getting off subject, though.” She looked at Kelwin and raised an eyebrow. “Is it really the thought of leaving Yldost with her, or is it something else?” She was betting it was just the fact Tasis was front and center in both their minds, but she wasn’t going to dig at Kelwin’s gaping emotional wound.
Kelwin stared at her briefly before letting out a heavy sigh. “It’s just a feeling,” he said. “An ominous one. Maybe it’s just because I’m worried about Tas, but I don’t like it.”
“Well, honestly, I’d be concerned if you were enjoying random ominous feelings,” Zaree said, putting her hands on her hips. Daro, sitting at Kelwin’s feet, made a noise that probably would have been a laugh if he’d been human. “And I’m betting it’s because of Tas. He’s been on all our minds, but especially yours and mine. As callous as it sounds, we’re not going to do him any good worrying about him right now. In fact, we may do ourselves harm if we don’t pay attention to what’s going on around us.”
If I may say, I think you’re all forgetting something important where Tasis is concerned.
They turned nearly as one to look at Bahz, who stared at them from his perch on Emlynn’s shoulder. The bird was much like his new mistress, in that they both spoke infrequently but when they did, it was usually something meaningful.
“What is it?” Emlynn asked, reaching up to rub the feathers under Bahz’s enormous hooked beak.
If we go by what Vashk and Yldost told you, Tasis is a direct descendant of the Maker’s daughter, Bahz pointed out, surprising Zaree. She really thought the bird hadn’t been listening when she’d told the others Triv’s story, but clearly she’d been mistaken about that. Triv may have been human when she gave birth to her child, but she was still originally the Maker’s child and, by dragon standards, Vashk’s child after that, when he brought her back to life.
; “And?” Kelwin asked.
Your impatience and frustration are making you stupid, Bahz shot back irritably. Do you really think the Maker is going to let her daughter’s descendant die? Even if she couldn’t step in directly, Tasis is still part of her family line.
“Wait,” Jorget said, his face growing pale. It would have amused Zaree, because it made his freckles stand out, but he was clearly upset about something. “Are you suggesting Tasis is a god?”
I’m suggesting he likely has some small amount of dragon’s blood in his veins, Bahz corrected with a clack of his beak. You are the one who thinks of the dragons as gods, not I. But that’s not the point I’m trying to make. My point is that your mostly-elf friend is likely very hard to kill. Maybe not so hard to kill that he could spend an eternity in a small box without benefit of food or water, but certainly more difficult than an ordinary elf.
Zaree stared at the bird, wordless. It was something she hadn’t considered when Vashk had confessed Triv’s origins as Onai, but it made an awful sort of sense. Her stomach twisted, and she placed a hand on her midsection in hopes of settling it. She felt someone squeeze her shoulder, and looked to see Kelwin standing next to her, his slightly green complexion giving her reason to believe he felt as she did.
“Whatever he is, he’s still exactly what he’s always been,” Kelwin said. “The only way he could be a more awkward dragon would be if… well, if he were actually Jorget.”
“Hey,” Jorget protested. The others snickered, and the tension faded.
“But that’s something I don’t think any of us had considered,” Kelwin continued. “Tasis being of the Maker’s blood, I mean. Not Jorget the Awkward Dragon.” Jorget took a swipe at his arm, and he dodged easily. “That actually gives me more than a little hope. Thank you, Bahz.”
I didn’t say anything that requires your thanks. I merely spoke the truth.
“Perhaps, but it was a truth we hadn’t considered,” Emlynn pointed out. “So we thank you for sharing your view.”
The bird looked at her, then clacked his beak in a way that somehow seemed pleased.
“Right, so here’s what I want to do,” Zaree said. “I don’t know what the rest of you were planning while we wait for Yldost to finish whatever it is they’re doing to fix Falcon, but I’d like to go outside and see if I can find that gryphon.”
Kelwin gave her a look of complete bewilderment. “Are you insane?”
Zaree frowned at him, crossing her arms over her chest in her most stubborn manner. “Fluffy baby gryphons, Kel.”
Em let out a noise that sounded suspiciously like a muffled squeal, and Zaree looked at her. The giantess was blushing, but she pointed at Zaree as she looked at Kelwin. “I’m going with her.”
“You most certainly are not,” Jorget shot back. “Neither of you are. It’s not safe.”
Em’s expression turned to stone, and Zaree knew her own expression had gone dark.
“Don’t do it, Jorget,” Kelwin warned him. “Trust me on this. Just… don’t. That’s a fight you won’t win.” He sighed and looked down at Daro, who was panting in amusement. “It’s not funny.”
Yes, it is.
Kelwin scowled at him before letting out a sigh. “Fine,” he told Zaree and Emlynn. “But we’re all going. Otherwise, if Tasis wakes up to find something happened to either of you because we weren’t sticking together as we should in a strange place, he’ll kill us all. Then he’d likely bring us back from the dead to kill us again.”
“He wouldn’t do that,” Emlynn protested.
“No, far too few times killing us,” Zaree agreed. “You’ve never seen him truly mad. It’s not a pretty sight.”
“The boulder we blocked the entrance with,” Jorget said. “Will we be able to move it from the inside?”
“I will,” Emlynn said. “It was not that heavy.”
Zaree fanned herself in a dramatic fashion and batted her eyelashes at Emlynn. “I do love a strong woman.”
Emlynn just laughed at the ridiculous display, but Jorget gaped at her, and Zaree knew he was about to open his mouth and speak without thinking again. Her guess was proven correct when the next words out of his mouth were “I thought you were into guys.”
“I thought you were done making stupid assumptions about people,” Zaree countered in a voice that was far too sweet to be genuine.
Jorget apparently recognized the sound of approaching doom, because he shut his mouth and didn’t say anything more. He simply turned on his heel and continued to walk again.
“Are you also attracted to women?” Emlynn asked Zaree, curious, as they followed behind.
“No,” Zaree told her with a grin, “I’m just tired of him forgetting that he shouldn’t assume anything about anyone.”
Emlynn returned the grin, and they continued their walk in companionable silence. They’d gone for some way before they came to a room that gave Zaree an odd sense of déjà vu. “It’s almost like—” She shook her head, cutting off the words. They’d described how similar the entry to this guild was to their own, but she hadn’t believed it.
“It’s a lot like home, yeah,” Kelwin agreed, clearly knowing where Zaree’s thoughts had been going. “Except for that.”
Zaree looked over to where Kelwin pointed and gasped in a breath before moving over to the mural as if she’d been pulled there. “Words do it no justice,” she said in a hushed tone. She touched the surface, tracing over Yldost’s face. She would have given anything to be sharing the exquisite piece of art with Tasis right then, knowing he’d be just as fascinated with it. “It’s beautiful. I wish….”
“Yeah,” Kelwin said. “I wish Tasis could see it too. And he will, eventually. We have to believe that, right?”
“Right,” Zaree said, though she spoke the word in a voice a little too thick with emotion. “If I was any kind of artist, I’d wish I could sketch it for him so he could see it when he wakes up. But I guess we’ll just have to bring him here.”
Well, yes, Daro agreed. How else are you going to make this a proper guild again? The wolf paused when they all stared at him. What? It makes the most sense. Leaving it empty is a waste, and Tasis is the most qualified right now to find a counterpart to lead Mountaindeep.
“The animals are smarter than we are,” Jorget muttered. “Why are the animals smarter than we are?”
“Because we’re far younger and inexperienced,” Emlynn answered seriously. “When we’re a few centuries old, that might change. In the meantime, let me move the boulder so we can step outside.”
Kelwin and Zaree respectfully stood back to let Emlynn work, but Jorget hovered as though afraid she might need some help. The third time she nearly tripped over him, she let out a growl and pointed in their direction. “Go over there,” she said. “I appreciate that you care, but you also need to realize I can take care of myself and am smart enough to ask for help when it’s needed.”
Jorget grimaced. “Right. Sorry. I’ll just… go stand over there. Out of the way.” His face was a brilliant shade of red by the time he joined them, and Zaree opened her mouth to tease him, only to have Kelwin nudge her hard in the ribs. She scowled at him, rubbing at her side as he shook his head in warning. Okay, so it probably wouldn’t have been nice to tease Jorget when he was already mortified, but Zaree figured he’d earned it.
There was a horrific grinding sound, and the boulder Emlynn had been working on began to move. It was incredibly impressive, as far as Zaree was concerned. She may not have meant it when she said she was attracted to strong women, but she did have a great deal of respect for them. She’d love to be that strong, but it wasn’t likely to happen. There were some things her body couldn’t do, not when she’d always been skinny, and more than a little sickly when she was very young. Granted, she’d made up for it in speed and agility, but part of her would love to be able to have brute force on her side. Which probably made her a little overly violent, but she was okay with that. Just living required a toughness that hadn�
��t been necessary in the past.
“I think we can get out now,” Emlynn said, shaking Zaree from her thoughts. The giantess stuck her head out the opening to take a look around, then pulled it back. “Huh,” she said, that one sound more perplexed than anything Zaree had heard her say since they’d met. “It’s quite foggy outside.”
“Is that unusual?” Kelwin asked, joining her to take a look for himself. “We saw clouds at the top of the mountain before we made the first hike up, after all.”
Emlynn nodded. “Very. No one has ever remarked on inclement weather when they’ve returned from the climb. I remember that Tasis mentioned something about the storms around the isle….” She shook her head as if clearing her thoughts. “We should be careful to stay away from the edge of the trail.”
Zaree swallowed hard. Heights were definitely not her thing, and she weighed the possibility of falling off the mountain with the possibility of playing with gryphon hatchlings. The thought of fluffy baby gryphons won out. “Can we make very sure I don’t die?” she asked as she and Jorget joined the other two.
“Easily done,” Emlynn assured her. “Because I don’t wish for Tasis to end up killing me. Have no fear, I know the way. Perhaps we could go just to the other end of the small forest and call for the gryphon?”
“And possibly call every single one of them there to attack us,” Jorget pointed out. “That doesn’t seem wise.”
Emlynn glanced at him, then turned her attention to Zaree, looking her over. “No,” she said finally. “I don’t think we’d be attacked. The gryphon bowed to her. I think it more likely that the gryphon acknowledged her and will recognize her voice.” She looked at the others and shrugged. “I have no proof, merely a gut feeling. But if I’ve learned anything since I’ve met each of you, it’s to trust those feelings when I have them.”