by Logan Jacobs
Emeline’s hand went back as she prepared to throw her fireball, but one of the men raised his own hand in response, sending a wave of water towards the mage.
“You behave yourself, little kitty,” the water mage called out. “And maybe I’ll let you live.”
The others chuckled as they drew closer, and I could see the glint of their swords. Dehn threw his cloak to the ground and pulled out the slender blade Yvaine had let him wear to the party. He snarled at the five men and charged forward. The water mage hit him with a blast so hard that he sailed through the air and got tangled in the branches of a tree.
“Hey,” one of the other men called out as he squinted at Lavinia and Imogen. “Ain’t that the thief that the whole town was looking for this morning?”
“Why, I do believe it is,” the first man replied. “We’ve been looking for you. They got a pretty price on your head.”
Imogen, Lavinia, and I had all stood up, and I signaled to Merlin to lie low for now. Lavinia and I had knives, and I had my magic, but I still wanted to know how they caught us unawares.
“Everybody else went riding out after that orc,” the man continued, “So I figured we’d just try our luck elsewhere. And here you are.”
“You still have to actually catch me,” Imogen pointed out.
The man grinned, and he looked at the water mage. I saw the man’s mana flow, and I quickly shut it down. The mage looked startled, and he actually shook his fingers, as if that would start the mana flowing again. His companions looked at him in confusion, and Lavinia and Imogen charged forward. The two ladona moved so fast that the bounty hunters barely registered their movements before the women were on them.
The women struck quickly, and two of the men went down, one from a fatal blow from Lavinia’s knife, the other from a snapped neck. The leader snarled and slashed at the two women with his sword, forcing them to step back. The water mage was summoning his mana again, and this time I shut it down completely. The mage staggered in surprise and then keeled over. The remaining two men glanced at each other, then started to run back along the trail. A fireball whizzed between Imogen and Lavinia and turned them into charred black heaps.
We stared at each other for a moment, and then I walked over to the water mage. As I looked at his corpse, I realized I could still see something glowing. I pulled back his cloak and found a small amulet on a piece of leather around his throat. It was shaped like a flower and had a small piece of glass in the center.
“Put this on,” I told Lavinia as I handed it to her, “And then walk over there and back.”
Lavinia put the necklace on and walked into the woods. She returned a moment later, and if I hadn’t been looking at her the whole time, I would never have known she was there.
“That’s handy,” Imogen remarked. I checked the other two bodies that hadn’t been cooked by Emeline and found the same type of amulet. I put the amulets in my pocket, though I saw Imogen eyeing me thoughtfully.
“Hey,” Dehn called out. “Get me down from here!”
We turned towards the halfling’s angry voice. He was stuck in some of the higher branches and was having a tough time disentangling himself.
“Just let yourself fall,” Lavinia suggested. “The ground’s nice and soft right there.”
“I’ll show you nice and soft,” Dehn snarled. He tried to pull himself onto one of the larger limbs, but the ominous sound of wood cracking filled the air, and then the halfling was tumbling towards the earth.
There was a loud thud as Dehn hit the ground, followed by a second thud as the branch hit Dehn. Dehn let out a string of curse words and sprang to his feet. He was soaking wet, and covered in leaves, grass, and mud. He glared at each of us, daring us to say anything.
“Sorry, Dehn,” Emeline finally sighed. “They’re all dead.”
“Damnation!” Dehn exploded. “You couldn’t save one for me?”
Chapter 7
Yvaine had sent word nearly a week before that the servants at her family estate should be on the lookout for us. We were already well-known to the staff, and their loyalty to Yvaine extended to her new guild as well. They would never gossip about who was staying at the estate, even if that someone was a well-known and wanted thief.
And so it was no surprise when Rezo, Yvaine’s major-domo, stood at the top of the steps to greet us as we straggled across the lawn. He made no comments about the mud or detritus we left in our wake and made only the barest wince when Emeline managed to knock over a flowerpot.
Two more servants appeared, and quickly took our cloaks, gloves and packs. Rezo guided us to a small drawing room where a fire glowed invitingly in the fireplace and a pot of tea waited for our arrival.
Another servant appeared, this one bearing several pairs of slippers. Paper was placed on the floor beneath our feet, our boots and shoes removed and taken away for polishing, and our toes wrapped in the softest, warmest wool I’d ever enjoyed. Small finger foods were brought in just moments later. I sank into my chair with a delighted groan and let the civilized world do its best to ease my tired bones.
“Impressive,” Imogen sighed as she took a bite from a small toast point topped with salmon and chives.
Merlin, who was enjoying his own special bowl of cream, looked up and chirped in agreement.
“Don’t get comfortable,” Lavinia replied. “You’re only here to do a job.”
“But we’re not doing it right this minute,” Emeline sighed as she selected a chocolate truffle. “So I say enjoy it while you can.”
“Why is the food around here always so tiny?” Dehn groused as he glared at the meat and cheese platter. He finally grabbed a handful of cheese and retreated to the largest armchair in the room.
“It’s not supposed to be a meal,” Lavinia said. “It’s just supposed to tide you over until dinner.”
“I’m hungry enough to eat a meal now,” Dehn replied. “So why not just eat one now?”
“It’s not polite,” Emeline said.
“Why do I need to be polite around you guys?” Dehn asked as he looked around the room at each of us. “It’s not like we’re the royal family of fairyland or something.”
“Well, some of us aren’t,” Lavinia agreed.
“Yvaine’s a marchioness,” Emeline pointed out. “And Gabriel… well, Gabriel is Gabriel.”
“Um, thanks, I think,” I murmured.
“The man cohabitates with a puca,” Dehn scoffed. “And he doesn’t know how to handle an axe.”
“What does he need an axe for?” Lavinia replied. “He does just fine with his blade.”
“Yeah, okay, he’s pretty good with that blade of his,” Dehn admitted. “But it’s much more fun to beat the living snot out of people. And you get a reputation as a real brawler, too!”
“Ha!” Lavinia snorted as she tossed a small, round nut into her mouth.
“You’re very good at beating people to a pulp,” I assured Dehn. “We’d be lost without you.”
“We’re lost with him, most of the time,” Lavinia said with a smirk.
“Who got us out of… well, who saved us from the giant lobsters?” Dehn demanded.
“That was a group effort,” Emeline mused. “Though you did very well that time. And you really let those mages in the Canterrose mountains have it.”
“Everyone gets lucky sometimes,” Lavinia noted as she tossed another nut into her mouth.
“Even ladonae who can only hit two targets at a time,” Dehn agreed.
Dehn and Lavinia scowled at each other while Emeline looked over the platters and selected a pair of cucumber sandwiches.
“Are you always like this?” Imogen finally asked.
We all turned to look at the thief. She sat across from Emeline in a plump armchair, but while the rest of us sagged into our own seats, she sat rigidly upright. It was a rather amazing feat, considering how soft the cushion was.
“You get used to it,” I replied with a shrug. “It doesn’t really mean anything.”
“You don’t sound like you care about each other,” Imogen noted. “Yet, during the battle, you clearly all felt that you could rely on each other.”
“We like each other,” I explained. “That type of talk is just a way to release the pressure.”
“And it’s just plain fun to irritate the halfling,” Lavinia added.
“I still can’t believe you killed all those bounty hunters before I could get down from the tree,” Dehn complained.
“You said this was Yvaine’s home,” Imogen said as she looked around the room. Her gaze reminded me of the one Aerin wore when she was calculating the value of something in her head.
“It is,” I agreed. “Yvaine has been kind enough to let the Shadow Foxes use it upon occasion. We try not to impose while we’re here.”
“So I see,” Imogen replied as she looked at our slippered feet.
“Well, this was a little over the top this time,” Emeline admitted. “Usually we just get cleaned up and grab a bite to eat.”
“Well, there was that party we crashed,” Lavinia pointed out. “And the carriage rides.”
“Okay,” Emeline sighed. “Sometimes we do more than just clean up and eat.”
“Speaking of which,” I said as I managed to push myself forward. “The rest of the Foxes will probably be arriving soon. I’m going to clean up and then eat some more.”
“I will, too,” Emeline agreed as she stood up. “I feel like I’ve still got brick dust under my nails.”
Lavinia cast a suspicious glance at Imogen. Imogen shrugged and returned Lavinia’s stare with one of disinterest.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Imogen answered. “And the bath does sound good.”
“I’m fine,” Dehn declared. “Halflings don’t need to bathe as often as the rest of you.”
“You’re covered in, like, two inches of mud,” Lavinia pointed out.
Dehn looked down at his clothing, then at the rest of us. I shrugged my shoulders and stood up.
“Fine,” the halfling conceded. “But only because you made me.”
Rezo magically appeared as we were about to head upstairs. He directed us each to our own separate baths, where large tubs of steaming hot water already waited for us. Mine even came with plenty of bubbles and a scent that reminded me of freshly mown grass and a bit of mint. Merlin refused to join me in the water, but he chased bubbles around the bathroom while I soaked.
I finally finished my bath when the water started to turn cold. As I toweled off, I discovered that someone had removed my dirty clothes and replaced them with something much warmer and cozier. Apparently, the new clothes met with Merlin’s approval, as he had nestled on top of them and gone to sleep. I pushed him off and slipped into the freshly pressed shirt and pants.
By the time I was ready to return to the salon, I could hear Maruk’s booming voice echoing up the stairs. I smiled and bounded down the steps, following Maruk’s voice into the solarium. The rest of the Foxes were there, looking as tired as I’m sure we had when we first arrived.
“How’d it go?” I asked as I stepped into the room. I saw that Emeline was already there, examining one of Lena’s bottles.
“Excellent,” Maruk replied. “Everyone’s convinced we’re off hunting for Imogen.”
“And we have quite a few witnesses who are equally convinced that they saw you, Emeline, and Lavinia at various times last night, helping to lead the search,” Yvaine added.
“Good,” I said with a nod of my head. “Hopefully, no one will ask too many questions about who really saw us.”
“It won’t matter at this point,” Yvaine replied. “They’ll convince themselves that they saw you, and that’s the story they’ll stick to.”
“Sometimes, it pays to be the in-thing,” Aerin noted.
“What are they saying about the attack?” I asked. “Who do they think is behind it?”
“There are quite a few theories floating around,” Maruk mused. “The most popular is that Imogen has a secret gang that works with her, and they staged the rescue.”
“I prefer to work alone,” Imogen said as she strolled into the room. She was wearing a ruffled yellow shirt and a pair of pink polka dot pants along with a pair of even fluffier slippers. I know we were all staring, but it was so out of character.
“I like what you’re wearing,” Lena said as she clapped her hands in delight.
“I had to ask for something different,” Imogen sighed. “I don’t wear dresses. And this is what they brought me.”
“I’m sure we could find something else,” Yvaine noted.
“This will be fine,” Imogen replied as a smile tugged at her lips. “It’s sort of fun, and it reminds me of the clothes I used to wear as a kid.”
“I love pink,” Lena declared. After a moment, she added, “Well, I like most colors. But I do really like pink.”
“I’ll have Rezo find something pink for you to wear,” Yvaine replied.
“Oh wow,” Aerin suddenly blurted out. She had turned when she heard the door open, and now Lavinia stalked into the room. Word of Lavinia’s pregnancy had apparently reached the estate, and the dress she was wearing could only be described as maternity style. It was a long, loose-fitting maxi with extra room around the stomach and a cinch at the side. It was dark blue, with white and purple flowers floating across it.
“What is this?” Lavinia demanded. “I want my clothes back. Why would you make me wear this?”
“You look marvelous,” Yvaine assured her. “And you should get used to it. Once you start to show, this will be the only clothing you can fit.”
“You did this on purpose,” Lavinia growled.
“I made suggestions,” Yvaine replied. She shot a glance at Imogen, and added, “Though I’m not sure where that came from.”
“What did you pick out for me?” Aerin asked suspiciously.
“I only mentioned that Lavinia was pregnant,” Yvaine said. “I made no comments with regard to the rest of you.”
“I think it looks charming,” Maruk noted with approval. “Blue is an excellent color for you.”
“It has flowers,” Lavinia protested.
“Charming flowers,” Maruk agreed.
“I look good,” Dehn declared as he joined us. Someone had found a studded black leather vest that he now wore proudly with a pair of thick black pants and a black shirt.
“This is turning into quite the fashion show,” Maruk laughed.
“What the heck are you wearing?” Dehn asked as he looked at the two ladonae.
“It’s our undercover disguises,” Imogen replied with a perfectly straight face. Lavinia blinked, but said nothing. Dehn squinted at the pair and tried to decide if they were telling the truth.
“So,” Imogen said as she sat gracefully in a chair. “Let’s discuss the job I’ve been hired to perform.”
The Shadow Foxes exchanged uneasy looks, and I could understand why. Once we discussed this with Imogen, there would be no going back. We would have to rely on her, and hope that she wouldn’t decide that turning us in would better suit her purposes.
“We had an agreement,” Imogen said as the silence stretched on. “You fulfilled your half, and now I’ll fulfill mine. I gave you my promise, Gabriel Vega, and I never break a promise.”
Maruk gave me an encouraging nod as I took the seat next to him. Dehn and Lavinia sat down as well, and I took a deep breath.
“We recently completed a bounty for the Mage Academy,” I began. “We recovered four magical items known as the Shodra. Have you heard of them?”
Imogen cocked her head to one side as she thought. “It sounds vaguely familiar.”
I gave a nod to Emeline.
“The Shodra were created during the civil war, by the manipulators,” Emeline continued. “I’m still doing research, but from what I can tell, each one had a specific purpose. The gemstone has healing powers, the chalice is used to purify whatever is poured into it, the knife can cut through anything, and
the candle will guide you to wherever you need to go. Some elementalists and rogue mages have tried to use the magic inside the Shodra to do other things, but that always ends badly.”
“So it’s a good thing you returned them to the Academy,” Imogen said, though she looked unsure about that.
“We thought so,” I replied. “The people we encountered along the way certainly made us believe that it was good that the Academy was going to lock them away.”
“What changed?” she asked.
“I had a warning,” I said. “From Theira.”
Imogen’s eyebrows went up, but she said nothing. She looked around at the rest of the Shadow Foxes. No one looked away from her gaze, and no one revealed the slightest doubt about my claim.
“So, you talk to the gods,” Imogen said sceptically.
“It was a dream,” I explained. “Theira appeared and told me that the Academy couldn’t be trusted with the Shodra. Then she showed me images of what will happen if we leave the Shodra at the Academy.”
“And what will happen?” Imogen demanded.
“Terrible things,” I replied. “The civil war will be nothing compared to what’s about to be unleashed.”
“And where are you supposed to take the Shodra?” Imogen asked.
There was another long pause. Theira had never said, and none of us had thought that far ahead. We’d been entirely focused on retrieving the Shodra, and I had assumed that Theira would provide us guidance once we had accomplished that feat.
“She said the Shodra belonged to the new god,” I replied, drawing quizzical looks not only from Imogen, but the rest of the Shadow Foxes. “She didn’t say anything else, though.”
“A new god,” Imogen mused. She looked around at our group, her fiery stare evaluating each of us. “You’re all crazy.”
“We already knew that,” Dehn harrumphed.
Imogen finally started laughing, and after a brief pause, so did the rest of us.
“I almost like you, halfling,” Imogen sputtered as she wiped a tear from her eye. “Well, I’ve certainly ended up with an interesting group. This must be some sort of divine punishment for all my years as a thief.”