Page 71 of Shadows and Flames
“We will help you secure an agreement with this people who providesuchwonderful fabric,” Meline barely held back her scoff, “and protect you during such proceedings. All we need is a chance to speak with them about our own interests.”
“All of us didn’t agree to that!”
My queen hushed Tomás while keeping her attention on Blackwood. The muscle over his bearded jaw ticked, and he ran his gaze over all of us. I did not enjoy my Shadow duties that included guarding as much as I did the hunting and killing. But I would gladly participate, for my queen.
“You will guard my back as I make another deal, with no other payment aside from asking them your questions?” Someone grumbled at the ‘no payment’ part of the agreement, but we otherwise remained silent. The floorboards of the millhouse creaked beneath our feet.
Meline nodded sharply. “Yes.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
TANA
Iwas nearly jumping out of my skin, bobbing on my toes while we neared the designated coordinates of the fault line, the crack between realms.
I took note of everything I could, the craggy bark of the trees, the forest life grown hushed as we slowed to a stop. Blackwood had minimal knowledge, just how to get to the meeting point, but even that was heaps more than we’d everdreamed.
“It’s a bloody forest,” Tomás remarked, as begrudging as anyone could be. His demeanor soured the further we trekked, and if I’d known a jaunt through the woods would shut up his usual teases and taunts, I would’ve suggested it long ago.
Fenix walked beside me, and he gave a grunt of agreement to Tomás’s whingeing. It was such a curious thing, his insistence to come with us. After Blackwood agreed to work with us, we’d gone back to Vharas to retrieve our things, store them at Blackwood’s house outside of the city, and pack all we might need for… however long we were gone. We could have paid extra to keep our rooms at the inn, but it was already a surprise our packs hadn’t been rifled through when we got back. They surely would have been gone if we’d left them unattended for more than twelve hours.
And when we took again to the road leading out of Vharas, a few hours’ sleep achieved and a hunt complete to tide us over, Fenix had appeared. Covered from head to toe in tunic, trousers, and a hood. His darkened glasses shielded his eyes, and I was only able to identify him by scent alone.
My cousin had given him a stern word about staying out of our way, but that was that.
It was two hours or so we’d been walking in these woods, slower than our typical gait to accommodate Walter’s slower pace. Horses, he’d said, would not be able to come.
Meline hummed, looking again at her compass then the sky above. It was a pleasant enough day, late-afternoon sun descending and the sky a mix of blue and warm colors. Fat, fluffy clouds trailed by as the canopy leaves remained still.
“A forest to a differentworld,” I whispered, unsure if these Folk could already hear us. Our guide grunted. Just ahead, a section of flattened earth was encircled by longer, wilder vegetation. The edges were too organic to be purposeful cuts. “Look,” I pointed, “that’s a good sign, right?”
“Yes, it’s here.” The other three Lylithans eyed the man skeptically, but I gladly followed him into the circle, approaching the tree in its middle. An ancient oak with deep, thick roots and enough branches and leaves above to block the sun almost entirely. The width of the trunk alone spanned at least three people wide. “You’ve still got it?” he asked.
Meline rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. “Of course.” Elián gestured to the pack slung on his back, just under the swords sheathed at his spine.
“All right.” Walter nodded, straightening and looking at the trunk of the tree. “We’re here to make a deal.”
The words held a weight, and the forest somehow grew more still. No wind nor sound while the air… pulsed.
Connected more than most to the aether, I felt the moment it changed. Rippling like the surface of water disturbed. Meline, Elián, Fenix, and Tomás, the most skeptical of us all, joined Walter and me at attention, and we all watched,marveled, as the surface of the tree itself shifted. It was a subtle change, but where the oak went almost… pliable, a figure emerged.
Their movements were professional… as if they were unsurprised or unimpressed to be called forth, and then there was another. And another.
The figures stepped out of the tree, and I couldn’t hold back a delighted laugh as I witnessed a form of magic I’d never seen before. Even the swords at their hips did nothing to deter my excitement.
By all appearances, these Folk looked fairly similar to the elven peoples who were fairly common in our realm. Long limbs, pointed ears. And they dressed similarly to us in simple leathers, though the breastplates of which were covered in interesting etched details, scrolling swirls and symbols.
“And what bargain do you have to offer?” The first one asked quietly, though it boomed between us. At once, it was a regular voice, and at the same time, there was a deep, almost musical note to it. My ears were entranced, curious. But the hair stood up on the back of my neck, and my lips twitched with the instinct to chant.
Walter ignored the question, maintaining a confident posture. But I could hear his heart racing. “Paschal Von Herron is dead. I would like to offer my services as a broker for your goods in his stead.”
The leader narrowed his eyes, unimpressed but still interested. Judging by the fact they’d not left or tried to kill us yet. “Who?”
“The man from our world with whom you’ve settled a trade agreement with.”
His black hair was shorn close to his scalp, skin a similar color to Elián’s. On his face, however, were thin, pale marks, symmetrically drawn on his brow, cheeks, and chin. The two others behind them showed similar markings on their skin, though their hair and coloring varied. The tunics beneath their armor shone like pearls. “We know this. We felt our deal with him break.”
“Who can I speak to in regard to another deal?” Blackwood puffed up his chest, arms crossed, though he was at least a head shorter than the smallest of these Folk.
