Page 1 of Compass Points
Chapter One
Rose carefully tucked the cash and coin into her market belt. It sat low on her hips over her long tunic, leggings, and sturdy boots. She tucked a strand of her shoulder-length hair behind her ear as she finished the transaction with the man standing before her.
“Slow market day today?” the man asked as he once again tested the grip of his new axe.
“A little,” Rose said with a noncommittal tone. She didn’t want to voice what everyone was thinking: Customers were getting too scared to leave their homes. Though the stalls were filled with most of the usual villagers selling their wares, vegetables, soaps, lotions, and more, the aisles of shoppers were sparse.
“I heard the mist plague took another village, the one just north of here last week.”
Rose nodded. The news had made its way up to Bury, the village atop the lake-filled mountain crater. From the conversations she’d overheard so far this morning, the villagers were definitely starting to worry. Rose supposed she was worried too; she was just uninterested in spending all her time talking about things over which she had no control. The mist plague had been slowly seeping onto the continent for years. Slow enough that most ignored it since it didn’t impact their daily lives. Recently, the mist seemed to be growing in confidence, a danger that was making itself harder and harder to pretend didn’t exist.
“If the Suden Point doesn’t come up with some answers soon, the other Compass Points will have to do something about him.”
Rose attempted to cover her laugh with a cough. If the rumors were true, the current Suden Point was one of the most powerful fae in generations. Even if he was responsible for the mist plague, which Rose doubted, she wasn’t sure the other three Compass Points could do anything about it.
“I heard he’s been at every village taken by the plague.” The owner of the stall next to Rose stepped in to engage in the customer’s conversation.
“I heard that none of the villages that claim Aterra as a patron god have been attacked either! So if you worship the Suden fae’s god, you might be safe,” the customer said.
She let their voices blend into the market around her. Rose had no love for the Compass Points, but claiming that the Suden Point was responsible for this mist plague seemed a stretch. She wasn’t even sure that hewasSuden Point when the first reports of the mist started. She was also pretty sure that the Compass Points had assigned him to investigate the mist plague, hence why he was at every village, but not many were interested in facts like those when they were starting to panic.
With the customer gone, Rose felt a flap of wings and a familiar weight settle on her shoulder.
“Arie, I was looking for you earlier. Why didn’t you show up in your bear form to help me carry the supplies?” She spoke in a low whisper to the bird. She’d been selling at the market for years. At this point, most villagers accepted her as strange but harmless. That didn’t mean she liked to emphasize that she talked to various animals regularly.
“I was busy and knew you could handle it, Rose. You’re always going on about how tough you are,”he said directly to her mind. She turned her head to glare at the bird. She didn’t know how to categorize Arie. He wasn’t a Vesten, a shifter, in the traditional sense. He had no human form, or at least none he had ever shown her. He swapped animal forms often, though. Today’s large black bird was one of his favorites.
“Is that code for not feeling up to any manual labor today? What happened to my big strong protector?” she teased.
“Like you need one.”The bird’s head swiveled around at her market booth and the beautiful and deadly weapons on display. He flicked his feathers at the side of her face.“Sometimes you’re too good at letting people underestimate you.”
Rose knew Arie was observant, and he’d had plenty of time to watch her interactions. He had been with her since she fled her past life ten years ago. He’d helped her then and continued to show up and help her now, whether she wanted it or not.
“So, will you tell me where you were this morning?” she asked as casually as she could. She hated to follow up on the question, hating the idea of need lacing her words, but he’d been disappearing for longer spaces of time recently.
“I was preparing us for this morning’s market, checking newcomers from the surrounding villages, seeing if any were going to try and hike up the crater to Bury. As you can see, not many were willing to make the trip with the rising fear of the mist plague.”He rambled on, but his words rang hollow. She knew this for the brush-off that it was.
“Fine. Keep your secrets, Arie. I have some of my own, too.” There. She was happy with that reply. No clinging desperation in her tone. Hard to believe that, after initially wanting nothing to do with him or anyone else, she’d gotten so used to having him around.
He pecked at the side of her head.“Rose, I’m not abandoning you. Just allow me to do my research. I’ll let you know if it becomes important.”
She let out a small breath as she scanned the surrounding area looking for her student and friend, Tara. She must have taken longer at the temple’s morning prayers than usual.
The Bury Village town square sat on the edge of a gorgeous lake. She couldn’t help but laugh at herself every time she surveyed the deep blue waters. She just couldn’t get away from living on a lake. The Lake of the Gods, as it was called, was a massive attraction to locals and travelers. The deep, spring-fed, clear waters were that of legends.
“You weren’t trying to access the lake, were you?” She laughed. The lake itself was said to have celestial properties, channeling the powers of the gods. The problem was that no one could touch the lake to prove it.
“You know I gave up on that years ago.”He ruffled his feathers. When they first arrived, Rose had watched him obsess about trying to touch the lake’s water. She knew he hated the reminder that he’d failed at something.
“Whatever you say, Arie. I believe you.” She shot him a wink. This was much more familiar ground between them.
She gazed at the lake-filled crater and let the morning sun fall on her white skin as a few more villagers walked by the market stall. She could easily make out the small island from here on the far side of the lake. She couldn’t wait to go home. She felt like she’d been on her feet for hours.
She focused again on the villagers passing her stand and tried smiling and nodding to those who walked past. Approachable. She needed to ensure she was approachable, not daydreaming about the magical mysteries of the lake. She casually nodded to the Dawson family across the market’s hastily made aisles. They sold the vegetables they grew. Next to them, the Turner family displayed their homemade soaps and lotions.
Rose let go of the thought of getting off her feet when she heard a voice in front of her booth. She knew Arie was gone before she looked. The warm weight had lifted from her shoulder. He never was one for goodbyes.
“Excuse me,” came a silky-smooth voice that sent heat through her entire body. “Do you know where I can find the weapons master?”
