Page 41 of Unbound By Shadows
Sam frowned. “That may be, but—”
“But what?”
“I thought humans didn’t possess magic.”
“What magic? It’s calledtalking.”
“No. You charmed her. Made her bend to your will. How?”
“It was no magic.” The packed dirt of the trail was giving way to gravel. Selene kicked a large stone marring her path. “I figured not many people had been nice to her. So I tried talking to her like a person. It felt like that was what she needed.”
“But that song. How did you create it?”
“I didn’t! It was the birthday song!”
“And that is?”
Selene frowned. “Sorry, I guess you don’t have that here. It’s a song we sing in my world to celebrate the day a person was born.”
“For what purpose?”
Craning her neck to watch the Harpies of Iriswood flit from one elevated building to the next, she said, “There’s no purpose. It’s just a custom to honor someone once a year. It was the first song I could think of with someone’s name. We got lucky, I guess.”
Sam was quiet, seeming to mull over the concept of birthdays and songs. Then said, “You did something to me too. Restrained me somehow."
“Now you're talking crazy.”
“When my instincts to… to punish arise, it's difficult to stop them. But I felt different there. More calm. What did you do?”
“Nothing! I don't know what you mean.”
“Hmm. Regardless, you didn’t need to intervene back there. I was in full control of the situation. She could have easily killed you, stolen everything we had, then ripped off strips of your skin until—”
“You don’t have to be so graphic.”
“Look what she did to your arm!”
“It’s nothing. See?” Selene held out her arm. The red scratch from Pydiana’s talon had bled a little, but was already closed over.
Sam made a disgusted noise. When they entered into the main part of Iriswood, he commanded, “Pull up your hood. There could be vampires near, readying to emerge.”
Selene obeyed, suddenly self-conscious, and fearful of rogue vampires. She tried to keep her head down as she watched the inhabitants of Iriswood go about their business.
Although Harpies seemed to be the dominant population, the village wasn’t without other Aurelian races. Most of the buildings in Iriswood were built high on stilts or nestled into tree branches. She watched a Drago emerge from an elevated red house and use the small claws of his toes to climb down a rope. A Nereid splashed her feet in a puddle. Two Lycahs circled each other like wolves, before embracing in a hug.
They seemed harmless enough, but Selene could tell from the way Sam kept rubbing the back of his neck he was growing nervous. When they reached the end of the main road, Selene spotted the only building in Iriswood built at ground level. It was a narrow brick structure with a faded sign that readThe Golden Gust.Underneath the letters were a painted mug of beer and a crudely drawn bed.She pointed to it. “Look, is that the inn?”
Tension branched from Sam’s eyes as he looked down at her, then the inn. “Yes. But… ” He tugged at one of the leather bracers encircling his forearm.
Selene’s eyes narrowed. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Really?”
“My… feelings have changed,” Sam spoke hesitantly before his words came out in a rush. “Perhaps we should just pass through Iriswood and keep going. Not stay here tonight.”
“I thought you said we needed to stay at the inn.”
