Page 25 of Stitches
The market was much darker at this hour, with fewer crystals on to brighten the way, and only a handful of lanterns, as well as a candle clock at the base of the steps near Gordoc’s stall. It was very late, almost closer to early, an hour or two before Levi needed to be up for the hunt.
The shuffling came again, closer. Footsteps? They were coming from above, where whatever that was had come out of the wood.
Levi moved deeper into the market, swift and searching. There was no one around. He could go to Daedlys’s shop, where Daedlys and Klarent lived above it, but there was no light on. If he roused them and they answered the door to harbor him, would he be putting them at risk?
The footsteps were coming down the steps!
The brightest point in the market was the square, illuminated by the Source Crystal. It might not be the safest place, but at least Levi could hide behind it. Hide he did, too afraid to peer around it and see what pursued him. Instead, he glanced over his shoulder at the castle on its hill.
The view here was closer but not as direct as from Levi’s window. The tower with its light on was still visible though. Ashmedai had to be awake. He was so close, yet so far….
As the shuffling drew nearer, Levi huddled in his cloak at the base of the Amethyst gemstone. There was a faint hum of power emanating from it, now that Levi was close enough to hear, but all he could focus on was the horror Kenner had described, with a maw large enough to swallow him whole.
“Who goes there?”
Levi gasped as a hand clamped down on his shoulder, and he sprung upright with enough force that the hood fell back from his head.
Yentriss.
“You. Like any other number of foolish children who think it might be fun to test the demon’s patience.” She sighed with what Levi could only describe as motherly disappointment. “Are you sleepwalking, or truly that daft?” She scanned down Levi’s body, taking in the nightshirt beneath his cloak, bare legs, and simple shoes.
“I-I… couldn’t sleep,” Levi said, hanging his head. “I was startled when I heard you coming. I’m sorry. Do you usually patrol so late?” Orearly, he reminded himself.
The lizard woman had a lovely glimmer to her green and gold scales in the meager lighting, almost ethereal in the shadow of the Amethyst gemstone. She wore a simple long-sleeved surcoat and trousers that gave a stately, soldierlike appearance. “Old habits.” She shrugged. “I have deputies who patrol at times too. We never find anything amiss, mind you, other than wandering babes.”
Levi hung his head lower. He hated being likened to a child, though he supposed he had been acting like one.
As he adjusted his cloak and tried to stand up straighter, the Amethyst gemstone was poised directly behind him, and he thought Yentriss’s stare turned penetrating, enough that he quickly looked awayagain.
“None of that now,” she said a little softer. “I haven’t seen eyes the likes of yours in a long time, but you needn’t hide them. If there was ever something sinister to that Amethyst, it was because of what the demon did to it, maybe even what our lost prince did to it, but Brax has proven he can make useful things from its power in the years since. We’ll see if that proves true of you, but so far nothing has proven otherwise.”
Levi looked up. Yentriss was a harsh woman, but there was a tenderness beneath her scales that could be earned, something Levi had only caught glimpses of when she smiled at Grillo or patted Kenner’s head. He hoped he could earn it someday.
“Go home now,” Yentriss said plainly, and Levi offered a hasty nod before heading around the gemstone to return to the steps.
He still couldn’t be certain of where he would have gone had Yentriss not interrupted his stroll, but with a final glance at the castle once he reached the top of the steps, he knew where he’d wanted to be. Even as he turned for Braxton’s tower, Levi wondered if Ashmedai would have let him in.
Ashmedai
What a fool Ashmedai was for thinking that inviting Levi to join the hunt would meanmoretime with him.
“Duck!” Yentriss called from the back of the line, and everyone knew to listen—for the rollhounds had been released.
Rollhounds were what had become of dogs and were still often keptas pets, mixed now with a sort of armadillo appearance and able to hurl themselves forward in their contorted form and even propel into the air ahead of the hunters.
Ashmedai watched half a dozen land in front of where he led the charge, continuing forward hot on the trail of whatever scent they had picked up.
Some of the hunters were especially skilled in controlling the rollhounds, but the hunters’ numbers weren’t only based on strength. Some were adept at long-range weaponry, like Yentriss, others in magic, or simply useful with the natural affinities of their monstrous selves.
Myrra, for example, was a creature of massive size, even taller than Grillo, and seemingly made of stone. She could make the ground tremble and act as both deterrent and wall to direct their prey where they wanted them to go.
In contrast, Amuro, a second generation-born citizen, and therefore one of the most mixed of chimeras, was faster than the rollhounds and could cast magic that seeped from him like mist to put their prey to sleep. He walked as easily on four legs as two, for his hindquarters were like a furred mammal, his arms like a lizard, and he had a tail like a rat, with an elongated face made from armored skin, the teeth of an alligator, and a mane of hair as full as a lion.
Those who volunteered for the hunt all had unique skills to contribute.
Like Levi—who was somewhere back by Yentriss, staying out of harm’s way.
Ashmedai kept his hand on his longsword but didn’t yet draw it, speeding between trees in pursuit of the hounds. Several other hunters kept pace with him, many were just behind, and even more were farther back with Yentriss and Levi, where Ashmedai could barely keep track of them, let alone start a conversation.
