Page 3 of Stitches
“Why, the story of the Source Crystal and the curse that afflicts our lands, of course, and how King Ashmedai rallied the people when we might have descended into chaos. I think this shall be a gift for himcome Festival Day.”
“Suck-up,” Daedlys muttered fondly.
Klarent turned on him with a huff that upset his mouth tendrils. “I am the official chronicler of our history!”
“Which you appointedyourselfa few hundred years ago. And we have endless accounts of the night of the curse, my love—most by you.”
“Am I not allowed to make improvements over the years? After all, some things get better with age.”
It was only playful banter, Levi knew, for he had experienced the pair many times now and was not surprised when Klarent coiled his arm tentacles toward his husband, slithering them up and around his ghostly form so that Daedlys seemed to emanate bits of mist wherever he was touched.
“Darling! Not when we have a customer.”
Klarent laughed. “What are your thoughts then, Lyssy? Too much?”
Daedlys shivered with a ripple of his form that almost made him disappear. “I think the glow is a nice touch.”
“Thank you.”
They were like one being for a moment, not kissing or embracing exactly, but something unique to them and equally as intimate, before Klarent released Daedlys.
That sort of closeness seemed such a precious thing to Levi, and he wondered if he’d ever get to experience it.
“Gather whatever you need, sweet Stitches.” Daedlys returned his attention to Levi. “I know Braxton is good for any trades. What’s he have for me today?”
Levi removed the item from his bag and set it before Daedlys and Klarent on a nearby table. It was a black crystal that Braxton had crafted with alchemy.
“Brace yourselves a moment,” Levi warned. He touched the crystal, and all the other crystals inside the shop went dark, plunging them intoshadow. Levi touched the crystal again and the light returned.
“Fascinating!” Klarent declared.
“Master Braxton said he can make more for you to trade at the shop if you like it,” Levi said.
“A master switch to dim every crystal in a room?” Daedlys carefully studied the black crystal, which was no larger than a goblet.
“Within the walls of anybuilding, more than just a room.”
Daedlys stared until the black of his eyes mirrored the black brilliance of the crystal. “Every home will want one,” he said breathlessly. “You bet I’ll take more. Pick out something for yourself while you’re at it. This is the best invention yet!” He snatched the crystal up, though touching it this time did not sink them into darkness.
“You must will the lights to darken, so there’s no risk of setting it off accidentally,” Levi explained, refilling his pack with the supplies on Braxton’s list and then hoisting it over his shoulder again as he began to look around the room with more scrutiny.
There were always wondrous things in this shop, but food and supplies were plentiful elsewhere. What caught Levi’s eye were fabrics and jewelry and all the ways he might make himself look more like a denizen of the Shadow Lands instead of a newborn creation.
“I should chronicle this,” Klarent said, watching Daedlys inspect the crystal, and then setting his tome aside to gather paper and a quill and sit at the desk where he did the shop’s bookkeeping. “Braxton invents so much, I can hardly keep track.”
Only half paying them as much mind, Levi tentatively touched a violet tunic on display. “Is this silk from Emerald?”
“Indeed it is. Don’t listen to Gordoc at the steps,” Daedlys said. “There’s plenty of silk yet and more likely to come with the next caravan. You go right ahead and claim that, darling. It would look lovely on you.”
The tunic was far more ostentatious than anything Levi had wornbefore, with long sleeves edged in silver thread. It was slightly longer on the left and right sides, where it would drape near his knees, almost like a skirt, bound together at the collar with deep purple cord, and bearing a hood with similar silver embroidery as the sleeves.
“Claim a belt as well,” Daedlys added.
“Oh!” Levi snapped back from touching the tunic. “I can’t actually take this. Master Braxton—”
“Can let you indulge if I’m offering. He treats you too much like a servant. Honestly, just because he made you in his workshop.”
But Leviwasa servant. It was his place. He owed his life to his maker.
