Page 48 of Stitches
Levi felt his cheeks warm, and the warmth spread further through his chest. Here was yet another example of romance persevering—a potent and ageless love bringing new life into the world.
“What are you two conspiring about?”
Levi and Klarent lurched away from each other at the sudden return of Daedlys.
The banshee held a bag overflowing with thread and trimmings, presumably from one of the other shops. On top was some particularly beautiful gold lace ribbon.
“Just festival business,” Levi said, but as he stood, he turned his back on Daedlys so only Klarent could see him mouth, “Tell him.” Then Levi spun back around and presented Daedlys with the bag slung over his body. “I brought another shipment of crystals. I can pick up supplies later. I’m… off to visit Grillo,” he lied, though it was only a white lie, since he had seen Grillo before coming here.
Daedlys’s black eyes seemed to bore into Levi, so Levi wasted no time making scarce to avoid being questioned. He paused after the door closed behind him, listening in to see if Klarent would take his advice.
He had only faintly been able to hear Klarent’s humming before, and even with the pair closer to the door, Levi caught but a few muffled words—until an exclamation of obvious joy dangerously close to being as loud as one of Daedlys’s screams signaled all would be well.
Which was when Levi looked out into the market and spotted Ashmedai.
All would be well indeed.
Ashmedai
“You look like you have a secret,” Ashmedai said as he and Levi strolled through the market.
Levi hunched but maintained his smile. “It’s not mine to tell, I’m afraid, but it’s a good thing. I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough.”
Knowing someone else’s secret further proved how much Levi had become part of the community. Ashmedai didn’t mind having to wait to learn it.
They hadn’t mentioned a destination, merely started walking as they talked, heading away from the market steps—which meant they soon reached the Source Crystal at the center of the square.
They paused at its base. The Amethyst gemstone was as hefty as the man-sized black crystal Braxton had in his workroom, though it towered taller since it rested on a pedestal, so wide with its various jagged edges that most people would have been unable to wrap their arms around it and touch their fingers together. Unless they had tentacles, and of course some citizens did.
Seeing Levi so close to it, Ashmedai thought the glow of Levi’s violet eyes seemed to pulse with the Amethyst’s powerful light.
In truth, Ashmedai hated this crystal but not its color. He loved the color. He would just rather enjoy it on Levi without a painful reminder as the backdrop.
“Would you like to continue our stroll by the lake?” Ashmedai asked.
“I’d love to,” Levi said.
The Black Lake was reached by continuing to the very end of the market and down a small set of steps onto the beginning sands of the beach, which was otherwise hidden by the ravine walls the market was built into. It didn’t truly look like a ravine until one reached that descending curve in the rocky walls, leading around to the hidden beachfront and the deep lake that was otherwise entirely enclosed.
Without any visible flowing water in or out, the lake could have been stagnant, but underground rivers kept it fresh. Some mining was done, but they had never tried excavating too deeply, especially in the caves under the water, assuming somewhere beyond would be unknown edges of the barrier they couldn’t risk stumbling upon.
Many unique creatures lived in the lake’s depths, safe enough that fishermen and swimmers weren’t unheard of, but although snow and frigid temperature never touched the Shadow Lands, it was still technically winter and too cold for the beach, sothe area was empty.
The temperature was about perfect for a thunderstorm, however. Ashmedai hadn’t noticed, but the cloud cover had increased, and it looked like rain soon. He ignored the threat for now, not wanting his time with Levi to be cut short.
“You never ask me to smooth any more stitches,” Ashmedai said.
“Oh, I….” Levi glanced at his feet. He did that often, turned shy and fumbled for words. The difference was that, now, he eventually looked up and smiled with confidence. “May I be honest?”
“Always.”
They were nearly to the shoreline, and as they skirted it and the faintly lapping tide, movement caught Ashmedai’s attention—then Levi’s a second later.
“Ah!” Levi jumped, scrambling to grab Ashmedai’s arm. The last wave had carried a family of moth crabs onto the shore.
They looked like giant spider-legged crabs, but where they got the first part of their name was often overlooked, until they spread their wings and took off toward the rocks.
“You have nothing to fear,” Ashmedai said, hushed and close beside Levi. “Moth crabs are harmless. Just about a hundred times larger than a housefly.”
