Page 38 of Killian
Killian snorted.
“I should brush my teeth. Killian?”
“Mm?” He had folded down the covers and was climbing into bed.
“In your pack, did you ever feel… well, sort of alone, I guess?”
He paused, still sitting up, but fingers adjusting the covers. “I don’t know if I can answer that accurately. I remember feelingveryalone at some point. But also very happy. I remember laughing a lot.” A smile bloomed on his face. “I remember falling out of my chair once when I laughed so hard at Pellos. I couldn’t breathe. He was telling a story about a fish in a hat. That makesno sense when I say it out loud. I don’t remember the story now, just how much I laughed and how much I loved being with them. I think they made me feelnotalone. It feels like they saved me, to tell the truth. Maybe they did. I wish I could remember.”
Moira sighed. That hadn’t helped, and it made her envious.
“We’ll track them tomorrow. We should form a posse.”
“So American,” murmured Killian.
“It’s the only word I can think of. It’s what you form when you’re hunting the outlaws. If I’m out to persecute some enemies, it’s a raiding party. But a small, nimble group of trackers out for justice is a posse.”
Killian chuckled. “My apologies. I don’t think I’ve ever been part of a posse before, but please continue.”
“We need to keep it small. I think if we take a whole damn army we’ll be too slow.”
“Agreed,” said Killian.
“So we’ll track them. Once we figure out what the fuck they’re up to—other than destruction and death—we’ll send for reinforcements and figure out how to give them a hard boot straight out of the library.”
“Look, it’s a plan,” he said, smiling and leaning back on the pillows.
Moira shrugged. “It’s half-assed. I wish I had more wolves. I’d feel better if I were more confident with who was backing us up.”
Killian shrugged. “We get what we get,” he said, around a yawn. “Sometimes you have to make due.”
Moira watched Killian’s eyes drift closed and went to brush her teeth. She scrubbed angrily, getting rid of the taste of warlock but not gaining any more peace. How could he go right back to sleep? Wasn’t he worried about letting all the elves down? It was a lot of responsibility, and she wasn’t sure they had what they needed to get the job done. She thought about Killian’s well-used gear and full passport. He was used to making do withwhat he had. She thought that was probably what made him confident in their current situation. Meanwhile, she suspected that she was used to having more resources. More resources, more support, but no partner.
Moira frowned. She did have a partner. He was right there. In bed. Where she ought to be. Grumpy, Moira flung her clothes off, leaving them wadded in a pile on the floor, and crawled into bed with Killian. He made space for her as she wiggled in next to him, cuddling her even though he was already half-asleep. Moira sighed. She was being ridiculous. Whatever she was feeling, it was probably just residual from before she was with Killian. Now that they were together, everything was great.
Except that Albert hadn’t mentioned him in the letter.
Moira buried her face in Killian’s chest and let the smell of him push the disquieting thoughts out of her head.
Episode 17
Unraveling
Killian
Killian gazed into the hazy nothingness of the portal between levels and realized that Moira’s plan to hunt the warlocks was about to become something more likefall down a hole and follow his nose. Which might be something he was willing to risk on his own, but would sound like sheer foolishness to a bunch of elves.
“I’ve got nothing,” muttered Moira. “You?”
He shook his head.
They had followed the trail of the warlocks out to the portal between the levels. It wasn’t a challenging trail to find. Killian could have been nose-blind and still managed to figure it out, but now that they were here, the scent was cold. They had taken a dozen volunteers to go on the hunting party. More had volunteered, but Moira managed to keep their party small and manageable, although it had taken some firm diplomacy on her part.
“It’s like that fog stuff destroys all the smell,” said Moira.
“Kind of think it might actually,” said Killian. “Going between enormous levels on a giant world tree kind of sounds like it would require some sort of… I don’t know… like a transporter on Star Trek. Where it blows you up into atoms and then reassembles you at your destination.”
“Oh, thanks so much,” said Moira. “That’s not going to terrify me next time I have to go in there.”
