《The Wilds Series (Currently: ORION, Book 1) [Modern Vampires & Faeries]》


 001; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 1: The Failed Hunt

    The faint rustling of the bushes next to me betrays the location of Khalil. He shouldn''t be making any noise, but he has never been the best at hunting, no matter how hard he tries. Our current problem is that we need to catch a rabbit or a grabbat¨Csomething small¨Cto supplement the terrible choice of bringing only snack food for our trade trip. It was a decision made by the aforementioned friend without input from anyone else. I must remember to double-check work done by anyone who isn''t named Orion when we''re traveling.


    My eyes trail to where the noise is coming from, and a few moments later, Khalil''s head¨Cwith its kind, warm brown eyes¨Cappears, followed by his body. Khalil is slightly taller than I am, with thick, strong shoulders, bronzed skin, and a frame meant for rugged, physically demanding work. Although we''ve been traveling for days, his hair is cropped with clean lines. His ears are only slightly pointed¨Che''s a faerie, technically half-elven. Khalil actually gets a five o''clock shadow, so he''s certainly got a respectable amount of scruff after our few days of travel.


    Khalil crouches next to me before brushing off his arms and chest. Though I don''t want to, I can''t help but stare at him incredulously as the noise-making machine continues. It''s impressive how much racket he''s making while trying to be quiet simultaneously. Finally, I can''t take it anymore; I whisper at him in irritation.


    "Khalil, man."


    I raise my right hand towards my lips and try to give him the universal symbol for "be quiet, you idiot." Of course, he gives back the most innocent and confused look he can muster. I stare at him until he finally relents by holding up both of his hands with palms facing me in a "don''t shoot" gesture. He follows it up with a faint grin, telling me everything I need to know. I smirk, unable to control it, and shake my head. It takes a few moments, but I recenter myself to focus on hunting.


    I''ve known Khalil all my life¨Cunquestionably, he''s my best friend¨Cand that''s not an exaggeration. He was born two days before I was born, and we were raised together in our small village. I can''t remember ever a time when he wasn''t with me, especially for any expedition or lessons taught by others in our village. He''s been my constant companion, and I know without speaking that his loyalty to me¨Cand mine to him¨Cis unwavering. We might as well be brothers.


    I slowly start to move again, waving ever so slightly with my right hand at Khalil, gesturing for him to follow behind me where I step and at my pace. After his purposeful noise-making session, he''s settled down to be serious. We''re far enough from the road now to get lost easily, and getting lost anywhere in the Wilds is a recipe for never getting found.


    After a short bit of walking through the grasping, thick underbrush along this stretch of our trading run, I suddenly halt, my eyes focusing on faint movement through some squat shrubbery a few yards out in front of us. Carefully, I pull my necklace up from underneath my old human metal band''s city tour t-shirt and pull out a small, bamboo-like reed pipe attached to a leather necklace cord. Already loaded with a hunter''s dart, I carefully pull the blowgun off the cord and re-tuck the necklace underneath my worn shirt so it doesn''t get in the way.


    Though Khalil doesn''t see what has caused us to stop, he knows that I can, so he comes to a stop a few paces behind me to give me plenty of space. We might be close like brothers, but we are much better at certain things than the other. He''s stronger than me, without question, but I can move through the thickest underbrush with barely a sound, like a wiretail. I don''t bother to peek back at Khalil; instead, I patiently keep my eyes ahead.


    My vigilance is rewarded when a small gray and brown four-legged creature creeps from underneath a hedge into some of the spotty sunlight making it through the darkness of the thick canopy. The critter is facing me, giving me its measure. It''s an adult grabbat, thankfully. Similar to an oversized squirrel in the human divide, the beast is about the same size as a rabbit but has two saucer-like eyes, a squirrel-like tail, raccoon-like claws, and a thick, squat body meant for rapidly climbing trees. I don''t move too quickly because I don''t want to startle it. The last time we startled a grabbat¨Cwell, Khalil startled a grabbat¨Cwe had to deal with the stink of its defensive odor for a full-on week.


    The grabbat stops and twitches nervously, causing me to tense, but it continues foraging a few moments later. I relax back to my normal focused state and slowly raise my reed blowgun, careful not to accidentally hit any shrubbery in front of me. I inhale and then exhale, calming my breathing and hands before raising the weapon to my lips and taking aim. As I inhale deeply to get enough air to fire my dart, a sudden and monstrously loud cracking of underbrush startles everyone: the grabbat, me, and Khalil alike.


    The grabbat screeches in alarm, releases its odor spray, and takes off to the nearest tree for safety. Khalil behind me scrambles backward on hands and knees without thought to stealth. I don''t have time to place my blowgun away, but Khalil has the right idea. I turn and immediately clamber after him on all fours¨CI don''t want to stand and run since we don''t know what colossal thing made the noise, and I''d rather not be at full height right to start. From experience, dealing with unknown loud noises in the Wilds is generally best served by getting the hell out of there. We scramble madly for about ten seconds before I stand up and grab Khalil''s shoulder to convince him to get up.


    "We gotta run now." I emphatically press.


    Khalil doesn''t argue in the slightest, and once he''s to his feet, we dash madly in the direction from which we entered the looming forest. We''re old enough to be used as go-betweens between our village of Wilder, other small encampments, and sometimes the more significant tribes. Because of the constant travel, both of us are used to physical activity. Khalil runs next to me, trying to get my attention verbally.


    "Ori!"


    Of course I heard him, but I chose not to respond immediately. Instead, I look behind us while sprinting through the underbrush, trying to see if we''re in immediate danger while avoiding thistles, thorns, and other forest blockades.


    "Orion!" Khalil more insistently raises his voice.


    "What?" I mutter, finally acknowledging him.


    My response seems to be a signal to slow down to Khalil, though I have no desire to do so just yet. Despite that, I slow down to match his pace as we go from running to jogging and then finally to walking together. Khalil looks behind us and then back before his lips split in a grin, and he starts laughing. His laugh is infectious, and I snicker a little despite myself.


    "That was actually kind of hilarious; scared the shit out of me, dude."


    "Yeah, same. It was something big, but I didn''t get a look."


    "Maybe it was a big branch falling or something."


    I shake my head, not agreeing with Khalil''s assessment of the disturbance. Pulling my necklace cord up from underneath my old human-printed shirt, I affix my reed blowgun to where it was before the failed hunt. Once done, I take it off my neck and wrap it back into its place on my belt, where I usually keep it unless I am actively hunting.


    "Now," I sigh, "we have to eat another night of junk."


    "It''s whatever, Ori." Khalil shrugs in his carefree sort of way. "We''re almost at the village anyway. We can get a good meal when we get there."


    I look left and right, trying to mentally place our location even though almost everything looks the same. I nudge Khalil with an elbow, not knocking him off balance, but hard enough that he has to take a step to the side to rebalance himself.


    "What?!" He protests loudly, and I shake my head in response.


    "Khalil, man, we''re going there to trade, not to waste our shit on food. I''m pretty sure we won''t have access to any nearby seam for another couple of weeks, and these guys are the only ones around with gasoline stored from the human divide. So yeah, we shouldn''t waste any of our village''s stuff, alright?"


    Khalil mumbles something inaudible but seemingly agrees with me, so I keep talking.


    "We can just find some berries or something on the way. Just something fresh and not those damned flaming hot cheese puffs." I say as if I didn''t hear him muttering to himself.


    It''s not that I don''t like his choice of junk food¨Cit''s incredible, actually. It just gets tiresome when you''ve had almost three whole days of nothing but junk food. It could be worse, of course; at least we''re not starving, though some people might debate that, given our "choice" of foodstuff for this trip.


    After another half hour or so of walking, we could see the clearing where we left our two partners behind with the supplies and trade items. I relax my muscles finally and lead Khalil out of the forest onto the rough gravel and dirt of the traveler''s path. A small fire is going on the side of the road behind our covered trade wagon, and I see Lani tossing a few logs onto it with her back turned to us.


    Lani is slender with dusky skin and dark hair. To human eyes, she would look too slim, like she had health issues. She''s like Khalil and I, one of the Wilder elves. Elf-kin can come in all shapes; most Faeries are notably not particularly finicky in partners unless pedigree and station mean something to them. Lani is half-elf, like Khalil, and takes after her wispy air pixie half in appearance, just without the wings. I look around, not seeing our fourth, but continue walking over to Lani. I run a hand over the side of my face and one of my pointed ears before announcing to the air.


    "Hey, we''re back."


    Lani turns to look at us, then openly denotes we have nothing in our hands and groans for about two seconds.


    "I know, I know. Something startled the first thing I saw, and it was big, whatever it was, so we just ''nope''d out'' of there. Wasn''t worth finding out whatever it was. Where''s Aria?"


    Lani drops the rest of the logs and small sticks next to the small fire and brushes her hands off in front of herself.


    "She''s sleeping, of course. What else would she be doing during the day?" That isn''t surprising since she''s our trading wagon''s night guard. Lani continues with her train of thought, mostly just her complaining at us¨Cadmittedly, rightfully so. "So, another day of the great crap food that Khalil packed for us, huh?"


    Khalil starts to protest, which undoubtedly will be a protest about how flaming hot cheese puffs are superior to everything in our lands since we hear his spiel about once a week. However, before he can rev himself up to get going, snapping branches, shrubbery limbs, and twigs loudly announce from the forest that we aren''t alone. Instinctively, I reach down to my side and draw out my small whittling knife while Lani positions herself behind us and next to the back of our covered cart. Khalil, meanwhile, stands with his hands at his sides.


    The noise draws closer, and the three of us tense in anticipation. Generally speaking, for travelers and traders like us, it''s an excellent plan to assume anything that comes out of the forests of the Wilds unexpectedly will not be safe to deal with. It''s a kind of "hope for the best, prepare for the worst" sort of thing.


    A low, throaty growl, full of bass, starts from the undergrowth. Fuck. Immediately, I take a step back, intimidated; a shock of fear crawls up my spine because I know what that growl belongs to. The inhalation of air behind me tells me that both Lani and Khalil recognize it, too. Immediately, Lani slaps her hand on the back of the cart insistently and half-yells in a scared voice.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    "ARIA, wake up. We need you now, bad. WAKE UP!"


    She smacks the back of the cart''s door a few more times while Khalil and I stare at the underbrush and wait for the bad news. Unfortunately, that bad news does come. A set of bowling-ball-sized paws tipped by curled claws press forward out of the forest''s oppressive and obfuscating undergrowth and stretch out to move aside the shrubbery. Once the vegetation cracks and bends back, the beast''s full shape reveals itself: a stocky bull-like chest stands above thick, muscular legs. A thick, long neck leads to something of a half-mane encircled head. The head of the beast that emerges is feline in shape and nature, colored black and sandy brown with perfect mottling to hunt in the dark, oppressive forests of the Wilds. The appearance of its snout and face is a mix between puma and lion.


    The beast''s ears twist and twitch in our direction, with lynx-like thick tufts of charcoal-colored fur at the tips that sway slightly with each movement. It''s enormous¨Ca full-sized and healthy adult¨Cwith its size suggesting a male. The powerful, muscled shoulders of his front two legs easily stand at my shoulder''s height. As the great cat fully exposes himself from the forest, I see the long horizontal stripes along his side rising to his spine and join along the thick, bristling tail for which his kind is known.


    "A wiretail¡­" Lani whispers in distress. She slaps the back of the cart once more, but not as loudly as if she were afraid to encourage the beast to attack by making more noise. "Aria, wake up. There''s a wiretail and we need you. For fuck''s sake, get up."


    The wiretail watches us, having yet to move further. He''s no longer moving his body, save for his fur-tufted ears, burnt-orange and gold-colored eyes, and tail. His long tail slowly moves behind his body so we can see the foot-long quills littered through the wiretail''s thick tail fur, slowly trembling and bristling in what I believe to be anticipation. With some degree of horror, I believe that he''s been hunting us this whole time.


    "He''s going to attack us; he''s just trying to decide which way to start. Get ready." I stage-whisper to Khalil, wishing I''d had a chance to get to my bow inside of the trader wagon.


    The cart behind us makes a creaking noise, and the door next to Lani opens with a groan. I hear Lani breathe a sigh of relief, though I''m unsure why, as the danger hasn''t passed.


    "Why are we picking fights with wiretails in the daytime?" The voice that speaks belongs to Aria, but it''s much like a low, whispered hiss from some monstrous reptile because she''s shapeshifted.


    Her grousing doesn''t gain a response since the rest of us are terrified. It''s the first time any of us¨Cexcept probably Aria¨Chave seen a feral wiretail. The cart groans and protests as Aria jumps down from the back of the cart, and I hear the thud of her shapeshifted weight firmly hitting the ground. Right now, I am thrilled that our village always sends a night guard with every trader group. I slowly take my eyes away from the wiretail, which still hasn''t moved from the same spot. Were I not actually petrified and incapable of rational thought, I would have noted it as odd behavior from a stalking predator. My gaze settles on the noise of Aria appearing behind us. I step slightly away from Khalil and move to let Aria pass. Aria is not even partially elven-kin like Khalil, Lani, and myself. She is pure violence when she wants to be, and all of her kind are. Some humans have called them redcaps in their old stories.


    When Aria stretches out from within the wagon, she''s not the attractive woman we usually see. Her skin is unnaturally charred and blackened, stretched, and mottled, and her body has thickened into twice its normal girth and size. Her fingers are nearly as long as her forearms, skeletal thin, and tipped with dagger-like talons. Her eyes are no longer like an average person''s but are red baseball-sized orbs on a hideously bony, ridged face. Her lips aren''t present, instead, she shows long needle-like teeth in rows like a shark that stretches from cheek to cheek. She''s truly the stuff of nightmares¨Cbut she''s on our side, and that''s what matters.


    Aria lumbers out between Khalil and me, passing by us with the confidence of an insane person. She raises her thickened arms to her sides and splays her fingers as far as possible to make herself appear even bigger. The wiretail slightly lowers his front shoulders, but it''s hard to tell if he''s intimidated or just unsure as to what the hell he is looking at. Aria unleashes a howl of nightmares: a screech of pure terror that would likely send anyone running the opposite way if heard in the dark. I reflexively step back towards our cart and Lani despite knowing where the roar came from. The screeching howl lasts longer than my mind believes it should, but it finally tapers off as Aria stops at the edge of the traveler''s path near where the wiretail has lowered his stance.


    The gigantic cat-beast flattens his ears and bears his oversized canines before hissing and snarling; for a moment, he looks like he might attack the hulked-out Aria anyway. As if reading the reaction and intentions of the beast, Aria snarls a second time. Finally, the wiretail moves one of his massive paws backward before another, and another follows at the start of a retreat. Only when the wiretail turns can I see a symbol branded into the fur of his light sandy-brown haunches: a circular stamp of a silhouetted head from a snarling wiretail.


    That brand is one of the symbols of the Blackham, a strong tribe in the Wilds with their own city. They''re known to capture and occasionally breed wiretails and, because of it, have become extremely wealthy with power to match. I have no clue if they have wiretails that escape regularly or not, but it''s still unfathomably rare to encounter any wiretails in the Wilds unless you''re purposefully tracking for them.


    Aria snarls for a third time, stamps her feet with force, and bellows again with that horrible wailing roar that promises death and despair to all who hear it. Deciding against what I assume was his planned dinner now that it''s become too complicated, the wiretail finally turns and runs back into the underbrush and thick forest. The snapping and crunching of his fleeing through the forest proper slowly fades away as he moves further and further away. Lani, Khalil, and I exhale simultaneously, the immediate tension and adrenaline slowly ebbing from our bodies.


    Aria stands at the side of the path for another minute before her body starts to crackle and snap. It sounds like it would be terribly painful, but as far as I know, it isn''t. Her body withdraws on itself, the shapeshifted form disappearing to reveal Aria as she is typically: a graceful woman with skin the shimmery color of the pale moonlight and dark almond eyes, with black hair tied back in one long braid and wearing a basic black t-shirt and jeans. Her shadowed eyes give her some kind of a mysterious, gothic allure. She turns to look at the rest of us and then pointedly at me.


    "Were you successful on your hunt?" She already knows the answer but will grouse about it, apparently.


    "No," I exhale and respond. "I was about to get a grabbat, but I''m pretty sure that fucking cat was what scared it off before I could." Sitting down on a wood-cutting stump, I run a hand over my face again to wipe off beads of leftover anxious sweat.


    A soft grumble from Aria''s direction bubbles up, but she doesn''t say anything directly. Because she shapeshifted, she will have to eat many of our rations tonight and knows they''re all junk food.


    "I can head back out in a little while and see if I can catch anything close." I offer, somewhat unhelpfully. Aria shakes her head, breaking contact with the rest of us with a simple mutter.


    "No, too soon. I will be fine. Going back to sleep now."


    Typically, Aria''s a little more friendly and somewhat more articulate. However, being woken up from her rest period, having to shapeshift for potential violence, and then, afterward, having no raw meat to consume is a recipe for her kind of fey to be quite cranky.


    "Wake me up if it comes back." She grumbles at Lani as she returns to our trade cart''s rear. Lani nods a few times¨Cclearly still stressed by the whole encounter¨Cbefore closing the door to the wagon gently after Aria. Khalil finally moves and sits beside the low-burning fire.


    "Holy shit, that was intense. I''ve never seen one of those in the wild." Khalil knows me and Lani haven''t either since we almost always travel together. I rub the back of my neck, trying to relax even though I know it''s a lost cause.


    "I mean, yeah, none of us have. But¨CDid you see the mark on him? He was branded, so I could tell he was supposed to be one of the Blackham''s wiretails. I wonder why he''s running free around here? As far as I know, they don''t have any official settlements this way."


    Lani joins us at the fire after digging out a couple of small bags of the human junk food Khalil packed for us. She tosses one to Khalil and one to me before sitting at the fire and opening herself one. She munches for a few moments before responding to my observations.


    "I mean, maybe something bad happened to his rider on a trading mission, and he''s just been running wild since? Or maybe not, I don''t know. Like, this area has always been fairly safe whenever we come through here to trade."


    "What''s safe out here, though? I mean, you just never know; that''s why we got someone like Aria, you know? I don''t know, you said it yourself: maybe he''s been running wild. They can move far when they want; what stops them from going into an area normally considered relatively safe?" I answer, shrugging before opening the plastic wrapping of the processed puffed junk food.


    I pop a couple of the neon orange crunch snacks into my mouth and chew loudly now that the drama seems to have passed. My eyes trail up towards our sky; its gray and thick clouds threatening rain obscure the sun from direct view. The Wilds'' night creatures enjoy days like this since it allows them to come out freely without discomfort. Unlike the human divide, our "sun" won''t hurt them; they will only be uncomfortable while they''re in its direct view. In general, it''s pretty agreed that days like this make traveling for Wilder like us a bit more dangerous. It''s really only bad luck that we ultimately ran across a feral wiretail.


    For obvious reasons, I am more alert than usual. While we munch our snacks silently, I judge how much time we''ll need to continue to our destination. It isn''t long. We have a river to cross and half a day''s walk from there, so by this time tomorrow¨Cbarring any more incidents¨Cwe should reach the village. I look at the other two, who are already done with the packages Lani split between them.


    "We should get moving. I don''t want to cross the river today since it''ll be too close to nighttime, but we can at least find a good flat spot to give Aria a nice view for her night guarding. Besides, I don''t want to chill here any longer."


    Khalil nods and crushes up the plastic wrap in his hand before standing up. He hands it over to Lani when she sticks out her hand. I finish off my flaming hot cheese puffs, take a drink from the small water bottle tied to my belt, and then hand over my bag to Lani as well. She rubs the three empty plastic packages together while murmuring. A few moments later, the packages shrivel before disintegrating into ash in her hands. She leans over and drops the ash into the fire before brushing off her hands on her pants.


    Lani isn''t the same as Khalil or me, either. She can manifest elements, and with some degree of effort, she can change one thing to a very basic other¨Clike plastic bags to paper bags. She''s still considered young, like Khalil and I, so it''s a bit of an effort for her to do any of it. Once again, I rub my hand over my face to wipe away a few beads of sweat and smooth back my pulled-back and braided hair.


    I push both hands down on the knees of my old jeans and stand from the wood-cutting stump. Once the fire is put out and the obvious clues to our brief stop are cleared away, Khalil walks to the back of the trader wagon, quietly opens the rear door, and pulls out what appears to be a smaller door frame. It''s about the height of a baseball bat, with a proportional width for a door of that size with two simple feet to keep it standing on its own.


    "Be right back."


    Khalil stands the door next to the cart and then opens the pint-sized door. He crouches next to it before sticking one of his hands through the shimmering blue haze previously hidden by the door''s earlier closed state. The haze draws Khalil inside and out of our view painlessly. A few minutes pass before Khalil returns, holding the reins of two mules. They bray with irritation but follow after Khalil, who leads them to the front of the cart and sets them up in their rigging.


    The door isn''t ours to own¨Cit''s technically our village''s property¨Cbut trading groups sometimes get to use it so the more difficult-to-replace livestock are protected from assaults. Generally, they lead to a room or small stable where the animals can be fed, watered, and left to rest in peace while the rest of us do what we need to. I don''t know exactly where they come from; Hannah and Jorge¨Cthe first of our village¨Care the ones who gifted a couple to our village as communal property, so they may know. I''ve just never cared enough to ask.


    One of the donkeys kicks backward, and its hoof clangs off one of the metal joints holding the wagon''s rigging to the mules next to where Lani is standing. Khalil immediately raises his tone to tell the mule to stop, but the guilty donkey repeatedly brays in apparent irritation. Khalil can communicate with animals, which is his job on trade runs, so before long, the pair of mules move our wagon again on the traveler''s path. Lani elects to walk alongside the cart with Khalil, and I take the chance to sit in front and hold the reins while the donkey pair moves us forward. Before too long, lulled by the swaying of the wagon and the faint rumbling of its wheels over the gravel of the traveler''s path, my mind drifts back to the wiretail and the Blackham branding on his back haunches.


    Why was he way out here? Their city is easily a week''s travel from where we were, maybe more. Blackham tribe members rarely come out this far, let alone deal with Wilder like from our village. They don''t need to hunt anywhere near here either, with all the territory they claim. Wiretails do indeed cover lots of territory in the wild, but even still, coming way out here is a lot of territory to have roamed. I mull over the thoughts in silence for a while longer before finally resting the matter in my mind as something I won''t be able to puzzle out based on my limited information.


    As a nice flat area appears ahead, I realize this is the regular stopping point before the river (or after, depending on which way you travel). The path doesn''t look like it has shifted or changed since the last time we came through, as it sometimes inconveniently does, so I get Khalil''s attention with a little whistle before jumping off the cart. He takes over for me, moving the mules and the wagon over to where we''ll spend the night. The three of us spend some time clearing back some of the vines and underbrush that has crept out onto the stopping point.


    Thankfully, the rest of the evening is peaceful. Aria comes out of the wagon a short while after we''ve set up the camp for the night and proceeds to eat her share of the food without complaint, plus a bit more. None of us complain about her extra rations; she likely saved our lives with her transformation, and we don''t even have fresh meat for her to consume to make up for it. I watch Aria as she sorts out her plan for the camp''s patrol, and I can''t help but sigh guiltily. It''s literally my job in the group to supplement our food on any travels. I hate feeling like I''ve failed anyone in our group. I''ll have to do better.

 002; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 2: The Village

    As the crisp night begins to lighten into the day, my eyes creep open. Khalil is still snoring on his bedroll, and Lani is still curled on her side on top of hers. I slowly push off the cover of my sleeping roll and coil it carefully, not disturbing the others. One of the benefits to the magical aspect of trader caravans¨Cand what drives their high trade cost to obtain¨Cis that there is strangely more space on the inside than out. But even still, ours is quite laden with the trade we''ve brought from our village. I tuck my bedroll on top of a small stack of tied-down books before moving out of the cart and into the chilly morning air outside.


    Gazing about with slightly bleary eyes, I don''t see Aria immediately, but I''m unconcerned, as she''s still likely walking a campsite patrol. We let the fire burn down before sleeping, and it doesn''t appear that another has been lit since. Again, not a surprise. Generally, a small fire in the middle of the night in the Wilds is asking for trouble. It is better to travel and not draw attention to yourself, especially when the nights get darker as a new moon draws closer.


    I glance up at the well-represented moon while it''s still present for the time being. I feel no draw to the moon''s call. If anything, its weight still fills my limbs with a sort of lethargy. Lots of our kind¨Clike Aria¨Care perfectly at home in the dark, and some are even considered stronger during the night. As a hunter and trader, I''m no stranger to night''s gloom, but the rising sun''s warm tendrils fill me with much more potency and life. That''s just how it works for the fey. You''re born to the sun or the moon, and their energies dictate your life.


    Shaking off my meandering thoughts, I nudge some cold embers around in the burned-out fire, and then once sorted, I use some of the leftover logs to start one anew. Though we don''t have any fresh meat or vegetables¨Cwhich still feels like a failure on my part¨Cwe do have plenty of water, dried berries, and leaves for teas. While putting water out to boil on the fire, I see the silhouette of Aria heading towards me along the traveler''s path.


    "Hey you, was everything all good last night?" I murmur in greeting to her when she gets close enough.


    Her eyes are darker than yesterday during-the-daytime''s wiretail incident¨Calmost wholly black, like a shark''s¨Cbut she''s still beautiful. I know she''s slowly coming down in energy as the moon wanes for the day, but you can''t yet tell it from her eyes. I offer her a hopeful smile, which she doesn''t return. As it stands, I can''t remember if I''ve ever seen her actually fully smile, but she does sit by me and playfully ruffles my hair with a minuscule smirk before speaking.


    "Everything was fine. I sometimes walked down to the river, and the path did not look changed as far as I could see. It was strangely quiet."


    I don''t mind the ruffling of my braided hair; it warms my cheeks a little. I lean forward¨Ctrying to hide my slight blush¨Cand poke at the fire to get it more air.


    "Uhhh¡­ That''s good. Do you think we should go straight to the village, or do you want me to see if I can catch something before we get going this morning?" I don''t know how to apologize to Aria for not having fresh meat on hand, so I figure this is the next best thing.


    She yawns, her teeth perfectly straight and looking completely normal¨Cunlike the wide maw she displayed during the terrifying wiretail encounter the day before. After stretching her arms to each side and popping her joints, she huffs a bit of air before responding.


    "We should just go to the village. I will visit their butcher when we get there; I know his brother from a¨C" she pauses for a long moment before continuing in her stilted manner, "¨Cfrom a different time. He will give me a good deal."


    The guilty pressure eases just a bit on me, and I nod in response. With the water boiling, I pick up a little leather bag before scooping out some dried berries and leaves and dropping them into the water. I use a metal spoon to swirl the herbal mix a few times before looking back at Aria. As the sun has continued to brighten the sky¨Ceven over just the last few minutes¨CI can see her growing ever more tired. Her eyes aren''t as glossy black, and her deepening facial features suggest exhaustion. I offer up a small snack pack from our pathetic food stores, but immediately, she grimaces and waves it away with a hand.


    "No. I ate too many of those before. The smell alone might make me sick."


    "Yeah¡­ that''s my bad. Last time I ever let Khalil pack our food stores without supervision." I laugh softly.


    I know she''s not being serious about getting sick from eating. I''m pretty sure her kind could tear through and eat metal if they were to get mad enough. I glance back in her direction once again, and she returns my look in silence for a few long moments. Just when I think it will be a personable, quiet moment between us, she speaks again.


    "You are a good elf-kin. Your friends are lucky to have you worry after them." She doesn''t clarify or extrapolate at all and instead stands up with another yawn before adding, "I am going to sleep now."


    "Sleep good." I manage to murmur¨Cmy cheeks burning again¨Cas she turns to leave. I wonder if she hears me before disappearing into the wagon where Lani and Khalil are still sleeping. Moments later¨Cand it''s truly only a few¨CKhalil and Lani stagger out of the back of the cart, looking disheveled and half awake. Khalil hits the ground with both of his feet and immediately starts complaining.


    "Ugh, she just dragged us both to the door and kicked us out; I was having an awesome dream!"


    Lani is busily blinking away the sleep from her delicate half-elf, half-pixie features and doesn''t say anything. I smirked at the two of them from where I was still sitting.


    "Come on, I got the morning water boiling; get a couple of cups and sit down."


    Khalil stretches his arms out before rubbing them while mumbling something about it being cold. After getting some feeling into his arms, Khalil collects three cups from the side of the cart. He hands one to each of us in turn as he approaches the fire.


    "Right. Morning Ori, Lani."


    I nod at him and Lani before leaning forward and carefully tilting the metal pot with a stick to pour each cup of the herbal mixture.


    "Thanks¡­ any trouble last night?" Lani murmurs while I pour her cup. In response, I shake my head and slowly blow over the top of my steaming drink.


    "Aria said it was all quiet. She walked down to the river crossing and said the traveler''s path is still the same and hasn''t changed, so we should be good." After a few moments, I added, "I was going to go and see if I couldn''t hunt up a rabbit or two this morning for her, but she said not to bother. She said she''d get something from the butcher in the village when we get there, something about knowing his cousin, brother, or someone. I don''t remember exactly, but yeah, she said we should just keep going and get to the village early on in the daytime."


    While sipping his drink, Khalil "mmhmm''s" at me, which is his version of agreement. Lani also nods, so she has no complaints about the plan for the day. She carefully takes a drink from her hot herbal tea and then looks at our food pack. Lani scoops out a couple of bags of processed cheese snacks, sighs, and then tosses a pair at Khalil and me. Khalil protests half-heartedly, but that''s pretty much it. We each munch down a couple of small bags along with our tea.


    "Breakfast of champions," I mumble, then smirk, more to myself than to Lani and Khalil.


    After a few more jokes and a little goofing off, the three of us tidy up the campsite. Since it''s currently a "regular" stopping spot on the traveler''s path, we leave out the cut tree stumps we used as seating and the circle of thick stones we used to keep the fire contained. It''s a polite way to help out the next group who might travel the same way before the road moves, and since it''s a regular stopping point, it doesn''t endanger us to leave some marks of our passing behind.


    Before too long, Khalil had the mules leading the cart like the other days of our journey, and we were on our way towards the river. Lani takes up the seat on the front of the cart and holds the reins of the two donkeys, both complaining a little more than usual. Khalil and I follow along a few paces behind the cart. It''s an excellent way to keep an eye on our general surroundings without the expenditure of energy that acting like a fully alert patrol winds up using.


    The morning air has warmed considerably, and the sounds of the awakened forest drift to us on either side. Occasionally, I can hear the soft voices of faint but beautiful, distant singing drifting out from deep in the Wilds. Though I know it could be¨Cand probably is¨Ca dangerous lure, I softly hum along with the song. It''s an old song about a mother and daughter foraging together¨Ca song to sing while you work. It makes me smile in any event. Some say elven-kin can''t help but enjoy a good song, and I believe it might be true. I glance to the side at Khalil, who doesn''t appear moved by the faint notes of the song, so maybe it''s just me. I suspect that the singers are probably marmennlar¨Chumans would call them mer-people, mermen, and mermaids¨Cbut they could also just be other elves that live around water. They could also be voices from not-elves, too. Either way, the voices are far away, and we''re not looking to explore or bother others in the Wilds.


    Thankfully, before much longer, we find ourselves approaching the water feature we all hoped to see: the river. It has a name¨CI''ve heard someone say it before¨Cbut I can''t remember it off the top of my head. I jog ahead of everyone after waving for Lani to stop the mules. Khalil gets the small feed bag for the mules¨Cwhile our trader cart is stopped¨Cto offer to the two beasts of burden while they temporarily rest. As I reach the banks of the river a few minutes later, I check to see if the crossing will be fine by walking across it and then back. The river is barely more than a trickle at this point¨Cwith a depth only up to my ankle¨Cso it shouldn''t be a problem for the mules and cart to follow the road and ford the river.


    I whistle loudly back towards the cart, then wave my hands above my head so I can be adequately seen. It only takes Lani and Khalil a minute or two before the mules and cart head in my direction. As the cart draws nearer to the running water, the donkeys both start braying and complaining. I look at Khalil questioningly, and he jogs to the front to take their reins in his hand. He starts guiding them ahead and into the water just ahead of the cart. Initially, I thought they didn''t want to get wet, but as it turns out, they move into the water with no trouble at all¨Calmost as though they want to get away from the side of the crossing we''re coming from.


    The further across the river we go, the less they complain, and by the time we get to the other side of the river, their noisy braying has all but ended. Khalil shrugs at me as we get to the other side.


    "Not sure what that was about."


    "What do you mean? I thought you could talk to them." I tilt my head questioningly.


    Khalil reaches down to the small water bottle on the side of his belt and unhooks it. As we both walk over to the river¨Cwithout Lani, I note¨Che crouches down at the bank side and dips his water bottle in the cool running water to fill it. While we''re both there, he finally responds.


    "I don''t know, dude, it was weird. They kept more or less saying there was danger, but they couldn''t place where it was or what it was. I didn''t want to make Lani worry, so I didn''t say anything."


    I, too, use the river to fill up my bottle and dip my hands in the cool water to splash my face.


    "That is weird."


    I use my old t-shirt''s sleeve to wipe off the water droplets from my eyebrows before standing back up. I look back across the shallow river crossing in the direction we''d just forded the river from. I concentrate¨Ceffort and control focusing my senses¨Cand take on the aspect of a hunting hawk''s eyesight. As I slowly search the surroundings with my sharpened vision, the oddity that I notice, with some degree of consternation, is that there are no fish, birds, or any wildlife. The steady noise of the flowing river originally covered it up, but now that I''m actively paying attention, I understand precisely why the two mules were nervous. I close my eyes to effortlessly allow my powers to ebb away, and when I open them again, I turn to look at Khalil.


    "Man, something is wrong here. There''s nothing¨Cno birds and no fish, just us. I think we need to get a move on."


    He nods, and we both casually jog back towards the cart, with Lani still sitting in the front seat. Lani looks cheerful, so I don''t break the news of the weirdness to her. She looks down at both of us from her elevated seat.


    "Everything all good?"


    We both shrug at the same time, but it''s Khalil who responds.


    "Ehh. We should head to the village; we can get there by lunch like Ori said, unless something changes."


    Lani shifts her gaze at me, silently asking if there is anything I want to add. I don''t, so I keep quiet. With nothing to stop us, we start moving our trading cart forward behind the two donkeys. I glance back at the river once, but still seeing nothing, I shake the concern away as best I can and continue moving forward.


    We made good time, much faster than the half of a day I expected for travel. Only a couple hours later, on the traveler''s path, we can see the walls and makings of a Wilder settlement in the distance. I relaxed, happy we''d made it, and allowed a smile to cross my face.


    "There it is. Alright, alright."


    Lani gives a little cheer, and Khalil laughs good-naturedly.


    "Ori, I don''t know about you and Lani, but I am absolutely going to pig out on some eggs and meat."


    I shake my head with amusement as we continue walking along the path toward the nearing village.


    "I knew it. You realized two days in that you were an idiot about our food, didn''t you!"


    Khalil laughs again and fake protests with his response.


    "No¨CNo way dude! Okay, maybe I just didn''t want to give you the satisfaction of admitting it. I did screw that up pretty badly. I won''t do that again, I swear!"


    I smirked, unable to hide my amusement at the situation now that it felt like we were drawing closer to safety and rest.


    "Yeah, you''re damn right you won''t, I''m never letting you pack for us again! You handle the animal stuff, and that''s it!"This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Khalil and I joke back and forth for a while longer, neither of us realizing that the cart has gradually slowed down, at least not until Lani draws back the reins and stops it completely.


    "Orion."


    My full name being used in a serious tone almost instantly changes my attention from jovial to serious. Khalil takes the cue from me, and we both instantly become more alert to our surroundings. I gaze over at Lani, questioning, but when I see that she''s just staring straight ahead, I follow her gaze towards the village proper.


    Nothing looks out of place, though there''s no burning smoke or anything suggesting activities being done. Another problem I soon realize is that there''s absolutely no movement inside or out. No one is out doing regular work, no one gardening the small crop fields, no one walking a horse or mules, no reafans complaining, no dogs chasing weans. There''s absolutely nothing save for pure silence. I''ve just now understood the phrase ''the silence was deafening.'' I could hear my heartbeat pulsing in my ears as my face grew hot from the adrenaline suddenly rushing through my body.


    "Khalil, store the mules." I manage to force in a whisper.


    He delays a moment, but a second insistent usage of his name gets him going. I walk over to the back of the cart while Khalil sorts it, and I open the back of the cart just slightly.


    "Aria, we''re here at the village, and something is wrong. Probably going to need you, but don''t go into scary mode yet. We don''t know what''s going on."


    A grunt from inside tells me Aria heard me, so I close the cart door and step away.


    I see the tiny door resting against the side of the cart. Since there are no mules attached to the cart out front, it stands to reason that Khalil has moved the donkeys to the safety the door provides. I jump up on the side of the cart, making myself even with Lani.


    "See anything?" I inquire. She shakes her head immediately.


    "No, I haven''t seen anything at all from here. We should have brought a reafan with us; you could have checked out the area overhead."


    "They wouldn''t have let us bring one. I mean, we already borrowed two of the donkeys instead of one, a pocket door, and a pocket bag, and we brought Aria with us. Anything more would have been pressing our luck big-time."


    Speaking of Aria, I gaze back towards the rear of the cart when I hear the door creak open to let her out. She''s still normal¨Cher version of normal, anyway¨Cbut she does have my bow slung over her shoulder. I didn''t know she knew how to use one, though it wouldn''t surprise me if she did. She moves up to Lani and me as if reading my mind before tossing the bow directly at my head. I catch it instinctively, and then she slaps a small quiver into my stomach. Aria gives me a cross look.


    "Orion, if something is ''weird,'' you must arm yourself just in case. I should not have to tell you this."


    Aria doesn''t give me a chance to respond, and Khalil appears next to the pint-sized pocket door.


    "Hey, they''re set up now. Any idea¨Coh, hey Aria¨Cer, any idea what''s going on yet?"


    "Do not know yet. Just got out here." Aria grunts in response to Khalil.


    With the bow Aria threw at me in hand, I slide the strap of the small quiver over my shoulder and across my chest, then pull myself on top of the cart to get an even higher vantage point.


    "Going to eagle eye and see what I see."


    I tell them not to have a disco rave party and not to light any fires or anything else while I concentrate on my powers. Any sudden flash of light can temporarily blind me if I''m using my vision, just like loud noises will temporarily deafen me if I''m using my heightened hearing. So on and so forth.


    I close my eyes and concentrate. When I open them back up, I focus on the village in its entirety. I can vividly see across the settlement in full color. Nothing is moving inside, no animals, no Wilder locals; all that I see is clues of sudden abandonment. I spy some rotting food sitting on some plates outside at the gathering alehouse, which tells me that whatever happened must have been sudden. After my survey, I murmur to the others to give them a heads-up.


    "Nothing and no one inside. I see rotten food by the inn but no chairs overturned or signs of a fight."


    "Okay. Get down. We will go look together." Responds Aria.


    I close my eyes, which makes it easier to withdraw my ability of senses. Once my eyesight has returned to normal, I hop off the cart next to Aria, Khalil, and Lani.


    "Should we tool up?" Khalil inquires while looking to Aria for guidance.


    Instead of responding verbally, she nods once, though I note she still isn''t hulking out. I assume she probably doesn''t want to waste the energy, especially now that we''re not even sure if we can supplement our food stores.


    Khalil flexes his hands a few times, then his fingers crackle and split, fur and claws sprouting from them. His hands grow in size until they are equal to a bear''s, with claws to match. At first glance, Lani doesn''t appear to do anything. Knowing that is not the case, it''s confirmed in my mind when I can see wisps of a fire glinting and dancing in her eyes when she gazes at me. Seemingly satisfied with our "tooling up," Aria nods to us approvingly before leading the walking charge toward the village entrance.


    "How long ago did you guys know something was off?" Lani asks as we slowly walk up toward the front of the settlement.


    "Since the river, I guess." After a brief pause, I answer, the question catching me a little off guard at its timing. Lani flashes me a look that tells me there''s bubbling fury below the surface.


    "And you both didn''t think it was important to tell me?"


    "We didn''t want you to worry." Khalil jumps in, probably thinking it''s to my defense.


    "I don''t need to be babied. I should have been told. It''s just stupid of you both. Whatever, I''m just saying, tell me shit is wrong next time." Lani irritatedly complains before exhaling loudly through her nose.


    I purse my lips at the rebuke, but I understand where she''s coming from. If I were put into that coddled position and kept from knowing what was going on when it could affect me directly, I''d be just as irritated as I suspect Lani is. I appreciate her compartmentalizing it, though, instead of making a whole issue about it when we are in the situation we find ourselves currently in.


    Aria forces air through her nose in a huff of irritation, quieting any more conversation that might have been brewing. We slip inside the village proper, and each of us spreads out just slightly from one another, trying our hardest to see anything that could be construed as "out of place." Nothing initially stood out to me, like when I was on top of the cart and peering inside. From the movements and actions of Khalil and Lani, they come to the same conclusion. On the other hand, Aria does not appear convinced, but she doesn''t seem to be acting too concerned, either. Admittedly, it''s hard to judge her mood and temperament at the best of times, so there''s the possibility I am just bad at reading her.


    Aria crouches next to a perfect place for a bird to land and get some seed or water. She carefully gazes over the base of the small bird rack. She runs her hands over the base¨Cas if searching for something¨Cbefore slowly standing and sliding a couple of fingers along the pole to the top. When Aria''s standing up straight, she circles the standing rack for birds and looks in at the water and food levels.


    "Both are near-full. If this was not sudden, the village birds would have eaten and drank this down before leaving." Aria doesn''t look at anyone while she speaks¨Cshe seems to be allowing whoever is listening to follow her thoughts.


    We move from the rack to pass by several tiny, squat homes with doors cracked open. Peering inside allows us to see that we''ll not have any trouble locating food for our return trip, as nothing inside the spaces we''ve looked at thus far appears to be missing. Herbs hang from drying racks, bottles of spirits¨Cmade here in the Wilds and the mass-produced human-made sort¨Care untouched and still resting in racks or on tables as if waiting for someone to return home from a day''s work.


    As unnerved as the rest of us, Lani finally speaks up to break the long-running silence.


    "This is freaking me out. What happened to all the people? Where are the animals? What are we missing?"


    Neither I, Khalil, nor even Aria speak up in response. Lani has just voiced my inner monologue. Aria might have some thoughts, but as we weave through the village, she seems to be keeping them to herself. Her attention is on the smithing area we''re drawing close to.


    The fires inside are cold, which isn''t surprising, but the smell of old charcoal, gas, and metal still drifts out. Whatever happened here did not occur long in the past, probably within the last week if I had to guess. Aria steps up the steps and nudges open the door casually, just like we''d done plenty already today at different places.


    She exhales a hiss of air and jumps back, seemingly startled. As Aria startled and moved, a Border Collie-sized black cat launched from the now-opened door and outside between us. Lani''s hands light with flames, Khalil looks like he is about to put his bear claws to use, and I flinch my hand down towards the quiver strapped to my body. Aria, composing herself while the large feline paces in a circle between us, tries to modulate her voice to a softer tone.


    "No. Do not. Be calm."


    Even with Aria saying to be calm, we never lowered our guard as adrenaline coursed through our bodies like wildfire. Aria slowly crouched and held her hands supine before her toward the huge¨Cthough not wiretail huge feline.


    "We are not enemies."


    The large cat spits and hisses directly at Aria as if it completely understands the speech. Aria continues speaking, now fully crouched down with her palms facing upwards.


    "We were coming to trade here. We just arrived. We are friends. We are Wilder, from a nearby village."


    The pitch-black cat''s ears are still lowered, eyes still wide with aggression, but it does stop pacing between us. I''ve not seen a cat this big before, excluding the more giant wiretail breed, so I don''t do anything. Khalil''s hands snap and crackle, reforming into his regular hands. He seems to have calmed down faster than me or Lani and is curious about the dog-sized cat.


    "Is this a cat-sith?" He murmurs at Aria.


    Idiot, of course he''d make some stupid movie reference at a time like this. I can''t help but love him like a goofy brother. Aria immediately responds in a murmur to Khalil, breaking my brain''s tangent of random humor and, at the same time, correcting his pronunciation with a short and simple answer.


    "Cait Sidhe."


    "Coooool," Khalil responds.


    Once the large cat has stopped pacing between us and has sat down on its haunches in the direct center of the lot of us, I slide my bow over my shoulder, and Lani''s fiery hands wisp away to nothing. The large cat appears unconcerned and sets about using one of its paws to clean its face. It doesn''t look hungry or much more than faintly scruffy.


    "Okay¡­ so we found something at least. Now what?" I ask while gazing over at Aria.


    She seems highly interested in the cait sidhe and less interested in conversing with me, but she does respond, just not to answer my question.


    "Take the feathers off one of your arrows and give them to Khalil."


    I give her a look and don''t move to do anything, but she looks up when I make no response and gives me a hardened look.


    "Do it."


    Not understanding the point but choosing not to argue with her, I shake my head and remove one of the arrows from my quiver. The midnight black feline stops cleaning its face when I remove the arrow, and its vividly purple eyes focus intently on me. After a few moments of tinkering, I''ve removed the fletching from the arrow. Wordlessly, I lean over to hand them to Khalil. The cat''s amethyst eyes follow the exchange with interest.


    "Khalil, you will give the cait sidhe these feathers. They will talk to you. Likely, they will also try not to answer your questions. Do not ask questions without thinking them through." Aria murmurs.


    I furrow my brow. As evidenced by our whole food situation, Khalil could be better at forethought and planning.


    "Maybe Lani should ask instead of Khalil? Sorry man, you''re just not the best at thinking ahead." I blurt out before I can stop myself. Khalil looks at me, his eyes darkening slightly.


    "Dude, I know you''re still mad about the food choice but lay off. If Aria wants me to do it, I''ll do it. Stop assuming I''m going to fuck everything up."


    His anger was justified; I shouldn''t have said anything, so I just held up my hands in front of me in an apology. He''s still pissed, but he nods his head once, letting me know he accepts. Aria clears her throat, encouraging us to speed up the process.


    "Do I just hand them over, or what?" Khalil asks while looking at Aria. She blinks at him a couple of times.


    "You never played with a cat? Toss the feathers in the air to them."


    His anger at me fades to a degree of embarrassment. Khalil clearly thought there was going to be some kind of ritual or something more than that. He waves the feathers in front of him between his fingers, and the dog-sized black cat watches intently¨Cits ears are pointed straight ahead, and its purple eyes focus on the feathers.


    Khalil lets a bit of a grin stretch across his face at the cat''s actions.


    "Oh, ho. Are we interested? Well, let''s just see how you do with all of these at once!"


    At the end of his line, he tosses the few feathers up into the center of our four-person square around the cat, and the feathers float down towards it. The feline doesn''t wait for them to get to a reasonable height. Instead, it launches far higher into the air than is needed, grabbing one of the large fletching feathers in its mouth and using its other two front paws to smash down two more to the ground when it lands.


    The absurdity of the situation isn''t lost on me as I watch the cat roll and kick at the feathers as if nothing else is happening. Aria focuses more intently on Khalil, who gets a good laugh from the rolling feline. A few moments later, he realizes that he''s supposed to be doing something, clears his throat, and then crouches down next to the cait sidhe. He slowly reaches his right hand out, touching the fur behind its front shoulder blades. When he does, the cat instantly stills, flattening its ears and glowering with the classical ''Look Of Doom'' that every single feline in existence can manage. Khalil reaches out with his other hand and slowly runs it soothingly along the other side of the cat''s back.


    "Sorry to bother you. We want to know what happened here." He exhales his words soothingly, though I know he doesn''t have to speak out loud to communicate with animals.


    The cat growls at Khalil, and I look between Khalil, the cat, and Aria.


    "It is a he, and he just cussed me out." Khalil murmurs at Aria. Lani blurts out a laugh from where she''s standing, as if that absurdity was too much.


    "You didn''t ask him a question," Aria mutters, pursing her lips.


    "Oh¡­ right."


    Khalil focuses back on the cat, and his left hand softly strokes the same side of its back.


    "Sorry. What happened here?"


    The cat growls again at Khalil and spits out the feather in his mouth, then stomps it with one of its paws. It doesn''t draw away from Khalil, though.


    "He''s still bitching at me." Khalil murmurs.


    "Ask again. He is being difficult."


    The cat''s tail flicks back and forth while it grumbles in Khalil''s direction. I enjoy the absurdity of what is happening with a mystified sort of amusement.


    "Yes, I know you want to kill the feathers. I need to know the answer to my question, though. What happened here?"


    After Khalil''s second asking of the same question, the cat''s overall aura seems to change. His body stills while his violet eyes focus intently on Khalil. Instead of growling this time, the cat makes a few chirrup-sounding noises and chatters as if he were watching some bird on a distant branch. The cat sits down, and his tail curls around his back paws. The noise-making continues for quite a few moments, and Khalil nods here and there, seemingly wholly understanding. Finally, Khalil draws his hands away from the cait sidhe and stands up to look at the three of us in turn.


    "Okay. So, first off, his name is Silas. He''s glad we showed up, at least to let him out. He apparently can''t return to human-like form anymore. Don''t know why. It didn''t seem relevant, so I didn''t ask."


    "Already did it his nine times," Aria adds without elaboration.


    I squint my eyes, trying to understand that. As it turns out, I don''t know a whole lot about the rarer creatures of our world. I was too busy learning how to hunt, trade, go through seams, and blend in with humans while we were in their world. Aria seems to know a lot, making me wonder how old she is and how she is a Wilder like the rest of us.


    "Okay, that makes sense, I guess. Sure. Silas said he shouldn''t be here, but a seam was opened erratically, shoving him here. He said he passed a whole host of people and animals as he was being drawn here, but he doesn''t know where they wound up, and he doesn''t even know where here is."


    "A seam opened randomly? How is that possible?! The Deore have them all mapped and maintained. They do the rites!" I speak in some degree of shock, my jaw open.


    While we talk amongst ourselves, Silas, the cait sidhe, seems to have returned to violently playing with the feathers taken from one of my arrow''s fletching. He doesn''t even care that we''re discussing him. I move over and sit down on the steps leading into the smithy. Aria finally redirects the general conversation back to the matter at hand.


    "Did he say anything else?"


    "Not really. Silas said that''s what happened to the people and animals around here. They got moved somewhere, like he did. That''s all he answered with, so I guess I''d need to ask him something else to get more clarification if he even could give it to us." Khalil shrugs. Aria shakes her head before responding once again.


    "No, I doubt he knows more about this than what he told us, but we could ask a couple of other things before he goes on his way if you want."

 003; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 3: The Glade

    "Eyes up, we just got word that the ground sensors have picked up unusual movement near the eastern border. Two minutes, and we''re moving to check it out."


    The bark of Rhys'' voice is a common enough noise, but no one in the small room will blow him off. Rhys'' stature demands respect; his loyalty and ruthlessness in service to the house have made him feared. The small quartet in the team''s break hall pushed aside the non-important things they were doing and got to their feet. A few steps and moments later, they''re pacing through the halls behind the compact, trim, and muscular Rhys on their way to the garages.


    The first through the door is naturally Rhys, who temporarily diverts to harass one of the recently turned who is slacking off with someone beneath his class. It doesn''t take him long to break up the little social entanglement and return to the group of four, getting the golf-cart-sized ATV ready to head out.


    "Hurry it up."


    He sits in the front passenger side of the four-seater, with his right leg hanging out slightly in a relaxed state. While Rhys waits, Opal works on making sure the tanks are fully gassed, Vincent and Javier each check two of the tires to make sure they''re not running low, and Christina takes a "seat" by cramming herself between two safety bars in the back with her hands holding on to the roll cage for support.


    "Let''s go, hurry it up. We don''t have all night." Having given them precisely two minutes, Rhys claps his hands together while speaking.


    The final checks of the all-terrain vehicle are done, and Javier smoothly takes the driver''s seat while Opal and Vincent slide into the small two-seater back seat. After only a couple of moments longer, the garage door rolls up electronically, and the open-aired vehicle rumbles out. Initially, at a slow pace, the ATV speeds up as they hit the ground just past the homestead''s interior protective and defensive fence. They aren''t worried about being heard, and the motor of the outdoor vehicle screams with power as they bounce and zoom over the land in the direction of the triggered ground sensors.


    Of the group of five, Rhys is the more apparent physical specimen, but each group member has their own set of skills. Rhys looks as though he could have come from any corn-fed midwestern American home before he went into the military. Opal looks nothing close to that; more like a waif who''s simply in the wrong place and is being taken along as a mascot. Vincent has strong but average features; he''s almost too average and mundane-looking. Regular people often have difficulty remembering his generic features and face if called on to describe their attacker by police or friends. Javier is masculine and youthful¨Cappearing to be in the prime of his life with a skin care and hair care routine to die for. His teeth are gleaming white, his deep brown eyes a pool of welcoming warmth. He is the perfect predator for preying on social events and parties. Lastly, the caramel-skinned Christina tends towards fitness at first glance, with an athletic frame and tightly wound rows of braids following the curve of her head. She could easily pass for classically beautiful, were she not covered from the neck down by ornate tattoos and ritual, decorative scarring. Her accent is hard to place, almost as though any trace of her origin has been purposefully unlearned and forgotten.


    The drive is long enough for it to be uncomfortable for everyone sitting crammed into the ATV. The homestead''s property area covers a vast amount of acreage, and they have to pass through two perimeter fences on their way to the outermost one, where the warning sensors were tripped. As they finally draw near the area, Rhys gestures for Javier to cut the engine. Complying after parking the rugged outdoor vehicle next to a relatively large thicket, the party of five disembarks from the vehicle and draws out their preferred weapon for dealing with the unknown: assault rifles. No one speaks, and all of the party''s faces are masks of veritable focus. While the vehicle noise that was made coming into the area was likely heard for quite a distance, once on foot, the five advanced in complete silence.


    Vincent moves ahead, his clothing and body mottling against the darkness of the evening, becoming almost like an unseen presence stalking through the brush. Even if one were to be watching him when he drew up his camouflage, his presence would be lost to all but people trained¨Cor with the supernatural capability¨Cto see him. Opal weaves her way through the underbrush two paces behind Rhys, her thin and delicate stature at odds with how she smoothly moves without fear or concern. Javier shadows a few paces behind and to their left, spacing out their advancement and maintaining the same pace as those in front of him. Following the group is Christina, who has taken up the rear guard and is following the others as they advance while also scanning regularly behind them with her calculating and cautious eyes.


    After a few minutes of walking and stalking, a clicking noise sounds up ahead of the party. The group pauses, recognizing the clicker cricket noise used by Vincent. One-click meant he''d seen their quarry¨Cwhatever it might be. As the four remaining group members draw nearer, they take a more crouched approach. They creep slower and closer until they hear the sounds of many, many people. Javier doesn''t even pretend to hide his surprise; he mouthes at Opal, "What the fuck?" while Christina takes up position next to Rhys and slowly nudges some shrubbery aside so that they can get a good view.


    Those unknown people were in a natural field clearing and looked to be trying to set up simple a-frame shelters to protect themselves from the elements. At least forty to fifty people are in the glade, and they aren''t anything like Rhys'' group anticipated. There are young and old, some few animals¨Ca few of which didn''t look "normal." Some of the young children were crying, comforted, and quieted by others in their large group. It was bewildering. All five likely have similar thoughts: how did these people get through the outer fencing, or even past the outermost perimeter''s sensors?


    "Uh, unexpected. What''s the plan?" Christina murmurs, turning her head towards Rhys. While Rhys didn''t appear to her to be flabbergasted or anything past "intrigued," it took him a full thirty seconds to respond to Christina.


    "Subdue with non-violence if possible. They don''t appear to be combatants. Be prepared for some of them to want to defend the young and old, though." He doesn''t miss a beat before adding, "Victor, make sure you tranq one of those weird birds."


    None of the group on the ground could see Victor, but they knew he wouldn''t be far since they''d all worked so closely together in the recent past. With the moment of engagement fast approaching, Javier, Opal, and Christina prepare themselves by tensing and untensing while Rhys stretches his shoulders back, loosening his muscles unnecessarily.


    Once Rhys gives the directive to act, all four visible party members charge out from the underbrush. Javier fires three rounds into the air from his assault weapon, and Rhys bellows in his most commanding tone.


    "DO NOT MOVE, YOU ARE TRESPASSING AND MUST BE VETTED."


    The initial shock of the gunfire and yelling triggers some of the people in the clearing to scatter and trip over each other after being startled. Though the initial chaos passes much quicker than Rhys anticipated, several individuals rush to put themselves between the larger contingent of people and Rhys'' group. A brisk chuff noise sounds behind them, and one of the strange-looking birds careens from where it was flying and crashes down into some of the grass.


    Rhys and the group¨Csans Vincent¨Ccontinue to advance with weapons in hand, and Rhys continues to yell at them in his most authoritative manner.


    "YOU ARE ON LAND THAT DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU. YOU HAVE NOT BEEN GIVEN LEAVE TO TAKE UP RESIDENCE HERE. PUT DOWN ANY WEAPONS YOU MAY HAVE, AND YOU WILL NOT BE HARMED."


    Though he''s sure he sounds pretty intimidating, the people who have taken up a line of defense do not look intimidated or deterred; they also do not put down some of the items they''ve grabbed to use as weapons. As Rhys and the others get closer, they notice those unknown people wearing relatively simple clothing. Some of their clothing resembles old hand-me-downs from a thrift store or clothing drive. These look to be salt-of-the-earth people and do not fit in with the unpopulated area.


    Javier fires another shot into the air, which causes some of the gathered people in front of them to flinch, but again, they don''t back away.


    "Okay¡­ now what?" Javier murmurs.


    Rhys either ignores him or doesn''t hear. Instead, he bellows once again.


    "PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPONS, OR WE WILL BE FORCED TO TREAT YOU AS HOSTILE."


    The totality of that statement puts everyone on edge. Some people look back and forth as if trying to decide what they should be doing or what the others near them look like they''re going to do. An older woman jogs up and forces her way through the line of the would-be defenders. She turns her back to Rhys and the others with him, instead seeming to speak to those ready to defend. Her hands gesture with calming movements, clearly trying to get them to stand down, and after a few tense and long moments, the defenders slowly begin to do just that. While they don''t disarm themselves completely, they do lower the makeshift weapons they have in hand down to their sides, which is to be somewhat expected. Once they''ve done that, the woman turns around and slowly walks toward Rhys and the armed group. She holds her hands carefully to either side of her body, showing no visible weapons.


    As the woman draws near, Christina is the first to speak and not yell like Rhys has been doing until then.


    "Stop. That''s close enough. Turn slowly so we can see if you have weapons on you."


    The woman acquiesces to the order and follows the instructions to the letter. She stops and looks at the gathered quartet once she''s done a full circuit turn.


    "Hello. We mean you no harm. We didn''t realize this was a populated area."


    Christina gazes towards Rhys, who then nods in her direction. Once that happens, the group carefully lowers their weapons or slings them to their back. They are still easily within grasp but not openly being used to intimidate. Opal looks behind her and whistles once. A few moments pass, and Vincent walks from behind them as if he were simply lagging behind.


    The woman standing before them is older, perhaps in her 60s if going by looks alone. She has silvery gray hair, with crow''s feet on the corner of her eyes, and a thin mouth, but she doesn''t appear frail. Her eyes are a shockingly vivid and deep green, easily seen even with only the moon illuminating both groups.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    "It''s a nice night; let''s not ruin it with a misunderstanding that leads to violence. My name is Tallulah, and I can speak for these people." Tallulah''s voice is amicable but cautious.


    Opal clears her throat pointedly, and Rhys turns his head from "Tallulah" to look at Opal. Once Opal has his attention, she speaks in a language unfamiliar to the unknown older woman, who is calling herself Tallulah.


    "My sight can see them for what they are, Rhys. These are not people. They are something else. Several have magic swimming around them."


    While Tallulah doesn''t understand the speech, the five armed individuals seem to all understand. They tilt their heads ever so slightly, and Rhys responds to Opal in the same language.


    "Are you sure?"


    Opal quickly nods her head but doesn''t say anything else. Rhys looks at the others, his gaze hardening. Rather than redraw their weapons, all five turn to look at Tallulah, drawing back their upper lips to reveal lengthening fangs.


    Tallulah immediately steps backward, shocked to be encountering supernaturals. She immediately puts her hands up in front of her chest as if it were going to keep them from advancing on her. She starts to back away, which encourages the defenders quite a distance behind her to redraw their weapons to a ready state. Seeing the change in atmosphere, several weans squeal in fear and run further away.


    "What are you? Why are you here? Answer plainly, now, and this might not escalate." Rhys snarls at Tallulah.


    Vincent steps backward, his skin and clothing mottling once again as he visibly "disappears" from sight, becoming a ghost amongst the forest backdrop. Tallulah doesn''t respond but instead continues to slowly back away. She looks somewhat afraid or unable to decide what to do. Her eyes flit back and forth across the faces of Rhys, Opal, Christina, and Javier as they continue to advance menacingly and match her step for step. They seem wholly unafraid that following Tallulah in this way keeps them closer and closer to the line of individuals set to defend their people behind them.


    On the next round of Tallulah looking between faces, Javier catches her gaze. Like a beacon of an emperor or a king of old, he snarls at Tallulah, his voice golden and authoritative¨Ca tone that no man, woman, or even beast could dare think of speaking falsely against.


    "What are you?''


    Tallulah''s eyes widened, and seemingly despite herself, she quickly answered Javier''s question.


    "We are the people of the Wilds. Faeries, or fey, whichever you prefer."


    This doesn''t seem to placate Javier or the other three vampires, who continue to advance and match Tallulah''s retreat step by step. Javier continues to force his presence on Tallulah, demanding through a sheer vampiric will that she answers his questions.


    "Then you are a long way from home, faerie. This is not your territory. Why are you here?"


    Whereas Tallulah answered quickly with the first question, her answer this time came slightly delayed. It was as if she had to think of it while also answering, so it did not seem like she was choosing to be evasive.


    "I¨Cwe¨CWe don''t know where we are, and we don''t know how we got here. We were in our village, and then suddenly, we were drawn away and found ourselves in this field with nothing but the clothes on our backs and what we had in our hands the moment we were taken. That is the truth!"


    The distance between Tallulah and the defenders has grown small enough that several of them rush forward with weapons in hand. The first to get closest pulls back a hammer to strike Christina, but she deftly sidesteps the untrained attack and tackles the man to the ground, using his weight against him rather than her own strength. Before Tallulah can scream to stop, Christina has already bitten down on the man''s throat, using her fangs in a vicious attack that leaves the man gurgling, spitting blood, and with his throat torn out. Tallulah''s voice pierces the air¨Ca screech like a banshee in the deepest, darkest night.


    "NO! STOP THIS!"


    Her eyes are suddenly hollow, sunken, and black pooled pits that reflect the moonlight. The change is sudden and stark, pulsing a pause to the defenders rallying to attack the vampires and the vampires themselves. The thrumming was almost like a stunning pulse that expanded outwards from Tallulah¨Cit didn''t hurt or injure.


    A few moments pass with no more movement, but as soon as the stunned nearby move again, Tallulah is grabbed roughly by an unseen force. The force turns out to be Vincent, who appears once more once he has grappled Tallulah''s arms behind her. Vincent quickly drags her towards the other four vampires, twisting so that his body and back are protected by his allies and making Tallulah a meat shield. Rhys, Opal, and Javier quickly launch themselves at the closest three would-be attackers, and the promised brutal violence ensues. The three that are chosen to be attacked are not prepared for the speed and strength of the attackers. They quickly find themselves taken to the ground, much like Christina did with the first. Tallulah howls, kicks, flails, and screams, but her initial startling voice and change seem to have no more effect on the group of vampires.


    Pulling herself from the ground and the body of the first victim of her version of self-defense, Christina turns and backhands Tallulah with enough strength to knock her unconscious in Victor''s grip. Opal and Rhys both are drinking down the blood of their two victims noisily and greedily, while Javier is already starting to stand away from the woman he killed, his clothing and protective vest darkened from blood splatter. The fight-ending killings have the effect of sending the rest of the large group into a fearful tizzy, and it takes Rhys'' bellowing to stop them.


    "ENOUGH! LAY DOWN ON THE GROUND NOW! LAY DOWN ON THE GROUND AND WE WILL NOT HARM ANY MORE OF YOU!"


    Those closest to the violence that took place quickly dropped the thick branches and assorted tools they would use to defend themselves. Before long, the young, old, and all others slowly kneeled and lay down on the ground as instructed. Goats and donkeys, a pair of cows, dogs, and cats, all seemingly domesticated, seem very unsure of what to make of the whole host of people suddenly lying down in the grass. Strange birds circle overhead, and the less strange ones mix in with them. They do not flee or stray from the people on the ground over much.


    "Sure, everyone gets a meal but me," Vincent grumbles a little, which only those who are close to him can hear. He grudgingly drags the unconscious Tallulah next to a tree and sets her down with her back propped up against the base of the trunk.


    Even with his grumbling, he doesn''t stop to feed or inflict more violence. Instead, he jogs over toward the area where the strange-looking bird was made to fall from the sky earlier in their encounter. It doesn''t take Vincent long to find, and he quickly makes his way back towards the vampires, who stalk through the lines of people lying on the ground as commanded.


    Vincent slowly turns the large black bird over in his hands. He finds himself suddenly shocked when, during the inspection, several of the bird''s feathers open razor-thin slices on his hands¨Cand without any pain on the infliction of a wound, like a scalpel.


    "Wow. Come look at this."


    When Rhys and Opal both come close, he holds out the limp bird in his undamaged hand and shows off the sliced flesh of his other hand. The bird has the occasional red feather as if it were warning others not to touch it. Its legs are like normal birds except that they are a vivid blood red in coloration.


    "I thought it was just an oversized crow, but look at its red eyes. Some of its feathers are like knives, too."


    He holds up his sliced hand as evidence. Opal and Rhys look between the bird and Vincent, their eyebrows raising slightly. Rhys and Vincent both look at Opal next. Opal lifts one shoulder in a shrug towards both of them.


    "I''m not a Diviner, guys. I wasn''t trained in that shit, so I have no idea. We should take it back and let one of the actual ones investigate."


    Rhys doesn''t seem to disagree with Opal''s assessment and, in fact, doesn''t say anything at all. Tallulah groans and starts to rouse from the unconscious state that Christina''s backhand put her in. Instead of saying anything, Rhys walks over and crouches down next to Tallulah, so when she opens her eyes¨Cno longer black as pitch or sunken¨Chis is the first face she sees. Tallulah jerks back from the sudden face-to-face contact, her back pressing into the tree''s bark behind her.


    "Please¡­ we are just lost. We don''t even want to be here." She mumbles.


    Rhys moves like he''s going to pat her shoulder, and he does, in fact, do just that once, but afterward, he curls his fingers around her shirt and lifts her by her shoulder from the ground. Once Tallulah returns to her feet, with a red bruise from Christina''s slap across her face already starting to appear, Rhys points behind him.


    "You will tell your people to come with us peacefully, and we will house them somewhere until our liege lord decides what to do with you all. You may carry your dead with you, or you can leave them. It''s up to you."


    Tallulah looks stricken initially and gazes past Rhys to the four bodies on the ground, not far away. Tears well up in her eyes, but to her credit, she does not wail. Instead, she breathes deeply through her nose and brushes Rhys'' hand off her shoulder. Tallulah stops next to one of the four bodies¨Ca young man, not seemingly older than his late teens or early twenties. Her eyes harden slightly, and her left-hand rests on his chest. She murmurs something, but softly and in a language the five vampires don''t recognize. From her gesture and movement, the vampires can tell it''s some farewell, perhaps a prayer of Tallulah''s people, and they don''t interfere.


    Christina watches Tallulah with a well-practiced, dispassionate gaze. As the group is seemingly pacified, she and the other vampires seem to have no reason to inflict violence and death further. Instead, they wait for Tallulah to gather her people. Rhys turns from watching Tallulah as she moves from body to body to focus his attention on Vincent.


    "Vincent, take the vehicle and head back to the compound. Tell them that we''re bringing¨C" Rhys pauses and looks back at the group before returning his gaze to Vincent "¨Ctell them we''re bringing a large group, possibly fifty, of unknown supernaturals. Have them clear out one of the larger horse barns and temporarily move those horses into one of the others. Tell them to have ten guards ready to be posted inside and outside the barn when we arrive."


    He pauses, letting Vincent soak in his command before he adds one more thing.


    "Also, ensure the bird doesn''t get harmed on the way to one of the Diviners. Off you go."


    With Vincent immediately moving away at a jog to do as Rhys ordered, he looks back to Tallulah, who is still bent over the last body. He clears his throat, and Tallulah seems to get the drift. Without looking back, she turns and walks towards her people, still lying on the ground. She initially speaks to them in the same, unknown language. Rhys doesn''t like that¨Cshe could be telling them to attack all at once or something else¨Cso he immediately interrupts Tallulah.


    "No, speak in the same language we both understand."


    Tallulah looks back at Rhys, eyes still hardened, but acquiesces to his demand when she turns back to her people.


    "As I was saying¨CI need some of you to help us carry the fallen, and we''re going to follow these creatures¡­" Tallulah almost spits the word to describe the four remaining vampires, "¡­back to where they will shelter us until they can ''sort out'' whatever is happening. I don''t think they will harm us further; this was all a misunderstanding. Please get your things, get your animals, and peacefully follow them. They don''t want us here any more than we want to be here, so it''s in their interest to help us figure out how to get back to our village in the Wilds."


    There is some discontent, as is to be expected, but ultimately, the group packs up the few meager things they have and their animals. The dead are carefully wrapped, or at least covered, in old blankets or clothing and pulled along on makeshift sleds made of branches and thin logs. Before too long, the large group is moving behind the vampires at a reasonably healthy pace. Rhys is leading the front of the group and setting the overall pace, with Tallulah a few paces behind him. Opal and Javier are essentially on either side of the herd of people and animals, with Christina following in the rear and keeping a sharp eye around. The four vampires don''t need to look up at the moon to know they have plenty of time to walk the group back to the homestead proper before dawn.

 004; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 4: The Homestead

    After a few hours of walking, the group passes through the second and primary security fence and perimeter. The individuals guarding each transition of fences show some small surprise at the sheer amount of captured individuals being led through, but to their credit, they do as Rhys tells them. At each checkpoint, the guards radio back the progress of the large group, keeping whoever is on the other end appraised quite fully. The group''s progress is steady, with only one incident shortly after the secondary security checkpoint is passed through: one of the group''s dogs, following its nose and a scent trail, made the unfortunate discovery of a group of the homestead''s "dogs." The homestead''s dogs, bred by the vampires and made more potent with their supernatural blood, are trained to handle threats and unknowns in one singular way. The curious dog''s distant cries were very short and quickly silenced. No one was permitted to go and find the dog''s body to bury or transport; they were told to keep their animals closer and not let them wander.


    Finally, with still a few hours left in the night before dawn, the group¨Cled by the four vampires¨Cis guided to a large, exceedingly well-kept horse barn. The doors are already open, showing an expansive set of fine-quality stalls. Clearly, the barn was for housing horses of the highest caliber and worth, with security measures to keep the property safe. While the horses were moved away before the group''s arrival, several guards still remove remnants of the horse''s prior residence with shovels and carts.


    Rhys stops the group and gestures Tallulah over to him. She hesitates initially but then makes her way over to Rhys and Christina while they stand just to the right of the barn with a couple of unknown guards at their side. Christina seems to be simply discussing how the area will be maintained and the breakdown of shifts during the day and night. Rhys, not particularly involved in the conversation, turns to face Tallulah as she draws close.


    "Tallulah, right?"


    It''s a rhetorical question that she nods to. Rhys doesn''t stop speaking to allow her to answer; instead, she elects to continue.


    "Here''s the plan, without any directives yet coming from my superiors: your people should be able to fit inside this horse barn for now; there is plenty of space, as you can see. We''ll bring out some various bedding so your old and young can sleep off the stalls'' floors. Food and water will be distributed and rationed out; how you choose to distribute it further once we bring it out to you and your people is on you and whomever you choose to assist you."


    Tallulah watches Rhys as he speaks, and when he pauses for a response from her, she nods. What else could she do? She studies the vampire, denoting his mannerisms and how he acts. Brutal, earlier, and now merely acting as a shepherd, with her and her people functioning as the cattle. He''s polite, likely seeing no reason to antagonize already cowed individuals. She does note that the vampires are being cautious to a degree¨Cthere are a lot of guards around¨Cand she doesn''t know if those are vampires as well or simply those who are meant to serve them. However, even with their cautiousness, they still treat her and her people like humans, which they are not. While she isn''t going to give them a reason to remember otherwise, as soon as they can do it, she plans to see about organizing the remainder of her Wilder people in secret.


    Rhys, speaking again, brings Tallulah out of her thoughts.


    "In any event, I think that will cover everything you need tonight and tomorrow. There will be guards around at all times of the day and night for our protection as well as yours¨C"


    Tallulah mentally scoffs at that. She understands they are essentially prisoners, and dressing it up as anything but is a little insulting.


    "¨Cand any issues and small needs can be addressed to them as they are assigned. Naturally, you won''t be allowed any weapons, and of course, you are expected not to damage the housing you''re being given for now. Treat us with respect, and we will treat you with respect. That is how our society works and operates, and I recommend you convince your people to heed that."


    Tallulah exhales once and finally responds.


    "Thank you."


    That simple "thanks" was immeasurably hard to voice. After all, they did slaughter four of the people from their village she lived with and knew as friends¨Cor, at the very least, acquaintances. Clearly, though, she''s supposed to forget that misunderstanding occurred. She forces a slight smile to her lips, knowing the faint crow''s feet around her mouth and eyes make her appear far less threatening than she and others from her village could be.


    "I''m sure we''ll be no further trouble to you and yours. Perhaps we''ll even find a way to work together as equals."


    To his credit, Rhys does not laugh, but one of the guards nearby snickers. A cold and hardened look from Rhys silences him. Christina walks away from the two guards and off to speak with another grouping of guards some distance away. Rhys'' eyes track Christina as she moves away before finally responding.


    "Perhaps. I need to go and speak with my superiors now. The guards here will help you and your people settle in, and¨C" At this point, he''s speaking to the two guards because he hardens his tone to do so. "¨Cthey will make sure that the needs which I said will be met are done so. We''ll likely speak again tomorrow evening after dusk."


    Rhys doesn''t give the guards a chance to respond, or Tallulah either for that matter. Instead, he turns and trudges across the gravel and stone pavement towards the ornate homestead mansion that seems to reside at the center of the innermost patrolled security fence. The place looks beautiful, with wood and stone engraving and elaborate detailing. The build appears to have been here for some time but is still rigorously maintained. The landscaping is being done, even after dark, and Tallulah can see two individuals wiping and cleaning windows on the outside¨Cthough they seem to be in areas without much activity. She momentarily muses that perhaps the liege lord, whomever that might be, doesn''t want to see the help while they''re awake in the evenings.


    Tallulah spends a bit of time gazing at their surroundings when she has a few minutes. The number of people on this property is far beyond an ordinary large-scale ranch or homestead, which makes sense to her. Assuming there is a family of vampires, or whatever they call themselves, they would also need daytime servants to protect them. While she can''t initially tell which guards are vampires and which aren''t, she assumes that some of them during the nighttime are, and even the lowest of the vampires probably have one or two human servants to aid them.


    Tallulah watches as dogs nearly the size of small Shetland ponies are brought through the same security checkpoint she and her village were moved through not long before. While she doesn''t think they are vampire dogs, their vampire owners have clearly modified them somehow. They growl when they pass closer to where her people are milling about as they are being moved into their "new home," but a few tugs of their thick chain leashes by the guards along with a strange language''s command from who are maintaining them are enough to bring the beasts to heel. As she watches, she realizes they are bringing the dogs to the mansion of the homestead itself. Her head tilts slightly while she puzzles out the movements. Perhaps the dogs are brought outside in the evening to roam and protect the grounds, but in the daytime, they''re brought into the mansion itself to roam and protect the interior while the vampires sleep? That would make sense, she supposes. Her musing over the actions is ended when one of the two guards¨Cnot the one who snickered, she denotes¨Cmakes his way to her.


    After a brief conversation with the guard, during which she''s informed there will be ten to fifteen guards around the horse barn at all times, she''s told who she can approach with issues so they can be handled. The guard gestures to a man in his thirties with dark skin and a smooth head. He is bearded, but it isn''t wild. Instead, it looks meticulously groomed. She politely thanks the guard and starts to walk in the direction of the dark-skinned man.


    "Hello, I was told you''re who I''m supposed to speak to if we have any issues that need addressing. My name is Tallulah."


    She doesn''t extend a hand, unsure how typical first greetings go with vampires and their servants. The guard looks her over, quite critically from the facial expressions. Clearly, he is not a vampire, as they have almost a superhuman ability to maintain pure emotionless fa?ades. It''s one of the few lessons Wilder teach each other about vampires and how they act (if it ever comes up in conversation anyway). Finally, the man reaches forward and shakes Tallulah''s hand.


    "Micah."


    There''s an awkward silence between the pair before Micah adds to his brisk greeting.


    "Is there something you need?"


    The way it''s intoned makes it clear that he hopes (and maybe expects) there will not be anything she needs. Taking the hint and not wanting to press the man''s patience since she might need his assistance soon, she offers her best smile.


    "No, no. I just wanted to introduce myself. I''m sure you''re quite busy. I''ll let you get back to it."


    Micah nods his head once and then fixes her with a passive-like look, expecting her to be the one to leave, which she does. She turns and starts walking back towards the horse barn turned home, thousands of no-help questions and thoughts running through her mind. For a moment, she allows herself the distraction of the host of thoughts, not focusing on any particular thread. The noise of questions and thoughts is chaos in her mind¨Cand is only interrupted by a guard stepping directly in front of her and clearing his throat.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    "Ah, hello?"


    She starts a little, coming to an abrupt stop.


    "Hello?"


    The guard who stopped her is young, much younger than most that she''s seen. He hasn''t quite grown into his body, which tells her he''s in his late teens¨Cassuming he''s human. He brushes a hand up, running his hand over his carefully kept fade-style hair. Only then does she realize he looks like a younger version of Micah, the overseer guard she just met. He gives her a half smile and looks over her shoulder.


    "Follow me. It''s better to talk where no one''s watching. People around here are great lip readers."


    Tallulah goes with the flow of the already whirlwind night without complaint and follows behind the young man. She glances up at the sky, feeling her nerves starting to dull from the first purple tendrils of the rapidly approaching dawn; it won''t be long before she feels the weight and lethargy of her moon-aligned self. He leads Tallulah quite far from the horse barn and the wandering guards, though they stay within the first perimeter fence. She realizes that the property they must be on is quite massive and must have taken a fortune to own, no matter where they are. In the distance, she can see the notably rounded peaks of significant hills and mountains. Coupled with the English language usage and humidity, she figures they''re somewhere in Appalachia since those mountains are old and rounded, and she isn''t aware of similar mountains geographically.


    The young, dark-skinned man turns after a few more minutes of walking and gestures for Tallulah to sit with him on what looks to be a simple flagstone bench. Its construction doesn''t stick out much from the foliage allowed to grow in that particular spot inside the perimeter fence. Tallulah slowly settles in, looking expectantly at the young man.


    "Sorry about the cloak and dagger routine."


    He holds his hands up, seemingly genuine in his apologeticness. Tallulah shrugs her shoulders at the beginning of her response.


    "It''s fine. Since I assume there''s no lip readers here, what did you want to speak of?"


    The young man runs a hand over his face as if wiping sweat from his brow and cheeks, though none is present yet.


    "Oh, right. My name''s Eli¨Cer¨CElijah. Sorry, I didn''t say that first."


    The apologeticness comes across as strange, and it''s only then that Tallulah realizes the young man is nervous. Instead of interrupting him, she fixes him with a more measured look¨Cmeasured to be welcoming and compassionate, though she feels neither of those things at the moment.


    Elijah leans forward and looks past Tallulah to see if anyone is following them or walking in their direction on their guard rounds. When he''s satisfied, he keeps watching but speaks to her.


    "Micah isn''t bad, but¨Cbut he''s always given all the work as of late and probably just resents being forced into yet another job."


    Tallulah doesn''t really see where he''s going with this, but allowing him to keep speaking uninterrupted also gives her time to look over his body movements and try to read his facial tics and tells.


    "Anyway, he''s my uncle. We''re both part of the living line of the¨C"


    He pauses a little as if trying to find the right words.


    "Well, most people call them vampires, but they call themselves many different things. Here, they''ve always called other vampires draugar, but it doesn''t come up much in conversation. I just figured you''d like to know. I was also kind of wondering what, uh, you guys are."


    Tallulah wasn''t that interested in the details, but information is information, and it''s better to keep someone talking who wants to talk.


    "What do you mean by ''living line''? Also, do you prefer to be called Elijah or Eli?"


    Elijah adjusts his weight while sitting on the flagstaff-constructed bench beside her.


    "Let''s go with Elijah in mixed company; Eli is fine privately. And, well, ''living lines'' are like the descendants of a vampire. Maybe sometime I can give you the run-down on how, uh, draugar society generally works from what I''ve been taught, but it doesn''t matter right now, so that''ll have to be on down the line. Okay?"


    "Sure, Eli. So you''re a living descendant of a vampire who owns this property? Am I getting that right?"


    Elijah dips his head, and she can see the faint sheen of sweat forming on his temples, reflecting the rising sun.


    "Yeah, now that we got that out of the way, it gives you an idea about me¨Clike I said, Micah isn''t so bad. He''s just in the age group where he gets tested constantly to see if he breaks or bends; Micah wants to be turned, so he will be a huge stickler for whatever rules get handed down. They probably told you to talk with him if you and your people need anything, right?"


    Tallulah starts to nod, but Elijah keeps talking, so clearly that was rhetorical.


    "Yeah, just try not to ask him anything. It''s probably better that way. If you need to, try to find me. I''ll help you out if I can."


    He reaches up, wipes the sweat off his brow, and pats his hand off on his pants.


    "Damn, it''s getting hot already. Sun''s not even up yet." He sighs, complaining primarily to himself.


    "Why?" Tallulah minimizes her question to one simple word to see what Elijah will share with her in response.


    "Why? Well, I mean, I know you''ll probably need help at some point, and I don''t like to see kids suffering and such. Also, if I''m totally honest with you, I want to get to know other, uh, supernatural, type beings?"


    He seems unsure if he''ll offend her by calling her "supernatural," which she is, and he won''t, but for some reason, it tickles her that he''s so nervous when he and his people have the upper hand.


    "Wilder."


    Elijah looks puzzled at the one word Tallulah utters.


    "Uh, what?"


    "My village, my people you have here in the barn, we''re a tribe of Wilder. That''s what they call us where we''re from. There are families¨Ctribes, like. Wilder is, well, a type of what we are. Humans have a lot of names for our kind. Fey, faeries, s¨ªdhe, plebes deorum, changelings, tuatha d¨¦. The list goes on. Wilder are kind of like groups of misfit toys who all wind up living together and forming a village or settlement. There are other tribes that are more, I don''t know, regal in their bearing. History, provenance, snotty descendants, etcetera. Some of them are powerful enough to have formed their own cities. Others govern depending on the seasons."


    "Are there a lot of you?" Elijah leans in her direction a fraction, fascination burning in his eyes. He is genuinely interested, Tallulah realizes.


    "I mean, sure. Most of our kind are in the Wilds, though¨Cwhich is, how can I describe it easily? It''s like another place next to this place. We can cross here into the human world through what are called seams, and some of our kind stay here permanently, but yeah, like I said, most stay in the Wilds. It isn''t that safe for us here, as you can kind of tell."


    Elijah leans back, a little like she growled at him and a little like he was embarrassed by that last line.


    "Yeah, sorry. They''re really, really, uh, really protective of their territory here. Sorry about your friends. I know I didn''t have anything to do with it, but that must have been shitty to just been rolled up on out of nowhere and have to try and defend yourselves."


    "Yeah, you could say that. Maybe a little worse than ''shitty,'' though, you know?" Tallulah sighs.


    "I mean, why''d you decide to come here if the Wilds are where you normally stay?" While inquiring, Elijah rubs his hands over the padded knee inserts on his black military-style guard pants.


    She watches his fidgeting while deciding whether to answer the probing questions truthfully or not. After a long few moments and a rapid internal debate, she makes an executive decision to trust Elijah at least a small amount.


    "We didn''t. Somehow, we were pulled through a seam as a huge group. That isn''t supposed to¨Cno, it doesn''t¨Chappen."


    "But, it did happen?" He asks with an eyebrow crooked up inquisitively on his dark face. She slowly nods to him in response, keeping her tone measured.


    "Yeah, it did. That''s the problem. We don''t know how or why it happened, and one of the people who might have been able to figure it out, well, he''s dead. Your vampire friends ate his throat out when he was trying to defend me."


    "Shit." He grimaces, showing all his teeth, then uncomfortably shifts his weight. "So, how do we get you guys back to the Wilds?"


    She laughs softly¨Cthough it''s pretty mirthless¨Cher eyes rising to the purple and orange hues, turning the sky to dawn.


    "Well, we''d have to find a seam, but if they''re acting haywire, who knows if it''s even safe or where we''d turn up. No offense, but I think that''s a problem for another day."


    Taking the cue, Elijah slowly starts to stand up.


    "We should get you back before Micah or some other guard gets suspicious."


    Tallulah smoothly rises next to him, brushing her fingers through her silvery gray hair and trying not to touch the bruise that has formed across part of her face from being backhanded. She fixes him once again with her piercingly green eyes.


    "If you think so."


    He slides his hands into his pockets and then starts to lead them back to the horse barn. He continues to talk along the way, though his tone is greatly reduced, mostly murmuring.


    "Tomorrow night¨Cwell, tonight, I guess it is now¨Cis going to be rough. You''ll be brought before, um, the liege lord currently taking visitors. Just¡­ try not to lie."


    His dark brown eyes turn towards her, and she realizes his youth gives him the kindness still showing in his eyes that the older guards she''s seen do not seem to have.


    "Thank you, Eli."


    He nods a little bit in response. Quietness reigns as he leads Tallulah back to the horse barn and separates from her, leaving her to her own devices.


    Before too long, with sleep trying to drag her down, she finally decides to go and check out the horse barn, sighing inwardly that it''s no great surprise they''re being corralled like animals. As she walks inside, she steels herself, and as sure as the sun and moon rise every day and night, she''s inundated by questions, anger, spoken fears, and requests the moment people from her village see her return. She holds up her hands, trying to calm and soften their voices. With a long sigh, she gets ready to do her best, answering and talking to everyone. It is quite a long time before she finally can find herself a makeshift cot in a cleaned-out stall and close her eyes for a blissful period of sleep.

 005; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 5: The Homecoming

    Some of me felt terrible when we loaded items from the now wholly abandoned village into our trade wagon. However, Aria¨Cwho suggested it¨Cwas correct. There was no reason for those items and things to go to waste. It''s not as though we knew when or if the Wilder to whom it all belonged would be back, and sooner or later, someone else would show up and ransack the place. Besides, if they ever showed up, we were sure our village would help them get back on their feet. While we were there gathering valuables and deciding what would make the trip and what we''d leave behind, a reafan circled over our heads, causing some degree of comedic drama.


    Our particularly foul-mouthed cait sidhe (according to Khalil) took it as a personal affront. Hence, Khalil spent an entire hour trying to convince the reafan to come down close enough so we could get it into a birdcage. After the bird was caged, he spent a good twenty minutes lightheartedly complaining, telling Silas to chill out and that he wouldn''t get to eat the bird.


    We started back on the traveler''s path with a completely loaded trade wagon full of more goods than could have ever been expected for us to bring back. We were all fully prepared for the journey back to be full of nonsense and stops, but none of that occurred. In fact, the two donkeys and our party made excellent time even with the new addition of Silas. From the start, the cait sidhe decided to follow us¨Cor perhaps just Khalil¨Cas if he were a part of our group.


    The pair of them would constantly argue¨Cthough it always sounded one-sided to us, as Silas only made occasional noises¨Cabout meals and the caged reafan. While some of the arguments were joking, Khalil still ensured the reafan was safely stored in the stables where we kept the mules at night when we camped. Silas wasn''t a burden; he caught several small animals along the way and brought them back to camp at various parts of the journey back to our village. That alone saved us from days and days of nothing but those blasted flaming hot puffed cheese snacks. I tried to convince him¨Cvia Khalil, of course¨Cto bring back some safe-to-eat vegetables or herbs, but his response by vomiting assorted plants and grasses he''d eaten while wandering with us made it clear that would not happen.


    Aria slowed and finally stopped our procession as we entered the final stretch of our journey. She gathered us up and even circled some wood to sit on. With a bit of herbal tea bubbling over a temporary fire, she finally looked between Khalil, Lani, and I. Aria glanced at Silas when he yowled, but otherwise, she seemingly ignored him.


    "We should get our story straight before we arrive at our village. There will be a lot of questions, and we do not want to get caught up in the wrong side of an accusation."


    I realize then that she makes perfect sense. Showing up filled to the gills with trade items while not having seemingly traded anything that our village''s Wilder had individually allocated would draw questions and suspicion from even the most even-keeled of us. Part of me was a little offended in truth, as I''d like to think¨Cor pretend, I suppose¨Cthat we''d done enough in our trading routes and other work for the village to at least be given the benefit of the doubt. I finally shrug in response.


    "I mean, I think we should just tell them the truth. Besides, we brought back some things that no one would expect to have been traded. Look at the bird and Silas; no one would expect anyone in that village to have traded either of those."


    Aria moves forward a little, crouching next to the teapot. She pulls out four cups and starts to pour some of the herbal tea made from berries I collected from the Wilds during our journey back. Khalil looks over at Silas after I mention him.


    "Are they going to try and cage up Silas? I''ve kinda gotten fond of hearing him call me a slack-jawed, drooling idiot¨Calong with other colorful things."


    My lips twitch, trying to hold back a grin. Before Khalil even spoke those words, I could tell that he''d grown fond of our newly discovered cait sidhe, and I knew he wouldn''t be keen to part with him unless Silas chose it. Aria offers one of the cups to Khalil and addresses what Khalil said first rather than me.


    "No, I do not think they will. It is bad luck."


    Silas mrows at that moment as if to emphasize Aria''s point with a cat-version of "yeah!". Khalil smirked at the bulldog-sized cat momentarily before taking Aria''s offered tea.


    "Additionally, we should ask him the rest of our questions." She murmurs. Lani blinks a few times as she''s handed her tea, seemingly confused.


    "The rest of our questions?"


    Lani starts to blow on the top of the tea, sending its scent on the faint wind in my direction. Aria dips her head and hands me the third of the four cups of tea, keeping the last for herself. Once she''s sitting back down, she speaks again.


    "I am sure we have a few that he will answer."


    Silas chuffs nearby and jumps onto the back of the wagon, conveniently curling up onto the lip of the step up to the back door and pointedly closing his amethyst-colored eyes. The constant attitude of that cat creature makes me smirk, and I shake my head while we sit around the already dying fire before I keep the conversation going.


    "Okay, let''s get our story right first, then we can talk over the questions-thing."


    Khalil takes a sip from his tea and then scratches the stubble on his face.


    "Yeah, alright, sure. So if we''re going to tell them the truth, which version are we giving?"


    All four of us sample our tea in a momentary pause of silence, each seemingly collecting our thoughts. Lani is the first to speak up.


    "We should tell them that we came across the branded wiretail that was way far away from anywhere that the Blackham folk ever are. At least then they''ll be able to see why we think Silas was telling the truth about the erratic seam that, you know, took out everyone in the vicinity of wherever it opened."


    I nod my head, agreeing with her.


    "Yeah, that''s good thinking. I think we should also mention that when we came up on the river, I could hear what was probably marmennlar singing drifting to us from further in the Wilds, off of the traveler''s path. I''d imagine that means the seam, wherever it did open, was more spotty than just one massive area."


    Aria continues to savor her tea while I speak, and only when I finish does she speak up again.


    "Yes. We must ensure they understand we saw signs of something wrong before we even reached the village."


    Having been quiet while the three of us spoke, Khalil finished his small cup of tea in a big gulp. He spit out a little twig, then used a small amount of water to swill out the cup.


    "Dude, we should just tell the rest exactly as it happened after we got there, except I kinda think we shouldn''t tell them that Silas came through the seam. They''ll want to ask him a ton of questions, and he might get mad about it and leave."


    Aria studies Khalil''s face and responds relatively quickly.


    "They will need to know he came through the seam; otherwise, they may not believe Silas speaks true. Cait sidhe are not exactly always believed by some of our kind."


    "Well, that''s stupid, sorry; if they''re not going to believe him telling us what happened, then how''s telling them he came through the seam going to change them believing him at all? Seems to me that they''ll think whatever information we got from Silas is going to be bullshit either way, so why not protect him at least some?" Khalil says, irritatedly shaking his head.


    Aria leans back and tips her cup behind her by a couple of feet, pouring out a couple of berries and leaves left in the bottom of her cup. She uses some of the water from her side-hooked flask to swill around in her cup like Khalil did before pouring the water to the ground on the fire embers between us. The embers sizzle in protest, but the fire that created them is only used to heat the tea kettle and is quickly put out by adding water.


    "You must tell them what Silas said. I do not believe they will want to keep or bother Silas for it. The weans might bother him some, but I believe they will be safe around him. He is congenial."


    "Like hell he is! You didn''t hear the shit he said on the road back this far!"


    Lani, Khalil, and I all laugh a little at Khalil''s exclamation, and I think I almost saw Aria titter for a moment¨Ca split second, really. It causes the faint, warm feeling from earlier in our journey to threaten to spread again in my face before I mentally bludgeon it down. Aria tilts her head at Khalil and raises an eyebrow.


    "Okay, fine. I concede." Khalil groans in response.


    Lani finishes cleaning her cup the same way the rest of us do, then looks over at Silas as she starts to stand up.


    "What should we ask him? Is Silas going to grant us some wishes?"


    "He is not a genie from a movie, Lani," Aria grumbles while pursing her lips. All three of us laugh at that, but Lani continues.


    "Okay, okay. But really though, I don''t know what we could ask¡­"


    She trails off as Silas stretches and hops down from the back of the wagon. He struts right over to us and sits beside Khalil before using one of his apple-sized paws to clean his dark, pitch-black face. The cat makes a little warble noise, drawing Khalil''s attention momentarily.


    "Silas says that Aladdin was a shitty movie. Obviously, I disagree with him; no movie with a song where people are singing on a magic carpet ride is bad. Besides, he''s like a bad attitude monkey that always hangs around. It''s pretty great."


    Aria slightly turns her head at a tilt, the same time I do. That was a weird thing to say. Khalil looks between Aria and me with his deep, kind eyes. Before I can even voice a "no, don''t," Khalil blurts out.


    "I wish you to stay with me, Silas; you''re fun as hell."


    "Oh dammit, Khalil, stop it." I groan and slap my forehead.


    Midway through cleaning his face with one paw, Silas stops moving, save for turning his head to look at Khalil with his vivid purple eyes. The working dog-sized black feline stretches his two front paws out in front of him, with his back end in the air. Silas'' black tail swishes a few times before he moves from that pose and walks over to lunge on top of Khalil''s lap. The cat''s size almost bowls over Khalil, who hasn''t gotten up like Lani and I and is still sitting on the wobbly makeshift wooden stool. I look at the rapid movement in shock but then realize the cat is just draping himself across Khalil''s lap.


    "Wait¨Cdid¡­ did that actually just work?" Khalil laughs boldly, "Oh snap, look who''s got a new cat-sith perma-friend!"


    The purposeful pronunciation makes Lani and I laugh at Khalil''s stupid joke, but Aria seems to miss it as she corrects him with a simple and forceful "cait sidhe" without laughter or humor in her voice.


    "Can I try?" Lani looks at me before rubbing her forehead a little. I shrug my shoulders in response.


    "I mean, sure, go ahead?"


    At my confirmation, Lani walks over and crouches down next to Silas, touching her hands to the large feline''s silky black fur.


    "Will you help Orion and me become better trained with our gifts?"


    I raise my eyebrows, having not expected that. The cat turns his head, focusing his amethyst-colored eyes on Lani. Silas'' ears lower slightly, and he hisses and spits momentarily. Aria, Lani, and I raise our eyes to Khalil, our wildlife translator.


    "Dude, rude. She''s playing by the rules." Khalil nudges Silas with his left hand.


    Silas hops off Khalil''s lap and knocks over his teacup with the landing. Instead of ignoring it, Silas slaps the fallen cup once with a paw¨Cthe cat growls and mrowls in response. Khalil leans over to pick up the cup before Silas can continue using it as a punting toy.


    "He says you asked for two things, and you only have one feather''s worth of request left."


    I lean back slightly, trying to parse that out. Lani is on top of it, though.


    "So, because Ori gave him three fletching feathers, we got to ask one question back at the other village. You requested he stay with you, so we have another thing to ask or request?"


    Khalil nods in response, which causes Lani to give Aria the side-eye.


    "Not a genie, huh, surrrre."


    Aria looks skywards rather than justifying that with a response. I snicker despite myself, then add in.


    "If you want to ask the same thing again, you can; it''s cool, Lani. Just drop my name off it, and you should be good, right?"


    Silas, busy staring daggers at the teacup being held by Khalil, doesn''t seem to react to the conversation we''re having around him. Lani touches her hand back to Silas again, and as she pets his fur, we can see the silken gleam of his relatively long fur highlight his animal musculature.


    "Okay, if you''re sure¡­" she continues without interjection. "I want you to help me learn and get better with my gifts, Silas. Will you do that?"


    There is a long pause of rigid non-movement from Silas. I initially thought he was simply ignoring Lani and focusing all his energy on "his" stolen teacup that Khalil is still holding hostage. However, I am wrong, and Silas spins slowly to focus wide eyes on Lani''s. As the slits of Silas'' eyes dilate, the cait sidhe makes a short spurt of noises at Lani, similar to when he accepted our question at the village in days past. Lani doesn''t move, and Silas steps closer, almost as if he has Lani locked in a trance. I nervously look towards Khalil, but he doesn''t look nervous, so I shift my gaze back to the feline and my half-elven, half-pixie friend as they have some stare-off.


    If I weren''t watching, I would have missed it. During the slight noises Silas makes at random intervals, the purple of his eyes grows more and more vivid, almost luminescent, in fact, by the time the cat is face to face, nose to nose with Lani. Her face initially reflects the dark neon hue that Silas is producing, but moments later, she starts to absorb the light from Silas through her own eyes. Her eyes change their color on the spot, from their airy-wispy blue color to the deep amethyst Silas typically has. I stand up immediately, concerned. Khalil stands as well, but it''s to hold out a hand towards me to stop me from advancing on them.


    "She asked him for it, Ori, chill. He''s granting her request, and it''s the only way they can communicate so she can learn and get his guidance. It''s okay."


    When Khalil stops me, I stop moving forward, but I most certainly look at Aria, trying to get her input. Instead of seeming concerned, she exhales air through her nose slowly.


    "Orion, give Silas another set of fletch feathers."


    I give her a stern look as if her being unconcerned is somehow a problem, but she doesn''t react in any particular way¨Cif anything, she continues to look at me, impatient that I''m not following her direction.


    "Fuck it, okay, whatever. If you guys think that was fine, then fine." I puff out loudly. Grumbling and walking, I head over to where we hung my quiver and bow outside the wagon but stop when Silas yowls and spits in my general direction.


    "Now what?" I grouse.


    "He says you''re an asshole for trying to use feathers on him again and refuses." Khalil guffaws. There''s a little pause where Silas makes a huffing noise before continuing to yawl and chitter. Khalil adds on; his animal translation skills on point.


    "Three to a customer; he says you should have given him more than three feathers at the beginning, among other things. But he says he''ll change his mind if you¨Cwhat? No. He''s not giving you the reafan, Silas. Shut up."


    "Yeah, sorry." Khalil looks at me apologetically.


    I shrug my shoulder and slip the arrow I intended to defletch to get the feathers in question back into the quiver.


    "We should have wished for him to speak normally," I mutter.


    Before too long, with all jokes aside and the conversation about our plan of arrival complete, we''re on the road again, leading the trading wagon and trailing it simultaneously. As we finished our journey back to our home village along the traveler''s path, Silas'' newest joy was jumping onto the wagon and climbing down the mules'' harnesses until he could lay down on one of their backs. All four of us call him lazy and laugh at his antics, but before long, we all lapse into amicable silence as we finish the last leg of our journey homeward. It isn''t long before we see the unadorned walls and decorations, plots of growing food and people working, guards patrolling while dogs and children play chase.


    Home, sweet home.


    As we draw up and through the front entrance to our village of assorted Wilder, I see a pair of large, metal-lined trading wagons painted with reds, greens, purples, and white designs parked near our village''s stables. The stables are where our more "valuable" or hard-to-obtain animals are maintained and are generally our first stop on arrival from a trading journey. Instead of blocking the pathway behind the two large wagons, we lead our two mules a cart''s length back and have them hold position. Along the sides of the wagons, I see the clear and present markings of a thin, regal, and muscular dog with large, bat-like ears standing alert¨Cthe general design that represents the Alvarado tribe. They raise dogs in the Wilds and often use them as trade chips with other tribes and sometimes Wilder villages like ours.


    As we come to a stop, I pat the side of one of the mules.


    "Silas, you might as well stay on the back of the mules for a few minutes. Let us sort out what we need to get sorted." I look around, seeing people coming in from nearby on their way towards us to see what goodies we''ve returned with.


    "Khalil," I quickly blurt to my best friend, "can you run interference? I''ve gotta see what''s going on with the Alvarado traders and see if they plan on moving soon. Don''t want folks to go poking through our wagon yet until we can report in."


    Khalil jogs up next to me from behind the wagon and nods.


    "Yeah, Ori, I got it. I''ll keep them back with a stick."


    He grins crookedly at me, but I know he''ll do it. As Khalil raises his hands above his head, he growls like a bear at an approaching elf-kin wean, then stomps towards them.


    "Arrrrghhh! I''m gonna get you!"


    I smile a little, noting how good he is with weans and everyone else. It''s his superpower, honestly. I depart, leaving Khalil to defend the wagon from miniature squealing interlopers and nosy adults.


    A few steps past the pair of trade wagons ahead of ours, I see the trading group inside the stables talking to Gallen, who essentially acts as our game warden and stable master. Gallen is relatively short and thin¨Chis nickname when he was a kid was "bean," like a beanstalk¨Cbut as he''s up there in age, he''s starting to show signs of it in the coloration of his hair. He always wears working clothes, with pockets everywhere, and usually has some degree of foreign substance dirtying up his clothing. Gallen ensures that all our village''s assorted working animals are appropriately taken care of. Some people have dogs for their family, but Gallen doesn''t see to those unless they need medical assistance. He mostly sticks to caring for the animals used to "get stuff done" in and around our place in the Wilds.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    I hang around, waiting to catch Gallen''s eye. Once I do, I give him a little wave, and he grins in my direction before holding up a hand and one finger to tell me to give him a minute. I nod and, instead, look at the group of Alvarado. They don''t trade too often with Wilder, but it happens sometimes, and it looks like they''re trading a few dogs to Gallen, which means he was given an order (or orders) from people in the village. They seem to be disagreeing about what gender of the dog they''ll provide¨Ceither all males or all females¨Cbut I tune it out after a while and go instead to lurk next to one of our very, very few stabled work horses. I pick up a few sugar cubes to feed and pet the first one who comes up to the stall doors to get a treat.


    A little time passes, but finally, Gallen comes up to me. I didn''t see Aria or Lani depart anywhere, but I doubt they''re holding vigil next to our trading cart.


    "Hey, Orion. Welcome back. Glad to see you''re all safe. Hopefully, you guys didn''t have too much trouble?"


    I pat the horse again before moving away slightly to avoid getting nipped for more sugar cubes.


    "Eh, it was, well, let''s just say we need to talk with Jorge and Hannah before our story gets out."


    Gallen tilts his head both out of curiosity and a little bit of concern.


    "Oh man, that sounds bad? Should I be worried?"


    "No, no, probably not, it''s all good. Hey, look, uh, can we keep our cart here temporarily so people don''t get into it and mess around?" I smile while answering, trying to disarm him.


    "Yeah, sure; I mean, I''m not going to guard it or anything like that, but you can bring it in here, and I doubt anyone will mess with it while you guys go do your thing and talk with Jorge and Hannah." While he responds, he lifts his shoulders in a shrug.


    "Thanks, Bean," I add to be polite, even if he''s a little irritable.


    He mutters something additional about being too damn busy to guard a wagon, but I''m already backing out of the stables. I flag down Khalil and tell him to lead the mules into the stable and keep the wagon inside for now, then to meet me next to the area for the great Beltaine bonfire near the village''s center. Next, I catch up to Lani when I see her chatting with a couple of people, and she walks along with me as I head for the bonfire''s circle.


    "Hey, Ori, what''s the plan?"


    "Going to try and find Aria, then we''ll meet up with Khalil at the Beltaine bonfire." I slide my hands into my pockets as we stroll along. Lani seems fine with that plan, as well.


    "Aria went to the butcher''s. I can snag her, and we can meet you two there."


    I agree, and then I split off from Lani as she goes on to do just that. The village is bustling, and it''s nice to see my people again.


    Elven-kind like me, who feel the pull of the Wilds, sometimes forget the enjoyable aspects of being around others. I wouldn''t say I like crossing a seam into the human divide; there, the proper natural areas are often too far apart, and everything is simply too noisy. Just everything is too loud for me there, and I cannot wait to get back to our side whenever I go. One of the great things about seams is that they destroy any technological gadgets if people try to cross with them. Something about the magic of our lands unravels them and breaks them down to their base parts. Khalil disagrees. He always says he''d love to have a little music player and some headphones on this side, but I prefer it how it is.


    As I draw upon the area our village always uses for Beltaine, I rub the side of my face and realize that I''ve grown a bit of stubble from the journey. I''d never be able to get a beard like Khalil can get, but that''s okay. I don''t care for it¨Cit itches¨Cso as I watch Lani, Aria, and Khalil making their way up the path to where I sit, I try to remind myself to razor it off later when I can finally get a good soaking to wash away the travel grime.


    "Hey," I greet the trio as they catch up with me. Aria nods with Lani, and Khalil greets me back. "So, I have Gallen holding our wagon in the stables for now, but I think we probably should see Jorge and Hannah before we do anything else. They should know about the stuff¨Cyou know, we sorted out the story for this reason."


    All three of the others nod and agree without complaint, which makes for the quickest "round table discussion" we may have ever had.


    A few minutes later, our tired quartet is walking up to the large home of Jorge and Hannah, the de facto leaders of our Wilder village and settlement. They were the first to settle here, and although they''re old, they''re not in danger of keeling over anytime soon. Our lives go on different timelines, with so many different types of fey. Some age extra slowly, some have average human-like lifespans, and a few unfortunate types only live into their late twenties or early thirties.


    Hannah and Jorge''s home is more prominent than pretty much any of the other homes in our village. No one complains about its size; they built it and put in the work before there was ever even a village here. They even have carvings to decorate the wood and hammered metal used to construct the home. The designs could use a fresh coat of paint in many spots, but aesthetics like thick paint aren''t easy to come by unless you get them from one of the major towns or cities. In short, it''s pretty much never a priority on a trading run.


    After knocking on the front door, we take a few steps back to wait. The first thing we see is their pet reafan, Vox, who flies out of one of the open windows to land on a nearby awning. Seeing the bird reminds me of Silas, and that I also don''t remember seeing him on the back of a mule when Khalil went to move the trading wagon inside of Gallen''s stables. I sigh, which draws a look from Aria, but I shake my head as if to say, "Don''t worry about it." A few moments pass, and the reafan squawks at us, but the front door opens. With his weathered skin and bald head, Jorge stands there and looks out at us.


    "Aria! Orion, Khalil and Lani! Welcome back from your trip. You four must have just gotten back in. You look knackered. Come in, come in. Hannah is just finishing chatting with someone; I''ll fetch you four something to drink and eat while you wait."


    We don''t get a word in edgewise with the old gent, but it''s alright. His demeanor and friendliness make me feel welcome, as always. He holds the door open with his thick, rough hands¨Clong since callused by his years working metal and wood¨Cand waves us all into the first gathering room we see.


    The parlor is decorated with assorted plants, some moving as we walk inside. There is a small table, several seats, and a couch woven by still-living vines. The plant work is one of Hannah''s specialties and is quite beautiful to see. Technically, Hannah is a distant great Aunt on my father''s side or something, and she''s always been taken with me. So it was no real surprise that as I started to display my powers, they were always related to the Wilds. I don''t have the gift of working with plants like Hannah, but I can move, see, hear, and smell like animals and creatures of the Wilds, and sometimes, I can even control and act through the eyes of those creatures if I try hard enough.


    With everyone settled in to wait, Jorge returned to offer us food, some small square cookie treats called mikado, and flavored drinks before departing again. It''s an old tradition of hospitality; we know that Jorge and Hannah will see to our care while we''re under their roof. I scratch a little at the stubble on the side of my face again, the itching starting to irritate me. Lani draws my attention as she plays with a vine that is actively curling around one of her fingers while she strokes a leaf. Aria sits down and closes her eyes while Khalil busily gorges himself on the sweet treats.


    Sure enough, we soon see one of the Alvarado people departing ahead of Jorge and Hannah. They politely wish the man well on the trader''s journey, then close the door behind him. Jorge exhales slightly but then gestures toward us while we wait in the parlor''s sitting area. Hannah smiles on seeing me, and probably the others, too. While Jorge appears to be a hearty man with meaty hands, stout legs, and shoulders, Hannah is the opposite.


    Hannah stands almost as tall as the doorway and is wispy and thin, like Lani, with delicate features and physical attributes. While my ears are only narrowly tipped at the top, Hannah''s ears are long and pointed¨Cswept back almost as if they were drawn back with her long golden hair. Her eyes are the color of vivid blue topaz. She is everything humans would think of when they think of the classical elf-kin, and though she looks frail or delicate, all of us know that can change instantly should she ever so wish it. When she enters the room, the plants shiver, their leaves and branches trembling in anticipation. One gets the feeling, a vibe, really, of pure happiness. The flora is ecstatic to see Hannah.


    "Hello Orion, Lani, Aria and Khalil. Welcome back. It is good to see all of you still in good health."


    Despite myself, I smile, as do the others¨Cexcept for Aria, who dips her head exceedingly respectfully to Hannah and Jorge as he follows her into the room.


    "What brings you to our house today and so quickly? Surely, you''ve not had time to clean yourselves up or get a good meal."


    I glance at Aria, who Lani said was at the butcher''s, but then realize that probably isn''t important.


    "Hey, so we needed to come and see you both privately about what we encountered on our trade run. Something weird, maybe bad, had happened, and we didn''t want to announce it to the village or let them see the stuff we brought back yet until we talked with you two."


    Jorge brings two chairs from another room and sets one down for Hannah before taking his seat next to her.


    "Doesn''t sound good, not good at all," Jorge grunts.


    Hannah shifts her glance momentarily at Jorge, or at least I thought it was Jorge until she holds up a hand, and the reafan that stared us down outside flies inside to land on the side of her hand like a perfect perch. She touches long, thin fingers along the black and dangerous feathers. The reafan''s red eyes move from each of us as if trying to judge us.


    "Well¡­"


    And with that, I start to tell the story, not leaving out any of the parts, from the wiretail to the lack of all animals and life as we traversed the river¨Csave for the distant singing further in the Wilds. Khalil adds that the mules warned of the feeling of danger right before we crossed the river towards the village and were quiet after that. I tell them about the abandoned village and how it looked like people were taken in the middle of meals and other activities¨Calong with the animals. I hesitate for a few moments as I draw to the part of the story where we met Silas, and my hesitation draws an ever-so-slightly raised eyebrow from Hannah. Khalil also looks uncomfortable but fidgets and takes another treat to munch on to keep himself occupied.


    "When we went to the metal works¨Cwell, their smithy and carpentry area¨Cwhen we opened the door, a huge black cat ran out. Turns out it was a cait sidhe, as Aria told us."


    Jorge doesn''t react to that, but Hannah does. She''s pretty much the most wise of anyone in the village, so it doesn''t surprise me that she knows what it is. She brushes a small vine away that had grown towards her with her free hand that wasn''t still being perched on by the reafan.


    "A cait sidhe. Hmm. That is¡­ unusual. Where is it now?"


    I pause and start to make a noise that sounds like "errrr" as I try to think of how to answer. Luckily, Khalil interjects.


    "Well, he''s at my place right now. I kind of didn''t want too many questions about him yet. His name is Silas, and he''s cantankerous but also friendly-ish."


    I give Khalil a little look, and he raises his eyebrows.


    "What? I know words longer than two syllables sometimes, too, Orion."


    I roll my eyes and look back at Hannah, who has a mystifying expression.


    "Silas is his name, I see. And what did this Silas do?"


    I continue the story again, explaining how we asked a question after giving him some feathers at Aria''s urging, which then went into an explanation of why we came to the belief that it was an uncontrolled seam that opened and moved the entire village away somewhere. I finished the story by explaining that we decided to take items from the village before the place was looted and hoped it wasn''t a problem. I told Jorge and Hannah both that was why we had our trade wagon essentially hidden in Gallen''s stables until we talked with them about it.


    "How is looting their village for our village different from another village looting the same place for their village later?" Jorge inquires, clearly trying to follow our logic.


    I take a moment before I respond.


    "Well, the truth is, I guess it isn''t. But if they come back, maybe we can help them out. I just, I don''t know, I got this feeling while we were there that we wouldn''t see that village again or its people¨Cmaybe not ever. Obviously, if they show back up, I''d be first in line to help them get sorted out."


    "Did you also get this same ''feeling'' that Orion did, love?" Hannah looks from me to Lani. Lani brushes back some of her hair from her face before responding.


    "I don''t know that I got the same feeling, but the vibe wasn''t right there if that makes sense. It felt¨Cit felt¨C" Lani drifts off, trying to put words to feelings. Finally, she follows up. "¨CIt felt like one of those old stories from the bad times between the sun and moon ascendant tribes, where entire families trying to start villages would wind up missing, just gone. Yeah, I mean, if I think of it like that, I guess I got a feeling."


    Hannah tilts her head to acknowledge Lani before turning her topaz-blue eyes towards Aria and Khalil, clearly inquiring if they had anything to add. When it''s clear that neither of them does, Hannah turns her gaze back to me.


    "Thank you for taking care to sort this all out for us, Orion. That''s very mature of you."


    "If I''m honest, Aria helped a lot. We''d have probably done some pretty stupid stuff¨Cor made really bad decisions¨Cif she weren''t with us." I add, protesting a little that Aria didn''t get her due. Hannah stretches her lips slightly in a smile.


    "Yes, why do you think we always send someone with some experience and age with our trading groups? We can''t let our young people go off into the Wilds unprepared and unprotected; some are just completely unaware of what strange things might be waiting for them."


    I nod, not wanting to interrupt her.


    "I need to think about everything you''ve told us today. But, in the meanwhile, I assume Khalil is taking responsibility for the cait sidhe, Silas, yes?"


    "Yes, if that''s alright anyway." Khalil pipes up, as expected.


    Hannah gazes at him and inclines her head.


    "If he has chosen you, then he''s chosen you. You should feel quite honored."


    "Er, I should?" Khalil gets a slightly confused look on his face. That response causes Hannah to laugh¨Clovely and melodious.


    "Yes, silly. His kind tends to be, well, as you said, ''cantankerous,'' but also they are quite often troublesome. However, a few lucky individuals are essentially claimed by a cait sidhe and then find themselves with a relatively powerful familiar. So yes, congratulations."


    Khalil puffs up at the compliment, and I smirk.


    "However, you''re going to have to spend extra time making sure that he doesn''t choose to predate on our village''s animals."


    She strokes a finger down the back of the reafan on her hand as if to make a point. Khalil deflates a fraction.


    "Ah, yeah, that''s no problem. I''ve already had lots of conversations about that with Silas."


    "What about the Blackham wiretail?" Aria inquires, finally having leaned forward. Hannah refocuses on Aria once she has finally spoken.


    "I suppose we could send a letter to their town, but I''m not sure they would do anything about one wiretail when they have so many."


    Aria nods once, almost as though she is done talking, but she seems to think better of it and speaks again.


    "I understand this. What about the rider of the wiretail? It is possible that they were lost in the Wilds, and the wiretail could lead them to their Blackham tribe member. If it is missing, I mean. Telling them of this wiretail and the location may engender some positive feelings towards our village."


    Hannah whispers in our people''s language¨Cthe fey¨Cto the bird still perched on her hand. After which, she moves her arm out to encourage the reafan to fly away.


    "Vox, go."


    "Vox" protests with a couple of squawks but still takes flight and disappears through a window a few moments later. Once the bird has left the home, Hannah speaks again in the common tongue.


    "Vox will take our message to their city."


    The definitive way it was said makes Aria nod her head in thanks.


    "As far as the trade goods go¨C" Hannah pauses, which makes the four of us¨Cand Jorge¨Clean in closer as if to listen more closely. "¨CI believe it would be wise to say that you located a trio of wild reafans during your trip to the village. There, in that village, you traded two of the reafans to the village for all of the goods you brought back, which is why you''ve returned with so many items and the remaining reafan and all of their initial trade goods. You''ll return the initial trade goods to their original owners; Jorge will help with that since that will require a bit of oversight."


    Jorge nods but does not interrupt Hannah as she continues speaking.


    "As far as the rest of the trade goods go, outside of the gasoline¨Cwhich I''d imagine you made sure to get, being as you were sent there to trade for it¨C" She trails off, clearly looking for us to acknowledge that, which I do, so she continues. "Anyway, outside of the gasoline, have Merrill set up a trade expedition with the new goods once Jorge has helped you sort the original goods back to their owners. We''ll put any of the proceeds we get from the trade goods into the village''s overall coffers, to be fair to everyone."


    With a plan in place, I feel better. Exhaling, I stand, thinking that''s the end of the conversation.


    "Thank you for helping us sort through that mess."


    Lani and Aria both stand. Khalil shuffles over a little from where he had been standing in the room the whole time. Hannah smoothly rises from her chair, joined by Jorge. He picks up both of the chairs he''d brought in earlier for them to sit on and then shuffles away to take them back where they belonged, leaving Hannah with us.


    "No, thank you for telling us the whole story. It would have been easy to leave out pieces or fudge the truth."


    I smile at the acknowledgment of our trustworthiness and feel a little ball of warmth rest in my stomach.


    "Thank you all for coming. Please get yourselves cleaned up, and for graciousness sake, get yourselves a good, warm meal."


    Khalil, Lani, and Aria say their goodbyes and head out through the front door, weariness starting to settle in. We could all use a good, long sleep, that''s the truth. Before I can say goodbye and leave, Hannah pauses to stop me.


    "Orion, stay with me a few minutes before you go?"


    I run my hand over my face slowly, trying to wipe away my tiredness and refocus my mind.


    "Sure. What''s up?"


    She gestures for me to follow her, and so I do. We move through the main hallway of her home, and I pass paintings and other assorted things with vines and flowers, plants, and leaves all intertwined into beautiful structures, furniture, and sculptures. We walk in almost complete silence; the flooring of her place is a mossy carpet that muffles our movement. I almost wish I weren''t wearing shoes so I could feel it beneath my toes and on the soles of my feet like a wild elf. Finally, we make our way into what would only be considered a sunroom of some kind, with plants and open windows and several half-finished paintings next to two unfinished chairs. Hannah stops and turns towards me with a little smile.


    "My workshop. Where I come to think and, well, not-think."


    "It''s pretty nice." I grin back at her. She sits down in front of one of her unfinished paintings but chooses to look at me instead of the artwork.


    "I''m glad that you returned safely. I know perhaps more than most that the Wilds can be dangerous, but I can''t coddle you either. Your mother would curse me night and day if I did."


    My smile breaks a little. No one ever talks about my mother, especially not me. I don''t know exactly what to say, so I stand there mutely¨Cmaybe even dumbly.


    "Don''t worry, Orion, we won''t talk about her."


    My shoulders relax slightly, glad not to have to bring up that badness.


    "How are your powers coming along?"


    I slowly take a seat once I''m sure that the work-in-progress chairs aren''t going to crash and fall apart if I put my weight on one of them.


    "The sun helps them¨Cwhich you thought I would be aligned with. I''m still the best with being able to see and hear."


    "The two you use the most for hunting." Hannah placidly interjects.


    "Yeah," I agree. "I figured that was the case. Um, I''m not good with picking out scents, and I''m really not even sure if I can tell the difference between textures and feelings. Maybe it''s because I haven''t really needed to. Not working a loom or anything like that, you know, so I don''t get a lot of practice there."


    Hannah picks up one of the paintbrushes and slowly looks it over. I realize that the paintbrush has no old color on it, and neither do any of the others on her small table of them. Seeing that makes me a little sad, almost like it''s truly a shame she doesn''t have the pigments to paint beautiful things.


    "I guess that''s about it. Sometimes, I can ''take over'' smaller animals and see through their senses, but I can''t do it for long, and sometimes, it''ll give me a nosebleed."


    Hannah looks me over slowly before speaking again.


    "You''re fond of Aria."


    I splutter before I can catch myself.


    "Er, uh, I mean. She''s a good traveling partner. I always feel safe with her around?"


    Hannah raises an eyebrow as if she knows damn well that was a lie by omission. She laughs, though.


    "Mmm-hmm. May I give you some advice?"


    I quickly nod my head, happy not to have to stumble over my words for that moment.


    "You know she''s moon-aligned."


    I nod again, feeling a bit like a bobblehead and not seeing where she''s going with this. Plenty of the fey in our village are moon-aligned. We got past that drama a long time ago in the fey world¨Cthe bad times were bad¨Ceverything''s appropriately sorted out by the tribes now. So now there''s no drama. Hannah mentioning it makes me feel a little uncomfortable, though.


    "Uh, yeah. She''s a great night guard to have."


    My discomfort doesn''t bleed away, as I''m unsure where our conversation is going.


    "Yes, she is. Be careful, though."


    This puzzles me so much that I don''t know what to say. Hannah sighs softly before setting down the paintbrush again.


    "Your mother was like you, originally. Carefree, good-natured, a little rapscallion. It''s what drew your father to her despite her moon leanings."


    Hannah talking about her like she''s dead, which she isn''t at all, makes me even more uncomfortable.


    "But her problem was she took to the wrong person who was also moon-aligned. Took her down the wrong path, and we know how that went."


    A little flitting of anger rises indignantly in my chest.


    "Aria isn''t someone who''s taking the ''wrong path.'' She''s loyal and honest, and if I did¨Cif I were fond of her¨Cit''d be my business. It wouldn''t affect me like it did her. She was crazy, I''m not."


    Hannah raises her hands as if to cool my rising temper. It doesn''t help, but I do stop talking.


    "Orion, Orion. I am not chastising you or telling you what to do. If it would make you happy to be with her and her happy to be with you, then you should be happy. I want you to be careful with all of the choices you make. Someone has to look out for my youngest nephew."


    Her saying as much dampens my rising rage, and I exhale to release the tension.


    "Sorry, you know how I get about¡­ her."


    She nods in response, then slowly stands. She touches a hand to my face, thumbing over the faint stubble.


    "I know. It took me a very long time to not feel the same."


    She drifts off but follows it up with a faint, joking voice.


    "Trying to be the first elf-kin from our family tree with a beard?"


    I blurt out a laugh.


    "I don''t think I could even if I let it grow for years. I''m going to razor it off tonight, though. It itches like crazy. I don''t know how people deal with it."


    Hannah smiles at me once more and drops her hand to her side.


    "Go on, Orion, go be with your friends. Get yourself some food and rest. We''ll talk another time."


    I exhaled and thanked Hannah before letting her walk me to her front door. As I leave her house, my shoulders slump slightly, and it hits me just how hungry and tired I am. Without wanting to do anything else, I brainlessly followed Hannah''s order and set out to the Forgetful Fox to get a meal before I head home and clean myself up and rest.


    Home, sweet home, indeed.

 006; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 6: The Guests

    Determining the original owners of various trade goods takes a few days. Jorge helps immensely to keep some degree of order, but there are still expected mild quarrels over ownership. Still, it gets sorted out in a reasonable amount of time, and any discontent or anger fades away when people of the village see all of the trade goods we unload from inside our trading cart, let alone what we stuffed into our pocket storages where we could find room. Seeing the shock and surprise on people''s faces makes me, in turn, feel good¨Ceven though I probably shouldn''t, given what we think happened to the goods'' previous owners. But still, there is something to be said about the feeling of being a provider or an aid who isn''t afraid to travel for our village.


    When we''d finished sorting out the original trade items, Merrill announced herself and was left with just the new, freshly unloaded spoils. Merrill is one of the highest energy fey I''ve ever encountered; her vivid red hair is naturally in almost always wild ringlets, framing her face no matter the circumstance. She came to our village a few years ago and positively impacted the village as our leading trader. She speaks faster than anyone I''ve ever met, which doesn''t slow no matter who is at her trading shop.


    "OR-I-ON!"


    The high-pitched voice makes me slightly smile despite feeling gritty and rough from sweat. I wipe my arm across my face and turn in the direction that Merrill''s voice came from.


    "Hey, Meri."


    She prances up in front of me and starts to take stock of all the goods we''ve pulled out and piled up.


    "Wow, they said you brought home a lot, but I didn''t realize it was holy-crap-a-lot. This will be a lot to sell and trade."


    "Well, I''ll leave this in your more capable hands."


    I give her a little bit of a smile, tired as I am, trying to extricate myself from being drawn into a long conversation. I''m just looking forward to getting food and something cool to drink. Merrill clears her throat as I move away. I slowly turn around to see what she wants, and she gives me a lopsided grin with a hint of mischievousness.


    "What?"


    "I heard," her lips twist into a hopeful grin, "you guys found some wild reafans, traded two, and brought another back. Do you think you could convince Gallen to let me have it? You know, for trading purposes."


    "Come on, Meri," I groan. "I don''t make those decisions. You know who does." Everyone wants a reafan for one reason or another. Merrill huffs, and for a moment, I even thought she''d put her hands on each hip. She doesn''t, but she does churlishly mutter in response.


    "Everyone knows you can convince Hannah to do stuff around here. She adores you. Probably because you''d rather be in the forest like she would be."


    "That isn''t true at all. I don''t influence decisions; I go where they ask me to and hunt for the village. I like it that way." I give her a look, suggesting I''m not too fond of the implication of special treatment. Rather than get sucked into a disagreement with Merrill¨Cwhich could wind up going on for hours¨CI hold my hands up.


    "I need to get some food and drink. I''m dying over here. I''ll let you get back to checking out all the goods we brought back. Jorge is holding the gasoline, so if you want any of the village''s stores, you''ll have to take it up with him."


    "Ugh, fiiiiiiiine." She whines at me in response, sounding far more childish than she is. I turn, unaffected by her attempts to convince me, and continue to the Forgetful Fox, our village''s only food and drink spot.


    Hours later, well-fed and watered, I find myself bartering for duck feathers from an old egg tender to make more arrows and prepare for¡­ well, whatever. I don''t need to make more arrows, but making them with my hands genuinely soothes my mind. I can blank out entirely and just focus on the craftsmanship of each arrow I make. Sure, I could quickly get some from the human world by bartering with someone who regularly goes through seams, or I could get some the next time I go through one myself, but something about making my own truly resonates with my soul, for lack of a better phrase.


    I keep my face even as the woman I''m bartering with starts acting up in arms at my offer; it''s a time-honored tradition to barter for goods, with all the tips and tricks that come with it. After a while of a back and forth, I let the woman "talk me into" the price I''d already figured I''d pay, and as we sorted out the agreement, I could hear a disturbance nearby coming from the front of the village. I tell the woman I''ll be back to pick up the duck feathers later before jogging towards the noise of people from the village.


    I come to a dead stop as I round the nearest corner to me, where I can see directly towards our village''s entrance. There, at the open gates, is a sight I didn''t think I''d ever see in our nothing village. I''m struck stupid for a moment, but then I realize many of our people with bows, knives, and metal tools are slowly appearing around. From my belt I get the only thing I have available¨Ca simple whittling knife¨Cjust in case it''s needed. Just a few feet from the entrance are six separate wiretails with riders. My eyes are likely wide as saucers¨Cand I see plenty of others with the same reaction. Some part of me knows this is Aria, Lani, Khalil, and my fault, and immediately, I assume the worst¨Cthat we''ve done something that will cause us to be attacked.


    The wiretails are adults, all with lightly armored leather and fine cloth riding saddles, though the seats and designs for each are faintly different¨Clikely chosen by the riders for comfort. As the wiretails look left and right, some stalk back and forth as if waiting for a command to attack. From where I stand, I can see the branding on their hindquarters, which marks them as owned by the Blackham tribe. The riders¨Cwith their layered light leather pieces on top of undershirts from human stores¨Care from the Blackham. As far as I can recall in my lifetime, we''ve never had one of the elite tribes that have their own cities visit us at our village; occasionally, we get traders from some of the wealthier tribes'' towns, like the Alvarado, but I can count on my hands how often that has happened.


    Finally, the front-most rider on a wiretail¨Cblack with orange and brown markings that travel horizontally down its sides towards its black, bristling tail¨Csteps down from the back of the beast. No one is attacking, but neither is anyone speaking so far that I can tell. I start slowly moving toward the gathering, even though I''m barely armed. Having sharpened my eyesight instinctively, I study the details of the rider who had first stepped down to the ground as I draw nearer.


    The rider is a tall man with pale skin and¨Cunsurprisingly¨Cblack hair, which is typical for the Blackham people. His hair is pulled back with a severe braided design, exposing ears that are only faintly tipped towards a point. He wears properly fitting, quality dark clothing underneath the few pieces of leather armor he''s wearing. It takes a while, but I finally realize that if this were a planned attack, they would undoubtedly be wearing something more protective¨Cand the wiretails would probably be killing us all. There''s that too.


    On his right shoulder and strapped over his right bicep is a "scaled" and dyed black pauldron, with overlapping layers and leather folded spikes studded to each layer. It''s far more intimidating than protective, giving him the look of someone who wouldn''t necessarily be against violence should it arise. His hands are gloved, and around his waist is a thick black leather belt, slightly side-slung with a small quiver of crossbow bolts within grasping range. In the front and center is the symbol of the Blackham tribe: a golden insignia of a snarling wiretail, highlighted with some details in indigo.


    Now close enough to hear, I realize there''s a low conversation between one of the guards and the man. I let my eyesight fade to normal and instead look between the standoff. Around that same time, Jorge stalks with malevolent purpose to the front, carrying an ornate hammer half the size of his legs, with a thick sledgehammer head attached. I''ve never seen him carrying something like it, which concerns me greatly. Gripping my puny, whittling knife more tightly, I watch Jorge stop within a handful of paces from the pale man. The other five riders are still on their wiretails, which are growling and grumbling with some degree of irritation¨Clikely at being held in place against their will. I catch a glimpse of Khalil passing behind one of the squat buildings, but he doesn''t see me.


    My attention returns to the drama unfolding front and center, and I listen as Jorge speaks with unrestrained anger.


    "What business do you have here, bringing those half-wild beasts into a village with weans and the old?!"


    I don''t know why I expected Jorge to be passive because his voice bristles with enmity. It''s hard for me to weigh what I know of him¨Cthe kind, compassionate man and Hannah''s chosen¨Cagainst what I see now. He looks ready to use that battle-ready sledgehammer at his side, and his voice has an undercurrent of genuine menace. The pale rider immediately focuses on Jorge, correctly assuming that Jorge is a leader within the village.


    "Apologies, sir, truly. We were sent here immediately after receiving word from your village via reafan. We''ve been moving for two nights straight, and frankly, I made a poor judgment call of riding directly to your entrance."


    Jorge does not look mollified, and his voice is still laced with the venom of anger.


    "Apologies? That is all? I would have expected more from the mighty Blackham tribe."


    He lifts his sledgehammer and slaps its shaft into his other hand''s palm to emphasize his point. The gesture makes some riders tense up, and their wiretails growl and snarl at the object of attention: Jorge. I start to get a terrible feeling that this is about to get out of hand when another, cooler voice interjects.


    "Gentlemen. Let''s calm our tempers." Hannah continues speaking, walking past me and towards Jorge without breaking eye contact on the scene before us. "Clearly, there has been a little lapse in politeness, but we can all be civil here, can we not?"


    I shuffle forward so that I''m nearly standing directly next to Hannah. She turns her head slightly and gazes directly at me, ignoring the tiny whittling knife I grip.


    "Orion, fetch Khalil, Lani, and Aria. Return to my house with them. Along the way, send Gallen to the front here and have him see to the wiretails of our guests."


    Her tone, different than normal, brokers no disagreement. Not that I would, but I feel compelled to move when the words leave her lips. I tear my eyes away from the scene and slide my whittling knife away. Once done, I turn and jog in the direction I had spotted Khalil shortly before. After collecting him and finding Lani not far off, we three track down Aria, who we assume is sleeping in her small, simple cottage in the quieter area of our village.


    The area Aria''s place is located in is essentially where all of the moon-aligned fey have chosen to have their homes; the segregation isn''t forced, it just simply happened organically, and their area is quite cool and shaded with large, thick trees that have been encouraged to grow their boughs large and for shelter from the sun. While Lani knocks on the door, Khalil and I stand by, chatting about what we saw. With Aria in tow shortly after that, I tell them we''re supposed to go and wait at Hannah and Jorge''s home. I break away, explaining I need to tell Gallen to head up from the stables to the front gate and that I''ll meet up with them right afterward.


    It doesn''t take long to convince Gallen. If anything, he looked pretty excited to be able to temporarily stable wiretails and interact with them. Since the group of Blackham meant to come to Hannah and Jorge''s home, I waited for them at the stables. I don''t particularly want to have conversations with them, and they seem to have the same mindset regarding me.


    Nevertheless, I offered to take them to Jorge and Hannah''s house so they wouldn''t have to ask for directions. They agreed, and I set out in the lead. As we walk, the pale man who initially spoke with Hannah introduces himself as "Corporal Kline" and his second in command as "Cass" (undoubtedly short for Cassandra).


    Cassandra appears as a pale and creamy-skinned young woman with frosty, pale-golden hair braids, seafoam-colored eyes, and a wiry-type physical build. Her ropey, compact muscles look like she has trained to survive the elements rather than following a weight-lifting routine. Cassandra doesn''t say anything when she''s introduced, but she shakes my hand when I offer to do so. Her unexpectedly cold grip is far stronger than I could have anticipated based on her size, and her pale, seafoam eyes feel like they could transfix me with or without my input. I retrieved my hand quickly and pointedly put space between us again during the walk.


    The walk to Hannah and Jorge''s home is a little awkward, with no one speaking from their group, but Cassandra''s eyes focus intently on me each time I glance back in their direction as they follow me. It continues to make me deeply uncomfortable, though I don''t want to show that it does, so I don''t tear my eyes away each time she locks them and instead try to make the gazing away seem casual. I feel as though I''m locked in a staring contest with a predator.


    Finally, we make our way up to the house''s front door, and I jog up the steps and knock on the front door ahead of the six Blackham behind me. I don''t even have time to glance behind me at the others before a vine opens the door. The flowering vine hovers in the doorway for a few moments, seeming to have woven itself in the faint outline of Hannah''s face¨Cit''s strangely clear that it''s inviting us all in on her behalf¨Cbefore slowly winds itself away along a painting''s frame on the wall. A faint chortle behind me lets me know they all saw the door greeter, so I head inside, looking through doorways as I follow the mossy hallway corridor.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Unlike when Khalil, Aria, Lani, and I visited Hannah and Jorge after our trader trip, most of the vines and flowers seem to be in bloom. The sweet and welcoming scents threaten to carry me away, but I fight down the pleasant feeling. I don''t know who the Blackham are or what they want¨Cfor all I know, they might want to take the four of us involved in the trade run back to their town for questioning. The thought of that hardens my resolve, and as I lead them into the sprawling backyard of Jorge and Hannah''s home, I''m confident that I won''t have my thoughts wander from the task at hand.


    Hannah, Jorge, Lani, Aria, and Khalil are seated at a long table woven from thin trees and thick, curling vines. I denote Jorge still looks somewhat angry and hostile, while the others range from indifferent to nervous. Hannah slowly raises a hand from her side and gestures at the seats at the table.


    "Please, all of you, sit. We already have some small food and drink for those who wish to partake."


    Hannah''s calm blue eyes slide across the Blackham before settling on "Cass" for a few moments longer than the rest. She doesn''t add anything, though, instead looking away from the other woman.


    I shuffle ahead of the group, happy to be within closer range to the people I know than the Blackham guests. Kline, followed by Cassandra and then the other four of their group, take a seat at the long table, not seemingly interested in playing nonsense games about who takes what chair. I sit beside Lani, with one open seat on my other side. Across from me directly settles in Cassandra, who pierces me with another intense look. It''s quite distracting, so I purposely stare back at her until Lani nudges me with an elbow. Kline and the others take some food and drink, except for Cassandra, so I do as well to fit in.


    "What''s her deal with you?" Lani murmurs, leaning towards my ear.


    I shake my head slightly as if to say I have no clue. Lani purses her lips and leans back, then takes a sip from her sweet berry tea, stealing a more extended glance at Cassandra over the rim. I suddenly felt the strangest thought: I hadn''t heard Cassandra talk to this point, so maybe I was the one being rude because she was mute or something. Cassandra seemed to smirk right at the moment of my thought, and I narrowed my eyes ever so slightly. That seems to be the key; she shifts her gaze from me towards Kline and then on to Hannah.


    While Kline and Hannah have a two-person conversation, with the occasional Jorge interjection, I sip at my berry tea and nibble a little at the food on the table. I keep catching myself looking at Cassandra and her physical attributes without realizing I''d started doing it. Just little touches of her body angles flicker across my mind''s eye, making me want to keep stealing glances at her. Some part of me wants to kick my own ass, and another part of me is wondering if my brain is trying to make me get my ass kicked. First Aria, and now Cassandra, whom I have yet to speak, know nothing about, and probably don''t even rank with on a scale of one to five? I reach up and rub one of my temples while closing my eyes. The half-hearted massage feels pretty good, so maybe I just need sleep.


    It isn''t until a vivid hallucination of some sort crosses behind my eyes that I start to suspect some weirdness going on: Cassandra holding her lips to my jawline and throat, pressing me against one of the walls of Hannah''s home, with her fingernails scratching at and just underneath the bottom of my old tee along my abdomen. I open my eyes and the¨CVision? False memory?¨Cfades away just like a dream. Cassandra is looking intently at me once again. Yep, she''s fucking with me somehow, I can feel it, she just has to be. I cross my arms and glower at her.


    If it makes any difference to her, I can''t even tell. She blinks her startlingly seafoam eyes once, then looks straight back at Hannah and Kline as they debate something about the Deore. I realize I haven''t even the slightest idea of what they''ve spoken about before this point, having been so thoroughly distracted by Cassandra. I shift my weight on my seat uncomfortably, trying to will the heat to bleed out of my cheeks and my brain to return to normal function.


    "Well, perhaps the lost wiretail will give you some clue as to where your associate went. Or was forced off at, I suppose, if we''re sticking to the ''random'' seam theory."


    Voices jut in, bringing me finally back to the present. Kline shakes his head, having leaned back in his seat and taken a more comfortable seating pose for discussion.


    "Even if we could talk to the beast, which we can''t¨C"


    Hannah snaps her fingers once, interrupting Kline.


    "Khalil can. He will assist you."


    "Ergh¨C" Khalil choked on the tea he was sipping. "Wait, what?" When Hannah gives him an intensely blank look, he clears his throat and murmurs demurely. "Yeah, alright. Sure. I can do it. I mean, I''ve never talked with one before, but I''m pretty sure I can, uh, probably."


    The pale man, Kline, exhales once while looking at the other Blackham sorted out at the table. Most of them aren''t paying attention, and outside of Cassandra, they have had food and drink (with refills on both).


    "Alright, so we can speak to the beast, assuming Khalil can do so. We''ll test with him on one of ours before we leave your village."


    Khalil loses a little luster when they''re talking about being so close to wiretails. I don''t blame him; they''re scary as hell. Kline continues speaking, seemingly unaware of the borderline anxiety attack Khalil is experiencing in silence.


    "Once we''re sure he can do that, we''ll follow the traveler''s path back to the more or less approximate location where your two people, Orion and Khalil, encountered the feral wiretail. We have trackers, two in fact, and you''ve mentioned that Orion regularly hunts and tracks for your village, so we should have no trouble locating the beast if it''s still in the same general area."


    I realized then that I must have been "voluntold" to do that sometime during my recent hallucination episodes like Khalil just was.


    "We find the feral, speak with it, and collect it from the Wilds so that it does not have the potential chance to harm anyone else. A straightforward goal, unless anyone else has an opinion?"


    "What are your intentions with the information potentially gained from this ''feral'' wiretail?" Aria speaks flatly after leaning forward slowly.


    Eyes shift from Aria to Kline. He smiles, and it''s a smile that isn''t friendly in the slightest. Of course, he doesn''t realize Aria is a redcap, so a grizzly bear in her face wouldn''t scare her, and it makes the little fake smile before whatever he''s about to say a little humorous to us who know that little factoid.


    "Our intentions are to collect information and return to Blackham City, and I don''t believe we need to keep your village involved any more than it already has been. Wouldn''t you agree?"


    "I agree that you''re a pretentious prick, sure." Jorge spits.


    I suck in my lips in an "o" face before I can stop myself. Hannah puts a hand on Jorge''s shoulder.


    "Jorge, my beloved, why don''t you take Lani and Aria out front? I can finish up here. Kline, would you mind sending some of your people out front to wait a few more minutes as well?"


    Kline''s eyes narrow, but when Jorge, Lani, and Aria start to stand and move, he nods a little.


    "Cass, stay. The rest of you can go outside and wait out front. We''ll join you all shortly."


    The four Blackham stand up, and two of them pointedly go out of their way to thank Hannah in a profoundly¨Cand unexpectedly¨Crespectful manner for her hospitality. After bowing their heads to her, they touch two fingers to the center of their foreheads. The other two walk out as commanded, while those two elves that spent the extra few moments paying respect to Hannah finally turn to follow them a little behind their pacing.


    "Now then," Hannah starts again, "a little less hostility and a little smaller of a gathering makes for better discourse, wouldn''t you say?"


    Hannah loosely folds her arms across her abdomen, her eyes searching out Cassandra momentarily before returning her gaze to Kline. Kline lifts his shoulders in what is supposed to be a noncommittal shrug, but seeing those two pay deeper respects to Hannah with no explanation seems to have put him a little off his game. Perhaps he just assumed we were all yokel Wilder like most villages of our kind tend to be.


    "Mmm. Sure. I still don''t see the benefit of sharing any information we gain. At best, it will just cause an inconvenience if your villagers are poking around and getting themselves into any trouble. At worst, perhaps whatever happened in that area will happen again, and some of your people will be lost."


    Hannah tilts her head ever so slightly.


    "Ah, so this is a precautionary measure? How very kind of you to think of our village."


    She says it, and it almost sounds genuine, but it''s most definitely not authentic. Kline isn''t fooled either, which probably was Hannah''s intention.


    "Okay. Okay. Our orders were to gather intelligence and return. We were specifically told not to share information."


    Cassandra leans forward, and for the first time since they''ve arrived, she speaks in a dulcet tone, immediately reminding me of the beautifully dark-tinted voice of the lady who sings that Smooth Operator song.


    "Kline, that''s enough sharing of our intentions here, I think."


    Hannah shifts her gaze towards Cassandra.


    "Hello, I didn''t catch your name?"


    "Cassandra. Unfortunately, I was introduced as ''Cass'' earlier in the evening, but only people who spend a great deal of time with me should call me that." Cassandra answers.


    Kline looks suddenly withdrawn, like a peacock who has been startled and has hidden his plumage.


    "Cassandra, then. Am I right in assuming that you''re leading the group?"


    Cassandra shakes her head once.


    "No. I''m with them for another reason. I work for another individual." She glances momentarily at Kline before speaking again. "We simply work together a lot. It''s also part of a separate agreement with his superior to remind him of certain things occasionally. Enough about me, though. Please continue your discussion."


    I can''t help but stare at Cass¨Cor Cassandra¨CI remind myself since I haven''t spent time with her (though I''d prefer Cass, my brain yells at me). Luckily, having engaged Hannah and Kline in conversation, she doesn''t seem to notice my staring at her. Her ears aren''t pointed even slightly, so she''s not elf-kin. Her seafoam eyes don''t seem to be tinged with any red or anything else that would tell me what sort of fey she might be, so now, of course, my brain has decided it''s a great mystery to be solved. Hannah''s voice floats in from seemingly far away while I study Cassandra.


    "I will send Khalil and Orion with you under the condition that you share any information you glean about an erratic seam with them, who will then share it with only me in this village. It is non-negotiable."


    Kline looks at Cassandra, who nods, so he nods.


    "Alright then. I''m glad we could work this all out. Anything else?"


    I broke my stare from Cassandra when I realized the meeting was about to end. I clear my throat and take a drink from my now tepid berry tea. The noise of my throat clearing draws everyone''s attention, so I weakly murmur.


    "Dry throat. Sorry."


    Hannah seems amused by that ending to the discourse, and Khalil appears to have finally controlled his anxiety attack. Kline pushes up from the table and stiffly turns to leave, but Cassandra slowly rises. She doesn''t stretch, but for some reason, her smooth movements remind me of a hunting animal slowly measuring up a path to take. I realize my instincts are trying to override my little head''s attempt at direction and give me a huge warning sign above Cassandra''s head. She may be the most dangerous person in that entire group, and I haven''t the faintest idea what she could be. I can''t help it, though; my physical feeling is unreasonably intense¨Calmost to the point of absurdity. I watch her as she leaves, not moving from my place at the table.


    "Might as well go with them and find out if you can speak with wiretails. I''m sure you''ll be fine." Hannah murmurs to Khalil. Khalil apprehensively agrees, then shows himself out, leaving me alone with Hannah.


    "Careful, Orion."


    "Yeah, I know." I sigh. I don''t turn my head to look at Hannah because I already know what it''s about. She tuts a little, rising from her chair and walking to where I sit. She brushes a hand across my shoulder, then leans down.


    "No, you don''t know." Hannah''s voice is more challenging than usual, which draws my attention. I look at her, and she studiously looks at me in response. "You''re of the age where you and your friends start to sow your wild oats, as it were." I start to protest, but her grip on my shoulder tightens, and I understand this is one of those times I''m not to interrupt.


    "But you might have realized that nothing you could do would work against her. Not even basic readings of emotional states." Again, I continue to be quiet, though I do lower my eyes, as I don''t have the courage to stay in a lock-eyed stare with Hannah. "Why do you suppose that is?"


    "I¨CI don''t know." I shake my head, unable to give her a good answer.


    She steps back and uses her hand on my shoulder to help me rise from my seat. She finally releases her not-quite-vise grip and walks to the other side of the table. She gestures wordlessly at the living chair Cassandra had chosen to sit in. After I walk over to see what Hannah is gesturing at, I stop and gape. The chair Cassandra had been sitting in was absolutely dead. The mossy covering of the ground is even withered and curled in just about the area where her feet rested while she sat.


    "What the hell?!" I blink in shock, not concealing it at all. Hannah shakes her head disappointedly.


    "Now, now, you know this. Just think about the lessons you learned before we let you roam and hunt the Wilds freely."


    I carefully inspected the table where Cassandra had rested her hands on the wood. There were no marks, but the wood on the tabletop was no longer alive.


    "Some kind of a leech of life?"


    Hannah doesn''t respond verbally, but she raises an eyebrow.


    "Oh, wait. Shit. No way. Why would a vampire be here in the Wilds, traveling with Blackham folks of all people?"


    Hannah nods her head once at me, seemingly pleased at not having to tell me the answer and in my follow-up question.


    "That is a good question. They normally stick to the human world for obvious reasons, such as food. Occasionally, they find their way here since our ''sun'' isn''t the sun that destroys them. As far as I know, it is only a mild annoyance, similar to how it is for the night creatures of the deep Wilds. You won''t find them generally near the Aurora tribe''s Shining City, though. I wasn''t aware of any accepted into one of the more organized tribes. Obviously, she is accepted as Blackham in some way based on being given a wiretail to ride, but she made it clear she doesn''t serve Kline, which makes me curious about whom she does serve."


    She drifts off a little with her words before looking back at me.


    "Anyway, that isn''t very important, and speculating about why or who regarding her doesn''t do us any favors, especially when we likely won''t re-encounter her after all this is sorted out. Now then, it''s not my business with whom you get involved, but be very careful of her kind. They aren''t trustworthy; they will not usually agree to anything. If you manage to get them to agree to something, you had better carefully word your agreement terms."


    I''m just looking at Hannah, but I''m not really sure what to make of it all.


    "Oh, and don''t share blood with her."


    I start to protest, but she cuts me off with a shake of her head.


    "Mm-mm, no. We''re not having a debate. I said my piece; you''re grown enough to decide on your own paths, Orion."


    She waves a hand lightly, gesturing me away from her without our normal affectionate departure; I feel guilty for the first time in a while, and I don''t even know why.

 007; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 7: The Summons

    Tallulah watches the last vestiges of the daytime sun slowly fade behind the tops of the pine and sweet gum trees that make the landscape of the mountainous region. She''d already bathed¨Cin an uncomfortably small tub with only a thin plastic curtain for privacy¨Cand eaten, seen to some concerns of her people, and was now simply waiting for the shoe to drop in the evening. She is moon-ascendant, which is typically a benefit at night, except when your captors are also essentially moon-aligned creatures. Tallulah is also reasonably confident that even if all of the fey got together to cause problems, they''d still be outnumbered and quite literally outgunned.


    She had seen Elijah moving about the area a few times since she rose for the evening, but neither she nor he acted as though they had anything to say to each other. Micah, on the other hand, had personally seen to the guard shift change, and with the darkness of the night arriving in force, Tallulah could see the pallid skin of some of the newly arriving guards more clearly¨Cthe vampires do, in fact, have some people acting as night guards. There is some commotion when the giant, nearly pony-sized dog beasts are brought out from the house. Despite their enormous pure size and viciousness, Tallulah sees them sprint and chase each other off into the distance when they''re put out beyond the first internal security perimeter fence. They''re still dogs, she muses, and dogs have weaknesses. It was just a little factoid that wound up filed away for potential usage later if ever there was the need.


    Christina, the dark-skinned, long-cornrowed, tattooed, and ritually scarred beauty, is the first arrival of the vampires from the night before that she recognizes. Tallulah watches as Christina approaches Micah just outside the barn, and they have a sedate conversation. It only takes a few moments for Tallulah to realize there is some degree of resemblance there. Perhaps Christina is one of those "living relations" Elijah mentioned.


    As if she knew Tallulah was peering at her, Christina turns her head mid-word with Micah and openly surveys Tallulah. Tallulah doesn''t offer a smile¨Cneither does Christina, for that matter¨Cand the pair gaze at each other for a few moments. Christina breaks eye contact, and she does so by looking back at the guard, Micah, before brushing a hand across his shoulder and moving away. Sure enough, with Micah looking after her, Christina makes her way toward Tallulah. A few seconds later, she arrives with only a momentary silence.


    "Good evening. I was asked to see if you are ready to meet the liege lord."


    Christina''s voice doesn''t modulate from high to low, so if anything, someone might think she''s bored. Tallulah slowly pulls back some of her silver and gray hair from her shoulders, then responds.


    "I''m fine with going and speaking to your leader, yes." After speaking, Tallulah moves away from the place she had been leaning at the end of the barn, and Christina takes the cue to lead them toward the massive manor''s side entrance.


    The walkways towards the elevated home were lined and laid out with stone she had seen naturally on the long walk from the glade to here, where her village is now essentially a captive of this group of vampires. The home''s stone, metal, and timber frame, as well as landscaping, is picture-perfect. Night-time gardeners and assorted landscapers move around the home, maintaining it without any interference from the guards. The massive windows on the home are ideally placed to allow those inside the home to see down into the valley, elevated as they are. It occurs to Tallulah that if this had not been the placement of a homestead mansion, this easily could have been a hilltop lookout or fort for past wars. Interestingly, the home itself isn''t modeled after European chateaus or palazzos but has a distinct mixed rustic and American feel.


    Tallulah tries to absorb as much detailing as she can as they walk up the engraved stone stairs. The favored motif for design seems to revolve around bears. Again, Tallulah thinks back to her initial impression of their location. While not conclusive at the time, the fact they are in rolling hills with pines and assorted trees like the sweet gums and oaks, with carvings of bears and the hint of southern twang in the voices of some of the younger-looking living guards, she is reasonably confident that they are somewhere in the southeast of America, and in fact in the Appalachian mountains. Not that it matters, but trying to visualize where they might be helps Tallulah feel she might be able to figure some way out for herself and the other faeries.


    Christina pauses at the doorway before reaching forward and resting her hand on what previously just appeared to be a dark polished stone. As it turns out, it seems to be a high-tech security reader of some kind, and after verifying Christina''s access, the door hisses slightly and unlocks. Serious security, Tallulah realizes. Initially, the door looked completely normal, but as they passed through the threshold, she saw it was quite thick, about the depth of a few fingers. Security, indeed. Inside, the mansion in the mountains continues to hold up to its spectacular billing, with opulent¨Cyet rustic¨Cfurnishings and decor. Wood, stone, and subdued steel are the primary things to see, but down hallways that lead away from the mud room-like vestibule they are currently in, Tallulah can see aspects of modern design here and there. The security systems, in particular, seem expansive, and Tallulah realizes that the wealth expended to build here is intended to stay here, protected, for the long term.


    Christina seems willing to allow Tallulah some time to take in the surroundings, and she speaks only after about half a minute or so.


    "This is one of the side entrances. We use this primarily to deal with the horses and dogs, but as your people currently reside in one of the barns, we also use it to deal with you now."


    Her uninflected manner of speaking makes it hard for Tallulah to determine if that was said in annoyance or if she considered them equivalent to animals, so she looks at Christina, hoping to get a read on her. Unsurprisingly, Christina is a blank slate¨Cpracticed and effortlessly maintaining her aloofness¨Cwhich Tallulah can''t read. Still, she figures she should at least try to be conversational, if only on the off-chance that Christina''s carefully guarded mood and mental state isn''t fully covered.


    "Sure, that makes sense."


    To Tallulah''s disappointment, Christina doesn''t continue speaking. Instead, she moves past a patrolling pair of interior guards and gestures for Tallulah to follow her down a hallway toward a more extensive set of rooms. Some of the doors they pass are already open, and they appear to be primarily work rooms and offices¨Cseveral of them occupied. Denoting the pale or pallid skin of some workers inside, she realizes this isn''t just a small family of vampires; this could be a vast network of them (or whatever they call themselves when gathered in sizable numbers).


    Most of the obvious vampires do not have the same dusky skin tone as Elijah, Micah, or Christina. Tallulah doesn''t know precisely how vampire society is set up, but the fact that Elijah mentioned a "living line" of descendants suggests¨Cin her mind, anyway¨Cthat perhaps their hierarchy is more familial or tribal. As she passes down the hallway, led by Christina, her thoughts churn over the idea of vampiric social standings. Maybe, Tallulah muses, the central family has the highest social standing, and all of the vampires they make are like worker bees. She figures she probably won''t get any answer if she were to ask about it, so Tallulah doesn''t.


    Christina leads them through a speakeasy-style bar room. Inside are several people dressed to the nines, and some guards are posted in and around the room. The individuals inside the room gaze toward Christina and Tallulah as they walk by. In the low light, several of the eyes of the clientele reflect the flicker of illumination, so for a moment, Tallulah feels as though she''s come across a group of alligators waiting for a meal¨Cor cougars watching potential prey move by. The pair moves up a set of steps to the second floor of the expansive home, and when Tallulah is about to make a joke about its size, Christina leads them toward a set of shut colossal double doors.


    The dark wood doors themselves are awe-inspiring; some master carpenter must have spent an unknown amount of hours carving and finishing the beautiful artwork. Tallulah reaches up and traces fingertips over the carvings of the woods, mountains, and bears.


    "This is actually¡­ beautiful."


    Tallulah doesn''t expect Christina to respond and is a little surprised when she does.


    "Yes. These doors, I believe, were the first things made for this place."


    Tallulah traces fingers over the inlay of dark red garnet, opal, and other highly polished stones before catching herself getting too engrossed in the details and forcing herself to step back.


    "I don''t think I''ve seen craftsmanship this good in a very long time. You all are fortunate to have whoever created this."


    Christina smiles, though there''s no humor in it.


    "Yes, I''m sure that the creator of this work considers himself lucky."


    Thinking nothing of Christina''s response, Tallulah takes another step back from the door, and Christina reaches forward, gripping one of the two doors'' handles.


    "Be on your best behavior." The tone in which it is said isn''t threatening, and from Christina''s body language, Tallulah thinks it''s more of a warning out of politeness.


    "I will, thank you."


    Christina opens the massive doors and steps in ahead of Tallulah, who follows a few paces behind. Unlike the rest of the home, which has wooden or locally sourced stone flooring, the circular, ballroom-sized room they enter is luxurious. Tallulah doesn''t even register that there are people inside at first, so overwhelmed with seeing what is clearly out of place in the rustic mountains'' mansion.


    The flooring is a white marble, polished to a reflective sheen. In the center of the ballroom is a great circular inlay of a black bear, with shimmering and polished gemstones outlining the bear in golds, bold browns, greens, and reds. Pillars of marble are spread sparsely and tastefully through the circular room, decorated top and bottom with carvings of bears. The ceiling is spaced with huge glass panes, spanning from beam to beam in some areas, allowing in the full light of the moon, while the tasteful¨Cand, of course, extravagant¨Clight fixtures maintain the same color temperature and disperse it throughout the room. There are purposeful cutouts on the marble flooring, allowing for small patches of grasses, exotic flowers, and similarly exotic assorted plants. Though there are no currently fussing gardeners, someone clearly maintains the space regularly.


    Finally, the overwhelming introduction to the palatial ballroom fades away, and Tallulah focuses on the people inside, of which there are several. Seeing them all dressed as they are¨Cas if they all were attending a dinner party¨Cmakes her feel extremely out of place in her old threadbare gardening clothes. Pale skin and dead-eyed looks reign supreme. In the center of what Tallulah assumes is the main focal point of the ballroom, about ten feet behind the topmost part of the bear floor inlay, is a small seating arrangement of three chairs, only one of which is currently filled. Behind the seating arrangement¨CTallulah notes it''s the only seating in the ballroom¨Care three separate security doors that give exterior access to somewhere else in the mansion. With no one having broken the moments of silence that her arrival behind Christina brought to the room, Tallulah focuses on the person sitting in the very center of the three-seat set-up.


    The man sitting there is a handsome sort, with dark eyes, dark skin, and dark hair coiled into tightly and immaculately manicured snake-like coiled braids tightly bound along his head. He is wearing a fantastically stylish black-on-black suit with no shirt or tie, so Tallulah can see some part of his athletic chest where the suit jacket exposes it. The only thing that blemishes his visage¨Cand it truly is the only thing¨Cis that from the left side of his chin, down across his throat, and halfway across his chest are three ragged scars. He wears no jewelry on his face or neck, though he has several sparkling rings she can see.


    Finally, breaking the spell of silence, Christina closes the door behind Tallulah and then walks back in front of her, guiding them further into the room. Christina stops and gives her introduction without turning to Tallulah again.


    "Maker, this is the supernatural Fey that called herself ''Tallulah.'' She has been acting as the spokesperson for the large group under the house''s hospitality on the grounds outside."


    After speaking, Christina moves from out front of Tallulah and casually walks right over to several individuals in assorted, tasteful cocktail dresses, suits, and other fashionable attire that screams money is not an issue. As Christina moves away, the man that Christina addressed as "maker" focuses his dark brown eyes on Tallulah. Before he speaks, he waves one of his hands to gesture Tallulah closer. She shuffles a few steps to stand directly on the bear floor inlay. The man tilts his head slightly, then finally speaks.


    "Are we to refer to you as Tallulah, then?"


    His voice is unpressured and full, but he speaks as though they are only a few feet apart. Still, no one else is speaking or making noise, so his quiet speaking tone still carries. Tallulah folds her hands in front of her, then nods.


    "Yes, that would be fine."


    The man studies her intently, clearly denoting her gray hair, crow''s feet, and other signs of aging. He also seems to focus a hair longer on the bruise that''s spread across her jawline.


    "Would you like something to drink?"


    "No, thank you." Tallulah shakes her head in response. "At the very least, can I know who I''m speaking to?"


    There''s some snickering about the ballroom from several individuals littered about. It''s only then that she realizes this is almost like a throne room of old, complete with the obnoxious nobility with nothing better to do with their time than point and laugh.


    "Yes, of course. Miss¨CMissus perhaps?¨CTallulah, apologies for the lack of introduction. You may call me Kofi, Kofi Freeman."


    The man doesn''t move when speaking except for his lips and eyes. He hasn''t moved his hand since gesturing Tallulah forward, other than putting it back down, and doesn''t appear to be planning to change that any time soon. Tallulah looks around carefully, without speaking initially, before focusing her attention back on "Kofi."


    "You''d like me to use Mister Freeman, then?" She quietly responds after his talk of using "Miss Tallulah."


    Kofi nods his head, accepting her method of addressing him.


    "We have been told that you and your people appeared on our land and that you have made statements to the effect of not knowing how you all arrived here and not knowing where exactly you are. We can illuminate some degree of your confusion, but not all of it. Are you familiar with the Swannanoa Valley area?"


    "Miss is fine, by the way, and no, I''m not familiar with it."


    "Well, Miss Tallulah, that is where you are. East of Asheville, North Carolina. Our territory." There''s a slight pause, "In America, if that wasn''t clear."


    Tallulah studies the man as he politely tells her where they are without the normal inflection of tone that people naturally use when speaking. Like Christina, she can''t place Kofi''s accent anywhere that she knows of, which tells her that they''ve made it a point to lose that tell of their origins.


    "Thanks for that. I figured we wound up somewhere in Appalachia, but I couldn''t tell if it was more south like Georgia or something."


    "Of course."


    Though not rude, his abrupt manner of speaking makes it difficult for Tallulah to formulate a conversation with him, which is probably intentional. This man is used to leadership and directives. He''s speaking at her with the tone of someone comfortable with his authority and is simply interested in some new change that has happened beyond his expectations.


    "We''re not sure exactly how we wound up here," Tallulah starts again, "but we think something we call a seam opened up and took us from our place in the Wilds to here. This sort of thing doesn''t happen, so we don''t know why it did, and we don''t know why it would have dumped us on your property."


    "We don''t generally encounter your kind in our territory; you''ll have to accept our apologies for the misunderstanding on first contact with your people."This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Tallulah flushes a little with a mild amount of anger, but she bites back her desire to tell him that the four deaths of good people wasn''t a misunderstanding and that life has value. It''s hard to explain life having meaning to dead, immortal, false, emotional robot-like things.


    "Thanks for the apology. I''ll make sure that their family members hear that you acknowledged the whole situation." She resists the intense urge to add "at the very least," instead choosing to make sure that she "stays on her best behavior."


    Kofi turns his head and murmurs to a man standing nearby, something in the same language the vampires used once before in the wilderness that only they seem to understand. She gets it; the fey also have their own language, so why not vampires? The man that Kofi murmured to disappears through one of those three security doors while they continue to speak, and the ballroom maintains its silence save for that conversation.


    Turning his head back to Tallulah, Kofi Freeman speaks again.


    "And now that you are here, what are your intentions?" Tallulah realizes he means "your" in a broader sense, as in what are you and your people planning on doing.


    "To be honest with you, we''d just like to get back to the Wilds and our village. It''s really as simple as that."


    "The bird that one of our house brought back for investigation. What is it?"


    The jump from the "how did you pop into existence here" topic to one of a random animal takes Tallulah a little by surprise. She''d not even realized that they had taken a bird from the villagers, with everything as out of sorts as it had been.


    "Sorry, uh, what?"


    "There was some sort of a large crow brought back to certain members of our house here, and we are curious as to what sort of creature it is."


    "Oh¡­ you''re talking about a reafan, I think. Did the feathers harm anyone?"


    Kofi nods but doesn''t speak again, clearly expecting Tallulah to continue.


    "Right, we call them reafans. They''re birds that got tamed by an, uh¨C" Tallulah pauses, at the moment deciding not to share more information than is absolutely necessary, "¨Cthere''s a group of fey in the Wilds that are known for taming and breeding them, then trading them."


    Kofi continues looking silently at Tallulah, expecting more than that broad overview.


    "Anyway, they''re kind of like messenger pigeons with a little bit of an attitude, that''s all. They''re not used to assault people if that''s what you want to know. Unless you consider the noise they can make incessantly some days assault."


    "We wanted to know what it was, and you''ve answered. Does it require any special food or drink?"


    Tallulah furrows her brow but maintains her hands clasped in front of her to avoid fidgeting or whatever else might be used as some kind of a tell on her. Assume that you''re always playing poker with people who may want to kill you, and you''ll be ahead of the game, is what her adoptive mother taught her.


    "No, just normal food and water. They prefer raw meat, as far as I''m aware. I''ve never actually taken care of one or owned one personally."


    "So they''re a symbol of status to your people?"


    She "hmms" for a moment, tilting her head.


    "I guess they could be, sure. They''re hard to get and fairly rare. Kind of expensive if you''re trading for one. It''s not completely rare, but a village like ours generally only will have two or three of them max. Cities and towns, of course, have a bunch more."


    Kofi lifts an eyebrow, one of the first emotion-like facial expressions he''s made the entire time she''s stood before him.


    "Cities? Your people have cities in this ''Wilds''?"


    Tallulah grunts. So much for keeping a lid on it and not saying too much.


    "There''s some cities in the Wilds, yes."


    "But your village is not a city?"


    "Yeah, that''s right."


    "What determines a city, then?"


    Her head swims at the rapid-fire questions, but she maintains her composure while also trying to figure out how to get out of the cycle that leads to answers and more questions.


    "Um¡­ well, when a tribe gets big enough and powerful enough, they have enough fey to form a city with walls. It''s not too complicated, and I just assume it''s kind of like how things were when America got formed, I guess? They just become cities because they''re natural gathering spots, and more and more people show up and stay."


    "Is that how America formed, Miss Tallulah?"


    Snickering breaks out again in the room, and Tallulah momentarily breaks from looking at Kofi towards the source. Classic looking woman vampire, with the red dress to match. Before she can help it, she blurts out.


    "What''s so funny, Bella?" That draws open laughter from a few people, and she realizes they''re all looking at her like a zebra at a zoo. She frowns, looking back at Kofi. "I wouldn''t know how America was formed since I didn''t experience it, but I guess that''s some joke about how old you and probably some of them are, yeah?"


    One person who wasn''t laughing at the outburst was Christina. Tallulah sees her move from the group of vampires she was standing with closer to where Kofi sits in the center of his three chairs. She positions herself right in the periphery of Tallulah''s vision with an open frown on her face, angry eyebrows and all, as if to say, "Bitch, I told you to be on your best behavior."


    Kofi breaks the rising tension.


    "Relax, Miss Tallulah, we were only injecting a little humor into the room. You seemed quite tense and serious."


    Tallulah lifts a shoulder in a partial shrug.


    "I didn''t know what to expect, and the guards I''ve spoken to weren''t very amicable. Don''t get me wrong, I understand where they''re coming from. They don''t know if we''re some mysterious hostile force¨C"


    "¨CAre you?"


    "What? No, of course not. Do we look like an invasion force? We have weans, and some folks are older than me. I mean, we are faeries, so yes, we could defend ourselves aggressively, but we''re a passive group. We''d much rather get back home and forget all this."


    "And how, pray tell, do we assist you in achieving that goal?"


    Tallulah opens her mouth to respond but then closes it and spends more time thinking about the words she wants to use. Kofi had lured her into speaking more openly by letting her keep going, but this was serious. She refocuses herself and then answers.


    "I''m not familiar with the location of seams in this area of your world, but if you could take me to the nearest major city, I''m sure I could find a fey there, and they might be able to get us in touch with someone who does. I mean, that''s my first thought anyway."


    "And why would we do that?"


    The question catches Tallulah off guard.


    "Uh, I thought the goal was for us to get out of your hair as soon as possible?"


    "Is that the goal?"


    His answering questions with questions or making statements to pull out information she wasn''t entirely trying to share is really starting to grate on her nerves. Still, she resolves to try and keep her composure. For all she knows, this is just some vampire''s way of getting his amusement.


    "I assumed it was. We don''t offer you anything, and we''re taking up room on your property."


    "That is true; we had to move some of our finest horses."


    His lips twitch for the first time, and one of the corners of his mouth slightly shifts upwards. Kofi is amused. Tallulah was correct; this is like being the zebra at a zoo. As if to stave off her indignation at realizing she''s being lightly teased, he raises a hand and then moves to stand.


    "I apologize for being a boor. We don''t get out of the ordinary things that come to our attention often. Our nights usually revolve around settling unimportant or uninteresting land, property, or feeding area disputes."


    Kofi drifts across the floor with a few simple strides, then stops next to Tallulah. She''s trying to decide why he''s using the third person to describe himself so much, except for when he used "I" to apologize. She ultimately decides it''s just a vampire doing weird vampire things. Tallulah gives him a wary gaze since he''s standing close to her.


    "Walk with me. I''m told my grounds are well-patrolled, and you''ll be safe."


    He pauses, but not giving Tallulah a chance to respond, he looks towards Christina, speaking in the same language that Tallulah understands¨Crather than in the secretive vampiric one.


    "Follow along, make sure we''re not disturbed."


    Christina moves away from the pillar she was dutifully holding up, looking slightly relieved not to be in such a formal environment any longer than she has to be. It''s hard to tell how relieved she is since her facial expressions don''t give away much. Tallulah denotes that outside of their shared skin-tone, Kofi and Christina don''t look that close in appearance; perhaps her earlier attempt at musing over vampiric hierarchy wasn''t right at all.


    As Kofi moves across the ballroom marble floor towards the grand double doors, his shoes make only the faintest noise. Tallulah, however, feels like she''s stomping along when she walks beside him. Only by knowing that Christina is following does she hear the footfalls faintly padding behind them. As they make their way out of the ballroom in the same way that Christina led Tallulah in, Kofi slightly pauses to allow someone next to the doors to open them for their exit.


    Kofi leads Tallulah out through the home, except that they exit through the front door, which is just as ornate as you''d expect. The wide foyer allows for a sweeping staircase that leads down from the second floor they were on. Breaking the silence as they walk down the sweeping staircase, Tallulah murmurs.


    "You do have a super nice home here. I haven''t seen something built like this in the Wilds. Some of the cities have some pretty nice places, but this is pretty much in the middle of nowhere."


    "How we like it, yes. Most of our kind stick to cities when they''re young, learning to survive and train their abilities. We chose this spot long ago and built it up to our liking."


    As they move outside and into the cool night air, Tallulah inhales the freshness. It reminds her quite a bit of the Wilds, which is somewhat comforting. Kofi keeps them moving away from the front of the large mansion, down the steps from its elevated foundations, and along a pathway that leads through a garden of local flora. They walk silently for about five minutes before Kofi pauses and glances back at Christina.


    "Make sure we''re not disturbed."


    Christina nods her head at Kofi without even looking at Tallulah. Instead, she turns and faces pointedly away from them, apparently acting as a personal bodyguard to Kofi for now. Kofi reaches over and touches a flat palm to the mid back of Tallulah as if to guide her along for a more personal walk. Usually, when someone touches you, you can feel the heat radiating from them, but with Kofi, it''s the exact opposite. It''s almost as though the coldness of rock has touched her clothing and is set on absorbing her body heat. It reminds her that vampires are dead.


    "We will help your people return to your ''Wilds''¨C."


    Tallulah looks sideways at Kofi as if expecting a "but." Not to be disappointed, Kofi does continue.


    "¨CBut, we wish for you to stay here as an ambassador of sorts. Maybe an advisor, if you''d rather that. Agree to these terms, and I will send some of my occult-loving house to find you a fey that will help your people to return to their homes."


    "Wait, what? Why?" Tallulah doesn''t even pretend not to be surprised by the seemingly random requirement for assistance. Her vivid and deep green eyes are undoubtedly full of confusion, making the crow''s feet around her features slightly more pronounced. Kofi draws them to a stop, then removes his hand from the small of Tallulah''s back and steps in front of her.


    "Would you like the truth, or would you rather I continue to play vampire games with you?"


    Tallulah grimaces. Rarely does anything good come from someone asking, "Do you want the actual truth?" As Jack Nicholson once famously said, "You can''t handle the truth!" She, too, feels like maybe she doesn''t want that "actual truth." It takes her a few moments of internal debate, but then her shoulders slouch slightly, and she sighs.


    "Sure, the actual truth. Lay it on me, Jack."


    "Kofi, if it pleases you in private, or Mister Freeman if you insist on maintaining formalities outside formal situations."


    It occurs to Tallulah that he might not have gotten the pop culture reference and thought she was calling him Jack as his name. For a moment, it strikes her as hilarious, and she blurts out a laugh. The sudden bubbling of laughter seems to catch Kofi unexpectedly. He raises one of his eyebrows at her, and the faint scarring on his chin that travels down his neck to his chest shifts when his lips form an ever-so-slight frown.


    "Er, sorry, yeah it¡­ it''s a name from a movie where they''re talking about handling the truth and¨Cyou know what, it doesn''t matter. Sorry, Kofi-in-private. And yes, I''d like to hear the actual truth. Games aren''t really my thing, if only because I always lose at them."


    "Because having a faerie consociate may come in handy for us. Draugar are a fickle lot, but one thing that they all have in common is that the threat of death will keep them in line. You may not be a vicious warrior of your people, but those who come to seek our favor wouldn''t know that. They will have heard of the house strong enough to employ even a faerie to their retinue. You can see how that empowers us."


    Tallulah brushes back some of her hair from her shoulders, the silvery sheen of gray hair reflective in the moonlight. She looks up at the moon as if seeking its wisdom.


    "I can see it, yeah. I''m not a spring chicken, Kofi. It seems to me you''d do better off with a younger fey."


    "Trying to convince me to choose another in your stead, Miss Tallulah?"


    She laughs, not at him, but humorously as if that tickled her. She lowers her eyes back from gazing at the nearly full moon overhead and stares at him.


    "No, no, not really. I just wanted to see what you''d say."


    "Now, who is playing games?"


    "Yeah, but I suck at games, so you have a bit of a headstart on me."


    "Maybe a few years. I thought your kind lived longer than humans."


    "Some of us do, I''m not¨C"


    Tallulah pauses, remembering her earlier personal reminder not to overshare information. Her eyes focus on Kofi, and for whatever reason, she feels he isn''t "like all the other" vampires. Warning bells start going off in her mind when she realizes she feels that way. Her body tenses a fraction, which Kofi immediately recognizes.


    "Something I said?"


    "Are you doing vampire mojo on me right now?"


    "No, should I be?"


    "Do you ever actually answer a question, or do you always answer one with a question?"


    "What do you think?" He purposely smiles, his teeth gleaming under the moonlight. No fangs.


    "I apologize. I couldn''t help myself. But no, I''m not doing any ''vampire mojo'' on you. I find I''d rather people agree with me of their own free will. I could, in fact, probably make you agree with me, but no one likes disgruntled associates now, do they?"


    "Where did you get the scars?"


    "Trying to turn my question about your age into one for me, Miss Tallulah?"


    Tallulah smiles despite herself. Kofi may or may not be using vampire mojo on her, but she realizes he''s excellent at disarming her. She finds him charming, even though she has every reason not to.


    "Maybe I was. You''re not supposed to ask a mature woman her age, you know."


    "I have mayhaps heard that a time or two in my travels."


    Kofi raises one of his hands and brushes his cold palm across her jawline, almost affectionately. His cold hand traces the purple bruise on Tallulah''s face ever so gently. A part of her wants to recoil, but just as equally, a part doesn''t mind.


    "Say yes, Miss Tallulah. You will enjoy spending time here and have the freedom to do as you please, for the most part."


    "I''ll give you my answer if you answer my question about your scars."


    Kofi twists his lips in a slight smile that doesn''t fully reach his eyes.


    "Are we being transactional now? Alright. It isn''t as exciting as you might think. I was a trapper before I became a vampire. One evening, when I was young, I made a mistake and walked onto the path of a mother bear with cubs. Luckily, bears who are protecting their young will attack only so long as it takes to defend their offspring, so I got away with my life, though I was gravely injured by only one swipe of a claw. So, as you see, not as exciting as whatever story you might have had cooking up in your mind."


    Tallulah watches him for a few moments, trying to decide if she wants to let him get away with the glossiest gloss-over of a person''s history she''s heard in a long time. Sadly, she realizes she will let him get away with it. She doesn''t understand her feelings towards this vampire standing next to her so close, and she very much hopes they will not be self-destructive.


    "To answer your earlier question, Kofi, some of us age like normal humans, and others are slower. A few others, unfortunately, age much faster than your average human. I age like a normal human."


    He nods his head once.


    "And to give you my answer to your other thing¨C"


    She hesitates, thinking of what she''ll give up by not returning to the Wilds. But, as she convinces herself, this place where Kofi has claimed territory is similar to the Wilds in some ways.


    "My answer¨CI¨Cyes, if you will help them to return to the Wilds, I''ll stay here as an advisor. But I want your assurance that I won''t be a pet or insulted like a zoo-like creature. That''s how the others looked at me when we met, and I don''t like it."


    "I cannot speak for others, but I can speak for myself, and my words have weight. I will not cage you like a beast, treat you like a sideshow, or as an animal at a zoological garden."


    Tallulah smiles, despite herself, and momentarily wonders if Kofi will touch her again like he did when he wanted her to agree to his offer. It occurs to her that she didn''t mind it, which is still puzzling in some ways. Kofi does not. Instead, he steps back to give her some space.


    "A smile? Now I''m truly honored."


    "How do we make it official then?"


    "We already did, but if it makes you feel better, we can shake on it."


    "A handshake deal with a vampire?" She laughs, then continues, "I''ve pretty much broken every damn rule that I''ve ever been taught about your people."


    "I''m wounded! But I am aware of how other creatures and supernaturals view us. Not all of us are so bad, as some people say."


    They lapse into silence for a few seconds, with only the noise of the mountain bugs and night creatures filling the space. Finally, Kofi offers his hand to Tallulah, and this time, without hesitation, she reaches forward and shakes his cold, dead hand. An increasingly small part of her in the back of her mind screams that she''s making a mistake, and all of this is vampire mojo, but the warm and pleasant feeling in her abdomen overrides everything. She smiles at Kofi, and like a mirror on the wall, he returns it.

 008; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 8: The Instinct

    As probably should have been expected, getting everyone ready to go on the trip along the traveler''s path took longer than it should. While Khalil had no issues speaking to one of the wiretails, we did have the issue of being the plus-two of a party of six that had its own transportation. We ultimately solved that by riding double on the two strongest wiretails, which naturally belonged to who I''d learned are Corporal Kline and attach¨¦ Cassandra. He made it a point to ensure I learned the pronunciation, for whatever reason. With Khalil riding on the back of Kline''s saddle and me having to ride the back of Cassandra''s¨Cshe insisted on the arrangement¨Cwe moved out of my village and onto the traveler''s path.


    The movement and feel of being on the back of such a powerful beast was like the ultimate form of freedom¨Cperhaps soaring as a bird could be the only thing more extraordinary. Cassandra''s wiretail effortlessly kept pace with Kline''s, and the four others of their party kept pace behind us. The quickness of movement and uncautious ability while traveling made me understand why the Blackham was the tribe closest to genuinely being able to challenge the Aurora tribe.


    Should there be another great gathering to choose the tribe who rules the Wilds after Beltaine¨Cwhen the sun becomes ascendant¨Cthe Aurora might have competition. Or at least that''s one of the rumors you overhear while trading in different villages and towns. Wilder, like me, don''t touch even the basest part of the politics in our land. We get the dirty rumors and gossip that spread when people meet at the local watering hole of some village or town. We''re always left to our own devices, and to be honest, that''s how most Wilder like it. After all, if we felt differently, we probably would have migrated and tried to join a more formal tribe.


    Those thoughts are interrupted when my hands that rest on my slight handhold on the wiretail''s saddle are touched lightly. I lean back slightly, catching Cassandra''s over-the-shoulder glance. She tilts her head to make it clear that she wants me to lean closer so we can speak without raising our voices. I hesitate, the low feeling in my chest and stomach threatening to grab hold to make me act stupid over Cassandra again.


    She recognizes my hesitation and smirks back at me over her shoulder. Shortly after, she turns her head back forward and nudges the wiretail to go faster. We were already going fast, but when Cassandra gave the command, the wiretail truly let loose. We shoot ahead of the paced group like a slingshot, and it''s all I can do to hold on to the saddle while being jostled.


    "Better hold on to me, loverboy." Cassandra''s voice drifts back with a little bit of laughter.


    Because the wiretail doesn''t have to pick its way through a forest or leap over fallen logs along the traveler''s path, the speed it reaches is absolutely terrifying. Shrubs slap at my arms as we pass too close to either side, and I try to duck from any light branches that look like they might be sticking further into the pathway. We tear along the path, and the majesty of the beast we''re riding truly comes into complete focus.


    "We''ve left everyone behind!" My voice sounds more alarmed than I actually am, likely because of adrenaline pumping through me. This is amazing to me. Too late, I realize I shouldn''t have said anything about leaving the others behind because only a few moments after saying as much, Cassandra allows the wiretail to slow itself down, knowing that the others will catch up in due time.


    "I''m so disappointed. I thought one of you woodsy sorts would enjoy the chance to experience this."


    A depressive sort of reality sets in; her saying she was disappointed in me felt way worse than it should. I belatedly lean forward towards her shoulder and ear. Though I want to, I don''t move my hands from gripping the saddle. Cassandra seems aware that I''ve moved, but she doesn''t say anything, so I take the initiative.


    "Yeah, that was great, so I don''t know why I said that."


    "Afraid of actually having fun with someone¨Cnot of your people¨CI bet."


    "That''s just not even true!" I protest emphatically. I don''t know what made me say anything to begin with, so I can''t prove her wrong, either.


    Cassandra''s wiretail¨Ca primarily sandy-brown colored beast with a black head, chest, and two front legs¨Cgrowls a few decibels louder than usual before slowing to a stop next to what looks like a brook. I look left and right before sliding off the back of the wiretail, taking care not to accidentally be hit by the feline''s tail so I''m not impaled by one of its foot-long quills. The wiretail growls and grumbles a bit more before Cassandra slides off. The cat walks over to the brook¨Conly a few paces off the side of this particular traveler''s path spot¨Cand begins to lap up water as it gurgles and flows past noisily.


    "I don''t remember a brook right next to the path when we came through here towards the village." I sigh loudly.


    "Perhaps you missed it."


    "No, that''s kind of my job on trade runs. I look for food and water."


    "So¡­ what does that mean?" Cassandra inquires, without sounding alarmed or concerned. She busies herself with cleaning off irritants along the side and undercarriage of her wiretail''s saddle while the beast drinks.


    "It probably means the path has shifted since then, and we''re probably the first to come this way since it did."


    I watch Cassandra while she brushes her fingers through the large cat''s coat. Her nonresponse prompts me to add more to what I said.


    "And, if the path shifted, I''m not entirely sure we''re going to wind up in the exact vicinity where we encountered the wiretail. We might have to go all the way until we get to the river, then backtrack from there and try to guess how long it took, at the speed we were going at, to have a general area for search."


    "So what? We have two trackers and you. I''m not worried."


    "What if, er¨C"


    I cut myself off¨Cit occurs to me that I have no idea how she''s getting blood to sustain herself. I haven''t seen her take any blood from anyone or bite anything the entire few nights we''ve been in contact since their arrival at my village. I also realize, stupidly, that I have no idea how you ask a vampire if they will go all starved and crazy-mode any time soon. After I don''t continue speaking, Cassandra turns her head to look at me with an eyebrow raised questioningly. She doesn''t say anything, and I quickly try to piece together something to say that doesn''t sound completely daft.


    "So, I don''t know how to ask this without it maybe, like, offending you¨C"


    "You want to know if I''m going to starve without blood if we have to spend more than a few nights searching for the feral wiretail." Her voice is firm in response and sounds so vaguely disappointed again.


    "Uh, actually, yes?" I grimace.


    She turns her head back to the wiretail and returns to using her hand to pet along its shoulders. Not much of a beat is missed when she responds to my question with such a stilted response.


    "I''ll be fine; thank you for your concern."


    The awkwardness of the situation is thankfully broken up by the sounds of pawed creatures coming up the traveler''s path, and the five we left behind during the wiretail sprint finally catch up. Cassandra''s wiretail temporarily looks up, turning its black-tipped and tufted ears towards the noise. When it recognizes what''s approaching, it unconcernedly returns to drinking at the bubbling brook.


    "Hey Ori, damn, you guys took off!" Khalil pipes up as soon as they slow next to where Cassandra''s wiretail stopped us next to the brook.


    Khalil, Kline, and the others all dismount from their wiretails, and the lot of them go to drink next to the first wiretail at the brook. There''s some discontent with spacing, and a few snarls and growls start. One of the Blackham riders, with pits for a nose like a viper, raises his voice and says some command I don''t recognize, which seems to settle down the big cats¨Cfor the most part.


    "Yeah, man, the speed we got up to was incredible."


    I steal a glance in the direction where Cassandra last was, but she''s moved on and is instead walking away with Kline. Since their backs are turned to me, I can''t attempt to read their lips, and I''m reasonably confident that if I try to sharpen my hearing to listen in, the bubbling and spluttering of the brook will overwhelm my senses. Khalil jogs over towards me and nudges me on the shoulder. Afterward, he lowers his voice to chat privately with me.


    "Look at us, dude. Riding with some Blackham on the backs of their wiretails. Going to go and hunt down a feral wiretail that we first found! Freaking ''elite level tavern story achievement'' unlocked, dude. I won''t even have to try to smooth talk my way into fun-fun times."


    He gives the most crooked and hilariously lecherous facial expression¨Ccomplete with some ridiculous eyebrow waggle¨Cso I start laughing, despite my concerns about the traveler''s path having shifted.


    "You''re a moron."


    "Maybe, but am I wrong, though?"


    He nods to himself so smugly it''s comical. I shake my head, a bit of laughter still creeping out.


    "So, what''s up with you and ''Cass''? Is this some kinda thing you''d tell your best bro about? Don''t act like I didn''t notice her making sure you rode on her cat when we left."


    "She prefers ''Cassandra'' if you don''t know her, by the way. And¡­ stop it. I''m not even trying to figure that out; besides, there''s something you don''t know about her."


    "Oh shit. Cassandra''s got a deep, dark secret you''re about to lay on me?"


    "Man, no. We''ll talk about it later, and it''s not a huge deal. It''s just¨Cyeah. It''s different." I respond while rolling my eyes.


    "What?!" Khalil exclaims noisily, "Aw hell no, you''re not going to drop that nonsense on your boy, then try and leave it on a cliffhanger for later. Spit it out."


    "Look, fine, just stop yelling." I drag him a few feet further from the others by his arm, then lower my voice. "She''s a vampire, Khalil. Like a full-fledged bloodsucker. I saw the plants that were withered and dead in the exact spot she was sitting at Hannah''s place."


    "No waaaaay." He isn''t being sarcastic. Instead, he starts looking around, clearly trying to find where Cassandra went.


    "Stop trying to look for her, Khalil¨Cbe a little discrete for once, damn."


    Khalil makes a little lip-smacking noise, followed by a loud exhale of air in my direction, but he does stop looking around so conspicuously. When he speaks next, he does so in a whisper.


    "So, a vampire. Wow, I did not see that coming. Why''s a vampire hanging out with the Blackham, though? I thought they hated the sun." He looks left and then right, narrowing his eyes conspiratorially. "Wait. How''s she not a flaming ball of fire? It''s daytime."


    "A flaming¡­ ball of¡­ fire."


    "Dude, whatever, questions still stand."


    I crouch down and act like I''m trying to pull a large rock from the ground next to the brook. Khalil gets the hint and crouches down to do the same.


    "Apparently, our sun doesn''t actually hurt them, just irritates them or something, kinda like the night creatures of the Wilds. I don''t know the details there, so don''t harass me about it; I''m just telling you what Hannah said. Anyway, I don''t know why she''s hanging out with the sun-ascendant Blackham¨Cit seems to me a vampire wouldn''t want to hang out with those sorts of people. Buuuut, when she was talking to Hannah, she said Kline wasn''t ordering her and that she ''serves someone else''."


    "Ooooh, spooky intrigue."


    I look over at Khalil with the most deadpan look I can muster instead of responding right away, which gives him the opportunity to quip first.


    "Yeah, that''s right, I used another word you didn''t think I could use."


    "Khalil, you are so stupid, it''s straight-up painful sometimes."


    He leans over and punches me in the arm and shoulder¨Cit''s jokingly done but hard enough to send me off balance and toppling forward into the brook. Instead of face-planting directly into the water, I manage to get my forearms up to stop my forward progression. My elbows splash down and catch me, but I shower my face and body with water, which might be worse. I shake my head, getting the water out of my eyes while Khalil howls with laughter behind me. There are some other chuckles and half-laughs a little further away as the Blackham group sees what happened.


    "You¡­ bitch!" I fake-rage and launch myself from out of the water and at Khalil. He immediately locks me up in some wrestling move with one of my arms all twisted behind my back. He laughs while we wrestle around, and I manage to knee him a good one at least once. We hit the dirt and continue not-really scuffling, with assorted laughter, cusses, and half-hearted punches. After a short few moments, Kline and Cassandra return, both of them clearing their throats at the same time. Of the pair, Kline is the one who speaks up.


    "Really, gentlemen?"


    I shove Khalil''s head in the dirt, proudly smooshing his cheek into the sandy shoreline of the brook before Kline and Cassandra''s interjection breaks us up.


    "Dickhead."


    "Ass-hat."


    "If I weren''t already wet and slipped at first, you wouldn''t have had a chance."


    "Sure, Ori, suuuuure. Keep telling yourself that. My Kung Fu is too strong for you!"


    I groan to myself and no one, then push myself off the dirt, looking down at my all-black traveling clothes. After a few moments of brushing them off, I got most of the dirt and debris off, but the water from my initial crash into the brook would take time to dry off. I grunt a couple of times in discontent, mainly because I didn''t manage to win our little fake brawl.


    Cassandra and Kline have returned to the other Blackham, who all look amused by our little tiff. I offer Khalil a hand up from the ground, which he takes, and we both walk back towards the group. A couple of the wiretails have settled down with their dangerous tails curled around their body while the others are boredly pacing around. As I draw nearer, Kline gazes at me.


    "Are you two good now?"


    "Yeah, we''re good; it wasn''t serious."


    "I didn''t think it was."


    There''s a bit of a lull in conversation after Kline''s last. He reaches into a small pack next to him on the ground and pulls out two small folds of jerky, which he tosses to me and Khalil.


    "Eat this, then we keep going."


    "You realize the path shifted, right?"


    "Admittedly, I didn''t initially, but Cass informed me that you told her that''d occurred."


    Having caught the tossed jerky, Khalil and I opened up the leaves and twine used to keep them in little travel-protected rations and chewed some down. I''m not quite done with Kline yet, so I keep talking between bites.


    "Yeah, I mean, I think the best way to go at this point would be to take the traveler''s path all the way to the river since it should kick us out there at some point, and then backtrack about half a day and start the search there."


    "Half a day backtrack? That seems a little excessive."


    "Yeah, it took us quite a bit over half a day to get from where we encountered the wiretail to where the village wound up being past the river. So, I figured with the speed of the wiretails compared to the trade wagon with a pair of donkeys we were on, a half a day is a good measure of distance."


    "Mmhmm. Okay."


    I''m surprised the agreement came that quickly, and it must have spread on my face. I''m a terrible poker player, that''s for sure. Cassandra watches us chewing the jerky before adding to the conversation.


    "Don''t look so surprised, Orion. We sought your help for a reason; we won''t ignore your instinct about where we should get started."


    My brain almost didn''t hear the rest of her entire sentence after she said my full name, "Orion." The warm and fuzzies keep cropping back up, annoyingly distracting me during the absolute dumbest times. This time, it irritates me, so I turn away from Kline, Cassandra, and Khalil before walking toward Cassandra''s wiretail. Behind me, I hear Khalil chirp at my back.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "Don''t walk away mad. I won fair and square!" His voice drifts after me, followed by amicable laughter.


    I roll my eyes as I walk away, then shake my head. It''s okay if Khalil thinks I''m just being a poor sport. I''d rather him think that than the truth: I can''t seem to keep my head on straight when Cassandra is around. At least with my little crush on Aria¨Cor whatever it was¨CI could still function. As I draw closer to Cassandra''s beast with its tufted black tips of ears, its large head turns towards me. I slow down, reminding myself that while these are technically trained, they are very much not docile.


    "Hey there, big guy. Don''t eat me."


    The oversized feline scents the air as I draw nearer, and the cat seems to focus its attention on the long piece of jerky I''m chewing on.


    "Oh, you want some of this? I mean, alright, it''s just meat."


    Initially, I start to toss the rest of the jerky strip, but then I stop myself. Instead, I very slowly step closer to the bull-sized wiretail. It garbles a little of a low noise but doesn''t take an aggressive stance; if anything, it just looks curious as to what the hell I''m doing.


    "Alright, buddy, don''t take my hand off, here¡­"


    I slowly hold out the large piece of jerky, only holding the very tip of it with my fingers. The cat leans forward and takes the jerky right from me as if it''s the most natural thing in the world. While it chomps the jerky, I slowly use my other hand to reach up and pet my hand against the wiretail''s thick fur. I trace the line that separates the black fur of the beast''s head, front shoulders, and front two legs from the rest of its sandy brown, puma-like coat. I''m somewhat surprised at the coarseness of the coat, though I''m not entirely sure why I would be. I fish out my second to last piece of jerky and offer it to the cat in the same way, and like the previous time, it takes it from me like it''s not a big deal and without trying to eat my hand. This time, when I return to petting the beast''s fur in front of its saddle, I close my eyes and concentrate.


    The sun is still overhead, and I can feel its warmth, radiance, and strength coursing through me when I open myself up to it. I slowly move my hands along the shoulders of the big cat, maintaining touch, then try to push out with my consciousness towards that of the wiretail. There''s definite resistance, much more than I''ve ever encountered from an animal before, but I''m not deterred. I might never get a chance to try this again, so I keep focusing.


    I can feel the fatigue in my mind as I try to force my ability to kick in and, at the very least, be able to ride the senses of the wiretail. The struggle is real for me, and I feel a slight droplet of blood start to run from my nose. I''m just about to give up when everything in my mind''s eye suddenly becomes an explosion of vibrancy, noises, and smells. It''s a shock that almost overwhelms me, and I sit straight down on the ground reflexively. I don''t lose my concentration, though, and I suddenly realize I''ve done it¨CI can see, hear, smell, and feel through the wiretail!


    The wiretail scents the air¨Cand I scent the tangy, metallic, sweet aroma of my own blood through the nose of the wiretail. It grumbles and rumbles, then turns and sits down. I realize I have no actual control over the wiretail; at this point, I''m just a passenger riding its senses. A few minutes pass, with me taking in all I can as the wiretail''s attention lazily drifts back and forth. It''s pretty remarkable, and I''m absolutely proud of myself for being able to make the leap to doing it with such a powerful creature, rather than only being able to do it on grabbats, birds, and the occasional cat or dog.


    The saddled beast turns its attention to the figure of Cassandra walking towards me and the wiretail next to me. I can see myself through the eyes of the wiretail, which is a little strange in and of itself, but you get used to it. I''m sitting, eyes closed and cross-legged on the dirt, with a bloody nose that has stopped and started to dry already. Cassandra stops a few paces behind me, her seafoam eyes searching the back of my head. A moment passes, and then, almost like the wiretail scenting the jerky I originally offered to it, I see her scent the air behind me¨Cjust once. Her hands open and close before she inhales a second time, this time deeply.


    She clears her throat behind me, but it doesn''t distract me from my concentration, and I''m not fully ready to give up watching through the senses of the wiretail. When Cassandra sees I''m unresponsive, she walks over next to me and crouches down. She tilts her head ever so slightly, then snaps her fingers in front of my face. Thankfully, the wiretail seems to be somewhat interested in what Cassandra is doing, so I continue to be able to watch her while she puzzles out the situation in front of her. When I see her slightly turn her head to look around, I realize her upper jaw has somewhat changed¨Cjust the slightest tips of fangs protrude from beneath her upper lip. She inhales ever so slightly again, much closer to me and the dried remnants of my tiny nosebleed. Her seafoam eyes take on a hardened glint, and being a regular hunter, I know the look¨Ca predator starting to act on instinct. I realize then that it''s time to wake up. I force my consciousness to return to me, and the whirlwind feeling of all my senses dulling as they move from the wiretail directly back to my own threatens to unbalance me, even with my sitting on the ground.


    I open my pale eyes, looking directly at Cassandra while she''s inches from my face.


    "Hi."


    She exhales a slight huff of air through her nostrils, almost like she were laughing, though she most certainly isn''t.


    "Orion, you really, really need not do whatever you just did again without warning someone first."


    "Why? Can''t control yourself?"


    "My control is of no concern to you." There was no joking tone there; Cassandra''s voice was still quite hardened. I suspect now that I''m speaking to the real Cassandra.


    "I mean, it is a little¨C" I reach up to rub the dried blood from my nose and the top of my lips. "After all, I''m riding with you."


    "As I said, my control is of no concern to you. What you should be focusing on is your job." Her tone is icy, and I can see the tips of her fangs while she speaks. I wonder if maybe she''s fighting her internal predator right now, and it''s coming across to me as being frosty and standoffish.


    "Hey, I thought we were cool; there''s no need to be that way. Sorry I got a nosebleed. I was trying something, and it doesn''t always give me a nosebleed when I do, so I didn''t think about it before I did it."


    "Yes, I''d imagine that''s a regular problem for you. Not thinking before doing."


    Cassandra stiffly stands up from in front of me, and her fangs still haven''t retracted, so I figure it must take vampires a long time to get control over their real natures once they''ve come to the surface. Without saying another word, she walks a few paces to her wiretail and hops onto its back. After adjusting her weight on the cat, she turns her upper torso slightly to look at me expectantly. I push myself off the ground and brush off the dirt from my clothes again. After I''m okay with the state of my still-damp clothing, I walk over and pull myself onto the back of the saddle to once again ride behind Cassandra.


    Seeing Cassandra and I mount the wiretail, the others move to do the same. Kline and Khalil come to join the group from wherever and whatever they were doing as a pair nearby. Once everyone is mounted and ready to go, Kline sets off in the same direction down the traveler''s path, and this time, Cassandra allows the other riders to all go ahead of us. With us taking up the rear of the pack and keeping the pace Kline and the others set, we ride in an uncomfortable silence.


    The silence continues for hours, and I get desensitized to it after a while. My eyes watch the passing of trees, shrubbery, and more wilderness the longer we move across the path, but my brain is numbed to it, and I''m essentially watching it all pass without seeing anything. My thoughts swirl around the events of the last couple of weeks and where they have brought me. I try to puzzle out what is truly happening but come to the same dead ends brought about by a simple lack of information. I''m even contemplating all of the steps that led to me riding on the back of a wiretail with a vampire who may¨Cor may not¨Cactually like me.


    Once I finally get to that point, I shake the thoughts away. Those sorts of thoughts don''t do anything for the entirety of the situation; Cassandra was right about me needing to focus on my job. Once I shake free of my circular thoughts and become more aware of my surroundings, I realize I can hear the faintest sound of voices drifting out from the deep Wilds. I hear the songs again! I touch Cassandra''s back with a hand, and she stiffens as though something has touched her that disgusted her. I fight the emotional punch to my ego and instead lean forward to talk to her.


    "I can hear the singing again. Can''t you?"


    "I hear nothing."


    "I heard the same thing the first time we came through, just before we got to the river. It wasn''t far from where we encountered the wiretail. If we backtrack a little from here, I''m fairly certain we could pick up the trail."


    "I hear nothing."


    "What? Seriously? You told me to focus on my job, and I am. Sorry if you''re mad at me, but this doesn''t apply to that."


    "I''m not¨C" Cassandra cuts herself off brutishly. "If you''re sure this is where we should stop and do a short backtrack, then that''s what we''ll do."


    "I''m sure."


    Cassandra whistles sharply before slowing her wiretail to a stop. The other riders, Kline and Khalil, also come to a fairly rapid stop and then turn around. Kline guides his wiretail back to stand next to Cassandra and I. Kline speaks while Khalil gives me a nod and a friendly greeting.


    "What''s going on?"


    "Orion says he can hear singing, and it''s the same singing he heard as they were almost to the river on their trip. He informs me that if we backtrack from here just a little bit, we should be able to locate the trail."


    Kline looks at me for confirmation.


    "We could locate it; I mean, it''s been over a week since then, so it''s a longshot if the wiretail is still even around, but yeah, with three trackers, we should be able to find at least something out there."


    "Do we need to worry about the singers of the singing?"


    "Nah, man, we''re going to backtrack away from them, so we should be good."


    "And if you or the other two have to track in this direction?"


    "Er¡­ well, yeah, it could be a problem then. Marmennlar aren''t exactly known for being friendly to outsiders, you know? Not that I''m saying for sure it''s them¨Cit could be water elves or something¨Cbut I''ve learned that generally anything in the deep Wilds is either not to be trusted or will rip your face off. So yeah, it could be dangerous. Did I answer your question? Sorry."


    "Yes." There''s a pregnant pause as Kline seems to try to decide on a plan, but finally, he speaks again.


    "We''ll send someone with each tracker, just to be safe."


    "I''ll go with Orion." Cassandra declares, which surprises me.


    Kline nods at Cassandra, then tugs a little on the saddle of his wiretail to head back to the others and give them the rundown of the new plan. Meanwhile, I''m mystified as to why Cassandra chose to volunteer again to go along with me after how seemingly angry she was with me for the past few hours. I genuinely do not understand her.


    "I wonder why I can hear them singing but no one else can. Initially, when we were coming through, I thought Lani, Aria, and Khalil were ignoring it, but now I''m not so sure¡­"


    "It''s a mystery that doesn''t matter right now, yes?"


    I shrugged my shoulders before realizing that Cassandra couldn''t see my gesture in response, so I faintly added on a little verbal response.


    "Yeah. Sure." I say with a sigh.


    When Kline and the others turn themselves around on the path, they pick up the pace, and we follow behind them. It isn''t too long, only about half an hour before I tell Cassandra that we are probably in a good enough stopping spot to get started. She whistles to stop the procession of beasts and people, so we all circle up and dismount. Since six of us will be heading out, leaving two behind¨CKline and Khalil¨Cthey''re essentially volunteering to set up what the campsite will be like in the foreseeable future.


    I gaze up at the sky, seeing the night creeping up on us faster than expected. Because of it, I question the others on whether we''re going to start early tomorrow or if we''re going to start tonight. The other two trackers laugh a little bit¨Clong enough that I begin to wonder what''s so funny¨Cbefore Cassandra leans over and tells me that trackers from the Blackham always track at night; it''s the only way they can generally catch a wiretail in the wild. Embarrassed, I lapse into silence.


    Khalil gets a fire going while Kline supplies material for it. The rest of us get our gear for tracking and hunting from the stout wiretail we used to hold our traveling supplies. Kline announces that we''ll all have a meal before we''re free to find what we can and that it''ll only take a few minutes to cook up. Initially, I just sat to wait, but Cassandra touched my shoulder lightly and gestured for me to follow her slightly away from the others. Naturally, I follow. We walk several long yards down the path and then turn to take a few steps off and into some bushes and shrubbery for privacy. Once Cassandra is satisfied that we''ll not be overheard or seen by the others, she stops next to me. She turns her gaze towards me after a few seconds of silence.


    "I apologize for earlier."


    Her seafoam eyes glint in the rising moon, and I realize that a vampire''s eyes are reflective of light for the first time. It makes sense, being night creatures, but it''s still interesting to me.


    "It was my bad, honestly; you''re good, Cass¨CAndra."


    Stumbling over her name seems to amuse her, and she grins slightly. No fangs anymore, I denote.


    "You can call me Cass, if it pleases you. And no, it wasn''t your fault, Orion. It was something I should have had better control over."


    There''s a long pause of silence, almost like she wants to say something else but decides against it. I press the issue since I''m not above trying to drag out things from people.


    "What is it?"


    Her eyes searched my face, scrutinizing me with an open apprehension I hadn''t seen from her before. I take a step slowly in her direction, thinking I understand the situation, but she immediately puts a hand up and stops me by pressing it directly in the center of my chest. I can feel the cold radiating from her hand through my old black t-shirt, as though I''ve been stopped by a hand made of ice.


    "Don''t, Orion."


    "I don''t understand, Cass. Genuinely. I''m confused as hell right now, and it''s going to fuck me up when we go out to track in a few minutes. Can you just untangle some of what''s going on here for me? Please?"


    Cassandra doesn''t lower her hand, and her seafoam eyes stare at me without breaking contact. I feel her hand move a little, gripping some of the fabric of my shirt in her fingers before she smoothes it back across my chest. It almost feels like she''s petting my chest, like one would do to an animal or something. Enough time passes that I think Cassandra isn''t going to respond, but then she breaks eye contact with me, instead choosing to look at where her hand is placed on my upper torso.


    "We have a strong instinct¨Cmy kind¨Cand it''s not just to feed. From time to time, we also get an overwhelming desire to claim territory or things¨Cand sometimes that''s even people. It''s why people who know about us existing tend not to trust our kind, because we''ll do a lot of things¨Cnot always good things¨Cto chase that instinct. I don''t know why you''ve triggered it with me, but you have. For that, you really do deserve an apology up front."


    I start to flush a little despite trying to tell myself not to. Cassandra immediately seems to pick up on it. I''m momentarily distracted by the scent of night-blooming flowers nearby wafting up¨Cor perhaps my mind just needed to distract itself while I digest her words. My eyes shift, trying to locate the blooming flowers, and when I do, I smile just a little. Cassandra doesn''t seem to realize that I''m not looking at her at that moment, or perhaps she doesn''t care because she continues speaking.


    "It''s not necessarily a good thing, Orion, like I said. Instincts are very hard to control at times. And claiming territory or property can be, well, bad for all parties involved. Yes, I would feel more protective of you, but I would feel protective in the same way as a favored pet. I absolutely would wind up trying to keep you doing what my instincts think you should do. Do you understand what I''m saying?"


    "Bird in a cage?"


    "Yes. Bird in a cage. Something to look at, play with, and then put back in the cage for the next time."


    "Don''t really like that¡­"


    I step away from her and walk over to a small batch of blooming flowers that are so fragrant. Reaching down to my side, I remove my small whittling knife from my belt and carefully start slicing off some lemony, citrus-smelling blossoms. Pinks, whites, oranges, and reds are all in hand, and I stand straight up. Cassandra hasn''t moved, so I return to standing next to her, having let the silence go on long enough. She seems to be of the same mindset because, once again, she starts to speak first.


    "That''s why I''m giving you this warning, Orion. I wasn''t angry with you; I''m trying to avoid there being a real problem here."


    "So¡­ you''re saying¡­ you like me."


    I give her a crooked grin out of nowhere, trying to break the seriousness of our conversation. She blinks her eyes a few times as if she''s trying to figure out whether I''m serious. Her lips twist upwards a fraction at the corners, which tells me more than speaking does. I take that time to offer her the bouquet of night-blooming jalapa flowers.


    "The Endomi have one thing right. They respect this flower enough to have made it their tribe''s symbol, you know."


    "No, I didn''t know that, if I''m honest. Changing the subject on a serious matter, Orion? Tsk, tsk. Your friend Khalil was right; you are an ''ass-hat.''"


    Cassandra takes the flowers from me and tucks them into a pocket in her cross-chest light armor, probably just to be polite since they immediately start to curl and wither when placed so close to her. I laugh a little bit and step backward, though my brain and body don''t want to.


    "Sorry, just some part of me always wants to try and cut uncomfortableness with humor. I understand, though; I''ll be more careful about what I do. I don''t want to make it harder on you than it already must be."


    "I should have been able to maintain control, and frankly, I''m a bit exasperated that I haven''t. I may have spent too long in the Wilds, away from humanity and others of my kind. It could be that it''s making it more difficult for me to maintain my needs, wants, and other assorted desires. Perhaps after all this is sorted, and my other business is done, I''ll return through a seam."


    I gaze at her, purposefully locking my eyes with her seafoam ones. I take a half-step in her direction, my shoes crunching a few sticks in the process. She doesn''t move away, but I don''t take another step¨Cor even half-step¨Cforward.


    "Or¡­ you could not."


    "Or I could not, yes. But why would I stay if it''s eroding my ability to control myself?"


    "Maybe you''re not supposed to be so self-controlling. People are people, and creatures are creatures. We don''t tell wiretails not to hunt and kill, and we don''t tell snakes not to get their food even if it''s detrimental to grabbats and other small creatures of the Wilds. Why should you be held to a different standard than they are?"


    "Because I''m not an animal, Orion."


    "Well, I mean, sure, I was just making a point. I don''t deny what I am. I do what I feel is right, which is why I hunt and track for Hannah and Jorge''s village, you know?"


    "I appreciate what you''re saying, Orion, truly I do, but you don''t know what the ever living fuck you''re talking about right now."


    I purse my lips a little, trying to decide what to say. She''s right, though. I don''t know what it feels like to be a vampire like her, so I probably shouldn''t be trying to advise her on listening or not listening to her internal instinctive monologue. While I stand there in silence, a ghost of a smile forms on her lips again.


    "Don''t worry about it, Orion. I''ve already reined myself in. I don''t think we''ll see a return of that side of me without my permission any time soon."


    She steps close to me, completely invading my private space. Immediately, I can feel the warmth of my body sapping away towards hers, and this time, when she leans in close to me, she places her lips against mine. Feeling the icy kiss of her lips is strange at first¨Cas well as the feeling of my body heat being almost whisked away by her coldness¨Cbut I don''t draw away from her. Instead, I slide my hands along either side of her waist, drawing her closer to me. Before the kiss becomes too deep and we''re driven to distraction, she places both of her hands on my chest again to make space between us. I don''t want it to end, but I don''t try to fight forward.


    "We should go back to the others, Orion."


    "Yeah¡­ Except¡­ I don''t think we should."


    "No, I''d imagine being your age, you very much don''t think we should."


    "What are we doing here? I want you, and you want me. We''re adults."


    "Orion, did you not hear anything I said the last five minutes?"


    "I heard you, and I also heard you say that you can control it, and I don''t need to worry about it. What should I believe? That you can''t control it or that you can?"


    "Don''t be sarcastic with me."


    "I''m not, anyway I''m just trying to figure you out."


    Finally, I move a fraction of another step forward so that I press harder against her two hands on my chest. It''s not forceful, but it is purposeful. Unfortunately, I also almost wind up falling forward flat on my face because one moment, she''s in front of me, and the next, she''s about twenty paces away. The speed of her movement takes me by great surprise, and I catch myself before falling.


    "Holy shit, Cass."


    "I''m not doing this here or now."


    I exhale loudly to get my hormones in check and settle back down.


    "I''m returning to the others, Orion. Join us when you''re ready."


    I start to say something, but I realize she''s already gone. Instead, I stand there alone, just off the traveler''s path, with a horrible discomforting need in my lower extremities. I shake my head at myself and then run a hand over my face. Then, I mutter to no one but myself before walking uncomfortably out of the brush and back towards the group.


    "Well¡­ Nice job, idiot. Well played."

 009; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 9.1: The Pixies Spark

    Affixing my quiver to my lower back and side and slinging my bow over my shoulder finishes my tracking preparations. The others are finishing gearing up as well. We had a decent camp meal, and I''m pleasantly full. Outside of the questioning look that Khalil gave me when I came back a few minutes before the meal was served, no one has said anything to me, nor has Cassandra acted in any way different than the "default" normal she''s in most of the time. I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts actively. We''re about to go out to hunt and try to locate one of the more dangerous and rare beasts of the Wilds, and I certainly need my wits about me. There''s, of course, the other side of why I need to get my head on straight¨Cwe''re going out at night in the Wilds. There''s a reason why when our village goes on hunting trips and trading runs, we do our movements in the daytime and use a night guard¨Clike Aria¨Cto patrol and protect during the evening.


    Remembering the first time I saw one of the night terrors in the wild has a nice sobering effect on me. I slowly roll my shoulders towards my back, then stretch my neck in a slow circle. I feel good, but I also feel like this will be a waste of time, so there won''t be too much to fear other than it just being the Wilds in darkness. I can''t imagine the wiretail is still close to here; it''s been too long unless there was a high concentration of prey items moving around nearby. It''s possible, but it''s also just not very likely.


    I check the weight of my water flask on my side and feel over the small, hollow pipe hanging from the other side of my belt¨Cnext to my whittling knife¨Cwhich I use with the dart inside to take down small critters like grabbat when I go hunting. I do a mental checklist, and when everything seems to be in order, I turn to go to where the other two trackers are waiting. I join them in standing with the two other riders who will accompany them while pursuing our goal.


    Greeting them casually, I look around for Kline and Cassandra. They seem to be chatting just out of earshot, but I don''t care enough to waste the energy to try and listen in. Their conversation doesn''t last long, and afterward, the pair come over to stand beside us. Khalil has settled down next to one of the lounging wiretails and rests his back against the great cat''s shoulder blades with closed eyes. If I weren''t so focused on the task, I might even have felt more than mild amusement at the sight. Cassandra draws my attention back to the task when she murmurs to me.


    "Ready to go then?"


    I nod in response to her, my eyes shifting to look at Kline when he clears his throat a little to grab attention. In the flickering of the fire behind him, he cuts an impressive silhouette with his additional armor and weapons¨Ca kukri and a crossbow. I can see that it makes sense for him to "lead" any kind of group. He''s precisely the sort of individual that the Blackham¨Cor any tribe probably¨Cwould love to have as a poster boy or first contact person for others to see. He''s got that "look" about him.


    "I know I don''t need to remind you all that the Wilds at night are dangerous, so I hope you maintain discipline and awareness while you''re out there. Each of you has been given a pixies'' spark to use if you are distressed and need assistance. If you see one of those sparks go active, stop whatever you are doing and make your way there. If you have to use your spark, try to stay in that general vicinity so you can be found and aided."


    I figure this is his version of a rah-rah team speech, so I stand there and listen while he continues to speak.


    "I''ll be here with the wiretails and Khalil; if I see a pixies'' spark go up, I will bring the calvary with me¨Cof that, you can be sure. If you locate the wiretail, you must lure it back here so we can wrangle it. Khalil will stay out of the way unless we find that wiretail, in which case he''ll be conversing with it when we get it under control. Any questions?"


    No one speaks up, which isn''t surprising; we''ve known the plan for days. Once done, Kline walks over and settles down next to the fire. I watch the campfire for a few moments, gazing at the embers and the occasional sparks that wisp upward into the air. Some part of me wonders if I should mention that most people don''t use a fire in the Wilds after dark. I think better of it, deciding not to say anything after remembering the laughter the trackers had for me when I asked if we would track during the day or the night. They know what they''re doing, I remind myself.


    I exhale a little, continuing to calm my mind in preparation, before walking towards Khalil. I pause next to him to lean down and squeeze his shoulder, which causes him to crack open his eyes. I give him a head nod¨Cwhich he returns¨Cbefore moving away. Cassandra quickly winds up at my side, and we move off the traveler''s path in a direction different from the other tracking duos. After walking through the relatively thick underbrush for a few minutes, I give Cassandra a little heads-up.


    "Hey," I murmur, "I''m gonna use some of my ability tonight. It''s nothing crazy; I''m just going to sharpen my senses. So, if you don''t mind, try not to make any weird smells, flash bang me, or scream at the top of your lungs randomly."


    She smirks, her seafoam eyes reflecting the moon''s provided light like a fox''s.


    "I''ll make sure to keep that in mind."


    All jokes aside, I nod to her to let her know I appreciate it. I purposefully take a deep inhale through my nose and release it. During the calming breathing exercise, I concentrate on my sluggish mind, trying to overcome the weight of trying to use my power at night under the ascendant moon. It takes more effort than I would have liked, but half a minute later, I feel the heightened sense of mental state coming from my activated abilities.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Immediately, I can smell the scent of stagnant water, though it isn''t too close by. My ears pick up the scritching and scratching of small animals scurrying through the underbrush. I slowly use my one covered forearm to brush back some of the thick and tangled brush that lay before us, ensuring that I hold it long enough for Cassandra to follow behind me, similar to the same method I use when hunting with Khalil. Cassandra, however, is so silent that a whisper of wind might be heard before her footfalls are. Only the occasional shifting of sticks or dry leaves gives away that she is still closely following me¨Cand that''s with my sense of hearing so magnified.


    We continue in such a way until we finally break through the tough, abundant brush and thorn patches to a much more easily traveled forest area. When we move clear of the patches of underbrush, I carefully use my whittling knife to make a long, openly visible line on the ground leading away from the spot we just moved out of. It''s enough to denote where we exited the underbrush so we know which way we can more easily return through if we have to come back this way in a hurry.


    After a few minutes of moving through the trees and light brush, I realized that I needed a little bit of altitude to get a good gaze at our surroundings. I pause, crouching so Cassandra can catch up to me. Once she crouches next to me, I murmur to her.


    "It''s too hard for me to see signs from where we''re at now; I don''t even see any obvious game trails. I''ll climb one of these trees and get a bird''s eye view. It''ll be a couple of minutes."


    She nods, so I quietly creep towards a larger tree with a good climbing structure. It doesn''t take me long to find my hand and footholds on the tree, and I quickly make my way up its trunk towards its much higher boughs and limbs. Once high enough in the tree but not so high that the canopy would interrupt my field of vision, I lean my back against the main support structure. Now stable in my place, I carefully scan the surroundings nearby and as far as I can see.


    The sounds of the Wilds at night are haunting, yet somehow, they are just as full of life as the day. My eyes momentarily catch on a bit of gray movement, and I focus temporarily on what turns out to be a simple but massive owl, hunting in the night''s gloom with its head twisting left and right. Moving on in my survey, I gaze at the ground and pause. About fifty yards from where I left Cassandra, there appears to be a mat of fur and feathers¨Cthe sign that a big cat would leave if it had left prey items and covered them for later. I study the surrounding areas more carefully now, but as luck would have it, the more I study it, the more the sign doesn''t appear fresh.


    Frowning, I go back to gazing over the land, carefully watching for any iota of movement or whispers of sound that could give away said movement. Nothing, nada, zilch. I decided we''d move toward the old sign I saw from up high and try to get a bearing on where to head next. Once decided, I carefully shimmy back down the tree trunk to the ground where Cassandra is still waiting.


    "Any luck?"


    "Not really," I mumble, "I saw some sign, but it was pretty old. Still, we should probably head that way; it''s possible when we get in close to there that we''ll see a pathway or markings that I couldn''t see from where I was."


    My tone likely gives away that I think it''s a dead end, but Cassandra nods and allows me to continue to lead our hunting party. I start to move but then stop, causing Cassandra to bump into my back.


    "Orion?"


    "Yeah, sorry, uh, I just had a thought: I wonder if you smell blood better than I do?"


    "I''m going to go out on a limb here and say yes, even with your sense of smell as it is currently."


    "Cool, let me know if you smell any. Just snap your fingers to get my attention."


    "If you''d like."


    As we start to move again, I feel better just knowing that it''s probable that if there are any recent kills, we''ll be able to be aware of them far before encountering them. My footfalls are quick and precise, and we weave through the trunks of trees and around the occasional patches of briars or thorns. Since we weren''t far from where I saw the sign when I took my bird''s eye view, we quickly located it without any trouble.


    It is as I saw it: a mess of feathers and fur, matted down and covering a few bones and remaining parts of dead animals. Nearby, underneath a tree, I move over while crouched and can see the outline of depressed soil where a giant beast rested its weight for a time. However, as I thought from a distance, the sign is old. These kills were made well over a week ago. I start to stand and plan to continue an area search, but a sudden shock of illumination flares through the treetops to our east. It''s so bright that I have to immediately cover my face with my hand, grunt in pain from being blinded, and draw back my magnified abilities since I can''t concentrate on them anymore.


    "Arghh. Fuck! I can''t see shit."


    "That''s a pixies'' spark, someone''s in it."


    "I can''t see anything, Cass."


    I try to blink away the searing white spots in my vision, but everything around is hazy and washed out with white and edges of blue and purple.


    "Grab the back of my chest strap, and I''ll guide us until you can see again."


    I feel her cold hand grip mine, and she draws me to where I can feel the strap of her crossbody light armor. I grip tight, and Cassandra does exactly as she said she would: she moves at a fairly-rapid pace, allowing me to follow her without being afraid of ramming into her or other things. I only stumble a few times as we move along, much less than I expected.


    The longer we move, the more the excruciating white fades away from my vision. By the time it''s completely, or nearly completely gone, I blink my eyes and take stock of our surroundings. I release the grip on Cassandra''s strap, which causes her to pause and look at me questioningly.


    "I''m good now, thanks, Cass."


    "Alright. Lead on then."


    I shift around to take the lead and immediately pick up the pace. We move through the woods swiftly, making more noise than I would have liked, but getting to where we can see the pixies'' spark starting to fade out in the sky is the most important thing. I slide down a slight embankment, followed by Cassandra, and land in a marshy, soupy mix of soil and swamp water.


    "Ugh."


    "I smell fresh blood; be careful now."

 010; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 9.2: The Trackers

    The squish of oversaturated ground is impossible to silence as I try to lead us around the main area of what must be the stagnant-smelling water I had scented earlier. I also heard Cassandra''s warning, so as we moved, I carefully reached and drew my bow to nock an arrow for the ready. I hop and jump from large stable pieces of land to the next where I can, trying to keep us out of the marshy ground, which could be treacherous. Finally, we come into the space where the spark is burning out, but I don''t see anything moving. I lower my voice, once again murmuring to Cassandra.


    "I don''t see anything, and I don''t want to use my senses again in case something else happens. Do you see or smell anything?"


    "Yes."


    There''s a long, pregnant pause between us, and I shift my stance to look back at Cassandra with questions written on my face. It''s only then that I see her visage. Her fangs are completely distended, causing her lips to be ever so slightly parted and expose more than just the tips. Her ordinarily beautiful seafoam-colored eyes are dark saucers to allow in all of the visuals on a dark night¨Cmuch like a hunting cat. Her fingers are tipped by ragged nails, longer than any human''s, and look more like talons than anything else. Finally, she speaks again.


    "You will follow me. Be ready."


    That wasn''t even half of a question; it was a whole order. She moves around me, taking the lead and rapidly moving from where we are currently towards what looks like small lumps of earth covered in moss about four feet high. While Cassandra charges ahead, I follow at a few wide paces behind. She might be some kind of undead serial killer, but I am not. I know my abilities and what I''m best at¨Cand I need some space to be effective.


    We draw up to where the mounds of earth are, and I see what Cassandra must have been talking about, having seen or smelled them. Body parts are strewn everywhere like a mad beast tore the tracker and his aid asunder. Bile rises in the back of my throat, threatening to make me retch, but I force it back down. The amount of blood and viscera everywhere is shocking. The mounds seem a bit out of place for the area, with no shrubbery or trees growing from them, only mossy small hills in the landscape.


    I carefully move to a nearby tree that looks sturdy enough to hold my weight and use my free hand¨Csince my other is still holding my bow and an arrow¨Cto help me climb up and get some high ground. Once I get myself situated and my first arrow once again nocked, I spy Cassandra carefully moving toward where the brutal massacre happened around those mossy knolls.


    The moment she gets in front of the earthen mounds, I see wisps of black shapes creeping from the swampy marshes behind those knolls. I sharply whistle and point with my free hand so that when Cassandra looks at me, she immediately sees that I''m pointing out the direction of what I can tell is incoming danger. The black shapes are mutable and appear almost as oil but in a mist-like gaseous form. Night terrors. I pat down my belt and immediately open a small pocket. I force myself to concentrate and not look back up while locating the necessary tools. I draw out several pieces of very thin cloth from one pocket and, from another, a simple metal gas station lighter that I had traded for with a Wilds'' deer a while back. I quickly wrap the light linen around the front shaft of my arrow and then catch it aflame with the tiny flame from the cheap lighter.


    It''s not an actual fire arrow, and the weight will be off, but it''s the only "emergency, break glass in case of night terrors" option I have available. I quickly¨Cbut carefully¨Cdraw back my arrow, and as soon as one of the wispy, gaseous creatures starts to manifest into a corporeal form to attack Cassandra, I aim slightly higher than average before loosing. The arrow wobbles a little in flight because of the change in its aerodynamics from the tied, flaming linen I added, but I carefully corrected for it. The creature¨Cnow fully formed into a many-legged spider-like creature with great, oversized, ragged mandibles¨Cunleashes a piercing shriek of a war cry and would have probably gotten the drop on Cassandra even with my warning. Still, my arrow is already in the air. It slams into the beast, immediately igniting it as though it were made of gasoline fumes. The screech of a war cry turns into the howl of pain, and the beast runs in a small circle before it finally collapses, leaving a burning husk where, moments before, a terrifying creature was.


    "Why is it always a spider?" I growl to myself.


    Now, seeing what I saw, Cassandra launches herself at the nearest creature to form beside her. Like the first, it initially starts as an oily, black mist but rapidly manifests into the shape of a long, hundred-legged centipede-like beast. Its forcipules are oversized; from them, a black and green ichor drips to sizzle on the ground. I take my eyes away to fix another thin linen strip to the front of my next arrow and tie it off again. I hear the sounds of snarling and combat, but I force myself to concentrate on what I can control and use my cheap lighter to once again light the small linen strip on my newest arrow. While I move to nock the arrow, I look momentarily at the situation with Cassandra and company. She seems to be killing the centipede thing, having already left a ragged gouge along its back, and she doesn''t seem injured, so I focus on the next creature that has already formed.


    The creatures don''t seem to realize I exist since I''m a little further away from the action, and Cassandra is the most obvious target. Luckily, night terrors are simple-minded creatures; they usually¨Cthough not always¨Chunt in packs but don''t seem to have the same intelligence as wolves or other creatures that also hunt in packs. It''s the first time I''ve seen insect-like night terrors, and I could absolutely do without this nightmare fuel.


    The creature that''s trying to sneak up behind Cassandra is my target. It has formed into the shape of a colossal alligator tick. Its two front pincer claws are massive, over half the size of its already boar-sized body. I rapidly take aim and then fire. The arrow sizzles through the air, but because I didn''t aim quite high enough for its position in my rush to help Cassandra, my arrow strikes it in the lower half of its body, impaling one of its thick hind legs. I curse loudly, and while the huge beetle thrashes in pain and its body starts to catch flame from my arrow, it also is not dying. It roars in pain and anger, then propels itself towards the prey it can see: the still embattled Cassandra.


    "Fuck!" I shout, giving away my position in the tree that I''ve chosen.


    My hand rapidly grabs another arrow, but this time, I don''t waste time tying another linen strip on its front. Instead, my hand smoothly moves from the quiver to bow to loosing an arrow that flies straight into the beast''s side as it scurries forward to attack Cassandra. The force of the arrow knocks the beast aside, and it rolls onto its back, the fire of my first nearly-errant arrow licking up its underside towards the front of its body. The creature''s insectoid legs flail as the beast tries to right itself, but it''s to no avail. It dies there just as it is: upside down, burning and screeching in pain.


    Cassandra claws the massive centipede into halves finally and kicks the pincer side with its acidic ichor far away from her. I''m already reaching for another arrow, expecting more nightmarish beasts to attack, but as I look left and right with a new arrow, I don''t see anything. This concerns me greatly, as there were absolutely more than three things that I saw moving initially.


    The fire flickers on the two beasts I killed, slowly engulfing and burning them to ash, illuminating the area around them.


    "You alright, Cass?" I raise my voice.


    "Yes. Are there more?"


    "There was, but I don''t see them now."


    "Any signs of our ''calvary'' coming?"


    I hadn''t even thought to look for that during the ordeal, so I slowly tried to turn in the tree I''d wedged myself on. I scrupulously scan the surrounding areas but don''t see any movement or rumblings through the underbrush. I take care to tuck the last few pieces of linen back into the pocket on my belt from which I''d initially drawn them. I kiss the cheap metal lighter once and then slide it back into its pocket. A deer for on-demand fire? Best trade ever. I sling my bow over my shoulder once more and then carefully drop back down to the ground, intending to head over to Cassandra and the site of the tracker''s death.


    I move around the large earthen mounds and into the area where the pieces of a Blackham elf-kin and the poor, viper-nosed one are littered. The smell from the night terrors, both burning and dead, even overwhelms both the stagnant stench of the swamp and the smell of the dead body parts. The acrid scent gets into my sinuses and tickles the back of my throat. Before I realize it, I''m retching to the side, throwing up the remnants of our meal before we all broke camp to track.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "Are you alright?"


    "Ugh. Ughhh. This is awful. How are you okay?"


    "I don''t need to breathe."


    "Oh." Then I hurl once more, "Ugh¡­"


    "I assume you didn''t see anyone coming."


    "No, no, I didn''t."


    "So much for ''bringing the calvary.''"


    I grab my stomach with a hand, trying to mentally will myself to get a hold of my retching. Finally, it subsides as my sense of smell deadens somewhat to the surroundings.


    "What should we do, Cassandra?"


    "Thank you, by the way."


    "What?"


    "Thank you for the assistance."


    "I wasn''t just going to leave you there on your own."


    "I know."


    I reach down to my belt and pick off my small water flask. I take a swill of water and use it to swish around in my mouth before spitting it out. It helps with the bile of my retching. I take one more swig of water and do the same thing before placing the flask back on my belt. I want to smile at her, but she''s still in combat mode, vampire beast activated. So, instead, I asked her again.


    "Now, what do we do?"


    "Backtrack, head back to the camp, check in, and maybe murder Kline and the others for not coming."


    "Skip the murder part, and I''m on board."


    "If you insist."


    I smile a little; at least she''s got some humor about her. I gaze at the first kill I made, the strange arachnid-looking creature about the size of a volleyball. The flames have already burned themselves out on it, leaving nothing but a husk and shell of what was. I walk over to retrieve my arrow from its body and look it over. Ruined. I toss it to the ground with a sigh, even though I know I have plenty of them on me.


    "Not your first time encountering a night terror, I see." Cassandra intones as she moves to follow me.


    "No, but the ones I saw before looked like rodents of unusual size."


    My attempt at humor falls flat, and Cassandra maintains silence behind me. Oh well, you can''t always get a hit with pop culture references. Our feet squish and make sucking noises as I lead us away from the marshy landscape in the direction we initially came from. I''d rather take the same general direction back that we came in, so it will be easier to find the path we made through the briars and thick underbrush at the beginning of our trek.


    I hop over a large pair of logs and immediately realize I''ve made a terrible mistake.


    These are not logs.


    Immediately, the "logs" shift and move, drawing off the ground on four legs supported by a thick, double-spiked tail. The pair of two-headed beasts are similar to the human lands'' alligators¨Cexcept for the razor-sharp spikes lining down their back that they raise on being disturbed and the two heads that are generally used to bite and split apart their prey.


    "Basiliscu!" I shout in warning, which is enough for Cassandra to leap into action even if she doesn''t know what they are.


    Luckily for us, the murder logs were also not expecting to be straight-up leapt upon, so they''re as startled initially as we are. Cassandra immediately throws herself onto the back of one of the beasts, very likely injuring herself on its spines. Since I don''t have access to anything but my bow and a whittling knife, I draw out an arrow and use it to stab into the side of the two-headed beast whirling and splashing in the shallow muck water to try and bite me along its side. I know it won''t kill the beast, but I had to do something.


    The two-headed beast that Cassandra threw herself upon is flailing and thrashing, and its spiked tail comes within inches of slapping into my legs which would have surely crippled me. She uses her claws to drive down on the beast repeatedly, at the back of its pair of heads where they meet shoulders. I fling myself away from the beast that is now tracking me just in time, as the jaws snap only a short distance from me, where I was just a moment before.


    After rolling on the ground, covered in moss and wet swamp slime, I shove my hands down into the squishy mud and moss mixture, trying to get purchase. Getting traction, I jump away from the beast''s next attack, which I know is coming. Sure enough, I don''t have but a moment''s time to get my feet underneath me when I see the basiliscu''s pair of teeth-lined heads rapidly flying in my direction, having used its powerful tail to launch itself forward. I roll to the side again, winding up back in the muck but out of the way of the beast''s attack.


    The arrow sticking out of the creature''s side seems to have only enraged the beast rather than do any meaningful harm to it. Too worried about my own survival, I haven''t the slightest clue how Cassandra is managing, though I do hear the sounds of furious screaming, snarling, and violence in my periphery. Or perhaps that''s just around me?


    Once again, the two-headed basiliscu turns to try and land a more direct attack on me. I''m faster to my feet this time and sprint for the nearby semi-dry land¨Cwhich also has trees on it. I hear the forceful clap of two jaws missing their mark inches behind me, which means I have a few seconds to find somewhere to jump. The first tree I see that is thick enough to hold my weight is exactly what I go for. I launch myself into the air, dripping filth from my clothing, catching and then dragging myself up onto the trunk of the tree and off of the ground. Moments later, the tree itself shakes from the impact of the apoplectic beast running into it and missing its attack on me.


    I take a few moments to catch my breath before unslinging my bow and rapidly firing arrows into the back of the beast underneath my tree as it tries to quickly leverage itself to leap upwards at me with its muscular tail. After three arrows on its upper back and one in the left-most head, it hisses and takes off¨Cfleeing back towards the murky water where it was spending its night before my clumsy interruption. Once the danger to me has lessened I look to try and see Cassandra. She is already coming out from the muddy water, but she''s bloody and clearly wounded. The beast she was on is torn into, and I realize she must have used her clawed, taloned hands just to rend and gash until the beast no longer moved.


    I lower myself from the tree, putting my bow back over my shoulder, and jog over to her. As I get closer, I realize it''s more than a few wounds that are on her body.


    "Holy shit, let me help."


    "I''ll be fine; I just need a few minutes."


    "Like hell you''re fine!"


    "I''m wounded from it''s back, it didn''t bite me."


    "That doesn''t mean I can''t help you. Come on."


    I reach for her bloody arm, and initially, she rips it away from me. It''s only through altogether dropping her arm that I manage not to get scoured by one of her bloody and viscera-covered talons in the process.


    "I said I''ll be fine."


    "And I don''t fucking care what you said!"


    Instead of an arm, I grab hold of the strap across her chest for the light armor she wears. I essentially dragged her across the ground and towards the side of the marshland I ran to. Once we''re out of the moist and watery ground, I release my grip on her and reach down to where I keep my bandage wraps.


    "Orion."


    I continue opening the pouch, ignoring what I think is her protest, and when I pull out the bandages, she speaks more pointedly again.


    "Orion."


    "I said I''d help you, so let me get these wr¨C"


    Preparing to wrap the first of the puncture wounds I saw on her initially, I trail off my voice. In front of my eyes, the wounds underneath the now-torn clothing she''s wearing are re-knitting and closing. Along the side of her body, which was the one she landed on the spiked back of the basiliscu, Cassandra''s skin is growing paler in small increments with each wound closed.


    "Holy¡­ Wow."


    "I told you, I just needed a few minutes. You should use those bandages on yourself."


    I look down to follow her gaze. Along my arms are scratches and a few tears of skin from where I was flinging myself along the ground, trying to avoid being torn into halves. I simply didn''t notice the pain from them initially due to the adrenaline rushing through my body. They definitely need more than simple bandages in a couple of spots and will probably require campsite stitches or healing if one of the Blackham people can do that.


    "Okay¡­"


    I''m still a little dumbfounded by the rapidness of her healing ability, but I know I shouldn''t be. After all, it''s kind of what her people are known for. They are hard to kill, can heal wounds, and are vicious in hand-to-hand combat. All boxes are checked here.


    "We''ll get somewhere a little safer, and I''ll wash these out with water and then bandage them. Afterwards, we head back."


    "Sure, Orion."


    I exhale a little more, still trying to calm my nerves, before starting back through the wooded forest, not trying to hide our footfalls or lower noise. We jog at a good clip, not an all-out run, but it takes us back to where we found the big cat''s signage fairly rapidly. I crouch down once there and take a few minutes to bandage up the worst of my arm''s wounds. After getting them wrapped about as well as I could with the minimal amount of bandaging gauze I carried, we set back out, heading toward where we initially pushed through the dense underbrush.

 011; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 10.1: The Suite

    Micah moves through the barn-come-residence, looking for Tallulah. The shift from day to night hasn''t lessened the heat and humidity, and his head has little beads of sweat threatening to run down the sides at any moment. He looks irritated, but he has been searching the grounds for Tallulah for the last twenty minutes, and none of these parasite fey are even trying to help him out. He curls his lip in some degree of disgust. Ungrateful pigs.


    As he crosses through the barn to the other side, yet again not seeing the silvery gray-haired newest pet of the house, his irritation only grows. Stopping a couple of the pointed ear fey to ask if they''ve seen her gets him nowhere. He even asks one with a mohawk of small ridge bones from forehead to spine. He''s about to lose his temper when, by chance, he sees the aged faerie walking along the interior perimeter fence and watching the dogs as they lazily traverse the grounds on the other side. Muttering to himself, he picks up his pace and moves to catch up with her.


    As he draws closer to her, he doesn''t bother to mask the sounds of his boots crunching over the sculpted gravel so she knows someone is walking up to her. Tallulah turns, hearing the approach of another, and her eyes momentarily give just enough of a tell to show that she''s disappointed in who is coming up to her. This irritates Micah more, but he wills himself to bite it down and swallow it.


    "Miss Tallulah?"


    "Hello, yes. Micah, was it?"


    "That''s right."


    "How are you tonight, Micah? What can I help you with?"


    "Just fine, thank you. I''m to show you to your new room and get you sorted with your new stylist and tailor."


    "My what and what?"


    Micah smiles, but Tallulah can see it''s not a genuine smile, just a polite one. This is the most Micah has talked with Tallulah, and she can tell he''s annoyed¨Cor perhaps disappointed¨Cabout having to do this.


    "Well, the house is certainly not going to have you walking around and being around others of our kind looking like, well, that."


    Tallulah looks down at her clothing, which has been washed since the faeries were found in the forest and brought back to the homestead''s grounds. It''s typical wear for her people in the Wilds¨Ca generic t-shirt and jeans she traded for earlier in the year¨Cbut she understands it''s not the fashionable trends that those inside the house seem to adhere to.


    "Okay, but I didn''t ask for my own room."


    "They''re not going to have you continue sleeping in a barn. They''ve already expended some resources to prepare a room for you, and people are waiting for you to get started. Will you accompany me?"


    The stilted manner of Micah''s speech seems forced as if he''s trying to sound older and more important than he is. Tallulah''s thoughts drift back to what Elijah told her the first night she talked to anyone: Micah is up for review to become a vampire, so he will be a stickler for the rules. She understands and decides she''ll not make an issue of it; instead, she''ll pose her questions to Kofi when they chat next.


    "Okay, sure. Sorry, I wasn''t trying to be difficult."


    "It''s alright. Follow me, please."


    Micah turns, leading the pair of them but surprisingly not towards the side entrance that comes from the house and leads towards the stables. Instead, Micah takes her directly around the front of the grounds so that she gets to see the homestead mansion in its front-facing glory. The moon overhead is full and glints off the glass, perfectly placed in the stone and wooden structure. Tallulah gazes up at the moon as they draw around to the front of the place, momentarily soaking in its ascendance as she was while walking the grounds before Micah''s interruption.


    Her attention quickly drifts to the change in the front of the home. There is an extensive line-up of mostly expensive vehicles, all carefully parked in and along the drive that leads down the side of the mountainous rise the homestead is on. There are easily twenty vehicles of all shapes and sizes, some of which have non-discrete individuals¨Cclearly chauffeurs¨Cstanding or leaning outside the driver or passenger sides.


    "Something going on tonight?"


    "Yes. It''s the full moon."


    Puzzled and still looking for more information, Tallulah presses Micah a little more for some scraps of information.


    "I know; I was enjoying its radiance before you found me. But what does that have to do with the amount of cars here?"


    "You''ll find out soon enough."


    Micah quickly responds in his cryptic and clipped manner, and Tallulah momentarily wonders if she should interpret that ominously. Instead, she drops the matter entirely and follows him in further silence.


    They make their way up the engraved and sweeping stairs to the front of the homestead, and unlike the other night, four large individuals are carefully spaced directly at the open, front double doors leading inside. Micah inclines his head to the quartet before passing by, and the four study Tallulah as she quickly moves to follow him. Bouncers? Bodyguards? This is just weird, Tallulah rolls over in her mind.


    Into the beautiful home they go, passing by the sweeping staircase that leads to the second floor. Instead of going up, they head down a separate wing, completely to the opposite side of where the stables are. There is a much greater host of guards patrolling the hallways and stationed at points inside; even though they''re trying to be invisible, to her, they stick out with their all-black attire and solemn countenances. Some of them even wear balaclava masks underneath their hats so that all that can be seen of them is their eyes. Tallulah considers that they may be invisible to the vampires while also being available at any moment.


    Tallulah¨Cstill in thought and taking in all of the changes of the night¨Ccontinues to move after Micah''s lead through a large parlor and gathering area, which has a few well-dressed people standing with less well-dressed ones. Pale or pallid in their skin tones, Tallulah realizes there are even more vampires here than the other nights. With what Micah said, the number of cars, and simply the number of these creatures, it''s clear that some special gathering must be happening. Her eyes pass over one of the vampires¨Cwith his old-looking jeans, ill-fitting t-shirt, and devil-may-care bedhead hairstyle¨Cshe wonders if he''s the black sheep of the family, who hasn''t "figured out" how-to-vampire yet or something. The vampire she was trying to judge based on his garments stares with dark eyes back at her¨Cit feels like he is looking her over as if she were a piece of meat¨Ccausing Tallulah to break eye contact shortly after that.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Finally passing through the large parlor, they make their way to what is a residential wing. Most¨Cif not almost all¨Cof the doors are closed. They each have obvious security system points on each door, and Tallulah supposes there''s more security hidden from view. Micah finally slows to a stop next to an open door, directly next to a small parlor with its own wet bar, lounge area, and television. No one is inside that parlor, but the large suite room they stopped at seems to have a couple of people inside. Tallulah starts to head inside the room, but Micah stops her.


    "One moment, Miss Tallulah. We need to scan your print and eye into the security system so you can be given the access you''re supposed to have."


    "Alright, sure. If that''s what we need to do, let''s go ahead and do it."


    Micah waves over one of the people from inside the room to where he and Tallulah are waiting outside. Micah doesn''t have to explain much and steps back when the young man moves forward next to Tallulah. He''s still alive, evidenced by how much he fidgets, and Tallulah supposes it makes sense. Why would vampires be bothered to do the grunt work when they have an army of people wanting to earn vampirism who will do it for them? The man walks Tallulah through scanning her hand print and then a retinal scan, using his computer gadgets¨Cshe doesn''t know what they are and doesn''t bother inquiring. It only takes about five minutes to get it all squared away, if that, and to test, he has Tallulah scan her handprint on a small panel on the hallway wall. They all hear the door make a noise like it would be unlocked, and so the man announces that it works, gathers his things, and leaves without fanfare as though he has other just as essential appointments to get to.


    "Okay then. That was easy."


    "Yes, we have highly skilled individuals on hand to maintain our security here. They''re paid well, but most aren''t doing it for a paycheck. Let''s go ahead and get you settled inside."


    With that, Micah gestures her inside of the suite. It''s larger than her entire home in the village back in the Wilds, with sweeping stone, wood, and steel designs. There''s even a tiny jacuzzi tub nestled into a corner next to¨CTallulah denotes with some amusement¨Can electric fireplace. There are plenty of floor-to-ceiling windows, and Tallulah isn''t foolish to think they aren''t just as secure as the rest of the home. Indeed, she doesn''t see any latches to open or close them from the inside. To his credit, Micah allows Tallulah to drift through the room uninterrupted while ignoring the other two people standing patiently inside to check out her new living space.


    "This is pretty amazing. This isn''t a bedroom; it''s like a palace''s suite."


    "It was chosen for you. Are you pleased with the selection?"


    "Hmm, yeah, this is¨Cwho in their right mind wouldn''t be pleased with it?"


    "In this world, to people of whom money is no object, overlooked minor details can ruin entire expansive projects."


    Tallulah "hmms" at that, thinking it over, before she dips her head to Micah in understanding.


    "The gentleman and the lady here are your tailor and stylist, respectively. I''ll leave you in their capable hands for now. I''ll be back for you in a couple of hours unless you''d like to be accompanied by someone else?"


    "Er, no, you''re fine?"


    For some reason, Micah''s phrasing seemed a little like a trap, so Tallulah just tried to give the most obvious response. Micah purses his lips a fraction, making Tallulah think she might have made the wrong choice, but nothing comes of it. He excuses himself and makes his way out into the hall and away. Tallulah reaches up with her hands and rubs them momentarily on each side of her mouth and chin, then exhales outwardly and a little noisily. Finally, she turns to look at the two left inside.


    "Hello. So, what''s the plan?"


    Big smiles greet her¨Cfake or not is hard to tell¨Cand a whirlwind of fabrics, colors, measurements, and off-the-cuff jokes about her bosom fill the air for the next hour. Tallulah feels like a visitor to her body, being turned this way and that, probed and prodded, arms turned and legs readjusted. At the same time, they measure, make notes, and ask her about four hundred times which of this or that color or texture she prefers¨Ceven if they look or feel identical to her senses.


    The two are nice enough, though she''s not foolish enough to think they''re not just putting on a front so that Tallulah doesn''t think of them as anything but perfect members of the household. By the time they, not Tallulah, settle on her attire for this evening¨Can emerald green affair with gold trimming that the stylist insists on¨CTallulah is rightfully knackered. The tailor has a list of planned clothing for Tallulah now and says it will take a few days to get through. He adds that he''ll be back in half an hour with her gown for the night, and the stylist says she''ll have makeup at the same time.


    The pair leaves, closing the door to the room with an audible hiss, and Tallulah immediately goes over to flop down on one of the sitting areas'' sofas with an oomph of air rushing out of her lungs. Closing her eyes for a few minutes, she leans back and rests, trying to figure out how¨Cor why¨Cshe decided to agree to this madness. Mulling it over in her mind, she comes to the same answer each time: she found Kofi charming, disarming, and inviting. Ultimately, no matter what face she presented to her people, in her heart, she wanted something new, something different from her life in the Wilds.


    Tallulah mulls over that realization of herself for a time. Is it selfish to want for herself after a lifetime of being a good member of their Wilder village? If she wanted something more, why didn''t she join another tribe of fey? Is it just because this is such an unheard-of event¨Cwith an unexpected turn of dealing with vampires¨Cthat she''s making such a dramatic change in her life? Is she greedy or finally deciding to do something for herself?


    So many questions spin through her mind that she tries to force them to stop. If she had some smoking leaf, she could easily calm her mind and relax, but they don''t have any that came with them through the seam, and she''s fairly certain vampires wouldn''t have access to something like that grown in the Wilds. She knows they have things here in the human world, but it''s not the same as what''s cultivated in the Wilds. She sighs, realizing that might be one of the few things she will miss unless she can figure out how to access it through a fey trader or something.


    Tallulah opens her eyes and looks upwards at the ceiling. She suddenly laughs, openly and loudly, seeing the mural that''s been added overhead. It''s a very large recreation¨Cdone well¨Cof Theodor von Holst''s The Fairy Lovers according to a little placard. Clearly, that''s been added in the last few nights for her benefit, as maybe some weird version of vampire humor again. She laughs again at the absurdity of it all. She went from living simply and being happy to being pulled to an unfamiliar and somewhat hostile land, getting punched in the jaw, watching associates get slain, wooed by a vampire, and now sitting in some almost-palatial suite waiting on some tailor and stylist to come and gussy her up for something later tonight. It truly is preposterous when she thinks about it in that way.


    She will completely understand when the inevitable dark looks start to come from her people still resting outside in the stables-turned-residence. Tallulah sighs, suddenly feeling a bit deflated. How is she going to explain this to them? Some might understand that she''s doing it so they can be returned safely to their village and homes, but others will accuse her of losing her way or being manipulated against her good sense.


    Maybe it doesn''t matter what they think at all, Tallulah muses. It''s not like they stepped forward when those vampires advanced with guns and fangs. It''s not like they got cold-clocked for trying to stop violence. What were they doing? Crying? Hiding? So what if a few of them think she''s doing all this now for herself? Maybe part of her is, and Tallulah realizes with some growing degree of acceptance that perhaps she''s fine with it. She earned her right to change, and she''s put in her time and life.


    Tallulah is fine with trying something new.

 012; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 10.2: The Full Moon

    Left to mull over her thoughts, desires, and wishes, the time before others return seems to happen in a flash. Knocks on the door quickly turn into a flood of people entering the room. Apparently, it''s a whole event to get prepared for whatever she''s being prepared for, and she finds herself being pulled into the suite''s bathroom and assisted in being cleaned up. She almost draws the line there for a moment but then clamps it down internally, instead allowing this whole new environment to manifest. The new people introduce themselves, but with a whirlwind of names and faces, Tallulah quickly forgets as soon as they leave the room. The stylist shoos others as they finish aiding, and slowly, the numbers of people dwindle to the tailor, the stylist, and an assistant.


    Standing there, naked as the day she was found and adopted in the Wilds, Tallulah doesn''t feel ashamed. She doesn''t feel anything like she would usually feel; this is a new world for her, and she''s bound and determined to make the most of it. Tallulah keeps silent outside of the basic conversation, mostly revolving around quick adjustments. The three aides chatter to each other in their own fabric and textile lingo, and before too long, Tallulah finds herself having makeup brushed on, dressed, and wearing proper shoes for the emerald evening gown they''ve chosen for her. With a couple of somewhat excited handclaps, the stylist gushes that she looks absolutely perfect, though the tailor grouses about how they could have done more if they''d had more time.


    Tallulah moves to stand in front of one of the large mirrors within the room and slowly turns to view herself. The stylist and her assistant stand there like proud parents watching a baby''s first steps. Her long and silvery gray hair is braided ornately, with tiny woven flowers carefully placed here and there to accent the work done. The makeup has shaved at least ten years from her looks and is done to be regal and elegant while positively enhancing her thin bone structure. The gown is a vivid emerald green¨Cover top of a shape-maintaining undergarment corset¨Cwith the gold embellishments the stylist earlier dictated must happen. They did do a good job, she realizes, tilting her head this way and that as she gazes upon someone she isn''t sure she even knows: herself.


    A knock at the door draws all of their attention, and the tailor quickly makes his way over to open it. Micah allows himself in, and the trio of stylists, with her assistant and the tailor, all politely exit the room, their jobs done for the night. For a moment, Micah stops and looks at Tallulah, and she can tell that he did not expect the transformation to be so successful with her. She offers him a little smile, which seems to shake him out of the near-stare he had adopted.


    "Ah, hello again¨C" Micah clears his throat, as his voice was a little weak initially, "¨CApologies, hello again, Miss Tallulah. Are you ready for me to accompany you?"


    "Yes. But, before we go, where are we going?"


    Micah hesitates, clearly unsure if he''s supposed to share the answer to Tallulah''s question, which is very likely why he has been cagey about it all evening. Tallulah tilts her head, giving her most innocent look, almost begging him without words to share what he knows.


    "Eh¡­" There''s a long pause before Micah finally continues speaking, "The house is holding court tonight, as with every full moon. The basic overview is that many attend to socialize, trade information, make deals, and¨Cif necessary¨Creaffirm their loyalty to the house. Er, among other things."


    Tallulah furrows her brow, not understanding why he didn''t say that earlier if that''s all. She tilts her head questioningly.


    "That''s all? You made it seem like it was a gathering of some secret society or something."


    "Well, I mean, technically, it is."


    "I guess you''re right." She laughs outright.


    "Right. Are you ready to go, Miss Tallulah?" Micah doesn''t return the laugh; he doesn''t seem to share her comedy with it at all.


    "As ready as I''ll ever be, I suppose. These shoes are going to bother me after a while, though, I think."


    "I don''t think you''ll be worried about your shoes for too long."


    Tallulah narrows her eyes at that ominous-sounding line, and as she walks towards Micah, she maintains the suspicious look, though she doesn''t say anything else.


    He holds open the door for her, then allows it to close behind them. As they walk through the halls, she sees that there isn''t the same amount of vampires littered about here and there¨Cin fact, she doesn''t see any. This time, Micah leads her up some of the homestead''s sweeping steps to the second floor and guides her into the same hallway that leads to those beautiful oversized carved wooden double doors. There are two vampires, one on either side of the door, holding positions with open guns slung across their chests. She recognizes both of them: one is Rhys, the stocky, all-American-looking young man. The other is the extraordinarily plain-looking Vincent, though it took her a few moments to remember his name.


    Micah slows to a stop a few paces from the pair of vampires and nods his head to them.


    "Miss Tallulah is here as requested by the house."


    Rhys speaks up for the pair of them in response to Micah.


    "We''ll take it from here."Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Tallulah is slightly surprised at Rhys'' brush-off and clipped tone for Micah. She turns her head a little to look at Micah''s face as he starts to back away and move back down the hall now that he''s been dismissed. He''s pretty unreadable, which makes her think this is just a typical interaction for him. What a strange hierarchy! She realizes that no matter the station of Micah with the other guards or that he''s seemingly "in line" to be turned into a vampire, he''s still treated as if you would no-name help. Rhys speaking again draws her attention back to the present.


    "Miss Tallulah, it''s good to see you''ve settled into your new situation so well."


    There doesn''t sound to be sarcasm in his words, so she offers him a little smile in response. Rhys continues speaking once he''s gained that reaction from Tallulah.


    "There are a few simple rules before you head inside. One, you do not approach the house unless you are called on to do so. Two, no open violence is allowed on these premises tonight. Three, don''t engage with¨Cor interrupt¨Cthe servants as they attend to their duties, no matter what those duties are."


    "That seems pretty straightforward."


    "Yes, of course; just remember your three rules, Miss Tallulah."


    Her three rules? Does that mean there are rules for others present? She wants to ask but doesn''t get the chance as Rhys leans over with Vincent, and they both open the double doors that lead to the ballroom.


    As Tallulah steps past the two and into the ballroom, she is shocked at the number of people inside. Easily thirty to forty vampires of all shades, shapes, and sizes. There are animals on leashes, people on leashes, two individuals in cages completely without clothes¨Cone painted like a red bird and the other a blue bird¨Cand others of varying degrees of nakedness being used as actual chairs or benches to be sat on. There are even some beautiful tropical birds that are allowed to rest on perches. Despite herself, she blurts out a laugh as she realizes that the absurdity of her whole situation continues. As a servant walks past her naked, yet painted like a peacock, with an impressive plumage of feathers spreading outwards from an anchor point in his back end, she realizes it''s all some degree of madness, and all she can do is laugh along with it. The doors are closed behind her, and a few vampires inside turn to look at her with fanged grins and open amusement.


    Past all of the absurdity, excess, and, in some cases, open debauchery sit those three chairs from the first night she was summoned to speak to Kofi. Outside of people being used as furniture, those three chairs¨Cornate and imposing as they are¨Care still the only sitting furniture in the ballroom. This time, Kofi is not in the center chair but in the left-most chair. In the center is a man who looks to be in his late forties, with faint graying along his temples and peppering of gray throughout his relatively long mustache and goatee. His piercing green eyes shift without purpose over the room, and somehow, Tallulah knows that this man is the most important in this room. In the right-most chair rests a woman, who could be carved from alabaster with her pale skin so smooth and perfect as it is. She has dark black locks of hair, curled elegantly in waves that spill down over her bare shoulders. She is slender but healthily proportionate, a true classical beauty that would turn men''s and women''s hearts regardless of age or time period. Her dark eyes seem to be paying attention to some antics with one of the caged servants.


    Kofi, resting in the left chair, is the only one of the three that settles his eyes on Tallulah as she arrives. She offers him a very slight smile, which isn''t reciprocated in the slightest. He watches her with a stone-faced look for only a few moments before pointedly looking away towards something else. Tallulah feels a little crestfallen, though she isn''t entirely sure why, and decides instead to start moving further into the ballroom so she isn''t just standing next to the doors like an idiot with no idea of what to do.


    As she drifts through the opulent room, she hears murmurs and chatter from the vampires behind her, pointing her out and designating her as "the faerie," as if she doesn''t have her own damned name! A servant comes up to her, offering a glass of what looks to be a bubbling glass of champagne. Scooping one glass off the provided tray, she starts to thank the servant, but they''re already moving away from her just as soon as she takes the glass. Her eyes follow the servant, and she sees him move over to a small table for the servers. He puts down the tray of champagne and instead picks up one of the trays holding glasses filled with a slightly viscous dark red liquid. Blood, she realizes, and the servant only pointedly brought champagne to her rather than anyone else in the room. Suddenly, Tallulah feels very, very alone and isolated.


    Trying to stave off the feeling of being a rabbit in the middle of a wolf den, she attempts to appear nonchalant when she sips the champagne in her glass. Immediately she has to resist the urge to suck in her lips to her teeth¨Cshe forgot how bitter some liquors are¨Cthough she''s sure the champagne in question is of "the finest quality." Disgusted by the taste in her mouth, she tries to find somewhere to shed the glass without it being obvious. When no place jumps out at her, she carefully walks over to one of the kneeling servants acting as a bench and carefully sets down the pretty much still full glass of champagne next to the half-naked man.


    "Sorry," she murmurs before standing back up. The man only slightly turns his head, but he doesn''t lock eyes with her at all, and the movement is so minimal that she only sees it because she is looking.


    With her hands free of holding anything, she folds them loosely in front of her while moving throughout the room. She isn''t shocked by anything inside; being a creature of moon ascendance, she''s been to some pretty bizarre engagements and over-the-top parties in her time, but she is surprised at how open and unconcerned all of the visitors seem to be. Blood is drunk from glasses¨Cand from servants here and there¨Claughter, both genuine and biting, fills the air, and all through it sit the three in the chairs, unmoving save for their eyes, emotionless expressions on their faces.


    A man wearing a sharp suit with no adornments steps out from one of the three doors behind the three chairs and makes his way next to the seated woman of classical beauty. He kneels next to her so she doesn''t have to move her dark-haired head and murmurs something into her ear. She inclines her head once, and at that, the man steps back a few paces. He clears his throat, and bizarrely, when he does so, the entire room goes silent a moment or two later. Tallulah looks left and right, then steps back a few steps so that she''s next to one of the bear-adorned marble pillars.


    As the room quiets down, the man speaks formally as though he were announcing someone before royalty.


    "Mister Benjamin Stanton wishes to bring his grievance against Mister Charles Saint Claire before the liege lord. The liege lord has accepted the request to hear the grievance tonight. Misters, please step forward before your liege lord who will adjudicate the dispute."

 013; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 10.3: The Disobedience

    So, is this ballroom party also some courtroom? She supposes that Micah did mention "court" earlier when she pressed him. Tallulah shakes her head, not at all understanding vampires. The two involved vampires¨C"Benjamin" and "Charles"¨Cmake their way in front of everyone and stand on either side of the ornate bear inlay on the floor in front of Kofi and the other two seated vampires. Tallulah turns her head slightly as a couple of the vampires near her start whispering about the two vampires seeking a resolution to their issue. She gathers from their quick little quips that this is some long-term ordeal brought up once before. Apparently, the fact that it''s being brought up again is so tedious. As one of the two in the center of the room starts to speak, Tallulah returns her attention to the spectacle at hand.


    "Thank you for hearing my concern, your Graces. As you well know, I have dutifully maintained the health and virility of the hunting grounds you have granted me over the last decade. During such time in Asheville, I have worked tirelessly to expand the house''s holdings and press forward the house''s goals as have been outlined to me."


    The man continues for a few minutes, droning on about how important he''s been to helping the city''s tourism and bringing in visitors. Apparently, this is a top priority for vampires, as it makes it easy to hunt and feed on people who are only passing through on vacations or business trips. She finds all the self-aggrandizing chatter dull, so while that continues for those few minutes, she studies the vampires all standing about in the ballroom¨Cmany whispering amongst themselves and a few even peering back at her with looks of curiosity.


    "¡­Which brings me to the issue I''ve decided to request your judgment on tonight. Mister Saint Claire, yet again, allows his entire brood to hunt without permission at many of the bars and lounges in the downtown area of Asheville. No matter the warning, no matter how many times they have been policed by my marshal, no matter the dictate from the house to maintain their numbers, the Saint Claire brood continues to defy all."


    Finally, the man comes to an end, silence reigning for a long set of moments. Kofi, the mustached man, and the alabaster-skinned beauty watch the two men standing before them. None of the three move or prompt the other vampire to speak. After those few silent seconds, the only movement from the three seated vampires is that the woman taps one nail a few times on the armrest of her chair. Tallulah looks around, trying to decide if that action is some signal, but she shakes her head a little when no one does anything or moves. Finally, the second of the two men spoke up, drawing Tallulah''s attention back to the ordeal in question.


    "Your Graces, I appreciate the opportunity to be heard. Mister Stanton is, of course, exaggerating and misrepresenting the situation. As many of you are aware, I was given exclusive rights for two years for myself and those I have made into the ''Saint Claire brood''¨Cas Mister Stanton so called us¨Cto hunt in the district which Mister Stanton is seemingly keen to pretend is off-limits to us. During such time¡­"


    And on and on it goes. Now Tallulah realizes why those vampires beside her called this whole thing between them so tedious. She also remembers that Kofi mentioned his nights as mostly "settling unimportant and uninteresting disputes of land, property or feeding areas," and now she can see why. Here the vampires are, having a get-together with people in bird cages, folks pretending to be furniture and other party favors, and you have these two clowns who can''t seem to handle their own business elsewhere.


    "We have heard enough."


    Those four words uttered by the man sitting in the center chair ended everything¨Ceven the whispers about the ballroom. He spoke with a clear and present classical "southern" accent, seemingly not even interested in masking it like some of the other vampires had trained themselves to do.


    "This is the second time the two of you have disputed in front of your house in the last six full moons. The first time, we dictated that you would handle it between yourselves. As that has seemingly been too complex for either of you to manage, we will see to it as requested."


    The man shifts his head slightly, murmuring to the woman beside him. Kofi also turns his head, seemingly able to hear the murmur being shared between the three. The woman tilts her head ever so slightly, her nails no longer tapping on her chair''s armrest. Once that gesture occurred, the man in the center chair continued speaking in his smooth, genteel, and clear Southern voice.


    "One of the duties of our territory proprietors is to make sure that our laws and dictates are enforced. Some might say that is their primary directive at night''s end."


    Tallulah''s eyes shift over the different vampires, trying to take in faces and catalog them in her memory for later. She realizes there are too many, though, and there is no way she will remember them all. She does see Christina, though, dressed in a fine floor-length gown of cornflower blue¨Cnothing like the guard outfit and military style of dress she''d seen the vampire in prior. Christina is standing a few good paces away from Kofi''s side of the seating arrangement, with a good-looking man bent over and, Tallulah assumes, whispering into her ear.


    "With that directive being of the utmost importance to the stability of our house, our judgment is simple. We no longer recognize Benjamin Stanton''s claim to the downtown area of Asheville. Our grant of two years of rights to hunt in the downtown center of Asheville is sacrosanct, and none¨Csave those who challenge our word¨Cmay halt its fulfillment."


    Stanton, clearly being dressed down by the southern-mustached man, maintains his silence while standing still. Saint Claire, Tallulah is surprised to see, does not seemingly gloat. She quickly realizes, though, that this is not a victory for either of them.


    "That said, our grant was for Charles Saint Claire and his brood, current to the time of the grant, to be allowed to hunt that territory. Mister Saint Claire, how many have you turned since that grant was made official?"


    The man clears his throat before speaking.


    "Six, your Graces."


    "Six?"


    "Yes, your Graces."


    "You have turned six additional individuals into draugar in the past year, Mister Saint Claire?"


    "Yes, your Graces."


    The black-haired, alabaster-skinned woman blurts out a laugh. It is mirthless and sarcastic. She finally speaks shortly thereafter, and her voice is like a quiet murmur of satin, silk, and promises of infinite enjoyment.


    "That makes you the most prolific draugar in our territory, exceeding even our numbers. Were you granted permission to expand your reach in such a way, Mister Saint Claire?"Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    "No, your Graces."


    There is some murmuring around the ballroom; Tallulah looks left and right, trying to pick up snippets of the sudden conversations piping up here and there. From what she can tell, this is a big deal, and she is left to assume the reason: it can be a challenge of authority. The southern gentleman speaks once again, in his mild and relaxed manner, as if he were commenting on the weather of the evening and not adjudicating a matter of someone''s well-being.


    "You will choose six of your scions and end their existence."


    "But, your Graces, this was allowed by your laws! You told us to choose wisely and grow our house!"


    The room is silent, and some of the vampires standing closest to the two¨Cin front of the southern man, the alabaster-carved woman, and Kofi¨Ccasually and yet quickly move to a different location. The woman tilts her head ever so slightly, and the sweet, silky tone she was using just before hardens into something much more dangerous.


    "We are aware of our laws and dictates; we do not require these affectations and wailing about tonight''s adjudication. You will see to it tonight."


    "I will do no such thing; I have followed the laws of your house dutifully since my arrival¨C"


    The man doesn''t get a chance to finish his sentence. In the split second that Tallulah has blinked her eyes in surprise at the vampire''s dissent, Kofi has moved to be right in front of the man¨Chis hand is already through the center of the man''s chest and out of his back, gripping Saint Claire''s heart with taloned claws in a ferocious and mind-numbingly fast action. Instead of the gasps that Tallulah expected to hear, there''s¡­ laughter. Lots of laughter, which started from one side of the ballroom and spread throughout the rest of the room in short order. Saint Claire has just long enough to look down at the hand and arm through his chest and back up at the steely eyes of Kofi with a look of utter betrayal before his body starts to ash away, leaving nothing but dirty and dusty clothing in front of Kofi not but a few seconds later.


    The other man, managing to guard his emotions even with the violence that happened two feet from him and the cacophony of laughter in the ballroom, simply clears his throat before speaking, though he has the slightest nervous tenor.


    "Thank you for your judgment, your Graces."


    The woman absently waves a hand, dismissing Stanton from in front of the three of them. Kofi gestures at a servant, who immediately walks over to him. After a few moments of wiping off his hand and suit jacket''s arm of the viscera and ash from the man previously known as "Saint Claire," Kofi returns to where he was formerly seated. The same servant quickly cleans up the floor of the pile of dusty ash and empty clothing.


    The vampires immediately return to their ballroom behavior, as if the entire event was just an intermission between the night''s festivities. Though she''s shocked and curious about what just happened, Tallulah is also confused about the power dynamic in the room. She''d thought Kofi was the leader of the vampires here, but apparently, he''s not. Or is he? But there are two others who are similarly able? It''s quite confusing, and instead of minding where she keeps her attention, she winds up staring at the three seated vampires while she tries to figure it out.


    Some of the evening''s events seem to be getting a little more risque, and though it doesn''t make her blush, she does not particularly want to be volunteered "accidentally" to participate. She moves away from a trio of vampires who have unlocked the cage to the naked man painted as a red bird and have gone on to use him as both a dinner meal and an object of sexual gratification. As she moves away from them, she drifts closer to the only other vampire she recognizes in the room, save Kofi. As she draws nearer to Christina, the woman watches her with a very vaguely apprehensive look.


    "Hello, Christina."


    Christina momentarily flicks her eyes toward Kofi, who is seemingly occupied watching a vampire walk one of the servants on a leash through some of the grassy patches designed in the ballroom''s flooring. When Kofi doesn''t seem to be paying attention, only then does Christina return Tallulah''s greeting.


    "Hello, Miss Tallulah. Enjoying yourself?"


    "Ah, I''m not sure."


    "I''d imagine you''re feeling very out of sorts."


    "This isn''t the first time I''ve been to a party with some fucked up nonsense going on, but it''s the first time I''ve seen one of your kind die."


    Christina pauses slightly before she carefully responds.


    "It is harder to maintain control than to grasp it suddenly. Sometimes strength must be shown."


    "Yeah, I think it was pretty clearly shown."


    "You''d be surprised how things work. Saint Claire''s scions won''t be happy when they learn of his death."


    "Concerned?"


    Tallulah looks over at the inlay of the great bear on the floor, where minutes before, she watched that vampire be slain without finishing his sentence. Christina follows her gaze but doesn''t respond right away other than with a simple shoulder shrug that suggests she isn''t at all concerned.


    The man next to her, who she thought was whispering in Christina''s ear earlier, tilts his head back down and touches his lips to the side of her neck, just above one of the ornate tattoos that show on her exposed skin. Tallulah purses her lips and casually looks away, momentarily looking at the caged woman painted as a blue bird. When she gazes back, she realizes the man is biting Christina, drinking little droplets of her blood sensually. Tallulah isn''t quite sure how to react; it''s almost like walking in on someone having relations with another, but at the same time, it''s open and¡­ isn''t. If Christina registers Tallulah''s discomfort, she doesn''t show it. The beautiful dark-skinned woman, with her braided hair and flawless face, momentarily closes her eyes¨CChristina''s enjoyment of her partner''s actions apparent.


    "Ah, you''re busy, so I''ll, you know, leave you to it."


    "Hmm?" Christina groggily opens her eyes a fraction, settling them on Tallulah.


    "Enjoy your night, Christina."


    "I will; you should, too."


    Tallulah slowly backs away from Christina and the handsome yet pallid man who didn''t bother introducing himself. She realizes this must be the party period where it starts getting to be "that time" of the night. Again, she''d seen this sort of thing before, but it was a fey ordeal in a city, and this was a little different. As Tallulah is looking for another pillar to hold up, a servant with dried rivulets of blood on the left side of her neck approaches, offering Tallulah a glass of champagne again. This time, she declines, but she snags what looks like a tiny cookie from the woman''s serving tray. As the woman domestic moves away, Tallulah nibbles at the treat. It''s too good of a pastry: a few bites later, and it''s gone. She was thinking about tracking down another when the room goes quiet again, and she looked to see what was drawing attention this time.


    She sees it''s the rise of the three seated vampires that has caused the interruption in all activities¨Ceven the more open displays of fornication. All three of them move behind their chairs and step through one of the three doors held open by a guard. Kofi pauses beside the guard and murmurs something before following the other two vampires. Once the door is closed behind them, the guard weaves through the ballroom, ignoring the return to debauchery that immediately starts up again. He focuses on Tallulah and indeed stops next to her.


    "Miss Tallulah, the house would like to invite you to their private parlor."


    "Okay, sure, lead the way?" Tallulah replies without much hesitation.


    The guard turns and moves ahead of her towards the doors in question without giving Tallulah an expression to read. She follows behind, her emerald gown flowing faintly behind her as she moves. She gains more than a few looks¨Csome of them interested, some simply unreadable, some hungry, and some even lecherous¨Cbut nevertheless, she continues after the guard. Tallulah understands now why she was dolled up as she was; the "house" wanted her to be seen so that she could also be seen being called to their side in front of the large gathering. As he opens the first security door just ahead of her, she sees that all three doors open to a marble-lined hallway lined with paintings and busts. She brushes her hand over her own shoulder, momentarily touching her braided silvery gray hair, with its flowers woven in it expertly.

 014; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 11.1: The Wilds Wine

    The guard pulls closed the door behind Tallulah with a hiss, and the click of the security locking mechanism kicks in. He rapidly moves to retake the lead, and before long, they have moved beyond the hallway into an open area of a parlor, which isn''t tiny, but it also isn''t the massive expanse that the ballroom is. Inside the parlor are the three vampires, all with drinks in their hands, and a few others in the room that weren''t in the ballroom, though several of them seem to be guards or servants in varying states of undress.


    "Hello, Miss Tallulah." The warm voice of Kofi drifts to her ears, and even though she just watched him murder a man not ten minutes prior, she finds herself with a growing smile on her painted lips.


    "Hello, Mister Freeman. Your full moon night''s festivities are¡­ interesting."


    "Yes, they can be." He drinks from the dark ruby liquid in his glass before facing the southern gentleman and the unbelievably beautiful woman, who looks almost carved and sculpted from alabaster with hair the color of a reafan''s.


    "Allow me to introduce Miss Tallulah formally." The two settle their eyes on Tallulah, and it is almost like she can feel its weight.


    "Miss Tallulah, this is Percival de Burgh, my Maker."


    The man sets down his glass and walks across the floor smoothly to stand beside Tallulah. She is surprised that he''s a relatively short man, about the same height as she is in her heels. For some reason, his presence in the other room made it seem as though he''d be much taller. He offers his hand in her direction, and when Tallulah places it in his like she''s seen done in movies, he leans forward and touches his lips to a knuckle primly. His hand, like Kofi''s, is pure ice in temperature. Once the greeting has taken place, he releases Tallulah''s hand. His facial hair is so meticulously groomed that even this close to "Percival," she can''t see one hair on his mustache or goatee out of place.


    "A pleasure, truly, Miss Tallulah. I must admit, you look quite lovely. I am pleased that you agreed to our offer." His southern speaking flows like water; she could see how one could be lulled into a false sense of passivity.


    There it is, she realizes; Kofi made an agreement with her, but she didn''t know she was making an agreement with them at the same time. Now it makes so much more sense to her why Kofi and others were using "we"¨Cthe royal we, as some people call it¨Cor plurals when talking about the leadership of the vampire group. Some part of her boils internally at what she feels is a trick or misrepresentation. Instead of letting it show, she forces herself to smile a fraction at the man.


    "I''m glad that it pleases you."


    The woman drifts closer, seemingly with no effort at all.


    "Miss Tallulah, this is Selena Conghal, my older sibling."


    Instead of reaching forward with a hand, the woman comes within an inch of Tallulah, close enough to smell the perfume that "Selena" has chosen for the evening. She places a simple kiss on Tallulah''s left and right cheeks. It isn''t a simple peck that you see would-be socialites attempting on television, but a practiced gesture that is long enough for the coldness of Selena''s skin and lips to radiate away from where Tallulah was touched and also short enough to be perfectly polite.


    "It is so good to meet you finally, darling. Kofi has shared his excitement about you with us."


    The woman doesn''t step back, so Tallulah awkwardly smiles in response.


    "I''m glad that he has spoken so highly of me."


    The woman''s dark eyes gaze over Tallulah''s face, stopping momentarily at the crow''s feet on her facial features¨Ceven as covered as they are by makeup. She raises her glass a few inches in her hand and takes a sip.


    "Oh, but our manners. Would you like something to drink? Or eat? Or¡­ partake in? We want you to be nothing but comfortable while you stay under our protection." Tallulah manages to breathe out a half-laugh. It isn''t loud, as Selena is still unreasonably close, and Tallulah is trying not to appear uncomfortable at the proximity.


    "Thank you. If I''m honest, I''d rather sit down. It''s been a long time since I''ve worn heels; our gatherings aren''t normally so glossy."


    For some reason, that seems to strike the woman as absolutely hilarious. Her facial expression shifts from placid and pleasantly indifferent to one hundred percent amused instantly.


    "Aren''t you a dear. Yes, of course, let''s all sit down. Sometimes, we forget that the living can wind up in discomfort that we no longer deal with."


    Tallulah momentarily glances at Kofi¨Cwho looks pleased at Selena''s amusement¨Cbefore moving to follow the woman vampire towards a set of lush lounges. As Selena sits down, she snaps her fingers once, and a servant hurriedly comes over and kneels next to her.


    "Fetch our guest Miss Tallulah whatever she wishes, drink or food, or other ingestibles if she prefers it."


    As Tallulah moves to sit down, she tries to put a few feet between Selena and herself, but Kofi settles down where Tallulah was intending to sit, forcing Tallulah to sit right in the middle of the pair. The southern gentleman vampire, Percival, seems more interested in conversing with a different vampire on the other side of the room and has departed to do that. The servant looks up at Tallulah questioningly and she hesitates, unsure what to say to the domestic.


    "Oh, come now, don''t be shy, Miss Tallulah. Whatever you''d like. Would you rather he massage your feet?"This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Tallulah opens her mouth to answer but doesn''t manage it before Selena continues. She snaps her fingers, and the servant immediately slides a few feet across the floor and takes off Tallulah''s beautiful heels.


    "Er¨Cuh¨Cthank you." Awkwardly, Tallulah thanks both the servant and Selena simultaneously, even though she can''t hide her discomfort at someone just being ordered to start rubbing and massaging her feet in front of everyone else. Kofi laughs a little under his breath.


    "I think you''re embarrassing Miss Tallulah, Selena. She''s not used to this sort of thing; apparently, in the ''Wilds,'' they mainly keep to simple things."


    Selena tilts her head slightly to the side, like a curious cat.


    "She doesn''t look embarrassed, Kofi. I think your Tallulah has seen a few things in her time, haven''t you?"


    With the change of position, losing her heels, gaining a foot massager, and being between two vampires both trying to talk and get her to respond almost simultaneously, Tallulah finds herself a little overwhelmed, to say the least. Selena points a hand at one of the other standing-at-the-ready domestics, then gestures at a small bar with liquors on it, specifically an unmarked, corked blue bottle. The woman immediately moves to pouring a drink from that unmarked bottle.


    "Not too many things can make me blush if I''m honest with you both."


    If Selena could get even more amused, it would be surprising. Her painted lips twist in what might be a genuinely entertained smile, finally made complete from the faintest showing of her fangs'' tips.


    "Oh, now you''ve done it," Kofi smirks, then looks down and shakes his head ever so slightly while speaking his amused-sounding line.


    "Oh, scandalous. Miss Tallulah, I am thoroughly interested in your people. I don''t want to bore you all night with questions, but I absolutely must know: would you say that you''re more or less of the night than our kind?"


    "Both." Tallulah murmurs in response without really thinking before speaking.


    The servant massaging Tallulah''s feet moves from one side to the other when he''s nudged by Selena''s foot. As the space is being made, the woman servant who was directed to pour a drink makes her way over with glass in hand. Selena takes it from the woman¨Cand the domestic immediately moves away¨Cbefore leaning over slightly and holding it out to Tallulah.


    "Both? Oh, don''t make me pry."


    Tallulah takes the offered drink without hesitation and raises it to her lips for a little sip. After the sip, she startles a bit at the taste and lowers her eyes to the glass she''s holding in front of her lips. Amusedly, Selena leans towards Tallulah as if she were about to share a confidential secret. She murmurs just above a whisper.


    "We have people who can specially procure things in supernatural marketplaces. After you accepted our offer the other night, we ensured you would have something familiar to celebrate with. Hopefully, your Wilds'' wine is as good as the price the vendor charged us for it."


    Selena''s lips are brushing the silvery gray wisps of hair around Tallulah''s ear by the end of the whisper. Selena''s close and cool breath while she speaks doesn''t distract Tallulah, because her insides are already singing from the infused magical wine mixture she''s only had once before in her entire life. She closes her deep and vivid green eyes slowly for a few moments too long, sinking backward into the plush sofa with a little shiver. As she sinks back into comfort, taking another drink of the intoxicating elixir in her glass, she mutedly accepts that this almost feels like drowning in indulgence.


    "Mmm. They must have charged you a lot. It''s ah, delicious."


    With half-lidded eyes, she can see the fanged smiles of both Kofi and Selena. Yet, for some reason, she doesn''t feel threatened. Instead, she feels protected, welcomed even, and for once seen. Kofi raises his cold hand¨Cmuch like he did the night she still had the bruise across her face¨Cand uses his thumb to slowly trace Tallulah''s collarbone up to the side of her neck and along her jawline closest to him. Selena, still so close that her cold breath can move wisps of hair on Tallulah''s braids and tickle the soft skin of her ear, seems more than keen to converse while Tallulah willingly intoxicates herself.


    "Lucky for us, we''re very capable of maintaining a level of quality that others can only dream of. Now tell me, Tallulah¨C" Tallulah, still sipping the inebriating liquid, doesn''t register the lack of ''Miss'' prefacing her name. "¨CWhat did you mean when you said your kind can be both more of the night and less than us?"


    Tallulah inhales slowly, almost too long, then exhales comfortably through her lips. Far in the back of her mind, some part is screaming alarmingly at her about what she''s doing. It warns about the vampires surrounding her, their beauty, their ability to disarm her, the fact that they might genuinely be using their supernatural crafts on her even now, and even her wanting to stay with them. The voice in her mind, growing increasingly muted by the second that passes, is strangled into temporary silence by Tallulah raising the glass again to her lips and, this time, drinking the rest of its heaven down. As the sensation of the Wilds'' most pure and distilled rivers of energy passes through her veins, spreading outwards from her chest, that voice of warning and self-protection is silent. Tallulah smiles at Selena.


    "I''ll make sure to tell you about my kind, their kind," she says with a nod towards the window outside, "and the others¡­" Tallulah blinks a couple of times, struggling to form a complete sentence even though in her mind it''s there; it just refuses to translate through spoken word. "This drink. Is very strong."


    "Uh oh. I would have said we''d hang on every word, dear. But it seems your words are failing you." Painted lips slightly part next to Tallulah''s earlobe, and she can hear the faintest sound of Selena very clearly scenting the side of her throat.


    "Hmm, this wine you''ve gotten¡­ it''s¡­ I''ve¨C"


    Some of her mind understands that she can''t even focus her words into sentences without extreme effort, let alone answer Selena''s question about being of the night. The magical liquor Tallulah has imbibed pleasantly warms her veins, making her moon-guided energy sing and want to be used. Kofi leans in toward the delicate skin of Tallulah''s shoulder and neck. His hand drops away from her jawline, and his lips, parted by fanged teeth, take its place.


    "May I, Tallulah?"


    It takes a moment to register what exactly he''s asking. Days in the past, some part of her would have hesitated or even said to get away, but tonight, she does not feel that way at all. Instead, she feels a warm, radiating sense of desire and feeling somewhere in her chest that tells her these two won''t be harming her.


    "Yes, Kofi."


    "Lovely."


    "Do I have your trust, Tallulah?" Selena''s cool breath brushes against her earlobe again.


    "I¡­ alright." She murmurs, unsure if she trusts either of them, but some dull thrumming inside of her seems to want her very much to. It''s a hard-to-resist feeling, especially now that the Wilds'' wine is singing through her.

 015; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 11.2: The Velvet Glove

    The supposed southern gentleman, Percival de Burgh, watches his two housemates toying with their food indifferently. He murmurs to the other vampire beside him, speaking in their Draugar language.


    "I wonder how long Selena will let Kofi keep this one."


    The other vampire¨Ca young-looking woman with bright blonde ringlets of hair¨Claughs softly as if it''s a running joke. She makes sure to respond in the same secretive language.


    "It''s almost unfair, your Grace. But I think they might keep this one a little longer than average¨Cit''s like a pitch-black wolf in a litter of normal ones. You must admit that something is alluring about keeping the unique and special."


    Percival inclines his head in acknowledgment of the woman''s words. He glances over the woman next to him like one would inspect the quality of meat or fruits. Perhaps she''s an acceptable company for him in the future.


    "Miss, you were introduced to me by your maker, and yet I''ve foolishly forgotten what you prefer to be addressed as."


    The woman doesn''t even hesitate.


    "Calliope Hollis. But, if you wish, just Calliope is fine."


    "Calliope, then. Would you care to walk the grounds with me?"


    The young vampire jumps at the chance, maybe not realizing that, much like Tallulah, she''s being sucked into the orbit of the three vampires in control of the house of vampires. As Percival and Calliope depart, Tallulah barely registers it.


    The kneeled servant continues carefully, ensuring Tallulah''s feet and calves are covered every inch in soothing massaged skin. With Selena''s lips tracking on the opposite from Kofi''s, Tallulah is truly moments away from being overwhelmed with sensation. Kofi pauses just above the jugular, and Tallulah tenses ever so slightly. Almost as if it were anticipated, Selena casually lifts the glass away from Tallulah''s hand and sets it aside, but she doesn''t release Tallulah''s hand. Instead, she raises Tallulah''s arm to her mouth and presses her lips along the underside of Tallulah''s arm until she, too, is placed above the ulnar vein. When Kofi bites down, piercing Tallulah''s skin without effort, Selena sinks her fangs into the faerie at the same time. The sensation of being pinched and bitten in two separate places at once makes Tallulah writhe between the pair of vampires. For the two vampires, having willing fey blood straight from the vein is one of the rarest things in the world, and they sup and savor with the same sort of reverence that a death row inmate puts into choosing his last meal. While Tallulah exists in bliss, the two vampires digest only a few sips of the potent and inebriated blood of the faerie in their grasp.


    Before too long, as they don''t want to damage the goods, the two vampires pull themselves away, using their tongues to close the wounds inflicted by their fangs. They don''t even take quite enough to give either of them a life-like look. For them, the magic starts while Tallulah rests in a state of both near-ecstasy and near-slumber from the unique liquor and now sudden blood loss. Selena leans past Tallulah, knowing the fey can''t likely move just yet, and she brushes her bloody lips over Kofi''s face along the bear-inflicted scars on his chin. Kofi immediately returns the kiss, smearing some little bit of Tallulah''s blood across Selena''s red lips and further down, across the alabaster skin of her chin.


    "I believe¨C" Selena murmurs to Kofi in their shared vampiric language, dragging her red lips and tips of fangs just lightly across his smooth, dark skin. "¨Cyou''ve picked a lovely one for us. I can feel the world around us, the beams of the moon¨Cevery part of you."


    Kofi doesn''t initially respond, letting the smooth rolling sensation of Tallulah''s blood both enliven him and make him aware of the moon and everything nearby touched by its light. It''s a cold yet refreshing feeling, different from the feeling that other sips of fey blood have given him. He finally murmurs a response in their language.


    "I believe so, too. Her blood differs from the others we were gifted in those bottles years ago."


    Selena responds with an "mmm" noise as if remembering it, and she looks over at Tallulah much like one would look at a favored pet¨Cexactly what Kofi said he wouldn''t do. Selena raises one hand and brushes it over Tallulah''s silvery gray braided hair before pulling off the bloom of one of the woven flowers. Tallulah is only partially aware but smiles groggily at Selena and feels no danger. Selena spins and turns around the flower bloom between her index and thumb, then shifts forward and tucks it against Tallulah''s ear on her side. When she speaks again, it''s still in the same vampiric language that they know Tallulah won''t understand.


    "Yes, this is different. The other made us feel like we were in the sun''s warmth. This feels like a walk in a crisp, clear, beautiful night like tonight."


    "She must be one of the moon faeries, and I bet the bottled blood we were gifted was from a sun one."


    And just as smoothly as they slipped into speaking their vampire language, Selena resumes speaking in the same language that Tallulah can understand.


    "I think you''re right, Kofi. We''re lucky that fate brought her here."


    Tallulah smiles, catching exactly the end of the conversation¨Cthe compliment that Selena obviously intended her to catch. Selena leans back from Kofi and slightly from Tallulah.


    "You are special, Tallulah. I believe we''ll have a lot of fun together."


    "I hope so."


    Selena smoothly stands from the lounge sofa and once again pets a hand over Tallulah''s silvery gray braided hair. Tallulah doesn''t seem to be too bothered by it, and indeed, she''s still riding the sensation of having imbibed far too much of Wilds'' wine and having less blood to dilute it in her bloodstream. Selena''s dark eyes seek out Kofi''s, and once again, she speaks in the vampiric language in front of Tallulah.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    "Velvet glove for this one, I think. It''s a shame she''s one of the older ones. Maybe we can keep one of the younger ones just in case."


    Kofi laughs, which Tallulah doesn''t know what about, but seeing him and hearing his smooth voice in laughter feels good to her. She turns ever so slightly to look at him while he continues to speak with Selena in their unique language.


    "Yes, well, she''s the one who wasn''t afraid to step forward. The other ones outdoors seem to be the weak, scared, and basic ones. Perhaps in time, she''ll bring us more like her, and we''ll grow our strength from that¨Cand have good celebratory meals on hand."


    Selena laughs in response to Kofi, then murmurs again in a language Tallulah can understand.


    "You are so bad, Kofi darling. Tallulah, my new love, enjoy the rest of your night. I believe I feel like walking outside for a while. You''ve made me appreciate the moon tonight." Selena moves past Tallulah and traces a fingernail across Kofi''s chest. She leans down to murmur in the old vampiric language beside his ear. "Don''t spend too much time with her. And don''t break her; she''s old and frail. Come and find me when you''re done."


    After her little murmur, Selena breaks contact. She moves away further into the homestead, leaving the room with just Kofi, Tallulah, the servant still massaging her feet, and the one standing dutifully at the wet bar for the parlor. Kofi clears his throat, gathering the attention of both servants and guards.


    "Leave us."


    As expected, the two domestics exit the room as fast as they can without looking like they''re rushing about the homestead. Once they are completely alone again, Tallulah focuses her emerald eyes on Kofi''s dark ones.


    "I was mad at you earlier."


    Kofi shifts his weight slightly, turning towards Tallulah when she starts speaking. He denotes her sluggish manner of speaking¨Cthe slight slurring clearly from the specialty liquor she was served, on top of the effect of blood loss on someone already inebriated. Still, he smiles at her in such a way as to set her to smile in return.


    "Mad? What on earth for?"


    "You didn''t tell me you ruled with two other vampires."


    "I suppose you''re right in that I didn''t. We have ruled together for a¡­ large amount of time now, what comes as second nature to me I sometimes forget is unusual for others and outsiders."


    "Am I an outsider, Kofi?"


    Tallulah leans up from her sunken state on the parlor''s plush sofa, drawing closer to the handsome man with his ornate snake-braided hair. He doesn''t react, nothing like just earlier before he bit her in tandem with Selena. She hesitates but overcomes it by slowly reaching her hand up to touch along one of Kofi''s immaculate braids with her fingertips. He doesn''t draw away from the older fey''s touch.


    "Of course not, you were, but now you are certainly not. Do you know how many jealous vampires you left behind tonight in that ballroom? Their desires and wishes mean nothing; it''s all the same nonsense from month to month. You? You are different. So no, Tallulah, you are not an outsider here."


    "You''ll make me blush if you keep complimenting me like that, Kofi."


    "Too late, I think."


    Tallulah grins a little, which is reciprocated by Kofi almost exactly. He''s not wrong, though, she realizes; she does have a pleasant flush to her cheeks and body. Resolved now that this is what she wants, Tallulah leans forward and presses her lips against the slight smear on his chin caused by Selena. Having killed her internal warning siren earlier, she doesn''t seem to mind much when he stands and offers Tallulah his hand. She places her hand, which was just touching his head, in his and lets him draw her onto her bare feet. He seems to realize she''s not wearing her shoes¨Cbecause of the earlier massaging¨Cand starts to move to pick them up for her.


    "No, Kofi. You can leave them."


    "Oh, I don''t know, you probably don''t want to walk around without¨C"


    "¨CI''m fey, Kofi; we run through the Wilds barefoot all the time. I''m sure I can safely walk around on your fine polished marble and carved stone."


    She steps closer to the man who looks like he could be old enough to be her son but who she knows is far older than she is. She places her free hand on his bare chest since he''s once again elected not to wear a shirt underneath his suit''s jacket, choosing to ignore the numbing cold that radiates from him along her skin. Her fingers trace the three ragged scars marked on him by some bear in the long-lost past. Tallulah takes a few seconds to look at him directly in the eyes before lowering her head and pressing her lips against his dark chest, just underneath his collarbone. Kofi takes the hand he''s already holding and presses his lips to the center of her palm.


    "Do you want to come with me somewhere even more private, Tallulah?"


    The tone of his voice suggests sensualism¨Cthe raw draw of the classic vampire¨Cand Tallulah welcomes it and the spell that she finds herself wrapped up in.


    "Yes, I would like that very much, Kofi." Her voice is soft, nothing like the practiced vampires'' sultry tones, but clear enough in her desire.


    "I''ll have to drink a little more from you to give you what you''d like, but that will sort itself out; I''ll make sure not to take too much."


    "I don''t care if you do."


    He slowly steps back from her, still holding her hand, and moves to walk further into the homestead with Tallulah in tow. They stop next to a suite similar to hers until she realizes it is hers and laughs softly. She reaches over and touches her hand to the security panel, which unlocks the door for them both. She starts inside the room and then pauses, which makes Kofi pause behind her.


    "What did Selena say to you before she left?"


    The abrupt question seems to catch Kofi off guard, but Tallulah, in her mostly inebriated state, is impressed at how quickly he recovers.


    "She gave me her blessing and told me to enjoy my night."


    "Are you two¡­"


    "Don''t feel jealous, Tallulah. The three of us are intertwined in a way that is too complex to describe, but we''re also our own person. I choose to do as I like, just as she does."


    "So, Percival, too?"


    "It''s complex, as I said, but he''s our maker."


    "Good, I won''t be jealous then."


    Kofi doesn''t add anything to Tallulah''s talk of jealousy. That seems to both satiate and end Tallulah''s questions. She steps backward, gripping Kofi''s hand to pull him inside the room with her. As soon as he''s behind the closed door with her, they acquaint themselves physically with each other''s bodies; Tallulah''s passionate tension leads the way for the pair during the rest of the night.


    Several hours before dawn threatens to rise, Kofi Freeman departs silently from Tallulah''s room to go elsewhere on the homestead''s grounds.

 016; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 12.1: The Calvary

    Pushing through the brambles and underbrush is annoying enough, but I also have to constantly keep the wounds I''ve covered with gauze from being caught on the multitude of branches and twigs that seem determined to catch the stretchy material. Behind me, Cassandra has maintained almost complete silence, allowing me to lead without interruptions. She nods when I gaze back at her intermittently to ensure she''s having no trouble. By the time we''ve pushed through, most of the gauze has wound up left behind on some briar or branch, where I just chose to give up on keeping it wrapped.


    "Finally." I pant as we find the traveler''s path again. "Now, to find the others. They''re probably this way. If we don''t hit them in half an hour, we''ll come back and try the opposite way."


    "Okay."


    I turn my head to look at Cassandra, momentarily forgetting that it''s more unusual for her to be chatty. So when I look at her for a period, she gives me a slightly hardened yet questioning glance.


    "What, Orion?"


    "Everything okay?"


    "That depends on your definition of ''okay,'' now, doesn''t it?"


    "Yeah, alright."


    I shake my head and then slowly start to jog ahead, wanting to find out as quickly as possible why Kline and company didn''t bother to help out their two people and why we wound up having to fight for our lives alone because we stuck to the plan. Ignoring the stinging of my open scratches and wounds, I concentrate instead on making sure the sounds of us jogging are the only out-of-place ones in our vicinity.


    I reflect on the night so far while weaving along the path with its brambles and bushes ominously looming on either side. A large part of me is thankful that Cassandra chose to come with me into the Wilds tonight. I''ve heard many tales of people who left the traveler''s path at night and were never heard from again. Truthfully, I believe I would have been one of them tonight. If the night terrors hadn''t overwhelmed me, the basiliscu would have ended my life in a pretty gruesome way had I stumbled on them alone. After years of going on little hunting trips for my village, I thought I was a pretty good hunter, but now I know I''m still an amateur at best. There''s so much that I don''t know how to recognize until it''s seemingly too late¨Clook at how I "discovered" the pair of basiliscu; I simply stumbled over them like a fucking moron.


    Familiar snarling and growling at a close distance shake me out of my period of reflection, but I don''t change our jogging pace. Instead, we move closer to the noise, my hand reaching up towards my bow and resting on it as we turn the next winding curve of the traveler''s path. Ducking below a partially fallen tree, I finally observe what is making all the noise: our party''s assorted saddled wiretails. The other tracking party duo is present, trying to calm down the six saddled wiretails, but they are quite worked up, and even from this distance, I can see their long tails quivering, with the razor-sharp quills lining their tails primed and only moments from being used on whatever they''re focused on in the campsite.


    I clear my throat loudly as we start to draw closer; I don''t want to become an accidental mauling statistic because we stupidly snuck up on agitated wiretails. The cats turn at the noise and growl, but because I gave enough space and warning with my loud noise, the two Blackham can get the wiretails pulled back into some degree of containment. With Cassandra following me, I carefully move around the group of wiretails and into the temporary camp. My eyes carefully take in the sight before me: Khalil is crouched next to a wiretail caught and bound in some kind of supernatural netting that has shrunk precisely to the size needed to fully constrict the big cat.


    Sure enough, it''s the bull-sized cat that hunted Khalil and me back to our trader wagon those couple of weeks ago. Seeing it brought down and groggy, captured by netting that the Blackham used to perfection, makes me a little uncomfortable. Upon seeing Cassandra and I enter the camp, Khalil stands up and exclaims.


    "Ori! Dude! Where have you two been? Holy shit, I was worried!"


    "The fuck do you mean ''where have you two been''? What happened to bringing the calvary when someone popped a pixies'' spark?" While speaking, my anger spikes, and I don''t resist it.


    "What are you talking about? No one used a pixies'' spark that we saw."


    Kline makes his way towards us from just up the road, picking up his pace when he sees me and Cassandra standing there. I''m still too mad to be done bitching at Khalil, so for now, I ignore Kline''s movement in our direction.


    "Well, the other two people in our little tracking expedition would fucking disagree with you, Khalil. They''d very much disagree if they could, but as it turns out, they''re dead and torn into about fifty different pieces. We almost joined them too when we went to their pixies'' spark, found no cavalry, and were completely alone."


    "What the fuck?!" Khalil spits his next question at Kline as he draws into conversational range, "How did we not see a pixies'' spark? My guy almost died; look at his arms and face!"


    Before I can turn my wrath onto Kline, Cassandra blurs past me, and Kline winds up on his back about five feet from where he was previously standing. Cassandra bares fangs down at him, her rapid change of demeanor startling me yet again. Her seafoam eyes, usually so curious and at times calculating, are wide and full of towering rage. On his back and pinned underneath Cassandra, Kline does pretty much the only thing he can do: hold up his hands in her direction, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible.


    "Cassandra, what is¨Cwhat''s wrong?"


    I stalk in their direction since it''s only a few feet away. I loom over the both of them, staring angrily down at Kline.


    "You want to know what''s wrong, Corporal? I''ll answer for both of us. You said you''d send the calvary if someone needed help. What do we find when we finally get back here? You''re all dicking around and haven''t even moved one foot to come and help your people¨Cor us when we stuck to the plan and tried to get there to help them."Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    "I¨Cit''s not like that¨Cwe didn''t see the spark! I swear to it. Khalil, tell your friend."


    "I don''t like agreeing with this asshole, but he''s right, we didn''t see anything in the sky."


    "I''m sure it has nothing to do with the partially tranquilized and netted wiretail sitting ten feet from here, huh?"


    Kline tries to shift his weight, incorrectly guessing that Cassandra will let him up and off his back because I''m talking to him. As soon as he starts to move, she uses her hands and slams him back into the packed dirt of the traveler''s path. A low growl escapes her lips, which I haven''t heard before, and sounds full of genuine menace. It reminds me that I still don''t know the first thing about Cassandra and have been pretending otherwise.


    "Okay, okay. Look: it''s possible that while we were trying to wrangle the wiretail that those two lured back, we missed the pixies'' spark hitting the sky. I''m not saying that''s what happened, and I''m not making excuses, but I''m just saying it''s possible that happened. Please, let me up."


    Kline''s voice wavers from his usual pretentious and overconfident manner, and when he asks to be let off the ground, that same voice is small and weak. Cassandra leans forward and snarls openly in Kline''s face, her fangs completely lengthened and almost portentous. I only then notice that her fingers are ragged talons, too. She indeed was¨Cmaybe still is¨Cthinking about killing him and not just scaring him. I don''t speak up, letting Cassandra decide on her own if she''s going to murder him right then and there or if she''s going to give him a pass based on what he just said. Khalil looks between us, taking his cue from me and staying completely quiet.


    After staring directly into Kline''s face for at least a minute, Cassandra shoves his chest once more and gets up to her feet. She turns as soon as she''s up and stalks away towards her wiretail. The two Blackham left from the tracking expedition step aside to give Cassandra plenty of space. The big cat even calms as she draws near, perhaps recognizing a dangerous predator that shouldn''t be bothered more than she already is. Without another word, Cassandra mounts the wiretail, turns it around with her reins, and then takes off on its back.


    I watch the wiretail rapidly disappear behind the next bend of the traveler''s path, ignoring Kline''s muttering as he gets off the ground.


    "Hell. Dude, what¨Cwhat happened?"


    I gaze over at Khalil, stepping back to allow Kline to get up. My fury and leftover adrenaline are finally starting to ebb away, leaving me feeling tired and lethargic.


    "Night terrors took the tracker and his friend out; when we got to the boggy area where the two who''re dead set off their pixies'' spark, we beat the creatures back, but then ran into a pair of basiliscu as we tried to get out of the swamp."


    "Oh man, wow, you saw basiliscu¡­"


    "Yeah. Far too up close and personal. Zero out of ten experience, would not recommend."


    Unsurprisingly, my attempt at humor is lifeless and flat. I leave it at that and move away from Kline and over towards the captured and groggy wiretail. For some reason, when I regard his form once again, it causes me to smile. The black and brown head of the wiretail is massive, and who can deny that these are truly remarkable beasts? They are so perfectly adapted to the Wilds with their natural camouflage and powerful, bull-sized bodies. I crouch down next to the great cat just behind his back in the event he starts to become unsedated so that I''ll have time to move. I touch his coarse, sandy brown fur through one of the holes of the net that is keeping the beast from moving, then gaze at Khalil.


    "What did he tell you?" I murmur now, sedately.


    "Well, first off, he''s drugged up, so he''s kind of difficult to understand, but from what I gathered, they were out here doing something¨Cobviously, the fella here doesn''t know what his rider was actually doing¨Cand the rider left on foot but never returned. When he didn''t return, Mister Cat here decided to do wiretail things. The day that he tracked us for food was about four or five days after his rider went missing, and he''d gotten to the point where hunger overruled his training not to attack us fey."


    "So we missed the event by a pretty slim margin."


    "Yeah, that''s what it sounds like."


    "So is he, like, docile or what?"


    "Don''t know that I''d call him docile, but it''s kinda their show now, you know what I mean?" Khalil nods his head at Kline, who is beside us.


    I turn my head to look at Kline, who is having trouble shaking off the fear he experienced just minutes before from Cassandra. When he doesn''t take my hint, I mutter at him.


    "Well? What''s the plan for this wiretail now?"


    Kline hesitates before responding mutedly, almost as if he''s gunshy. Cassandra did put an actual streak of fear into him.


    "We''re supposed to bring it back to Blackham City."


    "And how do you plan on doing that? You''re down two people, so you already have two extra wiretails to bring with you, and I suspect when this guy gets back up and isn''t tranquilized, or whatever you guys did to him, he''s not going to be real thrilled about the prospect of giving up his freedom in the Wilds a third time."


    "A third time?"


    "Yeah, I assumed you guys caught him once, trained him or whatever you do, and then he accidentally got set free this time."


    "That''s a lot of assumptions for someone who doesn''t know how our tribe works, Orion."


    The pretentious tone seeps back into Kline''s voice, and I don''t care for it. I glare daggers at him. He''s the first to break eye contact, clearing his throat and gazing at the captured wiretail.


    "I suppose you''re right, though. With the current situation, it would be difficult to get it back to the city."


    "What''s that supposed to mean, Kline?" My growing annoyance starts to bubble up in the tone of my words.


    "We''ll just put it down. No need to let it roam and potentially see more of our kind as food to be hunted."


    "What do you mean ''put him down''? Wait, you mean just kill him? What? If you''re going to do something like that, we should just let him out into the Wilds here. They''re from the Wilds, and he''ll be fine."


    "You and Khalil already encountered it hunting you once; what makes you think it won''t continue to see fey as prey?"


    I turn to look at Khalil, who seems highly uncomfortable with the turn the discussion has taken. I know his heart for animals of the Wilds, and he knows mine. He nods at me, and I nod in return, turning my now-hardened gaze back at Kline.


    "Fuck you, man. You won''t kill this wiretail because he''s ''too much of a hassle'' to return to your city. You''ll teach Khalil and me how to control him and the command words he was trained to obey."


    Kline blurts out a laugh, apparently not so cowed any longer.


    "Yeah, no, that is just not going to happen." Kline laughs again and adds with a murmur. "Stupid fucking Wilder."


    I draw my bow out from across my shoulder and nock an arrow in a smooth gesture. With the arrow drawn back and only a few feet of distance between me and Kline, he knows just by the shocked look on his face that if I choose to loose right now, it very much would likely mean the end of his life.

 017; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 12.2: The Blood Oath

    "Whoa, Orion. What are you doing? You''re not a murderer, my dude. Chill!"


    The action draws the attention of the other two Blackham, and they immediately hop onto the back of their two wiretails. Once they''re on, they start moving toward me, Khalil, Kline, and the captured wiretail. The saddled wiretails are still ornery, so the Blackham are struggling to keep them from lunging this way or that, which slows their progression down on backing up Kline.


    "Listen to your friend, Orion. Don''t do something stupid."


    "Maybe the only stupid thing here is you trying to tell the guy¨Cwho could shoot you in the heart before you could move an inch¨Cto do anything at all. You''re not in fucking control here, Kline. You haven''t done anything this whole time except run your mouth. Jorge was right to dislike your worthless ass at the beginning."


    My hand tenses, drawing the bow back with a creak, and even though I''m angry, I realize that Khalil''s right. I''m not a murderer. And yet still, I hold the arrow pointed at Kline''s heart with no wavering in my aim.


    "Okay, Orion. What do you want us to do specifically?"


    "Teach me how to control the wiretail and then piss off."


    "You mean Khalil?"


    "No, now I mean me. Khalil can talk to wiretails when he wants to, and I can''t, so I need to know how you order yours and keep them from going feral."


    "You want us to give you a crash course on keeping a wiretail? Do you know how long we study and train to handle them? Be realistic, Orion."


    "Shut the fuck up, Kline. This isn''t a discussion anymore. I want you to agree to it right now. I want you to blood oath it, too. No more of your little Blackham games. I''ve had a pretty terrible night, and I''m not in the mood to play anymore¨Cespecially not with you."


    The two Blackham on the back of their wiretails draw closer to me; I can hear their ridden wiretails'' low gurgling and grunting. I pull back the bow and openly threaten Kline with a shot to the heart once again. Kline raises his hands at his two people, and it makes them come to a stop. Khalil carefully walks over and places himself with his back to mine, directly facing the two riders on the wiretails.


    "I got your back forever," Khalil murmurs, just loud enough for me to hear.


    "I know," I murmur in response.


    "Okay, Orion. I''ll teach you how to maintain control with words over a wiretail, but I''m only going to swear a blood oath to it if you also swear that you will never tell anyone how you managed to gain a wiretail mount."


    "No, that''s not the deal, Kline. You''ll swear a blood oath right now, telling me you will teach me how to keep this guy properly. I don''t need to swear to anything at all, and I''m not going to. And tell your people to piss off with the extra two wiretails right now."


    "They have the supplies with them?"


    "We''ll survive," I growl in response.


    Kline hesitates, clearly not wanting to agree to do anything of the sort.


    "Tick, tock, Kline. My arm''s starting to get tired, and it''s been a long night of fighting and running."


    Kline curses under his breath and then looks up at the sky.


    "Alright, fine. I agree, alright? Hell, I agree. Put down your bow."


    "No. Blood oath it, right now."


    I hardly recognize my voice as it icily creeps out from my lips. Kline lowers his head and focuses on me. He noisily exhales air through his nose before carefully reaching down to his side and drawing out his kukri weapon. He moves it slowly so that I see every careful movement he takes.


    He draws the long, machete-like, and bent kukri blade across his left hand and winces. With his blood bubbling up to the surface from the cut, he reaches up to his face and smears the blood from his hand down one side of his face and across his lips.


    "I, Kline of the Blackham tribe, swear on my blood beneath this moon''s ascendance that I will instruct Orion, a Wilder, on how to caretake and control the wiretail we captured tonight. I also agree to grant him official ownership over the wiretail in question, with the promise to update Blackham records officially to reflect that ownership once I return to the city."


    The moment''s magic is subtle, and it''s the first time I''ve seen a blood oath being sworn in person. The vivid red of Kline''s blood immediately shrivels to dry on his face, turning a darker rust shade. The dried blood doesn''t flake away, though. Instead, it seems to seep back into the skin of Kline, and then that is the end of it.


    "There. Happy? Can I wrap my hand now?"


    "Almost. Send them away like you agreed."Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    He looks past Khalil and me at the two mounted Blackham. He exhales and then nods in their direction.


    "Take one of the saddles off the wiretails and leave it for us. Go ahead and go back to the city. I''ll catch up with you in a few days."


    They start to protest, but to his credit, Kline stops them and insists with an order. The pair give Khalil and me dirty looks, but they do as Kline commands them. They get the two extra wiretails, leaving Kline''s mount and the wiretail still groggy and on the ground. As the pair move away, Khalil walks over to pick up the saddle left behind on the ground that used to belong to the now-dead viper-nosed fey. Finally, I relax my arm and lower the arrow from being menacingly aimed at Kline. I pointedly slide the arrow back into my quiver and sling my bow across my torn t-shirt and back again. Once he''s no longer under threat of being used as a pincushion, Kline relaxes a little bit. After relaxing, he takes a few moments to wrap his hand in fabric. Once done with that, he looks at me and offers a sort of olive branch.


    "We have a little food still left by the fire if you''re hungry."


    "Alright."


    I walk over¨Cfeeling a bit like a nearly wholly drained emotional robot¨Cand pick up the cold pan used for cooking what looks like grabbat stew with a few vegetables. I look slowly in the direction that Cassandra angrily rode off down the traveler''s path¨Cnot so secretly wishing to see her riding back to us¨Cbut then lower my eyes to my arms, which still need attention. Setting the pan down, I mutter to Khalil to get the fire going once again. While he does that and Kline sits down to seemingly sulk, I open my larger pack that I''d left behind when we went out to track and remove some of the ointment for wounds. I sit next to Kline and the fire once Khalil gets it going and begin to clean the wounds with a little bit of water and ointment.


    I only need to glance once at Kline, which prompts him to begin giving us the crash course on wiretail management. While he goes over the basic commands and how to maintain body language with the large felines, I carefully wrap each of my more significant wounds, ensuring they''re done right. By the time he gets to instructing me on more advanced commands, the remainder of the stew in the pan on the fire is bubbling. I pour it out onto an already-used bowl and use whoever''s spoon is in it to feed my face while listening to Kline''s dutiful explanations. When he seemingly finishes, I gaze over at him.


    "How good at tracking scents are they?"


    "Good enough that other tribes often hire our trackers."


    "There any specific times of the year that they do something instinctive or experience any changes I should know about?"


    "No, I think they''re neutral. I mean Blackham, in general, think they''re not partial to either sun or moon ascendancy. It''s never been proven or disproven for obvious reasons, but there isn''t anything we''ve seen¨Cor those that came before us have seen¨Cto suggest any changes."


    "I meant things like females going into heat, which makes the males more aggressive, Kline."


    "Oh." There''s a long pause. "Their breeding season is year-round. The female cats can go into heat twice a year, and the scent of one would probably trigger what you''re asking about in a wiretail."


    "So they gotta be close."


    "Right, close enough to smell or hear the unending yowling that the female wiretails can get up to. There''s a reason we keep the breeding female wiretails further away from our residences¨Cfor our damned sanity."


    Normally, I might have laughed at that, but I feel nothing. Khalil does laugh but quickly tapers off when he sees I''m not laughing, too. I force a smile to my face, which seems to keep Khalil from asking any annoying questions, then drop it once the moment''s passed. As I finish the stew in the bowl, I mull over the fact that the ball of anger in my gut seems to have disappeared, but it left an intense feeling of emotional numbness. Is this feeling the medical thing called shock, and is it finally kicking in from the swamp fighting earlier? I don''t know. I feel different than I did only yesterday. Before now, I never understood what the old faeries would mean when they said that when your life is truly endangered the first time, you''re changed forever. But now, I think I understand. How could anyone not be changed?


    I look at my reflection in the silvery-colored metal bottom of the now-empty bowl. My face is filthy from the swamp muck, sweat, and dirt. My pale, moon-colored eyes peer at me through the grime covering my dark eyebrows. I gaze over my face as if seeing it for the first time. This must be what people say when they see themselves in a mirror for the first time and actually see themselves. I look at my strong jawline, which causes some amusement to creep into the back of my mind. It hasn''t been enough days to grow that annoying stubble back. Some of my hair has unsurprisingly fallen out of the long braids my dark hair is pulled back into.


    I realize that the face that stares back at me from the silvery bottom of that soup bowl is not my old wean self. I see my father staring back at me, save for the pale eyes¨Cthose came from my mother. The pale, moon-colored orbs are intelligent but hide a desire for darkness, just like my mother. Just like me, sometimes¨CHannah was right. My thoughts drift momentarily to Aria but more quickly are drawn to the features of Cassandra. Both are creatures of violence and the moon, and both drew something from me that I didn''t know I even had buried in me. A longing, maybe.


    A grumble and rumble shake me out of my bowl-induced self-reflection. I blink away my sea of thoughts and look at the cause of the commotion. The wiretail, still ensnared by the netting, seems to be losing the tranquilized effect it was under. I set the bowl next to the fire and rise to my feet.


    "Okay, Kline, what do we do here?"


    "Oh, I don''t know, Orion; someone sent away our supplies, which included the sleep poisons in them." Kline snarks at me.


    I know I have my blowgun on my belt, with a dart already in it, but I also know it won''t do anything on such a large creature. It''s strong enough for small game, and a wiretail is not that.


    "He got you there, Ori."


    "Thanks, Khalil."


    "No problem, brother."


    The wiretail struggles a little against the netting, which is thankfully keeping it down on the ground. When the captured wiretail starts rustling about, Kline''s saddled one begins to pace with a nervous and aggressive energy. I look between the two problems and huff.


    "Alright, Kline, calm down your cat before it flips out and kills everyone. Khalil, try to talk to this guy. Tell him we don''t want to hurt him; we want to help him get well-fed every night and be safer."


    Khalil looks at me for a long moment while Kline approaches his pacing adult wiretail. I return Khalil''s look so that he knows I''m serious. Something behind Khalil''s eyes changes; it doesn''t harden or soften; it''s almost like he''s acknowledging me as the older brother now. He moves so he''s on the side of the wiretail. That way, Khalil won''t be easy pickings if the cat frees one of his bowling-ball-sized claws. Khalil exhales, inhales, and then exhales once more. He places his hand against the side and back of the wiretail, which causes the cat to rustle about again. Khalil keeps his eyes closed for half a minute before he finally opens his eyes again. When his eyes open, the wiretail slowly comes to a stop in his attempt to resist the netting.


    "Okay. I can talk with him now. I told him what you said."

 018; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 12.3: The Awakening

    The cat makes a loud chuffing noise that sounds distinctly like the noise a disgruntled animal of any breed makes. I walk over in front of the wiretail and crouch about a foot from the edge of the magical netting. I settle my pale eyes on the golden orange globes of the enormous cat beast.


    "He said he already knows what ''lies we promise.'' And he said some other things that I''m not gonna repeat."


    "Tell him we''re not like the people that branded him on the back."


    There''s a short silence, and some low growling emerges before tapering back into silence again.


    "Yeah, Ori, he doesn''t care, dude. Pretty sure he''s threatened to eat or destroy us about twenty times now."


    "Okay, let''s change it up then. Tell him if he doesn''t submit to me, I''ll make him submit against his will."


    "Uhhhh."


    "Just do it, man. Trust me, I know what I''m doing."


    "Ooo-kay."


    Not ten seconds later, a ridiculously loud snarl whips out of the throat of the wiretail, and every tooth in the cat''s mouth shows as it follows it up with what can only be considered a roar. Kline yells at us from where he is with his saddled wiretail.


    "What on earth are you doing?! How am I supposed to calm this damn cat if you''re making yours positively homicidal?!"


    "It''s fine, Kline. Relax. I got this." I say in return before returning to a very dubious-looking Khalil and the now murderously enraged wiretail.


    "Okay, buddy, you asked for it."


    I slowly sit down right in front of the netting that is keeping the wiretail from moving, which has the side effect of making the wiretail unable to rend me into ten thousand pieces. I roll my neck around slowly, letting my muscles relax before I rest my hands on my knees. I stare with some degree of effort directly into the furiously wide and wired eyes of the great cat in front of me. While his eyes threaten murder, my pale eyes bore into his, seeking dominance and control.


    Something comes over me from deep in my soul. I bypass needing my blood to drip from my nose to focus my abilities. Like a mantra, a dark yet smooth voice thrums in my mind from where I have no clue: these are my Wilds, this world is mine, this place is mine, his life is mine. A floating feeling comes over my limbs before I find myself covering the beast in front of me in my aura. I can feel myself gaining control over his mind and body like I were a person out of their own body. When I''d taken control over small critters, birds, or reafans in the past, it was always in the first person. I saw through their eyes and moved them where we would go like I was running with their legs or flying with their wings. But doing this with the wiretail is different. This is almost like I feel I can pluck and pull his strings to puppet him with my mind; his input is not required if I don''t wish.


    I slowly start to stand, my concentration still on the wiretail. My movement draws Khalil''s gaze more readily. I gesture a hand at Khalil before carefully speaking.


    "Cut the net, Khalil."


    "Fuck outta here, Ori. Are you out of your mind?"


    "Not joking. Cut the net. I got this."


    "No, dude, no. As soon as I break that net open, he''s going to go crazy."


    "Khalil."


    As the moments pass, I feel my mind''s control over the wiretail strengthening. I can feel his torrent of thoughts, his urges, and the desires he wants to take part in. And, now I know I can make those thoughts irrelevant.


    "No, Ori, I''m not going to do it."


    Khalil steps back from the wiretail as if to make a point to me. What he doesn''t expect is for me to sedately reach down to my belt and pull off my whittling knife. With my eyes locked to the wiretail, I crouch again to the netting.


    "Ori! No! Don''t!"


    But it''s too late for his protests to stop my plans. I saw through one of the lengths of the netting with my whittling knife, and as soon as I do, the entire net goes slack around the wiretail. The magical enchantment that kept him pinned to the ground is broken. The wiretail gets his massive bulk off the ground, a low growl escaping his powerful jaws. He jerks forward, but my control over his mind stops the beast from launching at me or using his tail violently.


    "That''s it. I told you, you furry bastard, I''d make you submit."


    Khalil is looking on with absolute shock plastered all over his facial features. He''s still backed away from the wiretail, but he does slowly crouch down and start to pull the netting back and away from overtop of the still angry¨Cyet holding fast¨Cwiretail in front of us. I take a half step forward, gaining confidence in my control over the beast. A growl escapes the massive feline beast, but I don''t flinch away. My pale eyes are focused on the wiretail''s amber-gold ones.


    "Khalil, tell him to relax and that I only want to have him do things occasionally. The other times, he''ll be able to do pretty much as he pleases."


    "Maybe we should just use the commands Kline told us about."


    "We''ll use those in the future; just do as I say for now." A few moments after I say that, I add a little murmur, "Please."


    Khalil nods his head, which I see in my peripheral vision. A few long moments pass, but then the wiretail standing at my head''s height slowly sits on his back haunches. I briefly close my eyes and reopen them, imagining the wiretail bathing itself. As soon as I think about it, the wiretail starts to lick at one of his paws¨Cas if he has the sudden urge to clean himself rather than murder Khalil and me where we stand.


    "Wow¡­" Khalil breathes out the word.


    I slowly step towards the giant beast now sitting in front of me. The cat turns his head to watch me suspiciously as I draw near, but I force him to understand that allowing me to approach is alright. The bull-sized feline returns to cleaning his front paws and legs, and I move up to touch one of my hands on his powerful, muscled neck and front shoulder blades.


    "What''s his name, Khalil?"


    "He doesn''t understand the question, so I''m guessing he doesn''t have one."


    "Try to explain the concept of a name to him. Then tell him my name and yours."If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "Yeah, alright, sure."


    My hand traces along the magnificent beast''s sandy-colored and coarse fur. I touch my hand to the black markings, which turn into stripes horizontally lining his sides back towards his pitch-black tail.


    "Alright, he understands the idea of a name now. I think he does, anyway. What d''you want me to do next?"


    "Ask him what name he wants."


    "This''ll be funny, I think." Khalil, still afraid, does seem a little amused by the idea of letting the great cat pick his own name.


    As Khalil lapses into silence again, I hear the footfalls of Kline as he makes his way back towards us across the tamped-down gravel of the traveler''s path. He scuffles to a stop behind me, then exclaims.


    "The hell have you done? You''ve removed the netting! What are you doing?!"


    "Calm down, jackass. We''ve got it under control, can''t you tell?"


    "This is a horrible idea."


    "It''s fine, I can control him."


    "What do you mean?"


    "I mean exactly what I said. Clean out your ears."


    "How did you?"


    "Maybe because it turns out that, to your great fucking surprise: I''m better than you, Kline, now shut the fuck up."


    Kline grunts behind me, but he doesn''t say anything else. His "air of mystery" or whatever he was trying to always present to others is completely gone for me. There''s nothing mysterious about him in my mind; I see him as weak and more or less useless now that we''ve been together for a time. I understand why he was chosen to be the face of any expedition, but when it comes to getting things done, it''s much better to ignore him.


    "Ori, my dude," Khalil laughs, "he is trying to name himself stuff like kills-the-best and caught-a-bird." Khalil laughs a few more times while trying to get that out. I smirk a little despite my attempt to stop it.


    "Oh, he wants to be a badass, huh?"


    "Seems so."


    "What about Maverick?"


    The feline beast in front of me grunts and chuffs a few times after Khalil goes silent. Once again, after a brief pause, Khalil pipes up again.


    "Yeah, that''s a no. Dude here countered with hunts-at-midnight. So, we''re getting somewhere, I think?"


    "That''s not a terrible name, but I''m not going to say that all the time. Ask him to come up with something shorter."


    Khalil lifts his shoulder in response to me, seemingly fine with being the interpreter. Kline, still nearby, murmurs.


    "What a waste of time. Letting a wiretail pick its name? This is ridiculously stupid."


    "It''s a he, Kline, and unlike you and your people, we appreciate the Wilds and the creatures that come from it. There''s nothing wrong with letting them gain some consciousness and understanding. And there''s certainly nothing wrong with letting them understand a name before asking them if they''d like to pick one for themselves. You and I have a different view of our place in the Wilds, Kline, and I don''t care much about your version. So, do me a favor and, again, kindly shut the fuck up and go sit down or something."


    "I don''t have to take this from you, Orion. As soon as I get back to Blackham City¨C"


    "¨CYou''ll do exactly as you promised, which is set the records right about my ownership of this wiretail."


    The interruption and reminder of his blood oath have destroyed any remnants of his arrogant speech and actions. Kline withdraws and moves away from us to where his saddled wiretail rests peacefully on the roadside.


    "Ori, this is a pretty good one. Not short, though. Stalks-far-and-wide?"


    "So, Ranger?"


    "That''s pretty good. Let me ask."


    The sandy-colored beast finally lays his black and brown head down on the ground, then rolls from side to side in the hard-packed dirt like he was scratching an itch on his back. I have to take a step back so that his weight doesn''t crush me. I slowly release my vise grip on his mind but don''t completely sever our connection¨Cjust in case. Stepping back slowly towards my pack, I carefully crouch down and pull out the last bit of my jerky from the bottom of the bag. With it in hand, I walk over and kneel next to the large cat rolling back and forth in the dirt of the traveler''s path.


    "He seems to be okay with that."


    "Okay, Ranger it is then."


    I take a bite from one of the pieces of jerky and toss one from my stack to Khalil. The wiretail, now called Ranger, turns his head to watch the jerky tossed through the air and grumbles with his bassy vocals. I look over at Kline and whistle slightly to draw his attention. I pick off another piece of the long jerky strip and toss it in his direction. He catches it before it hits the dirt, then inclines his head to me. Unlike Khalil, who immediately starts munching on the jerky I gave him, Kline puts his away. I snag one more piece of jerky off the stack before I lean forward and put most of it down in front of Ranger.


    "Eat up, buddy."


    The wiretail looks at the strips of dried meat suspiciously, so I take a bite openly and chew exaggeratedly while encouraging him with my mind to eat the perfectly safe food. It doesn''t take much effort to prompt Ranger into following his nature, and sure as the sun rises in the morning, Ranger rolls back over to his feet and immediately starts scarfing down the jerky I gave him.


    I stand up, holding the leftover bits of the stack, and cut it in half before putting the remainder into my pack again. I walk over towards Kline and his wiretail, finishing off the piece of jerky I''d been working on with a few more bites. I clear my throat before offering Kline the few last pieces of the strips.


    "Should give these to your cat. I assume you guys didn''t feed them any of the stew earlier."


    Kline nods his head at me before taking the jerky from me. He turns and sets down the strips in front of his cat''s face, still moving with lethargy, which suggests he''s still brooding or sulking from my dressing him down. I don''t care about his mood; I just don''t want the animals hungry. Khalil pipes up from next to Ranger.


    "We should get some rest. Maybe Cassandra will have come back by the time we wake up."


    "Probably right," I reply listlessly.


    "Think Ranger''ll be good and, you know, not try to kill us in the few hours we get some shut-eye?"


    "I think he''ll be alright now. I already released pretty much most of the control on his mind, and he hasn''t tried to eat anyone yet. He was already kind of brought into line before he wound up going free, so maybe he just needed to remember that we''re not food. I''ll saddle him up if you don''t mind telling him I''m going to do it first."


    "Yeah alright, sure Ori."


    I nod before walking the few feet from Kline to where the saddle was left behind from before. I heft up the charcoal-colored saddle with its golden and indigo-colored embellishments pressed and stitched into the heavy, quality leather. Saddle in hand, I shuffle my tired feet and body toward Khalil and Ranger. Khalil nods to me, and Ranger grunts and stands up on all four paws again as I approach. He shakes his coat back and forth like he is trying to get water off of his thick fur, but instead, he causes a poof and cloud of dirt¨Cfrom the ground he just rolled on¨Cto fly everywhere. The wiretail stretches forward and back, like a feline a tenth of his size, before setting his golden and amber-eyed gaze on me.


    "First time doing this, Ranger, so don''t get pissed about it if I take longer than you''re used to."


    Naturally, the cat doesn''t respond. Instead, he stands there looking at me with the most disinterested look a feline can muster. After setting the saddle blanket carefully onto the wiretail''s back, I heave the saddle up and over, resting it onto Ranger''s back in the exact location that I''ve seen the other wiretails have their saddle placed on. The wiretail grumbles and chuffs, and for a moment, I pause, making sure with our mind link that he does not intend to attack me. I feel an overwhelming sense of annoyance through the link of minds, but not aggression. I carefully pet Ranger''s black and sandy-brown fur where the saddle blanket touches so he''s not uncomfortable. Then I strap down everything that keeps the saddle attached to the great cat. Finally, I move up to Ranger''s neck and add the last sides of the saddle that allow the rider to steer the cat.


    "There we go, all good, Ranger."


    I pause while standing next to the impressive beast, a sort of warm thoughtfulness drifting over me before a ghost of a smile takes to my lips. So much has changed in such a short time. There was no way that I could have expected to be in the position I''m in, with ownership over a wiretail as a Wilder¨Clet alone the very same wiretail that almost killed me weeks before. I used one of the commands Kline taught me for testing and convinced Ranger to lie back down and rest. I sit down with my back against the saddle and gaze at Khalil. He grins a little in response to me.


    I try to grin in response, only openly managing it for a few seconds, but exhaustion is truly starting to overcome me. I barely register my eyes closing and my muscles slackening, but soon enough, I''m entirely asleep with my back against one of the most dangerous creatures in the Wilds.

 019; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 13.1: The Wilds Buck

    There''s a voice distantly breaking through the cloud of unconsciousness. My arms and legs are heavy. Is my face cold? Yeah, it''s definitely cold.


    "Orion, bro, you awake?" Khalil''s voice comes into clarity out of the fog.


    I groan in response, a long, disgruntled half-growl and half-rocks-in-the-mouth waking noise. My eyes slowly crack open, and I see that I''m lying on the traveler''s path with my face against its hard-packed earth. I slowly put out my hands to push myself off the ground to a sitting position.


    "Hey, there he is. Hey dude. So, uh, I got news."


    "Tea first."


    "Oh, uh, yeah, so about that¡­"


    "Right, no supplies." My grumbling voice sounds irritated even to myself.


    "Yeah, sorry."


    I slowly look around, my pale eyes groggily taking in my surroundings. The first thing I noticed was that there were no wiretails, and the second was that it was just Khalil and me.


    "Fuck."


    "Well, hold up, it''s only half bad news."


    "Ugh, alright. Let me go out to some bushes first, then you can tell me what you know."


    I push myself off of the ground and up to my feet. I don''t bother to brush the dirt off my clothing and leather protection; after last night''s rolling around in the marsh muck, there isn''t even a point until I find myself in a bath. I stagger a few steps before I catch myself and walk normally down the traveler''s path a little further out. I step off of the path and handle my morning business. Once done, I shuffle back onto the path to where I left Khalil. I pour water over my hands from my side flask, cleaning them off just a little from the accumulated dirt and grime. Khalil is standing in the same spot I left him in, so I continue walking until I stand beside him.


    "Alright. So all we have is whatever''s in my pack, the campfire cooking stuff, and what we have on us."


    "That''s the short and long of it."


    "It''s fine. I''ll hunt us some food on the way back."


    "Hold on, don''t you want to hear what I was gonna say?"


    I stretched my arms back behind me and then up over my head, using my hands to press on the opposite elbows to get a good and thorough stretch into my limbs. Instead of responding, I stood there quietly, allowing Khalil to chat.


    "Cool, alright, so when I woke up, Kline and his wiretail were leaving. I think that''s what woke me up, for the record. Ranger was still here then; Kline didn''t like¡­ try and take off with him. Honestly, it''s probably why Kline didn''t try to kill us or some stupid shit before he took off. I''m guessing he probably is heading back to Blackham City."


    "Not worried about him yet; after a few days, when he gets the registration for Ranger official¨Cthat''s when we have to worry about him. Pretty sure he''s going to want some revenge, and I don''t know if he''s enough of a prick to want it on just us or the entire village to get at us."


    "You think he''d do that?"


    "Don''t know, like I said."


    "Shit," Khalil sighs loudly. "Alright, well, we can''t do anything about that right now."


    "When did Ranger leave?"


    "About fifteen or twenty minutes before I woke you up earlier, I thought he was just leaving t¨C"


    The crunching and snapping of branches interrupts Khalil. Some part of me remembers the noise as something familiar¨Can enormous beast moving through the underbrush that isn''t meant for it to sneak through. Khalil tenses up, but that part of me calms my instinct to tense and prepare, almost like I already know what is coming from the Wilds.


    Sure enough, the snapping and cracking of leaves and twigs gets louder and louder until the front legs of a wiretail burst out from the thick woods lining the traveler''s path we''re on. Ranger walks out, straddling a small Wilds'' buck he''s holding in his maw. Each of his front legs walks on either side of the medium-sized animal¨Conly slightly larger than a dog¨Cas he drags it onto the path next to us. Khalil stands there with his mouth open, surprise evident.


    "Wow. I can''t believe he got something so fast, dude."


    The wiretail drags the relatively small male deer over to us and drops it before sitting back on his back legs and looking directly at us. I grin despite myself.


    "Thank you, Ranger. Good boy. Guess I only need to find our water now."


    While I''m pretty sure Ranger can''t understand me, he probably recognizes the tone in which I speak. I walk over and pat him on the side of his powerful neck a few times.


    "I''ll get this buck cleaned up, and we''ll cook a meal for ourselves, then let Ranger have whatever he wants of the rest. It''s too much meat for us two and Ranger, but we don''t have a way of preserving it. If I can keep the skin, I will, but Ranger might have mauled it a bit, so¡­"


    Khalil nods, not arguing with my assessment of the situation. I''m quite surprised that Ranger returned; in all honesty, I thought the wiretail would go right back out into the Wilds when given the freedom to do as he wanted. But, I suppose the night before was profoundly impactful on him, either through my actions or Khalil''s talk. Either way, we''ll probably never know, but I know that Ranger left and came back on his own, so we don''t need to worry about where he goes and what he does.


    Pushing my thoughts aside, I take out my whittling knife¨Cgood enough for skinning¨Cand move forward to clean the deer.


    A brief period of time later, the buck is half-field dressed¨Cafter all, Ranger doesn''t plan to preserve the meat, and neither do we¨Cand our portions are pulled aside for cooking. I set Khalil on the task of cooking our meals for the day; I figure we can keep enough to have a couple of meals today on the path, and I can carry them in my leather pack. Sure, I''ll have to clean the thing when we return to the village, but that applies to everything on me anyway, so what''s another thing to add to the list? Ranger grunted and grumbled through the last twenty minutes of dressing the deer, so once I moved back after finishing my work, I pulled the remainder of the deer towards the wiretail before patting him on the side of his broad front shoulders.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    "All the rest is yours, big guy."


    The wiretail isn''t stupid and gets the hint. He immediately sets to eating, and I move away again to let him have his meal in peace. I look at my bloodied hands, and I sigh. I''ve already used some water to wash off my hands once this morning, and now I''m going to use some more to do it again, which means I need to make sure we don''t miss the brook I saw on the side of the path on the way to this point. After using a bit more of my water to get most of the remnants of dressing the deer off my hands, I slink over to sit by the fire where Khalil is cooking the few slabs of meat I cut for us.


    "He must have been trained to do that," Khalil says as I get close.


    "Yeah, maybe his previous rider took him out in the Wilds for hunting or somesuch." I stretch my arms slightly to the side, flexing some of the scratched-up muscles. I''ll have to double-check them later at night.


    "Ori, where d''you think Cassandra ran off to?"


    "No idea. She was more pissed than I''d ever seen her before. Maybe she had just to get away from all of us before she went on a vampire murder spree. We don''t really know anything about her, you know? She could be old as dirt and twice as powerful."


    "Yeah, she could be, but I dunno, I don''t think she is. I think she''s a younger bloodsucker trying to find her way. Maybe after all that fighting you guys did, and after she was mad as hell and face-to-face with Kline, her instinct for blood kicked in."


    "Man, that''s probably true, Khalil. I didn''t think about that."


    "Yeah, ''cause you want to get dirty with her, so you forgot she''s a murderous vampire."


    "Piss off."


    Khalil blurts out a laugh while flipping the slabs of meat over on the fire.


    "Yo, my dude, it''s chill. I get it. She gave you the vampire-eyes, and you''re like," Khalil takes on a puffed-up voice, poorly imitating my voice mannerisms, "yeah, ''I''m Orion. That''s me. I''m too good to find a nice girl in our village; I gotta chase a skirt that could go crazy and rip everyone''s throats out. And oh yeah, I''ve got to get my best friend to help me convince a wiretail not to kill everyone, so I can have a big ass cat to parade around on top of.'' Uh-huh, yeah."


    I pick up a tiny rock and sling it at his chest when he finishes harassing me. It''s a strike that pings off his shoulder.


    "Ow, shit! That hurt! You know I''m right, you wannabe-bougie bastard."


    I laugh at him, and then he joins me in the laughter while we sit and wait for our meat to cook. For a moment, everything feels right in the world.


    "Only a little true, Khalil, only a little. I think you''re talking more about yourself with that bougie shit, though. Don''t think I haven''t seen you checking out the shit every time we''re through a seam in some place with electronics."


    Khalil laughs but doesn''t deny it. I gaze over at Ranger, who is busily still chowing down, before looking down the other way along the traveler''s path, where Cassandra rode off away from everyone. I can''t help myself; even though Khalil made a good point about her maybe needing blood, some part of me worries she might be in trouble out here alone in the Wilds.


    "Think we should go after her?"


    "Come on, dude, think with your head."


    "I am Khalil. What if she got into trouble after she left us?"


    Khalil pulls one of the deer steaks off the tiny campfire grill and puts it into a bowl that hasn''t been cleaned from the previous night''s grabbat stew, and then he offers it first to me. I thank him and take the dish, using my whittling knife to start cutting the hunk of meat almost immediately.


    "Dude, look, she''ll be fine. I''m serious, you''re worrying about something you don''t need to worry about. If anything, you should be worried for whatever she finds out there to feed on, just saying."


    "Yeah, you''re probably right." Mouth full and chewing, I still respond to Khalil.


    We lapse into silence after that, with Khalil pulling off his meat for breakfast and putting a couple more slabs onto the fire for us to eat later in the day. He gets to chowing down, only occasionally breaking to flip each piece of meat over. While I eat, my thoughts swirl and drift, settling back on to what Hannah warned me about before we even left the village.


    Hannah seemed to know the little wisps of darkness that rest just on the outskirts of my heart, and while she seemed not to think they had a hold on me, she did go out of her way¨Ctwice, in fact¨Cto remind me to guard myself against its influence. First with Aria and then secondly with Cassandra. Even just thinking of Cassandra¨Cwith her blonde locks kept back in those braids and deep pools of seafoam-colored eyes¨Ccaused a little warm feeling to settle into my chest and abdomen. Khalil was right about one thing: outside of Aria, no one in the village had even drawn out this sort of reaction from me.


    I don''t know much about the history of our kind with vampires other than the stock standard horror stories and "don''t trust them!" lectures. Maybe the fey in the more prominent tribes in their cities and towns¨Cwhere they can collect books and knowledge¨Cknow more about them. I''d put trade down on it, truthfully. We Wilder are just the outskirts of faerie society, and while not long ago I was fine with that, now I find myself wondering more and more about our world the more I''m introduced to its mysteries.


    Khalil finishes his meal before I do, and his loud belching, followed by laughter, breaks me free from my thoughts. I smile a little at him.


    "Orion, you got anything in that pack we can wrap these deer steaks in?"


    "Not sure¨Cdon''t think so, actually. Just get a few big leaves from one of the trees up the path; you should be able to use them to wrap the meat in."


    "Alright, cool. Be right back."


    Khalil pushes up from where he was seated, leaving me to finish my meal alone¨Cexcept for Ranger, who is eating far more deer than I expected. Once I finish my steak, I put the metal bowl onto the other campfire cooking materials and stand up. I checked my quiver to see how many arrows I had left and saw that I only had six. Not a great amount, and I don''t have the materials to make more on me. Just another thing to do when we get back to the village. We need to stay free and clear of any troubles on the way back, and we should be fine.


    When Khalil returns with enough large leaves to wrap the steaks, we pack up the camp and clear the campfire from the road. We leave only a few scorch marks from the flames where we couldn''t spread the dirt around much because it was a bit more gravel; otherwise, everything else is pretty much cleaned up as it would have been before we stopped there.


    "So, a few hours backtrack should get us to the brook. We''ll stop there for water, fill up, clean up, and all that. We keep going after that and then stop when it gets dark. I''ll take the first watch tonight, and you can take the second. Cool?"


    "Sounds good to me."


    "Alright, hopefully we don''t have any problems; I''m looking forward to no more drama."


    "Agreed, dude. Let''s try to keep the whole rest of the trip drama-free. What about the Blackham and our village?"


    "Let''s just handle what we can handle¨Cgetting back to the village first¨Cthen we''ll tell Hannah and Jorge what happened and let them decide what to do."


    "Ace. Sounds like a plan. Alright then, let''s get going."


    I scoop up the small bits of metal used for campfire cooking and fold them before putting them in my pack. They don''t fit perfectly, but I get them stuffed in there and fasten the pack closed as best I can. I give it to Khalil to carry, and he slings it over his back to secure it while I head over to Ranger and the remnants of his large meal.


    "Wow, Ranger, you ate everything pretty much. You must have been hungry as hell. Khalil, help me move this off the pathway."


    He grunts but then helps me move the bones and other remnants of the buck off of the side of the traveler''s path. Usually, I''d prefer to bury it, but we don''t have those tools available for such a large corpse. After dragging it a reasonable distance from the pathway, we jog back to where Ranger is busily cleaning himself after his meal. We both have to wait another five minutes for him to want to move, but once he does, I take the forward seat in the saddle on the wiretail''s back while Khalil rides behind me on the smaller second-person seat.


    Ranger starts at a lazy pace, probably due to the big meal he''d just consumed, which is fine. Khalil and I ride together in silence, save for the grunts and grumbles of Ranger as we head back down the path on his back. I barely need to guide him with the saddle reins; he seems intelligent enough to understand we''re sticking to the path, and his pace increases after time to a decent clip of speed.

 020; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 13.2: The Overview

    Thankfully, our ride isn''t interrupted at any stage by anything from the Wilds. We''re able to reach the brook, slake our thirsts, clean our clothing, faces, and bodies, and then fill up all of our water storage flasks. After about an hour of handling all that, we''re back onto the traveler''s path and heading in the same direction as the village. We occasionally joke back and forth, but otherwise, the riding is pretty sedate and not stressful. I''m thankful for the break in the high intensity of the last week or so, and truthfully, I''d be concerned if we had hit any snags, but thankfully, we continue to head without interruption.


    As the sky begins to change its shade and the moon begins to creep up further in the sky to take its night-time ascendancy, I start to look for a good place for us to settle down for the night. Since there are only two of us and Ranger, we don''t need a large campsite, just a space on the traveler''s path with a little clearing on both sides, so we can''t be surprised if something were to have nefarious intentions. It doesn''t take much longer for such a place to present itself, and I tug on the reins to get Ranger to stop, which he does with some degree of resistance¨Calmost like he wants to keep going. Either way, we get stopped and settle down for the night.


    We eat the three steaks that we heat a little over the fire to warm them back up, and then, as promised, I take the first watch. I settle in once Khalil has gone to sleep; I lean against Ranger''s shoulders to relax while Khalil softly snores nearby. By the time it''s Khalil''s turn to take watch, my eyes are heavy with sleep. We swap off without trouble, and the last thing I remember is Ranger snoring just before my eyes close and sleep overtakes me.


    Much like the morning before, save that Ranger is still with us when I awake, we get started on the traveler''s path. This continues for a couple of days, and when Ranger gets hungry¨Cor perhaps when his senses pick up the sounds of prey¨Che winds up hunting for the three of us without Khalil prompting him. It''s a good time; it''s just Khalil, me, and the wiretail. It reminds me of hunting trips we''d go on before all this nonsense started after that trading run. Calm, sedate, unhurried, and unworried¨Cthe true Wilder way. The darkness seducing me had been fading each day that we traveled the Wilds, as if the sun, in its ascendancy, was cleaning away the moon and the darkness it protects. I still thought of Cassandra but didn''t want to seek out and track her down as strongly as the day and night after her departure.


    Having made good time because of Ranger''s pace and natural quickness, I spied the outskirts of our village in the near distance after only another day''s travel. Khalil gave a little bit of a cheer, and I smiled at his joy. I encouraged Ranger to pick up the pace, and before too long, we were coming up to the gates of our village. Khalil was quick to call out, so the guards and others didn''t panic at the sight of a wiretail bounding towards the village. Because of the early warning of our arrival, when we arrived, there was a small host of people gathered around¨Cweans included¨Cto see us and the wiretail we''d brought back with us.


    "Khalil! Ori!"


    I hop off of Ranger''s back when I hear the familiar cheery voice of Lani rising above the clamor of the other Wilder oohing and aahing over Ranger. Khalil gets down, too, which is just in time. Wearing regular clothes¨Csome old human band shirt that I don''t recognize the name of with jeans¨Crather than the more protective stuff we wear during trading runs, Lani brushes past people and lunges to grab hold of Khalil in a crushing hug. Once she squeezes him long enough for him to start laughing, she releases and does the same to me.


    "You two idiots! What have you gotten yourselves into now?"


    I laugh while Khalil blushes. The slender and wispy half-elf, half-air pixie in front of us fixes us with her hazel eyes and puts both hands on her hips. I casually denote Khalil, face still flushed, is the first to talk for us.


    "Lani, dude, you are not going to believe us."


    "Oh, I don''t know, I might. This looks a lot like the wiretail who wanted to eat us a couple of weeks ago!"


    "Yeaaaah, it''s the same one. He named himself Ranger. Kinda."


    "Ranger? Okay, sure. Are you guys hungry? I bet you are. Come on, we''ll get you some food."


    Finally, I interject, otherwise Khalil is sure to go and be led by his stomach.


    "Whoa, whoa. Wait, before we do that, I need to see Gallen about Ranger here, and then we need to go and talk with Hannah and Jorge again."


    "Can I come with?"


    "Normally, Lani, you know I''d be good with it, but¡­"


    "But not this time, huh? Is it serious?"


    "Maybe not serious-serious, but we definitely need to tell them what happened. We''ll catch you later in a few hours at the Forgetful Fox for food, drinks, and all that?"


    "Suuuure. I''ll see you guys at the tavern then."


    Ranger rumbles and growls, sending a few weans scattering into the distance, half in terror and half squealing in playful excitement. I step back next to Ranger and snag his saddle''s reins.


    "Scaring the kids, you big beast."


    I grin and pat his coarse fur before leading him toward the stables, where I know Gallen will be posted up doing some work for the village. Sure enough, he''s there, and though he gives Khalil and me some guff for bringing a wiretail in, I can tell he''s excited to have one there. We try to explain that Ranger can come and go if he wants to go hunt, which makes Gallen give us an openly "not-going-to-happen" look. I try to protest, but I''m shut down every time until I finally give up. Khalil tries as well, but Gallen isn''t having any of it. After a few more minutes of trying to plead our case, we eventually accept defeat. We finally agreed to leave Ranger with Gallen in the stables under his rules, and set out in the direction of Hannah and Jorge''s lovely home nestled to the side of the center of our village.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    As I step up the stairs to the door and knock, I''m glad that there was a brook at least once on our way back to the village. Though Khalil and I are probably pretty ripe now, at least I''m not covered in blood and swamp muck. I know I''m a little grimy from the road, but it''s better than looking like I was in the trenches of a war. When the door opens, it''s Hannah herself who opens it. For some reason, I half expected a vine to open the door, or maybe even Jorge, but with Hannah looking us over with her kind eyes, I felt a small bit of shame creep up in my chest. Perplexed, I don''t understand why, and it causes me to furrow my brow.


    "Orion, Khalil, you two look like you''ve had another rough week. Come in and join me."


    She steps back, allowing us inside, and we move in so that she can close the door behind us. She leads us through the home into her backyard and "workshop." I see that some of her paintings have changed, and I denote with some minor degree of happiness that she has some pigments of paint here and there. One of the other traders must have brought her some from another village. She settles down at a little circular table of twisted vines around a sturdy trunk and invites us to sit in one of the other chairs. We sit around the small table and look at each other, almost like we''re waiting to see who gets started. In the end, it''s Hannah who speaks first.


    "That bad, is it? Has anyone seen the wounds on your arms?" Her tone is warm and interested-sounding, but there''s something else underlying it, something she''s trying to cover¨Cdefensiveness perhaps, or maybe worse, suspiciousness.


    "Khalil and I don''t know for sure anything. But we can tell you what happened, and then maybe you''ll be able to guess better than we can. And I''m okay, mostly just scratches; I already made sure they won''t get infected. I''ll take care of them more a little later."


    Hannah nods, her blue topaz eyes bidding me to go on. Hannah''s long tresses of golden hair aren''t braided today, allowing her long and sweeping ears to be what holds back her hair from spilling across her shoulders. Seeing her in a more dressed down state¨Cthough she''s always still elegant¨Cbrings that little knot of shame back into my stomach, and I still don''t know why; it isn''t like I''ve done anything wrong. Still, I force it down so that I can speak.


    I tell her the story of our trip from my perspective, leaving out the bits of my encounters with Cassandra on a personal level. I tell her how we split up, leaving Khalil and Kline at the camp while the trackers and I split off into three duos, with pixies'' sparks in hand in case we needed backup. I tell her about the spark flaring into the sky, finding one of the trackers and his aid brutally torn to pieces, and how Cassandra and I had to fight the night terrors and the pair of two-headed basiliscu. Khalil looked shocked at the story being spun, as he hadn''t heard the details before. I mention the lack of calvary and how Cassandra nearly lost it on Kline when we found the group again. Khalil lets me keep the lead for talking when I tell Hannah about how we took Ranger instead of letting Kline and the other two Blackham just kill him because he''d be "too much of a hassle" to get back to their Blackham City. Finally, with my story told, I lapse into silence and run my left hand down over my face, feeling the start of stubble along my jawline.


    Hannah shifts her gaze to Khalil but doesn''t say anything immediately. Khalil clears his throat a little.


    "Right, my story isn''t all exciting like that."


    "Wasn''t that exciting to live it, Khalil. It was pretty scary for a little while there, and I wasn''t sure if I would make it out of that swamp."


    "Dude, yeah, I get that. Sorry, I didn''t mean it¨C"


    "You''re good, it''s cool. Do your thing, man."


    "Right, that night with the pixies'' spark and all that, when everyone left, it was just me and Kline. We didn''t do a lot of talking, but he kept going occasionally about how he wished we could have just left Cassandra behind. He was pretty bitter about having her around, if I''m honest. It seemed he didn''t like having no ''operational control'' over her while we were all out there."


    Khalil lifts his shoulders in a shrug, then continues.


    "Anyway, there''s a big commotion, and the other two trackers bust it up the traveler''s path, yelling at Kline to get the sleep darts and netting. Sure enough, not what like a minute later, here comes ol'' Ranger tearing ass up the road after them full tilt. They''re pretty suave about the whole thing, I won''t lie. One distracted Ranger while the other hit him with a few darts. Once he started to slow down, they tossed a little net over him, which contracted and slammed him down to the ground so he couldn''t move."


    I frown a little, but I know they didn''t hurt Ranger since I saw the after-effects and had to deal with him when he became untranquilized. Khalil doesn''t notice my frown, and Hannah doesn''t interrupt his retelling, just as she didn''t interrupt mine, so Khalil keeps talking.


    "It was honestly over in like a minute. They were efficient as hell and pretty impressive, really. So anyway, yeah, they get him down to the ground where he''s all groggy, but he''s not completely knocked out. They tell me to get my work done, so I talk to Ranger to ask him about what happened. Like I told Ori before, Ranger doesn''t know what happened to his rider. The rider left him one day in the Wilds to carry something off elsewhere and didn''t return. Ranger took a few days before he got super hungry, which is when we encountered him. So we missed whatever happened with the seam by just a few days."


    Hannah finally speaks up.


    "Did the wiretail describe what his rider carried off?"


    "Er, no, I mean, I didn''t really ask."


    "It could be important, but it could just as easily be nothing."


    I gaze at Khalil after Hannah unexpectedly focuses on that part of the story. After a few moments, I decide to add to the conversation.


    "I mean, Khalil can go and ask Ranger if he remembers what his old rider was carrying, but it''s been a while now; it''s hard to know if Ranger will remember with any degree of clarity. He''s still a wiretail, and he probably didn''t think paying attention at the time was that important."


    "You''re probably right, Orion, but Khalil¨Cif you don''t mind¨Cwill you go check just in case?"


    "Uh, now?"


    "Yes, please."


    "Sure, no problem. I''ll get back here as soon as I can. It probably shouldn''t take more than a few minutes. Hopefully, I''ll get something for you."


    Khalil pushes up from the tiny table the three of us are settled around. He nods to both of us before moving towards the home''s front door and letting himself out. After Hannah and I hear the door close, and Khalil leaves, I turn my pale eyes toward Hannah.


    "You sent him away, how come?"


    "To get that information, of course."

 021; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 13.3: The Birdbath

    "C''mon." I huff, somewhat discontentedly, before I can think to keep it in my head rather than voicing it.


    "You think I have some ulterior motive?"


    Hannah tilts her head ever so slightly as if her raised eyebrow suddenly weighted one side of her head. Her vivid blue topaz-colored eyes fix to mine, and her look is far more scrutinizing than I''m used to. I lower my eyes to the table, that little ball of shame knotting in my stomach again for reasons unknown.


    "I don''t¨CI don''t think so; I don''t know why I thought that."


    "Yes, you do."


    Hannah reaches forward across the small table and rests one of her hands on top of mine. She squeezes my hand very lightly, which causes me to look back at her.


    "You''ve seen how the world can truly be Orion, now more so than your two companions Lani and Khalil. It''s natural for some suspicion to creep into your thoughts."


    I exhale ever so slightly as if her telling me that freed my shame.


    "I don''t want to feel like people aren''t telling me the whole story. Being suspicious or whatever¨Cit''s mentally exhausting."


    "Yes, it is. Why do you think I originally moved so far out into the Wilds with Jorge?"


    I look at her hand, which is still on top of mine, then follow her arm up to her face after she says that.


    "Nobody knows the answer to that question that I know."


    "Some do, most don''t, you''re right."


    She squeezes my hand once more before releasing it and withdrawing her arm and hand back to her side. Her peaceful appearance feels warm and soothing, helping to melt away some of the doubt in my chest.


    "I''m worried that the Blackham will take out what I did on the village." I finally blurt out, unprompted.


    "You mean when you upstaged their tracking group''s very sensitive, ego-centric leader. Then, forced that same leader to agree to give you a very expensive and rare creature against his will, while holding him at arrow''s point? While also requiring that he blood oath swear it?"


    "Er, yeah¡­" My eyes lower back to the table, the knot of shame returning with a vengeance.


    "I can see how you might be concerned that they might seek out some retaliation."


    She exhales slightly, with just a little noise drifting into the air.


    "Orion, Orion, you have truly found yourself in some troubles lately, haven''t you?"


    "Not a big fan of it, really."


    "Come now, I don''t believe that in the slightest." She laughs melodiously and softly, like a tickle from a warm breeze.


    The laughter draws my eyes back up from the table''s top to look at her. She''s gazing at me with one of the corners of her lips tilted upwards in amusement. The surprise must register on my face¨CI''ve got to get better at my poker face.


    "Orion, I know very much that some part of you is quite enjoying your exposure to a bigger slice of the world; you don''t need to pretend otherwise with me. Do you think I didn''t notice that you pointedly didn''t mention much about that vampire, Cassandra, in your storytelling earlier?"


    I purse my lips, thinking of what to say in response.


    "Wasn''t relevant to the story."


    "Isn''t it, though? Motivations are important¨Cit''s how we can accurately determine how a person might act or react. If you know a person''s heart, you can guess how they are most likely to react."


    "Sounds a lot like politics to me."


    "Because it is a large part of politics when dealing face-to-face with others."


    "Yeah, I''m not a politician, Hannah."


    "I didn''t say you were, but you could learn some helpful things like one. I''m not chastising you in any way here, Orion. I''m just mentioning that it would be in your best interest to try and learn how to suss out people''s true motivations. It can only help you."


    "Yeah, maybe. But what are we going to do about the Blackham?" I sigh.


    Hannah watched me for a few moments, her facial features now being a calm mask. Her topaz eyes shift slightly as she takes a few seconds to analyze my face. A few moments later, she gazes away, looking in the direction of flora blooming along the outskirts of her open backyard. It occurs to me that I never really noticed Hannah''s contemplating looks before now¨Cmaybe because I''d only been a hunter and occasional trader, so there wasn''t drama I was privy to.


    "Usually, if they were dealing with a normal village, I would say they''d likely send an emissary to try to scare us. Against a normal Wilder village, they''ll egotistically believe that a show of wealth or force will cow us¨Cand the majority here would be cowed, of course; they''re good folks and don''t want to deal with hostilities. Normally, they''d likely demand that we either turn over the wiretail¨Cpardon me, Ranger¨Cor they''ll require us to put him down where they can witness it."


    "Not going to happen."


    "Perhaps. Are you so willing to bring the strife you''re suggesting here over one wiretail, Orion?"


    "It''s not about Ranger, exactly. I just don''t think we should kill him because Kline was too stupid to handle the tracking group the right way. Somehow, I''m sure he''s spun up some story about how the two that died from the night terrors were my fault or somesuch."


    "So it''s your ego versus his?"


    "What?" I blurt out defensively. "This doesn''t have anything to do with my ego. I did the right thing out there, Hannah."


    "Yes, you did. And now the ''right thing'' you chose to do could endanger our village. You haven''t been to Blackham City, so you don''t know the extent of their power."


    "Neither have you, at least since I''ve been alive," I grumble a little petulantly.


    "Haven''t I? Do you know what I can or cannot do, Orion?"


    "No," I mumble, suddenly embarrassed at my childish outburst.


    "Look at me, Orion."


    I exhale a little air through my nose and then raise my eyes again to hers. Her eyes and skin are more luminous than usual. I may have irritated her, which disturbs me more than I care to admit.


    "Sorry, Hannah. I''m all in my head and feelings about this."


    "Shhh. I want you to listen very carefully, and I want you to learn this now so that you don''t have to learn it in a terrible way in the future."


    I swallow hard, though my mouth and throat feel dry. I nod my head, keeping silent for the moment.


    "You have a tendency to assume you know everything that can occur based on what you see with your own eyes. You need to understand that our world¨Cthe real one¨Cdoes not work that way. Some can cast their thoughts and consciousness great distances, and others can read your thoughts or even give you thoughts that aren''t things you would normally think of. You know that abilities can greatly vary from fey to fey. And yet, you still assume that what you see in front of you is the truth, like an oblivious wean. You need to realize right here and now that anything is possible¨Cstop being the wean you were; it''s time to be the faerie you are. Now that you''ve dipped your toes into the lapping waves of the world at large, you will endanger yourself and those around you by being childish or willfully ignorant."


    Hannah rose from her seat and gestured for me to follow her. I do so without complaint or hesitation because I realize she''s giving me a life lesson that I need to take to heart. Hannah moves ahead of me gracefully across the grass of her open yard. As I follow her, I watch the grass on the ground quiver and stretch ever so slightly towards Hannah as if it were wishing to touch her as she passes by. When she comes to a stop, it''s next to a small birdbath with bubbling water flowing out of a carved stone spout. Hannah crouches momentarily and turns the running water off, leaving the bowl with still water after the ripples finish across its surface.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "What do you see?"


    I look from Hannah towards the birdbath and approach the stone lawn adornment. My pale eyes search the water and the bowl for some trick, but I can''t see one.


    "Uhhh¡­"


    Hannah watches me placidly, her eyes and skin still giving off the faintly luminous glow I haven''t seen before. She doesn''t speak, instead silently telling me to try again. I breathe quietly through my nose, step right next to the birdbath, and look down, trying to study the carving more carefully and see anything I might have missed. After a few minutes, I shake my head in defeat.


    "Sorry, I don''t see it. Whatever ''it'' is supposed to be."


    "Look at yourself, Orion."


    I momentarily raise my eyes to her, then look back to the birdbath''s water, gazing at the reflection¨Cmuch like I did at the bottom of the soup bowl while out in the Wilds on the traveler''s path.


    "Who do you see there, now?"


    "I don''t know the guy looking back at me, Hannah. I saw my face earlier in the week in the same way, and I¨CI don''t know me right now."


    "Yes, you''ve changed, and you''re worried that the change must mean something negative. It doesn''t have to. People must change to grow. What we encounter molds us, changes our view, and gives us new ways to see some situations we might have encountered before from a different perspective. Your only other encounter with a life-changing event was the business with your mother¨Ca negative change. I know you don''t wish to speak of your mother, and we aren''t going to. But you need to know that change is not always a terrible or negative thing. You have a spark in you that others don''t have, and you need to learn to nurture it. However, you also need to learn that you cannot let your ego or decisions simply come into existence without thinking them through first. The choices you make not only affect you, but they affect those around you and can affect you even further than that."


    She walks a few feet away and plucks three leaves from a small tree before returning to the birdbath and standing beside me. She drops one leaf before me in the birdbath and spreads the other two on the opposite side.


    "Watch."


    Without waiting to see if I''m watching¨Cwhich I am¨Cshe taps the water with a fingertip next to the leaf in front of me a few times. It''s not hard enough to sink the leaf, but it does send ripples out through the birdbath.


    "A ripple you create in the water might not reach the other leaves right away¨C" She touches the water once again, making a slightly larger ripple. "¨Cbut your ripple can and will reach them in time."


    The leaves on the other side of the birdbath waver and try to float over the ripples caused by Hannah touching the water next to my leaf.


    "You must learn how to think about the consequences of your actions¨Cyour ripple¨Cnot only for yourself but for those who might suffer the side effects of the action further down the road. It sounds easy to do, but it isn''t. You are capable of being more cerebral, Orion; you need to leave Orion-the-wean behind to do it. Time to be Orion-the-elven-man that you are now."


    Hannah reaches down and turns back on the water flow to the stone birdbath, and once again, the water bubbles forth, sinking the three leaves into the bottom of the bowl with the water''s disturbance. She uses her long fingers to fish the three leaves out before dropping them to the carpet of grass we''re standing in.


    "I don''t know how to."


    "There''s no guidebook to life, Orion. You just have to weave your way around troubles, joyful moments, and changes. You shouldn''t choose to isolate yourself, so find those you trust the most and keep them close. You already come to people for advice that you believe have more life experience. I''m not telling you to continue doing that, even though it applies to me here. But seeking out others you implicitly trust to give you good advice to decide if you will take heed of is an outstanding trait you have. You should trust your instincts about it."


    I nod my head to her, understanding and accepting the advice. When she lapses into total silence, I realize the life lesson segment of our chat is over. I grin a little, feeling much better even if I have much to consider. I look at her before quipping.


    "So, how is Blackham City then?"


    She smirked at me, her luminous glow around her skin and eyes fading to normal as the seconds passed. Hannah steps around me and returns to the small table, sitting there as if we''d never even moved. I quickly move to join her at the table.


    "It''s larger than you''d expect. It''s not quite as large as the cities you''ve been to in the human divide, but it''s large enough. They have quite a number of wiretails. They are dangerous, don''t get me wrong, Orion. Some people even believe they''re strong enough to challenge the Aurora tribe for the rule over sun ascendancy if you believe tavern chatter."


    "Do you think they are?"


    "I don''t truly know, but I do know we don''t need to have their eyes on us."


    "What options do we have as a village?"


    "You let me worry about that, Orion love."


    "You''re not worried?"


    "At risk of making you not understand the repercussions of your actions¨Cno, I''m not worried."


    "Can I ask you something personal, Hannah?"


    She leans back slightly in her seat, with her arms folded loosely over her abdomen, and uses the slight distance to study my facial features before finally choosing to respond to me.


    "Yes."


    "You said you moved out into the Wilds because you got mentally exhausted from being suspicious or always trying to peep people''s motivations. And I remember how¨Cthe night before we left to track Ranger¨Ctwo of the Blackham elves paid their respects to you before they left your house. So I guess my question is¡­ Who were you before you moved here?"


    She''s silent for a few moments, her arresting topaz blue eyes not wavering from their gaze on me. Finally, after I''d started to think she wouldn''t answer at all, she does.


    "The Hannah that moved here to the Wilds to become Hannah the Wilder is not who she was before."


    Her speaking in the third person weirded me out, but she didn''t answer my question, so I pressed the issue slightly.


    "I get that, but who were you before Hannah the Wilder?"


    "Are we speaking in confidence, nephew?"


    "I''d never betray your trust willingly."


    "I believe you."


    She exhales a long stream of air, warm and expressive. She doesn''t want to answer, but I can tell she will. She stands instead of speaking and gestures for me to follow her inside her home. I pull myself off the seat again next to the tiny table we''d been at and shuffle across the grass to follow her inside. We walk through the short hallways to a closed¨Cand locked¨Cdoor. She murmurs a word to the air next to the door''s locking mechanism, and the multitude of locks undo themselves one after the other before the door creaks open.


    "You''re not about to show me your secret dungeon, right?" I joke, trying to break the tension from waiting to see what Hannah is about to show me.


    She doesn''t respond to my joke. Instead, she steps inside the room, which appears to glow from within. At first, I thought it was just poor lighting, but as I followed her inside, I saw that faint illumination was coming from some of the items inside the small room. Along the small room''s walls are books and scrolls, clothes and even armor, weapons¨Cblades, bows, and a few others. In the center of the room, sitting on a simple wooden pedestal is the most illuminating object, casting the brightest¨Cyet still faint¨Clight to the room. The object is a heavy-looking necklace made of gold, with an ornate golden sun pendant that has white and carmine-red polished stones expanding outwards from its golden center in the shape of sun rays.


    I step closer to the necklace as Hannah allows me into the room, and my eyebrows raise as I study it.


    "Wait. What? This is¨C"


    "Yes, it''s one of the distinguished markings of the ruling caste of the Aurora tribe."


    "Holy shit, you''re Hannah of the Aurora."


    "No. I was Hannah of the Aurora a lifetime ago. Now I am Hannah the Wilder."


    I walk over to where the armor and weapons are¨CI see the large hammer Jorge brought out the day the Blackham rode into our village on their wiretails. I stop to crouch and look at the beast of a weapon before my eyes shift to the beautiful pair of bows neatly resting in a wooden holder next to the hammer. I reach out to touch one of them and am surprised by the physical warmth radiating from the wood.


    "They''re not going to attack us." I suddenly blurt out.


    "They''re not going to attack us," Hannah responds with a muted agreement.


    "Wait. Was my mother a¨C"


    "No, but your father was. He was a good man, and I miss him. I wish you would have known him before¡­ before he passed."


    "Before she killed him, you mean."


    "Before he passed." She corrects me sharply.


    Knocking at the front door ends our conversation and "show and tell." She gestures for me to leave the room, and she follows me out, pausing only momentarily to listen for all the locks to be moved back into place supernaturally. Rather than retaking our position outside, Hannah leads us both to the front door before opening it to Khalil standing there.


    "Uh, hey, guys. Sorry it took longer than expected; the weans were all crazy and wanted to sit on Ranger''s back. Couldn''t be helped, had to let them."


    Hannah smiles at Khalil with a gentle movement.


    "It''s alright, Khalil. The weans are worth a little detour. What did the wiretail have to say when you were able to ask him?"


    "Well, as we expected, he didn''t remember much about the item, only that it was like a tall, round jug-like thing. He thought it was a big water jug, but it had markings on it. That''s all I could get from him, sorry."


    "You did just fine. Good job. Orion here was just leaving."


    I shuffle around from behind Hannah and step out onto the front porch with Khalil. I look back at Hannah¨Cmy head still spinning from the revelation I''d been shown just minutes prior¨Cbefore she closes the door.


    "Thanks."


    "You''re welcome, Orion."


    I hesitate but then turn and jog down the steps a few feet ahead of Khalil, who doesn''t seem to suspect anything. Why would he?


    "Hell yeah man, are we heading to the Forgetful Fox?"


    "I''m going to go take a bath first, then yeah, I want to get drunk as hell."


    "Heeeeeeeeell yeah!" Khalil exclaims, drawing out his words of excitement over a few seconds. "Dude, I''ve been waiting. I get to tell the wiretail story, and then I''m gonna drink and flirt, and happy times will happen."


    "With Lani?"


    He splutters, much like I did when Hannah asked me about Aria. That makes me laugh outright, ebbing away some tension from my conversations with Hannah.


    "What? Lani? Are you out of your mind? She''d set me on fire if I made a pass at her!"


    "Man, I saw you all blushed when she hugged you earlier; don''t think I missed it."


    "Dude, whatever, I was hot from riding in the damn sun with no water."


    "Uh-huh."


    "Well¡­ You think she''d set me on fire?"


    I laugh and keep walking, not bothering to respond to him.


    "C''mon, Ori! Did she say something to you about me?!"


    I look over my shoulder at Khalil with a massive grin before pointedly turning back and heading toward my tiny home, leaving Khalil to mutter and cuss behind me.

 022; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 14.1: The Yellow Line

    Tallulah''s next few nights after the full moon party are mostly filled with trying to explain why she''s living in the house while her people are still outdoors. Unsurprisingly, and as expected, comments about her intentions and whether she''s allowed herself to forget what happened rule the majority of the simmering conversations. It''s only by pointing out that she put her own life in danger multiple times for their village that the hotter heads are forced into disgruntled silence.


    Kofi hasn''t been back to visit or even speak with her since the full moon night, but neither has she seen the other two of his leadership group. The House, with a capital "H" they call it, she''s pretty sure. She''s unsure if they''re called House Bear or anything similar to the tribes in the Wilds, and no one has precisely gone out of their way to clarify it for her.


    Tallulah finds herself in her room, sorting through an overabundance of clothing. She complained once the night before about having nothing to "just wear," and that must have been terrifying for the tailor and stylist because about three hours after that, there was a veritable car-load''s worth of assorted clothing brought in by servants. She pulls out one floor-length dress slightly, keeping it on its hangar, and laughs. The red dress is ridiculous; it looks as though it was attacked by feathers everywhere. She slots the dress back where the servants placed it and then strolls a couple of steps over to look over the less ornate clothing.


    She finally settles on a dark, pine-colored boat-necked shirt for the night, and as she tries to pull it out, she sees it''s already been paired by her assigned stylist with some coated black skinny jeans and a black pair of heeled boots. She smirks, thinking about her home in the Wilds, with her "closet" of four different outfits depending on the work she''s doing that evening and night. She continues to be amused while changing into the night''s attire, leaving what she slept in behind in a laundry receptacle. She already knows it will be taken by one of the domestics at some point when she''s not around, having experienced it the previous nights in this room.


    All fresh and clean, dressed for the night, Tallulah sets out of her room, intent on finding out more about the homestead or, at the very least, the vampires who run it. As she steps out of her room, directly across the hallway, about five feet away, stands a disgruntled-looking Micah.


    "Ah, hello, Micah. Waiting for me?"


    "Hello, Miss Tallulah. Yes, you could say that. There''s been an incident which requires your attention."


    "My attention? An incident?" Tallulah starts to pull her hair back but realizes she doesn''t have a hair tie. With an awkward movement, she drops her hair back down past her shoulders.


    "Two of your people attempted to steal one of the house''s horses and escape the homestead grounds."


    Tallulah''s face immediately shifts into a slight degree of concern¨Cshe remembers the vampire-enhanced dogs they have roaming the area outside of the main fence at night. Her breath catches in her throat, almost afraid to ask her next question. As if reading her mind, though, Micah continues.


    "They are still alive, though we''re having to put down the injured steed¨Ca good earner for the house, by the way. I will take you to where the transgressors are being held." He exhales once, not bothering to hide his irritation. "I''ve been informed that you''re to render judgment on behalf of the house."


    "What? Why me?"


    "Because that is what I was told."


    "I mean, why are they assigning me to decide on punishment?"


    Micah looks at Tallulah like she''s stupid and doesn''t try to hide it again. He purses his lips, his dark facial features and eyes betraying how little he thinks of her and her people. She didn''t realize he had such a distaste for the faeries on the homestead grounds until that moment.


    "Because, Miss Tallulah, they are your people. I would imagine the house believes it is doing you the favor of choosing their punishment rather than assigning it themselves."


    "I see."


    She waves a hand, gesturing for Micah to lead her. As he moves forward to take them through the house, her green eyes bore into the back of his skull as she feels her irritation rising. Irritation stems not just from the way he''s treating her as a second-class citizen with an undeserved free ride but also from the fact that some of her people would do something so stupid. She feels the strength of the moon outside humming in her veins, and for a few seconds, she fights off the urge to show Micah who he''s passive-aggressively disrespecting. She convinces her mind that acting on her dark urge would serve no purpose, reminding herself of the young Elijah''s plea concerning Micah when they met so many nights ago upon their arrival at the homestead.


    Micah stops at a few security doors as they make their way toward the back of the expansive wood and stone structure into more "working" areas for the house staff. Each time they pass through the security doors, Micah gazes back at Tallulah to make sure she''s following, but other than that, they share no gazes or words. Before too long, they walk through a large kitchen humming with activity¨Cbypassing a full complement of chefs and aides¨Cthen through two separate walk-in cold rooms. The first one, a freezer area with hanging meats of varying animal origin, and the second, a frigid room, set just above freezing temperature, which holds racks and racks of ruby red liquid in sealed packs hooked up to some plastic piping that seems to be circulating the blood constantly.


    She pauses in the cold room full of bagged blood and looks around, diverting from Micah''s chosen path to walk over to a wall-length set of doors. Micah stops and balefully sighs¨Crealizing Tallulah''s footfalls are no longer behind him¨Cbefore turning back and jogging to catch up with Tallulah while she walks towards the specialty racks.


    The large built-in racks are intended for wine bottles in a wine cellar, but they''ve been reconstituted to hold bottles of what is clearly blood. The bottles are all individually hooked up to a machine that appears to turn the bottles and circulate their contents every few minutes. Tallulah tilts her head at the interesting technology the vampires use, having never seen anything like it before. She takes one bottle off of the rack and tilts it towards her so she can read the handwritten label on the front:This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    <blockquote>


    19 y/o male, virgin


    Intoxicated by venom:


    Spiny-Headed Sea Snake


    Blood type: AB-positive


    </blockquote>


    While she reads the label, Micah clears his throat. She gazes momentarily in his direction before casually sliding the bottle back into place on the rack.


    "What is this?"


    "I don''t understand the question, Miss Tallulah."


    "What is all of this?" She gestures around the room, then pointedly at the racks in front of her. "Who is it for?"


    "This is one of the caches of blood for house members. The packs are for general usage. The bottles are strictly by allowance only¨Conly one of the house may choose to allow their usage."


    Tallulah denotes the difference in usage of the same word there. Apparently, the vampires are grouped at large by their allegiance to the "house," but the ruling trio¨CKofi, Percival, and Serena¨Care also called the "house."


    "There''s so much."


    "This is only one room and one location. There are others. It''s another''s job to track and maintain these rooms. If you don''t mind, Miss Tallulah, we should continue."


    "Yeah, sure."


    She steps back and gestures for Micah to continue. He gives her a blank-faced look before turning and leading them back to the main walkway through the room. Another set of security measures is passed before they finally step into what feels like a different area of the home entirely.


    The security door they just moved through opens directly to stairs leading down into a well-lit, yet fairly nondescript, cinderblock and concrete hallway, with none of the adornments that the rest of the homestead has. There are two straight and painted lines on the floor, one red and one yellow in color. They walk up the hallway, following both lines, and when they come to a junction, the red line on the floor splits from the yellow. Micah continues to lead them along the yellow line, his pace not hurried but also not slow. Her boot''s heels click with each step on the simple, smooth concrete floor, echoing down the long, lighted hallway as they continue going further underground.


    Finally, after several turns and two more sets of steps, they come to a thick metal security door being guarded by a vampire she doesn''t recognize. The man is a giant ball of muscle, and he has both an assault rifle in his hands, a pistol on his left hip, and a knife attached by a sheath to his right thigh. He also seems to be wearing body armor that makes him look even more imposing than his physical frame already is.


    "Good evening, Mister Haas. This is Miss Tallulah, who is supposed to see the two prisoners and determine their punishment."


    "You''re ten minutes late." The man says in response, his voice so deep that it initially sounds entirely fake to Tallulah.


    "Apologies." Micah quickly responds, clearly submissive to the vampire. "We had a little bit of a detour, and this is her first time coming here, so there¨C"


    "Don''t care. Be on time next time."


    The muscular hulk of a man looks past Micah as if he doesn''t exist, his cold blue eyes settling on Tallulah. He studies her much more carefully than the half-glance he gave to Micah.


    "Hello, Mister Haas." Tallulah intones.


    "Just Bragi is fine. You''re the first to see them. We have rules for viewing our prisoners, which every visitor must abide by." He exhales before continuing and listing off those rules for Tallulah rotely.


    "The first rule of viewing the prisoners is that you are not allowed to touch them. No exceptions. The second rule is that you are not allowed to touch the cell in which they are kept¨CI especially recommend that for you, as you probably don''t wish to be electrocuted. Third, if I¨Cor another of the guards¨Csay for you to do something, you do it with no questions asked. If you agree to these rules, I will grant you admittance."


    Micah looks at Tallulah as if standing there and waiting for her. Tallulah returns the glance for a second at Micah dispassionately, the urge to retaliate for his earlier passive-aggressiveness still floating in her mind. Finally, she looks back towards "Bragi"¨Cwell, up at Bragi¨Cand responds.


    "I don''t see any problem with those rules. I agree."


    Bragi dips his head in response, his cold blue eyes passing right over Micah. When he does that, Micah turns and walks away, clearly dismissed. Tallulah now understands why Micah is so disgruntled¨Call vampires treat him like something they scraped from the bottom of their shoes. Tallulah tries to note that in her mind, cataloging their treatment of even their supposed protector guards. Bragi touches his hand to a small panel, then looks in a small slot that scans his eyes, and the thick metal security door unlocks. Bragi pushes the door open for Tallulah and then gestures for her to head inside the ample space.


    The door quickly reseals itself and locks once they are inside and it''s closed. Tallulah gazes over the long row of professionally installed jail cells, some empty, others with individuals in them. At the very end of the room, she can see another door leading to what appears to be a kennel with caged animals inside. She doesn''t get a good look at it as Bragi ushers her toward one of the first cells in the line of them. They bypass two cells with pale people inside. Although they look well-cleaned and fed, they also look a bit sickly. A few more moments of gazing as she''s ushered by, and she realizes why: there are little track marks on their arms, where they''ve been bled with needles¨Cprobably to help supply one of those blood storage rooms Micah walked her through.


    She frowns a little but elects not to say anything. Some part of her knows that it isn''t right to cage people and tap them for their blood. Still, the louder part reminds her that we don''t judge a cat for hunting mice, a crocodile for whatever comes into their watering hole, or lions for stalking wildebeest¨Cso why should she judge vampires for how they get their sustenance?


    Bragi stopped next to a cell, two empty ones down from where she gazed over the people being used as blood "donors." He turned to look at her as she approached and pointed to a small black line on the floor.


    "Best to stand here; that way, you''re not tempted to break the rules I gave you before we came here."


    "Is that part of the rules?"


    "What?"


    "Is standing on the line part of the rules?" Tallulah carefully clarifies while trying not to sound snide.


    Bragi looks at her for a few seconds as if he is also trying to decide if she is being derisive to him. He exhales through his nose once, apparently deciding that Tallulah wasn''t, because he politely responds.


    "No, you don''t have to stand on the line."


    With that, he strides a few paces to sit in a metal chair beside a couple of empty others against the wall. Tallulah nods to him, then turns with a loud exhale to see who it is inside the cage in front of her. Remembering the warning about electrocution, she only takes a few steps forward to peer into the cage.

 023; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 14.2: The Rumor

    As Tallulah does so, the two inside of the cage stand up. Micah did mention they were alive, but he conveniently didn''t add that one of the two had clearly been pulled off the horse they stole by what distinctly looks like dogs. Tallulah draws her lips back at the sight of the large gauze wrapping around the left leg of one of the pair. They draw closer to the door but don''t touch it¨Calready aware of the electrical current on the door.


    The first is a young elf-kin in the early stages of his life who seems to have gotten the worst of the pair in the encounter. His leg is bandaged up¨Cthe bandages are nearly soaked through already with blood¨Cand he limps quite severely when he moves. Holding him up and helping him to walk is a woman who appears quite a bit older than he is¨Cthough when Tallulah recognizes her, she also knows the woman is much older than Tallulah is as well. The woman has a very plain look, and if one were unkind, they would call her unattractive, with thinned brown hair and eyes a bit too small for her face, with a nose just a hair too long and thin. Tallulah recognizes her as one of the couple broonies of the village. Her lips turn down at the corners, her frown deepening as empathy for them bubbles through some of the emotional hardenings she''d been working on the past week or so.


    "Lewis and Etta¡­ what happened?"


    Lewis starts to talk but immediately starts coughing. He continues for a good ten seconds, long enough that Etta starts trying to help calm him down by patting his back.


    "Do you both have any water?"


    Etta looks at Tallulah with baleful eyes full of betrayal. Tallulah takes a half step back, unexpecting such a hateful look from someone she would have considered a friendly acquaintance only a week ago. She spits at Tallulah, which sizzles on the bars in front of them both. She holds her stare for another few seconds before finally electing to snap at Tallulah verbally in faerie-speech.


    "What do you care, traitor?"


    Tallulah pauses, hesitating only momentarily before speaking in their shared tongue.


    "A traitor? What do you even mean? Where have you heard this from? I''ve chosen so that we can get you all back to the village through a seam!"


    A sarcastic laugh escapes Lewis'' dry lips. His soft brown hair is trimmed close to his head, though it''s grown out a little since they were back at the village. He generally helps the game warden with the animals around the village, so it makes sense to Tallulah that he probably thought he could steal a horse and get away. Beads of sweat drip from Lewis'' face.


    "Right."


    Tallulah furrows her brow; how can she defend herself if they won''t tell her where this rumor started? She looks back and forth between the two, trying to convince them through her body language alone that she wants to help them. It doesn''t work on Lewis, but unexpectedly, Etta softens her tone slightly when she responds.


    "They didn''t give us any water; we could use some and some fresh bandages, too."


    Tallulah turns around and looks at Bragi, who is relaxing behind her in one of the chairs. She clears her throat before talking to him in ordinary speech, which he will understand.


    "Could we get some fresh bandages and some water for them? It''s not much to ask for."


    "It''s your decision. I was ordered to listen to what you decree about them."


    "Okay, they need a few water bottles and fresh gauze." Tallulah turns back to the cell but pauses and looks back at Bragi before adding, "Now, if you please."


    Bragi looked indifferent about the whole proceedings until Tallulah told him to do something now. He exhaled a loud stream of air from his nose and reached up to his mouth with a small walkie-talkie radio before irritatedly blurting into it.


    "Bragi here. Bring four bottles of water and two fresh boxes of gauze." He releases the button pointedly before looking back at Tallulah. "Anything else, Your Highness?"


    "No, that should do it for now." Choosing not to rise to Bragi''s bait, she instead turns back to the two faeries locked in the prison cell in front of her. She returns to speaking with them in the fey''s tongue.


    "They''ll bring you some water and fresh bandages. Can you answer my questions, please? I don''t understand where this hate is coming from."


    Etta helps Lewis back down to sit on the ground with his back against the plain, thick, solid concrete wall of the cell''s rear. Tallulah notes he looks feverish, probably making Etta''s anxiety go into overdrive as a broonie.


    Etta is what humans would call a professional homemaker¨Cwhich is generally the same for most broonies who find themselves as Wilder. Broonies aid typically one person or family, willingly and unwaveringly, until their agreed-upon service time passes. If Tallulah remembers correctly, Lewis'' family¨Cwho just lost their patriarch when the vampires attacked them in the glade¨Cemploys Etta, so it makes sense that they would have fled together.


    Etta walks back to the front of the cage but keeps herself free of the shocking door while she speaks in fey to Tallulah.


    "You dress in their clothes, sleep in their home, and tell us nothing."


    "Now, that last part is just not true; I come out every night and talk with anyone who wants to and answer questions or see about getting them what they are asking for. You''re not being fair."


    "Aye, but that doesn''t explain why they''re saying they''re going to ''sort us into juice boxes'' once given the go-ahead by their liege lord."


    Tallulah raises her eyebrows a little in confusion.


    "What do you mean by that?"


    "I heard it with my own ears, so don''t try to deny it." Lewis pipes up from the back wall, also speaking the language faeries do.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "I''m not denying that you heard what you heard, Lewis; this is just the first I''ve heard of it. I''m going to go ahead and assume that''s why you chose to steal a horse from the nearby barn and try to get away?"


    "You''re more clever than you look, Tallulah."


    "There''s no need for that. Come on, I want to help you."


    "And somehow you''re also stupider than you look, simultaneously." Lewis sarcastically continues at her.


    Tallulah exhales, realizing she''s not getting anywhere with them. She steps back, pinching her nose with her fingers and closing her eyes in frustration. Bragi chuckles a few feet behind her, then murmurs at her.


    "Trouble with the family, eh?"


    "No, they''re just¡­ they''re upset. I''ll sort it out. I just need some time."


    A little beep on Bragi''s walkie-talkie radio causes him to push off his chair with an exaggerated grunt and walk over to unlock the secure door. He doesn''t let whoever is on the other side inside but instead comes back with precisely four bottles of water and two boxes of gauze you can get at any pharmacy. He starts to heft the large gallon water bottles into Tallulah''s arms without her permission. As she''s struggling to balance them, he casually sets the two tiny gauze boxes on top of the bottles like he''s utterly oblivious to her struggle.


    Once his hands are free, Bragi walks over to the cell and growls at Etta with his unbelievably deep voice.


    "Back up to the wall. She''s going to bring you some items inside. Don''t move from the wall, or I''ll make you wish you''d listened the first time."


    Etta turns her instantly re-ignited baleful gaze onto Bragi, but she complies and moves back until she''s standing on the far side of the cell next to Lewis, with her back to the wall. Bragi, satisfied, unlocks the cell and unelectrifies its door with a keypad on the wall, then walks back over to open the door and gestures Tallulah in. She struggles with the oversized bottles but gets inside anyway. She carefully set the bottles in the center before picking up the gauze boxes from where they fell in the cell while she struggled with the bottles. She offers them to Etta, who doesn''t take them from her until Tallulah insistently holds them at her for another few seconds.


    "Alright, come on back out." Bragi gruffly says.


    Tallulah looks at Etta and Lewis once more before backing out of the cell and stepping back to allow Bragi to close the cell once again. He walks right back to the keypad, setting the door to its electrified state and engaging the locking mechanism for that cell once again. Once Bragi sits back in the metal chair he''d chosen before, Tallulah returns to the cell and speaks in faerie.


    "Assuming you heard someone saying it truly and not just being bad-tempered or trying to scare you, why didn''t you come to me? I thought I proved true to the village when I tried to stop the vampires from attacking everyone the night we found ourselves there."


    "Aye, you did stand up to them, you''re right, but then you got quickly lured in by them and forgot the rest of us. Why would we think that you''d even believe us?"


    "Come on, be fair, Etta. I''ve been out there every single night." Tallulah sighs loudly.


    "Aye, and every night, you''re minimizing people''s concerns and anger about our situation."


    "What can I do to prove to you that I care and made a deal with them for all of you?"


    "What''s it matter? They''re going to kill the two of us anyway because we tried to escape their mountain prison retreat."


    "No, they aren''t; they sent me here to decide what kind of punishment you should both have. They''re having to put down the horse, you know?"


    Etta slowly moves while talking to start re-dressing Lewis'' leg wound. Tallulah watches the unwrapping and grimaces a hair at the wound once it''s uncovered.


    "He needs more than gauze."


    "Aye, he does. I don''t think they will grant us some medical treatment or even Old Keelia''s healing ointments and charms."


    "Stop saying that. I just told you that I''m here to determine what to do." Tallulah finally snaps back at Etta.


    Etta tightly wraps up Lewis'' leg once again, not completely stopping the blood flow but doing what she can with the tools at her disposal. Tallulah folds her hands loosely over her abdomen while watching Etta work.


    "Okay, Tallulah. It doesn''t matter what we should have done; we already did what we did. Now we need to know what''s going to come of it."


    "I just want you to understand that we''re trying to find a fey in a nearby city who either has access to the seams or knows of a Deore so we can get you all back home. I''m sure the horse is expensive, but they''re beyond wealthy, so it shouldn''t be that big of a deal."


    "So you''re saying you won''t have us punished at all?"


    "I didn''t say that; you did cause the death of their property¨Cwhich you tried to steal after they''d been feeding and housing us on their property."


    "We feed and house our ducks in the village too, you know; that doesn''t mean when it''s time to make meat of them that we don''t do it."


    "The ducks don''t try to take off with the village reafan because they overheard a tale about stuffed duck dinners."


    "You see? Sarcastic and don''t believe us none. This is why we didn''t come to you, Tallulah."


    Tallulah sighs, irritation starting to grow once again. She steps back a couple of feet, turning away from Etta as she works on bandaging and watering Lewis first before taking care of a couple of scratches on herself.


    Bragi chuckles at her again, which draws Tallulah''s irritated gaze.


    "Whoa, whoa, don''t shoot." Bragi laughs at his own joke, then adjusts how he''s loosely holding his assault rifle pointed towards the ground, which just makes Tallulah shake her head and grimace.


    "Do you know how much that horse was worth?"


    "Sure, but it''s not the worth of the horse they''ll care about¨Chell, not even its future expected winnings or studding fees."


    "What is it, then?" Tallulah inquires carefully of Bragi as if she doesn''t want to know the answer or expects it to be worse than it is.


    "It''s about how you choose to handle it with your people. Are you light-handed, going to give them a little slap on the wrist and insult the hospitality of the liege lord? Or will you be heavy-handed and upset the poor village folk?"


    Tallulah finger-brushes a hand through her silvery gray hair, feeling as though she can feel stress wrinkles on her forehead.


    "Mind if I take a seat?"


    "Sure thing, little Miss."


    She ignores the cutesy term he seems to think himself so clever for using and instead walks over to sit in one of the metal chairs lining the wall. She gives him a few chairs of space and then leans her head back to rest against the concrete. She closes her eyes and then concentrates, letting the moon''s weight fill her with energy.


    She reaches out with her aura towards Etta and Lewis, enveloping them in the cool feeling of a fall night¨Ccrisp and numbing¨Chelping their wounds, which are likely still throbbing, to be soothed and the pain lessened. That''s all she can do for their wounds at this stage in her life. When she was younger and full of spring and renewal, she could mend broken bones and close wounds, but that time of her life was long gone.


    Tallulah opens her eyes, looking back at the cage where her village''s two fey are being held. She doesn''t blame them if they genuinely think they''re about to all get eaten like the feasts at Beltaine and Samhain. That doesn''t make her job any easier, and with Bragi''s explanation, she now understands why she''s been tasked to do it. It''s a test of loyalty, and Tallulah doesn''t care for it. The longer she sits and thinks about it, the more irritated she gets with the liege lords'' game. Spitefully, she stands from the seat and walks back to the cage, looking at the two inside as they rest. She speaks to them in faerie again.


    "I did what I could for you; I hope you feel better."

 024; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 14.3: The Guard Change

    Etta turns her walnut-colored brown eyes towards Tallulah, a little less spitefully and with a little more of a tender look. She nods at Tallulah and then brushes some of Lewis'' hair back. Tallulah sees the rivulets of sweat dripping off of Lewis'' face and tipped ears. She shakes her head, deciding that enough is enough.


    "I''m going to get you both out of there, but I want you to come and talk to me as soon as you get free from helping Lewis. Etta, can you agree to that at least?"


    "Aye, I agree with it, Tallulah. Lewis needs some help soon."


    "I can tell. I''m going to get you both out of there now; hang in there."


    She backs away from the cage and turns to face Bragi once again. She loosely affixes him with her look, knowing that because she''s used her powers recently, her eyes are dark pools of blackness, wider and sunken¨Cquite intimidating. Bragi grips his gun to his chest and immediately leaps to his feet.


    "Relax, Bragi. This is what I look like when I use my abilities. All I did was help them to numb the pain."


    Her voice is unchanged, which is perhaps why Bragi doesn''t continue expecting some assault on his person. He lowers the assault rifle''s barrel back down to the ground and presses his lips into an unamused line.


    "Fine. Did you decide?"


    "Yes, I want you to take them to whatever medical ward, center, or person you have on-site¨Cand I know you all have at least one, just to keep your food sources alive for long enough to be worth the effort to keep them locked up here."


    Bragi shrugs¨Cnot denying it¨Cthen looks at her like he''s expecting her to continue, which she does.


    "Next, I want the monetary worth of the horse written out for me in easy-to-understand terms. As I walked by, I saw some of your finance people in those offices, so I know that can be done without trouble as well."


    Bragi tilts his head, seemingly bored, as Tallulah continues listing things.


    "Lastly, I want to meet with Kofi Freeman to talk with him about the punishment I think is fair for them."


    "Can''t do that last part tonight."


    "How come?"


    "Because little Miss Tallulah, he''s not here. Can''t meet with you if he isn''t here."


    "Well, who''s here then?"


    "Percival de Brugh."


    Tallulah internally cringes. Of the three, it''s the one she''s spent the least time interacting with and the one she knows the absolute least about. She presses her lips into a line, then finally responds.


    "Alright, if he''ll see me, I''d like to meet with him privately."


    Bragi made a little noise, like he had laughed in the back of his throat and nose, without opening his mouth.


    "Sure, little Miss. I''ll send word up the chain. I''ll get your escort back here to take you to your room."


    "Oh, I''m not going to my room; I''m going to see my people outside."


    "Nope, you''re not. You request a meeting with the house, and you''ll be available the minute¨Cno, the second¨Cone of them agrees or disagrees."


    Tallulah frowns, her dark sunken pits for eyes throbbing in anger in her skull, encouraging her to make him pay for the way he''s talking to her. Her lips part, and she can feel the itch in her throat as her inner cold desperately wants to spring forth. She clamps her mouth back shut, wrestling with her instinct. Electing for peace, she chooses to nod at Bragi.


    He gets back onto his little walkie-talkie and, this time, calls for Micah by name to escort Tallulah back to her room. After that, he walks over and taps the doorway at the end of the concrete wall, which she thought went to a kennel. The security door slides open, and another fairly large man steps into the room. They talk to each other in vampire''s speech, so she hasn''t a clue what they''re saying.


    Bragi and the other new guard walk over a few minutes later and turn off the electrifying door of the cell, then unlock it. The pair seem to be getting Lewis and Etta out without antagonizing them further, leading Tallulah to believe and expect them to take them to whatever medical facilities they have here on the homestead. The walkie-talkie beeps on Bragi''s belt, so he walks over and gestures Tallulah to the thick, metal security door. Once the door is opened, she steps out next to Micah, who is waiting on the other side, and the door is closed behind her with a meaty-sounding thunk of metal.


    Micah looks surprised at the black pits for eyes that Tallulah currently has, even going so far as to take a step back instinctively. She turns her face to look at him more directly, knowing that her power over Lewis and Etta will fade now that she can no longer see them.


    "Relax. I was using my abilities inside, and my eyes will return to normal shortly."


    "Sorry, Miss Tallulah."


    "It''s fine. Apparently, I''m to go to my room, so take me back there."


    Micah nods at her, then leads her again back along the yellow line. She could find her way back without a problem, except Micah had to open the security doors for them to pass by. She doesn''t even hesitate this time when they walk through the room of cycling blood stored in plastic packs hanging on racks, nor does she stop to look at any of the kitchen workers as Micah leads the pair of them back to her room. Silence rules the walk, and it''s not until they reach Tallulah''s room that Micah speaks again.


    "Anything else you need, Miss Tallulah?"


    Tallulah starts to say she doesn''t but then stops herself, fixing him with a gaze up and down.


    "You know the guard named Elijah?"


    "I do."


    "I like him better than you; I want him to lead me around from now on."


    "He doesn''t have the same access I do."


    "Well, I want Elijah to escort me around, so figure it the fuck out."


    Tallulah petulantly turns and slaps her hand down onto the scanner, then opens the door to her room. She steps inside and closes the door behind her with a slam¨Cor as much a slam as the security door will allow. Only when she finds her way to sitting on one of the couches in the overly large room does she realize what she''s done.


    Just like the vampires of the homestead, she just treated Micah like the hired help, and badly at that, because she was feeling frustrated with something that didn''t even apply to him. She leans her back and head onto the sofa, then stares at the painting spanning the ceiling. She murmurs to no one at all.


    "Yeah, I just don''t care."


    A few hours after she was essentially cordoned off to her own room suite, a faint knock raps on the door. She looks over at the door and away from the television she was watching with a blank-eyed gaze. It occurs to her that, as she''s standing to get the door, Tallulah doesn''t even know what she was watching, as she has been lost in her thoughts for seemingly hours. Drifting to the door, she opens it with a faint tug and looks out to see Elijah on the other side.


    "Hey, Miss Tallulah!" comes the enthusiastic greeting from the other side.


    She gestures the young guard of the household inside before closing the door behind him.


    "Nice to see you again, Eli. I hope Micah wasn''t too annoyed with you on my behalf."


    "Nah, he was alright about it, mostly. He was more annoyed that he had to get me security clearances equal to his, which is a bigger deal than maybe you realized when you said that."


    "No, I knew what I was doing."


    "Oh."


    She gives him a little smile, then leans against one of the nearest wooden support beams tastefully located throughout the large and open room. She folds her arms and hands loosely across her lower stomach and studies the young, kind guard. He shuffles his feet a little, seemingly awkward at the silent study. Finally, Tallulah speaks again.


    "Eli, how old are you?"


    "Nineteen, as of a month ago."


    "Happy belated birthday, I suppose."


    "Thanks, I think?" He looks a little weirded out now.


    "Did my meeting get accepted?"


    "Ah, no. From what I was told to tell you, it was definitely not accepted."


    "What? Really?"


    "Yeeeeah. So, about that. I think you don''t know, but you don''t like¡­ demand a meeting from the liege lords. You kinda gotta request it, and it usually takes a few nights. They have a guy who sorts all that out."


    "I thought maybe I was a special exception."


    "I guess I could see that, but well, not with Percival de Burgh, if I''m honest with you. He''s not like Kofi Freeman or Selena Conghal. If either of them were handling the night-to-nights tonight, they''d probably have seen you. But Percival is like, way, way older. I try to steer clear of him, honestly. It''s probably for the best; you''ll get to meet with Kofi when he gets back to the homestead."


    He doesn''t sound entirely sure if it''s probably for the best, and his tone doesn''t sell it well to Tallulah, but she appreciates that he''s talking to her like a person and not an object of worth.


    "So, what do you do for fun as a nineteen-year-old around a house of vampires?"


    "Play cards or pool with some other guards sometimes, video games in my room when I get some free time, sometimes a few of us swing down to Asheville, but I''m not old enough to get into the bars there unless I skirt in under the radar, so that kind of sucks. Still, when I can, I get in and try my luck with some country gals, if you know what I''m saying."Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    He gives her the cheekiest and most authentic grin she''s seen in a week. Tallulah can''t help but smile in return to him.


    "Do you get lucky often?"


    He puffs up a few moments like he will start by pretending he''s the modern reincarnation of Don Juan. But then he thinks better of it and deflates just a hair.


    "I wouldn''t say often, but sometimes, definitely, sure."


    "I''m just giving you a hard time, Eli. You''re easy to talk with, and I appreciate that; I don''t seem to get much of that lately."


    "Yeah, but you''re doing alright. I mean, you got a nice suite in the house. You should see my room; it''s like half this size¨Cshit, maybe a quarter of the size if I''m really honest¨Cand I definitely don''t have a painting on my ceiling."


    "Funnily enough, it''s one of the few paintings I know now, which makes me seem so much more cultured than I am. But I''m cheating, see there? There''s a placard for it."


    "What is it?"


    "Theodor von Holst''s The Fairy Lovers. It''s not the real one, of course, but whoever they got to do this did a fairly good job of putting it to the ceiling."


    "What''s on dude''s head?" Elijah asks, looking up at the painting.


    "I have absolutely no idea."


    "Oh shit, I low-key expected you to rattle off some crazy faerie hat name or something." He blurts out, laughing.


    "Would you like to know the word for that particular ''hat'' in faerie?"


    "Hell yeah."


    "Super-ugly-hat." She replies rapidly in normal language but smashes the words together as fast as she can say them.


    He pauses momentarily, then starts laughing, realizing she''s just messing with him. She smiles again, genuinely amused by his banter.


    "So, what brings you here, Eli?"


    "Mostly just to tell you that you weren''t getting a meeting tonight and that your two people are getting doctor care. Oh, and that I''m taking over as your escort and bringing you dinner and all that. We''re officially twins now."


    "I''m glad because I was already tired of Micah¨Che was exhausting to deal with. When I realized he didn''t even like dealing with me, I knew I needed to get someone else. Who better than the young, nice guy who flagged me down that first night and gave me the heads up that no one else would?"


    "Aw shit, you''re going to make me blush." He grins at her again, all teeth.


    "Can I ask you something that might be uncomfortable to answer?"


    "Eh¡­ I mean¡­" He looks around for a few moments, then pointedly taps his ear in her direction. Catching on, she quickly adds in a softer tone.


    "If it''s going to make you too uncomfortable, then don''t worry about it; it''s not that important."


    "Alright, cool then. Oh, do you want anything special with your dinner later?"


    "Whatever the chef picks is good enough for me."


    "Nice, easy."


    "Can I walk outside now, or am I still on room arrest?"


    "Oh, yeah, sorry, you can totally go outside now. Sorry, forgot to mention that."


    "It''s alright. Would you mind wandering with me?"


    "Sure! I mean, yeah, no problem. You want to go now?" Elijah glances down at Tallulah''s bare feet and then back up at her questioningly.


    "All you sorts are always worrying about my lack of shoes when walking around outside. I swear you''d never be able to stand the Wilds. Come on, I''ll survive walking on your perfectly manicured lawn, polished stone and marble floors."


    He grins a bit and then sets forth, leading them outside with no real fanfare. He correctly assumes Tallulah wants to return to the same spot they went to when he wanted to hide from lip readers and people who could overhear them. She exhales once they return to the small clearing of shrubbery and the flagstone bench located away from others.


    "Thanks for the heads up."


    "No problem; I''m all for you most of the time, Miss Tallulah."


    She sits down on the bench and pats the seat next to her for him to join. He plops down and takes a drink from a small black half-bottle attached to the front of his black body armor.


    "You''re a sweet one."


    "Nah, I just don''t think acting like an asshole is good for making friends with folks."


    "Well, that is a good way of looking at it. The old saying is ''you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar'' if you''ve never heard it before."


    "Flies like honey?"


    She laughs a little in response.


    "It''s a metaphor, Eli."


    "Yeah, yeah, I know, I was just joking. And I totally agree; take a look at you. You''ve been cool and look where you are already here."


    "I wasn''t trying to climb your vampire corporate ladder, Eli."


    "Ha! Good one, but yeah, I get you. Still though, gotta admit you''re doing okay."


    "I think so, but I do have some concerns¡­"


    "This the part you were going to ask inside that might make me uncomfortable?"


    "Mmhmm."


    Elijah shrugs his shoulders, then looks left and right before he stage-whispers right next to Tallulah.


    "I think we''re alone; go for it." He ends with one of his toothy grins again.


    "Earlier tonight, one of the two who were locked up for trying to flee with a stolen horse told me they''d overheard one of the guards¨Cnot sure if it was one like you or one of the vampires¨Ctalking about a plan to ''split them up like juice boxes'' when they''re given the go-ahead."


    "Oh, yeah, they were probably being fucked with by somebody. Some of the guards don''t like constantly being worked a few more hours so that the watches around your people aren''t missing any holes on the schedule. Damn, they really said juice boxes?" He laughs, kind of like he doesn''t want to, but that it is also pretty funny.


    "You''re certain? And they did, yes, apparently."


    "I mean, I''m just a guard, you know? I don''t have a secret line to the liege lords or anything like that."


    "Micah is your uncle, right?"


    "Er, yeah¡­" He looks a little uncomfortable at the sudden change in subject matter.


    "What is Christina to him?"


    "Figured out they''re related, huh."


    "Mmhmm."


    "Grandmother to him. When you''re part of a living line, you''re expected to kind of uh¡­"


    "Be prolific while you''re still alive, I''d assume."


    "Yep, you got it. They¨CI mean, for me, it''s Kofi Freeman¨Cdon''t really care how it gets done, just that the family tree keeps growing."


    "So, vampires can''t produce offspring?"


    "Well, I don''t know for sure, but I don''t think so. They''re like, you know, kinda dead, yeah?"


    Tallulah nods, lapsing into an amicable silence for a few minutes. She looks out across the valley in front of the homestead, illuminated by the fading moonlight and growing tendrils of light from the sun. She exhales, taking in the beauty of the misty clouds covering the valley''s trees. The view is how the mountains got their namesake, "the Great Smoky Mountains" for certain.


    "So you don''t think that the house intends to use the fey on the property as ''juice boxes'' then?"


    "Nah, why waste all the time and energy for that? Seems like a lot of effort. Besides, I know for a fact they sent someone to Asheville a couple of nights ago to try and get contact with some faeries there."


    "Perhaps you''re right; some guard was just messing with them."


    "Do you know what you''ll do about those two that stole the horse yet?"


    "I will ask that they''re pardoned and explain the situation."


    "Oooh, yeah, it''s good that his Grace declined the meeting tonight then."


    "Why do you say that, Eli?"


    "He''s kind of like, really old-school. Horse thievery caused hangings and such back in the day when folks of my skin color worked in the fields without any freedom. Do you know what I''m saying?"


    "I do. Does he still hold to those antiquated views?"


    "For sure, some of them. Don''t think so about all of them, though, since he did turn Kofi, and he''s darker than me, Micah, or Christina."


    "Thank you for that little tidbit of knowledge."


    "Sure, I told you the first night we met that I was going to be cool about things, that hasn''t changed none. Can I ask you something?"


    "Yes."


    "Why don''t you have pointed ears like some other faeries in the barn?"


    "Oh, I''m not an elf-kin, Eli. Faeries can be many different things, and it''s a lump term for people from the Wilds."


    "What are you, then?"


    "Something different."


    "Come on, Tallulah, you can tell me."


    There''s a very long period when the nighttime noise of bugs and the early calls of the rising birds are the only noises that pass over them. Tallulah''s striking green eyes continue to stare out over the forested valley that rests below the homestead they''re on. Finally, she exhales a bit of air and murmurs in response to Elijah as if someone else might overhear.


    "They call people like me an Austra."


    "Never heard of that before."


    "No, I''d imagine not many people have outside of the Wilds."


    "Are there a lot of you? Big family or whatever?"


    "No, very, very few as far as I know."


    "So are you like an unicorn then, Tallulah?" His cheeky grin makes an appearance once again. She smiles despite herself.


    "No, Eli, I am not an unicorn, and don''t lay golden eggs either. I don''t really want to talk about me, if you don''t mind."


    "Oh, er, sure. No problem. Sorry, I didn''t mean to upset you or whatever by prying."


    "You haven''t, it''s alright. I just don''t want to talk about it right now."


    "Alright, cool."


    Tallulah turns her piercingly green eyes back to Elijah and watches as he turns away and looks out over the grounds. She wrings her hands for a moment before talking again.


    "I''m not sure if I believe the house is trying to find faeries to help my village back to the Wilds like they promised me."


    "I think they are. If something gets promised, they''ll stick to the exact word they promised. Which can be both bad and good, you know? What''d you get promised specifically?"


    She exhales a little, closing her eyes and concentrating so that she can remember the exact phrasing Kofi used. Her mind replays the encounters with Kofi, including the late-night one, which scrolls by the images in her mind a little slower with its sensualness. She shakes it away, almost imperceptibly, trying not to get distracted by all the other fluff.


    "He said, ''I will send some of my occult-loving house to find you a fey that will help your people to return to their homes.'' when we made our deal."


    "There, you see? He said he was going to, so I don''t think you got anything to worry about. I know all this is probably, like, a lot, but relax, you''re doing good."


    "Thanks, Eli, really."


    "No problem, Tallulah. Wanna go back to your room?"


    "No, if you don''t mind, I''d like to sit out here for a while and think."


    "I don''t mind none. I''ll leave you to it though, and make sure you got food in your room when you decide to head on back, alright?"


    "Thank you."


    Elijah nods, then stands up with a little grunt, stretches his arms to his sides, and then goes back over his head. He gives Tallulah one more of his authentic toothy grins before turning and making his way away from her, leaving her to the little clearing and overlook of the Swannanoa Valley.


    She gazes across the mist-covered trees, looking like a serene blanket of wispy gray at the beginning of the morning. Her thoughts drift back to Kofi, a large part of her wishing he was here, or more specifically, in her room when she returns. But there''s also that tiny part of her that she''d silenced the other night, which was starting to find its voice again in the back of her mind. That voice continues to warn her against the vampires, that they will only continue to play games, and this little "test of loyalty" is the first of many to come.


    She holds out her arm, looking at her wrist where Selena sank her fangs in the other evening, and then runs her own thumb over the unblemished skin where there should be two tiny puncture wounds. Her hand drifts up to the same place on the side of her throat where Kofi drank from her, as well as if remembering the sensation of that night. She sighed, realizing that she was more than a little let down by the fact that she hadn''t been able to see Kofi the last couple of nights.


    Tallulah lowers her eyes to the grassy ground underneath her bare feet, struggling with the conflicting feelings rattling around her brain. Things were so uncomplicated a little over a week ago. Why did fate decide to do this to them? She shakes her head, feeling frustrated and lonely, with now a thought in her mind that won''t go away.


    Kofi made a deal with her, but he also neglected to mention that the deal involved two other vampires at the same time. What if his agreement with her also had stipulations that she didn''t realize at the time? How would she even know if that were the case, save for the rumor that Etta and Lewis passed on to her?


    Her thoughts swirl on and on, swirling the night of sensual pleasure with the frustration and emotional stress of (over-)thinking that perhaps she''s been lied to or misled. By the time she gets up and moves back into the homestead and her room, she doesn''t even want to eat the food that Elijah had delivered to her room. Instead, she sheds her clothing and walks into the small jacuzzi, settling down and allowing its warm water jets to try and relax her body and mind.

 025; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 15.1: The Fumble

    I rest comfortably in my little workshop on the outside of my home. It''s nothing fancy, just a few sheets of metal canted slightly overhead for rain to run off, propped up by wooden posts and lumber. Inside, I have a little workbench with a few woodworking tools. The last couple of days and nights have been quieter than I expected; some part of me still believed that Kline would cause some drama and there''d be an army of wiretails marching to our village because of it.


    But there''s been nothing, and life has returned to normal. Well, for everyone else, it seems to have¨CI''ve been trying to relax, even amusing myself by watching Khalil and Lani''s maybe-budding relationship and teasing Khalil about whatever I can when I get the chance. But, as can be expected, I''m finding it very hard to go on as if everything''s the same as when I left the village on that trading run those few weeks ago.


    Whittling knife in hand, I slowly pick up another piece of wood and start shaping it down, just like the other twenty or so arrow shafts I''ve already done. Even my regular arrow creation isn''t relaxing me. Drinks at the Forgetful Fox did the exact opposite; it made me surly and discontented the first night, so I haven''t had anything inebriating since.


    Merrill came by and asked if I wanted to go on a trading run for her yesterday, but I declined. When I refused, I had to fend off the bubbly fey''s hundred questions. Finally, I just told her I didn''t want to, that her harassing me was making me even less inclined to do anything at all and to leave me be. She offered to help me relax, and after a sharp look from me, she clarified that she wasn''t coming on to me but that she may have access to some smoking flower that was picked up on one of the recent trading runs.


    I did accept that offer, but she didn''t swing back later in the day with it, and I haven''t seen her today so far, so who knows what''s going on with that. So, that''s where I''m now¨Cwhittling arrow shafts and trying to relax my mind. Failing to calm my mind is a better description, truthfully.


    I slid the next roughed-out shaft onto the pile and looked them over. It''s a good-sized stack so far, putting my total completed arrows at around 20 or 21, with about the same amount that are unfinished. I start to carefully sandpaper the unfinished arrow shafts, smoothing out their roughed-in shape so that they''ll fly more accurately when I fire them. The faint but rhythmic scratching of the paper allows me to turn my thoughts back to other things.


    Is it our business that an entire village disappeared? Not really, but Lani was right to feel the way she did about it. Whole groups of people disappearing like that hasn''t been heard of since the bad times when the sun and moon ascendancy tribes fought themselves and everyone else. It occurs to me that Hannah was probably around then, but she would have been Hannah of the Aurora then. That still trips me out. An ex-member of the people who literally determine the rules for fey like me who are sun-aligned. Not only an ex-member, but that necklace looked like it belonged to someone important.


    I''ve only seen one Aurora in my life, and it was in the Alvarado''s town. They''re not quite big enough to call themselves a city yet, but they have enough of a footprint that when I was at their place, they were having an accusation hearing, and an Aurora was there to judge the whole affair. He was fancy and had some fancy adornments, but he didn''t have a fancy necklace like the one I saw in Hannah and Jorge''s secret room.


    I shift on my chair and pick up another piece of sandpaper before tossing the one I''d been using into my wastebasket. I roll back to where I was and get back to sanding down and along the whittled arrow shafts.


    Some part of me isn''t at all comfortable with simply leaving this open-ended question about the village next to ours just disappearing, and I don''t know how to feel about being the only one to be this concerned about it. I''ve thought about going to Hannah and asking if we can ask for an inquiry from the Deore, but then I remember that we''re technically Wilder and not, you know, important enough to be asking for stuff like that.


    On and on my thoughts go, my restless mind not allowing me the simple joy of creating with my hands. Finally, I get through the sanding of all the shafts, but my heart isn''t in it to continue. I brush off my hands of wood shavings and then tidy up my tiny workshop. I move the unfinished arrows into a little box to handle later, and as I''m latching it closed, I hear loud footfalls crunching through the gravel leading up to my home.


    There''s a knock on the door to the front of my home, so I walk a few feet over and peek my head around the corner of my house. Standing at the front door is Merrill, with a little pouch the size of an apple in her hands.


    "Hey, Meri. Over here."


    "Orion! Hey!" Her bubbly personality is infectious for most, but for me right now, it just lures out a half-smile on my part. She casually walks over to where I''m in front of my little workshop.


    "Looking like you were busy! Guess I have good timing; you just finished?"


    "No¨Cwell, yes. I decided I was done for now. I didn''t finish what I was doing, but I don''t feel like doing more right now, I guess."


    "Still feeling a little down?"


    "I don''t know if that''s the word or phrase I''d use. Anxious is a better one, maybe."


    Merrill struts the rest of the way and pokes me right in the center of the chest with her free hand.


    "Listen here, mister, you don''t get to get all emo on me. You''re my favorite hunter-gatherer, okay?"


    She follows it up with one of her trademark bubbly grins once again. I take a half step back, breaking the physical contact while pretending to get my whittling knife off my bench and return it to my belt.


    "I''m not ''all emo'' or anything like that; I''m just, I don''t know, thoughtful?"This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    "No, you''re being serious and worrying about things that I don''t think you need to worry about."


    "You don''t even know what I''m supposedly worrying about."


    "The rumors at the Forgetful F¨C"


    "¨COh, here we go; tell me what the rumor machine has cooked up now."


    "¨CAt the Forgetful Fox," she continues as if I didn''t even interrupt, "says you''re all in your head over a girl you had to leave in the Wilds."


    "What? That''s just¨C"


    "True? You''re not denying it, Or-i-on." She makes a little sing-song voice for my name while waving the little apple-sized pouch in front of her face and mine.


    "I didn''t leave anyone behind; she left alone, and she was on a wiretail, so I think she''ll be just fine¨Cwas just fine."


    Merrill steps closer to me again and looks over my face, her wild red hair framing her face in the mischievously attractive way she always seems to have. It''s why she''s such a good trader for our village¨Cwell, that and her bubbly personality. She reaches down and snags one of my hands; I start to resist a little, but she doesn''t release my hand. Instead, she places the little sack into it and purposely curls my fingers around it for me.


    "Free of charge for a ''friend in need,'' okay?" Her bright eyes watch mine with some hope.


    "Thanks. You''re ''a friend indeed,'' Meri," My voice suddenly sounds crackly and dry, so I clear my throat.


    Merrill''s facial expression shifts just slightly, the corners of her smile lessening just ever so slightly. She steps back from in front of me and gives me a sad little smile. When I saw that shift in her facial features, I realized she hoped I would reciprocate with her. The moment''s gone¨Cthankfully, I might add.


    "I hope you feel better, Or-i-on."


    "Thanks, Meri, I''ll pay you back."


    "Nah, it''s okay, no one will even know that flower''s missing. You should take your big furball out and find yourself a peaceful place. Just use it to relax and calm your mind. Get back to who you are."


    She finishes her sentence with a "Bye-bye" before hurriedly moving away, her face falling as she heads away from me. I''m pretty sure I just fumbled her showing interest in spending some alone time with me, but my internal feelings don''t care. I could have been like other faeries my age and just gone off to enjoy the experience and have some probably great sex, but apparently, my brain is broken, and I''m still hung up on Cassandra on top of the other things.


    I slowly pull the drawstrings open on the little leather bag Merrill left in my hands and the strong scent of the dried herb inside wafts up. I carefully pluck out one of the buds and look over its shimmery purple and blue nodules with its golden orange hairs. Quality smoking leaf, I appreciatively think to myself. I suppose I should feel bad about not sharing some of it with Merrill, but I don''t. I drop the inspected flower bud back into the container and tightly draw the strings on the bag back to reseal the pouch.


    I tie the pouch to my belt and then stop momentarily in my house to pick up my bow, a full quiver, and my smoking pipe. I sling the bow over my shoulder and set my quiver back to where I like to keep it placed for easy access, then tuck my pipe into my belt so that I won''t lose it. I jog away from the front of my house toward the stables where I know Gallen will be and where Ranger is being kept. Along the way, I return greetings from people who see me passing by, trying to appear as normal as possible.


    As I draw closer to the stables, Jorge comes out from inside, wiping his hands on a rag, his head tilting at me questioningly as he sees me reasonably close to fully kitted out.


    "Hey there, young buck, what are you getting up to today?"


    "Thought I might spend some quiet time in the Wilds for a few hours."


    His kindly face studies me, and then he gestures for me to follow him to the side of the stables, away from the main walking paths. Of course I follow after Jorge, and about halfway down the length of the stables, he stops and turns to face me.


    "I know you have a lot going on in that head of yours, Orion. You don''t have to hold that weight alone. Trust me when I say that I know the look of someone holding on to many thoughts, questions, and concerns with no answers."


    "Hannah, you mean."


    "She told me that she showed you the room, and she trusts you, and I trust you, so I know that little expedition alone must have your poor head swimming."


    I nudge my left shoe''s toe at the soil and gravel underneath our feet, my eyes lowering as I decide what to say. Jorge reaches forward, setting one of his strong, meaty hands on my shoulder before squeezing it.


    "Hannah is different from me, and I know we''re not actual kin like you are to her, but I tell you what, I always was there for her. If you need someone to talk to who knows what you''re going through, trust me when I say that I can be that outlet for you."


    "Thanks, Jorge, but I wouldn''t know where to start."


    "Maybe you don''t need a place to start; you just need to spray it all out, out loud, with someone who''s got no real dog in the fight save for making sure you''re good and safe. Now I see you''re getting ready to get your beast and go out like you said, but if you want some company, I can put off making nails for another time."


    "I don''t know, Jorge. I''m not one of those people who likes to whine about things."


    "It''s not whinging to talk through your thoughts; it''ll help you get a clear path forward. Besides, my word''s got some weight around here, yeah? If you need to go somewhere or get something, maybe¨Cjust maybe¨CI''d be a good guy to have around when you come to that realization."


    His craggy, weathered skin shifts and crinkles at the corners of his eyes and mouth when he gives me a big grin.


    "Besides, I can smell what you got in that little pouch of yours, and if you don''t mind, I''d rather like to sit, chat, or listen and partake in some of that smoking leaf while seeing if I can help ease your mind."


    I laugh, not denying what I have, and already I feel a little better just knowing that Jorge probably knows most of what I told Hannah. I realized he was right and finally nodded my head in agreement with him.


    "Sure, Jorge. I''d like your company, and it''s been a long time since we went out anywhere together."


    "Not since you were still struggling to draw a full-sized bow if memory serves me right. Give me a few minutes to tell a couple of people I''m taking a half day off from making nails at the forge, and I''ll have Gallen saddle up my horse while you get your wiretail."


    I nod and step back, heading to the front of the stables accompanied by Jorge. He splits off to do what he said he would, and I head into the stables to find Gallen. He''s busily cleaning out a stall for the mules, and they''re braying in irritation at being shuffled around against their will. Only a few minutes of waiting and talking before Gallen helps me to saddle up Ranger, who grumbles and grunts as his creature-sorts tend to do. As I lead Ranger out of the stables, Gallen starts to saddle up a stocky workhorse that everyone knows is Jorge''s favorite. By the time Jorge returns, the horse is ready to go, with about a day''s worth of oats in a little pouch connected to its saddle. I mount up on Ranger when Jorge gets up onto his horse. After a little fracas¨Cwhere the horse is totally not all good with the fact that there''s a wiretail right next to it¨Cwe get everything settled down and set off through the village gates.


    I''m not entirely sure where we''re heading, and Jorge seems more than willing to let me lead. I set a comfortable pace for Jorge''s horse, which is only a light trot for Ranger, and lean forward a little in my saddle to pat and rub the dark mane and black tufted lynx-like ears of the wiretail.

 026; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 15.2: The Herbal Therapy

    We continue along the traveler''s path for about an hour before the sounds of a stream drift to my ears. I slow to a stop and tell Jorge before he agrees, and we both lead our mounts off the path and into the Wilds more properly. I can smell the sweet, fresh scent of water lilies in bloom the closer we get to the sounds of the moving water. Before too long, the trees and shrubbery start to thin, and I can see the gravel and stone banks of the stream in question. Little fish dart around from swirling pool to swirling pool, and birds chirp and sing from tall overhanging branches.


    This is a peaceful enough spot for me, so I dismount and pat Ranger a few times before walking over to a copse of small trees with a couple of large, primarily flat boulders jutting out to their front. Jorge ties his horse up next to some grasses and shrubbery that the horse can nibble on without trouble and then follows me to sit down on and against the natural shaded seating.


    "Not a bad choice, Orion, not bad at all."


    "Yeah, it looked pretty good. Want me to start a little fire?"


    "I can do that for you; you just need to get yourself comfortable. It''s been too long since I had a little time away from the village, and it''ll do me some good to set up a fire the old way."


    I nod to Jorge, seeing no reason to argue with him wanting to do the prep work and starting a little fire there. While I silently rest with my back against one of the boulders, I pull my bow and quiver off and set them down next to me, easily within reach. I can never tell what might happen in the Wilds, so I always go out prepared just in case. After that, I carefully take out my carved wooden smoking pipe from where I cautiously tucked it in my belt before finally untying the little pouch of dried smoking leaf herb and pulling it off my belt.


    Humorously, I watch Jorge struggle to get a fire going in the small ring of rocks he''s made just a few feet before me. He has everything set up, but he''s trying to hand spin a stick to start the fire rather than get up to find some flint, and it''s a pretty funny struggle to watch. He cusses and grunts with each failure, and my amusement grows at seeing the old fey struggle with a task I do almost every day or night for hunting or trading groups I''m with.


    "Want some help?"


    "Nope, Orion, I got it. Just don''t want to cooperate, but I''ll make it."


    "Alright, if you''re sure."


    I don''t hide the amusement in my voice, and he looks at me with his eyes narrowed in fake suspicion. He laughs a few moments later and drops the straight stick he was trying to spin rapidly between his hands to get an ember started.


    "Let''s see you get it started quicker."


    I grin at him and scoot forward a few feet on my back end, not bothering to get up.


    "Want to put a little bet on it? I bet I can start this fire in less than ten seconds."


    "Ten seconds! Boy, you are confident, aren''t you? Alright, what are you trying to bet?"


    "If I get it started in ten seconds¨Cor less¨Cyou have to make me a dagger."


    "Ohh really, what do I get if I win? Because I''m going to."


    "I''ll get you three deer with skins intact."


    "Three bucks; I need them antlers for lots of things around the village."


    "Deal."


    Jorge nods and then leans back, crossing his thick arms over his broad chest, waiting to see what I do. I give him the most obnoxious grin ever, then reach into my belt and pull out the cheap metal gas station lighter I used during the night terrors event. Before Jorge can even protest, I scoot forward and light the kindling under the fire, which immediately catches. Jorge starts to bellow in protest when he sees what I''m doing, and I laugh and laugh, sliding the lighter back into its protective pouch.


    "You little shit! That''s cheating!"


    "Nuh uh, we never said how I''d start that fire!"


    Jorge bellows in full-throated laughter and points a finger at me while he does.


    "That''s pretty good, Orion, pretty good indeed. Alright, what kind of a dagger do you want? It''ll take a little bit of time, but you did technically sucker me in there, and I''m not a poor sport."


    "What type? Hell, Jorge, I don''t know the types of daggers. I should probably have a better knife than this old one." I gesture to the tiny whittling knife on my belt.


    "Still got that old thing? Yeah, I''ll see about getting you something done up a little better than that."


    We joke a little bit about my sneakiness and sly win while I break down a little bit of the herb and use it in the smoking pipe. Lighting it with a small stick from the fire, I inhale and allow the potent Wilds'' smoking leaf to relax my body and mind. Exhaling a long drought of smoke from my lungs, I offer the smooth and polished¨Cyet somewhat worn¨Cpipe in Jorge''s direction. We share back and forth in peaceful camaraderie before the pipe''s bowl is finished. I tap out the pipe next to the fire, then lean back against the boulders resting underneath the branches of the trees overhead. The floating and relaxing sensation is pleasant, helping to brush my worries and anxiety aside. Merrill was right; I needed to do this.


    Jorge, for his part, sits next to me and loads another bit of the smoking leaf into the pipe. I wave off his first offer to share the pipe with me, and he grins at me before blowing a smoke ring out. He has the entire thing to himself; only once do I choose to sit up and take a long inhale before handing it right back to him.


    "I''m worried about that disappearing village, Jorge, like really worried. It is so close to our village, and no one knows what happened. There''s just too many weird things that happened about it."


    "Normally, well, if we were part of a tribe, I''d say you could request an inquiry, but you''re not, so they''d just ignore anything that came from you, Orion."


    "Yeah, I figured."


    "Doesn''t mean we can''t do it, though."


    I tilt and turn my head his way, which feels like a lot of effort, and the magical feeling of the Wilds'' grown smoking leaf fully flows over my body and mind.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Well, why do you think those Blackham came when Hannah sent that reafan to tell them about the loose wiretail and the lost rider?"


    "To come and get Ranger and look for their person?"


    The wiretail nearby perks up at hearing his name, but when it''s clear I wasn''t calling him, he rolls over onto his back in the shade and goes back to sprawling.


    "Please! They have hundreds of cats in that city of theirs; they won''t care about one getting loose so far from home. Did they even look for the rider?"


    "Hundreds? Wow." I exhale through my mouth with a little woosh of air before continuing, "No, we just went out to get Ranger, and I think that was pretty much it. Wait, what? What are you saying?"


    "They came because Hannah asked them to come. Because you were worried."


    I sit up slightly, my arms propping my upper body on my elbows. I turn my head to look over at Jorge as he breaks down a little more of the flower for the pipe.


    "I thought people didn''t know who she was."


    "Come on, Orion. Your kind can live for an age if nothing terrible happens; you think there aren''t faeries who dealt with Hannah before and don''t remember her?" He makes a little "pshhht" sounding noise before talking again. "I think they came because of who was asking, not because of what was asked."


    I nod my head slowly. Though I''m definitely under the influence of the smoking leaf, my thoughts are relatively clear, and what he''s saying makes sense. As Jorge lights another round of the smoking leaf in the pipe I brought with us, I lay back with my shoulders on the ground again and stare up at the bright sky through the shaded tree branches above me.


    "So, she could ask for an inquiry."


    "She would, too, if you asked her to. But she hasn''t because she doesn''t want the attention it might bring to our village. We moved away to get away from the tribes and their stupid politics."


    "I just don''t understand why it''s not a concern; it''s like a whole village of people¨Cour people¨CJorge, shouldn''t we want people to care if we''re gone? What if that''d have been us and someone else happened upon our disappearance?"


    "You have a good heart, Orion, even though you think you don''t. To tell you the truth, most people would take from that village, thinking it was abandoned, and carry on their way, not thinking a lick about it. That''s why I asked why you took goods from there when you returned from the trading run. I wanted to know what kind of man you are now. When you showed your concern about the people and said if they showed back up, we should help them, I knew then that you have a good heart."


    He inhales from the pipe and then exhales a small cloud of smoke, through which he grins at me.


    "This is some good smoking leaf. Did Merrill have it?"


    "Yeah, she gave it to me."This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "She fancies you?"


    "Yeah, I think so." I sigh.


    "Normally, I''d say good on you, young buck, but that noise you made with the long face tells me something else." He turns his kind eyes back to me more seriously, silently urging me to get it off my chest.


    "I think I got hit by a rock to the head, Jorge. I feel like ¨®engus seeking out a woman he''s only dreamed of or only knows in passing."


    "You talking about that vampire lady, Orion?"


    "Yeah, that''s the one." I sigh.


    "Well, I got good news for you, then!"


    "You do?" I gaze more intently at him. "What good news?"


    "¨®engus was a right prick, and you aren''t that, so you don''t have to worry none about having his troubles with women and the world."


    I laugh a little bit in response, which draws out a little smile from Jorge before he takes another puff from the pipe and offers it to me. I accept, and while Jorge keeps talking, I breathe in the herbal and magical substance, enjoying the slight hum it sends through my veins.


    "What people do determines if they''re bad or good. A guy falling for one of those vampire sorts isn''t automatically a bad guy, but some might say if he does it while being ignorant of their kind''s, well, tendencies makes him a bit slow."


    "I know, ''don''t trust them'' etcetera etcetera."


    "Not just that. There are other things about them that most folks don''t know. They get territorial about stuff, which can be a bad time, so you must be aware. Another thing is that they''re half of an animal, half of the person they used to be. That''s why they can flip-flop between crazed and completely normal-seeming. No balance in their internals."


    "Are they fey?"


    "Naw, I think they''re something else, like the shapeshifters in the human divide. There are others, too, but I don''t know much about all that if I''m honest. I''m just a simple metal and woodworker. I like it that way."


    "Simple? I saw the hammer you made. It was glowing against the wall. That''s not simple, Jorge."


    "Well, you got me there, young buck." He holds his hand out for the pipe, and I pass it to him. He inhales a long draught of smoke from the pipe before speaking again. "I used to make real fine weapons and armor at the Shining City''s forges; that''s how Hannah and I met. She needed some work done for a blade and some armor, and she was the most beautiful creature I''d ever seen in my life. Ruined three blades before she figured out I was doing it on purpose just to get her to come back in for a ''weighting'' check. I thought I was a clever one."


    He laughs a bit to himself and then exhales the rest of the way before looking at me.


    "Sometimes you just feel it. You just know it."


    "That''s how I feel about Cassandra."


    "She didn''t come back with you though."


    "Yeah, I thought maybe she felt the same way as I do, but then¡­ yeah¡­"


    My voice trails off, and my brain replays, watching Cassandra ride off on the back of her wiretail down the traveler''s path. I close my eyes and exhale another sigh.


    "You''re still worried about her, huh?"


    "Can''t help it." I lift my shoulders off the ground slightly in a shrug.


    "Well, if she''s back at Blackham City¨Cwhich she probably is¨Cyou could go and reintroduce yourself."


    "Yeah, but Kline would be there."


    "Yeah, right prick that guy was. Hannah should have let me wring his neck for how he came to our village."


    "For real." I agree with a laugh.


    "Okay, so you don''t go to Blackham City, but you could send someone to send a message or a reafan if you can convince Gallen to let you use one." He winks, suggesting that won''t be too hard to do.


    "What if she doesn''t come? That sounds awful, too."


    "Well, then you''d know for sure now, wouldn''t you? Sometimes things aren''t meant to be, even if they feel like they are."


    I tilt my head over to look at Jorge again while he sits and smokes up all my smoking leaf as if it barely has much of an effect on him at all. I smile slightly at him, realizing he''s genuinely a good man, and I''m lucky to know him.


    "Yeah, I think you''re right. It''s the not knowing that''s the worst."


    "Uh huh, now that I know for sure is the absolute truth."


    "I think I''ll get a reafan sent there for Cassandra and just see what happens."


    "There you go, Orion! Progress!" Jorge claps his hands on his legs. "Now then, what about this village business?"


    "What do you think about it?"


    Jorge shifts his bulky weight around and leans his back against the rocky outcropping. He slaps out the old and burnt flower from the end of the pipe, but he doesn''t immediately refill it this time. Instead, he sets the pipe down and folds his thick fingers across his stomach while he leans there.


    "I share some of your concerns, but for a different reason."


    "What''s that?"


    "Well, you guys brought that Cait Sidhe back with you¨Cwhat was his name?"


    "Silas."


    "Silas! That''s it. Well, see, what Hannah didn''t say¨Cand she should''ve but far be for me to step on any of her toes when she''s telling or not-telling¨Cis that seams only open in one location on either side like a literal doorway between rooms. I''m saying that where that cat came from was where those people went. And it''s real strange that Silas didn''t clarify where he came from or what he was doing there, ain''t it?"


    "Maybe he was in shell shock or something, or maybe he didn''t think it was important?"


    "Or maybe he is another sneaky devil who answered your questions without answering all of the truth."


    "Aria told us what to do; we didn''t even know he''d answer our questions at all, though we could have done better questions, I guess, thinking back on it. We weren''t very specific, and Aria told us to be specific. But he did say he didn''t know where he came from, and he didn''t even know where here was when we found him."


    "You don''t have to know the name of a place to know where you came from. He could have been a little more detailed and told you what kind of city or town was nearby, but he chose not to."


    "Why would he do that?" The words sound puzzled as they come out of my mouth.


    "Why do sneaky shits do sneaky things in general? Nobody knows, but it''s in their nature, so that''s what they do."


    "Khalil can talk to him; maybe I can get Khalil to ask him again in a different way."


    Jorge shakes his head a little ruefully. He looks over where he put his horse to make sure it''s still there¨Cit is, happily munching down on the shrubbery, tiny berries, and grasses.


    "If Silas didn''t want to answer at first, he won''t answer now."


    "I can make him answer."


    "Sure about that? Big difference between beasts and beasts that come straight from the Wilds'' own magic, Orion."


    I hesitate a little bit, but then I carefully add.


    "Aren''t reafans and wiretails magical beasts from the Wilds? I can control them if I concentrate really hard."


    "You can? Well, hot damn young buck! Congratulations!"


    "Thanks, I think?"


    "You should be proud of yourself! That''s not a trait just anyone can do, you know? When did you find that out?"


    "I''d been practicing on smaller creatures for a while, but last week, when I encountered Ranger for the first time, he was half-feral and threatening to kill everyone. I don''t know, I''d had a rough night¨Cwith the night terrors and all that¨Cand I just had this like sense of calm come over me, real serious-like, and I just knew I could take control over him. So, when he made me choose to have to because he was so pissed at being caught in the net, I did. I don''t know how else to describe it; I just¡­ you know, did it."


    "Well shit, you probably can make that little furry mass murderer of mice talk, but if you do, he''s probably going to leave. And I know Khalil likes having him around, so you got to think of that."


    "Maybe I can make him tell me without him realizing I''m making him tell me, so Khalil''s not all heartbroken since Silas wouldn''t leave then?"


    "Up to you, Orion, up to you. That''s one of those personal decisions you have to make yourself. Is knowing where those villagers wound up worth chasing off the cait sidhe your friend seems to have befriended and enjoys the company of?"


    "Ugh, damn, why does everything have to be so complicated?!" My sudden voice raising makes Ranger jerk half up, winding on his side, his tail and its quills suddenly bristling in alarm.


    "Sorry, Ranger, it''s okay big guy."


    The wiretail gives me about the dirtiest look his puma-like face can manage and flattens his ears against his head, the long black fur tufts twitching in irritation when he realizes I was randomly making a loud noise that doesn''t apply to him. He growls and grumbles, this time in some irritation, to let me know he didn''t appreciate the jump scare.


    "Yeah, yeah, I know Ranger. Sorry, it''s okay. You can go back to sleep or do whatever you were doing."


    Though Ranger doesn''t understand my words, he seems to get the drift that I''m trying to calm him down. He lays his head down, this time not rolling onto his back, and his burnt-orange and golden eyes slowly peer around the area. Jorge clears his throat a little bit before speaking.


    "It''s complicated, but not really at the same time. You either want to know, or you don''t want to know. It may be worth it if you think it can help those people. If you think knowing won''t do anything, then maybe best to let that sleeping dog lie."


    "What would you do in my shoes?"


    Jorge unfolds his thick and callused hands from across his stomach and stretches his arms above his head for a moment before grunting and then answering.


    "If I was young and spry like you, with a conscience like you have? I''d talk to my friend Khalil beforehand and ask him his thoughts on it. And then, if he agrees, I''d damn sure find out the real truth from that little black fur ball of cantankerousness. First, though, I''d send that reafan out to Blackham City to see if that cold woman wants anything to do with me."


    He raises his eyebrows at me and nods, and I return the nod.


    "Thanks, Jorge."


    "Any time, young buck, any time at all."


    We sort out a few more pipes'' worth of the smoking leaf while lapsing into good-natured and peaceful silence¨Cwith the occasional joke¨Cover the next couple of hours. My muscles relax, and the tension melts away after our host of conversations and imbibition of smoking leaf. Finally, I can feel myself seeing a path forward to address all of the minor problems without being overwhelmed. I realize that was my problem the entire time¨CI was so inundated that I didn''t know where to start.


    Now that I have a good starting point, I''m re-energized. When the evening light starts to filter through the trees, I move to get up off the ground and put out the fire.


    "Oh, is it time to go, Orion?"


    "Yeah, I think I want to go ahead and head on back. I''ll ask Hannah¨C"


    "¨CNo need to ask her; just tell me what you want the bird to relay, and I''ll have her do that for you."


    "Really? Thank you, but don''t you think I should do it myself?"


    "She already knows."


    "What? She does?"


    "Mmhmm." He nods his head cryptically, not explaining at all.


    "Okay, well, I''d just like the bird to ask if it finds Cassandra, uh¡­" I pause, trying to put my thoughts into a simple message that a bird can understand and share. "Okay, just have it tell Cassandra that this message is from Orion, and I''d like to see her again at my village in the next couple nights if she doesn''t mind. And if she does mind, at least tell me she won''t come so I can have some closure."


    I shift my weight a little from foot to foot as I uncomfortably say those words out loud to another person. I pick up the stones that circled our little fire and disperse them, then use some of the stream''s water to put out the embers of the fire.


    "That bird''ll be in the air before we even start getting back to the village; you can be sure of that, Orion."


    "Thank you¨Cwell, thank you both? I guess?" I give him a little weirded-out smile.


    "Maybe someday I''ll explain it to you, but you''re welcome."


    After cleaning up the rest of the fire, we both get our chosen mounts ready to go and set off back towards the village. Jorge races his horse far ahead while I laugh behind him. I know Ranger is so much faster than that chunky workhorse, so when I encourage him to max speed, it isn''t but maybe twenty or thirty seconds before I wind up blurring past Jorge and his horse on the back of the wiretail underneath me. The strength and the speed of the cat beast never gets old, and I don''t slow down until we get almost to the front gates. I grin and wait at the gates, and a few minutes later, Jorge comes racing up on his horse next to me.


    "Damn, young buck, that Ranger is faster than I thought! What a specimen!"

 027; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 16.1: The Cait Sidhe

    Since it''s evening by the time Jorge and I arrive, there is mostly just the start of the evening watch and not a whole lot of movement¨Cexcept for the crowd at the Forgetful Fox. We take our respective wiretail and horse to the stables and allow Gallen to take over from there. Before Jorge departs, I hug him across his broad shoulders and thank him again.


    Since it''s now starting to get on towards evening fully, with the moon-aligned faeries of our village¨Cguards and ordinary villagers alike¨Cstarting to roam away from their homes, I know exactly where to find Khalil. With a bit of pep in my step, I make short work of the relatively quick walk to the Forgetful Fox, which has a nice-sized crowd already outside. I move into the gathering place for food and drink after ducking away from a pair of horns and hooves of two glaistig busily¨Cand ahem, bustily¨Crough-housing after what is probably already a couple of drinks, though I absolutely take a look for longer than is necessary¨Cso sue me.


    A couple of chants of my name come from around a couple of tables. I nod greetings and continue towards the main serving counter, looking for Khalil. I don''t see him right away seated inside, and I grunt, thinking it''s possible I missed him outside. A voice greeting me from behind the counter brings my attention back to the front.


    "Orion! Here to wet the whistle again? Thought you wouldn''t be back for a little while after the other night!"


    My head is still a little swimming from the smoking leaf earlier in the afternoon, but I know for sure I don''t need to get myself inebriated right now. My attention rests on the bartender, and I hold up my hands.


    "Hey, don''t hit me with water, but I''m just looking for Khalil¨Chave you seen him yet?"


    "I''m not a directory of maps or a guidebook, Orion!" The bartender grouses at me. "But no, I haven''t seen him yet tonight. Haven''t seen your lady friend Lani yet either, for that matter."


    "Oh?" I pause, then laugh a little. "Ohhh."


    "Maybe? Not my business. If you don''t want food or drink, stop taking up a spot on my bar."


    "Alright, alright, I''m gone."


    After our little exchange, I push away from the bar and make my way back outside the cozy little tavern, with its five or six tables inside and the same amount outside. I carefully checked the outside this time, and, not seeing Khalil, I broke away from the place entirely.


    I''m not jogging, but I''m walking with purpose, and I take that purpose through the village and towards Khalil''s little home. Only a few minutes pass before I stride up to Khalil''s house, which is about the same size as mine. We built his place right before mine, so while his is a hair bigger than mine, my home has a little bit better construction since we knew a bit more about what we were doing on the second project.


    "Khalil!" I shout at his tiny front gate rather than going up and knocking at his front door.


    "Khaaa-liiiii-lllll!" I call out a second time, grinning to myself at the extra loud version I just did.


    Sure enough, the front door opens, and a half-dressed Khalil wearing only jeans opens it. His skin is lightly flushed, which could be from excitement or anger.


    "The hell, Ori?! What do you want?! I''m busy!"


    "How busy?"


    "What? Busy enough that it''s not your business!"


    "Should I wait a few minutes for you to be, ahem, done?"


    "Dude. Piss. Off."


    "Alright, alright, no need to get mad. I''ll be back in an hour or so."


    "How about I come over to your place when I''m ready to, instead." It isn''t a question from Khalil; it''s a full-on statement of intent.


    "Alright, man. Alright. I''ll see you when I see you." I hold up my hands and move back from his little front gate and fence. The door to Khalil''s home slams behind him, and I start laughing. I shake my head as I move away towards my own home.


    I don''t bother heading inside; I walk over to my workshop and pull out the small stack of arrow shafts I was working on in the morning. Settling down into a chair, I check each of the shafts for their straightness before rolling over to a tiny box and picking out a small pack of duck feathers I''d traded for before now, followed up by a small, half-used tube of glue that I picked up from a trader some time ago. I set them on my workbench, and then I picked up a small box of metal tips.


    After getting all my items together, I settle in and carefully start adding the fletching for each arrow-to-be. This time, while I work on them, my mind is clearer, and I can focus on my craftsmanship. Time passes, and my pile of completed arrows grows, tipped by metal and ready to be placed in a quiver for usage.


    By the time Khalil arrives, I''m finishing up on the last two arrows, which means it''s been at least a couple of hours since I left him alone at his home. I turn my head a little and watch him crunching up the gravel walkway towards me in the workshop.


    "Hey, Khalil. Sorry for fucking with you earlier, I couldn''t help it."


    "Ah, dude, it''s alright. I knew you were."


    I fasten the metal tip to the arrow I''m working on, ensuring it''s firmly rooted, before picking up my last arrow and doing the same while talking.


    "All the jokes aside, I needed to talk to you about something important."


    "Sure, I figured it was important since you don''t normally track me down over nothing, Ori."


    Khalil walks the rest of the way into my tiny workshop and leans against my workbench, watching me as I put the finishing touches on my last arrow.


    "So, it''s about Silas."


    "Uh huh, go on." Instantly, Khalil sounds moody and suspicious.


    "I was talking with Jorge, and he mentioned that he had a little concern about Silas'' story that he told us, and how it was kind of truthful, but not all the way truthful¨Clike, he omitted some stuff he could have told us."


    "Silas has been nothing but cool since we brought him back here; what are you saying?"


    "I know you''re all about him, so that''s why I''m trying to be chill about this. It''s why I''m talking to you first, to get your thoughts, you know? You''re my brother. I''m not going to do anything that concerns you so heavily without talking to you first."


    "Dude, you''re making me nervous with all this trying to soften the blow shit you''re doing right now. You''re not talking about killing Silas, are you?"


    "What?! No way, no. Nothing like that. I want to get to the actual truth of how and where he showed up. Hannah said that seams are like a doorway, kinda. Like, they open from one place to another, not from anywhere else."This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    "Well, yeah, sure. Everyone knows that?"


    "No, they don''t, well at least I didn''t¨Cand you didn''t either, so stop pretending. Otherwise, we''d have known he wasn''t telling the whole truth about not knowing where he came from."


    "So you think he knows where he came from?"


    "I think he knows the area, at the very least, he was in. Maybe a nearby town or city. Him being out in the middle of nowhere, though, with no knowledge of anything nearby? I very much doubt that."


    "Hmm."


    "I mean, Aria did tell us to be super specific when we ask him questions, but let''s be honest, we weren''t that specific."


    I carefully fasten the metal tip onto the last arrow uncompleted on the workbench in front of me. When it''s finished, I slowly spin the arrow between my two hands in front of me.


    "Well, yeah, you''re honestly probably right about that. That whole situation was pretty fucked up; I could have better worded my question to him."


    "So I basically just want your permission to control Silas and make him answer what he knows."


    "Damn, dude, he''s going to be so mad if we do that. He might take off afterwards."


    "Yeah, he might," I admit, a little softer than usual. "That''s why I wanted your thoughts on this. I didn''t want to just upend your friendship with that cat."


    "What''s so important that makes you want to do this?"


    "Don''t you think¨C" I sigh, starting over, "¨CI mean, let''s say that happened to our village? Wouldn''t you want someone to give a damn? I just can''t stop thinking that maybe a whole village of our people are messed up and somewhere that they have no idea where they are or have no way to get back."


    "So it''s not really about Silas, it''s about all the Wilder in that village?"


    "It''s more about the fey than him, yeah, but the end result''s the same: I gotta know what Silas actually knows."


    Khalil looks over my face for a few very long moments, searching for something, though I don''t know what. The corner of his lips purse slightly, and he exhales loudly before looking away and out into the village proper. He folds his arms over his chest.


    "Dude, I don''t like this, but you''re not wrong. I would want someone to care if the same happened to our village. I hate that there always gotta be some nonsense attached to almost everything."


    "I hate it too, Khalil. I think it''s the right thing to do, though."


    "Yeah, it is. Do you want to do it tonight?"


    "Sooner the better, I think. Maybe he won''t be totally furious at you and save it for me."


    "Don''t take this the wrong way, but I hope so. I don''t want him to leave; I really enjoy having him around."


    "I know you do, man, I know."


    I push up from my workshop table. I carefully pick up the pile of completed arrows and then move them to rest in a large basket I have for collecting freshly made arrows, happy that my supply is once again up to around fifty. Khalil doesn''t move initially, but when I pass by him, he shuffles and follows afterward. As we walk back toward his home, we do so in silence, the only sounds being our footfalls on the gravel walkway, the distant noises of wildlife outside of our village''s walls, and the occasional bellowing laugh coming from the direction of the Forgetful Fox. Finally, we make our way up to the front gate of Khalil''s home, and I look over at him.


    "We should probably do it out in the yard out back, just in case he gets real mouthy or people come walking this way, you think?"


    "Sure, dude."


    Khalil''s voice is a little sullen, as if he already expects Silas to ditch him. He opens the front gate and leads me around to the back of the small home and into the quaint little backyard. He tells me to wait there and then departs to head into his house, presumably to wrangle Silas. For my part, I walk over to the folding chairs that Khalil has set up around a simple fire pit that takes up about a quarter of his tiny backyard''s space. I sit in one of the chairs, ignoring the creaking and groaning, and try to focus on the task ahead of me.


    A few minutes pass, and then Khalil walks outside carrying the bulldog-sized black cat with his long hair and vivid amethyst-colored eyes. I lean back in the chair and look at them on the approach, and then I nod to Khalil as he slowly stops next to me. He puts Silas down but keeps his hand on the cat''s back like he is just going to pet or calm the cat, but I know it''s to hold him there until I can take control.


    "Hi, Silas. I hope this only takes a minute. I need to ask you something that''s kind of important."


    The cat immediately starts growling at me as if he''s already going to be difficult.


    "He''s saying you haven''t paid him for any answers."


    "Yeah, I know."


    The cat hissed at my response, as if he didn''t like the sounds of that or where this whole situation was headed.


    "Sorry, little guy, I have to do this for maybe the sake of a lot of faeries. You can hate me if you want, but it will happen anyway."


    Sure enough, as soon as I get the words out, Silas starts spitting and hissing, trying to break Khalil''s grip. Khalil uses his other hand on the side of the cat, pressing him down and forcing him to the ground against his will. The cat''s tail whips wildly, his yowling loud and to the extent that you''d think he was being injured.


    I close my eyes, trying to maintain my focus, and push all of the other noise and scuffling aside. I mentally move away from my body, fighting against the weakness inflicted on me by the moon''s pull overhead. I open my pale eyes and rest them on Silas'' fiery purple ones. He hisses, showing his fangs and all levels of his teeth, and I continue to stare at him. I focus my energies on the purple slits of his eyes, trying to press my abilities while he resists.


    "Ori, come on, dude, it''s getting harder to hold him." Khalil murmurs, lowering down to a knee to get better leverage while trying to control the cat.


    I exhale slowly, and the world disappears around me, save for Silas, my pale eyes and his inflamed purple eyes. I reach out and grab his mind as if I saw it in a passing wisp of energy. Suddenly, the world returns, and Silas'' body stills completely. I maintain my silence for another ten seconds to ensure I have control.


    "Okay, Khalil. I have him now." I whisper.


    "Sorry, little buddy, I hated doing that." Khalil slowly loosens his grip on Silas, then pets his hands on the back spine of the cat.


    "I''m gonna make him talk and answer now, and I will need you to translate again."


    "You got it."


    Exhaling once through my nose, fully concentrated, I go through my mind and make sure it''s steeled before I carefully begin to talk.


    "Silas, where were you originally, right before you got dumped by the seam into that village?"


    Obviously, the cat won''t respond, so I press the issue with my mind, making him obey me and answer me how I want him to. Khalil speaks after a few moments, acting as our translator.


    "He says he told us where he came from¨Che didn''t know. He was out hunting in a forest and enjoying his time on that side of the divide between the Wilds and the humans."


    "Not a good enough answer. We need specifics. Where were you about? What city or town did you pass through or come from directly before then?"


    "He says it''s a fairly big city by a valley between mist-covered mountains."


    "Be more specific; tell me a sign you saw."


    "Land of the sky."


    "What?"


    "That''s what he said, a sign that said ''land of the sky.''"


    "Well, okay. What does that mean, Silas?"


    There''s no response, and I can feel the resistance growing in my mind. Silas is fighting again against my control, not wanting to answer whatsoever and still trying his hardest not to share any information that might actually help me. I can feel his shift from benevolence to malevolence in my mind. I ignore it and focus my mind on his, forcing him to answer my will.


    "Ashville? Okay, A-S-H-E-V-I-L-L-E." Khalil carefully spells it out letter by letter.


    "The last town you were in before you were out in the middle of nowhere was a place called Asheville?"


    "He confirmed it, yeah."


    "Which way from the city did you go, and what time of the day was it?"


    "He says he followed the sunrise."


    "So, east of the city."


    "That''s what it sounds like." Khalil nods to me in agreement.


    "I''m going to release you now, Silas. This isn''t Khalil''s fault; I made him help me. Sorry we had to do this to you, but I needed to know more so I could try to help those faeries."


    I stand up from the chair, taking a few steps back from Silas before I close my eyes and release my mental grip on the cait sidhe. Sure enough, as soon as he''s released from being forced into compliance and made to lay stock still, Silas leaps up, hissing and snarling. He immediately takes off like a shot, dashing into the open door of Khalil''s home. There''s smashing from inside and the sounds of metal pans hitting the ground.


    "Shit, I think he''s tearing up your place."


    "Yeah, let me see if I can calm him down."


    "I better go. Maybe it''ll help you calm him down if he can''t see me."

 028; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 16.2: The Land of the Sky

    Khalil agrees with me, and we both split up, him heading back into his home to try and corral Silas and calm him down, and I jog away quickly to try and help Khalil by not reintroducing Silas'' overwhelming anger every time he sees me. I don''t go to my house. Instead, I jog straight past everyone towards Aria''s home. She keeps maps of locations in the Wilds and the human divide, so if anyone knows where and what Asheville is, it''ll surely be her.


    I knock on her front door carefully when I get there and then take a step back to wait. About twenty seconds passed with no answer on the door, so I knocked a second time a little more insistently. There''s a clamoring noise around the side of her house, which sounds like wood being dropped, so I jog around the side to look. Sure enough, Aria just dropped a load of freshly split wood in front of her stack of wood for her fireplace and is currently putting the pieces up onto the rack with the previous ones.


    "Hey, Aria."


    She looks up and over at me, then drops another piece onto the wood rack.


    "Hello, Orion. What are you doing?"


    "I came to see you, if you got a couple of minutes you could spare for me to bother you about." I move closer and start helping her put the wood onto her rack.


    She watches me carefully as I help, and her eyes take on a bit of a suspicious glint.


    "It''s nothing bad, Aria; I just need to try and locate a place¨Ca city, actually¨Cin the human world that I don''t know where it is. Figured you might have an idea since you have those big map books from different places."


    "The human world is bigger than you realize. One place will be hard to locate. Might not even have it."


    "Well, you''re the only person I know who might be able to find it, so can we just go check?"


    "Yes, but I want to know why first."


    "I think I know where those Wilder villagers went when drawn through the seam."


    "How?"


    "I made Silas tell me more than he initially shared with us."


    "Made him?"


    I nod at Aria, and she tilts her head, looking over me more appraisingly and even more respectfully. The facial expression she takes on is one I haven''t seen her use with me before, and it makes me a little self-conscious for a moment.


    "What?"


    "You are not a wean anymore. You are coming into your own as an elf-kin. Not many can say they can force cait sidhe to answer their questions truthfully. Not many at all. This is an extraordinary gift you have, Orion. You must keep knowledge of it to yourself; it can be dangerous for you right now if many others know you can control the Wilds creatures as if they were common animals."


    For a moment, I''m shocked. That''s the most I''ve heard Aria talk at once, maybe ever.


    "People keep telling me that it''s rare, yeah."


    "What people have you told this?" If I weren''t careful, I''d think Aria was suddenly worried on my behalf.


    "I''ve told you, Hannah, Jorge and Khalil. Maybe Lani, too; I don''t remember exactly what I told her the night I got drunk recently." I cringe a little bit as I add the last drunk part. Then I remember the Blackham and cringe for a second time. "I think some of the Blackham know now, too. Initially, they thought Khalil would be the one to talk to Ranger, but then I made him obey me in front of Kline."


    "Do not share this with anyone else if you can avoid it."


    "Okay, but why?"


    "Use your brain, Orion. What would you¨C" She pauses, her dark eyes focusing on me, then she starts again. "¨CI forget that you were not around during the bad times. Some powerful fey will do many things to gain control over things they did not have control over before. This includes making young elf-kin do things they can do against their will, yes? Be very careful about this."


    I slowly nod my head to her.


    "Let us go see if we can find your mystery city."


    "Cool, let''s do it."


    Aria leads me around the front of her house and then inside. The wood comprising her flooring, walls, and ceiling is dark and unpainted, giving the small home a gloomy and cellar-like appearance. Aria has a few lights illuminating the rooms but not giving them a well-lit ambiance. Still, she doesn''t seem to care much about decor, and there isn''t anything on the walls, save for the occasional tool or weapon, which looks like it''s placed there for convenience more than anything. For instance, a broom is hanging on the wall next to the back door. She leads me to what looks like her dining room, with a simple table and three chairs. With a little shift around the room, she increases the illumination so we can easily see while we sit at the table.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "What is this place you want me to find?"


    "Asheville. A-s-h-e-v-i-l-l-e." I carefully spell it out for her. "I guess it''s also called ''land of the sky'' or something? Silas mentioned that, too. Not sure if it will help. Oh, and it''s apparently around a valley with mist-covered mountains."


    "Very descriptive, but the human maps only use names, so we will see if we can find it."


    She disappears for a couple of minutes, and right when I''m considering getting up to see if she needs help, she returns to the room carrying a horde of thick books. She drops them with a thud and a huff of effort onto the tabletop. I look at the front of the fairly worn-in book on top of the pile and read it off.


    "Road atlas, 2018, Err-o-pee."


    "Europe." Aria corrects my pronunciation. "There will be a list of city and town names in the back of this. If you find Asheville, it will tell you a page and location so you can find it on one of the other pages of maps."


    "These books are huge¡­"


    "Yes, this will take some time, Orion. I will let you get started. I have more wood to split. Come and get me if you need aid."


    I start to say something and ask her for her help, but I stop myself. I can do this without bothering her more. I finally nod and say thanks to her before she heads outside to continue the chore she was working on before my arrival. Her night is just getting started while I''ve been up all morning, and now it''s looking like I will be here all night, too.


    "Well, there''s no time like the present to get started," I mutter to myself as I flip open the first book, that old, worn edition of the European road atlas, and skip right to the back, where they list the points of interest.


    Not finding anything by the name of "Asheville" in the first book, I set it aside into the start of a separate pile and picked up the second one, taking care to be gentle with the books that don''t belong to me.


    "Or-e-gone. Almost like Orion." I read off the strange name on the front of the thinner second book to myself, not realizing that I''m going to butcher the name pronunciation of almost every book I will pick up. After not finding Asheville in the lists in the back of that book either, I set it aside to pick up a third.


    On and on it goes; I shift through book after book, looking for the elusive name. This continues for what seems like hours until the book stack starts to look really, concerningly thin. I exhale and close my eyes, hoping I didn''t just mess up and let Silas lie to get out of it again. No, I reaffirm to myself, I was controlling him and he answered. I just have to continue until I find what I''m looking for. Two more books are shifted through, looking for the diamond in the rough, before finally I pick up a thick book and rest it in front of me, expecting more of the same failure.


    My fingers flip to the back of the book, and I start from the top of the list. My fingers carefully go line by line, and I''m thankful that they seem to keep their books'' lists in relatively good alphabetical order. As I head through towards the endpoint of the A''s under a heading called North Carolina, my finger passes by "Asheville," and a moment later, I stop with a gasp and go back up to the name. There it is! Finally! It exists!


    I whoop in triumph before I can stop myself, then settle down and look at the information listed on the page. I carefully flip to the page and look for the area it references on that page. My fingers trace the numbers and letters of the grid layout all the way until it lands directly on a crossing of many roads that reads ASHEVILLE. My fingers trace to the right of the city¨Cthe east¨Cand see a section labeled "Black Mountain" a little distance from the city, but between the city and Black Mountain, it looks like a large tract of land with not a whole lot going on past a certain point. I tap the page in that spot a few times and lean back in my chair.


    "This has to be it," I murmur to myself.


    A little noise rustles up from the back door as Aria lets herself in from her backyard. Her dark eyes are pitch black now, with the moon long since at complete ascendancy for the night.


    "I heard a loud yell. I see you are okay."


    "Aria, I found it, pretty sure."


    "Show me."


    She walks over, and I lean forward, putting my finger back in the city''s center.


    "It''s in a place called ''North Carolina,'' and there are mountains to the east and a valley, so it matches up pretty much to what Silas said."


    "I do not know this place, but I will find someone who does. I need possibly a few nights to track down the person I am thinking of. Then, we can go."


    "We?" I ask questioningly, not having planned to have much company when I went.


    "As if I would let you travel into the human divide without me."


    "What? It''s more dangerous here."


    "No, Orion. No, it is not." She says with some degree of finality that brokers no argument. Her tone is fearsome, and I have no desire to disagree with her after she uses it.


    She picks up the books and road atlases that aren''t the winning ones and shuffles them out of the way before returning to the table I''m still sitting at.


    "Orion, have you eaten tonight?"


    "I ate earlier in the day. Everything kinda happened, so I just came here."


    Aria walks over to a small jar and pulls out a fistful of meat jerky, which she then sets on the table in front of me.


    "You need to eat. If we go into the human divide, it is unclear how long we will be there."


    "If you''re coming with me, should I also see if Khalil and Lani want to come too?"


    "You will not like what I say."


    "Is that a nah?"


    "Yes."


    "Yes, they should come, or yes, that''s a nah?"


    She loudly sighs at me, pointedly showing me her annoyance at my being purposefully difficult. And I was being difficult. I knew what she meant, but I wanted her to speak clearly about it.


    "You will leave Khalil and Lani behind. It will be you and I, possibly the third, when I locate him. You will need to get your human-divide clothing. With the hat to cover your ears. And no bow."


    "Aria, come on, I know. I''ve been there before a few times."


    She huffs, looks at the jerky on the table, and then back at me. I scoop it off the table and slowly move to stand up next to her.


    "Thanks," I murmur.


    "You are welcome."


    I smile at her faintly, my eyes studying her nearly shimmeringly white skin and black hair. A little tug starts in my chest, but I swallow it and step around her to head out of her home. I glance momentarily over my shoulder, then let myself out of her house, immediately heading to my own house to get my travel gear ready.

 029; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 17: The Claim

    Aria left the village a couple of nights ago after our discussion, where I''d found that city in her stack of road atlases. She didn''t say much of anything except to tell me to keep our planned departure to myself. I''ve spent the following days and evenings essentially pacing since I was packed that next morning with some clothes, a stash of snack foods¨Cflaming hot cheese puffs making their triumphant return into a backpack''s side pocket¨Cand lastly, a set of necklaces, a tiny pouch of smoking leaf I got from Merrill and a small home decoration some fey put in their homes to remind them of the Wilds. I made sure to choose good, general trade items for the other side of a seam.


    When you go through, you don''t have any currency for whatever part of the world you''ve entered, so you have to get some from the local fey or whatever is running the marketplace. There''s not always a marketplace, but most cities do have them. So to handle that, you make sure you bring trade items through, and everything generally is smooth sailing, so long as you keep to yourself and don''t draw any attention. The hardest thing for me to always get used to is the constant hum of noise, loud and soft. I''m just not a big fan.


    I''d almost forgotten about the other things going on with me until one of the weans ran up to my door, knocking insistently for me to come out to the front gates of the village. I made the short walk through the village and slowed to a stop when I spied a wiretail about ten feet from the front gates, mounted by a young-looking woman with her pale blonde hair pulled back into braids. I''m not ashamed in the slightest to admit that my breath¨Cmaybe even my heart¨Ccaught in my throat at the sight. I can see her defined but delicate features from where I''m at, and as soon as her seafoam-colored eyes turn in my direction, I can''t help the smile that creeps across my face.


    I start jogging towards the front gate, then pass it without slowing. I don''t slow to a stop until I''m about three feet away from where Cassandra is sitting on the back of her wiretail.


    "Hey, stranger."


    "Hello, Orion."


    "So, are you just going to stay on your cat, or will you come join me?"


    Her eyes slowly pace over me, almost carefully or expectantly, which I don''t necessarily understand. She doesn''t initially respond, but finally, she elects to murmur just loud enough for me to hear.


    "Your village seems to all be very interested in what''s happening right now."


    "Yeah, wonder why? A mysterious and beautiful woman appears again outside the gates on a magical beast from the Wilds. She won''t come inside until she sees Orion, the strapping young elf-kin still working on becoming a master hunter."


    "Strapping? Maybe calm down on the ego there." She laughs a little, her lips parting finally to let me see a little smile on her face.


    She loops a hand into the saddle for her wiretail, then slides off to the ground. When I started moving back to the village, she followed me. The wiretail she''s leading seems relatively indifferent to everything happening and is much quieter than Ranger ever is. I look over at Cassandra as we walk toward the stables, then finally lower my voice and murmur.


    "I''m happy you came."


    "I almost didn''t."


    She gazes at me while saying it, locking her eyes on mine so I know it''s true. I start to say something to follow up, but we''re interrupted by Gallen pitching a fit about his stables becoming a zoo.


    He goes on and on about how he doesn''t have room for another wiretail and how we need to be less pushy with our animals. It isn''t until I tell him we could use one of the village''s pocket doors to keep the wiretail in temporarily that Gallen puffs up and denies that option, muttering and telling us he''ll get it sorted out. We leave Cassandra''s wiretail with him, the old harmless grump he is, and then head back out into the village and towards my home.


    "Cassandra¨Ccan I call you Cass?"


    That question makes the left side of her lips crinkle and tilt up, almost like she was trying to hide it initially but then just gave up and smirked crookedly.


    "Yes, Orion, you can call me Cass." She stiltedly replies.


    "Is this weird?" I exasperatedly sigh. "What is even happening right now? I''m just¨CI''m happy to see you."


    "You have questions to ask me but don''t want to do it in the middle of your village."


    "Well, yeah, that''s definitely the truth."


    We crunch across the gravel walkway through the village and to the front of my home. Unlike Khalil''s, mine doesn''t have a neat little half-fence out front or anything; it''s just a patch of some grasses, a tiny and sad shrubbery I''ve named Curtis, and some boards of wood I haven''t had the time to cut down smaller for arrow shafts.


    "Orion, this is your home?"


    "Yeah, this is me. It''s not much, I suck at decorating, and I''m not here a whole lot unless I''m making arrows, in-between hunts, or trading runs or something. So yeah, that''s your warning." I laugh a little bit, semi-embarrassed.


    "It''s quaint, it fits you."


    "Not sure how to take that."


    "It''s a compliment in this case."


    "Well, okay. Don''t smash Curtis." I gesture at the sad little shrubbery, trying its hardest to grow where I planted it. She smirks in response but doesn''t say anything before pointedly going around the shrub with a purposefully wide berth.


    I head across the small patch of grass and up the steps to my small home, then open the door for us both. The light of our daytime illuminates the interior, and I start to walk inside, expecting her to follow me. After about twenty seconds, I realize she is not behind me, and I turn to head out of my living space and back to the doorway, puzzled.


    "You all good, Cass?"


    "Yes."


    "Uhhh?" I look at her questioningly while she stays standing there just outside the door.


    "You have to invite me into your home, Orion."


    "Oh damn! That''s real? Wow, I thought that was not a true thing."


    "Oh, it''s true." She murmurs in response, her seafoam eyes not wavering from me.


    "Well, Cassandra, would you like to come into my humble home?" I speak overly puffed up like I was some theater announcer.


    She shakes her head with a little bit of a laugh under her breath, but then she steps inside behind me, and I close the front door behind her. I gesture at my little sitting room right off the doorway.


    "Doesn''t look like much, but the couch is comfortable. I had it made by someone in the village a couple of years ago after I saw one similar to it when I was on a trading run in the human divide. It''s not the same, obviously, but it''s close enough. Comfy, too. I sleep on it all of the time."


    "Don''t worry about impressing me, Orion. Items don''t impress me; trust me on that. Too many people use items to try and impress others because they lack an actual personality."


    "I think you just complimented me for having a personality?"


    "I suppose I did." She moves in my direction, and I don''t move from my planted spot in the center of my small living room.


    As she draws close, I can''t help myself; I reach one of my hands up and rest it against her waist. The coldness of her body radiates through my hand almost as quickly as my hand touches against her clothing. Cassandra doesn''t move away, but she does stop with a couple of inches between us, her seafoam eyes searching mine, though I don''t know what for.


    "I was afraid I''d never see you again, Cass."


    "You almost didn''t."


    I frown, my eyes lowering momentarily to the floor, trying to piece together the spinning thoughts in my mind after she says that.


    "Don''t overthink it, Orion. It had less to do with you than with me. I told you about the territorial reaction I was getting with you. It''s not necessarily always a safe thing, and I wasn''t going to continue to let you walk yourself right into a situation you weren''t prepared for. But, when I got your message, I¨C"


    I break her diatribe by leaning forward and pressing¨Cno, crushing¨Cmy lips against hers. Her body''s icy touch does not affect my feelings towards her. I move my hand, which was already resting against her waist, upwards so that I wind up curling my arm around her upper back to hold her against me. I know that she could break away from me if she wished, but I don''t care. I physically needed to kiss her lips and smell her faint perfume.


    Cassandra initially tenses when I interrupt her speaking, but she relaxes just as quickly, one of her cool hands sliding up my free arm and past my shoulder. She tangles her fingers in my hair possessively before grabbing my braided hair and tugging my head back¨Cbut gently¨Cto break our lips'' connection. Breathing heavily, I open my pale eyes and search her face.


    She lifts her lips in a smile, a fraction mischievously, and tugs my hair again. It''s not hard enough to hurt but enough to make me laugh.


    "What are you doing?" I grin at her.


    "I haven''t decided yet. But, this is a good little leash for you."


    I laugh genuinely when she threatens to use my long, braided hair as a leash. She nudges me back towards my sofa, and I fall onto it, with her slowly crawling on top of me right afterward. Her fingers release my hair and rest on my chest. Cassandra''s cold hands against my chest remind me of the night out in the Wilds when she stepped away and left me wanting more.


    This time, though, her fingertips slowly pull up at my old shirt celebrating the "2019 high school state champion basketball team" from someplace I don''t even recognize. Cassandra continues to slowly shift my shirt upwards from my waistline and past my abdomen before she leans down, pressing her cool lips just above my navel. I groan a little, but in a way that''s more longing than anything. Her cold breath brushes across my stomach when she turns her head just slightly to murmur against my skin.


    "You''re mine now, Orion. You''ve chosen for us both."


    A warm rush floods my entire body like she turned on a light switch for my nerves with just those words alone. I start to lean up from the sofa, my lips hungry and wanting another chance at Cassandra''s full lips. Just one of her hands presses down on my chest with barely any effort, but her strength is overwhelming; I couldn''t struggle against her if I wanted to¨Cwhich I don''t. She pushes me back onto the sofa with just that one hand, and I don''t fight it. Instead, I lean my head back into the sofa''s plush cushions and tilt my eyes to watch the top of her golden braids of hair spilling across my abdomen and ribs.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    My breath catches here and there as she presses her lips along the muscles of my core, the shock of her icy lips against my skin that feels nearly on fire with passion. I writhe occasionally as her free hand drifts down between us, teasing my very evident yearning by brushing across it occasionally. She seems content to let me stew in restrained passion, her lips and hands touching me, tasting my skin.


    She slowly slithers up along my body, fully clothed as she still is, and rests her hips against mine. I can''t help myself; I grip her waist and instinctively grind my still-clothed hips against hers. She doesn''t stop me. Instead, she leans back against my hips, letting me sit up and forward with my chest repositioning to press against hers. I catch her lips with mine again, but she turns her head after only a few moments and drags her lips across the side of my jawline¨Cwhich is when I feel the pressure of two lengthened fangs faintly touching my skin. Goosebumps pop up along my chest, arms, and throat as anticipation mixes with a very faint feeling of fear.


    Almost as though Cassandra could tell that the touch of her fangs against my skin caused that reaction in me, she murmurs against my earlobe with a chilling breath of air.


    "I''m going to drink from you, Orion. Trust me."


    "I trust you." My voice is deeper than usual¨Chuskier and full of barely inhibited lust.


    She slips her hands forward against my chest, then catches my shirt in her fingers. Finally, she tugs it up and over my head before tossing it aside into the room. When she looks back at me, I see her seafoam eyes for truly the first time in their hyperfocused and attentive state. I quickly kiss¨Cand then nip¨Cher chin as if encouraging her to do exactly as she said. Right then, the fear of being bitten by a vampire is far less than my desire to feel her take me.


    Cassandra smiles against the side of my face after I nip her chin, and I can feel the press of her fully distended fangs in the middle of that smile against my skin. She pulls me close and lowers her face to the side of my neck, trailing her lips and fangs down the side of my throat. I grunt a little bit in anticipation, but she doesn''t bite. Instead, I can feel her toying with me, kissing and then pressing her fangs to my skin, alternating in a drawn-out tease.


    "Do it, Cass," I growl, giving voice to the desire wanting to burst out of me.


    Almost as if obeying my command or finally being encouraged to do it by my state of lust, she fully sinks her fangs into my throat. I lean forward into her at the sharp pain of my skin being penetrated, and she grips me by the back, her cold hands wrapped around my body like a vise. The sharp pain quickly fades away to a much different feeling¨Calmost a floating sensation, a quite pleasant one at that¨Cas she begins to drink from my throat.


    She makes a little pleasurable noise while she sups on my essence. I close my half-lidded eyes before allowing myself to sink into the blissful feeling, letting Cassandra do the work of holding up my upper body. She maintains her grip without a hitch as I relax completely in her clutches. After a few minutes, I can feel myself being lowered back down to the sofa, with her body''s weight pressing me down onto the sofa. Some part of my brain realizes that she''s no longer icy cold, and instead, her skin against mine has warmed like she was still alive. Finally, she draws her face away from my neck, having used her tongue and saliva to close the wound she inflicted on my throat.


    I breathe heavily at first¨Cstill overcome by the sensation of her feeding on me¨Cand while I probably could move, I don''t fight the feeling that wants me to take a moment for what it is and enjoy it. She presses her lips to mine, and I can feel the warmth now radiating from her entire body.


    My eyes slowly crack back open, and I start to get some motivation to move my limbs once again. I reach a hand up to brush back loose strands of Cassandra''s white-golden hair from her face that looms over mine. Her face is flushed, making her even more ravishing than I thought initially. My body reacts accordingly again, the pressure and throbbing of my body to my rapid heartbeat reminding me in no uncertain terms how much I want Cassandra.


    "You''re so beautiful. That was amazing¨Cnever felt anything like that in my life." I huskily murmur.


    She smiles against my hand as I touch her face, her lips still stained with the dark crimson of the blood she just took from me. Her eyes seek mine out, almost as if she were curious about what I''ll do now.


    I swallow down any other words and lean up, raising us both slightly off of the sofa. I reach down and pull up her shirt without asking. Without hesitation, I tug it off above her head and then toss it aside. Her creamy, smooth skin laid bare before me is too much. I growl without even realizing it''s coming from my own throat. I shift my weight over, my arms gripping Cassandra and turning so she winds up on the bottom with her back to the couch''s cushions. Though I''m sure she could have easily stopped me, she doesn''t, and it only encourages me more.


    My mouth lowers to Cassandra''s body, hungrily taking in her now-warmed skin and scent with every movement and breath I take. My hands draw along her body, her breasts another undiscovered land to trace and track with my fingers, followed by my lips and mouth. I close my eyes as I use my lips and tongue to worship her pert, aroused nipples. A soft moan escapes Cassandra''s lips, and it only emboldens me further. I want nothing more than to take her as she already took me, but my desire to not skip any part of her body for the first time keeps me in line¨Ckeeps me from becoming a ravaging beast of a man, even though part of me wants to do just that.


    As I slowly work my way down her body, her back arches to lift her skin against my tender ministrations. I slowly start to pull away her belt, which is tossed off into the room. A little amused noise draws my attention up towards her face.


    "You should''ve kept the belt. I could have used that in a few minutes."


    She grins at me, fangs ever-present, then slightly bites her bottom lip in the hottest thing I''ve ever seen in my absolute life. It''s all I can do to keep it together. I blurt out a throaty laugh, trying to keep control of myself.


    I tug at the waistband of her pants, and I hear the faint thunk behind me on the floor as she kicks off her shoes. I pull down the last remaining bits of her clothing and sit back on my knees, gazing over her flushed body. I drop the remainder of her clothing off to the side, then slide down further on the couch, dropping to my knees on the floor next to it. She turns slightly, but it isn''t fast enough for me. I use my hands to slide her body on the sofa to face me fully and then lean forward, slithering between her legs before placing my lips just underneath her navel.


    I can scent her natural need now, my own need raging below as well, but I won''t be deterred. I nudge her to lean back ever so slightly and continue drawing my lips closer and lower to her core of heat. I tongue the sweetness of her aroused lower lips, enjoying listening to her gasp as I make sure to please her like a lover should. Cassandra threads her fingers around my hair''s braid and uses it to grip rather forcefully, encouraging me to continue with proper tugs occasionally. I trail my tongue and lips over her flushed and sensitive sex, paying close attention to the little button amongst the folds. With almost every touch and flick of the tongue, she writhes with pleasure, and I get nearly as much enjoyment at controlling her reaction in such a way.


    Painstakingly slowly, I slide my hands up her legs and thighs, touching every part of her that I can while I service her needs with my tongue and lips. She presses the back of my head more insistently, so I move one of my hands over to join the work of my mouth. I trail my index finger along her inner thigh, carefully and slowly, so Cassandra can feel every movement I make. She whispers and moans when I press my index finger into her wetness, and I continue using my tongue to trail circles around her bundle of nerves as I push my finger into her. Slowly, I work my finger into her sex, my lips and tongue paying special care to her pink pearl. I increase the speed as she starts to arch against my hand, letting her feel the stimulation from my tongue and finger together at the same pace.


    Feeling her body clench around my finger as she calls out in a moan of sudden pressure release is one that I hope never to forget. Her thighs close on either side of my head, while her hand holds my head against her sex. As she comes, I only slow slightly, elated beyond belief that I could bring such a beautiful creature to the height of pleasure. When Cassandra starts to slow her breathing and her thighs loosen around my head, I lean back slowly, still kneeling on the floor in front of her. I gaze up at her, a lustful glaze no doubt clouding over my eyes. She breathes deeply a few more times before finally opening her eyes and settling those seafoam-colored eyes onto me. I turn my head slightly and place a kiss on the inside of her right knee, not breaking eye contact to do it.


    She roughly grips my hair, pulling me up to her by my braid of dark hair. Taking the initiative this time, she crushes her lips to mine, and the sudden aggressive movement spurs something primal in me. Cassandra breaks my belt as she''s pulling it off, once again reminding me of her strength and how she restrains it most times when dealing with me.


    "Oops."


    "Fuck it, I don''t need it," I grunt without a second thought.


    She laughs a little bit, her bare breasts pressing against my chest as she starts to shift herself around on the sofa.


    "No, you don''t need it."


    She pulls down my pants, relying on me to take care of the clothes that are left deposited at my ankles. Standing up the rest of the way, I step out of them about the same time as Cassandra takes my now-freed hardness in her hand. I almost flinch at the sudden touch, with my body so aroused as it is. The sudden release of my constrained body from the clothes only to be immediately taken in hand is almost too much. I groan in barely contained pleasure.


    "Are you going to bite my¨C"


    "Do you want me to?"


    "I don''t¨CI have no idea?" My brain is fried and overcome with lust; I only want to feel her around me; any other thoughts are impossible.


    "Mmm, let''s save it for next time."


    I exhale a whisper of noise as she suggests this whole thing will happen again. That exhale quickly extends into a moan as Cassandra places her lips over my shaft and takes me into her mouth. I tilt my head back while she starts to work her magic of mouth and hands. It feels tremendous, almost too good to be real. She''s careful not to overstimulate me, but repeatedly only using her hands and mouth, she draws me to the edge of peaking before slowing the pleasure so I don''t release. It''s a sweet sort of torture.


    "Cassandra, I can''t. I have to have you right now." I growl, barely able to form sentences.


    "Fuck me now, then."


    The words, so raw and suddenly profane, pull out something inside me that I didn''t even know was there. I crash down onto Cassandra''s body on the sofa instantly, pressing my lips to her shoulders, her neck, and then her breasts before spreading her thighs with my own. I barely wait more than a few moments before I guide my sex to hers and push myself into her. I pause, moaning and exhaling in heated breath, feeling her muscles clenching around me as my hardness impales her. I bite my lip and move into her over and over again; my hands press down on either side of her body, holding my own body up while I work myself into her with reckless abandon. Any thoughts of anything else in the world are completely gone. I only see Cassandra and no other.


    Her moaning encourages me to pull her back to me over and over again by the hips, and each time I slam mine against hers, her voice and noises seemingly motivate a savage side of me that I''d never tapped into before. She reaches up and splays her fingers across my back, and I use my arms to loop around her backside, picking her up into the air in one movement. I rush over to the nearest wall and crash Cassandra''s back against the wall, only to press against her as though I wanted to crush her into oblivion with my body. She digs her nails into my back as I continue to thrust and work my way into her, and I feel her legs wrapping around me to keep me in place.


    "Come for me, Orion. Give me everything you have left."


    I growl at her seductive order, and it''s almost like my body wants to obey her command. I can feel the building pressure at the base of my spine while I hold her there against the wall and wildly pump my length into her. My breathing grows more ragged with every moment that passes, and Cassandra can tell just as well as I can that I''m about to release.


    Without a word of warning, she sinks her fangs into my throat again just before I come¨Cor maybe it''s what causes it. The painful prick of fangs immediately shifts to pleasurable as she drinks from me right at the moment of climax. I breathe out loudly in a yell of pleasure, unable to control my voice at the sudden change. I press her body roughly against the wall, leaning against her while she maintains her thighs and legs wrapped around me. I continue thrusting into her in wondrous euphoria, even after I''ve finished coming, unable to stop grinding against her as she drinks from my throat.


    The floating, pleasurable sensation is too much for me. She seems to recognize that I''m too overwhelmed, and she carefully disentangles herself from me, holding me up for the few moments she needs to close the wound on my throat again and let me get my bearings. My mouth feels dry, and my muscles are spent as if I just ran a marathon. Cassandra carefully leads us back to the sofa, where we both crash together¨Cmy head resting against her bare breasts and her hands slowly trailing across my ribs, sides, and chest.


    "Mine," Cassandra murmurs, and though it''s soft, the tone is firm.


    "Yours," I whisper during an exhale.


    She repeats the same word twice more, and each time I softly respond the same. I try to speak more, but Cassandra presses a finger over my lips and shushes me.


    "No, Orion, enjoy the afterglow."


    I don''t argue. Instead, I let myself rest against her. We stay like that, barely moving at all, save for the lightest touches of feeling each other''s skin. I can feel her skin cooling the longer we rest that way, so I figure the warmth sensation only comes right after a fresh feeding. I don''t care; that was the best thing I''d ever encountered in my life. My muscles still feel weak, and my head swims a little, but I still don''t care. I turn my head and press my lips against the side of her neck affectionately. She reaches up, slowly running her fingers across my hair and pointed ears.


    "I''m good now, Cass. I can breathe again."


    "Shhh. Relax for a few more minutes."


    And so we go back to another period of time where we rest against each other on the sofa, her cooling off completely and my skin losing its aroused flush. Finally, she presses her hand to the side of my face and slides up to sit normally. She presses her now icy-cold lips again to the corner of my lips and starts to stand.


    "I''m going to go wash; I''ll find it. You should eat some eggs, trust me."


    "You don''t have to keep telling me to trust you, Cass. I trust you. I think I''m in lo¨C"


    "¨CNo, don''t say that. Not yet."


    She doesn''t give me another chance to protest. Instead, she heads out of my small front room, and I hear her milling around my house until she finds my bathing tub. I sit there stunned at her abruptly stopping me from professing my love, but it''s possible that I could just be emotionally and physically spent instead of being stunned. I hear her slipping into my tub and using it as she said she would, so I sluggishly pull myself off the sofa.


    As Cassandra suggested, I make my way into my kitchen and pick out some duck eggs. A few minutes later, I had a small fire going and cooked those eggs in a heated pan. When they''re done, I scoop them into a small bowl and wolf them down, even though I initially didn''t feel that hungry. I locate my clothes, pull on my pants, though I don''t bother with a shirt yet, and leave my broken belt where it fell earlier.

 030; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 18: The Patron

    With Cassandra off to her business, I step out into my backyard. I use a small bucket of water to wash my face off, but I don''t wash further, not quite ready to get her scent off my skin. I gaze back at a window to my home, the room I know holds my bathtub where Cassandra is. A smile creeps across my face, and I blush somewhat again, telling myself that that just happened and was terrific. I splash another round of water on my face, then straighten. After wiping the water off my face, I start to head back to my home, but Cassandra is standing there, clothed, in the doorway. She drifts down to me and gives me a ghost of a smile, halting my progression.


    "I don''t know what to say." I blurt out after a long few seconds of silence.


    "You don''t have to say anything if you don''t want to, Orion."


    "Thank you for that."


    She raises a hand to my face and trails her thumb slowly along my cheekbones and over to the start of my jawline.


    "No, thank you, Orion." She whispers softly.


    "I had questions for you¨C" I smile vaguely, unable to hide it from my facial features¨Cand not really wanting to, either.


    "Mmhmm, I vaguely remember you saying that earlier."


    "¨CBut I don''t remember what they are now, so there''s that."


    Cassandra looks around before walking over and finding a simple seat to sit on at the small fire pit I have in my backyard. I follow shortly afterward and then slide down to sit next to her. She reaches over and tweaks one of my bare nipples with a laugh. I grimace and draw back at the sudden and unexpected sharp pain, then laugh.


    "Ouch, damn, what was that for?"


    "No reason; it just seemed like it would be fun to see your face."


    "Okay, sure, Cass." I laugh another time before clearing my throat and rubbing my chest where she pinched me. "So, I kind of remember what I was going to ask, and some of it doesn''t, uh, apply anymore."


    "If you want, sure." She sounds indifferent, like she doesn''t mind me asking her questions, even if they''re bound to be annoying or basic.


    I pick up a stick and start absently poking at the old cold embers from whatever fire I last had going in this small campfire-sized pit. Cassandra turns her now impassive, seafoam-colored gaze onto me while I formulate my thoughts, the hyperfocused gaze she had only a short while earlier completely gone.


    "Someone told me never to share blood with your kind; how come?"


    "Ah, the age-old warning against vampires. Going to ask if I''ve lied to you, too?"


    "Hadn''t planned on it," I murmur, a little defensively.


    "If I drink your blood, I get sustenance and¨Cas you got to see up close and personally¨Ca little bit of time that I can act and feel alive. Your blood is different from animals or humans, though; it hums in my veins. Like, hmm, a beautiful summer day slowly moving through my body. As an aside, the sun here doesn''t feel terrible and uncomfortable right now, so I''d imagine that''s also a side effect."


    "Maybe because I''m aligned to the sun."


    "Probably."


    "What if I were to drink yours?" I turn my pale eyes to her, watching for her response.


    "Well, I could find you wherever you went."


    "That doesn''t sound that bad?"


    "Depends on how you''re looking at it, I suppose. Other things come with drinking from me, too, Orion."


    "Would I be like some kind of vampire elf-kin or something?"


    "What?" Cassandra blurts out a laugh as if that''s the most ridiculous thing she''s maybe ever heard.


    "What?! It''s a genuine question! I don''t know how you people work!"


    That only makes her laugh a bit harder. It''s genuine, too, and she knows it''s making me all restless, so her chuckled laughter continues for a few more moments every time she looks back at me.


    "I sometimes forget how young you actually are, Orion."


    "Yeah, that''s one of my questions too."


    "How old am I? Is that what you mean?"


    "Yep."


    "Old enough, but not old enough to return back to the real world."


    "What''s the real world?" I furrow my brow, unsure if I want to hear the answer to that.


    "You called it the human divide. You know, through those seams."


    "This is the real world for me, though." I deflate a little bit without realizing it, and it takes her reaching over to tilt up my chin with a finger to raise my head back up so she can look me in the eyes.


    "Don''t worry. I haven''t done what I''m meant to do here yet, so I don''t aim to leave any time soon."


    I lean forward and kiss her palm since it''s so close to me after she tilts my head up.


    "You didn''t answer my question all the way about drinking your blood."


    She pulls her hand back; it''s casual, but I can tell it''s prompted by my circling back to the prior point in our conversation.


    "Someone who drinks from a vampire becomes a little, how to say this delicately¨Cinfatuated?¨CI suppose. It isn''t bad at first, but the more and more you drink from a vampire, the more and more it takes hold of you. Some humans who drink from us for years can completely lose their sense of self and just act on an instinct to serve."


    "Wow, that''s kind of crazy."


    "They can be crazed, yes. Not always, though; it depends on the nature of the person in question, I think. It''s a tool my kind can use¨Cand will use¨Ctowards whatever our goals are."


    "Have you done that to people?"


    "Sure." She doesn''t hesitate when responding, nor does she seem to think anything less of herself for saying it. She shifts her eyes to the side to look at me while I mull over that answer.


    "I guess that kind of falls under the ''how old are you then'' question."


    "I was turned shortly after I was married."


    "You were married?"


    "For about forty minutes, maybe an hour, I was. It wasn''t like you''d think, Orion. No fairytale there; I was supposed to be the woman of the house¨Ca good-looking broodmare to smooth the society hit on our family for my brother''s outspokenness of atheism. It was illegal in those days. My family understandably didn''t want to be part of the big ''crisis of the faith'' wave that was going on. The easiest way to soothe those whispers was to marry me to a ''good,'' evangelical man and family."


    "I don''t really understand what you just said."


    "I was married off by my family to correct an idiotic political move my brother made."


    "Fucking politics, man."


    "No comment. Anyway, like I said, I think I was married for about an hour before my maker decided she was done with the party. She turned me and had two others turned as well that night, but everyone else¡­" She lifts a shoulder slightly in a half-hearted shrug.


    "Wow. She killed everyone?"


    "She and others of the house did, yes."


    "Uh, I''m not really sure what to say. That seems a bit, I don''t know, psychotic?"


    "It was a long time ago, Orion. It might seem ''psychotic,'' but I understand why it was done, even though it took me some time to come to grips with." She doesn''t share the reasonings with me, nor does she look like she intends to.


    "So, how long ago?"


    "A bit over a hundred years."


    "Wow! You don''t look a day over 93!" I offer her a cheeky grin, trying to lighten the mood.


    She gives me a ghost of a smile in return. I touch her lips with my thumb before I even think about it, tracing the outline with the tip. I lean in to steal a kiss from her, which she only slightly reciprocates.


    "So, I killed the mood. Womp-womp."


    "No, no, Orion. I was just lost in thoughts, I suppose."


    "Alright then. So, drinking your blood makes the person have a track on them that you can follow any time you want. It can make them all infatuated and crazy, and if they keep drinking your blood, they turn into mindless drone followers. What else?"


    "Not necessarily mindless drones, Orion. They very much can act on their own; it''s just that they also want to act constantly for the benefit of¨Cwe call them patrons. If you were to drink my blood, I would be your patron in the eyes of other draugar¨Cwhat we are, what you call vampires."


    "Weird name."


    "It''s old, just like most things about my kind¨Cand yours, you know."


    "Yeah, I know, but I''m a Wilder, so I don''t have much of that background knowledge."


    "You have plenty of time to correct that in your lifetime."


    "True enough."


    "There are other things from drinking my blood, but I don''t want to talk anymore about this, Orion."


    "Hey, it''s cool, I get it. I''m sure we''ll chat about it other times."


    She makes a little noise in response, which is relatively noncommittal, but I don''t worry about it. Instead, I look at her for a few moments, enjoying having her close. Finally, I decide to tell her my soon-to-be plans.


    "Aria and I are going to the human divide in a couple of days when she gets back."Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    That draws Cassandra''s sharp attention. She immediately tilts her head questioningly but doesn''t interrupt me as I speak.


    "We found out the area where we think those disappeared fey went, so she and I will try to search around and see if we can find any trace of them. If we don''t find anything in a few-ish nights, we''ll come back; if we do find something¨Cor them¨Cwe''ll figure it out then."


    "Where?"


    "Where what?"


    "Where are you going with the humans?"


    "Uhh, a place called Asheville¨Cwith an ''e''¨Cwe found it while looking through old road atlases Aria had on hand at her place."


    Cassandra draws back from me and stares at me, her gaze hardening about a hundredfold in the span of a second.


    "What, Cass?"


    "You don''t want to go there." Her voice is low, dangerous. I can''t tell if she''s angry or worried because her face is serious and otherwise indecipherable.


    "I mean, I have to know what happened to those fey; I can''t just ignore it."


    "Well, you should ignore it and not go there."


    "Why?"


    "I know the place, the area, I mean. And I know some of the supernaturals who haunt and hunt there, too."


    "Hey, that''s great news. Aria actually left a couple of nights ago to find someone who knows the area, but if you know¨C"


    "¨CDid you not hear me, Orion?" She snarls at me, her fangs slightly poking out behind her lips. "You shouldn''t go there."


    "Whoa." I hold up both hands as if to defend myself from her sudden wrath. A small part of me remembers Jorge''s little bit about vampires and their tendency to Jekyll and Hyde in general, but I try to ignore it, thinking this is just something else.


    "Listen, Cass, I have to go because I have to know what happened to those fey¨Cif only for this village''s safety¨Cand help them if I can. They''re my people, and no one else seems to be the one who will do it. So, unless you want to share some kind of earth-shattering new information with me, you won''t stop me from going. I hate to say it that way, but it''s the truth, and I don''t want to ever lie to you if I can help it. I was going to ask you to come with me, but I''m thinking that''s probably a big, fat no."


    Her seafoam eyes flash with anger, but instead of advancing on me, she turns away and walks further into my admittedly tiny backyard. She''s forced to stop about ten feet away when shrubbery and small trees block her path. I watch her quietly. She stands there for a good two or three minutes in silence before she finally turns with her arms crossed loosely over her abdomen and walks back toward me. Her fangs haven''t retracted, but her eyes aren''t screaming murder at me.


    "I can''t go with you."


    "Yeah, I kind of figured you wouldn''t want to go."


    "No, I said I can''t go with you."


    "Oh. Well, that''s a difference a word makes. Can I ask why not?"


    "I have to stay here¨Cas I said earlier¨Cuntil my task is done. It isn''t done, so I can''t leave."


    "Can''t, or won''t?"


    "Can''t¨Csome of our kind make promises we dare not break."


    "We have something that sounds like that, too. No one ever swears them unless they''re basically forced into it by someone else. At least, as far as I''ve seen."


    "I know, it''s like what you did to Kline. Who, by the way, wants your head on a spike. You made an enemy for your entire lifetime with him, Orion."


    "Yeah, well, he''s a little bit of a bitch, so forgive me if I don''t give a shit that he''s upset at me."


    That causes her to exhale air through her nose suddenly and laugh, breaking the tension for at least a moment.


    "He is, isn''t he?"


    "Yeah. So¨C" I start again, trying to redirect the conversation. "¨CWhat do I need to know about Asheville?"


    She sighs, then drops her hands to her sides. Her fangs disappear behind her lips, and she settles back down next to me. Instead of leaning against her, I turn and prop myself up across the length-cut log bench we''re using to sit on, my legs hanging off the edge, feet on the ground. I lean back and carefully lay my head on her lap, looking up at her.


    "I can take care of myself, Cass. Even if your kind is there."


    "We''re weak here."


    "Bullshit."


    "I''m serious, Orion. I''m pretty sure it''s the downside we get from moving around in this." She gestures upwards at the daytime sky. "We can move here freely even if it''s a bit uncomfortable most times, but overall, we''re weaker in strength, like our abilities just don''t work as well, or sometimes they just require more blood to manifest."


    "So you''re saying you''d have hulked out when you tore off my belt earlier if we were in the human world?"


    I give her a pesky, wide grin. She laughs softly and flicks my nose with one of her nails. I scrunched up my nose in response, and she gently brushed her fingers over my hair, her nails lightly dancing across my scalp in a soothing gesture.


    "I''m serious. I doubt you''ll come across my kind, except maybe near whatever seam you go through, but if you do, you must be careful."


    "Alright, I promise I will."


    "If one starts to stalk or bother you or your friend, tell them I''m your patron."


    "Will they know who you are?"


    "Cassandra Bentham. If that doesn''t trigger any recognition, tell them my maker is Delilah, Delilah Falk. If even that doesn''t stop them, well, they''re an idiot. But if it doesn''t, mention we''re of the Falcon House, and that should stop it right there."


    "Should I know who or what the Falcon House is?"


    "Don''t worry about that right now. Just repeat back to me the name and what I said?"


    "You''re my patron, Cassandra Bentham. Doesn''t work? Go with Delilah Falk being your maker, and if that doesn''t work, mention Falcon House. That cover it?"


    "That covers it." She leans down and brushes her lips across mine.


    "So, Cassandra Bentham, nice to meet you all official-like." I give her another cheeky grin, and she tilts her lips at the corners.


    "I''m different there than here, Orion." She replies with some amount of hesitation, which I find weird.


    "I bet you probably have to be. That''s okay. You can be who you want when you''re with me."


    "Just keep me as Cass or Cassandra here; it''s better that way. I don''t particularly want to be Cassandra Bentham here."


    "You''re talking like you have some kind of split personality or something."


    "Maybe my kind does. I''m not kidding, either. We can compartmentalize so much that before too long, we don''t even realize we''re doing it. It just happens, like remembering to blink."


    "You have to remember to blink?!"


    "Yes, Orion."


    "Holy shit, how do you keep track of all of that in your brain? The only time I''ve had to remember to blink was when I got waaaaay too fucked up once with Khalil and a couple of other dudes. It was on this root you can dig up that if you burn it in a fire, it starts making everyone around hallucinate and such. I had to convince myself that I needed to blink my eyes and also remember to breathe. I''m not sure if I actually needed to tell myself that, but I thought I did."


    She doesn''t interrupt my rambling about a party night with a hallucinogen, but she does broaden her smirk at me the longer I keep talking. Finally, her lips twitch, and she responds.


    "I told you, before too long, it becomes second nature. You train yourself to do it and no longer think about it. The really old ones of my kind don''t even pretend, though; they sit there and watch. They never move unless they want to; it''s still eerie, even for me."


    Her fingers trail out of my hair and down one side of my face, tracing the outline of my pointed ear, then cheekbone, then jawline.


    "Anything to know about Asheville?"


    "Stay out of the mountains if you can. There''s a lot of nonsense in those old hills."


    "Uhhhh."


    Cassandra openly sighs at me.


    "Of course, you''re not staying in the city; you''re going into the wilderness."


    "I mean, we''re going to head out east of the city; we don''t have a marker of what to look for, other than a valley with mountains nearby'' essentially, which isn''t a whole lot of detail."


    "I''m familiar with it. I didn''t spend a lot of time there, but I did spend some with my¨Cwith my house. Mostly in the city, admittedly, but every month on the full moon, the local power structure for my kind has gatherings at its main homestead in the mountains overlooking the city. Nice place, but never go there."


    "Roger that."


    "Will you need money?"


    "I''m taking a few trade items that usually move pretty much instantly to get some of the currency they use over there. I told you I''ve done this before, so it''ll be alright. Everyone always acts like I''m a gigantic idiot or something."


    "No, I don''t think that; I just want you not to go, but since you''re going no matter what I say, I want you to be safe. You should look for the smell of blood if your people are in those hills. I''m not saying that they''re in danger, though they probably are; if they''re stranded out there and afraid to come across humanity, then they''ll be hunting for themselves as a large contingent, so they''ll probably have to catch a lot of wildlife and such to sustain themselves."


    "That''s a good idea. Teaching me to hunt like a vampire?"


    "Just reminding you there''s more than just what your eyes can see."


    I pause. Something about what Cassandra just said reminds me of my long heart-to-heart with Hannah in the recent past. Cassandra notices my thoughtful change, but she doesn''t inquire. She just lazily draws abstract patterns with an index fingernail over my chest and collarbone while I lay my head on her lap and thighs.


    "Sorry, spaced for a second. It''s nothing; it''s just thoughts going on in my mind. Speaking of my mind, you were sooo dirty doing that to me at first!"


    She bursts out laughing. It''s a full-throated laugh, too, as if she had forgotten about that entirely.


    "Oh, I know, it was terrible of me." Cassandra grins impishly at me, "I admit it. I couldn''t help myself, though. It was so easy to get you flustered. That amused me for hours. I should have kept going and found out how long I could torture you."


    "I thought I was having some internal freakout, with my body telling me to bone everything that even looked a little appetizing. Thanks a lot!"


    She laughs again and then leans down to press her lips against mine. She draws back and then starts to stand, which causes me to sit up.


    "Thank you for making me feel something, Orion."


    The way and slightly different intonation she uses makes me a bit sad for her suddenly. I stand to face her, take a few steps in her direction, and place my hand against her cool cheek.


    "I''ll make you feel this way for as long as I can, however I can."


    "Don''t write checks you might not be able to cash."


    "W¨CWhat?"


    "Right," Cassandra smirks, "probably not a phrase you would have heard before. It''s an idiom."


    "A what?"


    "An idiom." Even though I give her a bewildered look, she continues, "Never mind. It essentially means don''t make promises that you don''t know if you can keep. You don''t know the future or what might change in it."


    "Nobody knows the future, sure, but nothing should change as long as I''m here and you''re with me. You don''t understand what I mean, Cassandra; you''re not elf-kin. You bring out something in my being that I didn''t know even existed."


    "I know what you mean, even if I don''t have the deep connection to an emotional well anymore like you¨Cand others¨Cdo."


    "It''s not just that. I feel a connection to you, like¨C" I trail off, unsure how to describe it to her. My pale eyes search her face while I think, and after a few long moments, I continue again. "¨CFuck, this is going to sound so stupid."


    "Try me, anyway." Cassandra murmurs in encouragement.


    "Okay. Like I said, a connection to you as with two trees growing next to each other. Most times, roots and branches from one will choke out everything around it, but in my case, with you, I feel like we could provide root support to each other, an understanding, and even a sharing of life. We could grow stronger and taller together. Man, I''m no good at this. I''m sorry."


    I lower my eyes, having struggled to explain the depth of feelings and feeling embarrassed for having tried so clumsily to do so. She lowers her head slightly to catch my pale eyes with hers before she leans forward to press her soft, icy lips to mine again.


    "That''s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me, Orion. Don''t be ashamed of it."


    "I just want you to know it''s different. You''re different. I might be young, but I''m not a wean; I''ve been around the block for a little while. We age slowly, remember? When I saw you, I knew something had flipped a switch in me. I never believed in anything like that before. Sure, I''ve crushed on people¨Cprobably still will, if I''m honest¨Cbut something in you just called out to my soul. I was always going to come and find you, Cassandra, even if you didn''t come to me today. I feel like it was an inevitability. Fate, maybe."


    She smiles at me, a genuinely soft smile. Not an amused or joking one, but a sincere smile full of affection. She touches a hand to my chest, then lowers her eyes to where she trails it. After what has to be a full minute, she murmurs to me.


    "Did you eat those eggs like I told you to?"


    "Yep."


    "How strong are you feeling?"


    "Oh, I''m feeling real strong." I shift my weight, a little flush taking to my cheeks before I can stop it.


    "Real strong, hmm?"


    "Yep. Like forged metal."


    She looks down between us and then casually raises an eyebrow while looking at my crotch.


    "Hmm, I''m not sure I''d consider you like metal yet. Maybe, hmm, a bit more like a malleable clay."


    My mouth opens slightly in the shape of an "o," and I laugh, the flush of my cheeks almost instantly taking over my whole body.


    "Oh man, you are asking for it." I immediately move in her direction, and she laughs, stepping back toward my home''s back door. She takes a few steps back purposely, leading me like a dog following a treat¨Cor a bone.


    "We''ll see how long your strength holds up this time, fey of clay."


    I don''t say another word. Instead, I chase Cassandra back into my home, laughing at her good-natured lover''s teasing, yet still prepared to rise to meet her challenge¨Cquite literally, in this case.

 031; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 19.1: The Tantrum

    Nights have passed, and Tallulah has found herself in a kind of limbo. She expected to see Kofi the night after Etta and Lewis had their ordeal¨Cafter Percival had declined her request to meet that night. But no, Kofi hadn''t responded either or shown up. She''d not seen Micah either, which is fine as Elijah was a better substitute. Tallulah was growing fond of the young guard with his quick-to-smile charm.


    She knows it has been a few nights, maybe even a week now since Kofi supposedly sent away someone to locate fey in the nearby city they call Asheville. But, yet again, she had heard neither hide nor hair of anything surrounding it. She had checked on Etta and Lewis in the medical wing the previous night, only to find them separately caged while being treated. Lewis still needed medical attention, but Etta seemed fine. When she asked for Etta to be released, she was denied, so she demanded that Etta be released as soon as possible. But of course, Etta either hadn''t been released yet, or she chose not to seek out Tallulah as she said. Another frustration on top of a pile of frustrations.


    Still in her room for the early evening, as dark hasn''t entirely crept over the lush rolling mountains of Appalachia, Tallulah feels like she can do nothing but pace and pace. She feels a bit like a caged animal, even though she can walk outside, telling her she''s worked up too far and needs to relax. She suddenly smiles with some degree of malevolence and looks slowly around her private room suite. Her eyes darken as her smile spreads. Walking over purposefully, she picks up a small vase that seems to be holding fresh evening primrose.


    "You vampires think you''re so clever with your night-blooming flowers." She says to no one, no one at all.


    Then she turns with the vase in hand and hurls it at one of the floor-to-ceiling windows, not caring a lick how much the decorative vase costs. It smashes against the window, spraying water and flower stems in every direction. Tallulah watches the destruction with some degree of satisfaction before moving again. She does it once more a few minutes later, with the same destructive throw against one of the large glass walls and windows. Naturally, the glass window doesn''t even gain a crack, confirming Tallulah''s thoughts that they are likely a security glass. She smiles wanly at the shattered remnants of the vases and the stems and flowers now littered all over the edge of her room facing the darkening mountainside.


    She moves to pick up a third vase, but her door hisses as the security locks are disengaged. Tallulah turns with the chosen sacrificial vase in hand and looks towards the opening door. Elijah comes hustling in, looking concerned.


    "Uhh, Miss Tallulah? Are you okay? They sent me here on rapid response."


    Tallulah tosses the vase from one hand to the other with a mild smile at Elijah. She doesn''t say anything; instead, she turns and flings the vase as hard as she can at the wall of windows. Like the previous two, it shatters on impact, and more water and floral arrangements scatter around.


    "Whoa! Whoa! Calm down, lady! What''s going on?!"


    "Oh, I don''t know," Tallulah responds bitingly. "Let''s see. Where is Etta? Where is Kofi? Where is the news on locating a fey in Asheville? Where''s the financials on the horse I requested?"


    "Who is Etta?"


    "The homely fey woman that''s been locked in the medical area since I made a fit about them not receiving medical treatment. If it weren''t for me, they wouldn''t have gotten any water when locked up like animals in a cell!"


    "Oh."


    "Yes, oh. So don''t tell me to calm down, Elijah."


    "Okay, okay, I can see you''re, like, super mad right now, so let''s just try to take a step back here." He holds up his hands as he slowly approaches her, almost like he is trying to calm down a wild animal or a horse that has lost its composure.


    "Don''t look at me like that, Elijah; I am perfectly within my rights to be angry right now about nights and nights of waiting and waiting."


    "Definitely agree. But, like, I''m not the enemy, yeah? I''m cool. You''re cool. We''re cool."


    Tallulah slowly exhales through her nose, loud enough that Elijah can hear it as he slows to a stop about five or six feet away from where she''s standing. Her shoulders slump a little, the intense anger ebbing away as Elijah maintains his position. She doesn''t want to take her frustration out on the young man, so she releases her anger and lets it simmer down to become a slowly spreading discontent.


    "Fine."


    "Hey, alright, Miss Tallulah. Let''s get you out of this room, huh?"


    "I haven''t dressed for the evening."


    "Uh yeah, I noticed that. I didn''t want to say anything. I thought maybe it was intentional that you were rocking out with just a little opened robe on your shoulders. How about I step outside and give you, like, thirty minutes or so to get all Tallulah-fied?"


    "Tallulah-fied?"


    "Yeah, you know. Fresh and clean, something to wear, etcetera."


    "Fine. I''ll see you shortly."


    Elijah hesitates because of how Tallulah worded her agreement, but he backs up a few steps and heads for the door. He steps outside and pulls it closed behind him, with the slight security noise of it sealing and then locking again.


    She exhales a long breath in a sigh, then gets on with it, heading to her bathroom to take a relatively quick rinsing shower. Shortly afterward, she finds herself poking through the stocked closet of clothing. Without spending much time, she picks out a suede dress that is a relatively simple affair¨Cat least more simple than most pieces in the overdone closet space¨Ca light sandy-brown color with a playful fringing at the bottom. Snakeskin calf-high boots in the same tan, sandy-brown color are clipped to the hanger.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    A few minutes later, she''s finished, ignoring any articles of jewelry that are suggested by the tiny paper clipped to the hanger her dress came on. Let the stylist pitch a fit with her tonight about it, and she''ll be in for a surprise, Tallulah muses. She pushes out of the room, her piercingly green eyes settling immediately on Elijah, standing there with his back leaning against the hallway wall.


    "Hey! Looking good, Miss Tallulah!"


    "Elijah." She murmurs, leaving it directly at that.


    "So, check this out. I radioed a couple of times to find out about this ''Etta'' you mentioned. They said they released her last night, and the other one¨Cuh, I forget his name¨Che''s due to be released as soon as you sort out his punishment."


    "And how am I to determine his punishment when I haven''t received the worth of the horse and all the financial information I asked for from that thick-headed gorilla of a guard down in your jail area?"


    "So, about that. The house is intending to meet with you tonight." He stops, Tallulah''s eyes flashing with some degree of irritation. Elijah carefully continues when Tallulah doesn''t say anything. "I just found out, didn''t know. Don''t shoot the messenger, huh?"


    "Which one is it?"


    "Uh, erm, it''s Her Grace¨C"


    "¨COf course! I said Kofi, and they''ve done everything but consent to what I''ve asked!"


    He holds up his hands again, probably instinctively, trying to convince Tallulah to keep her voice down and not pitch a fit. For whatever reason, this time, it angers her even more. Her face takes on a stubborn set, and she turns right on her boot heel and heads for the side entrance that leads out to the barn and stables where the fey are being kept.


    "Er, Miss Tallulah, they¨Cshe''s¨Chey wait up. I''m supposed to escort you to see her. If I don''t, I''m going to be in so much shit. Come on, please, please don''t do this."


    She stops at the door that leads to the outside of the house, her hand on the security scanner, which is holding the door in an unlocked state. Elijah''s pleading has reached past her anger¨Cshe doesn''t want him to be punished on her behalf. She turns her eyes to gaze with a hardened glare at Elijah, even though she knows she will give in to him.


    "Fine. But I''m not meeting her in that stupid ballroom."


    "No problem. I was supposed to take you to their private meeting room, the parlor thing. We can bypass the ballroom entirely. There''s a whole bunch of ways to get around this place."


    She turns in silence, gesturing with a hand for him to lead on. Shortly afterward, they quickly bypass hallways and rooms in the house. Elijah unlocks security doors as required before they find their way back into a cross-connecting hallway with paintings and busts lining the walls. Sure enough, it leads to the same fairly large parlor where she met the three vampiric leaders of the house during the full moon. Inside, Selena stands with a man kneeling before her, holding one of her smooth, alabaster wrists in both hands like a priceless artifact. The kneeling man''s lips are against her wrist¨Cclearly drinking Selena''s blood¨Cand she''s absently talking with a woman standing next to her as if the man isn''t even there.


    Seeing the beautiful Selena does the exact opposite of what Tallulah expected¨Cshe expected to be quite angry upon seeing one of the three leaders of this house, but instead, a little butterfly starts in her stomach, lightening her mood by degrees suddenly. Tallulah furrows her brow, confused to some degree by her bizarre temperament change, but she doesn''t get long to think about it.


    "Well, well. If it''s not our favorite faerie. Good evening, Miss Tallulah. Thank you for joining us tonight."


    Selena''s soft, sultry, and satin voice draws a smile from Tallulah. She doesn''t even really register that Selena had just backhanded the man who apparently tried to drink too much of her blood from her wrist. The man spills across the floor but then scrambles to pick himself off of the floor. He hurries out of the door past Elijah and Tallulah.


    "Guard, make sure that man gets sorted out into your lot. Go on now, off with you." Selena doesn''t even use Elijah''s name; she calls him "guard" and expects obedience. Elijah turns to hurry after the man as he''s been commanded, leaving Tallulah without another word. Tallulah''s eyes never leave Selena, and when Selena looks back at her from Elijah, the ghost of Tallulah''s previous smile returns.


    "Hello." Tallulah manages to get out of her suddenly and impossibly dry throat. For some reason, she isn''t sure what to say now that she''s in front of the vampire woman. All of the complaints she''d thought over and held in check¨Csave for her frustrated outburst at the beginning of the night¨Care suddenly gone from her mind.


    "Well, don''t be shy; come in and join us. Miss Hollis, lovely, would you excuse us?"


    The other woman nods her head, picking up a glass of what is undoubtedly blood and sipping from it as she makes her way back to the hallway that Tallulah knows leads to the ballroom. Tallulah vaguely recognizes the woman as she''s leaving; the newly exiting woman is the vampire Percival de Burgh spoke to the first time she was invited to this parlor. As that woman makes her way out, Tallulah further makes her way inside, taking better stock of the night''s situation. There are two domestics again¨Ca man and a woman¨Cand one vampiric guard standing stock still against a doorway leading to an unknown elsewhere.


    "Oh, you''re not very chatty tonight, darling. Is something on your mind?"


    A little spark of anger tries to flare up in the pit of Tallulah''s stomach because she knows Selena knows exactly why Tallulah is here, and pretending otherwise is nonsensical. But almost as soon as the little spark of anger ignites, it''s put out and left smoldering. Putting the feelings aside, Tallulah finds herself smiling a little in response.


    "I thought we might talk about some of the things you were curious about the other night¨Cthe full moon."


    "Oh! How lovely! I would very much like to have that conversation with you. Would you care for a refreshment of some kind? I apologize that my beloved Kofi isn''t here tonight. He''s been terribly busy in the city¨Cthere''s been a little bit of a disturbance, and he''s quite good at handling those types of things."


    "Is everything okay?" Tallulah quickly regrets sounding so concerned about Kofi when Selena''s painted lips twist upwards at the corners.


    "Oh, you poor dear. Yes, yes, everything is just fine. Just a few disreputable sorts are making trouble. Poorly educated types upset about the ugly business the other evening."


    "You mean when Kofi killed that man for¨C"


    "¨CFor disrespecting our word before the house and declaring he would not obey us, yes." She gestures to one of the smaller sofas in the room, encouraging Tallulah to enter the room further.


    As Tallulah approaches the sofa Selena suggested, the tall, elegant, and raven-haired beauty follows afterward. Only after Tallulah takes a seat does Selena settle in, looking amused, though Tallulah isn''t sure why.


    "Does that happen a lot?"


    "Oh, lovely, not as much as it could. Most don''t test the limits of our patience. Are you sure you don''t want anything?"


    "Maybe just some water."

 032; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 19.2: The Austra

    Selena laughs a little, then snaps her fingers at one of the domestics. It''s the woman who quickly obeys, moving to the room''s wet bar to get a glass of water.


    "Afraid of a good time tonight, Tallulah?"


    "Oh, it''s just a little early in the night to get too inebriated, you know?"


    "Mmhmm, of course. So now that you know where poor Kofi has been lately, are you still upset? I heard you had a little bit of an episode earlier."


    Of course she already knows about it, Tallulah reflects. They sent Elijah to calm her down, so there''s no reason someone wouldn''t have had plenty of time to warn Selena that their prized fey was throwing a tantrum.


    "Oh, that. It wasn''t about Kofi, really."


    "He''ll be so sad to hear that¨Cmaybe we won''t tell him. You know, keep it our little girl''s secret. You know how men''s egos can get." Selena drinks from her glass in hand but still manages to smile mischievously at Tallulah while she''s doing it.


    "Sure. But I would like to talk about some parts that caused it." The woman delivers Tallulah''s glass of water, but she doesn''t want it, so she awkwardly holds the ornately crafted glass in her hand.


    "Of course, dear one. What can Selena do for you?"


    Selena''s dark eyes focus on Tallulah somewhat intently while asking that question. Tallulah smiles, suddenly pleased that Selena seems very interested in handling the situation. She feels a little embarrassment at how foolish she was acting earlier in the night¨Calmost childish, really.


    "Well, first, I''d like to apologize for earlier. I don''t know what came over me."


    "Nonsense, these things happen. It''s good that you''ve moved past it, though."


    "I''ll sort out the mess later."


    "Oh, hush your pretty little lips; I''m sure that''s already been taken care of for you. When Kofi told you that you would be looked after and protected here, he meant it. You''ll never need or want. Now, tell me what else is on your mind."


    A little warm ball spreads in Tallulah''s chest the longer she and Selena speak. It isn''t a feeling of lust or anything like that, but an affectionate feeling, that same feeling of safety she got the night of the full moon. It overcomes the faint embarrassment caused by thinking that she and the other two leaders of this vampire group would be trying to pull silly games when they are unnecessary. Selena''s beautiful dark eyes are clearly attentive to Tallulah''s feelings, so she continues to chat as she would with a close friend. A tiny little voice whispers in the back of Tallulah''s mind that Selena is doing something to her, and she needs to be aware, alert, and anything but indulgent of the feeling.


    "I think that the two who tried to steal the house''s horse the other night¨C"


    "¨CA terrible misunderstanding, I''m sure."


    "Er, yes. Exactly that. One of the two had overheard some guards saying pretty awful things about my people, and I think they were scared. So that''s why they took the horse and tried to flee. The woman, Etta, went with Lewis because she works for his family, and he''s now the last one after his father was killed in the glade the first night we encountered your house. It''s complicated, as is the relationship they have. It''s not like an employee contract, it''s¨Cit''s more like fealty for a period of time, I guess."


    "How unfortunate." Selena takes a slight sip from her glass, her dark eyes never moving away from Tallulah. "This sounds like a misunderstanding for certain, just like the first night. What did the two overhear that caused them to act on a flight impulse?"


    "Lewis was the one who overheard it; he said that the guards mentioned they ''were going to sort us into juice boxes once given the go-ahead by their liege lord,'' apparently."


    Selena tilts her head slightly, the dark waves of her hair shifting ever so slightly over her bare, smooth alabaster-like shoulders. She takes another casual sip from her glass in hand before finally speaking.


    "Surely they misheard, and if they didn''t, the guards must have been making a joke¨Cadmittedly, a joke in terrible taste¨Cbut, well, they are guards, and they aren''t what we would consider the cream of the crop. Sometimes, we choose guards for their gruffness and, admittedly, ability to do violence as necessary."


    "Well, I think you''re right, but¨C"


    "¨CBut you''re still concerned."


    Tallulah shifts her weight uncomfortably on the sofa, unsure why she feels this sudden embarrassment for not trusting Kofi, Selena, and Percival''s words. It''s oppressive, and the shame bubbles up in her. It''s all that she can do to keep it under control. She absently fingers the glass of water held by her other hand, momentarily at a loss.


    "I admit, I did have some concerns when I hadn''t heard anything about trying to find a seam¨Cum, a place that we, well they and not me, obviously¨Ccan cross back into the Wilds." She catches on words and stumbles over them, trying to get out her concerns, but suddenly has difficulty formulating her thoughts into sentences.


    "Oh darling, relax. You''re as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. You can speak to me openly." Selena reaches over to brush one of her cold hands across Tallulah''s bare shoulders in an affectionate and calming gesture. She continues speaking in a murmur.


    "Admittedly, the issue with the upstarts making trouble in our city has slowed our house''s search for fey. The first individual we sent was, unfortunately, set out for the sun. When poor Kofi overheard it, he was quite beside himself. After all, he promised you, and someone was trying to break his promises."


    "Oh, someone¨Cone of your people was killed?"


    "Yes, darling. He was a longtime member, knowledgeable about many things with other supernaturals. It was a disappointing loss, which is why Kofi immediately left with a few others to sort this madness out."


    Tallulah relaxes with a deep sigh. Of course, that explains why it was taking so long, and now Tallulah feels foolish. Tallulah looks out of the windows overlooking the mountains and down into the valley, where specks of light from humanity pop up here and there and then more regularly as the city shines in the distance.


    "Well, I''m sorry. I feel absolutely stupid now."


    "Shhh, don''t say such things. You didn''t have all of the information¨Cof course I can see how it all looked from your perspective. Now then, this business about your fearful two. Let''s just put it aside. Losing a horse like the one they stole is unfortunate, but we''ll chalk it up to some foolishness. I''ll ensure the guards are given a good dressing down for scaring your poor people so badly."Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Tallulah smiles, which is reflected in the face almost exactly by Selena.


    "Thank you, Selena."


    "Of course, darling. Now, let''s continue that conversation about you and your kind. You''ve been holding out on me too long."


    "Well, maybe I should have that little bit of a drink then. This water isn''t going to cut it."


    Selena laughed as if that was the most amusing thing Tallulah had said all night. She gestures over both of the domestics.


    "Take her glass of water away. She didn''t want it; she was just being polite. Find the special bottle of Tallulah''s Wilds'' wine and bring it back. Pour her a glass." The woman immediately heads out of the room, heading for parts unknown, while the man stands there to find out what Selena wants.


    "And you, why don''t you massage her shoulders while we chat? She still looks a little tense. There''s no need for all of that." The man dips his head before shuffling behind the furniture and carefully setting his hands on Tallulah''s shoulders, over top of the sleeveless shoulders of the suede dress. He immediately massages her quite tense muscles, which feels great.


    "There we are; you must get used to being in comfort, Tallulah."


    "I''m working at it."


    Tallulah smiles again, feeling warmth rising to her cheeks as she finally starts relaxing on the sofa. Selena is quite good at disarming her, just like Kofi. That little warning voice hadn''t piped up once since it tried to tell her Selena was doing "something," making her realize how foolish she''d been for nights just because she didn''t have all the information on the situation.


    The woman returns with a corked plain blue bottle while the man-come-masseur works her shoulders and upper back. Tallulah watches her as she quickly pours a perfect quarter glass of the liquid. When the woman brings it to her, Tallulah immediately takes a sip without real hesitation. The effect is immediate, her veins thrumming with energy distilled from the Wilds and nothing else. She shivers a little as though she were cold, but it''s more like a jolt of power along the spine that slowly pulses away along her muscles.


    "Ah, there she is. Welcome back, dear."


    "Thanks." Tallulah gives her the most sedate smile, the crow''s feet at the corners of her mouth crinkling with the authenticness of the smile.


    "Alright, Selena. The best way to explain things to you is to let you ask me things, and I will explain them the best I can. Not a genius idea, I know, but it''s too hard to pick a starting spot."


    "Little lush, you. That bottle was truly worth the price."


    Selena''s head turns away from Tallulah, her face falling into a severe gaze as she focuses on the woman domestic at the wet bar. She glares at the blue bottle and then tilts her head slightly. The woman picks up the bottle¨Cthe very one she had just minutes earlier poured a glass for Tallulah from¨Cthen hurries out of the room. When Selena turns back to focus on Tallulah, her affectionate, smiling gaze is flawless.


    "Now then, where to start¨Chmm¨Coh, I know. Tell me, darling, what sort of faerie are you? I was told you did some such thing at the glade the first night and a second thing in the correctional facility a few nights ago."


    "I''m what others call an Austra."


    "I''ve never heard of such a thing."


    Selena slides a little forward on the sofa so there is only an inch between them. She takes a sip from her glass to finish it before holding it out to the air. As the man is still working over Tallulah''s shoulders, and the woman has hurried off to put away that bottle, it takes a few moments for the male domestic to realize he''s got to stop his massaging on Tallulah''s upper shoulders to go and collect the glass from Selena. After a short existential crisis, he quickly moves around the sofa and catches the glass when Selena drops it from her hands disgustedly. As the man moves to place the used glass on the wet bar, Selena focuses her attention back on Tallulah, as if she didn''t even notice the anxiety assault she just inflicted on the man.


    "Tell me about you, then." Selena prompts Tallulah gently.


    Tallulah rolls her shoulders slightly, then takes another drink from the glass, only realizing the man stopped rubbing her shoulders at the exact moment he rushes back behind the sofa to continue his previous work.


    "I age like a normal human, and, hmmm, I would say I''m in the fall cycle of my life." She smiles, and again, Selena reciprocates like a mirror reflection. "The other night, I was able to focus; I don''t know how to describe it¨Cit''s a bit like focusing on your energy and self. Anyway, I was able to focus on Etta and Lewis and set a bit of a cold and numbing feeling over their bodies so that their wounds wouldn''t hurt them so badly. When I was young, I could mend broken bones, bird wings, that sort of thing."


    "Would you say that was during your spring cycle?" Selena reaches over, one of her unblemished hands starting to absently toy with the silvery gray strands of hair that frame Tallulah''s face.


    "Yes, that''s the best way to look at it. Winter would be next, and I''d imagine something ugly could¨Cwell, will¨Ccome from me during that time. I can feel that ugliness wanting to break free sometimes when I get irritated enough at someone¨CI¡¯m obviously decent at keeping it in check though. I have little memories here and there that drift to me, reminding me of things I could, or maybe can, do. Telling me of things I hadn''t thought of. I think it might be some kind of generational memory, but I''m not sure. There''s not exactly another Austra I can go to ask."


    "Oh?" Selena''s perfectly sculpted black eyebrows arch at the same time. It was one of the first times it wasn''t a wholly controlled rise, but Tallulah is much too inebriated already to realize it. "Really? Are there that few of ''Austra'' then? Or is it something else keeping you an outsider to your kind?"


    "I''ve only met one other one that wasn''t my daughter in my lifetime, and it was a wean who''d just walked out of the Wilds completely alone and naked, the poor girl. She was adopted shortly after, of course, but still."


    "Ah, I see, so your kind is quite rare, how interesting. But you have a daughter? Why, we had no idea! We''ll have to get her inside, immediately."


    "No, no." Tallulah waves her free hand to shake that off, more animated than she needs to be. "She left a long time ago. We get the overpowering urge to leave and go on our own shortly after¨Cwell¨Cshortly after we become a woman."


    Selena nodded and slid her cold hand, already toying with Tallulah''s silvery gray hair affectionately over the side of Tallulah''s temple. She makes a soothing gesture.


    "How intriguing. Do you miss her?"


    "Not really, to be honest. If anything, I''d like to know what she became more than anything else. I feel it''s an instinct not to want to be near other Austra, not because I dislike them, but I don''t know, I don''t feel like I want to know them."


    "Territorial, my dear. You''re talking about an instinct for a passive territory. There''s few enough of you that you spread out to different areas. How curious! What compelled you to have a daughter if you really don''t want your kind? And I''m sorry, I''m going to ask another question simultaneously; you''ve only mentioned a young girl walking out of the forest, you and a daughter¨Care all of the ''Austra'' females, then?"


    "I didn''t think of it before now, but it''s possible? The generational thoughts and feelings I sometimes get, like memories, do always seem to come from a female bent."


    "Such a peculiar creature you are."


    "I had a daughter because I was deeply in love¨Cor at least I thought I was. I was young, and it happened. Afterward, I wasn''t in love, except to raise that wean." Tallulah shrugs her shoulders slightly and winces, the massaging making her sore, and moving like that let her know. Selena waves the man away immediately, and he hurriedly moves to stand next to the wet bar, where the woman chose to stand when she returned.


    "So, don''t think me indelicate for this, I''m just inquisitive. When you breed, can you do it with any faerie kind?"


    "I''m not sure, probably though. But also, I mean, half-bloods have happened for ages; you''ve heard the stories, I''m sure. Faeries taking children from human homes shortly after they were born¨Call of those old stories aren''t always just stories. They''re raised with fey and procreate with them, and then you have half-bloods."


    "So you could technically procreate with any man that provides the living seed."


    Tallulah laughs a bit, deciding to take a drink from her glass and finish off the liquid before answering. She leans over like she will stretch over and set the glass on an end table. Selena catches her mid-movement, though. Tallulah feels the strength of Selena''s icy grip on her waistline for just a moment before Selena purposely lessens it.


    "Dear one, I didn''t want you to tip over. We have people to collect our glasses. Just snap for them; they''ll come right away."


    Tallulah looks at the pair of domestics and snaps her fingers. Sure enough, the woman quickly moves over, and Tallulah hands her the glass.


    "Still learning, like I said earlier."


    "I know. You''re doing well overall, so far." Selena slowly draws her hand back from Tallulah''s waistline and into her lap. If Tallulah weren''t so inebriated, she might have read between the lines and heard more behind Selena''s simple response.

 033; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 19.3: The Valley View

    "Anyway," Tallulah continues, "I''m pretty sure that''s true. I don''t see why I couldn''t. I mean, I couldn''t have another child anymore, as I''m obviously no spring chicken. Truthfully, I never really had an urge after my first, either. It wasn''t an enjoyable time, and the birth was, well, I don''t want to talk about the difficulties of it. That said, the glow of having a child was the most beautiful feeling in the world, and I wanted to protect that child with every ounce of my being during those early years. But, as soon as she was old enough and wanted to leave, I let her go without hesitation. Strange, isn''t it? It even sounds strange to me when I say it like that."


    "You''re talking with a vampire who drinks blood to survive, darling. What is strange?"


    "Fair enough." Tallulah laughs, flushed with comfort and feeling safe once again with Selena nearby. Her green eyes shift to Selena, looking over the classical beauty''s face.


    "If the other night with Kofi is a problem, it''s not that important to me¨C"


    "¨CHush now, I''m not so selfish and jealous as all of that. Besides, immortality would be terribly boring if we were held to the same standards as those with a regular lifetime. Moreover, I might scheme to steal you from him." Selena tilts her lips upwards in a devilish smile, clearly meant to be joking. "I tease, but no, you needn''t worry yourself."


    "Are you older than Kofi?"


    "A hair." She makes a lazy stroke along Tallulah''s temple with a finger, not saying a peep more about her age. "Alright, darling. I have only a little more of a question about you for now. What do you want from us? I know Kofi asked you to stay, but you must have had a personal reason for wanting to stay."


    Tallulah doesn''t realize how quickly Selena steers the conversation away from herself, but it''s possible that she wouldn''t even care at this point if she did.


    "At first, I just wanted my village to be safe. There are so many weans, young people, and others, and it seemed like I would be a good choice to stay behind."


    "Admirable."


    "Well, as I said, only at first I felt that way. My feelings have¡­ evolved a little bit, I admit." She gives Selena a little sheepish, if not inebriated, and guilty smile. "I''ve never been around, well, comforts like this. It''s different, and I felt like¨C"


    "¨CLike you wanted it, finally."


    "Yes, exactly like that, Selena. I don''t know if that''s¨Cwell, what you said earlier¨C''indelicate'' to say or not. I''m not trained like you seem to be. That wasn''t a high priority for being a Wilder fey."


    "Don''t worry, my darling, you''ll be a professional at it in no time flat. There will be times that we''ll need things from you, and you know this. That was the agreement, and I hate to sound so business-like all of the sudden, but you needn''t worry or want for a thing so long as our promises to each other remain intertwined."


    "I don''t mind using my powers, and you''ll probably appreciate that I can use them more effectively at night since that''s the time you move around. But I have to be careful; it''s very obvious on my face when I use my powers."


    "I''m glad that we''re still in harmony, beauty."


    "Again, sorry about my little fit earlier."


    "Already forgotten."


    "I''m sure you have lots more on your docket for tonight, so I should probably let you get to it."


    "If you''d like, you could stay and learn a little more about our kind."


    "I would, but that drink makes it hard to concentrate."


    Selena laughs softly and leans ever so slightly away from Tallulah. She rests her arm on the back of the sofa and then gestures lazily towards the doorway.


    "Have a lovely rest of your evening, dearest one."


    Tallulah lazily slides to her feet and then slowly walks to the door. She steps out into the hallway with busts and artwork, and it''s only a few paces before footfalls bring Elijah to her side.


    "Hello, Miss Tallulah. Are you steady?"


    "Oh, hmm, hello Elijah. Yes, I''m fine."


    "I know it''s normal for you to be lightheaded and such when you get fed from."


    "What? Oh no, no, she didn''t bite me, Elijah. I think I''m just a little drunk. They got me a special drink that''s hard to get even in the Wilds, and it''s just very potent for me."


    "Oh! Sorry! I didn''t mean to assume."


    "Eli¨Cjah, stop, relax, just make sure I don''t fall on my face."


    He laughs but makes sure to help her to her room in no uncertain terms. It doesn''t take them long, and shortly afterward, Tallulah is alone and relaxing in the jacuzzi tub in her suite as if everything was right in the world again. The concerns she had before seem silly and almost childish now.


    As she allows the warm jets of water to pressure and pulse her body, Tallulah tilts her head, gazing out of the windows with a singular thought¨Cwhat a lovely view of the valley we have here.


    <h2 style="text-align: center">* * *</h2>


    The next night starts far more comfortably than the previous night. Food is delivered for her right on time, and a small box about the size of a fruit is left on the tray. There is a small card next to the box, which looks like a folded-over blank business card. When Tallulah looks at the inside of the folded card, there''s simply a pressed pair of lips in ruby red lipstick and a few handwritten words:


    <blockquote>


    A comforting thing to enjoy.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    </blockquote>


    Tallulah smirked at Selena''s "signature" of pressed lips and set down the little card. She pops a few bites of food from the tray into her mouth as she works to open the small box¨Csuch an ornate box for the "morning." She carefully pulls out the delicate tissue paper wrapped around the item in question and then unveils the secret inside.


    Pulling out the box''s interior, Tallulah laughs a little bit softly. She holds a vividly bluish-purple apple-like fruit that faeries call a brookfruit in her hand. She knows the name because you can occasionally find them growing along brooks and streams in the most untamed reaches of the Wilds. She''s seen these a couple of times in the Wilds, but usually only in a city and from traders that charge ridiculous prices because of the supposed "quality" they provide. She sets down the fruit on the tray next to the box in which it was delivered to her.


    There was an old scare story that was told to weans about brookfruit and a beautiful pixie maiden, meant to keep them from wanting to taste random fruits in the Wilds and to be wary of wandering off alone in it. In the story, the pixie used brookfruit to keep herself young, and she sacrificed weans in the brook she grew the fruit in, using their blood to mix with the water. Obviously, brookfruit doesn''t require murdered faeries to grow, but the choice of fruit is amusing to Tallulah. She absently muses whether Selena knew that story before sending over that fruit or if it was more of a "look at this shiny I got for you" sort of affair. Tallulah assumes the latter.


    Finishing off her meal over the next few minutes, she sets the brookfruit down on a table away from the cart so it isn''t accidentally removed later when the small breakfast cart is confiscated from her room. A little while longer, she''s freshly showered, dressed, and on her way out of the door. With no Elijah lingering outside, she casually makes her way through the homestead and out of the side entrance, which leads to where her people are being kept.


    She casually walks down the carved stone stairs at a mild pace, then moves towards the barn. She shares a few smiles with some of her people on approach, and though some of them are still apprehensive, there are much fewer of them with hostile appearances this evening. Progress, Tallulah muses. Before too long, she spies Etta crouched over and helping a wean to sew up a hole in the old ratty t-shirt she''s wearing. Without compunction, Tallulah makes her way over to the broonie.


    "Hello, Etta."


    "Tallulah! Hello! Sorry I haven''t had a chance to come and chat with you lass, but I''ve been working like a dog since the moment I was released. Lewis was released last night. Did you know it?"


    "I know neither of you will be punished any more than you already have. How is Lewis?"


    "We won''t? Well, that''s mighty fine work you did, then! Lewis is doing much better; after you had us sent to some doctors, they sewed him up proper and used special medicines to ensure he doesn''t get an infection." She pauses, murmuring to the wean to run along once the hole is adequately stitched up.


    Etta turns her plain face towards Tallulah and offers her a bit of an apologetic smile.


    "Sorry for mistreating you. You didn''t deserve it."


    "I''m just glad I could help. Everything else will sort itself out."


    "Speaking of sorting itself out, did you hear?"


    "Hear what?"


    "This morning before dawn, those guards that Lewis overheard chatting that worried him so much?"


    Tallulah listens intently, feeling she knows where this is going. She nods in response to Etta, allowing her to continue without interruption.


    "Well, you must have made a stink because they were brought out just over there and whipped like dogs in front of everyone! It was not a light amount either; they were down on their faces by the end, at least fifteen or twenty lashes each. It was quite a sight; we had to keep the weans away. Two guards were taken back to the house, but the other two, well, I don''t think those black dogs they keep running about scaring everyone need a meal tonight, if you catch my drift."


    Tallulah raises her eyebrows, genuinely surprised. She did not expect that they would kill two of their guards for Etta and Lewis'' flight, even if the entire thing was their fault.


    "Oh, you didn''t know, did you, Tallulah?"


    "I spoke with one of the head vampires last night about the situation, but she didn''t mention that sort of punishment. She just said she would make sure that the guards were given a good ''dressing down'' for making poor jokes and frightening you all."


    "Aye, a dressing down is what they got, and surely it''s one they won''t ever forget. Maybe in their world, ''jokes'' like that are a bit more of a serious thing than we realize."


    Tallulah ponders the sequence of events and the phrasing she can remember Selena using. She shakes her head a little bit, reminding herself that how Selena and the others handle their people is their business. Still, the casual brutality is a bit shocking for Tallulah, especially with how casual Selena sounded during their discussion. Finally, she speaks again.


    "Well, all that aside, I''m glad you''re okay. They''re having issues finding a fey in the nearby city because, apparently, some vampires are causing trouble, and the vampire they sent to contact a fey was apparently killed. Sounds like a bit of a mess, if you ask me, but they didn''t seem too worried, so maybe in a few nights, we''ll be getting everyone ready to head back home."


    "Except you, eh lass?"


    "Well, no, that was the price of our agreement."


    "You sure you want to stay here, with these¨Cwith them?"


    "They''re not as bad as you think, Etta, really. We might have gotten along a lot better under different circumstances."


    "If you say so, Tallulah."


    Etta''s tone is dubious, as if she doesn''t think that is the case at all. Tallulah knows there''s no reason to try to change the broonie''s mind; they are notoriously steadfast in whatever belief¨Cright or wrong¨Cthey have. It''s pretty legendary among the fey, in fact. It''s one of the reasons they''re so sought after to be hired for a period of time; they''re loyal, and when they decide something, it is decided for them.


    "Thanks for getting me up to speed, Etta. And again, I''m sorry this all happened."


    "Well, it''s not like you scooped us up and deposited us here against our will, now is it? You''ve done right by us, and if anything, we all owe you an apology for how much abuse you''ve taken trying to help us."


    Tallulah''s crow''s feet at the corners of her eyes and lips crinkle just slightly as she offers Etta a genuine smile.


    "I appreciate you saying that."


    "One more thing before you go, lass, if you don''t mind me saying."


    "Of course, go for it."


    "Be real careful of this world and these beautiful fanged things here. I think they have a plan for you, and I don''t know why, but I think it isn''t a good one."


    "I will, thank you, Etta."


    She nods at Tallulah and then breaks away, almost immediately fussing at a wean that''s trying to use a horseshoe they found as a racket to hit rocks with at other weans. Tallulah watches for a few moments, the slightest bit of a smile on her face, but her thoughts are elsewhere. She knows she couldn''t convince most of the fey here that the vampires aren''t a problem, but maybe a few might be like she is and want to stay. It wouldn''t be bad to have some company of her own people. It''s not as though faeries don''t stay in the human divide for other reasons. Otherwise, there''d be no traders outside of seams and the like. It happens, for sure.


    As her vivid green eyes shift around the barn and the very close nearby grounds, she watches her people milling about and wonders just how many would choose to stay behind if they were offered the chance to. Perhaps, she considers silently, she should bring it up the next time she talks to Kofi or Selena.


    Tallulah starts to drift back towards the gardens, her new favorite place to walk under the moon''s light. As she drifts without purpose through the meticulously kept pathways, she thinks about bringing it up in her mind: What''s the worst that could happen?

 034; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 20.1: The Seam

    A loud set of knocks on my front door startles me from my late evening dozing next to Cassandra. She had been resting for a while, having told me that she was finally tired for the first time in a couple of days since she arrived, and I''d off and on rested next to her. Vampiric stamina is truly insane, and I had no idea. I lethargically, and a little carefully, pull myself from Cassandra''s side on the bed and murmur for her not to worry, to stay there and continue relaxing. Pressing a kiss to the side of her face, I stand up and pull on some pants before jogging to the front door.


    I crack open the door and laugh at the sight on the other side. Aria is standing next to Khalil and having some kind of an argument.


    "Hell no, Aria, it ain''t up for debate."


    "I am not repeating myself again."


    I clear my throat, leaning in the doorframe with the door knob still in hand.


    "Oh shit, he lives! What''s up, dude? Still got some juice in you?"


    In response, I use my free hand to raise a middle finger at Khalil. After he gets a good view of it and starts laughing, I rub my eyes a few times.


    "What''s up, guys?"


    Aria''s gaze on me is passive, almost unreadable. I denote she''s added some hardware to her body tonight; her ears are pierced with fat black plugs of a reflective stone, and two small rings are pierced through her bottom lip. Having seen this a couple of times before, I know it''s her style when we travel through a seam to the human side.


    "Have you hit your head, Orion? We had a plan to leave."


    "What? No, I''m good; I didn''t expect to see Khalil with you¨Cno offense, man."


    "Dude, nah, you''re good; I saw Aria decked out and started harassing her about it."


    "Khalil."


    "Aria." He repeats in a mockery of her tone.


    "You are not coming with us. This is not up for discourse."


    "Dude, Ori, tell Aria to chill. I ain''t gonna let you go without me."


    "Well, it was supposed to be a three-person travel group, Khalil; Aria left to get the third person. That''s why she was gone most of this week."


    I hear a slight noise behind me as Cassandra drifts up the hallway toward the doorway, which I still hold up. Aria''s eyes shift momentarily in Cassandra''s direction, appraising the situation before focusing back on me.


    "About that, Orion."


    "Uh oh, that''s never good."


    "I was able to locate him, but he will not be joining us."


    I feel one of Cassandra''s cold, smooth hands running up my bare spine. Goosebumps immediately follow her hand, but I try to ignore it. Instead, I turn in her direction with my head a little.


    "So much for resting, huh?"


    "I heard you talking about your trip."


    I grunt, then glower at Khalil a bit.


    "What? Don''t give me that look! You know you''d do the same damn thing if our roles were swapped."


    Even though I want to side with Aria, Khalil''s not wrong.


    "I don''t know, Aria; if we don''t have someone with direct knowledge of the area, maybe we should bring Khalil along. He can talk to animals, and if we need another set of hands or claws, obviously, he''d be an asset."


    "Hell yeah, that''s what I''m talking about! Oh, uh, hey, Cassandra. So, you two are¨C"


    "¨CShut up, Khalil." I cut him off as quickly as I can.


    "Damn dude, relax; I was just making conversation."


    "Hello again, Khalil." After greeting Khalil, she presses her cold lips to the back of my neck and murmurs. "While you''re gone, I''m going to handle some business at Blackham City. Send a reafan for me when you get back."


    "Hold on a sec'' guys." Without getting their permission, I turn in the doorway and step inside my home, mostly closing the door behind me.


    "Cass¨C"


    "¨CNo, Orion, we''ve already had the discussion, and while I disagree, you''ve made it clear you''re going. I''m not going to stay around here and wait. I have other things that still require my time and energy. This isn''t a problem; don''t let it weigh on you."


    She leans forward and kisses the side of my lips once before drawing back a couple of steps.


    "Alright." I smile at her, "I''ll send a reafan when I get back."


    "We''ll talk about future business next we see each other. Be careful, Orion. I mean it."


    "I promised, didn''t I?"


    She smiles once again, just faintly, before turning and heading further into my home. I know she will start gathering her things, so rather than fuss after her, I act as an adult and turn back to open the door and step out onto my front step.


    "Okay, mister I don''t wear shirts around no more."


    "Shut up, Khalil. It''s not like we''re leaving now; I can get dressed. I''ve already got a pack sorted out and ready to go."


    Khalil grins and laughs at me, but he does quiet down.


    "Aria?"


    "Yes, Orion?"


    "What happened with the guy? Anything I should worry about?"


    "He had concerns about a disturbance in Asheville; he does not want to involve himself as they know him there. He stated we would be fine and directed me to a small shop next to where the seam will open. It is owned by the Northwood but maintained by a few merchants who deal with local supernaturals and other fey. I do not know the origins of those merchants."


    "Northwood, huh? That''ll be different. Never dealt with the merchant tribe before. Anyway, cool, we got a plan."


    "As much of a plan as we can have, I suppose."


    "So I guess the question is, where do we gotta go to catch a seam?"


    "You are familiar with the large town of Alvarado, yes?"


    "Sure, I''ve gone there a couple of times."


    "In two nights, they are due a Deore to open a seam for those who show up. The Deore will stay there for one full day and night, so that is when we must be present."


    "Well, we can make it without a problem if we leave today."


    "That is why I am here."


    "Okay, cool. Give me ten or fifteen minutes to get everything together. I''ll meet you both at the front gate?"


    "Yes."Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    With that, the two of them moved away, and I returned to my home. I quickly take a wash, and though I don''t want to get rid of the scent of Cassandra on my skin, I know it might be a while before I catch another bath, so I do it. I carefully clothe myself, dressing in a plain black shirt and dark denim, with boots that I only use if we''re going into the human divide.


    As I lace up the boots, Cassandra walks behind me and wraps her arms around my waist. I stand up fully and turn to face her. She doesn''t say anything, but her seafoam eyes search my face. I lean forward to brush my lips against hers, then tilt my forehead to rest against hers. Her skin radiates cold, but like all the other times before, I don''t care about it. She kisses my lips once more and then breaks the contact wordlessly. She doesn''t look back. Instead, she heads out through my front door without a second glance. I understand the sentiment of not wanting to say goodbye, so I watch as she disappears behind the closing door.


    Once she''s gone, I continue sorting out the rest of my clothing. I sling the simple backpack that I only bring out for trips like this over my two shoulders, and as I''m walking out my front door, I pull on a knitted hat and flip its edges down to cover the tops of my ears from casual glances. Since I know how patient Khalil and Aria both can be¨Cas in, not very¨CI pick up the pace and jog towards the front gates of the village, where I spy Aria and Khalil both already waiting for me. They both have on similar clothing to me, Khalil with a hat to hide his ears, Aria dressed in all black, and both with similar-styled backpacks slung over their shoulders.


    "Hey."


    "We just saw Cassandra leave, all good Ori?"


    "We''re good; she had some business to handle in Blackham City."


    "Ready to go, Orion?"


    "Yep, Aria. Let''s get this show on the road."


    We start at a casual but quick pace, the three of us seemingly energized by the planned trip ahead of us. We follow the traveler''s path, pausing occasionally to drink from fresh brooks and streams and then snacking during brief rest periods. Aria doesn''t seem sluggish even though, thus far, it''s been daytime.


    As the day starts to turn towards evening, I inquire what our plans are for night travel, and Aria says we should all rest at the same time for a few hours and then continue. That will still make us travel during the darkest times of the night, but with Aria present, I''m not too concerned. We all agree on the plan, and as darkness creeps to full and the moon shimmers in the sky, we settle into a small circle on the traveler''s path and use our packs to rest our heads against.


    The few hours we rest pass in what feels like a blink, and true to her stringent ability to stick to a schedule like a soldier, Aria wakes us up to continue our trek. The second day of our trek is the same as the first, but with no bow or arrows, I have to ignore some easy prey I see skittering about just off the traveler''s path. Lucky grabbats.


    About two hours after we stop to feed and water ourselves for lunch, we bypass a few fey moving around on a trader''s cart and taking a splitting pathway from the traveler''s path. After a short set of greetings, we find out they''re from the Alvarado''s town and that we''re only a few hours away. We thank them for the information and wish them good luck on their trading run before continuing. The few hours pass rapidly, and soon, we find ourselves walking up to a well-fortified, expansive, and bustling town with wooden palisades and multiple guarded entrances and exits leading in different directions along the traveler''s path.


    The sounds of the large town¨Cstill not yet the size of a city¨Care a little disorientating for me at first, as they always are. But we make our way over to two gate guards at the entrance from where we''re entering. We greet them, and I share a small pair of flaming hot cheese puff bags with them, which makes them instantly predisposed to friendliness with us. A short conversation with them lets us know that the Deore arrived earlier in the morning and was setting up the area for the seam at that very moment. As soon as we are granted free access to the town, we three make our way inside.


    Khalil gives me a dubious glance shortly after we pass into the town.


    "What is it now?" I mutter.


    "You gave them the best food in the world for free!"


    "Oh man, shut up about the flaming hot cheese puffs."


    "I didn''t even know we still had some left! Bro!"


    I sling my pack around to my front, pull out my last two snack-sized bags of cheese puffs, and give them to Khalil.


    "Here, quit your bitching."


    "Aw, thanks, Ori! You''re the bestest ever!"


    I roll my eyes before gazing at Aria. She''s studying the town carefully, clearly checking out their guard placements and the town''s layout. I clear my throat at Aria a little pointedly. She draws her dark eyes down and focuses them on me. She doesn''t say anything, and her face is impassive as always, but I can tell because we''ve spent so much time together that she''s giving me a questioning look.


    "Maybe don''t look like we''re canvassing their town, huh?"


    She purses her lips but does stop what she''s doing. Instead of complaining like Khalil would have, she mutters.


    "Let us go find this Deore."


    Without complaint from me or Khalil, we meander further into the city, directed occasionally by one of the locals to an area they have set up for seam creation. Walking up to the place in question, we see a small flurry of activity coming from the cleared space around a relatively small and unassuming area. In the center of the cleared-off space is a standing doorway that''s more ornate than most door frames. Along its edges are carved fish icons¨Ca closer glance allows an onlooker to see that the fish are salmon, the animal representing the Deore tribe.


    Two fey are fussing over the placement of the door, with one of the two the assistant to the other. As we draw closer, the older faerie¨Can elven-kin, I note¨Cturns to face us. His eyes look over us passively, correctly assuming we mean to use the seam once it''s opened. He has wisps of wild white hair as if he just woke up and let the wind and chance determine which way his hair would go that day. He wears simple clothing, as most Deore do, with no color to the garments¨Conly muted brown and grays.


    "Greetings, friends; as you can see, we''re not quite ready to open a seam yet."


    "No problem," I say in polite greeting, "I''m Orion, and this is Khalil and Aria."


    "Aria and I have met before, but it is good to see you again and well. Orion and Khalil, I am pleased to meet your acquaintances."


    Aria puts her index finger and middle finger together on one hand, then presses it to her forehead. She dips her head in a respectful greeting to the man.


    "I am glad to see you again, Fasolt."


    "Do you still keep to the Wilder villages?"


    "Yes. I appreciate their simplicity."


    "Still the same chatterbox as ever." The older man grins amicably at Aria.


    That makes Khalil blurt out a laugh.


    "Dude, you have no idea. Getting her to say more than a few words at a time is a real challenge."


    "I do not speak if there is nothing to say."


    "A wise stance to take, Aria!" The man chirps. "In any event, I am glad to meet you. I will finish setting up the crossing for use in a few minutes."


    I step forward a little, a slight scratching or niggling at the back of my mind prompting me to broach the topic with this man that''s unknown to me.


    "Have you had any strange issues with seams lately?"


    The man furrows his thick caterpillar-like eyebrows in my direction like he doesn''t quite understand the question. After a few moments, he realized I was not making a jest at his expense.


    "Why, no. Not at all. How come?"


    "He is just going through a seam for the first time. Nervous." Aria interjects.


    I turned my head to look at Aria as she told a straight, bald-faced lie to this man she had respectfully greeted not thirty seconds beforehand.


    "Er, yeah. Sorry, just a bit nervous, like she said."


    The older man laughs and places a hand on my shoulder.


    "Orion, friend of Aria, you haven''t the slightest thing to worry about. I have been making passages between our Wilds and the human lands for many years. I can assure you it is safe even if a little disorientating the first time."


    The man''s assistant interrupts, and "Fasolt" politely disengages to continue his work while we shuffle off to the side. We wind up leaning against a nearby, temporarily closed, trader''s building while the Deore takes over the small area for the seam. I slowly turn a questioning glance at Aria, and she shakes her head once, silently telling me not to say a word here. I nod in response, keeping my silence.


    When I gaze back at the Deore and his assistant, I see him draw out a small water pot with symbols on the rim and base. My eyebrows furrow, remembering the vague description of Ranger''s original rider and what he was carrying before disappearing. Ranger said it was a large water jug, though, and the one that "Fasolt" is using is relatively small, only slightly bigger than a dinner bowl. I watch as the ritual to cleanse the area commences, with Fasolt sprinkling some sparkling substance in a large circle¨Cabout fifteen feet or so in each direction from the door¨Cbefore crouching down at various points and using a tiny spoon to scoop out some of the contents and make symbols out of the powdery, sparkling grains.


    As the older faerie completes the circle, he gestures at his assistant, and the two murmur some words of power together in a sudden bark of tones. A sudden and unexpected thunderclap sounds directly overhead, shocking and startling Khalil and me. It doesn''t start to rain, nor is there any wind, but the sparkling dust and the symbols drawn with it seem to melt into the ground before illuminating and pulsing between shades of blue, purple, green, and aquamarine. The doorframe illuminates next. Each etch of carving glows and slowly alternates between metallic gold and silver.


    Aria leans away from the building once the rite seems stable; she''s been present at the start of one of these before since she didn''t almost jump out of her skin at the loud crack of thunder like Khalil and I did. We shift our backpacks and follow her toward Fasolt and his assistant.


    "Well, Aria and friends Orion and Khalil¨Cwe now can sort you out where you need to go. Tell me, where do you wish to be taken?"


    Aria nods in my direction, letting me speak for our trio.


    "A place called Asheville, North Carolina."


    I step in the direction of Fasolt as soon as he nods. I tilt my head forward, giving him access to the back of my neck. He murmurs some words I don''t recognize and then uses a particular utensil to scoop a small amount of the powder from the container he''s holding. He carefully makes a mark on my skin with the powder, and I can feel a slight burning sensation as it marks my skin like a temporary tattoo or a design made by henna.


    "This is important, young travelers, so remember: when you are ready to return, make a gentle slice across the mark on the back of your neck. It does not need to be deep; it only needs to break the skin. When you next pass through any threshold, you will immediately be brought back here in this general area with whatever is on you and whatever, or whomever, you are holding directly in your hands."


    He next does the same marking for Khalil and then lastly for Aria.


    "Safe travels, Aria and new friends Khalil and Orion."


    "Thanks, Fasolt."

 035; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 20.2: The Market

    I swallow hard once, then walk to the glowing door with Aria and Khalil. Khalil approaches the door first, and its carved salmon markings glow vividly in golden hues, as does the mark on the back of Khalil''s neck. He exhales deeply once, then opens the door. In front of him is a large yellow and golden swirl leading towards darkness. He steps through the standing door frame and disappears.


    The assistant to Fasolt quickly moves over and closes the door once Khalil is gone before moving back out of the circle. Aria is the next to head for the door; as she draws closer, the mark on the back of her neck and the salmon carvings lining the edges of the doorway glow a vivid and shimmery silver instead of the gold they did for Khalil. She doesn''t hesitate like Khalil; Aria opens the door and steps through the swirling silvery haze without ceremony.


    Once again, the assistant quickly moves over to close the door back to the frame. I move towards the door once he''s out of the circle, still pulsing its colorful hues. Shifting in coloration from the silver that was for Aria, the door starts to shine with a golden hue along each marking and etching. The back of my neck tingles with a faint burning sensation, increasing in strength the closer I get to the door. Finally, I reach down, take hold of the surprisingly warm doorknob, and open the door. I peer at the pulsing and swirling golden misty haze in front of me, and then I close my eyes and step through.


    For a moment, everything is wrong. My head is below my legs as I feel like I''m spinning out of control; my chest is buffeted by intense pressure, and then just as quickly, a freedom of release as it passes away. My limbs feel like they''re being stretched and then released back to my body, almost like a rubber band. I come to a stop in the very center of a dark room that smells very strongly of old, molding books. I cough a few times, trying to catch my breath after the nearly instantaneous teleportation from the Wilds to the human divide.


    "Ugh. I hate that every time."


    "Yo. You good?"


    "Yeah. Aria?"


    "I am here."


    The faint noise of an emergency vehicle sounds in the distance, and I sigh. There''s the first of the racket that will be unrelenting from here on out.


    "Well, you know where we should go to trade, Aria, so you lead and we''ll follow."


    Her dark eyes fixate on the doorway I can barely make out at the front of the dilapidated shop the seam opened up into. My eyes are still adjusting to the darkness. She leads us outside before abruptly turning left and walking down a relatively clean¨Cif currently abandoned¨Calleyway. The buildings of Asheville loom on either side of us, and the sounds of the city, people, animals, and televisions are a cacophony of noise I did not miss. Tugging down the knitted cap on my head and trying to cover my ears more thoroughly, I follow Aria as she leads us across streets and intersections on the way to where she''s been told there are a few supernatural traders in a place owned by the Northwood tribe.


    Before too long, the hold of the night has taken over, though with the city''s lights, everything is still illuminated to some degree or another. Most city dwellers would consider where we were walking to be dark as pitch, but it isn''t until you''re in the natural wilderness that you discover what true darkness is like.


    "There it is." Aria finally announces, and I look to see where we are headed.


    A short, squat building sits in the center of businesses that look closed for the evening. The shop itself calls itself "The Diamond Mine" and looks to be nothing more than a simple pawn shop that you can find in any city anywhere in the world. There''s one other open shop on that side of the street we''re moving towards, a corner convenience store that seems to get a semi-regular flow of customers.


    "Oh dude, I bet they got more hot cheese puffs in there."


    "Shut up, Khalil; we have no money yet."


    "I''m gonna get me some when we do."


    "No, you''re not; I gave you two bags already."


    Khalil grumbles and insists under his breath that he will buy some before we leave Asheville, but I ignore him. As we walk past the convenience store, all three of us lower our faces towards the ground, having been taught to try and avoid being picked up on as many cameras as possible. Avoid detection, avoid bringing attention to our people; that''s what you do if you''re a traveler like we are. We go to the dimly lit front door of the pawn shop and then step inside.


    Once we open the front door, a bell rings above our heads, signaling our arrival to whoever is inside. There doesn''t look to be any current customers in the shop, so the three of us slowly walk inside. Our eyes peer around at storage racks filled with tools, electronics, toys, and old music and video games. Near the front, where the register is, there are two glass display cases with gold and silver jewelry, some gemstones, and watches. The scent of old motor oil and grease is in the air, and nothing at all suggests this is anything but a pawn shop.


    A tired-looking older man with a bit of a greasy and unkempt appearance and a five o''clock shadow to boot comes waddling up to the register and huffs as he sits on the stool. He barely looks at us before droning out a rote line.


    "Twenty-five percent off tools today, half off televisions and kids'' toys. Talk to me if you need any help."


    His eyes lower down to his lap, and from the illumination, I can see that he''s poking around on the screen of a cellphone. I blink a few times; the mental dissonance from the Wilds to the human world is always a little tricky for me to get through in the first hour. I barely have time to register the appearance of the first cellphone before I suddenly cringe and put my hands up to my ears as a police cruiser and siren screams past the front door of the shop, heading off at high speed to parts unknown.


    That movement catches the eye of the man sitting behind the register, who turns off his cellphone''s screen before sliding it into a pocket. His dark eyes settled on me more pointedly, followed by Khalil and Aria. He clears his throat like nothing is wrong, then looks away and murmurs in faerie speech.


    "Recently arrived travelers?"


    The three of us look in the man''s direction, and I nod. Aria speaks first. She responds in her usual, stilted way but speaks in fey this time.


    "Through a seam not far from here, yes. Greetings to you."The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    The man exhales suddenly like the world''s weight is off his shoulders. He slides off the stool and walks over to a wall, which is part of a hallway that leads back to a pair of offices behind him. Instead of saying anything else, he presses a tiny black switch on the wall. The lights on the front of the shop suddenly dim, and when I look over my shoulder, I can see the neon OPEN sign flickering off and metal blinds rolling down over the shop windows. Once the movement and noise are finished, the man shakes his limbs out and walks right back to the stool. He only half leans against it this time when he starts speaking to us again.


    "Folks call me Sprout; you can call me Sprout."


    "I am Aria, and this is Khalil and Orion."


    "Reckon it''s been a bit since we got some travelers here in the city, probably about a good month or so. What brings y''all here? It''s a bit of a carnival around here lately, not in a good way neither. So, you''ll wanna be careful. Bloodsuckers are getting all wild with each other, causing issues for everybody. It''s a damn mess."


    The tired-looking man speaks in a heavily Southern accent, which is unusual for me to hear. It takes me concentrating relatively hard to understand him until my ears get used to the dialect. Aria takes charge of the current discussion, and I walk up to the jewelry cases and gaze down at the different sparkling things being advertised below the glass while listening.


    "We have heard there were issues in the area, but we are here looking for fey."


    "Well, you ain''t found one yet. Sorry, Missy. I run this place for some faerie sorts, though. Unless you''re talking about something else?"


    "We are looking for a large group of fey¨Cperhaps a village worth¨Cthey would have all arrived together a few weeks past."


    The man raises his thick eyebrows, the lines and creases on his forehead scrunching up as he does.


    "Naw, nothing like that I''ve heard of. You might be mistaken?"


    Aria shakes her head.


    "No, we are not. It is possible they did not make it into the city proper."


    "Don''t see how that could be; seam always lets folks off a few blocks over yonder¨Cprobably where you lot came from, huh?"


    "We did come from there, yes."


    Sprout nods as if she just made proof of his point for him. Aria doesn''t respond to that directly. Instead, she looks at me and nods.


    "Er, hey. I''m Orion."


    "Sprout."


    "So, we''re looking to get a few things here in trade if you guys do that here¡­"


    The man grins, all crooked teeth showing from left to right in his face. That smile stretches just a little too far on both sides of his face to be comfortable to look at.


    "Thought you''d never ask! Come into our warehouse, watch your step going in, I told them to fix it weeks ago, but you know that saying: if you want something done right, gotta do it your own damned self."


    He stands up from leaning against his stool and waves us rapidly around and behind the counter. Then he starts towards one of the two doors in the hallway. He pulls out a keyring full of at least a hundred keys but doesn''t hesitate, seemingly knowing precisely what key he''s looking for. With a quick movement of a key to lock, he turns the door handle and opens up a door that leads to what is some sort of a pocket door¨Cexcept far, far more expansive than the one we use on trading runs to stable animals at night. He stands next to the door, holding it open and gesturing the three of us inside.


    We all make our way around the counter and through the open door. As we step down onto a wobbly first step, we''re introduced to what is essentially a large five or six-car garage that has been locked down and renovated wherever it is to be a trading market. Three "lanes" of traffic exist, with items hanging and placed on shelves leading up to three tables being tended to by three individual fey.


    "Wait, wait," Sprout says, not allowing us to walk away just yet. "Got some ground rules, nothing too wild. No thievery, just don''t. We''ll catch you doin'' it, and bad things''ll happen. Gotta take no for an answer. If you get too upset over haggling, we''ll kick you out. Don''t bother other shoppers; wait your turn and get it done right. No funny business."


    All three of us nod to the unknown type of supernatural gatekeeper calling himself Sprout¨Cthough I have a sneaky suspicion, because of his greasy countenance and stretchy smile, that he''s a hobgoblin¨Cand he nods to us. Sprout then steps back through the door and into the storefront shop, presumably returning it to its "open" state. The door is closed behind us, and all three of us turn to take in our surroundings. I give a low whistle.


    "I should have brought more to trade; I didn''t expect a large setup like this."


    "Yes, Orion. I would agree."


    "Dude, this is awesome. They have all kinds of stuff here; lots of it doesn''t even look faerie-made. Like, check out the cursed objects over there. That''s wild! That''s so illegal in some of the cities in the Wilds!"


    "Khalil, chill, man, keep your voice down."


    "Sorry, sorry. Just didn''t expect all this."


    "Same. I''m going to see if I can find one of those modern bows with the plastic or fiber or whatever the hell they are arrows. Might be able to have a bow after all. Catch you guys in a few minutes."


    Khalil and Aria nod and the three of us drift apart, each drawn to separate areas of the converted garage. A few others are milling about, and one man is animatedly haggling with one of the three vendors at the other end of the market. I only watch them for a few moments before I see a setup of various weapons. There are guns, knives, and, to my happiness, a couple of human-made modern hunting bows. I reach around a counter, drawn like a moth to the ingenuity, and pick up one of the compound bows hanging up on the wall.


    Impressed already, I exhale. It isn''t a magical bow by any stretch of the imagination, but it''s a well-designed item. I step back and look around for a nearby target. Sure enough, about ten feet away, there''s a simple target nearby, and I turn to face it. I pick up one of the three carbon-fiber arrows for individuals to test with. The tips of the target arrowheads have been blunted, but I don''t mind.


    I draw back the bow and fire the test arrow at the nearby target, and it''s smooth and almost effortless. But the bow is too large. If I want to carry it in a bag¨Cor even a duffle bag¨CI''m going to have to try one of the smaller models hanging up. I set the first compound bow back on the rack and try out two more, both much smaller than the first. I immediately disliked the smallest bow, as the draw was not smooth. I set it back and try the third one, which is only about an inch or so longer.


    The bow''s body is full charcoal gray, close to black, and it feels excellent just gripping it. I test with all three complementary testing arrows on the tiny target nearby and absolutely love the draw and loose''s smoothness. I turn the compound bow over a few times in my hands, appreciating the weight and creation even if it''s hideously ugly by elf-kin standards. I pluck the test arrows out of the small target and place them back where they were initially. I pick up two boxes of six arrows each and a simple modern five-arrow quiver that hooks to the compound bow itself.


    Once I''m happy with my choice of bow and arrows, I meander away while looking at the trinkets, knick-knacks, magical items, and assorted elixirs and potions all for sale at this market. A pair of other shopping supernaturals bypass me, and no one greets each other. I pick up a bundle of nylon rope before looping it over my arm. I see some packs and bags that are back where I left the weapons, so I return and sort through them. Sure enough, there''s a bow pack, which is essentially a backpack with a specialty area for slotting in a compound bow. With that now claimed, some of me hopes that I have enough to trade for since I don''t know what these things are worth here.


    I shuffle along, checking out the various stuff inside on racks and hanging too. There are unexpectedly some caged animals, and I even see a reafan and a grabbat amongst the wildlife. I see Aria already speaking with one of the vendors, and she seems to have a few trinkets like necklaces and rings in front of her. I don''t see Khalil initially, but when I finally spy him, I see him in front of modern electronics, gazing at them with wide eyes and an openly desirous stare. I roll my eyes a bit before heading towards one of the unaccompanied vendors at the end of the market.

 036; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 20.3: The Terri

    The vendor woman grins from ear to ear¨Cquite literally, in this case. She''s clearly what we would call a hobgoblin, and they''re notoriously hard bargainers, which is why they''re so successful in these sorts of places and bigger markets. She''s stout but not very short¨CI''d put her almost the same height as I am, though it''s somewhat hard to tell since she''s leaning against a chair and not standing up completely straight. Her skin looks almost oily, with a greasy-looking sheen over her olive-green skin. Her eyes are more rounded than anything, giving her dark, beady eyes a rodent-like look. Her dark hair is pulled back into a pair of ponytails as along the very center of her forehead, and trailing back towards her spine is a fin-like appendage, almost like a sail fin or something of the sort. Each spine of the sail-fin on the top of her head is tipped by a sharp talon, making it the most dangerous-looking natural mohawk I''ve ever seen.


    Her voice is deeper than expected when she speaks to me, with a tenor like someone who had smoked heavily for forty years.


    "Well, hello there! You can call me Terri¨Cthat''s Terri with an ''i'' if you please¨CI see you''ve found some things, good choices, all of them. Can I interest you in a salve that will steady your hands for an hour? Maybe an elixir that will give you cat-like vision? I can give you a good deal!"


    I reach up and scratch the side of my head a little, pushing up my knitted cap a little bit. One of my pointed ears peeks out, and the woman''s wide mouth opens slightly when she sees it.


    "Oooh, one of the faeries; it''s been a while since I''ve seen your kind here. I had someone with sharp teeth about a week ago looking for your kind; it''s a shame you missed him. It sounded like he was hiring for something."


    "Uh, hello, Terri with an ''i''. I''m Orion. And, uh, yeah, it''s my first time here. So how does this work here, exactly?"


    "Orion, huh? Never been to one of our markets ever?"


    "Well, I have, but I figured maybe every place was different."


    "No, no," her gravelly and coarse voice chides, "we all work about the same. We''re selling on behalf of others; you pay the fee or trade it. We get our cut, and they get their fee after that."


    "Well, Terri, what sort of price are we looking for all of this? I only have trade. I also need to get some of the local currency."


    "Weapon, some rope, some ammo for your weapon, and a bag to carry it all in? Not going to be cheap. No sir, not at all. Let me see what you got." She folds her oily-looking arms over her chest, covering the skull logo of some band I don''t recognize.


    I reach into my pack, pull out several elven-made necklaces, and carefully set them on the countertop, spaced so she can see them individually. Each one glows ever so faintly on the central pendant stone, clearly illuminating the space each is placed on. Terri leans forward and peers at the necklaces, sliding over some spectacles from the countertop to place on her face. She squints and gets close to the necklaces, gazing at them from only a few inches away.


    "Nice quality, will sell real well and quick. What else have you got?"


    "Those won''t cover it?"


    "They''re nice, and we can profit from each one, but you said you wanted local currency too, so you''re going to have to pay up something a little more than sweetheart trinkets, Mister Elf."


    I grimace and crouch down, sorting through my bag again. I look at the small pouch of smoking leaf, then change my mind and pick out the carefully rolled-up home decoration instead. I stand back up, placing the rolled painting on the table before the hobgoblin. She uses ragged, pointed nails to very carefully unfurl it in front of her before looking it over appreciatively.


    "Did you make this?"


    "No, a friend in the Wilds did."


    "This''ll cover you for about a thousand dollars of local currency. The necklaces will cover you for the weapon, bag, and ammo. Oh, and the rope¨Cwhat are you gonna need the stupid rope for?"


    "Never know what you''ll need rope for."


    Terri gives me a crooked grin, which looks quite eerie, as her mouth is almost as wide as her entire jawline.


    "Okay, Charlie Bronson, you get your stupid rope. You got anything else?" I grin at her picking up on my old pop-culture reference, and nod.


    "I do, but I''m not sure I want to trade it for anything yet. It''s worth a lot here, so don''t even try to pretend otherwise."


    "Oh, you goat, you''ve got me spitting interested now. Come on, don''t hold off. Tell me what you got!"


    I crouch down so she can''t see my face. I grin as I reach into my current backpack. Hobgoblins are hard bargainers, but they can''t help themselves when you hold onto the best for last. I learned that early on when I would make trading runs. I pluck out the small leather pouch from inside my bag and stand up, then set the pouch down in front of her.


    "Can I?"


    I nod my head at her to go ahead. Terri wriggles her fingers out in front of her a few times, almost like it''s an instinctual expression of excitement and anticipation. Her ghastly nails delicately untie the cord keeping the pouch shut, and she pulls it open to peer inside. Sure enough, when she reaches in to pluck out one of the blue, purple, and gold-tinted buds of the smoking leaf flower and the pungent yet fragrant scent touches the air, I see her dark eyes almost light up with greed.


    "What do you want for this?"


    "Well, I don''t know. I didn''t see anything that special out here, mostly basic things, nothing that spoke to me."


    She carefully puts the herb back into the pouch and delicately closes it as if dealing with the most fragile porcelain vase. Her dark, beady eyes focus back at me, and she holds up a finger.


    "You want something special? Oh, I have no doubt we have something special for you."


    The other two vendors have caught the scent of the smoking leaf and are now just as interested in the haggling as the hobgoblin in front of me is. Terri shuffles down from our current table and gestures me over. I walk over to stand right in front of the table she''s at and watch as she hefts up what looks like an old pirate''s treasure chest, complete with the fat, old-timey padlock on the front.


    She pulls a brass key from seemingly the air in front of her¨Cwith the exaggerated flair of a magician''s trick¨Cand uses it to unlock the padlock. Once it''s removed, she steps back¨Cwhich causes me to take a half step back, just in case¨Cbefore allowing the chest to open on its own. The chest creaks open, and from inside, levels of shelves fold out in each direction. There are little trinkets, elixirs of all colors of the rainbow, larger fabrics, strange spikes, and other objects that look like they belong in museums as old ammunition. There are even what looks like spare teeth and fangs.


    "I see your eyes lighting up, Mister Elf. See anything you like?"


    "I''m not even sure what I''m looking at for most of this. What are these figurines?"


    I gesture at a shelf lined with stone figurines of different people and creatures, all ornately and incredibly detailed, down to even a stone ripple effect of fabric.


    "Well, these are all people who have to pay off their debts."


    My eyes widened a little bit at the hobgoblin woman who gave me the most indifferent look in response.


    "These are people?" I gawk without trying to hide it.


    "Everybody makes deals, and sometimes people make deals to provide a period of service. Don''t judge. You don''t know their situation or the agreement they made. Now, these creatures or people are like you or me; they''re not your run-of-the-mill humans or animals. I''d let you pick anyone from the top two shelves but not the bottom shelf¨Cthose are more expensive. Sorry, kid."


    "How does it work?"


    "I give you a word that brings them back to life at the size they''re supposed to be¨Cso obviously, you don''t want to do it downtown Main Street, huh? Anyway, that''s pretty much all there is. They''re bound to you for the length of their service time, and they gotta follow your orders¨Cit''s how it works. Most of these are probably six months to a year, not long, but long enough. You don''t have to wake them up until you''re ready. Once they take the stone''s sleep, they don''t know how long it''ll be before they''re up and working off that debt."


    "So these are basically slaves?"


    "Ehhh, slaves is a strong word, isn''t it? They agreed to this. They''re more like, you know, minions that you get temporary control over."


    I reached forward and picked up a little stone figurine of what is clearly a wiretail from the bottom shelf, which she told me I couldn''t touch at my price. I wonder how a wiretail could have "agreed" to this situation, but I don''t voice my apprehension.Stolen novel; please report.


    "Familiar with that one, eh? Yeah, I got that a couple of weeks ago. A right trial was to get it all sorted out and put into the stone''s sleep. Yeesh, almost took out two gobs with that wild tail of theirs. The answer is no, put it back."


    I laughed at the sudden and complete denial, even though I wasn''t interested. I lean forward and carefully put the stone figurine back in its secure spot. I gesture at the little bits of fur and fabric with a questioning glance.


    "Oh, you''ll love these. See this fur? It comes right from the back of a werewolf¨Cyes, an actual werewolf¨Cthen someone did some hocus pocus on it. Poof. Now I''m told if you put it against your skin, it makes you undetectable to their kind as long as it touches your skin. Not interested? Not to worry. This fabric here can take the shape of anything the size of a man or so if it can be crafted from fabric or leather. Need a fancy dress suit for a ball? Ba-bam! Got yourself a new designer suit; just don''t let people see the tags, huh? Need some more rope? Ba-dum! Get yourself some climbing rope out of fabric, Rapunzel."


    "That''s pretty cool, actually."


    "Of course it is! We love special stuff here! So come on, what''ll it be, kid? We got nearly anything you want. Want something to let you understand any languages you hear being spoken? Well, just put on this necklace."


    She swipes a leather cord from one of the tiny shelves of the chest, and when she brings it out, the leather cord''s "pendant" is a severed, dried-out ear. I grimace at it.


    "Yeah, it''s a little morbid, I grant you that, but hey, you''ll know what those clowns are saying behind your back!"


    "Eh, Terri, honestly, I don''t know what I''d use that for."


    "No problem, no problem. Oh, I know what you''ll like, my bowhunter friend. Check this out." She scoops up some of those fang teeth from the box and shows them to me. "See these teeth? Every time you crush one to powder and eat it, you can control an animal you can see. Real handy out in the Wilds, huh?"


    "That''s interesting, but I don''t think that''s for me."


    The hobgoblin woman huffs at me as if I''m just being difficult now. I return Terri''s huff with a shrug, not planning to explain why I said no.


    "Alright, alright, you''re a tough customer. I see. I''m going to have to work a little harder, right? That''s alright, you''re making my night!"


    "How about¨C" I lean towards her, and she leans in just as well, preparing to listen, "¨Csomething that might be good for dealing with fey." I clear my throat and lower my voice a little further. "Permanent-like."


    "Oooh. Hmmm. I don''t know, you''re talking special-special, and no offense, but the smoking leaf is nice and all, and it''s special, but I don''t think it''s special with a capital ''S,'' you understand?"


    I lean back from the hobgoblin and nod; then I walk back over to pick up the pouch of smoking leaf like I was going to return it to my pack.


    "Now hold¨Chold on a bit there, Joe. I might have something to tickle your fancy. In fact, I got just the thing for a fancy elf like yourself. Let me go get it!"


    The hobgoblin woman calling herself Terri closes the chest on the table next to us, then uses the magical padlock to close it again. She removes the chest from the tabletop and then shuffles around inside what looks like a simple purse-sized bag before removing a tray holding various rings. I tilt my head at her and give her an unimpressed look.


    "Now, hold on, you haven''t even been told what some of these do! Come, come, take a look. See if any of them speak to you."


    I exhale like the hobgoblin is starting to get on my nerves. Terri isn''t, but she doesn''t need to know that; this is all part of the trading game, and I rather enjoy it. I finally walk over and lean against the table slowly, fixing her with a serious-looking stare before gazing down at the beautiful, ornate rings before me.


    "Now, you can''t get the rings on the right, but any of the left ones¡­ I''d do a one-for-one trade on."


    I gaze over some of the rings and swear I can hear a soft murmuring in the back of my mind. I don''t want those, so I immediately put them out of my mind. I wave my hand slowly over the tray on the left side and then stop suddenly. A weight rests in the air, right above a ring, almost like it''s gently tugging at my hand to select it from its tray prison. I slowly pick out the ring and turn it over in my hand. It''s a silver metal ring with a decorative inlay around what looks like an elegantly designed head of a panther or puma in a reflective black stone with flecks of color. It''s almost mesmerizing¨Cthe longer I stare at the depths of its pearlescent colors, the more I want it.


    "What is this one?"


    "Oh, I like that one, yes, that''s a good one! Any time someone within a few hundred feet means to do you bodily harm, it starts to vibrate. The closer they get to you, the more it warns you. It glows a soft red around the eyes and ears when they''re within a few feet. Real handy for an elf who finds himself in trouble sometimes, wouldn''t you say?"


    "I like it. This''ll do¨C"


    "¨CAlright! That''s what I like to hear¨C"


    "¨CBut I want an additional five hundred cash, too. You didn''t let me finish."


    The hobgoblin fake hisses like I''d insulted her by tacking on another thing. She hems and haws but ultimately starts to slide the tray of rings away into the same casual-looking bag she put the entire chest into, not but a few minutes prior.


    "Fine, but only because what you have is a hot item. Lucky you."


    I slowly turn the ring over in my hand, looking at its craftsmanship before slipping it onto the index finger of my left bow-holding hand. It fits snugly, perfectly and almost feels like it relaxes the muscles of my hand, though it''s possible that I just made up that feeling in my mind.


    "Oh, before I forget: it''s called Cogar Oscar, the ring, I mean."


    I nod to the hobgoblin woman once again.


    "Thanks, Terri with an ''i''. Handshake deal?"


    "Handshake deal."


    The goblin spits right onto the center of her palm and then holds out her oily, greasy-looking, and now spit-on palm to me. I spit on the center of my palm and then shake the woman''s outstretched hand. She wipes her hand back on her pants, and I do the same. She plucks out a small box of what turns out to be cash and then counts out fifteen hundred dollars in twenty dollar bills¨Csome looking fresh and almost untouched, others looking ragged and old¨Cbut currency is currency. Terri slaps a band around the amount and then slides it across the tiny trading table towards me to complete our deal.


    "Be safe out there, mister hunter-elf-boy! Make sure you come back sometime!"


    I pick up my new bag, the five-arrow quiver that hooks to the compound bow, and the boxes of the broadhead arrows to go with the compound bow. Lastly, I loop the "stupid rope" around my chest. I shift out of the way and crouch down to sort my items. Aria finds me as I''m moving items from my older pack to the new one. She''s chewing on what looks like a fruit and starts to watch me without saying anything.


    I empty my pack and sort it into the new one. Then I carefully take out five arrows, screw on their broadhead tips and hook them into the quiver before fixing it onto my new compound bow. Aria tilts her head down at me while I continue to add the broadhead tips onto the rest of the arrows that aren''t in the quiver.


    "Can you take that into the Wilds, Orion?"


    "Not sure, really; some things make it into the Wilds, but others don''t. This is just an elaborate pulley system, right? There''s not any electronics or anything like that. It should be okay, I''d like to think. But if not, oh well."


    "How much currency did you get in total?"


    "Fifteen hundred."


    "Not bad, that should do okay for our time here."


    While talking to Aria, I carefully make sure that the small-ish compound bow fits easily into the space created for it on the backpack. It fits perfectly, and as I sling the new backpack to my back and over my shoulders, I stand up. I reach up to test how quickly I can pull the bow from the bag in the event I need it, and Aria notices the glimmer of the ring on my finger.


    "New trinket."


    "Yeah, I had something extra to trade for a little special, so I did."


    "Cursed?"


    "Nah." I hesitate¨CI said that, but I don''t know for sure. "Don''t think so, anyway." I clear my throat, then stand up to my feet and look about for Khalil, plenty fine with a change of subject matter.


    "You get anything good, Aria?"


    "Only two things, and this."


    "What''s that? A rotten apple?"


    "Hogsvine fruit."


    I give her an inquisitive look, as I''ve never heard nor seen the fruit before. From what I can see, it''s a muddy-brown fruit about the size and shape of an apple with kiwi-like hair on the outside. The fruit inside of the skin is a bright, blood-orange color.


    "I have not had one in ages; I indulged a little, too."


    I laugh at her dismissively saying that in classic Aria style. She doesn''t seem to understand why I''m laughing, which makes me snicker for a few more moments.


    "Not sure what is funny. I will not be able to sleep for days, which is not bad for us right now. The alternative effect is that my skin will be tougher. The downside is that I will need to sleep all day and all night in a few days."


    "That''s honestly crazy."


    "It is tasty."


    "I don''t want any, I''m good."


    "I was not offering any to you, Orion." She takes a massive bite of the vividly blood-orange colored fruit''s internals to make her point. I smirked at her and then turned my eyes towards Khalil, who was slinking toward us.


    "Hey, ready to go?"


    "What''s up, guys? I''m pretty good to go. Did you guys get anything good? I see Ori got a bow. New bag looks like too."


    "Aria got a couple of things and a ''Hogsvine fruit,'' which she will not share with you, so don''t even ask. What about you?"


    "Didn''t have much to trade, so I got a little cash¨Cso I can get my flaming hot cheese puffs, you judgemental ass¨C" I start laughing while shaking my head, and Khalil keeps talking, "¨CAnd I got uh. Actually, know what, don''t worry about it."


    "Oh, come on, what''d you get, man?"


    "Nah, you''re gonna laugh."


    "I promise I won''t laugh."


    "Alright, I got a little coin to help me with cards. Apparently, it''ll vibrate a little if I get a hand that''ll beat the hands of other people playing with me."


    I groan loudly, and Aria even rolls her eyes.


    "What?!" Khalil protests.


    "Wow, of course, you got something to help you cheat at cards and cash for cheese puffs. I swear, Khalil." I started to laugh but stopped myself since I had said I wouldn''t. "Never change, Khalil, never change."


    "Dude, whatever, it was a good deal. Wait until I beat the hell out of Gallen at cards and win us a reafan or something some night. You won''t be making fun of me then!"


    I shake my head amusedly, then start towards the door to exit back to the normal pawnshop. Aria and Khalil follow me at the same pace.


    "He''s gonna know you''re cheating, Khalil, and then he''s going to beat your fucking ass. You''re a terrible liar."


    "Nahhh. I got it all planned out, you''ll see."


    I continued shaking my head for a few more moments, and we all headed out of the market and back to the shop. A farewell and a thank you are given to the old hobgoblin with the wild hair tending to the storefront, and then we step right out back to the streets of Asheville.

 037; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 21.1: The Fish

    It takes a few hours of movement before we''re well outside the city and into the sporadic development of the surrounding suburbs. I keep my thoughts to myself as the three of us meander along side streets and past houses that only differ from each other by color. Dogs occasionally bark as we pass, and we speed up our pace at those particular houses. It''s later in the evening and the vast majority of the homes we see either have all of the lights off or only the faintest flickering glow of a television playing somewhere deeper in the homes.


    We jump across a small drainage ditch at the very end of a road that says "No Outlet" and find ourselves crossing squat fencing that is mostly taken down by the harmless-to-us but incredibly destructive kudzu plant, which coats several of the trees and forest entrances around here. Once we''re sure that we''re pretty much away from the spotty residence coverages and are heading further and deeper into the hills leading to the Appalachian mountains, Aria pulls out a blade from her pack and hacks vines and branches out of our way.


    "I''m going to take a suggestion I was given and try to focus the most on scent, guys. I know it sounds weird, but if there''s a huge host of fey out just at the base of the mountains or something, they''ll have a lot of mouths to feed. Might get some whiffs of cooking food on the wind or blood from animals trapped or hunted."


    "I''ll make sure not to fa¨C"


    "¨CKhalil, man. Anyway, I''ll still use my other senses, of course; I just wanted to let you guys know I''m focusing on something a little different this time."


    Khalil laughs and then lapses into silence again, not adding anything. Aria looks back at me for a moment in silence, the darkness doing nothing to hide the moon-aligned changes that cause the reflective black of her now shark-like eyes. We continue, picking up the pace when we can and letting Aria clear underbrush when we can''t.


    A few hours into our trek, I pick up the scent¨Cno, scents¨Cof a large host of animals. I make a short little noise with my lips, and both Aria and Khalil stop, letting me carefully crouch down and take the lead. Our pace slows glacially, but each step I take is measured, and Aria and Khalil fall into stepping exactly where I do without needing me to suggest it to them. All three of us are serious now, jokes left behind.


    I carefully pull myself onto a low-hanging branch thick enough to support my weight. Quietly, I move a little higher into the tree until I can see what is offending my heightened sense of smell. It doesn''t take long at all. I see the scurrying of the tiny and the stomping of the large as they root around on the ground. I shake my head and slowly lower down to the ground.


    "It''s a big group of wild hogs. Large enough that we couldn''t likely scare off the old boars and get the pack running without wasting a lot of time. We should just go around them. I''d get us one for a meal, but we still have food in our packs and probably want to keep going."


    "Normally I would disagree, Orion, but in this case I agree. Keep moving."


    Khalil doesn''t add anything to the conversation, and the three of us return to moving through the forest, this time moving to give the wild animals a very wide berth. We get back to our careful trekking, which is slow going, but with everything we''ve done for what feels like weeks to get us to this point, there isn''t a reason to speed along. We stop to rest briefly at a stream when I hear it gurgling along our way. Aria gives us two weird-looking, fat, straw-like things from her pack that she must have gotten at the market, and Khalil and I peer at them like we''re unsure what to do.


    "This is not the Wilds; if you scoop water here, drink it through this, not out of your hands. We''ll boil water when we stop for a longer rest."


    That saddens me, but she''s right. Even if there weren''t any pollutants in the water sources, we''re just not used to whatever might be in the water biologically. All three of us use the water-cleansing straws to get rehydrated, and then once we''re good to go, we set out again.


    A mechanical noise starts in the distance and rapidly draws near, so I crouch down, wondering what on earth could be coming so quickly through these relatively densely packed trees. There isn''t the sound of cracking twigs or shrubbery being displaced, which confuses me until I realize the sound is coming from above and not at the ground level where we are. I place my hands over my ears to protect my hearing, as I don''t want to waste the energy of releasing my powers only to restart them. I cringe and curl down to the ground as the small plane flies overhead in the darkness, lower to the trees than I''m used to seeing. Thankfully, it passes by quickly, and the roaring noise of its engines fades away just as quickly as it arrives.


    "Dude, you alright?"


    The ringing sensation is still trumpeting in my ears, so I hold up a hand while I try to clear my head. After a few minutes, I finally muttered that I was good, and we set off once again through the trees and shrubbery. We were well out into the wilderness of the Appalachians now, and any traces of humanity we came across were old and dilapidated or rusted out and collapsed. I check the sky every so often, orientating us and making sure we''re more or less continuing east. As we continue to move, the inclines of the ground we pass over seem more regularly upwards, so I can tell we''re getting to the edges of what most would consider "the valley." The next rise in elevation requires that we climb up a relatively short cliffside, so I gesture for them to wait behind me. I move forward, my hands digging into holes and breaks in the small cliffside. It''s an arduous climb, but I pull myself up carefully and quietly and then roll over the cliff''s top a few minutes later. Shrugging off my pack, I pull out the rope I picked up at the market and tie one end to a tree before tossing the rest over the side and down to Aria and Khalil below.


    Once the pair join me, I retrieve the rope, mentally amused at the old movie line that comes up in the back of my mind, which Terri with an ''i'' would have definitely said right then. Once we''re up on the cliffside, I give the area around a good look. It looks almost like there''s a clearing about a half-mile to a mile or so further out from where we are, so I gesture in the direction for Aria and inquire if she thinks we should head that way. She agrees, so the three of us set out on foot again.


    About halfway to the clearing¨Cand I can absolutely see that it is, in fact, a clearing¨Cwe have to cross some rusted barbed wire fencing set along old wooden posts, likely marking some old land claim. It''s a bit of an annoyance since it''s done in a few passes, so we have to weave our way through the rusted lines and try not to get caught too often. Only Khalil''s pack gets caught, and we''re able to untangle it and pull it free without too much trouble and keep it from getting torn up.


    A few minutes later, once we''re past that obstacle, I come to a dead stop and crouch down. Aria and Khalil immediately follow my change in demeanor and action.


    "I smell¡­ something. Hold on, I''m trying to place it." I scent the air again, breathing deeply through my nose and closing my eyes to help me process what I''m smelling.


    "It''s rotten, like old meat. Maybe an animal kill or something, but I don''t know. It''s strange and kind of coming from everywhere ahead of us."


    "The clearing?" Aria inquires.


    "No, much closer than that. We should check it out. Ugh, it''s foul."


    And with that last little complaint, I start leading our trio again, but delicately now. My footfalls are carefully placed, and we move at about half-speed because of it. Still, there are no complaints, and I know that Khalil and Aria trust me not to lead them directly into danger without a warning. The scent grows more potent, and I have to stop and breathe through my mouth twice¨Cthe second time even requires me to try not to retch as the rotten, molding, meaty scent permeates everything in my sinuses.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Aria carefully moves in front of me, using the blade she''s holding to move a few bushes out of the way. Then, she carefully flattens it to the ground and scoops up a fish''s rotting, skeletal remains. She turns to show it to me and Khalil.


    "The fuck?" Khalil exclaims quietly.


    "There''s no water sources around that I''ve seen or heard¡­" I murmur to Aria.


    She nods her head and then gestures for us to follow after her. Not a minute later, she scoops up another small fish that looks to be in the same old, dead, and rotting shape. I slowly cover my mouth with a hand and wipe it down in thought. These aren''t fish that have been eaten¨Cwell, eaten by insects and the like, yes¨Cnor hunted for food by people. I carefully focus my eyes in the same direction as my nose tells me the strongest scents are coming from, and that''s where I see the littering of tiny fish scattered throughout the forest floor.


    "I think I know where these came from, guys."


    Aria nods, flinging the skeletal, rotting remains of the second fish off her blade before cleaning it off on some leaves. Khalil gave me a little look, expecting me to explain.


    "Remember our trading run at the river?"


    "Oooh, yeah, where there wasn''t any fish or anything, and the mules wigged out."


    "I think we just found the fish. I suspect the birds flew off when reoriented, but the fish were stuck here."


    "Damn, dude. Poor fish."


    "We must be getting close now. How far from the village was the river?"


    "Uhhh, maybe an hour or so with the trade wagon?"


    "That''s a huge fucking seam, you guys. What the everliving hell?"


    Aria leans forward to join the whispered conversation. I pause, fighting off another wave of nausea from the smell while also trying to listen to her speak.


    "Perhaps it was not a seam, but something different and yet like a seam. We have assumed it was a seam this entire time, but those have boundaries, and the size of what you suggest is unfathomable. Nothing that large has happened in an age."


    "But it has happened before?"


    "During the fighting of the bad times. A rare few could make large armies of fey, creatures, and others move rapidly if given enough time and materials to prepare. However, all of the faeries that knew this information were slain to the knowledge of the Aurora and Strond. They were hunted down."


    "How do you know they were all caught, Aria?"


    "I did not say they were caught; I said they were slain. I know because I was young and part of the hunting parties. It was a requirement of the peace treaties between the Aurora and Strond for both sides to participate."


    "Oh. Peace through more killing, classic." I quietly mumble.


    "Dude, this sounds bad. This is bad, right?"


    "Yes, Khalil."


    "But why move them here into the human divide?" I quietly ask, my mind racing with too many thoughts to sort through all at once.


    "I do not know, Orion. It does not make sense to me."


    "Dunno, dude, maybe it was an accident? Maybe that guy on that wiretail expected something else to happen." Khalil shrugs his shoulders as if that were his only input.


    "Suppose it doesn''t matter, right?" I murmur.


    "No. Not at the moment." Aria quietly answers.


    I exhale deeply and then inhale just as deeply. I immediately regret it. The scent of rotting and old dead fish overwhelms my senses. My concentration on my senses immediately breaks, and I turn away from Khalil and Aria to retch, puking up the water and little food items in my stomach. After about half a minute, I get control over myself, and Khalil quietly whispers.


    "You okay, brother?"


    "Ugh. Yeah. That was my bad. Stupid. Give me a few seconds to recover, and then we move on again." I put my hand up to my face and brushed off the beads of sweat that my coughing up made appear.


    This time, carefully slowing my pulse and trying to will myself back to calm, I reach out again with my senses. A part of me wants to deaden my sense of smell, but I fight off the urge, instead using sheer willpower to overpower my urge to get sick again. Once everything in the forest appears, sounds, and smells vividly to me again, I carefully make my way to lead us away from the spot.


    We bypass plenty of dead fish that have long since been scavenged down to scales and bones by creatures and insects of the forest. It''s something that looks just a little "off" that draws my attention as we creep ever closer to the large clearing in the forest that Aria and I both saw. I hold up a hand and gesture both to quietly follow me. I lead them until we reach a tree stump with axe marks. I raise my eyebrows at them but say nothing. Trailing my fingers along the tree stump, I carefully look where the impact of the tree landed and then find where the heavy log would have been drug or cut up into smaller portions for firewood or seating.


    Sure enough, there''s a heavy depression in the dirt and clay where the fallen tree was moved. It''s directly in the direction of where the clearing should be. With a little rising hope in my chest, I follow the trail until we lose it over rocky terrain. As we draw closer and closer to the clearing, more and more signs of people''s activities are clear. Many trees have been stripped of lower limbs, likely for shelter building. Other stumps occasionally exist, suggesting the trees were carefully felled, not just clear-cut. Finally, I stop just about twenty yards from what I can tell is a large glade.


    "I can smell old remnants of habitation here. It''s gross, but some latrines were done on the other side. And some old smell of blood, maybe from cleaning and dressing animals."


    Aria nods her head and gestures for me to focus on a spot.


    "Yeah, it looks like a large fire pit, but, strangely, they didn''t take care to break it down when they moved¨C"


    I suddenly cut myself from speaking, and Khalil takes the chance to inquire.


    "Ori?"


    I close my eyes, focusing on what I hear distantly but coming closer.


    "A motor. Distant, coming this way. Definitely on the ground, I can hear branches breaking. Coming from the direction of the mountains."


    Aria and Khalil turn but stay crouched, trying to see in the direction I mentioned.


    "They stopped," I murmur after a few minutes. "I don''t hear anything now."


    "Aria, dude. What''s the call?"


    "Prepare. But we wait and see what comes from that direction. Speak no more words after this and watch. I will signal."


    Khalil and I nod in response to Aria''s words and slowly and carefully spread apart from one another. I haven''t lowered my senses yet, wanting to get a good look at who was heading this way. I carefully remove the compound bow from the pack on my back, remove the excess arrows from the side pocket, and carry them in my free hand. I carefully set down my backpack next to where Khalil deposited his and then creep away towards a thicker and obscuring copse of trees where we are. I carefully set down the arrows in front of me, just behind the tree and shrubbery I''m using to block sight lines from where I heard the motor rumbling.


    Slowing my breathing, I calm myself, knowing that being too overcome with adrenaline will affect my accuracy something awful. My eagle-like eyes carefully sweep the trees on the other side of the glade, and I loosely use one of the arrows on the ground to take a ready stance with the compound bow. I know Aria and Khalil are nearby and likely doing the same thing. Internally, I curse at myself for not testing the range accuracy of the weapon before now¨Ca rookie mistake for sure¨Cbut I can do nothing else but wait and hope it''s been tweaked and aligned before it was put up for sale at the market.


    Minutes pass, and no noise comes from the forest save for the usual sounds of insects and night critters. I started to think it may be just a fluke or that there was some cabin ahead that the owners were returning to, but then the silvery ring on my finger started to pulse slowly. It initially confused me as I hadn''t seen anyone, and it was the first time I''d felt anything from my new ring, so I maintained absolute stillness and only shifted my eyes from left to right.


    That''s when I see it with my hawkish, preternatural vision: a faint outline of a man moving along the trees on the other side of the glade, hunched and taking short spurts of movements to take in his surroundings carefully. But he doesn''t look even close to right. His skin and clothing mottles, almost like an octopus, taking on camouflage from the surrounding trees and shrubberies to himself. This unknown man is supernatural, and he is clearly hunting for us. Knowing that Khalil and Aria likely have not seen the creature, I carefully draw back my bow and nock the arrow I''d been holding loosely at the ready.

 038; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 21.2: The Aggressor

    I exhale slowly, realizing I''m about to be an aggressor rather than a reactionary, and it makes me hesitate. My eyes shift at the corner, and I see Aria focused on me, realizing I see something. She nods at me, and I shift my eyes back to my mark, having been given the go-ahead. I swallowed thickly, and my throat felt suddenly dry. Hunting animals is different from hunting men, and if I loose the arrow right now, I''m becoming the aggressor. There''s a faint snap of a twig as I raise from crouch to half-standing. I completely draw the bow back and exhale all the air from my lungs, and then I release the arrow just as the man crosses in front of a large, older tree. The modern arrow whistles through the air, its broadhead tip spiraling as it bears down on the unsuspecting man.


    I watch my entire shot, which seems to happen in slow motion: I loose the arrow, and it flies like a shot across the distance, the spiraling broadhead ramming into the throat of the mottled and nearly entirely hidden man on the other side. The broadhead arrow continues through the tissues of the man''s neck and slams firmly into the tree on the other side of the man''s neck, temporarily pinning him to the thick old wood tree by his neck. There''s not much of a spurt of blood, but the mottling and shifting camouflage of the man immediately ends as he shouts and gurgles out in surprise and pain.


    The now wounded man is desperately pale, wearing plain and dark clothing with a black bulletproof vest over it. On his back, I can see what looks like the stock of some rifle, giving him the appearance of a soldier or hired gun. Knowing that having broken the man''s camouflage would have allowed Aria and Khalil to see him standing out like a beacon of white where I pinned him to the tree, I carefully returned to my crouch and picked up a second arrow. Having gauged how the last arrow flew, I''m now confident in the range and accuracy of the compound bow¨Cit was almost certainly calibrated before I laid hands on it.


    The man struggles, his hands desperately reaching up to grab hold of the arrow that is pinning him to the tree. Instead of waiting to see what he does, I nock a second arrow in the compound bow and carefully raise it to fire a second time. When I loose this time, I do so directly at his chest, covered by the bulletproof vest. I''m not firing bullets, and I know my arrows will pierce through his protection. The arrow whistles through the air in a perfect arc, then slams right into his chest. The man jerks, then does something unexpected: he howls and snarls like an animal, in pure unadulterated rage¨Cnot pain.


    He reaches up and jerks his hands simultaneously, finally snapping off the modern arrow holding him to the tree and likely injuring himself a bit more in the process. With a quick burst of speed, the man dashes away from the clearing and back into the forest proper. I wouldn''t have seen him move if I weren''t watching. As he runs away with my arrow still partially in his neck and another in his chest, the pulsing of my silver ring fades away and goes calm. I carefully lower back to a crouch again, plucking up the third arrow. I know I started with twelve arrows, and now I only have ten, which is not a great number.


    I hear some rustling behind me, and I turn my head just slightly to glance for a moment to see who it might be. Aria and Khalil are carefully coming up behind me while I maintain my absolutely still crouch. Aria''s voice is deadly soft, barely more than a whisper when they get within five feet of me.


    "Vampire."


    "Has to be," I murmur at the same volume, "no one else is that pale, moves that fast, and barely bleeds with a wound to the throat and chest. And we knew they were in the area."


    "I doubt he is alone."


    "Probably regrouping," Khalil adds. And I nod slightly to show my agreement with what he said.


    "Had a rifle on his back."


    My ring vibrates again, this time with a little more enthusiasm. I tense, causing Aria and Khalil to do the same. My pale eyes sweep the clearing and the trees past that, but I don''t see anything now.


    "Getting closer again. Don''t see anything yet. Hold on."


    I no longer get a chance to survey the area because as soon as I rise slightly to look, a whistling comes in, and an intense stinging sensation bursts out from my left shoulder. I know exactly what just happened when the sharp rapport of a gun firing cracks slightly belatedly in the silence of the night. My senses go haywire, and I lose concentration on everything, falling backward toward Khalil and Aria. I drop the arrow in my hand and reach up to grab my shoulder, unable to stop the cry of pain from escaping my lips.


    Immediately, Aria grabs hold of my other shoulder and drags me down the natural embankment, shoving Khalil back in the same motion. Khalil''s eyes are wide as I look up at the forest''s canopy and then my hand covered in vivid red blood. He immediately growls, and that''s the last I see of my friends in human form¨Cthey become inhuman fey.


    Khalil backs off, and his clothing immediately sinks into his body, his arms thickening and his hands becoming great brown paws with talons. His face shifts and stretches, cracking and disjointing as his human-like teeth become large incisors and molars meant for breaking, crushing, and chewing. His body sprouts with tufts of brown hair, his back thickening into the hide of a human-sized brown bear. He roars as an enraged bear would, and all attempts at silence end.


    I have enough awareness to see that Aria changed at the same time. Her skin has charred and blackened, and her body is twice or three times its average weight and girth. Her previously beautiful hair is anything but: ragged and black, stringy, wild, and waving. Her black eyes are now round saucers, oversized bright red baseballs set into a forehead ridge of bones. Aria''s lips have split apart towards her ears, exposing a shark''s needle-like maw of serrated teeth. Her hands are the length of her forearms, and her fingers are like an arachnid''s legs, tipped by viciously sharp talons.


    The silver ring on my index finger, now coated in my blood, continues to buzz and vibrate insistently, warning me that, indeed, there are still individuals who mean to do me harm. And if anything, they seem to be getting closer.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Coming. Closer." I gasp as I try to get over the shock of having been shot for the first time in my life.


    Adrenaline is shooting through my system, probably keeping me from the worst part of the pain. Finally, I dragged myself away from where Aria pulled me while she and the bear Khalil protected me. My free hand, slicked with blood, shakily grabs hold of one of the five arrows in the quiver attached to my compound bow. I quickly crouch and then crab dash towards another copse of trees.


    It''s clear that the vampires hear my movement because instead of shooting in the direction of where they heard Khalil roar as a bear, bullets start to spray just above my head in the trees. Luckily, Aria pulled us down the embankment. Otherwise, those bullets might not have just been hitting trees. Sitting down, I place my back to a thick tree, which will keep me hidden from the other side of the glade, and breathe a few times. I take a moment to catch my breath and then look at the wound on my shoulder. It''s not a nasty wound, but it''ll definitely affect my drawing and loosing accuracy.


    "I''m good, I''m okay. But, what the fuck do we do about bullets?" I audibly grunt, though no one answers me.


    Aria lowers herself to the ground as if she sees something drawing nearer. She''s much more dangerous than I''d given her credit for because she wasn''t crouching to hide; Aria was crouching so she would get more spring into a leap. She flies through the air as soon as a hint of white comes around a tree near our embankment. Aria directly lands on a small pale woman holding an assault rifle that looks far too big for her.


    The victim, a waif of a woman, has absolutely no chance. By the time Aria lands on the woman, her long, spindly and taloned fingers are already clawing apart the bulletproof chest protector she has and are deeply gouging wounds into the chest of the unlucky victim.


    Three quick shots ring out, and I see shreds of flesh and clothing shoot away from Aria''s side as the three bullets must have impacted along her ribcage or waistline. The snarl and howl of a bear charging into the fray are all I see before a man who looks like he could have played quarterback for any professional football team in the 1960s is pulled from behind a tree and thrown to the ground by the immense force of Khalil in his powerful bear form. The assault rifle he''s carrying is all the man has to defend himself from the jaws of Khalil, and he uses it like a bat, keeping Khalil from clamping massive jaws down onto his face.


    I scramble to my feet, seeing Aria lower her face¨Cjaw distending and maw opening wide¨Cand tear off the head of the woman she''d pinned to the ground and was savaging just moments before. The bullets don''t seem to have impacted her too much. Almost immediately before the woman''s head is completely removed, there''s a broken screech and howl of pain before the woman starts to break to ash right underneath Aria.


    Out of the corner of my eye, I see the man who I''d already laced with two arrows, though the wound on his throat is seemingly closed now. While Khalil tries to claw, crush, and maul the well-muscled man underneath his great furry bulk, I catch my breath and nock the blood-slicked arrow onto my compound bow. As the man aims at Khalil, I loose my arrow with a shaky, adrenaline-fueled grip on my bow. I was aiming for the man''s chest, knowing how my accuracy would suffer, and it''s good that I did. My arrow, instead of hitting his chest, drills into his left thigh. He jerks as he fires his weapon, and his bullets miss their mark on Khalil.


    The sounds of ripping, tearing, and jaws repeatedly cracking on the metal and hard plastics of the man''s assault rifle fill the air. Aria draws up to her full height again, and the eyes of the vampire I just shot in the leg widen to an almost comical level.


    "WAIT!" He screams, trying to save himself from the assault he can see coming.


    It doesn''t save him. Aria is on him at almost the same speed I saw him move after I''d shot him to initiate the entire battle. Having dropped the ashing head of the woman she just murdered, her hands and mouth are free to savage the next vampire in her path.


    I reach up, grabbing the second of my quivered arrows from my compound bow, and I start to nock another arrow. As Aria takes the man down to the ground, she immediately begins to sling her arms left and right, brutally mauling the vampire underneath her on the ground in the same way Khalil is mostly succeeding in mauling the strong and tough vampire under his furry bulk. I shift my aim between the two, not wanting to fire and hit my own people. I hesitate, and it''s good that I do because, during my hesitation, I glimpse my bloodied silver ring and see the eyes and ears glowing a bright red. I start to whirl, looking for the danger, but it''s too late.


    My body is lifted entirely off of the ground and flung sideways against the tree next to me. At the vicious impact of my ribs and shoulder blades cracking against the tree, I lose my grip on my already-nocked and drawn arrow, loosing it into parts unknown of the surrounding forest. My compound bow clatters off against the ground as I hit the ground. A beautiful, dark-skinned woman grabs me by the hair, pulls me up, and hisses through her fangs, her tightly braided hair a blur of movement as she smashes her forehead into my face. I feel something break, and pain shoots through my face. She grips me by the throat, pinning me to the tree with my feet dangling in the air.


    "CALL THEM OFF!" She screams in my face, a fanged, snarling display of vampiric strength, leaving me unable even to try to get away. Cassandra was right; they are stronger here.


    I spit blood out from my lips, trying to speak. The dark-skinned beauty seems to recognize that I''m trying to speak, and she loosens her grip on my throat so I can get air to my lungs since she knocked it out of me when she heaved me against the tree.


    "S¨CStop, Khalil. Aria. Stop!" I wheeze and gasp.


    There''s some more snarling, and the woman draws back her lips like she''s about to tear out my throat. I breathe in some more air and, this time, scream into the nighttime air.


    "STOP! ARIA! KHALIL! STOP!"


    The sounds of hissing and snarling slowly abate, and an odd silence creeps over the six of us, all gripped in violence just moments before. Khalil stands over top of the now badly mauled man, with his saliva dripping down on either side of his mouth where he''s biting down on the center of the man''s assault rifle. Aria is holding the man she''s on top of by the throat, one of her blackened, outstretched, death-inflicting arms held up above her head, ready to inflict a fatal final blow.


    Blood pours down from my nose, and pulses of pain start to shoot from my wounded shoulder as the first bit of adrenaline begins to wear off. The woman holds me against the tree, fangs still wholly distended.


    "Tell them to let them up."


    "No." I spit back at her, complete with blood spray.


    She slams my body back against the tree, and I feel another of my ribs crack, for sure, on the same side of my body that I hit the tree with, which causes Khalil to snarl down at the man he has pinned under his great muscled weight. Before the woman has a chance to speak again, I blurt out.


    "I HAVE A PATRON!"

 039; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 21.3: The First Aid

    My breaths are heavy and only slightly labored, and my arms hang at my sides, but I know I can reach for my small knife if necessary. It might cause me to get my throat bitten out, though, which is why I haven''t yet reached for it. The woman focuses intently on my bloodied face, likely recognizing that the fight could easily be far from over.


    "Speak." She says to me in a tone that brokers no argument or hesitation.


    "Cassandra Bentham."


    She narrows her eyes on me, almost like she doesn''t believe me. Her grip tightens, and I realize she doesn''t believe me.


    "Delilah Falk is her maker."


    She hisses and immediately releases her grip on me. It''s a startling reversal, so much so that I stagger forward and fall to my knees before I can catch my balance. Seeing the woman release me makes the enraged form of Khalil, with his maw dripping saliva down onto the face of the man, slowly release the rifle from his mouth and pull his weight off of the very, very severely wounded vampire. Aria doesn''t immediately release the vampire she was savaging, but she does lower her arm. She doesn''t loosen her grip on the vampire''s neck, though.


    I reach a hand up to my nose and face, trying to stem the bleeding. The woman looks over at the other two vampires and speaks in a language I don''t recognize, but I do recognize the names "Cassandra Bentham" and "Delilah Falk" somewhere in the mix of it. The man that was being mauled by Khalil slowly moves but doesn''t stand up. His voice is hoarse and pained when he responds to the woman in the same language. The other man, still being held by Aria, slowly holds his hands up at her, not joining his comrades in conversation, and wisely, he is much more concerned with the creature holding him down to the ground.


    I slowly start to pull myself off of the ground, feeling the wetness of blood trickling down my side and arm from where the bullet got me in the shoulder not but a few minutes earlier. I press my hand up to the wound now that the blood coming from my face seems to have slowed a bit from the headbutt I received.


    "We''re looking for people of our kind." I exhale through deep breaths. "They were here. Maybe just a couple of weeks ago."


    "What do you know of Delilah Falk and Cassandra Bentham?" The woman says to me, her calculating eyes keeping track of me as I move around.


    "Not answering that," I mutter as I stagger to locate and pick up my compound bow.


    "Aria, let him up. Khalil, you good?" The bear grunts, but Khalil stays precisely where he is, about two feet from the vampire sitting on his backside, focusing intently on healing his wounds.


    Aria very, very slowly releases her grip on the neck of the vampire, her jagged maw of teeth letting a hissing, low-grade snarl out from somewhere deep in her body. It''s terrifying to hear, so I can''t even imagine being the man currently having it directed at him. His body is healing, too, as I see some of the gouges in his chest underneath his bulletproof vest sealing themselves. He scoots along the ground, putting at least ten feet between him and Aria.


    "What do you know? Where''s the people who were here?" I ask the dark-skinned vampire woman standing next to me more directly. She seems to be looking towards the man sitting on the ground next to Khalil for guidance and, yet again, speaks to him in a language we can''t follow.


    "Lady, speak plainly, or the bullshit starts up again." I try to icily state, hoping I sound severe enough to make it intimidating.


    She flashes me a look that could easily lead to violence, but she''s restraining herself. Perhaps those two name drops mean more than I initially gave them credit for, so I lean into it.


    "Cassandra Bentham knows exactly where we are, so don''t get any stupid fucking ideas."


    "Fine. We''ll speak normally." She says in a tone entirely clipped.


    The man standing next to Khalil slowly pushes off of the ground, groaning and grunting with the faintest bit of pain. Any human alive would have been screaming in agony. As he stands to full height, I can see the damage Khalil was doing to him with just his weight, strength, and claws. His body armor is completely shredded, only being held up by one strap. Part of his dark pants are shredded, too, showing icy white, pale skin underneath the dark fabric, which is still healing. If the man hadn''t used his assault rifle to hold back Khalil''s jaws, there''s no doubt in my mind that Khalil would have absolutely torn his face and upper body to shreds, likely killing him like Aria did that one unlucky one.


    "My name is Rhys. The woman you are speaking to is Christina, and that is Vincent."


    I don''t tell Aria or Khalil to give up their shapeshifted fey forms, and the vampires seem to respect the danger they''re still in.


    "Are there more of you?"


    "No," the man exhales in response. "Only the four of us. The woman your fr¨Cfriend killed was Opal."


    "I don''t give a shit who she was. Answer my original question."


    My anger is starting to rise, along with the throbbing pain in my shoulder as my adrenaline continues to ebb away. With the bow in my hand, I know I can''t use it without one of the vampires being on me, so I don''t make sudden movements.


    "We know where your people are. We''ll take you there if you want."


    "Are there more vampires there?"


    There''s some hesitation from the man, which answers my question before he even has to.


    "Oh sure, yeah, let me agree to go to your fucking main base or whatever, full of vampires. Let''s get right on that train to idiot town. You think we''re fucking stupid, guy? We''re not going anywhere with you, and you''re not leaving. So unless you want to find out how pretty the sun is, you better start making real strides towards figuring out this shit. I figure you got what, three, maybe four, hours or so before the shining sun makes its appearance? Sun rises in the east, motherfucker; better start thinking quick."


    The anger is flowing through me now, and that''s probably the first time in my life I''ve felt like the one in control over a situation with a wild amount of variables. The three vampires initially seem unsure of how to react, almost as if they were expecting a docile reaction from any faeries they encounter.


    Surprisingly, Rhys doesn''t appear that intimidated; he''s just more confused about their situation. Maybe he''s just an excellent card player. He carefully measures his voice when he looks at me to speak.


    "I''m going to tell you something you won''t like."


    "Out with it then, pal."


    "We already radioed for the hounds."


    "Not worried about some dogs. We''re from the Wilds."


    Rhys turns his head to check on Vincent and then at Christina. She nods at him, and Rhys slowly puts his rifle over his shoulder on its miraculously still attached strap. He holds his hands up, then presses them together like he was praying at an altar or speaking to idiot children.


    "Alright, let me clarify my statement. These aren''t normal dogs. They''ve been bred and fed vampire blood since birth. The first thing they were fed when they dropped out of their mothers was vampire blood every single day of their development. They aren''t just ''some dogs,'' understand?"


    "Radio back and say everything is fine, then call them back."


    "Not going to happen." After Rhys says that, Khalil growls beside him, his deep bear tenor encouraging the man to continue. "What I mean to say is once they''re loosed on the property, they can''t be just called back. They have to be wrangled by our stable hands. They''re coming, and they''re going to attack anything that doesn''t smell like a vampire, including someone with a patron, understand?"


    "Yeah, fuck you, nice try," I growl back at him.


    Rhys smiles, and there''s no kindness there; his bloodied face and lips are all malicious-compliance-worthy.


    "So, yes, you''re right that we could, in fact, just wait. I don''t think that''s the best idea, though. The smarter idea is to agree to come with us, and we will grant you and your two friends peace until you speak with our liege lord."


    "Nope. See, I know a bit how animal training works, you lying piece of shit. One of the first things you do is teach a heel command and teach the word to whoever interacts with the animal. So I know you have a heel command, and I''m betting it''s in your fancy vampire language. Now the real question is: does the fey with a patron know the word? Tricky, tricky." I don''t know if it''s the adrenaline or being close to immediate danger, but the words and lies spill out of me in the prettiest version of the "truth."


    Aria starts to advance on "Vincent," her grotesque hand talons spreading further and further apart. All it would take is the wrong word or move, and all six of us would be back into violence.


    "You''re smarter than the last group. I suppose that makes sense."


    "Keep it up. Do you think you can get away from them?" I nod at Aria and Khalil. "I''m thinking I could probably play monkey ball and keep away from Christina here long enough for Aria to rip your friend Vincent''s head clean off and help me with Christina. You? Eh, fifty-fifty chance Khalil doesn''t rip you in half this time in the first three seconds since you kindly put up your rifle."


    "Alright. Fine. We''ll call off the dogs. Vincent!" He probably purposely calls for Vincent because Aria''s advancing on him. "Vincent, go radio in again; call off the dogs. Tell them we''re sorting out the disturbance for now."


    Vincent gets up carefully from the ground and pushes the arrow I lanced into his leg through and out of the other side with a loud grunt of pain. He drops the arrow and then hobbles a few feet backward.


    "Let ''em go, Aria." She slowly comes to a stop, staring her bloody red orbs for eyes at Vincent for as long as it takes him to hobble and then run across the glade.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Alright now, I gather your people are named Khalil and Aria. May I know who I''m speaking to?"


    Khalil''s bulk turns, and the grunts and growls from him don''t need much of a translation. He doesn''t trust the vampire any more than I do. I''m relying on a sliver of information and a prayer that I have a convincing silver tongue. Otherwise, Christina is likely going to be able to tear out my throat before Aria can get to me.


    "Orion." I finally say.


    "Suiting name. You''re an excellent shot and exceptional at covering yourself."


    "Enough. Tick tock, pal. You said you know where our people are."


    "The ground you are literally standing on is the property of the House of the Bear. My question is why you, with a patron from the Falcon House, are here without permission?"


    "What makes you think I don''t have permission?"


    The two vampires blurt out laughs at the same time, making me internally cringe. When they look back at me, I know they now realize that half of what I''ve been saying is bullshit.


    "Ah, I see now." Rhys murmurs in sudden apparent amusement.


    "Laugh if you want, but now it''s three on two, and your dogs aren''t coming. Maybe you should worry a little less about my permission and more about how you may not see the sunrise, and if you do, well, poof anyway, right?"


    "You do make a good point. So, we can sort this out civilly, don''t you think?"


    The vibrating ring on my finger tells me otherwise.


    "Yeah, I also know you want to take my head clean off, Rhys, so stop playing pretend."


    "Of course I do. You just killed my first scion. Well, your friend Aria did, I suppose. I''d love nothing better than to tie you to the back of two cars and drive off in opposite directions until you were in pieces. But, I must be polite because I represent the interests of my liege lord."


    "I''m listening," I murmur, trying to resist the terrible stinging pain kicking up from my nose, back, side, and shoulder.


    "Turn over the faeries to us now. Enough with these vampire stall tactics." Aria''s voice comes in, a warble of barely restrained violence, much like the hissing of alligators being disturbed.


    "And how am I to do that, creature? I don''t see them here; I already told you where they are. You must return with us to claim them or trust that we bring them here. Neither is a good option. I''m talking with your leader. Maybe you should just be quiet." Rhys responds derisively to Aria.


    "What about Tallulah?" Christina murmurs in Rhys'' direction. He immediately flashes her a look with some heat behind it as if she shouldn''t have said anything.


    "Wait, I know that name." I tilt my head. "What about her?"


    Rhys starts to speak, but he doesn''t realize Aria did not appreciate being brushed off like she is the hired help, or spoken to in the way he did. He poorly judges the "power dynamic" of our group, incorrectly thinking I am the be-all and end-all of decision-makers.


    "I wouldn''t wor-dre-URGHK!"


    Rhys splutters as Aria comes straight up behind him, slamming both of her hands with their jagged, razor-sharp talons into his back and out the tattered remains of the front of his bulletproof vest. Her maw has clamped onto his shoulder, and she uses the leverage to twist violently. He manages a scream before she brutally tears him into the exact halves he''d just threatened me with.


    As Rhys starts to break down into ash and bone, Christina goes wide-eyed and, being the last vampire remaining with us, immediately races toward the nearest tree. Aria throws her head back and howls an unholy noise, like a deep rumbling crackle from a shifting, creaking glacier. I''d never heard such a throaty noise before, and it startled even me. Before I had a chance to react, Christina had pulled herself up about thirty or so feet into the air.


    Aria dashes underneath the tree that Christina has climbed up, and I run over to grab one of her arms¨Cwith my free yet blood-slicked hand¨Cto stop her from continuing to rampage.


    "Wait, Aria! We need one of them!"


    She slams her arm down, shoving me off with a vicious force that topples me down to the ground a few feet nearby. I grunt in pain loudly as my broken ribs and bleeding shoulder wound slam into the ground. The sound of my pain seems to shake Aria out of her murderous trance, and she quickly looks at me and then up at Christina.


    "Sorry, Orion." She hisses in my direction, and it probably isn''t meant to sound like grinding glass, but it does. I groan for another moment before letting her carefully help me back up. After a few moments, once I have my breath back in me, I call up into the tree.


    "Christina! We''re not going to attack you!"


    "Right," comes a sarcastic, rapid reply from above.


    "Seriously, let''s get this sorted. We want our people. You seem to know more than that other guy wanted to share, so let''s be civil like you wanted, huh?" I pause, waiting to see if there''s any reply. I see her head moving up in the tree, searching out a potential exit plan, and not yet finding one. I finally yelled up to her when it was clear she wasn''t going to respond to what I first said.


    "Tallulah? You said her name."


    "Do you agree to speak with her?"


    I look down at Aria and Khalil, but since Aria is the only one who can kind of vocalize, I speak to her.


    "Tallulah, I remember her from the village during our other trading runs for gasoline. Older fey. Don''t remember what she does; I just remember meeting at some point, so she''s not lying about them existing, at the least."


    "Will you recognize her voice?" Aria hisses once again in response.


    "Yeah, I think so, probably."


    Aria shakes out her hands and looks over at Khalil. I take that to mean she wants me to handle it. So, I turn my head back up to the tree and yell back up at Christina.


    "Yeah, I''ll talk to her. Come down, and let''s get this sorted out."


    "Have the bear change back; you''ll still have your whatever-the-hell that is." She''s clearly referring to Aria.


    "Alright." I nod to Khalil, and he grunts a few times before shaking his coat back and forth. I lower my voice to a whisper. "Man, do it. I need someone to help me tie up my shoulder, and I can''t keep trying to stop the bleeding on my own."


    That''s all it takes. Khalil''s fur immediately starts to fall away as his bones crack and reset. His face, legs, hands, and back return to how they were right before he shifted, clothing and all. The only difference is that Khalil has very pronounced bags underneath his eyes, openly showing signs of physical exhaustion.


    "Alright, Christina, right? Come on down now."


    A few moments pass, and she lowers herself carefully and gracefully down the tree. She lands a few feet from us.


    "We have to get to the ATV to use the more powerful radio. It''s why Vincent had to run back to have the radio used to call for and stop the dogs."


    "Sure. You lead, we''ll follow. If your friend Vincent does anything stupid, he''ll be K-I-A number three."


    "He''s too much of a coward to do anything alone." At that, she carefully moves past Aria, clearly respecting the raw power of the old redcap.


    "Hold on, we need our backpacks. I''ve got to get this bleeding stopped on my shoulder."


    "She isn''t your patron, is she?" Christina says from right next to me, extremely quietly, when it''s mostly just her and I walking together for a few long seconds.


    I tense and try to roll through about a thousand answers but ultimately fail to come up with one. My hesitation is precisely the same as when I knew Rhys was about to lie earlier.


    "I didn''t think so," Christina murmurs.


    "Why would you say that?" Responding in a murmur, I hope to sound confident, as if she were being ridiculous.


    "Because, if she were, you''d be able to use her blood in you to heal that wound of yours slowly. She would have told you that." She quietly answers.


    Fuck.


    I slowly turn my pale eyes towards Christina to see what she''s planning on doing. She impassively returns a look at me, betraying no emotion or intentions whatsoever. The silence spreads out to about ten seconds¨Can eternity.


    "You were looking for your packs, I believe." She finally says, at full volume.


    "Right." I start to move again, my hand pressing against my shoulder wound to keep putting pressure on it. I don''t even want to look at my side and arm to see how much blood I''ve lost. Both are sticky from the blood that has already flowed since I was tagged with the assault rifle bullet.


    It doesn''t take long for us to find where Khalil and I dropped our packs. I take a brief detour to pick up the arrows I''d left in a pile next to shrubbery and the tree where I took my first shots of the evening. When I return to the packs, I sit down on the ground, trusting that Aria is going to hold vigil over Khalil and me while he helps me bandage up my wound.


    "Anything other than your shoulder, dude?"


    "Think she broke a couple of my ribs, probably my nose, but I can''t do shit about that right now."


    "I can help to patch him up." Christina carefully intones. Aria hisses behind her menacingly, but to Christina''s credit, she doesn''t flinch away.


    "I saw this on a TV show. You''re not going to make me get infected, lady."


    "What?" Christina sounds bewildered. "I am trained in some degree of first aid."


    "Why would you help?"


    "Because I rather like living, and if I help you, then I''ll likely make it through this shit night."


    She makes a good point. I drop my stack of arrows and bow next to me and slowly reach over to open my backpack. My fingers are sticky with my blood, and I smear it a little as I''m searching around for my medical gauze. I pull out the whole box and toss it in Christina''s direction. Khalil looks slightly concerned, but I give him an "it''s okay" look. Christina moves over and picks up the box of gauze.


    "Tear a strip off of either Rhys or Opal''s clothing. I''ll need it to tighten down on the wound."


    Christina instructs, and Khalil begrudgingly goes to the closest pile of clothing, which happens to be Opal''s. He grabs the entire black shirt she left behind in its tattered form and comes back, tearing it into halves before winding it up a bit so it functions a little bit more like a rope.


    "Take off your shirt, Mister Orion."


    I grimace and start to comply, but my ribs catch, and pain shoots up my side. I try to play it off, but Christina doesn''t miss anything with her sharp eyes. Khalil comes over and helps me to tug off my shirt. I look down at my shoulder with its ragged bullet wound from the assault rifle and the amount of blood that''s spilled down my arm and side from it.


    "This will hurt, but you will be alright."


    "Shit, I''ve lost a lot of blood."


    "Yes, but you will be fine. You have a lot more in you."


    I started to protest, but then I just stopped. I figure a vampire probably knows a little more about how much blood is in a body than I do. With my shirt off, Christina carefully wraps my wound in the fresh gauze. She uses the entire box, tightly wrapping it with skilled hands. She looks back at Khalil, who then hands her the remnants of Opal''s shirt. Christina wraps it directly over the wound several times, then pulls it exceptionally tight. The pain definitely rates high on the scale, and for a moment, I see spots in my vision. She ties down the shirt directly on the wound, and when she finishes, nothing moves.


    "This should hold until you reach medical assistance."


    "Um, thanks, I guess."


    "I can wrap your ribs, but it won''t do much with so little fabric."


    "I''m good. Let''s get moving to that ATV of yours."


    I hold out my hand to Khalil for my shirt, and instead of handing it to me, he worriedly helps me put it back on top of Christina''s work on my shoulder. The amount of blood on my side and arm clearly has shaken Khalil, and when Christina starts to move in front of us in the direction of the glade, I set a hand briefly on his shoulder to let him know I''m okay. As we''re walking behind Christina, I realize the silver ring on my finger hasn''t been vibrating since Aria killed Rhys.


    As we draw close to the ATV, the vampire Vincent, with his absolutely forgettable looks, shoots out of the seat he was in. He looks ready to run when he sees there''s no Rhys. Christina holds a hand up to him.


    "Have them get Tallulah on the radio." Vincent looks at the three of us behind Christina and hesitates.


    "Where''s Rhys?"


    "Dead. Do it, Vincent." Christina''s voice is deadly serious.


    He carefully slides back into the ATV, and I move onto the other side of the same front seat he''s using. He carefully flips on two switches and then calls in to a main radio operator. He states that he has been ordered to get Tallulah directly on the radio and refuses to give more information when a different vampire responds rather than the radio operator. He carefully repeats the same phrase he used before: Christina was ordering him to get Tallulah on the radio immediately.


    The five of us stand there around the ATV, each side not trusting the other and yet calmly waiting for whoever speaks through the radio to us next.


    What a night this has turned out to be.

 040; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 22.1: The Radio Exchange

    The night is a lovely clear evening, and Tallulah has enjoyed the vast majority of the start of it in her little tiny space of the garden that Elijah first showed to her. She finished the brookfruit Selena had delivered to her the night before about an hour ago, which warmed her skin and muscles. The relaxing feeling and her skin''s faint glowing, healthy sheen was a nice touch.


    She can see the city in the distance, with only a limited amount of haze to distort the lights of humanity. She runs one of her hands along the side of her neck, appreciating the smoothness of her skin from the brookfruit. Tallulah muses that Selena might be a little conniving and brutal, but she understands that sometimes, a person just wants to feel good in their skin.


    Her calm, relaxed state is suddenly interrupted by the noise of shouting and movement down by the stables and garages where the vampires maintain their small outdoor vehicles. She slowly stands and moves closer to look down from where she is in the garden. By the time she finds a good place to observe from, she can see guards dashing here and there and a guard tugging up the large door of one of the garages.


    She watches the vampire Opal coming out from a small guard housing area, wearing a full complement of dark clothes and a bulletproof vest. It immediately reminds her of the first night they encountered the vampires in the glade because they wore the same attire that night. The next vampire to join Opal is Vincent, wearing similar gear. An ATV is rolled out of the garage, and the two vampires immediately check it over like a pre-drive pair of inspectors.


    A third vampire joins them with two assault rifles in hand. It''s Christina. She hands both Vincent and Opal their assault rifles, her own already slung onto her back by a strap. Tallulah''s eyes are so intently focused on the flurry of activity that she doesn''t even hear Elijah coming up behind her.


    "Hey, Miss Tallulah."


    She startles a little bit with a near-squeak of noise.


    "Ooh, goodness. Hello Eli. You startled me."


    "Sorry about that, Miss Tallulah. Since I''m your escort, I had to come and find you."


    "What''s going on?"


    "Ehh."


    "Come on, you know you can tell me."


    Elijah moves to stand next to her, and his kind eyes focus on the three vampires down below setting up their vehicle, the same as she''s doing.


    "Someone tripped the outer perimeter motion detectors¨Cwell, people in the plural¨Clike, physically coming across the wire boundaries. Whoever did it probably doesn''t even realize it happened."


    "I know all about that."


    "Yeah, yeah, I know."


    Tallulah watches as the fourth vampire joins the other three¨CRhys. He doesn''t help with the preparation of the vehicle. Instead, his job seems to be keeping them in order and moving. Shortly after he arrives, the quartet of vampires take seats on the ATV and, shortly afterward, are speeding off through the gates of the perimeter security fencing.


    "I feel sorry for whoever is out there."


    Elijah doesn''t respond to that, probably unsure of what to say.


    "Anyway, I had to come collect you. When we have a perimeter alert, everyone with a charge¨Clike, you''re my charge¨Cgets moved into the protection of the homestead." He shuffles his weight a little bit from foot to foot before adding. "Sorry, Miss Tallulah."


    "It''s alright. I''ve been out here for a few hours anyway."


    Elijah turns and leads the pair back toward the walkways and sculpted paths leading to the homestead. They pass through the first security door with no trouble, and he leads them not towards Tallulah''s room but further inside. They weave around domestics, hurriedly moving through the home and doing their duties until Elijah finally leads them into what is more of a recreational room. Several people are inside; about half the number look to be guards on break, the other half seem to be domestics and some of the more affection-paid men and women of the household. Tallulah sets her heels on a nearby chair, and Elijah sets down a few items off his belt and vest next to her shoes to give himself more freedom of movement.


    "Oh, this is where you all hang out when you get a few minutes to yourselves?"


    Elijah walks over and picks up a pair of long pool sticks, then offers one to Tallulah as she draws near him at a carved stone pool table with burgundy-colored felt on the top.


    "Yep. You can come here whenever you want, of course. Like, the vampires don''t come in here. Figured maybe you wouldn''t mind not being alone always. Dunno, just an offer, not trying to suggest anything."


    Taking the pool stick in hand, she leans against it a bit while Elijah starts to rack the pool balls in front of them. He doesn''t seem nervous, but he''s certainly trying to make sure she doesn''t think about what she just saw going on outside the last few minutes.


    "I''m not betting anything with you, Elijah. I''m terrible at this game."


    "Oh, don''t worry about all that, Miss Tallulah." He laughs.


    They flip a coin to see who will break¨Che calls heads and wins, so Tallulah continues to lean while he breaks the table with a firm strike. Two balls sink into pockets, and he calls out stripes as his chosen side. It''s a good thing that she didn''t bet, Tallulah muses, because he could absolutely pool shark if he decided to. Tallulah laughs and grins in good humor every time before he takes a shot. It isn''t until he''s sank three more that he misses his next shot.


    "Good grief, Elijah, thank you for letting me play!"


    "You''re absolutely welcome, Miss Tallulah." He cracks a toothy grin at her, "I''m all about that fair competition."


    "Uh-huh," Tallulah smirks in response, good-naturedly.


    The pair continue to play, with Elijah winning every game to no great surprise. Perhaps it''s the brookfruit''s effects, but Tallulah feels spry, with no aches or other little annoying niggling things that usually happen now that she''s older. She feels healthy and full of life; being able to play recreational games like pool with the exceptionally young Elijah and not feel as though she''s holding back the progression in some way is a nice feeling.


    It''s not until an hour or so later that the mood changes.


    As they decide who will break the next game, a torrent of guards rush through and suddenly stop. One of them calls out to a radio that they''d found Tallulah and Elijah, and Elijah would have blanched if his skin weren''t dark. He realizes¨Cand Tallulah as well¨Cthat when they''d started playing, he''d set down his radio next to her shoes that she''d taken off to be more comfortable. Elijah apologizes profusely to one of the guards, who simply waves him off like it''s not currently important. Instead, he explains the situation to him.


    Elijah comes immediately over to Tallulah.


    "Miss Tallulah, we need to take you to a communications room. I apologize, but we gotta go, like, now."


    "Okay, Elijah?" She raises an eyebrow, expecting some explanation, but it doesn''t manifest.


    Instead, Elijah scoops up Tallulah''s shoes simultaneously with his radio. He gives her the heels, but she doesn''t bother putting them on, instead electing to follow him barefoot from the recreational room. The guards and assorted domestics left behind in the room all watch the exodus in placid detachment.


    "What''s going on, Elijah?" Tallulah murmurs to him as they''re rapidly taken through the homestead.


    "You''ve gotta talk to someone over the longer-range radio. I don''t know anything more than it''s important with a capital ''i'', you know?"


    "Do you think they found someone from our village who didn''t get rounded up with the rest of us?"


    Elijah looks over at her as they pass through the very secure hallway she¡¯d been through before with the two lines on the floor with serious-looking guards posted at various spots. This time, they¡¯re following the red line. His look is serious, which answers it for Tallulah before he does.


    "I don''t think that is the case. Sorry. I don''t know any more than you do."


    Tallulah lapses into silence. The guard''s boots clomp across the smooth concrete of the more secure area of the home while her bare feet silently pad against its coolness. Two more security doors are passed through before she''s brought into a room with a wall full of monitors, each with a different security camera view.


    There must be at least fifty different screens. The illumination and size of the room shock her. This is the security heart of the homestead, she realizes. It''s no wonder it was so secure. She''s immediately taken from Elijah like she were important cargo, who is made to stay outside the room, and brought to Selena, who stands next to a very nervous-looking radio operator.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "Miss Tallulah." Selena politely intones as Tallulah is brought over.


    "Hello Selena, what''s going on?"


    "Nothing to worry about, darling. There is a small situation I will need your assistance with, I''m afraid."


    The radio crackles to life in front of Selena, the operator, and Tallulah, as if to answer any question Tallulah is about to ask.


    "Operator? Vincent checking in. Christina wants an E.T.A. on Tallulah."


    The radio operator looks over his shoulder at Selena, clearly asking for permission to say anything. Beads of sweat drip down the sides of his face, and Tallulah can''t at all blame him. With Selena''s seemingly unconcerned approach to basic punishment, Tallulah figures he probably thinks his life is on the line and doesn''t want to make even the slightest bit of an error with what''s happening.


    "I''m going to need you to speak with someone, Miss Tallulah, and I''m going to need you to do it as though you were a full member of this house. Of course, you are already darling, but this is the first official use. Do you understand?"


    "I can do that," Tallulah murmurs in response, realizing that whatever is going on must be more serious than they''re saying openly.


    "Wonderful." Selena purrs, but her voice hardens slightly as she directs the radio operator in the same breath. "Tell them Tallulah is here."


    The radio operator does exactly as Selena says, with no variation of words. Selena gestures to one of the guards and a chair, so within about three seconds, Tallulah has a chair brought over and placed for her to sit on. Selena taps her smooth fingers over the chair back, encouraging Tallulah to sit down in front of her. Without complaint, Tallulah shifts over and slides down to sit in front of the vampire.


    Almost immediately, the icy hand that just patted the seat for Tallulah to sit in brushes very lightly over the top of her head and gently through the silvery gray strands of hair on her head. Selena''s other hand grips the top of the chair back, and she quite literally looms over Tallulah, who is sitting in front of her.


    "Copy. Christina is putting on the person now."


    It''s Vincent''s voice again, but only for a moment. There''s a little pause before a new voice crackles onto the radio.


    "Hello, Tallulah?"


    Tallulah''s brow furrows, and she tilts her head slightly. The voice sounds familiar, but she can''t place it precisely. It also sounds relatively young. She racks her brain for a few moments before slowly leaning forward and pressing the same button she saw the radio operator press before he spoke shortly before.


    "Hello, this is Tallulah." She grimaces a little, unsure of how to respond other than that.


    "No offense, but I need a little proof you''re Tallulah the Wilder from a village that disappeared from the Wilds a couple of weeks ago."


    Tallulah pauses, then presses the button again, speaking in fey tongue.


    "I am Tallulah, and we''re safely on the property of a group of vampires. I can''t speak in this language for long, but I wanted you to know I am who I say I am. Who are you?"


    "What did you just say?" Selena intones. Her voice is smooth and unconcerned-sounding, but the faintest firmness of her voice tells Tallulah she''s playing with fire, speaking in faerie like she just did.


    "I told him that my name is Tallulah, we''re safe here on your property, and that I won''t be talking in our shared language for long, but I wanted to prove to him I could. Then I asked his name."


    "Very good, dearest, very good."


    The gentle strokes of Selena''s hand continue through the strands of Tallulah''s hair. There''s a bit of a pause between the time Tallulah speaks and when the radio next crackles to life with the young man''s voice, now speaking in a common language so everyone can understand it.


    "My name is Orion. I have two with me that you might recognize or not. One is called Khalil, and the other is named Aria."


    Tallulah turns her head and murmurs to Selena.


    "I know one of the three of those names. Aria is dangerous; she was¨Cwell, how do I describe it? Oh, I know, she used to be basically what you''d consider an elite soldier for one of the ruling tribes in the Wilds a lifetime ago¨Cbefore I even walked out of the Wilds. She''s dangerous but, oddly enough, left the fighting a long time ago and became kind of a farmer and traveling trader."


    "How dangerous?"


    "I wouldn''t want to meet her in a dark alley. Her kind is, um, they are red-level dangerous. Known for enjoying violence. Sorry, I''m not being descriptive enough; trust me when I say that she''s the most capable of beyond-extreme barbarity of the three, no matter what the other two are."


    "Thank you, darling."


    The radio crackles to life again. "Hello?"


    Tallulah leans forward to press the button to transmit once again.


    "Sorry, Orion. I was trying to recall you and your friend Khalil. I remember Aria."


    "I remember you. How''s your new blue hair dye treating you?"


    Tallulah was puzzled by that, unsure of what the man was talking about. She leans forward again, speaking into the microphone without hiding her bewildered tone.


    "Sorry, what? I don''t have blue hair. Are you confusing me with someone else?"


    "No," Selena murmurs behind Tallulah. "He''s making sure you are who you say you are."


    A little pause crackles from the radio again, and a little chuckle emerges.


    "Yeah, I know you don''t. I just needed to hear what you''d say. Okay. We''ve agreed you''re probably Tallulah from the Wilder village. Listen, we came here looking for you and your people. We were the trading group coming to trade for some gasoline, but everything was just gone by the time we got there. Are you all good?"


    "We''ve been trying to find a way for most of us to return to the Wilds. The vampires here have been helping."


    "That''s cool," comes the response from the radio. Tallulah tilts her head back to look at Selena, who is quite focused and serious. When she realizes Tallulah has shifted to look at her, she offers her a faint, softened look.


    "He''s young for certain. What do you want me to do?"


    "Keep him talking, but try to convince him it is safe to come here so we can all speak civilly."


    "Is it safe for them?"


    "Does it matter?"


    The response makes Tallulah hesitate, which draws a slightly lifted eyebrow from Selena.


    "If they''re just here to help our people return, then I''d hope it would be safe for them to meet and talk it through¡­" Tallulah trails off.


    "Of course, my beauty, they would likely be safe."


    "Alright, so here''s how it''s going to go." The radio crackles again. "We have two of your people here, and their names are Vincent and Christina. Sorry, the other two didn''t make it. Shit popped off for a bit, as Khalil just said."


    Tallulah blanches at the news that Opal and Rhys, whom she''d just seen an hour or so ago, are dead and gone, the seriousness of the situation now clear to her. The voice belonging to Orion continues on the radio.


    "We know it''s getting close to daylight, and we''d rather not have to keep them out here and cause you more deaths, huh?"


    The chair Tallulah is sitting in creaks as Selena grips the chair''s back harder, the only visible reaction to the voice on the radio informing them that two of her house have been killed. When Selena speaks, her tone is low and deadly.


    "Ask them what they want."


    Tallulah quickly presses the button.


    "Okay, Orion. What are you looking for here? What do you want?"


    "We know all about the dogs and all that, so let''s be real honest with each other here. I should probably mention that Cassandra Bentham is my patron, and if your vampires don''t know who that is, her maker is Delilah Falk. I figure that should probably make a difference in our discussions here. Sorry, I should have probably mentioned it earlier."


    Selena hisses and stalks away. Moments later, a chair''s metal legs find themselves embedded in one of the concrete walls as Selena uses a sudden vicious display of raw vampiric strength in what can only be described as a legit tantrum. No one in the room moves, especially not Tallulah. She stares with eyes like saucers at the electronic equipment before her, trying not to move a muscle.


    There''s snarling from Selena, and she barks orders at other vampires in the room in their language. They quickly disperse like a disturbed ant hill, no one wanting to tempt Selena''s fury. Selena seems to have regained her composure a few moments later, so she casually walks back over to retake her position behind Tallulah. This time, though, she folds her hands before her body rather than touching the chair Tallulah is in or her hair. Tallulah doesn''t even move, let alone say a word, and Selena finally intones.


    "Alright. Tell him that we extend the hospitality of the House of the Bear officially to himself and his two friends, so long as our two house members are further unharmed and return to our homestead with them as such. Also, inform him that the hospitality will extend tonight, the daytime tomorrow, and its entire night."


    Tallulah carefully reaches forward and sorts out Selena''s order in her mind before speaking again into the radio''s open microphone.


    "Okay, Orion, so I''ve talked with some of the vampires¡­" She exhales, trying to make this sound just as casual as possible. "And, you''ll be happy to hear they''ll grant you official hospitality from the House of the Bear so long as you bring their two house members who are currently with you back safely to their homestead here. It''s official-like, and they''re extending the hospitality for the rest of tonight, then all day and all night tomorrow. So there''ll be plenty of time to get this mess all sorted out with a, hopefully, happy ending."


    "We agree, but with one slight change."


    "Go on."


    "You''ll have to find us a safe room for vampires because Christina stays with us until we speak to whoever is in charge officially. It''s not exactly a hostage situation, but it kind of is. Sorry-not-sorry, it''s shitty, I know."


    Selena exhales air through her nose quite resentfully.


    "This boy is angering me quite deeply, Miss Tallulah, quite deeply indeed. Does he realize how rude he is being?" It''s clearly a rhetorical question, so Tallulah doesn''t say a word, instead allowing Selena to stew and decide what to do and say.


    "Tell him fine, we agree."


    "Okay, Orion. They agree to your change." Tallulah leans back after pressing the button.


    "Cool, that''s great. Oh yeah¨CI''d like to see you when we arrive."


    "Yes, alright, of course. I''ll make sure to be around."


    "Uh, Orion, over and out."


    The radio operator turns his head to look at Tallulah and then carefully steals a glance at Selena. He''s still sweating and is undoubtedly completely worried about his health. Selena takes a step back from looming over Tallulah''s chair. She seems to have completely recomposed herself because when Tallulah turns to stand and look at the other woman, who is only slightly taller than she is, Selena offers her an affectionate smile like Tallulah just did an excellent job under pressure. Selena reaches forward and touches the side of Tallulah''s cheek affectionately.


    "Marvelous job, Tallulah darling. Come with me."


    "Okay, Selena."

 041; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 22.2: The First Taste

    The flood of gratification that Tallulah gets from being told that Selena is pleased with the job she did is hard to ignore. Selena always seems to know what to do or say, which changes Tallulah''s mood from being careful to realizing that she was never in danger. Selena turns, her heels clicking with an immediate rhythm as she leads Tallulah out of the security room.


    As she moves out of the room, it''s easy to see Elijah standing there and waiting for Tallulah. Selena pauses next to him and turns her eyes onto his young face. She seems to be searching for something, and to Elijah''s credit, he stares straight ahead at the wall directly past Selena.


    "Your name, what is it again?"


    "Elijah Freeman, Your Grace."


    "That''s what I thought. Come with us."


    That''s all the words Selena forms before once again starting at the high pace of walking, the smooth cement echoing with each heel click. Tallulah looks down at the heels in her hand, then hands them over to Elijah as they keep pace behind the aggravated¨Cbut composed¨Cvampire. Elijah drops them behind in a chair when they return to the homestead proper, and there''s actual decor rather than secure cement hallways.


    A few minutes later, Selena leads the three of them into a new place in the homestead that even Tallulah hadn''t seen before. It is a lovely area reached through a barely visible outline of a door along a wall of the private parlor that Selena, Kofi, and Percival always seem to take their guests to. That unique security door reseals with an obvious set of clicks, hisses, and other assorted serious-sounding noises. Even Elijah looks around like he''s never been taken to this area.


    Inside is a lush but relatively small indoor garden. A squared pond rests in the middle with a tiny yet ornate fountain in its center, with two benches on one side and on the other is a large, customized sofa-chaise made of a lush red fabric set just slightly back so that pillows and other assorted comforts are present without the danger of them being knocked into the pond. The ceiling looks to be more of the skylight glass that was inset throughout the ballroom, but it spans the entire space in this room, save for one well-crafted and decorated wooden support beam. She didn''t realize it at first, but now that she''s been in the luxurious space for a minute, she doesn''t hear any outside noise. The sounds of them moving around and the water gurgling from the tiny fountain are truly the only audible things in the room.


    Selena casually walks over to the chaise and curls up, her heels falling to the floor as if they were common pieces of clothing to be treated with indifference. She tucks her legs ever so slightly and turns, facing her body towards Elijah and Tallulah.


    "Elijah." Selena murmurs, and in the complete silence of the room, she doesn''t have to raise her voice. "Come here. Stand in front of me for a moment. Tallulah, please be comfortable."


    Her tone is silken and delicate; there isn''t even the slightest hint of the earlier rage and annoyance. Elijah carefully moves away from the doorway area to stand almost at rigid attention right before Selena. Tallulah can see the slightest bit of nervous sweat forming on the sides of his temple. Tallulah carefully takes a seat at the end of the sofa-chaise, giving Selena more than a few feet of distance for the time being.


    "Christina Freeman is what to you, again? You have such a long and meandering family line at times, it''s hard to keep track¨Cnot being Kofi, of course."


    "Micah Freeman is her grandson, and he''s my uncle. So I think that makes her my, uh, great-grandaunt. Sorry, I''m not sure of the terminology there."


    "Yes, I believe you''re right. I know you''re already aware you have more duties to your house and family than the average guard before you get to a certain age. Have you already bred?"


    Tallulah blinks at the bluntness. Also, how she phrases her question about whether he''s had a child is¡­ uncomfortable.


    "Yes, Your Grace. Once successfully. A girl."


    Tallulah turns her head to look at Elijah while Selena casually rapid-fires questions at the poor young man.


    "Only a single one? How disappointing. It would be best if you tried harder, it shouldn''t be too much trouble for you. You have a good look to you. Are you touched in some way?" Tallulah realizes Selena is asking if Elijah is wrong in the brain because he hasn''t had more children. She idly wonders if Selena realizes he''s only nineteen years old.


    "No, Your Grace. The first had a miscarriage."


    "Oh, how sad. Kofi and Christina must have been dreadfully unhappy for you."


    "Yes, Your Grace. They were very kind in the aftermath." Elijah murmurs softer and does a poor job of hiding the pain behind his words, even though he''s trying.


    "Poor thing." Selena doesn''t miss it, of course. Tallulah doesn''t think Selena would miss most, if any, social cues, having seen her in action. "I''ll have to ensure you find more chances soon to sow your wild oats. You may leave but will accompany Tallulah when those troublesome creatures arrive. You are not to let her out of your sight, and you will protect her, am I clear?"


    "Yes, Your Grace."


    "Very good." Selena waves a hand, dismissing Elijah. He quickly exits through the door into the private parlor for the three house leaders, leaving Selena and Tallulah alone in the complete silence of the garden sanctuary.


    Tallulah doesn''t move a muscle. She''s not necessarily afraid of Selena and, indeed, does feel still protected and appreciated by the vampire, but she also knows what she saw. Someone doesn''t throw a chair halfway through a concrete wall and then just be totally all good ten minutes later.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    "Tallulah, darling. Come here."


    Tallulah turns on the seat at the end of the chaise-sofa and then slides down so she''s next to Selena. When Selena turns her gaze on Tallulah directly, the warm, comfortable feeling that both Kofi and the alabaster beauty Selena give her rapidly returns. Her muscles relax a fraction, and she offers Selena a smile.


    "You''re looking quite healthy tonight. Did you try that little gift I gave you?"


    "Yes, I did; the brookfruit was very nice."


    "Ah, there it is. Perfect, very good. Come closer, Tallulah."


    Tallulah slowly moves a few inches closer to the curled-up Selena, and immediately, Selena brushes her fingers along one side of her face.


    "I want you to drink from me, dearest."


    Tallulah swallows reflexively, unsure of what to say.


    "There''s nothing to fear. I want you to be protected. Kofi wants you to be protected. If you''re ever hurt, the gift of my blood can help heal you. Wouldn''t that be lovely?"


    "I, er, well, yes, that could be nice, I think." Tallulah stammers, unsure of how to put words together suddenly.


    "You''re worried?"


    "No¨Cwell, I don''t know. Maybe?" Still, Tallulah can''t get her responses out right. Selena''s dark, alluring eyes fix on Tallulah; her thumb traces the outline of some of the slightly deeper crow''s feet around her eyes on that side of her face.


    "Oh, we''ve already been through this. You needn''t be afraid. I''ve grown rather fond of you, which is surprising, of course, given the circumstances of your arrival. But I must say, Kofi did pick you out rather well. He''s so good at choosing who is of worth and who isn''t, wouldn''t you agree?"


    "Yes?" Tallulah responds, unsure of what else she is supposed to say. She wasn''t going to call herself worthless by disagreeing, that''s for sure. "I trust you, Selena. Kofi as well."


    "You would trust Percival, too, but he is¨Cwell, he keeps to the business side of things and allows Kofi and I to handle the night-to-night details of our house. It''s best if you stick to dealing with Kofi and me." Selena leans closer to Tallulah, her hand dropping away from her face. "It is nice to drink and be taken from¨Cyou already know about one half. Now, let me show you the other half."


    Tallulah swallows thickly again, that little voice in the back of her mind making a reappearance. It''s yelling at the top of its minuscule voice, telling her not to do it, it''s all a trick, don''t do it.


    "Okay." Tallulah cracks out in a soft voice, trying to strangle and end the voice in her mind internally.


    Selena reaches up and brushes her long waves of black hair away from her throat, exposing the delicate length to Tallulah. She reaches up very carefully and makes an incision with just a nail from her own hand, then gestures Tallulah closer. Tallulah slowly leans forward, anticipation and fear mixed.


    "Drink, Tallulah." It isn''t a suggestion.


    Tallulah places her mouth and lips against the cold flesh of the beautiful vampire and then closes her eyes and applies pressure to draw out some of the supernatural blood. The blood is different tasting than she expected when it hits her mouth¨Ca raw tingle of numbness and power immediately seeps into her system as she drinks. Selena sighs pleasantly, then holds her hand against the back of Tallulah''s head while she learns how to drink from a vampire''s neck.


    Tallulah shivers, an icy jolt going up her spine and infusing her muscles and body with a strange sort of strength and vigor she wouldn''t have expected to feel from just drinking blood. It''s an alluring taste, and it is pretty easy to understand how that man who drank too much from Selena let it happen. That warning voice in the back of Tallulah''s mind is well and truly strangled to death. Tallulah knows it won''t be returning now. A few more mouthfuls of the vampire''s blood are allowed to be taken by Selena before she very casually leans back and away from Tallulah''s mouth and lips.


    Selena reaches the hand away from the back of Tallulah''s head and uses her thumb to wipe away a little bit of her blood from the corner of Tallulah''s lips. The tiny wound that Selena inflicted with her nail seals up immediately.


    "So well mannered. What a pleasant rarity. How do you feel, Tallulah dear?"


    "I don''t know, it''s¡­ enjoyable. I feel stronger and healthier than even the fruit made me."


    "Yes, you see?"


    "Something, ah, else too," Tallulah adds with a little flush of blush coming to her cheeks.


    Selena''s cheeks twitch just slightly at the corner of her mouth, and her painted lips twist upwards puckishly.


    "I suspect I know what that ''something else'' happens to be."


    Tallulah looks aside, her face fully blushing without being able to hide it.


    "Oh stop, darling. It''s perfectly natural. It happens to everyone. It is a little bit of a side effect. Unfortunately, you''re going to have to be a bit uncomfortable since you''ll have to be ready and fully aware in a short bit when those¡­ individuals find their way here. If it were any other night, I would see that you''re probably helped with the urge."


    Tallulah clears her throat a little before speaking again, trying to convince her body that the discomfort of ill-timed arousal can be ignored by just pretending it isn''t happening.


    "Are you going to meet with them tonight?"


    "Oh no, dearest. The house will, tomorrow, for certain."


    Tallulah licks the last remnants of Selena''s blood from her lips without realizing it. Selena watches her with those dark and alluring eyes.


    "Do you want me to do something in particular when they get here?"


    "Don''t take this the wrong way, pet: if you were younger and more practiced in plying female trade, possibly, depending on how old that young ''Orion'' actually is. But since you aren''t, I''m afraid you''ll just have to speak with them and try to make them feel safe here. Try not to promise them anything. We don''t want to make promises before tomorrow night''s discussion. Unfortunately, we must assume they aren''t our friends right now."


    Tallulah nods her head ever so slightly in response to Selena, not reacting to being called "pet," the warmth of her presence is comforting and relaxing. She''s almost starting to feel as though Selena is far nicer to be around than Kofi, but then again, Kofi hasn''t been around since they had those relations, as he''s been dealing with violent outside vampires. Almost as though Selena knows exactly how Tallulah is feeling, Selena leans forward and brushes her painted lips against the side of Tallulah''s earlobe closest to her. The little shock of coldness doesn''t bother Tallulah anymore. Her face flushes slightly more in reaction, and Tallulah can hear Selena scenting her throat.


    "Lovely, why don''t you go and prepare for our guests?" Selena murmurs, drawing back and turning her eyes away from Tallulah.


    "Alright, I''ll do my best to settle them down." Tallulah moves to stand up, understanding that she''s been politely dismissed by the vampire.


    "I know that you will."


    Tallulah carefully steps away from the sofa-chaise and quietly leaves the room, unsurprised to find Elijah not far in the private parlor, waiting for her without fail. Tallulah gives him a little bit of a smile, and he sadly raises his eyes to her, reminding her that Selena likely just opened an emotional wound on him that is hard to close. She walks over and gives him a little bit of a hug, which seems to help him.


    "It''s okay, Eli. Come on, let''s go get some food and get ready."


    He offers her a little smile, clearly trying to regain a good feeling and showing that the hug was unexpected and appreciated. They leave the private parlor and return to her room to do just that.

 042; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 23.1: The Nice Place

    "Uh, Orion, over and out."


    I turn the volume down on the radio but don''t turn it off, and I look over at the two vampires. Then I look at Aria, still hulking about nearby, and finally Khalil.


    "What''s the over-under on them shooting a bazooka at us when we roll up there?"


    Instead of Aria or Khalil answering, the vampire called Vincent does instead.


    "Zero percent. They made the official promise."


    "Yeah, I don''t remember asking you, Dracula."


    My eyes shift towards Khalil and Aria questioningly. Aria doesn''t respond, her red orbs staying locked onto Vincent and Christina both without fail. I''ve never seen her so intense for so long. It''s starting to make me uncomfortably wonder just how "good" she was as a fey hunter in the bad times.


    "As much as I wanna say otherwise, Ori, I think the dipshit is right. I don''t think they''re going to do anything right away. They might be super pissed about their dead bloodsuckers, but they''re not going to want to kill off two more when they might be able just to offload all the fey they have." Khalil shrugs his shoulders a little bit when he finishes.


    "Aria?"


    "What?"


    "Anything to add?"


    "No."


    "I don''t think you gotta be all ''redcapped'' out anymore, by the way. I don''t think these two will do anything, and if they act stupid when we get there, I''m sure we''ll have enough time to get back into ready form."


    She gazes at my shoulder before looking back up at me.


    "I get your point, Aria, but I''m going to go out on a limb here and say we''re good. We''ll keep Christina here with us. Sorry, you''re a bartering chip. I hate to do it, but it is what it is."


    Christina looks at me and slowly blinks her eyes once but doesn''t say anything otherwise. Her long cornrow braids don''t even look like they were disturbed after breaking my nose, save for flecks of my blood on her forehead and scalp. That sucks, it hurts my ego. I can tell Christina is more careful than a simple soldier because she hasn''t shared any information or been baited into talking more than is necessary. Maybe if we all hadn''t tried to kill each other in the last hour, we could have been friendly, but I think that ship has sailed. Oh well.


    "Aria?"


    "Fine." She hisses; it''s the same manner of speech she''s been using since Aria transformed, so I''m pretty sure she said that without irritation.


    She takes a few steps back, and her lidless red eyes start to phase and shift, followed by her body, arms, chest, and legs. Bones crack, muscles pop, and teeth begin to reform. Ten seconds later, she stands before us with her pale, shimmery, and moonlight-kissed skin back to normal. Her dark eyes focus on me, and she reaches back to brush her long black single-braid hair behind her shoulders.


    She moves forward and sits next to Christina¨Cwho spends at least three seconds denoting Aria''s staggeringly different visage¨Cin the back seat and behind Vincent at the wheel. I stay in the passenger-side seat next to Vincent, and Khalil slides in on Christina''s other side.


    "Alright man, take us back to your shithole ''The Evil Dead'' vampire place."


    Vincent turns the ignition key of the ATV, and the motor immediately starts right up without any trouble. He turns and takes off in the direction, I assume, to be where their vampire hidey-hole is. I adjust my backpack with the compound bow slightly as we bump and jostle from the rapid pace through the forest. Each big thump grinds my broken ribs, and I close my eyes, trying to block out the pain.


    The drive goes faster than expected, especially since there is no conversation. I was half-convinced that some of the dips and holes we hit along the way were done intentionally to make me grimace in pain. I''m a little surprised when we do not at all wind up pulling up to a sneaky shack hidden behind some copse of trees that leads to an underground bunker. Instead, a majestic homestead made of wood, glass, steel, and stone stands proudly on the top of one of the hills. My only thought on seeing the proud structure is: Fuck. We pass through two security checkpoints¨Cone of which has a host of massive dogs almost the size of ponies sitting down, attended by nearly as many individuals holding thick chain leashes to keep the dogs properly seated. I''m suddenly really glad we didn''t have to deal with those.


    Each time we pass by individuals walking around, they stare with hardened looks in our direction, and unsurprisingly, I do not feel as confident in my plan as when we first started. A memory triggers in my mind of Cassandra''s voice telling me, "Nice place, but never go there," as I gaze over the parts I can see of the homestead, and I realize that this must have been the place she was warning me about. She might have understated the "nice place" part, just a hair.


    Oops. Real bang-up job of decision-making, Orion.


    Finally, Vincent pulls the ATV into an open slot of a garage for other terrain vehicles, and guards stand about ten feet apart in every direction, all of them with assault rifles in hand, pointed down at the ground. I swallow and casually slip out of the open-aired vehicle, looking around and trying to act as casually as possible. I look busted up, I know, which probably doesn''t lend any threat level to my appearance. After all, they''re carrying assault rifles, and I have a compound bow. It''s like bringing a slingshot to a gunfight.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    It''s not even me that the guards are all mad-dogging with glares, I notice. It''s Aria who seems to be the object of their ire. We all filter out of the vehicle and slowly gaze around. I was expecting Tallulah, but that is clearly not going to be the case. A guard makes his way about halfway to us and stops.


    "Good evening, my name is Micah. I''m to escort you and Miss Christina to a secure location. Mister Vincent, I''m told you can go?" He looks from Vincent to Aria, me, and Khalil as if confirming that''s true. I answer as casually as possible.


    "Yeah, he can go. Christina stays with us."


    "Understood, sir."


    "Orion."


    "Mister Orion, then. Please, follow me."


    He turns and starts to move off, assault rifle carefully pointed downwards in his hands. I note that he didn''t even ask if we needed any medical assistance, but I shouldn''t be too surprised. The ring on my finger isn''t buzzing, at least, so that at least makes me feel like we''re not walking into a trap. Vincent immediately heads for another part of the homestead at a rapid clip. Christina follows along with us, keeping pace directly between Aria and Khalil, and maintains her absolute silence.


    I get a good look around at the lovely exterior of the home and am a little jealous of the opulence they''ve managed to sculpt here. I note little touches here and there which represent the vampire''s house. A bear''s head is carved into a stone step in one place; small adornments are on some of the wooden decorative beams, showing a bear standing proudly on its back two legs. These folks are powerful, for sure. I reach up and take off my knitted cap, stuffing it into one of my back pockets so that they can see my slightly pointed ears if they look.


    We step through a side gating but don''t go directly to the large house; instead, Micah seems to be taking us to a small guest cottage on the property. It looks just as luxurious as the main homestead but about ten times smaller.


    Two guards are standing at rigid attention out front of the cottage. Both have little beads of sweat on their foreheads and necks, suggesting they''re human. It doesn''t surprise me in the slightest, though. I can already see the tendrils of light changing the color of the night sky. It''ll be dawn in less than an hour, and there''s no reason any vampires would be visible to the sun when that happens. Micah steps past the two guards, pulls open the door for us, and then gestures for us to head inside.


    We four move into the cottage''s interior, which is more significant than it appears outside. I see two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a living and lounging area. Micah stops just inside the cottage and focuses on Christina.


    "Miss Christina, I''ll secure your resting space today."


    "Thank you, Micah."


    She reaches up and touches his shoulder in a brief showing of thankful emotion, the most I''ve seen her show, save for when she was screaming at my face. She then allows him to lead her into one of the bedrooms. A button is pressed, and I hear what sounds like concrete slabs being slid into place, covering up the large window in the room. I peer over, and sure enough, there is some kind of a light-blocking pocket window creation that has slid over and firmly sealed, turning the room into pitch black. Micah turns on the lights and then steps out of the room. Christina closes the door behind her, leaving Micah to stand at attention outside her doorway.


    "You guys got some kind of set up here, I''ll say that."


    Micah initially doesn''t respond, but after I stare at him long enough, he finally mutters.


    "Yes, the liege lord ensures that all guests¨Cwelcome or not¨Cwhen granted hospitality do not need to worry about their accommodations." His tone suggests he wants absolutely nothing to do with talking to me.


    "Sorry about your friend, Christina. Kind of bad luck all around."


    His head turns, and he focuses his serious, meticulously groomed bearded face more directly on me. I can tell he wants to use that assault rifle on me because his hand holding the stock tenses slightly on it, and my ring starts to vibrate for a few moments before fading away.


    "Alright man, relax, I''ll let you do your job."


    Khalil is poking around the sink area in the kitchen, so I look to see what he''s doing.


    "What''re you doing, Khalil?"


    "Trying to find a first aid kit so I can try to make you less terrible-looking."


    "That bad, huh?"


    "Yes." Aria and Khalil both respond at the same time.


    "Damn. By the way, I think my nose is broken."


    "Yeah, it''s definitely broken. You''re lucky she didn''t get you in the eye or something with that headbutt."


    "Okay, you''re going to make me look in the mirror now."


    I stride across the floor, setting down my backpack with its compound bow weapon still in it next to the breakfast bar of the kitchen. The weight off my back and the pressure it was putting on my broken ribs feels good when it''s no longer there. Making my way into the bathroom, I flip on the light and look at myself for the first time in crystal clear focus.


    My nose is a little crooked along the bridge, and bruising has spread out on either side to give me a bit of a raccoon-like appearance. Half of my face below my nose is covered in dried and sticky blood. I grimace at myself. I''ll have to have Aria or someone else set my nose. I exhale, knowing it''s going to hurt like hell when we do that, too, but I don''t want to get my nose started bleeding again, especially with my shoulder as it is.


    My black t-shirt is plastered to the side of the shoulder I was shot in, and I groan as I take off my shirt to get a first-hand look. I drop it to the floor and turn slightly in the mirror to see the already widespread bruising where I hit the tree from Christina''s bullrush.


    Khalil comes up behind me and peers inside. A low whistle makes me look at him behind me in the mirror.


    "Damn, dude, I''m glad you''re okay. I thought for a second at first when I saw you fall¨C" He breathes in, his eyes faintly watering as he tries to clamp down on the emotional response now that he has just a moment to show it.


    I don''t make a deal out of Khalil showing emotion because it''s generally hard for him if it''s not jokes, good vibes, or the occasional spout of anger. Emotional vulnerability is not a term Khalil would like to understand. He''s the family I chose to have, and I know the same goes for him.


    "I''m alright, mostly. Kind of."


    He brings in a little first aid kit, the sort that you get for ten dollars at a drugstore.


    "Sorry, it''s my travel one. I didn''t see anything out there to help."


    "Better than nothing. Are you okay?"


    "Yeah dude, I''m good. I didn''t get touched; that fucker was lucky he had that gun to stop me. Stronger than I thought he''d be, too."


    "Yeah, they''re much stronger than I thought, too," I murmur, grimacing at the damage Christina inflicted on me in hardly a second''s worth of time.


    Khalil lowers his voice slightly, whispering next to me in the bathroom so that Micah doesn''t overhear. I turn on the water in the bathroom and watch it swirl around the fancy bowl on top of the vanity.


    "What did that talk about patrons and all that mean?"


    "It was just something Cass told me to say if we ran into any of the vampires here. Was supposed to stop bullshit from happening."


    "It worked, mostly."


    "Yeah, for now." I nod in response to him, then reach over to pick up one of their lovely hand towels. "Not sure how far it''ll take us, but I''ll ride the train until it stops, you know?"

 043; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 23.2: The Face-to-Face

    I put the towel right under the water to soak it. The dried blood on my hands immediately clouds the water and dirties the hand towel, but I don''t care much. I splash my face with some of the cool water and then carefully start using the hand towel to wipe off the blood on my face. While I''m cleaning off my face, there''s a knock at the front door. Khalil¨Cnot Aria¨Cmoves to get the door while Aria stands directly across the room from Micah, staring at him with her dark eyes and only blinking when he seems to do the same.


    Khalil steps back to let inside a woman who is a little elderly but still healthy-looking. I recognize her vaguely, though she''s wearing much nicer clothes than the last time I saw her in her village on a trading run. Someone follows her inside, a young-looking guy with nervous-looking eyes. He''s still dressed as a guard, so Khalil initially tries to stop him from coming in.


    "It''s okay, he''s with me. He''s alright, I promise." Tallulah speaks to Khalil, trying to convince him it''s all right.


    Khalil isn''t convinced, though. Instead, he looks over in my direction. I nod to him to let him know it''s okay, and once that''s done, he lets them both inside and closes the door behind them. Tallulah''s eyes catch on Micah for a moment, and there''s something in her expression there, but I can''t determine exactly what it is while looking at her reflected in the bathroom mirror. She moves a little further into the room, and I go back to slowly and carefully wiping off my face, not even ready to get started on my side and arm with the amount of blood that was spilled there. Her breath catches as she sees me in the bathroom.


    "Oh, you''re badly hurt. We have some medical people here, and we can probably get you some help if you want."


    "I''m fine. The last thing I need is to get poisoned by what I think is some basic antiseptic cream or something."


    "Are you¡­ Orion?"


    "That''s me. Next to you is Khalil, and you know Aria."


    Tallulah shifts her attention to the side, only to see the stock-still Aria standing not far from the door. Aria slowly shifts and looks in Tallulah''s direction. She very carefully looks Tallulah over before she looks at me.


    "Yes, it is Tallulah from that village." She intones flatly.


    "I recognize you three now, and you normally came with a fourth¨CI hope she''s¡­"


    "She didn''t come with us this trip, and you''re talking about Lani," I answer for her before she finishes.


    "Ori, is it cool if I sit down? I''m tired as hell. Actually, well, you think there''s any food here in the kitchen?"


    "Yeah, it''s cool, man. On the food front, I''m guessing probably not since it''s a vampire''s house, but maybe they stock it for their people or something. Check it out if you want."


    Khalil wanders over to check the kitchen refrigerator, and the immediate sounds of plastic crinkling and being opened tell me that there''s absolutely food inside.


    "Is there meat?" Aria inquires, and it reminds me that, yet again, we didn''t have raw meat for Aria after her redcap transformation.


    "There''s a couple of packages of sandwich meats. Is that good enough?"


    Aria walks over¨Cletting me have the floor to talk with Tallulah¨Cand immediately nudges Khalil aside to grab literally anything meat-related out of the fridge. She walks over to a table and drops it on the surface, then tears open the packages and starts absolutely going to town on the slices and cuts of meat.


    "Gueeessss so." Khalil laughs a little. He plucks out a few things from the refrigerator and then sits down to eat across from Aria at the table.


    Elijah walks over and stands against the door next to Micah, who gives him the slightest nod when he does. Tallulah meanwhile walks closer to me in the bathroom as I wring out the hand towel above the sink before putting it back under the water.


    "I can help you."


    "No. I''m good." I firmly say, making her stop just outside the bathroom''s doorway.


    "Okay, just trying to help."


    "So, this got all kinds of ways messed up. We didn''t intend to be in a fucking battle when we showed up to look for you guys, you know?"


    "I''m surprised anyone came to look for us, if I can be honest with you." Tallulah sounds genuine when she says it, too, and I don''t have any reason to disbelieve what she''s saying.


    "I guess most people would have just robbed the empty village and left, but I''m not that kind of a guy."


    She''s silent for half a minute while she watches me slowly getting rid of all of the blood on my face and trying to wring out its remnants in the sink from the hand towel. I shift my eyes to momentarily look at her in the reflection of the mirror behind me, and I can see she''s a little conflicted.


    "You supposed to stab me in the back or something?"


    "What? No. Not at all; they wanted me to see if I could try and smooth things over. Well, as much as can be done before you talk to them."


    "What do you mean by ''them''? They mentioned ''a'' liege lord or whatever."


    "Yeah, so, about that. Three vampires lead the group here, all referred to as the liege lord. It confused me at first, too."


    "Weird."


    I grimace at my mostly clean face in the mirror and then finally look more closely at the bruises on my bare chest. I turn so I can sort of see the bruising on my back in the mirror.


    "You really should let me get someone to look at your wounds, Orion."


    "Is there somebody you trust?"


    "Yes, we had a broonie in our village that was excellent at that sort of thing, and there''s also Old Keelia''s healing ointments that could help your bumps and bruises."


    "I don''t think a little rubbing oil is going to help a gunshot wound, Tallulah." I gesture up at my shoulder, which I can see needs new gauze and something to keep the pressure on the wound tied down again.


    "Goodness. Okay. Fey to fey. Please let me get you some medical attention."


    "I''m not going anywhere without Khalil, Aria, and that Christina vampire, sorry. And I know the sun is out, so she''s not going anywhere. So there you have it."


    "What if I can convince them to send someone here with medical supplies to help you? Would you allow that?"


    "If you blood oath that they''re not going to poison or infect me or do something stupid and vampire-y."


    "I''ll swear that now with no blood oath needed. They promised you hospitality, and it makes sense that they wouldn''t want more harm to come to you under their umbrella, so to speak."


    "You sound pretty fond of these bloodsuckers."


    "They''ve treated me right and put up my entire village with bedding, food, and drinks this whole time."


    "I guess that''s not so bad sounding¡­" I pause, looking over at Aria and Khalil as they continue to stuff their faces on foodstuffs. If they had poisoned the food before we got here, those two are dead for sure.


    I smirk, which draws a questioning glance from Tallulah.


    "Sorry, I just had a thought that was funny." I raise my voice just a hair so Aria and Khalil can hear it. "If they had poisoned the food before we got here, you two idiots would be dead." I laugh a bit but then stop when my ribs threaten to riot at the action.


    Khalil stops mid-bite, with his mouth wide open. Aria pauses, too, realizing I''m totally right.


    "Obviously, they didn''t, guys. Chill."


    That''s all it takes for the pair to return to scarfing down the relatively fresh food and drinks on the table in front of them. I take a glance at Micah and Elijah as they hold up the door leading to the room Christina went into to hide from the sun. Both are standing there like they''re used to this sort of position. My eyes finally settle back on Tallulah.


    "Alright, I''ll trust you on this. Just one person."


    "Okay Orion, I''m glad. I really hate that you were hurt just investigating what happened to us."The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "They lost two vampires, so I''m sure they''re a little bit more bent out of shape about it than we are, if I''m honest."


    "I won''t lie to you, they aren''t thrilled about it. I''ll be right back."


    Tallulah moves over to Micah and Elijah and then softly murmurs to both of them. Micah gives her a look like she''d just asked if she could cut his dick off with a pair of scissors, but the younger guard, who doesn''t appear offended at all, seems to be the one who responds. He pulls out a small radio, and I hear him call in to ask for a single medical person to come to the cottage on the grounds where we are. She returns to me but stops at the same spot just out of the doorway on the opposite side.


    "They''re sending someone."


    "Cool."


    "Unlike most fey, especially elven-kin, you don''t seem very afraid of vampires."


    "I respect their abilities and strength, and I''m certainly not going to pretend I didn''t come here without a backup plan for dealing with them."


    "I have a little question, if you don''t mind me asking."


    "Not promising that I''ll answer."


    "Sure, Orion, I understand that. So, you came here looking for our village, but you also seem to have known you very well might encounter vampires here. What''s that about?"


    "Don''t worry about it. I did some investigation before we came through a seam to get here."


    "I saw the mark of the traveler on the back of your neck, yes."


    "I''ll be honest with you, Tallulah. I have had an absolutely wild few weeks since we came across your empty village. You don''t even know how much stupidity and nonsense happened. At one point, I was fighting off night terrors and two basiliscu at the same time."


    Her eyebrows raise, looking at me more intently now. She clearly didn''t think I was capable as a fighter. I did fib a little bit and said that I fought those things simultaneously, and I neglected to mention Cassandra was there, but those are just unimportant details.


    "There''s more to the story, like how in the hell that happened in the first place, but I''m pretty sure smarter fey than me will have to take up that investigation. I wanted to find you guys and get you back safely. That''s the truth."


    "Why?" She pauses, then adds. "I mean, why did you want to help? You said it yourself: most people would rob an empty village and be on their way."


    "Why do people act so fucking shocked when someone just wants to do the right thing? The right thing was to try and find you folks. If something happened to me and my village of Wilder, I''d hope there would be someone like me who feels the same way."


    Tallulah hesitates for a long time, and the front door is knocked on just when she is about to say something. Khalil belches and then gets up to walk over to it once again. Aria seems to have eaten every trace of meat on the table in front of her and is leaning back in her seat, sedately staring again across the room at Micah and now Elijah, too. Khalil opens the door, and a small woman carrying a small black bag is let inside.


    "Over here."


    Tallulah gestures to the relatively short-statured Hispanic woman with kind eyes, who quickly crosses the distance and looks at me through the bathroom doorway next to Tallulah. I can tell that she''s certainly got some medical training because she immediately seems to visually catalog my various bruises and ailments and rank them from most to least concerning.


    "Hello, my name is Erica. I''m a trained nurse, and I work for the house."


    "Orion."


    "Okay, Mister Orion. It would be easier if you stripped down and got into the shower so we could wash away the blood and I could get a proper look at your wounds."


    "Just Orion, I don''t like all this mister shit."


    A wolf whistle comes from somewhere in the other room, Khalil''s handiwork, for sure.


    "Yeah, Ori! Take it allll off!"


    I blurt out a laugh, which immediately makes me grab at my ribcage where the pain is.


    "Ow, you prick, don''t make me laugh."


    Khalil makes a noise that sounds a lot like "heh-heh-heh-heh" from the other room and then sits on one of the plush seats in the living room before reclining on the chair. The nurse, Erica, clears her throat a little bit.


    "Alright, fine, but I''m a taken man, so don''t get any ideas."


    "Not to worry, Mister¨CUh, Orion. I''ll be a consummate professional."


    I grunt a little bit and start to take off my boots, wincing with the effort of bending over and crouching down to do so.


    "Let me help?" Erica murmurs again.


    Tallulah steps back and out of the way but doesn''t stop overseeing the whole process. She leans in the bathroom doorway to watch. I grunt a little bit at Erica.


    "Lady, I''m injured, not dying."


    "Do you want to take the chance that those ribs break further?"


    "Well, no¡­"


    "Then please, let me help you."


    "Alright, fine then."


    After I grudgingly consent, Erica moves in, setting her little black bag on the countertop near the overly opulent¨Cand immense¨Cstanding shower. She''s indeed the professional she claimed to be. She helped me strip off my blood-covered clothing with barely any pain, so long as I just listened to what she told me to do to minimize my body''s movements. The sudden removal of the tightened shirt from my shoulder hurt the worst. That done, she carefully unwraps the gauze that was placed over the wound and takes a good look.


    "Ah, they just grazed you, and it went through cleanly. That''s good. There are a lot of bad things they could have hit right there. It''s also probably why you can still use your arm somewhat."


    "Could have fooled me; it hurt so bad at the time I didn''t know how injured it was, especially because I was bleeding like a stuck hog. This isn''t anything like it was. I thought I was about to die at first. I won''t lie to you."


    I gesture at the blood seeping down now that the wound''s pressure has been removed.


    "Yes, generally, movies and the like downplay the amount of pain and blood considerably. I suspect it was also your first time being shot, so the pain, adrenaline, and shock mix was probably a bit much for your system. Okay, let''s get you washed off so we can fix you up."


    A relatively lukewarm shower commences, where she instructs me where to spray off the blood until I''m pretty much clean. Before I step out of the shower, she offers me a towel to wipe off my face, which I think is odd at first.


    "Before you step out of there, Orion, let''s go ahead and set your nose. I''ll count to¨Cand go on¨Cthree. Ready?"


    She reaches her hands up to my nose, prodding my face until she seems ready to go. I grimace before answering her in the affirmative. She counts one off but jerks my nose back into place on the second. Pain shoots along my sinuses and down my back. I close my eyes with a grunt of pain and still see stars behind my eyelids.


    "Ugh, you said three."


    "I did, sorry!"


    Erica places a towel on a seat in the bathroom so that my dignity can be returned, and after my nose stops leaking blood and I get myself once more rinsed off, I step over and take a seat carefully in front of the woman. She opens up her bag and pulls out some cleaning and disinfecting ointments, and once my graze wound on my shoulder is tidied to her approval, she next uses a suture kit to close up my shoulder wound on both sides. Once it''s carefully covered with proper gauze padding with medical tape to hold it into place, she has a look over my ribs.


    "Well, this is about as much as I can do for you unless you want me to wrap your ribs tightly. I don''t recommend it in general, but I didn''t want to assume since I know that your arrival and the house is not necessarily on, um, great terms."


    "Thanks, Erica, I''m good."


    She looks momentarily at one of my ears, and it''s the first time I have caught her actively looking. I offer her a smile, and she smiles back a hair in return but quickly moves out when she realizes that Tallulah has been standing there silently and watching the entire time.


    "Thank you," Tallulah says as Erica makes her way out of the guest cottage.


    "I gotta get my spare clothes out of my pack, so if you don''t mind."


    With that, I go and retrieve fresh clothes from my backpack and carefully tug them on before going to snag my boots. Everything else on the floor, except the knitted cap, which I reclaim from my pants back pocket, I pick up and instantly trash¨Cit''s too blood-covered to be worth the hassle, and the shirt is torn up pretty well, too.


    "Alright, well, thanks for getting someone Tallulah."


    "Sure." She still sounds a little withdrawn or conflicted in some way.


    Casually talking in fey-speech, I make it seem like nothing is being asked out of the ordinary, in case the two guards are paying attention.


    "Fey to fey, Tallulah, is something on your mind? Need to warn or tell me something about the lord or multiple lords I''m going to meet tomorrow¨Cwell, tonight now, I guess¨Cor anything like that?"


    "I''ve found that honesty is the best plan when dealing with them. They are vampires, of course, and certainly like to play little games, but they''re sharp Orion. You have to be careful if you aim to play games here."


    "I don''t. I just want to help get you people back to your village."


    She offered me a smile but didn''t immediately respond, so I cleared my throat and returned to talking normally. Khalil, meanwhile, has started lightly snoring on the couch, while Aria is simply staring straight ahead at the two guards. It takes me a moment to remember, but then I recall her mentioning the fruit she was eating at the market¨Cthe Hogsvine fruit¨Cand its effects. No wonder she doesn''t even look tired, no matter what we did last night or today. I suddenly bolt upright and look over at Aria in alarm.


    "Oh wait! Aria! I saw you got shot! But what? How are you not even hurt?!"


    "They did not penetrate my skin; I was transformed, and my skin was already as tough as a boar. It still stung at the time. It just did not do what it did to you."


    "Oh." I exhale, then grab at the sharp little pain in my side again. "I''m sorry it took so long to remember I saw that."


    "I was fine. You were not. You are fine now, yes?"


    "I''m good now, yeah. Thank you for earlier. I know I didn''t say it, but you drug me down the hill a little, and it probably saved my life."


    "Yes."


    I shake my head with a little laugh as Aria returns to her average amount of talking once again. My pale eyes look back at Tallulah, who has been exceptionally quiet since the nurse showed up and tended my wounds. She seems to sense our conversation is likely at its natural conclusion, so she walks over and takes my right hand in both of hers.


    "Orion, I''m glad to have met you. I wish more of us had a moral compass and sense of honor like you do. I''m thankful you came to help us return to our village. I''m not sure that all of the fey will want to return, but for those that will, I''ll make sure they''re ready when you and yours are ready to lead them."


    "Thanks, Tallulah."


    She gives me a faint smile before walking towards the door. The young guard who followed her inside immediately breaks away from the door he was helping Micah hold up and follows Tallulah out of the cottage. I spy the sides of the two guards still posted outside the cottage and shake my head.


    "She is feeling guilty over something."


    I nod and walk over to Aria, planning to sit at the table next to her.


    "Yep. And now we wait."


    "No. Now I am waiting. You should go and rest in the free bed. I will not be sleeping. This makes sense for you."


    I halt my progression of sitting down with a little grunt. Choosing not to argue with Aria''s sound logic, I grab my bow backpack, and afterward, I head into the spare bedroom, pulling the door mostly closed¨CI leave it cracked just in case of drama. As soon as I lay down with my boots already on across the bed, the soft and luxurious bed feels like it swallows me up, and my eyes almost immediately close for sleep.

 044; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 24: The Discourse

    It''s about a quarter to four in the afternoon when my eyes finally crack open. I''m disoriented for a few moments when I first wake, the comfort and luxury of the bedspread I collapsed on top of confusing my brain. I sit up faster than I should, causing instant pain and regret to wash over me. I groan, kind of like something horrible from a graveyard. Khalil pokes his head around the doorframe and then greets me.


    "He lives."


    "Ugh, yeah, holy shit am I sore, wow." My voice is still deep and filled with the grit of sleep.


    I slowly turn on the bed and slide off. After making a quick stop in the bathroom, I make my way over and see what food was left by the two animals in the refrigerator. There are a few apples, and that''s pretty much it. I walk over to the table, sit down with the apples in tow, and then start crunching on them while my brain still works on waking up.


    I blink a few times finally, then look over my shoulder to see Aria standing on the same side of the room as Micah, who is starting to look tired. Bags under his eyes tell no lies.


    "Hey man, if you want to rest for an hour, we won''t tell."


    Micah clears his throat before answering.


    "This isn''t the longest vigil I''ve done, thank you."


    "Yeah alright, sure man."


    I turn back to continue working on my apples and watch Khalil as he comes over and sits next to me. He shifts his weight a few times before leaning back in the seat and stretching his hands over his head.


    "So, Ori, we got a plan here, or are we just winging it?"


    "I''m hoping Tallulah wasn''t just straight bald-faced lying to me the entire time, and I don''t think she was, but who knows what these vampire sorts did to them over the last however many weeks. Two, or maybe three, weeks for them since they''d disappeared before we arrived."


    "So was that a yes or a ''winging it'' answer?"


    I bite one of the apples, then look at it in front of my face before crunching it with purposeful noise to make Khalil wait. Once I swallow, I finally answer him.


    "A little of both A and B?"


    "Ah hell, it''s B." Khalil moans in a whining fashion.


    I continue working on the apples as we converse there at the table. Ultimately, Khalil gets me to admit that outside of using Christina for please-don''t-kill-us-50-vampires protection¨Cand I don''t dare to mention that part of it to him¨CI don''t have a plan at all.


    "Well, whatever. Not the first time you''ve talked your way out of things, what''s another one?"


    "We didn''t have any good options there. If we killed all the vampires back there in the forest, these guys would have already had the dogs coming¨Cand did you see those things when we were coming in? I don''t think we would have won that fight, even with you and me putting in work with what we can do."


    "How come you attacked them first?"


    "Well, I could tell they meant to do us harm."


    "How, though? I mean, I''m glad you saw the guy because I sure as hell didn''t."


    I lean slowly in his direction and carefully take the black pearl and silver ring off my index finger to show him. Khalil raises his eyebrows slightly, then gives me a questioning look.


    "It vibrates when people are near that mean to do me harm," I mumble, trying to keep my voice down.


    "That''s honestly incredible. You get that at¨C"


    "¨CYes."


    He nods his head for a few moments in appreciation. I finish off the last apple and leave the three cores sitting in front of me for the time being. I stare at them as if they will give me the necessary answers.


    "Hopefully, these vampires are reasonable like Cass, and the hard part will just be tracking down a Deore to open a seam from this divide to the Wilds at the same time we lead however many fey to it."


    "Think they will be?"


    "I don''t know. That one guy, the one you almost ate last night, he was one hundred percent full of shit, but that Christina in there, she could have said some shit, but didn''t and has kept her mouth closed the entire time."


    Khalil was openly puzzled at what I said about Christina. But he doesn''t bring it up, probably thinking he''d missed it in the ruckus.


    "Yeah, alright dude. I see your point. Tallulah seemed fine with the vampires, though. That''s got to count for something, right?"


    "Maybe. Cass has told me some stuff about how vampires keep their people in line. And who knows what kind of mind games they''ve played with her this entire time."


    "Like reading your mind and such?"


    "More like projecting thoughts and situations in your mind''s eye so you are confused and think they''re your thoughts, but they''re not, and you get all weird about it."


    I trail off after rambling for those few seconds too long, and Khalil gives me the side eye.


    "Something you wanna share with the class, Orion?"


    "The first time Cass and I met, you know, at Hannah''s house?"


    "Yeah, I remember."


    "Yeah, every so often, she was sending me thoughts of me and her, you know, together. I ''legit thought my dick was taking over my brain, man. I didn''t know until later it was her doing that the whole time."


    Khalil roars with laughter with absolutely no preface. The sudden howl of laughter draws both Micah''s and Aria''s attention for a moment before returning to the same thing: standing guard in silence.


    "No waaaaay!"


    "Yeah, it''s tough to follow the discussion about dangerous wiretail hunting when you''re suddenly thinking weird things that you''re not sure are thoughts you''d ever have, and then bam. Sexiness."


    He continues to laugh and laugh as I try to explain how it all went down.


    "I wish I would have known that back then. Dude, what a trip."


    "So, what''s up with you and Lani?" I inquire, trying to change the subject from me.


    "Eh, you know, sometimes stuff happens after drinking and having a good time, then you get to carrying on, and then you wake up and wonder if you messed up a good friendship."


    "Oh. Oh no. You guys are kinda¨C"


    "¨CNah, we''re okay. We didn''t mess up anything, and it''s not serious. At least I didn''t get that vibe, you know, in the time after."


    I nod at him since he seems uncomfortable talking about it, and I don''t keep grinding at him with little questions. He looks to the side at me and gives me a little smile before relaxing back in the chair.


    "Thanks for last night."


    "Nah. Don''t thank me for that. I told you, I got your back."


    I lean over, and we fist bump, which turns into a real and genuine hug. When I lean back, I give him a little nod, and he does the same in return. He clears his throat and looks behind him at the doorway Micah is still leaning against. Then he looks back at me.


    "So I had a weird thought, kind of a question earlier. Maybe you know the answer since you''re the vampire whisperer now."


    "No, I definitely am not."


    "Well, you have talked to one the longest, even if¨C"


    "¨CDon''t even go there."


    "Alright, alright, but you do kind of have the advantage here. Anyway, my question is: how can we see Christina''s reflection? Like, I saw it when we were walking in here last night; I only noticed it because obviously I saw movement, and then I saw it was just a mirror, and it was reflecting our image¨CChristina''s too."


    "Uh, are we supposed to not see vampire''s reflections?"


    "Yeah man. It''s a thing."


    "Yeah, but is it a real thing?"


    "Dude, you think all the Dracula movies got it wrong? There''s like fifty of them!"


    "Have you watched fifty Dracula movies, Khalil?" I respond flatly.


    "Well no, but that''s not the point. My point is, why is that some bullshit? Out of everything they could have lied about, how come that? I don''t even know if a stake to the heart is real now. Stupid pop culture."


    "Well, man, I don''t know. Maybe you''ll have to take a seam to Vampireville and find it out."


    "Transylvania, Dude."


    "That''s not even a real place, stop."


    "Swear on the Wilds it is."


    "Man, stop, it is not. And why in the fuck would you know that it is, anyway?"


    "Because I do know some things, especially when they interest me," Khalil adds, inexplicably serious. He rapidly returns right back to normal-Khalil when he keeps talking. "I bet if we ask Micah, he''ll back me up one hundred percent."


    At the same time, we both look at Micah and then spitfire at him with the same question.


    "Micah, is Transylvania a real place?"


    He looks over at the both of us, his eyes narrowing slightly as if he''s trying to determine if we''re fucking with him. With both of us staring at him earnestly, he must decide we''re actually asking him.


    "It used to be. I think it was where the Romania and Hungary countries are now. And no, they didn''t come from there."


    Khalil looks back at me with an "I told you so" look, and I just shake my head.


    We essentially waste time, each of us doing things to occupy ourselves while the minutes tick by in the daytime and draw us ever closer to dusk. Finally, there''s a tap on the door behind Micah, and he startles, shuffles, and then quickly moves from in front of the door. I stretch my wounded shoulder carefully as I stand up from where I''d relaxed on the couch. Christina steps out of the room and looks over the assortment of us there, looking at her.


    "Good evening." She murmurs.


    "Hey, lady." Khalil starts. I already know where this is going.


    "Don''t do it, Khalil."


    "Dude chill, I have got to know."


    Christina looks between us warily, as if she''s expecting something so much worse than the idiocy of what he''s about to say.


    "How come we can see your reflection in that mirror?" Khalil points towards the bathroom mirror.


    Christina walks over to peer around the corner at it before she looks back at Khalil. Her lips twitch slightly, her mastery of facial expression seeming to crack for a moment at the absolute absurdity of his random question being the first thing she hears in the night.


    "Ah, because that is a modern mirror."


    "So what, you don''t show in old-timey mirrors or something?"


    "No, we don''t."


    "HA! YEAH! Piss off, Ori! Fucking knew it."


    I roll my eyes in the most exaggerated manner I can. Khalil looks back at Christina then and suspiciously adds in a follow-up question.


    "What''s the difference between them?"


    "Old mirrors used silver. Most mirrors made now are created with aluminum."


    "So you guys hate silver or something?"


    "No."


    After that clipped answer, Khalil and I realized she was done answering his questions, and I walked over and got my backpack from the ground.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    "Alright then, where are we going to meet whoever we''re supposed to meet tonight."


    Micah clears his throat, and Christina doesn''t look like she planned on attempting to answer anyway, so he answers me.


    "You''ll be invited to a certain location when the house is ready to see you. I wouldn''t expect it for at least another couple of hours."


    I grunt, then set my pack back on the ground next to me before sliding down to sit back on the couch. Everyone seems to take up a quiet period, and I use my time to carefully page through a small book on the coffee table in front of me. Christina only gazes at me once, and it''s with some degree of curiosity while I read as if she somehow didn''t expect me to be able to. When I raise my eyes to look back at her, she surprisingly turns her head away and breaks eye contact first. I still see the splatters of my dried blood on her forehead, but I don¡¯t say anything about it.


    Finally, with enough time having passed, about two and a half hours after Christina had first exited the side room, there was a knock on the cottage door. Khalil walks over, and I follow him, which causes the silent Aria to move as well. The guard standing there clearly didn''t expect three people to be in the doorway when it opens, so he stammers for a moment before informing us that we would be escorted to meet the house now.


    The three of us grab our packs and put them over our backs, and I carefully arrange my shoulder straps so the pressure isn''t directly on where the nurse applied the suture kit on my wound. I don''t bother to take the compound bow out of its slot nor give them a chance to suggest I shouldn''t bring it with me. Instead, I stride out the door, confidently leading the procession behind our armed escort.


    Khalil openly marvels at the landscaping and buildings on the property we''re led past. I take steals of glances occasionally while also trying to keep a close eye on our surroundings. Aria is as serious and silent as ever¨Ca terribly unassuming presence right now for a faerie so dangerous. We''re brought around to the front of the house and then led up through the front doors. All of the glitz and glamor (and amount of guards) being purposefully displayed to us is, admittedly, a bit impressive.


    There are security systems, too, I note. I don''t know enough about modern electronics to know much more than what they show in movies, which I catch every so often when out here in the human divide.


    We''re brought up a sweeping staircase and then down an opulent hallway, which leads to a set of massive carved doors that cause us all to look upwards at them. I denote the wilderness and its beautiful carvings of animals, and I nod appreciatively of the artistic craftsmanship on display. Micah turns and looks at Christina before dipping his head and moving out of the way. Two guards take a long look at us. My backpack¨Cwith a compound bow sticking out of the top of a slot¨Cgains me the most attention, but I don''t even act like I''m going to offer to remove it. Finally, the staring contest ends, and they simultaneously push open both gargantuan doors so the four of us can walk inside.


    I''m stunned even at the elegance and wealth on display in the round ballroom, and my eyes flit here and there, trying to take in the details of the room and see who is standing where. The three of us carefully spread out a few feet away from each other as we move further into the room. Along the side, I take note of the only furniture in the room. Three chairs are set back about ten feet from an elegant, ornate, and beautiful bear sigil on the floor. I see Khalil staring at it appreciatively, but I clear my throat, and he takes the hint, getting himself back into awareness mode. I''ve no doubt that Khalil is feeling particularly underdressed with his black tank top and jeans, because I certainly do with my black shirt, jeans and boots. Aria, I suspect, quite literally could not give less of a shit.


    There are guards placed about every ten feet along the circular ballroom''s walls, and a host of other well-dressed individuals are littered about. Some of them have glasses of red liquid in their hands, others don''t. All of them stare directly at us, including the three vampires sitting in those chairs. I''ve never felt so uncomfortable and unsafe in all of my life. Unsurprisingly, there is a very faint and dull vibration from my silver ring.


    "Good evening, gentlemen¨Cand lady. Welcome to our home. Please come in and put yourself at ease."


    The voice is soft but smooth. It''s a southern accent of the old variety, not one of the modern ones you hear in rap songs. I focus on it while we move inside a hair closer but stop about ten feet to the opposite side of the bear sigil on the floor. My eyes look over the man who spoke, taking note of his long mustache and trimmed goatee, as well as the piercing green eyes that almost look like they''re staring directly into my soul. I exhale, and I''m the one to break the ice by speaking.


    "Hello. My name is Orion, this is Khalil, and that is Aria. You have a lovely home."


    "Thank you for the kind compliment, Mister Orion." He adds more weight onto the word ''mister'' than most of the other people who have said it have used, which comes across as strange to me¨Cor maybe antiquated.


    "My name is Percival de Burgh; to my left is Kofi Freeman, and to my right is Selena Conghal."


    The other two vampires don''t move except to incline their heads when introduced. I catch a glimpse of Tallulah standing not far from them and spy Christina slowly making her way along the wall and in Tallulah''s direction. However, my attention doesn''t stray long, and I focus back on the speaker.


    "We''ve been told that we had a bit of a little dust-up last evening between yourselves and some of my house. Miss Christina Freeman and Mister Vincent de Burgh being the only survivors."


    Internally, I horror-scream at the two surnames, thinking maybe this is so much worse than I initially imagined. Outwardly, I nod my head in response, cool as a cucumber.


    "We were not intending to cause violence, but it did happen."


    "Not intending to cause violence? That''s quite interesting. We were led to believe that you¨Cthe archer¨Cstarted the entire event by placing two arrows into Mister Vincent de Burgh without provocation."


    "We had information that told us violence was about to be inflicted on us, and I acted accordingly."


    The words come out of me before I almost know what I''m saying. Khalil was right; I have a habit of being able to talk us out of problems. I''m just not confident enough now to think this is one of those problems I can talk my way out of.


    "And what was this information? What was the source of it?"


    "No offense, but I''m not going to answer that. You''ll have to chalk it up to faerie abilities. I am sorry that the nonsense took place and that lives were lost. We were only looking for our people who disappeared from our¨Cer, lands¨Cand followed the trail here."


    "And yet, you were the one who invoked the name of your patron and her maker."


    "I did. I wanted to stop the violence. You can ask Christina. There was about to be more violence."


    "We don''t need to do that; we have already been given a vivid retelling in excellent detail. Mister Rhys Vernon was slain after you made a note of your patron."


    "Well, that is true, but only after he attempted to trick us into being mauled by a host of your dogs. Among other things."


    My eyes shift to the dark-skinned man that Tallulah and Christina are standing the closest to. He seems like a statue carved from ebony and accidentally marred by a chisel from scars leading down his face from his chin and throat. After that, I gaze at the woman, whose dark eyes are directly on Khalil beside me. She''s much too beautiful, and seeing her so heavily focused on Khalil makes me uncomfortable. I shift my weight, my pale eyes settling back on the piercing green ones of the southern gentleman.


    "Supposing that were true. How do you suggest we come to a tolerable conclusion to this problem?"


    My mind whirls and twists on itself while I try to think of something reasonable¨Canything at all. Finally, I sigh and reply.


    "I was told to be truthful when dealing with you, so, I have got no fucking idea."


    My answer causes a stir in the room; there''s tittering and chuckling, and there are pockets of laughter from the audience that seems to be gathered just to eyeball the oddities¨Cus. The man waits for the noise to die before he offers me the most appealing smile I''ve ever seen in my life¨Calso, the most fake and dangerous one. Aria seems to recognize it, too, because she takes an open half-step in my direction.


    "Well, at least he isn''t lying in a room full of vampires."


    That does cause laughter to ripple throughout the room. I don''t catch the joke or why it''s funny, but I look around slowly and wait for it to end. When it does end, it''s not the man who speaks up, but it''s Tallulah, and she moves away from the wall to do it.


    "Arguably, one could say there was a misunderstanding last night, where two of your people were killed. Much like the misunderstanding the first night we were brought here in which four of my village people were killed."


    My mouth makes a little bit of an "o" on my face, and now I understand why she was so conflicted last night. My eyes gaze at her, and I can see that conflict remains, but she''s seemingly steeled herself to tell us the truth. Percival finally turns his head and focuses on Tallulah. I see the faintest grind of his teeth with his jaw tensing, so I know that she really, really made him irritated by saying what she said.


    "This could get ugly," I murmur to Aria and Khalil, both in fey speech. They don''t seem to react, but that''s only because they have a perfectly fine read on the room, like I do.


    The speech in a different language draws Percival''s attention again, and he turns his head back to face me. It''s almost like watching a stone statue move; no other parts of his body even adjust their weight, and his head turns on a flat plain.


    "We would appreciate it if you spoke in a language that we all can understand, and we will show the same courtesy to you."


    "Sure. So, do we need to talk about how four faeries were killed to your two vampires? I don''t know the whole, you know, method to handle murders between supernaturals."


    While speaking, I waved my hands back and forth in front of me like I was weighing apples and oranges.


    "Out of respect for your patron''s maker, we will not be insulted by the insinuation that they are comparable in value."


    "Excuse me, but what the fuck? ''Comparable in value''? Are you saying that my people are less valuable than yours? Surely you didn''t just say that."


    "Careful, boy." His tone is clipped; he is absolutely not used to being talked to like I just did.


    Aria steps in front of me, half shielding my body with hers, her ever-dark eyes staring straight ahead at Percival like she wasn''t intimidated by him or the room full of vampires.


    "Ah, and this must be the faerie shapeshifter. Prone to violence, are you?"


    "No, but I do not fear it, unlike some." Aria''s tone is flat, lifeless. Dangerous.


    Silence permeates the room for a good fifteen seconds as Aria holds his gaze. Kofi starts to stand, but the man moves in a split-second and sets a hand on Kofi''s knuckles to halt his forward progression. Staring daggers at Aria''s disrespect for holding that gaze with the centermost vampire, Kofi returns to his seat, prompted by Percival''s one-touch order. I try to calm down the heat of the situation and speak up again.


    "I think we''re getting a little wound up here. Let''s, you know, take this down a few notches on the jalape?o spicy scale. All we want to do is help the fey who want to return to their village. That''s it. Tallulah mentioned some fey might want to stay here with your house¨Cit''s their free choice to do that. We''re not here to interrupt your night-to-night vampire business more than already has happened."


    "Very well, we will assist in this endeavor."


    "You will?" Khalil says for the first thing he''s said in a while, the shock in his voice matching the voice in my head.


    "Yes, but in return, we will require three bottles of blood from each of you."


    "No."


    Aria immediately responds before I even have a chance to process the trade request. Khalil looks over at her, but then he stands up straighter as if he will back her up no matter what. I look between the two, the discussion momentarily out of my hands.


    "We believe it is a small price to pay."


    "The answer is no." Aria continues to answer flatly.


    "Do you believe that we should foot, for free, all of the costs¨Cof which were quite significant¨Cfor caretaking your sick or injured people, feeding them, clothing them, making sure they are safe, while also seeking out your kind so that they can be returned to where they came from?"


    "No, we didn''t suggest that." I pipe back up, trying to retake control of the discussion.


    "But three bottles of blood is too high of a cost?"


    "Yes," Aria interjects again.


    "One sec''. You mind us huddling up to get on the same page?" I exhale exasperatedly, trying to sound serious but privately wanting just to speak my mind, profanities included.


    "We will allow it."


    I resist the urge to roll my eyes at the phrasing Percival gives. I turn and face mostly away from the three older vampires. Khalil shuffles over next to me, and even Aria turns slightly, but mostly she just steps back a few steps so she''s still facing the three vampires at the same time as Khalil and I.


    Immediately, I start talking in faerie speak, as a low murmur.


    "Okay, what are we doing here, guys? Three bottles of blood to help thirty or forty fey? Come on. Be realistic, Aria."


    "I kinda agree with Orion here. Three bottles of blood don''t seem that steep of a price, especially if we do a bottle a day or something." Khalil adds.


    "It is not about the blood."


    "Okay, if it''s not about blood, what''s it about?" I sigh slightly.


    "They do not deserve to be rewarded for ending the lives of fey. We are representatives of a whole people. We need to act as such. They should be at least somewhat afraid to cross us."


    While we have our little group chat, only Aria sees that Tallulah has been gestured over next to Kofi. There seems to be some discussion that is too soft for us to overhear.


    "It''s not really a reward, though. Aria, if it pays for our people''s safety, we should do it."


    "I have an idea," Khalil adds, a little more enthusiastically than the conversation calls for.


    Both Aria and I look at Khalil. Aria only watches him briefly, whereas I look at him to see what he says. After the brief pause, Khalil continues our discussion in fey-speech.


    "I''ll give them the three bottles of blood, and you guys give them one each."


    "They''re not going to go for that random change, Khalil."


    "Yeah, they will."


    "How do you know that?"


    "Well, look at all this bear nonsense they have here. They literally have a bear made of, like, gold and rubies and whatever on the floor five feet from us. I''ll say some stuff and then offer my blood; they''ll probably deny it, but then I''ll point out I can be a bear. They like bears."


    I squint my eyes at Khalil, trying to decide if he''s being an idiot again or if this is some kind of idiotic-genius idea.


    "I do not like the idea of us sharing any of our blood, but I will accept this compromise if they do," Aria mutters.


    "Come on, Ori, it''s a good plan, mostly. I don''t see you shooting out ideas."


    Kofi seems openly disgusted by whatever the conversation turned out to be between him and Tallulah. He turns his head away from her and returns to staring at the three of us while we confer in a tight circle. Aria already looks that way, so she fixes him with a black-eyed, emotionless stare. The smooth-skinned beauty gestures a hand at Tallulah, and she quickly moves over to listen to whatever Selena has to say by half-leaning down and turning her head to the side. They share a few words, but then Tallulah steps back a few paces. She''s now to the side of Selena, standing passively.


    "Alright, fine. Fuck it, Khalil, let''s try it."


    Khalil claps his hands together softly, in a "let''s go" sort of way, as if we were literally breaking a huddle in sports. His face takes on a determined expression, and the three of us part away, moving more or less back into our previous standing spots. The well-groomed southern gentleman, Percival, continues to fix us with his piercing, pale green-eyed gaze. He might not have shifted his gaze from us the entire time. I note he doesn''t blink even once, and the tidbit of conversation on vampiric eye-blinking that I had with Cassandra flitters across my mind''s eye.


    "It would appear that you have reached some sort of agreement amongst yourselves?" Percival intones, and the low murmurs from around the ballroom come to an end once again.


    Khalil clears his throat slightly, a faint flush appears on his features. Public speaking was never his forte, and I regret not speaking on his behalf for a moment. I don''t interrupt him, though, and just let it play out.


    "I''ll give you three bottles of blood, and uh, they''ll give you one each."


    "What an odd offer when our previous offer was quite generous."


    "It had some problems with it."


    "Mister Khalil, was it?"


    "Yeah."


    "And your ''offer'' does not have a problem with it?"


    "My blood''s probably a bit more valuable to you than theirs is."


    "Oh, is that so?"


    Percival raises his tone slightly¨Cit''s almost amused, but then I realize it''s much closer to mocking than amusement. My bruised brow furrows with some degree of displeasure. I don''t like anyone mocking my friend. Khalil either doesn''t realize he''s being mocked or miraculously isn''t rising to the bait.


    "Yeah, that''s so."


    "And how, pray-tell, is your blood more valuable to us than theirs?"


    "We''re faeries, but the difference is I''m closer to a bear than the whole lot of you, and hey, I might have noticed a couple of bear icons around here. You know, here and there."


    Khalil gestures at the flooring inlay just in front of us, then points out the bear carvings on the pillars scattered around before gesturing at the massive doors that lead into this ballroom. Percival openly laughs when Khalil stops gesturing at bear motifs. It''s an unkind laugh, and a couple of accompanying laughs pop up from here and there in the ballroom, like a peanut gallery.


    "And you suppose that because you can pretend to be a bear, you have more worth to us than the other two? How amusing."


    Finally, I''m irritated enough with his mocking of Khalil to interject.


    "It''s a solid offer, man. You get almost everything you''ve asked for, and we get what we''re looking to get. Then we go our separate ways, and everyone pretends this didn''t happen."


    The man stands up from his seat, the rustling of fabric the only actual sound that denotes the movement.


    "Are you making a deal with our house on behalf of your patron?"


    "What?"


    "Well, are you?"


    "No? This is a deal between us, fey, and you, vampires. I don''t see how it relates to anybody else."


    "I see that our time has been wasted tonight. Come, let us retire."

 045; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 25: The Winter Cycle

    The two seated vampires next to Percival start to rise, though I notice the faintest shifting of eyes from the woman Selena towards Percival. There''s no such glance from Kofi, who hasn''t blinked or moved his eyesight from boring a proverbial hole into us. Khalil gives me a helpless sort of look.


    My anger rises from somewhere deep within me; the games of vampires getting on my last nerve or perhaps being bruised, battered, and injured has just lessened the amount of nonsense I''m willing to put up with.


    "The fuck are you going? We''re not done having a chat here. You don''t get to dismiss us like these slaves you have running around. Fuck all that." I blurt.


    My sudden challenging voice makes Aria glance my way and Khalil''s eyebrows raise. Having partially turned towards the doors behind the three chairs, Percival comes to an abrupt stop of movement. A tenseness creeps into the air, thickening it with the threat of violence. The ring on my finger vibrates much more solidly. Very slowly, Percival turns and focuses his soulless green-eyed gaze on me.


    "Did it just speak to us in such a manner?" His voice is calm, measured, and dangerous.


    Tallulah moves from where she had been standing, suddenly placing herself directly between the three vampires and the three of us. Since both sides are about ten feet from the polished stone and gold inlaid bear icon on the floor, she winds up being equidistant from both trios. She holds up her hands carefully, an obvious attempt to stop any violence from breaking out.


    "Liege lords, they don''t know the finer points of discussions. Where they come from is a wild, forested place. Politics and polite social engagements are not highly valued, and it''s only to be expected that they''re rough around the edges. Please excuse it."


    "Kofi, Selena, get your pet out of my sight before I permanently extricate it from existence."


    I grit my teeth. First, it was Khalil, and now Tallulah? My full temper comes from nowhere, bubbling up like a flood. Not helping the situation at all, I bark from behind Tallulah.


    "First off, fuck you, I''m not an it. I''m a man and fey. Secondly, fuck you, don''t threaten her life, you blood-sucking-robot-fuck." I point with a finger directly at Percival each time I curse, and in my brain, it seems like a great, strong-willed idea. Thinking myself on a roll, I start up for a third time.


    "Thirdly¨ChrgGUGHK!"


    It was, of course, a terrible plan. There''s a whisper of fabric movement, like a flag starting to wave in the breeze, and before I can even blink or Aria and Khalil can react, I find myself passing through the air. My brain hardly comprehends what is happening.


    My throat is gripped by the man with the smooth, genteel southern voice, cutting off my voice. His icy grip is like steel around my throat, almost crushing my windpipe in the span it takes for him to grab me and slam my back¨Cbow pack and all¨Cagainst the colossal wooden doors at the entrance to the ballroom. Aria is even too slow to react. She''s only starting to turn in the direction that the vampire leader has taken me in when his fangs distend, and he tears into my sutured shoulder wound to inflict more significant pain than the gunshot from the previous night.


    Everything is seemingly moving in slow motion and all at once for me. I shriek in pain as I''m being savaged against the doorway and as Aria and Khalil start to run in my direction, my hands desperately trying to shove and get the face of the man off of me in a wild flail of limbs. Kofi starts to advance on Aria, and Selena¨Cinterestingly¨Ctakes simple, slow steps toward Tallulah.


    A profoundly piercing screech¨Clike a deep and dark call from the unexplored recesses of the Wilds¨Creverberates from the very center of the room. Tallulah has instantly changed; gone is the kindly-looking older woman, her vivid and shimmering emerald eyes having twisted and turned into sunken hollows of pitch black. Her skin has drawn back completely on her face, and she has completely lost all musculature from her body. She has already risen three feet off of the ground, her clothing hanging limply from her now skin-covered skeletal form as she hovers there in that spot.


    The screech has staggered quite literally everyone supernatural in the ballroom that could hear it. The actual humans in the room¨Cwhich applies to quite a few guards¨Cimmediately add to the ruckus as they instinctively react with unbridled hysteria. Instead of staggering, they panic with no control over their limbs and rush for the closest exit they can reach: the door that Percival was savaging me against before the staggering event.


    Even Percival is stunned for the same moments that the rest of us are as if we were all hit by a percussive blast that overwhelmed our senses. Tallulah''s gray hair is now prehensile and waving in the air like she were underwater. While we cannot act, save for an overwhelming urge to try and flee, an icy blast of frigid cold permeates the room, leaving even ice crystals on the ceiling above. The grasses and flora so carefully kept underneath the skylights instantly wither and curl, the supernatural coldness destroying the life within them. Tallulah starts to howl in an unearthly scream that could infect the mind''s eye with thoughts of bloody blades, ravenous insects, and winter''s death.


    "RELEASE HIM NOW!"


    The domestics and guards throw the doors open, all fleeing in a blind panic, and then flood by without hesitation. Percival''s grip on my throat releases almost as though he was commanded. I hit the floor just in time to find myself trampled by feet, tripping and running over me as the regular people flee in sheer terror of the supernatural, oppressive presence in the center of the room.


    The initial stunning of all of us starts to fade away, but a frosty vise of fear seems to have a hold over everyone. Tallulah is beyond focused on affecting all of us from the center of the ballroom. Her teeth are no longer teeth; they are long, pointed black spikes, and her skeletal form bears no resemblance to the woman who existed minutes before. Some part of me instinctively knows that she has become the terrifying personification of a Wilds'' winter.


    Selena hasn''t moved closer to Tallulah, and Kofi hasn''t moved either. Percival stands stock still, looming over top of me from where he was forced to drop me to the ground. Pain throbs from my back and the rather ghastly and now larger wound on my shoulder. Aria hasn''t even shifted into her redcap being, and Khalil is standing there staring at Tallulah''s change in pure fear.


    All at once, I start to feel like I can move, and at the same time, Percival starts reaching out to me again. He is immediately stopped by a second and more forceful piercing wail of a screaming or dying woman. It''s hard to determine which it is, but it''s mind-numbingly oppressive; my brain can barely function while the noise commences. Percival is seemingly the greatest affected, and he winds up gripping his head in agony, his eyes, ears, and nose starting to bleed dark blood. The old vampire slumps to his knees next to me in pure anguish that cannot be faked.


    Kofi''s eyes widen in shock, while Selena¨Cinstead of continuing to advance on Tallulah¨Cslowly backs away towards the doors behind the three chairs in the ballroom. The relatively few house vampires immediately start to flee like the guards did, seeing their strongest leader brought low by a hovering, skeletal creature with wildly waving gray hair and sunken pits of black for eyes.


    Aria uses the moment of distraction to howl for herself, immediately starting to take on her battle form. As her skin starts to char and blacken, she grows in size, her dark eyes are replaced again by the giant red orbs that stare unblinkingly and terrifyingly at anyone she catches in her gaze. Thickened and powerful, with her spindly fingers tipped by deadly talons, Aria doesn''t hesitate like the others. She starts to rush Percival in the opening afforded by Tallulah''s actions. Kofi instantly reacts to the danger his maker is in, and he bolts forward at a preternatural speed to catch up with Aria and intercept her path.


    Aria wildly brings her arms around in the direction of the prone Percival to land a taloned strike when she gets to him, but she''s removed from her feet by a full-body tackle from behind before she can be successful. Kofi slams into her, dragging them both to the ground. They slide across the floor, twisting and wrestling, with Kofi holding Aria''s arms with his hands. When they come to a sliding stop, they start to wrestle in place, aggressively trying to one-up each other with pure violence and strength alone.


    Khalil slowly backs away from Tallulah and everyone, pressing his back against one of the marble pillars in the room, his eyes wide with a deeply seated sort of terror. Much like the vampires fleeing past me and through the opened massive doors, Khalil can''t seem to act while the fear of Tallulah''s change and terrifying screeches has him in its clutches. Khalil has essentially wound up frozen in terror, unable to bring himself out of it and act.


    Percival seems to start coming around from whatever agony Tallulah inflicted on him, and his now bloodied, green eyes focus on me in sheer hatred. Immediately, I start kicking my legs in his direction, much like a turtle on its back, because the backpack is still hooked to my back. I can''t get purchase to keep him away, and he launches himself back towards me with supernatural speed. This time, I can tell he doesn''t mean just to wound me; he has every intention of killing me as soon as he gets me into his grasp.


    "NO!" The howling voice of pure hatred and agony starts again. "I SAID LEAVE HIM BE!" The creature that once was Tallulah bellows, blasting the air with another feeling of frozen death. Large piles of sharpened ice start to rise from the marble floor, surrounding the skeletal supernatural terror, almost like it was starting to form a wall surrounding Tallulah. Percival lands next to me instead of on top of me, his eyes bursting into a shower of blood and gore as Tallulah blinds him with just her directed supernatural voice.


    "Silence her!" Percival screams in agony as he tries to grab hold of me while blinded.


    I finally manage to get myself to my side and scramble along the floor away from him now that he''s blinded. With Kofi struggling with Aria, the only one who could actually follow through on Percival''s command, Selena, has reached the three doors behind the chairs. Her dark eyes focus on the wavering Percival with unquestionably no love or regard there; in fact, she almost looks contented at seeing him brought so low by us vagrant fey. She takes one more glimpse at the literal floating flesh-covered skeleton in the center of the room and then presses her hand to the scanner on the wall, unlocking the door that leads to the private parlor on the other side. As Percival calls out again with the order to stop Tallulah, Selena elects to protect herself first. She slips away from the ballroom, surprisingly closely followed by a shadow-like Christina, and the security door closes behind them with a slight hiss.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Kofi finally kicks Aria off of him, and her body slams into one of the nearby pillars, taking off a chunk of marble with her back. He starts to rush to his feet, trying to take advantage of the moment that Aria is prone, but he also underestimates her speed. She''s back to her feet simultaneously, and the two clash again, strength for strength and speed for speed. They hold each other''s arms and keep out of the range of either''s fangs or maw.


    Each time Percival tries to rise to his feet, Tallulah howls again, inflicting more agony on the vampire, who seems powerless to stop it from happening. Dark blood pours from his empty eye sockets, and blood has started to even come from the corners of his mouth now.


    I slam my backpack down on the ground and reach up to tear off the remainder of my shirt sleeve. I pull out my compound bow and quickly wrap the fabric of my shirt around the shaft just below the broadhead point of an arrow. I pull out my cheap metal gas station lighter from a small front pocket of my bow pack. Though I don''t kiss the lighter like the last time, I still manage to light the fabric''s end with my shaking hands before waving to ensure the fire catches well along the fabric''s length.


    "You soulless sack of shit!" I yell through gritted teeth.


    I nock the arrow and loose it from the compound bow in one smooth action now that I have the freedom to do so. My shoulder is in agony, but I''m only ten feet from my target. I know I won''t miss. The broadhead-tipped flaming arrow whistles through the air and slams directly into the jaw of Percival, jerking his head back from the impact. I continue nocking and firing arrows into his body as fast as I can physically do it, sacrificing accuracy for speed.


    Kofi finally throws Aria off of him and into a spot where it is a momentary struggle for her to get back to her feet. She''s injured, one arm bent at an unnatural angle. He turns to see Percival being brought low by Tallulah and me and hisses in anger. As Tallulah screeches again, nearly black blood pours from the vampire Percival''s ears and mouth, choking him and making his body pale even further by shades for every second that passes. Kofi makes a split-second decision as to who is the more dangerous assailant of his maker, and he dashes across the room, his whole strength ramming into the exposed ribs of the skeletal woman floating in the very center of the room.


    The beginnings of frostbite shoot up Kofi''s hands and arms within moments of touching her, but he is unabated¨Cthe cold of winter doesn''t affect the dead very much. He slams her down to the marble and, without hesitation, slams his hands down into her body over and over, trying to break or tear every living organ still in her chest. Tallulah tries to screech in defense, but Kofi quite literally rips off her jawbone, his hands impaling themselves on her black spikes for teeth to do it.


    Aria rises to her feet, staggering a few steps to regain her balance. Without Kofi on her, she has a split second to survey the room. Choosing to help me instead of Tallulah, she rushes over, and with her one good arm, she rakes the back of the prone vampire Percival, shredding and tearing the back of his body. I pull the fifth arrow from the quiver of my compound bow and fire it into Percival recklessly. The broadhead tip spins through the air, spanning the distance in a split second. The arrow slams into his body right at the base of his neck, making a new hole for his nearly black blood to pour out of.


    Percival has been weakened so much by the sustained assault that he can only try to get to his feet to run blindly while trying to stop the progression of fire threatening to spread on his dead flesh. His facial hair has already caught fire from my one flaming arrow, rapidly charring his skin while spreading like a spilled liquid. With no more arrows outside of the ones still in my pack, my compound bow is dropped to the floor, and I rush over to try to get Kofi off of Tallulah and rescue her, or at least stop the brutal assault she''s under.


    Percival does not get far. Aria is on him and does not allow him to flee. She grabs hold of him and flings him back before slashing his face and body over and over, carving him up with sheer intent to destroy. A scream of terror and pain releases from his lips finally, and his burning hair and head start to collapse in on itself, turning into ash and dust, followed rapidly by his entire body.


    I momentarily knock Kofi off of Tallulah with a brutal kick to his side, but he turns his attention to me the moment I impact him. He grabs hold of my already wounded arm and wrests me around and away from him. I feel a sharp cracking somewhere in my upper arm, followed by a piercing pain. I scream in utter agony as he breaks my arm, causing the bone to jut through my skin. Kofi''s strength is immense and he uses it to toss me like a broken ragdoll into the closest pillar. My side slams into the unyielding marble of the pillar, my face hits the cold polished marble of the floor with a gruesome meaty thud, and I lay flat, losing consciousness.


    My screaming in pain, as well as Tallulah''s concentration being broken, seems to cause Khalil''s trance to end. His eyes widen at the scene in front of him, and as I slam into the pillar and stop moving, he screams in unadulterated rage. His body immediately shifts into a mighty brown bear, and by the time he''s fully changed form, he''s already barrelling at Kofi full speed. In the limited ballroom space, Kofi only has a moment to turn from Tallulah on the ground to see the same sort of beast that marked him with those scars across his face and chest when he was alive bearing down on him.


    Kofi is upended as Khalil''s powerful force rams into him. The two of them slide across the marble floor, and this time the vampire Khalil is attacking has no gun to keep his dripping maw from inflicting damage. Kofi''s eyes are wide with some trauma-inflicted past fear, and he tries to throw his arm up to stop Khalil''s maw from clamping down on his face rather than immediately fight back. The bear savages the arm with teeth and power, while his claws drag deep gouges in the skin already marked while the vampire was alive by another bear.


    A voice creeps out somehow from the wounded, panting, and dying skin-wrapped skeleton on the ground that is Tallulah. The whisper isn''t mouthed, with no jawline to force the words. Instead, it''s pulsed like a whisper in the back of the mind to those few still within close range. It''s faint but still holds some small degree of power to it.


    "No, don''t kill¨CDon''t kill him. Mercy. Please."


    The pulse of energy from Tallulah is weak, but it exists. Khalil could ignore this one, but he doesn''t. Khalil stops savaging Kofi but holds his superior position, threatening to start again if Kofi even seems to be going to get violent. Dark skin and muscles have been riven from bone on the vampire''s arm that was being used to try and keep back the jaws of the bear, and bits of that white bone show underneath the relatively lightly bloodied wounds.


    Aria appears¨Chaving left the remains of the vampire that was Percival behind¨Cand looms over the bear for a moment to glower down at Kofi with her terrifying red eyes. Seeing instead that the violence has come to an end, she painfully limps over and kneels next to Tallulah. Though her voice is like the hiss of a serpent, the two creatures of night seem to understand each other without trouble.


    "It is okay. We will remember you. Give in to the winter, fearless Austra. Spring will welcome you again someday. I will stand vigil for your Aeri."


    The jawless Tallulah turns her dark pits for eyes to try and focus on Aria as she kneels respectfully next to her. There is some recognition there, The rage and wailing sorrow manifested through Tallulah in her last act ends with a ragged last breath and cold exhalation. In death, the skeleton remains; its gruesome appearance does not shift or change.


    Aria moves to her feet while Khalil continues to hold Kofi down. She carefully walks over to check on me as I still lay there unconscious. Only after she sees and gets confirmation that I''m alive for herself does she shamble back to the bear and the vampire locked in a staring contest.


    "Let him up, Khalil." Her voice is a whisper of sandpaper against wood. "Respect the last wishes of the Austra."


    Khalil slowly backs away and moves off of Kofi. He doesn''t shift back from his massive bear shape into human form but does sit down on his haunches. Kofi grimaces and starts to stand, holding his mauled arm against his also torn and shredded chest.


    Once Tallulah is dead and her power is no longer seeping into the room, Khalil turns his head at the sounds of claws rapidly scraping across the floor, and steps from within the homestead as dogs are led in by guards. The bear growls and grunts, bringing attention to what is about to be truly a terrible second half of the fighting.


    "Call them off, vampire. Do the right thing." Aria hisses at Kofi.


    Even with Aria''s broken limb hanging loosely on one side of her body, Kofi doesn''t seem to like his chances against the two of them before the dogs arrive. He watches the massive dogs as they''re released at the beginning of the hallway that leads in a straight path to the ballroom where they are. Their claws scrabble across the floor, seeking purchase on the marble, and their maws drip with saliva as they anticipate a meal to come.


    "Do it, vampire."


    Aria starts to rise up, and Kofi knows that is the last moment he has to make a decision. He barks the command in the vampiric language they use to control and force their beasts of destruction to heel. The dogs all slide and crash to a stop immediately, their trained instinct stronger than their desire to hunt and kill.


    "Leash them and take them away," Kofi yells at the guards, who come running up afterward.


    Khalil seems to think that the danger is over because he rapidly lumbers over next to my prone body and shifts back into his human form before he crouches down next to me.


    "He''s hurt bad, Aria."


    "Yes."


    Kofi gazes without remorse at my limp and unresponsive body on the marble flooring before he looks at Aria.


    "Your hospitality is a lie." Aria hisses at Kofi.


    "It would appear to be so in this case."


    "Help him with your doctors, and we will be peaceful for so long as we remain here."


    Kofi doesn''t answer right away. Instead, he turns away from the hulking yet also wounded redcap. His body is working with his immortal blood to try and heal his wounds, but it''s slow going. He slowly walks over to kneel next to Tallulah, and some part of his face softens at the damage he sees he''s inflicted on the now-deceased fey.


    "Why did she ask mercy for me?"


    "You are lucky, perhaps."


    "Where is Selena?"


    "I do not know."


    "Did you kill her?"


    "No."


    "Percival attacked your archer friend first."


    "Yes."


    Kofi carefully stands to his feet, looking at his arm as muscles and skin begin to weave back together over his exposed bone.


    "I''ll see that his wounds and yours are properly treated, and I will extend our hospitality properly until you three are ready to travel once again."


    "Good."


    After Kofi has said that, Aria seems to accept that the violence is over. She puts some space between them and folds in on herself, bones popping and cracking as she returns to her human-like form. Her left arm hangs limply, and bruises and long bloody gouges line her arms from the grappling she was engaged in for so long with Kofi.


    Kofi flags down one of the unsure guards behind the dogs, who are being kept to heel on their thick leashes. With a whirlwind of orders and action, the household gets to work following Kofi''s directives.


    Shortly after the order whirlwind starts, several guards help to carry my limp, unconscious body out of the ballroom. Khalil follows shortly afterward, only pausing to grab my compound bow and pack before he quickly follows. Aria kneels next to the skeletal body of once-Tallulah and seems to be intently doing nothing in absolute silence. It only takes a few moments for Kofi to realize it''s a faerie process of respectfully showing Tallulah "off." It doesn''t last too long, and when she is done, she gets up and follows the procession to where I was taken.


    Kofi unblinkingly watches the fey moving away. Only after do his dark eyes finally shift to look back at the doors behind the chairs where his older "sibling" undoubtedly fled. As domestics start to filter in so that they can try and repair the damage and clean up the gouts of blood everywhere, Kofi turns and makes his way out of the ballroom through the very same doors that lead to the house''s private parlor.

 046; ORION, Book 1, Chapter 26: The Ripples

    My eyes slowly crack open, and my first thoughts aren''t of the brightness of the lights everywhere around me but that the constant throb of pain means I''m alive. I''m alive! "Ugh," is about the only noise I can make. My eyes squint at the overhead lights, but I close them as they''re far too strong for me right now.


    "Ori?! Orion! Yo! He''s awake!"


    I can hear a shuffle of movement around, and I try to force my eyes to comply and open up once again. They slowly crack open, but sluggishly, like they''re not entirely under my control.


    "I''m¡­ alive? We¨Cwe won?" I croak.


    "Dude hey, hell yeah, you''re alive! You''ve been out for a week now. You want some water or anything?"


    "Water." My scratchy throat also aches, and my voice only comes out as a strangled whisper.


    "Alright, okay, here. Let''s slowly raise you a little so you don''t drown or something."


    I feel my upper body slowly shifting as the bed underneath me also shifts, Khalil carefully making it so I''m sitting more upward than flat. Even that little bit of movement causes bolts of pain to spread outwards through my body. I grimace, unable to hide the pain from my face.


    "Here dude, just a little sip to start."


    I comply, letting Khalil pour a little stream of cool water into my mouth. I slowly swallow it down, but the pain is immense when I do, and it causes me to gag a little.


    "Oh hell, I gave you too much!"


    Coughing for a moment, I manage to shake my head and rasp.


    "No, it just hurts to swallow."


    "Dude, am I so happy to see your ugly mug again."


    "H¨CHow did we win?"


    "We did not." Aria''s face slides into my field of vision as she leans slowly from the opposite side of the medical bed.


    "What?"


    "No one won, Orion."


    "Tallulah?"


    "Killed. As was Percival."


    "How are we still alive?"


    "Kofi Freeman recognized that his house was the one who broke the hospitality agreement."


    "Dude, that isn''t what happened, Aria. I mean, he did, but that isn''t how it went down, not even close."


    There are glowering glances between the two, and I grimace.


    "We''ll talk about it when you feel a little better, my dude. Don''t worry about it for right now."


    I spy Aria''s left arm in an extended cast that matches the same one on my arm. She has free movement, though, while my arm is in a sling that holds it next to my body without allowing me to move it. My pale eyes trail over Khalil, who looks fit as a fiddle.


    "How are you never ever the one hurt? Luckiest fey alive, I swear."


    "Dude, you know I''m too sexy. No one wants to hurt me."


    I groan and slowly raise my free arm and hand towards the bottle Khalil opened to pour water into my mouth a few minutes prior. He hands it to me this time, and I carefully sip some water from the bottle. The agony in my throat is lessened when I only take small sips of water at a time, so that''s what I do.


    "We have an agreement with Selena Conghal." Aria murmurs.


    "What kind of agreement?"


    "Aria, don''t you think we should bring up the heavy stuff when he''s in a better headspace?"


    "Khalil."


    "Dude, no, you need to rest."


    "Khalil. I''m fine. I''ve rested long enough. It doesn''t look like I''m moving from this bed in the next day or two, so tell me what''s happening at the very least."


    Khalil throws up his hands in exasperation, letting Aria continue.


    "The fey that wish to return to the Wilds will go in two nights. Khalil went and tracked down Fasolt. Once told of the situation, he offered to open a seam in Asheville immediately so they can all return to their village or wherever they choose to go."


    "All of this already?"


    "Yes. You were unconscious for a week." Aria flatly murmurs.


    "Right, I forgot he said that. What was the agreement, though? We got what we wanted, but what did they get?"


    "They wanted a meeting with your patron," Aria says somewhat derisively for her.


    "Cass? She can''t."


    "What do you mean?"


    "She literally can''t leave the Wilds until she does something."


    "What something?"


    "I don''t know, Aria, she never would say; I''m just saying that''s going to be a hard agreement to keep our end of the bargain on."


    "I see. I will speak with Selena on this."


    "Nah, let me do it. She will have to come here since apparently I can''t move yet." I grimace, my voicebox starting to ache. "Ugh, how bruised up is my throat? I feel like I''m trying to swallow rocks."


    "Dude, the skin tone of your face and throat is, like, ''legit dark purple right now."


    "I will ask her to join us."


    "Well, let me get a couple hours more of rest before you do¡­"


    "You are fine, Orion. It is only mid-afternoon. You see the sun. Close your eyes and rest."


    "Oh, man, maybe I really am out of it."


    I carefully set the water bottle on the little table next to my medical bed and then looked for the controls to lower my bed. Once I found them, I carefully lowered my bed and body to a more comfortable position.


    Erica, the nurse who originally tended my wounds, peers around Khalil and smiles at me before injecting something into the IV by my bed. My eyes go heavy a few moments later, and warmth relaxes my body. Seconds later, I''m sleeping.


    <h2 style="text-align: center">* * *</h2>


    A light fluttering of cold fingers touches the side of my face, gently caressing my battered and bruised skin. When I start to crack my eyes open, the pale skin of the blurry vision that starts to come into focus makes me initially smile. However, as my eyes gain more lucidity, I see it''s not Cassandra touching my face. Instead, it''s Selena Conghal''s beautiful face. I don''t have an instinctive reaction to jerk back, but I''m sure my face falls slightly in disappointment.


    "Ah, there you are. Apologies, I''m not her."


    She doesn''t even pretend not to know who I thought she was, which is a little refreshing. Starting off with vampire games three seconds into waking would be a rough way to start the night.


    "Your lovely Khalil partner is right outside of the door, and your other sullen one is¨Cwell, actually, I''ve not the slightest clue where she is. I''m sure she''s stalking about being surly or whatever else it is that she does when not killing things."


    I reach over towards where I vaguely remember leaving my bottle of opened water; sure enough, it''s there. I take a couple of slow sips from the bottle before even trying to talk in return to Selena.


    "Sorry, throat was dry. Hurts, too."


    "It looks so very much like it does."


    Her dark eyes are focused on my battered face with an unwavering sort of interest. Immediately, I feel terribly uncomfortable being in such proximity to this predator, especially in my vulnerable state. As if she doesn''t notice whatsoever, she continues smoothly talking, her voice like silk and satin all wrapped in one.


    "Before we get started, I''d like to say that I was extremely surprised to learn you survived. You should consider yourself very lucky." She barely gives me time to even acknowledge her statement before continuing, "I was informed there was a little bit of a problem with our arrangement concerning the exodus of your faerie peoples."


    "Cassandra can''t come back here yet, so she can''t meet with you."


    "Cassandra Bentham, your patron?"


    "Yeah."


    "She can''t ''come back here''? What does that mean, exactly?"


    "I don''t really know the details, sorry. I just know she told me she can''t leave the Wilds until she finishes some kind of task. Cassandra made some serious promise to someone. She made it sound magical, like a fey''s blood oath, which means the Wilds'' essence will punish you if you break your word."


    "And this is your patron, yes?"


    My anxiety increases slightly when she repeats "patron" a second time, and I try to cover it by taking a slow sip of water.


    "Yep."


    "How curious."


    I blandly look up at her smooth, alabaster-colored face. When our eyes meet, she gives me a languid smile of her painted ruby lips. She knows. I can just tell. This feels a little like a slow twist of a knife.


    "You know, Orion¨Cmay I call you Orion?"


    "That''s my name, so yeah, sure."


    "Mmm. Orion. You know, at first, I thought perhaps as you were so wounded in the forest last week against some of our house that you must have used up the strength of your patron Cassandra Bentham''s blood in your system and, thus, why you could no longer rapidly heal your injuries. This made excellent sense as these sorts of things sometimes happen in violent times."


    I elect not to say anything, so I don''t dig my hole of lies any deeper.


    "And yet, the most curious thing happened. I spoke with Christina Freeman¨Cyes, of the very same Kofi Freeman name¨Cand she had quite an interesting tale to tell me in quiet confidence."


    I carefully take a sip of water. Selena smiles at me again as I do, but it''s not a real smile; it''s a smile from someone who knows they''ve caught someone in a lie and will draw out the process as long as they please. Selena leans forward, lowering her voice to a murmur that only she and I can hear. If Khalil is right outside of the door, there''s no chance he overhears her because she sets her lips right next to one of my pointed ears.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "Do they even know what is supposed to be entailed in patronage?"


    "No," I swallow thickly, "at least I''m pretty sure they don''t."


    "Tsk-tsk. You bad, bad¡­ bad boy. All of this is because you spun a little white lie in order to stop a confrontation."


    I carefully swallow again and feel a few beads of sweat pop up on my forehead from nervousness. I try to casually take a sip of water while my anxiety increases from Selena''s vicinage to my throat.


    "You haven''t the slightest clue what you have done, do you?"


    "I was protecting my people."


    "Yes, I suppose in that moment you thought you were, but now you''ve set something very interesting in motion." The way she says interesting makes it sound like it''s a bad thing in this case.


    She slowly leans back from my pointed ear, not touching me nor making moves to. My heartbeat¨Cwhich I didn''t realize had increased from my anxiety of Selena''s proximity¨Cstarts to slow once she moves a little away. She casually moves a chair next to me and sits in it, taking care to very methodically cross her legs and look me over in the same manner. This woman honestly scares me, I suddenly realize.


    "What¨Cwhat do you mean?"


    "Your fey, they return to the Wilds, or whatever it''s called. They live happily ever after?"


    "Sure. I guess? I''m not a fortune spinner."


    "But here, you''ve caused three draugar deaths¨Cwell, soon to be four. There is also that you somehow corrupted a willing pet fey we were training and rather growing accustomed to having around to tell us little tidbits and play with¨Cwho then subsequently died because she decided to have an emotional crisis. That''s not to mention what happens when the Falcon House finds out via some rumor that supposedly one of their patronaged minions was assaulted under the guise of hospitality¨Cby not just the House of the Bear, but the very eldest one."


    Not knowing exactly what to say to all of that, I sit wordlessly for at least a full minute. Finally, I just decided to go with an admittance of ignorance.


    "I don''t know anything about your people and houses or politics or anything like that, sorry."


    "I very much can tell, Orion of the Wilds."


    "Um, sorry?"


    "Were it only so easy to smooth it all over with a simple apology."


    I lapse into silence again, taking the last few slow drinks of the water left in the bottle. Carefully, I try to set the bottle back on the table next to me, but since there''s hardly any weight to it, I accidentally knock it over while trying to put it down. It clatters noisily around.


    "But it isn''t all terrible doom and gloom. I know your little secret, little faerie. For now, I''ll keep it, as will Christina Freeman."


    "You''re not going to kill her, are you?" I say, just realizing that Selena corrected the number of deaths to four instead of three.


    "Oh heavens no. She''s the best draugar to be turned in many years; it''s frankly a shame she isn''t mine and that Kofi will take the glory for her turning in the future. She will be an exemplary member of our house as she gains experience, strength, and age. No, no, we can''t have Vincent de Burgh poking about, asking questions about what happened to his maker other than the obvious, now can we?"


    "Whatever you say, lady."


    "Hopefully, his scions won''t have also to be tidied up. Truly, this is quite a mess you''ve created."


    She leans forward slightly as if she were letting me in on a little secret. The chair is the only thing that makes noise when she shifts forward. Immediately my heartbeat increases along with my trepidation from her close presence once again.


    "I''m going to keep your secret because you did me a little favor."


    "What favor did I do?"


    "Percival de Burgh, good riddance."


    "He was what to you?"


    "My maker, which was the only good thing he''s done in two hundred years. Well, aside from turning my darling Kofi."


    "You guys are seriously messed up. There is so much death, and not even caring about or celebrating it. I don''t even get you people at all."


    "I see your ears, so I thought perhaps initially that you were a little older than you looked. But I can tell that is not the case, and you are a younger one, aren''t you?"


    "Old enough. Just because I find killing people distasteful doesn''t mean I''m a young idiot."


    "No, but potentially causing a host of problems that lead to an unknown number of lives lost, touched, or changed dramatically? Yes, for that, you are a bit of a bumbling, ''young idiot.'' I was hoping to curtail some of those issues-to-be by speaking to your supposed patron in advance, but since we both know that she isn''t your patron and apparently is stuck in faerie-land, that''s obviously a problem I''m also going to have to solve as well."


    "I mean, you could still talk to her, but you''d have to go into the Wilds to do it."


    She blurts out a clipped laugh, suggesting that what I just said was one of the most hilarious things she''s heard all night, if not all week.


    "Me? Go to your Wilds? Don''t be ridiculous. I''d rather not run about covered from your faerie sun all of the time dressed like some savage or whatever else it is that Cassandra Bentham must do there."


    "What are you talking about? The sun in the Wilds doesn''t kill your kind. I guess it''s just really annoying. I don''t obviously know from first-hand experience, but I can tell you for a fact that her bare skin doesn''t burst into flames when the sun touches her there."


    She fixes me once again with one of her contemplative looks as if she were either trying to decide if I was lying or trying to decide what angle I was playing at.


    "Curious."


    "I mean, we could always do it old school. We travel and do trade all of the time, as Wilder. It''s one of the benefits of not being part of a bigger tribe; we can do what we want. Anyway, I got off-topic. What I meant to say is that you could always write a letter, and I could deliver it. Then if Cass¨Candra," I have to add the second part of her name at the end and pretend I didn''t, "wants to write you back, we can bring it through a seam to deliver it. Easy. Like I said, old school. I mean it''s more work for me potentially, but it''s not like I''m going to be using this arm any time soon, huh? Might as well keep myself busy doing something."


    She tilts her head to study me for a few long seconds and then nods finally.


    "Very well, we accept this alteration of our arrangement."


    "Cool then." I slowly relax my muscles, having not realized they were so tense.


    Selena continues to look at me with her current affable features¨Ca perfect example of a dangerous vampire. Finally, her lips start to creep into a very slightly impish smile.


    "I must ask her how she did it in the post-script."


    "Did what?"


    "Made a foolish little faerie boy fall in love with her without becoming his patron."


    "Please, please, please don''t."


    She laughs softly, and it almost sounds genuine, before she moves and begins to stand up.


    "Three ''pleases'' without effort? Tsk-tsk. Were I only so lucky most nights. I should do it anyway in repayment for how terribly rude you were over the radio. I suppose you''ll have to wait and see." Selena changes her tone a little after her little choice teasing. "They''ve told me you will be on your feet in a day or two. I will have a letter sealed and ready to be delivered by then. I''ll have someone deliver it by hand here to you, and you''ll find it when you wake. Good night, Orion. Try not to accidentally cause any more ordeals while you are here. We already have too many things going on and do not need more."


    I mumbled a good night to her, and as she moved out of the room to leave, I watched her go. A few minutes later, Erica''s smiling face returns to inject a small thing into my IV once again, causing blissful numbness and sleep to take over my body once again.


    <h2 style="text-align: center">* * *</h2>


    A little noise or disturbance slowly brings me out of sleep. My eyes are still heavy, but I try to blink away the sluggishness while I look around. The daylight filtering in through the window tells me that it must be the next day, and I grunt, trying to figure out what noise I''d heard. Khalil comes walking out of the bathroom next to me, and he excitedly exclaims when he sees I''m awake.


    "Hey dude. Welcome back again. You were out for a long time."


    "How long?" My voice sounds and feels like sandpaper again. I smack my lips a couple of times, which causes Khalil to get a bottle of water and open it for me. While he continues talking, I sip carefully at the water. My throat feels immensely better now, though.


    "Couple days again. Aria''s taking the horde down to Asheville¨CI guess, technically, she started taking them a few hours ago. I said I was going to stay here with you; not going to leave my dude alone with these crazy bloodsuckers."


    "Thanks Khalil." I manage to smile.


    "Sure, no problem. So, you ready to get up and move around? They wanted to let you get your rest and all that and let you decide when you were ready to start moving. You want a mirror? You''re almost back to your handsome lady-killing self."


    "I''ll get up."


    "Whoa, whoa, slow down turbo. They gotta cut you out of some casting around your ribs and maybe fit you with some fabric sleeve or something. Let me get that nurse that fancies you. I''ll be right back."


    He doesn''t even give me a chance to agree or not before he''s out of the doorway. I use my uninjured free hand to rub at my bleary eyes. Once my eyes clear from their partially blurry state, I see a simple brown square envelope lying on the side table where I was just about to place my water bottle. A legitimate red wax seal with a pressed bear symbol is on the back, firmly sealing the envelope closed. Next to it, there''s a small white folded paper, taped closed, with my name handwritten on it. I slowly reach over to pick up the note with my name on it, then tug it open before carefully reading it over.


    <blockquote>


    Orion,


    Our little chat was quite illuminating. You''ll find the letter to be delivered in a brown envelope. It is sealed and should be delivered as such. I believe you referred to it as "old school." Please mind the letter delivery etiquette of that time and do not break the seal.


    S.C.


    P.S. If you need an actual patron, come and see me. We could have a lovely time together for a very long time.


    </blockquote>


    I groan inwardly after reading the note before folding it back up and moving to stuff it carefully into my pants pocket¨Cor would have if I had any pants on. Hearing footfalls coming and thinking quickly, I reach over and slide the note underneath the brown envelope so no one is tempted to open and read it.


    Shortly after I hide the personal note from Selena, the pair of Khalil and Erica come clomping into the room. Erica shoos Khalil back out and then pulls the door closed in front of him, telling him it''s for my own dignity and that he can wait outside for a few minutes. I slowly struggle to sit up, my muscles having not really worked for over a week, and I need a chance to get back into the swing of things.


    Erica helps me to my feet, taking care not to inflict undue pressure on me. Then, she walks around me, inspecting the stiff, protective torso cast that covers my ribs. Erica tells me her plans to remove the cast and then explains to me not to wrap my ribs because she doesn''t want to have the potential to add too much pressure on them since I''m so active. We get started, and it isn''t long before she has the protective cast cut away from my body.


    She goes on to explain that the break on my arm was quite severe, and it went through the skin. Rattling off medical terminology that I don''t understand, I managed to gather that they were able to set the bone and reinforce it, but it is going to take quite some time to heal. She wants me to keep the cast on it for as long as possible, and then in two months, she says I can carefully cut it away, so long as I promise not to do anything strenuous for a week or two after its removal.


    When I ask about my throat, she says that other than bruising and some tissue trauma, it should be completely fine in a few more days, though the bruising might take another week to clear up.


    After she finishes, I make sure to tell her that I sincerely appreciate everything she, personally, has done for me and that if she ever finds herself having a reason to seek out faeries, I would be indebted to her and would always be happy to give her a little tour before she comes back here. That seems to brighten her up a bit more than I expected it to, and she seems to have a little bounce to her step as she moves to head out once I''m all dressed and decent.


    Khalil walks in, looking over his shoulder after Erica, then back at me. He shakes his head.


    "You just can''t help it, can you?"


    "What are you talking about?"


    "Come on, dude. She was all rosy-cheeked and happy. You gotta stop flirting with everyone that has tits."


    "Khalil, chill. I wasn''t flirting with her. Unlike some people who use flattery and dumb nonsense to get people to like them, I''m likable. People like me. I make them feel good about themselves and do good things."


    I grin at him, and he laughs at me, then both of us laugh together for a little bit. I shuffle over to pick up the brown envelope and carefully slip the white note underneath it into one of my pants'' pockets.


    "What''s that?"


    "Our half of the agreement with the vampires here. I''m delivering an official letter or whatever to Cassandra. Guess I''m going to be a carrier reafan back and forth for them for a bit."


    "Hey, uh, look. That Selena woman¡­"


    "Yeah, she''s definitely dangerous, even though she doesn''t look like it."


    "Well, yeah, ''course she is. She''s alright though, and I like her. We talked a little while you were out."


    "Khalil, what did you do?"


    "Oh wait¨Cno, no, I haven''t done anything! I was just wondering what it''d be like to, you know, fu¨C"


    "¨CSeriously, don''t, she''s nothing like Cassandra."


    "Alright, alright. Fine."


    "Seriously, man."


    "I said alright! Damn joy-killer. Your boy is just trying to taste the rainbow of life. All colors, shapes, and sizes." He gives me the most crooked grin I''ve ever seen from him. I blurt out a laugh before I can stop it and immediately hold my side.


    "Man, you are so stupid; just shut up, honestly." I can''t help but try to stifle a couple of laughs for a few more seconds.


    He keeps grinning at me, and then we both make our way out of the infirmary room. Before too long, we''ve gathered all our things together, gotten our backpacks, and are standing alone in a parlor together. Since there doesn''t seem to be anyone loitering around, we both give each other a fist bump and handshake hug.


    "We did it."


    "Yeah, yeah, we did. Let''s go home, man."


    Both of us make a little cut on the back of our necks over the mark of the traveler. A few paces later, Khalil comes to a dead stop.


    "Fuck!"


    "What?!" I startle in alarm at his sudden curse.


    "I just cut my mark, dude."


    "Yeah? So what? I did, too. It''s how we get back, you know this."


    "Dude, yeah, obviously I know that. I got currency cash in my backpack! I was supposed to buy some more of those flaming hot cheese puffs! Fuck!"


    I look at him for at least three seconds before laughing and holding my side to try and stem the twinges of pain each time I laugh.


    "Well, too late now. Any door you go through is taking you back. Guess you''re just going to have to wait until next time you''re here to restock."


    "Dude, this was the absolute worst vacation ever."


    I smirk some before I tug him along with me. He sulks, and I laugh once again before we choose to walk through the nearest doorway of the homestead, knowing it will take us exactly where we want to go: home to the Wilds.

 047; ORION, Book 1, EPILOGUE

    At some point in the future¡­


    The ducks complain and go in different directions as they''re being followed desperately by their egg tender. The reassuring crunch of the village''s gravel is gone, being so far out from the village, and the egg tender''s shoes start to sink in the soft sandy mud that has replaced it. It slows her down, but not the ducks with their webbed feet. She grimaces and curses her luck to have to deal with ornery ducks on such a lovely, cool spring morning.


    She uses her prodding stick to try and push away some of the shrubs the ducks are using to play games with her. The branches of the shrubs bounce back, slapping her painfully in the lower thighs. The ducks'' half-quacking afterward sounds an awful lot like laughing.


    "Now listen here, you damned bird, I don''t know what''s gotten into you this morning, but I swear to the Wilds I''ll have you for dinner tonight if you don''t come out of there right now."


    As if believing she was getting annoyed enough to do it, the duck casually walks out and shakes its tail back and forth in passing. The egg tender shakes her head and shoos the fat bird forward, and in the direction she can see the other duck walking around in.


    "Hey-llo."


    The egg tender startles and screams as she''s jump-scared by a child''s innocent voice not three feet behind her. How she missed seeing the child is a true mystery to her. She whirls around, holding her hand up to her chest and breathing hard. When she turns around, there is indeed a child only a few feet from her. It''s a young girl with deep vivid green eyes, only old enough to walk and babble-talk and dirty enough to have fallen in the mud and sand a few times.


    "Oh, my goodness. What are you doing out here, little one? You''ll catch a cold. Here."Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    The kind pixie egg tender takes off her outside layer of clothing to protect her from the nippy springtime morning air and quickly wraps the naked girl in it to cover her and warm her up a bit.


    "Where''s your mother?"


    "Hey-llo."


    The freed wings on her back flutter as the egg tender looks back and forth. She jumps up momentarily into the air and hovers with those delicate wings, trying to gain visual distance and see if there are any signs of a parent or protector. When she lowers back down to the ground, having seen nothing, the girl bounces up and down.


    "Fly! Fly-fly-fly!" She squeals in amusement while bouncing in place.


    "Oh, little dear, aren''t you adorable." The pixie looks to where her ducks have gone¨Cthey''ve actually wandered back towards the village on their own, strangely enough¨Cbefore she looks down at the girl.


    "Hey-llo. Eat?"


    "Oh, you''re hungry? Oh, to hell with the ducks. You poor little wean, let''s get you fed and see what we can do to find you some clothes."


    The egg tender carefully leads the little girl back onto the traveler''s path and then on to the nearby village. In only a few nights and days, the pixie egg tender finds herself enjoying being a new protector of one of the lost children who sometimes appear in the Wilds. After it''s clear that no one is coming to look for the girl, that night, while they''re eating dinner, the pixie grins at the girl and asks her if she minds if she gives her a name that she always found pretty.


    "Name! Name-name-name!"


    "Oh, well, alright. Since you insist. I have always found the name Vivianne to be so elegant. You''ll be Vivianne, you little ball of energy, you."


    "Vivi-vivi-vivi!"


    "That''s right, Vivi. Vivianne."


    The girl is more than happy to add another thing to repeat to her very limited vocabulary, and she''s more than happy to eat, drink, and be safe under the roof of a Wilder pixie egg tender. The very same Wilder pixie feels nothing but affection and a protective instinct for her accidentally adopted little girl, almost like it was meant to be.