23. The Day the Fox Forgot, the Dove Was Stolen #5
Erolyn's attention snapped into focus. He knew Surion was exactly the type. Insatiably greedy. Always scheming and terrified of Malec but willing to gamble anyway.
Kalemon kept going. "She sent me here for her bag. The one she came into this world with from the portal. She said it was in a chest or maybe that armoire. I'm only here to get it. It has a device I can use to track her location."
Erolyn assessed her. Nothing in her suggested deceit.
The woman was blunt and practical, her manner stripped of the slippery charm most liars relied on.
Curiosity had already taken hold of him.
The outpost offered little besides monotony, and the chance to hear an unusual story was too tempting to ignore. He decided he wanted answers.
He gestured toward the armoire. "You may check if you need."
Kalemon walked roughly to the armoire and pulled open the doors. Pikes and rusted swords clattered to the floor. She shoved them aside, rummaging through the clutter until her hands closed around canvas.
"BINGO!"
She pulled out a military-issue bag and hauled it onto the large desk. Army symbols. Emblems of home. The flag she'd sworn an oath under.
Kalemon's smile was slow and fierce. "Boy, I miss this flag."
Kalemon opened the bag as Erolyn leaned in, peering inside to make sure there were no weapons. She lifted a device that looked like a thick disk with buttons embedded in its surface.
She pressed one.
The device came alive with color.
Erolyn flinched backward, his hand flying to his side where a blade would normally hang.
Kalemon looked at him as though he were a startled cat. "Relax, boy. It's a device to track energy signals. Can't hurt you."
Erolyn dug through the bag anyway, making sure there was nothing that could be used against him. His fingers closed around a rectangular object. He pulled it out, turning it over in his hands with curiosity.
Kalemon's face lit up. "A solar battery!" Then her expression dimmed. "Well, not that it can be used for the devices without Allora."
She'd have to go looking for portals herself. Couldn't just hand off the device to Melodie like it was some package. If only she had someone to deliver it for her while she searched.
Erolyn held up a small, soft item, squinting at it. "Is this... edible?"
Kalemon snatched the foam earplug from his hand. "Okay, so from what I gather, you and Melodie are chummy."
"Chum-y?" Erolyn echoed.
"Yeah. Friends?"
Human language got lost on these knife-ears.
“Yes.” Erolyn’s voice softened with quiet reverence. “I would do anything for her?—”
"She has the other device," Kalemon interrupted, her tone blunt and businesslike. "The one that will lead me to her eventually. But it's lacking in…’magical energy’."
Erolyn understood the context.
Kalemon lifted the rectangular box he'd held a moment earlier. "This gives magical energy to the device that helps me find her. I need you to find her and give it to her so I can track her location when I bring help."
"Help?" Erolyn's brow furrowed. "What do you mean? If she's with Malec, who is her soulbound, she doesn't need help."
"Oh for fu—" Kalemon caught herself. "Listen, Awyan. Melodie was afraid, and I trust her instincts. She's smart. If she says she's in trouble, I'm gonna believe her. Can I count on you to get this to her so I can track her?"
Erolyn weighed his options. Responsibilities. A job. A title attached to said job. Could he really risk it all for the chance that this old Canariae was telling the truth? Or stay put in this boring, dusty, depressing encampment built by gods that hated happiness.
"I'm in."
He held his hand out to take the device.
Kalemon smiled and passed it to him. "Melodie asked me to build a team of warriors to seek out her father and unit. That's my job, to bring reinforcements. Your job is simple: get this to her so I can find her. Got it?"
Erolyn smirked as he held the battery up to examine it. The device slipped slightly in his grip, tumbling from his hand and hitting the desk with a clatter. Empty vials and instruments scattered. "Ooh, whoops! Ha! These things are heavier than they look."
Kalemon stared at him as though she'd just handed the key to freedom for her entire species to a clown with bad motor skills.
Because that's exactly what it looked like.
"God help us," she muttered, shoving items back into the bag.
Erolyn looked down at the device in his hand, realization settling over him like dawn breaking. This would lead him to his friend. He would get to see her again, be in her orbit once more.
Kalemon zipped the bag closed and slung it over her shoulder. She looked at Erolyn with narrowed eyes. "Can you handle this?"
Erolyn's smirk turned cocky. "Of course I can. This is a fledgling's task."
Kalemon’s expression softened with faint approval. Her voice settled into the low, certain cadence of a soldier about to march into war.
“Good,” Kalemon extended her hand. "Then we're in this together. The mission starts now!"
Erolyn clasped it without hesitation.
"Operation Free Black Canariae," she said, her grip like iron. "Let's bring our girl home."
TO BE CONTINUED…