Chapter 1 #3
She started to leave, but her feet carried her farther into the room before she could prevent it.
Masakage manifested two more small clay cups and gracefully poured tea into them. He held a cup out toward X who accepted it. Then he poured another cup and held it out to her.
There was such elegance to his movements. She wished she possessed half his grace.
Sitting on the ground, she accepted it from him. “Thank you.”
He inclined his head to her before he took a drink himself.
“What’s your name?” Masakage asked.
“Gisela.” She handed the small cup back to Masakage. “It was delicious. Again, thank you.”
While X removed his armor in the corner, Masakage took the cup and glanced inside it. “Would you like more?”
She should say no, but it really had been delicious. She’d never tasted anything so soothing. It was like drinking a hug. “Yes, please.”
He refilled the cup and returned it to her, then stirred his clay pot. “Are either of you hungry?”
Wearing a black linen tunic and pants, X took a seat on his makeshift bed. “You know I seldom eat.”
“What about you?” Masakage asked her.
Much to her embarrassment, her stomach grumbled in response. It’d been two days since she had anything more than dried, stale bread and hard cheese to eat. And that only sparingly as she needed it to last.
With a kind smile, he manifested a bowl and spooned rice and some kind of gravy with chicken into it. It smelled incredible. “This is karee.”
When he held it out to her, she didn’t hesitate to take it even though she had no idea what he was serving. She really didn’t care.
As he took up his own bowl and a pair of sticks that he used instead of a spoon, he glanced over to X. “She still doesn’t trust us, brother.”
“You blame her? I don’t trust us, either…mostly because I know us.”
Masakage laughed. “Have no fear, Gisela. No one will enter this room without my permission.”
“Which means you’d best not sleepwalk.”
Gisela was confused by X’s words. “Why?”
Using powers she didn’t know he had, X opened the door behind her. He tossed a small ball toward the entrance. As soon as it went through the doorway, the ball burst into pieces. “No one sets a trap better than Masakage.”
That was impressive. But it made her wonder… “Then how was I able to enter?”
Masakage took a drink. “I sensed X’s return to his room, so I lowered my ward to let you inside.”
“And if I want to leave?”
“I’ve already adjusted it so that you can. No one here will hold you. I just want to make sure we all sleep in peace from anyone who might want to cause us harm.”
Those were some terrifying powers. “Are you a wizard or sorcerer?”
He smiled at her. “I’m what you’d call other.”
That last word hovered in the air between them. Other covered a lot of ground in their world.
She looked down at the strange coin he’d handed her and wondered exactly how powerful he was.
X paused as he caught her looking at it. “Count yourself lucky. Most have to pay handsomely to get an alley rat reading. Only a very small few get free ones.”
“Really?”
Masakage shrugged. “We all have to make a living. And I’m an alley demon, not rat.” There was a note in his tone that told her he knew what she did for her trade.
“So what brings you to the ogre lands?” she asked X.
“I live here.”
That caught her off guard. A human in the homeland of ogres, trolls and giants? Given their innate hatred of humans or those who looked human, she’d never heard of anyone living here before who wasn’t one of them.
“You live in the inn?”
X leaned back against the wall. “Not this one. I normally haunt the northern lands.”
“Then you’re passing through?”
“You could say that.”
Giving up on X who was even more cryptic than she was, she turned her attention to Masakage. “What about you?”
“Also passing through on my way to Kernan.”
The Stoneman kingdom. Interesting. “I wouldn’t think they’d be any more receptive to us than the ogres are.” Then again, she’d never been around Stonemen before. They were very much creatures of their own kingdom who seldom ventured beyond their borders.
“They’re actually very tolerant. Being made of stone, they feel no threat from any other species. Only a sorcerer or wizard can kill them. It’s why such creatures and all magic are strictly banned from their homeland and why they don’t often leave their kingdom.”
X snorted at that. “You will die without your magic. It’s as second nature to you as your skin.”
“I’ll make do.”
X scoffed. “Famous last words. Should I put them on your tombstone?”
They were so at ease with each other. She admired them for that. She’d never had a real friend and couldn’t imagine being so comfortable with anyone else.
“How long have you two known each other?”
“Childhood,” they said in perfect synchrony.
That explained it. They were probably more like family than friends. Not that she knew what either felt like. But she had witnessed others who were lucky enough to have close relationships.
A part of her that she didn’t want to admit existed was jealous of such people.
“How long have you been an assassin for Queen Meara?”
Her breath caught at X’s unexpected question. “Pardon?”
“Your black sword with the Thassalian crest. It gives you away. As do your attentive glances, accent and demeanor.”
Of course it did. Gisela considered running. I should never have agreed to bed down with them. She knew better. No one could ever be trusted, and being this close to them gave them the opportunity to study her and her habits.
“She’s bound for Oath Island.” Masakage sat back to stare at her. “I think we both know why.”
“To kill an ataswere so her queen can invade Licordia. But you needn’t bother.”
His words made her instantly curious. “Why would you say that? Have you already killed the demon?”
He laughed. “No.”
“Then the demon could still be alive.”
The men exchanged a look she didn’t understand.
“Not for long.” X handed his cup to Masakage. “Xaydin Kazakh has been put to the task.”
That name went through her like a lightning bolt. “Xaydin Kazakh?” she repeated.
Masakage arched his brow as he put the cup away. “You know him?”
“Only by reputation.” He was a prince whose father had been dethroned and then killed by an ataswere. As such, Xaydin had made it his life’s quest to kill as many of them as he could. His exploits were legendary.
As was the rumor that he was insane.
Her assignment just became a lot harder.
Which meant she needed more information. “I’m surprised the High King would entrust a fallen prince with such a task.”
Another odd look passed between the men. They definitely knew something about this that she didn’t.
The question was what?
“You know the High King?” she prompted.
X shrugged with a smirk. “We’ve crossed paths a few times.”
That formed a lump in her stomach as a bad feeling went through her. “Are you one of his Outlaws?”
His expression turned dark. “Why would you ask such?”
Because if they were, she’d have to kill them.
“Call me curious.”
“You seem more sleepy than curious.” Masakage glanced toward the bed.
An unexpected wave of exhaustion hit her. It’d been a long day of travel…a full week of it as she made her way toward Oath Island where the ataswere lived.
She’d only stopped here because she needed to find a ferry or boat to take her across to their island. Something she couldn’t do this late at night, as she’d been told no one piloted a boat there after dusk.
Before she could stop herself, she let out a large yawn.
“Perhaps you should go on to bed?” Masakage asked her.
She nodded as she climbed, fully clothed, into the bed that was large enough to hold a giant.
He waved his hand in a circle, and as he did so, a soft blanket covered her. It was amazingly comfortable.
And made her even more tired.
“Thank you.”
He inclined his head to her.
The sane part of Gisela told her to get up and find a private spot to sleep. But leaving comfort like this was hard.
No, it was impossible.
If she didn’t know better, she’d swear the bed was holding her in place.
Unable to resist, she yawned again, then fell down to sleep.
Xaydin smirked at his half-brother. “What did you do?”
“Small sleeping spell. She’ll never know.”
“You better hope not. By the way she carries herself, I suspect she’s one hell of a warrior. Did you pick up on anything?”
Masakage gave him a droll stare. “You know I did.”
“Are you going to share?”
He set aside his cup. “I don’t play well with others.”
That was certainly true. Xaydin still remembered the first time they’d met. Masakage had been covered in pig shit. Struggling with the chores Meara’s flunkey had heaped on the poor child. Back then, Masakage’s powers had been undeveloped and unpredictable.
Not knowing they were related, Xaydin had felt awful for the boy, as he’d been terribly bullied by others.
Being the bastard son of a troll, Xaydin had been born with his strength and powers intact. Powers no one expected courtesy of his fairy mother. He’d used them to fry the assholes who’d picked on any of his friends.
But that hadn’t gone well for him.
The more he resisted, the worse his punishments. Sadly, resistance was his best trait.
At least it gave him an inhuman pain tolerance. And a bitterness in his soul that had never healed.
That was fine by him. With the exception of his handful of friends, Masakage and their sister, he didn’t like being around others, anyway. He found most people too taxing to deal with.
Masakage was one of the few exceptions. While his half-brother had been held hostage in Meara’s court with the rest of them, he’d never officially been admitted as one of their “Outlaws.” No one knew why he’d refused to claim their kinship.
His brother was mysterious that way and it wasn’t in Xaydin to judge anyone else.
Masakage tucked away his dishes. “What do you think we should do with her?”
Xaydin shrugged. “Not quite sure. I suppose it depends on her reaction once she finds out who I am.”