1. Chapter 1 #4
“I know. I’m sorry, Master, it just… tastes awful.”
Another wry smile touched Braxton’s lips.
“Things that are good for you often do.” He wheeled around Levi toward the kitchen, where the kettle was on simmer, keeping the brewed draught warm where Levi was intended to take it with breakfast. There was an inherent bitterness to it, but Levi could admit that after drinking it, he always felt a sense of contentment far stronger than if it was merely herbal tea.
Braxton poured some of the brew into a ready teacup and handed it to Levi. Trying not to scrunch his nose quite so obviously this time, Levi swallowed a large, acrid gulp.
“There you are. Honestly, sometimes I regret you have a soul. So much more effort than my other constructs. ”
Levi’s stomach dipped far deeper than could be caused by Braxton’s anger or a nauseating drink. Braxton was all he had; he wanted to please him. “I’m sorry, Master.”
“You can make it up to me by going to the city council meeting later.” Braxton wheeled away without waiting for Levi’s response. “I’m far too busy.”
“T-truly?” Levi nearly dropped his cup. “B-b-but I—”
“You can handle that, can’t you?” Braxton interrupted without looking back. “I’ll need a full account in case Ash needs anything of me. Ah, and I have some previous requests you can deliver to him afterward.” Braxton tapped a waiting list on the kitchen table as he passed it.
Requests for the king ?
“B-b-but—”
“But what?” Braxton finally pivoted to fix Levi with a steady stare.
Levi clutched his teacup in both hands and lowered his eyes at the quiet reprimand. “N-nothing, Master.”
Braxton sighed. “When I have time, I’ll have to do something about that stutter. Go on now. Put the supplies away, and then you can do as you please until the meeting.”
Levi had almost forgotten the pack slung over his body, filled with supplies for Braxton—and a tunic and belt for Levi.
Any concern over Braxton discovering there were extra items in the bag washed away as Braxton returned to his workshop, closing the door behind him. Even so, Levi gulped down his remaining draught with a grimace and set to work unloading the pack and putting everything in its place.
Then he grabbed the list from the table, all basic enough requests, such as additional warding crystals.
Those were likely for the upcoming hunt, since they could warn people should they venture too close to the barrier’s edge.
A perimeter of the crystals lined the barrier, but they could be disturbed by animals and didn’t stay lit forever, often needing to be replaced.
The barrier was invisible otherwise and very difficult to detect.
Anyone who unwittingly crossed it disintegrated, like being erased from existence.
Levi left the task of gathering items for the king until later, bypassing the first upstairs level upon his ascent and continuing for his room.
Braxton slept in his workroom and was a man of simple needs, so the top floor was all Levi’s.
He didn’t have much—a bed, a wardrobe, an extra washbasin.
The rest of the room was lined with bookshelves and filled with nearly every tome Braxton owned.
He’d gifted Levi with much natural knowledge upon his creation but told him that expansion of it was up to him, and that every new thing learned made him more useful, which was Levi’s only goal in life.
That and to perhaps manage a conversation with the king without stammering.
Levi’s wardrobe was meager, but then, he didn’t require much. He still managed to hide the new tunic between a few other sets of garments and hung the belt with it.
He couldn’t truly say why he felt the need to hide new clothing. He hadn’t stolen it. He hadn’t paid for it with goods he wasn’t allowed to trade. It was a bonus, a gift. Yet still, it felt like something precious that he needed to keep for himself.
Braxton gave Levi everything he needed— more than he needed—but Levi’s favorite was the room itself, with a window that looked out of the tower upon the entirety of the Shadow Lands, all the way from the tower’s great hill to the hill of the Shadow King’s castle, and every expanse within the valley between.
The Black Lake was to the west, the wood to the east, and the castle straight ahead, as if Levi could look directly into the king’s own bedchambers if their hills were closer .
The thought made Levi’s cheeks grow warm again.
He had a chair pulled up beside the window where he often read. He sat there now, leaning his arms upon the windowsill and his head on his hands, thinking of the king. He’d run from him today without so much as a bow. Later, he had to talk to him. There would be no hiding or running then.
With a furtive glance aside, Levi flicked a finger at the corner of his room, and where he indicated, a figure blossomed—Ashmedai, just as he’d looked in Daedlys’s shop, standing there with a soft smile.
Illusion magic was the extent of Levi’s power.
He could create images as real as flesh, but only in appearance.
While it looked as though the true Ashmedai stood before him, when Levi lifted from his seat to reach out and touch Ashmedai’s face, his fingers fell right through him.
The illusion was still beautiful though.
Levi waved his hand to banish the mirage. He would have to face the real thing soon, and though nervous energy coursed through him as he turned to begin gathering the requested items for the king, most of that energy was becoming excitement.
Ashmedai
“What say you, Ash?”
“Hm?” Ashmedai looked up, chastising himself for drifting.
Much as he kept to himself most days, he enjoyed city council meetings, a chance for his people to directly tell him and his advisors how their lives might improve. Talk of Festival Day, however, continued to make him think on the lost prince, even after all these centuries.
“Apologies, Dreya,” Ashmedai said to her at his right.
City council meetings were held in the grand hall in the middle of what was otherwise the residential area, with rows of seating for anyone who wished to attend, and a head table for Ashmedai and his advisors.
Ashmedai turned from Dreya’s patient, smiling face to address the subject standing before them. “Apologies to you also, Grillo. Were you requesting clearance for additional lumber for festival structures?”
“That’s right,” Grillo answered.
He was a minotaur and one of the kingdom’s more towering subjects at over eight feet tall—though part of that height was from his impressive horns that curled up and then down like a ram’s.
His face still retained an almost humanness, more than that of a bull, but he had hooves and a tail and massive muscles covered in fur.
He was an excellent carpenter due to his strength, often able to cut down trees with a single swing of his axe. One would likewise think that would make him an excellent hunter, but his wife surpassed him in that regard.
“Have you discussed with Yentriss your planned section of the wood?” Ashmedai nodded to Yentriss at his right.
Ashmedai might be king, but he took to heart his advisors’ counsel, and Grillo’s wife, Yentriss, was watchman in charge of the kingdom’s safety, which included its streets and settling disputes, as well as protection from outside threats.
“Grillo has proposed his route, yes,” Yentriss said, stern and without favoritism.
She was like a dragon without wings, average in stature, especially compared to Grillo, but whereas he had fur, Yentriss was covered in scales. Her face was even more human than her husband’s, despite green and gold plating, but her head elongated back to three hornlike points in place of hair.
“It is borderline,” Yentriss continued, “but there are too few mature trees within safer zones.”
“Is it necessary then to build such structures purely for the festival?” Ashmedai asked.
“If I may, Ash,” Grillo spoke up, “I’m not planning to build for building’s sake.
The primary focus will be to rebuild dilapidated stalls, both in the market and those currently stored away.
Many have gone without mending for far too many years, and I fear not making such changes could be a threat to public safety. ”
“Much as I may be wary, he’s right,” Yentriss agreed.
The people here no longer aged. Their children did, but only to adulthood. No one died. A few people had gone missing over the centuries, believed by the masses to have been erased by the demon for venturing too near the barrier, but that was rare.
The problem was when people did want children, there wasn’t much room left where they could expand. They had already taken too much from the wood without time for the trees to grow again. Risks were becoming necessary.
“For the upcoming hunt, I have requested more warding crystals from Brax,” Ashmedai began, only to pause as he caught sight of shuffling at the back of the hall. Many people were here tonight, so several were standing, but at the very back in the far-right corner was a cloaked figure.
The one advisor missing from the head table, who should have been beside Yentriss, was Braxton, in charge of development and technology. Ashmedai realized he knew the cloak that had moved upon the mention of Braxton’s name. He’d seen it scurry away from him earlier that day.
Levi.
Maybe it wasn’t merely festival talk that had distracted Ashmedai, but his not quite close encounter with Braxton’s creation. He couldn’t help it, but the one time he’d caught sight of the young man’s eyes, it cut him to the quick.
Violet—just like Cullen’s.
Ashmedai cleared his throat to cover that he had drifted once more and began again. “Grillo, we will equip you with some of the excess warding crystals to ensure your safety. If possible, I would also like to insist that you not enter the wood alone. Agreed?” he asked of Yentriss.
She nodded, and Grillo looked relieved.
“What if crystals aren’t enough?” someone asked.