3. Chapter 3 #3
Braxton didn’t bother locking the workshop at night, and the door was propped open, allowing Levi to easily peek inside without a creak.
Breathing evenly, Braxton lay upon the bed set against the left wall.
Beyond him, at the very back of the workshop, was a large black crystal, like the smaller ones, but as immense as the Amethyst gemstone in the market.
Levi had seen the black crystal before, when cleaning the workshop, but every time, he felt more unease being near it.
He doubted the Amethyst gemstone, even being the Source Crystal, would make him feel that way, though he’d always avoided it when in the market square, afraid proximity would call more attention to his eyes.
Fleeing just as silently for the front door, Levi soon slipped out of the tower completely and headed down the road.
Although night was not truly night, at least not much different than their version of day, the air felt colder as Levi walked, though that might have also been because he was in a nightshirt instead of trousers.
A short walk to clear his head and expend some energy would help him sleep. That’s all he needed. But, as he drew closer to the top of the market steps and the more direct road at his left leading to the castle, Levi wondered if Ashmedai would admit him should he knock on the castle doors.
Shuffling up ahead drew Levi’s attention to the right portion of the road, where the Emerald carriages came and went through the wood. Levi pulled his cloak tighter around himself as he stared, hoping he was imagining the sound—and the slowly approaching shadow from the wood’s depths.
A figure began to emerge, and before Levi could take it in fully, he darted down the market steps.
What a fool he was to go walking at night!
He knew enough stories and whispers of the demon to be aware that the twilight hours when the streets were empty was the likeliest time for people to disappear, snatched up by the demon itself, even if they were nowhere near the barrier.
Bedtime stories to frighten children maybe, but then who was coming out of the wood?
The market was much darker at this hour, with fewer crystals on to brighten the way, and only a handful of lanterns, as well as a candle clock at the base of the steps near Gordoc’s stall. It was very late, almost closer to early, an hour or two before Levi needed to be up for the hunt.
The shuffling came again, closer. Footsteps? They were coming from above, where whatever that was had come out of the wood.
Levi moved deeper into the market, swift and searching. There was no one around. He could go to Daedlys’s shop, where Daedlys and Klarent lived above it, but there was no light on. If he roused them and they answered the door to harbor him, would he be putting them at risk?
The footsteps were coming down the steps!
The brightest point in the market was the square, illuminated by the Source Crystal. It might not be the safest place, but at least Levi could hide behind it. Hide he did, too afraid to peer around it and see what pursued him. Instead, he glanced over his shoulder at the castle on its hill .
The view here was closer but not as direct as from Levi’s window. The tower with its light on was still visible though. Ashmedai had to be awake. He was so close, yet so far….
As the shuffling drew nearer, Levi huddled in his cloak at the base of the Amethyst gemstone. There was a faint hum of power emanating from it, now that Levi was close enough to hear, but all he could focus on was the horror Kenner had described, with a maw large enough to swallow him whole.
“Who goes there?”
Levi gasped as a hand clamped down on his shoulder, and he sprung upright with enough force that the hood fell back from his head.
Yentriss.
“You. Like any other number of foolish children who think it might be fun to test the demon’s patience.
” She sighed with what Levi could only describe as motherly disappointment.
“Are you sleepwalking, or truly that daft?” She scanned down Levi’s body, taking in the nightshirt beneath his cloak, bare legs, and simple shoes.
“I-I… couldn’t sleep,” Levi said, hanging his head. “I was startled when I heard you coming. I’m sorry. Do you usually patrol so late?” Or early , he reminded himself.
The lizard woman had a lovely glimmer to her green and gold scales in the meager lighting, almost ethereal in the shadow of the Amethyst gemstone.
She wore a simple long-sleeved surcoat and trousers that gave a stately, soldierlike appearance.
“Old habits.” She shrugged. “I have deputies who patrol at times too. We never find anything amiss, mind you, other than wandering babes.”
Levi hung his head lower. He hated being likened to a child, though he supposed he had been acting like one.
As he adjusted his cloak and tried to stand up straighter, the Amethyst gemstone was poised directly behind him, and he thought Yentriss’s stare turned penetrating, enough that he quickly looked away again.
“None of that now,” she said a little softer.
“I haven’t seen eyes the likes of yours in a long time, but you needn’t hide them.
If there was ever something sinister to that Amethyst, it was because of what the demon did to it, maybe even what our lost prince did to it, but Brax has proven he can make useful things from its power in the years since.
We’ll see if that proves true of you, but so far nothing has proven otherwise. ”
Levi looked up. Yentriss was a harsh woman, but there was a tenderness beneath her scales that could be earned, something Levi had only caught glimpses of when she smiled at Grillo or patted Kenner’s head. He hoped he could earn it someday.
“Go home now,” Yentriss said plainly, and Levi offered a hasty nod before heading around the gemstone to return to the steps.
He still couldn’t be certain of where he would have gone had Yentriss not interrupted his stroll, but with a final glance at the castle once he reached the top of the steps, he knew where he’d wanted to be. Even as he turned for Braxton’s tower, Levi wondered if Ashmedai would have let him in.
Ashmedai
What a fool Ashmedai was for thinking that inviting Levi to join the hunt would mean more time with him.
“Duck!” Yentriss called from the back of the line, and everyone knew to listen—for the rollhounds had been released.
Rollhounds were what had become of dogs and were still often kept as pets, mixed now with a sort of armadillo appearance and able to hurl themselves forward in their contorted form and even propel into the air ahead of the hunters.
Ashmedai watched half a dozen land in front of where he led the charge, continuing forward hot on the trail of whatever scent they had picked up.
Some of the hunters were especially skilled in controlling the rollhounds, but the hunters’ numbers weren’t only based on strength. Some were adept at long-range weaponry, like Yentriss, others in magic, or simply useful with the natural affinities of their monstrous selves.
Myrra, for example, was a creature of massive size, even taller than Grillo, and seemingly made of stone. She could make the ground tremble and act as both deterrent and wall to direct their prey where they wanted them to go.
In contrast, Amuro, a second generation-born citizen, and therefore one of the most mixed of chimeras, was faster than the rollhounds and could cast magic that seeped from him like mist to put their prey to sleep.
He walked as easily on four legs as two, for his hindquarters were like a furred mammal, his arms like a lizard, and he had a tail like a rat, with an elongated face made from armored skin, the teeth of an alligator, and a mane of hair as full as a lion.
Those who volunteered for the hunt all had unique skills to contribute.
Like Levi—who was somewhere back by Yentriss, staying out of harm’s way.
Ashmedai kept his hand on his longsword but didn’t yet draw it, speeding between trees in pursuit of the hounds.
Several other hunters kept pace with him, many were just behind, and even more were farther back with Yentriss and Levi, where Ashmedai could barely keep track of them, let alone start a conversation.
The days leading up to the hunt had mostly been the same, with Levi assisting Grillo, and then, upon his return, Ashmedai would walk Levi back to Braxton’s door. It was never enough time.
Nor was there enough time during the chaos of the hunt.
“Jackalopes!” Pentelyn warned, using her many eyes to steer their direction as she flew above them. She was a harpy with a second set of eyes above the first. “Grouped to the right!”
Myrra lumbered ahead, veering right until she was at the forefront, and struck the ground with her mighty fists. The path ahead rumbled, and there was a scatter of winged creatures and glider monkeys—and, farther in the distance, a shift in direction of the jackalopes.
Everyone carried a warding crystal, and the collars of the rollhounds had been fastened with crystals as well to provide early warning if they neared the barrier.
The hunt was often too chaotic to recognize how far into the wood they might have traveled, and people traversed the part of the wood inhabited by edible animals the least frequently, so as not to spook them more than necessary.
Ashmedai caught up to Myrra and passed her, with everyone hurrying onward at his heels. The jackalopes were in clearer view now as the rollhounds unfurled from their contortions to further herd them.
Half the jackalopes headed left as desired—the other half kept right.
Damn .
“I’ll steer them back!” Pentelyn called as she soared overhead.
Ashmedai didn’t like the hunters separating, but if they could cut off the wayward jackalopes fast enough, it would mean twice as much meat for the month ahead.
Then he remembered why he had wanted to invite Levi, and it wasn’t only for his company.