Chapter 9
Nine
Stone
The desert thrummed with life as Aquila docked at the only port in the Outpost. Stone relished the liveliness of the desert-dwellers, even if he despised the Outpost itself.
With temperatures too hot during the day, the small colony came to life at nightfall.
It was well after midnight, but music clung to the sticky air as Stone led the crew to the tavern.
“So this is the Outpost?” Aesira joined his side, her eyes wide and drinking in the surroundings.
Tents spanned either side of them, a few that could afford astra had lights strung from their ceilings showcasing various goods for sale.
Music and dancing, singing, and laughter spilled into the alleyway as Stone took a hard left turn.
“Is it what you expected?”
“Not really,” Aesira said. He glanced at her just in time to see a smile retreating from her lips. “Middle of the desert, no resources for days, I didn’t expect so much–”
“Joy? Life?”
She looked up at him. “Yes.”
“People make do.” He took another turn before stopping at a small doorway attached to an ancient limestone building. “Here we are.”
Aesira’s brows bunched as if she were about to ask a question, but Birdie and Bee pushed in front of them and swung the door open. Soft, sensual music spilled out from the open door.
Aesira and Nora took a step forward but Stone blocked them, clicking it shut.
“What are you doing?” Aesira asked, hand resting on the pommel of her sword. His eyes drifted over her armor, the cuffs hanging at her hip. He should have told her to change, but he had a sneaky suspicion that if he’d suggested it, she would have told him to fuck off.
“We have a long way to go, if we’re to find the king.
The crew needs a night off from flying. And if there’s anything that’s universally true, it’s that people who drink also like to talk.
If the king stopped at the Outpost on his way to Ravki, someone in there would have seen him. Might have answers.”
She relaxed her grip on the handle of her sword. “Okay, then why isn’t Patch here?”
“Someone has to stay with the ship.”
“Fine,” Aesira said, “well let’s go in.”
“We’re not going in there.” Stone blocked their path again. “Birdie and Bee will question any one they can. If you go in dressed like that”— He scanned Aesira’s armor—“No one will talk.” He sunk his hands in his pockets and nodded over their shoulders. “So we're going there instead.”
“And there is?” Nora asked as they both turned.
“The Apothecary,” he said. He knew what they’d see. An unimpressive building that looked worse for wear, free from any signs, but like most of the Outpost, its beauty was hidden. Tucked away from undeserving eyes. “If finding Desmond is what you wish most–”
“Of course it is,” Aesira said.
“Okay.” Stone studied her face as she studied the small stone building across from them.
Her dark hair was still windswept, the curls falling freely down her back, a few tiny freckles dotted over the bridge of her nose.
She looked so different from the times he saw her in Vargah.
More relaxed with her hair down. He liked it, more than he expected.
Her posture, however, reminded him that she was not relaxed at all.
Just as rigid as usual. “There”— he pointed—“is a way for us to narrow down our search. Let’s go. ”
“Wait,” Aesira said. She pulled Nora close and whispered something in her ear. The knight nodded once, her bright red locks catching in the dull astra lamps that lined the streets, and turned back for the dock.
“And where is she going?”
“Back to the ship to change so she can question people on her own,” Aesira said.
Stone shook his head. “You don’t trust my crew to get information?”
Aesira ignored him, taking the lead to cross the street. “I thought you knew where Ravki was?”
“You’re really good at changing the subject.”
She glanced at him over her shoulder. “You’re really good at not answering my questions.”
“Fine,” Stone said. “The truth is no one really knows where Ravki is.” Or if it exists. “Who’s to say the king didn’t wander here, realize he was over his head, and stay hidden somewhere?”
He caught up to her side and could see enough of her face to see she was frowning again. “But the maps—”
“You mean the maps the king decimated with scribbles and notes and tragically bad folding?” They reached the Apothecary but Stone blocked the door before Aesira could open it.
“We don’t know how viable they are. We don’t even know if they’re real.
So in here”— he tapped the door three times—“if finding the king is your utmost desire, there’s a way.
” The astra lamp outside of the Apothecary winked on, the light catching on her armor.
“Also, you really should change out of that.”
“Trying to undress me, Odega?”
He grinned, readying his next remark, but the door creaked open behind him.
“It’s late,” a voice growled from the darkness. "Go away."
“Apologies, Soo. It’s Stone Odega and I’ve brought a friend.” He glanced over his shoulder and urged Aesira to join his side. “Can we come in for a tea?”
The door slid open another inch, a tiny slice of candlelight leaking out. “Did someone say tea?” the ancient woman asked through a soft chuckle. “Well you should have started with that.” She pushed the door wide open and a waft of sage and mint burned in his nose. “There’s always time for tea.”
Soo, a tiny woman with a severe hunch Stone couldn’t remember her ever not having led them inside. Her short cropped hair shone silver in the candlelight and her narrow eyes and deeply wrinkled skin stood out against the overflowing life that was tucked into every corner of the small space.
Aesira ran her fingertips along the green vines that stretched from floor to ceiling, eyes wide and curious.
Stone traced her movements and he couldn’t blame her for being so enamored.
Each wall of the Apothecary was lined with wooden shelves and on top of each shelf was cacti, shrubs, dried herbs in tiny jars, skulls of various animals, and even a tortoise shell.
The Apothecary was always this way. Stuffed to the brim with oddities. Plants. Warmth.
He’d found Soo shortly after Patch dragged him in from the open desert. She was just as much family as the cadre was, even if she was the most stubborn.
“What kind of tea can I make for you this time, Stone?” Soo stood behind a small counter, hands resting on top of each other, silver and gemstone rings adorning each knobby finger.
“Same as last time,” he said. “We’re looking for something–someone. Did you happen to see anyone out of the ordinary pass through?”
Soo laughed. “I’m an old lady. I don’t get out much let alone participate in gossip.”
Stone pushed his glasses up so they sat more firmly on his nose. He knew for a fact that wasn’t true. Old, yes. Not a fan of gossip? Hardly. If there was gossip, Soo was either starting it or feeding it. “Only a question, Soo. Which you didn’t answer by the way.”
Soo grunted. “You know where you need to go if you want answers in the Outpost.” She leaned closer, propping her elbows on the counter.
“You know who keeps the desert's secrets.” She leaned close, pulling him down so she could speak softly into his ear.
"What are you really doing here? Looking for something you shouldn't? "
He straightened, clearing his throat. The light in the Apothecary was dim and Stone wondered if Aesira could see his jaw clench at the mention of the desert's secrets, or where to go to find them. He needed to keep his composure. To make sure she didn’t see the rising panic in his chest. “Just looking for someone who's lost."
Soo grunted and he knew she didn't believe him. He'd tell her his plans, later, as he always did. "Then you know where to go, Stone."
"The last time I checked, he wasn’t pleased with me,” he said, choosing his words wisely. Vaguely. “Plus you know his general disdain for outsiders.”
Soo grabbed a glass jar from the nearest shelf, a moth with thick, furry wings fluttered inside.
She reached in and pulled it out, letting it sit atop her hand.
“Mmm,” she said, stroking the moth’s wings.
“I’m sure for someone so pretty”— she leaned around Stone and smiled at Aesira— “he’d make an exception. ”
“She isn’t a bargaining chip.” Stone’s voice dropped low.
Soo laughed again. “Defensive.” Stone’s mouth dropped open but she shook her head. “You mentioned tea. Now do you want some, or did you truly wake me up to ask me unnecessary questions?”
“Fine, if you haven’t seen anyone unusual,” Stone said, “you must at least have a remedy to help point us in the right direction.”
Soo chuckled then immediately got to work. She shuffled about the small room with bare feet and brightly colored chiffon robes that draped onto the ground. She pulled vials from shelves, snipped flowers and leaves, humming quietly to herself, the moth perched on her shoulder.
“Wait here,” she said before disappearing behind a curtain of tiny bells and beads.
After a few moments of silence, Aesira cleared her throat. “How is tea going to help us find Desmond?”
Stone picked up a crystal from one of the shelves, examining it through his glasses. “Soo is a mage.” He set the crystal back down, leaned against the shelf, and crossed his arms across his chest.
“A mage? There haven’t been mages in…” Aesira’s eyes went distant, like she was trying to make sense of what he’d said.
Stone laughed. “Centuries. She looks good for her age. Or maybe she has a tea for that too.”
“I do.” Soo rounded the corner, the peal of bells following in her wake.
“I have a tea for everything.” It was impossible to tell with the heavy weight of wrinkles around her eyes but Stone thought he saw the woman wink.
“Here.” She handed Stone a satchel stuffed to the brim.
“Make sure your water is hot, let it steep for three minutes.” She held up a finger, pointing it at his face.
“Not two minutes, not four minutes. Three minutes. Understood?”
“Understood.” Stone slipped a few coins into her hand and turned away before she could tell him his money was no good to her.
Aesira snatched the satchel from Stone, holding it to her nose and taking a deep inhale. “What’s in it?”
Soo plucked a dry, yellow flower from her wall and began to grind it with a heavy mortal and pestle. “Who are you, girl? You come to the Outpost, a place for miscreants and drifters dressed like a woman of the law.” Soo’s eyes burned a trail from Aesira’s chestplate down to her boots.
That cursed fucking armor. He wanted to rip it off her. Not just because he liked her better without it, but because it would get them in trouble and trouble was the last thing they needed.
“Are you? A woman of the law?” Soo pressed, adding another flower to her mortar.
“I am.” Aesira tossed the tea back to Stone. “Commander Zeliath.” She held out her hand but Soo busied herself, grabbing more leaves and flowers, grinding them to dust. The moth on her shoulder stretched its wings but made no attempt to fly away.
“And it’s you who seeks this drifter?”
“Yes,” Aesira said. “He’s my brother-in-law. My sister is worried about him.”
Soo huffed a laugh before wiping her hands on her robes and pouring the dust into another satchel.
“And finding him is what you seek the most?” She didn’t look up as she spoke.
She kept her eyes down, drawing shapes and letters into the flower dust that had spilled onto the countertop.
A riddle, Stone guessed, that would leave them more questions than answers.
That’s how it went with Soo. Her guidance was a broken mirror and she held the missing pieces, but still somehow expected you to fill in the empty shards on your own.
“I wish to find him more than anything else,” Aesira said and for some reason Stone believed her. She said it with her chest out, her chin high. He respected her dedication. Her loyalty. Even if it was toward the crown, the same people who put him in prison.
“Good.” Soo glanced at her now. “Drink the tea. If finding him is what you want most in your heart, it should lend you some answers. Take this. I have a feeling you might need it.” She tossed another satchel to Aesira before turning to Stone.
“Three minutes.” Then, she was gone, back behind the curtain of bells.
“You heard her,” Stone said. “Let’s go.”
Another bell chimed as Stone pushed open the door but Aesira took a step toward the counter. “What is it?” He rejoined her in the back of the store and mapped her gaze to where Soo had drawn in the flower dust.
There was a single word in the center of a set of peculiar drawings.
Lost.