Chapter 13 #2
That realization made me feel loneliness most acutely. Isolation had descended upon me since that moment, and it had been solidly around me like an impenetrable shield ever since.
Until Elaine shattered it. And she did it without any force or weapons, but with her gentle touch, her light kisses, and the soft glances she’d cast at me from under her dark eyelashes.
“I will come back as soon as I can,” I promised.
With one last kiss, I forced my arms to release her, then locked the door to the hut behind me, and headed toward the Wall.
The sun blasted the beach with light. Heat evaporated the moisture from the black sand, making haze rise over the dark shore.
Most beach dwellers had already taken shelter in their cabins and shacks.
Some had nothing more than a couple of thin walls leaned against each other to hide under.
The few unfortunate ones who were still out at this hour hurried to the shadows of the Wall for shelter.
I pulled my hood lower, holding it with my right hand.
My bone fingers felt warm in the sunlight, but there was no pain.
The parts of me that had turned to bone tolerated the sun much better than those still covered by skin—a small benefit that came out of my twisted transformation.
I smirked to myself at the irony of that.
Since I was no longer on Zayr’s list of people to collect money from, he wouldn’t be looking for me. If I wanted to speak to him now, I had to find him myself.
I checked all the usual places that Zayr and Ray’s other goons usually frequented to conduct business, but he wasn’t in any of them.
At this hour, his business must've been finished for the day. Now, my only chance for a talk was to catch Zayr before he went up to his cave in one of the upper levels of the Wall. If I missed catching up with him on the lowest level, I’d have to try it again the following morning, since I couldn’t reach the caves above unless they were located right along the path, which Zayr’s cave wasn’t.
I steered my chair through one of the caverns on the lower level and out the back door that led into the expansive maze of corridors carved into the mountain.
The intricate web of passages of all sizes spread through the Wall of Ashgate, connecting the many caves and caverns of the city, many of which couldn’t even be seen from the outside.
All water sources of Ashgate were also located here, underground. The sparse fields and vegetable gardens cultivated by Mazra’s people were positioned closer to the exits, ensuring some sunlight for the crops.
I rarely came here. Many of the corridors were too narrow or uneven to navigate in my chair.
Some could be passed through only as a shadow, which I couldn’t do either.
I preferred to stay in the open. But since I hadn’t found Zayr anywhere in the more accessible places, I had no choice but to try my luck here.
Unlike on the beach, the city life in the caves didn’t seem to slow down. The daily cycle of the sun didn’t affect it. The inhabitants hurried along the corridors to and fro, casting either curious or hostile glances my way.
“Get out of the way,” someone groused, trying to squeeze by my chair only to dissolve into a shadow the very next moment, then swiftly breeze past me in a dark cloud of magic and annoyance.
I peered into the crowd, hoping to spot Zayr or any one of Ray’s men.
“That’ll have to wait until tonight,” I finally heard the familiar deep voice of Ray’s main enforcer.
It came from around the corner right ahead of me, and I sped up my chair, afraid I’d miss him again. As I moved forward, however, a small group of fae rounded the corner, walking swiftly toward me.
“Fuck!” one of them cursed, nearly tripping over my feet.
I winced, my muscles tensing. The lance of agony never came, however, as the man managed to avoid jolting my foot. Thank fucking gods. The last thing I needed was to roll in pain for the rest of the day in front of Zayr and Ray’s foot soldiers.
“Hey, watch where you’re going!” one of them yelled at me.
I ignored him, speaking to Zayr instead, “I need to speak with you.”
He waved me away.
“We have no business left between us. Your debt is paid.” He sounded tired, not annoyed. It seemed that working for Ray took its toll on Zayr.
He released his people with a dip of his chin, then tried to sidestep my chair on his way into the caves.
“Very well,” I said, stopping him. “Let’s make it about business then.”
Shifting aside my cloak, I placed my left hand on the heavy pouch with gold strapped to my belt.
Zayr’s gaze followed my gesture with some curiosity, but it was far from the hungry smolder of greed.
It made sense. Ray wouldn’t put Zayr in charge of collecting gold for him if Zayr had a greedy side, would he?
“I already told you many times,” he exhaled wearily. “Ray isn’t starting any new businesses right now and isn’t making any new deals.”
“What if I wanted to make a deal with you?” I asked. “Not him?”
I had no plan on how to spin it from here.
I needed a cave to keep Elaine safe. The caves belonged to Ray.
I knew Zayr had no authority to rent or sell one to me.
But I’d been turned away too many times already following that line of thinking.
I had to come up with something new, and I hoped inspiration would strike me at some point in our conversation.
As long as I had a chance to actually have that conversation with Zayr.
“Just hear me out,” I said confidently. “A minute of your time, and you can always turn me down. Again.”
His massive chest rose with a deep inhale, making his heavy chain-link armor clink.
He ran a hand over his bald head, flicking his ear.
Maybe he was too tired to argue with me.
Maybe he remembered all those gold coins I’d tossed his way while repaying my debt to Ray.
Or maybe his curiosity won over his weariness, but he finally gave up.
“Fine. Come with me. I know a place.”
I followed him with hope blooming in my heart. It was way overdue for me to move Elaine to a safer place. She deserved better than the ramshackle hut on the beach. She deserved everything.
The walls of the corridor moved closer around us the farther we went.
“How much longer?” I asked with concern. “I can’t fit through every passage in here.”
He turned over his shoulder, sliding an assessing glance over my chair.
“It’ll fit,” he assured me, not slowing down.
Darkness thickened around us. The noise of the crowded corridors stayed far behind when we finally came to an arched entrance carved in the black rock.
Several men congregated at the entrance, looking like they were just socializing and passing time. At the sight of us, however, they straightened and grabbed their weapons, acting as the guards of whatever lay beyond that arched opening in the wall.
“Who’s there?” one of them asked gruffly, raising a curved sword in his hand.
“Zayr,” my companion replied. “Get me my water and fuck off.”
“Ah, hi Zayr.” The guard lowered his sword.
“Here.” Another one of this pack of thugs handed Zayr a metal tumbler with water sloshing over the rim.
“And who are you?” one of the bunch turned my way.
“He’s with me.” Zayr waved him away, then gestured to me to follow him.
“Um…” the guard hesitated. “He’ll have to pay for his water, though. Ray said—”
At the mention of his boss’s name, a muscle in Zayr’s face ticked, his amber nose ring glistening brightly with a reflection of the light from the archway.
“How do you know what Ray said?” Zayr snarled at the guards. “Have you seen him anywhere around here lately? Have you spoken to him?”
“But…” the guard muttered while the rest of them glared at me as if trying to peer through my cloak.
“I’ll pay,” I said, loosening the string of my pouch.
I wasn’t thirsty and didn’t need a drink. As Elaine’s popularity rose, we had the money to buy enough water for both of us. But I also didn’t need to attract any extra attention and had no desire to be drawn into a fight over nothing.
“Here,” I dropped a coin into the guard’s outstretched hand while another guard handed me a dented metal tumbler of water in exchange. “We’re good now?”
The guards grumped something in response, clearing the way for me and my chair.
With an annoyed glare at them, Zayr beckoned me to follow him inside, leading me into a giant cave filled with the sound of rushing water.
The sound echoed from the ceiling, giving an idea of the cavern’s enormous size.
But I didn’t see the water. Only a long wall in the middle of the cavern, constructed with large rectangular stones.
Veins of golden glow ran through the rocks, illuminating the cavern.
And still I couldn’t see the walls or even the ceiling of the cavern to accurately judge its size, but it must’ve been the largest underground space I’d ever been in, with a ceiling higher than even in the markets of Kalmena where I’d spent most of my childhood.
“Is that…” I started saying, wondering why Zayr had brought me here.
“The main source of Ashgate’s water,” he explained, climbing up a rocky path along a wall of stacked up rocks. “The river is walled and warded. But you can see it from up here.”
I still didn’t have any idea why he came here or why he brought me along. But I failed to see how this could be a trap either.
What would Zayr accomplish by luring me here with him? He knew I had money on me. But he could’ve tried to kill me earlier when his goons were with him.
Maybe he didn’t want to share the money with anyone and thought I was weak enough to deal with on his own? But then why drag me up this path? Tossing me into the river wouldn’t kill me. Though stabbing me with a weapon made from Nerifir iron beforehand probably would.