Chapter 18 #2
Deep in the bowls of Ashgate, Timur stopped his chair in front of a low, worn wooden door and knocked.
“Who’s there?” came from behind the door.
“For an appointment,” Timur replied quietly.
“Right, right.” The voice came closer, followed by the sound of clicking chains and opening locks.
The door seemed flimsy enough for a fae to break, but the locks must be more than just hooks and deadbolts. The golden shimmer of magic ran over the weathered wood before the door opened wide enough for a male face to appear.
“Greetings, General.” The mage glimpsed at Timur, then gave me a long, assessing look.
Timur flinched at the mention of his former rank, but didn’t protest out loud.
“Can we come in?” he asked, flickering a glance over his shoulder at the crowded corridor behind us.
“Right, right, of course,” the mage muttered, opening the door wider for us to enter.
Tall with broad shoulders, like most male fae, the mage wore a skirt from chiffon so light, it floated like a cloud around his hips and legs as he moved.
The thin braids of his long hair were arranged into an intricate weave that started on top of his head, then descended like thick, black lace draping over his shoulders.
The mesh of thin chains and leather straps over his chest was too fine to serve any purpose as armor.
Decorated with beads of polished gold and gemstones, it must be worn mostly as a status symbol.
Frankly, I found it imprudent and even dangerous on the mage’s part to flaunt his wealth so openly in a place like Ashgate.
As Timur and I entered the mage’s spacious cave, the man’s eyes never left me, inspecting every part of my face and body like probing fingers. Despite the warm air in this lavishly furnished space, a shiver ran down my spine, and I wrapped my arms around myself protectively.
“It’s an honor to finally meet you, Joy Vessel Elaine,” the mage murmured softly.
He invited me to sit down by gesturing at a thick cushion next to an elaborate water fixture of rock and bronze in the middle of his cave, but I shook my head quickly, stepping closer to Timur.
“Thanks. I’ll stand. How do you know my name?” I asked.
“Everyone knows your name, Sweet One. Everyone who’s worth being associated with, that is. And now, I can see what all the furor is about,” the mage said in that soft murmur of his.
I clutched Timur’s hand tighter. The gentle glide of his thumb over my skin registered with me, reminding me of his presence, and I drew in a long, calming breath.
“Do you? Really?” I squinted at the mage skeptically.
I wore a simple beige skirt, clean but frayed along the hem.
A gray scarf around my breasts was of similar quality and in similar condition.
In addition to the dress I wore when I arrived in Ashgate, I only had two more outfits, and both had been bought used.
I insisted on that. After five weeks in Ashgate, all my possessions could be packed into a medium-sized basket.
There was no need to spend money on meaningless things when it could buy people’s freedom, including Timur’s and mine.
Nothing about me said I fit into the mage’s world of expensive fragrances, plush cushions, and precious chiffon silks.
He read my sarcasm with ease, giving me a knowing smile.
“You don’t need to be dressed in finery for me to see your true value,” he said, walking over to a tall chest of drawers. “You, my dear, are priceless.”
“Priceless?” I smiled, faking confidence to edge out my unease. “That’s not true, mage…” I paused, realizing he hadn’t introduced himself, and I forgot what name Timur used for him earlier.
“Suhai,” the mage had guessed the reason for my pause.
“Well, since you know who I am, Suhai, then you should also know that I very much do have a price.”
Suhai nodded.
“Your weight in gold, I’ve heard,” he chuckled. “What a steal. Wasn’t it, General?”
“Yes, a real bargain,” Timur replied dryly. “But we aren’t here to discuss the price or value of my Joy Vessel. She isn’t for sale and never will be. You said you can help her see.”
“Right, right, you mentioned she has trouble seeing…” Suhai gave me a questioning stare. “Yet you’re looking at me, Sweet One?”
“I can see,” I explained. “Just not as well as a healthy human normally would. Details are blurry for me from a distance. For example, I don’t see facial expressions unless people come very close to me.”
“Do you mean you can’t see my face?” Curiosity colored his voice.
“Not from where you’re standing.”
It didn’t help that the only lighting in his cave came from the several thick candles randomly arranged throughout the space.
The mage looked barely more corporeal to me than the shadow he cast in the candlelight.
I mostly guessed his actions by the shifting of his shape and by the sounds he made rather than by actually seeing him.
Suhai opened several drawers in a tall chest by the wall and took a few items out, then arranged them on a small rolling stand.
“Does it get better when I come closer?” he asked, taking a few steps toward me.
“It does. Now I can see your eyes, though I still can’t tell what color they are.”
To me, his eyes looked like a couple of pale dots in his face.
“I have golden eyes,” he said proudly. “The color of royalty.”
He came closer, rolling the cart with him.
“Well, let’s see what ails you, Sweet One.” He lifted a round lens in a thick golden frame.
I held a breath in apprehension. Medical exams often felt unnerving, even if it was just a simple eye test. But I’d never been examined by a fae mage before, and this place certainly didn’t look like an optometrist’s office.
Timur gently tugged on my hand.
“Come here, sweetheart,” he said softly before placing me onto his lap.
I’d almost forgotten that his tendrils were still connected to me, but he sensed my unease and knew that I’d be far more comfortable if he held me. His right arm went around my middle, and his tail wound loosely around my ankles.
I gripped the warm bones of Timur’s right forearm for comfort, eyeing the giant lens in the mage’s hands.
“What exactly are you going to do with that?” I asked uncertainly.
“To treat a problem, I first need to determine the full extent of it,” Suhai said. “I need to see your eyes.”
I drew in a bracing breath. “Okay.”
Suhai brought the lens close to my face and peered through it into my left eye. I opened it wide, looking just above the lens at first. As his yellow iris filled the entire expanse of the giant lens, however, I couldn’t help but glance right into it.
My head spun, as if I stepped into a twister and it swept me away. Letting go of Timur, I flailed my arms to grab onto something for balance. Timur caught my hands and pressed me to his chest tightly.
“Are you done?” he snapped at Suhai. “She doesn’t like it. You have to stop.”
Suhai removed the lens from between us but didn’t move away, staring at me with his yellow eyes.
“Do you see my face clearly now?” he asked.
He was so close, I could feel his breath on my skin and see the tiny dots of shimmer on the tip of his nose.
“Yes,” I said. “I can.”
“In every detail?”
I focused on his features. Like all fae, he was beautiful.
I couldn’t guess his age, but that was also normal with shadow fae.
They stopped aging for several centuries after reaching adulthood.
But there was something else in his seemingly neutral expression.
He stared at me so intently as if trying to see all my thoughts and feelings, while keeping his own shut away from me.
“In more detail than I want to…” I muttered.
“Well, we’re done here.” He leaned back abruptly.
It felt as if a plug had been yanked out of my throat, and I could draw a full breath again.
“That’s it?” I blinked, confused.
“That’s all I needed to know about your impairment.
” Suhai put the lens back onto the cart and lifted a slim dagger from it instead.
“You have everything you need to see just as well as any other human. You’ve had no injuries and have no damages that need healing.
You just need a small…um, adjustment, which I’m happy to do. ”
He twirled the dagger in his hand, then leaned closer, aiming the tip of the blade at my right eye.
“You want to cut my eyes?” I gasped, shrinking away from him.
“It’s not happening,” Timur snapped gruffly. “Get your blade away from her or I’ll use it to slice your skin into ribbons.”
The mage’s jaw slacked in confusion. He took a cautious step away from Timur, then carefully placed the blade back onto the cart.
“I don’t understand,” he mumbled. “Isn’t that what you hired me for, General?”
“I hired you to make her new eyeglasses, not to carve out her eyes.”
It occurred to me that the mage, despite all his skills and magic, might not know what eyeglasses were since shadow fae had no use for them.
“Eyeglasses are two lenses, one for each eye,” I explained quickly, gesturing over my face where a pair of eyeglasses would be worn.
“Framed and connected right here over the nose with a little metal arch. And held by two curved metal things that are curved to fit over the ears, like this.” I curled my fingers into a hook to demonstrate, glancing between both Suhai and Timur. “Do you understand?”
Both men looked at me with concentration, visibly trying to understand, but I wasn’t sure how much of my explanation they actually got.
Timur tilted his head, gazing at me in wonder. “Fascinating.”
“Did you wear something like that before?” Suhai asked in bewilderment.
“Yes. Many people wear eyeglasses back in my world. The surface of the lenses is curved in a certain way to correct each person’s vision individually. Timur said you came from Kalmena. Does no one of the queen’s Joy Vessels wear glasses?” I asked the mage.
He gave me an indulgent smile.
“Oh, sweet thing, if the queen favored me enough to grant me access to her sarai, why would I ever need to come to Ashgate?”