17. Fenric #2
After clearing his throat, roughly wiping his eyes, and shoving the necklace into his pocket, Fenric replied, “Out here!”
Maxie’s quick footsteps echoed under Fenric, and his curly-topped head popped out the open window. His wide eyes found Fenric in a flash. “What are you doing out here?”
“The house is stuffy. There’s a nice breeze out here.” Not to mention more privacy. Or there had been up until now.
“May I join you?”
“If you can do it without breaking your neck.” Maxie scoffed, but Fenric held up a finger. “Fall and kill yourself, and I’ll allow Hapi to raise you from the dead, but you’ll be kicked out of E.V.I.L.”
Maxie narrowed his eyes at Fenric in an adorable glare, as if he were trying to figure out whether Fenric was being serious or teasing him.
In the end, Maxie clenched his jaw and stuck a foot out the window.
There was a narrow bit of room he could shimmy along to get to the bigger part of the slope where Fenric was seated.
Fenric bit down on the inside of his cheek as he watched Maxie carefully shuffle, shimmy, and inch along until he was just about to Fenric.
Unfortunately, one of the wooden tiles gave way under his foot.
His arms windmilled at his sides as he attempted to steady himself, even as he leaned awkwardly toward the edge of the roof.
With an amused huff, Fenric grabbed the front of Maxie’s shirt, jerked him forward, and spun him so he landed on his ass right next to Fen.
“You just naturally attract trouble,” Fenric grumbled.
“Thank you for saving my life yet again,” Maxie said with a bright smile that could chase away anyone’s dour mood. Even Fenric’s.
“Did you come out here for a reason or were you just looking to cool off?” Though their rental house was quite nice and spacious, it seemed to lack for windows.
It also didn’t help that, due to their location, the air blowing in any open window smelled like a mix of stale ale and dead fish.
While the smell still permeated in the air, sitting on the roof under the stars was a far better option.
“I wanted to tell you that while you and Belstrom were out looking for work, I accompanied Hapi and Malfas to the market. They taught me all about the different and interesting ingredients they use in their spells. I was surprised by the amount of overlap between the two. One would think the ingredients a warlock used would be completely different than what a necromancer would use.”
Fenric smiled faintly, warmed by Maxie’s bubbly enthusiasm. He didn’t give two shits about magic. He couldn’t entirely explain his own magical ability, but that didn’t stop him from using it.
“Oh! And they got me this!” Maxie shifted and leaned back, digging a small book out of the pocket of his trousers.
“It’s a journal. Hapi explained that since he and Malfas have only a surface-level understanding of alchemy, they can only teach me so much.
It is my job to make notes on all the things I’ve learned about my skills.
But Hapi said my journal will be the foundation to building my own grimoire.
Can you imagine? I could one day write an alchemy grimoire filled with all kinds of poisons. ”
Fenric tapped the dark brown leather a couple of times with his index finger. “When you’re writing your grimoire, how about including a section on cures to your poisons as well? Might save us from having to raise the dead every time.”
Maxie giggled, his fingers tightening on the journal. “Oh yes! I will definitely include cures when I discover them, but I won’t share them with my enemies. They must suffer from my poisons.”
“Good. Have you made any notes yet?”
Maxie flipped open the book to reveal several pages of incredibly neat writing, more proof, in Fenric’s mind, that Maxie came from a noble family. Though, a scholar might have perfect penmanship as well.
“I haven’t written much. Just the results of my various cooking attempts all ending in death.
But I clearly documented every step I took and at what point the person fell dead.
In the case of Belstrom and the apples, I hadn’t even gotten to cooking them yet.
” Maxie slowly closed the book, his shoulders slumping.
“Hapi has decided we have to pause our experiments. We need to design a series of tests that will clearly pinpoint where my magic turns everything to poison. He says we also need to find a beginner’s alchemy instruction book. ”
Fenric reached over and patted Maxie’s back. “I’m sure Hapi and Malfas have already explained that learning any form of magic is a very long process. It’s not something you can rush. Besides, there are more things to being a villain than simply cooking up a good poison.”
The young man perked up again. “Yes, there’s fighting, lying, swearing, sailing, sneaking, stealing, and general mayhem.”
“Rain has been giving you pointers again, hasn’t he?”
Maxie grinned so wide his eyes became slits. “Rain is extraordinarily helpful.”
“Yeah, I bet he is.”
They fell into a comfortable silence, watching the drunk and disorderly wandering down the block and listening to the music drift out of the various taverns.
A stray thought of Lirion floated across Fenric’s mind as he wondered if the bard was somewhere plying his trade even now, earning enough coin for a meal and a bed.
He did not let himself think about looking for where the bard might be singing.
Every time they encountered each other, chaos erupted, and Fenric had suffered through enough of that.
“Do you think—” Maxie started and then abruptly stopped.
“What?”
“I…” His words drifted off even faster this time.
Fenric elbowed him. “Come on. Spit it out. If you can’t tell the guy who dug you out of the ground, who are you going to talk to?”
Maxie choked on a laugh. “You are very ridiculous, for a rogue.”
“I’ll have you know, most rogues are very ridiculous. The more ridiculous we are, the easier it is for us to pick your pocket without your knowledge.”
“Well, you’re going to be very disappointed with my pockets. They are very empty.”
“We’ll teach you how to fix that problem soon enough. Now, what question were you going to ask?”
“Oh.” Maxie reached down and picked at one of the wooden roof tiles between his legs, seeming unable to meet Fenric’s gaze, which was odd for him. No matter what he was saying, Maxie had a habit of always meeting a person’s gaze. “I was just wondering if this is what The Box saw for my destiny.”
Despite the lingering heat of the day, a chill ran through Fenric, biting straight to the bone, at the mention of The Box. Everyone in all the world knew of The Box, though it was the people of Moorwood who saw their lives ruled by it.
The Box wasn’t a mere wooden crate that forecast the future.
It was a grand structure tucked inside the royal palace, taking up an entire room.
The monstrosity had hundreds of moving parts, but most importantly, it was the vehicle through which the great constellation god Mineas spoke to his chosen saintesses.
Mineas saw all that would come to pass. Destinies were changed by a few words from the constellation for both great and small. Wars were started and ended. Famines were prognosticated and floods averted. The courses of lives were changed.
But Fenric knew firsthand that the great god was frequently wrong. After all, the god had declared he would be a hero.
“Do you think that was why you were suddenly tossed out of your home? Because of something said by The Box?” Fenric demanded, not even trying to keep the mounting rage from his words.
“Oh no! That would be impossible. I’m no one.
No one at all. Why would The Box have anything to say about my insignificant life?
” Maxie ran a hand through his tangle of curls and flashed Fenric a crooked smile.
“I was just thinking how my life has taken such a strange turn from where I thought I’d be.
I would bet even The Box would be confused by my current state. ”
Fenric grunted and let his questions go.
Insignificant life? No, Fenric didn’t buy that in the slightest, but it was clear, even after two weeks of growing comfortable around the group, Maxie still wasn’t ready to reveal anything about his past. Something Fenric understood all too well.
“Fuck The Box. You’re exactly where you belong.”
Maxie smiled again, his expression warmer and steadier. “Yes, I agree. This is exactly where I belong.”