I grinned and sat on the edge of the bed. “So, what’s your story? Which school did you go to?” Not that I knew that many schools. They’d been pretty strict about keeping us separated by school and maybe a tad unaware. I supposed they didn’t want us organizing or knowing exactly how many of us there really were.
“Not all of us ended up in schools,” Ian said, standing up. He was pretty tall. He hesitated but sat down on the end of the bed. He still looked ready to bolt.
“Oh, I thought we all did,” then again, why would the school have supplied us with that information? I shifted my focus to the more immediate. “Why were you in that room with the dead animals?”
“I don’t quite remember,” he said. He looked down, his gaze flickering from grumpy to annoyed, followed by puzzled. He seemed to shrug it off and looked back at me. “But you want to find your friend.”
“Oh,” I said, “so you understand even when you’re a dog?”
“Mostly,” he replied. “I have a lot of animal instincts and different ways of looking at the world, but yeah, I’m still me.”
“I took a shower with you,” I said, and he turned bright red.
“I didn’t - you insisted on cleaning me!” he stuttered.
I laughed.
“You did stink quite a bit! So why would you help me find my friend, though? I still don’t know who you are,” I paused, debating whether to trust him or not. So far, trusting Max had worked out. “So, what’s your story?”
He looked annoyed again. “What story? I mean, I’ve mostly spent my life living in the bush, taking animal form as often as I can to avoid people, because people are terrible.”
I couldn’t disagree with that one.
He calmed down, his voice suddenly more muted. “And you helped me. You got me out of that room, where all those other animals were dead. I assumed that was going to be my fate too, so I owe you.”
“You don’t owe me anything,” I said, turning sideways to look at the vanity, now that I was confident enough I wasn’t about to be attacked by the strange man. “Besides, you took a knife for me, so we’re even.”
I started fixing my hair in the mirror. I looked a mess. I needed another shower. I pulled out my clothes, which didn’t look much better than I did. Sticking them in my bag while still wet and not pulling them out to dry hadn’t been my best move.
I needed new clothes, and I needed more weapons. So many more weapons. Maybe there was a clothing shop around here that I could raid. And a weapons shop. Did those two things come combined? That would be pretty sweet.
“I do owe you, though,” Ian insisted. “You saved me and showed kindness to me. That’s my code.”
“That’s nice,” I said, “but your code has nothing to do with me. Look, we had some fun, and I enjoyed your company, but I don’t need someone in a pink robe trailing after me. I’ll go find Clay by myself. You do you. I don’t want you getting killed on my account. That was close enough last night.”
When he didn’t answer, I stopped fixing my hair in the mirror and turned to look at him. He seemed fixated on the floor, but his gaze was far away.
“Hello?” I said.
“Look,” he focused back on me. “Like you said, I don’t know how I ended up in that room. And I don’t know if whoever put me there will be coming after me again. And you don’t know whether the people who are trying to get the sigil will come after you, either. So, I’m just thinking that maybe we’re stronger together.”
I looked down towards his shoulder.
“Is your shoulder healed?” I asked.
He nodded. “I heal when I shift form. It’s one of the benefits of becoming human again. A limited benefit, though. Then I have to have conversations with people.” He practically growled that last part. I couldn’t help but laugh.
He looked surprised.
“Alright,” I relented. “You’re right, I could probably use the help. I have no idea what I’m doing, and if you’ve been out here longer than me, then you know more than I do. So let’s start with finding Clay. Do you know where I might find him?”
“I think I recognize the sigil,” he spoke slowly, as though measuring his words. “I think it’s from one of the fighter’s leagues, and I think they’re dangerous. It might be wiser to not confront them in person.”
“A fighter’s league?”
“Yeah. You know, one where they pit Traded one against the other.”
“Oh,” I said, “like a gladiator thing?”
He shrugged. “Look, how badly do you want to find your friend?”
“Clay’s my only friend,” my voice cracked, suddenly choked up by a distressing amount of emotion. “We’ve been hanging out together, protecting one another, doing heists together, and always making sure that we both made it back. I can’t just let him go now. I can’t just decide that he’s probably okay, that he’s joined a league. That he hasn’t been kidnapped and isn’t about to be murdered. I can’t do that. He’s my friend, Ian. I have to go after him.”
He seemed surprised by my impassioned plea. He wasn’t the only one. I don’t think I’d stopped to really consider the ramifications of losing Clay. But now that I was out here alone with a pink-bathrobe-wearing stranger as my only friend, I needed that one thread to my past. That thread was Clay.
My foster family didn’t care for me. Nobody at the school liked me. I hadn’t received a guild invitation, so I wasn’t even sure what would happen to me in a couple of weeks. Clay might know. Clay always seemed to have an idea, or a contact, or a mission to go on. Clay intended to make sure we stayed together, and no one else would do that for me.
I needed him in my life. I wanted him in my life.
“I need my friend,” I told Ian. “I won’t just leave him behind.”
“That’s fair enough,” Ian said softly. He seemed to consider the problem, his hand absent-mindedly holding the soft pink robe closed. “I know one place where a lot of Traded go. And a lot of the guilds recruit people there.”
“Don’t they just recruit people in the schools?” I asked.
“You really know nothing of the world, do you?” He looked at me with wonder.
I shrugged. “I’ve been at the Margrave Academy for thirteen years. So, no. I know what they told me, which doesn’t seem super complete. Clay knew more, and he organized heists for us outside the school.”
Ian looked at me steadily. “Clay was the only one with contacts?”
“Yes.” I shrugged again. “I never needed to have them. He had them.”
Ian studied me for a few more moments. I grew uncomfortable under the scrutiny, remembering that I looked like a purple demon, afraid he’d just clued in that he might need more normal friends. Or at least wiser friends.
When he did speak, his soft voice reassured me. There was no mockery in it. “No, not everybody ends up in schools. A lot of the Traded were already recruited before your cohort was let loose into the world. The rest are just being sought out by the guilds now.”
“We have two weeks to choose a guild if we don’t have an invitation,” I said, “that’s what they said.”
“That’s what they told you,” he said, not unkindly, “but it was a lie. You don’t really get to choose. The guilds choose you. You don’t get to decide how you’re going to be useful. They decide. Whatever skills you’ve developed, whatever you’ve proven apt at, that’s what they’re going to use. And you’re useful at several things. They’re going to come for you.”
He hesitated, pondered his words, and then continued, as though thinking about something else.
“Really, they’re probably already here.” The resignation in his voice made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
“Time to go,” I said. “Lead me to this place, and let’s see if we can’t find out where Clay might be.”
“Alright,” he sounded a little bit more like his grumpy self again.
“Do you want me to find you some clothes?” I asked with a grin.
>
“No, it’s fine.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Just remember to be safe.” He said, fixing me with his unwavering gaze. And then he turned, and his body began to crumple, folding in on itself, much like I folded the shadows around me when I vanished. I couldn’t see well over the pink bathrobe, but within moments, Ian was gone, and the dog was there instead.
“Right,” I said. “Time to go.” I pulled the pink bathrobe off of Ian’s furry back.
“You know what? I think I’ll still call you Max in your puppy form. It’s a much better dog name.” The dog looked grumpy, but didn’t bite, so I grinned.
“Let me get ready and we can go,” I said, then cocked my head. “Are you going to stay here while I get naked again?”
He quickly turned and vanished around the corner.
I grinned, glad that Max/Ian was still with me. Until I found Clay, it was nice to know that I wasn’t completely alone in this world.
Chapter Eleven
I hated being out in the daylight. I’d avoided it like the plague before going to school and, once there, the only time I’d ever left the school was at night time, when Clay and I snuck out.
But there was definitely no waiting for darkness today. We couldn’t exactly hide in the furniture store, as tempting as it was. Some of those chairs looked amazingly comfortable, but the store owner might take offense to us just sitting there utilizing his fine wares, while his customers tried to shop around the strange demon girl and her dog.
We’d left enough of a mess, too. I’d made the bed, which hid the messy sheets, but the duvet cover had been very white before this. I hoped the scribbled apology note would make them feel a bit better. In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have used some of their for-sale stationery to leave it.
Oh well. Live and learn and all that good stuff.
I followed Max down the street. It was hard to imagine he could turn human, even though I’d just seen it. I didn’t know much about dogs, except that this one was big. It’s not like they let us keep pets at the school.
He sniffed the ground once in a while, and I could tell he kept an eye out. Which was great, because that meant I could keep my hood over my head. I could try to fold the shadows around me, but the sun beat down on the street and my shadows might fail or prove insufficient. I might remain inconspicuous with my hood up. I definitely wouldn’t were I half a mirage or if I just popped up randomly.
I kept my face down so that hopefully nobody would see the purple tone of my skin. I had wrapped a towel around my neck, like a scarf. Thank goodness for the chilly morning and decent store stock.
Oh. I probably should have mentioned the scarf in my apology note.
I focused on following Max. I didn’t need to look up for that. Thankfully the streets weren’t too busy, but they were still busy enough to make me feel ridiculously exposed.
My hands were deep in my coat pocket, my fingers wrapped around the Guild invitation that Clay had ignored. Is that why he’d gotten in trouble? Because he’d ignored them, and they’d come for him? Or had he gotten in trouble because he was trying to do something for them, and maybe he’d hoped that I could prove myself to them, and be invited to join the same guild?
But maybe we had failed the test together, or he’d passed and I’d failed. Should I have let the little girl die? Maybe. I didn’t think I wanted to belong to a guild that was okay with that, though. And neither would Clay.
The edges of the sigil felt hard on my skin, as though it wanted to cut my skin, leave scars, mark me as its property forever. I wondered if that’s how Clay had felt when he’d found it on his bed. Or when he learned that I hadn’t received an invitation.
Or maybe he’d been worried that we’d been summoned to two different guilds, and that we’d be separated. Maybe he’d even been relieved when I hadn’t received an invitation, and thought that he could perhaps drag me to his guild instead, where we could continue to just hang out, be friends, ignore the world as much as we could.
The world didn’t want us in it, anyways. The past day had only made that amply more clear to me.
I turned down another street, following Max on the sidewalk. He was definitely more of a Max than an Ian, at least when he was in dog form. I hadn’t paid attention at all to where we were going, lost in my own thoughts and worries.
I glanced up carefully. The streets weren’t quiet, but the quality of them had changed. There were people milling about, but few people showed their faces, all cowled like I was.
Tall buildings lined the narrow street like silent stone guardians, keeping out the sun. No beam even reflected off a glass surface or window, as though the street was meant to be kept dark at all times, no matter what.
I found myself relaxing at that thought.
The sidewalk vanished, and we walked directly on the pavement. That hardly seemed to be a problem, because there were no cars here. I felt comforted by the shadows and slipped into them a little bit more. Not enough to completely vanish, since Max was a bit too far ahead. But enough that anyone looking at me would see a figure passing by, her face hidden in more shadows than they’d expect from that cowl and scarf alone.
A trick of the light, they’d surely think.
I walked with more confidence, the shadows like a gentle hug.
Max suddenly stiffened, stopped, sniffed the air, and turned to look at me. I met his gaze, and in them now I could see not just the big round eyes of a dog, but also the intelligence of a man. It was obvious once you knew to look for it.
Which I hadn’t before this morning.
He looked significantly at me.
“I don’t know what you want from me,” I sighed, holding out my hand. “You’re a dog. If you want to tell me something, you’re going to have to like, change or something.”
His ears and his tail lowered, and I wanted to apologize, but I also wanted to ruff the fuzz around his face.
“Alright, I’ll follow,” I said. He perked up one ear and cocked his head. “And, I’ll be careful,” I added. That seemed to satisfy him and he continued leading me, although more slowly this time. I paid more attention to my surroundings.
“Don’t walk so quickly,” I whispered, knowing that he could hear me with his canine ears. “Stay close to me so that I can keep you in the shadows a little bit more as well.”
His head cocked a bit, as though considering what I’d said, and he slowed down. I wrapped the shadows around him a little bit. He could still be seen, but couldn’t be spotted as easily.
He was like me, more of a mirage than a presence.
We turned down another road, which proved even darker than the last. There were quite a few people here now. I stopped for a second and Max did as well, sensing my hesitation.
These people…they were all Traded. It felt like being back in school, except not at all, because we weren’t all wearing the same uniform. We weren’t all lining up in a row, hoping to avoid a thrashing. Instead, these were all just Traded, standing together, laughing, chatting, walking, some drinking, some eating.
Living their lives like normal people.
I’d never seen anything like it. I honestly never thought I would.
I found my feet again and walked forward slowly. Max stuck close to me.
There were carts with goods for sale, and I went by a row of them to examine them, far enough from the vendors not to be spotted, but close enough to see strange meats and foods that smelled delicious. Some of the carts sold weapons, all shiny or black, and deadly looking.
I liked those ones best, but I didn’t have any money, and I wasn’t sure how wise it would be to try to swipe something. I imagined not too wise.
A few carts had clothing, and some sold ridiculous shoes. I loved them all! And I loved the people walking the streets even more. It was way better than the main strip in town. This, this Traded street, was the most amazing place I’d ever been!
Skin tones came in every color of the rainbow, even purple like me! Some folk had on
e head, some had two heads, some had no heads! Limbs came in multiple counts. Some had feathers, some had fur. Most looked human enough, but some didn’t look human at all. There was this giant thing that looked more like an enormous June bug than a person. I wanted to say hello and hear their voice, but Max led me away from them.
Most amazing of all, there was a lot more laughing than frowning. And there were a lot of people hugging as well. Some were holding hands.
Is this was the Traded could be like?
I stopped and leaned my back against a nearby building, just wanting to take it all in, afraid I’d walk into something if I kept gawking and going forward. Max sat near me, glancing up at me with a knowing look.
I had heard rumors of areas where the Traded gathered. I assumed they were dark seedy bars, with angry looking folk looking for a fight or a drink to forget their troubles. Not a community or a lifestyle, but a place to hide. But here? Here was different. The Traded were walking around, not hiding their features or what made them different.
As though this was their community. As though they belonged. My mind and heart reeled at the thought of those things. Two things I’d never expected to find outside of Clay.
Some of the Traded held guild sigils proudly, pinned to their uniforms or their clothing. Others showed no sign of belonging to anything. Like they only belonged to this moment on this street in the shadows of buildings that had been built long ago, before we even existed on this world.
Two men walked by, hand-in-hand, laughing. They didn’t glance my way. I realized that I’d pulled the shadows around me and Max. Trying to process the unfamiliar and unexpected sight, I’d slipped back into what made me feel most safe.
I looked down to Max and he seemed to nod, as though telling me: It’s okay. You can let your defenses down, for just a moment. It might not hinder, and it might even help.
Three laughing friends walked by, each eating something that looked like a mix between ice cream and pudding. It looked amazingly delicious. Clay would probably enjoy it. And, for all I knew, Clay might be around here, too. Or somebody might know where he was, or what the sigil meant.
Hell Born Page 8
