Magic Below Paris Complete Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 8): Trading Into Shadow, Trading Into Darkness, Trading Close to Light, Trading By Firelight, Trading by Shroomlight, plus 3 more

by C. M. Simpson

  Petitfeu did not move. She waited as the little girl came forward one small step at a time. When Aisha reached out to touch her skin, the apprentice journeyman flinched but did nothing more. Aisha froze, then ran her fingers lightly over the woman’s hands, hesitating when she reached her fingernails.

  “Pretty!” the child exclaimed, and Marsh wondered if an apprentice was allowed to paint their nails.

  That did not matter to Aisha or to Petitfeu as she knelt beside the little girl and let her examine her fingers. When she was finally done, Aisha looked into the apprentice journeyman’s face and patted her cheek.

  “Not monster,” she said as Petitfeu pushed back to her feet, and Tamlin groaned.

  “Aysh! That’s rude.”

  His words made the child pause. She turned and looked up at Petitfeu.

  “I sorry.”

  To Marsh’s surprise, Aisha waited, looking up at the apprentice. For a long moment, Petitfeu looked back, then she sighed.

  “It’s okay. Grownups have run away too.” She glanced at Marsh.

  Aisha followed the glance, her small face lighting up with curiosity when she saw Marsh.

  “What you do?”

  “I didn’t run away!”

  The child regarded her carefully, then her eyes fell on Marsh’s sword and her mouth fell open.

  “Dat’s rude!”

  Marsh scowled at the kid.

  “You locked yourself in a room,” she snapped, grabbing her sword and getting to her feet.

  Aisha had closed her mouth and was now glaring.

  “And I already apologized.”

  For a moment, she thought Aisha was going to argue. Instead, the child pouted.

  “Where’s my cookie!”

  19

  Secrets and a New Start

  In the end, Apprentice Journeyman Petitfeu had to give up another of her secrets and reveal her stash of cookies, given that it was clear Aisha was going to throw the mother of all fits if Marchant didn’t deliver on her promise.

  “You owe me!” she muttered when Aisha took the first cookie and handed it to Scruff before holding out her other hand for a second.

  “Bad Marsh,” she said, and Petitfeu laughed, handing her another.

  “You make sure she behaves,” the apprentice said, casting a teasing look at Marsh. “She looks like trouble to me.”

  Aisha nodded solemnly but didn’t say a word.

  Not that she could have, Marsh thought, given the amount of cookie that had gone into her mouth.

  Having seen the newcomers settled, Training Mistress Varangarde turned to go.

  “See they make it to the dining hall for breakfast on time, Petitfeu,” she said, and the apprentice journeyman stiffened.

  “Yes, mistress.”

  She watched the training mistress walk away and let out a soft sigh of relief, tensing up as the woman spoke again.

  “And make sure those cookies are put away by inspection. You know the rules about food in your quarters.”

  “Yes, mistress.”

  Petitfeu sighed, and Aisha sidled over to her. The little girl said nothing, merely watching as the training mistress disappeared down the corridor and around the bend. Even after she’d disappeared, they waited, their heads turned to observe the direction she’d gone. Several breaths passed, and the mistress didn’t reappear. Aisha reached up and tugged on Petitfeu’s sleeve.

  “I hide cookies,” she offered, her voice firm. “I very good at hiding.”

  Petitfeu looked down at her.

  “You are?”

  Aisha vigorously nodded and Petitfeu put one hand on her hip, cocking her head as she returned the child’s gaze.

  “You know I’m supposed to be looking after you, right?”

  The child nodded again, a little uncertainly.

  “So you know I’m supposed to make sure there are no cookies to find, don’t you?”

  Aisha looked confused and then disappointed, and Petitfeu laughed.

  “You can help me with that, okay?”

  Aisha’s face brightened, but the apprentice put a finger against her lips.

  “It will be our secret.”

  Aisha clapped both hands over her mouth and nodded again.

  “Right, now, your room is over here. I’ll clean up the mess in the other one. What did you do?”

  “I talked to the rocks.”

  “Oh, you did, did you?”

  Petitfeu went over to the room that Aisha had hidden in. She looked in, sighed, and looked back.

  “Will you ask the rocks if they’ll go back into the wall?”

  “’Kay.”

  Aisha went to stand beside the journeyman and looked into the room. For a moment her eyes went from blue to black, and Petitfeu stuffed her knuckles into her mouth. After a few more moments, she patted Aisha on the shoulder.

  “Very good,” she said as she knelt beside the child. “Do you want to meet someone else who can talk to rocks?”

  Aisha clapped her hand and bounced on the spot.

  “Oui, oui, oui-oui-oui.”

  “I’ll talk to Mistress Varangarde and ask her to help, okay?”

  “’Kay!”

  “But you have to sleep all night. I will wake you in the morning.”

  At the mention of sleeping all night, Aisha shot her brother an uncertain look. Tamlin hastened to reassure her.

  He tapped on a door a little farther up the hall.

  “I’ll be in here.”

  “No close door.”

  It looked like Tamlin was going to argue, and he even shot Marsh a pleading look as though asking her to intervene, but she shook her head. Tamlin frowned and then sighed.

  “Fine. I won’t close the door, but you’ll owe me a cookie.”

  Aisha hesitated, and Petitfeu took that moment to open the door opposite Tamlin’s room.

  “This is your room.”

  “One cookie,” Aisha told him.

  “Two,” Tamlin argued, and Aisha folded her arms.

  “One or I scream.”

  “You scream and I’ll—”

  “You’ll both be in trouble for fighting,” Petitfeu interrupted, “and you both have to keep your doors open.”

  “Cookie,” Aisha muttered rebelliously.

  “No cookie,” Petitfeu said firmly, “or I’ll tell the mistress.”

  Aisha thought about that, then turned on her heel and marched into her room.

  “Fine. Story.”

  Tamlin groaned as he followed her into her room.

  “Not you!”

  Tamlin stopped, a surprised look on his face. Aisha stuck her head back around the doorframe and looked at Petitfeu.

  “You!”

  “Me?”

  “You.”

  “But what story am I going to tell you?”

  “Shadow’s Heart.”

  Marsh’s eyes widened in surprise and she looked at Tamlin. The boy shrugged.

  “It’s her favorite.” He glanced at Petitfeu. “You know it?”

  What he was really asking was if she minded telling it, but the woman smiled.

  “It’s one of my favorites too.”

  Aisha reached out and took the apprentice journeyman’s hand, leading her into the room.

  “Tuck me in,” she demanded.

  Marsh stared at the doorway, stunned by how quickly Aisha had formed the attachment.

  “It used to worry Mum and Dad too,” Tamlin told her. “It was my job to make sure she didn’t get too friendly with strangers.”

  He rolled his eyes.

  “It was a job and a half!”

  As Petitfeu’s voice took on the lilt and timbre of storytelling, Marsh believed him. She and Tamlin stood in the corridor a bit longer, and Marsh tilted her head.

  “You going to bed, or do you need a bedtime story, too?”

  Tamlin glared at her and pushed off the wall he’d been leaning on.

  “Puhlease,” he said, stepping into his room. “It’s not like I�
��m five!”

  Marsh waited for the inevitable protest from his sister, but she was silent. All she could hear was Petitfeu’s rhythmic voice. She thought about going to her own room, then realized she didn’t know where it was, aside from being beside Aisha’s. With a sinking heart, she glanced around and realized it could be the room Aisha had “rearranged” in her attempt to escape the “monster.”

  With a sigh, Marsh leaned against the wall and waited for the apprentice journeyman to finish her story.

  This didn’t take as long as she’d dreaded; Petitfeu appeared shortly afterward.

  “Well, she looked asleep,” the woman offered. “Sorry I took so long. Let me show you where you’re sleeping.”

  To Marsh’s surprise, the room was beside Aisha’s and farther from Petitfeu’s, not nearer, leaving the damaged room for someone else. Petitfeu caught Marsh’s curious glance.

  “That one’s already taken, and it’s a good thing the owner’s away, or Aysh would have had a bigger fright than when she saw me. Gina’s not fond of children.” She pushed open the door for Marsh and stood back. “The name’s Brigitte, by the way.”

  “Brigitte?”

  “Brigitte Petitfeu.”

  Marsh felt stupid.

  “Sorry.” She held out her hand. “It’s Marsh, short for Marchant, but Marsh is fine.”

  Brigitte took her hand.

  “Nice to meet you, Marsh. Get some sleep; it’ll be an early start in the morning.”

  In the morning? Marsh stared at her. Just how long had she been asleep? Surely the day hadn’t been so short? Her stomach rumbled, and Brigitte paused.

  “When did you last eat?”

  “When I woke up? Honestly, I don’t know what time it was. They gave me a cup of chocolate and a couple of pastries and sent me off to talk to the Shadow Master, then the Training Mistress…”

  “…and then here,” Brigitte finished for her. “I get it. The kitchens are closed, but I can offer you a cookie.”

  They ended up eating most of Brigitte’s secret cookie supply while they talked about what the monastery was like.

  “They say you’ve got a few skills already,” the apprentice said. She sounded almost envious.

  Marsh hurried to put her at her ease.

  “Yeah, but there’s a lot I don’t know. I only worked out how to talk to the shadows because the kids needed me to. Tamlin said anybody could do it if they just believed, and I really needed to find a way to get them to Ruins Hall. I thought there might be someone waiting.”

  Marsh let her voice fade, and Brigitte picked up on what she hadn’t said.

  “But there wasn’t, and now you don’t even know if they have anyone they could go to—or if they’d want to if there was.”

  “Something like that.” Marsh yawned and stood up. “Thanks for the cookies. I’ll have to figure out a way to pay you back.”

  “Just keep talking to me like I’m a normal human being,” Brigitte said, then ducked her head. “That would do for a start.”

  Marsh heard the loneliness behind those words and figured it couldn’t be easy to look so much like the shadow monsters but not be one of them. Most people wouldn’t even register the girl’s eyes. She wanted to ask Brigitte how she’d ended up at the monastery, but couldn’t quite find the courage. She was only just getting to know the woman, and she didn’t want to offend her.

  She knew what it was like to be different, but being an orphan was one thing. Looking like the demons of the deep would be a whole other degree of misery.

  I’ll give it time, she thought. Maybe when we get to know each other better…

  “I can do that,” Marsh said and looked for something to add.

  When she couldn’t find anything, she stood and moved toward the door.

  “Hate to eat and run, but someone said I had an early start in the morning, and I get the feeling it’s quite late.”

  Brigitte stuck out her tongue.

  “Get going, trainee. I expect you to be dressed and ready when I arrive.”

  Marsh resisted pulling a face in return and smiled instead.

  “Thanks for the talk,” she said, and added almost as an afterthought, “and the cookies.”

  Brigitte rolled her eyes.

  “Of course, the cookies,” she answered with a sigh. Marsh was relieved to see she was smiling.

  Maybe things would be all right after all.

  20

  Breakfast Beginnings

  Marchant was up and dressed just before Brigitte made it to her room. She had strapped on her sword and was turning back her bedding when the apprentice journeyman knocked on the door.

  “Ready.”

  Marsh smoothed the sheets and then hurried to open the door. Brigitte gave the room a cursory glance and nodded.

  “Nicely done,” she said. “Let’s get the kids and head to breakfast. You must be pretty hungry.”

  Marchant was, but she didn’t want to admit it.

  “Getting there,” she said. “How about you?”

  “I should be stuffed from all those cookies,” Brigitte said, “but I’m not. Too much excitement, I guess.”

  “I’ll get Aisha if you like,” Marsh said, not knowing how well the little girl would wake up…or how well Scruffknuckle would take to a stranger coming into the room. Brigitte shook her head.

  “I’ll be fine,” she said. “You go and see if Tamlin is up. I’ll get Aysh.”

  Marsh gave an internal shrug. She guessed this was one way to find out just how Aisha woke up, and how well Scruff dealt with strangers. She hurried to Tamlin’s room and knocked on the open door.

  “Time to get ready for breakfast,” she said when she saw the boy was still asleep.

  “Hey!” she called when he didn’t move, and he stirred.

  “What?”

  “Breakfast. Unless you want to starve.”

  Just as she’d hoped, that got him moving, and she turned back to see how Brigitte was faring with Aisha. To her surprise, the blue-eyed apprentice emerged with Aisha and Scruff in tow as Tamlin appeared in his doorway. If the boy was as surprised as she was, he didn’t show it.

  “Did someone say something about breakfast?” he asked and Aisha bounced up and down, clapping her hands.

  “Cookies!”

  “Not cookies!” Marsh told her sternly as Tamlin and Brigitte said the same thing just as sternly.

  Aisha’s lower lip quivered.

  “No cookies?” she asked, looking for all the Deeps like she was going to burst into tears.

  “No cookies,” they all replied, and Scruff gave an anxious whine.

  “But there will be hot chocolate,” Brigitte told her, “and pastries.”

  Aisha looked happier and Scruff’s ears pricked up. Aisha slipped a hand into Brigitte’s and coiled her fingers through Scruff’s fur, and the apprentice journeyman led them down to breakfast. Marsh found herself falling into step beside Tamlin as they went.

  “So,” she said, “the Shadow Master approves of your arrangement with Fabrice.”

  Tamlin looked relieved.

  “He does?”

  “Yup. He said I still have to look for any relatives and make sure they’re okay with the way things are set up here, but that if they had no objections, you could stay.”

  “Phew.”

  His shoulders sagged with relief.

  “I was worried he wouldn’t let us stay.” He glanced around as though the walls had ears. “We’ve got nowhere else to go. Dad said something about a brother in Dimanche, but he lived across the caverns from us and we never saw them. To be honest, I don’t think they got on all that well. Maybe I wasn’t the only reason we left.”

  He stopped, realizing he’d said more to Marsh than ever before. She watched as he closed his mouth, pressing his lips together tightly. Marsh tried to ignore the way he squeezed his eyes shut and she took a deep breath.

  “I’ll do my best to keep you here,” she said. “Even if I find them, I’ll try to m
ake sure that what your parents wanted still happens. Okay? I’ll do everything I can to make it happen.”

  After a few more steps in pained silence, Tamlin nodded. It took a few steps more before he tossed her a quick glance and nodded again.

  “You need to find my parents too,” he said. “If there’s any chance they…” he glanced at Aisha and continued, “escaped, you need to find them.”

  Marsh gave him a quick nod. It was yet another reason she had to master her powers. If she was to be of any use in the battles to come or in finding out if the children’s family had survived, she had to have a better idea of what she was doing. It was just that she didn’t know how much time she had to do the search or what would happen if she delayed, which meant it was lucky the roads out of the cavern were closed or she’d have to leave so she could pick up the trail.

  “I’ll do my best.”

  “Thanks.”

  He didn’t look at her, but looked for all the world like he was observing his surroundings. Marsh knew better. The boy wasn’t with them at all; not in his mind, at least. He was worrying himself sick about his family and his future and the raiders. He was probably worried about Fabrice too, even though he’d done the best he could to see her right.

  “Don’t thank me yet,” she said. “It’s going to be a while before they let me leave to go looking. I need to learn some control before they let me loose on the caverns, and then I’m going to have to help get the trade routes up and running so I can even think about getting to Dimanche—and who knows how long that’s going to take.”

  She gave him a sideways look.

  “I mean, it could take years, and then we’re going to have to reach an agreement. I don’t know how old you’ll be by then. You see what I’m trying to say?”

  He held her gaze for another four steps, then nodded, his shoulders relaxing as he took a breath and let it slowly out. Marsh watched as he connected the dots. If it took long enough, he wasn’t going to need his relatives, and then he was going to have to have to decide what he was going to do about the farm and about his sister’s care, and he and Marsh were going to have to agree on what was the best path for all of them to take.