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

  It was possible they’d traveled miles more than they needed to. Marsh decided she was going to wring both their necks when she got hold of them.

  You’re going to get in line, Master Envermet told her.

  I’ll race you.

  Humans! Mordan’s disgust was plain. To want to harm your cubs when you’ve only just found them!

  That’s not what we meant, Marsh protested, but the kat shut her out.

  “Marsh, if you have the energy...” Master Envermet began, and Marsh nodded.

  “I’ll scan.”

  A short time later, she gasped, and the team stopped and gathered around her.

  “There’s a town!”

  “Where?” “How big?” “How far away?” “And the children?” all came at her in rapid succession.

  “Two hours’ ride, and it feels as big as Shamka,” Marsh replied. She frowned and looked at Master Envermet for help. “I didn’t try to sense anyone specific.”

  He hesitated a moment before answering, staring off into the distance as though checking something. “Yes, the town is about two hours’ ride, and Aisha is on this side of it, about an hour and a half away.”

  He kicked his mule into a trot. “Less if we move faster.”

  Henri and Izmay spurred their mounts past him, taking the lead until Mordan darted ahead of them.

  “Smart-ass kat,” Henri grumbled.

  They made the distance in a half-hour, slowing their mounts where a thick cluster of bushes formed dense walls between two boulders. Other boulders and the remains of ancient walls formed a natural circle that had only one entrance.

  Henri slid from his mule and tossed the reins over a nearby sapling, his actions mirrored by Izmay. They took different directions, circling the campsite until they reached the only way in. When Henri went to take the lead, Izmay laid a hand on his shoulder.

  He froze and she slid into one of the lengthening shadows, rippling into the dark and vanishing. Henri crept through the narrow entrance, reaching the campfire just as Izmay emerged from the bushes on the other side.

  “There’s a cavern at the back,” she explained. “Plenty of room for us, but not the mules.”

  Obasi spoke up. He’d been trailing quietly at the edge of the group, not part of them, but not excluded either. “There is another campsite over there.”

  They looked where he was pointing, and Master Envermet signaled that Izmay and Henri should check it out. Obasi went with them, showing them what he’d seen while they’d been focused on the children’s hiding place.

  It was the ground floor of what had once been a tall building. Pillars rose into the sky, and the broken edges of more floors formed ledges between them. Old walls held them up but were slowly giving way to time and the creeping vegetation.

  Izmay and Henri looked at it, eyeing the space Obasi had found. The second floor formed a solid ceiling above a hollow area that gave way to broken doors filled by rubble. Inside, someone had partitioned off sections into makeshift corrals and added stone troughs for food or water.

  The space in front of this stabling area had been worn smooth by countless travelers, and a fireplace had been dug and lined with stone several feet from the door. Wood had been gathered and stacked in a pile to one side, and a post-and-rail fence separated it from the outside world.

  Someone had started piling stones at the base of the fence to create a low stone wall, which connected with the wall holding up the second floor. Looking at it, Izmay figured that if she hadn’t known any better, she’d think the building had once been fronted with large windows.

  She shrugged, eyeing the enclosure. “The mules would be safe enough here. Nice work, Obasi.”

  The young warrior smiled, and Master Envermet rode forward, leading the others over.

  “It’s a good shelter,” he noted and ran a practiced eye over the partially collapsed second floor, and the supports that had been added. He also noted that stunted trees grew out from under the ancient structure, their twisted limbs supporting its remains. More vines formed walls and draped from the ceiling, providing a buffer against the weather.

  Jakob dismounted and walked to where Obasi stood inside, running an experienced eye over the structure. “It will hold,” he told them when he returned, “and it’s obviously been used for stabling before. I’ll overnight with the mules.”

  “Me, too,” Obasi agreed, leading his mule to one of the corrals.

  “We’ll stay with you,” Gerry volunteered, and he and Zeb slid from their mounts.

  “Me and Iz, too,” Henri said after he’d stuck his head inside the shelter. “There’s more room.”

  He said nothing about needing privacy, but Marsh caught the sense of it as he led his mule inside.

  Roeglin exchanged glances with Marsh. “Can you sense them now?”

  They left their mounts at the shelter and returned to the children’s campsite. The sun was setting, and long shadows stretched through the ruins. Marsh stepped clear of the door and tried to touch Aisha’s mind.

  You’re getting better at that, Roeglin told her, but Marsh shook her head.

  “Wherever she is, it isn’t here.”

  Master Envermet frowned. “I could swear...”

  They moved into the campsite, avoiding the campfire. Roeglin held his hand over the coals.

  “It’s still warm...” he noted, frowning and looking around. “It’s as if they’re still here, or they left a short while ago.”

  Master Envermet wormed his way beneath the bushes, while Marsh searched the small area around the fire.

  “Where can they be?” she asked.

  “Well, they aren’t gone, but they’re not here.” He hauled himself out from under the bush and slowly straightened. “Oof. I am too old for this kind of thing.”

  “Aysh?” Brigitte’s soft call blended with the twilight. “Are you hiding?”

  Marsh frowned. Hiding? Why would the child do that?

  “Aishaaa,” Brigitte called, turning on the spot.

  Marsh was just about to scold her when one of the rocks giggled. Brigitte glared at it.

  “You come out here right now, you little mischief!”

  The “little mischief” did exactly that, but not before releasing Scruffknuckle from the stone she’d drawn him into.

  “I didn’t want him hurt,” she explained as the pup bounded around them, scattering campfire ashes and leaving gray pawprints on their uniforms as he leapt up to say hello.

  “Get down, pup!” Master Envermet reached the end of his patience at the end of the krypthund’s second leap.

  Scruffknuckle circled his legs before sitting beside him and leaning against his calf.

  “Master!” Aisha cried, running right past Marsh to wrap her arms around the shadow master’s legs.

  He stooped to pick her up and hugged her tight before leaning back to regard her with a stern stare. She met it with wide blue eyes. “Don’t be mad,” she pleaded. “I want Gustav.”

  He sighed and hugged her again before passing her to Marsh. “We want Gustav, too.”

  Aisha’s face brightened. “We go get him?”

  Master Envermet bent to look into her face. “Do you know where he is?”

  Aisha closed her eyes and scrunched her face as she concentrated. After a short moment, she pointed toward the town. “That way.”

  Roeglin looked around. “Where’s Tamlin?”

  Aisha gave him a concerned look. “Is he in trouble?”

  The shadow mage arched his eyebrows. “Oh, you are both in a lot of trouble, but not right now.”

  “Later?” The little girl looked more hopeful than she had any right to be, and Marsh stifled a laugh.

  Master Envermet tried to look stern but failed as he answered her question. “Yes. Later.”

  His lips twitched into a tiny smile, and all sternness was lost. Aisha turned to Brigitte and held out her arms. Marsh passed her to the shadow mage, smiling as the little girl hugged her and then raised her face
in appeal. “Trouble?”

  Brigitte was laughing as she replied. “Yes, Aysh. You and Tams are in really big trouble.”

  Aisha’s face fell, and she sighed. She looked momentarily disheartened, then her expression lightened. “Not now?” she asked in a hopeful voice.

  The rattle of timber hitting the ground beside the campfire made them all jump. “Yes, now,” Henri rumbled, “but only if you stop Marsh from cooking dinner.”

  “Marsh not cook!” Aisha pouted, and Henri gave her a mock glare.

  “Marsh does so, too,” Henri retorted.

  Aisha shook her head and crossed her arms. “Nope.”

  Brigitte set her on her feet, and the little girl turned to face Henri. Before either of them could continue, however, Marsh knelt in front of her and laid a hand on the little girl’s shoulder.

  “Aysh,” she said, giving the child a gentle shake to break her focus on Henri. “Where’s Tamlin?”

  The girl shot a glance toward the town. “Looking for Gustav.”

  “How long ago?”

  Aisha’s face paled, and her blue eyes grew dark with worry. “Daytime. He said to hide.”

  “You hid all day?”

  Aisha gave her a solemn nod.

  Brigitte opened her pouch and felt around inside it. It didn’t take her long to find what she was looking for.

  “Cookie!” Marsh muffled Aisha’s squeal of delight with a hastily placed hand.

  Unfortunately, that meant her hand got in the way of the cookie reaching the little girl’s mouth and Aisha swatted it away. “Don’t steal cookie.”

  Marsh’s mouth dropped open. “I would never!”

  “Would so, too.” Henri’s knowing voice reached her from across the fire.

  He dumped a second load of wood beside it. “That should last you the night. The mules have been looked after.”

  “Thanks, Henri. You didn’t have to.” Marsh caught Roeglin’s alarmed look and hasty signal to stop, but it was too late.

  Henri’s face took on a sly expression. “So, is it worth another meal?”

  Marsh sighed, and Master Envermet stepped in. “For doing as I ordered?” he demanded, and Henri ducked his head. “I thought not.”

  Marsh mouthed an apology as Henri left, careful not to let Master Envermet see her. The big man shrugged and gave her a grin. “It was worth a shot.”

  “I’ll shoot you if you keep it up,” Roeglin muttered, and Henri favored him with a scowl.

  “I’d like to see you try.”

  Roeglin opened his mouth to respond, and Marsh kicked him in the ankle.

  “Ow!”

  “We have to go find Tams,” she told him, and Aisha bounced on the spot, the cookie blurring her insistence on going with them.

  Brigitte put a stop to that by wrapping her arms around the little girl’s shoulders. “You need to help Master Envermet and me with the food.”

  Marsh shot a hasty glance toward the shadow captain, but if he was surprised to receive an order to help with dinner, he didn’t show it. Instead, he unslung his pack, and Izmay surprised them by stepping out of the shadows.

  “You don’t need to cater for us. We’re already eating.” She turned to Master Envermet. “We’ll set watches over by the mules, but you’ll need something here. We thought you’d like the privacy.”

  That last was said with a glance that took all of them in, and then the shadow guard looked at Aisha. “You and your brother gave us all a nasty fright.”

  Aisha’s eyes went very round. “I’m sorry.”

  Izmay gave her a smile. “Don’t do it again.”

  The little girl nodded. “’Kay.”

  “You promise?” Izmay persisted, and Aisha regarded her for a long moment before giving her a solemn nod.

  “Promise.”

  Marsh caught a small movement and noticed the child had crossed her fingers just out of Izmay’s sight. She decided not to enlighten the shadow guard, or at least not yet. Izmay seemed fierce enough.

  The shadow guard smiled. “Good. There will be trouble if you do.”

  Aisha looked momentarily worried, then gave the guard a sunny smile. “’Kay.”

  “Good.” Izmay straightened, smiled at them, and left, her “Have a good night,” drifting back to them in the twilight.

  “Where is that boy?” Master Envermet wondered, looking back toward the town.

  “He ‘kay?” Aisha asked, and there was a tremble to her voice.

  Marsh crouched in front of her. “What’s the matter, Aysh? He said he’d be careful.”

  “Yes...” Aisha’s bottom lip quivered, and her azure eyes filled with tears. “But there was a bad man.”

  Marsh cast a worried glance at Roeglin and Master Envermet before pulling Aisha into her arms. “A bad man?” she asked.

  “This one.” The child nudged her mind, and Marsh opened the connection between them. A familiar hatchet-thin face appeared before her, its eyes gleaming amber.

  “Salazar!”

  5

  Waiting for Tamlin

  At the mention of Salazar’s name, Roeglin pivoted hastily to scan the surrounding area. “Where?”

  “They saw him heading into the town,” Marsh explained, ignoring Aisha’s wide-eyed stare as she revealed just how much she’d seen beyond the child’s intended information. “Tamlin went ahead to make sure it was safe for them to go through and maybe pick up more supplies. They were running low.”

  “So rude!” Aisha hissed, slapping her on the shoulder.

  Marsh swung around and glared at her, pressing her forehead to Aisha’s. “Not rude!” she argued. “Rude is running on ahead instead of waiting. Rude is scaring the crap out of the people who love you, and rude is leaving without taking enough Deeps-be-damned food for the journey.”

  Roeglin laid his hand on her shoulder. “Marsh, she’s five.”

  “Six,” Marsh snapped back, then laughed to hear herself in chorus with a tiny defiant voice.

  “Six,” Master Envermet agreed.

  “Birthday?” Aisha asked, her face lighting up with hope.

  “When we get back,” Brigitte promised her, and Aisha grew serious.

  “With Gustav.”

  “Yes,” Brigitte reassured her. “Now, did Tamlin say when he’d be back?”

  “Maybe tonight?” Aisha guessed. “He hides in the dark to be safe.”

  Her small voice settled to calm as she said that, as if she’d only just realized just how safe her brother would be now that it was nighttime.

  “He can shadow-step?” Marsh didn’t try to hide her surprise.

  “He watched you,” Aisha told her as if she should have already known it.

  “Oh, I see,” Marsh admitted. “Well, then, we should wait.”

  Her mind drifted to Salazar, and she remembered the response he’d gotten from the wolves at her cousin’s waystation. “I’m going to kill him,” she growled.

  Aisha twisted in her arms, looking alarmed. “Not Tams!”

  The horror in her voice made Marsh laugh. “No,” she agreed. “Not Tams. The bad man.”

  “Oh, good.” Aisha relaxed. “I will help.”

  Roeglin shook his head. “No, that one Marsh wants to do all by herself.”

  That statement drew growls of protest from both Scruffknuckle and Mordan. Marsh rolled her eyes. “Fine, you two can help.”

  “Oh, no fair!” Aisha exclaimed. “I am big enough!”

  “No,” Master Envermet surprised them by saying. “No one’s ever big enough for that.”

  “Marsh is.”

  “Marsh isn’t big enough, either.”

  Marsh wanted to argue that she Deeps-be-damned was big enough to kill those who posed a threat to her people, but she knew what the shadow captain was getting at. Killing left a scar...and, even if it was thoroughly deserved, the wound it covered cut deep.

  She shrugged. “Sometimes...” She caught the look on Master Envermet’s face and let the comment fade. Aisha didn’t n
eed to know about such things, yet.

  Before she could think of anything else to say, Mordan rose to her feet, snuffed the air, and let out a chirruping mew. Marsh held her breath, searching the gathering dark for any sign that Tams might be returning.

  Mordan stood statue-still and then made the call again. Master Envermet, Brigitte, and Roeglin searched the dark, but none of them caught sight of Tamlin. Brigitte stirred the ashes, adding leaves and grass until the coals still burning in its center set them alight.

  Marsh was glad Scruffknuckle had kept his excited bouncing to the campfire’s edges. She couldn’t imagine trying to keep him still on the back of a mule while his paws healed...or rather, she could imagine it, and the picture wasn’t pretty.

  Mordan called again, and a cautious chirp answered her. Master Envermet took his hand away from the hilt of his sword, and Roeglin sent his shadow blade back to the dark. Perdemor padded cautiously out of the night.

  He slunk over to the entry, sniffing cautiously until he was a hundred percent sure of the scent, and then darted past the two mages to greet his mother. Mordan’s welcoming purr rumbled out over the campsite and she sank onto her belly, wrapping a paw over her wandering kit’s neck.

  Pulling the squirming kit closer, she pinned him to the ground and gave him a thorough wash. He mewled in protest before going limp and letting her bathe him. The look on his face, though...

  Marsh sputtered with laughter and had to look away. Roeglin had a sudden coughing fit. Even Master Envermet managed a chuckle.

  “It’s good to see you again, Perdemor,” he told the young kat and received a glare for his trouble.

  Perdemor’s tail twitched with annoyance, and he shot a look of pure rebellion at his mother. Watching him, Marsh thought he looked bigger—much bigger than she’d expected him to be, even allowing for the natural progression of age.

  Come to think of it... She let her gaze drift to Mordan, and realized the kat was also much larger than she’d been when they’d first met...and Mordan had been fully grown. What’s going on here?