Ravencaller
Page 29
“Crksslff grumpy. Be happy. Meet new friends!”
Not far, a tunnel was carved through the dirt, and at its entrance stood two spear-wielding lapinkin.
“Hey, Fifissll,” said one with a smile. The rings in his ears rattled as he nodded toward Crksslff. “And who might you be?”
Crksslff paused and spoke its name very slowly while also punctuating it by spelling out the letters with elongated arms.
“Cr-ks-slff,” it said.
“Welcome home then, Crksslff,” said the other. “No burning anything inside, all right? We don’t have anywhere for the smoke to escape.”
Crksslff rolled its eyes and followed Fifissll inside.
While it had expected to find a small, cave-like place, Crksslff was stunned by the enormous, multiroom complex cut from the earth beneath Londheim. Each room had dozens of small, curtained-off juts to offer its occupants privacy. Crksslff was delighted by the variety of creatures beneath. Foxkin were the most numerous, with at least two dozen spread out in clusters. Some talked and laughed around a cook fire (not caring about its smoke, Crksslff noted), others played a game with chits and dice, while the oldest and gray-furred of them rocked in chairs in a far corner. Two alabaster faeries chased one another to the delight of three foxkin children, while an avenria slept bathed in shadow atop a stone perch.
“Two firekin!” exclaimed a gargoyle hanging upside-down from the ceiling.
“New friend!” Fifissll exclaimed back. “Spotty, meet Crksslff!”
The gargoyle’s fur was all black but for white spots, two of which were centered upon each eye, which gave it an even wider-eyed appearance when it smiled. Crksslff held back a giggle. It had a feeling Spotty was not the gargoyle’s actual name, but the nickname certainly fit.
“Hi hi hi!” it told the gargoyle before hurrying after Fifissll.
They passed an viridi softly singing by manipulating the way the air moved across her grassy scales. Crksslff noted how pale that grass was. The viridi needed sunlight, that much was clear, but here she lived below ground. The sight dampened its joy a teensy bit, and it was happy to bounce along after Fifissll, who moved with a clear destination in mind.
“Why all here?” Crksslff asked, still thinking of the sickly viridi.
“Those here not wanting to fight. Londheim our home, but we woke up with it full of humans. So now we hide.”
This only clouded Crksslff’s mood further, and made it appreciate Devin’s cozy little fireplace all the more. They continued to the far end of the cave, which was sealed off by an enormous red curtain. Fifissll paused before it and hopped twice.
“Go in,” it said. “Meet leader.”
Crksslff dashed through the gap underneath the curtain and into a cavern much larger than expected. It was brilliantly lit by several dozen diamonds wedged into the smoothed-out ceiling. Works of art lay carelessly scattered about the place. Their differing styles bewildered Crksslff. It saw marble sculptures, tablet carvings, figurines made of bronze, gold, and wax. Reliefs were cut into the three walls, enameled glass cups and vases hung from nearly invisible wires, and effigies of straw and yarn lay in repose. Most numerous of all were the dozens upon dozens of canvas portraits practically piled atop one another in a corner. Every single piece of art depicted the same image, the same person, the same face: Devin’s sister, Adria.
In the center of it all sat Janus, the avatar of change, a blob of silver shifting and molding to his touch.
“Hello, little one,” he said without looking up from the silver. “Have you come to join our modest community?”
Crksslff trembled despite its best attempts to remain calm. The last time it faced this horrible monster, Janus had assaulted it with ice and left it near dead. Now here he was, sitting comfortably a few feet away.
“Y-yes,” it said, wanting nothing more than to flee.
“Crksslff is new friend!” Fifissll said, happily bouncing in to join them.
“Wonderful,” Janus said, and he smiled at the both of them. “I’m happy to see you’re no longer alone, Fifi.”
That smile suddenly faded as Janus and Crksslff met one another’s gaze. The avatar of change tilted his head to one side, as if momentarily confused, and then his smile returned wider than before, his opal teeth flashing in the bright lights.
“Fifissll, would you mind giving me and Crksslff a moment to speak?”
The other firekin appeared worried but did not argue.
“See you soon,” it said before vanishing back underneath the curtain. Janus waited until it was gone to turn his silver blob into a long spear and jam its hilt into the cave floor. His green eyes bore into Crksslff’s.
“We meet again,” he said. “Will you try to burn my face a second time?”
“Will you ice Crksslff and friends?”
A smile tugged at Janus’s lips.
“No, I don’t think so. Things proceed as they are meant to, little one. Your presence does not interfere with that. I merely wonder, why have you come here instead of remaining with that annoying Soulkeeper?”
Not an answer Crksslff wanted to discuss in the slightest. Revealing that they’d ventured into the cistern to destroy the chronimi felt like betraying Devin. For all it knew, Janus was the reason Trytis had made the colony of mushrooms in the first place.
“I ask same,” Crksslff said carefully. “Why you here?”
“Viciss, in his infinite wisdom, has decided I need a break from killing hapless humans and ordered me to instead work on my art. Any art, so long as I did not use flesh and bones as my paint and canvas.” He waved a dismissive hand at the chaotic pile surrounding him. “Unsatisfying, to say the least, but until the Chainbreaker takes her true place, I must remain patient. My time will come. Until then, I obey my creator.”
He frowned at Crksslff.
“But you,” he said. “You turn against your own kind. You’ve sided with humans, live among them, even call them friends. Why is that, little firekin? Why insult your very creator in such a way?”
Crksslff sizzled and huffed.
“Insult creator?” it asked. “Aethos is creator. What does Aethos think?”
A smirk crossed Janus’s face.
“Aethos sides with Viciss in thinking humanity might still be saved from the Goddesses’ influence. I guess we both honor the wishes of our masters in our own ways. You may remain here, Crksslff, so long as you tell no one of its location. This is a place of peace. If human soldiers and keepers storm this cave, I will know exactly who to blame.” He cast his green eyes its way. “There are far worse ways for a firekin to die than ice and water. Keep that in mind during your stay.”
Janus pulled the spear from the ground, quickly molding it back to a blob. It solidified as his hands caressed it, shaping it into something humanoid. Crksslff held no doubt as to whom it would resemble when finished. It quickly exited Janus’s makeshift art studio and joined Fifissll in what appeared to be its home. It was a small shelf suspended with nails hammered into the stone. A collection of dry grass formed a bird’s nest, which Fifissll softly burned. There wasn’t much smoke, and with them so high up, it stayed near the ceiling. Crksslff dashed up the wall and joined Fifissll. A huff of frustration from dealing with Janus escaped from Crksslff’s forehead.
“Everything good?” Fifissll asked.
“Fine. Confusing but fine.”
Fifissll bobbed its head up and down.
“Put away for now. Be happy. Meet friends!”
And so they bounced about the underground village. Crksslff met many dragon-sired he’d seen before, and several races that were new. It danced and laughed for the lapinkin, gargoyles, and foxkin; did tricks for the avenria; and chased after Fifissll, to the delight of little viridi children. There were no cares down there, nothing to hide from. At least, Crksslff thought not, but it seemed Fifissll bore burdens it wasn’t quite ready to share until they settled down for the night in their little nest of twigs.
“Big fight comin
g,” Fifissll said. “Everyone worried.”
“Humans and dragon-sired always fighting,” Crksslff said. “It sad.”
“We need not stay. We—we should go. Human city not safe.”
“But…” Crksslff huffed a bit of smoke, its frustration going. “But why not? We safe so far.”
Fifissll twisted and shivered, the narrow slant of its eyes giving away its displeasure long before it spoke.
“Not safe. Dragon-sired war. Humans war. Fifissll wants no part.”
“What does Fifissll want?”
“A home. A wide field with lots of grass and steady wind. A place to… a place to raise embers.”
Crksslff felt a longing strike it deep down into its core. Embers… Fifissll was proposing embers. Firekin were whirlwinds of emotions when they met, and they loved wild and reckless like their namesake element, but forming families was something firekin took much more seriously than most things. The creation of embers required a great deal of strength from both parties, and it often took weeks, if not months, to recover.
To leave all their troubles behind, to escape the coming war and raise a family instead, it was such a wonderful-sounding dream. But it’d mean abandoning those Crksslff had come to love just as deeply as it now did Fifissll. When would it see Tesmarie? Jacaranda? And how would Devin survive without it keeping a protective eye on him?
Crksslff’s mood, already soured by its meeting with Janus, paled completely.
“But Crksslff will miss Devin.”
“Who is Devin?”
“Friend. Wise, and kind. A human.”
Fifissll’s distaste was hotter than its flame.
“Human over family? That is your choice?”
Crksslff whimpered.
“Sadness not a choice. Sadness is sadness. And why can’t human be part of family?”
“Humans are never family. They never accept us. Never.”
Frustration and helplessness washed over Crksslff like a cold rain. It hated arguing, and it hated not knowing the right thing to say.
“Crksslff was accepted,” it said. A simple truth that it believed to its core. Fifissll, however, shook its head and turned away.
“Then you are fool, Crksslff.”
They slept without another word between them. When Crksslff stirred, Fifissll was gone. It dashed about the community, but it found no sign of the firekin. It even went to the giant pile of logs outside the cave, but Fifissll was not there. Dejected, it returned. At the community entrance, the lapinkin guard waved it closer.
“Janus is looking for you, little one,” he said.
Its flames burning low and heavy, Crksslff returned to Janus’s private alcove. The avatar of change stood facing one of the walls, which was now a sheer sheet of jade. Janus’s left hand was a chisel, the right hand a thick steel hammer. He was chipping and carving away at the jade, forming images with the indentations. No doubt those lines would form the face of a woman just like all the others.
“I’m sure you’ve noticed Fifissll left,” Janus said.
“Crksslff knows.”
Janus sighed and shook his head.
“Such a shame. I wish you two could have stayed here, and if not, you could have had a home in Londheim above like you deserved. Fifissll senses the coming war, just like we do. It hangs like a fog over the west. What will you do, firekin? Will you side against your fellow dragon-sired? Will you burn our flesh when the inevitable conflict comes?”
It was a question Crksslff had tried very hard not to think about, but its refusal had now cost it the possibility of a family.
“Crksslff will stay with friends,” it said. “They are kind. They are good.”
Down came Janus’s hammer. A thick chunk of jade clattered across the floor.
“Things will get worse, Crksslff. Do not let one or two friendly humans convince you they represent humanity as a whole. Devin and Adria Eveson are aberrations. It is the rest who shall snuff out your flame when you least expect it.”
Crksslff left the community. It dashed along the cistern until finding a ladder and then shimmied up its sides to the streets above. Directions weren’t Crksslff’s particular forte, and keeping unseen was difficult, given the bright daylight. Giving up, Crksslff settled down as an inconspicuous bit of flame burning atop discarded wood stinking of rot near a gutter. The day passed, thoroughly cold and miserable. Once night fell, and the people all but vanished from the streets, Crksslff ran until it recognized its surroundings and used them to guide itself to Devin’s home.
The door was shut, but the chimney was not. Crksslff fell between the bricks and landed atop the fire. It hunkered down, unseen as it surveyed the interior. Devin sat in his favorite chair by the fire, steadily rocking it with his heels. Should it go to him? There was one other choice. It could exit Londheim and scour the grasslands beyond. There might still be signs of tiny footprints from Fifissll’s passage. Tracking it would be a long shot, but in time, maybe Crksslff could find whatever calm field the other firekin chose to settle down in, in whatever place it decided to build its new life.
But that also meant saying good-bye to the only friend who had been there when Crksslff awakened in a cold, unknown world after the Goddesses had imprisoned them. It meant acknowledging that Janus was right, that humans were not family.
Before fear and doubt and sadness might change its mind, Crksslff let off a loud, cracking pop from the center of the fire, drawing Devin’s eyes its way. It let its beady eyes widen, and it stood up from the center log.
“Puffy, you’re back!” Devin said, beaming him a smile. Hearing that silly human word sent Crksslff’s eyes to quivering and its flames to flickering. It dashed over to Devin, ran a circle about his chair, and then hopped atop the dully burning candle at his tableside. Its body quickly shifted, forming letters in the air. After two tries Devin understood the message.
DEVIN GOOD? it had asked.
“More than good, now that you’re here,” he said. “Isn’t that right, Tes?”
Tesmarie waved from her cozy bed-shelf.
“Welcome back, you bubbly spark. It took you long enough!”
Crksslff settled lower atop the wick and exhaled a long, steady stream of black smoke. Its tensions and uncertainty went with it.
WHERE JAC? it asked.
“Jacaranda?” Devin said. “I’m not sure where she went tonight, but I can assure you, wherever she is, she’s happy you’re back, too.”
Crksslff hoped so. It hoped for a lot of things, but right then, being content with its friends, be they human or dragon-sired, was the only thing that dulled the open wound of losing Fifissll to the world beyond Londheim’s walls. The firekin softly nibbled on the candle wax as the hours passed, perking up only when the door opened. Crksslff raised its head, eager to greet Jacaranda, but immediately knew something was amiss.
“Jac?” Devin asked, quickly vaulting out of his chair.
Jacaranda took two steps in, barefoot with blood dripping down her arm and forehead, and then collapsed into Devin’s arms.
CHAPTER 25
Would you like the candles dimmed?” the bed warmer asked Jacaranda as she sat on the edge of the mattress inside an expensive room of the Gentle Rose Brothel.
“Light is fine,” she said. Her fingers absentmindedly twiddled the lower fringe of her shirt. The bed warmer, while younger than her, was fairly old for his profession. In his late twenties would be her guess, with his blond hair and smooth skin still radiating youth. He was fit but not muscular, his hair long but neatly trimmed and styled, and his baby blue eyes simply to die for. Even in a crowd she could have picked him out as a bed warmer. The good ones had an effortless beauty about them.
It was good he was older, she decided as she slid farther onto the bed. At the reception area she’d requested their most skilled, patient man and then booked the room for a solid hour. It was expensive, but she’d robbed the home of one of Gerag’s associates to cover the cost, an irony not lost on her.
Given her history, she should not have been so nervous, but to her surprise, her words stammered out unevenly as she tried to explain.
“I need help to relax,” she said. “So I can… enjoy myself properly with my lover.”
Larsen sat beside her on the bed. She sensed kinship in his gaze, or perhaps she only saw what she wanted to see.
“First-time fears?” he asked softly. “Or abuse?”
Jacaranda cast her eyes to the red sheets that felt so smooth underneath her fingertips. His hands were not far from hers, and she almost reached out to touch them.
“Abuse,” she whispered, as if it were her ugly shame instead of a brutal crime performed against her.
The bed warmer touched two fingers to her chin and guided her vision back to his lovely face.
“The majority of my nervous clients are here for one of those two reasons,” he told her. “Don’t be ashamed. Just tell me what will make you comfortable, and I will do the rest. Is that a deal?” When she nodded, his smile blossomed. “Wonderful. Lie back, and I will do the rest.”
He started with her belt buckle, and the mere proximity of his hands to her skin quickened her heart. Next he removed her boots and set them on the floor. He unfastened the button of her trousers, but he did not pull them down. Instead he removed his own shirt, exposing his clean-shaven chest, and then set the shirt down beside her. The scent of oils and perfume trickled into her nose.
“Are you comfortable with a kiss?” he asked. It didn’t sound like he was asking for permission, but instead proposing something wonderful and wicked. She quickly nodded yes. He kept his weight off her, but his head lowered, she felt his warm breath across her neck, and then his lips traced a line of kisses from the side of her jaw to her mouth. It took her a moment to relax and return the act. When she kissed Devin, it was like touching fire yearning to explode. With Larsen, he was cool, controlled, his tongue slipping only the tiniest bit between her lips, exciting her without overwhelming her. His hands traced steady, methodical lines down her neck, exciting her skin, until they crossed over her scarf and to the top button of her shirt.