by Jada Fisher
“It doesn’t sound like it would be.”
“You’re not wrong. But the spirits have to come back, otherwise their energy has just been swirling uselessly in the life-stream of our world. Burning bright, but without purpose. So that energy sought out vessels. People who, for whatever reason, are capable of holding these spirits and channeling them, helping them to be reborn exactly as they’re supposed to be.”
“And you’re saying that I’m…that I’m…”
“One of those vessels? Yeah. Absolutely. I am too. I came here to find you and take you to our home.”
“Why?”
“Why?” Ukrah repeated, blinking at her in surprise.
“Yes. I understand the whole vessel thing, believe it or not, but why does it matter if we’re together or not?”
“We all need to be gathered together. I think, maybe, once we are, that the Spirits can all be released and the world can really start to heal.”
“I…” She closed her eyes and drew in a steady breath. “All of this is unbelievable, but I can’t help but think that it makes sense. I’ve been having these weird nightmares, full of fire and things I don’t understand, and when I wake up, I feel like I’m going to be sick.
“And when I’m awake, I keep getting this strange feeling like if I don’t fix or sew something, I might crawl out of my skin and go absolutely mad. I know things, but I have no idea how I know them, and lately, I’ve been slipping into languages that I don’t understand if I’m not careful.”
“The dreams are pretty terrible,” Ukrah said with a knowing sigh. “The rare occasions where I get a normal night’s sleep are pretty few and far between. It’s exhausting.”
“You have to know how ridiculous this sounds.”
“Oh, I do. But you can feel that it’s true, can’t you?”
The woman didn’t answer, instead she just held her hand up tentatively. Ukrah knew what she meant and pressed her palm to the woman’s.
That same warm, fizzy energy filled her. Making her feel at home and cherished. It was hard not to laugh, Ukrah was filled with such happy thoughts and sensations that she could almost burst. She wanted to stay in it forever, contented and safe, but the woman pulled back.
“You, uh…you sting.”
Ukrah swallowed, feeling her mood drop a bit. “I do?”
She nodded. “Yeah, like I’m sticking my hand in too hot a pot of water, but it doesn’t hurt either. It’s just…sharp.”
“Huh. That’s good to know, I guess. You feel nice.”
“Nice?”
“Soft. Bubbly. Comforting.”
She smiled broadly at that, finishing off her tea and standing. “Alright. So, I’m a vessel. Very interesting. Let’s get back to sewing then, shall we?”
“Sewing?’ Cassinda asked, clearly confused. “I, uh… Do you not understand that we need to go? We need to get you to the safety of the manor before anyone else finds you.”
“I understand that, I really do. But unfortunately, I can’t.”
Ukrah just stared at her, all those warm and fuzzy feelings fizzling out entirely. “What do you mean?”
“Look, I understand that you are on some grand, important quest. And I realize that my issues no doubt pale in comparison, but my fate is here, in this merged village.”
“I— How— I don’t understand.”
“You see, although our town is friendly, it’s owned by a gang. You probably haven’t heard of them wherever you come from, but they’re quite powerful here. They own everything. They have men all over this entire territory and control several other villages.”
“Do you think they’ll be angry if you leave?”
“Oh, I’m most certain of it. Angry doesn’t even begin to cover it.”
“Why would they care? I understand you’re a great tailor, but certainly they don’t have that great of a need for your skills th-that much.”
“Perhaps you would be right, if I didn’t belong to them.”
She said it so casually that Ukrah almost didn’t catch onto the implication. But then her mind caught up and her stomach fell right out of her.
“What do you mean, you belong to them?”
“I mean it quite literally. I sold myself to them a couple years back in exchange for my son’s life. If I leave, his life is forfeit. I’m sure you can see how that wouldn’t be agreeable to me.”
Ukrah stared, too many thoughts stuttering back to how she had come to the civilized lands. “But slavery is illegal,” she murmured, feeling foolish even as she said it. And yet, everyone she had seen in the flesh trade had been one of her kind. Never a civilized person. She had thought…had thought…
“We’re a merged village. We don’t belong to any one nation, so we sort of just fall through the cracks. The gang owns this town, and that’s that.”
“Then where’s your son?” Crispin asked, coming to her side and pouring more tea into her tankard. She sent him a grateful look but shook her head.
“Look, you all are lovely people, but I’m not willing to risk his life. Maybe that’s selfish, but it’s not so bad here. The gang treats me with respect, they value my services, and my son’s every need is taken care of. Neither of us go hungry, and it’s not like we help them hurt others. I just mend their clothes.”
“But do you really?” The woman blinked at her, and Ukrah continued. “You told me that sometimes you feel as if you don’t sew something, you might burst. Once you’re done fixing, or mending, do you feel better? Like some of that energy is gone? And you can breathe easier?”
“Y-yes.”
“You’re putting your magic as a vessel into it. Your gifts are obviously a lot different than mine, but it seems that you bless the fabric, as far as I can tell from what the tavern-keep said. You protect them. Make their ventures more profitable.”
“I… That can’t be true.”
“Look me in my eyes and tell me that I’m wrong.”
The woman did, but she quickly heaved a sigh. “I… I never asked for this. And I won’t risk my son.”
“That’s alright,” Cassinda said matter-of-factly. “We’ll just buy you from them.”
“I don’t think that’s possible. The gang is…is fond of me. And now that you mention it, I’m fairly certain that they can sense at least a little that my work helps them. I don’t think they would ever give me up.”
“At least let us try,” Ukrah urged. “Us asking to buy you certainly won’t put your son in danger, and if they say no, we won’t press it.”
The woman eyed them suspiciously. “Really, just like that, you’d accept a no?”
Ukrah couldn’t blame her for being doubtful. “I give you my word that we won’t do anything to risk your son’s life.”
“Alright then,” she said after a long, shaky breath. “I suppose, if you’re going to buy me, you should at least know my name. I’m Helena. Lovely to meet the lot of you.”
Right, they hadn’t introduced themselves at all. Poor manners on their part, but she hadn’t expected to get so caught up in the woman. In fact, she had been trying to rush through even going to the tailor because she was so anxious about finding the vessel.
“I’m Ukrah. This is Crispin, Cassinda, and Athar. That little guy is Voirdr, and we have Fior and Ethella back at the stables.”
“Well met.” Helena took another long breath before looking to Ukrah with uncertainty etched across her pleasant features. “Perhaps I could finish fixing your clothes before we go attempt this purchase?”
Ukrah reached out and squeezed her hands. “Sure. Whatever you want.”
6
The Prices They Pay
Helena ended up writing out very specific directions for them to get to where the gang apparently liked to gather. Ukrah had thought that they would all go together, a united front, but the woman explained that it would be better if she was there first, mending clothes and acting like everything was business as usual. Apparently if any of the gang thought she was purpose
fully conspiring, it could endanger both her and her son.
Ukrah didn’t like it. It made her skin itch and made her shift from foot to foot. Now that she knew the woman was a vessel, she needed to protect her. To make sure no one ever harmed her in any way. She knew it was a silly thing to think considering the woman had at least two decades on her, but that was how she felt, nonetheless.
But she knew she couldn’t bully the woman into just leaving her son. It wouldn’t be right. Even if the whole world was at stake, Ukrah knew that she couldn’t force any of the vessels to accept their fates. Which left her in the sticky spot of not knowing what to do if a vessel didn’t want to help, but at least Helena’s situation was solvable.
She hoped.
But as they strolled toward the unassuming building at the other end of the small village, she couldn’t help but feel her gut twist. Nothing was ever easy for her, and walking into a den of thieves, smugglers, and people who would purchase a human being in exchange for another human being’s life seemed like a good way to get into trouble.
Oh well. When things did inevitably kick up, she just hoped her magic would be less slippery.
Wouldn’t that be nice?
As they approached the door, they were greeted by two guards who looked like anything but. One was a young man on a barrel, peeling an apple, while the other was an older gentleman reading a thick tome. While both were obviously meant to look like standard villagers, Ukrah could feel their sharp gazes and pick out the tension to their posture.
“What brings you here?” the one on the barrel asked, looking them over quickly. “Isn’t often we get city folk.”
Athar gestured to the three of them. “Hoping to move some merchandise.”
Ukrah tried not to react to that, not knowing if he was referring to them or Voirdr. But it made sense to use them as a cover, even if it made her nauseous. She looked at the ground, holding her hatchling more tightly to her.
“Slavery is illegal, friend.”
“Who said anything about slavery?” Athar said smoothly. His voice was different and there was hardly any of his usual stutter. “We’re all stand-up folk here. I just heard that this is a good place to get goods moved to people they wouldn’t otherwise get to.”
The older man looked him over before nodding slowly. “I think I heard about you. Couple of our cousins bragging about a new acquisition in the forest.”
Athar grinned mildly. “I wouldn’t exactly call it bragging.”
“Right. Of course not.” Standing, he took a key from around his neck and unlocked the door, pushing it open for them. They went in, Ukrah trying hard to keep her eyes trained on the floor, but she couldn’t help but jump when he slammed it shut behind them.
“I know I may be young,” Crispin whispered hotly. “But I don’t think that’s ever a good thing.”
“No, it’s not,” Athar agreed, back to his normal voice.
Nevertheless, they strolled forward and down a small staircase that quickly opened into an area that wasn’t unlike the tavern.
Except it was way bigger, stretching out even farther than Braddock’s. And just like the tavern, there were some men eating and drinking, some men playing cards and dice, and even some others throwing knives at a target.
She risked raising her head farther and took in the other details of the room. She could also make out others divvying up what looked like gems and other precious objects, some sharpening or polishing their weapons. And then there, in the corner, was Helena as she dutifully darned several pairs of socks.
She had a handful of men around her, a couple sitting on the floor and most in chairs. They seemed to be having a pleasant conversation, all of them laughing and smiling. She couldn’t blame them. Now that she’d had a taste of the woman’s presence, she found herself wanting more again. Helena was just so happy and warm. Something that seemed to be a rarity with everything that was going on in the world.
Suddenly, Ukrah got the impression that maybe the bandits wouldn’t be willing to give Helena up no matter how much gold they offered.
That didn’t bode well.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, another person stepped forward, holding out a hand to stop them. Athar stepped in front of them, doing his best to seem genial, but not quite coming across that way in Ukrah’s opinion.
“What’s your business here?”
“Just wanted to talk,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “Interested in an acquisition.”
“Yeah? And what is it that you want to acquire, exactly?”
Athar opened his mouth to respond, but then someone was calling out from across the room. “Who is tha— Is that a man over there or a bear?!”
The man in front of them stepped aside to show the caller, who was sitting on what had to be the gang’s approximation of a throne, furs and bones all around him. It was another man, tall and muscular, but nothing like Athar.
“Huh, you really are that big. I thought I had too much of Kellick’s ale!” The man stood, all broad smiles and wide arms thrown open as if they were all old friends. “Who are you and what business does a giant have callin’ on little ol’ us?”
“I…” Athar took a deep breath, and Ukrah could feel something simmering just under his skin. She could guess that it wasn’t usual for him to be the speaker in any group, preferring to listen instead, but he’d had to talk quite a bit lately, and to a whole lot of strangers.
But surprisingly, it was Crispin who slid in front of the man, smiling broadly. “You’ll have to forgive us. We were a part of a bit of a racket back up north, but we got in a little trouble with some of those pesky riders that apparently have nothing better to do. We split for it, but now we’re all on our lonesome. We were hoping that maybe you might be willing to tell us about somewhere south that might be looking for, well, a motley crew with a lot of small fingers?”
“A bunch of pickpockets? Well, we’re far too small a town for anything like that, but I think I might know a couple of families looking for some new kids. And…a very large man.”
“I’m worth my int-take. Or so I’m t-t-told.”
“Ah, not much of a speaker, huh? Probably works out for the better. Well, I have a caravan coming through in a couple of days. You lot could head out on that, if you like.”
“Really?” Crispin asked with a blinding smile. “It’s that easy?”
He shrugged. “Why not? You found us here, and I’m always for helping a fellow thief in need. Besides, it’s not like there are any city guards or riders that would be comprised of a foreign girl, a northern girl, and a skeleton like yourself. Speaking of which—” Suddenly, Ukrah found his gaze square on her. “That’s quite an unusual hatchling you have there. I don’t suppose he’s for sale?”
“Sorry, but he’s our ticket into wherever we end up going.”
The man licked his lips, and Ukrah could feel everyone around them tense. “What if I said I wanted him in exchange for your passage?”
Crispin hesitated before giving a casual shrug. “Tell you what, let’s play for him.”
The leader’s eyebrows raised at that. “What kind of game?”
“Pick your poison. I’ve never been very fond of knives, but I see you’ve got—”
The man snorted. “Please, you think I’m going to let a pickpocket wager on a game that requires dexterity? No. We play dice.”
“Dice?” Crispin said, sounding contrite, but Ukrah knew him far too well. He was playing at something, but she certainly wasn’t comfortable gambling on the ownership of her soulmate. “I prefer a game of skill over luck, but sure, we could do dice.”
“I think you’ll find,” the man said as they approached one of the tables the thieves were playing at, “that dice requires its own set of skills.”
“If you say so.”
Ukrah’s stomach was flipping as they sat down. Would Crispin really dare to bet Voirdr on passage they didn’t need? That certainly didn’t make sense, which meant he had to have
a plan. But she just couldn’t figure out what that plan might be.
“So, what’s your bet?” Crispin asked. “If I’m putting a dragon hatchling down, then you should be putting up something worth the price.”
“I thought it was your safe passage.”
“Nah, see, that doesn’t make sense. If I lose this, you get the dragon and give us safe passage in return. If I win, I keep the dragon, but you…what?”
“Give you passage anyway, free of any charge with our full protection.”
“On the honor of your guild?”
“I wouldn’t give anything less.”
“Alright then, what’s your dice game?”
The leader said a name that Ukrah didn’t quite catch, but that was probably because she was trying to understand why he was still betting on a passage. Why not just ask for Helena? She was right there, still sewing and conversating away like nothing was happening just beyond her small circle.
Crispin was smart, though, so she needed to trust him.
Even if it felt like it was physically hurting her.
The leader put the dice into a cup, shaking them in his hand before throwing them across the table. Those around him let out an appreciative rally of cries, so she guessed that was good.
Really, all of this is coming down to probability and chance? Tayir asked, his voice muffled from inside Ukrah’s pack. Which didn’t make sense considering that she knew that the words he made technically weren’t audible.
“Oh wow,” Crispin muttered. “That’s a pretty good roll.”
“Like I said…” The man smiled broadly, leaning back in his chair. “It’s a skill.”
“Well, I’d ask the Three for guidance, but we all know how that would go, so just wish me luck.”
“Luck,” Cassinda murmured, earning an appreciative glance from Crispin.
But then he was putting the dice into the cup and shaking it, and shaking it, and shaking it until he dumped it upside-down on the table, the rim of the cup flush with the wooden surface.
