3. Kami

3

Kami

R ilitar, even sitting behind his desk, is tall. He's regal, with high cheekbones, a slender nose and strong chin. His skin is a cream color despite most earth fae being a darker shade of brown.

He's staring at us, at Ahza for a beat more than is comfortable. Then he turns those dark eyes on me.

I'm staring like a moron. I can't help it.

Despite the cruelty I can see in his gaze, his eyes are stunning. The orbs are black, his irises and pupils a brilliant gold. His pointed ears are ringed and gouged.

If I recall, that means something. Like, a rank or status of some kind for each slash and jewel.

"Well, well. My most profitable new contractors." He folds his slender fingers together, and I see a sixth digit on each hand in addition to an extra joint on each finger. "You've both been busy."

I can almost feel Ahza sweating, but he looks at Rilitar with cool composure. "We're at your disposal, boss." He gives a deferential nod, so I do too .

A glance at the window shows a reflection of the orc behind us. The odd one is standing at the door. Blocking our way of escape? With four other guards in the room, Rilitar has no need to worry about us harming him.

Then again, if the rumors about him are true, I don't think we could harm him. The guy has been unbeaten in close combat since forever, and his magic is powerful enough that he's held on to leadership in Sacred Lakes for at least a decade.

No one fucks with Rilitar and lives to talk about it.

Fae are powerful creatures anyway, much more so than regulars with little magic to spare. Fae can be fickle, malicious, then at times heartwarmingly generous.

Rilitar leans toward the malicious side of the scale.

I almost feel like his dark gaze is seeing through Ahza's glamour, though I know that can't be true. The djinn possess a subtle magic that's hard to beat. Once the belief in it is there, the knowledge of the lie stands.

To everyone, Ahza really is an earth fae.

Rilitar looks at me, and I swallow loudly.

He smiles. I think he likes knowing I'm afraid.

"Our little dryad. I'm honored to have your kind among us."

"There used to be a lot more of us," I have to say. "But some dickhead of an angel and his Pure torched our kind some years ago."

Rilitar nods. "I'd heard that. A shame. But that Pure is no more." He smiles widely.

His minions snicker.

I'm shocked. The Pure are incredibly hard to kill, not to mention whoever took him out would have had to go through his archangel too. The Pure tend to work with the strongest of the ethereals, maintaining an astoundingly powerful bond that amplifies strength.

Rilitar laughs. "Some upstart in the criminal district ended him and his ‘dickhead of an angel' a few months ago. It's been tremendous fun following the news." He pauses. "But it's also an eye-opener. When lesser beings think they can overrule their betters, and then they do, it sets a bad precedent."

We wait, not speaking.

Rilitar continues. "I've called you both here because despite your track record of getting things done, you're relatively unknown. I'd like you to keep it that way."

Ahza and I both nod. So far so good.

"I want you to sneak into Godtown. Find the golden crown that was recently stolen from our temple and bring it back. Do so and I'll forget you've stolen from me."

The silence in the room is oppressive.

Ahza tries to play it off as if he has no idea what Rilitar is talking about. I just sit silent, knowing we're screwed. Why didn't I listen to my intuition?

"Really, boss," Ahza is babbling. "We would never steal from you. That's a death sentence, and?—"

"Silence," Rilitar says, not raising his voice, but it's enough to get Ahza to shut up. "You've been given your order," he says, looking at me.

We stand and turn to leave.

"Oh no. I didn't mean both of you. I only need the dryad to go."

"B-boss?" I say as I turn, not at all liking the look in his eyes as he stands, staring at Ahza.

In all the years we've been together, Ahza and I have faced some pretty bad odds. But this feels worse than anything we've come up against.

There's an orc at our back and an elf and four fae at our front.

We have no weapons. Well, none that we can use unless we intend to kill everyone present, and I'm pretty sure that's impossible.

It's just me and my djinn illusionist best friend.

Rilitar gives us a grim smile. "Stealing from me is something I can almost look past. Everyone tries it. Everyone gets caught and punished." He glances at the orc over my shoulder then at Ahza. "But I won't tolerate a monster in my presence."

"We're not monsters," I protest.

We totally are.

"Lie better, my dear." He whips a dagger that passes through Ahza, who melts away into smoke. I dart for the door, knowing I'm going to come into contact with the orc.

"Get her," Rilitar snarls.

The orc grabs me in a move so fast I can barely blink.

But before I can struggle to go free, he's racing through the door with me in his arms.

"Oz, get your ass back here," Rilitar roars.

The orc responds by running faster, carrying us away.

The real Ahza is sitting around my throat, looking like a necklace. Holding onto the fake image of himself takes a lot of energy, but my Ahza can do anything when it comes to pretend.

"Hold on," the orc says in a low voice and shoves past everyone rushing at us. He mows through them as if it's nothing.

Then he's at the front of the keep and through.

He stops moments later in a copse of trees and looks down at me. "Leave this town and don't come back or they'll kill you." He tosses me through the air as if I'm a spear.

I land high up into a nearby tree, feeling like a toy he's heaved at an irritated squirrel, that's angrily squeaking at me.

I'm shaking and stunned, but I latch onto the large pine and move into it, sharing its essence and hiding as part of its heartwood.

"There he is!" one of the fae shouts.

I'm not so far inside the tree that I can't see the orc dart in the opposite direction he threw me. The guy is super fast, which is a good thing because everyone is on his ass.

I need to escape as well.

I can't be here long. I'm already starting to bond with the tree, and I can't afford to be stuck in Sacred Lakes for long.

So I journey down into its roots and allow myself to sink into its tap energy, rushing through the earth and seeking a new source of life.

I make the leap into a new tree, an aspen, and rush up into its trunk and out, finally.

Unfortunately, I think the damage has been done. The trees I left won't be normal any more. With any luck, they won't take too many lives before someone realizes what they've become and either chops them down or feeds them a new form of nutrients not commonly consumed by trees.

"Stay on me," I warn Ahza in a whisper and race back to our secret stash, keeping carefully to the shadows.

I wish I could have thanked the orc before he took off. He saved our lives.

I can only hope he too gets to safety as Ahza and I put Rilitar and this bigoted place behind us.

It's time to get out of Sacred Lakes. Like, yesterday.