21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

" S o you're a mage? I noticed most of the fire you made was an illusion." Razenna looks over her shoulder at us from atop her horse. Her red eyes still stir some sort of internal fight or flight within me.

"I would have thought you knew that, considering how much you already know about us." Eoin's tone is icy, but Razenna just smiles back at him.

"Well, I don't know everything. " She turns back and shares a look with August.

Eoin nudges his horse closer to mine. We've been on the road for hours, and he hasn't left my side yet. The conversation has been minimal, and though the sun set hours ago, the moon offers enough light to continue through the plains.

A dark arch takes form in the shadows before us, becoming sharper and clearer as we approach. Standing nearly three stories tall, it's not dissimilar to the one we found near Feng Forest.

August and Razenna dismount and pull their horses closer to the stone arch. Maybe we'll finally set up camp for the night.

August pulls a necklace from under his shirt as he and Razenna examine the archway's surface, studying the markings.

"Do you recognize the runes?" I keep my voice low, hoping only Eoin can hear me.

"Some of them. It looks like some sort of rune gate but more sophisticated."

Razenna points to a recessed point on the archway, and August approaches with his necklace. He places the disc into the indicated spot, and the runes on the arch glow amber while the air inside the archway illuminates and refracts. Light glints and ripples within the arch like moonlight on ocean waves.

They mount their horses and wave us forward with them. The two of them disappear through the filament, and I hold my breath as Eoin and I follow through.

This rune gate is definitely more sophisticated than the ones Eoin makes. There's no falling sensation, and we simply step through another archway that could be miles away. We're no longer in the prairie but in dense forest.

The crickets cease their chirping as August and Razenna dismount and pull clothes from their side packs. Razenna disappears into the shadows of the woods, and August approaches us. "We're going to change. There is an old tavern about a mile down the road. We have word there's a retired Crusader there selling information on the next relic."

Razenna returns in far less formal clothing but still in all black. "You two are going to wait here with the relic. We don't want to risk taking it where other thieves are likely to be."

"A tavern? I can refill my well there."

"It's a tavern, not a brothel." She sneers and throws her old clothes back into her pack.

"Doesn't matter. It'll take a little longer, but there's always energy in a tavern. Always." She ignores me as August returns from changing his clothes. Even dressed as a commoner, he looks well-bred.

"I used a majority of my magic this morning. If I have the chance to refill it, I want to take it."

She sighs and August tosses Eoin a sheathed sword. "Stay alert. We'll be back in a few hours."

I grab my book, and we ride down the hill toward the tavern; the sounds of singing, drinking, and cursing bring me back to evenings at The Snakebeard. I didn't realize how much I've been missing the familiarity of home. I wish Eoin could enjoy it with me.

The tavern's interior is surprisingly similar to The Snakebeard, just a little darker and with a rougher-looking crowd. It smells of stale ale and mildew, but the tables look clean. The bartender has short pink hair and a nose piercing, and it looks like she knows how to put an end to a bar fight.

I use the washroom and splash some water on my face before returning to the bar. "I'll take a cider," I say as I sit down and hand her a copper.

"It's covered." She nods towards August and Razenna, who sit at a dark corner table with an older bald man. "He said to get you whatever you want." The tattoos on her arms are vibrant and theatrical, but my eyes linger on the blue thistle hidden in an ocean scene on the side of her neck.

She hands me a slice of warm bread. "You alright?" she asks with sudden warmth.

"Yes, it's just been a long season," I say with a mouth full of bread. I pull out ‘Fae: Friend or Foe?' and prepare to do some light reading.

She nods and wipes down the counter. "Well, if that changes, let me know. I'm Wren, by the way." Her expression darkens when she notices my book. "You studying politics?"

I flip the cover toward myself and re-examine it. "What do you mean?"

"I haven't seen one of those in ages. The Prophet printed a bunch of those during a propaganda campaign to make humans fear the fae realm."

"Why would he do that?" Finally, someone else thinks he's up to something. Now I really wish Eoin was in here with me.

She shrugs. "It's hard to say. But, ultimately, it led to the Peasant War, the death of our previous High Lord, and then the wards went up. It was pretty insidious. And that's one of many reasons why we don't support him here in Selene."

Selene, we must have crossed the border somewhere on our journey tonight. Someone calls Wren away, and my mind races. Why would he do that?

The stool groans as I shift, turning to face the dimly lit corner table so I might keep half an eye on August and Razenna. They converse with the bald retired Crusader, but I'm unable to hear them, and I've never been any good at reading lips. Nonetheless, this is where my focus needs to be. Find the relics. Get paid. Quit thievery altogether and live near Eoin and Tomas.

"There's a pair of legs I wasn't expecting to see tonight." Luc sits on the stool beside me and glances over his shoulder at the corner table. "Though, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised." He leans in, lowering his voice. "I should expect the thief who stole the binding relic to show up when an old Crusader has been blabbing about the Sword of Regret."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"The separation relic." He gestures to the bald Crusader August and Razenna chat with. "He's been selling the information all night, spacing the meetings about an hour apart. He's done well so far, virtually no overlap between customers, however. . ." He tilts his head toward a filmy window. Four male faces press against the glass, all eyes on August and Razenna's table. "These four have been watching each meeting and robbing everyone who leaves. I suspect they're looking for the binding relic, hoping those thieves would also come here." He looks at me pointedly.

"Why warn me? It'd be too easy for me to warn August. I thought you hated him."

He sighs and leaves his chair, leaning on the bar instead. "Oh, Legs. I do hate him, but unfortunately, I need him right now. And thank you for confirming you're either working with or for him."

"What do you need?"

His face darkens. "Something only he's capable of doing, I'm afraid. I hope to get him to dissolve the treaties with the humans and open the border. If he won't, I'll be forced to take drastic measures. If you're smart, you won't be around when that happens."

I gasp at the sudden strange tugging sensation within me, and my well dips.

"Interesting," Luc says as he scans the room. "You're regenerating right here in the tavern."

"You can feel my well? You pulled some of my magic!" The slimy feeling of crossed boundaries hits me, and I fold my arms across my chest. In the corner, Razenna sits up straight and places her hand on her dagger.

Luc nods, and the front door bursts open with a loud crunch. A line of six Crusaders file into the tavern, and the myriad of conversations cease.

"Looks like he was more careless than I thought," he whispers and steps to the nearest window, casually flicking the lock open.

"All here shall submit to questioning, by order of The Prophet." The first Crusader's voice carries over the clamor of shoved chairs and shuffling feet. Luc slides the window open and signals for me to come nearer.

"He has no authority here!" the pink-haired barmaid shouts back at them and bares her fangs, earning a few rallying cries. "You're in Selene now; you've just crossed the border."

The lead Crusader turns toward her and draws his sword. "Is that so?"

"Time to go," Luc whispers.

A palm hits me in the chest, knocking me out the window. I land flat on my back and sputter. Above, Luc nimbly climbs through the open window like a cat.

"By the gods! What are you doing?" I try to sit up, but he grabs me under the arm, hoisting me to my feet.

"Saving you." Sven and another soldier in Helios ivory and gold step out of the shadows and usher us rapidly into the surrounding woods.

I pull free from his grasp. I need to warn Eoin. "I don't need saving. I need to get back to. . ." Shit, this might be exactly what he wants. It's dark, and the trees around us are dense, with no discernible path. If I run back to the tavern, I'm sure I could find my way, but that might be exactly what he's hoping for—me to lead him to Eoin and, more specifically, the relic.

"You sneaky . . . "

Luc steps back as a hand covers my mouth. It jerks, and my back slams against a solid chest.

"Shut up." Warm breath on my ear sends a jolt through me, and I still. Rough, calloused hands grip me tighter as more Crusaders pass through the woods heading toward the tavern. There must be dozens of them.

The hand slowly releases, and I turn around. August and Razenna glare past me at Luc and his men.

Razenna steps between Luc and me. "What are you doing with her?"

"Perhaps I caught wind of an old Crusader selling secrets, or perhaps I heard a rumor of an ambush." He shrugs as glass shatters from somewhere within the nearby tavern. The muffled sounds of arguing and crying build.

"Perhaps I'm curious about this one, and I'm not ready for her to be killed off so fast." There's a glint of moonlight in his cold grey eyes as he focuses on me.

A window shatters, and shouting intensifies.

"Search the perimeter!" a distant Crusader shouts to his outside companions.

Eoin. Someone needs to warn Eoin. August and Razenna share a glance.

"Let's leave her." August gestures to me, and Razenna stiffens.

"We can't. I need her." Razenna steps closer, and someone screams within the tavern.

"I can get her safely to your castle." Luc picks a pine needle from his jacket and drops it. Razenna hardens her gaze on Luc, and he flinches as someone is thrown out a window.

"Raz, take care of this. I'll get Eoin and the relic to the castle and send Ciaran." August turns his shoulders from us. "Lucanis, I know you want something. I'll hear you at Selene when you return the girl."

Razenna nods to August, seemingly satisfied with the deal, and he disappears entirely.