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Authors: Cael McIntosh
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woman’s aura as
she turned to face him. He dug about for a moment and pulled hard
on the slender black weaving he’d created earlier. The girl
shivered and her face darkened. ‘How do you feel about silts
today?’
‘ I hate them, of
course,’ she mumbled, staring at her shoes.
‘ And it’s appropriate
to hate them,’ Far-a-mael said as he dexterously snatched up a
thick red cord burrowing through Seteal’s aura and added it to his
earlier weaving. A moment later a fetid brown lump formed and he
pushed its pulsating mass into the heart of her aura, binding it
within the black strands.
‘ Off you go now,’
Far-a-mael encouraged. ‘You should practice what I’ve taught
you.’
‘ Yes, Gil’rei.’
Seteal’s eyes came up lifeless as she turned to leave.
The door closed with a soft thud and
all was silent. Far-a-mael exhaled tiredly and sat down, allowing
his feelings to show now that he was alone. How could he have been
so foolish? How could the silver glass have been so wrong? For
Maker’s sake, she couldn’t even see! He’d be the laughing stock of
the Elglair, an old fool who traipsed across the world to bring
home some blind, useless half-breed. His application for eldership
would be laughed out the door.
‘ Get a hold of
yourself, you old fool,’ Far-a-mael growled, irritated by his own
defeatist thoughts. ‘Give her time. You’ve waited this long. Just
give her a little more time.’
CHAPTER Five
Out The Window
‘ Hello, cutie,’ Seeol
whispered through the space in the top of Seteal’s bag. He wasn’t
certain of what the second word meant, but knew it was a friendly
greeting of some sort.
‘ Be quiet,’ Seteal
hissed. The sound was similar to that of a snake.
‘ Sorry,’ Seeol
apologised fearfully. From his cramped position atop a pile of
clothing, he could only see half of Seteal’s face and catch
occasional glimpses of the scenery beyond. ‘You is so scary
sometimes!’
‘ What was that?’
Far-a-mael called from his position up ahead.
‘ Nothing. I sneezed,’
Seteal replied, before lowering her face over the bag to reprimand
Seeol. ‘Would you shut up? You’ll get us into trouble.’
Seeol understood enough of what she’d
said to deduce that Seteal feared Far-a-mael discovering him. The
bearded one was the head of the pack.
Although Seeol was getting a little
tired of being cooped up inside a bag, he did enjoy the luxury of
catching up on some well-needed sleep. For reasons to which Seeol
remained ignorant, humans chose to sleep at night. Such behaviour
was baffling, but it’d turned out for the best, as Seeol was able
to hunt at night without fear of losing them. All the same, he’d
had enough of hiding from Far-a-mael. He’d learnt many words, but
couldn’t practice his steadily expanding vocabulary while stuck in
a bag.
‘ We’re nearly there,’
Far-a-mael’s sharp tone invaded the soft interior of Seteal’s
bag.
It’d been a number of days since their
departure from Golmar Crossing. Seeol had never before managed to
go so long without transforming into his other self and although he
tried not to get too excited, he found himself becoming
increasingly hopeful that just being in the presence of these
fascinating creatures had cured him.
He stretched his wings until they
pressed against the sides of the bag. He looked forward to reaching
the inn, as Seteal had promised to let him out.
There was a sharp jolt as the woman
slid off her horse. A door was opened and the sound of loud voices
surrounded Seeol, penetrating the fabric from every direction.
‘ Good to have you
back, Gil Far-a-mael,’ a gruff voice called over the
ruckus.
‘ We’ll take two
rooms,’ Far-a-mael replied. ‘Preferably the same two we took on the
way down if they’re available.’
‘ They’re not,’ the
innkeeper replied, ‘but we’ve got a similar pair next door to each
other.’
‘ Very well,’
Far-a-mael muttered. A moment
she turned to face him. He dug about for a moment and pulled hard
on the slender black weaving he’d created earlier. The girl
shivered and her face darkened. ‘How do you feel about silts
today?’
‘ I hate them, of
course,’ she mumbled, staring at her shoes.
‘ And it’s appropriate
to hate them,’ Far-a-mael said as he dexterously snatched up a
thick red cord burrowing through Seteal’s aura and added it to his
earlier weaving. A moment later a fetid brown lump formed and he
pushed its pulsating mass into the heart of her aura, binding it
within the black strands.
‘ Off you go now,’
Far-a-mael encouraged. ‘You should practice what I’ve taught
you.’
‘ Yes, Gil’rei.’
Seteal’s eyes came up lifeless as she turned to leave.
The door closed with a soft thud and
all was silent. Far-a-mael exhaled tiredly and sat down, allowing
his feelings to show now that he was alone. How could he have been
so foolish? How could the silver glass have been so wrong? For
Maker’s sake, she couldn’t even see! He’d be the laughing stock of
the Elglair, an old fool who traipsed across the world to bring
home some blind, useless half-breed. His application for eldership
would be laughed out the door.
‘ Get a hold of
yourself, you old fool,’ Far-a-mael growled, irritated by his own
defeatist thoughts. ‘Give her time. You’ve waited this long. Just
give her a little more time.’
CHAPTER Five
Out The Window
‘ Hello, cutie,’ Seeol
whispered through the space in the top of Seteal’s bag. He wasn’t
certain of what the second word meant, but knew it was a friendly
greeting of some sort.
‘ Be quiet,’ Seteal
hissed. The sound was similar to that of a snake.
‘ Sorry,’ Seeol
apologised fearfully. From his cramped position atop a pile of
clothing, he could only see half of Seteal’s face and catch
occasional glimpses of the scenery beyond. ‘You is so scary
sometimes!’
‘ What was that?’
Far-a-mael called from his position up ahead.
‘ Nothing. I sneezed,’
Seteal replied, before lowering her face over the bag to reprimand
Seeol. ‘Would you shut up? You’ll get us into trouble.’
Seeol understood enough of what she’d
said to deduce that Seteal feared Far-a-mael discovering him. The
bearded one was the head of the pack.
Although Seeol was getting a little
tired of being cooped up inside a bag, he did enjoy the luxury of
catching up on some well-needed sleep. For reasons to which Seeol
remained ignorant, humans chose to sleep at night. Such behaviour
was baffling, but it’d turned out for the best, as Seeol was able
to hunt at night without fear of losing them. All the same, he’d
had enough of hiding from Far-a-mael. He’d learnt many words, but
couldn’t practice his steadily expanding vocabulary while stuck in
a bag.
‘ We’re nearly there,’
Far-a-mael’s sharp tone invaded the soft interior of Seteal’s
bag.
It’d been a number of days since their
departure from Golmar Crossing. Seeol had never before managed to
go so long without transforming into his other self and although he
tried not to get too excited, he found himself becoming
increasingly hopeful that just being in the presence of these
fascinating creatures had cured him.
He stretched his wings until they
pressed against the sides of the bag. He looked forward to reaching
the inn, as Seteal had promised to let him out.
There was a sharp jolt as the woman
slid off her horse. A door was opened and the sound of loud voices
surrounded Seeol, penetrating the fabric from every direction.
‘ Good to have you
back, Gil Far-a-mael,’ a gruff voice called over the
ruckus.
‘ We’ll take two
rooms,’ Far-a-mael replied. ‘Preferably the same two we took on the
way down if they’re available.’
‘ They’re not,’ the
innkeeper replied, ‘but we’ve got a similar pair next door to each
other.’
‘ Very well,’
Far-a-mael muttered. A moment
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