THE CROW AND THE NIGHT

A dalliance of opportunity

Xadia was beautiful any time of year, with its lush forests and its bright colours. Even now in Autumn, the glorious reds of the leaves were a sight to behold. The shimmering butterflies had laid their eggs, safe against the coming winter, and were living out their days dancing in the fading sunlight. The adoraburrs would soon start to clump together in large groups inside any hollow they could find, and go to sleep till Spring. Corvus liked travelling in Xadia.

Which wasn't to say that everything there was shiny and fluffy. From the cover of a few shrubs atop a thirty-foot-high cliff, he was looking at a wooden wagon drawn by two large horses. It was slowly making its way up a path towards him. Corvus peered out from between the leaves using a spyglass. He had been tracking these people all over Xadia for six weeks now, and now he had found them.

There was a rushing noise, a breath of wind rustling the leaves of his hiding place, and before he could even duck someone dropped down right in front of him, blocking his view. Corvus blinked. The new arrival was a young woman... with wings! As he watched, she folded them up and went down on one knee, peering into the distance. She had some kind of spear in her hand. He watched her for a while, her head moving as she observed the wagon... his wagon thank you very much! Moving slowly, he put away his spyglass and put his hand on his weapon. The woman looked round for a moment, disturbed, then looked back at the wagon.

Corvus stood up. "Hey!"

The woman turned round and raised her spear with a rush of feathers. She stopped. Looked at him with a sneer.

"Who the bleeding hell are you?"

"I'm Corvus." He raised his hands. "I'm not going to hurt you."

She raised her spear a little higher. "Bloody right you're not. What are you doing here?"

"Taking a walk in the healthy fresh air. Same as you, miss...?"

She lowered her weapon to the ground. "My name is Naimi-Selari-Nykantia. But everyone calls me Nyx."

"Nyx. Pleased to meet you." Corvus pointed in the distance. "Did you see that wagon over there?"

Nyx looked at him as if he was stupid, and he noticed that her eyes were of different colours, one a light blue, the other a light brown. She said nothing. Corvus gave her a winning smile.

"Were you maybe thinking of hitting it? To see what they're carrying?"

"Maybe." Nyx turned back to the path below. "Look at the guards. Six of them. Bound to be something good in there wouldn't ya think?"

"Something good? Not likely. Something valuable, maybe." Corvus moved next to Nyx. "Have you seen those guards?"

She shrugged. "Humans."

"Not anymore." Corvus pulled out his spyglass again. "They're glowing. They're the last remaining soldiers from the battle at Storm Spike. Viren cast a fire spell on them. It made them stronger, and made them fireproof, but it took away their humanity. It bound them to Viren's will." He gave his spyglass to Nyx. "Then Viren died, and the spell broke. Some of them got better. Others lost everything. They're just empty shells. Can't do anything except kill."

"This... Viren." Nyx looked through the spyglass. "He did that to his own soldiers?"

"Yes."

"Aren't you humans the loveliest people."

"Can't argue with that. There's at least two dark mages in that wagon. Know how to handle those?"

Nyx gave the spyglass back. "Oh I know what to do with them all right."

"These are heavy. Go in unprepared, and you'll spend the rest of your days having pieces ripped off your body and soul to power their spells."

"Thank you kindly for the warning." Nyx rubbed her cheek. "So what were you going to do with them?"

Corvus grinned. "Hit them."

"So how were you going to win where I can't?"

"Don't know. Strike from cover, I suppose. Pick them off one by one with arrows. Hit and run till there's no one left to hit."

"Sounds risky."

"It is risky. Those mages have ways of finding you." Corvus rubbed the stubbles on his chin. He needed a shave. "But wait a moment. You're a Skywing elf."

Nyx rolled her eyes. "I try and try to keep that a secret, but people keep guessing it." She spread her wings, flapped them a few times. "Go on Squire. Tell me. What is it that gives me away?"

Corvus laughed. "Your accent. Can tell that North Xadian lilt as soon as you open your mouth. But I was thinking."

"Always a first time for anything."

"Haha. If I draw away those guards, you can attack from above and get rid of the mages."

"Weren't you telling me just now how they would carve my poor body and soul into mincemeat?"

"Ah. But..." Corvus pulled off his pack, rummaged inside, and came up with two metal cylinders. "These are flashbangs."

"What do they do?"

Corvus handed one to Nyx. "They flash, and they bang."

She looked at the thing. "Sounds like any human I've ever met."

"Nyx. Please. Pay attention. This is important." Corvus held up the flashbang. "You squeeze the handle like this, and you pull out the pin." He did, and showed it to her. "Now if you change your mind and don't want a flash or a bang today..."

"Oh why would I pass on a perfectly good..."

"Will you listen?" Corvus put the pin back in, handed the grenade over. "Then you do this, and it's safe again. Otherwise, if you let go of the handle, it's one... two... three... bang! Don't try to squeeze the handle back, it'll go off anyway and take your hand off. You want to close your eyes and stick your fingers in your ears because it's really bright and really loud." He pointed at the wagon, now just a mile or so away. "I'll distract the guards. You fly to the top of the wagon, drop these things into the skylight. Whoever is inside will be deaf, blind, and stunned, and the place'll be full of smoke. Then you can go in and do your thing with your pointy stick. Do we have a plan?"

Nyx looked at the metal things in her hand. "Sounds good to me. How are you going to distract the guards?"

Corvus shrugged. "I'll shoot their driver in the face. That ought to work."

"I expect so. And whatever loot we find, we split between us? Half and half?"

"Of course."

Nyx held out her hand. Corvus took it.

"Until the deed is done, we are at one. You have my word."

"Until the deed is done, you have mine."

 

---

 
It worked. It actually worked smoothly like butter. Nyx circled round at a safe distance while Corvus distracted the driver by neatly planting an arrow in one of his eyes from a hundred paces. Nyx made a mental note never to get him angry at her and leave him alive. Corvus ran away, and the guards did what they were conditioned to do. They gave chase. There wasn't much time. The mages would come out soon to ask what the bleeding noise was all about. Nyx went into a dive, pulled up just above the roof of the wagon, pulled the pins out of those flashbangs and dropped them into the window set in the roof of the wagon. She screwed her eyes shut and covered her ears. Bloody hell it was loud! The horses gave a startled cry and set off at a gallop, nearly throwing Nyx off the roof. She leapt into the air, looped down to the back door of the wagon and kicked it open. Inside were, as promised, a cloud of smoke and not two but three dazed humans being tossed about yelling their blimming heads off. They wouldn't stay that way, though, and Nyx wasted no time. The humans didn't put up much of a fight, and within a minute all was over. She half walked, half climbed to the front of the wagon and pulled the reins, found the brake and slammed it on.

The wagon came to a screeching stop. She leapt off, ran to the horses, and raised her wings round the terrified beasts' heads. She stroked their muzzles gently.

"Ssh. It's alright. It's fine. Everything is all right."

After a while, the horses' ears stopped twitching. Nyx stepped back, looked round.

"All right. Humans are dead. Now what?"

She stared in the direction where Corvus had run. Would he need any help? She'd sworn an oath to be his ally, and that was not something to be taken lightly. She leapt into the air and flew along the path, looking for him, spear in hand. She didn't have to look long. Corvus was walking back along the path. She dropped down next to him.

He smiled at her. "Hey fly-girl. Are you all right?"

"Brilliant. You?"

"They are not as strong as they were when they were first... turned." Corvus took a deep breath, looked at the ground. "One of them thanked me before he died."

Nyx put a hand on his shoulder. "Poor sods. I'll fly back and keep an eye out. See you in a few."

 
The wagon was still where she'd left it and she unhitched the horses, led them to a grassy field. She looked up. The driver was still in his seat, his head nailed to the wagon by Corvus' arrow. She considered dragging him away, but that was against looting etiquette. You don't start until the whole gang is here. She didn't fancy sitting next to a dead human, so she sprang to the roof, sat down, and dangled her legs. She waved at Corvus when he came up, and he waved back with one too many fingers. The smoke had settled inside, and Corvus turned over the bodies of the mages while Nyx leaned against the doorframe. At the last one, he stopped with a short breath. He looked over his shoulder at Nyx.

"I wish you hadn't killed this one."

Nyx stood up straight, ready to fly if needed. "Friend of yours?"

"No. I wanted to kill this one myself."

Nyx raised her hands. "You should have said. I'd have asked him to wait for you. Why's this one so special?"

Corvus went through all the mages' pockets, dropping everything he found on the table. "I was on a mission. One of the villages near the Breach hadn't sent nearly enough soldiers for the push into Xadia and General Amaya wanted me to find out why. The elder said they'd sent all they could spare, and if they sent any more, you lot would attack and burn the whole village to the ground."

"Yeah," said Nyx. "He's not wrong. We used to do that. Mind you, the war's over so Katolis field trips are off until further notice."

"Good. So I'm just about to leave and report, when this pissant arrives with a band of Katolian irregulars, declares everybody a traitor, and tears the whole place to pieces as an example for the others. Everybody dead, all the houses torched. I was lucky to get out alive."

"How did you escape?"

Corvus scowled. "By hiding under the dead bodies of the villagers. I really wanted this one to know why I don't like him."

"Sorry."

"He needed to die. Job well done. Let's take out the trash."

They dragged the bodies outside and unceremoniously dumped them into a ditch. They went back inside to see what they'd caught. Nyx sat down, turned over the mages' moneybags onto the table, and started to sort the coins into neat little stacks. She caught Corvus staring at her hands.

"What?"

"Nothing. You have done this before."

"True." She picked up a Katolian gold coin and made it dance between her fingers. "Did you know? Any pub in Xadia, you try to pay with one of these, the barman won't accept it, but he'll think you took it off the dead body of a human, so he'll give you a free pint."

"I'll try that next time I go drinking in Xadia."

She put the coin on Corvus' pile. "War may be over, but it's going to be a while before we're really friends."

"It'll take time," Corvus said. "But it'll happen."

Nyx had finished the gold coins and started on the silver.

"Tell me about it. I met this Moonshadow girl. I was ferrying her across the Midnight Desert on my ambler. She had this human boy with her. Stars and stones, he was all over her, all twelve fingers of him. Makes you want to puke, don't it?"

"Oh you think you have it bad? I have to watch my very own general make heart-eyes at some glow-in-the-dark elf chick."

Nyx shook her head. "Disgusting. Utterly disgusting."

"I know, right? People should stick to their own species."

Nyx grinned. "It is kinda hot, though. Five fingers to stroke me with."

"And those cute little elven horns. Elves are always..." Corvus caught the look in Nyx' eye. "But you'll have heard that one."

"Done to death and back again." Nyx continued sorting coins. "Grain of truth, though."

All the gold and silver was sorted, leaving only the 'other' coins. Nyx stared at them, blew out her cheeks.

"Pff. What even is this stuff? Sorry Corvus, but I haven't a notion of what some of these are, much less what they're worth. Some of them look like they're used by bloody glow toads."

Corvus shrugged. "You take them." He pushed the remaining coins over to Nyx' pile. His eyes narrowed and he picked up one coin, then two more like it. "Except for these. I'll take them."

Nyx picked one up, looked at it. "I don't even know what metal they are. Valuable, are they?"

"Beyond price, but you can't use or sell them. These aren't coins. These are trapped souls. The darkest of dark magic, where they pull the soul from your body and it turns into this."

"Maybe I've said this before." Nyx dropped the lost soul into Corvus' hand. "But you humans are really lovely people. What will you do with these things?"

Corvus gathered up the soul coins, carefully wrapped them in a piece of cloth, and stuck them in his pocket. "We have a dark mage in the castle dungeons as a pet. I'll show these to her. Maybe she knows what to do with them."

Nyx stared at the piles of coins. "This is lousy pickings. I swear I've robbed beggars for more."

"That's dark mages for you," said Corvus. "Lots of toys, no money."

Nyx gathered up her pile of coins and put them in one of the moneybags. She hooked it on her belt, picked up her spear.

"It's been a pleasure working with you. See you around, Corvus."

"Where are you headed?"

Nyx threw back her head and stretched out her arm. "New adventures! I'm going to spend all this money on a palace!"

"Are you really in such a big hurry? It smells like rain out, you'll get soaked. In here it's dry and warm. Stay the night here. Leave in the morning."

Nyx looked at Corvus, a little smile on her face. What a nice human, to think of her health before anything else.

"Oh come on. Stay. You can find out if it's true what they say about humans."

"Heh. You're a bunch of bloodthirsty sacrilegious lecherous heathens? I already know that's true."

"There's a stove here. I'll cook you dinner. I'm a great cook."

Nyx put down her spear and sat back down.

"Oh now you've got me interested."

 

---

 
Most Skywing elves are vegetarian, but Corvus had convinced Nyx that bacon counts as a vegetable. Not that she minded much. She had gone without food often enough not to turn her nose up at anything hot and filling. The brown peas with bacon and onions would do very nicely thank you. There wasn't anything to drink except water, but no Skywing elf will travel far without a bag of tea. Corvus had been right. Rain was clattering on the roof, but they were warm and dry inside, sipping hot drinks, legs stretched out on the benches next to the table.

"Early start tomorrow," said Corvus, under no illusion at all that Nyx wouldn't guess what he was getting at.

"Better turn in soon," said Nyx. "Get a good night's sleep. At least I will."

He frowned. "What?"

Nyx grinned, sticking her tongue out between her teeth. "I might just wait till you are asleep and then murder you and make off with all this treasure."

"That is true. You are an evil murderous Skywing elf, after all." Corvus leaned over to her, elbows on the table. "I know what to do. We could sleep holding each other in our arms. That way, if one of us would go for her weapon, the other would wake up in time to defend himself."

She moved closer to him, eyes shining. "Pf. If I let you and your freakish five-fingered mitts anywhere near my pockets, they'll be empty before daybreak."

"You make a good point. Not that I'd want to steal from you, but I can't help myself. I'm a simple human. I see a pocket, I pick. Don't you?"

"My mom always told me picking at it won't make it better, but I disagree." She pretended to think a moment. "I have an idea. What if we both take off all our clothes? That way, we won't have any pockets, and we won't be..." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Tempted."

They simply sat looking at each other for a while, each silently daring the other to make the first move. Finally, Nyx reached behind her and and undid the straps to her rigid linen chestpiece.She pulled it off, put it on the table. Her vambraces followed. She looked at Corvus, eyebrow raised. Well?

Much of the pleasure is in the anticipation. They took their time getting out of their clothes, politely helping each other with their boots, but not touching... yet. Finally they stood naked in front of each other, waiting. Corvus reached out and touched Nyx' cheek.

"By the Stars, you are beautiful."

What did he want from her?

Apart from the obvious, which he was already getting in case he hadn't noticed.

Nyx was no stranger to other people's beds or bodies. There were so many reasons. To sweeten a deal. To convince some poor sucker that what they had was... real. To divert blood away from people's brains to body parts less likely to guess her plans. She tried to remember the last time she'd done it simply for fun, and couldn't. She looked into Corvus' eyes.

Could he... no. Could he, just simply, mean it? Nyx found she was grinning like a maniac. Or like a sucker, but tonight, she didn't care. She stepped forward, put her arms round his neck.

"You're not so bad yourself." She flicked his thick dark hair, which he wore in some sort of silly bun on the back of his head. "Except for that."

"It's the hairstyle of my warrior clan. It's traditional."

"What else is? Celibacy?" She unwound the leather strap and his braids fell down to his shoulders. "There. Much better. Rawr."

"If you say so."

"I do say so." She played with his hair. "So we can't pick each other's pockets now. What was your excuse again for kissing me?"

"Do I need one?"

"I suppose not." She pushed him onto the bench and climbed on his lap. "I go on top. Lying on my back ruffles my feathers something rotten."

 
Hands.

That was the best part of doing it with a human.

Big strong hands.

Nyx loved being touched, and this humans' hands were just... more. They felt perfect on her butt, gripping her tightly, covering more of her skin than any elf's hands could. She kept finding good places for him to touch her, and moving his hands there. Her small firm breasts disappeared in his hands, rough workman's palms against her sensitive nipples. He touched the back of her neck, and she leaned back her head with a sigh as his fingers brushed through her hair. He pressed his lips to her neck and ran his finger along one of her horns. Cute, but horns feel nothing. She pulled back, looked into his eyes. His fingernails scratched through the soft downy feathers at the base of her wings in exactly the right place. Nyx took a shivering breath, arched her back, and spread her wings as far as they would go. She had to hold on to his shoulders, or she would have fallen off his lap.

"You like this, huh?" Corvus' voice sounded breathy.

"Nghh," she said. She swayed from left to right, eyes closed. "Don't stop. Please don't stop."

Being a good boy, Corvus kept scratching her until she sank against him, kissing him like kisses were going to run out tomorrow. She became aware of something pressed against her stomach that hadn't been there before, and ran her fingers down his side.

"Something has grown between us."

"Has it?"

She glanced down. "Oh my. I guess it is true what they say about humans."

She took his hand, raised it to her lips, and kissed each of the fingers in turn. Thumb. Forefinger, Middle finger. Ring finger... Extra finger. Holding her breath, she placed it against the inside of her thigh. His fingers... all of his fingers moved between her legs, exploring, finding the best spots. In return, she gently stroked him until his eyes told her she was doing it right. With her other hand, she squeezed his shoulder. Raised her eyebrows a little.

"Yes."

Nyx rose up, lowered herself onto him, eyes half closed. They moved and shifted till it felt just right. She started to rock her hips in a slow and steady rhythm that he soon picked up and followed. Nyx and Corvus were both people who lived their lives in the quiet. There were no loud cries, just quiet gasps, sighs, breaths, whispers. They both wanted this to go on forever, through night and day and night again. Nyx pulled him closer, wrapped her wings round him, and with one shared look, everything changed. Corvus put his hand behind Nyx' head, pulled her to him, kissed her, and their walk became a run. Faster and faster they went, fighting for air, teeth bare, holding on to each other tighter, until with a final gasp, Nyx' feathers rustled as her wings shook. Corvus' fingernails dug into her shoulders and she felt a warmth inside her. His hips pressed into her hard, and after one moment of perfect stillness, they collapsed into each others arms, fighting to get their breath back, smiling at each other like mad.

"See?" Corvus ran his fingers along Nyx' wing. "Nobody gets murdered, and everybody keeps their things."

"Best plan ever." Nyx put her head on his shoulder. "How soon can you do this again?"

 

---

 
Corvus woke up to the sight of Nyx sitting cross-legged on the table. She was still fully naked, which was nice. She was holding one of her wings, smoothing down the feathers. One of them sprang back up no matter what she did, and with a little sneer she pulled it out and put it on the table next to her. Corvus picked it up and held it up to the light.

"Are you shedding?"

"Rude. Ladies don't shed, they rejuvenate."

"Did you know? Feathers don't really have a colour. You only see the colour because of the way they break up the light." He dropped the feather and watched it flutter down onto the table.

Nyx snorted. "Did you know? It takes bloody ages to get your feathers back into flying shape after some human dumps you on a table and jumps on top of you."

"You weren't complaining at the time."

"My tiny little bird brain was addled by your... your..."

"Overwhelming personality?"

Nyx jumped off the table, grabbed the feather, put it in Corvus' hand. She closed his fingers on it, pressed a kiss to his fist. "I want you to have this. If ever you come to my lands, and meet the Skywing elves, show it to them, and they will..." She grinned. "Think you've killed me, and rip you to tiny bits."

Corvus laughed, put the feather on top of his pile of clothes. "You are such a sweetheart. How can I ever repay you?"

Nyx pressed herself up against him. "How about that quickie you promised me last night?"

"I promised you that? I don't remember."

"That gonna stop you?"

"Nope."

He picked Nyx up by those rock-hard butt cheeks and lifted her onto the table. There was no foreplay, no gentle touches and kisses, just a rush to the finish. They never looked away from each other's eyes until they were done. Nyx cleaned herself up with a wet towel. Playtime was over. They put on their clothes, ate some raisin oatcakes for breakfast, stood in the doorway for one final kiss.

"It's been fun working with you, Corvus. Let's do it again some time."

"Fighting? Or..."

"Both." She ran her hand over Corvus' cheek. "Get a shave!"

With a final smile, she grabbed her spear, took a run-up, and leapt into the air. Corvus watched her until she was only a fleck of black against the blue sky. He bribed the horses with lumps of sugar, leapt on the back of one of them and set off for the Breach, and Katolis. Home. Mission complete. The renegade mages and their minions were dead, he had recovered the souls of some poor bastards, he had found two fine horses, and of course he was now richer by...

It took him ten long seconds to realise that Nyx had flown off with both moneybags. He looked at the sky, but there was nobody there. He shook his head and burst out laughing.

"Don't ever change, Fly-girl. Don't ever change."

Katolis' one and only witch trial.

Corvus did not like travelling in large companies. Being a master tracker, he was supposed to stalk his prey, strike from the shadows, pass unseen, unheard. There was hardly anything less stealthy than a dozen mounted knights in full plate armor clanking along the roads near the Breach, the fiery border between Katolis and Xadia. Corvus had told Soren, the company's commander, that he would go and scout ahead to warn them of any danger.

"What danger?"

"I won't know till I find it."

With the elven-human wars over, and at least the semblance of peace between the nations, danger failed to present itself. No fire breathing dragons. No dark mages. No invisible elven assassins, at least none he could see. He stopped a moment, stroked his horse's neck. It was still the same horse he had taken home with him as spoils of war from his expedition to catch and eliminate the renegade dark mages. He'd named him Bayard. Bayard wasn't fast, but he was big and strong. Corvus stood up in his stirrups and looked ahead. About a mile up the road, there was a village. There might be an inn there. That could be dangerous. The beer could be bad. He owed it to his fellow soldiers to investigate. He nudged Bayard into a trot, and rode into town.

It was... busy.

Lots of people were out, clearly upset about something. They seemed to be gathered around one particular place. Corvus' eyes narrowed. What was going on? He looked where everyone was, and his heart turned cold. A half dozen men were beating with sticks someone lying on the ground. The crowd was cheering them on.

Corvus gave a mighty shout and pulled out his chain weapon. He spurred on Bayard and a ton of pure horse muscle and bone galloped forward, scattering people left and right. Leaping off, he swung his chain round, keeping everyone away from the slender figure lying on the ground, arms over her head... and wings round herself. He had to look twice to make sure, but there was no mistake.

"Nyx?!"

One of the large men came forward. Corvus spun his chain round, launched it at his face, stopping only a hair's breadth short. He gave him a dark look.

"Stay back. Or else." He knelt down, touched Nyx' shoulder. "Nyx? Can you fly?"

Nyx looked at him with large frightened eyes, shook her head. "Wing... br... wrong." She tried to move and a flash of pain was on her face. "Can't..."

"Easy now, Fly-girl. I'll get you out of here."

Nyx tried to say something, but couldn't.

"Why are you defending that?"

Ah. Someone with some sort of authority had pushed forward. He was a thick-set man with greying hair. He had some kind of farming tool in his hand. Corvus stood in front of him.

"Who are you, and why are you beating this young woman?"

The man scowled. "I am Mayor Garth, and that thing murdered one of our children."

Corvus frowned, looked over his shoulder at Nyx, who frantically shook her head.

"Well Mayor Garth, I am Corvus, adjudant to General Amaya of the Standing Battalion, and claims of that sort need to be proven."

One of the other men edged forward and raised his weapon at Nyx. Corvus turned round fast and the blades on his chain struck the man in the arm. He cried out, dropped his stick and clutched his bloody arm.

"Stay back. I am not warning anyone again."

"Warn all you want," Mayor Garth said. "Seems to me there's more of us then there is of you. We will have justice."

"Oh you will have justice all right." Corvus gave the mayor a hard look. "If you attack an officer of the Katolian army, then you will land in more trouble than you can stomach."

"Gentlemen!"

Soren had a wonderfully clear loud voice. He was sitting on his horse, and behind him was a row of ten mounted soldiers with spears. Pointing up. They weren't pointing at anyone except maybe passing birds, dragons, and Skywing elves, but it was clear that when they started pointing down, it would be bad news for whoever was in front. Next to Soren was a slender female rider in a dark dress, a hood hiding her face. Soren's sister Claudia.

"Who, may I ask, is in charge of this... festival? Can we join?"

There was some shuffling of feet until Corvus pushed the Mayor forward.

"He means you, asshole."

"Ah." Soren got off his horse and walked over to the Mayor with a bright smile on his face. "Thank you Corvus. And you are?"

"I am Garth. The elected mayor of this town."

"Good good. I am sure that in all this town, there isn't a better man for the job. Or woman." He looked at Corvus. "That was sarcasm."

"Very good Sir."

Soren turned back to Mayor Garth. "I am Captain Soren of the Crown Guard. What is this all about then?"

Mayor Garth straightened his back. "Captain, this man of yours interrupted us when we were in progress of apprehending a sky-elf who has cruelly murdered one of our innocent children."

"Hmm." Soren raised an eyebrow at Corvus. "Is that so?"

"Broadly, Sir," Corvus had returned to Nyx' side, one arm round her. "They were not 'apprehending' her, they were beating her to death. And I know this elf. She is not one to murder children. Do you remember the township of Emberglow?"

"I do." Claudia came riding forward slowly. "It was purged in the run-up to the Great Conflict by dark mages. Those mages were sentenced to death in absentia for their crimes. Weren't you after them, Corvus?"

"I was." Corvus pointed at Nyx. "This brave elven woman helped me. I destroyed the Changed Ones, she killed the mages. Emberglow owes her a debt of gratitude. Or would, if there were any survivors. She is a warrior, not a murderer." He scowled. "Other than that, they're spot on."

"Very good," Soren had spent the last few years learning about sarcasm and could now spot it without fail. He turned back to Mayor Garth with a friendly smile on his face that somehow wasn't very comforting. "This... party looks to me more like a hanging mob than police officers doing their duties, wouldn't you agree?"

"Tell that to the poor bereaved mother who now has to bury her three months old baby, murdered by..." the Mayor waved a hand. "That thing there."

"Were you going to give this woman a fair trial?" Soren put his hand on the pommel of his sword and leaned in. "That's traditional, isn't it? Fair trials?"

"Oh she's guilty alright. Why else would she try to escape when we came for her? The innocent have nothing to fear!"

"Really? Has she been found guilty? In one of those courts of law? That comes before the putting-to-death bit, I'm sure I read that somewhere."

"Well..."

"I see." In the blink of an eye, all the smiles disappeared from Soren's face. "Then she is innocent. And from the state of her, it's clear that she had plenty to fear from you yokels."

"If it's a trial you want, a trial you'll get. By the power invested in me as an elected..."

Soren waved his finger in the elected official's face. "Murdering babies is a capital crime. You need to be really sure she's done it because you can't un-execute someone. That is why the King, long may he reign over us, has not invested anything like that in you. Let me see if I am seeing this right. You are thinking of you and twelve of your friends here shouting at her for an hour or so what a bad person she is, and then killing her. Is that what you think will happen?"

One of the others stepped forward, brandishing a saw. "We will cut off one of its wings so that whenever it tries to fly, it'll know the price of murdering our children."

Soren reached out, grabbed the saw by the sharp end, pulled it out of the man's hand, and casually tossed it into the crowd. "No you won't. This is what will happen. I myself will hold a court-martial. If I find her guilty, I will take her to the Castle for further trial. If not, then she will be free to go."

"Soren!" Corvus was holding Nyx in his arms. "She's slipping. She needs help." He turned back to Nyx. "Stay with me, Fly-girl."

Soren looked round the place, pointed at a free-standing house. "Who lives there?"

An older woman came forward raising her hand. Soren pointed at three soldiers.

"Pike. Gerald. Rhodes. Help Corvus get her inside. Careful. Ma'am? You have a guest."

Claudia dismounted slowly. "I will help her."

"Good." Soren looked back at the rest of his soldiers. "You guard the place. Anyone comes near, kill them."

 
Soren, Corvus, and the other soldiers gently lifted Nyx up between them, keeping her as straight as they could. Nyx' eyes were half closed, and tiny whimpers of pain came from her. The woman opened the door for them, and led them to her own bed. They gently, softly, laid her down. Corvus kneeled by her head, took her hand.

"Shh, Fly-girl. It's going to be fine. Everything is going to be fine."

"Corvus." Claudia put her hand on his shoulder. "Give me some room."

He looked at her. Claudia. Soren's sister. Daughter of Viren, who was possibly the most vile person he had ever known. A lifetime ago, she had been pretty. Beautiful even. But months of heavy use of Dark Magic had changed her. Her face, once gentle and healthy, had cracked and dried out, crossed with veins that never carried blood. Her hair had turned completely white. Her eyes darkened by what they had seen. There was a solution for that, of course. Crack a butterfly between your fingers and within a moment, you would be the fairest in the land, hiding who and what you were. Claudia no longer wished to hide who she had become. She had been released to her brother, who was charged never again to let her roam the lands of Katolis on her own. She had sworn the rest of her life to setting right the evils wrought by herself, and Dark Mages like her father.

She stood in front of the bed, raised her arms over Nyx. Her eyes fluttered open, and she tried to scream but couldn't. Her mouth moved, trying to make words.

"D-dark... dark... no. Please. Don't."

Claudia bent over her, touched her hair. "Don't be afraid. I will heal your injuries. It will only take a moment."

"Please... no!"

Claudia said nothing, stood up straight, held up her hands. The purple glow took her eyes, and she spoke an incantation that seemed to come from a place deeper and farther away than mere distance.

"Niaga ylf ot nrael dna sgniw nekorb eseht ekat!"

Nyx' body radiated the same purple light that shone from Claudia's eyes, and she screamed. Her body tightened, then dropped back onto the blankets. Nyx started to shake, and she cried with great uncontrollable sobs. Claudia stumbled back and Soren grabbed her shoulders, kept her from falling. She pulled her hood over her face, and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Nyx held out her hand.

Claudia turned back to her. "Yes?"

"What did you use?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know how Dark magic works. To work your spells, you must consume living things. What did you use? What is my debt?"

Claudia shook her head. "That is not your debt. It is mine. Please never get hurt again."

"I have to know. Please tell me."

Claudia looked at Nyx with eyes that would never again be other than dark. "Three rats, and a crow. Skin and bones are easy. The wings were the hardest. You will fly again."

Soren, Claudia, and the other soldiers started to walk out. Corvus stepped up.

"Soren." He looked over his shoulder. "I don't want her to be alone. I'd help you guard this place, but..."

"Go." Soren glanced at Claudia. "I know what it's like when everybody hates the ones you love. We are the Crown Guard. We can keep a bunch of townsfolk away."

Ones you love? Corvus put that thought away for later.

"Thanks."

"No problem, my dude." Soren grinned. "And tomorrow I get to do an honest to goodness witch trial!"

 

---

 
Nyx was sitting on the bed, arms wrapped round her knees, looking at nothing. Corvus sat down with her.

"Hey Fly-girl."

Nyx turned her odd-coloured eyes to him briefly before looking away. Corvus touched her shoulder, but she shrugged him off.

"You okay, Nyx?"

"I am in a town full of humans." Nyx closed her eyes. "And they all want me dead. Every human on that whole stinking square. Every single one of them."

"I'm sorry."

"Why? I haven't done anything to these people."

"Yet." Corvus couldn't help himself.

Nyx sneered. "I'm not thick. I'm a thief. I'm a cheat. I nick your stuff, you're going to be pissed off at me. My hands aren't clean of blood either. I kill one of yours, you'll want to kill me. I get that. It's part of what I do, who I am." Nyx put her head on her arms. "But using Sky magic to make a little child sick, so that it'll cry itself to death from the pain? What makes them think I'd do such a thing?"

"A mother just lost a child. Had to watch it die. She desperately needed something to blame. Someone." Corvus looked into Nyx' eyes. "And there you were."

"I can't do anything like that! I'm not a mage! At most I can conjure up a little extra puff of wind. And even if I could..." She sobbed. "I bloody wouldn't! I don't bloody hurt bloody children!" She stabbed her finger at the door. "And those bastards just use me as a... a..." She threw herself at Corvus, arms round his neck. "They were going to kill me! They were killing me! For nothing! And to top it all off, I'm alive now because of star-cursed dark magic! Am I even still alive? Maybe I won't even make it out of here."

Corvus put his arms round Nyx, held her to him. "Nobody's going to hurt you again. I'm here, and I won't let them. What's that thing you elves say? I bind myself to seeing you home safely."

Nyx made a sound somewhere between a sob and a laugh. "That's a thing Moonshadow assassins do. And they're a bunch of bloody idiots. Their mission gets fragged, they can only sit around and watch their limbs fall off." She drew her hand across her face. "You have no reason to help me. Last time, I stole your share."

"No you didn't. I'd have given it to you. Thanks to you I recovered those lost souls. And I got a horse out of the deal. We good. Try to get some sleep. Busy day tomorrow."

Nyx lay down and Corvus pulled a blanket over her.

"Going to be convicted of magicking a child to death. Coming here was the stupidest thing I ever did." She turned over, onto her stomach first so as not to squash her wings. "And I've done some stupid things in my life, believe me."

"Soren knows all about witches." He stroked her hair. "And he knows as well as I do you aren't one. You're going home tomorrow. You have my word."

"Anything keeping me from flying off right now?"

"You'd drop Soren in the shit if you did. And he's trying to help you."

Nyx smiled. "Ain't many people wanting to help me. Got to be careful with the ones who do."

Her eyes closed, and a few minutes later, she was asleep. Corvus watched her for a while, then pulled up a chair, sat down and kept watch.

 

---

 
The court-martial was held outside in the town square for everyone to see. Soren's soldiers were keeping people at a distance. Soren was sitting at a table, notebook in front of him. A wooden hammer lay next to it, the closest thing to a gavel they had. Nobody had told him Katolian judges don't use gavels. Nyx was standing behind a table, a bit off to one side. She looked more of a mess than she actually was. A belt round her waist kept her from opening her wings. Her hands were tied together and Corvus stood next to her, holding the rope, looking dark, gloomy, and official.

Soren hammered on the table. "Naimi-Selari-Nykantia. You stand accused of murdering with elven magics little Maisie Dors, daughter of Winifred Dors. How do you plead?"

Nyx seemed to shrink. "Innocent Sir. I am innocent! I am no witch!"

"Who says otherwise?"

A woman came forward.

"And you are..." Soren made a show of looking at his notes. "Winifred Dors? Widow of Archibald Dors?"

"Yes Sir."

Corvus looked at Mrs. Dors. Her face looked fallen in, lined with grief. Her small child would be buried in five days, after the traditional seven nights of mourning. Her eyes were dull, all the joy in them snuffed out. In the space of a few months, she had lost her husband, and now her child. Her life was in tatters. Corvus couldn't help feeling sorry for her. But that didn't mean destroying someone else's life would make it any better.

"What are the signs that this elf has done this?"

"My poor little child fell ill a week ago, and wouldn't eat, couldn't sleep, could not..." She took a shivering breath. "Could not stop crying. Then yesterday morning we found her, asleep we thought. But she wasn't breathing. She was dead."

Soren gave her a long look. "Mrs. Dors. I am so very sorry this has happened to you, and our thoughts and prayers are with you. But why do you think this elf had a hand in this?"

"When we cut open my poor Maisie's pillow, we saw a wreath of feathers! A sure sign that my little girl was cursed by a witch." Mrs. Dors' teeth bared and she stabbed out a finger. "By that witch! She has murdered my Maisie!"

"Thank you Mrs. Dors. I have no further questions." Soren made a few notes, looked up. "Calling as an expert witness. Claudia, Mage of Katolis."

Claudia walked in front of Soren's table. She gave a slight nod.

"Captain?"

"How would an elf make a baby sick to kill it?"

"May I ask the defendant a question?"

"Sure. Go ahead."

Claudia turned to Nyx. "Are you a Skywing elf?"

When Corvus had asked her that a while ago, it had been funny. Nyx bowed her head.

"Yes Ma'am."

Claudia turned back to Soren. "Being a Skywing elf, she is born with the essence of the Sky Arcanum, the Primal Source of Air, inside her. Because she is fully attuned to it, the primal source will have nothing beside it within the same soul. There is nothing within the Sky Arcanum that could cause disease. She could never have done this." You idiots. Claudia didn't say that, but she thought it hard enough to be heard even at the back.

The Mayor pushed forward. "Then how do you explain this sudden sickness?"

"I don't. I don't need to explain it. It is a disease. People get sick. It happens. All I need to say here is that this elf could not have caused it." Claudia turned her eyes to the Mayor. "Only a Dark Mage could."

Soren hammered on the table. "I know enough. I find the defendant not guilty of child killing." He turned his gaze to Nyx. "But I do find you guilty of disturbing the peace in this... um. Peaceful town. It is my sentence that you are banished from this place, and taken from here to the Breach and across it, never to return to these lands! This court-martial is... is..."

"Adjourned," said Claudia.

"Over! Corvus. Take her away."

Corvus nodded, a grim look on his face. "At once, Sir."

 
Someone had brought Bayard, and Corvus pulled on the rope tied to Nyx' hands. He jumped into the saddle, twisted the rope round the pommel, and rode off. Nyx cried out as she was pulled away. She tripped, fell over, and was dragged along a few yards. Corvus stopped, looked back.

"Get up."

Nyx struggled to her feet, and they set off again, Nyx stumbling behind the horse.

Claudia stood next to Soren, held his arm, leaned into him.

"You okay, Clauds?"

Claudia nodded. She looked at Corvus and Nyx as they passed out of sight, a faint smile on her dried lips. "A crow and three rats. And just look at them go."

Soren put his arm round her. "Why didn't you tell her the truth?"

"She would have pitied me."

He looked at her. Somewhere underneath all that, she was still his sister. He took off his cloak, wrapped it round her shoulders.

"Let's get out of here."

 

---

 
Corvus stopped his horse and waited for Nyx to catch up. He reached down and undid the belt round her wings. She flapped them, looked up at him, shook her head sadly.

"You cruel, cruel, heartless human."

"Hard isn't it? Walking behind a horse. You want to keep the rope a bit slack, but not so slack that you trip over it. Take it from someone who's done it."

Corvus reached down and pulled Nyx up in the saddle. She put her bound arms round him. Bayard looked round at Corvus with one sad brown eye.

"Oh don't give me that. You're named after a horse that could carry four knights in full plate. She weighs almost nothing."

Bayard didn't dignify that with an answer. Corvus clicked his tongue and they trotted off. He started to untie the rope round Nyx' wrists. She put her chin on his shoulder.

"Leave it on for a bit. It's kinda hot."

Corvus frowned. "Wot?"

Nyx laughed and with her teeth pulled at that strange little flap of skin humans had under their round ears.

"You could use me for every kind of depraved purpose. I am completely at your mercy."

"Fly-girl, what's come over you all of a sudden?"

Fly-girl pressed herself into his back. She didn't have all that much to work with in the chest department, but what she had, she used well.

"I'm alive. I thought I was going to die, and now I'm riding a horse with a delicious human."

"Oo! I'm delicious. Nobody ever called me that before." Corvus grinned ahead of him. "Oh by the way. Soren asked me to tell you. You're not really banished. He doesn't have the power to judge you any more than Mayor Asshole does. This whole trial was nothing more than a piece of street theatre."

"Oh my. Does that mean I can return whenever I want? To the place where everybody wants to..." She sniffed. "Saw my flipping wings off? I've no words for how happy I am."

"Just because you can..."

"Doesn't mean I should. Got it."

 
They fell silent as they rode to the Breach. They made for the place where Viren had used a whole dragon's horn to part the flow of lava so the Katolian forces could pass through. Afterwards, humans had come with barrels of explosive and blown up the walls, restoring the flow. They had built a long suspension bridge, deliberately built so it couldn't hold more than, say, a single heavy horse, a human, and a featherweight Skywing elf.

Corvus tried to lead Bayard across.

Bayard told him in Horse what he could do with that idea.

"Oh come on."

Corvus pulled at the reins. Bayard weighed two thousand pounds. Corvus weighed less than two hundred. Bayard stayed where he was. Nyx sat cross-legged on Bayard's hindquarters, watching the negotiations with amused interest.

"We've done this before, remember? Coming the other way. Rocinante was with us. She just walked across like it's nothing."

Nyx could have pointed out that she could just fly across, thanks for the ride, but she had plans with this human so she didn't. She jumped to the ground.

"Can I try?"

"Go for it."

Nyx stood in front of Bayard and raised her wings around his head, putting them both in a cocoon of feathers. She stroked his forehead.

"Hey. I remember you. You were pulling a trailer. This is much nicer isn't it? Running about the place with crow boy here. I can see he takes good care of you." Nyx slowly walked backwards and Bayard followed her. "Now I know, this is a scary bridge. Me, I'd never walk across it if I didn't have to. But I promise you..." She put her feet on the bridge, kept her wings round Bayard's head. Bayard kept following her, step by step. "I promise you. On the other side of that bridge, there is the best, greenest, juiciest grass you've ever tasted. Or maybe a nice warm stable, wouldn't that be lovely?"

Corvus watched in awe as Nyx slowly, gently, coaxed and cajoled a beast twenty times her own weight across a burning river of lava. After maybe five minutes, they reached the other side. Nyx and Bayard walked on a few dozen more steps, then she lowered her wings and put a kiss on his big muzzle.

"You're a good boy."

Bayard agreed. He was a good boy, and fully deserving of a few lumps of sugar. He looked at his human, usually the source of sweet treats. Corvus pulled out the bag, and handed a few to Nyx, who put them on the flat of her hand and held it up to Bayard while stroking his mane.

"You're really good with animals."

Nyx wiggled her eyebrows. "Rawr." She touched her cheek to Bayard's head, stroking him. "I love beasts. Treat them well, and they'll love you forever. They'll never hate you, never cheat you, never let you down. Even the biting ones, like banthers or hotcats. They don't hate you, they just need to eat. Beasts are better than people." She picked up the reins, gave them to Corvus. "Better than me."

Corvus got into the saddle. Nyx flapped her wings once and leapt up behind him.

"Where to, Fly-girl?"

"North." Nyx rested her cheek against his back. "Then east. I know a place."

Bayard walked off at a gentle trot. Nyx looked up. "Oh. Except for soulfangs. They can all get squashed for all I care. Nasty little creeps."

"Sounds like you met some."

"I work in the Midnight Desert sometimes. Place is crawling with them." She laughed. "They scare the willies out of people, so they're willing to pay me lots to carry them across on my ambler. Amblers really don't give a toss about soulfangs."

"Prince Callum told me he crossed the desert on an ambler once."

"Really?" Nyx' voice dripped with innocence.

"Yeah. Bringing Prince Azymondias back to his mother."

"What a nice boy."

"Him and Rayla. She's a Moonshadow elf."

"Uh huh?"

"Rayla said the driver tried to steal Zym from them."

"Little shit! Did they catch her?"

"Zym zapped her with lightning and got away."

"Well done the little bugger." Nyx said. "Dropped me right in between the bloody soulfangs. Thought I was done for, I did." She looked into the distance. "And then that Moonshadow girl went and put herself in danger, slicing them up like nobody's business, and pulled me out of there."

Corvus' jaw dropped. He looked over his shoulder. "That was you?"

"Small world ain't it?" Nyx ran her fingers over Corvus' chest. "Just when you've given up on people, human or elf, someone comes along who treats you better than you have any right to expect."

"She could have left you there as a warning to other cheats."

"I know. The boy was gushing all over her, what a hero she was. Me, I think she just likes slashing up things. When I met her, the first thing she did was point something sharp at me. She's a belligerent little sod."

"Prince Callum loves her." Corvus thought back to when he'd first met Rayla. "And yeah, she is a belligerent little sod."

"She still gets free rides across the desert whenever she asks."

 

---

 
They rode through a forest where a hundred little adoraburrs hitched a ride on Bayard's legs until Corvus got off and shooed them away. They came to a grassy opening with a lake. Nyx tapped Corvus' shoulder.

"Stop here."

She jumped down and took a few steps to the edge of the lake, spread her wings wide, tilted back her head. For a whole minute, she simply stood there, breathing. She turned round, and her face was shining with joy.

"I'm home." She walked up to Corvus. "There's something I have to do. Don't go away now, I won't be a minute." She raised her foot. "Give us a boost, Squire?"

Corvus cupped his hands in front of him and Nyx stepped on. Corvus gave a mighty heave and launched her into the air. With powerful wingbeats, Nyx rose up, up, up, till she was only a small figure against the red and blue evening sky. For an eternal moment, she just seemed to hang there, one knee pulled up, not moving. She screamed, flipped up her legs and went into a dive over the lake, faster and faster until she looped back up, coming to a full stop at the top of the curve. Once more, she dived, and soared just a foot or two above the water. She dipped her hand in, leaving a V-shaped wake behind her. At the edge of the lake she beat her wings for altitude, reached out to Corvus. Corvus raised his arm and slapped her hand as she stormed past. He turned round as Nyx turned a tight corner and came hurtling back at him, eyes aglow, as if she was going to barrel straight into him. At the last possible moment, she hit the brakes, gave a loud yell, and reached out to him, arms and legs. Corvus found he suddenly had his arms full of Skywing elf. Nyx was breathing hard, grinning at him. She pressed her lips onto his for a long kiss.

"Corvus. You saved my life yesterday. If it wasn't for you, I'd still be there in that shithole, dying inch by inch, prob'ly being plucked alive. So here's me telling you. If there's anything, anything I can do for you, anything I can help you with, anything I can get you, just ask." She bit her lip. "And just in case you're wondering, yes. That does include shagging you silly."

Corvus looked at the glorious package of contradictions in his arms that was Naimi-Selari-Nykantia. Nyx. She'd had her hair dyed a light sea-blue to bring out the colour in one of her eyes. But that was a while ago, and it had started to grow out. Her natural hair colour was pitch black. Corvus liked ravens, obviously. With her still clinging on to him, he touched her cheek.

"All I wanted was to see that smile again," he said. "But I'm not stupid. If you want to fuck my brains out, I'm not stopping you."

Nyx put her feet back on the ground, nodded across the lake. "I saw a fishing hut stable boathouse sort of thing on the other side of the lake. Want me to go find something soft to lie down on?" Without waiting for an answer, she turned round, leapt into the air.

"Hey!" Corvus shouted. "How will I find you?"

Nyx turned and hovered, wings flapping fast. "Track me!"

"Through the air?"

"You're a master tracker! You'll find a way!" She flew off, cackling with laughter.

Bayard looked at Corvus without comment. Corvus stroked his neck.

"Yeah, that's women for you. Promise you their favours, then they fly off into the blue." He leapt into the saddle. "Let's go round the lake."

 
Corvus was riding, keeping the lake to his right. Fly-girls don't leave footprints, but a fishing shack shouldn't be too hard to find. To his left, the forest looked green and dark. To his right, the lake was still, reflecting the setting sun. Colours in Xadia always seemed somehow to be more radiant, more intense. Even the colour of simple sand.

He blinked.

No, there was no mistake.

On the sand lay a blue and brown piece of cloth. As he rode closer, it showed itself to be a linen chest piece hardened by soaking many layers of fabric in wine and salt. Commonly worn by Skywing elves, it was lightweight for flying, but offered surprisingly good protection against edged weapons and arrows. Turning it round, Corvus saw that it was open at the back, making it totally worthless against back-stabbing attacks. Why would this be? As a tracker, Corvus' mind was a finely honed instrument for completing pictures, even when most of the pieces were missing.

His teeth bared in a big grin.

He put the chest piece in his saddlebag and rode on. A little bit further, he found a pair of thigh-high boots. Then a pair of arm pieces. A brown sleeveless vest hanging on a tree branch. A blue and white cotton shirt. Corvus made some mental calculations. It stood to reason that once he had enough clothes for one elf, he would most likely find the elf. Riding on, he could tell from the tailoring on a pair of elven breeches that the wearer must have very nice legs. A soft white cotton undershirt soon joined his collection. It was getting dark, and one final item of clothing later, he could see smoke rising up a few hundred yards ahead.

A, as they say, ha.

 

---

 
Corvus rode up to a wooden house built on the edge of the lake. There was a jetty leading out into the lake, but no boats. The large stable doors were open, and as he led Bayard inside, he could see three horse boxes. One of them had its door open and a lit lamp above it. There was hay in the rack. A bucket of water in the corner. Corvus patted Bayard's shoulder.

"Someone knew we were coming, my lad. Seems whoever it was didn't want me to spend too much time on you."

Bayard gave him a look.

"What do you mean?" Corvus pulled off the saddle and dropped it on the floor. He nudged Bayard into the box. The hay was fresh, and the water was cool. "Of course I would have taken care of you first. Name me one time when I haven't."

Bayard gave a snort and continued on his hay.

"Yes, she is hot. But come on. You're my trusty steed! There's a special place in hell for people who don't look after their trusty steed."

Bayard just swished his tail. Whatever.

Someone coughed. Corvus looked round to see a slender elf standing there. She had her wings wrapped modestly round her, her hands in front of her breasts, and she looked at him with large gleaming eyes, one a light blue, the other a light brown.

"Kind Sir?" She turned her eyes down. "Something terrible has happened. I was flying along, and a savage wind blew away all my clothes. Could you please help me find them? I would be ever so grateful."

"Fear not, fair Lady," said Corvus, opening his saddlebag. "I have already found all your clothes. Soon, you will be clothed and warm again."

Nyx smirked. "Oh thank you my good human! So many would have found... other ways of warming me." She pointed over her shoulder, quickly put her hand back over her breast. "Perhaps in yonder stack of hay. It would tickle my bare skin so."

"I imagine it would, my Lady. Stacks of hay can be prickly, especially yonder ones." He put the saddlebag at Nyx' feet. "Please dress yourself, while I avert my eyes from your soft naked flesh."

Nyx looked down at the saddlebag, then back up at Corvus, who had his hands in front of his eyes. Mostly.

"Good Sir? Are you sure you would not wish me to express my gratitude before I clothe myself?"

"Madam!" Corvus glared at her. "Me? Take advantage of a helpless Lady in her hour of need? What sort of a scoundrel do you take me for?"

"Oh by the Stars and Sky!" Nyx rolled her eyes. She spread her wings wide, dropped her hands to her hips. "Corvus! Will you shut up and fuck me already?"

"Well, if you put it that way..."

 
Nyx grabbed Corvus' belt. She stepped back as she undid the buckle. With a jerk, she pulled his trousers down to his ankles, underpants and all. She gave him a push and, unable to move his feet, he fell over into the hay. The next moment Nyx was on top of him, joined to him. A fierce hungry light was in her eyes, and she rode him, hard, fast, without even bothering to take his shirt off. He looked at her, the white markings on her purple skin, shining with sweat. Her face turned up, eyes looking at the ceiling, a wild smile on her cheeks. She turned her gaze down to him, their eyes met, and Corvus rose up, put his arms round her shoulders, kissed her because there was nothing in the world that could have stopped him. They looked into each other's eyes, breathing hard.

"Mind your wings," he breathed.

Nyx wrapped them round him and he rolled her over onto her back without losing contact. He kicked his trousers away, ripped off his shirt, lowered himself on top of her. She held him, arms, legs, wings all wrapped round him. The touch of soft feathers on his bare behind set him off, and he pushed into her with all his strength, the look in her eyes demanding, and getting, more. She held him tighter, dug her fingernails into his shoulders. He could feel her tighten round him, her breath quickening, till she gave one single unexpected loud scream and shook all over her body. He lasted for a few more frantic seconds, and his own moment came.

When he came to, Nyx was still lying underneath him, all smiles, taking deep breaths. She put her hand on the back of his head, pulled him to her for a kiss.

"By the Sky, I needed that so bad."

"Standing Batallion Covert Ops, at your service."

"Good to know." Nyx' eyes lit up and she licked her lips. "Again."

 

---

 
Corvus woke up with a beautiful elf girl. Her head was on his shoulder, her arm lay across his chest, one of her wings lay across him almost like a blanket. It was a good way to wake up. He watched her sleeping for a while, until her nose twitched, and her eyes opened. She looked at him and smiled. It lasted for just a moment. He could almost see the shields rising, the deep layers of cynicism, of wariness, suspicion, watchfulness. Defences against a world that had it in for her. But for one small moment, she had simply been happy to see him, and he treasured the moment.

"Nyx, I love you."

Nyx looked at him for a few heartbeats, taking a slow breath. "You want to be real careful. People have come to grief telling me that."

"I believe you."

A hardness appeared in Nyx' eyes he hadn't seen before. "Don't. The last man who told me he loved me, I fucked him till he fell asleep, then I stole his dead wife's jewels and sold them. Spent half the money on the best meal in the best tavern money could buy, and slept like a baby. Don't ever trust me. I'm not the nice girl you think I am."

"But you sold the jewels where you knew he'd find them, didn't you?" Corvus stroked her hair. "I know you're not a nice girl. But you're a better person than you think you are."

"Damn it, Corvus. You know sweet fuck all about me, beyond what my tits feel like in your hands. Just don't. Don't turn me into something I'm not. You'll be disappointed."

"Do you think I was born yesterday? I'm a spy. I deal with the worst scum you can imagine. I even like some of them. You aren't the worst the world has to offer, not even close."

"Corvus, this is you, and I owe you. So I'm warning you. Don't get too close to me. Don't get attached. Don't put your trust in me. All this. The things we did last night." Nyx grinned. "And are going to do again in a minute. It's not because I love you. It's not because I want to be your girlfriend, or stars strike me down, your wife! I needed some happy moments, and you... you bring the goods. And I'm happy to return the favour. That's it. That's all. I don't love you. Love is for suckers."

He said nothing for a moment. "Naimi-Selari-Nykantia. You've been burnt."

She gave a small nod. "Like you wouldn't believe."

"You're too hard on yourself Nyx. Some people would have sold the little dragon to Viren without a second thought, and gotten richer than rich. You were going to bring him back to his mother."

Nyx laughed quietly. "Oh my sweet boy. If I'd strolled up to Viren with even a whiff of a hint that I knew where to find the Dragon Prince, he'd have snatched me, put me through the wringer till I'd wish there was more I could tell him, and then stuck me in one of those bloody coins just in case he wanted a midnight snack. I bring him to his mummy, and I'll be a hero, and everyone thinks I'm a good girl. I could rob people blind for years."

"I said I love you. Not that I think you're pure as the fresh fallen snow. And I also didn't say I'll take any amount of crap from you. You make me happy when I think of you, that's all."

"Oh Corvus." Nyx climbed on top of him, looked into his eyes. "I'm not going to steal your stuff or anything. I was in the worst kind of shit, and you pulled me out. I won't just forget that. Won't forget that about Rayla either. I meant what I said. Anything you want, ask me." She looked at him expectantly. "Like, do you have anything to ask me? About nowish?"

One of Nyx' feathers was standing up and Corvus smoothed it down. "You've spoiled me for girls without wings."

"Hah! I've done more than that. I have red feathers. I've spoiled you for the whites and greys."

"Ravens?"

"Oh them. Don't bother with them. They think they've done all they need once they take their clothes off, and the rest is up to you. Redwings put in the effort."

"About that..."

"Thought you'd never ask."

 

---

 
Corvus had put the saddle back on Bayard's back. He was waiting for Nyx to stop searching through his saddlebag. She frowned.

"Did you find my knickers?"

"Knickers?"

"Undies." She looked at his blank stare. "Underpants. Did you find them?"

"Oh. No, sorry."

"Oh come on! I put them right in the middle of the road. Just so you'd hurry up."

Corvus shrugged. "Wind must have blown them away. You'll have to go commando."

"Why..." Nyx tilted her head a little. "Why don't your commanders wear underpants?"

"Not commanders, commandos. The elite warriors of the elite of the elite. If you think the Crown Guard are full of themselves, wait till you meet a commando."

"And why don't they wear any underpants?"

"They say it's to keep their nethers aired, against the jungle crotch rot."

"Jungle..." Nyx stared.

"Yep."

"Every time I think humans can't possibly get more disgusting..."

"Me, I think it's because it's easier to see the sun shining out of their asses."

Nyx pulled on her trousers and boots, happy in the knowledge that she wouldn't get the jungle crotch rot. She walked up to Corvus, put her arms round his waist, kissed him. She stopped, raised her head.

"My knickers are in your pocket."

"So is your hand."

They grinned at each other. Nyx patted his butt.

"Keep 'em. To remember me by."

"So many happy memories. Where are you going?"

"Midnight Desert, I think. Find my ambler and see if there's anyone I can take half way across the desert for a little money." She bit her lip. "And then the other half for a lot of money."

"Supply and demand," said Corvus. "The law of commerce. Be safe, Fly-girl."

"Same to you, crow boy."

 
He watched her fly off into the distance, got in the saddle, and let Bayard walk through the nice cool water for a while. He turned west towards the Breach and the rickety bridge. He looked over his shoulder once. She'd be fine. With a sigh, he turned Bayard towards home.

Ignore me, and I'll go away

Corvus was riding through Xadia on his trusty steed Bayard. A few feet behind him was Bayard's friend Rocinante, carrying the Children: step-prince Callum and former Moonshadow assassin Rayla. They were making for a watermill that a pair of adventurous Earthblood elves had turned into a brewery with a tavern. Clean water, barley and hops from a nearby field, natural yeast, added up to probably the best beer in the world. Drinking it was one of the many things Callum and Rayla weren't old enough for yet. The pains of growing up.

"Stop fidgeting!"

"Sorry."

Callum didn't sound as happy as he should be, sharing a horse with his one true elven love. They could each have had their own horse, but Rayla had said she didn't know how to drive one, and she'd ride with him. Callum had thought this was an excellent idea at the time. Basically an all-day cuddle with the most beautiful girl in the world. Some of the drawbacks were starting to become painfully clear to him.

"I'm not used to riding with someone behind me."

Rayla sneered. "Well, I can ride in front if you want."

"Um..." Callum's face became a mask of terror. "No. No, I don't think that would be a good idea."

"Well then, stop complaining and stop fidgeting!"

Corvus rode on, his dark face impassive, expressionless, emotionless. This was not funny. Not funny at all. The poor boy was clearly suffering. To laugh at his obvious discomfort would be a cruel, mean thing to do.

At long last, Callum's ordeal came to an end. A large brick building was on the edge of the river, its waterwheel turning merrily, powering the machinery inside. Rayla skipped off the horse like an acrobat. Callum got off with a little less elegance. He kicked his legs back into shape.

"So this is it then?"

"Looks like."

A stable boy came and took their horses. They walked into the common room, which was about half full. There was a gorgeous smell of roast chicken. Corvus' stomach growled, and he turned to Callum and Rayla.

"Smells like lunch. Anyone hungry?"

Rayla wrinkled her nose. "Smells to me like dead beasties. Vegetable stew for me." She sniffed the air. "They're not stingy with the garlic here. What are you having Callum?" She gave him a meaningful look. "If I eat garlic, you want to eat garlic too."

"What? Why?" Realisation dawned on Callum's face. "Oh, yes. Vegetable stew for me too. With garlic."

"I'm in the company of rabbits." Corvus made for an empty table. "I'm going to have to eat every chicken in the room."

They passed a table where a lone figure sat, wearing a dark hooded cloak. A four-fingered hand reached out to Corvus as he passed, and a whispered voice called out to him.

"Pardon me Sir? Are you Master Corvus of the Standing Batallion?"

Corvus turned round as the figure stood up.

"I am. How may..."

The figure reached out, grabbed Corvus' shirt, and pulled his face into the shadow of the hood. It stayed there for a long time. Callum and Rayla looked at each other, unsure if the situation needed a sharp blade or a bucket of water. Corvus put his arms round the figure's waist. He didn't seem to be in any distress. Finally he reached up and pulled back the hood to reveal a horned head with a messy mop of white, blue, green, and black hair.

Rayla did not take her hand off her sword. "You!"

"Whaa?" said Callum, always ready with the right word.

Corvus looked into Nyx' eyes. "Hello Fly-girl. How is life?"

"Crow boy. Long, long dry spell." She kissed him again. "You?"

"Same. Nobody can compare to you."

"Um," said Callum. "...?", he added.

"Yes." Corvus waved his finger between himself and Nyx. "This too is a thing."

"Corvus," said Rayla, "We know her. She's..."

"Not the only one with a taste for human flesh," said Nyx. "Hello sweetness. How have you been?"

"Not stealing any dragon whelps, that's what."

"Good." Nyx waved them down to her table. "You should never nick people's stuff if you're not good enough to get away with it."

"Huh," said Rayla. "We had to pull your butt out of trouble."

"A lesson well learnt. These days I stick to things that don't zap me."

Food arrived. Three vegetable stews, hunks of bread, and one whole chicken with fried potatoes and apple sauce. Callum speared a whole clove of garlic and held it up to Rayla, who pulled it off Callum's fork with her teeth.

"Hmm." Rayla closed her eyes, bumped her hip into Callum's.

"Oh give me a bucket," said Nyx. "You lovebugs are getting more syrupy by the day. Last time I saw you, you still wanted one blanket each. I'm warning you, I don't want to find you two exploring in the middle of a mission, just because you're out from under the grown-ups' eyes."

"Ach. He's been seeing me with me kit off for a long time."

Nyx looked at Rayla expectantly. Rayla batted her eyelids.

"Oh come on girl. Filthy details or it dint happen."

"There's this little hidden spot just outside the Castle walls, with a wee pond. Dragonflies between the reeds. Birds singing. Bees buzzing. Wild strawberries when in season. So Callum takes me there every week or so, and we take off our clothes..."

Nyx leaned in, head on her hands. Go on.

"And we get into the water, and he teaches me to swim. Used to really hate getting wet, but I'm nearly over that. He holds me up and I practice."

"Oh that's so cute! Corvus, I'm dumping you and stealing this one." She turned to Callum. "Let's ditch these losers and run off together. When we are free of them, I will give myself to you in ways that no human can imagine." She pointed her thumb at Rayla. "Or Moonshadow chicks. Let me tell you, they're pretty bland in the sheets. But for now... act normal."

Callum immediately started acting normal. Which is to say his face turned red as a beet and he cast desperate looks at Rayla meaning to say that of course, he would stay true to her forever, no matter what this admittedly smoking hot elf temptress just promised him. Rayla scowled at Nyx and opened her mouth to say something combustible. Corvus raised his hand.

"Nyx, I can't say I'm surprised, but I am disappointed. Is there any point to dragging us all here, apart from embarrassing young Callum and pissing off Rayla?"

"Both are noble causes. But yes there is." Nyx pointed. "Those elves who just came in. At the table under the stairs. Rayla? Can you tell us anything about them?"

With an I'll-get-you-for-this kind of sneer, Rayla looked round. And stopped. She started to shake and her lips trembled. Callum reached out for her shoulder.

"Rayla? What's wrong?"

She turned back, bowed her head. "They have no faces. They are from the Silvergrove. From my home."

 

---

 
"I was here in this tavern, just about a week ago," Nyx started. "When two humans came in. One of them big and fat, the other one thin and wearing robes like mine here. There was something off about him, you understand? Like his skin wasn't quite the right colour, or that I wasn't really seeing it with my eyes..."

"A mage," said Callum.

"So I followed him, watching him from the sky as he and his friend went out into the woods. But he was cunning, almost as if he could feel me looking at him, and I had to veer off and hide, watching him from the cover of a tree."

"Yeah," said Callum. "Dark Mages can do that. It's a detection spell. Uses the eyes of..."

"I nearly lost them, but uncommon luck was with me that day, for I saw a band of Moonshadow elves, their garb green and blue, walking in the same direction as the humans."

"Those elves over there," said Callum.

"There was a full moon out, and if I'd have flown after them, they would have surely seen me. I followed them on foot, flitting from shadow to shadow, never getting too close, never too far. Until they came to a large tree, and..." Nyx spread out her hands. "Vanished into thin air."

"Perception inhibition charm," said Callum. "Moonshadow elves have something like it to hide whole villages, but Dark Mages can also do it, it's a variation on..."

"Even though I could not see them, I almost imagined that I could hear voices, coming from far away, yet close. I could not hear what they were saying, so I crept closer and closer to the voices, until suddenly... there they were! Right in front of me!"

Callum nodded. "Yes, these charms protect an area of maybe ten yards across, give or take, and when..."

"As soon as I saw them, they saw me! I turned round, took to the air, flying as fast as my wings could carry me. When I looked back, I saw a dark spot against the gloom of the trees, coming closer, closer, closer. I took a dive and watched a purple cloud of smoke hurl past me. Two more clouds came hurtling towards me, and only my years-long practice as a flyer saved me from being shot out of the skies, tumbling to my death far below."

"You were lucky the mage didn't put a heartseeker clause on them. That would have followed you while you dodged."

"It was then, I realised that the human I had followed..."

Callum opened his mouth to say something. Nyx looked at him and he closed it again.

"Was a Dark Mage. And the elves in a secret meeting with him, were none other than..."

Callum kept his mouth shut like a good boy.

"The elves in the corner there."

"Why were you following the, um..." Corvus leant in. "Mysterious human?"

Nyx shrugged. "I'm not a mage, but I can tell the clink of gold ten miles off. That man was carrying a big payoff, I'll bet my feathers on it. It was my duty as a citizen of Xadia to keep that from falling into the wrong hands."

Rayla sneered. "The right hands being your grubby mitts?"

"Of course. I'll invest it back into the local community." She picked up her glass. "Mostly wine merchants and taverns."

"Lots of cheap booze. Why am I not surprised?"

"Oh darling. Cheap booze is horrible on the way down and worse on the way up." Nyx gave Rayla a warm smile. "I'll teach you about getting the good stuff some day. When you're old enough." Nyx turned her eyes to Corvus. "I found you some spies. Want me to help you catch them? My daily fees are fifty gold, you pay my food and lodgings, and what I catch, I keep."

 

---

 
"Why am I here again?"

Corvus and Rayla were hiding in the moonlight shadows of a tree, watching the Silvergrove elves walk along a path in the woods. They crossed a stream, and disappeared into the forest.

"Quick. They're getting away."

Corvus got up. "Not from me, they won't. Look. Wet footprints in the sand. Takes about twenty steps to dry up. Their toe imprints are twice as deep as their heels, meaning they are walking quickly but not running. Running pushes the earth back. Walking pushes it down."

"Corvus, we just saw them walk away."

"And now you know what that looks like as a track. Useful, no?"

"Great. I'm a little less useless now. What do you even need me for?"

"They can't see you. That means that you can get close to them and listen in on their conversation. You can sit right between them and they won't notice."

"Have you forgotten? There's this Dark Mage, and he can see me just fine."

"That's what Nyx and Callum are there for. Eyes in the sky. They'll shoot us a shadowhawk long before that mage shows up here."

"That Skywing floozie better not be making moves on Callum."

Corvus laughed. "You know she was just saying that to get a rise out of you, right?"

"Well it sodding worked. I want to stab her somewhere painful."

"Rayla. Please don't stab my friend with benefits. I don't have that many."

"She deserves it."

"Are you going to stab everyone who deserves it? You'll wear out your blades."

"There they are." Rayla pointed.

The band of elves had settled down and lit a small fire. Corvus pulled out his chain weapon and moved into the shadows.

"Off you go," he said. "Try to remember as much as you can. Names. Places. Plans. Write it down if you need to. If anything happens, I'll be here watching over you."

 
Rayla gave a small nod and walked out to the group of elves, shoulders sagging, taking small steps. She sat down with her back against a tree, arms round her knees, in full view of the elves. None of them gave any sign that they had even seen her. Corvus could do nothing but watch the little heap of misery that was Rayla. Humans and elves are pack animals, thriving on the company of their family, friends. Being cast out of that circle, shunned by all, was a terrible punishment, and Corvus could see it written all over the young elf.

As he watched, he could see Rayla raise her head, look from one elf to the other as they spoke. One of them stood up, walked a few steps away, arms crossed. Another one snapped something at him. He turned round, waving his arms, and Corvus could only just hear what he was shouting.

"Then we'll never see them again!"

He sat down on the ground, turned away from the rest. His eyes were turned down, his cloak pulled tight round him. For him, there were no possible good outcomes. A deadly quiet fell among the elves, and for a while nothing stirred in the woods except the leaves in the wind.

There was a noise, and a yellow streak of light hissed through the trees and struck the trunk of the tree where Rayla was sitting, just above her horns. Red for death. White for life. Yellow for a warning. All the elves looked round. Rayla looked up, hissed something Corvus couldn't hear, and leaped away into the trees. As all the elves stood looking at a crossbow bolt stuck in a tree trunk, Rayla came dropping down from a tree branch.

"Callum you idiot! Why did he send it to me and not to you?"

"Because he loves you," said Corvus with a grin.

Over by the tree, there was some heated discussion going on, and then the elves sat back down pretending nothing had happened.

"Got what we need?"

"Yeah. It's not good."

"Let's get out of here," said Corvus. "No telling what sort of tracking magic they're using. Back to the tavern for war council and lashings of ginger beer."

 

---

 
"They're not traitors." Rayla looked at each of them in turn. "They really aren't."

"They are telling one of Aaravos' pet humans where best to attack the Silvergrove," said Nyx. "Where the guards are. Where the barracks are. The number of assassins still alive and how well they are trained. There's going to be a massacre. Sounds like treason to me."

"But Aaravos has their families. Their children. Husbands. Wives."

"That's why they became traitors. We still need to stop them."

"But... how?"

"I can do it on my own." Nyx' voice had lost all the flirting, all the stupid jokes, all the innuendos, all the oozing sex, leaving only a hard core of deadly efficiency and menace. "The grey haired one is an army veteran. I'll take him out first with a boomerang. Two of them are wannabe soldiers, hardly started training, not much of a problem. The rest are easy. Five minutes, if that."

Rayla stared at Nyx, looking for, hoping for a sign she was joking. She was always joking, wasn't she? She caught Nyx' eye. There wasn't a shimmer of warmth there.

"You just want to kill them?"

"Want to, no. Need to, maybe. I'm open to ideas."

"We can just tell them the game is up. Change all the guards. get reinforcements." Rayla looked at Callum, who was shaking his head. "What?"

"If we do that, Aaravos will kill all the hostages. And they know that. They'll fight us. They'll find some way to get around us. If it was your family..." He realised what he was saying, stopped.

Tears welled up in Rayla's eyes. "I don't have..." She looked away.

"I'm sorry Rayla," said Callum. "But we can't tell them. We can't trust them."

"We can trust them," said Corvus. "To do what will keep their families alive."

"Then we have a problem," said Nyx.

"Two problems."

They all looked at Callum.

"First, there is going to be an attack on the Silvergrove. We don't know when. We don't know where. But we know it's going to be big." He reached out for Rayla's hand, squeezed it. "Second. Aaravos has a group of hostages. We don't know who they are, where they are, and we don't know if they are even still alive. We need to find them and rescue them."

"We'll never get anything done unless we get rid of that mage and his buddy." Corvus said. "And we need to do that in a way that won't let them put the blame on the Silvergrove elves. Once they are gone, we can start talking about the hostages."

"Leave them to me," said Nyx. She looked at the ceiling. "Any assassins in the room who want to lend a hand or two?"

 

---

 
Nyx and Rayla had drawn straws on who would seduce the mage's friend. Rayla had drawn the short straw. Nyx had snatched it out of her hand, thrown it away, and told Rayla to wait in a nearby barn. Rayla was sitting on a workbench, idly flipping her blades open and closed, when there was a woman's laughter outside. The door slammed open and Nyx came staggering in with the Mysterious Human's companion.

"Oh my. Aren't you the eager beaver?"

"Git yer clothes off. I wanna see what I got."

Nyx' laugh was like a waterfall on a summer afternoon. "Lie down here, my big human stud. I so like a man who knows what he wants."

Rayla put one of her blades to the man's throat. "But isnae gonna get it."

The man slowly looked round to Rayla. "Who the bloody hell are you?"

Rayla nodded at Nyx. "I'm her girlfriend. What can I say? She thinks assassins are the hottest girls in the world, and I'm nae gonna tell her otherwise."

"Oh..." The man grinned. "Is she into threesomes?"

"Aye, she is. Redwings, you know what they're like."

"Well why didn't you say..."

Rayla kneeled in front of him, with one of her blades between his legs. "I'm not. I want her to look at me in bed."

"Sorry dear." Nyx put her hand on Rayla's shoulder. "No threesome for you tonight. What's your name?"

"I'm Fleshripper."

Nyx nodded understandingly. "Because you rip flesh?"

"Damn right. Men, women, makes no difference." He licked his lips. "Except women takes a little longer on account of doing it properly."

"But given that you're telling this to a girl with a blade at your nuts, I think you have someone to do the thinking for you. Am I right, Fleshripper?"

"Wut?" said Fleshripper, proving Nyx right.

"Your boss. The mage. What's his name?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Nyx squatted in front of him. "Yes. Yes I would like to know. That's why I asked you darling. Do you remember where my sweetheart's blade is?"

Rayla reminded him with only the slightest of touches. "She wasnae really going to shag you, dipshit. Want to live to try again?"

"Morgan! His name is Morgan!"

"Morgan... Oh Fleshripper, you have no idea how happy you've just made me. We've been looking all over for the Dark Mage Morgan."

"Why?" said Fleshripper. "What do you want from him?"

"Do you realise how big a bounty there is on his head?"

Nyx watched the undying sacred bond of loyalty between employer and employee melt away like an ice cube on a hot stove.

"How much?"

"Five. Hundred. Thousand. Gold pieces." Nyx breathed. "A king's ransom."

"Dead or more dead," said Rayla. "He's made a lot of people very unhappy."

"Oh my love." Nyx pulled Rayla to her feet and embraced her, looking deep into her beautiful violet eyes. "We have searched for so long, and now we have found him. We are going to be so rich." Nyx pushed Rayla's hair behind her ear, ran the back of her fingers over her cheek. "We will buy a little place in Lux Aurea and live there together." She moved her face closer... closer.

Rayla gave Nyx her happiest, brightest smile. "Kiss me and I'll kill ye."

There was a sudden rush and when they looked round, they found that Fleshripper had decided to continue the evening elsewhere.

"Aww." Rayla looked at the swinging door. "Does this mean we're not going to get rich and live in Lux Aurea?"

Nyx flexed her wings. "Pf! Like I'd choose you for that. You don't even do threesomes." She took a run-up and leapt into the air. "Follow me!"

 

---

 
Dread Mage Morgan took the stopper off one of his bottles and pulled out a squirming centipede, which he placed behind his ear.

"My Lord?"

Someone on the other end of the world spoke through a silken connection, and his voice was carried by the little bug.

"Yes, it is going well. You'll be pleased to know that there were no more... protests. I have them eating out of my hand. They have given me their troop strength, and seven hundred fire warriors should be sufficient. Make it a thousand just to be sure."

The door opened and Fleshripper came in, carrying a meat cleaver in his hand.

"What is it my boy? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Oh you've been a busy little mage alright."

"Yes I have. I am speaking to His Lordship. What do you want?"

"You've made a lot of people very unhappy."

"Oh by the Stars and Sky! Yes. I am a Dark Mage. Making people unhappy is what I do. Now may I ask what you are blithering about? If not, please leave me in peace."

"How much do you pay me, Morgan?"

Morgan stared at Fleshripper. "You wish to re-negotiate your wages while I am speaking with Lord Aaravos?"

"Are you going to pay me five hundred thousand gold pieces?"

"Look my boy. I have been very patient so far, and so has Lord Aaravos. Push off, and I will be with you when I have finished my business with..."

"That's the bounty on your head. Dead or more dead." Fleshripper raised his cleaver. "Just your head will do."

Morgan raised his hand. Fleshripper had just enough time to stare at a smoking hole through his entire body before he fell to the floor with a dull thud.

Morgan sighed. "My apologies Lord Aaravos. You just can't get the staff these days."

There was the rush of wings outside. The window shattered into a thousand pieces and a metal boomerang came sailing in. It hit Morgan in the chest. Wings tucked in tight to avoid the shards of glass, Nyx dived in through the broken window, landed on her hands and flipped to her feet. She reached out and pulled her boomerang free. Morgan fell to the ground. Nyx reached behind Morgan's ear, pulled out the wriggling insect, dropped it on the floor, and crushed it under her heel. Rayla came in through the door, blades out.

"Too late, sweetheart," said Nyx. "No two hundred and fifty pots of gold for you."

"Keep it," said Rayla. "It's pretend money anyway."

 

---

 
They had rounded up the Silvergrove elves. After the first paralysing panic was over, they started talking. Aaravos was planning an attack on the Silvergrove using transformed humans. The goal was not to destroy the Silvergrove, only to cause as much chaos as possible. A dedicated campaign of propaganda would then make sure Katolis would be blamed, oh dear what utter bastards are these humans, we must destroy them all. The whole human-elven war could reignite again.

Corvus had sent a crow to General Amaya of the Standing Batallion, and received a response saying that she would lead a five hundred strong expedition force across the Breach. Janai, the Golden Knight of Lux Aurea, would lead a further five hundred knights. They would join with the Moonshadow forces at Silvergrove and very thoroughly kick the butts of Aaravos' puppets. General Amaya's note clearly stated that she did not appreciate someone of her rank being dragged out there for a minor scuffle like this, and neither did Golden Knight Janai. It wasn't even certain when the attack would come. General Amaya could be forced to spend as much as a whole week standing at the ready in the company of the Sunfire leader, with nothing to do except teach her sign language.

Corvus read the note. "You're welcome, General."

Callum had constructed a tracking matrix that would allow him to pinpoint the position of the hostages. A platoon of Moonshadow Assassins would find the hostages and set them free. Plans were being drawn. Forces were set in motion. Elves and humans were working together. Things were looking up.

 
Rayla sat on a fallen tree by the river, looking at the wavy reflection of the moon in the water.

"Hey. This is a Skywing tree."

Rayla looked up to see Nyx standing behind her.

"I will allow you to sit on it. Budge up." Nyx sat down.

"How's it going inside?"

"Pff..." Nyx stretched out her legs. "Corvus is drawing up a whole epic saga of misinformation that the Silvergrove lot can give to Aaravos' next minion. Callum is drawing spell circles. It's like a Dark Magic tracking spell, but he's powering it from the Sky Primal. Superpowering it. That boyfriend of yours has a head on him."

"Yeah." Rayla stared at the moonlight with soft eyes.

"And me, I was just sitting there looking pretty, so I took off to find someone to annoy. And here you are."

"At least they can see you," said Rayla. She picked up a rock and threw it in the river with a big splash.

Nyx looked at Rayla's face. Quiet. Sad. She stretched out a wing and put it round Rayla's shoulders.

"I got ghosted from my home village too. It stinks."

Rayla looked at Nyx and said nothing.

"You wouldn't know the place. Some shithole in the north. There had been a drought, crops were disappointing, everybody was hungry." Nyx looked at her feet. "I was maybe a year younger than you. I hadn't developed my Draconic skills at stealing yet. So I was caught in one of the storerooms, stuffing my face."

"Ow," said Rayla. "Bet they didn't like that."

"I was little more than a child. I was hungry. But you're right, they didn't." Nyx' voice grew sharp teeth. "They beat the shit out of me, and then they ghosted me. They made it so that they couldn't see me anymore, and turned themselves into faceless monsters in my eyes. I'll give you a moment to figure out why they should have thought that through a bit longer."

"Ah," said Rayla. That seemed to cover it.

"I stayed for a while, stealing everything I could, leaving thank you notes, and they tried locking up, and I stole tools and broke open the doors, and they set traps, and got in shadowpaws to sniff me out and so on. I haunted the crap out of that place. And then I just got fed up with that whole game, so I loaded up on food and took off. Never looked back. Never even started wondering if they'd have me back."

"Is that even possible? Can you un-ghost someone?"

"No," said Nyx. "Well, yes. It's not totally impossible. It's a curse. Any curse can be broken, but nobody's done it I know of."

"How?"

"Everybody who ghosted you has to say they love you, and mean it. Every single one. They say it just because everybody else is saying it, it won't work. They say it because they feel guilty for ghosting you in the first place, it won't work. They say it, but they don't really want you back, it won't work. One of them is dead, it won't work." Nyx wiggled her fingers. "An unbroken circle of love. Makes you want to puke don't it? And there's always one."

Rayla fell quiet for a while. Nyx wrapped her wing round her a little tighter and nudged her with an elbow. She looked up.

"You're trying to figure out who wouldn't want you back."

Rayla closed her eyes, nodded.

"Want to know the real answer?"

"What if I tell you to shut your gob and leave me alone?"

"I'll tell you anyway."

"Please do tell me, Nyx. I thirst for your wisdom."

"Screw them."

"Eh?"

"Screw them. They don't own you, and you don't owe them anything. I am not Naimi-Selari-Nykantia of Shithole-in-the-north. I am Nyx. I am the Night. Everything that sticks to that name, the good, the bad, I stuck there myself. And I made new friends. People I like. People I work with now and then. I'm not really smothered in hugs and kisses, but I'm doing fine. Even got myself a human to play with, like you."

Rayla's face lit up. "They do kinda grow on you, don't they?"

"Fingers, am I right?"

"So many of them."

"Hey. You aren't Rayla of the Silvergrove anymore. You are Rayla of Rayla. You have half a nation wanting to cuddle you to death for returning the Dragon Prince. Blimey, you got the actual Dragon Prince for a friend." Nyx reached out and ruffled Rayla's hair. "And most important, you've got me!"

"Oh great." That at least got a laugh out of Rayla.

"And that boyfriend of yours. Well. Until I snatch him away, use him for lewd and debauched things, then throw away what's left of him like a sanguicot peel."

Rayla chuckled. "I'll tell him you said that."

Nyx turned her eyes to the sky. "Oh you stupid girl. Do I really have to explain everything to you?"

"What?"

Nyx pulled her leg over the tree log, and sat facing Rayla.

"Next time I try to seduce Callum, and I will, because it's so much fun. You tell him that I'm a lying stealing rotten cheat who'll only use him and lose him. And he'll believe you because frankly... it's true. And he'll see that I'm not that angelic shining creature that'll make all his dreams come true."

"Good."

"And he'll realise that you are probably the best he can get, and settle for you."

Rayla snarled. "I really, really, really don't like you."

"I'm an acquired taste, darling." Nyx pointed her finger at Rayla. "Or. Next time I try to seduce Callum. And I will, because it's so much fun..."

"I stab you."

"No. You show him those parts of you that he really wants. Those parts of you he saw when you didn't even see them yourself. If you don't know what those parts are, just sit next to him and open your ears, because he won't shut up about you. The things that made the stupid boy..." Nyx raised her arms wide. "Hurl himself off a flippin' cliff and learn to grow wings and fly on the way down, just so he could be with you! You do that..." Nyx moved her face a little closer. "And he won't settle for anyone but you."

Nyx watched Rayla's face turn from angry, to confused, to uncertain, until finally the moon came out from behind the clouds, and she laughed.

"That... actually makes sense."

"So you're not going to stab me then?"

"Today, you live."

Nyx got up. "Let's go see how they are doing."

 
They bumped into Corvus and about half of the elves on their way out. Rayla hid behind Nyx' back.

"I am taking them to see the sheriff, so he'll know they are working for the good of Xadia and won't try to arrest them or anything. We'll try to wash over what they told that mage before. It's all part of the Great Plan. Callum is still inside, working on the spells." Corvus lowered his voice to a whisper. "Some of the details are pretty grim. Severed body parts grim. But Callum can use them, so they're going to wish they hadn't done that." He waved. "See you later tonight."

Nyx and Rayla walked to the tavern. Just before they opened the door, Nyx grabbed Rayla's shoulder, moved her lips to her ear.

"Take your shirt off."

Rayla's jaw dropped. "What?!"

"Your shirt. Take it off. The only one inside that room who can see you is your bloke. Walk in there with the girls out, and watch him try to concentrate on his spells."

Rayla pictured this in her mind. "You are evil."

"And fire is hot and water is wet. Do it."

"I couldn't do that to Callum," said Rayla. Persuade me.

"You heard what Corvus said. He's been working with cut-off fingers, teeth, and eyeballs all evening. He needs something to cheer him up. Something just for him."

"And you. You can see me too."

"Sweetheart, I have better tits of my own. Go on. You know you're going to do it."

"You're a bad, bad woman."

"And you're my apprentice."

 

---

 
Nyx sat in the common room, watching Rayla asleep on Callum's lap, her head on his shoulder, his arms round her. Callum kept his eyes fixed on her, drinking in the quiet peaceful expression on her face. He was trying to close the curtains on how bad a place the world could be. How bad people could be. How much pain there could be in the world. That was everywhere else. Here, now, by the last embers of the fire in the hearth, Rayla was warm. Rayla was safe. Rayla was with him. Nothing mattered outside the circle of his arms. Nyx stared at her empty wine glass. She'd go back to making fun of them tomorrow, but the boy had earned this moment a hundred times over.

The door opened. There was a draft of wind, and Corvus came in, saw them, walked over. Nyx wordlessly asked.

"All done for now." He looked at Rayla. "Time to put the children to bed."

Callum gently stroked Rayla's cheek, whispered her name. She moved her hand to his shoulder, squeezed it as if to see he was still there, opened her eyes.

"Wake up, Rayla. Time to go to sleep."

"Don't want to wake up. Carry me."

Callum reached out for her ankle, shook her leg. "What are these things?"

"Feet."

"So you can walk by your...?"

"Self."

Rayla got up, kissed Callum's cheek, stretched. They walked up the stairs.

"These are our rooms then?" said Rayla.

"Yes." Nyx put her arm round Rayla. "You and me are in the girls' room, Corvus and Loverboy are in the boys' room. Time for a little girl talk? A little heart to heart? Get to know each other better? I can give you some great tips on boys, we'll be best friends forever."

"Bugger that." Rayla pushed away Nyx' arm, grabbed Callum by his scarf. "As one ghost to another, got to take your fun where you can get it." She walked into one of the rooms, pulling Callum with her. "Good Ni-ight!"

Corvus watched the door close behind Callum, frowned. "What's that she said? Are you a ghost too?"

Nyx put her finger on her lips, shook her head. Behind the door, they could hear voices. Happy voices. Corvus pointed his hand at the door.

"There's a girl in the boys' room. That's not allowed, is it?"

"Kids today. No respect for the rules. I blame the parents."

"So where am I going to sleep?"

Nyx opened the other door. Her eyes shone at Corvus.

"Nowhere. Get in here, Crow boy."

 

---

 
"It's not right."

It had started so well. The passionate kisses as soon as the door closed behind them. The trail of clothes leading to the bed. Falling onto the bed in a tangle of limbs and more kisses. And then, just as they were about to take off their undershirts, they had caught each other's eyes, and just... stopped. They were lying on their backs. Callum was on the west side of the bed, Rayla on the east. In between was a foot-wide air gap. There wasn't a stream of lava between them, but they were no more ready to cross that gap than they were to cross the Breach barefoot.

"It's just not right." Rayla kept staring at the ceiling. "I'm no old enough to drink wine, no old enough to marry, no old enough to... well, you know."

"I know," said Callum.

"And Callum, please believe me, it's not I don't want to. By the Moon, I do. I want it almost as much as I want to breathe."

"I believe you, and I want it as much as you do. But we can't."

"No." Rayla turned towards him. "You remember why I was sent to Katolis in the first place."

"Hard to forget."

Rayla reached for one of her swords, flipped open the blade with a click. "I am old enough to take your flipping head off, but not your clothes? How bloody righteous is that?"

Callum took a deep breath. "You're not old enough to take my head off. Or anyone else's. They should never have let you come on that mission."

Rayla closed her blade, put it away. "I'd never have met you."

"No." Callum closed his eyes, quickly opened them again. "Today, I took a little boy's cut-off finger, that they used to make his mother betray us, and turned it into a tracking locket. I am not old enough for that either."

"Nobody's old enough for that," said Rayla.

Callum turned his head to Rayla. "I am so glad you are here with me."

"Even if we can't."

Callum laughed through his tears. "Even if we can't."

 
They stared at the ceiling for a while. Rayla gave a frustrated growl and turned onto her side, taking the blanket with her, leaving Callum uncovered. Callum tugged at the blanket, but Rayla had too good a grip on it. It didn't matter. It was warm enough, and Callum's throbbing manhood had decided that if there were no moist eagerly awaiting folds in sight, it wasn't going to bother.

"This was a stupid idea," said Rayla. "I should have bunked up with Nyx. I could have stabbed her in her sleep."

"Corvus'd be unhappy."

"He'll get over it. By the Moon and Stars, this is worse than back in the castle. I get too worked up there, at least I can help myself."

"Uh..." said Callum. "What?"

"What do you think? Get meself off."

"What, girls do that too?"

There was a pause while Rayla wondered if she'd heard him right.

"Well yeah! You really think..."

"But how? You have no..."

"Fingers? Not as many as you do, but you use what you're given." Rayla turned over facing him. "You really thought girls didn't?"

"Never thought about it, really. But it's good to know. Makes me feel less guilty."

"Guilty? It just about keeps me from dragging you into a corner and having it off with you. That's a good thing isn't it?"

"Well if you think of it like that..."

"Why would you feel guilty anyway? Feels good. Hurts nobody. What's not to like?"

"Yeah..." Callum waited a moment. "I'm thinking..."

"Careful now, your head could explode."

"Haha. I'm thinking, we could just... do it. Same as back home. The only difference is we're in the same room now."

Rayla opened her mouth, shook her head. "Not in the same bed as you. There's an end to how much I can hold meself back." She sat up. "There's a chair there. I'll take the blanket."

"No... You take the bed, I'll take the chair. There's an extra blanket here somewhere."

Callum got out of bed, and Rayla sat watching him pull the blanket out of the drawer, make his way over to the comfy chair. Without any warning, she exploded into uncontrollable fits of laughter.

"What's so funny?"

Rayla kicked out her feet laughing. "Oh my Callum, oh my one true love. What a gentleman you are, selflessly giving up the warm cosy bed, just so we can both have a wank. How are you so perfect?"

Callum grinned. "It's not easy, you know?" He sat down on the chair, pulled the blanket over him. "Lights on, or off?"

"Off," said Rayla immediately. "I can make that jump no problem and if I look at you, I will."

They settled into silence, just listening to each other breathe, trying not to let the weirdness of the situation get to them. Callum was the first to say something.

"Rayla?"

"Ya?"

The grin sounded through in Callum's voice. "Who are you thinking of?"

"Soren. He's got to be hung like guess who I'm thinking of, you complete bread sandwich!"

"Just want to hear you say it."

"Oh." Okay, she could do that. "Callum. I'm thinking of you. Naked. In bed with me. Your hands all over me. And you?"

"Thinking of the most beautiful elf girl in the world," said Callum. "Which is you."

"Am I naked?"

"I guess."

Rayla gave him a strange look in the dark. "You guess?"

"It's weird." Callum thought a moment. "With you I think of holding you. Touching you. Kissing you. I don't think of what you look like without clothes, like I did... um. Sorry."

"Before you knew me?" Rayla closed her eyes, breathed slowly. "It's okay. I can live with not being your first crush. You're not my first crush."

"Oh? Um who... never mind."

"He can't see me now. Come to think of it, he couldn't see me before either. He sure was pretty, though. Him and a racy story and long nights."

"He could see you and not fall in love with you? What a jerk."

"Heh. You are my worst crush, though. Maybe it's because I'm older and I know what I want from you, but... by the Moon you set me off."

"You told me your first crush. Want to know mine?"

"Claudia? Don't blame you, I've seen her." She shivered. "Before she went all..."

"Yeah."

She giggled. "How's Dream Rayla doing? Enjoying herself?"

"She says mind yer ane business, ye daft bint."

Rayla burst out laughing. "Oh you git! You've put me off my stroke now."

"Sorry. Anything I can do to help?"

"You're already doing it."

"Tell me." Callum sounded out of breath.

"We're in bed. I'm on my hands and knees. You're behind me. Holding my arms. I can't go anywhere. Is okay. Don't want to go anywhere. You push me down. Grab my horn. Turn my face to you. We're kissing."

"Isn't rude? Grab a girl's horn?"

"Very rude. Bad Callum. Kisses. Make up for it."

Callum gave a grunt. Rayla made a noise almost like a cough, no more. Nothing was heard in the room except their breath. Rayla blew a lock of hair out of her face.

"That was," she said.

"Nice," said Callum.

"Feel all sleepy and quiet."

"Me too." Callum pulled up his blanket. "Good night Rayla."

"Callum?"

"Hm?"

"I've calmed down a bit now. If you're calmed down too, if you want to, you can come back to bed." She didn't look at him. "I think I could even deal with you... holding me. If you want."

She could hear his feet on the floor coming towards the bed. A cold draft of wind as he lifted the blanket and got in behind her.

"Your feet are freezing!" She rubbed them with her own feet.

"You're so warm."

"You mean hot?"

"That too."

Callum wrapped his arms round Rayla, shifted down so her horns wouldn't poke his eyes out. Rayla made small happy noises. He had to move his arms a little around her shoulder.

"Stop fidgeting," whispered Rayla.

"Sorry. I'm not used to sleeping in the same bed as you."

"I love it," said Rayla. "Let's do it more."

Callum settled down, finally comfortable.

"Rayla?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

He almost couldn't hear her. "Love you too, Callum."

 

One two three four five

"Come on! It's now or never."

"What?"

"It won't be long before he goes after traitors. That's us! We have to flee. Now!"

 

---

 
Opeli was never quite sure what happened that afternoon when all the world changed. Who was loyal to King Ezran, and who wasn't. Soren had surprised them. Twice. Once when he appeared in front of them out of nowhere, and then when he declared himself loyal to the real King. Young King Ezran.

Opeli, Corvus, Barius the baker, and the Moon Mage Lujanne watched the magical moon phoenix sail off into the East bearing their true king away to the lands of Xadia.

Soren had returned to the castle, and after some thought, so had Barius. Lady Lujanne had disguised herself as a four-fingered human and declared that Party Time had begun. This left Corvus and Opeli standing alone in the moonlight with nothing but the clothes on their backs, the coins in their pockets, and the things they normally carried with them.

Corvus pointed. "Duren is that way."

"Hm?"

Opeli stood looking back at the castle, her home for all of her life. Apart from a diplomatic visit now and then, she had never been away for more than a few days. Now, she could never return until the rightful King Ezran was on his throne once more.

Corvus' hand was on her shoulder. "Come on, Councillor. We need to get going. they'll be after us before long, and it is a long way to Duren."

Opeli turned to the North. "How long?"

"Seven..." Corvus looked at Opeli. "Maybe fourteen days' march."

"Through the wilderness."

"Better than the roads. They won't find us in the woods."

"I don't know the first thing about bushcraft," said Opeli.

"I do," said Corvus. "And we're in luck. Summer hasn't even started yet. Food grows on trees everywhere."

Opeli rolled her shoulders. "With enough time, everywhere is walking distance."

"That's the spirit! Let's go."

The longest journey starts with the first step. Opeli took a deep breath and took it.

 

---

 
Travel fast, go alone. Travel far, go together. A saying as old as the mountains. But what if you want to travel fast and far? Corvus looked over his shoulder at Opeli, who set her teeth and caught up with him.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded, said nothing.

Corvus looked at the sky, guessed that there was maybe three hours before sunrise. If this was just him, he'd press on by night and by day with one-hour stops for food and rest, but a city girl like Opeli would never keep that up. He stopped, waited for her.

"We'll look for a place to make camp. It's safest to travel by night."

"Very well." Opeli gave a small nod. Her face betrayed nothing of how she felt. Which meant there was something to hide.

"Just a little further, and then we can rest, Councillor," he said. "You're doing well."

Opeli sniffed. "For a weak and feeble woman?"

"I didn't say that." Corvus looked round, pointed. "Over there."

"What's over there?" Opeli's voice sounded annoyed.

"Our hiding place for the day. Under that fallen tree, behind the shrubs." Corvus walked over. "Your mansion awaits, Milady."

"I am not a Lady. The correct way to address a cleric of the High Council is 'Your Honour' the first time, and Ma'am afterwards."

"A thousand pardons, Your Honour. What's the correct way to address a specially requested body guard to the King?"

"I can call you anything I want."

They moved under the roots and squatted down, out of sight, out of mind. Corvus pulled out a large knife and chopped off a branch. He sharpened one end into a point and gave it to Opeli.

"Right. What I want you to do is dig two round holes next to each other. One about a foot wide, a foot deep. The second one about a hand's length upwind, a little smaller, and a little deeper."

Opeli frowned. "What for?"

"It's called a Del Bar fire pit. When you have dug the holes, connect them with a tunnel. It works like a chimney. The fire itself is underground so it won't be seen, and it hardly makes any smoke."

Opeli turned her face round. "Which way is upwind?"

"Lick your finger, hold it up. Feel where it goes cold. That's where the wind comes from."

Opeli did, and pointed into the wind.

"Just so. While you dig the fire pit, I'll go find some wood to put in it, and Stars willing, something to cook over it."

Opeli nodded, and dropped to her knees where the fire would be. She winced, and a gasp escaped her lips.

Corvus looked at her. "Something wrong?"

"I'm fine," said Opeli. "Go get the firewood."

"Are you hurt?"

Opeli stumbled to her feet. "I said I'm fine! You are still here."

"Take off your boots."

"What?"

"Come on, Ma'am. Your boots. Take them off."

Opeli scowled, sat down, pulled at her calf-high boots. She couldn't keep her face straight. Corvus kneeled by her feet, took hold of her foot and gently pulled off her boot. His mouth fell open.

"Oh by the Stars!" He looked into Opeli's eyes. "That is heinous! Why didn't you tell me?"

Opeli's jaw set. "Corvus, we are running for our lives! I'm not going to bother you with a few blisters."

"Councillor... Opeli. You have blisters on your blisters. You should have said." He pulled off her other boot as well, carefully removed her socks, poured some water from his bottle over her feet. He looked up at her. "Look. When we're being pursued by soldiers, and we have to run or get cut to pieces, I don't care about sore feet. But we are on a long walk, and if you go on like this, you won't be able to walk at all by next week." He sighed. "I'm an idiot. These boots aren't made for long marches."

Opeli smiled wrily. "They are made for striding regally through the Corridors of Power."

Corvus sucked his teeth. "Right. I'll go and find you some medicinal herbs to put on that. And some firewood. And food."

"I'll start digging," said Opeli.

 
Opeli looked at her handiwork. She had never seen a Del Bar firehole before, but it looked like Corvus had described it. She leaned back on her hands. When she looked round, Corvus was there, his arms full of firewood, his green scarf tied up in a bundle hanging from his belt. He inspected Opeli's work and declared it the best of fire pits. He broke twigs into smaller twigs, pulled out slivers of tree bark, and fashioned it into a kind of bird's nest. He pulled out a flint, struck sparks against his knife, and gently blew the tinder into flame. The fire grew under his hands until it lit up their faces.

"You always feel better with a fire. Now let me take a look at your feet."

Corvus pulled a big handfull of leaves out of his scarf, cut them to pieces, and on a flat stone ground the pieces down into a paste. He smeared a thick layer of green goop onto Opeli's feet. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"What is that stuff?"

"It's called Kingsfoil. Or Athelas as the scholars have it. It's a strong cure against redness of the skin and blisters." Corvus held his hand up to Opeli's face. "And it smells nice too. That's how I found the leaves in the dark."

"Well, it works. Thank you."

"Tomorrow, I'll find some tree bark for shoes. You're not putting those boots back on till we get back to the corridors of power. Are you hungry?"

"You have food as well?"

"Of course." Corvus reached out for his green scarf and untied the knots. "Didn't see anything worth hunting, but I found some wild onions and roots. And some wild apples. They may not be ripe just yet, but we can toast them."

The fire burnt to ashes, and Corvus put in a flat stone to cook on. The meal was surprisingly filling, if a bit bland. They sat underneath the fallen tree's roots and watched the sun come up. Corvus stretched out.

"Try to get some sleep while you can. When we get far enough away from the Katolis authorities, we'll make longer days."

"Um." Opeli shifted uncomfortably. "Does one of us need to keep watch?"

"No use," said Corvus. "Wild animals won't go near the fire. People won't find us here. It's important to rest, Councillor."

Opeli closed her eyes. After a while, she opened them again. There was no way she could sleep. She looked at Corvus, who could probably sleep on command.

"I feel so helpless. I don't like it."

Corvus kept his eyes shut. "Today, you learnt how to build a Del Bar firepit, how to find where the wind comes from, and a recipe for a root vegetable and apple roast. You're not helpless. Far from it."

"At least you didn't try to feed me grubs and worms. Thank you for that."

Corvus grinned. "Well, if I'd only known you like that sort of thing, I could have brought you a feast."

"Where is that moon mage when you need her? Out partying, that's where."

 

---

 
Opeli found herself gently shaken by her shoulder. Corvus looked down on her. He had filled in the firepit, packed up all their stuff, and was now holding two pieces of fresh tree bark, more Athelas, and some grass.

"How are your feet?"

Opeli looked at them. They looked like she had been walking over broken glass. Corvus kneeled before Opeli and bound up her feet. The improvised shoes felt strange. Soles of tree bark, filled with grass, wrapped tightly with cord. They did feel nice and soft, though. She stood up, took a few steps. It would have to do.

"How did you know? Natural colours are all the fashion today."

 
They made their way northward in the moonlight, staying away from the King's roads. They met nobody, saw nobody. Corvus took the time to show Opeli all kinds of fruit, edible plants and mushrooms, and poisonous berries to stay away from. Foraging on the go didn't actually slow them down all that much, and it gave Opeli the chance to catch her breath now and then. Privately she thought finding food in the dark was just showing off.

When the sun rose red in the morning, they came to the top of a large hill or small mountain. In the valley below were fields of corn, and pastures with cows peacefully grazing. A farmhouse sat at the edge of a stream, smoke coming out of the chimney. There were stables for the cows, and one of those roofs over a stack of hay-bales that you can raise and lower so cows can eat nice dry hay. Corvus rubbed his stubbles thoughtfully.

"Do you want to knock on their door?" said Opeli.

"I don't know if we can trust them. They may be loyal to Viren."

"News doesn't travel fast in these parts. The morning after King Harrow was assassinated, we sent fast mounted messengers and crows to all the larger towns, and they would spread the message far and wide. We can reach every corner of the Kingdom in two days. That gives anyone five days to get to the Castle should they wish to attend the funeral." An angry edge crept into Opeli's voice. "That is one of the reasons why we wait seven days. It isn't just sentimentality and superstition. Rules exist for a reason. I'll wager that..." She spat out the name. "King Viren has more important things on his mind than ruling the Kingdom. The capital is he important part. Who cares about peasants?"

"King Harrow did. And so did King Ezran. Does."

"Yes, bless them both. Katolis is a mighty country. Viren thinks it's because of its army. We know it's because of people like..." She pointed at the farm. "People like them. They are our might. Let's go and tell them."

 
They carefully made their way down the mountainside and into the valley. They followed the stream till they came to the open gates of the farm. Corvus' head snapped round. He grabbed Opeli's arm and ran to the haystack. He nearly threw Opeli in and jumped in after her.

"Hey! What is that good for?"

"Sh! I hear horses. Soldiers."

Corvus looked out carefully. There were a dozen mounted soldiers wearing Katolis armour. Behind them were a row of men, without armour or uniform, except they all wore a brown and yellow band round their right arms bearing the Katolian emblem of the Twin Towers. They were armed mostly with farming implements. Flails. Blades of scythes tied to sticks. Only one or two swords between the lot of them.

The soldiers rode into the farmyard, and the farmer and his wife came out, followed by their son and a couple of farmhands.

Opeli moved up next to Corvus. Her voice shook with anger. "A press gang. Viren has revived press gangs, curse him to the end of Eternity."

"What, recruiters?"

"No. Recruiters ask. Press gangs tell you to choose between joining or death. This has not happened since Katolis was fifty years old. We could have defended the practice back then. But not now. This goes against all that Katolis stands for."

Corvus smirked. "It's against the law? Oh no!"

Opeli scowled at him. "It's against every law. Katolis is a free country. We are not on a holiday, Corvus. Viren must be stopped or soon, there will be no Kingdom left to save."

They watched helplessly as the son and two of the farmhands were pulled out, sworn in, and marched out of the gates to an unknown fate, leaving the farmer and his wife staring after them, holding on to each other. Opeli made a gruff noise, and before Corvus could stop her, she crawled out of the haystack and walked to the pair. They stared at her as if she were a ghost.

"Milady! Where did you come from?"

Opeli gave them a gentle smile. "I have travelled far, all the way from Durem. My name is Opeli, and I am on my way to the Standing Batallion at the Breach."

Corvus came up, and the farmer gently pushed his wife behind him. "My name is Bram, Milady. This is Lilah. They took Samuel, our son, and Ellert, and Pyr."

"Bram, Lilah, I am so very sorry." Opeli bowed her head. "There was nothing we could do."

"I tried to tell them Milady, they aren't made for fighting. Never raised a hand against anyone, but they wouldn't listen."

"What will happen to them, Milady?" Lilah tried to hold back her tears. "Will they have to go into heathen lands, and fight those blood-thirsty savages?"

Opeli reached out and took Lilah's hand between her own. "There is still hope that there will be no fighting at all. But we must reach the Standing Batallion before they do."

"Milady," said Bram. "If you don't mind me saying, you look like you haven't had a proper meal in a long time. I'll have our Amira cook you up a breakfast."

Opeli's stomach growled. "T-that would be most welcome."

They walked inside. Corvus whispered in Opeli's ear.

"Wouldn't you prefer some nice grubs and worms? Milady?"

"Shut up, Corvus."

They sat down at the table, were given large mugs of tea.

Bram called out. "Amira! You can come out now, we have guests."

A door opened, and a young woman came out. She looked round the room, almost ignoring Corvus and Opeli. "Where's Samuel?"

Bram held her shoulders. "He has joined the Katolis Army. To help defend our borders from the Xadians."

Amira's eyes burnt. "No he hasn't. He's been taken! We must get him back, they can't do this!"

"You're right." Opeli stood up. "Once King Ezran once more sits on the Throne, all will be put right. Samuel, Ellert, and Pyr will return."

"They said King Ezran has abdicated. They said he betrayed Katolis and is a prisoner in the dungeons of Katolis Castle, and that Viren is now our King."

"Those are lies from the false king Viren," Opeli said. "I cannot say much, but rest assured. King Ezran is alive and free, and is working to find a way to have peace with Xadia."

"What, with those murdering elves?" Lilah said. "If he does that, he'll be a true miracle worker."

"Maybe he can cure my baldness," said Bram. "Amira? Get the frying pan out, we have hungry people here. I'll go look after the beasts. With the lads gone, someone has to."

 
Amira and Lilah started breakfast and a magical smell drifted across the room. Corvus leaned over to Opeli.

"We need to get you out of these clothes."

Opeli raised a blonde eyebrow and said nothing very loudly.

"And into something less eye catching." Corvus looked up at the Sky. "Honestly. I'll even turn my back. We can't have everybody between here and, um, the Breach recognise you as the True King's Councillor Opeli. Peli the Peasant Girl can go where you can't. And I noticed that you and Amira are about the same size."

"O you did, did you?"

"Oh by the... I'm a tracker. I notice things. It's what I do."

"I suppose you are right." Opeli sighed. "I am a bit conspicuous in my courtly attire. I'll ask her if I can borrow, no buy one of her dresses." She looked at the women by the stove. "For a good price. They're going to need money."

"And a pair of walking boots."

"Yes."

They sat looking at the breakfast preparations for a few moments. Corvus grinned to himself.

"Might be a little tight round the chest, though."

Opeli stared daggers at him. "Shut up, Corvus."

 

---

 
They said goodbye to Bram, Lilah, and Amira and set off in the direction of the Breach. Once they were out of sight, they turned north again. Opeli now looked like any peasant girl, except that nothing would ever change the expression of high-born radiance on her face. She was wearing thick socks inside proper work boots that had belonged to Samuel, Bram's son. Her own clothes, including even the boots, were in a duffel bag on her back. Corvus had picked up a few useful items for camping, and they marched on without talking much, making good time.

"I hope they'll be allright," said Corvus.

"If they are replacing the soldiers marching for Xadia, they'll be fine keeping people from stealing the castle doors. If they go to Xadia, Viren will use them as a distraction for the elf armies. The trained soldiers have better things to do." She closed her eyes for a few moments. "Was I right to allow Ezran to abdicate? I could have persuaded him not to."

"Us against the combined armies of Del Bar, Neolandia, and Evenere? We would have won, but it would have been a massacre. Whole armies wiped out."

"It may still be a massacre. The Xadians are formidable. If I had persuaded Ezran to stay, they would have died with their feet on their own soil. There is no sense, no honour in this war, Corvus."

"Viren has no honour. He only cares about power. And that cursed Dark Magic of his."

Opeli looked over her shoulder, in the direction of the Castle. "He saved all of the Human Kingdoms with his Titan's Heart Cornucopia Spell. Turned barren wastelands into places where food grows everywhere. He has done great works for Katolis, at great cost to himself. But now, he is lost. I wonder what made him lose his way."

A dark cloud passed over Corvus' face. "I don't care. All I want is to stop him. If we have to bury him the same day, then so be it."

Opeli wagged her finger. "Regicide is against the law."

"Stuff the Law. When I see him, he's dead."

 
They walked on through the day, until they found a good camping spot, hidden behind some bushes, with a small cliff edge in their backs. Corvus pulled a small shovel out of his pack and held it up to Opeli.

"Want to prove that your first Del Bar fire pit wasn't beginners luck?"

"The Del Bar fire pit I cannot dig..." Opeli licked her finger and pointed into the wind. "Still has to be dug."

"And this time, we actually have a cook pot. You'll never want to live in a castle again!"

"A roof over your head, safety, a steady supply of food, a library, working sanitation, and a warm bed are hugely overrated."

"I'll be back with food and firewood."

Corvus disappeared into the gloom, and Opeli set to digging. She managed not to make the tunnel collapse. Two holes in the ground. Less advanced technology than the shovel she'd dug it with, and still the difference between life and death. She didn't have to wait long till Corvus came back with a bundle of sticks and something four-legged, furry, and dead.

"Got lucky," he said. "It jumped up just ahead of me, and I got it with my blade. Tonight, we dine on smeerp! Want me to show you how to butcher it?"

"Um," said Opeli.

She was well aware that meat had once been a living thing, on a theoretical level, but actually getting the creature's blood on her hands, taking the insides out, and cutting up the pieces, was something she had left to professionals up to now.

"Townies." Corvus grinned. "Don't even know where their peppered smeerp comes from."

"What's a smeerp anyway?" said Opeli.

"It's a bit like a jackalope, but it doesn't have antlers."

"Hm. I don't remember having anything like that. What's it taste like?"

"Umm..." Corvus pulled out his knife. "Tastes a bit like shadowfang."

Opeli hung her head. "I suppose I'll find out soon enough."

 
Roast leg of smeerp, as it turned out, was delicious. Opeli leaned back against the wall, dropped the bone in the fire, and gratefully accepted another bit of hot meat.

"Are you sure we're not breaking some law against poaching?" said Corvus. "Are we stealing this from King Ezran?"

"We're stealing this from King Viren. It's practically a moral obligation to break his laws."

Corvus sat down next to Opeli, feet to the fire. "Who needs laws anyway? The only thing they do is take away your freedom."

"Not so." Opeli couldn't let that slide. "You need laws to be free."

"How's that?"

Opeli reached into her pouch and pulled out a silver coin. "This will buy you a meal like this in a tavern. They will even cook it for you. Out here, where there are no laws, if I gave this to you, you'd be mad to give me even a little piece of smeerp for this. You can't eat a coin. Only when there is a law that says so does this..." she flipped the coin into the air and caught it. "Equal to this." She took a bite, and continued talking with her mouth full like a savage. She held the coin up to Corvus. "Guess. If you melt this down, how much silver do you think you'd get?"

"Um... one silver piece's worth?"

Opeli shook her head. "This isn't pure silver. It's an alloy of a little silver with nickel. Makes it stronger. Makes it last longer being passed from one person to the next. Pure silver and pure gold are too soft to take that kind of beating."

"So we're being cheated?"

"No. This coin represents one grain of the silver that's in the Royal Bank's vaults. You could walk to the bank, give them this coin, and walk away with a small lump of silver." Opeli chuckled. "Well, in theory. In practice they would think you're mad and tell you to go away. But if you go to a tavern, they have to give you one silver's worth of food for one silver. It's the law."

"I share this food with you because you are my travelling companion. I don't need a law to tell me that." He grinned. "And because it's great to watch a high ranking official with grease dripping down her chin."

Opeli wiped her mouth. "Are you travelling companions with everyone who has something you want to buy? Clothes? Weapons? A house? Small groups of people are easy. But Katolis has thousands upon thousands of people. You need laws to build a kingdom."

Corvus shrugged. "Say what you'll do, do what you say. That's all the laws you need. If I say I'll build you a house, I'll build you a house."

"Yes, but you need to use good quality timber and bricks. You need people who know how to build houses so it doesn't fall down on your head if you slam a door. You need to finish the job before your buyer grows old and dies. You need to have permission from King Ezran to build in the place where you want to. All of that is governed by law. Laws are as much part of a house as the bricks and mortar."

"Do this, don't do that. Lots of people telling you what you can and can't do. Just for being allowed to walk down the streets."

"Laws are not set in stone. They are alive. If you can convince the King and his councillors that some law is unjust, then we can change it to make it more fair. It happens all the time."

"Not for the likes of me, it doesn't." Corvus took a deep breath. "That's why I like being out here. I can do what I want. Cities are nice places to visit, I'll grant you, but they are made of dead stone. Here, I'm free."

Opeli looked into his eyes. "You are free. You are a good man. You are not a thief. You are not a murderer. Murderers and thieves are not free. They may not steal or kill. If someone steals from you, the whole might of Katolis is behind you. Laws aren't an obstacle to freedom, they are the building blocks of freedom."

"I believe you. Still, here we are. Hiding from the authorities."

Opeli looked into the firepit with its glowing embers. "It's not perfect. I know it is not. But it is better than nothing. As long as good people are at the helm, it works."

 

---

 
Two days later, they crossed the border into Duren. They kept to the roads, such as they were. Mostly stamped-down earth with markers every mile. Duren was easily the most fertile of all the human kingdoms. Even Opeli, townie through and through, could find enough to fill her stomach here. All she had to do was reach out and pick apples, bend down to pick up wild strawberries, stonefruit, milkfruit.

Corvus put his hand on Opeli's shoulder, turned her round, dropped to his knee, and she did the same. Out by a milkweed bush, two small deer came out, pulling at the juicy fruits. Opeli held her breath.

"Hungry?" There was a gleam in Corvus' eye.

Opeli smiled back. "No."

The deer looked round, saw them, twitched their noses and wandered off. These were rubbish milkfruit anyway. They knew much better fruit where these humans would never find them. They got to their feet and walked on. Sunlight filtered through the thick canopy of leaves above them.

"To think that all this... was all done by Viren."

"Not just by him. King Harrow. Queen Sarai. Queen Annika. Queen Neha. General Amaya. All the Katolis soldiers."

Opeli's face hardened. "We trespassed on Xadia's soil, armed and ready for violence. We killed one of its sentient creatures. Ripped out its heart for, for... fertiliser. I can name you at least a dozen laws and rules we broke out of my head. The Xadians have a legitimate complaint against us." She looked at the forest round her. "And still. This place is beautiful. The children of those we saved are now old enough to till the land. We can't go back to the way it was. There is no way to settle this. We can only hope the Xadians are willing to forgive and forget, and we have no right to demand it of them."

Corvus said nothing and walked on. When all this happened, he was being fed porridge with a spoon. All before his time. He looked at Opeli. She had thrown her hood back, and her long blonde hair blew in the wind. Her face was still, pensive. How could such a place of beauty come from an act of evil? There was an air of purity about her, but purity was a luxury. Now and then, you needed to get your hands dirty, simply to survive. Viren knew that when he drew his plan to steal the heart of a magma titan. So did King Harrow. One act of evil to save the lives of many. A dark stain on your conscience, balanced by the fact that a hundred thousand doomed people now drew breath.

Where was that balance now?

A hundred thousand humans and elves were about to die.

What good would come of that?

Who would benefit, and how?

"What?" Opeli looked at him. Corvus had been staring at her.

"Nothing," he said. "Just thinking."

 
"Halt!"

A burly man stood in the middle of the road with at least a dozen others, all armed. Knives. Clubs. Spears. They wore no uniforms. They had that predatory look in their eyes that meant they had all the good cards in hand, and someone was about to be eaten alive.

Bandits.

Thieves.

Robbers.

Crap.

Corvus' hand slowly moved to his chain-blades. He didn't take his eyes off the men.

"Councillor? I'm going to kill the leader, then run off and draw as many of them away as I can. You run as fast as you can the other way."

"No."

"What?"

"Don't kill the leader. Do you see the one with the blue coat? He's the lieutenant. Kill him instead. I can deal with the leader."

"What?!"

"Do it."

Corvus never missed. He swung the chain round once, launched it at the lieutenant. The blades could sever tree-limbs. They made a frightening wound going in, and a worse one when he yanked them out. The lieutenant was dead before his body hit the ground. Corvus sprinted away into the trees. He looked over his shoulder once. His eyes grew wide.

Opeli wasn't running!

"After him!"

There was no time. Corvus ducked down and disappeared between the trees.

 

---

 
"Well well. What have we here?"

"What does it look like we have here?" Opeli said.

The leader gave her a long look. "There's more to you than meets the eye. Take her to camp."

One of the men stepped up and grabbed her arm, which as anyone knows renders women completely helpless and unable to resist. They marched her off. After only a few minutes' walk, they arrived at a circle of tents, pitched round a campfire. The leader stepped up close to her.

"Who are you?"

"Me? I'm nobody."

"Oh please, spare me the heroism. You know perfectly well that we can wring everything out of you in time. Give me an answer."

"You ask the wrong question. Who I am is not important. Who I was is. I was King Harrow's companion, up till a half year ago. I served him when the Queen would not, or could not."

"What happened half a year ago?"

Opeli shrugged. "Time. Spring turned into summer. Summer turned into autumn. The King grew tired of me. I no longer excited him as once I did. He did allow me to continue living in the castle, which was nice of him. And then he died, and those who were left weren't as nice."

"You mean the Boy King?"

Opeli laughed. "King Ezran likes them a bit younger than me. And he would play hide-and-seek rather than hide-the-sausage. And then Viren came to power. Frankly, I'd rather consort with a pig than with him. So I was sent home, after ten years of faithful service." She scowled. "With only one coward for a guard. It's insulting."

"You are one of the King's whores?"

"I would prefer not to be called that, but I cannot argue. It's who I was. Now, I am... an embarrassment. Nobody will pay for my safe return. If you ask, they'll say you can keep me, and good riddance."

The leader looked Opeli up and down, his gaze lingering in places. "So what can we do with you?"

Opeli bent closer and whispered. "If you keep me to yourself alone, I'll make it worth your while."

"What's to keep me from just taking from you what I want?"

Opeli's lips curled into a little smirk. "If you just strap me over a barrel and have your way with me, I won't do for you what I used to do for the King. I was good at my job. I can keep you warm and happy for a month without doing the same thing twice. Surely, being the leader of such a fine gathering as this has its perks? Don't you deserve something nice for yourself alone?"

"Heh. So what are these favours?"

"What would you like me to do? Talk about them, or..." Opeli licked her lips with the tip of her tongue. "Show you?"

The leader jerked his head at one of the tents. "Get in."

"Don't you want to search me for weapons first?"

"You can search me for weapons."

 

---

 
These bandits were fools. They came after him as if he was a pheasant, beating their weapons against the trees, making enough noise to deafen even themselves. Corvus never suffered fools gladly, and thinking of what Opeli might be going through took away every scrap of his patience and compassion. He cut them down one by one, striking from the shadows, from the trees, from behind a bush, as fast as he could, without mercy. Every second spent here was one second of suffering for Opeli. There was just one left. Corvus sprang on him from behind, twisted the chain around his neck, crushed his throat. Even before the noise stopped, he was on the move, first back to the place where they had met the bandits, then following the tracks like a hound on a clear trail. He saw the campsite, drew near. With dark eyes, he looked round, people were milling about, sitting round the campfire. Corvus listened, and his heart grew cold. From inside one of the tents came... noises. Voices. One voice. Cries. Moans. The slap of flesh against flesh. Corvus drew his knife, leapt up into the trees, swung over to the tent. Without a noise, he dropped down. He cut a slit in the tent, pulled it open.

His jaw dropped.

Inside was Opeli, fully clothed, a long thin blade in her hand. Next to her on the ground was the bandit leader. For a long, long moment, Corvus couldn't pull his eyes away from the small trickle of blood that ran from one of his ears.

Opeli waved at him, gave one more loud cry, a final few gasps, then... silence. Corvus beckoned her over and together, they slunk away into the night. Once they were a good way away, Corvus turned to Opeli.

"Are you okay?"

Opeli threw her head back and laughed. She sheathed her blade, pulled her sleeve over it.

"I understand you."

"What?" Corvus looked Opeli over for signs of being hit in the head, but except for a few gallons of adrenalin sloshing around in her slender body, he couldn't find any.

"I understand what you mean by free." Opeli grabbed Corvus' shoulders. "I was in danger of my life. They had me. Goodness only knows what they would have done to me. There is no law here to protect me." Her eyes shone at Corvus. "There is no law here for me to keep. I am free! I can do anything!"

Corvus brushed an imaginary speck of dust off her shoulder. "Well, as long as you do it quietly. We're not away yet."

They moved quietly into the shadows. Opeli bumped Corvus' leg with her hand and he looked round.

"Some things just aren't as much fun if you do them quietly."

 

---

 
"You told him that you...? And King Harrow?"

"Yes."

"By the Moon and Stars! Queen Sarai would have skewered you both to the bed if she'd found you there."

"Most likely, yes. Wise Councillors do not cross Queen Sarai."

"So why did you want me to kill the lieutenant and not the leader?"

Opeli took one more bite of her apple, tossed the core to the side of the road. "There was a power struggle among the bandits. The leader was on his way out. He was getting old. Not as big and strong as he once was. Some of his friends still supported him, but not everyone. And the lieutenant knew it, and was ready to overthrow the leader at the first opportunity. You did the leader a favour killing him."

"Well, I'm not happy till he's not happy."

"With the threat gone, the leader had to re-establish his position, and what better way to show them than to keep the attractive blonde all to yourself?" Opeli sneered. "If you'd have killed the leader, the lieutenant would have got a promotion, and he would have needed to make his new minions happy. He would have passed me round as a reward for their loyalty."

Corvus stared. "How do you know that?"

"I know power games when I see them, and I am better at them than some illiterate lout." There was a frightening look in her eyes. "He really should have searched me for weapons."

 
"How much further to Duren Castle?"

"If we press on a bit, we can get there by tomorrow morning."

"That won't do."

"What do you mean? You don't want to run there, do you?"

"No. I don't want to force ourselves. We need to stop for a while and prepare."

"Prepare? How?"

"If we arrive at the castle looking like beggars, we will be treated like beggars." Opeli raised her hand. "That we are in fact begging for help is bad enough. I want to make it look like we have something to offer. We need to rest. Clean up. Collect ourselves." She tilted her head. "Do I hear water?"

"Waterfall about two hundred yards to our left. Why?"

"Perfect!"

Opeli trotted off to the side and all Corvus could do was follow her. They came to the edge of a pond with a waterfall clattering down.

Opeli turned to Corvus. "If we camp here, and stay the night, we'll arrive at Duren Castle by tomorrow afternoon, correct?"

"I think so."

"Good." Opeli looked at the pond. "This place is lovely. I will have a bath and wash my clothes. Unless you want me to dig a fire pit?"

"There's more fires than fire pits. I'll make the fire."

 
Corvus gathered up firewood, made a circle of stones, and lit up without looking at Opeli more than absolutely necessary to see that she was still there in the water and hadn't been swallowed by a lake monster.

"Hey!"

Corvus coughed. "Councillor?"

"Give me your clothes."

"Uh what?"

"Your clothes. Give them to me so I can wash them. When we arrive and the crowd draws back, I want it to be because of my aura of authority and not because of the smell of my designated security detail."

"That's okay, I'm fine."

"You certainly are. Now give me your clothes."

Did she just say that?! There was no escaping it. He had to look at her. To his relief, and only slight disappointment, her long hair was discreetly draped forward over her shoulders. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. He stripped down to his underpants, decided to keep those on, and firmly looking into Opeli's eyes, handed his clothes to her. She looked like she was enjoying this damn her!

"Thank you," she said, precisely as if washing nearly naked men's clothes while wearing not a single thread herself was all in a day's work for a High Council cleric.

"I'll, um, keep watch."

"You do that."

Opeli soaped up all their clothes, rubbed them against a stone, rinsed them out, spread them out on the grass to dry in the sun. She hummed a little tune while she worked, without a care in the world.

"Right." Her voice was bright and cheerful. "That'll do. I think I'll try that waterfall now." She turned round and walked into the water.

"Uh huh." said Corvus.

The fire needed more wood and he turned away from... There were splashing noises from the pond.

"Hey! Aren't you going to get in? The water is lovely and cool once you get used to it."

Corvus stared at the sticks in his hand. He had been trying with all his might not to look at Councillor Opeli. She, let's be fair, had been trying to draw his attention from the moment she had dropped her clothes.

She did have another set of clothes. Very nice ones, actually.

She could have put on her robes.

She hadn't.

She was definitely, definitely doing this on purpose.

And if that was the case, Corvus decided, if she chose to show it, he could look at it.

He sat down on the grass. She slowly walked out, back straight as a ruler. Her bottom went below the surface, which was a shame.

"Be careful, Councillor. It looks like it gets deep suddenly."

"Corvus. I can swim. I was on the school swim team. I was the first runner-up in the competition."

"Well done," he said.

"Actually, it stung a bit. The girl who won was a nasty little piece of work." She looked at him over her shoulder. "Then again, so was I. While she was celebrating with her little clique what a loser I was, I was in the rose garden on her boyfriend's lap and his hand under my waa!" Opeli dropped down and disappeared under water.

"Told you. But would you listen?"

Corvus took a run-up and dived into the water. He grabbed Opeli under her arms and pulled her to the surface. She turned round, wrapped her arms round his neck, and then her face was suddenly very close to his. Her skin felt cool against him. He found his hands had moved to the small of her back without him putting them there. He tore his mind away from how well she fit in his arms.

"Um. Councillor?"

"Corvus. We are in each other's arms. I am naked. You are almost naked." She pushed a wet strand of hair out of her face. "I think we may dispense with the formalities now. Call me Opeli."

"Opeli?"

"Yes?" She played with his many dark plaits.

"When you said I was almost naked, did you mean I was wearing almost no clothes, or that I would be totally naked soon?"

Opeli closed her eyes and kissed him.

"Yes," she said.

 

---

 
"Do you think our clothes are dry yet?"

"Maybe."

"Would you like me to find out?"

"No."

"Sun's going down soon."

Opeli rubbed her cheek on Corvus' shoulder. "We can make fire. I know all about making fire."

Corvus put a finger under her chin, tilted her face up, kissed her. "There is a filthy pun in there somewhere."

"There are better things to do with your lips."

"Dinner, for one. Are you hungry?"

"Hmm." Opeli closed her eyes. "Seduce me."

"I'm thinking bacon. Boar meat, wrapped in bacon, stewed with root vegetables and mashed apples, with more bacon. Boar stew, Corvus style."

"You've actually got my mouth watering." She moved on top of him. "Well done."

They got up, found their clothes, had dinner. Because getting a good night's rest was important, Corvus gathered two big stacks of soft leaves for them to sleep on. Opeli pushed Corvus away and moved the two stacks together. Opeli fell asleep looking at the soft glow of the dying fire, Corvus' arms gently round her.

 
Early the next morning Corvus woke to find Opeli up already. She was sitting at the waterside combing her hair. As he watched, she stepped out of her farmer's daughter disguise and dressed herself in her courtly dress and robes. She carefully placed the diadem of her office on her head, straightened it. She turned to face Corvus, who stood up and walked towards her.

"Well?"

"Magical," Corvus said. "Can I still kiss you?"

Opeli slightly inclined her head. "You may."

They kissed. Opeli's grey eyes gleamed.

"Only not in the middle of our negotiations with Her Majesty Queen Aanya of Duren please. It would detract from the solemnity of the event."

"Not in front of the children. Got you."

Opeli's eyes turned up to the Sky. "And may I request that I do the talking? Just until you know not to refer to heads of state as children?"

"Sure thing." said Corvus. "I'll just loom in the background."

"Being tall, dark, and handsome. Perfect."

 

---

 
They broke camp, packed away their things, and set off on the final lap towards the Castle. The dirt roads gave way to paved streets, the forests to farmlands, until they reached the open gates of Duren's capital. Opeli looked left and right once to get her bearings, licked her finger and pointed.

"That way." She grinned at Corvus. "Where your finger goes cold, that's where power comes from."

Opeli led them surely and swiftly along the streets to the palace where the young Queen Aanya sat on the throne of Duren. Queen Aanya had been in Katolis once, when Viren had called a meeting of all the rulers of the Pentarchy. Viren had severely overstepped his authority doing that, but since he was now the de facto ruler of Katolis, arguing the point was useless.

She had only seen Queen Aanya briefly, but the word was that she had stood up to Viren and the three other monarchs. As far as Opeli was concerned, anyone who stood up against Viren was Good People. The Queen had flat out refused to go to war against Xadia, and her army of mostly archers had stayed inside the Duren borders.

And now, all Opeli had to do was convince her that taking the greater part of her army into Xadia, there to join up with her mortal enemies, and keep the combined forces of Katolis, Neolandia, and Evenere away from the Storm Spire.

What could possibly go wrong?

 
Corvus didn't like big cities. Walk in, sell what you have, buy what you need, get out to where you can breathe. He didn't even have a designated bunk in the Katolis barracks. If General Amaya needed him for something, she knew where to find him. He followed Opeli through the streets, watching every door and every window. Out in the wild, tree branches moved, leaves rustled, people left tracks on the ground he could read. Here, there were too many people, most of them having nothing to do with him. The ones that did would be the ones looking at Councillor Opeli. He followed her up to the castle, over the bridge, to where they were stopped by the guards.

"Halt. State your name and business."

Opeli raised herself to her full height. "I am Opeli of the Katolis High Council. I seek an audience with Her Majesty Queen Aanya. I bring news of great importance."

"Another one." The guard looked at his companion. "Are all the Katolians going to move here?"

"I don't blame them for trying. Katolis is turning into a bit of a dump."

"Councillor Opeli?"

Corvus turned round to see a Katolis soldier walk up to them. He searched his memory. Ah. One of the Crown Guards. The one who had raised the alarm on the Moonshadow assassins. Good lad.

"Private Marcos, greetings." Opeli said. Of course. She would know him. Opeli knew everybody. "What are you doing here?"

"Offering our help, Ma'am. Shit's about to happen pardon my Neolandian."

"It is wonderful to see you alive and well, Private."

"Broken Link at your service, Ma'am. Will you be joining us?"

"After I speak with Queen Aanya, certainly."

"Oh, we have a war council in three hours. I'm sure you will be welcome to join." Marcos scratched his head. "It'll be good to have someone who knows the way of the Courtly Arts. Us, if someone don't agree with us, we just stab them, which is no way of making friends."

"Don't sell yourself short, Private," Opeli said. "Not stabbing people is a good start. You'll be a diplomat yet."

"Ahem." The guard clearly felt the need to join in on all this talk about stabbing people. "Do you still want an audience with Queen Aanya? In that case..." He gave Corvus a look. "Please hand in your weapons. You'll get them back when you leave."

Opeli gave the guard a brilliant smile. "I think we are already invited elsewhere, Corporal. We won't need to trouble you or Her Majesty at this time. Thank you so much for your help."

The guard touched his helm. "You're welcome, Lady. Welcome to Duren."

They walked off together with Marcos.

Corvus whispered in Opeli's ear. "What help?"

"He didn't stab us. That's helpful, isn't it?"

"I suppose." Corvus turned to Marcos. "What are you doing here? I thought you didn't want to fight anymore."

"Hah. You're making the same mistake Viren did."

"Oh? What's that?"

"You are confusing 'We don't want to fight...'" they rounded a corner onto a large grassy field. On it were rows upon rows of Katolian tents, all bearing the banner of the Broken Link. "With 'We don't want to fight for you.'"

 

---

 
"Councillor Opeli, Commander Gren, Soldiers of Katolis. Welcome to Duren, and thank you for your offer of help. These are dangerous and trying times, and we know that it was no small achievement to come to this place. We declare this war council open, and may wisdom and strength attend us all."

Opeli bowed her head. "Thank you for your kind words, Your Majesty. We have come far, but we have farther still to go, and hard work to do before we rest. Dangerous these times may be, but there is also hope. Allegiances have shifted. Those who we once thought were our friends and allies are now our enemies, and our enemies of old may now well stand beside us as our allies, even if not as our friends."

"We have heard of the treasonous deeds of King Viren, loth as I am to name him that. He has gathered the armies of three nations of the Pentarchy for no other reason than to seize the Dragon Azymondias, Prince of the Dragons, son of Queen Zubeia. Should he succeed, and drain the Dragon Prince of his magical essences, he will become powerful beyond any hope of resistance, and neither the Pentarchy nor Xadia will survive." Queen Aanya's face turned dark. "And if that were not enough, he has also commanded an attempt on my own life."

Opeli blinked. "I did not know that, Ma'am. I am grateful that this attempt was thwarted. But how do you know that this was Viren's doing?"

Queen Aanya shivered. "One evening, I had just gone to bed, when there was a great commotion outside. As I watched, a red shining figure, elf-like in its appearance, laid low three of my most trusted guards, before she was killed by the effort of all the rest of the palace guards together. She vanished into thin air, leaving only her weapons. Two curved blades after the Moonshadow design."

"But..." Commander Gren started to sign as he spoke, before realising that General Amaya was not there. "But wouldn't that show that the Moonshadow elves were behind this?"

"It would. We captured a Sunfire elf and from him learnt that no elf could do such a thing. Not Moonshadow, not Sunfire, not Skywing, not Earthblood, not Tidebound, nor even Startouch elves could have done such a thing. This left only one source." Queen Aanya looked round the table. "Dark Magic. And that meant only one man could have done this. High Mage Viren. Upon learning this, we released the Sunfire elf with a message to Lux Aurea. They know we are coming and will guide us to Storm Spike. Commander Gren has agreed to lead the forces of Katolis, and they will march with us."

Queen Aanya stood up from her chair. "We name King Viren our enemy. We will not rest until he, and all of his works, are destroyed. Be it known that we do not aim our vengeance at the kingdom of Katolis, nor at the kingdoms of Neolandia, Del Bar, and Evenere. Only Viren, and those in league with him, will feel the weight of our hand upon them. I have given the orders. We leave tomorrow at dawn, and may good fortune be with us all."

 

---

 
Opeli sat on a bench on the castle wall and watched the sun set. She looked up at a noise to see Corvus standing next to her. She moved over and he sat down. She put her head on his shoulder and he put his arm round her.

"You've done it," he said.

"In the end I did not do much. Viren, of all people, did most of the work. We are going to Xadia."

Corvus pulled Opeli a little closer. "There's going to be fighting. Are you sure you need to be there? It's safer here. I don't want you to be hurt."

"I am coming. There's going to be a lot of talk with elements of the Five Kingdoms, Lux Aurea, all the other elves, even the Dragons themselves." She smiled up at Corvus. "I have to teach you all not to stab each other at the first sign of disagreement."

"Hey! Look around you. There's thousands of people here I haven't stabbed."

"You are a quick learner. I am proud of you."

They sat quietly for a few moments.

"Opeli?"

"Yes?"

"Where are we?"

She pressed her cheek to his shoulder, closed her eyes.

"We cannot marry. We cannot have children. The rules of the Clergy do not allow it."

Corvus looked at her face, quiet, peaceful. "I'm sure there's lots of other things we did that you're not allowed to do either."

Opeli pulled Corvus' shirt out of his trousers, slipped her hand underneath, ran her fingers over his stomach. "I am sure I haven't a notion what you are talking about." She thought a moment. "There are parts of my vocation that take up the same space in my life that a marriage would. I would have to give up my... no. What I am."

"You are married to your job," Corvus said.

"Well, technically..." She stopped herself. "Yes. You can say that. Corvus, the things we did together. The painful parts. The frightening parts." She sat up, ran her fingers over his stubbles. "You carrying me out of the water. Feeling your arms round me with the water just touching my feet. All the things we did these last few weeks. I've never been happier. And I would love nothing more than to explore further."

"But," said Corvus.

"But nothing." She climbed onto his lap, softly kissed him. "I have told you what I cannot do. Will not do. Everything else is... open for negotiation."

"I have to negotiate? With you? Oh crap."

Opeli laughed, without holding back, without anything but joy. "The most important thing about negotiation is to find where your own desires match up with the other's. And work from there."

"Uh?"

"For instance. Her Majesty Queen Aanya offered me a soft warm bed for the night. I persuaded the Quartermaster to assign me a place somewhere out of the way. So that there would be no noise complaints."

"Because you are a light sleeper."

"Because some things just aren't as much fun if you do them quietly." She wrapped her arms tighter round him, pressed her body against his. "Now. Would you like a warm bed for the night?"

"Your honour?" Corvus let Opeli's long blonde hair slip through his fingers. "I would love a warm bed for the night."

"Well then. Maybe I can help you." She raised a finger. "But only if you do that thing for me that you did back at the pond."

"Done."

 

A triangle of... something.

Getting people to like you is a core skill for a politician, and Councillor Opeli liked to think she was good at it. If people like you, they are more likely to give you what you want. A friendly smile and a 'thank you' to the Crow Master meant that her messages got delivered promptly and first. As she walked into her chambers, in fact, there was a note under her door now.

"Thank you Crow Master," she said, and frowned. This was not a crow's note. It was in an envelope that said simply: Opeli. In the unmistakable handwriting of a ten year old. Since when did King Ezran write to her, rather than just come and talk to her? She sat down at her desk, opened the note, read it.

 

Dear Opeli,

 

I'm leaving for the Moon Nexus on top of the Cursed Caldera. Phoe-phoe needs to be resurrected, and Lujanne needs a new moon to do it.

 

Don't worry, the giant spiders are just make believe, I can talk any wild animals out of eating us, and Rayla and Callum are with me. We'll be fine. We'll be back in a few days.

 

Love, Ezran

 
Swearing is not ladylike.

Opeli did it anyway, dropped the note, and buried her face in her hands.

 

---

 
Opeli walked up to General Amaya's door. General Amaya couldn't hear people knock, so she had a chain next to the door that made a flag inside wave. Opeli pulled it and the General opened up, saw her, casually leaned against the doorframe. She made a sign like a sash across her body with her hand in the shape of a C, meaning "Councillor", spelled out Opeli's name with the precision of a lute player holding down chords.

I help-you how?

Opeli had learnt the Katolian sign language that Amaya used. It was useful for many things. Like sending messages to your fellow councillors across the hall without anyone else noticing. Signalling orders to faraway people using a spyglass. And of course for flirting with General Amaya, who had once politely invited Opeli into her bed. Opeli, not being attracted to women, had politely declined. Still, neither of them objected to being friendly.

Opeli signed. I you ask favour.

Blouse tight, you wear because?

Opeli smiled sweetly, nodded with her hand. It was a nice blouse, thank you for noticing.

Please. Corvus, I borrow?

Amaya's eyes narrowed. Corvus, you want why?

Opeli batted her eyelashes, made a ring out of her fingers and pushed her other finger through. Amaya's jaw dropped. She pointed at herself, at her bed. What?!

Amaya did have a nice laugh, which she herself would never hear.

Opeli had considered telling Amaya, but if she did that, nothing would stop her sending an army after the wayward wandering King. Everyone and their glow toad would know that King Ezran had run off into the Blue. Not good. Opeli needed someone quiet, subtle, who knew to keep his mouth shut.

Mission. Me take Xadia. Diplomatic visit.

Amaya looked at the clock on her wall. Two hours, Corvus here.

Good. Send him to my chambers.

Be gentle.

 

---

 
Corvus knocked on Opeli's door. Her voice came from within.

"Who's there?"

"It's me," said Corvus. "You wanted to see me?"

"Come on in."

Opeli stood at the window looking out. She had thrown back her hood and her long blonde hair fell down her back in gentle curls. She smiled at him over her shoulder.

"Lock the door, please."

"I can give you an hour or so now, then I have to meet with the officers to report on my last mission, then I'm all yours. The General said you have a mission for me?"

"That is perfect. Yes." Opeli leaned on the windowsill. "Two missions. It's King Ezran. He has left the palace to take himself to the Cursed Caldera, there to meet with Moon Mage Lujanne on a matter of no star-sucking importance at all! I need you to go and find him, and make sure he doesn't fall off a cliff or gets eaten by spiders or something. Bring him back before anyone notices he's gone. Quietly."

"Oh by the Stars," said Corvus. "Did he run off all by himself?"

"Prince Callum went with him, and so did our favourite elf."

"Hm." Corvus rubbed his stubbles. "At least they can keep him safe from... things. Most things."

Opeli slammed her fist on the windowsill. "The whole Royal Family out in the Wild! I swear, if they all get themselves killed, I will set myself up as Queen and then there'll be no more of this nonsense."

Corvus laughed. "You'd make a great Queen."

Opeli gently pushed Corvus into her comfortable chair, sat down on his lap, pulled his arm round her. They sat still for a few moments. Opeli's face became quiet as she put her head down on his shoulder. He gently stroked her hair. She pulled herself closer to him. He pressed a kiss on her forehead and a rarely seen smile appeared on her lips.

"Rough day huh?"

She only nodded.

"So. What is the other mission?"

"That one is scrapped. I was going to ask you to escort me to Xadia, but I'll have to find someone else. King Ezran is more important. I have a diplomatic meeting with some of the Sunfire high council. We are proposing to build a bigger bridge over the Breech, to make it easier to transport trade goods between our nations."

"Oh." Corvus looked at Opeli's face. "That will also make it easier to send armies across. Are they going to go for that?"

She opened her eyes. "There's a better chance of a snowball floating across the Breach. We may not be enemies anymore, but that doesn't mean we're friends as such. We are going to have a nice civilised talk, and they will agree that it is an interesting concept that could benefit us both, but some elements in Her Radiance Janai's High Council might have objections, and we will agree to meet again later and discuss the matter further, and we'll share a nice meal and go our separate ways."

"So a waste of time then?"

"Not necessarily." He could feel Opeli laugh more than hear it. "You keep wanting me to put my mouth where I don't want to put it. Even if that's never going to happen, you do enjoy negotiating with me, don't you?"

"Well if you look at it that way..."

"And there is a second purpose to my visit. After the Sunfire dignitaries leave, I am meeting up with one of our elvish friends over there, who is helping us... gain a better understanding of Xadian ways and customs."

"In other words a spy."

"Of course not, how dare you? Would we send spies into an allied country? We are simply sending them a large sum of money for academic purposes, so that we can avoid offending our allies for no good reason."

"By the Stars, the way you diplomats talk."

"I'm not sure I understand you. Please forgive me."

Corvus ran his thumb over Opeli's lips. "I'll forgive you, if you..."

"No."

"So where in Xadia is this happening?"

"An oasis in the middle of the Midnight Desert. Surrounded by dark sand filled with soulfang serpents. They don't want to be disturbed. Or seen discussing important things with a..." Her nose wrinkled. "Human."

"I've heard of that place," said Corvus. "I may even know someone who can take you there safely."

Opeli raised her head off Corvus' shoulder. "Oh? Who is he?"

"She. She's a Skywing elf named Naimi-Selari-Nykantia. When the amblers are in season, she runs a ferry service of sorts. Takes people across the Midnight Desert for a very unreasonable fee. She can also provide some protection."

"Interesting. Tell me more."

Corvus put his hands behind his head and stretched. "She's Skywing. She's got wings and can fly. She's not a bad fighter either, good enough to snipe a shadowhawk arrow out of the sky with one of her boomerangs. And she's smart. Only beware of her business ethics, they are a little predatory at times."

"Hmm. I will be carrying an obscene amount of money. Funds for setting up a whole network of... academics. Can we trust her?"

"As long as you make it perfectly clear which side her toast is buttered on, she'll be fine. And don't screw her over, you'll regret it. I've worked with her a few times. I like working with her. She's also nice to look at, which doesn't hurt."

Opeli gave Corvus a wicked smile. "And you can sleep with her after a mission."

"Um. Yes." Corvus shrugged. "Look at her and tell me I'm wrong."

Opeli put her hands on Corvus' dark face, kissed him. "I don't grudge you your friends with benefits, Corvus. Really I don't. We both know why I can't be your girlfriend, let alone your wife. It would be unfair of me to stop you from enjoying yourself. Can you send word to this friend of yours? I can't wait to find out what your taste in elves is."

"I'll send her a crow."

"Good." Opeli got up, held Corvus' hand. "Bring back the princes. Safe and sound."

"And Rayla too?"

Opeli looked at the Sky. "If you must."

 

---

 
Opeli said goodbye to her escort of soldiers. She spat in her hands because that is what peasant girls do, Stars know why, and pushed her handcart into town. The inn wasn't hard to find. She pushed the cart into a side alley leaving a fortune in gold, silver, copper, and a few tools of the spy's trade. She hoped that the cart looked uninteresting enough for people to leave it alone. Opeli walked into the tavern and looked around. Corvus had described his Skywing friend in loving detail: Slender, a little shorter than Opeli, purple skin, white markings on her face, four horns, one pair larger than the other, one eye brown, one blue, and the last time he saw her, hair dyed green, blue, and white though no telling what colour she'd be now, what with girls' obsession with their hairstyles. Oh vanity, thy name is Woman. Oh, and red-feathered wings. Shouldn't be hard to spot.

It turned out not to be. Sitting at a table behind an empty wine glass, looking out of the window, was an Elf matching Corvus' description. Opeli walked over and the elf turned her eyes towards her. You're not wrong Corvus.

"Miss Naimi-Selari-Nykantia?"

"The same," said the elf. "Peli the Peasant Girl?"

"Yes." Opeli sat down at the elf's table. "Forgive me, I try to keep a low profile."

"A low profile." Naimi-Selari-Nykantia smirked. "Is that what you call this, love?"

Opeli waved at the barmaid, waved her finger over the wine glass. The barmaid nodded and walked behind the bar.

"Well, Miss Nykantia..."

"Actually, that would be Miss Selari I suppose. Nykantia, daugher of Selari, daughter of Naimi. But call me Nyx. And I can point out at least three men wondering who you are and what you have in that heavy handcart. Not loaves of bread, I can tell."

The barmaid came with two glasses of red wine. Opeli pulled a few silver pieces out of her pouch.

"Very well. Nyx. Am I wearing the wrong dress?"

"The dress is fine." Nyx took a small sip. "The face isn't. Neither are the hands, and certainly not the hair. You radiate nobility, Councillor Opeli."

"Noted." Opeli pulled up her hood. "Are you still willing to take on this job?"

"Sure." Nyx put her head on her hands. "How much fighting is there going to be? I can handle a few untrained enthusiasts. Anyone more dangerous after you?"

"We've kept this operation secret. Only me, Corvus, and one of my fellow councillors know how much bread is on my cart."

"Good." Nyx gave Opeli a piercing look with her odd-coloured eyes. "My rate is fif... eighty gold per day. You pay for my food and lodging. Anything I catch, I keep."

Opeli gave Nyx an amused little nod. "Fif eighty gold. Is that a special Government rate?"

Nyx shrugged her wings. "Not your money is it?"

"Very well." Opeli picked up her glass, swirled the wine, took a small sip, carefully put it down and pushed it away. "That will be eighty gold per day, and twice that again to forget about what I have on my cart, making two hundred forty... let's say two hundred fifty gold per day. Two days out. Two days back. That's one thousand gold. I'm assuming you want half now, half on our return?"

Nyx stared. "One..."

"Nyx, the Katolis government is many things, but cheap we are not. We know the value of good quality equipment and of skilled people. If you do this job well, I don't see why we wouldn't employ you in the future. At a similar rate. Do we have a deal?"

Nyx held out her hand. Opeli took it. She held on to it for a moment longer.

"Oh. One thing. I've heard of that maneuver you do where you take people half way, and then raise the price to however much money they are carrying." Opeli let go of Nyx' hand, bent a little closer to look into her eyes. "If you try that with me, I'll have you plucked and roasted alive."

In an instant, all the sparkle disappeared from Nyx' eyes. "I like you, Councillor. Even better, I like your money. So I'll tell you this for free. Don't talk to Winged Skywing elves about plucking unless you want to spend the rest of your life afraid of the Sky. And anyway..." Nyx looked into Opeli's eyes unblinking. "You'd have to catch me first."

"I'd send Corvus after you. Though I'd rather not. He seems to like you for... some reason."

Nyx stared at Opeli, a slow smile growing on her lips.

"He is bloody good at what he does, isn't he?"

"He certainly is."

"Do you know that thing he does when he goes down on you, till you're almost there, and then he stops and squeezes your tits to bring you down again, and then he starts again till you nearly pass out?"

Opeli grinned broadly. "Oh yes."

Nyx emptied her glass, got up. "I taught him to do that. Bring your cart to the west gate, and I'll go find my ambler."

 

---

 
Amblers are big. Thirty times as tall as an elf, they stand on long spindly legs, if you can call legs thicker than the thickest treetrunk "spindly". It did make the beast easy to find. On its back was some kind of platform for people and cargo, and on its head was a seat for the driver. Opeli pushed her cart up to the place where Nyx was using a sling to launch cabbages into the air. The ambler snatched them up, swallowed them whole, looked at Nyx for more. Opeli walked up to her.

"Oh hello love," said Nyx. "Meet Daisy. She's my ambler, and will take us across the Midnight Desert today."

Opeli looked up at the beast. Nyx handed her the sling and a fresh cabbage.

"Plant your feet firmly, swing round three times, release."

Opeli looked at the cabbage in her hand.

"Go on," said Nyx. "She likes cabbages. Give them to her, and she'll like you. Not to worry, she's a herbivore."

Opeli looked at Nyx. Nyx looked at Opeli, and she had the impression she was being tested. She put the cabbage in the sling, took a few steps, swung the thing round, and launched the vegetable into the air. Daisy had to reach a little more, but she caught it.

"See?" Nyx handed Opeli another cabbage. "She likes you now."

The next cabbage flew nearer Daisy's head. Opeli thought she was smiling down on her. She took another cabbage from Nyx.

"So how do we get on?"

Nyx leapt into the air and hovered, flapping her wings. "We fly."

Opeli raised an eyebrow. "Oh Nyx, you forgot that I am merely a lowly surface dweller. I feel so..." She shook her head sadly.

"And don't you forget it."

Nyx turned round in the air and whistled. Daisy put her tail flat on the ground at Opeli's feet.

"Get your cart on. She'll lift you up."

Opeli looked at the tail. Nyx dropped down next to her.

"Go on. She won't drop you. She doesn't get cabbages if she does."

"You won't get the second half of your pay if she does."

Nyx grabbed the handles to the cart and pushed it onto Daisy's tail. She took Opeli's shoulder and stepped on with her.

"I know. You got us by the purse-strings, love. Daisy? Up!"

 
Daisy's gait was surprisingly smooth and fluid. Opeli leaned on the railing and watched the Midnight Desert drifting by. Nyx was sitting on Daisy's head, where only staff was allowed. There was a rush of feathers and she came down.

"She knows where she's going," said Nyx. "We've been there many times before."

"She is a beautiful animal. How long have you had her?"

"Start of spring. Actually it's almost time to let her go. End of Summer, they start looking for a mate. Won't be able to persuade her to go anywhere then, except where she wants to."

"I don't see how you can persuade her as it is."

"It's a sacred bond between elf and ambler. Two hearts beating as one in perfect harmony." Nyx grinned. "And if that ain't working, cabbages. Lots and lots of cabbages. If an ambler ever finds its way to the farms in south Xadia, we're all going to starve."

"So this is not your first ambler?"

"Before Daisy, I had Nayla, and before Nayla, I had Elessar, a boy. The boys can be a right pain in the arse. When they spot another boy, they bump up against each other and rise up to see who is taller. Can't stop he buggers. And I was carrying a load of the finest Innean chicken eggs. Made the world's biggest omelet on the desert floor. Girls are easier."

"Not in my line of work," said Opeli. "You can usually make men see sense. Women, not so much. Once they have decided they hate you, they dig their heels in and..."

Nyx wasn't listening. She was looking past Daisy's tail, hand over her eyes. "Are you expecting anyone to follow you, love? There's some riders over there."

"I'm not." Opeli looked. "I can't make out who they are."

"Hang on." Nyx opened a trunk and pulled out a spyglass. "Five of them. Two are Moonshadow, two Earthblood Oi!" Nyx grinned at Opeli. "The 'Oi!' goes with the name. Last one's a woman. Looks like a Sunfire by the colour of her face. None of them wearing uniforms. All of them armed." Nyx rubbed her chin, handed her spyglass to Opeli. "I don't know any of them. You?"

"I have never seen them before. Maybe some of the men in the tavern have fetched a few of their friends. They are going faster than we are. Can Daisy go any faster?"

"No. It's in the name. Amblers. They amble. They have two speeds, stop and go. There's nothing they need to be scared of, and vegetables don't run away."

Opeli lowered the spyglass, looking at Nyx. "Can they get to us up here?"

"They can bring us down with steel. My girl isn't a fortress." Nyx scowled. She reached for her spear. "Amblers are the most kind and placid of beasts. If the bastards try it on, I'll bloody kill them. Have you any weapons?"

"Only this." Opeli pulled up her sleeve, showing a nasty thin dagger. "Not much use in combat. But I know how to use it."

"I have something beter." Nyx reached into the trunk again and pulled out a crossbow and a quiver of bolts. She showed Opeli how to load it with the goat's foot lever. "Be ready. Don't let the buggers see it till they are in range. About a hundred yards."

Nyx grabbed her spear and leapt into the sky. Opeli watched her till she became a small speck. The riders came closer, and Opeli took a firm grip on her crossbow. They veered off, passed Daisy just out of range, and sprinted on Eastward. Nothing even suggested they were interested in an ambler and its very expensive bread cart. A few moments later, Nyx came down, put her spear in the stand. She gave Opeli a look, pulled out the spyglass, and flew up to Daisy's head. Opeli craned her neck and watched as Nyx closed the spyglass, spread her wings, and came sailing down. She took Opeli's crossbow, carefully unloaded it, and stowed it in the trunk.

"Looks like they're making for the Wonderwall like we are." Nyx looked at the sun. "Smart of them to hurry. Soulfangs will be coming out in an hour or two."

"Well that is a bit of a disappointment," Opeli said. "We were hoping to have the place all to ourselves for some secret negotiations."

Nyx shrugged her wings. "Wait for them to bugger off first, then have your little chat. I don't mind sticking on an extra day on Government rates."

"Say the word overtime, I dare you."

 

---

 
Darkness fell just as they came to the oasis with its protective obelisks. The soulfang serpents came out, their eyes and a patch on their throats glowing a sickly green. Several of them tried to bite Daisy, and were squashed underneath her giant feet, much to Nyx' satisfaction. She loved animals, from the tiny adoraburrs to the largest, well, amblers. Except for soulfangs. There was something deeply wrong about a creature that could suck the very soul out of another living being, leaving only a lifeless husk. Nyx had had a close brush with soulfangs herself a few times. Rayla might be an annoying little so-and-so, but Nyx would never forget how she pulled her out of the fire when she had no reason at all to do that. Nyx closed her eyes and felt the slight tingle of the magical field that kept the little creeps out. It always made her breathe easier. She walked Daisy to her usual place. Daisy lowered her head and started to empty the little pond of water, meanwhile eyeing up the vegetation.

"Thank you my darling." Nyx brushed Daisy's head with her hand.

She flew over to Opeli, who was changing into her official robes. Don't blame you, Corvus. Opeli straightened her circlet.

"The Lux Aurea delegates have not arrived yet, I see. Is there anyone else around?"

Nyx picked up her spear. "I'll have a look around. You stay up here."

She flew off into the gloom. Nyx knew every inch of this oasis. All the camping spots, all the ambush spots, all the hiding spots, and even in the dark, it took her only half an hour to search them all. There was nobody. Not a sign anyone had even been there. Nyx dropped to the ground, the hairs on her neck standing up. There was clearly nobody here, or they were good enough to hide even from her. Nyx sighed, flew back to Daisy, who let Opeli down on her tail while she contentedly stripped a nearby tree of all its leaves.

 
Nyx made a small fire, put the kettle on. They sat quietly drinking tea until Daisy made a gruff noise, looked round into the desert. A large wooden cart came rolling into the oasis, pulled by two oxen, with a flame enchantment round their legs against the Soulfangs. The driver turned the cart round, opened a door, and the delegates came out, dressed in the oficial gold and brown of Lux Aurea. There were three of them. Two men, one woman. The leader walked up to Councillor Opeli and politely bowed his head. Opeli did the same.

"Councillor Opeli. Welcome to Xadia. Her Radiance Janai sends her regards."

"I am honoured, Your Holiness." Opeli nodded at the others. "Knight Auriel. Knight Samael. It is good to see you again."

While the official greetings were going on, the driver and his mate rushed out, planted a gazebo, laid down a tapestry inside, with thick pillows to sit on. They lit a brazier and put on a tea urn. As a final touch they put down a few gold-decorated vases with sweet smelling incense.

"Showy gits," Nyx muttered.

The High Priest turned to Nyx. "And who is this charming lady?"

"Her name is Naimi-Selari-Nykantia. She has carried me safe across the Midnight Desert on the magnificent beast you see before you." Opeli turned to her. "Would you please excuse us?"

"Yes Ma'am," Nyx said. "If there is anything you need, signal me. I will be close by."

She sprang into the air, hovered a few moments, then flew up majestically to Daisy's head. Let's see you do that, you glitzy bastards. Daisy was still going on with her defoliation campaign, slowly making her way from one tree to the next. Her ears flapped, and he paused to sniff the air, look into the distance, leaves hanging from her mouth.

"Feeling your oats, sweetheart? Remember, don't go for the first boy who doesn't run away fast enough. You deserve only the very best."

Daisy stripped another branch of its twigs and leaves, and said nothing. Nyx looked down at the tent. The Councillor looked like she was in full flow, discussing Stars only know what. Sucking up to the Sunfire, more like. As if they didn't already think the Sun shone out of their arses. She stood up, looked round the oasis and the desert. She still didn't feel comfortable. Five shadowpaws and their riders don't just up and disappear. Where were they? Given that two of them were Moonshadow, they could be anywhere. Nyx sniffed. Down below, the servants had prepared a meal. Would they invite her? Not that she wanted to break bread with the High and Mighty, but it's nice to be asked. She raised her seat, took out two large carrots and fluttered over to Daisy's mouth. Cabbages are currency, leaves are lovely, but carrots are special.

 
Nyx munched a carrot while looking down on the tent. Something was happening. The Sunfire Elves and the Councillor came out, bowed and smiled at each other, the Sunfire disappeared inside their card, the gazebo was taken down, and a few minutes later, the cart rolled out of the oasis in the direction of Lux Aurea, leaving Opeli standing alone in the oasis.

Nyx swooped down. "All done then Your Worship?"

"All done," said Opeli. "Are you all right for food? I am sorry, I couldn't invite you. It is not my tent."

"I'm all right." Well, it was nice that she at least thought of her. Nyx pointed her thumb over her shoulder. "That cart wasn't for them then? Or are we taking it back?"

"By the Stars, giving gold to the Sunfire elves? That would be like relieving oneself into the sea. No, the cart is for the next people I am meeting here."

"Oh." Nyx sneered. "Any reason why you've waited until now to tell me about this, love?"

"No particular reason," said Opeli. "In my line of work, you play your cards close to your chest, or you get eaten alive."

"Those riders we saw earlier?"

"That's not them. I am expecting one Moonshadow elf, one human, and maybe a few more. Muscle. Security. Some time later tonight. They will be taking my bread off my hands, and then we're heading home."

Nyx nodded slowly. "Any other surprises?"

"If there are, they are surprises to you and me both."

Nyx shook out her wings. "More tea then?"

"That would be lovely."

 

---

 
Opeli was startled by a sudden noise. She jumped to her feet. Next to her, Nyx grabbed her spear. The elves came walking out of the trees, not even bothering to hide. A dark-faced Sunfire elf, followed by two burly men. Earthblood elves by the antlers on their heads. Nyx grabbed Opeli's shoulder and pulled her back.

"Good evening," said the Sunfire woman. "Put down your weapon. We have a lot to talk about."

"Get to Daisy," Nyx hissed. "She'll let you on if you whistle."

Opeli turned round. Behind her were the two Moonshadow elves, or rather the shadows of them.

"Nyx?"

Nyx took one quick look over her shoulder and sprang into the air, over the heads of the Moonshadow elves. She landed on her feet and sprinted off.

"After her!" The Sunfore woman pointed. "You and you. Kill her, then come back here. Be quick about it. No time for playing."

"Shame," said the Moonshadow elf. "Their wings look funny without feathers."

They ran after Nyx. The two big Earthblood elves stepped forward and grabbed Opeli by her arms. They threw her down to her knees in front of the Sunfire woman.

"I am curious. What brings a high ranking Katolis councilwoman to these faraway parts?" She reached out and turned Opeli's face up to her. "With only a useless chicken for a guard? What are you carrying on that ambler?"

"Riches beyond the dreams of avarice," Opeli said. "Go ahead. Take it. See what happens."

"No no no. You tell me what will happen."

"It is a surprise."

The Sunfire woman slowly drew her blade. It glowed a deep orange in the dark. She held it up to Opeli's face so she could feel the heat of it.

"Are you left handed or right? With this, I can easily cut off your hand, and if I do it slowly enough, the heat will cauterise the wound and you won't bleed to death. Now tell me. What is in the chest on that cart?"

Opeli steadied herself. "A hundred pounds of high explosive, wound about and compressed with Dark Magic. I need both hands to open it safely. And all my fingers. If you force it open, it will blow and you will have more gold passing through your body than your beloved Queen Janai herself."

"Queen Janai? Don't make me laugh. She can't hold a candle to Queen Khessa, and she died easily enough. That dynasty is over. A new one is coming. One where we won't be servants to Royals anymore."

"Instead, you'll be cowering down to Dark Mages."

The Sunfire woman laughed in Opeli's face. "That walking decaying corpse Viren or his hornless little daughter? No. Real mages. Elven mages. You filthy humans aren't fit to be his slaves. You'll be his toys. That's all you're good for." She stood up. "When the boys come back, I'll let them all have a little fun with you. They've been riding hard and fast in rough terrain, they've earned it. When they're done I'll find out what you know. And then I'll throw what's left of you to the soulfangs."

"Damn it," one of the Earthblood said. "Does that mean we have to wait till the others come back?"

"It would be rude to start without them," said the woman. "They'll be back soon enough. I wonder what is keeping them."

 

---

 
Nyx ran as fast as she could. There was no way she could outrun two Moonshadow elves in their shadowform. She sure as sunrise couldn't outfight both of them. She could outfly them, but that wasn't the plan. A quick look over her shoulder showed they were still after her, gaining on her. With a shout, she ran through the barrier, out into the desert. The Moonshadow came after her without a second thought. Simple minds. Your prey runs, you chase. Until you have her, and then you cut her to pieces. Nyx kept running for a few more minutes, looking round her nervously. She saw what she wanted and stopped, turned round to face them. They came walking up slowly, blades out, happy smiles on their faces.

"Hello idiots," Nyx raised her spear.

"Hello my little chicken," said one of them. "Hey Buruun? What do you want? A wing, a leg, or a breast?"

"Not much breast on that one," Buruun licked his lips. "I think I'll have a wing."

"I'd kill you for that," said Nyx. "But I won't have to."

"You still have hope? Poor little bird. It'll be over soon. Not too soon, but soon."

"See the pretty green lights? Those things give me the creeps. They're attracted to fear."

It would have been hard not to see them. All round them, soulfang serpents were sticking their heads up from under the sand, tongues flicking out.

Buruun gaped at Nyx. "You stupid chicken! Your wings are shot! They'll get you too!"

Nyx sprang into the air, flapping her wings. The two Moonshadow men turned tail and ran, slashing at the attacking snowfang serpents. They didn't make it. They fell down about fifty yards away from the barrier, and dozens of the glowing serpents came down on them, draining them. The screams stopped. Nyx flapped her wings and flew back through the barrier.

 
Nyx came in low. Back by the pond, Opeli was on her knees, the Earthbloods holding her down by her wrists and shoulders. The Sunfire woman was holding a Sunforged blade up to her face, talking to her. Nyx' teeth bared.

"I am the angel of sharp things. Feel my sting."

With two sharp flicks of her spear, she launched her two boomerangs into the air. They hit the Earthblood goons in the back, and they went down without making a sound. Nyx turned the sharp end of her spear forward and headed for the Sunfire woman. The Sunfire woman grabbed Opeli's hair and pulled her up in front of her. Opeli screamed as Nyx pulled up, turned her dive into a leap, and stood in front of them, spear aimed at the Sunfire woman's head.

"Let her go."

"No." The sunfire woman pulled Opeli back by her hair, put her blade to Opeli's stomach. A little smoke curled up from Opeli's dress and she gasped. "Drop that spear. Your girlfriend was spilling her guts. I can do it for her. You can watch her die slow."

"Not a chance." Nyx scowled. "She's dead as soon as I do, and me too."

Opeli screamed. "Nyx! Do what she says! Please!"

"Nothing personal," said Nyx. "But you're a goner either way. She cuts you, I'll kill her, and that's a promise."

"Well, it seems you've made your choice." The sunfire woman moved her lips to Opeli's ear. "Is there anything you want to say to her before I cut you open?"

Nyx caught the look in Opeli's eyes. Opeli slowly pushed up her sleeve.

"Wait!" Nyx dropped her spear to the ground. "You win."

"Of course. Kick it away."

"Allright, allright! Don't hurt her. Please!"

"On your knees, little bird. Now."

Nyx looked straight into the Sunfire woman's red eyes, raised her hands. "I'm doing it. You win. Please just don't hurt her."

"Very good." She rubbed her cheek against Opeli's. "If you want to tell her you love her... now is the time."

Opeli said no such thing. In one fluid move, she drew her hidden blade and slammed it into the Sunfire woman's head. She gave it a vicious twist, grabbed the wrist with the glowing Sunforged blade and held it away from her as the Sunfire woman fell to the ground. Nyx stared. By the sky, the look in her eyes!

"I like you, Nyx. But love? Not quite."

 
Opeli took a few steps forward, and the spell broke. She gasped for air, stumbled. Nyx held her shoulders, kept her from falling.

"It's all right. Are you hurt?"

Opeli shook her head, leaned on Nyx' shoulder till her legs worked properly again. Nyx kneeled by the dead woman, picked up her blade.

"Cor! It's a Sunforged dagger." She looked up at Opeli. "Those are worth a couple of coppers in the right place."

Opeli cut the woman's belt, pulled off the scabbard, gave it to Nyx. "What you catch, you keep."

"Thanks." Nyx sheathed the blade, collected her boomerangs from the Earthblood men. "Sorry for taking off like that. They... I didn't... I mean..."

Opeli touched Nyx' face. "Play your cards close to your chest. I understand."

"Yeah." Nyx nodded her head at their fire. "So. Tea?"

"Do you elves have tea for everything?"

"Of course." Nyx walked over to the fire. "It's the Seventh Primal."

 

---

 
Only a few cups of strong tea later, there was another noise and more people came up. Nyx grabbed her spear and stepped in front of Opeli. Every inch of her body said she was in absolutely no mood for games. Opeli put her hand on her shoulder.

"Easy. These are my friends."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

There were five of them. Two elves, three humans. The elf stopped, pointed with a big grin.

"Nyx, you little reprobate! I thought it was you when I saw that beast of yours. What are you doing here working for the humans?"

"Hanlon." Nyx put down her spear and leaned on it. "I've got a thousand reasons to. And you? Murder anyone interesting lately?"

"I am no longer in death counseling and palliative care," said Hanlon. "I am now working towards a better world for humans and elves alike through improved communication."

Opeli blinked. "You two know each other?"

"Aye." Hanlon smiled at Opeli. "Three years ago, I found myself with a price on my head through no fault of my own. The Moonshadow elves mistakenly assumed I had assassinated one of their town elders. Young miss Nyx here tried to earn herself the bounty."

"He didn't do it," said Nyx. "So I let him live."

"Just so. I could prove I was in Lux Aurea at the time. Carrying out a hit on a merchant of illegal goods." Hanlon saw Opeli's face. "But that's all in the past now. Talking is better than bloodshed, wouldn't you agree, Councillor?"

"I do agree," Opeli said. "Talking over bloodshed, and shedding someone else's blood over mine."

"Yeah." Nyx pointed at their slain enemies. "We could have used you two hours ago, Hanlon. Late to the party as always."

Hanlon looked. "Blimey! Who are they?"

"Anti-royalists," said Opeli. "Led by an unknown elven archmage. They may be planning to eliminate Her Radiance Janai. They also know Viren. They described him as a 'walking decaying corpse' which means he is still alive as we feared, and his daughter Claudia is most likely with him. They also knew me, which would suggest they have some cursed spies on our side, and we would do well to find them and mend their evil ways for them."

Hanlon stared at her. "How do you know all that?"

"They questioned me." Opely breathed on her fingernails and brushed them on her robe. "Inexpertly."

"Silly buggers." Hanlon pulled out a razor-sharp knife. "I'm not in the death-for-money business anymore, but I'm never against euthanising the stupid. Lads?" He turned to his friends. "We have some smelly dead bodies in the perimeter. Please get rid of them. Councillor? I believe you have something for me?"

"Maps, a supply of shadowhawks, encryption keys, some vials of various useful chemicals, and twenty thousand gold in large and small coins. Daisy is holding on to it for us."

"Daisy?"

"The ambler."

"Ah."

 

---

 
The sun was shining brightly as Daisy made her way back to the south. Nyx had thoughtfully put up a sunscreen, and Opeli was sitting with her back against the railing, watching the oasis disappear into the distance. She had a lot to think about. Importantly, she was alive to think about it. She shivered despite the warm sun. She wrenched her thoughts away from what could have happened. Nyx came down with a flutter of wings. She opened one of the wooden trunks and came out with a bottle and two metal cups.

"Don't worry. This is the good stuff. Cheers!"

Opeli tasted. It was the good stuff.

"Are you trying to feed me drunk and have your wicked way with me?"

"Not my cup of tea love," said Nyx. "I like something big and hard inside o'me that doesn't come off when play time is over."

Opeli coughed to get the wine out of her nose.

"Mind you, I can do it. I've pretended to like girls once or twice on a job. It's not like I throw up at the idea of kissing you."

Opeli found her breath back. "That is the nicest thing you have ever said to me, Nyx."

"So what about you? Ever tried it on with a lady friend?"

"Just once." Opeli smiled at the memory. "Like the girls in Evenere say, if you never try, how will you know?"

Nyx waited. "Well? You're dying to tell me I can tell."

"Years ago." Opeli sipped more wine. "I was sixteen, seventeen or so. You may think that I am the perfect image of womanhood now, but back then, I was positively delicious."

"How are you still so modest?"

"Modesty is dishonesty. I was on my first trade mission into Evenere. I learnt so much on that trip. These agreements start out simple. You have sheep, we have wood. Let's trade. But then they want more, so you throw in some bricks that you have to get from Duren, which is good because Duren would eat their bricks sooner than give them to those perverts in Evenere. But then Duren gets wind of this and they want more, so you send them some grain to sweeten the deal. And then Evenere also wants some grain... and before you know it the whole affair looks like somebody filled a bathtub with noodles."

"I like noodles. What's this got to do with getting naked with girls?"

"I am getting to that." Opeli noticed her cup was empty and held it out to Nyx, who refilled it. "There were twelve of us, twelve of them. To stop one of us from sinking the whole deal, we needed three quarters to sign the treaty. Nine of us, nine of them. I was the junior, I was always going to sign. I was mostly there to learn, to take notes, and write down all the noodles. After seven long days, we had ten signatures, they had eight. One more to persuade. We were at dinner, and next to me was this lady. She was... how do I say this kindly..." Opeli waved her hand. "Past Spring, mostly through Summer, and staring at the Autumn leaves. And at me, though I never noticed."

"Ah. Now we're getting somewhere." Nyx refilled her cup. "We have a word for women like that. We call them banthers."

Opeli blinked. "I will never think of the Winter Lodge the same way again."

"Get to the juicy bits already."

"We had a lovely dinner." Opeli grinned. "Starting with an oxtail soup..."

"I don't eat meat. Get naked or get off the ambler."

"Oh all right then. We finish dinner, and she takes me aside, and she whispers in my ear. She'll sign the treaty, but only if I bring it to her bedroom."

"And of course you hadn't a clue why?"

"I never was that green. Every one of us had been cuddling up to the other delegates, one way or another. So many little deals that never got into the records." Opeli's eyes shone. "And now, I could pull the whole deal over the line on my own. And all I had to do was keep a lonely woman company for a while."

"So you did?"

"So I did. I took the treaty to her bedroom. She signed it. I got into bed with her."

"And?"

"She was nice." Opeli leaned back. "Went slowly. Made me feel wanted. Touched me in all the right places. Showed me how to please her, didn't force me to do anything I didn't want to." Opely turned her eyes to Nyx. "She didn't turn me away from man-flesh, she didn't make me crave women, but it was lovely. And I got the deal through."

"I bet she was going to sign anyway."

"Maybe." Opeli shrugged. "But she made me feel ten times my size."

 
Daisy quietly moved on, and Opeli was rocked by the soothing motion of her steps. Her eyes closed by themselves, and she saw the orange glow of a blade in front of her eye, almost felt the heat.

"You don't need both eyes, do you?"

Opeli started awake, breathing hard. Nyx' hand was on her shoulder.

"Are you allright love?"

"Yes... yes." She steadied her voice. "I have confessed my deepest secrets to you. I believe it is your turn now. Have you ever bedded any of your passengers?"

"No. Not that I wouldn't want to sometimes, but they're in a hurry to get on when we leave, they're in a hurry to get off when we get there."

"How about under way?"

"What, you mean here? On Daisy's back? No. No no no. No goings-on on my ambler. I will allow a chaste kiss or two if you've just pulled my butt out of trouble, but clothes stay on, bodies stay upright."

"Haven't you tried even once? Like the girls say in Evenere..."

Nyx picked up the bottle, saw it was empty, threw it over the side and got another one. She slowly poured herself another cup, filled Opeli's, sat down.

"It didn't end well."

"Get naked or get off the ambler."

Nyx settled down. Slowly sipped wine. "Well. I was in town, looking for someone to take for a ride. And up walks the prettiest Startouch boy I've ever seen. By the way, if you get a Startouch boy interested in you, don't send him away. Sex to them is a mystical... meditational thing. They are really really good at it. Can keep going for hours."

"Hm. I prefer it if they recover quickly between rounds."

"Trust me, they do. So he asks me if I can take him to some oasis in the desert, and I'm thinking Oh yes pretty boy, step into my parlour. So he says he's going to go into the desert all alone for a week of fasting and meditation, and I'm thinking. All alone? Doesn't that get awfully lonely?"

"You were lusting over a holy man? Shame on you."

"You're a holy woman, you're not supposed to lust over anyone, and here you are, drooling over trackers and banthers."

"Touché."

"Right? We get on, and I'm all over him. Do tell me all about this special meditation that you do. And he says, you wish to become one with the Universe, my dear? And I say oh yes, and he says, let us disrobe then, and we get out of our clothes, and by the Stars he's got freckles all over his body, and I think I'm going to connect all those dots. Then he says kneel here, and I think if that's what you're into, I'm game. Then he kneels in front of me, and he tells me to breathe."

"All meditations start with breathing," said Opeli. "It cleanses the impurities from one's thoughts."

"Not mine, it doesn't. So he's sitting in front of me, holding my hands, going ommm. And I'm sitting there going yumm. And he says can you feel the Earth beneath you? Feel the Sky around you? The Stars? The Universe? All of Existence? With that deep honey sweet voice they all have." Nyx licked her lips. "And I'm just sitting there drooling from everywhere thinking yeah yeah sky stars universe got you. Fuck me already! And he lies back and pulls me on top of him, and he puts his fingers on my chi points where my chakras cross my leylines or some such bollocks, but it works, so I ain't complaining. And then I'm riding him for all I'm worth, and by all the Primals, it's perfect. Like I want to keep doing it forever. And then, out of the blue, he freezes! Doesn't move a muscle anymore. I look down on him, and he's just staring up. So I look up, and floating ten feet above us is this massive head, with big big blue eyes looking down on us, going what are youu dooo-ing?"

Opeli looked at Nyx for a long moment, burst out laughing.

"Oh you think that's funny? It almost gave him a heart attack. I could feel the poor boy melting inside of me. I did ask him if he wanted to try again when we got there but meh." Nyx raised her hands. "Moment's passed. I picked him up from there a week later, but he wasn't in the mood then either."

"Novices. All bright eyed ambition, no strength of will."

"You got that right. So that's why nobody gets fucked on the ambler."

"Heh. Except in the metaphorical sense."

"Wot love?"

"That little scam you pull with the flexible prices?"

Nyx sniffed. "That ain't a scam! I am operating within my rights. It's all in my Terms and Conditions, available on request."

Opeli showed teeth like a banther. "Oh I request them. I request them hard."

She unrolled the scroll and read, one finger waving back and forth over the lines, effortlessly navigating the 'wherewith', the 'aforementioned', the 'insofar as', the 'pursuant to' that noob contract writers think will throw an experienced negotiator off the scent. With a smile, Opeli noticed that most of the text was there to protect her ambler from being overloaded, driven too hard, exhausted, or otherwise abused. Almost with a click, Opeli's finger stopped on a sentence. Got you!

"In the event that the price of feed shall increase up to ten times or more, the travel fees shall be increased to the required amount."

Nyx was a picture of innocence.

"Up to. That includes zero, doesn't it? And the required amount? Who is doing the requiring? This means that you can increase the price whenever you want, to whatever you want." She shook her head. "Make no mistake, this is still a scam, but..." She savoured the word. "Technically, you are acting within your rights." Opeli rolled up the scroll and gave it back to Nyx. "I've changed my mind. Take me now."

Nyx chuckled. "Not on the ambler."

 

---

 
Corvus walked into the tavern. Nyx waved at him from the bar.

"Hello Fly-girl." He looked her over. "I hear you had an interesting trip. Are you allright?"

"Hey Crow-boy." Nyx stood up, put her arms round his neck. "I'm good. Nearly got hacked to pieces, but I stopped them. She's a bit shook up, though."

"Opeli? Did she get hurt?"

"Nothing that a pair of big strong brown arms can't take care of."

"Um," said Corvus, never short a snappy reply.

"Yes," Nyx looked into his eyes. "I know. And she knows I know. And now you know too. We've been talking about you. Be afraid."

"Where is she?"

"Room upstairs. Go on. Go to her. Do that thing you do."

"Uh..." Corvus hesitated.

"What are you waiting for? Having people wanting to chop off your bits is Tuesday for us, but she's not a battle hardened soldier." A glint was in her eyes. "I did ask her if she wanted a threesome, but..."

"She said no?"

"She said yes, but with two boys."

Corvus' mouth fell open. "Every time I think I know that woman... she surprises me again. You sure you're allright?"

Nyx leaned in, kissed him. "I'm fine. Now piss off. I'll catch you next time."

Corvus ran a finger over one of her horns. "See you later, Fly-girl."

 
He found Opeli sitting on her bed, arms round her knees, staring ahead of her. She gave him a tired smile.

"Hello Corvus. I was hoping it would be you. Prince Ezran? Prince Callum?"

"Both back in the castle, safe and sound."

"And... Rayla as well I suppose?"

"She's missing. Well, left on her own."

"What? Why?"

"Not sure, but I think she's going to look for Viren. She seems to think he's not dead enough."

Opeli nodded. "She may be right. I've heard rumours. There may be more heavy weather coming."

"Want me to take you home?"

"No." Opeli raised her eyebrows. "I've paid for this room till tomorrow. Waste not want not."

 

---

 
Nyx had used a crane to lift the platform off Daisy's back, and put it in storage for the year. The headgear, she could manage with the help of the Earthblood who owned the shed. She had picked up a broom and brushed Daisy's hair till she shone. She flew up to Daisy's snout and gave her a big hug.

"You look gorgeous, my love. Remember. You're the best. You deserve the best. Stay away from the rotters, will you?"

Daisy gave a snort. There was a deep loud call in the far distance.

"What are you waiting for? The father of your foal is waiting for you out there, but not for much longer. Off you go! Thank you for all the good times. You are the best ambler a girl could ask for."

Daisy flapped her ears, sniffed the air, turned round and walked off at the slow walk that let her cross deserts and continents. Letting an ambler go always gave Nyx that curious mix of sadness and hope, and left her badly in need of a pair of arms around her. Sadly the arms she wanted weren't available.

"Pardon me?" said a deep voice behind her. "I have just arrived here. Can you tell me where the tavern is?"

Nyx turned round, and saw the deep blue speckled face of a Startouch elf.

That would do.

She gave him a bright happy smile. "I can do even better than that, I was just going there, so I can take you."

"That would be most kind, Ma'am."

"You can buy me a drink to thank me," said Nyx. They walked off. "I've always wanted to know. Where exactly are the chakras on a girl?"

 

Nyx is up for it.

"How much for these?" Nyx placed several pieces of priceless art on the pawn shop counter.

"Hmm..." The shopkeeper, named Nestor, frowned. "You have been to the Star Scraper. That's Celestial artwork."

"Means it's more valuable, isn't it?" Nyx gave Nestor her most optimistic bright-eyed smile. "And don't forget the gemstones."

"Ah, those." Nestor produced a loupe from under the counter and studied them. "Those are pretty good, actually. Just a few small impurities. Good cut. I can give you a hundred for those, about half what I can sell them for."

Nyx made a face. "One-twenty?"

"One hundred and ten and not a copper more."

"Done."

Nestor pushed the gems to one side. "But these statues... Anyone I try to sell them to is going to know it's Celestial in origin. And the Celestials aren't exactly known for giving away their trinkets." He raised an eyebrow. "Questions will be asked. I'll have to melt the things down. I can give you the gold price. And that depends on the purity of the gold."

"Oh come on. If it's really the Celestials, you know it's going to be pure gold. Would beings that can see beyond Reality itself have anything less?"

"Hah. You'd be surprised." Nestor pulled out a beaker, half filled it with water, dropped in the statue. "One and a quarter fluid ounces... weighing in at... one pound three ounces. Ah. You are right, it is nearly pure gold."

"Told you. I know my, um, clients."

"I'm sure you do," Nestor laughed. "The time you spend staking them out."

"Are you sure you can't find someone with, let's say, eccentric tastes?"

"Not in these parts, my lass. I can give you one hundred twenty five gold coins for this."

"One fifty?"

"No."

"Oh come on. Give a girl a break."

"Really Nyx. One twenty five for the five of them, and one-ten for the gems. If you don't like that deal, try to find someone with more money than sense."

"Hmm... How about I hang on to one of the statues?"

"As you wish. One hundred for the four, one ten for the gems."

"Done."

Nestor counted out two hundred and ten gold and pushed it over to Nyx.

"Fortune and blessings," he said.

"You too." Nyx dropped her ill-gotten gains into her bag, turned to leave.

"Oh." Nestor raised a finger. "One of your feathered friends passed through town yesterday. If you want to try your luck, he might want to take that statue off your hands. He said he'd be here till tomorrow."

"Oh. Do you know his name? Where can I find him?"

Nestor closed his eyes a moment. "Py... Pythar... no Pygar. That's it. He's camping by the lake because city noises disturb his tranquility."

"So often the case," said Nyx. "Thanks. I'll look him up. Good day to you."

 

---

 
Later that afternoon, Nyx made her way to the small lake to the south of town, to look for a Winged Skywing elf with more money than sense. She spotted a black-winged man sitting on a jetty with a fishing pole. A campfire was nearby. As she flew over, the man saw her, stood up and watched her set down.

"Greetings and good evening to you. My name is Naimi-Selari-Nykantia."

"Well met, Winged Sister. I am Pyrrhus-Alphonse-Garth." He bowed, spreading out his wings. "But my friends call me Pygar."

"Pygar, you can call me Nyx."

"Nyx. What brings you to my lonely camp?"

"Fish. Nestor the pawnbroker says you are the best fisherman in these parts."

"Only as a pastime till my clients arrive in town." Pygar wound in his fishing line. "Or until more pleasant company presents itself. Would you like some tea?"

"That would be lovely, thank you."

 
Nyx and Pygar sat down, chatting over a nice cup of tea. Nyx expertly steered the conversation towards fine arts, and Pygar showed himself to be knowledgeable enough to ask him what this thing might be that had found its way into Nyx' hands. She produced the statue and showed it to him. It was a female Skywing elf in flight, wings spread out, one knee up. Pygar turned the statue round in his hands, a little unbelieving smile on his face. He closed his eyes, ran his fingers over the rough feathers, the smooth stomach, the fine strands of hair.

"Now this takes me back," he said, turning his eyes to Nyx. "You have been to the Star Scraper."

"I have," said Nyx. "One of the priestesses there fell in love with me, and gave me this as a gift. To remember her by."

Pygar laughed. "How could anyone see you and not fall in love with you?"

"Hey! No need to get sarky about it. I'm very charming I'll have you know."

"I don't doubt it. But I know the Celestials. I used to be one of them." He waved a hand. "Well, until I was asked to leave."

"Really? Why?"

"Doctrinal differences between myself and the established order," said Pygar, smoothly. "Regarding the practice of interpersonal communion in the physical plane of existence."

"In the physical plane..." A grin grew slowly on Nyx' face. "You shagged someone you shouldn't have."

"I disagree, and so did the young lady. They say I was a source of impure thoughts in the Order." Pygar picked up the kettle and refilled both their teacups. "And I'm not the only one, it seems."

"She pounced on me, I tell you! Oh, those kisses."

"Ah." Something in Pygar's voice suggested he was walking like an assassin on rice paper. "So you like, uh, girls then?"

"Depends on the girl." Nyx ran her hand through her hair, biting her lip. "Mostly on how rich she is. I like rich boys too."

"I wouldn't say I'm poor." Pygar held out the statue to Nyx and dropped it in her hand. "But not so rich that I can spend money on Celestial touch statues. Not when there's nicer things to touch." He hesitated a moment. "Do I know this generous priestess of yours?"

"Maybe."

"Oh come on. What's her name?"

"Astrid."

"Astrid..." He frowned. "Astrid... Astrid..." His eyes opened wide. "Oh by the Sky that carries me! The mad bastard! He actually went through with it! At least... Does she have a brother?"

"Kosmo," said Nyx. "He was busy doing something mystical so she invited me into her bedroom. So you do know her?"

"Kosmo. Right. Well, yes and no."

"She's not the young lady that got you expelled?"

"Nah. He... she... it's complicated."

Nyx waited patiently.

"Right. I'll tell you."

 
Pygar poured himself another cup of tea. "I knew this guy, named Astor. I say guy, but he was one of those people who aren't happy in their skin. Body going one way, soul the other."

"I know one," said Nyx. "Makes beautiful paintings. Some of them better than the original."

"Everybody knows one. Turns out the Celestials have one of the three shrines in the whole world where they can help people like him."

"You sure that was my priestess? Cause she had a couple of things boys don't get. I know. I wasn't the one wearing the blindfold."

"That's what the shrine is for. There's a ritual. I forget what it's called, but it changes your body so it matches your soul."

"Easy as that?"

"Oh it's not something you do of an afternoon if you just want to know what it feels like to have tits. There's a whole year of mental preparation, sometimes even more. And then you have to spend a whole week floating in some nasty biting green glowing liquid, all the way under, breathing through a tube, and you can't get out until it's done."

"No loo breaks for a whole week? By the Sky..."

"No anything breaks. The magic in the liquid soaks all the way through your whole body, and changes it from what it is to what you think it should be. Skin, heart, lungs, womb, everything. You really don't want to change your mind half way through, and it bloody hurts. Hurts more than being burnt alive."

"Wow," said Nyx. "I never knew."

"Me neither, but Astor would talk about nothing else. Out of a hundred people who ask for it, ninety nine get told to bog off and put on a dress if they have to. Of the rest, about half of them die before the change is complete. Thank the Stars I don't feel the need to." Pygar stared up at the Sky. "Astor was a bloody idiot, but I gotta respect his resolve. Her resolve I should say. So what's she look like now?"

"I saw her naked. I'd never have guessed. She looks... pretty hot really." Nyx grinned. "You thinking of going back and renewing your vows?"

"Maybe just a visit. See how she's doing."

"She still likes girls, though. No smoking hot Celestial chick for you."

"Are you saying she's even hotter than you?"

Nyx spread her arms and her wings. "Red feathers, great body, charming ways, no morals to speak of. Ain't nobody hotter than me."

"Thank the Stars I'm not wearing a blindfold anymore." Pygar stood up, spread his wings. "Wanna be hot together?"

"Dint say no standards." Nyx laughed, looking up at him. "Maybe I'm sex on wings, but that don't mean I'll shag just anyone I fly into."

"I wouldn't dream of suggesting you do." He folded his black wings and bent over Nyx. "But you are going to shag me."

"Am I? And why would I want to do that? I'm a busy girl, not sure I can shove you into my... calendar."

"Sex on wings. Have you heard of the Mile High Club?"

"Bullshit. Nobody does that."

"I've seen people do it. They were definitely having fun. Didn't look like they'd let me join in, though."

"You're full of it. How would that even work?"

Pygar held out his hand. Nyx took it, and he pulled her to her feet, turning her round. He spread her wings, wrapped his arms round her waist, pulled her close.

"I hold you like this. You put your arms round my neck, your legs round my ankles. That way we can fly together. They call this position the Dragonfly."

"Hmm."

"You want to try." It was almost a question.

"Seems like an air crash waiting to happen."

"Well that's when you meet high up, grab each other, and hope you finish before you are a splat on the ground. People say what a way to go, but I disagree. I want to do it more than once."

"Even if I wanted to do it, what makes you think you are the one?"

"Hah. How many Winged Skywings have you met recently?"

"Quite a lot actually. They all seem to flock to the Star Scraper."

"So you're going back there? Oh hi again! Sorry for nicking all your stuff. Anyone fancy a mid-air shag? You may be searching for another chance for a long time."

"One bird in the hand is better than ten in the tower?"

Pygar let go of Nyx, took a step back. "Nah. I see now. You are far too nice a girl for that sort of thing. Shame on me for even suggesting it. You are going to flap off, and spend the rest of your life wondering what it would have been like."

Nyx spent at least ten seconds staring at Pygar's infuriatingly smug little grin. She took a deep breath. He had her, and she knew it.

"So," he said. "Are you up for it?"

"Catch me if you can," she said, and started to unstrap her armour.

 

---

 
Among the Winged Skywing elves, flying sky-clad was considered absolutely adorable up to the age of six or so. Kids above that age would throw up at the mere idea, until the Age of Significance, when it became interestingly naughty. If the weather was good for it, Nyx enjoyed the feel of the cool wind on her skin. You soon got used to the cold, like swimming for the ground crawlers. The effort of flying kept you warm enough.

She looked down over her shoulder. A few hundred feet below, Pygar was trying to catch up. Nyx was faster than he was, but Pygar could probably carry more weight. She levelled out, slowed down a little because she wasn't really trying to get away from him.

Pygar rose up above Nyx, dropped on top of her.

"Got you."

He crossed his arms in front of her, warm hands on her breasts, pulled her close. Nyx folded her hands behind his neck, wrapped her legs round his so she could press her body into him. It took them a few confused freefall moments to match their wingbeats, with Nyx' downstroke coming a touch later than Pygar's. Where they touched, their skin soon warmed up, creating an interesting contrast to the coolness of the rest of them. The way their bodies moved against each other in the rhythm of their flight was satisfyingly comfortable, a happy starter to what was to come next.

"This is nice," Nyx said, and beat her wings down harder without breaking the rhythm. Pygar matched her and they started to rise up.

"Yeah." He pressed his lips to her neck. "So. Do you come here often?"

"Only when touched the right way," Nyx replied. She reached down with one hand. "You ready? I think you're ready."

"I'm ready. Are you ready?"

Nyx took a firm hold, led him where he needed to go.

 
This was the new best thing ever! Nyx had a mad smile on her face that would stay there for literally weeks, and quick glances over her shoulder told her Pygar was the same. Everything about it was just right. The way his wingbeats drove him into her, the way her own wingbeats tightened her up at just the right moment, the way their skin was all glowing and warm... perfect perfect perfect! They didn't talk. They didn't need to. Their bodies did all the talking for them. Their wings beat faster, driving them up and up. They wanted to keep doing this forever. The earth below them was just a memory. They had been doing this all their lives. As you grow older, there's too few truly new things to do. The first sip of wine. The first taste of sweet juicy sanguicot. The first time you open a book. This was one of those things, and they both knew that doing it again would never replace this moment.

Normally, Nyx was the quiet type in bed. Intense looks, gasps, sighs. Never loud cries. Few people had ever made her scream.

Nyx screamed.

Screamed with pure delight, at the top of her lungs, into the thin air, with every thrust.

Pygar grunted in her ear. "Stars, I'm gonna come. Are you there?"

Nyx turned a grin to him. "How high up are we?"

"What?"

Nyx pushed away from him, holding on to his hand, turned round to face him, closed her wings round him. At the precise moment of weightlessness between rising and falling, they joined again. She looked at him like she'd never look at anything else.

"Hurry," she said, as they started to fall down.

Pygar pressed a kiss on Nyx' lips holding a handfull of her hair. "Your eyes are beautiful."

With a new urgency, they held on, pushing into each other, faster and faster as they tumbled down together. The wind was rushing in their ears, blowing their hair about wildly. The ground came nearer, but neither of them minded it. More important things to look at. They fell, a writhing tangle of limbs and feathers, till at the very same moment they went completely rigid, holding on to each other tightly.

They pushed away from each other, spread their wings with a comfortable few hundred feet still to go. They circled down the rest of the way, their wingtips touching as they went. They landed with their feet in the shallow end of the lake, holding each other's hands, unable and unwilling to stop smiling. Finally Nyx looked over her shoulder, let go, gathered up her clothes, put them on as Pygar did the same. They put some more wood on the fire, sat down together. Pygar wrapped his wing round Nyx and she put her head on his shoulder. They sat like that for a while, gently glowing.

"Hey." said Pygar.

"Hm?"

Pygar pulled a small feather from his wing and held it up to Nyx. "Welcome to the Mile High Club."

Nyx took the feather, held it up, and blew on it. She put it in the small pouch of mementoes she had on her belt. For all her life, it would have the power to remind her of this moment.

"Oh." Nyx reached into her bag and pulled out the statue. "You can have this."

"You're giving that to me?"

"Yeah." Nyx snuggled back into his wing. "If you take it back to Astrid, maybe she'll be..." she wiggled her eyebrows. "Grateful."

"She still got wings?"

"Oh yes. Silver wings. Really pretty."

Pygar turned the statue round in his hand. "I was going to steal that from you."

"Oh."

Nyx took the statue out of his hand, pulled out her collar, pushed it between her breasts. Pygar laughed, put his hand behind Nyx' head and kissed her long and hard. When she looked down, the statue was gone.

"Oh you're good."

"So are you."

They drew closer, into a circle of arms and wings. They looked into each other's eyes and the moment passed. Nyx stood up, gathered up her things.

"See you around Pygar."

"Sometime soon, Nyx."

Nyx shook out her wings, took a run over the jetty and leapt into the air. She circled round once, waved, then set off towards the South.

 

Airborn Army Liaison

Nyx had many warm fond memories of her Army time. Not that she'd ever enlisted, of course. She'd been more of an attachée. An independent operative. A freelancer if you will. If you knew what you were doing, there were so many ways to get the Xadian military to give you what you want. So when one of the villages near the Silver Grove was chosen as a temporary lay-up for about five hundred Sunfire soldiers, the same number of Katolis humans, and a sprinkling of Earthblood, Moonshadow, and Skywing specialists, Nyx listened to her grumbling stomach, took to her wings, and flew straight for it. She dropped down onto the little dirt road leading up to the village, walked the last few hundred yards, and stepped up to the human on gate duty.

Nyx gave the human a quick once-over. One chevron on his sleeve. Underneath the chevron, he had stitched an oval badge showing the broken link of a steel chain, which was not a standard Army badge. Those of the Katolis military who wouldn't accept Viren as their King, had adopted it as a badge of honour. Nyx gave him a professional smile and a nod.

"Good evening, lance corporal. A health to the True King."

The human looked up at her, surprised but pleased that an elf would know. "Long may he reign, Ma'am. Name, rank, and company please?"

"Lieutenant Selari, First Airborne Recon." Delivery is everything in these cases, and Nyx had practiced on the flight down.

The lance corporal flipped through the papers on his clipboard. "First airborne... Can't seem to find it Ma'am. What is your clan?"

"Oi'm an Urfblud elf." Nyx flapped one of her wings, making the papers flutter. "Oi!"

"Heh. Skywing then?"

"They were wise to put you on guard here, corporal. Nothing gets by you."

"You're still not on the list, Ma'am."

"We wouldn't be. Recon is a nice way of saying Spies. They pretend we don't exist. Fine by us."

"Who's your CO?"

"We fall directly under Queen Zubeia. A bit like the Dragon Guard, 'cept we don't think the sun shines out of our arses."

The corporal laughed. "That would adversely affect stealth capabilities, Ma'am. Still, you're not on the list. Nobody ever tells us anything we don't need to know, or things that we do. Can't let you in without authorisation."

"Ain't that just typical. Who's running this goat rodeo?"

"General Amaya for the humans, Ma'am."

"General? What by the screaming stars is a full star general doing commanding this shitshow? And for the Sunfire?"

"Golden Knight Janai, Ma'am."

A slow grin grew on Nyx' face. "Ah, I see. Her Radiance is keeping an eye on her... prisoner, is she?"

"That information would be classified, Lieutenant."

"I bet." Nyx heaved a deep sigh. "Look Corporal. I know you're following orders and not being an arsehole about this, but I've busted my wings getting here. All I want is to go to Command, tell them there's no glow-in-the-dark humans to our south, and then get some grub and hit the rack. I'm just one little flappy girl, I'm hardly going to slaughter you all, am I? Give us a break Guv."

The Corporal looked into Nyx' large, two-coloured, trustworthy eyes. He handed her his clipboard and a pencil.

"Write your name, company and business here please. Don't forget to sign out when you leave."

"Sure thing." Nyx scrawled something like her name on the list. "What's the time?"

"Eighteen hundred twenty-five."

"Eh?"

"One eight two five."

"Oh right." Nyx wrote the human numbers down. "Learn real numbers, Corporal. Thirty hours per day. Ten for morning, ten for afternoon, ten for..." She handed back the clipboard with a grin. "Fun."

"Enjoy yourself, Ma'am."

He threw her a salute. Nyx returned it, and she walked into town.

 

---

 
The Tree of Life tavern was still open, but the greedy Earthblood bastards running it still demanded to be paid. In either Xadian or Katolian coin, which was very accommodating of them, but Nyx hadn't got this rich by paying people. She made her way to the Army mess tent. Nobody gave her a second look when she joined the line, picked up a tray, and received a big ladleful of vegetable stew with a pint of horse piss. Nyx knew her drink, and this was most likely harvested from East Xadian thoroughbred horses. The good stuff. She carried her tray away, and looked round the place for somewhere to sit down. At one of the tables for four sat a boy looking far too young for his lieutenant's pips. His hair was a reddish brown, and overhung a face strewn with freckles. Nyx bit her lip.

"Hello Pretty Boy," she whispered, and made for him.

He didn't notice her until she was right at his table. She followed his gaze, and in a quiet corner of the tent sat a fully plated human woman and none other than the current heir to the Throne of Lux Aurea, Her Radiance Golden Knight Janai.

"Can I help you, Miss..."

Nyx looked back at him. "Oh. Pardon me Lieutenant. It's busy. Do you mind if I join you?"

"Please do." He held out his hand and Nyx shook it. "My name is Lieutenant Gren."

"Lieutenant Selari, First Airborne Recon." Nyx waved at her blue-and-white shirt. "Pardon my uniform. Just back from a recon mission in town. Call me Nyx."

Nyx tasted her stew, reached for the hot sauce and sprinkled just enough over it so it wouldn't catch fire. It was like all army chow, unsubtle but good. Nyx liked subtly flavoured delicacies as much as the next girl, especially with a nice wine, but food that was hot, plentiful, free, and most importantly in front of her, won out any day of the week. She shook out her wings and caught Gren staring at them like every human before him.

"Yes," she said. "They're real."

The boy actually blushed. "Pardon me. Didn't mean to..."

"Don't worry about it. I get that a lot." She half opened her wings. "Look all you want. Mind you, touching is by permission only."

"I'm sorry." Gren shook his head. "I can't imagine what it would be like to fly."

"Second best thing in the world," said Nyx, and watched Pretty Boy turn red up to his ears. "So what's your MOS?"

"Interpretor," said Gren. "For the General."

"Oh, Katolian to Xadian? That sort of thing?"

"Sign language. General Amaya can't hear or speak, so I do it for her."

"Oh, you mean like..." Nyx waved her fingers about. "That?"

"Not... really." By the Sky, the gleam in his eyes! How so pretty?

"Did I say something rude?"

"No. Just gibberish."

"Damn. Teach me something."

"You mean something rude?"

"Of course."

Gren thought a moment. "See if you can guess."

He held his arm up to her, fist closed except for his pointing and extra finger, which stuck out like horns.

"Elf?"

"Bull." With his other fist, he touched his elbow. He spread his fingers.

"Bull..." Nyx grinned.

"By Jove, I think she's got it!"

Nyx tried to copy the sign. "I'm running out of fingers!"

"It's all good." Gren leaned over to her. "Elves have a charming accent in Sign Language."

"A sexy accent?"

Gren turned his eyes down. "Very charming."

"So I guess you're pretty good with your fingers huh?"

"Oh it's not just your fingers. It's your face, expressions, eyes, your whole body really."

"Oh tell me more."

Gren turned wistful eyes to the corner where the leaders were talking. Golden Knight Janai would say something. General Amaya would make a sign, which Janai would copy, with the General moving her fingers into the correct shapes when needed.

"What are they talking about?"

"Not mine to say," said Gren. "They could be discussing secrets."

Nyx looked over her shoulder at the Leadership table. She pushed away her empty bowl.

"I don't know what they're fingering about, but I can tell you one thing. It ain't military secrets."

He looked up at her with a sad smile in his grey eyes. "We must rejoice in all kinds of love, no matter who or why."

That was the absolutely perfect hook to suggest going somewhere private, but Nyx hadn't the heart to say it.

"You've got it bad, don't you?"

Gren looked away and said nothing.

"Trained observer, love. I can tell. Those two. Ain't no getting between them."

He pointed at her mug. "Would you like another?"

"Sure, thank you."

She watched his back as he walked to the beer barrels, filled their mugs, came back. They knocked their drinks together.

"So..." Gren looked at Nyx. "Queen Zubeia. How's she doing?"

"Much better thanks." Nyx hadn't been anywhere near Storm Spire since even before the whole Avizandum situation, but it was a safe bet. "Prince Azymondias is growing like mad."

Gren started to say something, but then stood up and saluted.

"General."

Nyx got to her feet, saluted as well in keeping with her military rank. She looked up at General Amaya. Damn! The bitch was tall! But there was nothing for it. She'd made her Pretty Boy sad, so she had to die. Behind Amaya stood Her Radiance Janai. Not right this instant, then.

General Amaya signed. "As you were," Gren translated, and they stood at ease. The General signed again. "Who is your, um, friend?"

Nyx had watched closely, and thought she had spotted most of the signs, except for the one where she stroked her chin with two fingers. Was that the "um?" She'd have to ask him.

"Lieutenant Nyx Selari of the First Airborne Recon," said Gren, signing at the same time.

Nyx was glad she'd picked an existing company to attach herself to. Being arrested was not on her list of things to do tonight. First Airborne Recon were known for hiring scum like her and not telling anyone about it, so her story was solid. Dame Janai looked at her as if she was a cockroach swimming in her wine. She tapped General Amaya's shoulder, pointed at the exit. Amaya nodded, signed at Gren. He didn't translate, only nodded while Nyx stood there with a vacant look in her eyes. Management walked off, and if their ranks would have allowed it, they would have been holding hands and skipping. They returned to their pints, sat in silence for a while.

"Hey." Nyx pointed two fingers at her eyes, then at Gren. "That means 'See you,' doesn't it?"

"Yeah."

Nyx pointed her thumb over her shoulder, then forwards and up. "What's that mean?"

"Tomorrow," said Gren. "Means I have the room to myself tonight."

"Hang on." Nyx frowned. "You sleep in the same room as her?"

"Only on some of the campaigns. Not in the castle of course."

Nyx looked into Gren's fresh face, gentle eyes, kind little smile. Unbelievable. Was that stupid woman blind as well as deaf and mute? There was a myth about a man who was cursed to eternal hunger and thirst while standing in a pool of cool clear water underneath a laden fruit tree. That man had tried to serve up his own son for dinner. What had this boy done to deserve this?

"Hope's a bitch, ain't it?"

Gren gave a wry little laugh. "Look at her, Nyx. What 'hope' did I ever have? She's the Queen's sister, for the Sun's sake. She's my CO, and also my friend. I'm blessed with what I have."

Nyx put her elbows on the table, her chin on her hands. "Look into my eyes, Lieutenant. One sees all the truths. One sees all the lies."

Gren looked back at her steadily. "I won't deny the first time I saw her... some notions, maybe. But hope? Real hope? Never."

"And still there's this itch in your heart where you can't reach to scratch ain't there? Careful Lieutenant Gren. You may end up alone with your hopes."

"Copy that. You seem to know about hopes. What about you? Do you have any?"

Nyx gave him her brightest smile. "You know? I think I do."

 

---

 
The night was getting better and better. Nyx had had a nice meal, two pints of the finest free beer that money could buy, and now there was a soft warm bed in sight. With a soft warm boy, too. All she had to do was remember to get out of the bedroom before Her Ladyship came back. She might even get a few hours of sleep. They walked to a little house at the edge of town. Gren opened the door and waved Nyx in, closed the door behind them. He turned up the lantern and pointed at a petroleum stove.

"Would you like some..." he started.

"Yes," said Nyx, pressed herself up against him, wrapped her arms round his neck, and kissed him. Gren stared at Nyx with wide eyes.

"Um, that's not... I meant tea!"

"Oh silly me. Would you like some more? I don't mean tea."

"Uhh... sure?"

"Oh all right then." Nyx kissed him again, nodded at one of the beds. "That one yours?"

"Uh, yes."

"Got it."

Nyx pushed him onto his back on the other bed. She started on the buttons of his uniform shirt, tongue sticking out between her teeth. His freckles continued even on his shoulders and chest.

"I'm going to connect all those dots," Nyx said.

"Okay." Pretty Boy gave her a bleary grin. "If you want to."

"I do want to." Nyx ran her fingers over his chest, made herself comfortable sitting on his legs.

"Can..." Gren swallowed. "May I take off your blouse?"

"Go on." Nyx raised her arms. "Don't forget, there's two buttons down my back."

Gren carefully opened the buttons and pulled away Nyx' blouse. He held it in his hands wondering what to do with it until Nyx took it away and threw it onto the other bed. She took his big five-fingered hands and put them on her bottom. She leaned down with her hands on his shoulders, sighed, half closed her eyes, rocking her hips as he squeezed her butt. She leaned her head back, swayed back and forth.

She opened her eyes.

He'd stopped moving.

Why'd he stop moving?

She hadn't told him to stop moving.

Nyx looked down on Gren, who was looking up at her as if he expected something.

"Wot?" Nyx said.

"May I touch your breasts?"

"Uh... Ye-es?"

He moved his hands.

"Like this?"

"Yes?"

Nyx' eyes narrowed. Was this some kind of human ritual? No other human she'd slept with had needed detailed directions.

"I'm not squeezing too hard?"

Right. What? Nyx looked into Gren's open, honest, and somewhat worried face. Oh by the Sky that carries me... It couldn't be, could it? Nyx grabbed Gren's wrists and pushed them over his head. She lowered her face to his.

"Pretty Boy? Tell me. Of all the hundreds of humans crawling about the place, have I caught the only virgin?"

"No!" Gren's eyes opened wide. "No no. I'm not... No!"

Nyx sneered. "Do you mean that like no I'm not a virgin, I was only joking and I'm going to make you see stars in a minute, or do you mean that like no, there's lots more virgins around besides me."

"I'm not! I've done this before! Honest!"

"Really? How m-" Nyx clapped her hand over her eyes. "Never mind. No job without experience, no experience without a job. Auntie Nyx to the rescue." She pointed a finger at his face. "But only because I don't want to go out and try again. Got that?"

"Well, thank you!"

"You still up for this?"

"Well, yeah! Are you?"

Nyx tapped one of her horns. "Elves. We're always... up for it." Nyx lay down on top of Gren, head on her hands. "Why do you keep talking like that anyway?"

"You shouldn't touch a girl unless she wants you to."

"That's correct. Did you need more of a hint than me jumping on top of you and ripping your clothes off?"

"Maybe you'd changed your mind?"

"Think I wouldn't tell you if I had?"

"Maybe you were afraid to?"

"Oh yes." Nyx snorted. "Here I am, tiny little nestling bird scared out of my wits. Trust me Lieutenant. Ain't nothing wrong with my lungs." She stroked his cheek. "Seriously. You can trust me. You do something I don't like, you'll know. I promise. Do you believe me?"

Gren looked at her a moment, nodded.

"Good. I'll tell you what I like. My absolute favourite place to be touched, especially with those big freakish human hands, is... everywhere. From top to tips to toes. See something you like, grab it. Wings. You can hold me by my wings, they're load bearing. Works best from behind. I like kisses. I demand kisses. I want all the kisses, everywhere, all the time. I like starting slow, and ending hard. You can come inside me all you want, you won't knock me up. Got that so far?"

"Um, yes?"

"Sure?"

"Solid copy."

"Good. Now, turn-offs. No pulling my hair, no ruffling, pulling, or otherwise messing with my feathers, stroking's fine. No grabbing on to my horns while I'm sucking your cock..." Nyx laughed as Gren stared at her with his mouth hanging open. "Oh sorry sweetie, did I spoil the surprise? Also, strictly no sticking anything up my arse without me asking you, and finally..." With her finger, she tapped out every word on his forehead. "No asking stupid questions just when I'm getting turned on. Got that?"

"Roger that."

"We good to go?"

Gren's face was a picture. "Yes Ma'am!"

"Get those clothes off."

 
Nyx placed a soft kiss on Gren's lips, then on his chin, down to his chest, smooth and covered in those cute brown freckles. Keeping her eyes fixed on his, she slowly moved down, placing wet kisses on his stomach, blowing on them to give him goosebumps. Nyx ran one finger up and down his cock, cradling it in her other hand. His stomach rose and fell in quick breaths.

"Is there something you want, Pretty Boy?"

"Ya..."

"Oh? What is it?"

"That thing you said..."

Nyx opened her mouth, closed it again. "What thing?"

"Please..."

"Tell me, sweetheart."

"Could... could you please... do it?"

"Say it."

"Please. Could you.." He took a few breaths, took the leap. "Suck my cock?"

"I absolutely could. I'm really good at it." Nyx opened her mouth, breathed warm air onto the tip of Gren's cock and he shivered. "Don't ask me. Tell me. Say it. Say Nyx, suck my cock. Go on."

"N-Nyx..." He looked away a moment, then back into her eyes. "Nyx, suck my cock. Please do... aah!"

Nyx lowered her mouth over the tip of Gren's cock, ran her tongue over the head. He groaned, his head fell back onto the bed. He looked up again. Between his legs, Nyx was slowly moving her head up and down, her cheeks turning hollow as she sucked, her eyes closed. Her fingernails were ever so gently scratching his balls. So dirty. So filthy. So demeaning for her, and still she made it look like she enjoyed every moment. Without warning, she opened her eyes and looked into his and his stomach jumped. She briefly let him escape, nothing but a thread of spit connecting her lip to him. She let a drop of spit fall from her mouth onto the tip of his cock, ran her hand up and down a few times, eagerly swallowed him up again. He reached out and touched her hair. She shot him a look, but he wasn't grabbing on to her, he was just stroking her hair. Good boy. She continued until Gren could no longer keep quiet. Almost as if she could feel him approaching his orgasm, she sped up, head bobbing in his lap, tongue swirling round the head of his cock.

"Nyx... I'm going to come..."

Nyx smiled up at him. That's the point, Pretty Boy. She tighened her grip, sped up even more. Gren gripped the sheets.

"Nyx, I'm... Aah!"

His body tensed up, and release came. Nyx' tongue worked on him, and the feeling of her swallowing gave him more aftershocks. Finally, he lay back, looked at Nyx, who was giving him the most gorgeous smile, a little stream of white slowly dripping down her chin.

"Nyx... Come here."

He reached down, pulled her up to him, kissed her like he'd kissed nobody else before. Her slender body pressed down on him, her silken soft skin moved against him. Never letting up on kissing, he ran his fingers down her back, over her red feathers, down to that incredibly hard butt of hers.

 
Nyx sat up, ran her hands over his chest. "Hey. Do you like my thighs?"

"Your thighs are gorgeous."

Nyx leaned down over him. "Do. You. Like. My. Thighs?"

"Yes I... Oh." He reached out and ran his hands up and down her thighs.

"Good boy." Nyx moved up a little. "Inside."

Gren moved his hands to the inside of Nyx' thighs, and she leaned back, almost purring.

"I'm so wet," she said. "Feel how wet I am."

Gren gingerly moved his hand to the wet spot between Nyx' thighs. She gasped, grabbed his hand and pressed it harder against herself, rubbed up against it. She lay down next to him, one knee up to give him room to play.

"Don't stop. By the Stars, human fingers. Put them in me." Nyx screwed her eyes shut when he did. "So good."

"That figures." Gren leaned in, kissed her. "Fingers are kinda my thing."

Nyx gave him a wild grin. "Spell my name."

Gren raised his free hand in a fist, with the thumb between his middle and ring finger. "This is the N. Are you sure?"

"Hah. Maybe better not."

She climbed back on top of him, wings spread out wide in a glorious display of gleaming red feathers. She rose up a little, reached between her legs, placed the tip of his cock against her warm wet spot.

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

Nyx rocked her hips as she lowered herself onto him, taking deep breaths, moving slowly so they could both feel everything. When they were completely joined, she leaned forward with her hands on his shoulders, his on her waist. Biting her lip, Nyx started to move, slowly at first, then picking up the pace, and Gren moved with her. He slid his hands up her sides, to her breasts, down again. His fingers brushed past the soft white down at the base of Nyx' wings, and she took a short breath, put her hand on his.

"There..." she breathed. "Stay there."

He kept scratching her special spot, and Nyx went faster and faster, tightening herself round him. He couldn't take his eyes off her. Her slender body, small but firm breasts, her graceful red-feathered wings, but most of all, the look on her face. The dark blush on her cheeks as she fought for breath and gave it her all. The way her slender elf hands gripped his shoulders tightly, her arms shaking.

The thought struck him like a hammer to the chest.

She wasn't just giving him a gift of pleasure, to be traded later for an extra shift or so. She wasn't grudgingly allowing him to have his way with her. She wasn't pretending to like it to make him feel better. She wasn't letting him fuck her.

She was enjoying this as much as he was!

Nyx closed her eyes tightly. Her arms gave way and she collapsed on top of him. Tears sprang into Gren's eyes and he held her tightly in his arms, partly because he wanted to hold her so badly and partly so she wouldn't see his tears. He quickly drew his hand over his eyes while Nyx buried her face in his neck. He could feel her take a few deep breaths, look up.

"Hey Pretty Boy?" She stroked his hair. "Do you want to be on top now?"

There was nothing he wanted more.

"Sit up. Careful. Don't slip out."

Nyx moved her legs round, wrapped her arms round his neck, wrapped her wings round his back out of the way. She kissed him, adjusted her hips a little, held on tight.

"Roll over," she whispered.

They did, and were still joined together when she lay on her back with this big heavy human on top of her. Not a feather out of place. Nyx gave him a smug look.

"You've done that before," said Gren.

"Of course," said Nyx, and put her hands on his cheeks, looking deep into his eyes. "Fuck me. As hard as you want. As hard as you can. Give me everything."

 
Nyx was the product of her world. A world where most people had it in for her. Where it was dangerous to be vulnerable, dangerous to let her guard down, dangerous to trust anyone. She had long accepted that, or maybe she had only realised that what can't be cured must be endured. Putting herself at anyone's mercy was just stupid, and Nyx was anything but stupid. Her sense of danger was finely tuned, almost to the point of paranoia.

She'd almost forgotten what it felt like. To give herself over. To be held firm, not caught, but safe. Cared for. There hadn't been anyone to make her feel like that for such a long time. With a soft whimper, she let herself go, trusting this boy she'd only met an hour ago, and knowing down to her bones that she could. That she would be safe in his arms. That nothing bad would happen to her.

She wrapped her legs tighter round his thighs. Her arms round his shoulders.

"More..." she whispered. "Please. More."

She looked up into his face. His eyes were closed, his lips slightly parted. She could tell that he was still holding back, still being careful with her. She took his head between her hands, and slowly brushed her wings, her feathers, across his bare bottom. His eyes opened wide, locked with hers, and they understood. He pushed into her, holding nothing back. His weight took her breath away no matter how hard she pushed back into him, and still they were looking at each other, connected in every possible way.

"Yes!"

She felt all his strength, all his weight, all his muscle, shaking beyond control as his warmth flowed into her and her own moment took her. They held on to each other, desperately, wanting to make this one moment of undiluted happiness last as long as they could. Then, peace.

 
She pushed his shoulder gently and he rolled off her. They smiled at each other, wordlessly. Nyx gave a little grunt.

"Get up, love."

"Uh, what? You need to go?"

She touched his cheek. "You're lying on my wing."

"Oh! Sorry."

He sat up and Nyx pulled away her wing. A few feathers were sticking out, but it'd be fine. She pushed him back onto the bed, laid her head down on his shoulder, stroked his hair. There was something soothing about stroking his smooth head, uninterrupted by horns or antlers.

"You're..." said Gren, "I've never been with anyone like you before."

Nyx chuckled. "That's because there ain't anyone like me."

"Sorry for being crap at this."

"Hm?" Nyx looked up. "What makes you say that? You did good, Pretty Boy."

"That's nice of you to say, but I know I'm no good."

"Says who?"

Gren took a deep breath. "Every girl I've ever been with."

"I'm not complaining."

"Thank you."

"Hey." Nyx lifted her head. "What?"

"I don't know what to do with my hands. I'm too rough with your breasts and it doesn't do anything for you. I don't know what a girl wants. And then I come too quick and it's all over before it even starts and she's lying there not even close to warming up."

Nyx frowned, rolled over on top of him. "Uh, Pretty Boy? Were we in the same bed just now? Cause I was having fun, let me tell you."

"Not you. Last girl I was with. Didn't even know where to start."

"She could have opened her mouth, couldn't she?" Nyx grinned. "Less there was something in it."

"Save me, no. She'd never... I should have known."

"What, you should have looked inside Princess Priscilla's head to see how she likes to be fucked?"

"I only wish I could have held out a little longer."

"Yeah, thought you mightn't. So what you do is you suck your boyfriend off, and then round two will last... for... ev-er."

Gren winced. "Sorry you had to do that."

"Will you stop it already? It turns me on like nobody's business. I like doing it. The noises I can get from you. The look on their faces. The taste. Everything about it." Nyx sneered. "Except when they grab my horns and try to shove themselves down my throat. They try that only once." She snapped her teeth and Gren winced appropriately. "You did fine. Really you did. And you're going to do fine again in a minute."

Gren gave her a happy grin. "I am?"

Nyx ran her fingers down his stomach, searching... searching...

"Oo! There's life here!"

 

---

 
He looked so peaceful asleep. Nyx pulled on the last of her arm greaves, considered just leaving, decided not to. She shook his shoulder and he looked up at her.

"Hey. Got to fly. Before your CO comes back and finds me in her bed."

"And finds out that you're not really with First Airborne?"

"Uh..." Nyx' eyes darted to the exit.

Gren laughed. "Don't worry. You've defrauded the Katolis Military to the tune of one whole bowl of vegetable stew. Nobody likes veggie stew, we'd have thrown it away. You're good."

He stood up, walked up to her, looked at her, kissed her.

"In fact, you're amazing. Beautiful. Kind."

"You're starting to sound like another human I know."

"Another lover?"

Nyx burst out in a loud guffaw. "No. First, he's too young. Second, I think he already has a girlfriend. Mind you, never let that stop me before." She touched his cheek and kissed him one more time. "And now I really have to go."

Gren pulled on his shirt and pants.

"Let me see you fly."

Nyx took his hand and led him outside. She sprang up and hovered above him, wings beating strong and fast.

"Second best thing in the world," said Gren.

"That's right. Second best."

She waved, flew up, and disappeared into the clouds a minute later.

Nyx kisses a Celestial

---

 
"Chat, are you picking up what I’m putting down… they should kiss!"

 
https://x.com/Vi_s_Spellbook/status/1820155935568093247

 

---

 
Nyx did not like the cold. Even with her specially bought warm coat, her down-filled trousers, fur-lined boots, and her warm woolly hat, she was still freezing her bits off in the skies of the Frozen Sea. And it was all for nothing. Her Sunfire customer had been very sure of herself. Cursed Tidebound scum had been looting the buildings in Lux Aurea, and then made their escape Northward from the monster infected city. All Nyx had to do was go for a nice refreshing flight North, spot the miscreants, report where they had gone, and the Sunfire army would swoop in on their hotcats, beat the snot out of the Tidebound looters and restore the treasure to the hands of the rightful owners.

"It's an easy job!"

"Is it?"

"Well, if you can't do it, just tell me and I'll have to go find someone else who wants to earn a hundred gold."

"I never said I couldn't do it. But I'll want one hundred gold now, and another when I get back."

"Done."

Bugger. If they agree that quickly, you could have asked for more. But Nyx wasn't bothered too much. The word "surcharges" was as potent a weapon in Nyx' four-fingered hands as her spear and sharpened boomerangs. After all, she was being paid to find the bottom feeders. Leading the Sunfire army to them was the next job.

Sadly, morally bankrupt as these Tidebound might be, they weren't stupid. Why would you want to walk into an icy desert when you can just as easily take a turn to the left and make your way to the Silvergrove? Discuss the price of shiny things over a cup of tea and maybe a Moonberry Surprise or two with the Moonshadow?

Nyx adjusted her snow goggles. With how high up she was, she could see for hundreds of miles. Nowhere was there a caravan of people making their way to the Stars know where. She sighed, a cloud of her breath floating in front of her. Time to give up on this job and head back. As she flipped her legs forward to turn, the sky grew darker. Nyx scowled. Behind her, a blizzard was gathering. Too high to fly over, too big to fly around. Nobody was paying her enough for this. She looked round for a place to shelter and wait out the storm, saw nothing inviting. With powerful wingbeats she flew up and up. Scanning the horizon, she noticed a gleam to the North.

"Oh."

Nyx hadn't realised she was anywhere near the place. The Star Scraper. Home of the Celestials. An ancient order of Skywing Elves who worshipped the Star Primal. Nyx knew the stories. Formed in the days of Luna Tenebris, they had resented the way in which the Sky made the stars shimmer, and taken themselves to the frozen North, where on moonless nights they could look at the Stars unblinking. After that, they had taken to wearing blindfolds from the day they were born, so that their eyes might not be polluted by the impure light of Sun and Moon and fire, only taking them off when the Heavens only contained the Stars and nothing else.

Frankly, Nyx wondered why these wannabe Startouched bothered with blindfolds when their heads were already so far up their own arses.

But be that as it might, they had built a nice warm tower, just where she needed it. She took a dive to gain speed and get to her optimal altitude. Air thin enough to push through, thick enough to push off. Faster than the wind, Nyx made for the light.

 
Nyx easily beat the blizzard to the tower. She pushed through the Gleam that was the fabric of the tower and stepped onto a stone tile carved with runes in Draconic. She frowned. She knew a few words of Draconic, but could only make out one or two. Both meant "go up." Were these spell activators, or instructions for the hard of thinking? Nyx rolled her shoulders. Any warm soothing baths would be up in the tower. She leapt up and flew till she found a platform with a hole in the middle. With a final sprint, she shot through and landed on the side of the platform. She stood up straight, looked round. All round her, elves stood, clothèd in dark blue and black robes. Each of them wore a blindfold, blue with gold embroidery, and still they seemed to be looking at Nyx. One of the Celestials spoke.

"Greetings, Traveller, and welcome to the Star Scraper. Who are you, and what brings you here?"

Nyx bowed deep, making sure to rustle her feathers. She spoke in a soft, timid voice. "I am honoured by your welcome, Celestial Ones. My name is Asami-Katara-Azula. The winds outside are cold and dangerous, and I humbly request that I may take shelter here till the winds pass."

One of the women walked over to Nyx. "Well met, Sister. My name is Astrid. May I offer you a cup of tea?"

Nyx could have kissed her. "If I do not inconvenience you, my Lady, then yes please."

Astrid poured a steaming hot cup from an urn, held it out to Nyx, flicking it with a fingernail so she could hear where it was. Nyx gently took it out of her hand.

"Thank you, Celestial One."

She looked round, took in her surroundings. It was sparsely decorated, which made sense for people who were blind. On a side table was a pillow with a massive pearl. No doubt worth a king's ransom, maybe even a whole kingdom, but impossible to shift if she got it. It might as well have been the largest piece of candy in the world. A bit further on was a small treasure chest, but the lock was open so it was most likely empty. There were statues in all sizes, all white marble, dark stone, bronze, gold, unpainted, meant to be touched rather than seen. Geometric shapes made from precious metals, with smooth and rough areas and more importantly, small enough to fit in Nyx' bag. The whole place smelled of freshly baked bread.

"Evensong is about to start," said Astrid. "Please feel free to take a seat and listen." She grinned. "Unless you want to join in."

Nyx could sing, thank you very much. But the only star related song in her repertoire was "Twinkle twinkle little star." A bit pedestrian for these exalted places. Nyx sat down on a bench off to the side as the Celestial Ones sang hymns in Old Draconic. Next to Nyx, Astrid was singing one of the harmonies in a bright soprano voice. The words as far as Nyx could catch them were Scintillat Scintillat Stellulam, repeated over and over again in subtly interwoven melodies and harmonies. The hymn ended suddenly on a single sustained chord that echoed through the whole tower.

After the singing there was Personal Meditation. Some of the Celestials sat in circles reciting their rotes. Others spoke on deep philosophical subjects in subdued voices. Most of them simply sat in quiet meditation, Astrid among them. Nyx looked at her hair. It was almost the same style as her own, maybe a bit tidier. Bands of yellow and pink dye, with dark roots. Why would any of them bother? They couldn't see the colours.

"I can feel you looking at me, Asami-Katara-Azula."

Nyx took a breath. Blind the Celestials might be, but they were sharp. "Forgive me, Lady. I have never seen anyone like you."

Astrid laughed. "I've never seen anyone like you either."

Hmm... Nobody here knew what Nyx looked like. She could rob the place blind!

"Tell me what you look like." Astrid chuckled. "Or what you want me to think you look like. I already know you have wings. What's the colour of your feathers?"

"Red, Lady." Nyx coughed. "Light red. Almost copper gold."

"You're a Redfeather! They say things about redfeathers."

"They do, Lady Astrid." Nyx had made a List, and was working through it.

"Please. Just call me Astrid. When you look at the Stars, the difference between the highest tower and the ground is next to nothing."

Aww. How nice of her to notice that the difference between the Exalted Ones and the gutter scum was hardly anything to talk about. As long, of course, as you knew who was who, and who was on top.

"What do your friends call you?"

"People call me..." Nyx thought a moment. Raven? Bella? Alita? Daisy? "Nocta."

"Nocta." Astrid leaned back. "You are named after the Night. Are there any stars in your night?"

"None as bright as you, Lady Astrid." Nyx' lunch tried to come up but she pushed it back down.

"Speaking of Night. I suppose we'd better find you a place to sleep. Actually..." Astrid took a deep breath and her cheeks turned a little darker. "With my brother all busy now that he has become Timeblind, I've been sleeping alone in our room. If you wish, you can sleep in my room. With me. I miss hearing someone else breathe."

"Lady?!" Climbing into bed with someone within hours of meeting them was on the Redfeather List. And crossed off. Several times. Nyx lowered her voice to a whisper. "In the same bed?"

"What? No that's not what I meant! I meant you can sleep in Kosmo's hammock."

"Oh," said Nyx, with a carefully measured splash of disappointment. "I would be honoured to share your room with you."

Astrid fanned herself with a hand and let out a little giggle. "I'm sure you are lovely, but we hardly even know each other."

You don't know the first thing about me love. A Plan was forming in Nyx' mind.

A bell sounded, and all the Celestials and Nyx gathered for evening prayer. The Elder came down, spoke a few words in Draconic. He was nice enough to include "Our new Sister, Asami-Katara-Azula," which Nyx answered with a shy whisper of Gratias vobis, pax caelum vobiscum. Astrid reached out for Nyx' hand and led her to her room.

 

---

 
Astrid closed the door behind them. The room was small, tidy, and warm. Two spider silk hammocks hung from the ceiling and Astrid pointed Nyx at one of them. While Nyx quickly stripped down to her underwear, Astrid slipped out of her robes, hung them up, reached for the string holding her undershirt.

"Um..." Nyx coughed. "I can see you, Lady."

Astrid froze. After a moment, she smiled, pulled the string, slipped out of her undershirt. Without hurrying, she took a nightgown out of a drawer and dropped it over her head. She turned to Nyx.

"I've been told I am beautiful, but that's only my dumb brother and he has to say things like that. So I still don't know. You have seen more women than I have. What do you think?"

"Lady." Normally Nyx gave people who angled for compliments exactly what they deserved, but today the tactical situation demanded otherwise. "You are beautiful."

"Thank you." Astrid walked up to Nyx. "You sound like a beautiful girl who doesn't know just how pretty she is."

"You are too kind, Lady Astrid."

"Am I?" She gently touched Nyx' shoulder. "May I touch your face? So I can know if I'm right?"

 
Nyx knew about this. She had talked about it with Captain Villads on a long quiet night over a few cups of grog. Villads, who had lost both his eyes, had shaken his head and told Nyx that that wouldn't work.

"Really?" Nyx had said. "I thought being blind sharpened your other senses, like touch."

"Oh if only my lass. Losing your eyes doesn't make a blind bit of difference in the feeling of yer fingers."

"So you don't do it then?"

Villads had laughed heartily. "Do we ever gently stroke a pretty girl's cheek and tell her she is beautiful? To me, all girls are pretty. If I really need to know, Berto will tell me."

"Really?" Nyx had turned her face to the parrot. "Berto? Am I pretty?"

"Back in the sea wi'ye, ye walrus!"

"Hah! My lass, ye may not be much to look at, but it's the inside that counts."

"Either way, I'm screwed."

 
Astrid ran her fingers gently along Nyx' jawline, through her hair, along her horns.

"I was right. You are gorgeous." Astrid slowly ran her thumb across Nyx' lips. "Perfect in every way. You don't mind me touching you, do you?"

"Lady..." Nyx took a shivering breath. "Your touch gives me... feelings. I have never had such feelings with another woman."

"Another..." Astrid swallowed. "Another woman?"

"Yes."

"Just from me touching your lips?"

"Perhaps, Lady Astrid, you should also..." Nyx put her hand behind Astrid's head. "Taste."

The next moment, their lips touched in a single kiss. Another followed, and then another, and more. Astrid stepped backwards, helped Nyx get into the hammock, lay down next to her.

"Lady Astrid? Didn't you offer me the other bed?"

"Silly. How am I going to kiss you if you are over there?" She ran her hand up and down Nyx' back. "And stop calling me Lady." With a flap of her wing, she set the hammock swinging. "I did ask you to, didn't I, Nocta? Go on. Say my name."

"Astrid."

Astrid kissed Nyx. "Again."

"Astrid." Nyx touched her cheek. "Astrid. I have never been with a woman before."

Astrid leaned back her head and sighed. "Say that again."

"You are the first woman I have ever kissed. Like... this."

They kissed again. Astrid wrapped her arms tightly round Nyx, buried her face in Nyx' neck, and gasped, almost sobbed. She held Nyx' face in her hands.

"Thank you," she whispered.

 

---

 
When Astrid woke up the next morning, Nocta was gone. So was everything made of gold or silver. A few gemstones, but none of the magical ones. Kosmo stomped round the room like an angry behemoth.

"I'll get her. You don't steal from us and get away with it."

"Kosmo..."

"I can see her, Sister. I can see her the very moment she looked on you and decided to toy with your feelings and steal our possessions. And I can change that." He took Astrid's hands. "I will have the Elder throw her out. And I will make her remember when she flies in the cold winds, that she should not have done this thing."

"Kosmo! No! Please. Don't. Let her go."

"Why? My sister, you don't think she has any real feelings for you, do you?"

"No. She is a liar and a thief. She lied about never having been with a woman, I'm sure. She plucked at my heartstrings until I could not help falling in love with her." Astrid laughed quietly. "Well, maybe not love." She put her arms round Kosmo, her head on his shoulder. "You call me your sister."

"You are my sister."

"And everybody here calls me Astrid. They are very good about that, but they know. She doesn't know. And still... even if she lied about everything else... her unbound eyes saw me for what I really am. For the first time in my life. I felt... seen."

"You want me to do nothing?"

"She got away with a few toys and trinkets. She gave me something much more valuable. I will treasure it forever. Please brother. Don't take it away."

"I could..."

Astrid put her fingers on his lips. "No. Please. Just let her go."

"I don't want to." Kosmo pulled his sister to him, touched his lips to her forehead. "But for you, I will."

Supply and demand, the heart of commerce

 
"Bitch! You utter, total, complete bitch! You scum sucking, syphilitic, crab infested, human-spawned..."

 
Nyx just let it wash over her for a while. It was easy to get offended by language such as this, but customers often became so emotional once the finer points of a transaction were explained to them. Despite the zero-tolerance policy against staff abuse, in Nyx' experience, it was better just to let them get it out of their system for a while, and then they would see reason. The nice young man eventually ran out of breath.

"There, there." Nyx gave him a warm smile. "Feel better now?"

"We had a deal!"

"Yes." Nyx nodded seriously. "Yes we did. But if you look at it from my side, you have to admit that this is a much better deal."

"If we had known you were going to raise the price once we were half way..."

"Exactly." Nyx pointed her finger at him. "You would never have agreed to it. That's why I bring it up now, and not then."

"I'm not going to pay and that's final."

"That's regrettable, Sir. But look at your options. You can either start a new life here in this nice safe oasis, hope you've brought sandwiches. Or you can go skipping through the desert, hot sands by day and pretty glowing soulfang serpents by night. Avoid those, they bite. Or..." Nyx raised her hand to the mountain-size beast next to her. "You can ride in comfort and safety. For a reasonable price, given the alternatives."

The boy's lady friend joined the discussion. "What's keeping us from just wringing your neck, you little slut?"

"Oh?" Nyx' eyes opened wide. "I didn't realise you could ride an ambler. What a fool of myself I've made. I didn't know you could achieve that..." She waved her hand. "Mystical, near-telepathic bond between ambler and rider, in just five minutes?"

The young lady glared at her.

"Now if you ask me, I think she just likes the cabbages I give her. But be my guest. Give it a go. Her name is Daisy, but she doesn't really answer to it."

The young lady said nothing.

"Honestly. How were you even going to get on without wings? Don't try to climb up her legs, she hates it when people pull her hair."

Nyx looked from boy to girl, girl to boy.

"Any more questions? No? Right. Here's what's going to happen. You are going to give me your money. Leave yourself something for a meal on the other side, I'm not heartless. Then I go and squirrel away the fees somewhere safe, and in the morning I'll be back to carry you both across the desert, safe and sound. How's that for you?"

"How do we know you'll be back for us?"

Nyx shrugged her wings. "Look around you. Do you see any skeletons lying around? Leaving customers to die is bad for business, I find. But do enjoy that little spicy tinge of fear, uncertainty and doubt. I'll throw that in for free."

The boy seethed for a while, then saw reason and pulled out his money bag.

"You're going to pay her?!"

Nyx looked at the girl, then at the boy. "Let me make this as simple for you as I can. I've got you by the balls. Pay up."

The boy accepted the inevitable. He took a few coins out of the bag, put them in his pocket, gave the bag to Nyx.

"Thank you for choosing us for your travel needs today." Nyx put her wing round his shoulders. "Don't see this as a setback. You get to spend the whole night here. I know it doesn't look like much now, but just you wait till the moon comes up. It bathes the desert in a silvery light, glinting off the semi-precious stones in the sand. It's absolutely magical. It does get cold though." Nyx pointed at the blankets and water bottles. "So when she gets cold, you share your blanket with her. Trust me. There isn't a bigger turn-on than those little acts of love and kindness. You're in for a treat!"

"I can hear you," said the girl.

"I just want everybody to be happy, darling."

"Screw you."

Nyx sucked her teeth. "I do enjoy a good threesome. But intimate relations with customers? Frowned upon. Thank you for offering, though."

She gave a whistle, and Daisy lowered her tail. Before she got on, she looked at the happy couple. "Oh. I know you aren't the people to do such a thing, but if you were thinking of violence, there's a few great ambush spots here. I know them all. I have sharp things for just such occasions. So before you try that..." Nyx rose into the air standing on Daisy's tail. "Make absolutely sure you are good enough to pull it off."

 
"Bitch."

They were standing at the edge of the magical barrier, watching Nyx' ambler stride away into the distance. He looked round.

"She is right about the desert, though. Just look at it."

"I suppose." She shivered.

"Um. Do you want a blanket?" He held up his hands. "That's not so that you'll... well... you know?"

She looked at him for two seconds, laughed. "That little tart just said that so we wouldn't." Her eyes shone at him. "Well, I'm not giving her the satisfaction. Give me a blanket and come here." She put her arms round him. "You're in for a treat."