“There try to move it now.”
Vincent looked up at the child sitting on the bed in front of him. He looked at Vincent and then down at his legs, one dirty with sand but the other ended early in a scarred nub. Surrounding the nub was a leather socket, a metal pylon, two rotators at the top and bottom, and then a flat piece of metal.
The pair of them were in a wide tent normally housing the wounded or those recovering. At the moment though it was empty, just the two of them there for privacy.
The child looked at Vincent, then the leg, and moved his legs. The prosthetic moved stiffly but it was moving and that was more progress than they had managed before. Vincent grinned and the child grinned back at him.
“Alright. You want to try and stand up.”
His grin faltered and he stared at the new leg uncertain again. He frowned hard shirking back and Vincent extended his hand to him. “If you don’t want to you don’t have to. You just came to have it fitted after all.”
He looked at Vincent and then looked past him at the wheelchair situated in the sand. He looked at it and then his leg again and frowned. Vincent crouched down and met his eyes and smiled. “You’re doing great so far you know? But that doesn’t mean you have to push yourself further than you want alright?”
He nodded quickly and Vincent started to remove the leg. Once it was off the kid moved his legs again making a small face. Vincent set it down on the bed. “Did it hurt? Too tight? Loose? Move alright.”
The little boy shook his head to all and finally gave him a thumbs up. “Good. I’ll let Samuel know then.” Lifting him up he walked him over to the wheelchair and set him down. Once he got comfortable, he unlocked the wheels and started to push but the boy shook his head and started to wheel himself.
Vincent raised his eyebrow and smiled following his lead. They left the tent following the sandy path. Despite how well and confidently he moved Vincent couldn’t help but keep an extra eye on him. They could hear the laughs of some of the other kids playing and the boy started wheeling faster.
“Whoa slow down there, kid. You’re gonna leave me in the dust.”
“Yoohoo! Vince!”
Turning he knew the voice almost better than his own. The boy knew it too and turned excitedly. Alison waved as she approached, Ryza and Snow in tow. Alison smiled running straight over. “How did it go for you two?” she asked mainly looking at the boy. He gave a thumbs up and Vincent mirrored it. “Fantastic. Right now, Vince has to help our friends with something specific. Will you tell us about it later?”
He nodded again but then looked at the pair of wulves. Snow waved and Ryza did her best to not scowl. Turning he wheeled off toward the sound of play leaving the four of them together. Vincent hugged Alison and then turned to face the two. His eyes widened as he looked at Ryza.
“What the hell happened to you?” he asked laughing.
Ryza’s ears twitched but she said, “I’ve been through some changes since last we met Vincent.”
“Yeah no kidding. Who’s this?”
“My partner Snow,” she said squeezing her hand tightly. “You’re running a daycare Vincent?”
“Haha,” he rolled his eyes. “Since you’ve last been here Monica, Samuel, Alison, and me have been making some pretty significant changes to the city. Irrigation systems, minor plumbing, but most important stuff like this.” He showed off the prosthetic leg.
“Samuel’s a mediocre at best Rogue but turns out he’s really good at making things with his hands. A lot of the new Norian refugees in the city have gotten second chances because of these things.”
“That’s honestly incredible,” Ryza said looking around them. “Technology isn’t exactly my forte but I understand its uses here. Especially considering the lack thereof in the necropolis.”
Vincent shivered, “Don’t remind me of that place.”
“Nor us,” Alison replied. “But the longer we live here the more it’s started to feel like more than a city. It’s becoming something special.”
“That it is. Anyway, I need your help.” Reaching toward her pouch she revealed the map that she’d bought and held it out of him. He took it, unrolling it slowly, and whistled.
“Whoa where’d you get this? It’s amazing. Not as good as one of mine but pretty damn close,” Vincent said holding it close and scrolling through it.
“Sure Vince,” Alison said from over his shoulder. “But it is well crafted. Even we can see that much.”
Ryza leaned forward and pointed at the spot that was marked. “This is a rough approximation of where Luthagen is. That’s where we’re heading.”
Vincent groaned loudly pushing the map away. “Come on. Don’t say that. Say anything but that.”
“What’s wrong with him?” Snow asked.
“He doesn’t like anything to do with magic remember?”
Vincent scowled at her, “Don’t play it like that. First the calamities, then an evil necromancer cult, and now you come bringing this fairy tale to me. Which of course it’s probably real.”
“A village full of shapeshifters that can assume the shape of animals as easily as they do their own?” Ryza asked.
“That’s the one,” Vincent nodded. He glanced at their ears and noted the swishing tails. “I’m guessing you’re one of those supposed shapeshifters?”
Ryza’s tail flicked at him and finally nodded, “Potentially. From what you’ve heard is this the right location for it?”
“From what I know it’s roughly the same place,” he said turning the map around. “I can’t be sure without double checking my own.”
“Then let’s go back to your tent and get it done. I want to keep moving,” Ryza said almost impatiently.
“Same old Ryza,” Alison said chuckling. She led the way for them, taking them through the Free City, navigating the streets, and heading their way toward the tents in general. Snow and Vincent hung back with Snow asking Vincent many many types of questions and him doing his best to answer them. Despite her appearance, she was at least more down to earth than the others.
As they walked, Alison turned her eyes onto Ryza fully, “It is good to see you again. You look happy.”
“You’re not the first person to say that about me.”
“Then there must be some truth to it.”
“Maybe. Where’s your brother? And the two Sanguiknights?”
“At castle Cerise proper. Her Majesty has revived and that means it’s time to rebuild. Their working as her personal guard as they do just that.”
“The Cerisan Queen back in power. I wonder what that means for the rest of the world. I’m almost excited to see it happen.” She chuckled her tail swishing. “Might be fun to watch the times change.”
“Exactly. Plus, with our brother being there that means that we can create an alliance with them. They’re more likely to be our allies than any people from the Sanctum or Noria ever could be. What happened to you and Orion?”
“We parted ways. They’re still hunting in these lands. Or maybe they’ve gone further beyond. I could never tell with them.”
“We’re sure you’ll see them again then.”
“I hope so.”
“Though we have to ask.”
“What’s that?”
“We know that you and Snow are very close,” she smirked looking at her then and enjoying seeing Ryza be embarrassed. It had been such a rarity before. “What are you really doing out here. Finding a village of shapeshifters doesn’t seem quite correct. Even with your current changes.”
She looked at her carefully and Ryza knew that she could see the manifestation of her beast inside her. The black wolf stared back, morphing to Gest, to her father, to Ryze, and then back to the wolf. Alison’s eyes widened even more. “I have discovered new aspects of myself in these past couple of weeks.”
“We can see that. You’ll have to let us know what it all means,” she said. “But our real question is thus. What are you really looking for? We don’t think you’ve come all this or this far without learning about immortality.”
That made Ryza smile properly, “You’re a smart one Alison. That’s why I remember liking you.” She reached into the bag and showed her brother’s notebook. “This is my brother’s research. Up to date but there’s more. He found help through an apparently powerful mage named Daze. My brother’s research is hidden somewhere near the Free City.”
“Daze?” Alison took the journal and started flipping through it slowly. “We’ve never heard that name before. And we liked to believe we knew a lot about this world. Perhaps there are still secrets to uncover in this world. We wonder what our master has to say about these things.”
The wolf morphed into her brother and scoffed, “Vayne. I cannot imagine that parasite to be useful for anything but a betrayal and an experiment.”
Ryza glared her tail thrashing, “I don’t care one way or another but I definitely don’t want to hear it.”
That made it laugh but it didn’t utter anything else. Alison stared at it, watching it speak. “It talks to you?”
“It’s not really my brother. So what it has to say isn’t always relevant,” she glared at it for a moment. It met her gaze and changed back to the black wolf patiently padding behind her. “Good dog.”
“Anyway, this Daze. We wonder what kind of person they were,” she asked continuing to flip through it. But she paused at one of Ryze’s passages about him. “Wait. Demons. And the Calamity? What was your brother studying?”
“If I had to guess, he was wondering if he could bring a demon back to life as a zombie. Which as you’ve seen he mastered that. Even I can do it now. Though it’s not exactly my familiar. Something inherited.”
“Apparently Daze has also done this and wrote the blueprint for how to do it,” Alison said. “From the way that your brother spoke about him, he seemed to be very old. Ancient even.”
“Older than you can even imagine.”
Both women paused at the voice that approached them. Ryza’s guard was immediately up and even Alison was hesitant. He was a tall man with raven dark hair that went down to his waist though it had seen better days and tan almost sand colored skin. He wore an easy smile despite features that would have made scowling easy. The smile made him appear younger but something about the aura he gave off felt much older than any of them. Even Penny paused when looking at him. He wore an old tattered cloak covering his clothes.
“Who are you stranger?” Ryza asked growling, her hair bristling. Snow walked over to her and took her hand which immediately made her relax. But she did look at him with her new eyes and it was as if he radiated warm golden light.
The stranger chuckled and lowered his head, “I apologize for butting in. It was rude of me. My name is Sehren. And I am a traveler.”
“What do you know about Daze?” Alison asked folding her arms.
“Daze and I grew up together a long time ago in the Sanctum. We were very close. I came back here to reminisce and I found these.” He produced two journals. One was almost identical to the one her brother had written but the other was something else entirely.
It was a journal but it was covered in runes and words that Ryza couldn’t understand. Just looking at it made her eyes hurt to the point where she had to avert them. It was as if there were something sinister about it. She let the light in her eyes fade until they were normal again.
“What is that?” Snow asked sniffing the air and whimpering.
“The book of Daze,” Ryza told her grimly.
“One of many I’m sure,” Sehren made a curious face and nodded, “So it would seem. Daze always was a proud one. I believe you were looking for these then?”
“I was.”
“What would you need with them?”
“That’s not something you need to know,” Ryza said. “But one of those books belongs to my brother. And now it belongs to me.”
“Oh. So you are who this was meant for.”
“What are you talking about?”
“When I retrieved these there was a skeletal guardian. It said it awaited the blood of its creator. I thought it was some cryptic message from a dead spellcaster. But it seems it was more than that. The construct was a formidable opponent.”
Sehren held Ryze’s book out to Ryza but hesitated on the other book. Ryza growled staring at the book and then him but held herself back for the most part. Instead, she met his eyes steadily and he looked back.
“The contents of this book are dangerous. I can imagine wanting to pursue them but I would be careful replicating the spells within.”
“I only seek to research the spells within and replicate what my brother already succeeded at doing. I only want to succeed in what we both dreamed of doing. And after that enjoying knowledge for the sake of knowledge.”
Sehren stared at her and smiled again. “You remind me of myself when I was your age. Learning all that there is simply because it’s there. I just hope that you and your brother remain close.”
Ryza glanced away, “My brother is long gone unfortunately.”
“I’m sorry. Living up to a final promise then.”
“Yes.”
Sehren frowned one more time before finally holding out the book. Ryza reached for it, hesitated, and finally took it putting it in the pouch of her bag. She glanced at the man again, “I’m sorry you were on your way elsewhere and I’m delaying you.”
He lowered his head in a bow and as he did Ryza caught sight of a golden watch around his neck. As she watched she could hear each tick like a thunderous echo. He turned and the watch vanished as he walked down another street. Ryza looked down at her bag and felt the presence of one of the book still. But she didn’t dwell on it too much. “Sehren huh?” Vincent said watching him. “He reeked of a mage.”
“People always pass through here Vince,” Alison said squeezing his shoulder. “That’s what makes the city special.”
“I know. I’m used to some mages at this point. But that guy was. Something special. And I’m not sure if it’s in a good way. Whatever. Maps. Something I know and understand. Come on.”
Walking across the city this time without any sort of complications they arrived at the tent. Thankfully there was just enough space for the four of them comfortably. Vincent found one of his maps and pulled it open against the desk. He put them over one another and nodded slowly.
“Luthagen. Same place. Even on one of my maps. A little more precise,” he took a pen and marked it on Ryza’s map. “Again, it’s a fairy tale but apparently multiple people believe it’s a real place cause even I have it out here.”
“Then we’ll be on the right path going that way,” Ryza said her ears perking up. “Good.”
“So, we’re going there then?” Snow asked.
“Do you want to linger around?” she asked.
Snow made a face thinking, folding her arms, and then shook her head, “I guess not. This place is nice but.” She twitched her nose flicking her ears back and forth. “I’m antsy? Do you feel it?”
Ryza nodded, “The end of a project. The finish line in sight.” Snow nodded quickly. “So, let’s go cross that finish line Snow.”
Snow nodded and wrapped her arm around Ryza holding her close. This close Ryza could feel the energy inside her and it definitely made her fingers twitch and her want to go running. She didn’t shirk away and laced her fingers with Snows and took a relaxing breath. As she took a step back she saw Vincent averting his eyes embarrassed for them both while Alison had her hands pressed together excited.
She collected her map fighting her blush and turned around, her tail thrashing back and forth. She was used to hiding her emotions but her ears and tail giving her away was not something liked. But looking at Vincent and Alison again their eyes were so welcoming.
“You sure you have to go so soon?” she asked immediately and Ryza nodded.
“Luthagen calls,” Ryza said glancing up at Snow. “But because it’s so close I’ll make a point to visit here again. Assuming we’re able to stay in Luthagen.”
Alison closed the distance and hugged Ryza tightly. Ryza made a face but hugged her back and let herself relax again. She’d learned from Snow that hugs were actually very nice. And on a scale of one to Snow, Alison wasn’t bad at them. Speaking of, Snow wrapped her arms around all three of them. Vincent though wasn’t much of a hugger and just waved at them.
“Let us escort you to the south gate,” Alison said motioning and Vincent nodded.
Ryza grumbled something but Snow took over then and nodded, “Definitely.”
With Alison leading them the pair of them made it to the southern entrance of the city. However what surprised Ryza was the ones that recognized and remembered her. She wasn’t sure how to respond to them but Snow was the one returning all of the greetings.
With Snow taking the attention off her she reached out to Alison about a spell, mainly involved in clothing. She didn’t have a lot of ideas of how to work through the spell. It was a lot of theory back and forth but for Ryza it was refreshing to talk to another mage after so long. They worked out a few ideas and Ryza would work them through as she and Snow traveled.
Once they finally made it to the gate Ryza looked on the other side, the hard ground of the desert greeting her. But in the distance, she could see the shadow of something more than just a mirage. Taking in the air it smelled different, a whiff of something specific and familiar. She turned around and looked over her shoulder and caught the faintest glimpse of a woman wrapped in cloth disappearing.
“Do you need anything? Supplies? Water?” Vincent asked. “I know the city probably got us close but, no idea what you’re walking into right now.”
“We should be fine,” Ryza said. “If anything, we can teleport back. Though doing another teleportation would definitely mean we won’t be traveling further for a little while.”
“You’ll have a tent waiting for you if need be,” Alison said.
“I know. Thank you. Both of you,” she started to look away but glanced at Alison one more time. “Alison. How did you reconcile with Penny? Having something else in you and becoming it?”
She blinked slowly, looking over at the wolf beside her, and lowered her head, “Stop thinking and just do it. Like jumping into the unknown. We remember the first time Penny took over. And it was scary. But we trusted them. We had to trust them or live in fear. And now here we are. Don’t think about it. Don’t fear it. Just embrace it like another facet of yourself. We’re sorry if that’s not the easiest to understand.”
Ryza shook her head, “No. No I think I get it. Thank you. Again.”
Taking a deep breath of the open air she glanced at Snow as she took her spot at her side. Ryza glanced over her shoulder at Alison and Vincent waving to see them off. She nodded and then looked back at her partner.
“You ready Snow?”
“Always Ryry.”
The Harlequin Library 