Page 56 of Greed of Giants

A misty fog hung over the mountains, and the air was cooler than I expected for a summer morning. The streets were quiet, only a few voices in the distance, as though the monsters had been enough to set everyone back and keep them inside. It was only when we turned the corner that we saw it. A poster, tacked along the city center, the wordsWANTED in large letters. Beneath it were words, and it was those that caught my attention.

Scholar stealsobject and flees the remote island of Vold, causing chaos and escaping with her dangerous companion. Fire breaks out where they stay, leading to utter destruction. If sighted, please contact your local authorities.

Beneath it wasa description of Ilaris, right down to her armor, and the other was of me, although it was not as detailed, and the wording “fire marks on skin” was entirely ambiguous and misleading. I stared at it, anger rising. The Guardians. They were to blame for this, yet how did their messages crawl across the world so quickly?

“Are you seeing this?” Ilaris asked. “Is this what you meant earlier?”

“It’s not, but this is an unexpected outcome. I blame the Guardians.”

Ilaris frowned. “What will the local authorities do to us? This is a misunderstanding, we have to explain ourselves.”

“Who would we explain to? Who would believe us?”

Ilaris’s throat worked as she thought, and then, “The city. The House of Scholars. It’s the only place where I might have some influence.”

Influence?Something roiled through me as I considered how they’d treated her. If we went there, if we detoured to the city, I could only imagine detainment, imprisonment, possibly worse once they discovered who I was and what I could do. “Write to them,” I encouraged.

She nodded. “I will. Good idea. I hope it will clear up the misunderstanding, but there’s no postage where we are going, no way to send a response back.” She glanced at me, her lips pursed. “Where are we going?”

We’d reached the large barn, and I pushed open the door, shielding her in case there was something unsavory inside. Instead, my eyes were drawn upward as I took in a row of air balloons. There were three of them, wicker baskets, balloons fully inflated, and a slight hum coming from them.

Beside me, Ilaris caught her breath, and I could almost see her fingers dancing, itching to write it all down, to record these sights. It must be new for her because I’d seen creations like these before. I’d visited the Sky Kingdom only once, but they had great ships used to traverse the air, they blew on the winds, had great sails, and the smaller ones were run by fire. Like these. I knew what I looked upon, and I knew where we would go. It was worth the precious gems in my bag, it was worth it to be alone, with her.

27

Ilaris

Iheld onto the rim of the basket as we lifted off the ground, the merchant releasing the ropes that tethered us. The barn ceiling was retractable, and one moment I was down on the ground with Killian, the next we lifted off. A weightlessness came over me, and I was struck into silence.

In my dreams, I’d never imagined this, the ability to fly, to see the world from another angle. A thousand questions lingered on my tongue. Why wasn’t Killian surprised? How did he know how to control it? Were these wonders of the human age an invention common for giants?

The wind whipped up as we rose. Still, I leaned over the edge of the basket, capturing the world in my mind, the maze of the city laid out in front of me, the rise and flow of the buildings. The looming edge of the mountains, and then we were descending, swooping low as though we might land.

Killian tossed down a rope, there was a tug, and he hauled up Jasper, who was the size of a puppy again.

Jasper!

How could I have forgotten about him? I bent and threw my arms around him, then recoiled, for there was a smell about him I didn’t recognize. Something feral and wrong.

“The Unmaking are here,” Killian said, guiding the balloon back up into the air.

“How do you know?” I asked, my sweaty palms shaking, and suddenly I was grateful to be in the air, far above it all.

“Last night, Jasper saw them. There are only a few creeping through the land, and it appears they only come out at night, especially since people still dwell here. But it explains why everyone was indoors when we arrived.”

“The guards at the inn, the hands on weapons, the glances at the windows,” I finished. “If they are here, they could be anywhere. What should we do? What can we do to help them?”

“It means time is of the essence. We must collect the three gifts of the gods and hope that the ice world holds one of them. When we wake the ice giant, he will tell us. I assume Lady Justice will follow us, and there may be an opportunity to take back the Heart. Have courage, Ilaris. It is likely the Unmaking haven’t spread beyond the ruins of my people’s lands. Besides, Guardians will watch for them. They have the skills to fight, should it come to that. I shouldn’t wonder if the innkeeper himself was one of the Guardians.”

“I didn’t think of that. Then the Guardians are on our side?”

“They might not be aware of our existence, too distracted with the Unmaking. It is the role of the Guardians to ensure that no one from ancient times returns, not giants, not the Unmaking, not even Jasper.”

“I understand,” I said.

We fell quiet as he worked. Me because of my throat, it felt stiff and uncomfortable to speak. I sat down on the basket, the seat just high enough to give me a view of the land we traveled over.

Killian took care of the ropes, the fire burning in the balloon, all an odd dance of rope and brawn that I did not understand. But to ask meant talking, and I could see well enough. I took out my journal and started sketching. Killian as he worked, and the land far below me as we traversed the mountains, headed somewhere cold.