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I held my breath, watching as the scene began to unfold. A village of people quietly tending their children and the necessities of the day, and the sudden onslaught of warriors overtaking them. The figures were more recognizable now, some human, some werewolves, some wielding magic in little green embers. All were fighting.
“Unwilling to see their people slaughtered, the Balish and the Danitesh allied together to fight the Vornican. The battle was bloody and fierce, it raged for three days, and spanned the length and breadth of the mountains. Never before had so many Bright shed their blood in one place and it is said the battle stained Earthside itself, creating a nexus between the worlds.”
The fire reflected Levi’s words, showing a miniature version of the lakeshore, only instead of a bonfire there were great masses of people engaged in combat. I frowned, watching as one little wolf leapt onto a retreating warrior’s back and the two collapsed, disappearing into flame once more.
There was a nexus here. Derrick had already said as much, and I wondered if perhaps the witch light was one of the poor souls who died in the battle. But no, they were the souls of the sacrificed dead, and this was no ritual.
“At the last, it was a Balish warrior who smote the Vornican leader with his staff, killing the creature in a single stroke atop the mountain we know as Gahai Hill.” The image sped up a mountainside, circling a peak from a hawk’s view. One werewolf swung his staff at a man whose arms were spread as though mid-incantation. The man fell and shadows began snaking out of his form, sinking into the mountain itself.
“Peace reigned for a time. The Balish and the Danitesh traded goods, permitted inter-marriages, and the world began to grow.” Levi gestured again and the landscape changed once more, showing houses, steam engines, carriages, as the passage of time was clear. “Sometimes there were skirmishes, sometimes other tribes attempted to encroach on Allegany, but always the Balish and the Danitesh grouped together, forever bonded by their battle with the Vornican. But it was not until Alexander Leslie of the Balish tribe courted Georgianna Harken from the Danitesh tribe that the two officially became one tribe. A tribe that has led Allegany to prosper; the Leslie tribe.”
At this, the crowd burst into cheers. I jumped, startled back into the present. People had gathered closer during the telling. Mariana Telvinni was gazing at the fire to our right, her expression distant until a gentleman leaned forward to whisper something in her ear. The glare she sent the man could have doused the fire to ash, but then she smiled and produced a tinkling laugh that turned heads.
Derrick leaned close, distracting me from the sight. “Watch my mother a moment?”
I might have argued, but he was already moving off, so I glared after him instead. Feeling altogether small and out of place, I gripped Janice’s chair and took a steadying breath. Whatever Derrick was up to, I hoped he was fast about it. Crowds were never my favorite, even with the runestone locking away everyone’s emotions. Shoulders brushed mine as people milled about, coming closer to the fire and the story, and I held tighter to the chair and tried to concentrate on the historian.
Derrick wasn’t gone a full minute before another figure reached our side. Lavenya Norton looked resplendent in a cream-colored day dress that closely matched what Ms. Maureen was wearing. She edged closer to me. Recognizing the expression of a woman who wanted to talk, I gave her a polite smile.
“You must hear a great many marital complaints in your line of work,” Lavenya said, her gaze sliding to where her husband was clustered with Lord Malcolm and several other men.
“Marriage takes a great deal of work,” I said. “Complaints at least can lead toward a compromise.”
There was a beat and Lavenya’s mouth pursed. She lowered her voice, “I must ask, have you ever heard of a man requiring his wife to cut up his meat for him?”
I glanced her, a bit startled by the ridiculousness of her statement, and then tried to hide my surprise. I cleared my throat, praying the other wolves were too busy listening to Levi to pay attention to us. “I fear that’s missing some context.”
“What context could there possibly be where a grown man requires his food cut into bite-sized bits for him? It makes no sense!”
My imagination was failing me, but I did try to put myself in Harold Norton’s shoes. “Well, was it a particularly grueling week at work? Sometimes we can become so overwhelmed that the very idea of eating is exhausting on its own.”
“I suppose he did mention some work elements,” Lavenya said with a heaved sigh. “But really, why bother eating at all if you’re that tired?”
I kept my voice low. “I don’t know you or your husband well enough to venture a guess here, but maybe he didn’t want to insult you by skipping the meal you’d prepared?”
Lavenya looked startled at that. “Do you think so?”
“As I said, I don’t know you or your husband well enough to say for sure.”
“No, I suppose you don’t,” she said, her gaze slipping back to her husband. “But it would be just like him, if I’m honest. It is so monstrously unfair to be a woman. We only have so many uses, after all.”
Choosing not to respond to that, I smiled and peeked back at the fire with its dazzling display of the Leslie manor. Levi was recounting the Norton and Leslie friendship, which apparently spanned several generations. The fire was still its eerie shade of green, casting the miniature version of the estate into unnatural colors that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. There was something not quite right about Leslie manor, and it wasn’t only the fact that someone who lived there dealt in warlock trafficking.
“Thank you, Miss Grayson, you’ve been very helpful,” Lavenya said after a moment.
She moved off before I could say anything further and, in her place, came none other than Lord Malcolm King. He was in a fine black jacket with silver trim, and his cufflinks were shaped like wolf heads, glinting strange green light from the fire. The smile he gave me was bland, almost tolerant.
Levi continued his tale, moving from ancient history to more current events; the creation of power plants, the protection of the lands Allegany was most proud of, and of Ms. Maureen’s business savvy. I tried to pay attention, but Lord Malcolm had come for a purpose, I knew it. So I held onto Janice’s chair and prayed to the Maker that Derrick returned soon.
“He’s quite enamored with you,” Lord Malcolm said.
I flushed and was glad of the dark. “I wouldn’t say enamored was the right word.”
“What word would you use, then?”
Indebted, I thought, but I could see how Malcolm might use that against Derrick somehow. I certainly wasn’t willing to arm the man with any more jibes and insults he might throw Derrick’s way.
“Lord Malcolm, I am sure there are any number of your acquaintances here who would enjoy your company. I would hate to be the one depriving them of it.”
