Page 5 of Inferno

Nerik felt Maky’s mind pressing against his own, asking permission to forge a link. He let down his mental barriers in response.

Not a good day, the fire-dog said to him, via the telepathic link. The fire-dogs were one of three different species from Chalandros who communicated via telepathy.Not enough customers.

“Well, that’s no good for business,” Nerik said, giving Maky’s ears a rub.

Not enough people to pat Maky, Maky said, which made Nerik laugh. Nothing to do with making a sale, then, and everything to do with how much attention a certain furry critter was getting.

“Well, come and sit down then, and I’ll see if I can make up for it.” Nerik took a seat on the floor in the middle of the shop and waved Maky forward. The big dog flopped down with his head on Nerik’s leg, tongue lolling in pleasure as Nerik gave him a thorough scratch, from his head, over his shoulders and all the way down his back.

“Did you do anything interesting yesterday?” Nerik asked as he continued the massage. It had been a few days since he’d caught up with Kit, and he’d learned from experience that fortunes in Minia could change very quickly if he didn’t keep an ear to the ground. Particularly for Chalandrian refugees.

Caught a rabbit, Maky informed him.Running in forest. Chasing. Fun.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” It was a relief that that was the most interesting thing that had happened. “How’s Mintesh doing?”

Maky whined a little.Mintesh happy sad happy sad all the time. She miss Chalandros. She love Kit.That was no surprise. Mintesh was Kit’s sister, and the pair of them had spent years planning on how to get Mintesh and her son Caleon safely across the gate. Mintesh had arrived just over two months ago, and she and Caleon were going through the same process of trying to fit into this city that Nerik had gone through four years ago.Mintesh angry at warriors. Mintesh like weather. Happy sad all the time.

“Yeah, it’s tough adjusting to a new place,” Nerik said, giving Maky’s ears an extra rub. But before he could say any more, a door opened in the rear of the shop and he heard footsteps coming his way. He stood up and a moment later, Kit arrived. The aging witch had a penchant for colour, and today, she was wearing a bright purple skirt, coupled with a turquoise blouse, plus half a dozen colourful bracelets up each arm.

“Oh! Nerik, I didn’t hear you come in,” she said, all smiles and politeness. “You could have called for me.”

Nerik shook his head. “It’s fine. I was just talking to Maky.”

“You’re here to pick up the late delivery?” Kit asked, and Nerik nodded.

“Yes, and the rubies for Yorin, as well.”

“Lovely. Well, come through then,” Kit said, waving him down the hallway. “Maky, be a good boy and mind the shop.”

Nerik didn’t hear Maky’s reply. While vreki and unicorns could communicate with multiple people at once, fire-dogs had a much harder time of it and generally preferred to only address one person at a time.

Nerik headed down the hall and into an office in the back of the building. He knew exactly where to go, having been down here dozens of times in the past.

And he also knew to expect Kit’s mood to suddenly change the instant the door was closed behind them.

“By the gods, this town gets worse every cycle,” Kit snapped, as she yanked off the necklace that was nestled inside her shirt, an obsidian gem dangling from the leather cord. In an instant, her hair turned from graying brown to a deep blue colour, and her eyes flashed to bright amber; the typical colouring of a witch. One more refugee, hiding in plain sight. “Captain Renfold’s offering a bonus to any warrior who can kill three fire-dogs this cycle. And I’ve had nine orders for new obsidian gems. Nine! How the hell am I supposed to keep them all separate?” She spread her hands over her desk, where a multitude of gems of various colours were littered about, including a handful of black ones. “Ah, rubies, rubies… Where did I put them?” She rummaged through a drawer and came up with a small, wooden box. “Here we are. Rubies for Yorin.” She checked the contents quickly, then closed the box and handed it to Nerik.

For his own part, Nerik was just standing quietly, not wanting to incite any further anger. Out in the main shop, whether there were customers or not, Kit maintained a perfectly polite, perfectly human façade, always aware that someone could come in the door at only a moment’s notice. But behind closed doors, and when in the company of a trusted ally, she didn’t hesitate to make her true feelings known. And on a better day, Nerik might have been inclined to sympathise with her. But tonight, he was going to have his own set of dramas to deal with, which in his mind were far more nerve-wracking than keeping one set of gems separate from a different set.

Nerik suddenly had to wonder what Yorin would be like when out of the public eye. He’d only ever been the epitome of good manners, as far as Nerik had seen. But then again, he’d never had cause to be alone behind closed doors with Yorin. Would the tailor show another side of himself? Anger, perhaps? Would he finally admit that some of his customers were a right pain in the ass? Or would he allow himself to display a degree of passion? Nerik could picture it all too easily, Yorin’s face flushed, the first few buttons of his shirt undone, while his lips were puffy from Nerik’s kisses…

“Nerik?”

“Hm?” Nerik snapped out of his daze, not at all inclined to explain the direction of his thoughts to Kit. She already gave him enough grief about his infatuation with Yorin. The last thing he needed to do was give her more ammunition.

“You all right?”

“Yeah, just… antsy about the gate opening tomorrow.” It was a good enough excuse that Kit shouldn’t question it.

“Tell me about it,” Kit griped. “Warriors, my ass. Damned murderers killing things just because they don’t understand them.” She shuffled a few of the obsidian gems about, dropping some into different pouches, each with a neat label on it. Then she sighed. “Damn it. Do you have a few minutes? I haven’t finished enchanting these last few gems.”

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Nerik said, even as he kissed one of his copper coins goodbye. There was no way he was going to be able to deliver the mushrooms on time. The patrons at the pub would just have to have their stew without them.

“All I can say is thank the gods that Koradan keeps bringing more of this stuff from that copper mine,” Kit muttered as she concentrated on the first gem. “We’d be up shit creek without a paddle without it.” Swirls of magic emanated from the tips of her fingers, soaked up by the obsidian in lines of yellow, pink and blue.

Nerik had about a thousand questions to ask about Koradan. The salas warrior was one of the men who was pretending to be a human trainer of what the general population called dragons. But in the interests of actually getting his errands done today, Nerik chose to say nothing. “Do you mind if I go wait with Maky?” he asked instead. “It’s kind of warm in here.”

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” Kit said, her cranky mood softening a touch. “Do you want some water?”