Page 120 of Keeper of the Word

They crossed three more roads. Elanna was positive they had moved into yet another borough. Whereas she’d sensed unease where they’d just been, in this borough, Elannaknewthe edginess was not her imagination.

Behind them, Goodsell’s swordshushedas he unsheathed it.

“And what spell exactlydoyou perform tonight?” Hux asked, his eyes scanning the surrounding streets.

“The dark spellwork we perform tonight will have the power to protect and veil the Capella Realm’s most precious place. The Heart.”

“And that is?” Hux unsheathed his sword, too.

“Asalle.”

Hux stumbled but didn’t pause his pace. “You shall hide an entire city?Thecity? The capital of the Capella Realm.”

“If the stars command us. Aye. ’Tis exactly what we shall do.”

Hux lifted both brows, giving a low whistle.

It seemed to Elanna that the districts of Asalle they traveled were like a funnel. They winded through blocks upon blocks, each one becoming more like the bottom of a barrel, the dregs of the city clinging and unable to ignore.

But Asalle was supposed to be different.

Cracks,was all Elanna could estimate. ’Twas the only explanation that a borough like this could exist in Asalle.

At a tavern, the sign of which Elanna couldn’t read—’twas so worn—Hux halted and told the others to wait while he stepped inside. Barrett offered to go with him, but Hux insisted everyone else stay with Elanna and Tara.

Three women spilled from the doorway as they passed Hux. Staggering, they swerved to not collide into the group. Onebumped into Elanna, and Joss shoved the woman, who fell to the street.

“Eh? What you do that for?” her companion screeched at Joss, making an effort to get into her face. But in her drunken stupor, she veered away.

“I shall do more than that if you come near her again,” Joss said, her fists clenched.

The three cackled, one falling next to her companion.

“Move along,” Goodsell said, his arms shooing them like one would chickens. They cackled once more and started away.

“Wait!” Tara exclaimed. She stepped forward, towering over them. “Give it to me.”

“Give what?” one asked, the other two inching away. Suddenly, they did not appear so intoxicated after all.

Tara lifted her cloak’s hood away from her head to reveal her golden hair. Her eyes transfixed the woman in front of her. “For your fortune’s sake, give it to me.”

Without a word, the woman dropped the Edan Stone she’d swiped from Elanna’s pocket into Tara’s open palm.

Clearly not intoxicated.

The two behind her came to a standstill. “Stars be good. I’d heard rumor. What are you doinghere?”

“That is my business and the business of the stars. Now hold your tongue and be off.”

They were a dozen paces away when Elanna called out, “Wait!”

She, too, dropped her hood and strode to them. “In six days hence, leave here and make for Renstown. Tell no one where you go. There, you find a man named Buchton. Tell him to prepare his storage cellar. He will have had a dream and will know what that means.”

The three’s eyes widened. Elanna suddenly became aware of what she’d uttered.

What is in six days?

There was no time to ponder over the fortune she’d bestowed upon them. “Do you understand?”