Page 19 of The Pactbound Angel (The Soul Mirror Duet #1)
Wixin and the Bunyip
The next morning, the soft light of dawn illuminated the beige walls of my tent, waking me.
Stretching in my bedroll, the smile I went to sleep with returned in full force.
Another successful lesson. Besides the knowledge gained from these encounters, the lessons themselves were also. .. enjoyable, for multiple reasons.
Snorting at the lackluster description, I tried to conjure a better adjective but stopped before any came to mind. Enjoyable was all I’d allow myself.
It seemed my skills were improving under his tutelage.
Something told me, based upon his reactions, that I was getting better.
While getting cleaned up and dressed, my thoughts went over everything last night, especially the supper.
His refusal to answer the question regarding what he would change about himself didn't surprise me.
In fact, when he said no abruptly, we both burst into laughter.
We went back and forth, asking and answering various other questions while drinking wine and eating far too many olives. Some Ramiren also refused to answer, but he was gentler those few times he did. It was a good conversation, one that’ll be cherished long after our pact has concluded.
Pact concluded. Fulfilled. Done and over with.
The thought threw ice water on my good mood, though I was excited at the prospect.
It would mean my lessons were successful, and I had, potentially, found someone to settle down with.
But it would also mean there would never be another.
Will my future husband make the intimate times we spent together this. .. interesting?
Or is maddening the right word?
My doubt answered me, though it was certainly a heartfelt wish.
Having heard tales of women married off to certain men and the things they had to endure, my stubborn refusal to accept just anyone meant my choice would be difficult but necessary.
Since my intention was to swear the protector’s oath to my husband, my life depended on finding someone who would treasure me and the children we would have and who would allow me to do my duty and protect them without feeling emasculated or overstepped.
Who won't hurt me.
I donned my gambeson and armor, the heavy mail links clinking as it molded to my frame.
After my sword was belted on, and everything placed back into my Extended Pouch, I stepped outside to take down the tent.
Everyone else was stretching, waking up, moving around to get their own gear put away.
My eyes met Ramiren's, and he smiled, calling out with a lifted hand, "Good morning, Lady Nathalia. "
"Good morning, Master Ramiren," I replied, my expression hopefully betraying nothing. It was a tiny moment, merely a standard greeting to start the day, but the elation at seeing him again was almost palpable.
But you just saw him last night. You see him every day.
Yes, and I am elated every day.
"Admit it, we're lost!" Georgina grumbled at me from atop M.A.L.C.O.L.M.
Her grumpy tone was unhelpful, but adding my own frustrations to the mix would not help matters either.
"Perhaps we are. We are looking for a mischief hag in the middle of the swamp.
The map I acquired does not have Mischief Hag's Hut marked on it, so we are doing the best we can.
" The map in my hands showed we were indeed lost, by my reckoning, but I wasn't about to confirm it and cause panic. Or, more likely, insults and whining.
"Perhaps we can ask for directions?" Raewyn chirped with a dubious look on her face.
"From who, Raewyn? I don't see an inn anywhere around, do you?" Georgina's questions steadily increased in volume, almost to the point of yelling. "Who, pray tell , do we stop and ask directions from, huh?"
Beep. "WHAT ABOUT THAT WEIRD PUPPY OVER THERE LOOKING AT US?" M.A.L.C.O.L.M. pointed behind us.
We all snapped our heads in the direction M.A.L.C.O.L.M.
was looking. Indeed, there was a dog-like creature, sitting in the water, looking our way.
It did not look hostile, merely curious as it tilted its head back and forth.
It hopped out of the water, shook the excess off itself, and approached slowly.
The creature was much longer and skinnier than any dog I’d ever seen, though not unhealthily so. It sat down on its haunches.
"Visitors to the Ol' Jorin Swamp? My my, what curiosities you have brought forth into our home!"
Its odd speech sent alarm bells ringing. Putting the map away to leave room in my hands for a weapon and shield should they be needed, I stepped forward to get a better look at this being and to put myself between it and my companions. "Who are you talking to?"
It lifted its pointed snout into the air and inhaled deeply. It resumed stalking towards us. "My my, it asks questions too. It wants to know you. It wants to see you too. I can tell. My my."
The alarm bells got louder. Nope, I don’t like this. Schooling my face to not betray my thoughts, I unhooked my shield from my back, trying to look like I was adjusting it. " We're looking for a mischief hag's home. It should be in the area. Do you know where it is?"
The dog creature's eyes widened, and it snarled. "It wants to hurt you! I will kill it instead!"
My shield was brought to bear just in time for the creature to pounce and bounce off it. The impact made me stumble. It was then that Ramiren yelled, "Stop!"
The dog creature turned his attention to Ramiren, and my blood went cold. It snarled again, but Ramiren simply smiled at it.
"We are not here to hurt or kill your mistress, if indeed the mischief hag is your mistress. We wish to treat with her. You, I think, are a bunyip. You can scent someone's intentions. You can see she has no weapon in hand, merely a defensive shield. We are not here to harm. We are here to bargain."
The creature growled, then sniffed the air again. "My my, it tells true. It wants to bargain, yes, but that one wants to hurt," it said, indicating me with a toss of its head.
My shield lowered as I sighed. "Your mistress did a great injustice to me and mine. It would make sense I'd want to hurt her, but intent does not equal action. If we are able to bargain, then I will not attack."
The creature scented the air a third time, then panted. "It tells true, too! Come, this way then!"
“Hey, slow down!” Georgina yelled from atop M.A.L.C.O.L.M.’s shoulders. For once, there was a need to concur with Georgina. The bunyip was traveling at a breakneck speed through the maze of the swamp, leaping over bog and pool, making it difficult for us to follow.
Every so often, it looked back, its canine face inscrutable. “My my, it needs to hurry! My mistress does not like to wait!” Then it continued at the same pace. Ramiren looked back at me and frowned unhappily .
He was out of breath from running, but his words were understandable. “Wait? That would mean she has been, somehow, alerted to our presence.” He nearly tripped over a small log hidden by moss but managed to right himself before falling. “I am not sure if this is a good or bad thing.”
Thankfully not as winded as him or Raewyn, who was wheezing loudly, I replied, “Perhaps it may work in our favor. Harder to bargain with her if she’s caught by surprise. This way, we’re expected guests and not intruders.”
Ramiren’s eyes lit up at me. “Well played, Lady Nathalia. You are almost certainly correct.”
My mood lifted at the praise, a small thrill climbing my spine and buzzing my head.
It was just a small compliment. Calm down.
It was similar to when he had complimented and praised me during our… lesson. They were simple phrases, though who knew just how much meaning was behind them.
The bunyip ran up a hill and yelled, its voice echoing through the swamp, “Not long now! My my, not long at all!” It sat down on the wet grass and waited for us.
I expected to see the mischief hag’s hut on the other side.
But when we came to the top of the hill, there was nothing but more swamp.
Raewyn stopped and leaned down with her hands on her knees, too out of breath to speak.
I scowled, looking in every direction, “Where is it? Where is her home?”
The bunyip bounded forward. “It will see soon!”
There was a dull roar and movement in the water off to my right.
Without thinking, I set my feet, raising my shield to just under my eyes.
My longsword left its scabbard in a smooth pull as foreboding settled in my gut, putting me on edge.
“Raewyn, Ramiren, Georgina. Get behind me. Now,” I said firmly. “Something comes.”
All did as bidden. Ramiren unsheathed his blade, too. “So, we’ve been led into a trap.”
The bunyip paced around excitedly. When he was fifty feet away, he started laughing, which sounded more like crude hacking. “Meet Wixin!”
A dark blue shape emerged from the water, enormous and strange, that blended perfectly into the muddy, brackish water surrounding us.
It was, by my quick estimation, roughly twenty feet long, from nose to tail.
Rough leathery skin covered its form, bumpy and lizard-like.
Its long snout opened just enough to show rows of razor-sharp teeth. It gave a low, rumbling laugh.
“Meat,” the creature growled and crawled closer, flicking his tail back and forth.
A blue talking alligator. Interesting.
“So, did he say ‘meat’ as in for eating, or ‘meet’ as in ‘hi, it’s nice to meet you’.” Raewyn, having finally regained her breath, waved a hand at Wixin. “What’s the word for those, Nat?”
I registered, suddenly, that we had not seen any living creatures in the swamp. Until the bunyip. Until this Wixin.
I guess he ate them all.
“Homophones. And I suspect the former, Raewyn.” My shield moved to the side as my longsword thrust forward. The tip of the longsword struck his snout but did not pierce.