Page 23 of The Pactbound Angel (The Soul Mirror Duet #1)

Relevant Riddles

I squinted and hunched down, moving aside the damp, dead flora that was blocking my line of sight. Up ahead was a small, rickety cottage in the middle of a clearing.

Finally. We made it.

Slowly drawing my longsword out of its scabbard, the glint of the metal dim in the fading light, I looked back at my companions.

Georgina bounced on her toes next to M.A.L.C.O.L.M.

Raewyn fidgeted. Only Ramiren appeared calm and collected.

I envied his demeanor. On the outside, we both appeared equally calm, but inside…

Inside, I was a mix of emotions, with fear and trepidation being the most prevalent.

Was this the hag that stole from me and Raewyn or Georgina or Leraska? Would I soon be getting my creativity back?

It hardly seemed possible after all these years.

My doubt regarding the hag making a deal with us, which Ramiren was pushing for, meant I had to be ready to pounce before she could attack either one of us.

Regardless if Ramiren wanted an accord or not, my role was to ensure safety.

Then my fear melted away when Ramiren turned his reassuring smile toward me, though the trepidation remained.

“Shall we, then?” Ramiren said, stepping through the brush. I quickly stood and matched his speed.

“Yes, though I urge everyone to be on their guard. This is not a being to be trifled with,” I warned.

“Yes, we know she’s dangerous, dummy!” Georgina exclaimed, marching behind with M.A.L.C.O.L.M in her wake. She shook her head, almost in disgust.

Though my initial reaction was irritation, something struck me about the surly gnome. She was more grumpy than usual today, and it became worse as we got closer to the hag’s home. She’s afraid and has trouble showing it. That’s all. My pity for Georgina replaced my annoyance.

Raewyn piped up, “So, the plan is we try to deal with her? And if she won’t deal, then squish? Hopefully a bonfire?”

“Yes. Are you ready, Ramiren?” I said, turning to the broodling at my side.

He gave a confident nod. “Yes, I’m ready.”

We approached the cabin with caution. I kept my head on a swivel, looking around for danger, but there was none to be found.

Strange. You’d think her home would be well-protected.

We climbed the stairs leading to the porch, the rotting wood underneath our feet increasingly groaning, squeaking, and straining with our weight.

The gnome held out a hand to her large automaton. “Best stay back off the porch, M.A.L. You might break through the boards.”

Beep. “YES, GEORGINA.” M.A.L.C.O.L.M. stopped just shy of the first step, alert for the next command.

As I raised my hand to knock on the pitted, wooden door, a series of scrawling words began to form on the door’s surface. I read them aloud.

“‘Blessed be those who know me. Cursed be those who scorn me. Righteous be those who honor me. This, the first rule and the last, is eternal.’ A riddle, then?”

Raewyn’s eyes lit up. “Oh, the first rule and the last. That’s a Minuen saying. The answer is ‘love’.”

At her word, the portal swung open with a creak, followed by a squeaky whine, hitting the wall next to the door. Inside was a lit hearth, a few tables littered with bottles and ingredients of all kinds, an unmade bed, and another door on the far wall. But no hag.

We carefully stepped forward as one, looking around. Thankfully, M.A.L.C.O.L.M. did not break through the boards when instructed to walk across the porch and into the main room.

Raewyn browsed off to the side and leaned down to peer at the bottles on the table. She unstoppered a few to sniff at the contents. “Hm, some interesting stuff in here.” She began to put the bottles in a pouch when I shook my head.

“Stop. Now, Raewyn.” I commanded in a whisper.

Raewyn pouted, a bottle paused halfway in the pouch. “But why?”

“Because we’re meant to make a deal with her for the things she stole. Stealing from her would only anger her and make my job much more difficult,” Ramiren said calmly.

Raewyn huffed a sigh, moodily putting the bottles back on the table one at a time. “Oh sure, fine. But if we gotta kill her, I’m coming back for these.”

My sigh echoed Raewyn’s, but for another reason.

Standing in front of the second door, I raised my hand again to knock. Again, words appeared on the wood, almost burned into it. This time, Ramiren read the words aloud.

“‘That which opens is difficult to close. And that which closes is impossible to open.’” Ramiren frowned, looking perplexed. “I know this one, for elves are immortal, unless killed by violence. And they can never be raised again, even using fey magic. The answer is ‘the eyes of an elf’.”

Again, the door swung open.

Georgina eyed Ramiren in astonishment. “How in the Dark Drop did you get that, pactmaker?”

Ramiren chuckled, looking at the little gnome next to him. “I have cleverness in me, tinkerer.”

Behind the door was a set of uneven, decaying stairs, twisting down into the dark. My shield raised automatically, and I waited, expecting something to jump out. But nothing did. Confused, I looked back at everyone. “Why these children’s riddles? Where is the hag?”

“I suspect she is either testing us or merely having a bit of fun at our expense.” Ramiren shrugged and leaned forward.

He peered into the dark. Behind me, a bright light suddenly glowed.

Georgina lifted her arm, holding up the strangest torch I had ever seen.

The end of the stick flickered and danced as though aflame, though no smoke curled off of it, and no heat radiated from it. Georgina smiled smugly.

“And you certainly have cleverness, too, Mistress Georgina. Shall we?” Ramiren said, extending his hand into the dark.

I walked forward first, slowly making my way down the stairs and praying that these stairs held our weight.

Ramiren followed behind, with Raewyn, Georgina, and finally M.A.L.C.O.L.M. in his wake.

The stairs seemed endless. Though they looked treacherous, and loudly squeaked when my foot landed on every step, they held firm.

I was almost dizzy by the time we reached the bottom.

With the light source from Georgina, we saw a long hallway leading to yet another closed door.

I murmured, “Another door, another riddle.”

Walking to it, I expected to see words when raising my hand. When they appeared, I read them aloud, not even thinking of their meaning.

“Look up.”

My eyes shot up just enough time to see a massive barbed spike above my head. When it dropped, spearing down, I tipped backwards to dodge. It pierced in the dirt where I’d just been standing. Here was a half-second pause before it raised again, resetting itself into the ceiling.

Ramiren managed to catch me, though only just, from hitting my behind on the ground. He smiled down at me as my head tilted back to look at him. I was surprised, given his lean frame, that he was able to do that .

He is much stronger than he looks.

My mouth wanted to smile back. It twitched in protest, but I simply stood, embarrassed at missing such an obvious trap. “My apologies, Master Ramiren. Thank you.”

He replied smoothly, “Some lessons are easier to learn than others, and far more pleasant.”

My face warmed, and I turned back towards the trap and the offending door before anyone else could see.

Ramiren called out, “Does anyone know how to deal with traps?”

“Thaaaat would be me.” Georgina toddled forward. “I might not be able to use my tools, but I can certainly tell you what mechanism goes where.” She looked up at the hole where the spike was set, careful to remain away from its path.

She hummed in thought. “The mechanism is in the walls, or on the other side of the door, which means someone will need to trigger it while another waits with a sharp blade to cut the rope. Or… M.A.L. I can’t remember. Did I remove the scissors from you?

Beep. ”YOU DID NOT, GEORGINA. I CAN STILL SCISSOR.”

Raewyn snorted in laughter.

Ignoring Raewyn, I volunteered to activate it. No one protested. Everyone else stood back while M.A.L.C.O.L.M. and I took our places, I under the spike and M.A.L.C.O.L.M. to the side. Large scissors folded out from his forearms and extended forward, ready and waiting.

My hands rubbed together. “Let’s see. I approached the door, raised my hand to knock. Words appeared…”

Sure enough, the words that had been there before appeared again, this time brighter.

“I looked up.” My head tilted back as I spoke. A second before the spike plummeted, there was an audible, soft unlatching sound that I had missed the first time.

Now.

I jumped back as the spike came down hard. As it landed, M.A.L.C.O.L.M. extended his arms and snipped the rope attached to the upper portion of the spike. I heard a hitch, presumably to bring the spike back up. The rope disappeared, but the spike stayed put.

I smiled at M.A.L.C.O.L.M. “Well done.”

The automaton snipped his scissors in the air a few times in apparent excitement. Beep. “I SCISSORED.”

This time, Raewyn laughed fully while receiving a glare from Georgina.

“Yes, well done, both of you,” Ramiren said. He fixated on the door and squinted. “And more writing is appearing.” The rest of us faced the door simultaneously.

Instead of ‘look up,’ other words scrawled over the door, as though written by some invisible hand.

“Give those without creativity a riddle? It’d be unfair, I must confess. So, what are you, little girl? Give the question a mighty guess,” I recited slowly.

My nostrils flared as my face flamed. Gritting my teeth, I answered, “Above all else, I am a protector. Also, your meter is off, hag.”

At my words, the door swung open into a large cavern, brightly lit with torches, candles, and lanterns. The air smelled musty, earthy, like mushrooms. Despite the lit lanterns and my armor, the dampness and chill of the stone chamber washed over me, causing me to shiver.

A wizened and hunched creature tinkered at a table, her back towards us, pouring bottles of something into bottles of something else. She murmured to herself, but whether it was magical incantations or simply muttering, I could not tell.

“We’re here,” I called out.

The creature turned. Her facial features were bulbous and exaggerated, covered in warts of all sizes.

Her acid eyes settled on me and recognition crossed her hideous face.

“Oh, yes! Hello! Come in! Come in! I’ve been waiting for you.

” She cackled, a familiar sound that set my teeth on edge.

I stepped into the cavern, the others following closely behind .

“Now, my sweets. What is it that you want? You made it through my clever riddles. My clever traps. Surely, you are clever, too! What do you want from dear old Anoira, hm?”

I doubt that’s her real name. I’ve heard fey are often finicky about their names.

Ramiren replied to her, “We have come to strike a deal with you, Anoira. You have something of ours that should be returned. A stolen thing that belongs to one of us.”

“Ahhh, yes. I see. You wish to reclaim. Very well. What would you give in return?”

“Your life?” Raewyn muttered derisively. Both Ramiren and I turned back to glare at Raewyn, who did not shrink under our gaze. She shrugged, looking unbothered.

The hag cackled again. “My life, you say? Oh, but what do I feel it is worth, hm? Equal to the restoration of a beautiful face? Tools and the knowledge to use them? Oh, perhaps not all that. Perhaps something else, eh? Something more substantial. One of your lives, maybe?” She grinned, ragged and rotted teeth showing.

“We come in good faith, mistress.” Ramiren stepped forward, though his hand moved to rest on the hilt of his rapier. He knew what was about to happen. I spared a second to mentally applaud his instincts before he continued, “We wish for a return of things stolen. Perhaps you can…”

The hag frowned. “Good faith? You come to my home, break in, and expect fair play? Oh, no.” She tsked in disappointment.

Ramiren replied with impatience, “The doors opened automatically. The riddles and traps were so easy as to practically be an invitation. Simple and strangely specific to us. In fact, I recall talking about an elf at the carnival.”

“Oh, shit! And I said that Minuen phrase in the riddle to Chadra at The Forever Inn,” Raewyn added.

It was no surprise I hadn’t remembered that, too. Especially given my mental state at the time.

“Indeed,” Ramiren said, without turning from the hag. “You’ve been watching us. Scrying. For quite a while now.”

The hag laughed and clapped as though pleased. “Indeed, I have! Some very interesting happenings. Strange things surround you, Ramiren. And you, Nathalia. Blips. Flashes of fire and then nothing. Mmm. I wonder what that is...”

My blood ran cold. My heart dropped into my stomach.

My first lesson and the pact’s discussion had not been in the protected bedroom.

It was at the inn.

Has she seen? Did she know? And, more importantly, would she tell?

Before the hag could continue, Ramiren drew his rapier as simmering anger twisted his handsome features. “No deal. And no more talk.”