Rebel Fay

How had this mixed-blood girl survived in a land where Leesil wasn't even welcome? And how could she possibly be related to Sgaile?

Magiere turned her attention elsewhere, seeking any distraction.

"Tell us about these Shapers," she heard Wy

"Some of our people are born with a heightened awareness," Glea

It seemed Makers worked lifeless materials. When Wy

Shapers took a separate path, plying living things that still held their natural Spirit at its fullest. They guided, nurtured, and altered living growth, like the trees and other plants shaped over years into useful things. Some learned to make a tree or plant grow part of itself into a separate piece that still lived. Patience seemed an absolute for a Shaper. And among them were the few like Glea

Magiere followed most of this, though some of Wy

Glea

"You called Sgaile your uncle," Wy

Leanalham grew shy, mustering a response, but Glea

"Her grandmother was my sister by bonding, having married my elder brother. I believe, by your culture, this makes her Sgailsheilleache's… second cousin? But he is a generation older than her, so…" He shook his head in resignation. "Our familial titles and relations do not translate well into your language."

"But would not her maternal grandmother be human?" Wy

Glea

Magiere glanced at Leanalham and suspicions began to form. A marriage didn't mean both parents were involved in the making of a child. Nor that the mother was a willing participant. Magiere's own mother had been given no choice in her conception.

"Tell us of crossing the Broken Range," Glea

"It took nearly a whole moon," Wy

Sgaile lifted his eyes from pouring herb tea and fixed on the sage. All Magiere's senses sharpened in warning.

"In a blizzard, we were caught in a snow-slide…" Wy

Leesil shifted uncomfortably, bumping shoulders with Magiere. He too spotted Sgaile's rapt interest, and yet Wy

"…we lost nearly everything, and then Chap-"

"That's enough for now," Leesil cut in, a blink before Magiere did so herself. "It's getting late."

Sgaile's narrowing eyes shifted to Leesil. It was only a brief instant, but enough for Magiere to catch his too-eager interest.

How they'd found the elvenTerritories was a story best kept to themselves.To Magiere's knowledge, no one before had ever returned from such a journey. Should they have a chance to use a way out of this land, she didn't want the Anmaglahk to know it.

"Maybe some tea first?" she suggested. "To cut the weight of fatigue."

Glea

He rose and climbed the stairs to the upper level, disappearing from sight. Sgaile held out a baked-clay cup of herb tea to Magiere. She shook her head, and he passed it on to Leesil.

She didn't care for this herbal stuff, too different from the true tea that Wy

Glea

Out came a roll of off-white single sheets with mottled grain from whatever plant fibers were used to make them. Next were pearl-white ceramic vials, which Glea

Its dark wood shaft was long and narrow, but the bottom widened bul-bously above the head. The quill tip was made of a metal Magiere recognized immediately. It had the same brilliant sheen of Leesil's old stilettos and those of the Anmaglahk.

"No," Wy

"Take them," Glea

Wy

Glea

"Grandfather!" Sgaile's expression darkened in alarm. "I do not think that wise. Some might not want-"

"By 'some' you mean your Most Aged Father." Glea

Sgaile spoke low to Glea

"Thank you…" Wy

Any spell of the evening's lingering ease broke as Sgaile stood up abruptly.

"Now to rest," Glea

The outer doorway's curtain rumpled and its hem dragged across Chap's back as he stalked in. Grass seed and strands stuck out in his fur, and his paws were filthy. He glanced about, movements sharp and manic in a way that magnified Magiere's own nagging nervous energy. And still she didn't know why she felt this way.

"Look at yourself!" Wy

Chap's eyes cleared as he fixed upon her. He barked twice for "no" and, startled by his own voice, whined and repeated himself more softly. He circled around to curl up beside the bundled weapons and the chest. Magiere wondered what he'd been up to.

Glea

As Leesil pulled the room's curtain closed, Magiere saw Sgaile sit down against the wall near the front door. Leesil remained poised, as if about to leave the sleeping quarters. Magiere sighed, understanding.

"The chest is safe," she said.

Wy

Leesil let go of the curtain and settled on the bed nearest the doorway. Magiere knelt on the one in the center.

The soft mattress smelled of wild grass, and the pillow's strange fabric felt like silk. She dreaded the rest of the night, fearful that sleep wouldn't find her or that worse might come if it did. Her only relief was in being away from so many strange faces, though Leanalham surfaced in her thoughts.