I felt hot and sweaty. The air was stuffy too. I shoved the blanket aside and turned over, but a sharp pain in my side jerked me upright. Instead of a kalihchi bear, though, late-afternoon light greeted me.
I was in Bihei’s longhouse. Her loom stood in the corner. Steam rose from a pot simmering over the cookfire—a corn porridge, from the smell of it. Propped up beside the door was Bearbane. I could tell the spear had been cleaned and polished. Its ebony haft was unmarred.
At the corner of the bed Aluali lay curled up in a ball, asleep. The animals had been let out for the day, so it was quiet in the longhouse. The only sounds were those of the people walking past outside and Aluali’s soft breathing.
He must’ve nodded off while watching over me. I stroked his hair, then noticed the splotches on his cheeks. He’d been crying.
Yuki?
Welcome back, sleepyhead.
We made it, then.
Yes, but it was close.
I lifted up my shirt and saw a scar in the shape of a sunburst covering my abdomen. No bloody bandages or inflammation though. Thank the gods for magical healing.
The scar was ugly, yet I was alive to appreciate its ugliness. That was what mattered.
I heard a voice there at the end.
Mumu? She and the others saw Snow take us, and they followed after. Her Healing Water—
I shook my head. I heard Helen.
Oh. The impact of my statement reverberated through Yuki. That means—
Yeah, I’d died. Or came close enough to straddle the line.
Yuki shuddered. Let’s not do that again.
I can’t promise that. Not to you or anyone else. Life’s a one-way street, and there’s only one destination.
Not for us, Yuki said.
I smiled, then immediately noticed my jaw felt sore.
Yuki explained: The lodge paid for both a healer and an alchemist to treat your wounds. The hunters were worried the golden slumber had gotten to you in addition to the kalihchi bear, so they forced your mouth open for a series of potions.
That must’ve been expensive, I said.
The healer, yes. The alchemist, on the other hand, nearly wet himself when he learned there was a stand of golden slumber nearby. Apparently, it’s valuable.
More than the eilesheile? I asked.
About the same. Anyway, it was good the alchemist was here. The hunters needed his lodge’s help in safely moving the King’s body from the slumber’s meadow.
Ah, yes. I could see how that would’ve been a problem.
It’s all taken care of now though, Yuki said.
And everyone’s all right? I asked.
Snow is back at the Glen, and Ikfael knows you are safe. Our team is also well. Some have new scars, but they’ve all healed. Inleio… Yuki’s dismay colored their next words. He’s alive. That’s something. That spell of his though, Body Burner… let’s never learn it.
My stomach sank. My hand, which had been stroking Aluali’s hair, paused.
And Borba?
Still alive, but caged. He’s lost himself and attacked several of the other hunters.
That was another blow. I’d hoped his performance during the hunt would redeem him, but apparently it had only made things worse. Anything else?
Ghitha took Banan, Kuros, and some soldiers to the King’s den, but all they found was evidence of an old battle and the wall Woldec had raised. Because of the way the stone was fused, none of them realized it wasn’t natural. Yuki snickered. Ghitha nearly went mad. They searched and searched, but didn’t find any of the cave entrances leading to the Red Room. Banan and Kuros were disgusted.
The two of them didn’t get in trouble for running away? I asked.
They lost their shares for the bear’s parts. Technically, they were employed by Ghitha, so it would’ve been his responsibility to deal with them. He didn’t. Instead, he canceled the dolbecs’ contracts and kept Kuros and Banan around to help find the Red Room. When they didn’t find it, he also fired them. The only reason they’re still in Voorhei is Otwei’s funeral.
They were fools, the lot of them. The dolbecs were the only good people on that team. How are they doing?
Agath and Moon are still recovering. The feeling of snickering-gloating-superiority dropped away from Yuki’s qi, and was quickly replaced by something more serious. We’ll have to deal with Ghitha soon. He blames us for what happened. “If we’d just told him the den was empty, he wouldn’t have spent all his coin on a fool’s quest.” Ghitha believes we colluded with Inleio to trick him into sponsoring the hunt. He’s also heard rumors about a new source of eilesheile being found by the Alchemist’s Lodge, and of course we’re his prime suspect.
Well, Ghitha wasn’t completely wrong. Inleio had used Ghitha’s obsession for his own purposes. Practical, pragmatic Inleio—he’d do almost anything to protect the village and its hunters. I couldn’t help but mourn the sacrifices he’d made to do so. As for the eilesheile, finders keepers.
“Zasha…” a soft voice roused me from my thoughts. “Oh, Zasha, you’re awake.” Aluali scrambled to hug me tight.
I grimaced—my wounds were still tender, but I didn’t say anything. Aluali was in tears.
“You were hurt—so hurt—and covered in blood. We thought you were dead.”
“There, there,” I said. “As you can see, I’m all right.”
Aluali shook his head. “But you were almost not. You have to be more careful, Zasha. Your life is more important than any bear, no matter how dangerous.”
“It had to be done,” I said. “And things turned out well, didn’t they?”
Aluali sat back and looked into my face. “Zasha won’t understand unless I show him.”
He scooted off the bed to retrieve my chainmail from storage, then held it up to show me. The armor had been cleaned of blood, fur, and gore, but the whole front lower half was missing from when I’d partially Blinked inside the bear’s snout.
“All the villagers who knew Healing Water came to cast the spell. And there was the alchemist and nasty healer too, just to make sure your insides were okay and there was no lasting damage to your body. Do you understand now, Zasha?”
“I understand,” I said dutifully.
“And you promise not to do such dangerous things again?”
I carefully got out of bed and took the armor from him. The links around the hole looked shorn completely through. “That I won’t promise. Because I’ll do what’s demanded of me, what’s necessary to protect those I love.”
“But—”
“There is no but,” I said. “This is who your zasha is. That’s all there is to it.”
I thought that was a fine way to end the argument, but the little imp was determined. He refused to give up, and instead argued his case while I changed clothes, ate three bowls of porridge—I was starving—and got ready to go to the Hunter’s Lodge.
As soon as I stepped out the door, Aluali puffed up proud like a balloon, and I quickly realized why: I couldn’t go more than a couple of steps without a villager coming up to touch me—on the arm, the shoulder, the head—and ask about my wellbeing. The bolder ones even asked for blessings.
I felt like the pope. And couldn’t help but want my own popemobile. I mean, everyone was polite, and I was happy to receive their well wishes, but it took nearly half an hour to walk to the lodge. The villagers only dispersed after I arrived.
Inside, Kesa and Mumu huddled over Inleio’s desk to discuss a sheet of paper between them. In the opposite corner, a pair of hunters individually wrapped bear teeth in cloth before putting them into a chest. Another pair carried an enormous heart over to a barrel full of salt, while a group worked nearby to strip bones of flesh and connective tissue.
The bustle and noise came to a halt as the hunters noticed me at the door. Then a collective sigh moved through the room. Smiles broke out like the sun emerging from behind the clouds. Someone ran to the back courtyard to announce my arrival, and more hunters crowded inside—many wearing aprons covered in gore, the bloody butchering knives in their hands forgotten.
The hunters made way for Inleio, enough space for him and Tegen, on whom he leaned. Someone had made a prosthetic cane for him, and it clicked against the stone as he approached.
The lodge master was a shell of his former self. His steps were slow and pained. His salt-and-pepper hair was now completely white. The vigor—the elan—that I associated with him was dust. None remained, except… he looked at me as he approached, and I saw determination in his eyes.
Maybe he knew what I was thinking, because he cracked his cane loudly against the stone, as if to announce that he was still alive. I smiled, and he smiled back. This was a man who didn’t regret his choices either.
“I have something for you,” he said. “But first—”
Inleio let go of Tegen’s support to place his hand over his heart and bow. The other hunters followed suit. I—well, I was embarrassed and pleased and touched and never had so much admiration from so many people before. I choked up, and the moment lasted long enough for me to start squirming. I was just about to say something to lighten the mood, but thankfully Inleio righted himself and the others did too.
“We are all hunters here,” Inleio said, “and we know what courage and skill it took to face the King of the Forest. Others may hear the story and praise you, but we, your brothers and sisters, we know. We understand. We recognize the gift you’ve given.”
The room shook with a sudden yell from the hunters. There were no words that I could pick out—just heartfelt expressions of joy-courage-appreciation.
The ritual room’s stone ceiling and wooden braces deadened the noise of the rambunctious hunters above. Surrounded by the tapestries of the forest, the corners cloaked in shadows, it felt like we were a world away.
I had started a fire while Mumu and Kesa worked at the herb cabinet to prepare a tea blend. Inleio gestured at them with his eyes as they continued to work. “I’ve decided that Mumu will be the next lodge master. Yet, because she is still unseasoned, I’ve asked Kesa to guide her.”
Mumu’s skill plus Kesa’s experience—as long as the two got along, it’d be a potent combination.
“Will it affect their teams?” I asked.
“Not at this time,” Inleio said. “Our village is prosperous enough that the lodge master doesn’t need to hunt, though Mumu refuses to leave the field.”
“It’d be a waste of her skills,” I said.
“So she has also said.” He grinned, clearly proud of her.
“And I’ll say it again to whoever tries to keep me out of the forest,” Mumu replied, walking over. She looked well enough, but a new scar ran from the top of her left eyebrow down to her cheek. She’d been fortunate not to lose the eye.
Kesa shook her head. “A wise hunter doesn’t keep their sharpest spear in the shed.”
“Is that a proverb?” I asked.
“No, but it ought to be,” Kesa said.
The hunters chuckled, Inleio’s turning into a raspy cough. The laughter died away, and I didn’t miss the pained expressions on Mumu’s and Kesa’s faces.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
Inleio snorted. “Of course not. What a foolish question, Little Pot. But what is, is. There’s no turning back time. Not that I would. The King of the Forest is dead, and that’s enough for me.”
He looked over at Mumu, and she took the hint to start steeping the tea. The scent was familiar, and my stomach sank. I’d been afraid of this.
“Is that—”
Inleio nodded in approval. “You have a good nose. It’s the truth-telling tea, yes.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Why else? Because there are questions,” Inleio said.
“And these questions need to be answered?”
Inleio’s wrinkles deepened as he thought for a moment. “No and yes. No, in that we could live blithely on without the answers and likely not be harmed. Yes, in that the lodge is our joint responsibility, and responsibility requires us to press ahead even when there is discomfort.”
Well, it wasn’t like I blamed them for wanting answers. A lot had happened during the hunt that was mysterious unless you happened to know the full story.
Sure, I could refuse—walk away without answering their questions—but then what? They’d throw me out of the lodge for disobedience? Somehow, I wasn’t too worried about that. I’d already proven myself to be too valuable a member to discard. But even if it happened, even if they banished me from the village, I had the eilesheile and the deal with Uncle Kila. I’d find a way to make do.
I looked into the eyes of the three hunters across from me, and none of them appeared antagonistic. If anything, they held affection for me, each in their own way. Would their pragmatism override their affection though?
Yuki?
A lodge is another family, they said.
That’s not always a good thing, I said.
This family in particular, then, do we trust them?
I trust them to do what’s best for the lodge and for the village, I said.
And aren’t we part of both?
In my mind, my true home was with Ikfael in the Glen, though I had also ingratiated myself into the village and its Hunter’s Lodge. I cared about the people here, and that mattered. I could live without them, yes, but did I want to?
Maybe it wasn’t the smartest, safest decision, but my gut told me to go ahead and drink the tea. It said the upside was worth the risk, and if things went bad… well, I had Ikfael on my side.
The hunters didn’t say anything while the tea was steeping. They were content to let me think things through, which pretty much implied that I had secrets I wanted to keep hidden. So, yeah, okay. I nodded in agreement, then took the tea when it was offered to me.
Inleio waited until I had finished half the cup. My body loosened, and my breathing slowed. My thoughts drifted like clouds, but I felt safe knowing Yuki was there to watch over me.
The others drank too. Sharing the tea was supposed to be a gesture of respect.
“My first question,” Inleio said. “Are you well?”
“I’ve got an ugly-ass scar and some twinges, but I came out of the fight in better shape than I expected. No permanent damage that I can tell.”
The three hunters breathed a sigh of relief. Then Mumu took over for the questioning:
“How did you kill the King of the Forest? Yes, it was clever to use the golden slumber to make him drowsy, but even with Bearbane, you’re not strong enough.”
“Ah, it’s time I came clean about that: I tamed a blynx. Well, tame’s not the right word. Made an arrangement. Became friends. Her name is Sun-on-Snow, and she lives with me in the Glen, along with a couple of kittens named Oscar and Felix. They’re so cute. And their fur is so soft!”
Mumu held up a hand, her forehead wrinkling. “Wait, you what?”
“Made friends with a blynx,” I said. “But that’s not the cool part. The cool part is—”
Mumu interrupted, “So the blynx that snatched you during the hunt was an ally? How? Just how?”
“I have a spell that creates harmony between creatures, and before you ask, no, I can’t share it. I don’t even think I’m supposed to use it often. My impression is that it’s for special occasions.”
“Ikfael must care for you greatly,” Mumu said, “to give you this spell in addition to Healing Water.”
“Oh, it wasn’t—”
Ollie/Eight!
I shut my mouth and reconsidered telling them about the stonewater serpent. “I think Ikfael is warming up to me nicely.”
“And so this blynx,” Mumu said, “it helped you kill the King?”
“Yes. Snow—that’s her nickname—saved me from getting squashed by the bear, but she didn’t help me kill him, not directly anyway. Instead, she taught me the Blink spell.”
Kesa dropped her cup, spilling what was left of her tea on her lap. Mumu’s jaw dropped, and Inleio grunted in surprise. All three stared, and I cleared my throat and smiled.
“Eight, can you… share the spell with the lodge?” Inleio asked.
I shook my head. “Blink’s requirements include using body power in certain ways. I’m not sure how to teach that, and even if I did—the resulting damage is pretty severe. The spell is a last resort.”
The hunters’ faces fell in disappointment.
“There may be a hunter yet who has a talent for using body power,” Kesa said. “We should keep the spell in mind if that day ever comes.”
Mumu rubbed at her new scar as she thought. Does it itch? I wondered. Are their salves for itchy skin? There must be.
“But wait,” she said, interrupting my thoughts. “That means Eight can use body power. How? Have you been taking darklight?”
“No, not at all,” I said. “We made the spell work by simulating the effects of body power through a… uh… convoluted use of qi.”
The hunters chewed on that, but they seemed to take me at my word that it wasn’t a skill or spell I could teach.
“Amazing. Just amazing. Our Little Pot—” Mumu shook her head to clear it. She set her teacup down before continuing. “There’s only one question left. Eight, why did the kalihchi bear target you and Otwei?”
Oh boy. There it was. The question I’d been dreading-expecting-anticipating.
I gathered my thoughts. Reconsidered them, which wasn’t easy, since they tended to stray like chickens searching for—
This really wasn’t the time to be hunting for metaphors. Nor could I get distracted, no matter how much I wanted to eat fried chicken.
Yuki, help.
Their qi sparkled in amusement. You’ve already decided, so just do it.
And you’re okay with this decision?
Yes, Yuki said. We’re tired of hiding from our friends.
“I’m not alone,” I said to the waiting hunters. “Like Snow, I have another friend, but even closer. Much closer.” I reached out my hand, and Yuki’s tendrils sprouted from my palm.
“Oh, Little Pot,” Mumu said. “How much darklight—”
“It’s not… I’ve never taken darklight in my life,” I said firmly. “This is Yuki, a sentient lichen that lives inside my body. I know it sounds strange and maybe terrifying, but they’re my best friend.”
If the Blink spell had shocked the hunters, Yuki was a surprise several magnitudes larger. My answer to the question was clearly not what they’d been expecting. All three were speechless. They stared at the gently swaying tendrils.
“Yuki helps me with my spellcasting,” I said. “They’re a master of qi manipulation, and also the reason why I learn spells so quickly. They can transform into qi, which is how they—”
Kesa squinted as she thought through the implications. “This creature—”
“Their name is Yuki,” I clarified.
“This Yuki, then—can they go into other people?”
I cleared my throat. “Ah, yes.”
Mumu’s brows rose, unevenly thanks to the new scar. “Did they go into Otwei?”
“Yes,” I said. “Back when she spied on me in the Glen.”
Inleio breathed in deeply. “That’s how you learned Camouflage and Scentless Hunter spells.”
“How dangerous is this Yuki?” Mumu asked.
“How dangerous are you?” I asked in return.
Mumu smiled like a wolf, her teeth showing. “Very.”
“My answer is the same, but the danger is in service to me, my family, and this lodge. Yuki is as much a part of me as my own heart. What I do, we do together. All the good I’ve done, Yuki has done alongside me. They’re as much a part of this lodge as I am.”
Kesa raised her hand to get my attention. “If Yuki can go into other people, are they in anyone else right now?”
“Yuki can only maintain three distinct pieces of themselves away from the main body. Right now two are elsewhere. One is inside Snow to help coordinate our actions. And the other is… ah… there’s a piece of Yuki inside Ghitha.”
That seemed to give the hunters pause. Each of them sat back to consider the implications. Mumu and Inleio didn’t seem… displeased, but Kesa frowned.
She asked, “What about your team? Lodge brothers and sisters? Other villagers?”
“Never. The only times Yuki has entered another human being was when we had evidence that they intended us harm.”
There were more questions after that, but they were variations on what had already been asked. I explained the kalihchi bear’s attraction to uekisheile, hedging here and there but trying not to hide anything. Mostly, I tried to keep things simple, and not expose my origins.
The three hunters looked overwhelmed by it all. Sure, they’d seen a lot of incredible, unbelievable stuff in their lives, but Yuki was on a whole other level. It wasn’t even because the uekisheile could invade things and kill them from the inside, or that they were frighteningly intelligent—they’d seen those kinds of things before—but because Yuki was friendly.
It was like opening a gift under the Christmas tree and expecting a pair of socks—maybe a puppy if you were lucky—but a man-eating lion popped out instead. And then you found out all it wanted to do was lick your face and sit on the couch with you to watch A Christmas Story for the ten millionth time.
Eventually, the hunters ran out of questions, and they asked me to give them time to confer. I moved to the edge of the room to meditate, but it was hard to focus on anything other than the murmur of their conversation. I must’ve been tired, because the sound lulled me to sleep.
I awoke to Kesa touching my arm. “Eight, another question for you: does Ikfael know of Yuki?”
I yawned and rubbed my eyes. “Yes. She gave me some surprisingly good relationship advice.”
Kesa nodded. “Thank you. You can go back to resting.”
I didn’t think I could, so I straightened up into a meditation posture. Their murmurs were just as distracting as before though. I wondered what they were saying.
The next time, it was Inleio who woke me, flanked by the other hunters. “Eight,” he said, “if you wanted to kill Ghitha, can you do it? Right now? With Yuki?”
I licked my lips. “It’s possible, yes.”
“And it would appear as if he died on his own. Is that true?” Inleio asked.
Yes, our failsafes are well integrated now.
“It is, yes, but someone with a talent for investigation may discover something. There’s too much I don’t know about what’s possible.”
Inleio shook his head. “There’s no one in Voorhei who has such a talent.” He looked to the other two hunters. When they nodded in agreement, he continued. “Eight, we ask you to kill Ghitha with Yuki. The man will die anyway, but there will be less fuss if it appears he died naturally.”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Disbelief welled up inside me, followed quickly by anger. Finally, I got a word out:
“No.”
“This is a request from your lodge,” Inleio said.
“No.”
“You will be rewarded. I know you want the King’s core. It will be yours without payment. There are also spells to be had—your contribution in this regard will not be small.”
“I refuse.”
“But he is a threat,” Inleio said. “We’ve all heard him speak ill of you and your family. What if he comes after you? After them?”
“Then I’d drop him in a heartbeat. He wouldn’t know what hit him. But I don’t need Yuki for that. The result would be the same if I used a knife, spear, or bow. He’d be dead no matter what. But that’s only if he became a real threat. There’d be justification.” I shook my head. “I won’t let you make Yuki into your hidden executioner.”
Inleio’s voice was grave. “Be careful, Eight. This is a test, and it will affect your standing within the lodge. Within Voorhei. You dare to refuse us?”
I laughed. “I dare. Listen to me again: I dare! I’m already wealthy. There’s nothing here that I want or need other than companionship. You can try to bribe me, you can try to threaten, but it’ll do you no good.”
“Even if we threaten you and your family?” Inleio asked.
My heart went cold, and there was ice in my voice. “That would be a very bad idea.”
Inleio watched my face closely. “Yes,” he said, nodding after a time. “Yes, I think so too. And it makes me happy to hear it.”
He smiled then, and the others smiled with him. That’s when it hit me. Their test—
“We wanted to be sure,” Inleio said. “Of your character, and of Yuki’s as well. That you would wield your weapons wisely, and that you would defend yourself from those that would try to wield you.”
“We’ll have to take steps,” Kesa said. “Others won’t know you as well as we do—they won’t understand our lodge’s relationship with Ikfael—so you should keep Yuki a secret from all except for your team, your family, and maybe a few select others.”
Inleio nodded. “At least for now, until you grow into your strength and your path is well-established.”
A tear ran down Mumu’s face, following the track left by her new scar. “You are a blessing to us, Eight. And now you are a blessing doubled.”
