Anagha Baheti

I tended to the horses while I waited for the others to return. A little while later, Maxillian joined me. He picked up a brush and started brushing the tangles out of my horse’s mane.

“I have always wanted to see Quai. They say the city has the largest library on our planet. More than three hundred thousand books reside on those shelves.” His smile softened me.

“I will take you there, Maxillian. Once we gather enough money to break away from the gang, Quai would be our first stop.”

“Or, we could go there with the gang. World-ending threat aside, you must admit the money from this job could set us up for life.”

I hated it when he was right.

He gave me his warmest smile and returned to untangling stubborn knots in my horse’s mane.

Twenty minutes later, the rest of the gang walked out of the tavern with Kazar. Theodore had accepted the mission then. And Maxillian wanted to go. That was enough for me to put my inhibitions aside.

Theodore walked up to me. The rest of the gang stayed outside the stable, far enough to give us the illusion of privacy but near enough to hear every word we exchanged.

“Kazar says he will only work with us if you come along. Since there is no deal without you, I am willing to split the pot six ways. Will that convince you to come along? Your little pet gets a share for breathing. Is that enough? Or would you have me beg?”

He held out his hand, and I shook it. The rest of the gang entered the stables, and we mounted our rides. Theodore rode on his majestic, white stallion. Maxillian and I had a pair of chestnut horses. Ellyjobell rode with Althea on her unicorn. Ghesh usually followed us on foot. He was surprisingly fast for his weight. Kazar whistled, and a giant white bird appeared out of the sky. The bird took flight, and we chased behind him on land.

We rode hard for two days to reach the edge of the Aranian forest. We dismounted at the edge of the forest, and Maxillian took the reins of my horse.

“We need to find the deity of the woods and convince her to hand over the fallen sword,” Kazar said. After a pause, he added, “But I don’t know her name. We must search every inch of the forest until we find her.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Ellyjobell replied. She was a forest gnome. This was her area of expertise.

She lifted her head and let out a yowl. Three cats leapt out of different bushes. She exchanged a series of meows and trills with the cats for a few minutes and gestured for us to follow. The cats led us to the boundary of their territory and then called others to lead us. We followed different feline creatures in what felt like circles until we reached a clearing with a stone statue of a lioness.

“So, this is the deity we were looking for.”

“That’s a statue.”

“Astute observation, Althea. Thank you.” Ellyjobell started circling the statue. “There must be some way to call the…” She touched the back of the statue and froze. Her eyes glowed with a brown light, and when she spoke, her voice sounded divine.

“Who calls for Aranide?”

Kazar stepped forward and knelt in front of Ellyjobell.

“A human, guided by Mikael, seeks your counsel. I seek the fallen sword.”

“I was its protector for five thousand years. Not anymore. Galladia witnessed the messenger. Edna cares for it.”

Ellyjobell blinked hard as her eyes stopped glowing. The gnome had never been a vessel before. It would take her some time to get used to the feeling of being touched by a deity.

Kazar motioned for the gang to come closer. We formed into a circle.

“Mount Edna is a three-day ride. We don’t have enough time to retrieve the sword and the Grimoire of Corayne from Quai in the next four days.”

“I’ll get the sword and meet you in Quai,” Ghesh raised his hand above his head.

“Did you not hear what Theo just said?” Ellyjobell yelled. “There isn’t enough time.”

“I saunter so you all can stay with me, but I can run much faster. If I walk at top speed, I can get there in two days.”

“I’ll go with him.” Althea chimed in.

Theodore nodded.

“Go retrieve the sword and meet us in Quai. Travel fast, and travel safe.”

We said our goodbyes and started towards the city of Quai.

That night, we made our camp in a clearing in the forest. I took the first watch. After the gang went to sleep, Kazar took a seat next to me. For a while, neither of us spoke.

“Maxillian is a good man, but why is he here? Your gang hates him. It would seem logical to leave him behind in a safe town, especially since we march towards a certain death.”

“His health or safety is not your concern.”

Silence filled the space between us. Kazar stayed with me.

“Nobody matters to me as much as Maxillian,” I offered without looking at him. I could feel his eyes on me. “If there is humanity in me, he is the only one who can find it. You seem to think I am the chosen one. If that is so, he is the only one who can convince me to care. The gang won’t hurt him. They know my vengeance will make the rivers bleed red. And if the world is to end, Kazar, I want to spend my last moments with him. So, he stays. That’s not negotiable.”

“He stays.” Kazar nodded and returned to his bed.

Three days later, we reached Quai. Kazar’s presence was proof enough for the guards. It was the first time I entered a city without paying. We had a quick lunch at the nearest tavern and then made our way to the Boundless Library.