Page 36 of Degradation

“Who am I to meet?” I asked as Garron and I left the house.

“A friend,” he said absently.

I followed his gaze to watch the patrol passing the end of our street. One of the guards turned his head and caught me looking. I demurely lowered my gaze and felt his curiosity shift from me to Garron.

Peeking up at Garron, I asked, “What if the suitor Father approves of is cruel? Or ugly? I don’t want to marry an ugly man, brother.”

Garron patted my hand. “Would you rather have a handsome, cruel husband or an ugly, kind one?”

The guard’s curiosity returned to me as I quickly scowled in Garron’s direction and tried to remove my hand from his arm. He caught it and held firm.

“Save your tantrums for your future husband, sister.”

The patrol continued out of sight, and we turned to walk in the opposite direction.

“Do we wish to arrive discreetly?” I asked.

“We do,” he said.

After that, I watched for groups of energy arranged in a precise formation like a patrol and warned Garron along our route. Since I hadn’t any notion where we were going, I couldn’t be sure we were wandering, but it felt like it.

“We need to turn onto the next street. Is it clear?” he asked quietly.

“Clear of a patrol,” I said.

As soon as we stepped onto the street, a tingle of warning swept through me, and I tugged on Garron’s arm.

“Something’s amiss,” I said.

“What is?”

“I’m not certain. I felt something.”

He nodded. “Look at the third home. That’s our destination.”

The energy within the home seemed normal yet not. It felt like the void that Maeve had created but with energy over it to disguise its presence.

“It’s dangerous,” I said.

“Not for us. I promise.”

Withholding the shiver that wanted to sweep through me, I waited beside Garron as he knocked on the door. It swung open forcefully, but no one was there.

“Enter,” a voice barked from within.

Garron held my hand as he entered first. The door slammed closed behind us, startling me. My gaze swept the cramped room; yet, other than a filthy narrow bed, an unlit hearth, and random herbs hung by the rafters, I saw no one.

“Is she the one?” the voice demanded.

“She is,” Garron said.

The voice made a dissatisfied sound. “There’s nothing there.”

“Garron, I would like an explanation,” I said.

“This is Pogwid, a very powerful caster. I would like her to teach you.”

“There’s nothing to teach,” Pogwid said.

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