Page 88 of Deadwood
I assumed Bowen was under the impression that I was doing well here in Deadwood, aside from the little spurts of tension, and yet, my head was darker than any cave, deeper than any chasm, overflowing with spiraling thoughts I couldn’t keep straight. I wasn’t weak only in my body, but also my mind. I couldn’t get a grip on it, even when faced with a life or death decision. What strength was found in that?
A knock sounded on the door, and I walked over from where I was seated in my living room. I opened it to find Lander standing with his hands tucked into his coat pockets, much like the night before. His jacket had somehow survived the attack, and though I was certain he wore borrowed clothes underneath, he made sure to wear the colors of his kingdom every day.
“Busy?” he asked with a raised brow.
“What would I possibly be busy with?” I hadn’t meant to sound so snappy, but I was stressed. The deadline to be back in Amosite was just around the corner, and with the bridge down, I knew we wouldn’t make it.
“Aside from some meals and nearly getting yourself killed in a cave, you’ve been holed up in this house. Might I interest you in a tour?”
A laugh escaped me. “You’re not from Deadwood. How might you give me a tour?”
With a barely-there shrug, he said, “Well, with not much else to do, I’ve come to find I’m quite the tourist.”
I raised a single brow. “And that makes you qualified to show me around?”
He gave a mock bow. “It’d be my honor.”
I rolled my eyes, but stepped outside to join him. After a quick look at the clothes I’d chosen this morning to be sure they were appropriate, I closed the door. It was a warm day, but the knee-length dress wasn’t suffocating. For a short stroll, I’d be fine.
We walked alongside each other in the direction of the main strip through town. I was thankful Paxon hadn’t accompanied him, as my answer to tag along surely would have been much different if he had. With the way Paxon watched me, I wanted to stay far away from him if I could help it. That thought in mind, I figured the easy answer to his ultimatum would be not to choose Paxon’s offer, but to continue on with my marriage to Lander. It was the safer option of the two, but something made me believe I’d live to regret it.
I glanced at Lander as we walked. “May I ask you a personal question?”
“Go ahead,” he replied.
“What’s your power?”
“Power?”
I nodded. “Everyone has them, don’t they?” It’s what my father had told me growing up, but it was so personal to each person that they kept it a secret. It was why I couldn’t talk about my own.
“Humans don’t have magic. We mine for it,” he said matter-of-factly.
That couldn’t be right. Maybe he was just confused by how I had phrased it. “Right, but aside from the magic in the earth. Everyone surely has their own power.”
He shook his head. “Fae did, but humans have never.”
My steps nearly faltered as we continued walking, his words blowing apart the fragments of my mind. Was he keeping it a secret, thinking my father wouldn’t want me to discuss this either? Or was he being serious?
“Why?” he asked, pulling me from the spiral I was surely headed toward.
I kept my focus on the ground ahead of me. “Just curious.”
With my response, he thankfully dropped it. I wanted to question him further, but also didn’t want to raise alarm bells. What if he thought I was going insane, coming up with theories and losing my mind being outside of Amosite?
We turned onto the main street to find people walking about every which way. A few children were playing with marbles in the dirt, and on the porch beside them sat an elderly woman patching a hole in a piece of clothing. Guards clad in all leather with protective padding stitched into their outfits stood outside buildings, a few speaking with townspeople in casual conversation. It was unlike what I’d seen in Silicate during my brief visit, where they didn’t correspond with the citizens. They simply did their job and kept everyone in order.
The sizzle of meat on a grill sounded from the market as a man stood outside cooking. A woman with graying hair emerged from the open door to the store to hand him a wooden bowl of what seemed to be more marinated protein.
“Fae were people, like us?” I asked Lander, clearly unable to drop what he’d said.
He nodded as we continued on our way. Three horses were tied out front of the next establishment, their riders somewhere inside what looked to be some sort of repair shop. With a quick peek inside the open door, I saw hats, saddles, and other leather items strewn about on shelves and racks, giving the impression they repaired all sorts of things in there.
“In some of the books I’ve read, they portray them as beasts able to subdue humans. Very few talk of them being just like us. Normal looking, civil,” Lander supplied.
“What do the others describe them as?”
He tilted his head in thought, the sun beating down on his lightly freckled cheek. “Monsters. There are drawings of them with horns of all shapes and sizes, pointed ears, fangs. It’s hard to believe creatures like that walked our land once.”
