Page 9 of Enchantment of Silver and Sea
“Depending on how many people you have to help with this”—I assumed they weren’t going to share that, either—“you may have to do this in parts. If you ensnare, let’s say, five wolves at once, that still leaves fifteen to twenty wolves that you have to face. Assuming a handful have stayed back to guard the lair. You could ensnare a few at a time, hang back and wait for the rest of the pack to leave them to their fate, and then move in and finish the kill. It would take some creativity, especially once they start to catch on that you’re hunting them. But it’s probably the safest approach if you’re trying to minimize your casualties.”
I returned to the map and scanned the waterways that had been sketched through the marsh. I found a spot where several intersected and gestured to it.
“A lot of fish and other prey that the marsh wolves feast on tend to gather at intersections like this. I would be willing to bet that this spot is part of the wolves’ hunting rotation. It would be a good place to start when looking for where to lay the trap.”
Kieran let out what sounded like an incredulous laugh. “You know all of this from books?”
That confirmed it, then. No one but the Library researchers and temporary, permitted visitors had access to Cyllene’s books. They knew about my work assignment.
“I have nothing else to do but read,” I responded. It seemed like a safe enough answer. And it was true.
Another thought occurred to me.
“It should go without saying, though,” I said. “To not, under any circumstances, have a physical confrontation with the marsh wolves in the water. Laying traps in the water is fine, but don’t try to fight them there. If all else fails, confront them on land.”
Nya and Kieran were quiet. Almost as if they were hesitating.
Eventually, Nya tilted her head to the side. “Why don’t we want to confront them in the water?”
“Marsh wolves are dangerous on land,” I began. “But in the water, there’s no contest. Even though they get by just fine on dry land and even make their lairs above water, they also have all the key characteristics of a creature that lives exclusively in the water. When necessary, they can swim at speeds of up to thirty miles per hour. They can stay submerged underwater for twenty minutes at a time. And most terrifying of all, they have the ability to completely disappear in murky water. Even water that’s relatively shallow. Since they stand as tall as a human if up on their hind legs and are hard to miss while on land, we assume the disappearing underwater part is aided by magic.”
Nya crossed her arms. “Makes sense.”
I sat back in my chair. “I don’t know if I’m helping much. I assume a lot of this is stuff that you already knew, especially if you’ve confronted them before. And I mean…you see creatures like this a lot, right? Out there?”
Nya’s brown eyes narrowed. “We get gored, mutilated, and sometimes eaten by creatures like this a lot, if that’s what you mean.”
Her words were like a slap across the face. These people were Strangers, and they were intruders in my home. But that hadnothing to do with why I suddenly couldn’t make eye contact with them. I felt…ashamed.
“Hey,” Kieran said, his rumbling voice sounding almost gentle. “We appreciate the help. To answer your question—no, most of the information you just shared isn’t stuff we already knew. When you’re trying to survive out there, you don’t have time to do an in-depth study of the behavior of a marsh wolf.” His expression was grim. “You don’t have time to calculate how fast they swim, or observe them enough to know that they can disappear even when the water’s shallow. You just see a friend fall into water that seemed clear a second before, and they get dragged under before you even realize what’s happened.”
“Kieran.” Nya’s voice was low. A warning.
Kieran glanced at Nya, and his mouth quirked up into that half-smile again. His gaze shifted back to me.
“You have beautiful eyes,” he said quietly. “Have you ever noticed that the shade of green changes slightly with your mood?”
I hadn’t. I also wasn’t expecting this change in conversation.
“They were clear and light when you were in the zone, telling us about the marsh wolves. But they got darker after Nya made you feel bad.”
“I didn’t ‘make her feel bad,’ I just said the truth,” Nya mumbled.
I swallowed. “Your eyes,” I said nervously. “Are the ones that are really exceptional. Did one of your parents have eyes that unusual color?”
Kieran’s smirk turned into a broad grin, like I had said something funny but wasn’t in on the joke. “Yes,” he said,crouching down so his face was only inches away from mine. “One of my parents did.”
Up close, I could see his eyes even more clearly than before. They were still that bright silver, but they also took in every color around them. Reflections of the flickering candlelight, myself, Nya, the slight glow of moonlight peeking through the window above me, and even the darkness itself danced in them.
They were utterly mesmerizing.
Nya made a gagging noise. “And on that note,” she said, jerking Kieran up by the arm. She snatched the map off the desk, stuffed it unceremoniously into the backpack, and stalked toward the balcony. “I think we have what we need. Like Kieran said, we appreciate your help.”
She yanked open the door and stepped outside. It was a humid night, and warm air seeped into the room.
“Wait,” I found myself saying. “I still don’t understand. Why did you come to me for this? How did you even get into Cyllene?”
Kieran gave something between a salute and a wave, then followed Nya out onto the balcony.
