Page 33 of Beneath the Earth (Seven Wardens 3)

That sounded complicated, and somehow, Macey doubted that Self-Doubt even had a physical form that could leave a residue on her. She was beginning to think that maybe those creatures weren't even from Earth. Maybe they were aliens? Spirits? Devils? Some kind of sentient magic?

Well, the important thing was that they needed to destroy them before they destroyed the world.

"You've been touched by something else," Wilg said suddenly.

"By several someones," Jared snickered quietly and Macey elbowed him until he quietened.

"It's a strange kind of energy. Something wild and untamed, yet it sits in you calmly."

Air. He had to mean Air.

"It's complicated," she hedged. "But it's not the enemy we're looking for."

The Teacher nodded. "I will move on then."

The heat on her skin increased and spread along her shoulder. What was the kludde doing to her?

She studied his face, which was much easier now that his eyes were closed. While Wilg's rough features were human, the smaller details weren't. His mouth was too wide, his nose too sharp. The wrinkles of his skin were thick and leathery, and looked so much like bark that she wanted to reach out and touch them. His bushy eyebrows almost connected in the middle, and the hair was so coarse that it reminded her of that of the elephant she'd once petted in a zoo.

The silence became uneasy as the two of them watched the kludde study her. Hopefully this wasn’t all for nothing and he’d be able to tell her more about what was going on.

“Your future can take many different paths, none of which have been defined yet,” Wilg said, a glazed look coming into his eyes.

“Helpful,” Jared muttered.

The kludde chuckled. “Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, but with so many souls tied to hers, it isn’t surprising her future could go so many ways.”

“You can tell the future?” Macey asked, a little in awe of the creature in front of her.

“Not as such,” he admitted. “We can tell general information about the journey the traveller must take. It’s why we’re known for causing mischief. Often it isn’t actually intended to take traveller’s from their paths, but to put them back on the one they’ve strayed from.”

“Ah,” Jared said.

“And the multipath thing? Is that why the children seemed so…”

“Overexcited with you? Yes,” Wilg confirmed. “It’s rare we get travellers with more than one path at all. And even then they only have two, it confused them for a moment.”

“So this really could go on forever.” She didn’t want to feel the defeat welling up inside her, but she also couldn’t ignore it. How could she carry on when her entire life was going to be a series of battles she may or may not win.

“Or you could die,” the kludde countered. “A couple of the more visible paths suggested that could be your end.”

“Everyone has to die,” Macey said, her voice shaking with nerves. She didn’t want to accept that she’d end up that way earlier than anticipated. She had a lot more living to do first. Maybe even a family of her own to start. Though she’d need to talk to her men about that. No way was she having a child with each of them. They were going to have to share whatever offspring came along. Then again, would Flint’s fire even mix with her water?

“Yes, they’ll mix fine,” Wilg interrupted.

“What? How?”

“We’re touching. I can’t read your thoughts, but the paths coming from you change as you think. From the ones becoming the strongest, I can make a good guess at what you’re thinking.”

“Creepy,” Jared muttered, giving Macey a conspiratorial grin first. “So what was she thinking?”

“About the best way to castrate incubi,” the kludde said with a surprisingly straight face.

Macey muffled a giggle, not wanting to give the game away just yet. Jared’s hands flew to his crotch, protecting his cock from the non-existent threat.

“What would happen if I chopped it off?” she asked him.

“You don’t want to know.” The tone his voice took was enough to warn her off the subject. Maybe she’d ask Cam when she returned to the others. It seemed like the kind of thing he’d know. Until then, she’d just have to help Jared avoid any cock threatening situations.

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