Page 19 of A Blade of Lies and Spirits

“Why?”

A wry smile rounded his cheek. “Because I’ll have to murder you if you don’t?”

I pouted, tapping the desk. His eyes followed my fingers, and he laughed. “Work first, at'ééd.”

“What does that mean?” Chance had sometimes called me unflattering things in French when he learned it and I hadn’t.

Walker stood and kissed me.

“Sweetheart.” He pulled off his wristcom, tapped a code into it. He dropped it into my bag, then nudged me toward the door. “Go, do your work, and I’ll do mine. Try not to get in any fights. If violence is inevitable, signal me. Just tap the face three times; everything is set up.”

The door closed firmly behind me. Getting out was easier than in. I selected a grav in the lot reserved for government loans and used my thumbprint and Silver’s authority to requisition it. Actions that didn’t require people meant I didn’t have to bribe anyone, even if they left a record.

The glittering city fell behind as I took the grav up high, ignoring outraged signals as I violated any number of traffic suggestions. A whisper of song touched me, and I put the grav in a dive. The elves waited above, but I had no interest in their songs, or their attempts to get me to leave this life behind.

I engaged auto, once I was back in normal lanes, heading for where river met sea. The largest settlement of swampers was strung through the area, like a beaded fringe. Miles short of the destination, my talent skittered along my skin, raising goosebumps. I relaxed to let it in. I hoped to feel the hunger of the Wendigo and get a location.

Instead, human terror and inhuman grief, all coated with rage, danced over my skin like fire. I yanked and twisted the yoke, cursing, slapping the auto off. I tried to land by the riverbank, my head pounding with the beat of emotions.

Auto took over just before the grav hit the ground. The landing was rough, rough enough that I was slammed around more than I wanted to be, but I didn’t care. I wriggled out of the door, wiping blood off my chin. The grav had ended up on its side after skidding through the soft ground. It’d done some damage, but that couldn’t be helped now.

I jumped from the upper door. My knees crumpled when I hit the ground, sending me to all fours. For a minute I felt panicked, too weak to do what needed to be done, but knowing I had to keep going.

Someone was in pain. Someone was dying.

And they needed me.

Small hard hands caught me, pinching my thigh and lower arm. I struggled with vertigo as I was suddenly hoisted by puck-wudj-ininees. The little men carried me without a stumble. Trees and water flashed past my eyes as they took me to where shouts and sobs echoed by the river. A fading wistful song of leaf and air wove around a rage enormous as the world. Both rattled through my head and chest, driving words away like frightened birds.

And I knew. Iknewsomething big had happened. Something even the puck-wudj-ininees were worried about.

Luckily for them, I was here to help.

If I could.

The puck-wudj-ininees set me down. Near the edge of the river, teenagers and adults struggled in the grip of the small spirits, a swirl of brightly colored garments and black uniforms. The people were quite obviously tourists from Silsprin, along with their bodyguard detail of mercenaries. And, from what I could tell, there was probably a class of older teens on some kind of field trip to see the swamp area.

No, not a field trip. No field trip would lead them to this dangerous place. These teens were here looking for trouble and adventure.

And, apparently, they’d found it.

My gaze ran over the group of people, and I frowned, feeling uneasy. I recognized some of the mercenaries. Their commander had hired me right after I’d left my homeland. I remained with them for a short time until they decided to attack an innocent settlement of people. Since I wasn’t on board with killing innocents, I let them know, in the best way possible, by killing a few and maiming others and then taking my leave.

One of the mercenaries spotted me. For all the chaos around us, I would have thought he had better things to focus on than me. Instead, he glared, lifted his weapon, and fired.

A human-sized mass of water lashed out of the river and intercepted the shot, flaring with power and stopping the energy bolt cold as the blaster’s muzzle flared. The water rippled, a hollow roar of water echoing around us. The force of the noise sent several teens to their hands and knees.

The river had intervened to save me. I’d figure out how frightened I should be later.

The tentacle of river water hung suspended in the air, then wrapped around the teenagers and mercenaries alike, pulling them to the side. The movement exposed a shattered young willow sprawled to the side, its fall uprooting smaller trees. It canted at an angle; a mass of uprooted green half submerged in the river.

My mouth dropped open. These wealthy fools were even dumber and crueler than I ever imagined. They’d tried to destroy a dryad’s tree? The river spirit would not take kindly to what they had done.

A chill rolled down my spine. The last time someone had upset a spirit, it’d cost Greene an eye, at least one arm, and a hell of a lot of pain. What would the price of this be? And which of these fools would pay it?

I moved closer to the tree and the river and saw that there were people lying among the roots. A naked woman wept, her head cradled on Kara’s knees. The greenish cast of her rough bark like skin and silver-green ropy strands of hair made it plain her humanity was only in form. Chance was plastered to Kara’s back, arms around her waist. Both of them dribbled river water from saturated clothing and flattened hair.

What were they doing here? Kara should be with her family and Dimitri, not here. And Chance was usually smarter than to land himself in this kind of trouble. The kind that was nearly impossible to remove himself from. The kind that ended in innocents being hurt.

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