Fowlhunter [GL]

“...But in return,” Jemi said, “you have to promise not to hurt any of the Beasts.”

“Under any circumstance?”

“Under any circumstance,” Jemi’s eyes narrowed. “In return, they will not touch you. But you must honour your promise. I mean it—the Beasts will be critical to the success of the plan.”

“Okay. Seems fair,” Ennanis said.

“Good,” Jemi notioned. “Second condition. Ask no questions.”

“Deal.” Ennanis mimed zipping her lips.

“Good.” Violet eyes darted. “I will have to retreat in order to be able to summon her.”

“Okay,” Ennanis said. Warily, Jemi watched her, but the angel really did ask no more.

The other girl wasn’t nearly as good at swallowing her curiosity. Brows furrowed, Pelia looked between them—then, emerald eyes bulged. “Waitwait wait. Did you just say the Cockatrice? You’re talking about the leader of the Beasts? The one who works directly under the Queen’s rebellion?”

“Very competent friends,” Jemi reminded her.

“Who are you, that you have connections with the Cockatrice?” Pelia asked, terrified and mystified at once.

“Sorry, not playing twenty-one questions with you either,” Jemi waved her hand blithely. She addressed them both: ”I will take a while finding her, and she will take a while arriving, so you two have to go ahead. I’ll join you both as soon as I’m done. Try to figure out the grates’ weak point. We’re going to blast the thing open.”

Pelia, “But that will trigger the explosion?”

“Evacuate everyone first,” Jemi said. “Next, we’ll blast it home. Then, and only then, the Cockatrice will come. I will need your trust on this.” She eyed Ennanis.

The angel nodded. “You have it.”

“And from you too, miss Vesuvio.”

“I don’t like it, but I have to keep the people safe,” Pelia said. She rolled her eyes under the press of Jemi’s long look. “That’s a yes. Granted, I myself will be far, far away when any blasting happens, though. You just better make sure the angel covers her own behind.”

“My behind will be securely covered,” Ennanis confirmed.

“Bet,” Jemi said. “No Beast-hunting. And no questions.”

“None whatsoever.”

“Good,” she repeated. “You two go ahead and investigate, but don’t actually do anything until I get back. Got it?” She picked up the oil lantern. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Wait, Jemi,” Ennanis called out as she turned.

“?” Jemi glanced back. She looked uncertain what to expect. A wish of good luck? A sentimental farewell?

Instead, she watched as the angel pulled something from her pocket and threw it at her.

Reflexively, Jemi snatched it out of the air. She looked down at her palm to find a crinkling, paper-wrapped ration bar in it. She looked back up.

Ennanis was smiling. “In case you get hungry.”

“You have a head full of ash,” Jemi commented, but still she dipped the nectar-flavoured projectile into one of the pockets of her cloak. With that, the lithe figure disappeared into the shadows of the emergency tunnel.

“Want one?” Ennanis offered another to Pelia Vesuvio when she had gone.

“I’m good.”

~~~

Clacking echoed through the inn room.

Three Beasts sat in a triangle, playing a game of three-person sparrow tiles.

“Stop throwing out your tiles so fast,” Ying growled in irritation as she arranged her row.

“You need to throw them out faster,” Asha said, tossing tiles like breadcrumbs. “Chop-chop!”

“No way. I need to think. I don’t want you winning again,” Ying furrowed her brows.

Lochlan sat quietly, smiling and watching them from behind his row. A breeze gusted at them from the standing fan, blowing the musty air of the inn room around, providing a meagre cooling of the humidity-induced sweat on their necks.

“I just don’t understand how you keep winning a game of luck,” Ying said, discarding another piece into the pile. “Surely you can’t control whether the next pieces that emerge are the ones you need.”

“No, but you can look at the pieces already discarded so you know which ones other people have. Then you try to avoid giving them those.”

“Ugh, I’m not smart enough for this…”

Ying frowned as Asha smirked at her from behind her row of cards.

“Nuh-uh. That’s just how the game works,” Asha said. Suddenly, she slammed down her row. “Haaah! I win!”

“Not so fast,” Lochlan said, “It’s not your turn yet.”

“Heeeh?” Asha pouted. “Whatever. I’m still winning over you.” Grey pupils shrank as the boy turned his row of tiles face-up onto the table. She shrieked as she saw the combination. “No way. You got a purity hand?!?!?!”

Lochlan chuckled as he reached over to pull Asha’s mountainous gold pot towards himself. “I win.”

Asha stared at him balefully. “The rules are the rules,” Ying was crowing gleefully, meanwhile. “You have to buy us a round of drinks now!”

Asha puffed her cheeks out. “But you lost too, pussycat! You're paying with me.”

“Buy me a drink too, will you?”

A fourth, wry voice joined them. Asha jumped from her seat.

“Jemi!” she gasped upon seeing the gold-haired woman in the inn room’s doorway. “You’re back!” Ying and Lochlan made similar reactions, sparrow tiles forgotten.

“Where were you?”

“What have you been doing this whole time?”

“Uh, actually,” Jemi said. She jerked her thumb back out the door. “I was just wondering if I could borrow Coalhoof for a second.”

Asha’s eyebrows flattened. She slapped her hand among the tiles on the table, sending them clattering.

“Seriously?” she thundered. “You come back for the first time in days and that’s all you have to say?”

“Look, I’m sorry,” Jemi sighed. She sounded genuinely apologetic, scratching her head. “But there’s a lot we have to get done, and not a whole lot of time.”

“Do you need to go somewhere? You don’t need the horse; I’ll take you,” Ying volunteered, getting up. “I want to give my legs a stretch anyway.”

Jemi shook her head. “Sorry. But for this, I must go alone.”

The group was silent.

Asha exhaled. “Take Coalhoof if you must, ‘Jem-jem, but… are you sure you’re okay alone?”

Jemi hauled herself off the doorway. “As sure as I’ll ever be.” As she turned to leave, she suddenly stopped in her tracks and pinched her nosebridge, grimacing.

“Are you okay?” Ying called out.

“Better than ever,” the woman said, removing her hand from her face. She looked back at the three of them, who all gazed back at her with concern.

“How about your drink, huh??” Asha demanded.

In response, Jemi merely chuckled. She smiled at them. “You know I’ll do anything for you guys, right?”

“Yeah,” Ying muttered as the woman disappeared down the hallway again, “that’s exactly what we’re worried about.”