Engines of Alchemancy (The Alchemancer Book One)

Witch's Interlude I

"HE SLEEPS."

Ursool shuffled away from the curtain separating Aaron from the rest of her house. Quietly, she sat next to Ensel Rhe, who remained seated on the bench close to the fire.

"He is about Hannu's age, don't you think?"

Milk-white eyes did not waver from the flames. "Hannu was much younger."

"If he still lived, I meant."

Silence.

"Perhaps."

Ursool crossed her arms. "Does Aaron know where you are taking him?"

"He knows enough."

"Does he, now? Tell me, what did you tell him?"

"Why? Does your witchcraft suddenly fail you?"

Ursool smiled. "I wish to hear it from your lips."

"I have told him nothing."

"Nothing at all? But you will tell him, won't you? Before you get there, I mean."

"What is the difference whether I tell him before or if he finds out once we are there? Either way, we are going."

Ursool sighed. "It might do him some good to hear it beforehand. He is just a child. He has lost his home. His friends. It would not kill you to give him some support, would it? What if he were Hannu—"

"He is not Hannu."

"But he is still a child."

Ensel Rhe did not argue that point.

"It would do him good to hear truth."

"I have not lied to him."

"Perhaps not, but sometimes the omission of information is no better. The truth—"

"Since when is a witch so concerned with truth?" Ensel Rhe shifted. He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "What should I have told him? That Elsanar had not the foresight to safeguard his life? That had I not come looking for him at my own initiative, he'd have been split in two by a dwarven axe? Sometimes it is better not knowing the truth, I think."

The crackle of the fire became the only noise between them for a few moments. Then Ursool asked, "So why do you do it then? Why do you bring Aaron to Wildemoore?"

"Because there is safety there. Because Ansanom will take care of him."

"Really? Safety? I have my suspicions and, I think, so do you."

"Suspicions are just that. Ansanom has done nothing untoward. If not for his warnings, Aaron might already be dead."

"I wonder at that."

"Why? What does your witchcraft tell you? If you know something, then out with—"

"It is not craft, but common sense, which warns me of that man. Something is not right about him. It is a wonder you, with all of your senses, do not see it. I fear that should you enter that place, you may never leave."

The fire crackled as Ensel Rhe leaned against the table. "I am not blind to the possibilities. But our current choices are limited. I said nothing to the boy, but we are being followed."

"Yes, I know."

The eslar sat up. "What do you know?"

"Very little. Howls in the night. Shadowed beings. Difficult to say beyond that. Perhaps, come morning, or sooner, I will know more. Until then, find a place to rest. Get some sleep."

"Perhaps in a while." Ensel Rhe crossed his arms and shifted uncomfortably for a moment. Finally, he said, "For now, it is good to have your company."

Ursool, a smile creasing her lips, said nothing, but took to humming a soothing melody. After a while, Ensel Rhe propped crossed legs upon the hearth's edge. Neither said another word right away.