FIREFANGED

Chapter 9 (Survivors in Exile)

After joining me for lunch, Lynda Snow offered to show me around Berykholt and help me pick out some 'better fitting' clothes. I was looking forward to a nap in the afternoon but took her up on the offer. I also had a few personal things to buy, and with the significant bounty money provided by the Order, I wouldn't have to hold back.

Before heading out, I went upstairs to check on Raven again. According to Doctor Loeb's assistant, Drew, Raven was stirring a bit but still sleeping. I asked Drew to take some measurements of Raven and write them down for me. I was heading to a tailor and could help her out.

Berykholt was a larger city than Lockrun, spanning the valley south of the castle. Sited on the Westever River, it boasted almost five thousand citizens and soldiers and offered plenty of shops from which to choose.

Our first stop was a leather-works called The Whip, where I bought an over-the-shoulder belt and sheath for Raven's black blade and a backpack for me to use on future patrols. I also bought a new leather brace for my left arm, something sturdier and better fitting than what had been cobbled together in Lockrun. The craftsman fit it to my arm and laced on the straps that would help hold it and my heavy steel vambrace tightly in place. It allowed my left elbow to bend and my fingers to flex, but even better, it hid the damage underneath.

Watching the process unfold, Lynda had gotten a good look at the gruesomeness defining my left arm. "Ara, who did that to you?"

"I can show you if you really want to know." I blushed at the look of pity and fear in her pretty green eyes.

Eyes locked on mine, she nodded.

I wasn't sure it was a good idea, but I didn't have any friends at the moment, at least not within a couple of weeks travel, and Lynda sure seemed like a good start. Reaching behind my back, I pulled out my war knife, fang and all.

Lynda winced but was undeterred. "Is that what you fought last night?"

"No, the demons last night were kittens compared to the beast that wielded these." I spun the fang-dagger in my palm. "They call the demon a Kjaira. It was stronger, faster, and seemingly impervious to pain. It was smart too. I—" I caught myself going too far. "I hope I never meet another like it."

Next, we went to a popular tailor shop Lynda recommended. On the way, we ran into a couple of young sentinels, apparently acquaintances of Lynda.

The older of the two offered me an envious look. "So, Lynda, who's your new friend? He seems a bit young, don't ya think?"

Luckily, Lynda wasn't having any of it. "This is Ara. My father recruited him last month in Lockrun. He's only just arrived, and we're getting him kitted out for life in the grand city of Berykholt." After a short pause, she continued, "Ara, this is Keil Martell and his brother Sevin. Both are newly minted sentinel-adepts from the spring recruit class."

Keil, the older of the two, was around nineteen or twenty, with sandy blonde hair and a smile that spoke a bit too loudly about his interest in Lynda Snow. We were about the same size, and I could sense the overconfidence and quiet pride of someone who'd sworn to protect others. In some ways, we were a lot alike.

Sevin, his dark-haired younger brother, was slightly taller and visibly the stronger of the two. He was also a quiet one, offering me a nod and a quick handshake. I could see his eyes react to the black half-moon sigil on my breast.

Keil's eyes never strayed long from Lynda Snow. "Well, when you're done looking after Ara, I'd be glad to escort you out and about tonight."

"Oh, I don't know, Keil. Ara might need more looking after this evening." She smiled and looped her arm through mine. "I'll let you know."