The Starlight Lancer

Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Sivanya Enclave

"Kindness can be found in the most unlikely places, as can cruelty."

—Taberfors the Traveler

Zaina raised her hands toward the sky. "My name is Zaina Quin. I come from—"

"Why are you here?"

"Huh?"

The woman gripped her fang tightly. "Why are you here?"

Zaina thought for a minute about what to say—she needed to seem desperate without seeming like she was trying to seem desperate. She tried to imagine a scenario where she never went to the Order of Riiva; a scenario where, after the destruction of Demelia, she had nowhere to go.

That was it. "I—I need help."

"Very vague," the woman replied. "All right—let's see if we can't help you. I need you to hold very, very still. Seriously, don't move at all, or I'll run you through."

Zaina gulped and put her hands up. She didn't like the idea of putting her life in this stranger's hands, but it was her only option right now.

The woman slowly stepped toward her, fang raised, and stopped less than a foot away. Then she reached out and touched Zaina's mark, pressing into it with her thumb—almost as if to see if it would bleed or come off. After a few seconds she lowered her weapon.

The woman sighed and then called out over her shoulder, "Varok! Come on out. She's good."

Zaina's brow furrowed. "That's—that's it? Why did you do that?"

"Had to make sure that mark of yours is real," the woman replied. "Can't be too careful these days. Varok!"

A young man stepped out from behind a tree. His hand was outstretched, and perched atop it was a small insect with colorful wings thrice the size of its long body. "Sorry, sorry."

The woman sighed. "Well met, Zaina. My name is Tarina, and this is Varok. You know anything about a ship landing somewhere near here?"

"Yeah, that's mine," Zaina replied. "Well—to be honest, I don't know whose it is. But I borrowed it to get here."

"Well," Tarina said, "you picked a hell of a time to show. Come on, follow us."

"Oh? Where are we going?"

"Home," Tarina said over her shoulder.

Zaina shrugged and went along with it. Tarina and Varok moved slowly, deliberately, and in complete silence through the thickening forest.

"Is there a reason we're moving so slow?" Zaina whispered to Tarina.

"The unmarked send their killers into our territory every day," she replied. "We were told to avoid a fight if possible."

"I see. Who are the nmarked, now?"

Tarina pointed to the mark on her face. "Anyone without this."

"Ah, gotcha. Makes sense. So does—"

"We'll answer your questions when we get back to the mountain."

Zaina didn't need to be told twice. She held her tongue, thinking up everything she wanted to ask when they arrived at the enclave.

There was no path through the forest, and the clear spaces between the trees had disappeared. Knee-high or higher bushes and grass covered the ground, intermixed with tangled roots and twisting branches. Their rugged path had a slight but noticeable incline. Few creatures stirred here in the dark of the deep forest. The glimmering strands of light breaking through the canopy's rustling leaves pitched dancing shadows all about.