Ever So Lightly- Book 1

6

Zephyr let out a startled laugh, doubling over when she turned around to see Bennet wearing one of Agitha's extra cloaks, the brilliant, flowery pattern shimmering in the light of the full moon as he twirled around to give her a full view. Zephyr put a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter and Bennet flourished the cloak one last time before folding up his wet tunic and jacket. The trio had been walking through the woods, just off the main road from Bremerton to Faron, for several hours before the rain finally abated. It was at that point that Bennet had begun to relentlessly complain about how cold he was from his wet clothes. He didn't stop complaining until Zephyr offered him one of Agitha's cloaks from the bag, an offer that was meant as a joke but was taken as sincere.

Zephyr ducked behind a bush to change into one of her extra sets of clothes, a green tunic, black jacket with silver buttons, and another pair of simple black pants that hugged her hips. Folding her wet clothes as she walked back toward where she had left the men, Zephyr smacked into Jasper, who was ringing out his shirt. Jumping backwards, she tripped over her own feet and fell flat on her backside. Jasper looked horrified, thinking he had knocked her to the ground, and immediately offered his hand. Zephyr's cheeks reddened furiously as she took it and allowed him to help her up, her blush partially caused by embarrassment from the fall, but mostly because of the half-clothed man whose hand grasped hers.

"Careful, Jasper! I don't want to have to carry her to Faron if you knock her out," Bennet said with an amused smirk. Jasper smiled sheepishly as Zephyr tried to wipe the mud off her bottom and hide her embarrassment.

"Sorry about that," Jasper said, releasing Zephyr's arm he still held while steadying her as she stood.

"Oh no, it wasn't you," Zephyr assured him. "It was me, I tripped. I do that fairly often, so don't worry about it." She offered him a small smile, which he returned. Zephyr was relieved to see him put his undershirt back on, her blush caused by his well muscled top-half finally receding.

"So did you find anything else in the bags, besides the clothes and the..." Jasper trailed off, realizing what he was bringing up. He looked at Zephyr in alarm, his nearly-black eyes wide, worrying he had upset her. Zephyr did feel a pang of sorrow in her chest, but she pushed it away, deep into the hole inside her. Besides, the letter wasn't the only oddity she had found in the bags.

"I found this dagger," Zephyr said as she pulled out a short, dull blade with a rather abnormally fat handle. She held it out for Jasper to inspect, and Bennet stepped up to have a look as well. "I've never seen it before," she continued. "I wasn't aware of any weapons in our house actually. Agitha only ever used a broom to chase off mice or the occasional drunk that wandered into the shop." This statement garnered a chuckle from both men. Jasper handed the dagger back to Zephyr.

"I don't know why she even bothered to pack it," he said. "As dull as it is you probably couldn't even slice cheese with it." Zephyr nodded in agreement, turning the small blade over again in her hand. The dagger was worn down in a way that made it look ancient, with a jagged crack in the edgeless blade and obvious wear from what must have been years and years of use on the handle. Zephyr wondered to herself if maybe it had been an heirloom passed down through Agitha's family.

"What's that gem? There on the hilt," Bennet pointed to a tiny, black stone embedded in the dagger's handle.

"I'm not sure..." Zephyr mumbled, running a finger over the stone. As she did so she heard a slight whirring noise and felt a faint vibration inside the dagger's hilt. Suddenly, both ends of the weapon seemed to explode, metal shooting toward the ground from the bottom and the blade bursting upward as the metal expanded in that direction as well. Unfortunately, Zephyr had the blade pointed directly toward Jasper's face. He frantically jumped away right as the pointy end shot past his left cheek. Zephyr dropped whatever the dagger now was and also bounced backward, staring wide-eyed at Jasper. Bennet cursed at the weapon and he too quickly stepped back from it. All three of them simply stared at the elongated dagger now lying between them.