Ranger of Path

27. Ruins

A loving man once wished to witness

The miracle of his child's birth

But such moments are just for mothers

And the midwife kept mocking his worth

So he became an Ogre's lover

And finally got to see a birth

—Ishkur Inshushinak Ishtaran

Ishkur slaps his palms along the rows of mostly bare shelves that divide the tavern's basement. Well-plundered by the Obsidians. No skeletons hang from the ceiling, and no skin covers the walls, but it has the same dimensions as what's under the farmhouse he claimed from the vampiress.

"I'd have liked to see this place before your ancestors came." Ishkur taps the stone floor with his boot. "This was supposed to be an important town towards the end of the titans' reign, but these few overlarge cellars are the only evidence."

Kimona sets down her lamp and tugs at the wood panels of a wall. With a creak and scrape, a section pulls away. She shines her light into a nook topped by the curve of a slanted granite pillar.

What cathedral of mystery did this once hold up?

He leans in and traces part of a rectangular outline not blocked by the pillar. "Is this a door?"

Kimona hugs him from behind, slipping a calloused hand into his pants. "Oh wow, did you heal it a little crooked?"

Ishkur twists and backs out of her embrace. "I only relieved raw skin." Heart thumping, he ducks into the nook. "There's always been an angle."

"Odd that I didn't notice before, but I think it's cute." She bends and lingers, providing an ample view of her cleavage. "You sure you don't want the lamp?"

"Just come get me at sunset."

"Kimona!" says a man's voice above, where the ceiling creaks.

She smirks. "Whatever would Daddy do without me?"

"Thank you for this hideout and the food you'll pack." Ishkur bites his lip, patting her hand. "I hope you won't get in trouble."

"My father owes me more than he could ever repay."

"He does seem to misuse you."

She lowers her head. "Glad you see that."

Her father calls out again, louder, followed by a number of other stomping feet. Can't fight from a box. Ishkur tenses, but Kimona taps a finger to her lips and shuts him in.

"I'm in the cellar!" Her voice grows shaky and distant as she goes upstairs. "What do you want, Dad?"

Steady, woman.

"Are you hiding him down there?" says the man, snarling.

"Who? I'm prepping for lunch—"

A slap. "If he's found here, I'll sell your ass for beets, all week!"

Ishkur narrows his eyes, grinding his teeth. That fat man's earned Merridian's mercy.

Softer voices growl at each other. More fathers?

"Surrender, fae mutt, and we'll just kick you out!" says Elder Hoyne with the bark of a sea captain. "Fight, and you die!"

Or a great-uncle.

Jorkin's deep voice says, "My daughters, you saved one while seducing the other! Don't tempt my wrath further, and I will allow your peaceful leaving!"