All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter

Chapter One

    The tavern was nearly empty that night. The atmosphere was relaxed and almost tired. Smoke filled the small building, making it hard to see. What few people lingered at their tables were too invested in quiet conversation to pay any attention to the bounty hunter in their midst. Perfect place for a meeting, Raven thought.
    She'd stationed herself at a small table tucked away in a corner of the room. It was out of the way and afforded her a fairly unobstructed view of the entrance. She flipped her long black braid behind her, tipped her chair back slightly, and put her feet up on the table to wait for her newest client. She didn't have to wait long.
    A hooded figure walked in and approached her almost immediately. He pushed back his hood to reveal a pale face and bright red hair. Raven frowned slightly. He was younger than she'd expected; around fifteen or sixteen. That would make him the same age as her brother, Robin.
    "Have a seat," Raven told him. The boy sat. Raven took her feet down and leaned forward. The boy leaned back slightly. "What's your name?"
    "Aaron," he answered in a soft voice. Raven had to strain to hear him. "Aaron Elssadiel."
    "And the name of my target?" she prompted. Aaron shifted uncomfortably, keeping his eyes fixed on the table as he spoke.
    "My older sister. Amber. Her name is Amber. I've got a painting of her if that would help," he offered. Raven nodded and held out her hand. Aaron searched his pouch for a moment before finding a folded scrap of cloth. He hesitated for a moment more before giving it to her. Raven unfolded it and slid the candle on the table closer in order to better see it.
    The girl in the painting looked a lot like Aaron, with his curly red hair and soft hazel eyes. She had the same long face and sharp jawline as well as the same pale skin. She was smiling in the picture, like she was hiding a funny secret.
    "How long?" Raven asked without looking up. Aaron clenched his jaw and swallowed hard.
    "Eleven months," he whispered. Raven looked up at him in surprise. A tear was tracing it's way down his cheek.
    "Eleven months? And you really think she's-you really think I have a chance?"
    "I know!" Aaron burst out, slamming a fist onto the table and standing up. His chair fell over and clattered loudly behind him. The people at the table next to them glanced their way and Aaron flushed red and picked up his chair. "I know she's alive," he continued, more quietly but with no less intensity. He leaned forward. "She's alive and I'm hiring you to find her!" His eyes filled with more tears and he struggled to regain his composure. "Please... please just find her," he whispered. He sagged into his chair and put his head in his hands.
    Raven wasn't really sure what to do. She was more used to dealing with hardened lawmen, not young boys crying for their lost sister. She'd started as a bounty hunter until people had heard her of her reputation. Recently she'd started hunting down anyone down for anyone: criminals, friends, relatives. Usually it was just a case of them not knowing where to write to, but occasionally she got a case like this. More often than not, by the time she found the missing person, it was in a shallow grave.
    "Alright, calm down," Raven said gently, putting the painting back on the table. "Just tell me anything you think might help me. Let's start with the last time you saw her." Aaron sniffles and wiped his nose.
    "I'm not sure how much it will help. The last time I saw her was four years before she disappeared."
    "Four years? Why such a long time?"
    "She turned sixteen and-and she-" Aaron took a deep breath and started over. "She was chosen to be a priestess. She didn't want to leave us because she knew it meant not seeing us for five years, until she'd finished training. But Braxton-our father-he made her. She fought him. Hard." He smiled slightly. "Braxton had scratches down his face for weeks. He was so mad at her, but everyone secretly agreed with her. Braxton locked her in her room, but my friends and I, we made a plan to break her out when the caravan came and hide her in the woods until it left." He chuckled. "It didn't work of course. I was twelve, and not very subtle about it. Braxton found out and locked me in my room when the caravan arrived." Aaron took the painting and his eyes filled with fresh tears as he looked at it. "I never even got to say goodbye," he choked out before a fresh round of sobs overtook him.
    "Woah. Uh, hey, it's going to be... here, have a drink. It'll make you feel better." Raven waved one of the serving girls over. "I'd like something strong to help my friend forget about something," she said. The girl nodded and smiled.
    "I've got just the thing for you hon," she said and bustled over to the bar. She returned a moment later with a mug of a dark liquid. He nodded his thanks and gulped about half of it down before registering the awful taste. Coughing and sputtering, he wiped his mouth out vigorously on his cloak.
    "Wha-what was in that?" he croaked. The girl just winked at him and left to serve another person. Raven chuckled as Aaron shoved the mug over to her.
    "I take it you don't drink often?" she asked. Aaron just made a face. He didn't look great, but at least he'd stopped crying. "Alright, when and how did you find out about Amber?" Aaron reached across the table and pulled the drink back over to him.
    "Braxton found out three weeks after it happened. He didn't tell me until two months ago." Aaron's voice was bitter. "He didn't even seem upset! I know he never wanted a daughter but... he didn't even care!" He cleared his throat and took a deep breath, obviously trying to keep his emotion in check. Raven appreciated that.
    "Don't focus on that right now. Just tell me what you know about the day she went missing," Raven said.
    "The temple she was training at was attacked."
    "By bandits?" Raven guessed. Aaron shook his head.
    "By demons," he corrected.
    "Demons? As in, more than one? How many?" Raven bit back more questions, waiting for his answer.
    "I asked the temple women, but they couldn't agree on a number. There were any number between five and twenty." Aaron paused to take a long sip from the mug.
    Raven's mind was whirling. Demons almost never hunted with each other. Any time more than one was in the same territory, one or both ended up dead. And a whole pack of them? That was almost unheard of. Not to mention they could apparently get along together just fine. If this were true it would spell trouble for everyone.
    "Anyway, none of the women were hurt in the attack," Aaron continued. "Amber's best friend there told me all about it. Apparently the goddess Skydda saved them."
    "I'm sure she did," Raven said sarcastically. She'd never believed in the myths of the gods and goddesses. She'd seen too many horrible things done by horrible people. "Which one is Skydda again? The Protector or something, right?"
    "The goddess of protection and sacrifice," Aaron answered, his voice suddenly sharp. It was clear he didn't share Raven's view of the divine. "And I know that it's true that Skydda saved them because she used Amber to do it!"
Aaron downed the rest of his drink and signaled the serving girl for another. He didn't continue talking until the girl returned with his new mug and he'd had the chance to drink half of it.
    "Skydda possessed her, and she saved them all, but she couldn't save Amber! I mean, she is the goddess of sacrifice after all, maybe Amber was the sacrifice! Maybe she's gone and I'm here looking everywhere for her, losing my mind." Aaron's voice rose rapidly as he spoke, drawing attention from the nearest customers.
    "Ok buddy, it's time for you to go to bed," Raven said. She stood up, put a handful of coins on the table, and pulled Aaron out of his seat. He leaned heavily on her as they made their way to the door. Several customers glared at them as they passed. "He's a bit of a featherweight. My fault really, I shouldn't have let him drink," Raven apologized.
    When they got outside Raven glanced around hoping to see a horse, or a donkey, or even just a wheelbarrow that she could use to transport the drunk teen that was currently sobbing on her shoulder. No such luck. She patted Aaron on the face roughly.
    "Hey, where are you staying?" she asked. Aaron thought about her question for a solid minute before he answered.
    "I'm... not," he finally said and giggled uncontrollably through his tears. Raven rolled her eyes.
    "Well that was extremely informative," she muttered and extricated her arm from around Aaron's waist. He staggered a few steps before tripping over his own feet and falling to the ground in a puff of dirt. Raven considered leaving him there and heading back to the room she'd rented, but couldn't make herself go through with it. If he ended up being robbed or murdered, it would be her fault.
    "Y'know, I didn't expect you to look like..." Aaron gestured vaguely at Raven. She glared at him.
    "Like what?" she challenged, expecting a comment about her height, which was, sadly, well below average.
    "Like... that!" Unable to articulate his drunken observance, Aaron, pointed to his own chest and then hers. It took Raven a second to get what he was saying, but when she did she chuckled at him.
    "Yeah, you aren't the first person to tell me that." She grimaced. "Most are a lot more rude about it."
    "That's nice. I'm going to bed," Aaron muttered. He rolled over onto his stomach, getting tangled up in his cloak in the process. He struggled to unwrap it from around his head, failed to do so, and promptly gave up. Raven watched the pathetic display with amusement.
    "You can stay out here if you want, but I've got a place you can stay if you'd rather sleep indoors tonight," she offered. Aaron's only answer was a loud groan.
    "I'm gonna take that to mean you'd rather stay with me." Raven stooped down, put Aaron's arm around her shoulders, and hoisted him to his feet. She started walking, with Aaron keeping up as best he could, both of them tripping over each other's feet every other step.
    They'd barely made it a yard away from the tavern when Raven, after stumbling over Aaron for the tenth time, decided to change her tactic. She pulled Aaron into an alleyway, set him down, and took her own cloak off, revealing that the back of her tunic had clasps on it. She undid them and the section of her tunic covering her shoulder blades fell away. She tucked the swatch of heavy fabric into a pouch on her belt and repeated the whole process with the light blouse underneath her tunic.
    When Raven's back was completely bare she crouched over and took some deep breaths, her body completely relaxed. Suddenly she stiffened, arching her back and digging her fingers into the ground.
    The skin around her shoulder blades seemed to bubble until something-several somethings-poked out. Raven gritted her teeth and strained, trying to relax her back, but unable to through the pain. More and more ripped out of her back, growing and joining until a huge pair of black wings rose up behind Raven.
    "I... should have... practiced that a bit more," Raven panted. With a groan she straightened and stretched her wings out. The tips brushed the walls of the narrow alley walls on either side of her.
    Raven grabbed her cloak, bundled it up, and handed it to Aaron before scooping him up bridal-style, making sure that one of his arms was around her neck. She bent her legs slightly and flapped her wings, slowly lifting off. As she got higher she picked up speed until she was soaring through the night.