Curse of the Stars Book 1

Chapter 23

Chapter XXIII

"You really think two kids like us can go up against a creature like Leviathan?

Fyran thought he had left for good when he had gone stomping away and had left her with nothing. But as she grudgingly walked home because she no longer had any tools to even trade with, ready to admit defeat, there came a boy galloping down the street on a blue roan an hour later. Fyran had barely managed to get out of the way on time as he barrelled up beside her, his cheeks flushed, his eyes wild and excited and a little bit afraid.
"Surprised to see me?" He had teased her in delight.

"Vaekan, you have a horse?!"
At that guilt flooded his face and he blushed. "Not me...my cousin Hylva. I'm sure he won't mind as long as I bring it back. He won't mind at all if I show up with a dragon head." He brightened at the thought. "He has so many horses he probably won't even notice."

"I hope you're right." Fyran just muttered.

"I brought a couple swords for us too, we're going to need them for a creature like that." Vaekan went on. "And I didn't want to lose you cause I didn't know where you'd go so I just grabbed some of the spare tuckla my parents keep around the house...we can worry about food later."

"And a tent? And sleeping bags? And maybe clothing?" Fyran raised an eyebrow.
"In time." Vaekan waved her concerns away. "I think there's enough money in here to last us...a while I think."

"Did you even count it or did you just grab it?"

"Does it matter?"

"Give me that." Stygian ripped it out of his hands because he had been dangling it in front of her face the whole time. She opened the satchel and briefly glanced inside.

Tuckla. More tuckla than she had ever seen in her life, at least all in one place. All shining and bright and demanding all the attention in the world.

"This was just...lying around?!" She asked in disbelief. She couldn't believe anyone, even a rich noble family would just leave this much tuckla lying around.

"Well, like, sort of..." Vaekan said uncomfortably.

"Vaekan..."

"Look, it doesn't matter where I got it from or what it's for okay? It's my problem, not yours. It should be enough for a while at least. Come on, let's go before my dad gets home and discovers me missing. We're wasting daylight."

He helped her onto the horse, though she couldn't say she felt comfortable being squashed against his back while he steered the reigns. They trotted swiftly towards the gates, falling into silence as the sound of the horse's hooves swelled within the streets.

But there was something Vaekan wasn't telling her about that tuckla, and she found a worrisome thought nagging in the back of her mind. It was important to him, that tuckla. It was for something important. She had seen the guilt and the fear on his face when he rode up. It could've just been the fact that he had borrowed his cousin's horse but...the way he swung that satchel around like it was nothing but also gripped it so hard as if he was scared of losing it... Well, there was still a lot about Vaekan's life she didn't know about. He had come to her world to observe and interact, but had never invited her to his. What exactly was he hiding? And why was he giving her this bag of tuckla to help her out when it had obviously been meant for something else? Things she could never even begin to guess?

But she had kept her mouth shut out of politeness. One did not badger their helper where they got the money in which to give. One simply accepted what one got. That was what her mother had always said anyway.