The Dreamer's Curse (Book 2) (14 page)

Sevana couldn’t believe her eyes. She knew Kindin had a
harsh reaction to thievery, but…no rationalization could explain this. In front
of her, right in the middle of the street, a bear of a man gripped a child’s
arm and raged at him, the other hand a balled fist ready to strike. The boy
couldn’t have been more than eight, with an emasculate frame, rags passing for
clothes, and hair that hung into his face. He looked terrified but oddly
resigned at the same time, as if he had been in this position before and knew
exactly what to expect.

Sevana’s Kindish couldn’t be described as completely
perfect, and the way the merchant—she assumed him to be one from his dress—screamed
at the boy didn’t help her understanding, so she didn’t catch all of what he
said. But it boiled down to this being the second time the boy had stolen food
from him, and
this
time he wouldn’t get another chance to roam free.

If someone applied the proper amount of thumb screws, lye,
and hot irons, Sevana might reluctantly admit that she had a soft spot for
children. She blamed this mushy tendency on her little brother, Shion. Being a
big sister to him had conditioned her to be more protective and patient with
children than she was naturally inclined to be. In fact, she’d often wondered
if her easy willingness to help a certain child prince had been because he’d been
in the body of a young child.

Seeing a child being threatened with violence made her
protective instincts raise its head like a coiled snake preparing to strike.
The more she watched, the more intense her anger grew until red seemed to cloud
her vision. Anyone with a trace of compassion would have let the kid off at the
very least, seeing how desperate he was for food. But this merchant was clearly
one of the few individuals in the world that had
less
compassion than
she, because he didn’t seem the least bit moved by the boy’s plight, and was
instead threatening him with punishments that made her hair stand on end.

The whole scene made her blood boil.

Making a snap decision, she stalked forward, raising her
voice to a booming pitch.

“Hold it, you walking bear rug!”

The merchant didn’t notice her. He kept shaking the boy and
screaming. Sevana’s hand started twitching, itching for a wand so she could hex
the blighter. It would be just desserts, in her opinion. Perhaps fortunately
for the merchant, she didn’t have a good wand handy in her pouch for hexing
people. Although…she did have that one crystal that might be encouraged to
react
like
a hex….

Before she could properly develop this idea, one of the
assistants hovering nearby noticed her and said something to the man while
tugging insistently on one sleeve, and finally the merchant paused and snapped
his head around to glare at her. “Vhat you vant, voman?!”

“That boy in your grasp,” she snapped back. “If you had any
pity in you, you’d see he’s starved and on death’s doorstep and you wouldn’t be
shaking him, but feeding him! But if you’re so blind with greed you can’t see
it, I’ll take him from you and see to him myself.”

“This boy stole from me
two
times!” the merchant
bellowed like a wounded bear.

“And you should have gotten the hint the first time!” she
growled back, stopping directly in front of him. She had to crane her neck to
look up at him, as he towered over her, but the difference in height didn’t
faze her. “Aish, forget it! You merchants only really speak in one language.
How much?”

He frowned down at her, eyebrows forming a straight line.
“Vhat?”

“How much did he steal from you?” she elaborated, toe
tapping an impatient rhythm. “I’ll reimburse you for it if you’ll give him to
me.”

“
Vou
pay for him?” he parroted in stunned surprise.
“Vhat for? He belong to vou?”

The boy looked at her askance, clearly wondering the same
thing. She glanced at him before answering them both, “He doesn’t. But that
doesn’t matter to you. All you need to know is that I’ll reimburse you for what
he stole and take him off your hands so you won’t have to deal with him again.”

A greedy light sparked in the merchant’s eyes. “He stole
bread, cheeze, fruit vine—it cost three silver.”

“It cost one silver,” she corrected immediately, knowing
good and well the game he played. “And you’re trying to get the value of what
he stole
last
time out of me. That’s not the deal. I’ll pay you one
silver for what he stole
this
time.”

“Two,” he riposted immediately.

“One,” she maintained firmly. “It’s a good bargain,
merchant. If you sent him off to prison, or cut off his hands for thieving as
you were threatening earlier, it won’t reimburse you for what he’s already
eaten. It might salve your anger, but it won’t put money back in your pocket.
The silver I offer will.”

He hesitated, weighing scales in his eyes as he calculated
at high speeds.

“Plus, I’ll take him out of this area, out of the country
entirely,” she added, sweetening the deal. “There’s
no
possibility of
him returning to steal from you again.”

He looked at her under lowered brows, eyes probing. Didn’t
entirely buy that last statement, eh? “Two,” he repeated.

Stubborn, greedy, gormless twit…urgh. “Fine.” She dug into
her pouch without breaking eye contact with him, pulled two silver free and
slammed them into his open hand. “But don’t you dare report him to the
authorities or anything else like that. He’s mine now.”

For the first time, a hint of curiosity came over the man’s
face. “Vhat you vant with him?”

“My business.”

The merchant just shrugged before letting go and putting a
hand on the boy’s back, pushing him forward. Sevana, knowing good and well that
the kid would probably try to bolt as soon as he thought he could, caught hold
of his wrist in a firm grip. “Good. Come along, kiddo.”

He fought her grasp for a second, making a sound of fear in
the back of his throat. Huh? Oh, right. “The wolf is a friend, he won’t hurt
you.”

The boy didn’t look at her, his eyes fixed on Hinun, but
when Hinun didn’t do anything more than stare back, the child cautiously
started to follow her.

He stumbled along in her wake as she headed back up the
street. When they were a good distance away, she studied her new charge. Still
couldn’t see his face, not with the hair hanging so badly over his eyes, but
what she could see made her stomach twist. Blond hair matted and filthy to
where it almost looked brunet, pale skin mottled with bruises and small cuts,
no sign of extra flesh on him anywhere. She wanted to ask a lot of questions,
but had a feeling he wouldn’t say a word. Not now. He didn’t trust her now. She
had to prove some goodwill first, otherwise they wouldn’t make any progress.

Groaning, she looked toward the heavens. She already had
enough trouble on her hands. Just what was she doing, picking up a stray?

Alright, done deal now. She’d manage somehow.

A food stall caught her eye. It didn’t offer much, just a
booth with two tables out front and a sign with the menu scrawled in chalk. But
a good smell wafted from it and she didn’t think the kid would care what he ate
at this point. She made a beeline for it.

For a split second, her grip loosened. The boy ripped his
hand free and took off like a shot.

Sevana was so startled by this abrupt movement that she just
stood there and gaped for a second. For a boy in such a poor condition, he
moved like lightning! Then she let out a growl. Oh for the love of all—

“Hinun?”

The wolf looked up at her curiously.

She pointed to the fleeing boy. “Fetch.”

His tongue lolled out to one side in amusement before he
took off in a quick lope.

While she waited for the two to return, she went to the
vendor, calling out as she approached, “Three meat pies, two ciders, and a
fruit tart.”

By the time that she had situated herself comfortably at the
table and taken a bite, the duo had returned. Hinun had the boy’s arm in his
mouth, the grip clearly firm without being painful. At least, she didn’t see
any blood trailing out of his mouth.

The white of the boy’s eyes showed. Sevana thought about
explaining how Hinun would never in a million years harm a child. Then she
thought better of it. Naw, if the kid was scared of Hinun, he’d think twice
about running off again.

“Good job,” she praised the wolf, lowering a meat pie to the
ground. “Here. Kid, sit and eat.”

He peeked up at her from under his bangs but slowly moved,
doing as she said. As soon as he sat at the table, he started gobbling it down.
Sevana shifted on the wooden bench, the wood cold against her thighs and arms, and
ate at a much slower rate. She mostly watched him, trying to think of a
solution to this problem she’d just adopted.

He ate the meat pie in seconds, drained the cider, and
almost reached for the food in front of her before he froze and withdrew his
hands reluctantly. Silently, she pushed the tart at him and he snatched it up,
devouring that in three quick bites as well, nearly choking in the process.

“Slow down,” she advised. “Too much food at once will make
you sick. Besides, after this, you won’t need to worry about meals anymore.”

He froze again, looking at her anxiously. “A-are you a
slaver?”

Oh? That wasn’t a Kindin accent at all. He sounded
Windameran. Just how in the wide green world had the kid come all the way out
here? She snorted at his question, amused. “No. I’m an Artifactor. Name’s
Sevana Warran.”

He blinked at her several times, his expression blank.
“Artifactor?”

“Do you know what that is?”

“A…er, type of magician?”

“Sort of. We make all the spells, potions, and tools that
magicians use,” she explained. “We’re magical experts, I suppose you can say.
The wolf is Hinun, a friend.”

He looked rather impressed by this. “So, why’d you help me?”

“Can’t ignore a person in trouble,” she shrugged. “It’s a
bad habit I picked up from my Master.”

For some reason, he looked disappointed at this. “So…it’s
not ‘cause you sensed magic in me?”

What, he thought she picked him up because she thought he
might make a good apprentice? That only happened in fairy tales. “Sorry kid.
You don’t have a shred of magical ability in you.”

He slumped in on himself, eyes falling to the table. In a
smaller, world-weary voice he asked, “Then what? Whatcha plan to do with me?”

“Now that,” she admitted ruefully, “Is an excellent
question.”

They started with a bath, haircut, and a change of clothes.

Sevana mistakenly tried just sending him into the bathroom
with directions to wash thoroughly first. When he came out wet, but still
mostly dirty, she mentally kicked herself. Why did she think that a little boy
with no raising would know how to properly wash?

Grabbing him by the arm, she towed him back into the
bathroom and this time, she scrubbed him down herself. There was a lot of
splashing and protests from her wet captive, but she didn’t let up until he
actually looked and smelled clean. When he finally escaped, the bath water was muddy
and filthy.

Wrapping him in a towel, she sat him on a stool and started
in on his hair next. It was so matted, getting a comb through it was nigh
impossible. She started cutting out the worst chunks, working through the rest
carefully to avoid scalping him completely.

He started squirming, head jerking from side to side.

“If you don’t stop that, you’re going to lose an ear,” she
casually threatened.

The fidgeting abruptly ceased.

“What’s your name, anyway?” Sevana hadn’t thought to ask
before.

He muttered something she couldn’t hear.

“What? And speak up properly.”

“Sky,” he repeated, exhaling noisily.

Sky? What an odd name.

“Don’t know what my real name is,” he admitted. “I been
working ships ever since I was little, till the last one sank near the coast
and stranded me here. But people call me Sky ‘cause it’s the color of my eyes.”

True, he did have the most amazing sky-blue eyes. She could
see where the nickname came from. But if he didn’t even know what his real name
was, then odds of him having any family to return to were extremely low.

“You…” he paused, visibly searching for the best words. “You
told Bristly earlier that I wouldn’t stay here.”

“Bristly? Oh, you mean that bear of a merchant?” Accurate
nickname, considering the way his beard had bristled out as he talked. She
grinned, liking the creativity. “Yes, I did.”

“So where you going?”

“
We
are going to Windamere,” she corrected. “That’s
where I live. Although right now I have a job on the Windamere border that I’m
in the middle of. I need to get back to it.”

“Oh.”

What, no more questions? Sevana had this lurking suspicion
that he didn’t trust her completely yet. Ah well, time would sort that out.

“Oww!”

She stopped attacking that particular tangle with the comb
and shifted to the scissors instead. “Sky,” she asked in exasperation and no
little amount of irritation, “When was the last time that you cut your hair?”

He thought about that for a second before offering, “Don’t
remember?”

She believed that answer. “Kid, I’ve seen bird nests that
weren’t as tangled as this. I’m going to have to cut this very short to get it
decent looking again.”

He shrugged, obviously not caring.

Well, if he didn’t care, she certainly didn’t. Sevana went
back to work with intense concentration. It had been a while since she’d cut
anyone’s hair and she would admit, to herself at least, that it wasn’t one of
the things she was particularly talented in. It took her two tries to get the
cut even on all sides, and he ended up with hair that was barely more than a
finger’s length. A bit short and choppy looking, but the knots and tangles were
gone, you could run a comb through it without problem, and it actually looked
blond now. Sevana considered it a win and dusted him free of hair. “Alright, you’re
done. Pull some clothes on. My stomach is rumbling for dinner.”

He went for the new clothes folded on the bed with
commendable alacrity. Sevana just focused on brushing herself free of hair
before folding her rolled up sleeves down. She couldn’t believe it had taken
three hours to buy him new clothes, bathe him, and get his hair cut.

Well, at least it had occupied her time, right?

Shaking her head, she waited for him to pull on his boots
before shooing him out the door.

~ ~ ~

Sevana woke up slowly, stretching her arms out as she did
so. Mmmm, so comfortable. It was nice, once in a while, to not wake up because
you had a cat on your chest cutting off all air, or because a mountain rumbled
at you, or because someone had an emergency that needed attention
right this
minute
. As rude as her trip here had been, Sevana admitted that it rather
felt like a vacation now.

A wet nose poked her in the ribs.

I take it back. There’s still someone here to wake me up
,
she grumbled internally. Cracking open one eye, she glared at Hinun. “What?”

He gave an anxious whine and did a half-step toward the
door, clearly wanting her to follow him.

For a moment, she didn’t follow. If Hinun wanted out, he
could do that himself. He knew how to open doors. So why…? She sat up, and as
she did, her gaze fell on the narrow bed on the opposite end of the room.

The empty bed.

Oh sweet mercy…really? Had Sky really taken off sometime
during the night?

Groaning, she flopped back onto the bed, making the springs
squeak. This was ridiculous. She’d been nice to the kid, hadn’t she? Or at
least, she’d fed him, and bought him good clothes, and hadn’t yelled at him.
Considering the treatment he was used to, that surely qualified as ‘nice.’ So
why had he taken off?

But she knew the answer to that question before she even
asked it.

Street rats like Sky learned very early on that no one
offered a free meal. The cold, merciless world they inhabited took more than it
gave, and if they weren’t quick or careful enough, then someone would
eventually take advantage of them. Better to take what they could and run
rather than trust anyone or anything. Really, she should have known that not
giving him a definite reason why she helped him would make him wary of her.
Well, war
ier
.

Now that he had taken off, what was she supposed to do? Most
would probably shrug, thinking he had made his choice, and let him go. But
Sevana knew good and well that if she let the kid be, he’d be right back in the
same situation she’d found him in tomorrow. It wasn’t enough to save him for
just one day.

Hinun let out another whine, impatient at her stillness.

“Wait,” she told him without taking her eyes off the
ceiling. “I’m thinking.”

He let out a disgusted huff.

“Unless you want the kid to run off again, let me think.”

That got her nothing but silence.

What could she possibly do with a nonmagical child? If he’d
had any sort of magical talent, she would have taken him straight to a master
of some sort and bought him an apprenticeship. But as he didn’t, that couldn’t
happen. So what else…hmm.

Her own thoughts sparked something, a memory of a promise
that she had made months ago. A nonmagical child.

A young child that no one wanted? Check.

A child with a certain attractiveness to them? With all that
dirt and grime gone, he had proven to be fairly cute. So, check.

A child under no magical influence whatsoever? Check.

Sevana grinned in feral satisfaction. Perfect. She could
kill two birds with one stone this way.

Throwing back the covers, she came quickly to her feet,
reaching for her clothes as she did so. “Hinun, you got his scent?”

The wolf looked at her as if she had asked a particularly
dumb question.

Which, granted, it had been. “Sorry I asked. Alright, let me
get together a basket of food and then we’ll go after him.”

~ ~ ~

By the time she finished buying breakfast, Hinun was dancing
with impatience. He’d apparently attached himself to the kid. But then, he
thought of all children as little creatures he had to protect, so she should
have expected this reaction. When she signaled that she was ready, he promptly
led her straight out of the ‘nicer’ section of town and into the slums.

Sevana had been in a variety of places in her life,
everywhere from dragon’s lairs to castle dungeons, with sometimes very hostile
creatures to keep her company. She and danger were more than nodding
acquaintances. But this place unnerved her. The buildings were in such sorry
shape that only the fact they leaned against each other kept them upright.
Nothing had window panes, rotting boards were nailed over the window frames and
most of the doorways. The place had litter and refuse of all sorts strewn in
the streets and stacked up in the alleyways. It stank like rotting fish and
horse piss. Her nose curled up at the smell and it took considerable effort to
not gag.

How Hinun could bear to put his nose against the ground was
beyond her.

After several minutes of wading through trash, her nose shut
down completely, which actually gave her some relief. Hinun lifted his nose,
sneezed, then bounded off in a fast sprint.

Sevana felt absolutely no need to try and follow. Anyone
that tried to keep up with a wolf was foolhardy. Besides, it would have been
unnecessary. Hinun showed up a few minutes later with the boy in tow, tail
wagging happily.

Sky, having experienced this before, didn’t look terrified
this time. He did look bewildered and somewhat angry, though, if that
narrow-eyed look at her was anything to judge by.

Hinun dragged him straight to her and then dropped the arm, tongue
lolling in amusement.

Crossing his arms in front of his chest, Sky demanded of
her, “You keep sending him after me! But you don’t know what to do with me,
right? Then why hunt me down?”

“For the fun of it?”

Sky’s eyes crossed as if he couldn’t even comprehend this
answer.

“But I do have a plan,” she admitted cheerfully.

“…You do?”

“Sure. Master’s the reason why I have this bad habit. So he
gets to deal with you.”

Sky gave her a weary look.

“Not a plan, eh?” Sevana chuckled, enjoying the teasing.
“Well, I’ve got another one but first you need to answer a few questions for
me, verify some things.” She looked around and found a pair of stone steps that
were relatively clear of refuse. She put a hand between his shoulder
blades—thereby encouraging him to not run—and more or less forced him to go
that direction. “Why don’t we sit, have breakfast, and talk.”

His eyes fell to the covered basket in her free hand and his
tongue darted out to wet his lips. Sevana actually didn’t have the habit of
eating breakfast regularly, but she figured if she fed him, Sky would be more
willing to hear her out. If she approached this right, she might even convince
him to trust her, and then she wouldn’t have to send Hinun after him again.

(Of course, she still intended to spell the door and window shut
tonight.)

They sat on the cold and uninviting stone steps without a
word passing between them, Hinun sitting at her feet. She passed bread and
cheese around, then carved the hunk of cured ham into three equal slices. Hinun
gulped his down, as usual, and Sky seemed intent on imitating him.

With him chewing, she started asking what she needed to
know. “Alright, Sky. Do you have family of any sort? Anyone that would miss
you?”

He shook his head in short, jerky motions.

She hummed to herself again thoughtfully. This just might
work. “Sky, what do you know about the Fae?”

“The who?”

“The Fae are a magical race that live deep within enchanted
woods. They are beautiful, talented, and very strong people. Their magic is
some of the most elegant and the most deadly ever seen by man. They are known
to be wonderful allies and terrible enemies.”

“Have you met them?” he interrupted, fascinated.

“I have,” she answered, glad to see his interest. “The
rumors don’t do them justice. In fact, I made a promise to one and I think you
can help me fulfill it.”

His eyes crossed and he pointed at himself incredulously.
“ME? But you said I don’t have magic!”

“It’s a good thing, too.” Smirking, she paused for a second
and bit into the ham. Hmm, not bad.

“You see, the Fae, for whatever reason, are unable to have
children of their own. So they adopt them—they take human children, and over
the years of living with them, the child slowly becomes a Fae like their
adopted parents. By the time they reach adulthood, they are fully Fae, as if
they had never been human in the first place.”

It started to connect with him. She could see in his eyes
that he suspected why she’d told him all of this. “W-what kind of children?” he
asked in a trembling voice.

She ticked the points off on her fingers. “Any child that is
unwanted by humans, is physically appealing, and is not under any magical
influence. You fit the requirements perfectly.”

He looked down at himself. “Appealing?” he asked doubtfully.

“It’s just a matter of feeding you,” she assured him, not
unsympathetic. “Trust me. You’re not ugly, just neglected. That said, I made a
promise to one of the Fae months ago that if I ever saw a human child that
didn’t have a family and met the requirements, I would bring that child to
him.” Well, actually she’d promised to bring Bel back, but close enough. “He
and his wife are desperate for a child of their own, you see. Now, the question
is this: do you want to go and meet them?”