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I love that smell.
After a few moments, the door creaked open slightly. Through the crack a pair of emerald-green eyes shone back at me, squinting in a smile before the door opened fully. I grinned widely as Umana pulled me inside her home and embraced me.
Umana was a small female, shorter than me even. She was plump and kept herself and her clothes pristine. I wasn’t surehow old she was exactly, but I knew that she had to be close to a thousand. The surface of her skin was wrinkled, and she had trouble getting around. But her mind was sharp.
“Kya. My, it has been too long. Come in, come in.” She stepped aside and shut the door.
The inside was bright and warm. Umana didn’t clutter her home and had little in terms of furniture. She preferred to keep her possessions to a minimum. A small table for two in the kitchen and two comfortable chairs in the sitting area where I sat. I glanced around and nothing seemed different from my last visit. Few items decorated the shelves mounted to the walls and she had no paintings or drawings. She lived a very simple life—or so it seemed.
“Now, what can I do for you, Kya the Worthy?” she said while offering me a hot cup of tea.
My eyebrows raised. “How did you know?” I had never allowed Umana to see my mark, and I had never told her. I told her a lot but never that. I wanted to have someone in my life that didn’t know. But I was surprised word had gotten out so soon.
“I may be old, but I’m no fool. I’ve known for years now that you bore the mark of the Trial.” She leaned back in her chair and took a sip of her tea before continuing, “And since you’re here now, that means you survived. And the Gods would be fools for not deeming you Worthy.”
Ah, so she didn’t hear it from anyone in particular. The wise old hag was usually always right. I half removed my jacket to display the mark all the way up my shoulder. Umana leaned forward to examine it, taking my arm in her hands and turning it to get a better look at the whole design. She hummed to herself the entire time and I smiled with contentment.
“I’ve seen many marks in my lifetime but none such as this. Who chose you?” She lifted her eyes to meet mine.
“Kleio.”
Umana made a sound like she wasn’t surprised. She released my arm and sat back in her chair. I gave her a questioning look, but she ignored it.
“So, I’ll ask again. What brings you here?”
“I need information about a book. A male named Moury had it and sold it to Morah.”
Umana may look like a sweet elderly female, but she was known for her knowledge. She was my contact here in Torx. She knew everything about everyone, it seemed. How she knew such things was anybody’s guess.
“If it’s already in the great library, why are you asking about it?” she asked over the lip of her cup.
“It was stolen. And I would like to know how Moury came into possession of it, so I can track down who might have taken it back.”
“Moury was a troubled male,” Umana sighed. “He became dependent upon the demid elixir and lost everything to it. He had a good heart and meant well but his mind was constantly fixed on how he could get more of the substance.”
A wretched concoction, demid was originally made by healers to help with a disease that made some lose their memories, but it was altered by those in the black market to cause a state of artificial euphoria. If used long term, fae became highly addicted and nearly reliant on it. More and more fae were falling to the elixir.
“As far as the book, all I know is that supposedly Moury found it on the beach at the northern end of Dusan,” she said.
“At thenorthernend of Dusan?” There wasn’t even a coastline at the northern end. Not since the Rip’s formation anyway.
“Apparently. But it was undamaged from the water.”
“What was he doing there? How do you know?” I questioned.
“I saw it, of course. Moury brought it here to see if I knew anyone who would buy such a book and I informed him thatMorah was his best choice. I don’t know much outside of that, and I didn’t ask why he was in Dusan.”
“Hmm. Alright, thank you Umana.” I started to stand but stopped when she spoke again.
“Something else troubles you. What is it?”
I hesitated a moment, debating on if I should tell her of everything that was going on. I decided against it. She didn’t need to carry the weight of it as well.
I stood and offered a small smile. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
I had just stepped through the door when she called out from behind me, “Let that feeling inside lead you, Kya. It will bring you your fate.”
I shook my head and smiled as I closed the door and replaced my mask.
