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“Of course.” She reached under her cloak and produced a thick stack, bound with twine. “I’m a professional.”
“Good. I’ll be right back.”
Mavlyn left the others by the fountain and strode toward the recruitment building. She could see there were people inside, but they were preoccupied, so no one noticed her surreptitiously tossing seeds by the doors and windows. She did a quick walk around the building to make sure she’d covered all possible exits, then retreated a safe distance away and called on her power.
The seeds sprouted immediately, unfurling into thick, thorny vines that crawled up the sides of the building. They covered the doors and windows, preventing anyone from going in or out, or even being able to see outside. The fae standing outside the building began to shout in alarm, and Mavlyn returned to the fountain at an unhurried pace, rejoining her friends so she could take some of the pamphlets from Rina.
“Come on,” she told them. “The vines aren’t going to keep them in forever.”
The three of them strode into the growing crowd outside the building, many of whom had shown up for the recruitment drive, and began handing out the pamphlets. The pamphlets Rina had printed were filled with information on the true reason behind the war, as well as information about General Slaugh, Nox, and her nefarious plans. Mavlyn had tried not to give too much information, only the salient points, and Rina had done a wonderful job editing what she’d written, adding helpful headers in bold and bullet points beneath them for easy reading.
“What is this nonsense?” a hulking brute snapped, ripping a pamphlet out of Mavlyn’s hand. His lip curled into a sneer as he scanned the contents with his beady eyes. “Did the water fae hire you to write this nonsense propaganda?”
“I’m not the author,” Mavlyn lied, affecting a snooty tone. She attempted to look down her nose at the male, which was no mean feat considering he was nearly a foot taller than her. “Merely a concerned citizen trying to save you young people’s lives before you throw them away for a lie.”
“I dunno, Nitan,” another fae said, reading the pamphlet over his friend’s shoulder. “I’ve been hearing some pretty strange rumors about General Slaugh. Word is that he’s been abusing his power over his soldiers, forcing them to commit war crimes that would normally get them court-martialed. And then there was that article in the university paper—"
“That article was probably written by the same sniveling pacifists who made these pamphlets.” He crushed the paper in his meaty fist and tossed it to the ground. “Go home and cry to your mother if you’re scared. I’m still signing up.”
Predictably, there were other Nitans in the crowd, staunch patriots loyal to Lady Mossi and General Slaugh who would hear no ill talk against them and fully bought into the false narrative the recruiters were pushing. But many more had already read the article Rina published, and even better, there were other rumors trickling down the grapevine that General Slaughhadordered unprovoked attacks on Lochanlee’s border towns and villages. Roylan, Rina, Leap and Mavlyn spent the next thirty minutes answering questions and telling the others how they could spread the word, and with each person they converted, Mavlyn felt her spirits buoy.
Perhaps Quye was right, and she really could make a difference here.
“Mav.” Leap tugged on her sleeve, drawing her attention away from the girl she was talking to. “There are guards coming.”
Mavlyn turned in the direction Leap jerked his chin to see a troop marching through the square, carrying wickedly sharp axes to cut away the vines trapping the recruiters inside. She whistled to Roylan and Rina, and the four of them immediately dispersed, heading in different directions. Mavlyn darted into an alley on the square’s east side, her heart pounding as she forced herself to keep an unhurried pace. The four had already decided ahead of time that they would split up if the soldiers arrived, so that they wouldn’t all be caught if the soldiers pursued them.
Mavlyn took a long, circuitous route through the city before finally heading to the ice cream shop located across the street from the university campus. To her relief, her other friends were waiting for her, Leap and Roylan slurping ice cream cones while Rina shook her head at them.
“I don’t understand how you two can enjoy a frozen dessert in weather like this,” she said. She gave Mavlyn an imploring look. “Please tell me you’re not about to order ice cream, too.”
Mavlyn shook her head. “I agree with you. I’d sooner order hot chocolate.”
“You’re the one who told us to meet you at the ice cream shop,” Leap pointed out around a mouthful of ice cream.
“Besides, we deserve a celebration treat,” Roylan said. He lifted his half-eaten cone to Mavlyn in a toast. “I think we did quite well today, don’t you?”
Mavlyn opened her mouth to answer, but the sound of a rumbling carriage distracted her. She turned around, and an icy chill swept over her as a large, golden carriage pulled up in front of the university building, House Ithir’s Tree of Life crest emblazoned in green on the outside. Her breaths shortened as the doors swung open, and a second later, Nox came into view.
Time slowed as she watched the Mother of Shadows walk toward the university gates. A sense of surrealism came over Mavlyn as she studied the Shadow—it was so strange to see her in Gelsyne’s body, which she’d made subtle changes to, dressing it in a form-fitting black gown, and darkening her hair to a greenish-black color. There was a sensual sway to her movements Gelsyne had not possessed, and as Mavlyn looked closer, she saw that Nox’s shadow had a life of its own, slithering over the cobblestones in a manner similar to a snake's flickering tongue.
“Is that her?” Rina whispered. “The Shadow?”
Nox twisted her head in their direction, and the four ducked their heads together, pretending to be in deep conversation. Mavlyn’s heart beat wildly in her chest as she felt Nox’s eyes burning a hole in the side of her head, and her body braced for a confrontation. But a few seconds later, the Shadow turned away, resuming her trajectory toward the campus.
“I’m surprised she came to the campus herself,” Roylan said once Nox had disappeared from view. “Seems like she’s taking you seriously, Mavlyn.”
“A little too seriously,” Leap said darkly. He glanced at Rina. “You should probably stay home the rest of the week. I have a feeling your printing press is about to be shut down… permanently.”
27
Leap
After their close call with Nox, Mavlyn and Leap’s new friends decided to lie low for a week or two. As Leap suspected, Nox had ordered the school printing press to be shut down, effectively putting the Talamh Tribune out of production. Rina had been furious when she’d heard the news, and had offered to call in a favor with one of her media friends so they could continue printing. But Mavlyn had nixed the idea, pointing out that doing so would only endanger more families if Nox traced the pamphlets back to the new press.
“I’m going stir-crazy sitting in this house,” Leap declared after two days of hiding out. They’d done pretty much nothing but read and eat, and while Leap enjoyed snacking as much as any fae boy, he was sick of staring at words for hours on end. “We need to get out and do something.”
“I agree.” Mavlyn set her book aside with a sigh. “We didn’t come to Talamh just to squat in an empty house and twiddle our thumbs.” She pursed her lips in thought. “Perhaps we should go back to Lochanlee, and see if we can continue the anti-war effort there? I can try to disguise us as water fae, see if that makes them more likely to listen to us.”
