“Well hello there,” Rufian whispered under his curly breath, gawking at Elle with a flirtatious eye. It was then I realized that he probably had a particular taste for bigger women. There was more to love after all.
Too bad for him Elle was built like a brick, and I doubt she was into elves.
“Oh, I was so worried about you! I am so glad to see you back in one piece!”
“And he brought friends,” Rufian said, bowing gracefully. “The name is Rufian, and these three girls are Meleenia, Sevii, and Dathy. Recent captives of Dokumbe. If you can be so kind, may you point them to an infirmary?”
“Hey Rufian, I thought you were from here. You should be familiar with the area,” I teased. “Guess all of that hiding about has made you a little forgetful, huh?”
Rufian chuckled, “I can navigate these pathways blindfolded, young hero. But I thought Elle would be a better guide.”
Elle finally let go of me and turned her attention to the new arrivals. “Of course, of course! Follow me, I’ll take you to the infirmary. Are you gals alright?”
Meleenia, Sevii, and Dathy nodded, their faces still showing the signs of trauma and exhaustion from their captivity.
As Elle led them away, Rufian joined her in small talk. I on the other hand followed Madeem, who seemed to have taken Elle’s route in believing it was the real me.
He looked over his shoulder and eyed me up and down, then smirked and said, “Interestin’ look.”
I chuckled. “Really? Just a second ago, you were ready to beat me into a bloody pulp. I saw that look in your eyes.”
“Ya can never be too sure these days.”
“We checked the girls, they are legit. Well, Rufian checked the girls.”
“Only possible if he a fae. So tell me Silas, is your friend a fae?”
“He is.”
“And ya brought him here?”
“I wouldn’t if I knew he’d be a threat to my people. In fact, he mentioned hiding here for a bit. He had followed me out when I left.”
“A fae hiding among us?”
“Does the idea of a non-human really sound farfetched? I still have a quest to spot out a traitor. So it is possible. But don’t worry about Rufian. He’s Jezz’s older brother, and he’s helping me get the—”
“Hold on,” he said, my statement stopping him dead in his tracks. “Jezz doesn’t have an olda brotha.”
“I thought so, too. But Rufian showed me a family crest on his wrist. And if you saw his real face, you’d see the resemblance.”
“Real face? Brutha, I know ya got a good heart, but I feel like ya might be bein’ played.”
“What?”
“Jezz has no family. No parents, no siblings, nothing. Whomever this guy is, he playin ya for a chump.”
“He had every opportunity to double-cross me and he didn’t.”
He scoffed. “May be playin the long game. Don’ ask me why. But mi don’t trust fae. The only fae mi put my heart in is Jezz.”
“I need him, Madeem. He’s going to help me locate Jezz with the Grimoire, after we—”
“De Grimoire?! Ya got a death-wish, hero?”
I squared my eyes on him. “Hey, you guys let me go out there on my own. I would have been fucked without Rufian’s help.”
“We knew we couldn’t help. Our resources are needed here, in Prism Point. Ain’t that what ya said? Besides, we have faith in you, Silas. Still do.”
“Faith could only go a long way.”
“Ya Alzera-Kar’s hand chosen. Mi believed wit all mi heart dat she wouldn’t let ya down.”
“How can you be so sure, Madeem? Her world is dying. And I haven’t heard a hide nor hair of her since. I think she’s losing power and quick. I haven’t had any quests, or any guidance, and I’m beginning to worry that we might actually be more fucked than we thought time wise. At least with the Grimoire we would have an edge.”
“Ya speaking about stealing the holy book of fae from the High Order. Even I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Then you need to start dreaming big Madeem, because we are going to do it. We are halfway through finding the ingredients for the codex’s locator spell. It’s possible, Madeem, I have to believe it.”
He shook his head and continued pacing forward. “Mi sure do hope you know what ya doin’, Silas. By the sounds of it, you in dangerous waters right now.”
All my life I’d been in dangerous waters. I already knew how to swim. Right now, it was time to learn how to surf.
As we walked, I filled Madeem in on everything I knew thus far. Once we reached his gear shop, he sat me down on the bench and we combed through the haul I scored together. Finally a smile on his face. I knew my loot would make his day. It’s the brightest I’d seen Madeem grin, the gear master talking about all the new suits he could make with the pieces I gave him.
“With these, mi could definitely make you that pair of legwear ya wanted, hero!”
Sweet, I couldn’t wait! Madeem worked quickly, first starting off with repairing my arm piece. And under a few minutes, I got add-ons to my leg sleeves, the biggest one being jet boots!
