He opened his mouth, but I couldn’t stop my tirade. In the moment, I wasn’t sure why I was so angry. I had cared about him so little up until then. Maybe it was unfair to expect him to care about me…but why did he stop caring about them?
“My mothers know exactly where I am and what I’m doing,” I asserted. “Didn’t you ever think about how they felt when you dropped off the face of the continent? All they wanted was to know you were alive.”
The following silence was what I hoped for. After a beat, he sighed. “The Wilds is a wide and dangerous place, Badger. I’ve dedicated the last few years of my life trying to make it safer, serving the king and fulfilling my duties. I regret losing touch with your family, but it wasn’t an act of selfishness.”
His frown was deep and his posture was unpleasant. I wasn’t buying what he was selling.
“They’ll be happy to know you’re okay.” I softened my tone and put my hands together. “But I need your help. I made a mistake, and it’s too late to take it back now. I need to understand what happened to me. Gold-and-Silver is in the Pantheon, so he’s the one we need.”
My friends had all but backed out of the room, standing around the cushion by the furthest wall.
His eyes seared, appraising me. “Out of curiosity, what happened after you took the Wild Fruit? I was under the impression you inherited Lucent from your mother. It’s rare for natural powers to become Divine.”
I told him the story, and he grew more and more dumfounded. When I finished, he said, “That shouldn’t be possible. Unless…” He muttered and paced about, forgetting we were there. After it became too awkward, I cleared my throat.
“Um. Pyrite?”
He startled. The severe look on his face was replaced by a curious scrunched forehead and squinting eyes. “You said your whole body disappeared into the Unseen Dimension?”
“Yes, sir.”
Pyrite tapped a finger on the wall, looking past me, at the symbol carved on the door. “I’ve changed my mind,” he decided. “I’ll help you. Unfortunately, I don't have the power of Gold-and-Silver, so I can’t give you a comprehensive exam.” He turned to the clock on the wall and muttered something. “Come with me to Banyan, first thing tomorrow. He’s likely near the border there.”
Willow floated a foot above the floor and gave me a thumbs up. Piranha, on the other hand, had taken to cowering in the shadows, their bright orange eyes watching Pyrite carefully.
“If you think it’s too dangerous, we don’t mind waiting here until he returns,” Sharp conceded.
He shook his head aggressively. “Absolutely not. Frankly, he won’t return, not with both Wyvern and the Sapphire Clan looking for anyone in the Divine Pantheon. The doctor is hiding somewhere near the border with our allies in the Topaz Clan, and I know where to find him. You’ll stay safe at my home there until I can bring him to you.”
Pyrite beckoned us into a cozy kitchen. The air was thick with the smell of cinnamon, and tea steamed from a silver kettle. He placed some fat blue mugs around the table, shoulders slumping as he poured the tea, the light emphasizing heavy bags under his eyes.
“I apologize for being cold,” he said, “but I wasn’t exaggerating about the danger. The clans are in a dispute about who is going to serve the throne next. The Topaz wants peace with Wyvern and the Sapphire wants to fight by recruiting anyone with Divine strengths. Stay away from the Sapphires at all costs.”
Sharp tried to probe him with more questions about the conflict with King Wyvern, but he insisted the less we knew about it, the better.
We were in a better mood after a hot meal of soup, dumplings, and salted greens, but the uncertain danger still loomed. We volunteered to clean up, so Pyrite left the room to gather bedding for the night. After working in silence for a minute, Sharp whispered, “No offense, but your godfather is an ass.”
The previous ATMOSPHERE was tensed like a coiled wire, so a mild swear was enough to make us all snort with laughter.
“Keep your voice down,” I muttered, hand over my mouth. “But I can’t help but agree. Am I at all like that?”
When they took a little too long to respond I swore. “Ah, damn it up the mountain.”
“No, no, no, it isn’t really like that,” Willow placed both hands on my shoulders. “You’re just stubborn in the same way, and that isn’t always a bad thing.”
Our conversation halted as Pyrite returned, holding a stack of folded blankets. “There are plenty of comfortable places in the sitting room to sleep,” he offered, smiling for the first time.
My friends left to make up the beds, allowing me to talk to him alone. Despite his gruff dismissal earlier, I sensed some untold thing below the surface. Constantly drifting eyes told me something unpleasant was always on his mind.
“If I was rude earlier, I’m sorry,” I apologized. “Can we start over?”
“I’d like that, yes,” he answered emphatically, once again looking me over with appraising eyes. “You look very much like Puma, you know? I’ve never seen anyone else with so many freckles.”
I touched my face and smiled. “Yeah, I’ve been told.”
He handed me the last of the cups and began drying the dishes I already cleaned. “This forest isn’t always like this. I hope you can visit again when times are different. If you want, I could even get you a job in the God Tree.”
I nearly dropped the dish but caught it just in time. “Oops. That’s nice but… I don’t care to go so far into the Deep Dark.”
“Is it because you’re afraid?” His voice was so gentle, it might have belonged to someone else.
I met his gaze and wondered if his bright eyes saw something deeper. “It’s not that... I quite like the life I have in Pantmawr. I like to help my moms on the farm, and I want to stay close to my friends.”
“You’re humble like Puma too. That’s a perfectly understandable reason.” He paused, knuckles white over the edge of the clean plate. “But I can still see it.”
“See what?”
“The fear,” he pointed two fingers at my face, “in your eyes. Fear can be a blessing or a crutch. Just because you don’t understand something, doesn’t mean that you should fear it.”
My mind replayed the scene again, in the meadow full of laughter, when five seconds turned into hours.
“I’m not the one who said it would be too dangerous,” I reminded him. “How can I not be afraid?”
Pyrite was distant again, lost in the gentle flame of a red candle. “It’s only natural to be afraid of the dark, but don’t forget that the darker it is, the easier it is to see the light.”
Chapter Six
Unseen
