Half Magic | Book 2

Two: Markings and Mysteries

Bryn. Lark. I had so many questions. So many words left unspoken. And Lark, my mother, could she tell me where the witches had gone? It was a tempting ache in my chest. But the Mist walker couldn't be trusted, not if it really was some unseelie creature. I sighed and looked back up at Nassir.

"Even if this Mist walker is real, I don't think we're going to get far with a wraith. At least not as far as we may get with the wordweaver. And if it comes down to searching Sulls for a man, and searching the entire desert for the Mist walker, I'd much rather cover Sulls."

Nassir nodded, a smile on his face. "Well thought out, Wren. I had worried a moment I would have to keep an eye on you from running after the Mist walker. You have my agreement. The wordweaver."

I blushed and turned away. Even Nassir could sense my inner struggle.

"I'm not going to chase down something like the Mist walker based on a story in a human city," I murmured.

A white hand snaked around my waist, pulling me closer and sending comfort through me. I sighed into her touch, thankful for her support.

"It's settled then," Schula said. "No Mist walker. We need to figure out how to find this man, but this is not the place for planning. Let's go back."

"Right," I agreed. I stood from my seat and helped Nassir do the same.

We walked through the room and I could still hear murmurs of excitement about the story of the Mist walker. Hopefully it wouldn't lead to any humans running around the desert, but anyone native to Sulls should know better than to enter the sands, particularly alone.

At the door I looked up eagerly to see the view of the stars overhead as we left, when a curious marking gave me pause.

Schula and Nassir almost walked away without me, but Nassir stopped and turned around. "Wren?"

"I... hold on. I've seen this before." I reached up to brush my fingertips along a strange mark in the top of the arch in the doorway. It was a circle with a few petal-like shapes on it and arrows in between. It had been carved some time ago by a sharp but shallow tool. Possibly a fingernail, if one were persistent enough against the clay.

"What is it?" Schula asked.

Nassir gasped and we immediately turned out heads to him.

"I see it," he whispered.

I looked at Schula, not sure what to think of his statement. She just watched Nassir, waiting for him to elaborate.

"I see it," he said again firmly. "I can feel the shapes of things around me, but this one I... I see it."

Now it was my turn to gasp. "How is that possible?"

"Wren, where have you seen it before?" Schula asked.

"It's a witch marking," I whispered. "This place is under someone's protection. Or at least, it was before they all disappeared."

But the witches were held in a strange state of regard and fear, even here in Sulls. Especially here in Sulls. Who would so blatantly display an alliance with one?

I turned my head back inside the eating house, locking eyes with a wiry man in the kitchen doorway. He had been watching us, arms folded across his chest. But when my eyes met his, he bolted back into the kitchens.

"Follow outside," I said to Schula and Nassir. Then, I took off toward the kitchens.

I dodged several patrons and rounded the corner from the bar to the doorway the man had disappeared through. A shout from the bar tried to stop me but I ignored it as my eyes swept the kitchen.