FIREFANGED

Chapter 9

After joining me for lunch, Lynda Snow offered to show me into Berykholt town for some new clothes. I was looking forward to a nap in the afternoon but took her up on the offer. I had a few personal things to buy, and with the significant bounty money provided by the Order, I wouldn't need to wait.

Before heading out, I went upstairs to check on Raven. According to Doctor Loeb's assistant, Drew, Raven was stirring a bit but still sleeping. I asked Drew to take some measurements of Raven and write them down for me. I was heading to a tailor and could help her out.

Berykholt was a larger city than Lockrun, spanning the valley mostly south of the castle. It boasted almost five thousand citizens and soldiers and offered plenty of shops from which to choose.

Our first stop was a leather-works called The Whip, where I bought a new over-the-shoulder belt and sheath for Raven's black blade and a backpack for me to use on future patrols. I also bought a new leather brace for my left arm, something sturdier and better fitting than what was cobbled together in Lockrun. We waited while they fit it to my arm and laced on the straps that would help hold it and my heavy steel vambrace tightly in place. My new bruises still ached.

Lynda got a good look at the gruesomeness defining my left arm. "Ara, who did that to you?"

"I can show you if you really want to know." I blushed at the look of pity and fear in her pretty green eyes. I wasn't sure this was a good idea, but I didn't have any friends at the moment, at least not any within a couple of weeks travel, and Lynda sure seemed like a good start. Reaching behind my back, I pulled out my war knife, fang, and all. "This."

She winced as I showed off the six-inch fang but was undeterred. "Is that what you fought last night?"

"No, no, the demons last night were kittens compared to the beast that wielded these." I spun the fang-dagger in my palm. "The Kjaira demon was stronger, faster, and impervious to pain. It almost killed me. I hope I never meet another like it."

Next, we went to a popular tailor shop that Lynda recommended. On the way, we ran into a couple of young sentinels, apparently friends of Lynda.

"So, Lynda, who's your new friend? Seems a bit young, don't ya think?" said one, offering me an envious look.

Luckily, Lynda wasn't having any of it. "This is Ara. My father recruited him last month in Lockrun. He's only just arrived, and we're getting him kitted out for life in the grand city of Berykholt." After a short pause, she continued, "Ara, this is Keil Martell and his brother Sevin. Both are newly minted sentinel-adepts from the spring recruit company."

Keil, the older of the two, was around nineteen or twenty, with sandy blonde hair and a smile that spoke a bit too loudly about his interest in Lynda. We were about the same size, and I could sense the overconfidence and innocence of the young sentinel-adept. In some ways, we were a lot alike. Sevin, his dark-haired younger brother, was slightly taller and visibly the stronger of the two. He was also a quiet one, offering me a nod and a quick handshake. I could see his eyes react to the black half-moon sigil on my breast.

Keil, on the other hand, was quicker with his mouth, and his eyes never strayed long from Lynda Snow. "Well, when you are done looking after young Ara, I would be glad to escort you out and about tonight."

"Oh, I don't know, Keil. Ara might need more looking after this evening. I'll let you know." She smiled and looped her arm through mine.

I was so not getting off on the right foot with these fellows, but I didn't mind one bit.

Keil frowned as Sevin pulled him away down the street in the opposite direction. Lynda, on the other hand, was quickly winning my favor. Her winning smile and the way she held my arm gave me a sense of warmth that I had never experienced before.