I was stunned. The words had completely changed, and then… It happened again. Right before my eyes.

Okay, I promise I won’t call you burger head anymore. Have I mentioned I need to pee? And that I’m upside-down? Do the frickin’ math there, buddy. I’ll wait right here.

“It changed again?” Brinn asked.

I showed it to her. “I don’t know what to think of this.”

“What is there to think? We are going, right?”

“Are we?” I mean, I had never been summoned by a magical flying letter before. Was I supposed to trust it willy-nilly? “What if we get there and he reaps the souls out of our bodies or something? He has the power to know where we are from leagues away but not to pull himself up. Makes no sense.”

Brinn pinched her chin, then tossed her hand in the air before bringing it back to sign, “And why did he choose you? I mean, there’s a whole city filled with, you know, people who can hear.” Brinn began to walk again and stopped abruptly. “Do you think he can hear us?”

I opened my mouth, then closed it. The truth is, I didn’t consider it. Hearing isn’t one of my fortes. “I don’t know. Can you hear us?” I asked the letter.

Brinn and I stared at it as if looking into a deep well after throwing in a rock, waiting for the splash.

The letter didn’t change.

“Maybe we should tell someone,” Brinn suggested.

“Who? Heimee? I don’t think he’ll believe us.”

The letter shifted.

If you show this to anyone, I swear it will turn into a cake recipe.

“It can hear us,” I noted.

“Amazing,” Brinn said then frowned. “And disturbing.”

I mulled it over in my mind. Part of me was scared, and the other part felt extremely lucky. How would I be able to go on with my life without satisfying this much curiosity? Brinn was right. We couldn’t just pass on the opportunity to meet an actual mage. He was asking for my help, wasn’t he? Who was I to deny help to anyone? I drew a deep breath.

“We’re going,” I said, then to the letter, “We’re on our way. Just hang on.”

A pun? Really?

More letters formed on the paper.

By the way, there are a bunch of Erosomite raiders coming up. My guess is that they are going to raid Small Butter. Kelmir Fort fell last night, FYI. I can stop them. If you ever decide to get here.

Brinn’s eyes went from giddy to stern within an eyeblink. “We’ll get there faster with Era.”

Dusk was on its final breaths when we reached Brinn’s house at the bakery. Brinn’s aunt waited at the door leaning on the door frame, arms crossed. The look on her face was enough to prickle my skin. I gave her the politest smile in my arsenal. “Good evening, Ms. Kallak.”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Ms. Kallak didn’t bother acknowledging my existence, eyes fixed on Brinn.

“She doesn’t like you very much,” Brinn said. “You should wait here. I’ll be right back.”

Except she wasn’t right back. As soon as Brinn reached the porch, Ms. Kallak straightened herself and began rebuking Brinn for reasons I could not catch on her lips. I turned away. This is one of the perks of being deaf. You can always shut the world off by not paying attention.

Pssst. Hey, Ludik. Pssst.

I turned to face the large Ulmaro tree calling for my attention. I neared him.

“Hey, Ulmarin.” Yes, he was an Ulmaro tree named Ulmarin. Trees aren’t known for their creativity.

So, are you going to help him?

That caught me off-guard. “You know about him?”

Of course, he knew about him. Mathew was tied to a tree. One tree tells another, and that tree tells another, and in a matter of minutes, the whole region knows what’s going on.

Sure do.

“Uh…” I said. “Do you know who he is?”

We don’t. He arrived today, being chased by that blue-haired girl. We think it has something to do with the attack on the fort last night. We’re not sure.

So the attack was real.

It has been quite an exciting story. Always cheers my day when humans hurt each other.

I held back my tongue on that remark. Humans didn’t treat trees as fairly as they should, so trees held a lot of resentment. “What blue-haired girl?”

You don’t know? Humans are so slow with information. We should run the world, not you. The Erosomites saw an opportunity and made a move. Then this girl pops up right in the middle of the action. And from what I heard, I like her a lot. We are betting she’s Leoht. Isn’t that crazy? A Leoht!

Was it? I mean, there were plenty of Leohts in Guillinsbaer alone. I glanced back to see if there was any progress. Brinn’s arms flailed left and right while her aunt spoke with bloodshot eyes. I could go there and help Brinn, but what could I say? Brinn told me her aunt didn’t like me; going there could make it worse. “Thanks, Ulmarin. I have to go.”

So you are going to help him? I bet against Teerralin, you were. Don’t make me lose here. She’s already smug enough as she is.

I looked to the other side of the road, where a much smaller tree was saying, Oh, I’m the smug one. Sure, sure! Keep telling yourself that.

“Yes, I’m going.”

Yisss. Take that, Teer!

Brinn tried to force her way into the house, but her aunt did not budge. Brinn threw her hands in the air and circled the house. Her aunt shot after her and snatched Brinn’s arm. Brinn spun on her heels, and her aunt slapped her.

I spun and ran toward her. “Leave her alone,” I shouted.

Ms. Kallak eyed me for the first time. She was menacing, tall, and broad-shouldered, her blue eyes were colder than ice, piercing and mad, her gray hair cut short and without care. “This is all your fault,” Ms. Kallak said, cocking a finger at me. “Go home, you little worm. Leave my niece alone.”

Brinn managed to wring free from her aunt’s clutching hands and began to shout at her, tears forming in her eyes. Ms. Kallak slapped her again. Then something caught my attention. My pouch—it glowed. I lifted the flap, and it was as if a summer’s day hid inside.

Ms. Kallak’s eyes fixed on the light. Then the light went off. It was coming from the letter. I picked it up.

Give me to her, it read.

I didn’t know what else to do, so I followed instructions.

“Ms. Kallak, here. This will explain everything.” I extended the letter.

She nearly killed me with her stare, yet she snatched the letter from my hands and read it. “A cake recipe?!” she blared, hate exuding from her face. She looked at the letter again, and for a brief moment, Ms. Kallak’s face was as white as the sun. I had to squint, and tiny prickles of light infested my vision. Brinn’s aunt curled to her knees, hands on her eyes, dropping the letter. I hurried to retrieve it—the sentences had a light of their own, glowing fluorescently in the night.

What are you waiting for? Get the horse!

I briefly wondered what a horse was before pulling Brinn along. “We should go.”

Brinn, however, knelt by her aunt. Ms. Kallak rubbed her eyes, opened them wide and blinked repeatedly. Brinn placed a hand on her shoulder, but her aunt shoved it away. Ms. Kallak shouted something and pushed Brinn back and kept doing so even after Brinn was no longer close to her.

Brinn walked backward, snarling something back to her aunt.

We cornered the house and found Era, the ekkuh, resting on the ground. Brinn pulled her to her feet and patted her neck while saying something to me.

“Sure,” I told her without having the faintest idea what she was saying. It usually saves time.

The letter lit up like a lantern. We stared at it for a moment, then Brinn took advantage of the light to saddle Era. She equipped her ekkuh with the dexterity of someone who had done the same action a thousand times, tightened the straps, and climbed on top. Brinn held her hand out to help me up, and I took it.

I’d settled behind her when the letter began to pulse again.

I peed myself. Hope you’re happy.

Also, Small Butter is being raided. As in right now. How anyone can harm a place called Small Butter is beyond me… pfbrrt. But what do I care? I now know what pee tastes like.

P.S.: I hate you more with each passing minute.

A knot formed in my throat. I shouldn’t have been so distrustful. Had I believed Mathew from the beginning, innocents probably wouldn’t have gotten hurt. I passed on the message to Brinn.

In response, she hit the reins hard, leaving behind a despondent Ms. Kallak, knees to her chest, still holding her face.