Lille walks ahead of me, seething. Her shoulders are tense and even her ears look like she’s clenching her whole face. She hasn’t said a word during the whole trip back. She left Bann tending the fire and I have to run to keep up with her.
“Wait, why are we in such a hurry?” I shout after her.
She doesn’t even slow down. “They’ve given you a couple of hours to sort out your things.”
“Are you angry at me?”
Lille stops. “No.” She starts walking again, slightly slower this time. “I’m just angry.”
I don’t say anything for a moment. She doesn’t either and just keeps on marching. This time there are no small educational observations about the surrounding forest or questions to test if I still remember the previous ones.
I can’t handle the silence anymore. “Who was that man? Where did he come from? Where did he disappear to?”
“He’s something new from Tenorsbridge. First time I see him, but I’ve met two others. They call themselves the Janitors. I saw the first one yesterday.”
She keeps walking.
I squint, trying to think. We’re located near the city, so it sort of makes sense, but none of the wizards ever visit. Someone once hired a group of hunters to look for teratome parts, but that was years ago. “Why did they pick me? What have you been telling them?” I can’t completely hide the pride I feel. Lille very rarely praises anyone. I ache to know what she’s been saying about me, even though I know she’ll downplay it.
“Nothing.” Her answer is a hiss, spoken through clenched teeth.
I blink. “But—”
“Nothing,” she repeats. “They claim they’ve talked to you even if you just met. They told me things I would have answered, had they asked. And they obviously know what to say to make you do what they want. Don’t talk to me about them. You can ask them yourself and if they answer, it’s only because they decide that it’s the best option for them.”
We stomp through the forest in silence. I have never seen Lille like this. Thinking about the Janitors must have really gotten under her skin. I haven’t seen anything else manage that before.
I shiver. What have I got myself into?
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Ral, the elder, slaps his huge hands together with a boom when he sees us approach. “Bann finally got eaten, eh?” He grins like a wolf, his face a landscape of deep lines and crags. He’s old as dirt, but he could still snap me like a twig if he got his hands on me. I know this for a fact because he’s taught me how to fight barehanded. It’s not something that a hunter often has to do, but he still insisted I learn. I think he just likes throwing me around.
Lille snickers, throws herself on a chair, and starts to take off her boots. “He’ll be coming in later.”
“Shame. Everything went well?”
“Yes. You were right. The kids are growing up.” Her mouth twitches, and she pauses with one boot in her hand. She nudges her head at me. “They came for Locke, as they said they would. He has until tonight.”
I listen in silence. If the city wants something, they would obviously go through our elders. Equally obviously, I’m not included in the discussions that the village council has, not even if the discussions have something to do with me. That’s not the part that surprises me. I’m shaken that I am the one who has been chosen. I know I’m good, maybe even very good, but Bann and Lian come from the city and have connections and Hendrik is older and has more experience.
Yet, the Tenorsbridge wizards are interested in me. More importantly, Lille has recommended me. That thought alone makes my chest swell with pride, and the corners of my mouth draw up. I deflate as Lille throws me an annoyed look, like she heard me grinning.
I can’t read the expression on Ral’s face. His brow is furrowed, but there’s a hint of a smile and something in his eyes that makes me nervous. Is he frightened?
“I see,” he says. “Well, if what they have been telling us is true…”
Lille grimaces. “End doesn’t justify the means. Either of us should be the one—”
I snap, finally. “What is going on! Who are they?”
“Quiet, boy.” Ral’s not angry like Lille. He says the words almost sadly. He lifts up a massive hand to silence my objections, but doesn’t continue. He just stands there, frowning. He turns his gaze to Lille.
After a moment, Lille turns her eyes away from him and grimaces again. “Locke,” she says.
I snap my attention to her. Her voice is quiet whereas my hands are shaking. The pride of being chosen is starting to crumble the more I sense the tension between her and Ral.
Lille sighs. “Soon, you’ll know more about everything than we do now.” She points at the door behind her with her thumb. “Go, meet your friends. Say goodbye to the matron. Get anything you want from the kitchen for the road.”
“But…”
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Ral crosses his arms over his chest. “You heard her.” There’s a creak from the back of his leather jerkin as he flexes. “This is city business. It’s out of our hands. Try to come and meet me before you go.” He gives Lille a warning glance, and she presses her mouth into a tight line.
My gaze moves from Ral to Lille and back. They look back at me. After a moment, I nod and turn to go. When I start walking away, hesitation drops away step by step and I let the smile spread across my face.
I’m going on an adventure!
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Durn narrows his eyes at me. “That’s too far.”
“Anything, she said!” I say, pointing at the sausages. “You are welcome to ask her.”
He frowns at me. “I will ask her. But why all the provisions? You going somewhere?”
I can almost smell them from where I’m standing. Bear is reserved only for celebrations or other special occasions. Judging from Lille’s and Ral’s reactions, today is pretty special. ”City business. I’ll know more later tonight. They came for me personally!” Lille isn’t around, so I say it with a flourish and raise an eyebrow at him.
”City?” His face stops mid-frown. ”Oh, that.”
Something changes in his expression. I realize that, as steward, Durn would know at least something about the situation.
Before I can ask anything, he turns away and reaches for the thick links of marbled sausages. ”The city and their business are not for people like us. You… take care there, kid,” he says, his back toward me, wrapping the sausages in coarse cloth.
I open my mouth to ask something, but Durn slams the wrapped package on the table and turns away sharply. I mutter something, half-heartedly trying to ask what he knows. He ignores me, as he does.
”Make sure to cook them through properly. Add thyme,” I hear him say as I open the door to leave.
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The matron squints up at me, her voice cracking and snapping like pine logs in a fireplace. ”So you’re really going? You?”
I grin with every tooth showing. I can’t help it. I feel like laughing out loud. ”Me! I’ll leave this very night. It’s all really important.”
”Can’t be that important if they picked you.”
I chuckle and she grins back.
The crags in her face shift as she stops grinning and scowls instead. ”They should’ve picked an adult for this. Lille or Ral himself. This sounds like no business for kids.”
My smile freezes. I really thought she’d be proud of me.
She sees my expression change, and her own softens. ”Locke, I’ve watched you grow from a little tyke. I love you like all my kids. I hate to see you go.” She reaches a wrinkled hand and pats me on the cheek. She has to crank her back straight to do it.
”Gran, I’ll be back. I promise.” I meet her gaze and blink, something blurring my view. “I’ll bring the kids a souvenir. Something from the city, or even farther!”
There’s a shadow that crosses her face. Her hand hovers a moment in the air.
”Maybe I’ll get you some spectacles finally. You wouldn’t need to squint so much.”
”I know who each of you is from half the village away, and that’s enough. I can recognize your spindly gait anywhere.”
”I like to think of it as a willowy stride,” I say, grinning.
She rolls her eyes at me. ”Just run along now. You don’t want to waste your few last moments here with me. Go say goodbye to your friends.”
”I’ll be back, Gran,” I repeat. I bow low.
She keeps watching as I back away. I still feel the warmth of her hand on my cheek. I’m not scared. But I saw how her eyes looked when she reached to touch my cheek. I don’t know what to call the expression on her face, but it makes tears well up in my own eyes. I wipe them with my sleeve and silently repeat the promise to come back once more.
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I throw the package into the air and catch it. Bann’s gaze follows it unflinching. The smell of raw meat pushes through the cloth. Bann licks his lips.
Lian slaps him on top of the head with her palm. ”Stop drooling. Remember it’s Locke’s party. He gets the first one.”
Bann chuckles.
It’s already dark and we have a fire going on the outskirts of the town. This is our place. Far enough so we won’t get bothered, but close enough to reach. I’ve packed whatever I thought I might need. I have enough provisions to get to the city and back, my bow and quiver, a knife, not much else. There isn’t much else. I live with the others in the lodge, so I have no furniture or other responsibilities to take care of. Most of my stuff is always packed and ready to go, anyway.
The gang is all here. There’s Bann. I think he’s at least more clever than what people think or he pretends to be. He’s huge, and he plays the role of the big guy perfectly. He said once that it makes things easier, keeps expectations lower. Lian, on the other hand, is probably less clever than people think. She’s cunning, but sometimes the way she cuts corners when thinking makes me gasp. “Worst possible combination, quick and dumb,” as Lille once said about her when she thought I couldn’t hear. Still, Lian’s a good friend. Never a dull moment with her.
Hendrik is two years older than the rest of us. He’s already a fully trained hunter. If you ask me, he’s a bit mediocre, but a good guy, a good hunter. We’ve seen less of him lately. He’s been out a lot, already going on longer hunts alone.
”So, tell us about this adventure,” he says.
I start opening the package of sausages and smirk. ”Oh, it’s just some city business. They call themselves Janitors—”
I’m interrupted by Lian snorting. ”Your adventure is cleaning lavatories in Tenorsbridge?”
I roll my eyes but can’t help chuckling. ”Very funny. You should have seen the guy. He snuck up on Lille. He got close enough to put a hand on my shoulder without her noticing.”
Hendrik whistles.
I sort of resent doing it, but using Lille is the easiest way of making the point. The Janitor was weird, scary. I shook my head to shake off the shivers. ”Lille said that they knew things she never even said to them, but might have said. When I talked with him, it felt like he kept replying to things before I said them.”
Lian scratches her head. ”That can’t be. How would that even work?”
”I don’t know, but he promised to explain everything to me later. They said I have just tonight.”
Hendrik pokes the fire and throws in one more log. ”It takes at least a day to get to Tenorsbridge. You can’t travel when it’s dark. They’ll probably come only in the morning, so you’ll have the whole night.”
I shrug. I remember Lille saying that the Janitors appeared just yesterday.
The skin of the sausage cracks. I rip leaves from the thyme and throw them and the sprigs into the pan. The grease bubbles and I lick my lips. I have to swallow to keep from drooling on my chin.
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I poke at the fire, gazing into the dying embers and turning them over and over. Bann sighs and leans his back on a tree trunk as Lian pats her stomach. In addition to the sausages, I grabbed a lot of other stuff too. Some for the road, but I also wanted to throw a proper party for the gang. They’ll owe me for this one. Hendrik hovers around Lian. I wonder if he’ll finally manage to say something to her.
I smell ozone.
”Time to go,” the Janitor says in a voice so soft I barely hear it. I see his eyes from below his cowl, staring into the fire. ”The tavern, right away.”
I open my mouth and he disappears. There’s a slight breeze like a gust of wind rushing to fill the space where he just sat. I close my mouth and look toward the others. Hendrik is still looking at Lian, and Bann has his eyes closed. Lian sees nothing, as she’s concentrating on digging something out from between her teeth with her fingernail.
Bann opens a single eye. ”What’s up? Why the face?”
”Time to go,” I repeat.