Arcane Enchantment (Unbreakable Force Book 2) (5 page)

15

Aaric

T
he next couple of days slid by uneventfully. Aaric spent most of his time cooped up in his room, sitting at the small table, pouring over his books. Adaryn sat on the floor next to him, knees drawn up to her chin. They both drew comfort from the companionable silence they had grown used to during their time in Aaric’s city.

Bran would leave right after breakfast and not return until dinner. He told them of local happenings and of people he met, but heard nothing of Luna Flores.

“Let's go out.” Adaryn said one morning. The two of them were in Aaric's room again.

Aaric looked up from his book, peering at her over his reading spectacles. “Whatever for?” he asked, puzzled.

Adaryn shifted a little; Aaric realized the floor probably wasn't a comfortable place to sit for hours. “Would you like to sit on the bed?” he asked politely.

“No,” she said, getting to her feet. “I want to go outside. I'm sick of sitting in here day after day. I'm bored.”

Aaric looked at her, bewildered. They had been inside, true, but he found his books nothing short of fascinating. He held out a book. “Perhaps you'd like to read.”

“No, I don't want to read, I want to get
out
.” There was no mistaking the irritation that entered her voice. Aaric stood.

“Very well,” he said amiably, “let's go out. We'll take a stroll through the market.”

The marketplace was a plethora of noise. Sellers from their barrows and stalls shouted to passersby, trying to sell their produce. The produce itself was eye-catching: vegetables and fruits of every kind, and some that Aaric didn't recognize, such as small, dark green peppers and large, red berries covered with tiny seeds.

Ducks, cows, chickens, pigs and geese all added as much to the din as the people. Aaric noticed that as often as an animal was purchased and carted off, just as many were butchered on the spot. Flies buzzed everywhere. Aaric grimaced. He ate meat, but it was quite another thing to see an animal butchered alive before your very eyes.

Adaryn eyed everyone and everything with interest. She didn't care for large crowds, which meant she must have been quite bored to want to come out.

Aaric leaned over to inspect some of the peppers when he heard the one voice he would have least expected here in Sen Altare.

“Aaric! Aaric Wright!”

Aaric turned to face the voice, certain the shock he felt was written on his face.

A young woman finished pushing through the crowd and ran to him, laughing. Miss Grace Flores. The last time he’d seen her was at a social back in Ruis. He couldn't even begin to think why she was here.

As she drew closer he realized with alarm she was wearing one of the low-cut blouses that were so popular here.

Adaryn leapt in front of him, an angry snarl ripping from her throat. “Adaryn,” he started to say, “I think it might be best if—”

Adaryn pulled her fist back and shot it forward, punching the other woman as hard as she could in the face. Miss Grace had clearly not been expecting it, and went down like a sack of grain.

“Adaryn!” Aaric’s eyes widened in mortification.“You can't just go and attack someone lik
e
that.”

Adaryn sniffed dismissively, rubbing her knuckles. “She called me ugly last time we met
and
she has designs on you. Call it long overdue payback.”

Miss Grace stood unsteadily, accepting Aaric's hand. She glared balefully at Adaryn. “I see you've held onto your pet,” she said angrily.

“So, what, you're going to rat us out to Kingsley?” Adaryn spat. Her hair practically bristled and her fists were still clenched.

Miss Grace sneered at her. “You're not worth my time, wretched girl,” she said contemptuously. She eyed Aaric shrewdly. “Though I will say, Aaric, you caused quite the uproar, disappearing with your pet. Kingsley was outraged when he realized she had gotten away. I've never seen a man lose his head over a slave like that. I don't know what he sees in her.”

Aaric barely heard any of this, staring intently at Miss Grace. Grace Flores.
Flores.
“Do you know a Luna Flores?”

Miss Grace still looked grumpy, trying to pat her disheveled hair back in place and rearrange her rumpled blouse. It looked quite a bit lower than it had moments ago. Aaric kept his eyes locked on her face, but grimaced, hearing the low growl from Adaryn.

“Yes, she's my aunt,” Miss Grace said. “I wasn't aware that you knew her.” Her eye was beginning to look decidedly puffy. Aaric was sure it was going to go black.

“I need you to take us to her,” Aaric said, trying to keep the urgency out of his voice. “Please.”

Miss Grace continued to pout, eyes narrowed as she glared at Adaryn. Despite the heat, her rouge was set perfectly. She folded her arms, tossing loose, blonde curls over her shoulder, giving a mulish air. She ignored him, but she hadn't left. That was a good sign.

Aaric cared nothing for this woman, but he needed to find Luna, and soon. “Adaryn, apologize,” he said in a tight voice.

“What?” The question came out as a strangled croak. Aaric turned to look at her. Adaryn's eyes were bulging in outraged astonishment. He turned and gave a pained smile to Miss Grace, who didn't return it. “A moment, please,” he said, then took Adaryn by the arm, pulling her several feet away from the other woman.

“Adaryn, please,” he said. “I need to talk to Luna Flores. It's the only lead we have in finding a sky jewel. I need to know what she learned.”

Adaryn glared up at him, her blue eyes hard as ice. “You're insane if you think I'm going to apologize to that—that—insufferable woman! I
hate
her.”

“Adaryn, listen to me,” Aaric said, his voice cracking with urgency, “I have to talk to Luna, and Miss Grace knows where she lives. Think about that for a moment. I know Miss Grace—not very well,” he added, seeing the flash of jealousy in Adaryn's face, “—but I know her a little. An apology is all you have to do to smooth her feathers, and it'll be done with. You can mete out revenge later, I don't care, but I’ve got to see Luna. Please.” He put on his most earnest expression; it had gotten him his way with Adaryn in the past.

Adaryn glowered at him a little longer, then dropped her gaze sullenly. Aaric repressed a sigh of relief.

The nomad turned and stalked back to Miss Grace, who was tapping her foot impatiently, her arms folded. She recoiled when Adaryn stood a little too close for personal space.

“I . . . apologize for hitting you,” she said simply. She jutted her chin out a little, facing Miss Grace squarely. “You may hit me back if you like.”

“Hmpf,” Miss Grace snorted. “Looks like Aaric has managed to teach you
some
manners
,
despit
e
the fact you wear no collar. I don't hit, though. How uncivilized.”

Aaric grimaced, fully expecting Adaryn to tear Miss Grace's head off—and he wasn't sure he would stop her—but aside from a stiffening of the shoulders, she made no move.

“Very well,” Miss Grace said briskly. She grabbed one of Aaric's arms, steering him down the street. “I will take you to my aunt. I come to visit her in the spring, and—” Aaric blocked out her chatter; it was a habit of his when he was around her.

Adaryn darted forward, snatching up his other arm and hanging onto it as tightly as a leech. Aaric suppressed a groan. He was sure he looked the skirt-chaser now.

16

Aaric

M
iss Grace led them down several streets, taking many twists and turns. The heels on her boots were ridiculously high, and Aaric couldn’t imagine how she managed to walk in them.

“Of course Ruis has much more by way of parties and such,” she was babbling on, “but the weather here in Sen Altare is so much more agreeable. In the spring, that is. It gets quite dreadfully hot in the summer. That is usually when I pack my things and go back home.”

“You come here yearly?” Aaric asked.

“Yes, usually,” Miss Grace replied. “The city has a rustic quality I find quite refreshing and the food is absolutely fantastic. Not that I eat much,” she added hastily. The woman had somehow managed to snuggle so close while walking that their shoulders touched. Adaryn was stony silent on his other side, clutching his arm like a lifeline. Sweat trickled down his back.
It's the heat,
he told himself stubbornly.

Several minutes later—it felt hours to Aaric—Miss Grace brought them to a large, white cottage with a white picket fence. The yard was overrun with flowers of every hue and a sandy walkway led up to the door.

Miss Grace finally released Aaric's arm and hurried forward. “Auntie!” she called. “Aunt Luna!” She turned to Aaric. “Wait right here. I need to let her know she has a visitor.”

A minute later Miss Grace returned, motioning them to come inside. The interior was dimly lit. Aaric blinked a few times, trying to adjust his eyes to the darkness.

An older woman was seated at a small desk, reading. She looked up at Aaric and her book dropped, her eyes widening in astonishment.

“Baldwin?” she whispered. She passed a hand over her eyes and peered at Aaric again. She laughed. “I'm sorry, young man. For a moment I mistook you for someone else.”

“Luna Flores.” It wasn't a question. Heavens, what a stroke of luck!

The old woman nodded. “The same.” She stood and walked over to Miss Grace, peering at her intently. “What on earth has happened to your eye, child?”

Miss Grace shot an angry look in Adaryn's direction. “Never mind that now, Aunt,” she muttered. She smiled at Aaric. “This charming man is from Ruis. We're
very
good friends.” She fluttered her lashes at him, ignoring the indignant snort from Adaryn. “He has some questions for you.”

“I see.” Luna turned to face Aaric again. “Mr. . .”

“Wright. Aaric Wright.” Aaric watched the woman closely. “Baldwin was my father.”

Luna nodded in satisfaction. “That doesn't surprise me, boy. You are the spitting image of him. Is he well?”

“He passed some years ago, from an illness,” Aaric said. “I take it you knew him, then.”

Luna sighed regretfully. “A pity. I would have liked to see him again. Knew him? Yes, I knew him. He was a prideful man, full of ambition, but sharp as a whip and very driven.” She eyed Aaric thoughtfully, a gleam in her dark eyes. “Did he ever find what he was searching for?”

Aaric shook his head. “The sky jewel? No. That is why I am here. To finish his quest.”

Luna sighed, shaking her head slowly. “I can't say I'm surprised he never found it. Sky jewels are rarer than rare. There are said to be less than ten in the world.”

“Why did he want one?” Aaric asked. “He couldn't wield magic. Seems like it'd be useless to him.”

Luna paused, her brow furrowed as if trying to recall. “I seem to remember him saying something about finding the right magic user to wield it for him. That doesn't really make sense to me, though, and he never explained himself.”

Aaric and Adaryn exchanged glances. It made sense to them.

“So why are you seeking it?” Luna asked him, head tilted slightly to the side.

“Not for myself,” Aaric replied. “Some magic users up north have need of its protection.”

Luna looked disbelieving. Adaryn stepped forward. “He speaks the truth,” she said, not looking at him. “Aaric and I are trying to find a sky jewel to take back to my people. Magic users are enslaved up north; we want to change that.”

“I believe him,” Miss Grace sniffed disdainfully. “Though why he would be interested in helping
their
sort is beyond me.”

Luna looked at the younger woman with an amused smile. “Yes, I forget that the northerners are somewhat backward in their ways.”

Aaric coughed diplomatically, changing the subject before Miss Grace could get angry. “Luna, I need to talk to you about the sky jewel. Do you know where I can find it?”

The old woman shook her head. “I didn't know the whereabouts when your father was around, and I haven't learned anything new of it since.” She paused, considering, and then said, “Why don't I take you to the Scholar's Guild? You can read the notes your father and I left there. It's been five years since I've retired, but the notes should still be in the archives.”

“Yes, please.” Aaric said eagerly. “The more I can learn of it, the better.”

“Don't get your hopes up too much,” Luna said warningly. “You will probably find precious little from our notes.”

A few minutes later, Aaric and Adaryn said their goodbyes and left. Aaric walked with a spring in his step, rubbing his hands with anticipation, thinking about the Guild. “How lucky was that, finding Luna?” He glanced at Adaryn, seeing her dark frown.

“What's the matter?” he asked, perplexed.

“Miss Grace is the matter,” she grumbled. “I'm glad we've found Luna but I can't pretend to be happy that we're mixed up with Grace.”

Aaric waved a hand. “Don't worry about her. She got us what we needed. You won't need to give her a second thought.”

“And her blouse,” Adaryn muttered. “Not to mention she wouldn't stop fluttering her lashes at you. I should have punched her in
both
eyes.”

Aaric shrugged. He thought of Luna's notes on the sky jewel, safely tucked away in the Scholar's Guild. He was one step closer to fulfilling his promise to the clan, and one step closer to a future with Adaryn.