“I’m sure she’ll be back soon. You eat up while you wait. Bet you’re not that hungry after eating all that apple pie last night, though.” She winked. “How’d you like it?”
“The apple pie? It was delicious, but I only had half a slice for lunch yesterday. You have any more? Wouldn’t mind having some after my sausage and eggs.”
She squinted at me. “Oh. I could have sworn…never you mind. I’ll see if we’ve got any ready.”
I watched her sashay back to the kitchen, the bells in her hair jingling with every step. I wondered what she’d meant. Why would she think I’d had a whole damn pie last night? Must have gotten me confused with someone else.
After another survey of the stairwell and the door, I tucked into my breakfast. The warm, salty food was sorely needed after sleeping out in the soggy night. The wind had pushed the rain through the burlap, nearly flooding the floor.
The sound of the busy inn rose around me as I finished off my meal. Forks scraped plates, conversation hummed, and the crackle of the hearth formed a rhythm with the hammering rain outside. Satisfied, I pushed aside my plate and leaned back against the wall, watching a pixie flutter in the door and squeal when she spotted her friends. She rushed over to their bench and flung her arms around their necks. And I wondered what that felt like, to have someone—or a lot of someones—that happy to see you.
* * *
Gusts of wind battered the inn, and the door rattled from the force of it. The glass in the window groaned, shuddering ominously in its frame. The pixies I’d spotted earlier yelped, hauled their food and drinks into their arms, and darted to an empty spot at the table furthest from the outer wall.
Frowning, I rose and approached the counter, where Nilsa busied herself polishing some cutlery. She looked up when I neared, but she continued to shine away what appeared to be invisible smudges, her fingers moving with a frantic energy that betrayed far more than her blank expression.
“This is quite the storm,” I said.
“Yes, it’s the Elding. And I can’t say I like it very much. We normally don’t get it this bad here, especially not this time of year.”
“The Elding? I’ve heard of that, of course, but I didn’t think it was real.”
According to legend, the Elding was an ever-present brutal storm that darted along the coast of the Isles. Ships routinely got lost in it when they tried to sail here. The winds and rains were harsher than anywhere else, churned up by the elemental magic of this world. Some tales said the Old God of Thunder created it himself.
She gave me a look of pure consternation. “What else in fate’s name would it be?”
I shrugged. “Just a fable or a bit of lore.”
“Well, it’s very much real. It swings round here at times, but it usually sticks to the sea.” She heaved a tumultuous sigh. “Otherwise, we’d never hold Yule Festival in Riverwold. All those visitors camping out in this. I hope they’re staying dry.”
“Looks like most of them have come in here.” And it wasn’t the merchants and the visitors I was concerned about. It was a bright-eyed elf who should have been back here by now. As if to punctuate my thought, wind gusted against the building, howling like a pack of wolves.
Nilsa dropped her cutlery, paling.
“Is it dangerous?” I asked.
“The Elding?” Her lips thinned. “It can be.”
“All right.” I shoved away from the counter. “What were Lilia’s plans this morning? Where did she go?”
“She didn’t tell me, but if I were to guess, she went to have a chat with our local carpenter. His shop is on the other end of town. Southern side, down a road called Cherry Lane.”
As I turned to go, Nilsa clutched my arm. “You find her and bring her back safe.”
“Leave it to me.”
I crossed the room and forced the door open against the vigorous wind, then strode out into the turbulent storm.
* * *
Water sloshed around my boots, and my hair plastered to my face and neck. The rain was so thick and hazy, I could barely see a foot in front of me. And yet I carried on, until I reached the lane on the southern side of town. I found the carpenter’s shop only moments later and pounded my fist against his door.
The seconds ticked by, rain hammering my face and back. My clothes were soaked through, and the wet felt like it was sinking through my skin. Even my bones felt damp. Not for the first time, I was grateful for the magic in my blood that protected me from this.
When the door finally opened, a shadow demon glared out into the dark. The scowl only intensified when he spotted me.
“My shop is closed. Why in fate’s name are you even out in this?” he snapped.
