Page 5 of The City Of Fractured Memory

Before I can reply, he turns to leave, but his head twists back over his shoulder, a glint in his eye. “If it’s any consolation, I would never have fired someone for using magic. Good night, Miss Wren.”

His gaze snags on the space behind my right shoulder and he frowns for a brief second before marching away into the shadows once more.

A shiver runs through my body that has nothing to do with the cold.

Three

Imake it home to Dhakira without further incident, breathing a sigh of relief once I cross the sky bridge and step foot back in the quarter housing the non-magic mortals of Velmora. I have crossed the sky bridges possibly thousands of times, and yet I still hold my breath every time I venture across one. The two hundred foot drop into the icy black depths of Lake Voyd below is an unavoidable sight thanks to the battered, slatted wood that makes up the bridges joining each quarter to the others.

I walk down our street and smirk as I spy a soft, blue glow on our roof. Stryx must have noticed the parting in the Veil and made a beeline for the roof to charge her magic by the moon. Gaps in the Veil are so few and infrequent, she often goes far too long without her magic, and since the only other way of charging it is currently out of the question, this is a rare opportunity.

I bypass the door to our apartment and continue up the iron stairs, exiting onto the rooftop. The Veil is sealed again, no moon to be seen, but the ethereal blue aura surrounding her from her tattoos confirms she’s already got what she needs. She sits cross legged with her back to me, her silver, half-braided hair cascading down her back and pooling on the floor, the occasional gold tipped feather peeking out between the braids. I take a step and she snaps her head round with her hands raised in defence, the blue aura stuttering. Her ice blue eyes meet with my green ones, and she slowly lowers her hands, the intricate web of silver tattoos glistening along her arms with the movement as the aura returns with full force.

The sight of an Irithys is a marvel to behold, albeit a rare one shared by so few, but even in her humanoid form, she is still the most stunning, ethereal creature I’ve ever seen. She smiles as I walk towards her, her long pointed ears twitching with relief. If it had been anyone else but me finding her up here she would have been in serious trouble.

“Octavia, you’re back!” she sings, jumping up to embrace me. I pat her on the back awkwardly in return––I’ve never been a hugger, even before my magic started erasing my emotions, but for her I willingly endure it, knowing it makes her so happy. I look down and notice she has bare feet. Again.

I swear, this woman and her aversion to damn shoes…

She pulls away from me and taps the tiny, glowing crescent moon on her forehead. “I feel full at last,” she beams. “Scath has blessed me with a moonlit night.”

“Lower your voice,” I admonish her, my eyes darting round to ensure we truly are alone. “If anyone hears you praising that Goddess–”

“They’ll know I’m an Echofae?” She laughs. “I think the blue aura would be a little more of an obvious giveaway, don’t you?”

I glance around and see the glowing blue light has extended around us, almost reaching the edge of the rooftop.

“You need to rein it in, Stryx. If any of our neighbours suspect I’m harbouring you, I’ll have no choice but to collar you again.”

She wrinkles her nose in disgust. “I’m no one’s slave,” she growls, her ears flattening like a spooked horse.

“I know,” I sigh. “But if it’s the only way to keep you safe, I may have no choice.”

She stares at the ground, trying and failing to hide the tears welling in her big almond shaped eyes. I take her hand and she lifts her head, her lower lip trembling.

“One day, there will come a time when you are free, and you can charge your magic or shift as you please. I long for that day, I pray to Fios for it, but right now this is not the way. You need to disguise yourself, even when you think no one can see you.”

She nods sadly, and the sight makes my stone heart crack a little. “I would do anything for you, you know that?” I remind her, and she nods again, a small smile finally appearing.

“So, are you going to tell me what got Xavier’s panties in a twist then?” she asks with a giggle, her sadness banished as quickly as it came.

“You’re going to love this one,” I smirk, and she bounces on her bare feet in anticipation. “Let’s go inside and close the curtains. You can shift and I’ll tell you all about it.”

She gives me a toothy grin before bounding past me to the staircase and I shake my head with a smile. It’s easy to forget she’s still regarded as a teenager by her kind, even though she’s at least fifty in mortal years.

She’s already disappeared into the apartment as I descend the stairs, and as I open the door, I duck quickly as a huge tail of glowing blue and gold feathers whips towards me.

“Stryx!” I yell, trying to push my way past her huge form. “Make yourself an appropriate size this instant!”

Her huge white reptilian head turns to me, her feathers twisting into horn-like obtrusions above her eyes which narrow playfully at me as her long body writhes through the air on an invisible wind.

“Bad dragon.” I tap her nose and she huffs.

“I am no stupid dragon, you take that back. I am the guardian of the forest, the angel of the night, and giver of prophecy…” Her voice fills my head with her power, and I flinch at the volume.

“Fine, I take it back!” I shout, interrupting her tirade and she finally behaves, her enormous half-scaled, half-feathered body shrinking down to the size of a horse instead. Thank the Gods for small miracles. The Irithys are one of the only creatures to be blessed with phenotypic plasticity, an ability allowing her to shrink or grow depending on her environment. I don’t think I could cope with her being that monstrous size all the time.

She huffs again, and I can’t help but laugh at her irritation. Calling her a ‘mere dragon’ really is offensive to her kind, but given that the Irithys look like some sort of white dragon slash phoenix hybrid, it’s hard not to make the comparison. Honestly, her long, wingless body reminds me more of an enormous snake rather than a dragon, but I think if I called her that, she’d probably eat me.