Page 4 of A Wayward Movement

Alina nodded dutifully, not needing the older woman’s caution. She was as on edge as everyone else in town over the disappearances.

“And handy with magic craft,” Mrs. Pincer added. She peered at Alina over her spectacles. “I do miss your tricks in my shop, you know. You were so quick with sorting the thread.”

“I’m grateful to you for giving Lilah the work,” Alina said quickly. “I know she wants to work hard for you. She’ll be down in just a minute.”

“She’s a good little worker, I’m not complaining,” the dressmaker said with a wave of her hand. “I’m just surprised you don’t miss the steady work. You seem to always be here and there, doing odd jobs now.”

“I manage just fine,” Alina said brightly. “Variety keeps life interesting.”

And more to the point, giving her position at the dressmaker to Lilah meant that the younger girl was kept safe and away from less desirable roles like serving in the tavern.

Alina made her way through the small shop, her eyes lingering for a moment too long on an emerald green gown in the window.

“Don’t think I don’t see you admiring that one every time you go past it,” Mrs. Pincer called out from behind her. “You should buy it one of these days!”

Alina just smiled, waving goodbye as she left the store. The dressmaker was observant—Alina did love that gown. It was nothing fancy, just a well cut linen garment with short sleeves and a flowing skirt. But the fabric was her favorite color, the lush green reminding her of the forest town where she’d lived with her aunt’s family for a couple of years after her parents died. Her new home was much less green, perched between the forest and the desert as it was.

But she couldn’t afford to buy that dress. It would deplete almost her whole stash of saved coins, and she needed them in case of an emergency. Or, if nothing drastic came up, to help cover costs for Benji and Lilah when the time came for Benji to travel to the capital to apply to the Craftsman’s Guild.

Her old gown would have to do. The brown linen couldn’t be called pretty, and it was faded, with patches discreetly sewn in a couple of places. But it was by no means disheveled. She looked very respectable. Her mind started to again flit back to a time when she’d had more pretty gowns than she could wear, always in the latest fashion. But she drew her thoughts swiftly back to the present. She was clothed, fed, and safe. All was well.

The sun was already bright as she moved through the town she’d come to call home. It was a nice enough community, the people mostly friendly, although times were too lean for much generosity. The weather was hotter than in the nearby forest, but not scorching like the desert could be.

A stray breeze swirled pleasantly past, and she lifted her face to it, letting the gust caress her skin. As the movement of nature always did, it stirred her magical sense, inviting her to take hold of the Dust, just for the joy of it. It would be a weighty task to harness the movement of the wind itself, intangible as it was, but if the breeze was blowing her skirts, it was blowing other things as well. An eddy of leaves danced by her feet with the thought, and she latched immediately onto the Dust created by the leaves’ movement.

Gathering the individual power from each leaf into one force, she shaped it into an invisible cushion. After a quick look around to make sure no one was in sight, she sent the cushion of power behind her, letting it push her forward at an unlikely speed as she hurried across a sunny patch, making for the next shade.

The door to the nearby inn swung open, and Alina abruptly dropped her control of the magic. The men who strode out were strangers, most of them thankfully uninterested in her as they hefted rucksacks over their shoulders. One of them, however, let his gaze linger on Alina as she hurried past. The skin on the back of her neck tingled unpleasantly. He couldn’t have realized she was using magic, she assured herself. She’d let it drop before any of them got a glance at her.

The encounter rattled her, though, and she kept her head down as she hurried the rest of the way to the market. The town had always been a common stop for travelers between the desert and forest regions, situated on the border of two worlds as it was. But recently, that number had exploded. The cause was the huge center the Siqualian crown had started in the desert for the refinement of chameleon steel imported from the reclusive kingdom of Dernan. It was part of Siqual’s alliance with Carrack and Dernan, and it hadn’t interested Alina much when the project began. But since the more astute in the community had put the pieces together that the disappearances had only started after the refinement project began, everyone in town was a lot more wary of travelers passing through.

Alina reached the market just as the artisan who’d hired her arrived with his wares.

“Let me help with that,” she said, hurrying forward.

“Bless you, Alina,” said the portly, older man. He mopped his forehead. “Running behind this morning, and I don’t want to miss the group that’s apparently passing through. I have some new wares, straight from the capital. Commemorative plates for the prince’s wedding.”

“What?” Alina looked up, startled, her hands frozen in the act of lifting a box. “Prince Xavier is getting married?”

“Hardly, my dear.” The artisan chuckled. “Judging by his reputation, he’s not likely to hurry into marriage, is he? He’s young enough that there’s no rush, but I imagine Their Majesties will have to drag him to the altar when the time eventually comes for him to do his duty. I was referring to the royal wedding a couple of months ago, between Prince Theodore and the Torrenese princess.”

“Oh, of course.” Alina felt a fool as she resumed motion. The younger prince’s recent marriage had been much talked of. Why were her thoughts so determined to fixate on Prince Xavier this morning? “So these were delivered from the capital since last week?” she asked curiously, studying one of the plates.

The artisan nodded. “Apparently they’ve been very popular there. My wife has been after me to expand my wares beyond my own work, and she’s right. Sales are not what they were. Speaking of which…”

His voice trailed off regretfully, and Alina winced, guessing what was coming.

“Only a half day again today?” she guessed.

“I’m sorry, Alina,” he said. “I wish I could pay you for the whole day.” His forehead creased in concern. “I wish I had enough work to hire your services a few times a week. I didn’t like to see you working a shift in the tavern the other night, child.”

“I’m all right,” Alina assured him, perfectly sincere. “I’m grateful for the half day, and I understand times are tight.”

“You’re a good girl, Alina,” he said, ignoring her assurances. “And you shouldn’t have to put up with the advances of drunken fools.”

“If you saw the behavior of said drunken fools, then you saw that I was perfectly able to manage them,” Alina said placidly. “I’m not afraid at the tavern, sir. The owner would step in if anyone crossed too far over the line.”

The older man didn’t look satisfied, but he let the matter drop. “You must join the family for a meal sometime, at least,” he said.