Between Jobs by W. R. Gingell

Author:W. R. Gingell [Gingell, W. R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-05-31T05:00:00+00:00

“I’m not entirely certain it was the best idea to dismantle that glamour,” said Athelas, some time later.

He hadn’t said so earlier, but his lips had pressed together when Zero said he was going to do it. I didn’t really know what they were talking about, because I couldn’t see what they were doing, but the whole place across the road had felt a bit friendlier when Zero was done with what he was doing.

I wasn’t sure if Athelas was afraid that more people would wander into the house now that it wasn’t so off-putting, or if he was worried it would warn off the people we were going to see, like some sort of long-distance burglar alarm.

Now, I asked, “Can they tell if you undo their spell?”

“Glamour,” Zero corrected me. “It’s not exactly a spell; it’s a clever use of Between. It changes the way people see things.”

“Yeah, okay,” I said. “Can they tell if you undo their glamour?”

“Exactly my point,” Athelas said. “I really don’t see that we should give them more warning than necessary.”

“They already know we’re aware of the glamour,” said Zero, without pausing his stride. I was already panting. “I’d like it best if they think we’re here about a dead human—or fae—not the sword.”

“I see,” said Athelas. He didn’t look satisfied, but it looked as though he understood. “Pet, do try not to flick moss on my shoes.”

“Sorry,” I Mumbled, neglecting to pay attention to where I was going and stumbling over a rock. I looked up and said in surprise, “Oi!”

The courtyard was already in front of us, only a few metres away. The day JinYeong led us there, following a trace of human blood, it had taken at least twenty minutes. “How’d we get here so quickly?”

“There are longer ways into Between, and there are shorter ways,” Athelas said. “Those unused to Between tend to make heavier work of it. We are very well used to it.”

“Don’t let go of that strap, Pet,” Zero said to me. “Long or short, if you get caught Behind, we won’t be back for you.”

“Got it,” I said, renewing my hold on the single piece of leather that stood between me and certain—actually, certain what? “What happens if I get stuck here, anyway?”

“I suppose that depends upon who finds you, or what you wander into,” Athelas said. He didn’t sound particularly concerned; his voice was as lightly amused as usual.

I wondered if it really did amuse him to think of me wandering Between until I was attacked by a group of goblins or stumbled Behind to be snatched up by the first Behindkind that found me. Yeah, it probably did. It was easy to forget that the outwardly gentle and soft Athelas was just as icily unknowable as Zero on the inside.

“Stop being nice to me,” I told him, as my foot found the relative safety of the courtyard flagstones. “It’s confusing.”

His eyes glowed with laughter, but I had no way of knowing how kindly it was toward me.

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