Many Drops Make a Stream by Adrian Harley

Author:Adrian Harley [Harley, Adrian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fantasy, general audiences, character injury (non-graphic descriptions), misgendering (unintentional), speciesism Relationships: childhood friends, enemies to lovers, f/f, f/f (background), f/f (past), family, found family, pre-relationship, amnesia (magical) (temporary), bipoc, bird person, creature-human hybrid, creature transformation (animal), creature transformation (bird), creature transformation (dog), creature transformation (fish), creature transformation (involuntary), criminal, ghost, magic use, magic use (blood magic), necromancy, non-human character, vigilante, be gay do crimes, be gay solve crimes, break-up (past), cults, enslavement, heist, human trafficking, imprisonment, kidnapping, past tense, pov third person limited, religion, rob from the rich to help the poor, summer solstice, there is only one bed
Publisher: Duck Prints Press LLC
Published: 2023-11-15T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Ganlians, followers of the Phoenix Child, thought magic was a sin, the lure of the devil—and they only had one devil, which seemed insufficient to Droplet. Ganlians devoted themselves to ridding the world of magic’s corruption.

This wasn’t going well for them.

But up against the entire panoply of what magic could offer a person, Ganlians had one key weapon in their arsenal: offering cheap lodging and good food at all times, no questions asked.

Rangitam led them to the Church of the Constant Fire. It sat on the northern side of Hell Street, only a block back from the hubbub. Though its walls were stained dark gray by layers of grime, the bowl of flame above the door burned bright, a beacon in the twilight blue. Hundreds of tiny panels of carved bone adorned the heavy wooden doors. A wrinkled Ganlian priestess with a shock of curly white hair welcomed them with open arms, literally.

“What a good day this is, bringing new visitors to our door! Welcome, welcome. I’m Mother Enneth. Come on in.” Mother—that would be a “she” for Ganlians, then. Droplet had never gotten the hang of figuring out proper forms of address for people who didn’t follow the First Four and the god-tokens system. Once the heavy door had thudded shut behind them, Mother Enneth asked, “And what are your names? Do I get real names with these ones?” she added to Rangitam.

“That’s up to them, ma’am,” said Rangitam.

Mother Enneth sighed. “The only fair response, I suppose.” She returned her attention to the bewildered Droplet and Azera. “What names would you like me to use while you’re here, dears?”

“Are… are you actually a priestess?” said Azera.

“I’m a priestess, and despite what many seem to think about Ganlians, that word is not a synonym for ‘fool,’ ” Mother Enneth said dryly. “For instance, when someone spends a few years bringing all their visitors to a friendly, welcoming, warded building without a single Eye, it doesn’t take me a few years to figure things out.”

“It’s the breakfasts, Mother. Your people do things with sausages and eggs that are almost enough to convert me,” said Rangitam, face the picture of sincerity.

“Flatterer.”

“I’m Azera.”

“Dalere.”

Dozens of nooks for bone carvings of phoenixes and saints pockmarked the scrubbed, off-white walls of the church. No Eye was getting in here.

“How long will you need a room for?” Mother Enneth asked.

“That’s one of the many things we wish we knew,” Azera said.

“Let’s say until the day after the solstice,” Droplet said.

Azera looked shocked. “That’s remarkably optimistic, from you,” she said.

“You’re a bad influence,” Droplet said.

“One bed will have to be enough. There’s always an influx of people seeking shelter around the solstice,” Mother Enneth said. She grimaced, though Droplet couldn’t tell whether the displeasure came from the overabundance of people or from other, darker thoughts. Hopefully just the crowds. They certainly were enough to perturb Droplet.

They’d arrived as dinner was ending. They snagged bowls of flaky white fish (for Azera and Rangitam) and a concoction of nuts,

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