I’m sitting on the stairs of the Hunters’ Guild, right in front of its carved wooden doors. People walk past me casually while the sun burns without mercy. Only a sliver of the building’s roof behind me keeps me from getting scorched. I can’t get yesterday out of my head. I rub the cut on my eyebrow without thinking.

  Something moistens my fingers.

  Shit…

  The wound opened again. Besides interrupting the little bit that had healed, I’m also worried about how long I’ve been waiting here. I don’t know if I arrived way too early or way too late.

  I scan around, but my eyes always return to the same spot. The stone statue in front of the building. I walk closer to see it better.

  A metal plaque at its feet. A name engraved: Kronnel Urr.

  I keep reading, but someone touches my back.

  “Good morning.” She smiles. “Have you been waiting long?”

  “Hey. No, not really.” My shoulders drop.

  Her armor glints in the sunlight. I was hoping to see her in casual clothes. Looks like that won’t be today.

  “I thought we were going to the market to shop…”

  “We’ll go after. First I want to head into the forest.”

  Rya looks at me, puzzled.

  “Whoa, what happened to you?” She raises an eyebrow. “Did you take a bath in dirt?”

  “Something like that.” A clumsy laugh escapes me.

  Her eyes lock onto mine. I swallow and the air leaves me.

  “And that cut?” Her hands plant on her hips.

  “Tripped over a post.” I cover the wound with my fingers.

  I look anywhere else. I say nothing, just hoping my indifference will make her drop it.

  She closes her eyes and furrows her brow. She exhales sharply after a second.

  “I just hope you didn’t get mixed up in something.”

  She rummages in her leather pouch; I can hear the clinking as her hands move. From inside comes a small crystal bottle.

  “Take a sip.”

  I pull my head back when she holds the bottle in front of me. I accept after a small scolding. When the red liquid slides down my throat, my skin starts itching. When I touch it again, the wound has closed. But the mark is still there.

  “There’s still a scar, though.”

  “That’s how it goes.” She tilts her head. “But it doesn’t look bad on you. By the way, I’ve only ever seen you in those pants. Don’t you have anything else?”

  “Nothing at all.” I wave my hand. “Completely broke.”

  I give her the short version of what happened. I don’t go into details. Rya sighs when I finish; her eyebrows drop.

  “You can’t show up tomorrow looking like that, you know?” She crosses her arms.

  I scratch the back of my neck and look down.

  “I’ll figure something out… if not, you guys go without me.”

  It bothers me when she looks at me like that. I just have to get through this week and I’ll recover.

  She motions for me to follow her. The streets are more crowded than yesterday and the air feels heavier. I push my hair back so my neck stops sweating. I wish I had something to tie it with. We’re going the opposite direction from the stables and I don’t understand where this woman is taking me. I can’t help bumping shoulders with people. I stay close to her so I don’t lose her in this sea of bodies.

  A shop with large windows and wooden mannequins. Is she buying clothes for Eleanor?

  Someone greets us as we enter. An older man with gray hair and glasses.

  We’re not the only ones. Several people browse among shelves that reach the ceiling, picking out fabrics that catch their eye. Red, yellow, turquoise. Every color imaginable, this place has it. Some designs more extravagant than others.

  “Hey, what’s your size?”

  I don’t know what to answer. I stare at her for a second.

  “You’re buying me clothes?” My forehead wrinkles.

  “Yes. Something so you look decent tomorrow.” She makes a face. “But you’ll pay me back when you can.”

  I look away, searching for a reply. I want to refuse, but when I glance down at myself I look like hell. It’s not a gift and that’s the only reason I can accept.

  A pair of pants and a dark blue shirt. When I see my reflection in the polished aluminum sheet, a smile escapes me that I can’t quite hold. Though my boots don’t match at all. We leave after paying. The clerk complimented the fabric of my jeans. I didn’t know what to do with that.

  We stop by my room just to drop off the bag. Then we continue.

  ◇◇◇

  Grass crunches under my boots and branches sway in the wind. Olmir looks so tiny from here I could cover its silhouette with my hand. Rya’s black pants stand out even more when she’s crouching.

  I lean back against a log; my head itches when I try to get comfortable.

  “What do you need the flowers for?” A yawn slips out.

  “To make soap.”

  Rya searches among the bushes, putting the ones she needs into her leather bag. I don’t understand how she could make soap with just plants.

  I stand and walk around the area. The air smells sweet. I don’t stray far from her—just a few steps.

  Something ahead catches my eye. At the base of a thick-trunked tree, white threads like cotton cover the ground. I get closer to look. I see strange-looking balls that smell awful. They writhe when I touch the thread. My finger comes away sticky.

  Branches snap above me and leaves rain down.

  Something messes up my hair. I don’t see anything but it squeezes. It bites.

  “Motherfucker!!”

  I stumble back, almost slip. I try to pull it off. It’s furry.

  I yank it free and throw it far. It vanishes. I look in every direction; my arms are shaking.

  Something black drops from the tree. It comes at me fast, like a cat.

  I trip over my own foot and fall.

  “No!! No!! No!!”

  A flash blinds me for a second. When I can see again, the thing isn’t moving anymore.

  “Up!” Rya extends her hand.

  I get up… and then I see them. More. Way too many.

  They’re surrounding us. Rya spreads her stance and tenses her arms.

  She moves incredibly fast; I can barely follow what she’s doing. The air glimmers when she cuts. They’re gone. All chopped to pieces.

  I try to catch my breath and brace my hands on my knees. I’m panting like an animal.

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  “What the hell were those?”

  “Forest spiders.” Rya turns her head both ways. “But there’s way too many…”

  “I almost shit myself…” I blow out air.

  “Relax. It’s over.”

  She walks the area, head tilted upward. I instinctively move away from the trees. The spiders have long legs and their fangs are small, like needles.

  The air suddenly reeks of something rotten.

  “Are there more?” I scratch my nape.

  “No more, relax. But there must be a nest nearby.”

  Rya stops.

  “I’ll report it to the guild later.” She looks at me. “Hey, help me out.”

  “With what?”

  She points with the tip of her sword. The blade is stained with dark, viscous remains.

  “Smash the eggs. I’ll collect the spiders.”

  She hands me her sword; I almost drop it. I close my eyes for a second, feel my blood heat up and my arms tense, but they’re no longer shaking.

  I slash through the webbing and stab the eggs. The air whistles when I swing the blade. Saying it cuts like butter is an understatement.

  A pile of corpses in the center. More than a dozen spiders. My back crawls as I keep staring.

  “Hey…” Rya touches my shoulder. “Did any of them bite you?”

  I nod. After saying it, my head starts burning.

  She whistles, calling Isabela. She pulls a canteen from the saddlebags and motions to me. She pours water over my head.

  “Good thing they didn’t cut you and inject venom,” she says with a little laugh.

  “And if they had?” I massage my head; my fingers get tangled in my hair.

  “You wouldn’t want to know.”

  I lift my chin and squeeze my hair. My shirt gets soaked. A salty, earthy smell reaches my nose. I don’t want to stand next to her. How embarrassing.

  Rya’s sword begins to glow. When she points it at the spiders, a light ignites them. They burn as easily as if they’d been doused in gasoline.

  I don’t feel calm. My heart nearly jumped out when I saw those monsters. Out there are worse things, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle them.

  “God…” I sigh.

  They keep burning. Soon they’re just ashes.

  “Ethan, can I ask you something?” Rya wipes her sword with a damp cloth.

  “What?”

  She turns to look at me. Her gaze hard and dry.

  “Where are you from?”

  “Didn’t I already say?” I look away. “From a faraway village.”

  “Really?”

  I stay silent. I don’t understand why she’s asking this now.

  “Why do you say ‘Por Dios’ so much?”

  I choke on my breath and cough suddenly.

  “Well… it’s just habit.”

  “Do you believe in another god?” She stands and sheathes her weapon.

  The bodies have stopped burning. Only smoke and charred flesh remain.

  I lose focus. My friends working the streets. The father getting too close to us. I didn’t know how to hold onto my faith when I saw that. When I left that place, there was no one waiting for me anymore. Somehow I wanted comfort and started praying again.

  Even now I still do it. They say He’s omnipresent. But is He here? In this world?

  I blink. I didn’t realize I was staring upward.

  “Yes…” My voice weak. “Where I come from, we believe in God and His son, Jesus.”

  “That’s fine, I understand.” She lets her shoulders drop. “Hey, you can believe whatever you want. But be careful where you say things like that.”

  “Noted.”

  She motions and I follow behind her. We leave the forest behind. The sun is already setting.

  ◇◇◇

  The clouds at this hour are so thick they look like stains. When I sigh, my breath freezes. I should have chosen a long-sleeve shirt, but Rya insisted on this one. Now my arms are paying the price.

  It’s barely raining. I cover the small gift with my hand so it doesn’t get wet. It wasn’t easy to choose. My lamp’s light barely cuts through the mist.

  It’s a quiet street, except for the person who passes beside me without looking.

  A small house, white walls and hanging flower pots in the windows. When I knock, my heart beats a little faster. Someone approaches. I straighten my posture and brush some strands off my forehead.

  The door opens just enough for me to see half her face.

  “Good evening, ma’am…” I try to get the words out. “My name is Ethan. I’m here for Eleanor’s birthday.”

  A thin woman greets me; her eyes are as blue as her daughter’s.

  “Oh, it’s you!” She smiles. “Come in, come in. You’ll get soaked.”

  “Excuse me…”

  I follow the woman down a narrow hallway. Pictures on the walls: portraits and landscapes.

  Everyone is gathered in the living room, around a small table. The chandelier on the ceiling shines just enough to light the modest space.

  Eyes turn to me as I enter.

  “Ethan, finally.” The redhead smiles at me.

  “Hey, good evening. Sorry I’m late.”

  I would’ve been here earlier if I hadn’t gotten lost.

  I join them, sitting on an empty piece of furniture. Rya’s green dress steals my gaze for a second. She notices and I quickly look elsewhere.

  “Nothing happened on your way here, right?” Eleanor asks, holding a cup. “There’ve been more thugs around lately.”

  “All good, don’t worry.”

  Out of the corner of my eye I see a shadow disappear between the dining room and the kitchen.

  “By the way, young man. Thank you for protecting my daughter from that man.”

  My cheeks burn a little. The woman starts pouring me some tea.

  “Don’t worry about it.” I nod. “After what I did to him, I doubt he’ll show his face around here again.”

  I close my eyes and press my foot down hard. I realize how bad that sounded.

  The woman stops pouring tea and forces a laugh. Eleanor looks down and sips in silence.

  Time passes and I barely speak. The others chat as if they’ve known each other forever. I don’t know how to join the conversation.

  I listen and lean back. Everything is so tidy. Too tidy. In every corner, pots with colorful flowers.

  The woman looks at me while drinking from her cup.

  “By the way, young man. How’s your family doing?” She sets the cup on the table. “Do they write to you to see how you’re doing?”

  I blink, almost falling asleep.

  “Yeah… well. I haven’t had time to write them.” I clear my throat.

  “Forgive my intrusion…” She glances at her daughter. “but Ellie told me you had some trouble before arriving in the city.”

  I stay quiet for a few seconds, going over that fake story again. I’ve repeated it so many times I’m almost starting to believe it myself.

  I don’t go into details.

  “After nearly dying to that monster, a family rescued me.” I fix my hair. “I stayed with them for a while and then traveled here.”

  I shrug, looking at Eleanor.

  “The rest your daughter already knows.” I smile.

  “I see.” The woman clasps her hands. “Thanks to Lha’el nothing worse happened to you.”

  We keep talking. Eleanor tells how she was hired at The Broken Wheel when she had just moved here with her mother those years ago. It’s my turn to say something. I stare at the ceiling, silent, searching for an appropriate story.

  “Well, once I got into a fight in a tavern over money.” I smile. “A friend convinced me, but things didn’t go well.”

  Everyone laughs, amused. Rya doesn’t. Her eyes fixed on me, eyebrow raised, arms crossed. I look away from her gaze, touching my nape.

  I almost jump out of my seat when something furry runs across my feet. That forest really gave me a trauma.

  A cat starts meowing. Gray mottled fur and yellow eyes.

  “Aww, how cute.”

  I lift it slowly. Some hairs fly up my nose.

  “Right?” Eleanor smiles wide. “Rya gave him to me a while back.”

  “He’s gotten fatter, I see.”

  The little animal starts kicking. I settle him on my lap so he won’t escape. I scratch behind his ears and between his eyes. He keeps meowing, uncomfortable.

  He has a collar. When I hold the tag between my thumb and index finger, I can read a name: “Nuria”. The metal feels rough on the other side. I flip it. There’s another inscription, almost worn away by time. I can’t quite make it out, just irregular marks, as if someone tried to erase it on purpose.

  Nuria slips out of my hands and runs to Eleanor. She catches him with open arms and a soft, playful smile. The cat curls up immediately.

  “He always does that,” she says without looking at me.

  I nod. I say nothing.

  I just think about the collar. About the name that remained and the other one someone tried to erase.

  Everyone starts yawning and that’s the signal to end the small celebration. We give our gifts to the birthday girl. I felt a bit bad seeing the other presents. Eleanor’s warm smile made it pass.

  The chicken pie Rya made conquered my heart. I have to be careful.

  We say goodbye.

  I walk with Rya until we part ways later. Suddenly someone turns on the tap up there. A storm pours down on us without warning.

  We run along the sidewalk. I almost slip. We take cover under a bit of roof, almost completely soaked. The clouds flash for a second and a thunderclap nearly deafens me.

  “What do we do!?” I shout over the noise.

  I can’t even hear my own words. I press myself against the wall of a building.

  We wait a bit, but it gets worse. Her voice gets lost in the rain.

  I move closer to her, pressing my shoulder hard against hers.

  “Hey!”

  “What!?” She frowns and crosses her arms.

  The water is starting to rise.

  “Let’s go to my inn! It’s closer!”

  “You sure!?”

  I yell into her ear.

  “Let’s stay here then!”

  She nods and we start running. My boots sink into the water. I don’t remember when I dropped the lantern.

  Rya raises her hand; a light illuminates the way.

  We arrive soaked from head to toe. No one at reception except the old man. Does he never sleep?

  We climb the stairs, leaving wet footprints everywhere.

  Good thing there are no leaks here.

  “Damn it…” I squeeze my hair.

  I walk to the window and close it with a wooden board. Rya sits on a stool, wringing out her dress.

  She says nothing.

  “I’ll be right back,” I say, exhaling.

  My chest is trembling. The wet clothes cling to my body.

  I talk to the innkeeper. After apologizing for waking her, I return to the redhead with two dry towels.

  My room glows. When I open the door, Rya’s hands are cupping a ball of mana. My eyes hurt if I stare too long.

  I hand her the towel. I squint so I don’t go blind.

  “Didn’t know it could heat up.”

  “It heats just enough.”

  The light disappears. The place turns dark again. I light a candle.

  “Thanks.” She dries her face with the cloth.

  My body feels too heavy. The cold is seeping into my bones.

  When I take off my shirt, I leave it on the table.

  “What are you doing?” Her eyes fixed on me.

  I don’t remember the last time I took my shirt off in front of a woman. But with her it feels different.

  “Relax. I’ll get sick if I don’t take this off.”

  I glance at her over my shoulder.

  “Are you going to sleep like that?”

  “I’ll wait until the rain stops.”

  The sky explodes. I don’t think it’ll end soon, and from Rya’s face, she knows it too.

  We don’t say anything for a few seconds. The only thing breaking the silence is the downpour outside.

  Rya points at me, her gaze sharp.

  “Turn around and don’t look. Understood?”

  “Whatever you say…” I raise my hands.

  I face the wall. I can only imagine what’s happening behind me. I shake my head and breathe slowly. The sound becomes clearer.

  I hear the sound of her dress zipper and swallow hard. I want to turn, but I’d die if I did.

  Silence.

  “Can I turn now?”

  “Yes…” she murmurs.

  I turn around. Her silhouette barely visible, lying on my bed facing the wall. She left her clothes spread out on the floor.

  I walk slowly. When I lie down, half my leg hangs off the bed and my shoulder touches her back. It’s firm and somewhat marked, but warm.

  My eyes are closed, but I can’t sleep. Is Rya feeling the same? The thunder doesn’t help either.

  The candle slowly dies out.

  I want to move, get comfortable. But I don’t want to wake her.

  “Rya…?” I whisper.

  She answers, though I didn’t expect her to.

  I sigh, thinking what to say.

  “Hey, when I join the guild, do you want to team up?”

  I’d be happy and calm if she had my back. It would still take me a while to stand on my own.

  She stays quiet. I shake my head and purse my lips. I wish I’d said something else.

  “No.” She says after a while. “I’m only helping you understand your powers. Once you can use them well, you’ll go solo.”

  The air leaves me. I want to say more, but I just clench my teeth.

  I’ll keep moving forward, then.