“Sath?” Gin called out. Sath cursed inwardly as the figure stopped by the door, standing still as a statue. Sath pushed the door shut and waved at Gin to stop talking, finally putting a finger over his lips. He then took a deep breath and flung open the bedroom door to see the outer door to the dwelling wide open and empty.
“Ikara’s TEETH!” he swore as he ran out of the dwelling. Gin was behind him, pulling on her tunic and hopping into her trousers as she ran, barefooted, across the floor. Sath’s eye was on the burglar and he thought he was gaining ground until he failed to notice a root from one of the massive trees and went sprawling forward. He looked up in time to see Gin surge past him, the sparkling air left in her wake proof that she had cast a movement spell to increase her speed. With the added burst, she closed on the intruder and flung herself into the air, landing with a sickening crunch on the burglar’s back as both of them hit the ground. Sath got to his feet and ran to where Gin was wrestling with the still shrouded assailant.
“Give us back the orb,” he bellowed, trying to roar. Instead of the bone-shaking sound that reduced his enemies to sobbing children, the best he could do was a sort of a growl that actually sounded like a belch. Shaking his head in frustration, he reached into the wiggling mass of arms and legs and pulled out the burglar, giving the cloaked figure a shake to knock the hood back. He was holding a vaguely familiar-looking dark elf female by the neck and was dismayed to find that his arms were not long enough to keep her from assaulting his face and shoulders with painful blows from her indigo fists. How did he know her?
“I’ve got it, Sath!” Gin called out from beneath the flying blur of blue, still battering Sath. “I’ve got the orb.” Sath shoved the Ikedrian to the ground and took a defensive stance in front of Gin. “Who are you?” Gin said, stepping out from behind Sath and elbowing him in the ribs. “Why did you take this from me?”
“I do as commanded, Nature Walker, filthy wood elf abomination!” the Ikedrian snarled in D’leesh at Gin.
“You serve Ikara,” Gin responded in kind, her voice tight and pinched. “I serve the Mother of Us All, Sephine, and in her name, I am granting you mercy. Get out of here before I change my mind.” The Ikedrian stared at her, almost curiously, but warily. Flames began to coalesce around Gin’s hands as she spoke, and the dark elf winced away from her. “NOW! GO NOW!” Gin leaned in, and the dark elf sprang to her feet and ran back the way Gin and Sath had traveled the day before.
“What the…Gin? Why did you let her go?” Sath stared at her in disbelief. “She almost stole Sephine’s orb!”
“Druids do not learn the ways of violence for no reason,” Gin said, and Sath could almost hear the goddess’s voice again in his head, underscoring Gin’s words. “We learn the ways of mercy and peace. She will face enough violence when she returns to whoever sent her empty-handed.”
“Okay, next question,” he said, frowning slightly. “Where did you learn the Ikedrian language? I thought you might be at least familiar since they live under the Great Forest, but -”
“Well, the wizard wanted me to learn all the languages I could, but I already learned some of it because my brother knew…” Gin paused a moment, the memory of Cursik’s death opening a wound in her heart she had forgotten was there. “My brother was mated to an Ikedrian,” she replied softly. “He lost her in the wilds on a hunt. When he came back to Aynamaede, he stayed with me. He spoke almost exclusively in D’leesh to keep her memory alive. After I lost him, I studied D’leesh as a way to honor him. It is not an easy language, and he was not a good student outside of history, so I don’t know how he managed.” She chuckled, but it was a hollow sound. “I guess love for your mate is a strong motivator.”
“I had no idea,” Sath said softly. He touched her face gently and smiled when she didn’t pull away. “So, what did you two say?”
“She is a servant of Ikara, just like they all are,” Gin said, her face suddenly void of emotion, “and I told her that I served the All-Mother, and to leave before I forgot my mercy.”
Sath stared at Gin, unblinking for a few moments. “You really said that?” he asked, smiling.
“Yes, why? Didn’t think that I had it in me?”
“Gin, you never, ever cease to amaze me,” Sath said, kissing her on the forehead. “I love you.”
“And I love you, Sath. I just hope all these heroics haven’t awakened the entire inn and worn out our welcome. It’s been nice to have a real bed for a change. This cottage is beautiful.” Gin shook her head and picked up the orb, cradling it in her arms until she got back to the house. Once there, she placed it in her haversack—after putting the bag on the table, she returned to the bedroom to get dressed. Sath had followed her in, checked through the windows to make sure they were safe, and then
