In the beginning, the six of us were divided. Separately, we had all reached the same conclusion. The Evanescent had to fall. Separately, we would have failed. It was only thanks to Her that we were able to finally subdue that ancient enemy. She united us. She unites us still.

  - Excerpt from Divine Meditations, by Grenwald Albatroze, Diamond Monarch of Crestkept

  This passage touches upon the end of Lost Age of Epochs, and the beginning of the Diamond Age. Though Lord Albatroze elucidates the struggle of the Diamond Monarchs before their transcendence earlier in the text, he is vague about what the Evanescent was. There is no description anywhere in his scripture, and no uncovered ancient scripts mention any such force or foe. Some interpret the word as another name for Spirit-beasts. I admit there is some logic behind that reasoning, given that Spirit-beasts can only exist for so long. But what if there was another threat? And why subdue the threat? Was it by choice, or are the gods unable to fully destroy this ancient enemy? If so, I pray it remains subdued.

  - From the notes of Ahzra Zholii

  Simon sat on the floor, petting Belle while Justus gave him a rundown on all that had happened. Katherine was going back to sleep, so he whispered. Most of the story was stripped to only the most basic summaries, which left Simon with more questions than answers. It was clear Justus was tired, though, so he didn’t interrupt the story or ask any follow-up questions. Belle had curled up in his lap during the story, so he scratched behind her ears while he listened.

  Once Justus finished, he gave Simon a light blue stone that looked like it had been coated with glitter glue. It was so pretty it looked fake. He told him it was an opal guidestone, which was basically a really crappy version of the emerald that he had been so obsessed about. Still, if he wasn’t lying, it would give Simon some kind of superpowers.

  “How do I do it?” he whispered.

  “By tradition you would meditate for a couple orbits until you resonate with the stone’s frequency and Spiritually link to it. Usually you have a mentor who instructs you on how to properly do that. Unfortunately you don’t have that kind of time, so we’re going to do the shortcut.”

  “If it gets me superpowers faster, then let’s do it.”

  Justus gave Simon a flat look, which was slightly less intimidating than his usual intense expression. Simon had thought it was because of the situation, but he was starting to think Justus’s natural expression was just that serious-looking. It wasn’t quite a glare, but it was close: like he was constantly thinking of how he’d kill you or what he’d do if you tried to kill him. One of those two.

  “Sorry, sorry,” Simon said. “If it lets me use skills faster, then I’m game.”

  Justus nodded. “The shortcut is simple, but a bit uncomfortable for you. The issue is that we need the stone to connect with your Spirit. Imagine someone knocking on your door, but the door is so thick it’s hard to hear. The meditation is like sanding down the door until you can hear the knock and open it. The shortcut is taking the person knocking and throwing them at the door hard enough that they smash through.”

  “Uh… that sounds bad. I don’t think I want my Spirit door broken.”

  “You’ll be fine. The door can repair itself pretty quickly.”

  “What’s quickly?”

  “Only a second or two. It’s a big door and a very small person.”

  “Okay, so going away from the increasingly weird analogy, you’re basically going to hurl the stone’s energy or whatever into my Spirit?”

  “Basically,” Justus agreed in a hushed voice.

  “Uh-huh. And what? Will it hurt?”

  Justus paused long enough to discredit any comfort he might have given next.

  “‘Hurt’ isn’t the right word. Your Spirit doesn’t feel pain. It feels… It’s hard to describe.”

  “Oh good, it’s not painful; it’s just going to be literally indescribable suffering?”

  “Look, if you want to spend the next couple orbits as an unranked while Katherine is making progress training then go right ahead.”

  “Orbit?”

  “A measure of time here. I’ll explain later. My point is you’d be left behind.”

  Simon chewed the inside of his cheek. He wasn’t keen on this breaking and entering of his Spirit idea, but the thought of being the only one not having some badass powers for a while was even worse.

  “Fine. Throw the stone in my Spirit; just give me a warning before—ARRGH!”

  Simon keeled over as his entire body felt like it had been… something’d. It was like being electrocuted by freezing cold magma. Every muscle in his body seized up like it had a cramp, and his vision went black for a moment.

  The feeling struck with unbelievable intensity for only a moment before fading like a stone hitting the bottom of a deep well with no water. He found himself on the floor, Belle whining and licking his face.

  Kate had woken up. He could hear her panicked voice but didn’t catch what she was saying. Not because Simon’s ears were ringing, or anything like that. The feeling had passed quickly, like Justus said. Simon didn’t catch her words because he was distracted by the computer-like box in his vision. He knew immediately it was some kind of virtual display, because its position in space looked like it was a few feet away, despite Belle being right up in his face.

  He slowly pushed himself up, absent-mindedly picking up the worried dog and soothing her. The box was filled with an alien-looking script made up of streamlined angles and jagged lines. There was somehow a flow to the angles and a pattern in the edges. He was hit with an intense feeling of déjà vu. The sensation grew more uncomfortable by the second. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head in an attempt to relieve the discomfort.

  When he looked at the text again, it was in English. Or… he could read it like English? It was one of the oddest experiences he ever had. He could tell the text was the same; he wasn’t able to read it. But at the same time, his mind was interpreting it as English. There was another, softer sensation. He blinked and the text changed completely to English.

  System Online

  Admin Status: Unkeyed

  Admin Settings: Undefined

  Access Granted

  New User Detected

  Spirit Identity Added

  Spirit Status: Unranked

  Calibration Recommended

  Begin calibration?

  Y / N

  Simon reached out to touch the box once he read it. His hand passed right through. Oddly, he could see through the box perfectly, but whenever he focused on it, he could read it just fine. It was a bit like holding a finger out in front of you and focusing far away, so it looked like there were two of your fingers that you could “see” through. Only the display never split in two. It simply became that weird state of there yet not there.

  “Simon? Are you alright?”

  Simon shook himself and looked over to Kate. She was sitting on the side of her hammock, looking at him with concern. He flashed her a smile.

  “Yeah. This thing is crazy. It’s like something out of a sci-fi movie.”

  Simone reached out and grabbed the edge of the text box, stretching it apart. To his surprise, the display actually got bigger. He laughed.

  “Woah, it really is like those sci-fi screens. Can you guys see it too?”

  “No. Only you can see your displays.”

  “Neat.”

  Kate still looked concerned. He really wished she didn’t worry like that.

  “Sorry for waking you up. I’ll try to be quiet,” he told her.

  She nodded, but went back to lying down.

  “So what’s this calibration thing it’s asking about?” he whispered.

  “That’s just a basic screening. It scans your body, mind, and Spirit. It doesn’t hurt. It feels pleasant, actually, like a massage. The calibration is to make sure you are mentally fit to use the guidance stone. It also points out physical conditions and defects advancing to Opal will fix.”

  “Mentally fit? Like smart enough or like not a psychopath? Also, are you saying this thing will cure my ingrown toenail?”

  “It’s not about intelligence. Mostly behavioral issues or major mental issues. People like that need specialized therapy before they can use guidestones. You have to be pretty messed up in the head for that to be the case, though. Usually if someone can function in society, they’ll pass the mental screening. For less serious cases you might need a Jade to clear your advancement.

  “As for the toenail thing: yes. It won’t fix extremely traumatic injuries or birth defects, like a missing leg or getting disemboweled, but it will smooth over the damage. Think of your body like a shirt. The stone will iron out the wrinkles and sew the rips, but it won’t make it brand new.”

  “Sweet. So I’ll be like a budget Wolverine?”

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  “Like will I heal fast?”

  “No. It’s only when you advance. Although with each rank you do recover more. I knew a guy who said he knew a guy who lost a leg when he was Opal, then grew it back when he advanced to Sapphire.”

  “Sick. It’s like super insurance.”

  “Again, I don’t know what that means.”

  “You don’t have insurance on your planet?”

  “We do. I just think that’s a bad metaphor.”

  “What? No, it makes sense. Cause insurance covers you for stuff. And advancing heals you.”

  “But insurance is a financial thing. Advancing would be like a surgeon or medicine in that scenario, not the insurance.”

  “Whatever, dude, you get what I meant. So how do I accept?”

  “Just think about it really hard. Interacting with the system can be tricky at first, but it’s a learned skill that gets easier with time.”

  Simon focused on the screen in front of him. It had done that weird disappearing thing while he was looking at Justus, but the moment he’d thought about looking at it, the screen came into full focus. He couldn’t get over how cool this all was.

  Simon almost lifted his hand to click yes, but he stopped himself. That might work, but he wanted to be able to control this stuff with just his mind. He wasn’t sure if using his hands would end up as some bad habit that would be hard to break. Also, it wasn’t nearly as awesome.

  It took more concentration than he expected, but after a few seconds the screen blinked away, and a new one appeared. It was a smaller one that looked like a progress bar.

  A tingle began in his legs. It did feel pleasant. The progress bar filled as the sensation moved up his body. When it got to his head, he felt it travel through his mind. The sensation was odd, almost like a dizzy feeling, but without the nausea. When it finished, a new text box appeared.

  Calibration Complete

  Physical Status:

  Underdeveloped muscular system, minor myopia, moderate dehydration, gingivitis, heavy contamination of impure elements

  Mental Status:

  Predilection towards dissociation under stress, general anxiety, and avoidant behavioral patterns

  Calibration Results:

  Affinities: Spirit, Artifice, Charity

  [User] is cleared for [advancement] to [opal] rank.

  This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

  Simon wasn’t sure what myopia was. He was pretty sure gingivitis had something to do with teeth. Maybe he should have listened to his dentist about flossing. Contamination of impure elements wasn’t at all a surprise, considering his diet.

  The mental screening surprised him a bit. He wasn’t that anxious. Was he? And he didn’t avoid things. Hell, he kept his father’s coin with him at all—

  Simon sat up straight, reaching for his pockets. Shit, he’d been so caught off guard by all this that he forgot. Where were his old pants? He’d had his coin… in his pocket.

  Simon felt the cool metal in the pocket of his robe. He brought it out and stared at it, his heart still racing from the panic of thinking he’d lost it. Simon flipped the silver dollar over and found the eagle as tarnished as he remembered. It was his father’s. Relief flooded through him.

  “I found that on the ground next to you. I don’t think it’s worth anything here, but I thought it might be important if it traveled with you,” Justus said quietly.

  “Thanks.”

  “What is it?”

  “It’s my dad’s lucky coin. It’s… uh, it was important to him.”

  “Ah,” Justus said.

  Simon was grateful that Justus didn’t pry any further. He slipped the coin back in his pocket.

  “Alright, I’m cleared for advancement now. Do I just focus on advancing, or what?”

  “Yes and no. Unfortunately there’s no system shortcut for this part. You have to do it yourself. The stone can streamline the process, but it’s not what advances your Spirit. You do that yourself.”

  “After the last shortcut, I can’t say I’m that upset. But how do I do it?”

  “You have to focus on your Spirit, and understand it on a deeper level. It requires a level of… objectivity. It’s difficult to describe, but once you start, you’ll naturally figure out what to do. It is intuitive to a degree.”

  “Uh-huh. One problem though, I still don’t know how to feel my Spirit. Have you ever tried to remember something you forgot about, but you know you forgot, and the more you try to remember, you just forget it more? It’s like that.”

  “That’s a common issue, but there's a workaround. It’s a bit invasive, but I can use my Spirit aura to… stimulate your Spirit. It will make it easier for you to focus on your Spirit and begin to explore it yourself.”

  “Will it hurt?”

  “No.”

  He did answer quickly this time, and there were no caveats. While Simon still felt a bit of skepticism, he nodded.

  “Good.” Justus said. “Do you need to use the restroom?”

  Simon thought about it. He realized he was starving, and the stone already said he was dehydrated. When was the last time he ate or drank anything? A day? He’d skipped breakfast the day he met Justus. Was it still that day? Technically it wouldn’t be since they were on a different planet, but it didn’t feel that long ago.

  He still couldn’t believe they were on another planet. It was such a crazy thought that his mind still couldn't accept it. He didn’t want to, either. Life went on though, whether you wanted it to or not. Best to focus on what was ahead instead of dwelling on things he couldn’t change.

  Besides, it wasn’t like he was stuck here forever. Justus had traveled to Earth somehow, so it was possible. He might as well enjoy the experience of being on another planet. He didn’t have much of a home to return to anyway. He hadn’t for a long time. He could treat this whole isekai’d nonsense like a fresh start. When in Rome, or so it goes.

  “I’m good,” he said.

  “Good. Then lie down and I’ll start. Focus on the feeling of your Spirit. You’ll sense mine too, but ignore it and focus on yours.”

  Simon laid down on the carpet. He set Belle aside, and she curled up between his legs like she did almost every night. Moments after getting settled, he felt it. He could feel sentiments that weren’t his own. He had flashes of determination. Or was it paranoia? Annoyance, anxiety, and anger. It was a lot. A whole tangled mess of emotions was getting thrown at him. Well, not at him, but… was that it?

  He couldn’t see the thing. Sight wasn’t able to take in its form anymore than you could bail water out of a sinking ship by filling up one of those cheap squirt guns and shooting it off the ship. There was simply way too much. But he could sense it, the same way you could wiggle your toes and get a feel for them. This was his Spirit. Yet it wasn’t him. Or was it? He wasn’t sure which of those realities was more unsettling.

  As he honed in on the feeling over the course of what felt like hours, the thing began to take “shape,” if you could call it that. It was hard to describe what he was sensing or even how he was sensing it.

  The Spirit was like the twisted offspring of a spider and a kaleidoscope. Its legs were long and spindly, with far too many joints. The limbs flickered in and out of existence, moving in jerking motions. Each leg ended in tiny hands with dozens of mouths that spun webs. The tapestry it was constantly building shifted moment to moment. Its creations of web seemed to fold in on themselves as the hands kept adding to the designs, each addition more complex than the last.

  Part of that web connected him to the Spirit. He somehow knew the webs were a part of the creature itself. They were more like veins and nerves.

  Its main body shifted as much as the tapestries it created. There were things that shifted under its form, as if struggling to tear themselves out of the creature Alien style. It was objectively gross, but instead of feeling sickened, Simon was filled with pity.

  He felt the spider’s attention turn to him. Where eyes would normally be, there were faces. Like the webs, they changed constantly, but all their eyes focused on Simon. The spider opened its mouth, and more legs stretched out of the orifice, reaching for him. The fingers of the hands danced as they began spinning webs around him.

  The moment the threads began to encase him, his entire body was overwhelmed with the sensation of pins and needles, only it was accompanied with a wonderful feeling of bliss and contentment. It was overwhelming.

  It passed too quickly, and Simon opened his eyes. Already, the memory of what he’d seen began slipping from his mind like a dream. He could remember the general idea, but the details blurred away.

  His body felt heavy and exhausted. He noticed the ceiling and… was it that clear before? He sat up, groaning, and looked around. Myopia—wasn’t that something to do with eyesight?

  “Ah dammit! Mr. Hayes was right; I did need glasses!” he said.

  “Shh!” Justus hushed. He nodded to Kate, who was lightly snoring on her hammock.

  “What are glasses?” Justus asked.

  “I guess you guys wouldn’t need them. They’re things that help you see clearly. I’ve been wondering if my eyesight has gotten worse. It’s been difficult reading the board in English class. Now Mr. Hayes will…” He trailed off. He wouldn’t ever go back to English class. Normally that would be cause for celebration, but not this time. The city was gone, and most of the people he knew were likely dead. It was a sobering thought, and tempered his excitement about this whole advancement thing.

  “Well, I can see clearly now, and I feel great. Stiff and exhausted, but great.”

  “Yeah, that’s how advancement usually feels. The jump to Opal is the worst, but it’s always a pretty heavy blow. What Affinities did you get?”

  “Oh, right,” Simon said. He’d been so distracted by his clearer vision that he ignored the new text box in the middle of his sight. It was surprisingly easy to do, given how it could make itself go semi-invisible when he wasn’t focused on it.

  Advancement Complete

  Current Rank: [Opal]

  Rank Progression: Low

  Next [Rank Milestone]: Peak

  Spirit Threshold Achieved

  New Affinity Manifested: [SPIRIT]

  New Affinity Manifested: [Artifice]

  New Affinity Manifested: [Charity]

  New [SPIRIT] Skill: [Familiar]

  [Familiar]: Empower animal companions with your Spirit.

  See [Familiar] menu for more information.

  Passive Skill

  New [Artifice] Skill: [Simulacrum]

  [Simulacrum]: Create a Spirit clone of yourself. This clone can be reabsorbed along with any remaining Spirit it possesses.

  Activated Passive

  New [Charity] Skill: [Restoration]

  [Restoration]: Accelerate your body’s physical healing using Spirit as a blueprint. Speed and amount healed affects Spirit cost.

  Variable Cooldown Skill

  “Seriously? These sound pretty cool,” Simon said, after skimming the list without really reading any of it.

  “What Affinities did you get?”

  “Spirit, Artifice—heh, that’s funny. Spirit Arts, Spirit Artifice. Also—”

  “Spirit is one of your Affinities?” Justus asked.

  For the first time, Justus didn’t have a serious look on his face. His eyes were wide, and he looked—was he excited? It was hard to tell with him.

  “Uh, yeah, Spirit. Is that good?”

  “That’s really good. Spirit skills directly affect Spirit. That’s extremely rare for any other Affinity. It’s one of the most sought-after support Affinities. You can make serious money being a temporary party member with that Affinity alone.”

  Justus’s expression became thoughtful.

  “It’s also dangerous. I would keep that Affinity close to the vest, actually. There are some people who would want you to work for them, whether you want to or not.”

  “That’s a pretty fucking terrifying thing to just drop on me, dude. Keep the Spirit Affinity on the down low. Duly noted. So what about Charity then? It gave me a healing skill, I think, but it’s only for myself. That seems lame. Healers are kinda lame in general, but at least they’re helpful to other people too.”

  “Charity is another really desired one, but it’s much more common. Restoration is one of the best skills you could ask for. With Spirit and Restoration you’ll have enough support skills to—wait, what Affinities did you say you have? Didn’t you say you have Spirit and Artifice?”

  “Yeah, and Charity.”

  Justus stared at Simon in silence for an uncomfortably long time.

  “...Is that bad?”

  “No, it’s not bad. I’m not sure what it is. There's upsides and downsides to starting with one or three Affinities instead of the usual two. With three, you have more versatility, but usually they’re a bit less potent individually.

  “I’m wondering about your Spirit Affinity. Spirit Affinity breaks some of the rules from what I’ve heard, but not much is known about it. It’s a legendary Affinity. I don’t think I can overstate how rare it is to manifest. There’s probably less than thirty people on the planet with that Affinity. The Empress supposedly specialized in Spirit, and she’s said to be the strongest of the Diamond Monarchs.

  “I’m not sure, really. You’ll have to find out. That’s another piece of advice, especially considering you’re starting with three Affinities. Use all your skills. Don’t focus too much on one. Use all of them. Like I told Katherine, your skills are like muscles. If you don’t use them, they won’t get stronger.”

  “You don’t have to tell me. I’m gonna use these every chance I get.”

  Simon concentrated. He focused on the restoration skill. It said it would heal him, and he felt really sore and tired. So why not heal himself and then test out those other skills?

  Justus noticed his look of concentration. Right as a text box appeared signifying the Restoration skill’s activation, Justus’s eyes went wide.

  “Wait, don’t—”

  Simon’s vision went blurry. He felt his body turn to pudding as he fell to the side. Exhaustion exploded in him. His eyes fell shut, unable to stay open any longer. The last thing he felt was his exhaustion being overwhelmed by a horrible sensation inside him.

  Simon woke up in his hammock, and everything hurt. A familiar weight hopped up on his stomach. He groaned, but reached down to pet the worried dog. He opened his eyes to see her staring down at him. Her furry brown ears bounced slightly as she tilted her head back and forth, sniffing him.

  “Hey, you. You’re finally awake,” a soft voice said.

  Simon pulled himself up and found Kate looking at him. She sat on the edge of her hammock. He stared at her dumbly.

  “Did—did you just quote Skyrim at me?”

  Kate furrowed her brow. “What?”

  “Never mind.”

  “Okay… It’s good you’re up. The feast is starting soon.”

  “Huh? What feast?”

  “The village is having a big meal to celebrate having guests,” Justus said, not looking up from his book. “I would have told you, but you went and almost killed yourself.”

  “I… I what?”

  “Weren’t you listening when I explained Spirit to you two?” Justus asked. He’d been sitting against the wall, reading a book. He looked over its pages to Simon. “If you use up all your Spirit, it can kill you. I also told you advancing leaves you drained. So why did you decide it was a good idea to use a skill—one you’ve never used before—right after advancing?“

  “It’s a healing skill. I thought it would make me feel better.”

  Justus shook his head. “Healing skills don’t heal your Spirit. You felt tired because your body and Spirit were both practically drained. When you used your skill, it started squeezing every bit of your Spirit left in you to recover your stamina. If I hadn’t stopped it, you would have died.”

  “How did you stop me?”

  “The same way I connected your stone to you. I pretty much shocked your Spirit with my own. You’re lucky it worked. It’s really hard to do that. If I weren’t Jade, and if your Spirit hadn’t been so weak at the time, I wouldn’t have been able to stop it. Disruption techniques like that usually only work when there’s a two rank disparity or more.”

  “Lucky me…” Simon said. He stretched and popped his back. “How long was I out this time?”

  “Not too long. Just a couple hours. I did some digging on that, by the way. Apparently our seconds are six point seven percent shorter than yours. There’s also some really odd parallels between our two planets’ calendars.”

  “I’m sure that's really useful information for someone somewhere. So when are we eating?”

  “A man came in earlier. I’m surprised he didn’t wake you up, considering how loud he yelled when Justus' traps scared him,” Kate said, shooting Justus a dirty look.

  Justus only rolled his eyes. “Even an unranked wouldn’t be hurt by those traps.”

  “It’s still rude to rig the door to the place you’re staying in as a guest.”

  “And like I told you already, it’s better to be rude than dead.”

  It seemed like it was an argument the two had already had. Simon didn’t care to see it dragged out.

  “So who was this guy?” He asked Justus.

  Justus smiled faintly. “Ask Katherine. You should have seen Miss Morals when she saw him. She screamed louder than he did when—”

  His story was interrupted by the door opening.

  The thing that walked in looked like something out of a Batman comic. It was a half-man, half-crocodile hybrid, and it was big. The thing stood over seven feet tall and was so wide that it had to enter the doorway sideways while ducking. It wore only a loincloth, which showed off the thick, scaly skin that covered its body.

  Belle suddenly leapt off him. Simon grabbed for the dog, but his hands missed her as she ran up to the monster.

  “Belle!” He hissed.

  The monster looked down and grinned. Its face had a slight snout, and the smile showed off a row of long, thick teeth. Belle barked and clawed at the thing’s scaly pale-green legs. Or… no, she wasn’t clawing. She was pawing, and her fluffy tail wagged back and forth. She was excited?

  The thing bent down and reached out with a large clawed hand. Simon wanted to call out and yell at Belle to get away, but he was too scared to draw the thing’s attention. To his surprise, the thing didn’t grab Belle. It scratched the dog behind the ears.

  The creature spoke. Its voice didn’t seem to match its appearance. The voice was smooth and higher pitched than expected, and he spoke with a strong cadence and accent. Strangely, his words didn’t seem to match the movements of his mouth, which made the sight all the more surreal.

  “Hello, little pup. It’s nice to see you too. Are you hungry? Here, I brought you a treat.”

  Then the monstrous figure pulled a piece of dry meat that was tucked into the waist of its loincloth. Belle nipped the jerky out of his hand, and he pet her once more.

  Simon looked to Kate. She looked nervous, but not scared like he was. Justus didn’t seem bothered at all.

  The monster stood back up and met his eyes.

  “Ah, you’re awake. Your name is Simon, I've been told. My name is Roshesh. This is the third time we have met, but both times before you were not awake. Justus explained to me that you used a skill after advancing.”

  The monstrous man laughed.

  “Don’t feel embarrassed. I made the same mistake when I advanced to Opal. I was too excited to be a warrior like my father, and I learned that a warrior must have patience in the hard way. Your friend also tells me that you lived a sheltered life and have never seen an animorphed such as myself. Don’t feel embarrassed by your reaction to this either. Your friend Katherine was also scared. I admit my looks can intimidate, though to us there is beauty to this form. You have no reason to fear me.”

  Simon felt like Justus should have mentioned that there were people like this on his planet. It would have saved Simon from nearly having a heart attack. He glanced over at Justus, who nodded.

  “Roshesh was the one who offered us a place to rest. You can trust him,” Justus said, though his subtle glance to Roshesh added an unspoken addendum. You can trust him, mostly.

  Roshesh noticed the glance but didn’t seem bothered by it.

  “Trust is not easily given in Solidusk, it seems, but that is fine. As long as none of you harm me or mine, then I will consider you friends. As much as Justus does not trust, his traps earlier were not dangerous. It is wise to not trust so quickly. The bird who does not trust the serpent won’t be bitten. Even if the serpent has no fangs to bear, the bird can’t know this.”

  Simon glanced at Belle. She was chewing the dried meat, holding it between her paws. The dog was skittish around most people.

  “If Belle trusts you, then you’re probably okay.”

  Roshesh gave him a toothy smile. Despite his friendly manner and Belle’s trust, the sight of his fangs made Simon’s gut tell him to run. He politely ignored it.

  “She is a fine animal. Loyal, smart, and full of affection. It makes me wish we had such companions here. But the bayou is not a great place for dogs. Even the ones that like water are not safe, as the ridgebacks make for a very unpleasant swim. Keep her safe.

  “But I did not come for chat. The feast is nearly prepared. If you are feeling well, please join us. It is in your honor, after all. I can tell you my father and myself are both very curious to hear your stories. You may join at your leisure, however. You will know where to find us.”

  The man dipped his head towards each of them, then gave Belle one last scratch before leaving. He shut the door behind him. Simon looked over to Justus.

  “What the fuck just happened?”