Page 6 of Leviathan's Song
They couldn’t even survive in the Void due to the lack of magic. They could cross the Gate, and they’d exit alive, but within a matter of minutes, they’d be dead if they didn’t make it back through. Elves could last much longer—in fact, the mixed races wouldn’t exist if they couldn’t—but their health suffered if they spenttoomuch time in the Void. It was really only those of mixed-race—and we were many—who could cross back and forth unharmed.
Even so, our lifespans were greatly reduced if we spent too much time in the Void, so most of us commuted. We lived in the Boundlands but worked in the Void.
The Boundlands gave us a healthier environment to live in, but the Void gave us access to not only humans, but travelers from all over the Boundlands coming through the many Gates who we wouldn’t have access to in a single city otherwise. In my north Seattle neighborhood, I had access to not only buyers in Golden Laurel, but Oar’s Rest and Dry Gulch as well, thanks to the other Gates. Both were far-flung cities on the coast and in the desert, respectively.
There was a seat open on the railcar next to a man who was an electric conjurer (probably employed by the city and quite possibly this very rail line), so I gratefully sat for the short commute. Across from me was an elvish lady who stared straight ahead, unmoving, completely unaffected by the jostling of the train car. Next to her was an elder dwarvish man, covered in dust with his toolbox between his feet, swaying in his seat.
Blue lights, provided by light benders or conjurers, flickered by outside the cars, and we rode in silence until I departed to walk the final two blocks home. I didn’t live in Upper Golden Laurel with my parents anymore, instead choosing a cozy townhouse in the trendy, hilltop Crown District, closer to downtown.
I climbed the short flight to my stoop, kicked a pile of white feathers onto the lawn, and let myself in. Desperate for some tea, I dug through my cabinets, which were full of gifts from Bette, my neighbor to the left. She was an apothecary and loved to leave me tea, but I was too scared to drink any of it. I felt too guilty to part with it, though. I found my favorite stash in the back and just as I put the kettle on, I heard a knock at the door and a cheerful greeting. I grabbed a second mug and set it on the counter as my neighbor Bette, the tea-gifter, let herself in.
“Evening, Elara. Oh, no, I can’t stay. No tea for me, dear, but thank you.” Bette’s coppery brown curls were tied up in a scarf, her wide brown eyes tired and blinking as she slumped into the chair at my kitchen table. She was older than me and often stayed up too late working on things that caused something smelling vaguely of sulfur to waft onto the front lawn. If I asked what she was making, she would hem and haw and change the subject.
“I heard you come in,” she said, “and I just wanted to make sure you saw the notice to vacate in the mail before I head to my sister’s for the week.”
“What!?” I turned, shocked, and trotted to the entryway to grab the mail.
“Oh, it’s just for one night. No need to fret. I’ve been wanting to visit family anyway, so I’m going to head out early. Old Man Higgins down in unit 6 is having problems with banshees again, and management had to call in eradication.”
I found the notice she referred to and quickly scanned it. I had to be out of the unit next Tuesday night.
“We have to clear out the whole block in case things go sideways with the banshees,” she said.
“Great,” I muttered, tossing it down.
“Yeah, I know. Frustrating.” She propped her chin on her hand. “I’m not actually convinced thereareany banshees,” she groused. “I certainly haven’t heard any. You can stay with your parents in the Upper District, right?”
I blew out a breath. “My dad’s off on a contract at the moment, and I’m not sure if my mom is back from visiting him yet or not. I could stay at the house anyway. I’d rather spend the night in Dry Gulch with my friend Sidney and her brother, though,” I answered absently, already making plans to talk to Sidney. That sounded more fun than staying in a large, empty house with a rock-golem butler and the new maid for company. I had a week to figure it out.
Bette narrowed her eyes. “DryGulch,” she said, a little scandalized. “I don’t know how I feel about someone like you spending time in Dry Gulch.”
I shot her a look out of the corner of my eye. “Someone like me,” I repeated flatly.
“Now, don’t gethuffy. You’re just so… dainty. Bunch of bandits down in that town. Doesn’t seem safe.”
She wasn’t wrong. “Sidney doesn’t live in a seedy area. Plus, her brother would be with us.” I didn’t mention that Sidney would be fully capable of sticking a knife in an assailant on her own… or the fact that I’d spent some time in Dry Gulch by myself, trading for supplies for my shop. No need to worry the lady. “Are you sure about the tea?” I asked as the kettle whistled.
“No, I’m heading out. I can’t,” she replied absently, frowning. “Be careful, whatever you decide. I’ll be back the Wednesday after the eradication. I’m taking the cats with me. That way I’ll know they’re safe from the banshees… and the harpy.”
The neighbor who lived on the other side of me was a harpy named Isadora. While Bette had lost a few cats to unknown circumstances, I didn’t think it was fair to pin that on the harpy.
I waved absently as she left and finished making my tea, carrying the mug to my table to finish looking through the mail. As I finished my drink and was rising to make another, I heard a firm knock at the door. Confused, because Bette always just waltzed in, I wandered to the door and opened it, still trying to finish reading the last piece of mail in my hand.
A throat clearing had me looking up... andup.I took a step back, startled, because this man was enormous and I had no idea who he was. I swallowed. If I’d been paying attention, his magic would have tipped me off. Some kind of blood magic.
“May I help you?”
The man on my porch had buzzed hair, shiny skin, and a wide mouth, which he’d curled into an amused smirk, like he knew something I didn’t. People who are very large never realize how it feels to be someone who is very small when they loom over you. I looked at his cold eyes and smile, which had grown into a predatory grin, and wondered if, perhaps, this man knewexactlyhow he was making me feel. I narrowed my gaze at him, trying to ignore the prickling feeling at the back of my neck so I could focus.
His wide smile showed jagged, yellow teeth. “Elara Hawthorne, aren’t you?” he asked, leaning even closer. “I’ve heard you have some special abilities for sale, and my boss is very interested in having you make something for us.”
“Make something,” I repeated dully. “You’re welcome to tell him to come down to my shop. I don’t do business from my house. If he wants to buy something, he can come to north Seattle, or if he can’t enter the Void himself, he can always have someone pick up his order for him.”
I’d feel safer dealing with this guy at my shop, where Sidney could keep an eye on him. The creeping dread in my gut was edging toward slight panic as I noted that Bette would be long gone by now, and while I had some defense in my jewels, I didn’t think I could fight this guy off for long if he got into my house. Something about his stance and the gleam in his eyes set off my alarm bells. “What did you say your name was?”
He smiled, a quick, indulgent smirk that didn’t reach his eyes. “They call me Bones. My boss prefers a certain level of discretion, you see. We weren’t aware you sold constructs out of your shop, only your little trinkets.”
Constructs. These people wanted a golem.Of course they do. Whodidn’twant a silent, obedient slave that never questioned what you told it to do and could do any job from light housekeeping to club bouncer to mech-warrior? I felt myself frown. “I’m not interested in selling constructs.”
