Page 28 of A Door in the Dark
No one objected. Ren pulled out textbooks one by one, deliberately placing her possessions where everyone could see them. Her pile consisted of seven books, five apples, the stolen waxway candle, a newspaper, and several journals of rigorous notes. Ren went ahead and started ripping out pages from the books, which felt sacrilegious, but there was no way she’d be able to carry their weight the whole way. When she picked up the newspaper, she noticed Theo watching her carefully, no doubt aware there was an article in there that should have had his name written within it.
Timmons had the oddest assortment of possessions. A consequence of all the random gifts she’d been courted with over the years, some of which never made it back to her dorm. An enchanted paperweight bearing the sigil of some minor house. A small crystal chalice. Three different sets of ivory-plated hair combs. Timmons was quietly crying as she separated out the useless items. Ren knelt down beside her.
“You’ve been carrying all this around campus? No wonder your shoulders are so broad.”
Timmons sniffed. “Those are inherited.”
Ren smiled. She considered the scattered objects again before reaching down to pick up a set of earrings. They were shaped like humming-sword birds, no bigger than a fingernail.
“These are small enough to bring with us.”
“Small… and sad,” Timmons replied. “They were a gift from Clyde’s family. They’re enchanted. You can hear the music playing in their family’s tavern. The Minstrel. I used to put them on at night and listen to the musicians before falling asleep. Guess we’re too far for the spell to work now.”
“Keep them,” Ren said. “As a reminder.”
Timmons sniffed again. Ren watched her friend tuck the earrings away in a side pouch. It took a moment, but Timmons straightened her shoulders and stood. Her silver-white hair hung loose, almost gossamer in the morning light. You shouldn’t be here, Ren thought. People like you aren’t meant for places like this. I promise I’m going to get you home, Timmons.
A glance showed Theo had already categorized his items into two piles. One he intended to leave behind, and the other he intended to keep. There were several books, but Ren was surprised to find the majority weren’t textbooks. He was reading adventure novels. In the stack he planned to keep Ren saw a worn journal, several writing instruments, and an almost life-sized statue of a hawk.
“Are you sure you want to carry a statue over a mountain?”
He offered that charming scowl. His wrist twisted slightly. The statue’s wings uncurled on command. She stared as the stone creature ruffled its feathers, head swiveling to take in the rest of them. Theo offered a triumphant smile as the bird launched into the air and circled overhead.
“Don’t worry. Vega can pull her own weight.”
Avy was watching the bird’s flight like a delighted child. “You’re carrying a livestone statue. In your bag. Like that’s a normal thing. To carry in a bag. I’ve got salted nuts.”
The sight of the bird winging in the sky got Timmons’s attention. Her eyes widened.
“Wait. You have something that can fly. We can send it back to Kathor. It can bring a rescue party to us. What the hell have you been waiting for?”
Theo bit his lip. Ren had noticed this tell before. There was something he didn’t want to discuss, even though she thought the answer to this particular complaint was obvious.
“Attunement limitations,” Ren supplied. “The livestone statues are designed for city defense systems. Most of their attunement spells are limited to a specific radius. I assume the statue is attuned to Theo. If he sends her flying away, she’ll reach the limit of the spell and the magic will force her to turn back around.”
Theo was appraising her again. It was like he didn’t know that people could read all this information in books. Maybe he assumed the only knowledge that existed was what his father had taught him growing up.
“Exactly,” he said. “Vega only goes where I go.”
Avy made an awkward show of his own pile. There were hand wraps for his boxing training, a huge canteen, and a sealed pouch full of nuts. She noted that he’d been heading home for break without a single textbook. Cora went next. It was hard to reveal anything that could rival a livestone bird, but her medical kit was a fine addition out in the wilderness. She’d already removed a few tools she thought would be unnecessary weight on their journey.
“It’s more of a surgical kit,” she explained. “I’m short on gauze and bandages, but if someone really gets hurt, I’ll need these. They’re imbued with spells that took years to get right. I would not part with them, even if my back is a little sore already.”
Ren nodded her understanding. Cora had also set out a loaf of bread and neatly divided it into slices for each of them. The last item in her bag caught Ren’s attention. An amber orb. Historically, the handheld stones were alternative vessels to wands. Modern practice had transformed them into safe houses for a wizard’s emotions. It was the equivalent of carrying around a giant stress ball. Ren was about to ask what she used her orb for when she noticed Cora half hiding the item with her boot. They locked eyes and Ren finally pieced together the detail that had been bothering her. The orb matched the amber stone in Cora’s eyebrow piercing. And judging from her expression, Ren knew there was an intensely personal reason for that.
“Bread?” she asked instead. “Should we save any for later?”
Cora passed the slices around. “It’s already stale. We should eat it now before it goes bad.” Her cheeks colored slightly. “I… I can hunt some. Especially out here. The Dires should have plenty of wild game.”
Ren nodded. “Avy. How much paper should we keep?”
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “A bagful? We won’t find tinder in the upper passes.”
Everyone ate the offered bread, which was delicious. Ren heard Cora shyly tell Avy that she’d baked it herself. They held off on divvying up the apples and nuts for later on. Cora’s promise of meat and fish had Ren dreaming of a fire-cooked meal. She wasn’t that hungry now but knew the day would be far worse if they didn’t have energy at the start.
One more matter needed to be addressed before beginning the hike.
“We need to go through Clyde’s bag,” she said.
