Chương 78: Morning After

Maelle waited with Remore outside the sector gate for Dory. The knight looked ragged when she arrived, a testament to the long and hard night they'd just been through. The siblings locked eyes. It didn't look like either had the energy to start an argument, and on Dory's part there was an air of resignation. Together they started walking back to the McRory home. Maelle's mind was on Ella, whom she had to thank for her breakthrough. What was a good way to show her gratitude? Maybe she should bring her some cake.

Surely Amberlin wouldn't mind—cakes were for sharing, after all. Along the way, they passed by the animal shelter, where a mob had gathered outside. It didn't look happy, and the trio stopped to see what was going on.

"Bring out the devil!" the mob shouted.

"Show the devil's face!" Maelle's stomach sank when she heard the words. This didn't sound like a simple misunderstanding. Dory was the one who stepped up first.

"What's going on?"

"The outsiders running this shelter is harboring a devil!" a woman replied.

"You're talking about Ella?" Dory said. Catching a glance from Maelle, she shrugged.

"Rhianna's catkin and Rufus is dogkin. Ella's the only unknown." Turning back to the woman, she said, "But that doesn't mean I believe her to be a devil."

"There are witnesses!" At that moment the door to the shelter opened and Ella stepped out. Rhianna and Rufus came out after her, urging her to come back inside.

"You don't have to face them," the beastkin pair said. Ella shook her head sadly.

"You can't load up the animals with them in the way." The mob was working itself up. They were pointing, and someone shouted, "That's her! She's the one who flew in from the hot zone! She had devil wings." Maelle's stomach sank further with the realization that this was all her fault. She was the one who'd gotten hurt, and whom Ella had exposed her wings to carry her to safety. It was because of her that Ella now had to face down an angry mob. Stepping in front of Ella, Maelle turned to the crowd.

"What are you doing? Ella's a good person!" The earlier accuser pointed at Maelle.

"And her! She's the one the devil carried!"

"She saved me from the mucks!" Maelle snapped back.

"The mucks she brought to our land!" the woman from earlier shouted.

"They started showing up at the same time she did."

"You're making stuff up!" Maelle replied.

"Actually, I did land at the bay shortly after the invasion began," Ella piped up in a tone like she was confessing to mismatched socks. She turned back over her shoulder.

"But you had nothing to do with it, right?"

"No, I don't think so." She turned back to the woman.

"There you go! She doesn't think so!" The woman tilted her head.

"Who are you to be adjudicating this?" She was trying to come up with a reply when Dory stepped up beside her.

"She's Maelle." A murmur spread through the mob." She's Maelle?"

"My brother's an archer stationed at Eechipay District. Lately all he ever talks about is her."

"My bakery is going gangbusters thanks to her."

"You're thinking of Amberlin."

"I hear her party got a private audience with the governor."

"Was that before or after she blew up the waystation?"

"I thought she'd be taller." Maelle felt like shrinking down into her boots, but that would only make her shorter. Thankfully one of the angry mobbers brought the topic back to Ella.

"You might think she's a good person, but I bet she's done a lot of evil things!"

"Oh yeah?" she challenged.

"And what has she ever done to you?" More murmurs passed through the crowd until someone shouted, "She stole my cake!" She glanced back at Ella.

"You stole her cake?" Ella said, "I did pass a bakery on my first day here. I had no money, but it smelled so good, I couldn't resist." Maelle realized that maybe devils were a bit more complicated than pure good and evil. They were a bit like dragonkin in that way. She said, "Do you promise to stop stealing cakes?" Ella raised her hand.

"I solemnly swear never to steal another cake so long as I still live." The cake victim retorted, "That doesn't get me my cake back!" Maelle declared, "You can have one of mine! In fact, take ten. Next!" A man raised his hand.

"She stole my cat!" This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. She glanced back.

"You stole his cat?"

"I gave it back."

"Why are you stealing cats?"

"I was rounding up strays," Ella explained.

"How was I supposed to know it had an owner when it didn't have a collar?" Maelle pointed at the man.

"Put a collar on your pets!" Then addressing the crowd at large, she said, "Anyone else have a problem with Ella?" From somewhere in the crowd, someone shouted, "She flew in off one of them ghost ships!"

"That's ridiculous," Maelle said. Ella couldn't possibly be responsible for the invasion.

"It's true!" The crowd parted to reveal a grizzled old sailor in an eyepatch who was also missing an arm and a leg, though not on the same side.

"I saw it with my own eye." She glanced back.

"He's mistaken, right?" Ella was studying the man and didn't immediately reply.

"Please tell me it isn't true," she said. Ella nodded.

"Ask the man if he was drunk at the time."

"Hey, mister! Were you on the sauce when you were seeing things?" Maelle asked the old sailor.

"Just regular rum, lass. The last of the fancy spiced kind left for Ardark some weeks back."

"Look," Maelle said, addressing the crowd at large.

"You're all frightened. Your home is under attack, and last night was the worst it's ever been. I understand how you feel. I lost my home too. I lost people I loved, and I'll never be able to go back. I can't tell you that it's easy because it's not. I only made it this far because I had people I could rely on, and strangers who were kind to me. So I ask you to be kind to each other and not make this any harder than it has to be." She could feel the tension evaporating from the crowd. Yes, they were anxious.

Yes, they were scared for the future. But they were no longer looking for someone to blame. When the murmurs began again, this time they took on a different tone.

"My wife's been begging me to pack. Maybe I should get a start on it."

"I've got to go hug my kids."

"I've got to buy a collar for my cat." The crowd had dispersed, leaving the six of them at the shelter.

"Good things you guys were here," Rufus said.

"It seems you've become quite the local hero, Maelle." She wanted to say that it was all thanks to Ella, but she'd promised not to reveal that secret. Instead she noticed something odd about Dory and, taking a closer look, cried out, "Are you crying?"

"Where did you get that idea?" Dory turned away, keeping her eyes covered. Remore took his sister's arm.

"Dory and I will head home first." After the siblings hurried away, Ella started off in the other direction, leaving behind the words, "You guys start loading the wagons without me. I'll go find you some horses." Maelle sensed that something wasn't right. When she looked at Rhianna and Rufus, it was written clear on their faces that they didn't think Ella was going to return.

"Why aren't you stopping her?" she demanded.

"We had a talk," Rufus said.

"It's her decision." But Maelle couldn't let it end like this. She ran after Ella, catching up to her on a path that led up into the hills.

"You aren't leaving, are you?" she asked.

"I'll have to come back to hand over the horses," Ella replied without turning around.

"The way the humans treated you was ugly," she said.

"But you don't have to go off on your own! The rescue squad is leaving the bay. Why not stay with them?"

"My presence will only get them hurt," Ella said.

"Then travel with us," she said.

"Amberlin and Havlo are strong! They're only pretending to be weak." She didn't like giving that secret away, but she liked it even less, the thought of letting Ella face the world on her own. It must be hard for a devil to find a place to belong, with all the terrible stories about them. Maybe some those stories were true, but that didn't mean they had to be true about Ella. And if there was someone who could overlook those things—one way or the other—then that person was Amberlin. That much she was sure of.

"And it'll be easy to win Amberlin over because you're good with Boots!" she added.

"She doesn't think anyone that Boots likes can be a bad person!"

"Aren't you a sweet thing? But in the end, you know nothing about me. There's a reason devils are associated with misfortune. Nothing good awaits those whose lives entangle with ours. It's best that you forget we ever met. And to deny our association, if ever asked." This was too much.

"How can I be so ungrateful to the person who opened up the paths of magic for me?" Ella spun around, bearing solid black eyes. Maelle took an instinctive step back and then felt guilty for doing so. But Ella didn't seem to notice, or if she did, didn't care, as when she spoke, her voice remained as soft as ever.

"It's enough for me to know that's how you feel. But there are those who would hunt you down if you so much as whisper a good word to my name. You should leave today as Rhianna and Rufus are." If Maelle was wise, she would ducked away at the thought of attracting such unsavory attention to herself, on top of the assassins that were already after her. Perhaps it was because she had experience living under that shadow that this only drew out further sympathy for Ella.

"Who are these people?" she asked. Ella tilted her head.

"Do you fancy yourself a match for them?" She understood her own limitations well enough to know that she had no hope against the sort of person who would dare to make an enemy of a devil. Even Marina would have a tough time against someone like that, and Maelle wouldn't draw her friend into a fight on someone else's behalf. But she wanted to understand Ella's struggles, and held the hope that one day she may be strong enough to return the favor she'd received.

"I see you won't take my warning seriously unless you know," Ella said. And then casually added, "I have a feud with Annaconda."

"The lich?" Ella nodded, watching her reaction closely. While the Draegorian Empire didn't often take notice of earthbound affairs, Annaconda was an exception because of their ability to fly. They were one of the special individuals whose activities were tracked by imperial scholars. The devils were also of interest but tended to be more elusive. Perhaps the lich's name shouldn't have come as such a surprise, if Maelle had given any thought to the few people actually capable of engaging in an immortal feud.

She certainly thought about it now, and it made her feel useless all over again.

"You understand now, don't you?" Ella continued.

"The only way I'd be comfortable bringing someone into my fold is if they were immortal, unassailable, or powerful enough to rival a keystone." While Maelle was fortunate to have met some of the strongest people in the world, none of them came close to meeting that criteria. Not Marina, not Rava, not Havlo—and certainly not Amberlin.

"Is this why you came to the bay?" she asked.

"You were searching for someone who can help in your fight against Annaconda?"

"I suppose that did become my objective here," Ella replied. This sparked another thought, and she excitedly asked, "So you know who it is? You can talk them into stopping?"

"I never did find them, and I think they've since moved on, after losing control of what they started. I'm afraid the bay is going to fall, and there's no power in the world that can stop it." Hearing Ella say this made her feel that it was really true. This was why Ella had told her to leave the bay. But as long as she could help the humans in some way, that's what she intended to do. She wished she could tell Ella not to worry.

That even if it came down to the last possible moment, she would always have a way to escape thanks to her own wings. Instead she said, "After you drop off the horses... will I ever see you again?" The slightest hint of a smile tugged at Ella's lips, and her eyes returned to their human form with the natural whites.

"Grow strong. Become greater than the Amber Mage. Make your name known in all the lands of Kalimor. Maybe then I will come and find you. But until that time, remember your promise. Keep my secret sealed in your heart and never speak of me again."

Maelle returned to the shelter and helped Rhianna and Rufus load the animals onto the wagons. Tired as she was, she worried about the darkening clouds overhead. While the sun shined through, there was talk of the storm returning. Tonight's invasion could begin even earlier than yesterday's. If that was the case, then she wanted to help the rescue squad on their way as fast as possible. But then she heard a voice behind her.

"I wasn't expecting to find you here." And turned around to see Rava.