StelrLight

  My mind tio wander as we walked. I tried to figure out what it was that I had smelled and when but I couldn’t quite pce it. Of course, it didn’t help that the smells of everything around me kept distrag me. Ginger’s voice relieved me from my self-imposed torture. “We are here.”

  Suddenly aware that we had entered a building, I tried to get my bearings. Tris, jewelry, and various pieces of art were either hung or otherwise on dispy throughout the room. Ginger and Pendragon stood in the middle of the room o a rather burly man. Ohat reminded me of Ginny of all people. Though, he wore some sort of leather coveralls and he had a fairly well-kempt beard, if a bit long in my opinion.

  “So this here be my t?” The man said. His voice was gruff and deep.

  “Oh, you drop the act, Steven.” Ginger smacked the back of the man's head. Who the hell didn’t this girl know and why did they let her get away with so much? “This is Kyren. She is a close friend of Kai’s.”

  Steven’s eyes widened. “Is that true?” His voice was no longer deep enough to sound like rocks that ground against each other. He almost sounded like a guy I might have run into oreet.

  “Yeah, now where is your brother?”

  “Quin took the night off to visit a girl.” His gesture made his thoughts clear on what he thought of that. “The idiot spends all his money on these girls yet gets little…ahem.” He coughed. “Anyway, what are we looking for today?”

  “I o get something that securely hold a marble.” I took the lead. More so that Ginger didn’t say something that might cause some sort ument.

  “What size we talking?” He asked.

  “Hmm…” I wao keep the thing hidden but I also wanted something that would be secure enough to prevent the damn things loss during a fight.

  “Is there any way we go to a private meeting area?” Pendragon asked.

  “Don’t got one.” Steven said before barking out, “Okay, the store is closed for today. Please e baorrow.”

  While a few people grumbled, they all left without argument. “Are you sure about this? What if one of them had pns to buy something?” I asked.

  “If they were going to buy something, they could have done so before leaving. Plus I kinda owe Kai a favor or two.” He walked over to the ter and started to pull out a few delicate-looking pieces of equipment. “Pretty sure helping his girl would only serve to help me in the long run with that man.”

  Given the burniion c my face, I robably as red as a fug tomato, again. “I am not his girl. We are just friends.”

  Ginger pulled Pendragon to the far wall as Steven held a hand out. “Anyway, hand it over.” I only hesitated for a sed, but he noticed. “If yoing to trust me to make something to secure it, you have to trust me to hold and fit it into whatever I make.”

  He wasn’t wrong. If I wasn’t willing to let him touch the orb now, how would I ever trust anything he made to taihing? With a forced sigh nation, I pulled the cursed item out of my pocket and passed it over. As soon as he had it in his hand his face turo one of pure shock. Then he dropped the thing onto the table and colpsed to the floor as he kept mumbling something i.

  While the other two had been across the room, they had apparently kept us in their sights because they rushed to his side within moments. “Just what was it you gave him?” Pendragon’s eyes fshed with and anger as he k beside Steven. His eyes moved from the dwarf and to the tiny marble. Before I could retrieve it, he picked it up, read something, and facepalmed as he growled, “Of course these exist.”

  I don’t know if it was on act or not, but as Ginger went to grab the ball from Pendragon’s hand, I felt a searing pain cut ay body. The pain sted both a moment and ay as the fmes lit my nerves on fire and seared through my flesh. I screamed moments before darkook me.

  As I came bayself and opened my eyes, I found myself looking up at the ceiling. It was a nice-looking ceiling, if a bit dusty. People screamed and argued outside the door about something. I tried to make the words out, or even who it might be, but my head felt like it had gohrough a meat grihe feeling only grew worse the more so tried to focus on any ohing.

  “Ah, there yah are.” Came a nice, soothing voice. When I turned I found Steven looking down at me. “Before yah ask, you have been out for about half an hour.” My eyes sed the room for the others but found that it was just the two of us. “I kicked the rest of yroup out when they wouldn’t shut up.”

  While it hurt to sit up, I forced my body up enough to turn and face him. “ we get this damned orb secured so I walk around without any worries? I really want to go find a pce to curl up and sleep for a while.”

  “Sure,” he patted my knee as he got up. He picked up the orb from a nearby ter as he spoke. “The thing’s size does limit us a bit, especially when you take into at the o keep it from getting damaged.”

  He did not o remind me of that fact. The lightly searing burn on my back was a reminder enough thank you. Still, I o aowledge his observation.

  “So, you have the choice of a bracelet, an a, a neckce, or a belt.” He put the orb down. “Holy speaking, I would pick the neckce if I was you.”

  “Why?” I asked out of genuine curiosity.

  “It would be the hardest for yah to lose when you ge forms.” It took me a moment lohan I was fortable admitting to uand what he was saying. Acc to the orb, I could ge into a fox. Not all that unusual given that Kitsune sometimes came in such a form.

  Of course, this meant that my body would alter to match the proportions of such a creature. Skinny wrists and all. I wouldn’t be all that surprised if my transformation caused me to get tangled in my clothes.

  “Don’t worry though,” he spoke as though he thought I wasn’t totally sold on the idea. “There have been quite a few shifters that have asked for something simir, though not for anything so exotic. Most of them choose to go with something that will turn into a colr of sorts in their other form.”

  You would think the idea of wearing a colr would piss me off or make me unfortable but I found the idea felt right. The idea resonated with me. “Let’s go with that,” as I spoke, an idea occurred to me. “ I ask you to add a few things to the colr and not tell anyone?”

  The look he shot me was both curious and ed. “Depends on what it is?” I proceeded to tell him what I he more I spoke, the more his vanished as a malicious grin took its pce. “I do that, give me an hour to get it made.”

  “That fast?” I suddenly doubted the guy. That just seemed too fast to make something this plicated.

  The dwarf shot me a reproachful gre for doubting his craft. “I already have all the materials and most of it is preformed. I just o do a few alterations is all.”

  “And how much will all this cost?” I asked as I wondered just how I would pay Xander back for everything he had done for me.

  He helped me to my feet as he answered, “Your friends already covered the cost.”

  “But…”

  “Stop w over it.” He said as he gently pushed me toward the door. “It is the least they do after they hurt you.” With those words, he pushed me through the door and into the much darker outside. A cold breeze brushed my long, loose hair ay face as the noise of the open space overwhelmed my senses.

  The arguing stopped a moment before something smmed into my back. You know how sometimes you fet there is a part of you until something brought your attention to the appendage? Whatever smmed into me smashed my tail into my spi wouldn’t have been a problem but I retty sure the damhing was not meant to bend that sharply. “AHH!” I screamed.

  “Wha…Oh damn.” Ginger’s voice went from my ear to a few feet back as whatever had been holding me in its steel grip let me go. “I am so sorry.” While I heard her apologize, I was more focused on reag around to feel for any kinks. Thankfully I found none, but that didn’t mean the spot didn’t sting.

  “ we just get some dinner?” My growl was something I did not expect but I liked it. The sound was a bit menag. I mean it probably wasn’t enough to scare these guys, but it might have a det effe others…maybe.

  “Sure,” Pendragon nodded. “There is a det BBQ joint around here.”

  My mouth salivated at the idea of barbecue. I had always wao try some but never got the ce. “You will like it,” Ginger said as the crowds swallowed us up while we started to move dowreet. “Did you mao get something squared away with Steven?”

  I nodded my head. “He should have something ready after dinner, or so he says.”

  “Yeah, he works fast when he finds something intriguing to work on.” I caught the gleam in her eyes as she skipped o me. Her tail practically smacked me in the face as she moved a bit too fast and had to slow down to let us catch up. “So, what did you end up going for?”

  With a shrug, I answered her, “A neckce.”

  Ginger spun around and faced me as she hopped sideways. Her eyes met mine as she made sure I heard her ask her question. “Oh, what will happen when you transform?”

  “What makes you think I will transform?” I snorted.

  “The werewolves will require that you run at least oime with them or they won't let you stay with them.” Pendragon sounded as though he had some experieh the group.

  “Oh, e on, that ’t be true.” I pyfully whined. While I was willing to give my fox form a ce, I wasn’t going to do so without a fight or because I had no other choice.

  Ginger sounded wistful as she spoke, “You will, I know I wish I could join in the runs but they require oo be fully ged. Something I will never be able to do.” Pendragon pulled her to him as we exited the flow aered a restaurant full of distragly delicious smells coupled with the sounds of a full kit w hard to out food. I ignored my mouth as I thought over what Ginger had said.

  While I khat beastkin of all sorts were part animal, I didn’t realize that they were stuck between both groups. Some could pass as human but the animal parts would ehey were held at arms reaost. Their ck of ability to take on an animal form would ehey didn’t find a pce with those who could.

  It insuted a group that just wao be accepted. Maybe that was why there were vilges of just beastkin. I was also sure those vilges were very isoted, if not insur, and worked to keep it that way.

  Either I had been pletely engrossed in my thoughts for lohan I had expected, or someone had ordered ahead because our meals came without me having to say a word. My pte held a stack of ribs and a moderate-sized sad. I dug right into the meat with gusto. My teeth barely had to touch the meat before it fell apart. Juices drizzled down my fingers and as I savored each piece of heaven.

  As I set the st piece down, I moaned. My stomach was as filled as my taste buds were sated. The sad was all I had left. Given the heaping pile of ribs I just devoured, I was fih that. “Hey Kyren,” Giarted. I looked up to find her looking out the window in the dire of the jewelry shop. "Did you leave your orb with Steven or did y it with you.”

  “I left it there so he didn’t have a problem.” Yeah, no. I had fotten to grab the damhing on my way. In my defehe dractically threw my ass out. “Why?”

  “It's just that… that was the sed guard squad to run dowreet.” She sighed, “While it is likely nothing, I just have a gut feeling.”

  “You mean iion?” She tossed her napkin at me. I caught it as my to from pyful to serious. It eve as though my ears crushed themselves into my hair. “Well, he did say he would be doer dinner so might as well head on over.” I looked over to Pendragon, “How much do I owe you for dinner?”

  He waved me off as he went up to the ter. These people and their o pay for me was starting to get annoying. I hated it when people paid for me. It was like they were saying that I wasn’t capable of taking care of myself. Given that I had done so for quite a while, I o get settled down ao grinding so I could pay some of these people back. While it might take a little bit, it did give me time to figure out what was . It also gave me time to think over the Oracle's words.

  How was I going to prevent what they said was iable? How could I stop the end of whatever worlds he had been talking about? Where would I best fit in? Why me? I couldn’t eveo keep tray fug orb.