Atsuki Nightwhisper's Arc

Chapter 4 of 17

Selene told him the name inside the temple, out of the wind. Atsuki carried it for three days through Eldergrove. He asked at every door with the family name on his lips. People shook their heads. Some shut their doors before he finished. The name was known, but no one would point to the house. The living family had buried themselves on purpose. His trail had gone cold with living doors, not old water. On the third night he stopped at an inn wrapped in moss and worn timber. He took a corner table and set the pendant half beside his cup. He was too tired to hide it anymore. A slight elf watched him from across the room. He had white hair and a gold pendant of his own. He wrote in a small book, then closed it. He crossed to Atsuki's table without asking and sat down. "You've been saying that name in the streets," the elf said. His voice was low and even. "Stop. You're going to get someone killed." Atsuki's hand covered the pendant. "Who are you?" "Aelindor Whisperwind. I write things down that others forget." He looked at Atsuki's fist, then at his face. His eyes stayed there a moment too long. "I know the family you're hunting. I know why they hide." "Then tell me where they are." Aelindor turned his cup slowly. "They didn't run from you. They ran from what your half of that pendant proves." He leaned closer. "The oath your families swore was broken by force. One house wanted it erased. The other house went into the ground to stay alive. If the wrong people learn the second half surfaced, the hiding ends. Badly." Atsuki's chest tightened. "You're telling me to quit." "I'm telling you the truth costs blood." Aelindor reached into his robe. He set a single black orchid on the table, its petals dark with a cool sheen. "They leave these where they gather. It's how they know their own. Follow the flower and you'll find the door. But once you knock, they can't disappear again. Neither can you." Atsuki stared at the orchid. Three days of shut doors, and now an open one. He picked the flower up. Its stem was fresh cut. Someone had carried it recently. Someone close. "You have one of these," Atsuki said. "You knew all along." Aelindor stood. He did not deny it. "Come find me when you decide," he said. "I hope you decide slower than you've been walking." He left coin on the table and went up the stairs. Atsuki sat with the black orchid in his hand. The cold trail was warm again. He finally had a way to the living family. But the way led straight into people who would rather die than be found. Finding them might destroy them. He turned the flower over and made his choice. He would knock.