Huge Ajax's Arc

Chapter 283 of 619

That night, Elara led Ajax down the canal to the sea gate. Salt wind pushed through the iron bars. She lifted her wrist and touched the stones of her band. “ this is her last debt to me. After tonight her debt is paid." The air above the water shifted. A woman stepped from the dark as if she had always stood there. Her blue gown held light that moved like stars. Her hair fell pale and long, and stones glittered at her wrist. Ajax had heard of the Emissary from Elara. Seeing her, he understood why Elara spoke of her order with care. The Emissary studied the iron gate. "You built a door the sea can read," she said. "Ships will mark it." She raised one hand toward the bars. "Can you hide it for good?" Elara asked. She drew a slow line across the gate. The iron bars dimmed, then vanished from sight. Ajax reached out and touched cold metal where he saw only open water and rock. "No ship will find it," she said. "Not by eye, not by working. The salt will not break this." Elara let out a breath. Her shoulders eased. "Then we're even," she said quietly. The Emissary looked at Elara a long moment. "We are." She stepped back into the dark and was gone. The gate stayed hidden behind her working. Ajax ran his hand along the bars he could no longer see. The finger his own road had pointed at his walls was erased. He walked back up the canal with Elara. "The gate's safe," he said. "The dock's safe. We can trade and no one learns the way in." Black Oak could sell cloth and take ships' coin without giving up its throat. The last hole in his walls was closed. They walked back through the gates of Black Oak as Elara’s fully charged bracelet glowed.