Nyx Evenfall's Arc

Chapter 7 of 9

Nyx watched the lit windows and did not move. A door meant a chance. It also meant a trap that had waited weeks to close. Nyx needed to know what waited inside before stepping into the open. Walking up blind could end the whole chase in one shot. A boot scraped rock behind them. Nyx spun. A woman crouched low against the dark, black hair loose, a fresh scar high on one cheek. Nyx knew her at once. Sera Cross, the injured woman who had pointed the way south-southwest days ago. The claw wound Nyx had treated was healing. She pressed a finger to her lips and slid down beside the rock. "You made it," Sera whispered. "I hoped you would." She nodded at the house. "I've been watching it since dusk. One person inside. No guards. No horses. Just the light." "Could be waiting for me," Nyx said. "Whoever it is knew I was coming." "Then let's not knock," Sera said. "Send me first. I'm a stranger to them. I ask for water. If they draw on me, you run. If they don't, you follow." Nyx weighed it. Sera owed a debt for the flowers and the aid. But sending her to test a gun was a hard trade. "No," Nyx said. "You go to the window. Not the door. Look, then come back. That's all." Sera nodded and slipped down the slope. She moved along the wheel line and pressed to the wall under a lit pane. She stayed there a long moment. Then she waved Nyx down, one flat hand, calm. Nyx crossed the flats fast and low and reached her side. Sera pointed up. Nyx rose and looked through the glass. One person sat at a small table. Old. Gray. A wooden bowl in front of them, the same shape Silas carried. On the table lay a map, marked with water holes, the twin of the one Nyx held. Beside it sat a folded cloth stitched with a winged lion. And laid flat, waiting, was a letter with a single word inked on it. A name. Nyx's name. No weapon showed. No trap sprung. The person inside was not hunting Nyx. They were waiting to be found. Nyx let out a breath and stepped back from the glass. "It's not an ambush," Nyx said. "They left that letter for me. They've been leaving things for me this whole time." Sera studied Nyx's face. "Then go in." Nyx walked to the door. The obstacle was gone. The friend-or-trap question was answered. But a new one took its place, sharp and cold. The letter bore Nyx's name in a hand Nyx did not know, yet it was addressed like an old friend. Whoever sat inside remembered the night Nyx had lost. Nyx raised a fist and knocked.