She huffs again. “As I said, if you want to know, you’ll have to invite me in as a guest.”
Ethan is right. That she, a human, could know something I can’t sense myself isn’t possible.
Mother-in-Law has taught me that I must treat guests as they deserve to be treated.
The woman before me is a liar and never gave me food when I lived at Longhurst. Since coming to the capital, I’ve learned that she was supposed to feed me whether I worked or not. My lord husband said that I shouldn’t have been denied food.
“If you want to eat our food, then you’ll have to work!” I tell her.
“What?!”
“Well done, my lady,” Tabitha says as she places an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close.
Brianna takes a step forward, then freezes.
“Just give the order, my lady, and we’ll make her talk.” Ethan has somehow produced a long, thin silver needle that resembles an ice pick, and is pointing it right at Brianna’s nose. Where was he hiding it? It must be one of his concealed weapons! It’s so shiny!
She jerks back, tucking her chin downward. I spot more of our guards outside the gates and closing in on the men still standing outside. The strangers appear a little shaken but are still smirking.
“Look at all you idiots, treating the monster girl as your mistress. Just hand her over, and we’ll let you off. There’s no point keeping her if you’re not going to use h— Eek!”
With a tiny flick of Ethan’s hand, the needle grazes Brianna’s shoulder before burying itself in the arm of the man behind her. “Nonsense.” He already has a second needle poised in his hand! When did he get that?! I still don’t understand!
The man, who’d been fumbling with something in his pocket, drops it in pain. The object rolls toward Brianna’s feet. It looks like a small glass vial, and she stops its trajectory with a foot. That’s bad manners.
There’s something in the vial… Black powder?
“Do you know what this is? You should know; you’ve seen it before. Chase us away, and your master will be attacked by crazed monsters.”
“…Summoning blooms?” Ethan’s voice is flat. He holds the needle at the ready. The guards shift as well, gripping their weapons tighter. Tabitha’s fingers dig into my shoulder.
Everyone remembers Nadia’s attempt to burn summoning blooms in the bonfire at Drewett’s harvest festival. She had used dried flowers, and though I can’t smell the contents of the vial, it must contain the flowers crushed into powder form.
Those belong in the forest, not to you. They exist to protect it, not you.
These humans still do not understand.
“…You know what happened to your daughter when she tried to do this,” I say.
“She was a fool! She didn’t even know how to use it!”
“Is there a human with this substance waiting near the ravine?”
“That’s right.” Brianna leers. “Even an idiot can guess what will happen if he sets it on fire and scatters it in the wind above the gorge’s mouth… Anyway, you’re talking a lot today. Seems like you’ve gotten better at trying to mimic us humans.”
“So he is somewhere high up.”
A forest borders the ravine. It’s not the Monster King’s forest, so a different boss reigns there. I’ve never met the creature, a python ape even older than the dragon. It looks like a monkey, albeit much bigger, with fur everywhere except its belly, which is armored with large scales.
Ever since my lord husband departed, I’ve been checking in with each area’s boss and they tell me things.
That noisy one is gone, says one.
My monsters are all behaving, says another.
Mine fought with that troublesome one.
I didn’t leave the nest, so I don’t know much.
The weather has been good.
Most of the soldiers on assignment are weaker than my lord husband, but some are strong like His Excellency the general. The monsters that live nearby are all weak and low in number. The python ape, old and wise, nests in an isolated cave.
I reach out to it. Please protect your babies.
“My lord and his men will be fine now,” I declare. “Ethan, please capture these humans.”
I can’t see where the rockfall occurred, and even the smartest monster bosses can’t distinguish good humans from bad. But if I share that the ill-intentioned human is somewhere high, maybe it’ll know the location.
Oh. It’s already moving. Good.
“Seize them!” At Ethan’s command, the guards level their spears and advance on the group.
One of the men hastily raises his hand. “L-Light up!”
“A-Are you out of your mind?!” screeches Brianna.
His left hand clenched, the man stretches his right toward the sky, a small fireball floating on his upturned palm.
Ethan signals and the guards halt. The man cackles but doesn’t extinguish the fireball. His legs are shaking. What’s wrong?
“Will you really do it?” asks Ethan. “None of us will be safe if you burn that, including you.”
“You think I’d stay here and wait for them to come?! You’d better start running too! It’s every man for himself!”
I inhale, and sure enough, I smell the summoning blooms. If he burns the vial, any monsters nearby will flock to the capital.
They’re not strong at all. There are so many humans in the city; the monsters will all be killed.
This wasn’t why I taught the small human how to use the blooms.
The other men are all trembling, yet they brandish daggers and wooden sticks, though the latter is hardly a good weapon. They huddle together and start to push through the gate. “If we do it, your master will be blamed for the resulting carnage! Now, just give us that monster girl and we’ll leave!” one of them threatens again.
“Silence! Don’t you insult my lady!” cries Tabitha.
“You shut up! Hand her over!”
Tabitha has stepped in front of me, so I can only hear their voices, but I sense the man’s lunge.
The guards yell and Brianna screams.
I feel a violent shove through Tabitha’s body, and red splatters the air.
“Tabitha?”
Her soft, warm body sways and she falls to her knees. On her shoulder, a gash the length of my palm.
The man, much larger than Tabitha, knocks her aside, and I glimpse a small dagger in his hand.
“Over here, my lady!” shouts Walnut, grabbing my shoulder and dragging me backward. He tries to pick me up, but…
“Tabitha. Tabitha,” her name falls from my lips.
Haggis steps in front of her fallen form, shielding her from the rest of the men. Tabitha, Tabitha.
The guards are strong but must be holding back because of the summoning blooms. They’re unable to attack.
Can healing magic reach her from my position? No, I can’t.
She’s so near, but too far away.
I don’t know the human body that well yet.
I need to get closer, touch her, see the injury.
I don’t know humans that well yet.
“Tabitha! Tabitha!” I wrench myself from Walnut’s arms and finally reach her side. But before I can touch her shoulder, she grabs my hand.
“I was careless! It’s just a scratch!” she tells me.
“But you’re—”
“No! You may not want to go back, but that’s different from not being allowed to go back!” She stands hurriedly and hauls me to my feet with all her strength. “You promised, my lady, not to wield it for minor injuries!”