Chương 23: Chapter Twenty-Three

Dad sat me on his lap as he continued to take Thomas' teasing and Mom moved up to sit beside us, Boyan in her arms. It didn't take long before we started moving again; despite Thomas and Dad knowing each other, they couldn't keep the line stopped for long. The street was wide, and I guessed three wagons could easily fit side by side, but the traffic was rather light. I could only see the wagon that had entered in front of us on the road. Otherwise, it was people.

They were moving between the cobblestone street and the wooden walk in front of the stores I saw lining the street, their glass windows advertising their wares. Reflections danced across their otherwise glossy surfaces. And the ears. Wolf, fox, cat, horns, and even a few feathers. The gathering of all the species was remarkable. There was the same thing happening in Tenoth, but on a much smaller scale. There, almost everyone was an elf with a few demons thrown in. Here?

I guess only a fifth of the people I saw were actually humans; the rest was a mix of… everything. A demon with green scales running down either side of his face and cork-screw horns raising above his head was standing in armor that matched Thomas's as he talked to two people. All of whom were surrounding a crate that had been busted open; some type of liquid had stained the wood around it. Dad waved and got a brief wave in response.

"This is the eastern trade district. It's going to take us about an hour and a half to reach home from here. Our home's technically on the demon-side of the central trade district. If you get lost, just ask a guard for direction to the 'Afterlight'."

"Is that your shop's name?" I asked, continuing to look at people.

"Shop and home. Wait till you see it," he bragged, while Mom took in the scene with a deep breath.

"It's good to be home," she commented. After about ten minutes the building started changing shapes. The buildings started having sloped roofs with colored tiles in reds, blues, and purples. Decorations started to adorn the windows and doorframes. The fronts of the building had been pulled back from the road, allowing for wide porches; some even had tables and chairs laid out with groups of people chatting and eating.

The smells coming from the area were complex, a mixture of meats and spices I'd not encountered before. My mouth was watering.

"We're moving into one of the merchant districts. It's primarily used as a buffer between the common districts and the trade and noble districts. The demon quarter is that way," he said, raising his hand and pointing.

"We aren't segregated the same way the rest of the city is. The closest we come is a set of property management rules that anyone who can afford property here should find easy to follow."

"I've always found the human quarters too orderly. Pretty in its own way," she added, looking around.

"But not somewhere I would choose to live." Dad nodded, agreeing with Mom.

"All the neighbors have the same job, or work in the same field at least. Houses are all mostly the same with only small detail changes." He shook his head.

"I've never understood why someone wouldn't want to spend an hour or two talking to a field hand, waitress, or librarian. They have unique views on life. Different experiences. Why avoid hearing about it?" Dad continued.

"The Balance forbid you accidentally walk into a neighborhood of bureaucrats here. You wouldn't escape without filing paperwork for every step, in triplicate." Dad's smile turned sickly at that.

"You realize a messenger is likely already waiting to summon me to the castle." Dad's comment had a touch of bleakness to it. Not the put upon bleakness that was mostly humor when he was joking about it with Thomas, but something real. Mom looked at him sadly.

"Heavy is the crown." Dad cleared his throat and brought himself out of whatever thoughts had captured his mind.

"So, Lyra, have you thought about the future?" Ice traveled down my spine and I shivered. The conversation explaining what it meant to be a clan leader weighed heavily on my mind. It was time to dodge. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"I was thinking about a potion maker, or healer. I'm not sure where magic fits into that, but I thought I would go that way and figure out the rest when I know more. I won't have time for other things." I nodded to myself firmly and glanced at Boyan. Sorry, but that's for you. Not me. I could feel Dad's body posture shift as Mom giggled.

"You already talked to her about being a clan leader, didn't you?" Mom's giggles turned into full on laughter.

"Dang it, don't do that. One of them has to take it!" I looked up at Dad.

"Isn't Neera your sister?" He glanced down at me.

"Yes, she is. Why?"

"Can't you have her do it?" I looked forward as the houses started to change again. This time, the stonework had been replaced with some type of shiny stone. A white and black mixture that was really pretty to look at. Maybe they just polished the stone here?

"She won't do it." I tilted my head as I looked at what was obviously a clothing store. I could see several bolts of cloth through the window along with a dress hung up to display.

"I guess you can't run faster than her then." Mom's laughter grew louder as she clutched one of her sides.

"Oh, Lyra, what a wonderful game. We can make a crown of vines and the kids can run around trying to crown each other at the next festival. We'll call it the run-by-crowning." Dad had gone silent during Mandy's outburst and we rode that way for several minutes before Mom calmed down; then a voice asked beside us.

"What's so funny?" Neera had caught up with us slowing from a jog to match the wagon's speed.

"Neera, do you think you can run faster than Evan?" Mom asked, light still dancing in her eyes and a smirk on her face. Dad sighed. Neera looked at Dad for a moment.

"Depends, why?" I looked up at Dad again.

"See? You have a chance. Tell us when, and Mom can distract her." Neera looked at us as we were crazy as Mom laughed openly; even Boyan was copying her now, and Dad scowled. After the marble businesses came the homes. These were large homes built on even larger properties with walls surrounding them. Most even had guards standing at the gate separating the home from the rest of the city. Why live in a city, if you weren't going to live in the city?

My thoughts continued along this line as we passed a dozen homes in the same manner before Dad turned the cart down another large street. So far, we'd ignored the other streets that met up with this one.

"You see that?" he said, pointing.

"That's the aptly named Demon's bridge. It separates the human controlled portions of the city from the demon-controlled side. Unless you're going to get into paperwork, the laws are basically the same. But if you want to learn more about…"

"No." I emphasized my point by slapping Dad on the leg. Dad sighed.

"We should adopt another. Someone stupid this time." Mom put her arm around Dad and squeezed.

"Mostly things will be the same. Guards wear the same uniforms. Follow the same rules. But you'll find rich merchants living next to waitresses or any other combination. And streets can become… more of a suggestion really. Outside of the main street, which is cleared for wagon travel, it's all foot traffic." The bridge was coming into view as Dad talked, and I could see that the street we were on continued. But I also saw the odd collection of roofs growing out of that side of the city.

No two seemed to be aligned, even though the height and width of them differed greatly. Whatever planning went into the human portion of the city was completely absent here. And that was just the roofs! Dad had his hand on my shoulder to steady me as we approached the bridge as I leaned forward.

"There it is," Mom said, smiling and pointing to the first building after the bridge on the right. I couldn't make everything out until we got closer. It had a sweeping front porch that had several steps to reach. The steps were laid out in a circular pattern that took the whole walkway and reformed it into something else.

Stonework along the edge of the stairs led into a large green area where grass and flowers were neatly arranged around a stone walkway leading to the front of the building, which was at least thirty meters away from the road. Two trees on either side of the yard seemed rather welcoming before the grass turned to a marble porch. Unlike other buildings I'd seen so far, this one used a combination of marble, stone, and wood in a way that was rather pleasing to my eye.

Yet the simplicity made me wonder if they had simply used the best material for whatever purpose that part of the building was meant for. Large windows along the front showed a warm interior with reds and browns competing with the natural light streaming in. I could only imagine that the warmth of candle light would further enhance the image. Large double doors stood open, and though there wasn't a crowd, several people were walking in and out with bags in the crook of their arms.

"Welcome home, Lyra," Mom said as Dad brought the wagon to a stop. Two noteworthy men looked over at us as we did. One looked to be in some type of uniform. The other was a Toordor with a look of such profound relief on his face that I felt bad about all the time we spent to get here. Dad sighed as he saw them start walking over and picked me up, handing me to Mom, who just helped keep me steady as Dad climbed down.

Neera had already put blocks around the wagon's wheels by then and walked over to stand by Dad as the two arrived.

"Evan…"

"Mr. Toordor," the uniformed individual said.

"You're summoned to the castle at the behest of the king." He handed a rolled parchment to Dad, who took it and looked at the red wax seal holding it shut. Then he slapped it into Neera's stomach. She grabbed it on reflex and ran! Mom burst out laughing as Neera looked down at the scroll, momentarily confused.

"Run, Dad! Run!" I yelled, laughing. Neera stormed after him, magic crackling in her wake.