Page 31 of Lake of Sorrow
“You’ve mentioned that there’s a treaty between the taybarri and the rangers from way back,” she said. “How was that created when they mostly whuff and growl?”
“The elders understand Zaldorian, and they have a language of their own as well. The whuffs and growls have meaning, but the taybarri also speak directly into each other’s minds. And our minds when they’re so inclined.”
Kaylina touched her temple with wonder. “How is that possible? Magic?”
“They are inherently magical beings. Scholars debate whether the druids altered their kind to grant them that or if they existed in the world before the druids ever arrived.”
“Have you had one speak to you before? In your head?”
“Yes. It can be disconcerting because they also can hear your replies whether you say them aloud or not, which implies they can read minds.”
Kaylina remembered the plant plucking memories from her head. That had been more than disconcerting. It had been creepy.
“It’s possible the young ones can to some extent too,” Vlerion added. “I’ve never been certain.”
“Do the Kar’ruk have magic too? Those axes… There was something on them, right? Or can they make special metal?” Kaylina thought she recalled reading about magical Kar’ruk weapons before—or maybe Frayvar had shared that tidbit from one of his books.
“Your first guess is correct. From axes and tools that we’ve collected from fallen Kar’ruk, we know there’s a powder they apply to them, presumably from an altered plant. They apply it wet, and when it dries, it sticks and is hard to scrape off. We know the powder gives the weapons greater strength and a keener edge, but it’s possible there are other attributes as well. What we don’t know is what plant it comes from. That’s a secret the Kar’ruk hold close. We’ve tried to learn it for a long time.”
“Maybe if I could coat my lead rounds in magical powder, they’d hurt more when they hit Kar’ruk skulls.”
“Maybe if you continued your ranger training, we could give you a bow or crossbow and teach you to use it.”
“My schedule has been full lately. You’d be amazed how much time running for your life occupies.”
She’d meant it as a joke, but he didn’t smile.
“I should have sent you back with Jankarr. And your brother should be seeking evidence to remove suspicion from you, not researching newspaper proprietors.”
“You’re not my keeper. And you know why I stayed.”
Vlerion arched an eyebrow. “My allure?”
“Your allure is the reason I shouldn’t have stayed. I was thinking of all the people in the city who want to capture or kill me.”
“Hm.”
“Don’t worry; if I know my brother, he’s researching a lot of things. He’ll probably have written a journal on it all by the time we get back.” Kaylina held her thumb and forefinger up to indicate the thickness of the hypothetical journal.
When the taybarri stepped out of the creek, water dripping from their blue fur, Vlerion poured a pile of protein pellets for each of them.
Crenoch eyed his, eyed Levitke’s, then sniffed Vlerion’s pockets, searching for something more interesting.
“I don’t have any honey treats.” He tapped what was presumably an empty pocket. “Sweets are bad for your teeth.”
Crenoch bared his fangs and flapped his tongue at Vlerion. Kaylina decided having the taybarri read her mind might not be as creepy as the plant doing it. Thus far, the taybarri hadn’t tried to kill any rangers.
“I do have this. I’d forgotten.” Vlerion withdrew a small item from his pocket and came to Kaylina’s side. He opened his palm to reveal an empty glass vial with a stopper.
She recognized it. For a confused moment, she thought she’d lost the vial of poison Jana had left in the dungeon and that Vlerion had somehow found it. But when she patted her pocket, she felt the tiny bulge and extracted it. Hers was full of purple liquid. Kaylina hadn’t removed the stopper at any point, not wanting to risk sniffing the poison.
“Where did you get that?” Vlerion asked.
“Jana thoughtfully brought it to my dungeon and suggested I kill myself with it so you wouldn’t do something foolish on my behalf that would ruin your career.”
Vlerion’s face froze, his jaw clenching. Kaylina hadn’t shared that information with him before—perhaps with good reason.
“I should have killed her instead of snooping in her inn.” The dangerous glint appeared in his blue eyes, the promise that the beast lurked near the surface.