The startled woman whirled around, closed book in her hands. “Finn? How did you find me?” Arilyn asked. She raised an eyebrow. “And what are you doing here in Lass Trusen?”

  I took a few steps toward her. “Me? Mercenaries chased us through Ankana’Zuul. They were hunting me because I’m a Mage. I watched Juan get pounded to death by an ogre. Why are you—”

  In three quick steps, she closed the distance and threw her arms around me. She turned her face up to look me in the eye and hugged me tightly. “Oh, Finn, I’m so sorry! I’ve read about that place. It must have been awful.”

  “It—it was something,” I said, the horror and loss rising like bile. I pushed down the emotions and smiled at her. “But why are you here? Last I knew, you and the rest of Missana’s troupe were heading eastward. Did you know she was a Goddess?”

  Arilyn blinked at me, suddenly distant. “I did. And we were. I needed to come here to find an old story. I think this is one of the last copies,” she said.

  “Missana sent you here, Arilyn?” I asked, giving her a quick squeeze. “Well, please thank the Goddess for sending you my way—I missed you.”

  Her cheeks flushed slightly while she smiled. “I missed you, too, Finn. I rarely get so attached, but there’s just something about you,” she said tenderly and put her hands on my shoulders. Before I knew it, she had stretched up to plant a kiss on my lips.

  We stood like that for what must have been an eternity. All my worries melted away in that moment, my grief and anger eased by the feel of her. She stepped back and smiled, taking me by the hand. I let her lead me to a nearby bench. We sat, and she took my other hand in hers.

  I took in her face, perfectly framed by her curls. Her eyes were as bright as I remembered. Her lips were just as red. I grinned like an idiot.

  She took a deep breath, as if she was girding herself. “Sometimes, Finn, I have to gather knowledge. Stories. Just so they don’t get lost. And at other times I have to find them again after they’re lost. That’s my job. Which leads to my traveling a lot. I don’t have all the wonderful things that exist in your world to make my job any easier,” she said, a hint of frustration and yearning underlining her voice. Arilyn frowned. “I find myself worrying about losing you. It’s not the safest path you chose, and it scares me.”

  “What are you trying to say, Arilyn? Is… is this about my class?” I was confused. It almost sounded like she was breaking up with me, though we weren’t exactly together. Panic rose in my chest at even the hint of losing her.

  “I can’t ask you to come with me, Finn, nor can I go with you,” she replied. “It has nothing to do with your class. It’s just… complicated.” There was a look in her eyes, one begging me just to accept it.

  “Maybe not right now. I have a quest to open the way back to my world so everyone can go home. Who knows if that means that the way will be open only for a little while or what,” I said. In that moment, I didn’t want to go home. Not if it meant… “I could stay here, with you. For a while, at least.”

  Arilyn’s concerned frown lifted, and the corners of her lips climbed into a smile. “You would? I think I would like that, Finn, if only for a little while.”

  I smiled back. We are so lucky to have connected with each other. There was a nagging thought in the quiet part of my mind that there was something strange about the way we met, because of Missana’s influence, that it had been too convenient. But I tabled the invasive thought for later, focusing on the incredible woman whose hands I held. I gave those hands a gentle squeeze, nodding.

  Arilyn looked around carefully before leaning in close. “But Finn, a demon hunts you,” she whispered. “You need to be careful. I will not utter their name, because then they would know we were talking about them. That would not be good for either of us if it shows up.”

  “I know about the demon, but it hasn’t come near me,” I replied dismissively. “Let’s not talk about that. Let’s just be here in this moment.”

  Arilyn frowned. “And I want to be with you. I have never met anyone like you,” she said. “Just don’t ignore my warning, okay? You already have a complicated life.”

  She dazzled me with a smile and leaned forward to kiss me again. This was a deeper, more passionate kiss. My face burned. If we were not in a public place, this would have immediately led to other things.

  She pulled her face away from mine, her neck flushed and her bright eyes lidded. Like her mind was heading in the same direction.

  “Oh my! We, um, should find somewhere more… private,” she said breathlessly. Her arms were around me, one hand playing with the hair on the back of my head.

  I grinned and kissed her sweet lips eagerly. “Is there an inn near—”

  “There you are! Why did you run off?” Jerseil said behind us, jolting us out of the moment. We pulled away from each other, and Arilyn smoothed her skirt. “Whoa! I must apologize for the interruption. Finn, could you introduce me to this young lady so that I may offer my regrets at my rude entrance?”

  If I could have killed my grinning green friend with my eyes…

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Jerseil. Buddy,” I snarled. “Your timing sucks.” Standing up, I let go of her hands reluctantly. Arilyn stood up slowly. “Jerseil, this is Arilyn. She is a traveling performer and scholar. Arilyn, this is my friend, Jerseil. He’s with the Allied Army.”

  Jerseil bows and steps forward, taking her hand and kissing it. His eyes widened in surprise as he stepped back. “You are… quite the beauty, Lady Arilyn.”

  “Jerseil,” I hissed, almost under my breath.

  Arilyn puts a hand on my arm. “It’s nice to meet a friend of Finn’s. The pleasure is all mine, Master Jerseil,” she replied neutrally.

  “Indeed. Well. Harper and I have some more shopping to do, as does Finn here. There were some items I found he might find quite interesting! Please excuse me, lady,” he said and gave another bow. “Finn, come find me when you are done here.” With that, he turned and sauntered off around the corner.

  Arilyn laughed. “Oh, Gods, the timing! Finn, I think it was a good thing he found us. We were getting too, well, excited. And I shouldn’t stay in this town much longer. There are a lot of miles I need to travel to catch up to my mother—” she paused for a second as she laughed nervously. “To catch up with Missana and the troupe. The goddess mothers us so much, it’s hard not to call her that in jest.”

  “Arilyn, I don’t know what to say. We just found each other again. Can’t we grab dinner or something? Maybe even—”

  She put a finger to my lips. “If we do that, do you really think either of us will leave here in the next week?”

  She was right. I knew she was right. Maybe even a little optimistic about how it would only be a week. And though I yearned for a vacation involving just Arilyn and me, the part of me that was responsible wouldn’t let me do it. Not yet. I really wanted to tell that part off—with its mature sense of right and wrong—and to fold its sensibilities a few times, and shove it where the sun didn’t shine.

  But I had a quest to finish. And then, I had to help Harper avenge Juan. If Arilyn and I could still be together after that, maybe our infatuation could develop into something more. Maybe we could spend more time together, and I could get to know her better. I knew so little about her despite my obsession.

  “You’re right. I’ve gotta do this quest thing to find a beast. Then we should take a week or two and get to know each other. Do some fun things. What do you say?”

  “Just the two of us? I would like that,” she suggested with a smile and a mischievous glint in her eyes.

  “Just the two of—” I would have said more, but her lips on mine prevented me from making a sensible thought. If one were to rank that kiss, it would be hard to say whether it was the greatest kiss of all time, but it had to be in the top ten. Maybe even the top five.

  Once I could breathe again, she hugged me tight. “Finn, be careful. The demon is closer than you think,” she whispered into my ear. With a quick smile, she took in my face before walking away. I just stood there for a moment. What did she mean by that?

  I found Jerseil and Harper haggling with a shop owner over the price of a sack of Glot root and other food items.

  Jerseil noticed me and stepped over to talk to me. “And our Cassie Bova has decided to join us! What, pray tell, was it that would drag you away from such a beautiful woman?” he asked genially.

  “Cassie what? Did you mean Casanova?” I countered.

  “Maybe I did. But how the hells did you get the attention of such a gorgeous girl?” he asked.

  “Ouch, dude! I would like to think that it had to do with my good looks and charming wit,” I replied. His questioning of my prowess hurt a little, but who was I kidding? I had no idea why she was so interested in me. It was beyond me as to why she would. None of which I was about to say out loud.

  “Okay, okay! I’m just saying, it seems suspicious to me,” Jerseil said deliberately. “Maybe she could be the demon? Like, how did she get here so fast, and how did she know you would be here?”

  “Oh, I see where you are coming from. She is in the troupe of Missana the Storyteller. You know, the goddess? She couldn’t be a demon and work for a goddess.”

  “You may have a point there, Finn. I’m not the most religious man, but even I know gods and demons don’t mix well. The fundamental nature of the two is entirely different. Their goals and approaches, too. So many of the stories I know involve demons playing tricks and taking advantage of us lesser beings. While most of the stories with gods have them helping us. There are exceptions to that rule, however,” Jerseil explained.

  I sighed. “Jerseil, please. I don’t need a lecture right now. Can you just show me the stuff you wanted to show me and let this go? I’m not happy that I didn’t get to spend more time with her, and just want to have something else to focus on,” I said, not quite glaring at him.

  There was a touch of concern in his eyes, but he brightened and slapped me on the shoulder. “Right, let’s see if we can’t get you better gear.”

  He led me to an armor store called Steelmantle’s Outerwear. The place contained all types of body coverings, ranging from cloth pants and shirts to fancy medieval plate armor. I saw slippers and boots, and even something that looked like an attempt at sneakers. And amidst all of this was an old, white-haired dwarf, perched on a stool with his eyes closed. I picked up a pair of boots that looked heavy yet felt very light.

  “You can’t wear those, lad,” the dwarf said without opening his eyes. “Your level is too low, and you have the wrong class.”

  I carefully put them down and turned to the dwarf. “Sorry, I haven’t gotten anything new since I got to this world. I don’t know what to pick.”

  The old dwarf smiled, finally opening his eyes. “Aye, that’s fairly obvious. I can help you with the pickin and choosin. Let’s get a good look at you.” He stared at me and what I was wearing and pulled out a small notebook and pencil. Both looked small in his hands, but he used them with ease.

  “Hmm. You are going to be a mite difficult to outfit, lad. None of the items I have out here are going to work for you, being a unique class an all…” he said thoughtfully. “… But I have some antiques that just might work in storage. Been a long time since a Mage came through these parts, and I ken there aren’t too many armorers alive today that have the knowing to make such.”

  “I, uh, you’re not afraid of my class or want to string me up?” I asked somewhat nervously.

  He looked startled before letting out a good-natured belly laugh. “Oh lad, why would I? Dinna see the Voidstone set into the doorframe? Even if you wanted to do me harm, there’s no way you could!” he continued laughing at the look on my face.

  I relaxed. He had no malice towards me, despite all the terrible history connected to the Mage class. “Sorry, I’m not really used to indifference to me being a Mage. So, could you make me something?”

  “Aye, but you really would be better off waiting until you reach a higher level before commissioning something. It’ll cost more than what I could find in the back. And I may be the only armorer alive, dwarf or otherwise, in the Twelve Kingdoms that knows how to make mage gear.”

  Then he leaned in, like he had a secret to share. “And if you are still not an evil fucking prick by now, I doubt you will be. You’ll do well to listen to old Gorim Steelmantle, lad.”

  Jerseil laughed at my discomfort. “This is more entertaining than arguing over vegetables!”

  and interrupt? Bad Jerseil, no biscuit.

  And to me! I'm just trying to write a nice little romantic subplot into this story with trauma and gore and loss... And he just has to come in and muck it all up!

  Sigh. So much for that. No easy romance for our boy, who is supposed to be the hero. You know, the one that gets the girl? Saves the world? Re-invents biscuits of the buttermilk persuasion? Whatever. That nosy bard will probably mess up the whole baking chapter, too. Had this whole montage planned, with a dance number and everything. It was going to be Epic.

  Not going to even chance now.

  Thanks for reading!