Chapter 135

A Poignant Truth

Stress put a headache upon me. Oh how I wanted to press Corylus in a desperate attempt for his help. It was not the time, and I feared to make things worse. I knew there were going to be consequences—perhaps I didn’t think things through all the way—but I didn’t think that things would spiral as they did. Abigail did have the right to space, but I imagined that I would have had a moment to talk things through with her and apologize. The timing was simply awful. And I had to face my guests.

Riggvelte informed me that they had gathered in the cavern springs below. Perage had left to assuage with the city guard.

I rushed down to find half of my guests swimming in the steaming spring. Lady Tais You and Klick Hedel were in each other’s arms in a dark corner of the spring. Water lapped at their bare shoulders. They giggled and murmured.

I felt homesick for Ashlee. My gut churned and my heart became like wrung cloth.

My butlers had opened special bottles of beer for my guests. Bottles littered the walk path beside the spring. I saw empty spaces where they had been pulled from their shelves. I hoped my butlers did not open any Memory attribute beers. They were precious-

“-relax, host,” Grafth said, though I could not see him. “None of the beers we requested have anything to do with Ashlee. We respect you that.”

Fieef, lounging, said, “Where’s this Hawkin fellow?”

“I don’t know,” I said.

“What are we wasting time in Lavenfauvish for? Come all. Let’s be on our way. North I hear he brews!”

“That may not work.”

“Why do you say this?” Grafth said.

“Hawkin might decline.”

“Anyone can be bought,” Fieef said.

“He doesn’t care so much about money when we trade; in fact, it is his partner that trades with me instead and deals with the business of it all.”

“Where is this partner?”

“I don’t know.”

“We are a compelling lot. Hawkin won’t say no to us.”

“If you trespass his land, he may.”

“Leave that to us.”

Tais You broke from Klick and said, “Why don’t we speak to his partner then? Seems the easiest thing to do.”

Klick pulled her back into his arms. “My love, let them settle it. Return to me. Tell me which stars are your favorite. I’ll move them across the night sky.”

Tais You returned to his arms and with the way they looked at each other, I imagined that it was Ashlee and I falling in love instead.

“Host?” came Grafth’s voice.

“His partner is a nightream,” I said. “His name is Thrush. I am to summon him with a dreambon ale once a friend arrives.”

All fell silent. Even the spring water held back ripples. The steam hushed away for a moment.

“A nightream?” Fieef said. “You’re mistaken.”

“He’s not mistaken,” Grafth said. “A nightream has been here. I’ve always wanted to meet one.”

“It’s out of my hands,” I said. “I don’t think he’ll be summoned anytime soon. This is a case of ill timing.”

Fieef sat at the spring edge and dunked his feet in the water. “I say we go north, find Hawkin, blah, blah, blah; you know what I’m getting at.”

“No,” Grafth said. “Let’s exercise patience. I’d like to meet this nightream on good terms.”

“Oblivion rank…and scared of nightreams.”

Noble Bartu took a swig of beer. He then said, “Do I sense fear, Grafth?”

“It is fear that you sense.” Grafth said. All fell silent. “We’ll do things right. Why not wait? We are in the meantime gathering Dream Cutter laborers. Their arrival will take time, will it not?”

“I will not argue,” Noble Nartu said.

“Meeting this Thrush will be worth it. Just to shake his hand.”

Tais You and Klick returned to their murmurs and low laughter. Laughter like theirs hadn’t graced the cavern walls since…I felt her loss tremendously then. If I could, I would trade everything to be with her again. Even to have one more day. Corylus’ words sank like thorns into my soul. I could scarcely breathe. Had I made such a terrible mistake? Was it true that Ashlee would be ashamed? Has the distance between Ashlee and I grown, not only by the distance of death, but by stepping further away from the compassion we had for the world? After betraying Abigail, I felt even further from my late love. Death was already a distance too far. A new knife of grief plunged into me.

“I’ll have Perage speak with the city,” Grafth said. “Then I will have our companions perch upon your mansion. We will stay with them while we wait for this nightream to be summoned. I’m not happy with the accommodations in your mansion, Ethan Hiccough. They are too humbling. I am too close to the gods to foolishly lose my life to a nightream. Because of my fear, I will play this safe. We will exercise patience.”

“Thank the stars,” Noble Bartu said. “The accommodations are not fit for us.”

Later that night, after entertaining my guests, I retired to my bedchamber. I clutched a precious ale and put myself out on the balcony. It was chilly. I could not drink because I was ashamed. Some part of me felt as though I would face Ashlee herself in the beer, and I could not bear it with the guilt that thickened my blood so much that I felt queasy.

For an hour I suffered at the foot of the railing which overlooked Lavenfauvish.

A soundless event brought me out of tortured thoughts. Bright stained lights fell upon my hunched back. My shadow and I were clutching the ballusts like they were prison bars. I looked up and almost had to squint against the light. My guests’ colossal beasts climbed the walls of my mansion. They stepped onto the architecture and settled there as a group. Where they perched, each of their giant heads dipped down. Their eyes closed. Their mouths hung open and their tongues rolled out into the form of stairs. Servants descended the stairs made of tongues, and they bowed to their masters.