Our guide led us across the way, but we had hardly stepped off the bridge when he turned right and proceeded to climb down the steep bank. We hesitated at the top and watched him slide down to the rocky bottom where the bridge cast its shadow over him.
“What are you waiting for?” he called to us.
“An explanation,” Tegan countered.
“You swore to meet with Domini, and I am taking you to him,” our guide assured us as he gestured to the darkness beneath the bridge. “It isn’t much further.”
Tegan pursed his lips, but gingerly led us down the slope. I clung to him as the muddy ground gave way underfoot, and much was my joy when we finally reached the bottom. Huge boulders had been stacked around the foundation to prevent washout and the rocks also created a little grotto under the bridge that was surrounded by a high wall of stones.
Our guide climbed over the rocks and dropped out of sight on the other side. Tegan climbed up first and helped me along with him. We stood hunched on the precipice and I squinted into the darkness. Our guide stood close to the wall that made up one-quarter of the bridge’s square foundation, but the shadows were so deep that it could have been anyone.
“Coming?” he called to us.
We guardedly climbed down and found ourselves in the dank underbelly of the bridge. The rumble of the traffic was muffled by the thick stone that supported those same wheels and hooves. The stone couldn’t block out the scent of the water and the occasional dump that floated past.
“What’s the true meaning of bringing us here?” Tegan questioned our guide as he nodded at the river. “I doubt Domini could be found in a slimy hole such as this.”
The man chuckled. “Of course not.”
I yelped as something slithered around my ankle. My other leg was also grabbed and Tegan, too, struggled in the grips of our silent attackers. I looked down to see thick green vines twin themselves up our bodies.
Tegan’s hands grew into claws and he cut away at his vines. He was about to free me when the man spoke up.
“Stop. We need her, at the very least, and there is little time before the sun sets.”
Tegan’s bright green eyes glared at the man from out of the darkness. “What do you mean?”
“We need her magic to communicate with Domini,” the man explained as he raised one of his hands.
His palm gave off its familiar greenish-brown light and the same glow surrounded the vines that had me in their grip. The plants pinned my arms to my side and lifted me a few inches off the ground.
Tegan flexed his claws and whipped his head around to me. “Are you in pain?”
I shifted inside the tight coils. “No, but what the hell is going on? What’s this about using my power to talk with that Domini guy?”
“Hold still,” the man commanded me as the light on the vines grew brighter. I felt a strange lethargy flow over me as a soft white glow emanated from my body.
My light flowed into the vines and down into the ground. The whole grotto became illuminated with that same brilliant light and it seemed to create walls around us, trapping us in a box of magic. A cluster of thick, pulsing vines rose from the ground and formed themselves into a humanoid shape. One of the vines clasped a small stone at its head which glowed red.
The red light flowed down over the vines and my eyes widened as a vague, filmy outline of a human took shape over the vines. The figure was, if the vines were any indication, above average height and with a great bulk. The person wore a suit of some indecipherable color thanks to the vagueness of the picture, but I could definitely make out their shocking mess of long red hair that trailed down their back.
The figure bowed his head to us. “My sincerest apologies for this unusual meeting, but I am a busy man and have not time to meet with all potential employees in person. I am Domini, a, shall we say, entrepreneur who offers work to those who are having trouble with the authorities.”
“You have an unusual way of using people before they’re even in your employ,” Tegan snapped.
Domini chuckled. “Again, I must apologize, but my employee here-” The figure raised an arm and gestured to our guide who stood as stiff as a statute, “-hasn’t the magic needed to cast my likeness over their vines, even with the aid of the stone. But shall we get to business? I have been informed you escaped the head Key office of Conas. Senator Shea manages that building, if I’m not mistaken.”
“We did, but your man mentioned something about work,” Tegan countered.
“A man who doesn’t waste time. That’s a trait I admire,” Domini complimented.
Tegan shook his head. “Flattery won’t get a bronze coin out of me and I would like for my companion to be freed as quickly as possible.”
I seconded that opinion, but I couldn’t find the breath to speak. It wasn’t that the vines were suffocating me, but that all my willpower was focused on maintaining the hologram-like figure.
“Then I shall get to the point: I wish for you to join my company as Messengers of my will.”
“And what duties are assigned to your Messengers?” Tegan questioned him.
Domini shrugged. “Merely some routine contract law. You will enforce the stipulations in those contracts.”
“I’d like to see one of these contracts,” Tegan insisted.
Domini chuckled. “You will sign one, should you decide to join. Ask my servant for more details. If you choose not to join then I bid you a good day and good luck avoiding the Keys. They are a most persistent group.”
And with that, the strange figure of Domini reverted to the cluster of vines.
The moment Domini vanished, the group of vines that had made up his person fell to the ground in a heap. The now-dull red stone dropped into the mess and disappeared. Our guide, too, dropped to his knees and caught himself on his forward fall with his hands. The vines around me, too, dropped away and I landed on my feet. My legs, unfortunately, were too shaky to support me and I stumbled toward the water’s edge.
Tegan leapt forward and caught me in his arms before I tumbled into the fast-flowing river. He lifted me into his arms and turned to face our guide.
“That was quite an interesting feat,” Tegan commented as he frowned at the bent man. “And quite dangerous.”
I could see our guide’s back move up and down as they breathed hard. “There is. . .there is no other way to see Domini.” He managed to get a hold of himself and eased him onto his feet. A thick vine stretched up from the earth and leaned against him to help with his balance. “What do you say to his offer?”
“Are you a Messenger?” Tegan questioned him.
The man shook his hidden head. “No.”
“What sort of contracts does Domini handle?” Tegan continued.
The man reached into his coat and drew out a rolled-up bundle of papers. He tossed them at us and Tegan deftly grabbed them with one hand while he cradled me in his other arm.
“That would be your contract, should you choose to join his company,” the man told us as he nodded at the bundle. “The paper on which it’s written will only last twenty-four hours or until you sign with your blood. After that, I will travel beyond my magic’s ability and it will crumble to sawdust.”
Tegan handed me the rolled-up documents. “Where can we find you if we have further questions?”
“The rest of your answers are in those documents. I will only tell you that should you decide to sign the contract, you will have all your troubles taken away.”
The man stretched out one hand toward the river and thick vines slithered across the ground to lash together in the water. They crafted a boat some six feet wide that was anchored only by the plants’ connections to the land.
The stranger gestured to the green boat. “You may use this to return to the Torc Fiain and confer with one another. I wish you good luck on your decision.”
Tegan narrowed his eyes. “How do you know where we’re staying?” The man folded his gloved hands together in front of him but remained silent.
I shifted in his arms to test out my shaky legs. They still didn’t quite feel strong enough for me to walk. My squirming caught Tegan’s attention and he pursed his lips. He reluctantly stepped onto the raft which rocked a little but otherwise remained buoyant. The vines snapped themselves in two and we were set adrift.
Tegan turned toward our shadowed companion. “Tell Domini I won’t allow him to have the upper hand again.”
The figure’s final reply was to bow his head.