When Droplet showed up at the Church of the Eternal Flame after midnight with a half-conscious Azera and a few dozen hybrids, Mother Enneth didn’t bat an eye. Droplet, human once more, stood in the secret warehouse entrance with Harra, Azera, Rangitam, and the elderly nun. Hybrids shuttled back and forth around them, ushered by nuns in varying states of confusion.
“I negotiated with the warehouse owners while you were out. We have bedrolls laid out and a handsomely paid-off security force watching over the building,” Mother Enneth said to Droplet, as if the shapeshifter had been out to the market and not breaking into and out of a blood mage enclave.
“Does anyone need our room? We could take bedrolls,” Azera mumbled.
Mother Enneth eyed the trio. Droplet and Harra supported Azera between them—she’d not been able to so much as stand since returning. Rangitam hovered behind Droplet as if she, too, would collapse at any moment. Ridiculous. Droplet was fine.
“You’re keeping a bed,” Mother Enneth declared, “but I’ll add extra bedrolls so you don’t go feeling guilty about it.”
“What about the Eyes? The cult?” Droplet said. She started to gesture as she talked, swayed, nearly dropped Azera, and decided against it.
“They’ll still be around tomorrow after you’ve had a good night’s sleep,” Mother Enneth said. She yawned. “Goodness me. I should carry an extra cane around to shake at people. Go to bed! Go! My nuns will take care of everyone until morning.”
“And the hired security,” Rangitam said.
“Yes, yes, and the hired security.”
*
The four of them made it to the bedroom through hallways packed with freed hybrids and the church’s usual midsummer boarders. Droplet couldn’t spare a thought for them; they were merely obstacles between where Azera was now and getting Azera to a place where she could lie down. And perhaps Droplet could also lie down, for a bit? Should she keep watch? She could keep watch lying down, maybe?
The closed door of their room nearly defeated her. Did she have hands right now? She did, didn’t she? But Azera needed those hands. She stood blinking before Rangitam leaned over and turned the knob.
“Go to bed,” he declared, shoving her, Azera, and Harra in.
Getting Azera onto the bed took much more of a collective effort than Droplet had expected. Somehow, by the time they succeeded, everyone but Rangitam was lying down. Harra tucked herself into a ball. Azera sprawled on the wall side, already asleep. Droplet blinked blearily at Rangitam.
“You’re safe here,” he said. “You did it, Droplet.”
Droplet trusted Rangitam, but surely she should be prepared. What about the Eyes? What if the cult came back?
She yawned deeply.
I’ll have to shift now. Ready to go in an instant. Wake up and fight on a moment’s notice.
She shifted into a goose. Distantly, she registered Rangitam placing his face into his furry palm. She didn’t care.
Without bothering to shake free of her human clothes, she tucked her head under a wing and went to sleep.
*
Droplet woke up with her head still tucked under her wing. She lay in a nest of cloth—clothes?—and everything hurt. Her immediate impulse was to spring up and start biting everything, but… she did hurt. And the nest was very cozy. There were blankets around her.
Maybe this was time to try that “restraint” and “knowing your limits” method that Moss talked about. Surely people who had made such a nice nest did not plan to immediately kill her. She slowly untucked and raised her neck.
She lay on the bed of a vaguely familiar stone room. Harra and Rangitam stood nearby, talking softly. Droplet turned her neck back toward the bed and found Azera blinking away sleep. Droplet watched her wake up. Because she wanted to make sure she was okay, of course. Someone had to look out for her.
Azera spotted her watching, and her face broke into one of those rare, unhesitant smiles that lit up the world.
“Good. You’re both awake!” said Harra.
Droplet twisted her neck around as Rangitam scooped her up into an undignified hug. Droplet honked.
“You’re awake,” Azera said to Harra. “How are you? Is everyone safe?”
“Safe as a cub in its mother’s den. Mother Enneth and Rangitam are miracle workers, I’ll tell you that,” said Harra.
“Oh please,” Rangitam demurred.
“Have you slept enough?” Azera said to Harra.
“You know me—I’ll take naps.” She certainly seemed awake enough, her ears perked and eyes wide, taut with energy. “Come on, let’s get you fed.”
*
Whether it was the hired security, the excessive bone wards of the church, or the cult members giving up, no attack had come in the night—nor had a raid from the Eyes.
Droplet shifted to her first Dalere form. She’d left the room by the time she realized that this form wasn’t the same one she’d been in when she arrived at the nunnery—the too-short clothes should have been a clue—but by then it was too late. Harra led Droplet and Azera to the common room, which was even more crowded than the night before. Mother Enneth sat like a queen holding court on a chair nearly hidden by mismatched pillows.
“Dalere, Azera, my children! Come sit a spell with an old woman. Have some breakfast,” Mother Enneth commanded. So she’d seen right through the change in human form, then. Droplet let herself be ushered into an empty chair. Harra and Rangitam joined the whirlwind throng. Mother Enneth clasped her gnarled hands together and beamed at the two of them.
“By now, I do believe half the city is talking about the Cult of the Endless War. The finger-pointing and accusations have started already, of course, but I wondered if either of you had any guidance on who we can throw to the wolves.”
“Uh,” Azera said.
“Ah, forgive an old woman for getting ahead of herself, my dear. Let me start from the beginning. My beloved flock has been spreading news of the shocking discovery of this sacrificial cult and spree of kidnappings, right in our midst! The horror! The revelers last night were quite receptive to the tale. It helped, of course, that a bedraggled, haunted pack of hybrids had stumbled through the street. Exceptionally visible. I commend you.”
“That part was unintentional,” said Droplet.
“Yes, Rangitam tells me you prefer the ‘direct action’ part of this life to the, ah, strategic aspects,” Mother Enneth said, voice full of fondness, like a grandmother admiring a grandchild’s first work of art. Droplet felt… warm. A bit patronized, yes, but in an old, familiar way, like Nedrud ruffling her hair. She didn’t mind, so much, that Rangitam had told Mother Enneth more about her.
That was new.
Mother Enneth continued, “The city is in an uproar. We’ve already spoken with those you rescued to glean information on those responsible, but I wanted to hear from you before we begin our latest round of gossiping in the streets.”
“Three different noble houses have already turned in rival houses for supporting the blood cult. Three! And it’s not even noon,” Rangitam added as he and Harra returned bearing breakfast trays. His wagging tail thumped against Droplet’s arm. “The nobles and the tourists are calling for the Eyes to arrest the blood cult yesterday.”
“My sisters say we’ve had some people questioning what good the Eyes are if they couldn’t even stop this,” Mother Enneth said. She radiated satisfaction as she sipped tea. “What an excellent crack to drive a wedge into. I commend you both.”
Droplet regretted choosing a human form whose cheeks could show a radiating blush. “How is everyone getting home?”
“I’m working on that. With help from the nuns, of course,” said Harra. Droplet looked askance at her. Harra caught the look and said, “It’s been a trying few days. Logistics soothe me. And I am an exemplary planner.”
“Like your plan to charge at blood mages armed with a couple of wooden boards?” Droplet said.
Harra sniffed. “An excellent plan that worked out perfectly. I’ll thank you not to tease.”
Now Droplet was confused. “They captured you,” she said.
“Yes, well, it seemed like the best outcome in the circumstances. Look at it from my perspective. You were clearly competent enough to find me and the others, which also meant you knew much more about the situation than me. When the blood mages had you trapped, distracting them was only logical. Either you’d get away and free me—unlikely—or, at minimum, you’d get away and live to carry on your noble quest for justice. And I was right,” Harra said smugly.
Droplet gaped.
“And if I ask Grandmother about this, she’ll of course agree that you had this all thought out, and it wasn’t a hare-brained moment of reckless heroism,” said Azera.
“She will if she knows what’s good for her,” said Harra.
Still processing, Droplet leaned forward, elbows on the table and chin on her hands. Azera patted her back, and then her hand came to rest between Droplet’s shoulder blades.
“You’re not the only one at this table who can be self-sacrificing,” Azera said.
“Ah, youth,” Mother Enneth said. “Now… shall we talk more about these cultists?”
*
After the talk, Droplet, Harra, and Rangitam went to a public far-speak bank, flanked by a few of the burliest security guards from the nunnery.
Far-speak banks contained rows and rows of doorless stone stalls, the entryways muffled with air spells to give some semblance of privacy. The discs in this one were almost as good as the sphere-encased one Isna had used back at the tavern. They must make great money off the tourists, Droplet thought. The discs had been spelled to connect with any other far-speak discs, allowing for any person to complete the appropriate incantation whether or not they had magic. Droplet spoke the necessary words and heard the disc come to life, the ambient noise of her own manor in Ninuthen drifting through.
“Moss?” she called.
Running footsteps echoed across the disc.
“Droplet! Droplet! Are you safe?”
“I’m safe. I did it, Moss. We did it. Everyone’s okay,” Droplet said. She dabbed frantically at her eyes. She was still in a public booth, after all.
“Oh thank the stars. You’ll have to tell me everything when you’re home.”
“I will. A proper story,” Droplet promised. “And Moss…” She took a deep breath and plunged onward. “I think Harra would be a good part of the team.”
Applause burst from the disc. “Oh Droplet, I’m so happy to hear you say that,” Moss said. Was she choked up? Was Moss choked up right now? Unthinkable. Droplet wished her own eyes would stop leaking.
“She’s a good planner, and she saved me even though she didn’t know me.”
“If you trust her, that’s all the recommendation I need,” said Moss. “What about Azera?”
Droplet’s heart raced. What about Azera? “I mean… I mean, she’s… she’s been very helpful, too, and she did save me at least once, and I like her. I would definitely want to keep spending time with her when we get back to the city.”
“But?” Moss prompted.
What was the “but”? There had to be one; there had to be a reason why Droplet felt so flustered. “She’s a human,” Droplet said.
“Is that really the reason?” Moss said. When Droplet didn’t respond, Moss said, “You can keep thinking, of course. My advice is to trust your gut.”
“And what if my gut is wrong? People could die, Moss,” she pleaded—pleaded for what, she didn’t know.
“Possibly,” Moss said. “But in my experience, when you trust yourself, people tend to live.”
*
Back when she’d still been pretending to have some semblance of a plan, Droplet had been sure that they’d need to flee the city as soon as Harra was retrieved. She had to admit, at least to herself, that taking a few days to recover was vastly preferable.
“My employers have almost certainly fired me by now, so there’s no point rushing back,” Harra said. She’d found a far-speak bank where she could contact her parents and assure them of her safety.
“They’re not going to accept ‘kidnapped by cultists’ as an excuse?” Droplet asked.
Harra laughed. “If only! No, no, they’ll tell me that even if that preposterous story were true, that only proves I was irresponsible for daring to drink in such a dangerous locale, and it was my own fault that I got snatched away.” She shrugged. “Rich people. What can you do?”
Now was the perfect moment. Droplet took a deep breath, recalling Moss’s faith in her. Best to act and not to think too much. That had gotten her this far. “I could hire you,” Droplet blurted out.
Harra’s ears flicked. “What for?”
“I pretend to be a rich human. I don’t know much about the Ninuthen nobility, and that’s always been a bit of a problem with this plan. I have a giant, old manor with nobody to keep it maintained except me and Moss. If you’re interested, we could use…” Droplet paused and took a deep breath. “We would be thrilled to have you.”
“Droplet!” Azera exclaimed. “You were almost, almost going to ask for help there, weren’t you?”
“No,” said Droplet.
“Mmmmmhm.”
Harra rolled her eyes at Azera. “I’d love to clean up your giant, crumbling manor. Can I lecture you on etiquette?”
“Yes. Frequently,” Droplet said.
“Will you listen to the lectures?” Azera asked.
“I’ll have you know that I can be the model of propriety when the mission calls for it,” Droplet said.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Azera said.
That could have been an opening. But Droplet let it pass.
*
After a few days, the three of them bid goodbye to Mother Enneth and Rangitam. Rangitam snuffled all over Droplet’s shoulder, and Droplet promised that she’d join the calls with Moss to say hi. Mother Enneth thanked them for “the most eventful midsummer I’ve had in at least eleven years” and promised they would be welcome anytime.
They took a boat home. The captain didn’t ask many questions. Droplet actually began to relax once they were at sea, enjoying the wind and sun on her face as they sailed under a clear summer sky.
“What are you going to do when you get back to the city?” Droplet asked Azera. They sat at the stern of the boat with Harra, tossing stale bread to the gulls that wheeled in the boat’s wake. They were never far out of sight of land, but at this moment, nothing broke the line of blue horizon.
“I’ve had a carpentry shop of my own for a while. My fiancée couldn’t get me to close it down, and I have some commissions from family friends still in the works. People will be curious enough or nosy enough to visit me with odd jobs even while my parents and I are quarreling. The old folks in the neighborhood will bring me some food and try to get me to talk that way. My parents will be less mad eventually. I’ll get by.”
“That’s… good,” Droplet said.
Harra’s eyes and ears were trained on Droplet. She pretended not to notice. After some silence, Harra sniffed, twitching her whiskers, and pointed to some dolphin fins in the distance.
*
That night, with a bowl of stars overhead, the three of them lay on the deck to spot constellations. Azera and Harra weren’t very good at it, so they began inventing new ones. “Over there, the iconic Child Messing Up Yesterday’s Laundry, surely you know that one? And above us, just below the North Star, it’s the Three-Quarters Sprackle-Head Screwdriver, a legend among us simple human folk.”
Droplet harrumphed and announced she’d tell a real star-story and regaled them with one of the old star-walker tales that had been passed down for thousands of years among shapeshifters—how Aiep and Mianyi fought to control a world where the oceans burned and the skies rained fire.
The three passengers lay quietly after that, simply gazing up.
“Azera,” Droplet said, “where are you going to live when we get back?”
“The workshop has a loft I’ve used before. It’s cozy.”
“Good, good,” said Droplet. She thought she heard Harra sigh, but when she looked over, both Harra and Azera were still looking at the stars.
*
Two days later, they arrived at the docks of Ninuthen toward evening. The water and the shore echoed with the chaos of hundreds of people trying to execute unrelated plans. Droplet insisted on walking with Azera and Harra back to their neighborhood. Harra would spend a week with her family before heading to Droplet’s manor.
Droplet had planned to drop the two off at Harra’s place and leave, but at least a dozen different half-cats all needed to hug her and cry and exclaim how grateful they were. Before she knew it, she’d agreed to stay for dinner, a boisterous affair that involved five different families dropping in as the celebration for Harra’s return drew more and more friends. Early on, Azera, Droplet, and Harra were separated in the crowd, but plenty of friendly strangers asked about their adventure and plied Droplet with food. Harra’s father briefly left his daughter’s side to insist that Droplet eat. A couple of very serious children asked Droplet to referee their game of hopscotch. It was almost like being back home with her colony.
The food, drink, and talk flowed well into the night. When people began to filter away to their homes, Droplet started making her goodbyes.
“I’ll see you soon,” she said to Harra.
“See you. And thank you,” Harra said. “I still don’t think ‘thank you’ is sufficient, but I haven’t yet figured out a suitable addition.”
“You’ll find a way to return the favor, I’m sure,” Droplet said. “And… have you seen Azera?”
Harra steered her through the ramshackle house, around the remaining knots of people, until they found Azera deep in conversation. Harra shouted, “Azera! Get over here!” and vanished back into the house before Droplet could protest.
Azera left her own conversation, coming up to Droplet with a smile.
“I… uh… I’m headed out for the night,” Droplet said. “I wanted to say goodbye.”
“Oh,” Azera said. “I guess it’s that time, huh? I’ll walk you to the door.”
They moved in silence through the jubilant home. What is there to say? Droplet thought. We will see each other again, I’m sure. We had an adventure together, but it’s over now.
At the same time, another part of Droplet’s brain thought, You fool.
They reached the door, exiting into the balmy summer night. “Well… goodbye, then,” Azera said. After one more long look, she turned toward the door.
For a moment, Droplet saw a whole future unfurl before her: Azera would walk through the door and out of Droplet’s life, and missions would be easier without the risk of losing someone she cared about, and she’d go back home to an empty manor without even ghosts to keep her company.
Droplet took a deep breath.
“Azera,” Droplet said.
Azera spun back around. “Yes?”
“I’d be as good as dead if not for you. Probably dead, honestly. I don’t know how I possibly could have done this without you, and I wouldn’t want to do it alone anyway. I don’t know who I’m going after next, but I want you there with me. If you want. I… I’d like your help. Please?”
There was that smile again. The clocks had struck midnight, but the sun had risen.
“I thought you’d never ask,” said Azera. “Yes.”