Arriving at the docks of Child’s Abode, Raea saw only a few sailors walking about, silently completing whatever business was required of them so late at night. Cian moved past them, paying little mind as he went. Raea glanced at the people around, pulling the hood of her cloak lower over her face.

  “So what’s your name anyway?” Cian asked as the young girl followed behind him.

  “What?” Raea questioned. “Ye didn’t think to ask the townspeople that?”

  “Of course I did, but nobody seemed willing or able to answer that question,” Cian replied. “They’d call you ‘thief’ or ‘monster’ or if they were feeling kind the oh so specific ‘her.’”

  “I see,” Raea said, pulling her hood even lower.

  “Of course, if you don’t have a name we could just give you one,” the old warrior began with a wry smile, “You prefer thief or monster?”

  “My name is Raea,” the girl stated, brushing her hood back from her forehead.

  “Short for Astraea?” Cian asked.

  “I thought ye hadn’t heard my name,” Raea remarked. “Or were ye listening in on Father Paul and I like some kind of creep?”

  “Father who now?” the Varathian replied, grinning.

  “Ugh, I don’t like that name,” Raea muttered. “Just call me Raea,” she stated. “Nothing else.”

  “I see,” Cian acknowledged, his smile fading.

  “…and what about ye?” Raea asked in return. “I think I heard one of the men who paid the bounty call ye…what was it? Kee-an?”

  “That’s more or less how you say it,” Cian answered.

  “What kind of stupid name is that?” Raea questioned.

  “It’s an old name,” Cian explained. “You won’t hear many people going by it anymore.”

  “Huh,” Raea emoted, not sure how to carry the conversation further.

  The pause did cause the pair to quicken their steps, however, heading towards one of the smallest ships at dock. Out on the farthest reaches of the harbor, Raea stared out at the open sea for a moment. “This it?” she asked, breaking the silence and looking at the ship.

  “Yep,” Cian answered. “Come on,” he added, stepping onto the gangplank that led onto the deck of the ship. A loud creak rang out as the large man put his weight on the board.

  “Ack!” a male voice screamed. Up on deck an elderly man sprang into view, a crossbow bouncing in his fumbling hands. A moment’s scrambling ended with him pointing the weapon at Cian, upside down and empty.

  “Calm down, Cedric,” Cian said, holding his hands up in mock surrender. “It’s me.”

  Cedric lowered his crossbow and smiled, showing his teeth, a few of them missing. “Ah, Mr. Cian, ya’er back,” he said, chuckling. He looked at Raea. “And, um, who is this?”

  “This is Raea,” Cian said, “she’ll be traveling with me.”

  “Ah, will she? She’s welcomed aboard my ship then,” Cedric said jovially. “She can have my cabin so that she doesn’t have to share with ya, Mr. Cian.”

  “Oh, no, ye don’t have to,” Raea began, waving her hands in front of her as if she were trying to ward off the polite offer.

  Cedric stopped her. “No, Miss Raea, please, it’s my honor,” he said with a deep, overdramatic bow.

  “Alright, that’s enough,” Cian said, stepping past a wordless Raea. “If you’re both done with the theatrics I’m going to bed.” The Varathian disappeared below deck.

  “Excuse me, uhh…” Raea started as she began climbing up the gangplank.

  “Cedric, just Cedric.”

  “Cedric,” Raea said, “why are ye being so nice to him?”

  “Hm?” the ship captain responded. “Now, young lady, I know Varathians have a reputation for being good for nothing thugs that’d sell their mothers to the lowest bidder, but I’ve known Mr. Cian for many years now and he’s proven himself a man of honor. Don’t ya forget that.”

  Raea nodded.

  “Good,” Cedric said. “Now, my cabin is below deck, the room farthest from the stairs, just go on ahead.”

  The girl stepped onto the deck, feeling the water rolling beneath the ship as Cedric slipped past her to pull the gangplank back onboard. Her eyes wandered over to the waves below, almost invisible in the darkness but very audible in the way that they crashed against the dock’s wooden posts. Her toes twitched involuntarily at the thought that only a few planks of wood separated her from them.

  “What?” Cedric asked, looking up from his work. “Afraid of the water?” “Nothing,” Raea snapped as she tore her eyes from the waves she could not see.

  “Nothing, yeah, there’s nothing there child, that much is obvious,” the ship captain responded, brow raised in confusion. “Hmph, alright,” he followed, seemingly dismissing the incident. “Get going, Miss Nothing.”

  ***

  A sudden lurch woke Raea from her sleep. She had never been at sea before, but judging from the change in the rhythm of the ship’s swaying, they were no longer docked. The girl climbed out of the bed and started making her way out of the cabin.

  “Son of bitch!” she exclaimed as her unsteady first steps took her to her knees. Like a child learning to walk she reached out for the nearest object, the corner of a small table, and steadied herself on it. However, after a moment of stability she found herself sinking back to the floor.

  Staring at the floorboards beneath, moaning subtly with the swaying motion of the ship, she thought of the great water beneath it. It was expansive, forever at the boundaries of her world, unknowable and terrifying. Yet here she was crossing it into a world that hours earlier might not have even existed for all she knew. With a deep breath she pulled herself to her feet and began walking towards the cabin door. She had to see the island one final time, she thought, to see everything she’d ever known.

  Throwing open the cabin door she made her way to the stairs and climbed them to the top deck, outside where the darkness of night still held sway, the first light of morning having yet to break. Raea looked up at the sails attached to the ship’s single mast, billowing as they caught the wind, which blew as it ever did irrespective of circumstance. Her eyes falling back to the horizon, the silhouette of the island of Carsani was barely visible and quickly fading. Raea held up her thumb so that it blocked the image in the distance. Was this what she was leaving behind? At the moment she saw nothing.

  “Ah, Ms. Raea, did I wake ya?” Cedric called out from the rear of the ship, a hand casually laid out over the tiller.

  Raea withdrew her hand. “It’s a bit dark to be leaving, isn’t it?” she asked.

  “It’ll take a week to get to the mainland, no reason we can’t start now.” Cedric answered. “Besides, I like leaving port just before morning. Calm and peaceful.”

  Raea nodded, turning to look in the deep blue world that the ship was moving towards. “Do you have anything to eat?” she asked.

  “Got some salted meats and dried fruits below deck,” Cedric answered. “No water though, only beer. Wasn’t expecting a kid.”

  “I’m not a kid,” Raea snapped.

  “All kids say that at your age,” Cedric retorted. “Regardless, beer keeps better than water and tastes better too, a real drink for real northern men. Not like the wine ya southerners drown yourselves in.” He lifted up a mug of the stuff. “Here, try it,” he said.

  Raea walked slowly over to the sailor and took the drink with some hesitation. “Agh! That is terrible!” she exclaimed as her first sip touched her tongue. “Do people actually drink this?”

  Cedric laughed at her, slapping his leg as he did so. “What, ya spoiled by your southern wine?”

  “I’ve never had wine,” Raea stated, staring into her cup.

  “Ah, I see,” Cedric said. “Ya’ll get used to it,” he added with a shrug. “Besides, it’s the only thing we have to drink here, the water out here will kill ya.” He looked at the mug in Raea’s hands, seemingly pondering it. “Ah, but drink will do terrible things to a person, suppose it’s a good thing you don’t like it much.”

  With a sigh Raea looked at the mug and briefly considered going the rest of the journey without drinking anything. She shook her head at the thought and drained the rest of the beer, the struggle to keep it down sending her into a coughing fit.

  “Ha!” Cedric chortled.

  Doing her level best to glare at the sailor through the tears forming in her eyes, Raea dropped the mug onto the deck and walked away. Reaching out she grasped at the side railing, holding herself up on it as she dried her eyes with her free hand. Once she had sufficiently cleared her sight the girl found herself staring at the dark waves below, crashing audibly into the hull of the ship. She frowned and sniffed at the spray, detecting the strong scent of salt. Turning her attention to her own tearstained hand she smelled that too and found that same hint of salt, fainter, but still there. A sudden feeling of annoyance came over her and she slammed her hand into the railing before turning on her heels and walking over to the mast to sit at its base.

  Raea stared out east in keeping with the ship’s forward motion, her eyes bouncing fruitlessly between the stars in the distance. As she sat there the inevitability of the sunrise came to pass and it was heralded by, of all things, the sounds of footsteps below deck.

  “Ah!” Cian exclaimed as his head appeared from the stairwell leading down into the innards of the ship. “I see that my timing is excellent today,” he added, turning to look at the sun, itself having just begun to emerge. Raea frowned as the Varathian flashed a smile that on a younger man might have appeared endearing, but on his worn face seemed out of place.

  “Morn’,” Cedric said as Cian took the final steps up.

  The Varathian unlaced his trousers, turning towards the sun, his back to Raea and Cedric, and began pissing into the sea. “Ah!” he let out with a great sigh. “Good morning indeed!”

  “Old man,” Raea said.

  “Cian,” the Varathian interrupted, as his stream went dry and he began redoing his trousers.

  “Old man,” the girl restated, “where are we going?”

  Cian sighed, turning to face Raea now that his business was complete. “Where else but the mainland?” he asked with a brow raised. “Only place to go from Carsani. Unless you plan on making a long trip to the east. Or dying at sea, if that’s your preference.

  “What’s the mainland like?” Raea asked.

  “Honestly not much different from that island,” Cian answered with a shrug. “The only real differences are that it’s bigger and that there are more people. You’ll go there, probably return to your thieving ways, and the people there will hate you. Maybe not as much as they did back on Carsani, but still. I don’t expect but the smallest of changes in your life at this point.”

  Raea took a deep breath, contemplating this as she leaned back against the mast.

  “What about ye, old man, where are ye going?” she asked after a moment.

  “Hm?” Cian voiced, brow furrowed and lips curled in surprise. “Well, I hadn’t considered that too carefully in a while. I suppose that I’ll head back to Artimax, stay there for a spell.”

  “Artimax?” Raea asked.

  “The home of the Varathians,” Cian answered. “An island fortress very unlike Carsani. Cold and lonely, with no one there but Varathians and those looking to become one.”

  “Do ye not like it?” Raea asked. “I mean, yer so far from it.”

  “Oh, but that’s the thing,” the old warrior responded. “It may be far, it may be cold, and it may even be lonely, but Artimax has been around since long before anyone can remember and the same can be said of us. We can disappear for as long as we like, go as far away as we like, and always return, even if it is only for a short time.”

  “I see,” Raea replied. She lowered her sight to the floorboards beneath her and looked at them or rather she stared through them and imagined the great water beneath, which had once been the edges of her world.

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  ***

  On the third day of the weeklong voyage Raea was laying down on the deck, staring up at the sky. She was finding life out at sea to be mind numbingly boring. The sky and the sea didn’t vary much in color and often mirrored each other, unerring waves rolled by on the water, and clouds meandered along just as they always did.

  “Having fun down there?” Cian asked, standing over the young girl.

  “The greatest fun,” Raea replied, lifting her hand to block the Varathian’s face from her view.

  “I can see that,” Cian said from beyond her hand.

  Raea dropped her arm, watching a cloud slowly float above them. “Do ye often think about where ye’ll go next?” Raea asked, sitting up.

  “When I was younger, sure,” Cian said, walking away from Raea. “These days I go wherever the world takes me.”

  “So ye just, what, throw a stick up in the air and just go the way it points when it lands?” Raea followed up.

  “Can’t say I’ve ever done that,” Cian answered, lifting up his foot and drawing a knife from his boot. “I’ll keep it in mind though, may be of use if I get stuck at some point.” He brought his foot down, tapping it against the floorboards a few times, before he began to twirl the blade in his hands.

  “What do Varathians even do?” Raea asked.

  “Depends on who you ask,” the old man said, “and depending on the time, the circumstances, and the individual, they’d all be right.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Varathians have been mercenaries, bodyguards, assassins, and soldiers, roles that I can say from personal experience we excel in,” the warrior replied. “In truth, we’ve lost our true purpose,” he added in a melancholic tone even as the knife began to follow an increasingly intricate pattern between his fingers. “We were created to fight the monsters that humanity couldn’t, but they’re gone while we remain.”

  “Monsters?” Raea questioned. “Like Sir Kay and the Manticore and other old legends like that?”

  “Yeah,” Cian replied, chuckling as the knife slowed in his hand. “What, did you think those were just stories?”

  “Yes,” Raea answered without hesitation.

  “Sir Kay may or may not have been real, but Manticores certainly are, as are mages and magic.” He frowned as he continued. “No, they’ve been gone a long time now. To you they may as well be stories.”

  “I don’t think so, I’ve been called a monster all my life,” Raea countered. “They called ye one too, didn’t they?”

  “You seem to misunderstand,” Cian said in return. “What makes a monster a monster is that normal humans are helpless against it.” Raea’s eyes narrowed as she considered this. She glanced down at her own human hands and flexed her finger a few times. She looked back up at Cian and saw a whole new type of monster.

  Cian snorted as he studied Raea’s reaction, suppressing a smirk. “You see, in order to fight a monster those with a talent for magic are trained as mages and those who are not are made into people like me.”

  “So what?” Raea questioned, standing up. “Did ye fight monsters? Ye certainly look old enough.”

  Cian laughed at that. “Ha! No, that was before even my time!” He turned to Raea, knife still twirling between his fingers. “No, monsters left this world long ago, and the mages should follow them soon.” The knife stopped, held firmly in the old warrior’s grasp. “No, actually some still remain. You see, a monster is something that a normal person cannot fight, so they must create something else that can. But that’s a trap, isn’t it? Because the thing they create is a monster too.”

  Raea held her hands to her head, massaging her temples as she thought through this. “So what yer saying is that, what? That ye’ve taken the place of monsters? Do ye really think yer that far from human?”

  A flash of cold steel just above her ear tore Raea from her questions, her attention instead drawn to the knife no longer in Cian’s hand but now stuck halfway down the blade in the mast behind her.

  “Yes,” Cian answered, leaving any further explanation as if it were self-evident.

  “Wonderful demonstration,” Cedric called out from the till. “But would ya please refrain from damaging my ship?”

  “Oh, sorry,” Cian answered, a sudden, embarrassed smile appearing across his face as he moved to recover the blade. “My apologies, Cedric, please forgive me.”

  Raea held her hand to the bald strip above her ear where the knife had passed. Running her fingers through the remaining red locks she pulled a few of the severed strands that remained clinging to her messy mane. The wind carried them from her fingers, to get lost in the endless expanse of the sea. The girl turned and stared across the ship at the true monster, who was occupied with its repeated apologies to Cedric.

  ***

  “There she is,” Cedric called out on the seventh and final day of the voyage, “Terrasolis.”

  “Terrasolis, huh?” Raea said, standing at the bow of the ship, looking out at the unfamiliar land coming over the horizon. “So that’s what this place is called.”

  “The whole continent, yes,” Cian said, joining Raea, “but this, more specifically, is the Holy Peninsula, home of the Caragian faith, which I trust you’re already familiar with.”

  “Yeah,” Raea replied, “Father Paul, the priest at the old temple we went to before we left, he took care of me when I was younger.”

  “Well, don’t expect the same hospitality now that you’re traveling with me,” the Varathian warned.

  “Why not?”

  Cian took a deep breath before answering. “There are many nice things about Caragian doctrine. The Faith calls for charity and pacifism, for example. But there is also ugliness, like the demand for hatred of both non-believers and non-humans.”

  “Non-humans like you?” Raea asked.

  “Yes,” Cian answered solemnly, “though really elves are the primary target of their ire.”

  Cedric called out from the stern of the ship, “Aye, truly sad, that, hating people simply for what they are.”

  “Why hate them?” Raea questioned.

  Cian shrugged. “For the same reasons that anyone hates anything.”

  “We’ll reach the harbor soon, Mr. Cian,” Cedric called out, watching the approaching shore.

  “Alright, Cedric,” the old warrior replied.

  “So, do elves have their own kingdom or anything?” Raea asked.

  “Yes, they do,” Cian answered. “The Elder Lands, far to the north and east of here, across the sea. Don’t have to go that far to see them though, they can be found in just about any slum or ghetto across Terrasolis.”

  “How’s that?” Raea asked.

  Cian fidgeted with the harness holding his sword in place before opening a pouch on its front. “Elves were the first civilization, thousands of years ago over in the Elder Lands, but humans eventually rose up, conquered, and enslaved them, scattering elves all over the world,” he began as he pulled a coin purse from the pouch, “About 3 centuries ago their homeland was restored to them but many elves don’t have the means to go there, so they stay in their slums.”

  “Hm, sad,” Raea commented. She turned and stared back at the sea for a moment before the ship pulled into the harbor.

  “Well, Mr. Cian,” Cedric said as he moored the ship, “this is goodbye for now.”

  “Thank you, Cedric,” the Varathian said, counting out a small amount of currency from his purse and handing it to the sailor, “pleasure as always.”

  Cedric took the coin and pocketed it. “Thank ya, Mr. Cian, ya too kind.” He then lowered the gangplank so that Cian and Raea could disembark.

  Cian elbowed Raea roughly. “Thank Cedric, will you.”

  “Ow,” Raea reacted, rubbing her arm gingerly. “Thank ye,” she said to Cedric.

  The duo departed the ship, Cian leading the way as they walked down the docks. Raea looked at the port town as they neared it, so similar to the one she’d left a week before.

  “What’s this place called?”

  “Land’s End,” Cian answered. “I’ve got a few things to take care of while we’re here, then I’ll be heading out.”

  “Yer leaving already?” Raea asked. “We just got here.”

  “I got a long journey ahead of me, might as well head out now,” Cian replied. “Besides, what does it matter to you?” Pointing across the water to a harbor side marketplace, he continued. “Looks to me like your natural habitat is right here.”

  Raea stood, wordless, for a moment, just staring at the sight before her. In many ways it was the same as what she had left a week prior. A merchant paced about in the area in front of his stall, attempting to draw customers in to see his wares while sailors and townsfolk milled through the area. Most successfully ignored him as he pined for their interest.

  “Well, I’ve got some questions to ask of the locals, so stay right there while I take care of that,” Cian said, scanning the road leading inland. “Just sit back and admire the view a bit, welcome yourself to your new home,” he added, providing a percussive exclamation to the directive by slapping the girl on the back. Raea balanced the resulting forward momentum on her toes, pulling back from the water beneath her.

  “Fuck ye!” the girl exclaimed, looking expecting to see the Varathian only to find that he was gone. Instead a sailor was standing there, watching with concern as this little rag clad girl nearly fell into the harbor. He blinked a few times and opened his mouth as if to speak, but before he could utter a word Raea spat into the water and walked past him.

  Stepping into the marketplace Raea looked around, sighting the merchant’s stall. It was selling simple wares, mostly salted meats for sailors and ship captains preparing for long voyages. The owner of the stall was off to the side holding a conversation with an armored guard.

  “It’s monstrous, I tell you!” the merchant suddenly exclaimed at the guard. Raea winced at the statement, her eyes turning quickly from the salted meats to the merchant himself.

  “I’m only following my orders, sir, nothing monstrous about them,” the soldier replied with a calm coolness.

  “But…” the merchant responded. “You can’t just come into my business and demand money from me!”

  “I’m sorry, sir, but I can,” the guard retorted. “The High Father has passed a new tax on salt and you have to pay for all the salt you used for your product.”

  “We’re not in Vera,” the merchant said, pointing an accusatory finger at the soldier. “The High Father has no authority here.”

  The armored man frowned at the statement. Pointing at the emblem emblazoned on the chest piece of his armor, he responded. “We may be far from the great city, good sir, but I am here and I represent the authority of His Holiness. Unless you or somebody else thinks you can force me to leave, His reach extends as far as my own.”

  “Fine,” the merchant said, lowering his hand. He turned to his stand, pausing at the sight of Raea. “What do you want, girl?”

  “Um…” Raea began. “Um…I…I mean…”

  “You don’t have any money,” the merchant interrupted, rolling his eyes. “Yes, I could gather as much, now get out of my way.” With a wave of his hand he dismissed her. Raea walked away as the merchant pulled a box from under his stall and began counting out coin for the soldier.

  Leaving the merchant to his tax troubles, Raea continued walking along the harbor. She frowned at the sensations filling her, a sense of trepidation for a threat she knew wasn’t coming for her. A hand on her shoulder nearly caused her to leap from her skin.

  “Oh, sorry child,” a male voice said behind her.

  Turning, Raea saw a priest of the Caragian faith, younger than Father Paul, back on Carsani, a full head of brown hair on his head. He was standing before her, a small pail full of coins under his arm.

  “What do ye want?” Raea asked, pushing the holy man’s still outstretched hand from her.

  “Oh, I just saw you there and thought you could use some coin. You’re so thin and frail looking,” the priest answered. “This coin was supposed to be for the new door to the temple but charity is as much my job as maintaining our sanctuary is.”

  “A new door?” Raea inquired.

  “Yes,” the priest answered, pointing behind him to a relatively modest temple further down the wharf. “The old door is rotting away, we’re collecting coin to fund a new one.”

  “That sounds…fine,” Raea replied.

  “Yes, fine indeed,” the priest said, wearing an oblivious looking smile. “Our local blacksmith is even offering to commission a new image of the Prophet’s Hands to adorn our new entrance. It will be rendered in silver, a glorious sight to greet the faithful.”

  Raea frowned, thinking back to Carsani, to that wretched new temple in town with the expensive silver that decorated its door. “…If that’s what ye want,” she said as she turned and began walking.

  “Wait,” the priest called out, picking a coin from his collection pail and holding it between his fingers. “I was going to give you some.”

  “Nah, ye can have it,” Raea replied as she continued forward. “I want no part in it anyway.”

  Turning into an alleyway before the holy man could respond, Raea moved away from the harbor, heading towards the opposite edge of town. She rubbed the bald strip above her ear where fresh new hair was just starting to grow in. Holding her hand there for a moment her eyes flitted upward, catching the edge of the roof.

  “Do you just like being up on rooftops?” the increasingly recognizable voice of Cian called out. Raea turned to see the Varathian approaching her from the harbor.

  “Nobody looks in the high places,” Raea replied, dropping her hand back to her side.

  Cian stopped a few paces short of the girl and folded his arms across his chest. “I thought I told you to stay on the pier.”

  “Why should I listen to ye?” Raea asked. “Yer just going to leave me here anyway.”

  “I resent that, you know. There’s no ‘just’ about it,” Cian replied. “I tore you from your life and dragged you here, at least was going to leave you with a parting gift.”

  “Like what?” Raea asked, her curiosity overcoming her hostility.

  “I was thinking a pair of shoes,” Cian answered, motioning to the girl’s bare feet.

  Raea kicked at the ground, considering this for a moment. “No thanks,” she finally answered.

  “You sure?” Cian asked, unfolding his arms. “I might be a monster but I’m not heartless. I would hate to think that I completely upended your life and left you with nothing to show for it.”

  “That’s nice,” Raea said. “Don’t care,” she added.

  “Well,” Cian said, shrugging. “I guess this is goodbye.”

  “I guess,” Raea echoed.

  Cian pursed his lips and nodded at this before turning and walking away. Raea sighed in relief as he disappeared around the corner leading out of the alleyway. The girl took a deep breath and began to run her fingers through her hair. She stopped when she felt the bald strip above her ear.

  Raea groaned at the thoughts that came to her mind at that moment. Food-mongers willing to throw their wares into the harbor before they gave to a begging child, mothers taking their children in their arms and away from their play as a tiny terror roamed the streets, all to keep a monster at bay. But there was never a monster, just a little girl who didn’t understand why the world was the way it was. Raea bit her lower lip, pulling herself out of those memories. She didn’t understand, she still didn’t. But she wanted to.

  The girl turned to head back out to the harbor. Then she flinched back, shaking her head. “No, I’m not running back to him,” she said to herself. She stared at the wall a moment before her eyes flitted back to the roof’s edge. Despite herself she glanced back down the alleyway, towards the harbor. “No,” she reminded herself. “No,” she repeated, throwing a punch at the wall.

  “Ow!” Raea yelled, recoiling from the impact. She cradled her arm against her chest, rubbing her sore knuckles, trying to get past the pain. She stopped, finding herself staring at her human hands, and flexed her fingers a few times. “Fuck it,” she said aloud before taking off at a sprint.

  She ran, back out harbor side, sighting the Varathian walking along the water. She ran, catching up with the big warrior and slapping both of her hands against his back.

  Cian turned and, upon laying eyes on Raea, blinked and shook his head in surprise. “What?” he asked.

  “Take me with ye,” Raea answered between heavy nasal breaths.

  “What?” Cian asked again.

  “Those people,” Raea began, pointing out at the ocean, “they called me a monster all my life and I hated it, more than anything. But a part of me…a part of me wanted to believe them, despite that, so that I could make them pay, in a way that a hungry little girl never could. Yer right though, I don’t know what being a monster means. But I want to learn, and then I’m going back to that fucking island and I’m going to show those bastards what a monster’s really like.”

  Cian stared at Raea, dumbfounded. Then he began to chuckle and shake his head. “How, exactly, do you plan on accomplishing that, little girl?”

  “Take me with ye,” Raea replied. “Take me with ye, so that I can become like ye. Let me be a monster, if that’s what they want me to be.”

  “I could do that,” Cian said. “I could certainly do that. But are you ready? What you’re asking, it isn’t easy. It can’t be done by just anybody, and you don’t get to do it just because you want to.”

  “I’ll do it,” Raea answered. “I’ve got nothing else to do,” she added, gesturing around her.

  Cian smiled, his eyes lighting up. “Seems there might be something special about you after all. Never in all my years did I think I’d see a little girl ask for this but here we are. Very well, we shall see what you can do.”