Hot and Cold

The runes set her skin on fire, as if she’d been thrust into the middle of a midsummer bonfire. She wanted to scream, but she couldn’t breathe. She wanted to run, but she was propelled forward by unseen force, further into the heat - and abruptly, inexplicably, into cold.

Dakshana was in a room made of stone, as if someone had carved a cave into a house. She hadn’t known this was possible. The floor was strewn with soft animal skins. And standing in the middle of the room, robed in black shadows, was Chadstone.

“Welcome,” he said, “to my world.”

Into the Shadows

The fear that crossed Dakshana’s face was - incomprehensible. Chadstone had only known that fear once, the first time he stepped into mortal sunlight, but he didn’t know why she would feel so. Could she sense the magic? One as strong as her was usually a shaman of sorts - so why did the magic terrify her?

“Dakshana?” Srina asked.

She stared at the swirling circle of runes, of the seven signs of the travelling circle, and he thought she would begin to weep. But she held her chin high, grabbed her friends’ hands, and marched forward.


And vanished into the Shadows.

Circle of Runes

“Why the maze?” Srina asked.

Dakshana was furious. Chadstone’s gall was unbelievable - he wanted a kiss from her. After he’d lured her into a cave filled with magic. Magic she’d felt before. The night Ashoken disappeared.

“We got the answer!” Srina protested, but Minka dragged her along.

“He wanted Dakshana to give him the answer,” Minka said.

“And she did!”

“She told him, she didn’t give it to him.”

Dakshana ignored their squabbling and started toward the back of the cave. The buzzing, humming, burning became worse. There it was - a circle of fire on the floor, flooded with runes.

Her Immortal Words

“You got the answer.” Srina broke into a bright smile. Had Chadstone a heart, it would have been warmed at her positively comic naivety. She turned to him. “That’s the answer - let one of us go!”

“It should be Srina,” Dakshana murmured to Minka.

A wise decision. Chadstone lifted his chin imperiously and arched one eyebrow. If he won this one, Dakshana wasn’t the girl he thought she was. But he could remember her arms around him, her child-form tucked beneath his chin, her immortal words.

“That wasn’t the bargain,” he said.

Dakshana turned away. “The maze,” she said.

Riddle

“How single, how small?” Dakshana asked. Her hands curled into fists, and she stepped in front of Minka and Srina to protect them from his magic.

His smile turned dangerously amused and wolf-hungry. “Give me the answer to this riddle:

“Of no use to one

Yet absolute bliss to two.

The small boy gets it for nothing.

The young man has to lie for it.

The old man has to buy it.”

“That’s all?” Dakshana asked.

“Give it to me,” Chadstone said again. Something about his tone wasn’t right.

“What’s the answer?” Srina asked.

Dakshana’s mind raced. “A kiss.”

Single Small Gift

She was beautifully strong-spirited. Chadstone would savor every moment of eternity with her. He turned, followed them with his eyes. He saw Dakshana lead the other two toward the back of the cave to the traveling circle and saw her - flinch. As if the magic hurt her. Chadstone narrowed his eyes. No, he didn’t want to hurt her - at least, not too much. He’d hurt her a little unless she cooperated. But if the mere presence of magic hurt her, what would travel do?

“I’ll let one of your friends live if you give me a single small gift.”

Whatever You're Willing to Pay

Dakshana wished she still had that impromptu spear she’d picked up earlier, but she knew that no mortal weapons would serve against Chadstone - if that was even his name. He was beyond human, and he had metal weapons. Nothing she had could possibly harm him.

“Dakshana, what’s going on?” Srina asked.

Minka clutched at her shoulder. “We’re in trouble.”

Dakshana ignored Srina’s plaintive whimper - she needed a plan, and fast. First she needed information. “Freedom? At what price?”

Chadstone’s smile was heartbreakingly beautiful - and absolutely terrifying. “Whatever you’re willing to pay.”

Dakshana nodded. “Minka, Srina, we’re going into the maze.”

Maze

Chadstone turned to face Dakshana fully. She was smarter than he’d realized, more in tune with magic than he’d thought possible for a mere mortal, but the first time he’d laid eyes on her he’d known she was more than other mortals. He was unafraid to let her see truly him, for she would never learn how he could die - or be hurt.

“The rules are easy: the maze beyond is the gate. Make it to the central court - win.”

Dakshana lifted her chin. “What prize for us?”

She understood, then, what the prize was for him.

He said, “Freedom.”

Reasons and Rhymes

“Ready for what?” Dakshana asked, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. She recognized this low, skull-numbing magical hum from her nightmares, from the night Ashoken disappeared.

“The game,” Chadstone said, and his façade wavered. He wasn’t a hunter, not really. He was - something else. Inhuman, though more so or less, Dakshana couldn’t tell.

“What game?” Srina asked, wide-eyed, innocent.

Minka was more shrewd - good old Minka. “Whatever game he’s playing. With us.”

Chadstone’s smile was beautiful, immortal, wolf-hungry. “Right. A simple game.”

“Why?” Dakshana asked.

Chadstone’s eyes darkened. “There’s always a prize.”

Dakshana’s heart froze.

Ready or Not

Chadstone, once satisfied the fire would burn, rose to his feet. He moved to check on the mortal girls once more, asking if everything was all right, and then he felt it. The tingle of magic in the air - not rune magic, but magic all the same. He’d felt that magic once before, from a Seer whose Sight had been beyond parallel. He knew the moment he felt it, and a frisson of excitement rose in him. Another challenge. Excellent. He turned slowly, met Dakshana’s gaze, unabashed as she studied him, his inhuman form.

He smiled and said, “You ready?”

Noose Closed

As soon as Dakshana stepped into the cave, she knew something was wrong. Unease whispered in her blood, skittered down her spine like shards of ice. What was wrong? Minka and Srina sank down on a patch of dry earth, huddled together, compared wounds, tried to laugh.

Chadstone knelt beside a pile of stones. Dakshana felt it before she saw it, the burn of rune magic in the air. Then she realized Chadstone had lit a fire. With nothing more than his bare hands. Dakshana studied him in the firelight, and she knew.

Outside the cave, the wolves were silent.

Open Doors

Success. She was lured and trapped. From here on out it was just a game, playing through the challenge to reach the prize.

And what a prize it was.

Chadstone extended a hand to Minka, but she refused, suspicion glinting in her eyes. The first challenge, then.

He led them through the trees, careful to stay just ahead of the dire wolves so the girls could hear the snarls and howls. His target was the portal, the beginning of the maze.

“In here - it’s safe, and they’re too big to get in here,” he said, and stepped into the cave.

Hunter, Hunted

Dakshana couldn't speak. Chadstone was handsome - unearthly so - and bore all the marks of a fine hunter - strong body, excellent weapon - but just now he was. A man. Not an arrogant hunter, not a frightened boy, a man. Who had helped her friends.

Then he straightened up and cleaned his blade with a handful of leaves. He paused, listened.

"We should hide." He was a hunter again, alert, sure.

"Why?" Minka asked. She limped.

"Others are coming," Chadstone said.

A chorus of howls rang through the trees, weaving, rising. Closer.

Dakshana grabbed Srina's hand. To Chadstone, she said, "Which way?"

Shadow, Human

Chadstone could feel Dakshana's gaze on him while he checked the mortal girls; her intensity was a good sign. A couple of quick runes sketched and invoked eased their pain; complete healing would give away the game.

He helped the girls to their feet. They smiled gratefully, then turned to Dakshana. She was staring at him. For the first time, Chadstone was paralyzed by indecision. Before, he always chose an unfettered, confident demeanor. He was a prince of the shadow realm, more than a man but less than a god, beautiful, preternatural.

Here, in Dakshana's eyes, he was just a human.

Hero

Dakshana's scream died in her throat. The hunters cowering in front of her fled. Chadstone was on the wolf. The wolf yowled, tossed its head, but Chadstone clung fiercely. Dakshana saw Minka and Srina writhe free of the wolf's jaws. Chadstone's blade flashed as he plunged it into the wolf's neck and severed its spinal cord. The wolf dropped, hit the ground like a felled tree. There was no one left to scream, for all had fled. Minka and Srina huddled together, wounded, weeping. Chadstone stabbed the beast once more to ensure it was dead. Then he hurried to Minka and Srina.

Brink

This was the test, the brink of failure or success. Dakshana thought him handsome, but that battle was too easily won and that victory too easily lost. She had to trust him, love him. Because he wanted not just her soul but her heart.

The dire wolf - shadow-made, born of runes - smashed through the trees; mortals scattered. Dakshana cried out. The thing had two girls swinging from its jaws. Her friends. Even better. Chadstone dropped into a combat stance, feeling the rush of the hunt fill his limbs. He sprang, twisted in midair, and landed on the wolf's back.

Hunting

"What is it?" Dakshana asked. Chadstone led her through the trees. His expression was blank, but he thrummed with the elemental intensity of a hunter.

"Sounds like a dire wolf," he said. His voice slid over her like liquid silk and settled in her bones; they ran, hand in hand.

Hunters and maidens screamed, fleeing. One group of hunters banded together, armed with sticks and stones; one was covered in blood, face blank and wet with tears. Chadstone thrust Dakshana behind the confused hunters and drew a knife. It was long, wickedly curved, and gleamed in the moonlight. It was metal.

Thrill

Chadstone could lean in, try a kiss, but he wouldn't waste the thrill of the game.

A crash rattled through the trees, followed by screams. Fear. Dakshana scooped up a branch, an impromptu spear. Chadstone offered a hand.

"We should run," he said.

"No - I must find my friends!"

"We'll find them. I know a safe place."

Dakshana studied his face; he wondered if she saw what he really was. She took his hand. Her fingers twined with his; her skin was warm. He started for a gap in the trees.

"This way."

She followed.

For a moment, he wished she hadn't.

Smile

Dakshana's heart drummed faster than a hummingbird's wings. Since Ashoken's vanishing, she had learned to watch for herself, knowing how the villagers watched her, feared her.

She didn't know anyone could sneak up on her. But Chadstone's smile robbed her of fear - and breath. His expression was - awed. Eyes wide, pupils dilated, like he was drinking in the sight of her. Then the expression wavered, and Dakshana saw something new in his eyes - want. Dakshana shivered mesmerized, thrilled, but was subconsciously wary.

Then Chadstone lowered his gaze, heavy black lashes veiling lightning blue, and he was - vulnerable. Shy. But he smiled.

Game On

Chadstone sensed Dakshana's indecision; fear lanced through him. He ghosted through the trees, a blur of pale shadows. Dakshana's instinct for flight was strong, but he hadn't waited this long just to lose.

He reached her hiding place and moved behind her, silent, the eternal tableau of hunter and hunted. If he pressed his face against her hair, he'd be able to smell sunlight on her skin. He said,

"Found you."

She jumped, spun around, shift flaring around her ankles.

Chadstone stepped close. He could almost taste the sunlight.

Game on.

Almost Thwarted

Anticipation was maddening, burning residual magic, but Dakshana waited, hoped Srina and Minka found hunters who'd make them happy. Dakshana knew she must find a hunter, but the villagers thought her cursed: parentless, roaming sleeplessly after Ashoken's disappearance. It would be difficult for Chadstone to court her, for her dowry was self-made, small. She wondered if she should hide deeper, claim no hunter found her, flee. She was a talented poet so she could claim she was a wandering storyteller. Another clan would let her choose a hunter freely. She took a deep breath and chose which way to run.

Maiden Waiting

Chadstone's snare was subtly woven. Other traps took very careful machinations, but Chadstone watched Dakshana in the scrying pools and knew this battle would be hard fought and sweetly won.

The shaman noticed him, and fear flashed in her eyes before Chadstone followed the hunter down the hill. His blindfold was on before he reached the trees, but shadows were his realm and he needed no sight to make his way. He passed many hunters and maidens, but he sought only one maiden. She stood in an alcove of trees hidden from other hunters. He hoped she waited for him.

Destined of the Gods

"He is very handsome," said Minka, Dakshana's best friend, blessed with sky-coloured eyes. The hunters thronged for her.

Dakshana couldn't look at Chadstone, pale as moonlight beside the sun-browned hunters.

"Where is his village?" asked Srina. She was Dakshana's other best friend, a famous weaver. She was valuable prey in the hunt of courtship.

Dakshana said, "We must go. The second ceremony begins."

The girls ran down the hill, scattered in the trees. The hunters, blindfolded, would find them. A hunter who found the same girl three times was destined of the gods. Dakshana was sure Chadstone would find her.

A Little Longer

Chadstone couldn’t touch her unless she allowed it; that was the nature of his pursuit, one inviolate rule of every game that every shadow had to overcome. To dance this close, to feel the living warmth of her, was maddening, intoxicating, but he did not lose the rhythm. If he lost his pace that easily, that early, he would never win the game. But he was a shadow, ancient in his own right, and patient. When the dance ended, he returned to his side of the fire. He had waited for twelve years. He could wait just a little longer.

First Dance

When they danced, it was as if the music played by the shamans was just for them. It was as if they were dancing for each other, had rehearsed these steps their entire lives and were coming together for the first time. Dakshana felt a whisper of a thrill down her spine as Chadstone swayed with her, close enough to feel the coolness of his skin but not to touch. She turned, and he followed. He stepped, and she retreated. Dakshana didn’t know if they were even following the other dancers anymore, but that didn’t matter.

They mattered. Chadstone and Dakshana.

Dakshana, Grown

Chadstone smiled at her, the smile that won the hearts of the most beautiful women of every age. The flames leapt, and golden light spilled across her skin, danced in her eyes; realization pierced him like noonday sunlight. He'd spent time in the mortal realm sharpening his skill, but he hadn't dreamt he would find her so easily. Her. The mortal child, the one who loved him, the little girl who gave light and life to his shadowed world. She was a woman now, plain compared to others, but beautiful and strong.

She said," I'm Dakshana."

He said, "Let's dance."

Chadstone, Named

The shamans finished their supplication to the gods, and the dance for midsummer fires was beginning. Dakshana hated shaman magic; the air burned with runes that blistered her palms, and she knew their magic was tainted. She took a deep breath, prayed to the stars for strength, and began to dance. The music dulled the heat of magic; another heat filled the air. She twirled, shimmied, swayed, fell into unison with her sisters. She reached the far side of the fire, and a hunter stepped into her path.

His smile pierced her consciousness like lightning.

He said, "My name is Chadstone."

Midsummer Fires

Dakshana had reached her seventeenth summer and long forgotten to wonder about her lost straw doll. She wore her best shift and jewels in her hair, and she stood with the other maidens beside the midsummer fire. Even though she had no parents, she would choose a hunter, same as other maidens, and in the coming months, during the courting, she would choose a husband. The hunters came from villages afar; the hunters from her village left seven suns before. In the shadows, on the other side of the fire, Dakshana saw a hunter with moonlight hair and dawn-blue eyes.

Ultimate Prize

Chadstone studied the straw doll. He knew its owner; she was not the Ancients' victim, safe from the realm of shadows. Chadstone sketched a rune in a scrying bowl - it filled with water. Another rune, and he could see Dakshana - that's what the mortals called her. The sunlight in her eyes had dimmed. Chadstone thought to take her to a kingdom of his own making to make her smile. But she was still strong, fending for herself.

"Have you chosen an ultimate prize?" asked an Ancient. He was behind Chadstone, icy, amused.

Chadstone smiled at the water; Dakshana's image dissolved.

"Yes."

Aftermath of Ashoken

Dakshana disn't know what happened or why the shamans looked at her and cried. She did not know why she was not asleep in her bed. She knew nothing of Ashoken the elder, who was gone, or the patch of burnt grass behind his hut. All she knew was that she was tired, cranky, and wanted to sleep more, and she couldn't find her doll. Dakshana wanted to know what happened to her doll, but no one would tell her. No one told her anything, and she resigned herself to the excuse that she would understand when she grew up.

The Game Is Afoot

Chadstone came across the end of a rune magic ceremony. Ancient magic lingered in the air, laced with the intoxicating scent of mortality. He sensed the faded hum of a portal and wondered why the Ancients lingered. Surely if a victim was present the game would be afoot, and yet they hovered in the shadows. Then, with an ominous cacophony of laughter, the Ancients dispersed. Chadstone felt them pass in a haze of derision, condescension, and amusement. Perhaps their game was afoot. Chadstone watched them leave, then faced the remnants of the portal. On the ground was a straw doll.