Chapter 493: Magical
Livie's cold, calculating gaze fell on the lizard-man as she gave him a warning. "If you are wishing to disturb my peace, it better be worth my time."
Izzy unconsciously gulped. Since his transformation, he hadn't had any direct contact with his fearsome leader's sister. Now he remembered why. No matter how ferocious he was capable of being, her presence was still overwhelming to him.
Johyn nudged Izzy. The lizard realized he had forgotten to speak. "I, uh, have news from the tunnels."
"Approach." Livie raised one eyebrow. The attention which Izzy had craved only a moment ago he now dreaded as Hadley stepped aside.
At least he would have his dearest friends with him to back him up.
"You both stay here. Only Izzy is allowed to approach." The she-wolf used her arm to bar two of the group.
"But we were there too!" Pippy's voice came out as a high pitched whine.
"We might have some information that Izzy does not," Johyn added, trying to hide his disappointment.
"Tough luck," Hadley would not budge. The two abominations remained on the ground and allowed Izzy to go on without them.
Separated from his crew, Izzy became timid. He tiptoed forward and bowed deeply.
"My lady," he stammered, "I am most honored to be in your presence. If-if you had told me this morning that I would be in front of you right now with the news I have… well…I wouldn't have believed it. Yet, here I am, and-and here you are too!" The lizard chuckled nervously, his hands coming together like he was holding and imaginary hat against his chest.
Livie rolled her eyes. "I see why you nearly killed him Hadley. I may yet let you finish the job."
Gulping, Izzy fell silent. His knees knocked together, as he crouched in before his mistress.
"P-please give me a moment to collect myself." The creature wrung his hands. "I've just never been before such greatness. Yet here I am, and here you are..."
"You said that already," Livie clicked her tongue. She turned to Fechin wearily. "He has nothing interesting to say. Remove them from my sight."
Fechin moved from the noblewoman's side and took Izzy by the arm. "Your time is up."
Taking the lizard to the edge of the platform, the silver wolf shoved the other abomination from edge of the wooden structure into the crowd below.
Those who felt the weight of Izzy's fall immediately saw red. They clawed mercilessly at the lizard who caused the injury before Livie finally stopped them. She then looked to the far edge of her makeshift throne to where Hadley and the other two members of the trio were patiently waiting.
On the platform, Hadley's palms were out from her side, ready to claw at the last two of the trio if her mistress bid her to do so. On the ground, the remaining lizard and black wolf were considering their fate.
"Either of you want to tell me why it was necessary to come out of the tunnels?" Livie wrinkled her nose slightly at the smell of fresh dirt. Because she had finally gotten used to the abominations' stench, the caked dirt was overpowering. Had they stepped in something other than mud?
Seeing how roughly his friend was treated, Pippy was not eager to suffer the same fate. His tongue flicked nervously as he avoided eye contact. Fortunately, the black wolf next to him took the heat of Livie's gaze.
"I will tell you, if it pleases you, my lady." Johyn dipped his head, but did not break contact with his mistress's eyes.
Livie stared at him a moment, surveying him, but he did not flinch. "I hope you do better than the last." She snapped her fingers and Hadley allowed Johyn to step on the platform.
"Don't embarrass me," the tan wolf warned, as if she her reputation somehow hung on his words.
Johyn nodded. Stepping up on the platform, the black wolf felt that a large portion of his power had been cut off from him. Yet the slight wind he felt around his torso let him know that his disguise was still in place. He only had to get into position to...
"That's close enough." Fechin had returned from disposing of Izzy and was back by Livie's side. He prevented the black wolf from getting more than halfway to his goal. "You can speak from there."
Livie pulled her lips to one side. "You are rather short for a wolf."
"So I have been told, my lady," Johyn gritted his teeth.
"Was I there when you transformed? I would be curious to review my notes on what your height was before." The woman's meticulous notetaking was her pride and joy.
"I do not think you were there," Johyn answered humbly.
"I see." Livie made her usually dismissive click and waved her hand at the wolf. "Get on with your message."
Johyn relaxed, leaning his hand on the last standing beam of the battering ram and crossing one foot across the other. His comfort was short lived.
The beam groaned against his pressure, threatening to break like the others before it. He quickly stood back straight and pretended it had not happened.
"The tunnels are vast, but none go directly to the city. However, I think we have found a spot where digging would only take a couple of hours. The dirt is soft and basically falls away to the touch with almost no effort, I was able to clear a large portion of soil."
"It's true!" Pippy chirped, even though he had not seen what the black wolf claimed.
"If only you will come with me, my lady, I can show you the spot and you will better be able to understand what I mean." The black wolf stepped forward, fell to one knee and offered his hand.
Delighted with this new development, Livie stood up to accept his offer. Fechin stopped her before she could proceed. "Allow me to look on your behalf. The earth may yet be unstable. Please let me confirm that there will not be another collapse."
Seeing the sense in what he said, Livie allowed her assistant to take on the task. "I look forward to your report."
Johyn--or more accurately Gandr--saw his moment to get the woman back onto the earth slip away. If Izzy had played his part better, the halfling would not be having to have this conversation at all. He would have been able to grab her as soon as the lizard had convinced her to come and inspect their findings.
But now as Livie sat back in her chair, the moment was gone. And on the wooden platform, Gandr only had access to his wind magic. While useful for many things, it was not the most offensive weapon.
He could not surge forward and take Livie from the platform either. Fechin seemed to have a very good reaction time. Devrim had warned him not to get injured after what happened to Hanna at the hands of the wolves. Getting mauled by the silver wolf would break that vow.
Gandr decided to move to plan B. "I appreciate your time, my lady. If I might have just one extra moment to say something privately."
"I told you to stay back," Fechin growled.
"Are you afraid of what I might say to her about you?" Gandr pushed his luck. Exactly how deep was the trust between these two?
Fechin's black pupils began to widen. "Are you accusing me of something?" He bumped up against the chest of the black wolf, but it was like the newcomer was made of stone.
"Do I need to accuse you of something?" Gandr retorted. A tense moment hung in the air. "Or do you already know what you did?"
Gandr had meant to pique Livie's suspicion, but had not taken into account one thing: Fechin's temper. The silver wolf roared and swung at his adversary. His claws reeled back to slice through the black wolf's chest.
Unable to move away in time, Gandr had to think quickly. The air around the black wolf's hip wavered as a knife appeared and intercepted Fechin's paw. The razor sharp claws sheered off at the tip to Gandr's even sharper blade. The hit fell to the side uselessly.
Thwarted, the silver wolf pinned Gandr against the wooden pillar on the platform. The halfling's hand was pressed so hard into the beam that the splinters dug into his skin.
Gandr cried out. "You see? He does not want me to speak the truth! You will want to hear what I have to say. "
"You have the body of the wolf, but the tongue of a serpent." Fechin's chest heaved as he tried to push back the red and stay in control of his body. "You did not have that dagger a moment ago...which can only mean one thing..."
The silver wolf's nostril's flared. His next words came out more as a growl than actual words, but they could still be clearly understood.
"You are not an abomination. You are magical."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone