Chapter 188: Waiting

Nick had lasted longer on babysitting duty than Niri expected. Though, not nearly long enough for Jaxir to come back.

He had eventually walked out the front door after convincing himself of two things. First, Niri had survived for months on her own before meeting any of them. Second, no matter how convincingly its people behaved, Divinity was still a game.

Sitting around Jaxir’s house all day while everyone else kept progressing wasn’t something Nick could justify. So he had left.

Though, once he was gone, Niri didn’t really care.

She had taken over the couch and turned the TV up loud enough to fill most of the first floor. For the better part of an hour, she bounced from cushion to cushion, singing along with whatever came on.

The show playing right now was one of her favorites. Niri knew enough of the songs that she could keep singing even while jumping hard enough to make the cushions slide apart under her feet.

Then the doorbell rang.

Niri landed in the middle of the couch and stopped singing.

Her eyes sharpened as she stared toward the front door. However, she didn’t move toward it.

Jaxir had already warned them about people coming after the house. On top of that, Niri had overheard enough of his talk with Nick to know the scary spear woman hadn’t just gone away because Jaxir had left town.

She hopped down from the couch and ran the other way.

The basement stairs took her down to the security room, where several screens showed different angles around the house and the road beyond it.

Niri climbed onto the chair, planted both hands on the desk, and leaned toward the monitor that showed the front entrance.

Her cheeks puffed out when she saw who was waiting outside.

Elara.

Niri stared at her for a few seconds, then slid down from the chair and headed back upstairs, still pouting.

By the time she reached the front hall, though, the pout was gone. In its place were wide eyes and the sweetest little smile she could manage.

She pulled the door open.

"Elara!"

"Niri!"

Elara’s face lit up right away. She lifted the basket hanging from one arm, a few stuffed animals tucked under the other.

"I brought you some things."

Niri looked from the basket to the stuffed animals and let her eyes go a little wider. Even so, she stayed standing in the doorway instead of inviting Elara in.

There were sweets tucked between wrapped packages, along with a white stuffed rabbit, a round blue creature Niri didn’t recognize, and what looked like a bear wearing a hat.

Elara crouched down a bit to get closer to Niri’s height.

"Do you want to go on an adventure with me?"

Niri blinked and turned her head toward the TV, where the opening music for another episode had already started.

"My favorite show is on, though."

She clasped her hands behind her back and rocked once onto her heels, making sure her disappointment looked exactly as small and innocent as it should.

Elara smiled like she’d expected that answer.

"I know what your favorite show is." She leaned closer and lowered her voice, as if she was sharing a secret. "That’s why I got us tickets to see them perform live."

Niri’s eyes lit up before she remembered she was supposed to be thinking about it.

"Really?"

Elara pulled two glittering slips out of the basket and held them up between two fingers. Both were printed with the brightly colored faces of the performers Niri had been watching on TV.

Whatever suspicion had sent Niri down to check the cameras took a serious hit right then.

She looked at the tickets, then at Elara, and broke into a grin.

"Okay!"

Getting ready didn’t take long, especially since Niri had already decided which outfit went best with the little ribbon she wanted to wear.

Elara waited by the door while Niri ran upstairs. She changed, fixed her hair well enough that she wouldn’t complain about it later, then came racing back down with the stuffed rabbit tucked under one arm.

A few minutes later, they were walking toward the center of Marr Town.

The closer they got, the busier the streets became.

Players and natives moved between shops under glowing signs, while food stalls crowded the wider roads leading to the central square.

Niri stayed close to Elara without holding her hand. Every so often, she drifted toward something interesting, then remembered where they were going and hurried back.

With all the noise up ahead, it was easy to believe there really was some kind of concert waiting for them.

Then the crowd changed.

Niri noticed it before she saw why. People who had been walking shoulder to shoulder suddenly started moving toward the edges of the street.

A gap opened up in the crowd in front of them. It kept widening until several meters of empty stone separated Elara and Niri from everyone else.

Niri slowed down and Elara stopped completely.

Maelis stood ahead of them.

The spearwoman looked far better than she had after Jaxir was done with her. The damage from their battle had been repaired, and her armor had been restored until there wasn’t a single crack left.

She wasn’t hiding who she was. She didn’t seem to care, either, that half the street had recognized her and decided they wanted no part of whatever was about to happen.

Her eyes settled on Niri.

Elara’s face went pale.

For a moment, the panic was plain enough that Niri caught it even from beside her. However, Elara forced it down and took a small step forward.

They were standing in the middle of Marr Town with people on every side. The town guards were strong enough that even someone like Maelis couldn’t just start killing people without consequences.

Elara seemed to cling to that thought as she straightened her back.

"Maelis."

Maelis didn’t look at her.

Her eyes stayed locked on Niri. There was something about that stare that made Niri move before she even thought about it.

She slipped behind Elara’s leg and grabbed a fistful of the fabric there, peeking around just enough to keep watching.

Maelis smiled.

"I’ve been waiting for this."

Elara shifted so more of her body was between them. "Whatever problem you have with Jaxir has nothing to do with her."

Maelis acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing.

"I bet you’re probably very important to that piece of shit’s progression."

Her gaze moved over Niri, openly sizing her up, and her sneer deepened when Niri tucked herself farther behind Elara.

"There are only two reasons someone keeps an NPC little girl around."

Several people nearby went quiet.

"Either he’s a perverted little shit, or he’s banking on a quest." Maelis rested one hand on the shaft of her spear and smiled down at Niri. "I’m betting on the fact it’s the latter."

Elara’s shoulders tightened.

Maelis finally took a step forward, her mana surging and applying pressure that suffocated the surroundings.

"So if he’s too busy hiding to face me like a man, why don’t I just take you?"