The Rifts of Psyche by Kyle West (popular e readers txt) 📗

“I’m Myra,” the other girl said, shyly. Her eyes were wide and blue, and her hair copper-red.

“Nice to meet you both,” Lucian said.

Morgana only watched with a slight smile. There was something strange about her eyes, but Lucian couldn’t tell what it was. He wished she would stop looking at him like that. If she kept it up, it was going to be an awkward meal.

Thankfully, neither of her parents seemed to notice the behavior.

“Why don’t you serve our guest, girls?” Kieron asked. “He’s had a rough couple of days, I’d imagine.”

The girls didn’t snicker this time, instead doing exactly as Kieron asked.

While the girls were away, Kieron leaned closer. “As you can see, we don’t often have guests in the village. The excitement can last for weeks.”

“I see,” Lucian said. “Are most of you natives of Psyche?”

Kieron nodded. “We’ve a couple of mages from other worlds. Elder Erymmo is an Earther like you. Captain Fergus is from Irion, and Elder Jalisa from Hephaestus Station. All three were sent here by prison barge, albeit years ago. But the rest of us are Psyche born and raised.”

“Even Elder Ytrib?”

“Aye,” Kieron said, with a nod. “Elders Ytrib, Gia, and Sina are descendants of the first colony, settled over a century ago. It’ll be nice to have another mage among us. Of course, the Elders are all mages, and some of the watchmen can stream, too. We have ten mages in all.”

“Really? I thought there would be more.”

Kieron had a laugh at that. “Oh, nothing like that. I’d say mages are about half-in-half from other Worlds or born here. Of course, anyone, mage or not, must give an Accounting before the village can accept them. There have been . . . mistakes . . . in the past.”

“I see.”

Julia smiled. “As long as your words are true, you have no need to worry.”

At that moment, Morgana and Myra returned, setting down clay plates in the middle of the group. There was a haunch of meat from some animal Lucian couldn’t begin to guess, though it looked like mutton. Could it be they had Terran livestock here, perhaps descended from the original colony? Whatever the case, the meat was covered with some sort of red sauce and was served next to a large bowl of mixed vegetables, some recognizable and some not. Another plate contained puff pastries, along with a green dipping sauce. There were kebabs of creatures that looked like shrimp, or whatever the local equivalent was.

He noticed there was no silverware, either, though there were bowls of warm water spread at regular intervals. He assumed it was for washing before and after eating.

At this point, Lucian didn’t care what or how the people of Psyche ate. He had never felt so ravenous in his life.

He let them take the lead and watched as they washed their hands and filled his plate, with hands as he had suspected. When Julia gave it to him, he thanked her, and it took all his self-control to wait for everyone to get their own food. When he finally started eating, every eye was on him, watching for his reaction. When he took a bite of the spicy meat, an explosion of flavor, he had never tasted anything as good in his life.

“That’s incredible.”

Julia’s cheeks colored. “I’m glad you like it. It’s an old family recipe.”

“My wife is the best cook in the village,” Kieron said. “She organized the feast tonight.”

“I never tasted anything half as good in my life, and that’s the truth.”

“You flatter me.”

Morgana shifted in a bid to get his attention. “Is it really true you killed two wyverns?”

Everyone watched him expectantly. Even people in other groups overheard the question and went quiet to listen.

“I did,” Lucian said, though he thought it wise not to add more details.

“How’d you do it?” Morgana asked.

Lucian had to be careful here. Of course, with the Orb, he had access to an incredible amount of magic. He couldn’t reveal the truth of how he’d brought those monsters down. He didn’t want anyone to suspect him in the least. “It all happened fast, so it’s hard to remember. I’m lucky to have survived.”

“No doubt,” Julia said. “We live in fear of those monsters. They are the main reason we can’t ascend the Upper Reaches.”

“That’s it?” Morgana asked, her face disappointed. “No details?”

Lucian saw he wasn’t getting out of this. Even as they were watching him, he noticed Captain Fergus had sidled closer, though he made it look as if he was talking to one of his guards. Lucian had the feeling that every word he said would be judged.

“Well, I crashed high in the mountains and started heading down to the valley. The Deeprift, I guess you would call it. As it started getting dark, I saw this cave with a light. I went inside, thinking there were people. Well, I did find people, but they were two frays.”

Morgana gasped at the revelation. For a world known for its maddened mages, she seemed unduly shocked that he had come across a couple of them. Lucian found that curious. Perhaps the life they lived down here in the rift was sheltered.

“Anyway, one of them was far gone. A Burner, I guess is what you would call him. He streamed some Thermal Magic at me, and I barely held up. I had no choice but to run, despite the fact it was night.” He had gathered quite the audience by now. He didn’t want to be the center of attention, but it was impossible not to be. He tried to ignore Fergus, who was openly glaring. “It was full-on dark by now, so I had to stream myself a light sphere to see. That’s when I heard them coming. Screeches you could hear from klicks away.”

“Curious,” Fergus said, taking a few steps closer. “Wyverns are known for utter silence when hunting their prey. That is what makes them so dangerous. You never truly see them coming.”

All went quiet