Wraithwood Botanist

The next day was relaxing—for my parents.

I spent two hours and boatloads of mana hiding bodies strewn about with illusions. It was good practice, but it was sloppy enough for Tyler to notice. And he called it out, obviously, because he was an idiot who wanted to prove he could see through illusions — and then the whole thing turned into a stir when my parents found out what I was hiding.

I hated my brother.

But you know who I hated more?

Brexton Claustra. He waved to me from the safety of the Grand Ward when I returned.

"How was it?" Brexton asked.

"Kill yourself," I said.

"Not you," he said. I turned and saw Aiden staring at him with a grim smile.

"It was fun," Aiden said.

"Did you ask her?" Brexton asked.

"Not yet…" Aiden's facade cracked. "I saved it so it wouldn't get awkward if I got rejected."

Oh no… I thought. Here it comes…

But things didn't play out like I was expecting. Instead, Aiden turned to me with a shocking amount of confidence and said: "Can I live with you?"

I stumbled back. "What?"

"Not with you, but in your area?" Aiden clarified. "I'd like to learn beast taming and escape the gangster life. You know… witness protection."

I narrowed my eyes on him. "So why does Brexton look so eager?"

"'Cause I have to report to him annually for the next ten years, and this'll give him more information," Aiden said. "That was the deal for letting me accept your soul pact."

I frowned.

"Your soul pact still applies, though," he quickly clarified. "He's just great at extracting information by piecing it together. So… There's an obvious downside. Still… I'd appreciate it."

"Just tell her the truth," Brexton said. "Tell her: My God has required me to ask, and Brexton will allow Halten to make trips to the forest alone if I go."

I turned to Aiden, who glared at me with such intensity that I froze."

"I refuse to accept pity," he said. "If you don't accept me, that's your decision. I genuinely want to live with you, but I will only accept it if you… wouldn't have minded a few minutes ago."

How the hell am I supposed to decline him now? I thought. I already invited him, but it's awkward now…

I invited Aiden to live with me before. It's true that I was desperate for companionship, but I also didn't mind him. I wasn't romantically attracted to Aiden's gloominess in the same way I wasn't attracted to Hadrian's intense narcissism or Brexton's… whatever the hell Brexton was. But I didn't mind being his friend and wanted more people to live with me. Besides, he signed a soul pact with me. And considering that my life was a bombshell of devastating secrets, it could be dangerous for Aiden to even tell Brexton what my favorite color was after this.

I was a woman of my word, and considered Aiden a friend, so the answer was an unconditional yes. I was curious about something, though.

"Hey Brexton," I said.

He smiled. "What?"

"What did I heal Halten with?"

"Diktyo Water," he answered with so much confidence that I would've thought he was telling the truth. "From the river."

"Correct…" I lied, muttering to myself. "And the bear? How'd I kill it?"

"Oh, girl," Brexton said with a wide grin. "If you think you can mine information from me, you're clearly mistaken."

"Already did." I turned to Aiden. "You're in."

A lingering frown slowly developed on Brexton's lips. It seemed that he knew Halten was in the river, but he didn't know about the herbs — one of the secrets I asked Aiden to keep. If Brexton's interrogation was that thorough, he should've known about the herbs — but he didn't. And it showed on his brooding face.

"But if you do," I warned Aiden. "You gotta stay two years and babysit my brother a bit."

Aiden's face melted into a pleading wince — but I was dead serious. He smiled grimly and said: "Okay."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

I offered my hand. He shook it. Then I glanced at the construction equipment and gifts family members brought me. "Now start loading up. If you're staying, you're earning your keep."

He nodded. "Yes ma'am. And about my pets…" He glanced at his pet cages and for the first time, I understood the bizarre reason behind his decision to bring them.

"If you wanna risk 'em in the forest," I said. "We can create a home for them. I doubt you want them roaming around."

His eyes lit up. "Thanks! I'll load up everything." Continue reading on empire

Hadrian watched our exchange with amusement, and I flipped him off. He developed this charming smile and turned away, continuing his conversation with a woman.

I hate that guy… I thought. I hated his attractive appearance and confidence, which was the polar opposite of his horrendous personality.

"Mira." I turned and saw Reasan approaching me.

"I know it wasn't you," I said.

"Yet it may be from my family," he said. "If it is, I will make amends next year. Before then, I will spare no expense to find the perpetrator, no matter who they may be, and exact punishment."

I grimaced at the tone and inflection in which he enunciated punishment.

"I would appreciate it," I said. "And if you could — please announce that Kline and I killed the entire mercenary troop by ourselves. That would be useful."

His eyes widened.

"Verify with Malo," I said.

He nodded and bowed his head. "I accept your request. Until next year, Scion Hill."

I watched him leave as my parents approached.

"Our guards are heading out," Dad said. "We gotta go."

"Already?" I asked.

"Hadrian says you need time to unload the equipment on the plaza," Mom said, hugging me.

I glanced at Hadrian, who smiled at me again. I almost threw a brick at him. Then I looked at the gear on the plaza. There were almost eleven pallets, and we had to move them to a place they couldn't be stolen, as we also had several metric tons of third evolution meat to bring back to camp, too. We would need to make at least three trips. I was just glad that soul meat didn't rot until its aura broke down. Still, I would need to take it first to make sure other creatures didn't eat it during the trip. It was a pain — and I needed to start immediately.

"That is a good point…" I muttered begrudgingly.

"Take care of it," Dad said, hugging me. "We're not going anywhere."

I nodded hesitantly. "I can write you once a month for free now, so expect it, okay?"

"I can't wait," he said.

Mom gave me another hug. "I know it probably doesn't seem like it sometimes, but I'm very proud of you," she said. "I just get… overwhelmed. And I think that's a fair reaction."

I laughed and then shed a few tears with her.

Then Tyler walked up.

We stared at each other for a few seconds.

"I'll do better," he said.

I nodded. "I'll do the same."

We hugged, and that was that. The three blended with the line of exiting harvesters and disappeared. It was bittersweet and emotional until Brexton passed by me like a ghost.

"See ya later, King Killer," he said with a ghostly, seductive voice. Then his body disappeared in a cloud of black smoke, and when I used Wood Wide Web at maximum potency — I couldn't find him — just a sea of other harvesters I couldn't recognize. He blended in so perfectly.

I frowned at my weakness and whispered: "Catch ya next time."

Suddenly, I heard an outbreak of terror, and when I turned, I found Kline walking in his full form as the crowd of harvesters parted for him like the Red Sea.

I smiled. "You get some good rewards?"

Kline developed a creepy smile.

"Good kitty." I patted his head in front of the terrified harvesters. "With any luck, people'll learn their lesson this year. Just like the Cackling Kings did." I glanced at the harvesters, who backed away. I was suddenly glad that I asked Cassain the name of the mercenary troop.

"Let's get going."

Aiden and I loaded up the lurvines, and we ran supplies ten miles in before dropping them and returning, effectively moving them out of the plaza and to an area that wasn't well trafficked to prevent harvesters from stealing them. Then we started our first trip back to the camp—moving as fast as we could.

2.

Brexton wasn't a sadist, but he could slightly empathize with them the first time he saw Everen's face since his return. The businessman had burst into Brexton's office, demanding to know where Aiden was and why Reasan Melhan had exclusive deals with Mira Hill.

"What'd you expect to happen?" Brexton asked amusedly.

"Don't give me that shit," Everen said. "You released his soul pact."

"Part of it," Brexton corrected.

"Doesn't matter. You did this."

"No… you did this," Brexton gently pointed his index finger at him. "I didn't convince Aiden to go. If anything, I gave him every reason to stay. Offers of prestige, women, taming contracts. And you know how many of them he accepted?"

Everen frowned.

"Come on," Brexton said. "Give it a guess."

Everen scoffed. "A few?"

Brexton created a zero by connecting fingers and thumb. "He made trades for training and resources, and negotiated his pacts. That's it. Why? Because he wanted to live in Areswood. Tell me, Everen. How in the fuck didn't you know that?"

Everen's eyes flitted around, subconsciously looking for somewhere to run. He had been crushed and knew the hammer was coming down. In fact, it could turn dangerous.

"Here's another question," Brexton asked. "How many times did Aiden have to tell you not to dick around with Mira's finances before you figured out he had a thing for her? Hmmm?"

Everen looked away. "That's stupid. You know it's stupid."

"And people are stupid," Brexton said. "That's why I have a job." He walked to the bar and pulled out a bottle of brandy. "Do you want some?"

Everen shook his head.

"Your loss." Brexton poured his drink and then leaned against the front of his desk, mere feet away from his guests. "Here's the thing, Everen. You're a lot better at business than I thought you'd be. I'll admit it. You've built… an empire out of nothing in just a year. It's impressive… but… You're an asshole. In fact… I don't think you know shit about people."

Everen's cheek twitched.

"'Cause if you did, you'd know that Mira wants to survive and has a vested interest not to piss off Reasan Melhan. So this was expected. But these favorable deals she's making? That's all you."

"You look like you're enjoying this," Everen said.

"Oh, I am," Brexton said, taking a drink. "'Cause now I get to see if you're actually good at business, or if you're just good at abusing your advantages."

Everen nodded a few times. "Okay… well, enjoy the smaller paychecks."

Brexton laughed with a wide grin. "Oh… you poor thing… You think I'm losing out? Let me ask you something. Do you think I would ever do something that would make me lose?"

Everen tensed up.

Brexton leaned in and spoke softly. "I'll tell you a secret. I'm about to make more money than this entire domain combined. And even if Mira brought you ten pounds of Lumindra, I would still look at you like the untalented parasite you are."

Brexton suddenly arced his arm, slashing Everen's throat with a dagger. Everen tried to scream, but he couldn't. He could only collapse onto his knees, holding his throat as blood drained between the cracks in his fingers.

Brexton dropped to his haunches, eyeing the seizing man mockingly. "And let me make something clear to you, asshole. Your business may be called Heath and Roe — but that's only a technicality. 'Cause Aiden is a Claustra — and if you ever fuck with a Claustra again, this thing you're experiencing right now… this terror… desperation… sensation… it's going to be real. Do you understand?"

Everen's face turned purple as he rolled on the ground, but his eyes said he understood.

Brexton snapped his fingers, and the oxygenless domain he was suffocating Everen with disappeared. The "blood" returned to clear, unmanipulated water, spewing onto the floor. Everen saw it and coughed, holding his neck—unconvinced.

"Now get the fuck out of here and make my boy some money. 'Cause if you don't, I'm going to show you just how many holes there are in our contract." He kicked Everen in the ribs and then returned to his desk, where he was drafting the most important series of letters he had ever written.

Once Everen coughed and wheezed and left, Brexton placed his fingers on his desk and a series of arrays lit up, wrapping the entire room in glowing wards. Then he leaned back and read what he wrote.

"To the 81,382nd Multiversal Coalition,

As you are aware, Scion Mira Hill, who has recently become famous for integrating directly into the Areswood Forest and obtaining the patronage of Elana Saliea, the famous Eternal Goddess, has survived an entire year in Areswood Forest.

I'm pleased to announce that I, Brexton Claustra, Scion of the renowned Romulan Claustra, have unconfirmed yet reliable information on the reason Mira Hill has survived and elite teams have not. I am calling an information auction and am inviting every god within a five-year travel range of Dronami to participate."

A sinister smile crept onto Brexton's lips. "Yeah… that sounds nice." He looked up toward the sky, as if looking for confirmation. "Five years… yeah. That'll be enough. I wonder how powerful she'll be by then." Five years felt like forever, but he knew it would fly by. And when it happened… oh, would it be worth it.