Hey readers! Max here! Axtara – Magic and Mischief nears! How close is it? Well, I’ve gotten some of the concept work for the cover back from the artist (Codie McKneely – Nudity warning as it is an artist’s portfolio) and it’s looking pretty awesome! I’ll have some previews of that show soon, along with full chapter previews, but for now teasers will have to suffice as we fly closer to the full reveal.
At which point, you know what’s coming. Hit that jump to take a peek of an early chapter portion from Axtara – Magic and Mischief. We’ll have one more of these, I think, regarding an important letter, and by then we should be into full chapter previews and our look at the cover as the whole thing goes up for pre-order!
So hit that jump, and let’s see a little slice of Magic and Mischief.
To Axtara’s surprise someone was waiting outside her front door when she returned from Elnacier, and she adjusted her flight path, banking around the clearing and giving the figure a wave as well as getting a better look at them. They didn’t look familiar, and though that meant more than it had when she’d first arrived in Elnacier it still didn’t mean a lot given the number of smaller towns and homes that spread across the kingdom. Or even across the capital’s outskirts. They were male, whoever they were, and clad in a simple shift that looked homespun. Upon looking up the figure stiffened slightly, probably surprised by her sudden appearance.
Oops. “Hello!” she called, continuing with her banking turn and fanning her wings slightly to bleed speed as she came around and over the small creek that occupied the east corner of the clearing. “Sorry for making you wait!”
She made a smooth landing, quickly folding her wings to reduce her profile so that she wouldn’t tower over a potential client—something that did have a tendency to make some nervous—as she checked to make sure that neither her satchel nor bundle had been shaken loose during her descent. Her potential client, meanwhile, watched in silence, his expression unreadable as she began to move toward him and the door.
“Greetings,” she called, pausing for a moment to balance on her hind legs and bring her free set of claws to her chest. “I’m Axtara, the proprietor of this establishment. I apologize for the wait; I needed to attend to some business before first bells. May I ask who you are?”
The man blinked in surprise as she spoke, clearly taken aback at her greeting. It took him a moment or two to find his voice, and when he did his accent was even thicker than the muddy-sounding dialect of Easy Bay. “Harth, uh, miss,” he said. “Harth Smallut.” His fingers tightened around the strap of his satchel as he spoke, and Axtara could see from the way it was hanging on his body that it was quite heavy. “The innkeeper said you opened at first bells, and I thought that meant near first light.”
“Well, you weren’t far off,” Axtara said, giving him a reassuring nod. “Did you travel through the night to meet with me?”
The man’s brow furrowed, what notches there were deepening. “No, miss,” he said after a moment. “I spoke with the innkeep last night. Then I slept on the road just out of the city. I don’t have a lot, you see.” He shuffled slightly, gaze dropping from hers as he said it.
She recognized the behavior immediately and knew exactly how to respond. “That’s perfectly fine,” she said, once again leaning back and fanning her slender wings slightly for emphasis. “Whether a dim or a diamond, all are welcome at—” She stumbled for a moment, the name of her uncle’s bank almost escaping her mouth before she caught it. “—the Bank of Axtara,” she recovered, hoping he hadn’t noticed her slight hiccup. “Though, if you wouldn’t mind standing aside, I’ll unlock the front door and invite you in so that we can discuss business indoors, rather than doing so out here.”
Harth looked alarmed, as if he’d just found he’d unknowingly offended her, and jumped to the side. The jerky movement stirred the calm air, bringing a rush of scents from his direction. Fear was one of the foremost, unsurprisingly. But she also smelled sea salt alongside the sour odor of his unwashed body, as well as earthen hints—though the latter likely came from his sleeping along the path to her home the night before.
I wonder if I should speak with the innkeeper about that? Offer some sort of aid if someone comes from outside Elnacier seeking my services? Something she would have to think about later. When there wasn’t a client directly in front of her.
She needed to say something about his reaction, however. She settled for a soft smile as she stepped forward. “Thank you,” she said as she set the bundle of papers down, her free claws going to her satchel once more to withdraw her heavy steel key. It had tarnished a little with use over the winter, but it was still shiny enough to catch the early morning sunlight as she pushed it into the lock. “I hope you’ve not been waiting in haste on my behalf. As beautiful as this morning was, I’ve not been in any rush. Unless …” The lock gave a meaty clunk as the mechanism turned, and she turned her head partway back. “Is your matter time sensitive?” Maybe it was, and that was why he looked somewhat alarmed.
“Ah, no, your ladyship.” The answer was slightly stammered, but the intent was clear. Uneasiness at dealing with a non-human then. “Not at all.”
I need to help him feel at ease. “Very well then.” She opened the front door, swinging it outward and once again feeling a smug sense of pride as the front room came into view. “Welcome to my bank.”
It was also her home, though much of that space was hidden beyond the sliding door past her desk. The entryway opened up into her front room, a wide, welcoming oval-shaped space with a wonderful view though its expansive front windows. The click of her claws against a fixture brought the magilights to life, and she heard a gasp from behind her as the room lit up, driving out morning shadows to reveal warm, carefully polished wood. “They’re merely lights,” she said, setting her parcel down and taking a moment to wipe her claws clean on the entryway rug. “That’s all.”
“But …” Harth’s protest faded as she stepped further inside. The majority of the front room stretched off to her left, an open living space oft-used for games of Stakes or entertaining guests. The walls were paneled in richly-colored wood chosen to exude warm, welcoming shades, while padded benches and chairs had been arranged tastefully around the edges. A tall clock between the door and the windows filled the room with faint ticks, adding a relaxing ambience.
Straight ahead of her a small pair of steps led upward, deeper into what had once been a narrow neck of cave. The builders had widened it out, the space becoming her office. Two guest chairs sat in front of a dragon-sized desk that had been partially built into one wall. Books filled shelving above it, and a skylight in the roof offered natural light, even if the sun wasn’t quite in the right position for it yet.
“Please,” Axtara said as she set her bundle by the door. She tucked her tail tightly against her rear legs as she turned, preventing it from coming too close to her guest. “Come in.”
Harth was still standing awestruck outside the door, his eyes roaming the room as if it represented more wealth then he’d ever seen. Which to be fair was quite likely accurate. And probably why he didn’t appear to have heard her invitation to enter, his grip tightening around his satchel, throat clenching in a nervous swallow.
He needs a distraction. One that would put him at ease, or at the very least catch him by surprise. The best she could do was—
“Tea?” she asked.
It worked. Sort of. Harth’s eyes refocused on her. “What?”
“Tea,” she stated, shifting to one side and motioning with her claws toward the seats by her desk. “If you’d like to take a seat, I will prepare some tea for you.”
“Oh!” His eyes went wide. “You don’t need to—”
“No, of course I do!” she said, giving him another smile. “It’s all part of the service. As long as you’d like some tea, that is. I can provide water if you’d prefer.”
“I … uh …” He blinked, his thoughts significantly enough thrown off course. “Water?”
“Water it is,” she replied, motioning again for him to come inside and have a seat. “But if you’d be so kind as to wipe your boots first?”
“My … boots?” Harth looked down at the dried mud covering his footwear and paled, darting back outside onto the stone. “By the Creator, I’m so sorry your ladyship. I—!”
“Harth!” His rambled apology halted, and she pointed at a small box by the door, where a wire-brush rested alongside a few rags. “It’s fine. Just clean them off as best you can. A little mud is nothing to worry about.”
“If … you’re sure.”
“Absolutely,” she said as he reached for the brush. “Now please, relax, clean your boots off, and take a seat. I’ll be right back.”
By the time she returned from her kitchen, the tray that usually held her fine tea set occupied by two ordinary clay cups—one sized for her claws—and a pitcher, Harth had settled into one of the chairs across the desk. The front door was still open however, so she set the tray down atop the desk before moving past him to shut it. “So,” she said as she returned to her spot behind the desk, taking care to keep her tail and wings both close to her body to avoid spooking the man. “How may I be of service today, Harth?”
I know, I know. All that build-up, and we’ve stopped there? Well, I don’t want to give any of the book’s secrets away. We’re getting close to the time when all of them will be in your grasp, however.
Until then, if you haven’t read Axtara’s first adventure, Axtara – Banking and Finance, you can find it here and discover why thousands have fallen in love with our banker friend. You can also check out a free Axtara side story right here on the site, A Trial For a Dragon, starring Axtara’s older brother Ryax. Will that name be important to Magic and Mischief? Guess you’ll have to find out.
And if you’ve read both of those and are keen to get your hands on some new reading material while waiting for Magic and Mischief, might I suggest some of the other options from my library, such as the ever-excellent Shadow of an Empire?
See you Monday for another installment of Being a Better Writer!
Unusual Things 