The Frozen Moon - By J.D. Swinn Page 0,9

with a laugh, throwing the bow in the bag to join the assortment.

They stood in the center of Max’s room, weighted down with gear. Mira, she saw, had only her blue leather bag on her back and her sword on her hip. The boys were equipped similarly, but Wyd also had an extra bag. Nameh was not as lightly clad; like Mira, she had her sword and one bag of clothes. Unfortunately, she also had a second bag of small weapons and the chest of larger ones. She didn’t have a better way to bring them along, and refused to leave them behind.

“What’s in the trunk?” asked Wyd with a tilt of his head.

“Shoes,” she answered sarcastically.

“I’ve never understood why girls need so many shoes,” Wyd continued, missing the sarcasm entirely.

“Don’t be an idiot,” she said with a sigh. She dropped the chest to the floor with a thud and kicked the lid open. The action had gone just as smoothly as she’d hoped, adding to the effect. The chest was one of the few things she kept neat; there were swords strapped to the inside of the lid of different lengths and weights. She clicked a button on the side of it and the front panel fell open, allowing a shelf within to extend. There were six swords and ten daggers, as well as vials of poisons to dip the blades in. In small compartments on the fold out shelf, there were buckles and charms and jewelry of all styles and materials. Max made a move to pick up one of the necklaces, but Nameh stopped him.

“Don’t touch that one,” she said warningly.

“Why, will it kill me?” he asked.

“No, but you’ll probably regret it.”

“Really?” he asked, unconvinced. He slowly reached his hand out with a smile, testing his boundaries.

“Go for it, just don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she said, egging him on. He scooped up the wooden carved pendant and quickly dropped it as if he had felt a shock, which she knew he had. Nothing changed visibly, and everyone stared, trying to determine what had happened. Nameh laughed at their futile attempt; she would have to show them.

“What did it do?” asked Mira.

“Why don’t you ask him?” she said with a mysterious air. Max’s expression told her that he was as clueless as the rest of the group; he opened his mouth to protest, but stopped short. His hand flew to his throat, eyes wide. He lowered his hand and gave a faint smile while shaking his head.

“It’s a voice trap carving,” she said amusedly. “Talar or Wyd put it on.” They both hesitated, not sure what to expect. Talar stepped forward in the end, having more gall than his friend. He pulled the twine string over his head, letting the pendant fall on his chest. Again, nothing visible happened, but when he spoke, the magic revealed itself.

“What hap-” he began, but trailed off from surprise. All the others stared with wide eyes; he had spoken in Max’s voice. Finally, they broke into laughter that lasted several moments, excluding Max of course.

“That’s very ‘Little Mermaid’,” Mira commented smartly. Nameh gave a small, appreciative laugh, but the excellent correlation was lost on the others.

“Are we done screwing around now, can we go?” Wyd asked impatiently.

“Cool down, we’re ready,” Nameh answered in an even tone.

“Is that a racial comment?” he shot back.

“How could that possibly be a racial comment?”

“Don’t worry about him,” Talar interceded, now in his own voice after removing the necklace, “he gets testy when we ask him to do big spells.” Nameh took the necklace from him and touched it to Max’s arm before replacing it in the chest and closing the lid. Wyd motioned for them to come closer around him while Max sighed with relief at having his voice back. Nameh had gotten a good deal of enjoyment from his ordeal, but began to grow a bit nervous for the moving spell. She had never been transported by someone else before, especially in a group as large as this, and she had trouble trusting strangers.

She pulled her bags in closer to her and put her foot up on the trunk. Wyd began to mutter the words; hearing the Warlock’s language spoken was a comfort to her tired ears; she hadn’t slept for a moment. A light mist with a bluish tint began to encircle the group, creating a sort of woven shield over them. A feeling of weightlessness engulfed her suddenly, and her connection