Chapter 3Ryu forced himself back into control. The fear emanating from Egil didn’t help, though he didn’t think it was because of the device. He’d held it, talked to it, and he hadn’t shown any fear then.
A bell chimed, and Egil tore free of his grip and ducked as he hurried off as if he expected Ryu to grab him again. Part of him wanted to, wanted to keep him close in case the thing sounded anew.
“Egil.” A plain-looking woman without any treasures hurried into the store. “I heard…” She stopped dead as she spotted Ryu, her gaze jumping between him and Egil, then she moved to the end of the counter as far away from Ryu as she could get.
“It’s fine, Liz. Draken came home this morning.” Egil gestured at Ryu and lowered his voice. “So I have to cancel lunch.”
Liz’s eyes turned glassy, and
