Chapter Eighteen: Solstice | Part 6
In the absence of physical presents, Grimmary gifted the twins the first opportunity in months they’d had to sleep in. Nevertheless, Thirtyx waited until he’d wished Benn a happy birthday and watched his animus depart for a birthday chat with Grimmary before he headed to the rec hall with his massive, ancient book.
As expected, the rec hall was deserted, and only one stall—sporting books and trinkets and gently used clothing—appeared open. The man behind it was a wrinkled, reddish Devil, his long gray hair braided around worn horns.
He watched Thirtyx with interest, and his eyes widened with ill-concealed surprise.
Thirtyx approached. “Excuse me… Mister— Mr. Wiggins?”
His brow furrowed, then his mouth stretched into a lopsided grin. “Prianne sent you, didn’t she?”
“Yeah, uh… how could you tell?”
“Mr. Wiggins isn’t a name most know me by. We may be legally married, but socially…” He inclined his head surreptitiously toward Thirtyx. “Let’s just say Wydewood likes to look a lot more progressive than it is, something I’m sure you’ve learned, Mr. Venmagalion.”
“You know who I am?” Thirtyx stammered.
The old Devil chuckled. “Disregarding that everyone here knows who you are, Prianne speaks quite highly of you… although she might smack me if she knew I told you that. Anyway, I expect that’s why she trusted you with our little secret.”
“She sent me here with this.” Thirtyx removed the book from his bag and set it on the counter for Mr. Wiggins to inspect.
The Devil’s eyes narrowed at the tome before widening with a touch of pleasant surprise. “Huh. She did, did she?”
“Yeah. I’ve never had anything valuable enough to trade before, so I’m not really sure how this works. I’m looking for gifts for Rhea and Benn.”
“Ah yes, the royal birthday. It’ll be a kingdom holiday someday.”
“Ironic, considering all they have to celebrate with today is some nobody Verith.”
The shopkeeper’s eyes gleamed. “From what I hear, that ‘nobody Verith’ is a pretty good friend, so let’s get him a birthday gift he can be proud of.”
He withdrew a case from below the counter. Its exterior was leather, decorated with some sort of gold mesh and matching gold clasps. The finery made Thirtyx uncomfortable. Did Mr. Wiggins think Thirtyx could supplement the book’s value with money of his own? Warmth surged to his cheeks. How could he have been dumb enough to think even the lowly trader’s stand might have something he could afford?
But when Mr. Wiggins opened the case, Thirtyx backed away entirely.
“No, sir, I— I’m sorry, but I wasn’t looking for anything nearly that nice.” He averted his eyes from the golden chains and gemstone studs and intricate brooches, as if he wasn’t worthy to even look at them.
“Well, you might as well get something that nice. I’m a trader, not a buyer. I can’t give you coin for the value you don’t use.”
Thirtyx wrenched his gaze back to Mr. Wiggins. “Is the book actually worth anything in there?”
Mr. Wiggins barked a dry laugh. “Three or four things, depending on what you’re after. My wife has exceptional taste—one of the many reasons she was worth the drama of marrying a Dragonfolk. Now, dig through this case and see if there’s anything you think they’d like.”
Thirtyx ran his fingers over several objects. The twins had all the jewelry they could hope for from the palace. He spotted a few amulets, but with no magical background, Thirtyx had no concept of their purpose or quality.
Faced with the rare opportunity to get his best friends something of physical value, Thirtyx found he was far better suited to gifts of sentimental value.
He stepped away from the case, prepared to tell Mr. Wiggins that he appreciated the offer, but he had no idea what he was doing. His eyes fell on the main display cabinet. It appeared to house the most expensive items, including more potent amulets and a set of polished gemstones.
Jewels.
Like the ones the twins wouldn’t get for their crowns today, because they were stuck here.
Thirtyx was almost afraid to ask. “How does the book compare in value to those jewels down there?”
Mr. Wiggins stroked his chin. “Depends on the size. You could get one of the bigger ones. Maybe two of the smaller ones.”
Small. Would the twins feel shorted? Or was a small jewel better than no jewels at all? “I… I’m not sure. Let me see,” Thirtyx said.
Mr. Wiggins withdrew the tray of gems. There was a modest-sized garnet. Rhea loved garnets because the red made her feel powerful, and because Grimmary’s crown bore a garnet at its center, one that had mesmerized her in her earliest memories. At the tray’s opposite corner was a sapphire—one of Benn’s favorite gems, given the seeming infinitude of shades one could find in its facets. Plus, he knew how well sapphires accented his eyes.
Thirtyx plucked them from the tray. “Do I have enough for these?”
Mr. Wiggins flashed a crooked grin. “I’ll even throw in a couple of nice gift bags.”
Calley Jones 