Excerpt: If a Tree Falls

Consciousness came to me in the form of a loud, incessant banging. I groaned, burrowing under my blanket and covering my ears in an attempt to drown out the hated sound. Eventually all went silent, and I relaxed slowly back into a doze and the warm comfort of sleep.

Consciousness came to me a second time in the form of a sudden rush of cold are and a blinding light. I reached vainly for the blanket, only to feel it jerked away from my grasping fingers.

"Get up, you lazy good-for-nothing, we have work to do!"

Kia had apparently decided that banging on the door was not going to do the job today and had invaded my home. She was now standing next to my bed, glaring down at me with those ice-cold blue eyes of hers, impatience written on every feature.

I muttered something unintelligable and rolled over again, stuffing my head under the pillow.

My pillow promptly abandoned me. The traitor. "Darros!" There was definitely an angry edge to her voice this time.

"Fine, fine, I'm awake. Just don't hit me this time." Yawning and rubbing my eyes, I slowly forced myself to sit up before looking back at her. "Work? Do we have another job, then?"

"Yes, we have a job. And we are supposed to meet our employer in precisely thirty-two minutes."

I swung myself off the bed and started poking the pile of clean-enough-to-wear clothing in the corner. "Plenty of time. What kind of a job is it?"

"A paying one, that's what."

I looked at Kia suspiciously and would have pressed for more information, but she had a point. The last couple of jobs I'd found us had landed us a grand total of two apples and a broken arrow. (The arrow had been embedded in my favourite hat. I missed it. The hat.) "That's great. What should I wear?"

"Something decent. I don't really care, just get dressed and be outside in under five minutes."

"I live to serve."

She all but slammed the door behind her as she left, and I quickly dug a passable shirt and a pair of leather trousers out and slipped them on. A quick glance at the mirror to ensure I didn't look like the penniless bum that I would be if we didn't land the job and I was hurrying down the hall to meet Kia.