Excerpt: Sly Truths

"So what is she again?" a soft voice asks from inside the house, which hung supported by a large tree bough. The sunlight filtered softly down through the canopy, dappling the porch, another branch, with subtle patterns of light.

"She's a naga. I assume that'll be okay with you?" the woman who said this was sitting on the branch, one feathery leg crossed over the other. "I don't think any of you have any stones to throw, so just know I won't tolerate anything."

"I know I don't care," the voice from inside was rather high and feminine. "I just would like someone other than Weda around. She keeps staring at me."

"Veronika! That isn't very nice," the woman sitting on the branch looked in the doorway disapprovingly, her golden eyes narrowed. "And you know that Weda has some problems with that."

Veronika laughed from inside. "Yes, Patrin, I know. I was joking a little. So where are the others?"

Patrin stood up, her taloned feet making deep gouges in the branch. "Phia and Parro took Willem shopping. I'm not sure where Weda went off to, but she said she would definitely come back by nightfall. I don't want to have to send her brother out after her again, that's always embarrassing." Dusting herself off, and patting her wild red hair, she walked over to the doorway, peeking in at the young woman inside.

They were a sharp contrast to each other. Patrin was very short, brown and her red hair resembled a curly haystack, let alone the feathered legs and feathers down her spine. The girl standing inside the doorway was quite different, almost a foot taller and very pale and white, an albino.

"Well, if you're all right, Veronika, I'm going to go wait by the station," Patrin says.

Veronika shrugs. "That's fine by me, I'll wait here in case you miss them."

Patrin smiles, picking up what looks like a feathered shawl from inside the door. "See you!" she says as she wraps the shawl around her shoulders, which slowly wraps tighter and tighter, smaller and smaller, until a dainty reddish hawk stands looking up at Veronika. With a flip of its tail, the hawk leaps from the branch, flapping to slow its fall.

Veronika, with a slight smile, settles back on the bench inside the door, kicks on leg over the other, and closes her eyes.