Welcome to Stories from Among the Stars.

You're listening to Legends and Lautees by Travis Baldry.

19.

A skeleton stone, asked Tandry, returning Viv's keys.

They sat across from one another at the big table the following morning, long before

Thimble was due.

Tandry had unlocked the door and slipped inside in the wee hours, not that Viv had been asleep.

As promised, she was recounting the meeting, and she omitted nothing.

Ever heard of them?

I haven't.

I mean, I suppose I know what a scalvert is, mostly from children's stories.

Their large and ugly and mean, lots of eyes, more teeth than you'd like, hard to kill,

and the queen of a hive grows a stone, here, Viv tapped her forehead.

And it's worth something.

Not to most people, but I came across some legends, heard it in a song first if you can believe

it.

Viv fished the scrap of parchment from her pocket, and slid it across to Tandry, who unfolded

it, and read.

Her eyebrows rose.

The ley lines.

No wonder you twitched every time Hemington mentioned them.

You noticed that, huh?

...