I gulped. “The Codex Alert did say that Codexers were not to engage her directly. Maybe they just want to have extra eyes on alert to find her. Though wouldn’t they be able to track her with her portable?”

  Miriam shook her head. “Maybe if she were still a legally licensed and recognized Codexer, sure. But her Whisperglyph Discipline, which the alert mentioned, allows her to evade detection in the Node Network while still being able to use it. That’s what makes her so dangerous.”

  I scratched the back of my head. “How does that work, exactly? If she can use the Node Network, then doesn’t that mean she risks being caught by the authorities?”

  Miriam blew out a breath in frustration. “I have no idea. My master might know, but he’s a bit occupied in Moab at the moment. I should probably message him later and let him know about Salome and your encounter with her, though. I’m sure that he would like to know.”

  I nodded. I didn’t know Miriam’s master, Master Jethro, very well, but I recalled that he was a powerful Codexer himself. I hadn’t gotten a chance to speak to him, however, since the day he arrived in Shinar four years ago and agreed to sponsor Miriam’s Codex trial in exchange for her becoming his apprentice. “What’s your master doing in Moab?”

  Miriam waved off my question as if it were irrelevant. “It’s not that important right now. But I am glad that you told me about Salome and the bandits.” She sighed and glanced out the open doors of the barn at our family farm. “But it’s also kind of crazy to think about. When I was living here, nothing ever happened in North Forest or even really Shinar as a whole, not compared to the other eight kingdoms. But then you fixed Dad’s portable, and then those bandits started attacking out of nowhere, and now Salome? Pretty soon, everyone’s going to know about North Forest—hopefully not in a bad way. ”

  Miriam wasn’t wrong. North Forest wasn’t exactly known for being a famous place that people wanted to travel to or visit. I was feeling pretty overwhelmed myself by everything that had happened over the last day or so, including my Codexed Quest to end the Codex Wars, which I still didn’t understand one bit.

  Nimbus hopped down from the hay bale and landed between me and Miriam gracefully. Sitting upright on his hind legs, Nimbus gestured at the opened doors with his front paws and said, “Yes, yes, there are a lot of things going on, but I think you humans have forgotten the most important thing we need to do right now.”

  I looked down at Nimbus, raising a confused eyebrow. “What would that be?”

  Nimbus locked eyes with me. “Bananas. We need to get more bananas. Now.”

  Nimbus tried to hop past Miriam as if he knew where to get a banana, but Miriam reached down and grabbed the scruff of his neck before he could leave. He let out an annoyed grunt as Miriam lifted him to eye level and looked at him suspiciously. “And what’s up with you? I know that Codex Beasts can be found pretty much anywhere, but I’m pretty sure there’s more to you than meets the eye.”

  Nimbus wriggled in her hand but was evidently not able to free himself. I noticed that he didn’t meet Miriam’s eyes. “It’s none of your business, as you humans would say, what my past is. Now let me go so I can get more bananas from the human merchants who sell them!”

  Miriam cocked her head to the side and leaned in closer toward Nimbus’s fur. “Is that what I think—”

  Without warning, Nimbus flashed gold and disappeared from her grasp. A moment later, Nimbus reappeared on the rafters of the barn overhead, giving Miriam a very offended look. “Excuse me, sister of Aaron, but that is not any way to treat a rabbit.”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  I looked at Miriam curiously. “What did you see on Nimbus, Miriam?”

  “Nothing,” said Nimbus quickly from the rafters. He nervously licked his fur. “She didn’t see anything except whatever her delusional mind showed her. Don’t believe a word she says. She’s a liar who has never given me a banana.”

  Miriam pursed her lips and shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I thought I saw something, but it’s not important right now. We should probably go back to the house and help with chores. I don’t get to see everyone often, so I would like to spend some time with them before I have to head back to Moab tomorrow to meet back up with my master.”

  I flinched when Miriam said that. “You are going back to Moab tomorrow? But you just got here.”

  Miriam shrugged. “It took a lot of effort to convince Master Jethro to let me come to your trial. I’m pretty sure the only reason he finally relented was because I pointed out that it was Codex Day and he takes Codex Day seriously. So unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to stick around much longer, even though I would like to.”

  My shoulders slumped forward, and I lowered my head. “But if you leave, I won’t have help other than Isaac.”

  That was my main concern about Miriam leaving. I was still a new Codexer, after all, and I needed all of the guidance that I could get. Isaac could provide some guidance, but he was far from the best mentor. I had hoped that Miriam would be able to teach me some pointers now that I was an officially licensed Codexer like her.

  A soft hand fell on my shoulder, and I looked up to see Miriam standing in front of me with a comforting smile. “I know how you feel, Aaron, and if I could change it, I absolutely would. I would love to be able to teach you things, but I just don’t know if now is the time.”

  I racked my brain for objections until something finally clicked. “I know that your master expects you back on the road tomorrow, but what about tonight? Maybe we could go to the Codexium and practice spellcasting. Just for a couple of hours after dinner tonight or something. That way, you can help me figure some things out and still have time to leave tomorrow morning.”

  Miriam’s smile softened slightly. “I would love to do that, but I don’t think Isaac really wants me around. Sorry.”

  I sighed but didn’t push the point anymore. It was pretty clear that nothing I said would change Miriam’s mind or change what her master expected of her. It made me annoyed at her master for putting such unreasonable demands on her, but Jethro wasn’t standing in front of me right now. Miriam was, and I didn’t think it would be fair to complain about her master in front of her.

  But then Miriam stuck her hand into her robes and pulled out a pair of gloves, which she handed to me. “Here. Happy birthday.”

  I took the gloves and examined them closely. They looked like ordinary leather gloves, though they were clearly inscribed with some kind of runes. I then scanned it with my portable and got this information:

  Runespun Gloves

  Chapter Requirement: Chapter 1+

  Effect: +10% success rate when inscribing on moving targets; improves Glyph Binding stability.

  Description: Crafted in Gomorrah from stabilized spellthread. Patterns shift when you flex your fingers.

  Codex Note: “The difference between success and backlash is in the wrist.”

  I looked at Miriam in surprise. “Wow. This is a nice gift. Where did you get it from?”

  “A Codex merchant in Moab was selling these,” said Miriam, gesturing at the gloves. “They are pretty standard equipment for most Chapter One Codexers in the other Kingdoms. Being able to inscribe moving targets is useful for lots of Disciplines, but I feel like it will be especially useful for your Discipline.”

  I was tempted to put them on immediately, but I decided I would wait until later when I had a chance to test them out. I still bowed respectfully toward Miriam. “Thank you. I’ll be sure to put them to good use.”

  “Of course,” said Miriam. “What are big sisters for?” She then glanced at the barn doors. “Anyway, I’m sure our family is waiting for us. Let’s go.”

  I nodded before looking at Nimbus. A thought occurred to me, and I said to Miriam, “Hold on. I’ll join you all soon. I just need to ask Nimbus something.”

  Miriam frowned but shrugged and said, “All right. I’ll just tell Mom and Dad that you are cleaning up after our spellcasting practice. See you later.”

  With that, Miriam left the barn, leaving Nimbus and me all by ourselves in the large structure.

  Nimbus looked up at me again. He was sitting on all four paws now, a curious look on his rabbit features. “So what did you want to ask me about?”

  I took a deep breath. “I wanted to ask if you wanted to sync with me. Permanently.”

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