Double Life - Book 1 of the Vaiya Series by Vaiya Books

them.
    “Of course not,” he argued, his tone growing
even harsher. “You are human through and through.”
    Ian just stared at him, entirely perplexed by
now. He asked the only logical question he could think of. “Ok,
since I’m not a dwarf, then why do you think I’d work for
them?”
    Azadar wasted no time in responding. “Because
dwarves often hire humans to do their espionage for them, as they
themselves are naturally clumsy and make poor spies.” Clutching his
basket tighter, clearly growing frustrated, Azadar shot an
accusation at Ian. “Based upon your ragged apparel and peculiar
disposition, you’d be just the person they’d hire.”
    Ian nearly exploded. “What’s that supposed
to--?”
    The elf cut him short. “Do not attempt to
fool me, boy. I know your kind too well, and I’m not going to
explain anything else to you that you pretend not to know.”
    Ian just gave him a confused look; even a
semester-long course in Jimmy’s fantasy lore couldn’t prepare him
for this. Who ever heard of humans spying for dwarves? He surely
hadn’t.
    However, from the wave of impatience that
swept across the elf’s face, apparently Azadar thought that this
knowledge was rudimentary. “Is your head buried inside of a tree,
human?” he asked roughly.
    His rude remark awakened Ian from his stupor,
rejuvenating his annoyance for the elf, as Ian realized that,
whether he liked it or not, it wasn’t possible to get on his good
side. Azadar entirely loathed him, and, unless a miracle happened,
would never see him in a different light.
    Burning with fury towards the elf at this
awareness, Ian no longer cared about appeasing him anymore. If
Azadar got violent and aggressive, Ian would just have to hope that
he were the stronger fighter.
    Pausing much longer than he should have,
knowing that the elf thoroughly hated it, Ian then repaid his
insulting question with a spiteful comment of his own. “Not at the
moment,” returned Ian impudently, in his most sarcastic voice, one
he’d picked up from Eddy. “Though I’m sure we could remedy
that.”
    Not amused, finally catching onto his
sarcasm, Azadar frowned deeply at him. His elf companions were
restless; he was impatient. “Who sent you here?”
    Taken off guard by his unexpected question,
Ian hesitated slightly, before replying, “No one.”
    His blunt words were not received kindly.
Azadar gave him a silent scowl, while the blonde female took two
brisk steps towards him and grasped his arms, locking them in
place, making it impossible for him to try to run away. She was
unusually strong, even stronger than she looked.
    After giving him a prolonged look of
coldness, possibly trying to intimidate him, she finally said,
“There are two ways we can go about this, Ian. Either you can start
being honest with us, or you can continue to lie to us.” She
gripped his arm tighter. “If you continue to spew forth lies
though, I warn you, we will be forced to lock you up in our
dungeon. Understand?” She smiled callously at him, before resuming,
as if she were talking to a ten year old, “So, let’s try this
again. Who sent you here to spy out our kingdom?”
    Ian frowned. This conversation was quickly
getting out of control. “What do you want me to say?”
    The female sunk her head as her smile
vaporized, her tone brimming with bitter sarcasm. “The truth. What
else?”
    This was seriously getting old. About to lose
his temper, Ian clenched his fists as he replied, “The lightning
sent me.”
    She didn’t even blink an eyelid. “As I
expected,” she replied, looking not at all annoyed by his answer.
“So you’re of the Storm Order then.” She smiled deviously, as she
asked her next question, “So, what were your plans?”
    “To get out of this forest,” snapped Ian.
    “And then what?” she asked, with the easy
tone of a professional salesperson.
    “I don’t know; maybe find a nice village or
city to stay in.”
    She just grinned at his answer, as if