Chapter 34
The Crossing Pub
The bar was louder than usual. Reva was used to the crowd of people, but there was something different about tonight.
A customer scooted back his chair, bumping into her, which caused the tray to tip and ale to splash on her sandaled foot.
She looked down at the mess as a wave of body odor hit her.
She bit back a gag and backpedaled to find another way to deliver her current order.
She eagerly set the last mug in front of the patron and moved on to her next table.
It wasn’t until she made her way back to the bar for more drinks that she looked out through the doorway into the city streets.
It was raining again, the sound beating a steady tempo, and the downpour doing its best to block out the light of the double moons.
She wasn’t looking for light. She was searching for shadows.
For Dain.
It had been days since she had seen him, and their last encounter had made it seem as if he had no intention of returning.
As far as she knew, he hadn’t been back.
Sidiq never spoke about him, and the one time she had tried to bring him up, it hadn’t gone well.
It was no secret that Dain, Arya, and the others had a price on their heads, but they had saved her life.
She would never turn on them. They had to know that.
Dain had once asked her to collect information for him that she overheard.
She had loved the idea of helping him and the others in their quest to stop the abductions.
Reva had thought she was doing a good job.
Then, for some reason, he’d ended their agreement.
That hadn’t stopped her from continuing to gather information, however.
None of the elves at the pub paid her any attention, other than to attempt to slap her arse or ogle her breasts.
Even the few humans who had enough nerve to enter didn’t really see her.
The more they drank, the more their voices rose, making it easier for her to pick up bits of conversations.
She kept everything filed away for the day Dain returned.
She shook herself and called out the drink orders. Sidiq moved quickly and fluidly for his height. He caught her gaze and lifted a white brow. It was his silent way of asking if she was okay. She smiled and nodded once to let him know she was fine. He looked out for everyone who worked for him.
“Hey,” Darshan said as he came up beside her and unloaded some empty tankards, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners. “Walk you home tonight?”
She shrugged. “Okay.”
Reva wasn’t sure how she felt about his attention. Darshan was attractive enough, with his piercing eyes, blond hair, and handsome face, but he was missing something. She needed to let him know soon that she only thought of him as a friend.
Darshan left, and she lingered a moment.
She didn’t need to look where he was since she could pick out his booming voice over the others.
Whereas she was pleasant to customers, Darshan teased and joked with them.
A few had propositioned him, but he didn’t have to dodge grabby hands like she and the other females did.
“Want me to talk to him?” Sidiq asked as he set the drinks on her tray. “I can tell him to leave you alone.”
Here was a Dark Elf who could quell customers with a look, wanting to help her when, not too long ago, elves had held her prisoner and tortured her repeatedly.
She’d had to kill to escape, and had been looking over her shoulder ever since.
There were only two individuals who made her feel safe—Dain and Sidiq.
Both Dark Elves, who looked anything but agreeable.
Maybe that was why she felt secure in their presence.
Oh, sure, Sidiq smiled and laughed, but his demeanor could switch with a snap of a finger.
With Dain, everyone knew not to mess with him.
It was there in his stance and the way his golden eyes cut right through someone.
“He’s harmless,” Reva told Sidiq.
Gray eyes slid briefly to the side before returning to her. “Don’t let your guard down with anyone.”
“I won’t,” she promised.
That seemed to mollify Sidiq as he moved down to tend to a customer. Reva lifted the tray, carrying it over her head, balanced on one hand as she wove her way through the crowd. She greeted her customers with a smile as she set down their drinks, but a conversation behind her snagged her attention.
“In the mountains?” the male asked skeptically. “You’re full of shite.”
“I’m not,” answered another.
The first snorted. “There’s no way anyone could get around the Peaks against the Mountain Elves.”
“I heard they sent a human.”
“Another one of her lies.” Another snort, this one louder.
Reva turned slightly and spotted a Moon Elf slumped in his seat, his lips twisted in a sneer. “And what news do you have?”
“I have better than you.”
This came from a Dark Elf with short, white hair. His face was turned away from her, so that she couldn’t make out his features. Reva moved to the side to check on her next table while trying to get a look at his face.
“I know where they’re building the replacement for Shaldorn,” the Dark stated smugly.
The Moon Elf’s blue eyes widened in surprise, but it quickly became anger. “You promised to get me in on that.”
The Dark Elf laughed and took a long swig of ale. “Did I?”
Reva wasn’t able to hear the rest of the conversation since she had to take another order. When she looked back at the table, both elves were gone. She hadn’t gotten to see who the Dark was, but she could describe the Moon Elf.
No matter how closely she listened to the others around her, she didn’t pick up anything else. But what she had heard was vital intelligence that Dain needed. She looked at Sidiq. He was her best way of finding Dain.
The rest of the night was a blur as Reva hurried from one table to the next until, finally, Sidiq yelled for last call.
A surge of renewed energy filled her as she got in the last orders and started cleaning.
She brushed strands of hair back from her face that had fallen out of her braid.
She was hot and sweaty and couldn’t wait to get off her feet.
She looked a mess, and likely smelled it, too.
Darshan, on the other hand, looked as if he had just gotten to work.
He never broke a sweat or smelled of spilled ale.
It was too bad she wasn’t attracted to him. He could be a nice diversion.
Reva was mopping when Sidiq ran the last of the customers out of the pub.
Darshan began to whistle as he wiped down tables and set the chairs on top, and Sidiq cleaned up behind the bar.
It was their regular routine, one they did together several times a week, but tonight, she wanted to tell Darshan to go so she could talk to Sidiq.
She took her time mopping, and it was no surprise that Sidiq noticed. He eyed her but didn’t say anything. She’d have to thank him for that later.
“I’ll grab the other mop to help,” Darshan said.
Reva waved him off. “I’m fine. I just have a little more to go.”
“We can leave quicker if I help,” he argued.
Sidiq braced his hands on the bar. “Actually, you’d better go now. I need to talk to Reva.”
Darshan frowned as he looked from her to Sidiq, then back to her. “What did you do?” he whispered.
She shrugged and wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know.”
“Good luck,” he said and made his way out into the city.
Sidiq followed and set his hand on the center of the giant mandala that covered one side of the rock entrance.
Black magic shot across the space in a slender beam before fanning outward and meeting his palm once more.
She had never seen him lock the pub before.
He said nothing as she wrapped up her mopping and tossed out the dirty water.
Reva rubbed her hands on her thighs as she headed to the bar, where Sidiq waited.
She parted her lips to speak when he put a finger to his mouth.
Then, he walked past her to the door that led into the tunnels and down into the underground world of the Dark Elves.
He used the same kind of magic to lock the door to the city.
When that was finished, he motioned for her to follow him into the storeroom.
Once she was inside, he shut the door and locked them in with more magic.
Before she could ask what was going on, he shoved her behind him and threw out his hands to the side as dozens of thin lines of black magic exploded from his palms around the room without a single one touching her. When he turned, she turned with him.
“All right,” he finally said and took a step to the side before facing her. “I needed to make sure we didn’t have any unwanted observers.”
“You don’t ward the bar?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “To do that would alert others that I’m trying to hide something. You wanted to talk.”
She didn’t bother asking how he knew. He and Dain seemed to have a sense about those kinds of things. It had to be something in their training. She didn’t know for sure if Sidiq had been a spy, but he moved and acted much like Dain did. And they knew each other. It seemed pretty obvious to her.
“I have a favor.”
Sidiq’s gray eyes studied her. “Ask it. If I can help, I will.”
“I need to talk to Dain.”
There was no outward show of emotion, but the atmosphere in the room shifted slightly. He looked away, and she could’ve sworn she saw disappointment on his face. She looked at the blue tattoos covering the left side of his head.
“I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important,” she added.
Sidiq dropped his arms to his sides and returned his gaze to her. “There’s a price on his head. Anyone who gets close to him will get the same.”
“I know.”
“He’s dangerous, Reva.”
She swallowed. “So are most of the customers who come into the pub.”
“He’s in another class.”
“He saved my life.” She blew out a breath. “I wouldn’t be here if not for him.”
Sidiq’s shoulders lifted as he inhaled. “I can move around in that world much easier than you. Tell me what you want to say to him, and I’ll pass it on.”
“I can’t.” The hurt that flashed across his eyes made her feel horrible, but she held firm.
“You don’t trust me.”
The statement made her wince. “Like you said, anyone connected to him will be hunted. I’d rather not involve you.”
“You would risk your life for him?”
There was no heat in the words, but she detected another emotion she couldn’t name. “This isn’t about Dain. I’m willing to risk my life for everyone.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “You won’t trust me with the message, but you’ll trust me to get Dain?”
“You gave me a job when others wouldn’t. You’ve looked out for me by keeping the customers from groping me. Maybe I’m overstepping, but I consider you a friend. That isn’t something I say to many. I’m not telling you the information I have because I’m trying to protect you.”
Sidiq sighed deeply. “Does it have to be Dain? I might be able to find Arya.”
She wanted to insist on Dain, but that was only because she wanted to see him again. She didn’t have an argument for why it had to be Dain, so she forced a smile. “That would work just as well.”