Chapter 7
T he sun was beginning to descend by the time we’d found our way back to the inn. The sky had finally shown some color for the first time that day, painted in beautiful warm tones of orange and pink. It was almost a shame to leave it behind, entering the inn that was already rowdy with patrons clamoring over one another.
One man in particular was commanding the attention of everyone in the establishment. He was a hulking bear of a man, towering over those around him in stature by no less than two heads. He had fastened his shirt sloppily, allowing his deep brown muscles to be on full display. His skin also displayed a number of cuts and scars, clearly indicating an adventurous life.
“Let’s see, then. Who’s next?” the man bellowed, turning to the crowd, which was now surrounding him in the center of the room .
“Aye! I’ll have a go!” a deep voice returned the offer.
This man, though bulkier than most others around him, looked like a child next to a giant. Pride must have driven him to throw his silver down on the table, as even a blind man could see which of the two men would win in a physical fight. When they each sat on a stool, propping their elbows up on the wooden table, my suspicions were confirmed. A trial of strength. The bear man would be victorious.
The challenger gave his best effort, straining against his opponent’s grip, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. His opponent, however, appeared comfortable, making no effort to push back against him, only holding his ground with a cheesy grin on his face. The challenger continued to struggle against the man’s strength, grunting and groaning with every attempt to overtake him.
“Had enough fun yet, Kaz?” Zorinna called out, shoving her way through the bodies, blocking her view.
“Hey! Zorinna! I’m just making some pocket change,” the larger man answered, turning away from the task at hand.
So, was this to be the man Kallistra and Zorinna had arranged to join our group? This burly man, Kaz, looked as though he could snap the other man in two if he willed it. Where Kallistra and Zorinna had found him, I hadn’t the faintest idea. He was bigger than anyone I’d spotted in the inn last night. He must’ve only arrived today.
“Would you mind passing over my tankard, Zorinna?” Kaz asked, tilting his head to the ale just out of reach .
Zorinna crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “Another nuisance has joined our team.” Despite her annoyance, she gave the tankard a little push toward Kaz, barely within reach, so that he could just grab it with his free hand.
Kaz lifted the tankard and gulped the whole thing down in one go. All the while, his opponent continued to fight against his grip. Cocky, yes, but well-earned. “Ah! Now that’s the good stuff.” He gave the man suffering in front of him a beaming smile. “What’s your name, son?”
“H-Haakon,” he grunted through bared teeth.
“Haakon, what do you say—time to give up? You put up an honorable fight. I am sure they will sing your praises this night.” He waved his free hand through the air. “Haakon the Brave!”
“Ugh. Bastard! I will n-never!” Haakon was all but foaming at the mouth. His face had turned a deep shade of crimson and his entire body was shaking as he forced himself beyond his limits.
Kaz sighed. “I did offer.”
The harrowing sound of a crack silenced the room, save for the sudden gasps escaping from horrified mouths. Silence—until Haakon started screaming. When he stood, his shoulder was sagging, contorted into an impossible position. He rushed toward the exit, shoving his way through the crowd until he was out of the inn, the door slamming behind him.
“Hey! Watch it!” the innkeeper yelled from behind the counter—a Dwarven woman with ginger hair tied back into a series of complicated braids. She hobbled over to where Kaz was seated. “What did I tell you about causing trouble, boy? ”
“Hmm, you did mention something about that… but come on! I didn’t even break it. If he hadn’t run off, I would’ve snapped it back into place for him.”
She reached up and smacked him right upside the head without a care in the world, as if he hadn’t just dislocated a man’s shoulder for sport mere moments ago. “Don’t get smart with me, Kaz. Every time you show up here, something or someone in my inn gets broken.”
“My deepest apologies, miss.” Kaz bowed his head. Louder, he shouted, addressing the inn’s patrons, “A round of drinks on me! Courtesy of Haakon the Brave’s humble challenge!” A cheer erupted from the onlookers as he scooped up his winnings from the table and handed them to the innkeeper.
“I’ll keep the extra coin for the hassle,” she mumbled, turning on her heel.
“By all means.” Kaz looked between Kallistra and Zorinna. “Why don’t we take a seat at the table back there? You two can introduce me to your friends.”
After everyone was comfortably seated, Zorinna began the introductions. “This one here,” she pointed to Alandris, “is the reason we are meeting this evening.
“Alandris.” He held out his hand in welcome. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Kaz.”
“The one and only.” He looked over at me, my hood up covering my face, a precaution Kallistra had insisted upon. “And you are? ”
“That is Nairu,” Kallistra spoke up on my behalf. “We mostly keep to ourselves. I will watch over her, so you need not bother yourself with us too much.”
“Well, that won’t do.” Kaz shook his head, grinning. “If our task is to be as dangerous as you and Zorinna described to me this morning, then we need to have each other’s backs. I’ll not have anyone dying on my watch.” His tone was light and playful, but based on Kallistra’s frown, she clearly hadn’t taken it that way.
“I assure you that won’t be a concern.” She glared at the man.
“It never is until it happens.” His smile fell. “I’ve been through this plenty. That’s why you chose to approach me, is it not? We need to be able to trust each other. Lighten up.”
Kallistra released a deep sigh. “Very well.”
“Now then, drinks are on me!” He cheered as the innkeeper returned with their ales, placing a tankard in front of each of them. “There is no better way to learn about your companions than to share a night drinking before a big job.”
“We should make this an early night, Nairu,” Kallistra muttered lowly in my ear.
Not quietly enough. “Nonsense!” Kaz returned. “This is a tradition in the mercenary world.”
“You don’t listen well. If you were not so… capable, I’d begin to think we’d chosen poorly.”
“Kalli!” I gasped. “You’re being rude! I’m sure we can engage in pleasantries with our new companion for one night.” The strength of my own voice surprised everyone at the table, all heads turning toward me. Kallistra appeared most shocked of all, especially once I pulled back my hood, revealing the white of my hair and red of my eyes to Kaz. He made no comment about my features, but a satisfied grin appeared on his face.
Alandris chose that moment to interject. “Kallistra, how about we partake for just a couple of hours? We should all rest well. There are many supplies we need to procure for our trip, as well as more training for Nairu and I.”
Kallistra sucked her teeth. “A couple of hours.”
As Kaz began rowdily telling a tale of his last contract down in the Azog Bog, to kill a spider the supposed size of the inn, I tugged at Alandris’ sleeve.
He turned his head to the right, where I sat beside him. “Hmm? Bored by his story?”
“No, I find it fascinating.” I giggled to myself. “I wanted to say thank you. The way you intervened and calmed Kalli down…”
“Noticed, did you?” He quirked a brow.
“I did. It was impressive.”
“Then you may notice she stares daggers at me when we speak.”
I subtly moved to catch a glimpse of Kallistra, observing Alandris from the side of her vision, across the table. “I—”
“What is she to you that she behaves in such a manner? Family?”
I looked down at my lap. “My Keeper, which feels more like my captor these days.” I spoke in a near whisper, but Alandris had heard my words, and the moment they left my mouth, my eyes widened and I looked up at him in horror. “I didn’t mean—”
“Don’t fluster; she is watching you,” he interrupted. Without missing a beat, he clinked our glasses together and looked back at Kaz, feigning his interest in the tale of his adventure. He kept his eyes focused on Kaz as he continued to speak to me. “I hope you know you can trust me, should you wish to speak further on that comment.”
The problem was, I actually didn’t know if I could trust him.
As promised, Kaz agreed to call it a night after a couple of hours, most of which he spent colorfully describing where he got each of his scars. While the rest of us began to make our way up the stairs to our rooms, Zorinna motioned for Alandris to follow her outside.
Kallistra excused herself to the bath, and I took a seat at the window, staring out into the night sky. I heard voices I recognized as Alandris’ and Zorinna’s and peeked down over the windowsill to spot them standing just around the back entrance of the inn. I hadn’t intended to eavesdrop, but the serious look on Zorinna’s face had piqued my curiosity. It took little to convince myself it was okay to observe them.
“I wanted to chat with you about something—privately,” Zorinna said as Alandris approached.
“Outside in the cold?” He pulled his cloak from his shoulders and wrapped it around Zorinna’s. “You’re turning blue, and it isn’t my magic gone awry this time.”
Her cheeks blushed, matching the shade of her already reddened nose. “That is not a fond memory.” She narrowed her eyes at him playfully.
Alandris smiled. “It is for me. You were so willing, actually, excited, if I recall correctly, to assist with my first alteration spell. What are friends for if not to act as your test subjects?”
Zorinna pursed her lips. “What are friends for…” She pulled the cloak around her and leaned back against the inn wall. “I am concerned about our choices.”
“You will need to be more specific.”
“Kaz is one thing. He’s somewhat rough around the edges, but he’s experienced, and trust me—he was the best one I could hunt down.” She rubbed her forehead and shook her head. “The other two… something is off. That display in there was uncomfortable, to say the least. Maybe it’s better if we are only three. They shared nothing about themselves tonight. In fact, they avoided any personal questions altogether. It’s odd.”
My chest tightened, and I pulled a bit further away from the windowsill, enough that they hopefully couldn’t see me, but where I could still see and hear them. Fading into the background was my specialty. Whatever they had to say about Kallistra and me—I needed to know.
Alandris took a moment before responding. “I-I believe it’s best we see this through. I trust Nairu, and I trust her judgment of Kallistra. ”
“You have known her for a few days!” Her irritation flooded into her voice. “Don’t be ridiculous, Alandris. She hardly says a word! How can you trust her?”
“She speaks to me.” He bit the inside of his cheek and pressed his back against the wall, looking up at the sky. “I need you to have some faith in me.”
“I have been. Blindly, mind you.”
“Zorinna.”
She groaned in frustration. “I only worry about you. You have a tendency to want to save everyone around you, even when it means putting yourself at risk. I feel bad for the girl, but… I don’t know.” She shook her head. “My intuition has never let me down, and something doesn’t add up with Kallistra. She’s smarter than she lets on. She’s constantly vigilant, poised to attack.”
“I’m not one to play things safe because it’s easy, am I?”
Zorinna wrinkled her nose. “Is that to imply that I am?”
“Don’t read into it,” Alandris said plainly, crossing his arms. “Regardless, this conversation is done. We need the help, and they need it, too. I’m not abandoning them on a whim. Goodnight, Zorinna.”
“Your cloa—”
“Keep it. It’s cold.”
Alandris hurried back inside the inn, slamming the door behind him.
I rushed from the window and placed a hand over my chest. Zorinna had reservations about Kallistra and me. She didn’t want us to join them. And Alandris had defended us? No. I couldn’t deal with that part right now. I had to find a way to gain Zorinna’s trust. We needed this job. I needed to talk with Kallistra. Find a way to get her to relax her behavior without cueing her in on what I’d just learned.
When Kallistra returned from the bath, I wasted no time with my warning. “We need this job, Kallistra.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I am aware.”
I sighed. “Look, I don’t know what has you so on edge lately. I know our village elders must be pressuring you, but we need to get along with these people. Maybe we can let them in a bit. Get to know them. Be friendly. We have our first lead in a long time… We need this.”
“My job is to protect you. Mine. Not anyone else’s. I don’t need help.”
If I could’ve ground my teeth down into dust, I would’ve. I tried to maintain my composure. “I’m not a child anymore. I am a grown woman. I don’t belong to you.”
“Not me—us. Our village. You belong to us.”
Her words hit their mark like a sharp knife to the chest. A belonging. A doll. A tool. She didn’t stop there.
“From the moment you were born, you belonged to all of us, just as my life belonged to you.” She gripped the edge of her mattress, leaning forward. “I do not trust anyone else to protect you, and I do not care if they find me unpleasant. I will use them to help us reach our goals, and if I find that they are no longer useful, we will move on. ”
Angry tears were welling in my eyes, but I couldn’t stand to let them fall in front of her. I forced them back, my throat tight and hot. “When did you start to hate me so much? Did you always feel this way? Since we were children?”
Kallistra’s face softened for only a beat. “I do not hate you, Nairu.”
“Then please try. Please.” I lowered my head. “For the first time, I am excited about something. I want to learn how to use my magic. I want to be useful. Please.”
I didn’t add that it was the first time I felt like I had people around me who could become friends. People who were capable of looking at me without fear or disgust, or the complete opposite—like in my village—with reverence. People who looked at me and saw me. Only me. I didn’t add that—because I feared she would want nothing more than to take that away from me. It had always been just the two of us. Nairu and Kallistra. The Saintess and her Keeper.
“I do not hate you, Nairu,” she repeated. It was the only reply she offered before snuffing out our lantern and crawling into her bed.