Chapter 66
Mind Games
"Now—" Jacko said, his voice cracking on the word. "Now hold on—"
Dragoon sat tall on the back of his scaled mount. His eyes moved from the bloodied body to Zo's axe to my hands—still bare, the bone-scale plating retracted—and then to the crowd of mercs.
"What happened here?" More of a statement than a question.
None of us answered him. Brently filled the silence as he clutched his broken arm.
The dragoon hopped down from his mount. He landed steadily despite his injuries and walked into the circle.
"Jacko." He called out, stopping a few feet from the caravan master. "I asked you a question."
Jacko's eyes darted to all of us in turn.
I could almost see the gears grinding behind his eyes, the rapid-fire assessment of the danger he was in.
The man the Covenant had assigned the dragoon to guard this caravan.
But he was also the man who'd been thrown through a wagon by a three-headed baboon and was currently in a foul mood from the battle.
"The dead man drew on them first, Dragoon Friedrich," Jacko said. The flattery coated his voice like oil. "Martin always had a temper and an insatiable lust for the finer things. Skyfather forgive him, but the fool bit off more than he could chew, and our new friend over there stopped him—"
One of the mercenaries spoke up. "Brently went into the lady's tent," she said.
"Martin didn’t like how our friend handled it, and… well." He looked at Martin's crumpled body. "Got what was coming to him, I'd say."
A murmur ran through the crowd. A heavyset man with a braided beard stepped forward and spat on Martin.
"Brently was trouble from day one," the bearded man said. "And Martin covered his ass every damn time. Rest his soul, but this is justice."
"Justice," another man echoed. "The girl could've been any of our daughters."
Jacko pointed at the thin man. "That's it exactly. Our companions here—" another gesture at Zo and me,"—did what any decent person would've done."
I could feel Jacko's pulse running fast. The bearded man was steady, so he clearly meant what he had said. The thin man was a bit nervous but committed. The others were sheathing their swords, one by one.
Friedrich listened to it all with his arms crossed and his face betraying nothing. When the last of them had finished recounting the event, the Dragoon turned to me.
He looked at my hands. "You caught his sword."
"He swung it at my neck… seemed like the thing to do."
Friedrich was quiet for a moment before turning to the crowd.
"Brently of Saltholm attempted to force himself on a woman under the protection of this caravan.
" His voice carried the cadence of a Covenant officer.
"Fischer intervened. Martin of the Thornhall company drew steel on an unarmed man in retaliation.
He died for it." Friedrich paused. "By Covenant law, both acts of violence were justified. The matter is closed."
I touched Zo's arm. Lightly on her wrist, she looked at me, and I tilted my head toward the camp and walked towards our tent.
"Well," she said as we entered the tent. "So much for keeping a low fucking profile."
I sat down on my bedroll and rubbed my face. "Could've gone worse," I said.
"Fish, I caved a man's head in."
"Yeah, but he deserved it."
"That's not the point."
"It's a little bit the point."
Zo kicked me softly. "I'm serious. We're supposed to be nobodies. Just a pair of lone wanderers. And now—"
"We work with what we've got, Zo," I said, interrupting her.
Forty minutes later, Jacko came.
"Fischer," Jacko said. He held a cloth bundle in both hands, extended in front of him. "Can we have a word?"
"You're having several."
Jacko forced a smile that looked like it hurt his face. "The boys and I talked it over. After tonight, and after everything on the trail… the monkeys, the alpha, all of it, we think it's only right that you and your partner here are compensated for what you've done."
He set the bundle on the ground between us and stepped back. The bearded man behind him did the same with a second, smaller bundle.
"For your service." Jacko spread his hands. "You've fought for this caravan. You saved the merchant princess. You dealt with Brently when nobody else would. The boys want you to know we're grateful."
"What's the catch?” I asked.
Jacko's smile thinned. He'd been hoping I wouldn't ask. "Well. We've still got a few days before we reach Valdris, and Friedrich… Dragoon Friedrich is not in the best fighting shape. If we hit more trouble on the road…"
I looked at Zo. She gave me a stare that said Your call.
"We'll think about it," I said.
Jacko blinked. He'd expected a yes. "Of course. Take your time." He backed away, the bearded man trailing behind him. I heard Jacko let out a long, shaky breath once he thought he was out of earshot.
Zo waited until we were completely alone before she spoke. "We're taking it."
"Obviously."
"Then why'd you make him wait?"
"Because if we'd said yes right away, he'd think we were easy. He needs to spend tonight wondering if we're going to say no." I tapped my temple. "Psychology…"
"You're such a bastard."
"Learned from the best." I nodded at her.
Back at the center of camp, my worms were watching Friedrich.
The Dragoon stood where we'd left him, alone now, the crowd fully dispersed.
Jacko had paused near the Dragoon on his way back from our little meeting.
Friedrich had said something to him; it was too quiet for the worms to pick up. Whatever it was, Jacko had gone stiff.
Friedrich watched him go. Then the Dragoon looked towards our tent. He couldn't see us in the dark. But he stared anyway, for a while, before he turned and walked back to his mount.