3. Fenric #2
“Honestly, I don’t know who he is. I was crossing by that old graveyard on the south side of town close to the slums. You know, the one with the crumbling chapel.
He was fucking nailed into a half-buried coffin.
He wouldn’t admit too much, other than the fact that one day he woke up and his family had him chucked into a carriage and brought here from Haugesand.
They drugged him and then had him buried alive. ”
Fenric’s gaze drifted around their circle to find a lot of furrowed brows and puffed cheeks as they considered what he’d said.
“If he’s from the capital, then it’s likely he was born to a noble’s family,” Rain ventured. He thrust his mug forward into the circle as if to punctuate his point. The alcohol sloshed, and he quickly drew his mug back, seemingly to protect it from hitting the floor.
“He doesn’t have to be a nobleman’s son,” Malfas said.
He tapped a finger on his lips. “You know, I’ve heard there are a number of successful merchants who are now hiring loads of tutors and experts to train their children in the same knowledge and skills as the nobility, intending to pass their children off as nobles.
At the very least they wished to garner a favorable marriage alliance with a noble family.
Maxie could very well be a merchant’s son who refused to honor an arranged marriage with a noble family, and rather than allow him to disgrace his family, Maxie’s father ordered he be taken out of the capital and killed. ”
Fenric lifted an eyebrow at the warlock. “Is that your idea or your constellation’s?”
“Oh, that is all my idea. Ezlan has offered no insight into Maxie’s past, only his future, and his future is with us.”
“I don’t think he’s a merchant’s son,” Hapi declared.
“What’s your theory, Oh Wise Elf?” Fenric teased.
Hapi kicked Fenric in the leg but otherwise showed no sign of annoyance.
“I feel he’s a noble’s son who likely slept with one of the housemaids and got her pregnant.
The girl and the child have already been murdered, her body burned, buried, or sunk in a swamp.
When Maxie kicked up a fuss, his father did the same to him. ”
Rain rocked back in his chair, nearly tipping it over as great belly laughs tumbled from him. “Are you daft? You think that wet-behind-the-ears boy has actually had sex?”
Fenric had to bite the inside of his mouth to keep from asking the same thing.
Maxie had virgin written all over him in big bold letters.
Not that there was anything wrong with it.
Only, every member of E.V.I.L. had fucked and sucked their way through plenty of adventures over the years.
Hapi should really be able to spot a virgin easily.
“Fine. What’s your idea on his true identity?” Hapi snapped.
Rain lounged in his chair again and scratched his beard as if thinking on it, but a wicked grin already twisted his lips.
“I think he’s got you all conned. He’s a con artist and a skilled thief.
This is just one of his personas—the educated noble dandy.
All designed to lower your guard. He probably wasn’t really trapped in that coffin.
” Rain paused and licked his lips, his gaze narrowed on Fenric.
Fuck.
Here it comes.
“He was just waiting for a softhearted sucker to come along and save him.”
Fenric rolled his eyes. Of course, he’d thought the same thing more than once when he was on the road with Maxie.
“No. That is not possible,” Belstrom declared before Fenric could speak.
“His knowledge is far too robust, and there were no slip-ups during the meal. His manners were impeccable. His posture was perfect. Even while surrounded by a group of Luddite louts, he never wavered in his etiquette and manners. That only comes from a lifetime of training and proper breeding.”
Rain snorted and downed the last of the alcohol in his cup.
He straightened in his chair to check where the bottle currently rested.
There was only enough for everyone to have a last swallow before bed.
“Whatever. That’s just part of the con. What’s your idea?
” he asked as he wrapped his hand around the neck of the bottle.
“He is a scholar,” Belstrom announced without a second of hesitation.
All eyes snapped to him, and more than a few eyebrows rose in surprise.
“While young, I would not be surprised if he was apprenticed under a court minister. It is likely that during his work or studies, he uncovered a dark secret, requiring he be silenced before he could undermine the entire royal family.”
No one spoke for several seconds. It wasn’t a bad theory.
They all suspected the royal family had more than their fair share of dark secrets, and Maxie appeared to be just the right age to be a minister’s assistant or apprentice.
He also had royal court–worthy manners. The only problem with this idea was that if Maxie had discovered a secret, the assassin assigned to him wouldn’t have done such a half-assed job.
Maxie wouldn’t have been taken across the kingdom.
His ass would have been killed in Haugesand and his body would never have been found.
“What about you?” Hapi turned on the sofa beside Fenric and stared at him. “You haven’t told us your idea yet.”
Fenric leaned forward and took the bottle from Rain. He poured barely a mouthful into his cup, then passed the bottle along to Malfas so he and Belstrom could finish it off. “I’m not giving my idea out for free.”
“What?”
“Asshole!”
“Skor!”
Fenric chuckled and held up a hand to stop their bitching. “I’m just saying we all have different ideas, so we should make a wager. Put some coin behind this.”
Oh, that changed their tune quick enough. Belstrom volunteered to write down everyone’s theories and to collect coin from each participant since he was the most organized of them.
“There. Settled. What’s your idea?” Hapi pressed.
“Evil stepmother,” Fenric said simply, which just left Hapi glaring like he planned to remove Fenric’s skeleton through his nose.
Before the elf could snap, Fenric continued.
“I’m with Hapi in the belief that Puppy comes from a noble family.
His manners are too polished, and he’s got almost zero street smarts.
However, I think he’s an eldest son who has lost his birth mother.
Daddy remarried and had more kids with wifey number two.
Now, Daddy is getting on in years and Stepmommy wants to make sure she and her progeny get all the inheritance.
What’s the easiest way to cut out the son from wife number one? Disappear his ass.”
Silence reigned for a few heartbeats as they digested what Fenric had said, then they all started talking at once, arguing how they had the best idea. But the bickering didn’t last longer than the last swallow of whiskey.
Fenric offered, “If Rain is right, and Puppy is a con artist and possible assassin, I think we should set a watch for the night, just to keep an eye on him. I’ll take the first shift.”
His companions nodded and volunteers stuck up their hands, filling up the last of the shifts, making sure everyone still got a good amount of sleep. By the time Fenric was left alone in the sitting room, the rain had stopped outside and the thunder had turned into a distant growl.