She looked at me peculiarly, torn between curiosity and worry, but when her friend finally started to move, she decided to let it go. Getting them out of the room was surprisingly easy, old John had indulged to a degree, that he wouldn’t even have woken if an orchestra had started playing right next to him, never mind the soft footfalls of two slim girls, as they hurried to the door.

Once through, my friends started to file in, a procession of sneers, as their eyes darted from the occupied bed to the used pipes. Only Reia was mostly busy sniffing the air, trying to place the scent. The kid was smart enough to figure it out, but seeing her confused, if even for a moment, made me question my decision to bring her along. After being kidnapped and living through Boseiju’s flaming end, she wouldn’t be shaken by the scenes in a brothel, I had reasoned, but that didn’t mean, I should expose her to every nasty facet of life, only because I expected her to cope. As far as responsibilities went, I wasn’t doing very well. Still, it had been her home and her family as well. She had a right to be here and if she wanted to come with us, she’d be facing much more troublesome situations, soon enough. Judging from her outburst, when Madame Sinis had threatened to kill Liz, those would put her resolve to the test in an entirely different way.

We spread out around the bed, John’s satisfied snores easily drowning out the quiet sounds as we moved around. Once in place, Ahri and I stood close to the headrest, my brother behind it, sword drawn, while the rest occupied the space to the left and right. We exchanged quick glances and Mordred took it upon himself to wake the sleeping beauty. With a dull thump, he hit John’s exposed rump with the flat of his sword, making the poor man jump in pain and surprise, his hands clinging to the angry red welt on his ass.

He spluttered and cursed, still half asleep, until his brain managed to decipher the confusing images, his eyes conveyed. “Oh, shit,” he mumbled, falling back onto the blankets with complete disregard for his nudity. “You’re not a present I earned, are you?”

“Afraid not,” Aurelia replied, displaying her fangs.

“Thought so… you’re wearing too much for an orgy. Well then, whom do I have to betray to get out of here alive? No need for violence, I’ll sing like a bird. Just tell me what you want to know.”

That was… not what I had expected. After Richard’s insistence we couldn’t hurt his brother and the genuine worry Madame Sinis had shown, when it had come to making enemies of the church or a Captain, I had thought, he’d put up much more resistance. Or at least a token effort, to be able to claim, he hadn’t had much of a choice and had been coerced into spilling the beans. But hey, never look a gift horse in the mouth. Some cavities better remained unexplored.

I slowly pulled the broken wheel pendant from my pocket and dangled it in front of his nose.

“Who, when, where… the works. I don’t have to remind you, what lying to us might do to your health, do I? You seem to have a pretty solid grasp on your situation.”

“You could say that,” he haltingly replied, his eyes glued to the pendant. “Can I put my trousers on before we continue? I’d rather not become a traitor in the nude, that just seems… wrong.”

Viyara chuckled involuntarily and I couldn’t suppress a smile, either. For a crook, he was quite funny.

“Sure, even though I don’t see what the fuss is all about,” Ahri replied with a pointed look at his privates. “There isn’t much to hide, is there?”

“I’ll have you know, the two ladies, whom you must have seen, they didn’t complain,” he grumbled, while he tried to get off the bed without actually sitting on his tender behind.

“They were paid,” she countered. “You wouldn’t call the hunter, you’re trying to sell a bow to, a lousy shot, either, would you?” He had finally managed to disentangle himself and began searching for his clothes, without the slightest hint of shame. Despite Ahri’s comments, he didn’t have to hide. He was well built, muscled and tall, with wavy, dark hair and expressive eyes. As for his size, I didn’t have much to compare it to, but I couldn’t imagine he was actually lacking.

“No, probably not, but then again…” he replied, but in the middle of his sentence, he suddenly charged towards the window and jumped straight through the heavy curtains. I froze, astonishment and incredulity rooting me in place. We were on the third floor, the street had to be at least 12 metres below us, and it wasn’t a soft, muddy road, but hard, unforgiving granite, that awaited him. Before anyone of us could react, he vanished in a shower of glittering shards and smashed shutters, leaving behind a stunned silence.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Mordred mumbled, while we rushed across the room. When I pushed my head through the gaping, new hole in the wall, I saw him on the cobbled stones, crying for help. He struggled to get up, but from the looks of it, his left leg couldn’t support his weight and he fell back down, every time he managed to climb to his feet. I shook my head in disbelief and quickly climbed onto the sill. In contrast to our newfound friend, the fall didn’t do much more to me, than rattle my bones. I fanned out my tails and regained my balance with a sliding step, just as Ahri and Aurelia landed behind me, their hair just as disheveled as my own.

“Was that really necessary,” I asked, waving at the growing throng of people, who had come to witness the spectacle. “If you wanted to break your leg, we would have obliged without destroying a perfectly good window. Now, we’ll have…” I was cut short, when he screamed at the top of his lungs:

“Gerry, Al, where the fuck are you?” Apparently, the time to talk things out was well past. Shrugging, I closed the distance between us and heaved him to his feet, my tails circling around his broken leg. For one, I could easily support him like that, but I could just as easily apply pressure to his wound and yanking on a broken limb was pretty painful, I knew as much from personal experience.

“Will you shut up,” I hissed in his ear, when his cries gave way to an agonised whimper. “Your friends won’t be coming. The only thing you can achieve by keeping this up is making me mad.” To emphasise my point, I twisted his knees until I felt the bones grind against his skin. Apparently, I hadn’t been convincing enough, for the next thing I knew, was his fist, slamming into my stomach. As soon as his leg had given out again and I had been holding him upright, he had decided, the best course of action was to take me down with him.

Unfortunately, despite the weight difference, he could just as well have punched a solid brick wall. It would even have been better, since walls weren’t generally known for hitting back. I, on the other hand, had no problems with breaking his arm. While Ahri and Aurelia, sweet smiles plastered across their faces, did their best to dissuade the onlookers from lingering, I sent a trickle of energy into my muscles and remorselessly struck his elbow and shoulder. Ligaments tore and bones broke. What little colour John had left drained from his face and he collapsed into a quivering heap, his uninjured arm cradling his newest wound.

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I crouched down low and whispered in his ear: “hon, this whole affair is starting to wear me down, so let’s be honest with each other. I’ve met your brother and I’ve promised him to keep you alive. Alive, not unhurt. I have a few questions and the longer you’re going to drag this out, the more painful it’s going to become. Am I clear, pumpkin?” Even though he must have been close to passing out, judging from the cold sheen of sweat on his brow and the uncontrolled shiver, running down his spine, he managed to nod.

“Good,” I continued. “I’m going to help you up, now, and then you’re going to quietly come with me. We’ll return to the “Gilded Dream”, I’m going to order a large drink for your pain and we’ll have a nice, peaceful chat. Afterwards, I’ll be out of your hair and if you’re a really good boy, I might even decide to do something about your broken bones. I imagine you’ll have trouble using these joints, ever again, if they’re left to mend on their own. Splintered fractures can be nasty.”

I glanced over my shoulder, but the girls had the few men truly and utterly bamboozled. I’d be surprised if they managed to remember their name, never mind the scene of domestic trouble, that had attracted them in the first place. Maybe my darling was a quicker study than I had believed. Only two women, dressed more like maids than prostitutes, didn’t stare at her with hearts in their eyes, but they quickly shrank back into the shadows, when they met my gaze. That, or they might have spotted the trail of blood, running from the corner of John’s mouth and his hunched over posture. Either way, I was confident they wouldn’t make a scene.

With quite a bit more vigour than necessary, I pulled him upright, ignoring his pained hiss when the movement strained his shoulder. “should have thought about that, before you jumped through a window,” I whispered and led him back towards the brothel.

“But then, I wouldn’t be resting in your arms,” he slurred while we took our first staggering steps. “Almost makes it worth it. Should I live through this, would you allow me to buy you dinner?” I nearly stumbled and he groaned again, when I twisted my body to keep my balance.

“You can’t be serious…”

“Oh, but I am,” he mumbled, his voice a little wheezy. “So… what do you say?”

“I’m taken. And I’ve just threatened to hurt you. What made you think this could possibly work?”

“Nothing. I just had to try. You can only regret the things you haven’t done. And I like to believe, our dispute isn’t anything personal. Didn’t see a problem, there. But if you have a husband… no, wait… it’s her, isn’t it? The fox with the white tails? She’s staring at you, even now, and that’s not how a friend would look at you, either.”

“I should have hit you harder… you’re obviously still present enough to irritate me.”

“One and definitely not the least of my talents. Trust me, if I wasn’t close to fainting, you’d be at my throat already… you can of course still give it a try. Biting is also fine.”

“If you think you can talk your way out of this, you’re sorely mistaken,” I growled. “It’s only getting easier for me. If I were you, I’d stay silent until asked a question.”

“Where’s the fun in that? Besides… you like me, don’t you?” Again, I missed a step. This time though, I didn’t bother with keeping him upright and allowed him to drop to the ground.

“What, in the nine hells, gave you that idea,” I asked incredulously. After he had managed to blink away the tears, which had begun streaming from his eyes, when he had been forced to break his fall, he wheezed:

“We’re still talking and you haven’t used your magic, yet. I’ve been warned about you…”

“And you still thought it’d be a good idea to run,” I asked, hands on my hips.

“Well…,” his eyes roamed over the emptying street, Ahri and Aurelia had done splendidly and had managed to disperse the few curious stragglers, looking for anything that might help him. When he finally was convinced, no one would be coming, he tried to shrug. The small movement was the straw, that broke the camel’s back. Another groan and he keeled over like a dead fish, his breathing shallow.

“You’re not going to die on me now, are you,” I asked dryly. “That’d be truly inconvenient.”

“No, just need a second,” he moaned. “I can’t remember the last time, I hurt that much. Couldn’t you have just knocked me out?”

“I’d have had to carry you, then. Besides, you wouldn’t be on the ground, if you hadn’t…”

“Decided to make a run for it. I know. Just gimme a minute and we can limp back to the “Dream”. In the meantime… mind telling me, why you’re here and why my boss is worried about a visit from a beautiful girl? Magic and strength are one thing, but you don’t seem like the murdering type.”

“You’d be surprised.” I looked around furtively, but no one was close by. Ahri and Aurelia were making their way back to us and my family was still watching from the window, John had smashed. The onlookers were gone and while someone might be lurking on a hidden corner, it didn’t seem like a bunch of armed, bad tempered men were about to come charging down the street. There was no need to rush. I hunkered down at his side and continued:

“Do you have any idea, whom you’ve been sharing a bed with?”

“Figuratively or literally? Wouldn’t change the answer, anyway. Not really. Why? Are you on some kind of vendetta?”

“Pretty much. Those pendants, you’ve been handing out… whom did you get them from?”

“You already know. The guy I’m working for. One of the big shots in the church of the Broken Wheel. I can lead you to him. Truth be told, he’s probably already expecting you.” I sighed deeply.

“I figured as much, when you told me, he had already warned you. Still… you’re awfully chatty for someone, who’s about to betray a backstabbing, powerful lunatic.”

“No point in worrying, is there? I tried to get away. Didn’t really believe it’d work, but it was a good effort. If you have him shitting his pants, I’m not going to drag this out for longer than I need to. I’d rather not swim with the fishes, but if I have to choose, I’m always going to side with the one, who has the other worried and frankly, you scare the shit out of me. It’s just common sense.”

“So much for loyalty. This would have been a lot less messy and painful, if you hadn’t insisted on running. Anyways, you want to know, why I’m looking for your sugar daddy? One of his recent enterprises went sideways… he threw in with a…” and it clicked. I didn’t know, why it had taken me this long. It was so obvious. The merchants, they had worn the crest and they had been a part of the Emperor’s plans. Whomever I was hunting, he was a tool, Amon’s spy in Free Land. And if he knew I was here, looking for him, so did the Pirate King. I cursed silently and pulled John to his feet, ignoring his weak protest.

Gesticulating for the girls to hurry up, I steered him towards the house and pressed out: “my timetable has just moved up. You can relax, once we’re done talking.” He didn’t struggle against my hold, but still asked:

“What’s gotten your tails in a twist? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“No more questions.” He was walking much too slowly, which prompted me to pick him up in a princess carry and hurry towards the door. “Tell me,” I whispered, a hint of my power leaking into my voice, “when you’ve been recruited, did they brand or mark you, in any way? A small tattoo, maybe?”

“I… yeah, they did. How did you know?” I ignored him and demanded:

“Show me.” My intensity must have convinced him to quit the games and he quickly pushed back his hair. On his neck, half hidden beneath his tresses, was a tiny, red crown, burned into his skin.

“Fuck,” I cursed, my wings materialising of their own accord. John’s eyes went wide and his jaw slack, when he saw the scintillating torrents of light dance around us.

“You can say that again,” he mumbled. “Are you going to kill me, now?”

“No, chances are, I’m going to save your life. If it’s not already too late…”