I didn’t say a word.

It was obvious to the entire room that something bad was about to transpire. Part of me dreaded what might happen next. Against a room full of zombies, I wouldn’t have been as tense. Zombies fought in a linear method and you didn’t have to worry about them once you killed them. Against a room full of humans, it was a different story. It was our job to protect humans, not kill them. I knew that the Council wouldn’t punish me if I was forced to kill one of the patrons here tonight, but they wouldn’t be happy about it. I glanced over at my companion. I didn’t need any other reason to be on the Council’s bad side. The fear of blood and drinking I could try to fix before we returned to the island. A human death was a little more permanent.

“Are you deaf?” The drunk slurred, “Maybe you’re already a zombie.”

Val stood up and moved in between us, “Fred, you need to go home.”

I turned around in my seat. The man that she had called Fred was standing more or less in front of her. His rocking from side to side was hypnotic enough that I wondered how he was able to remain vertical. His hands clenched into fists and I knew what was about to happen.

“They don’t have any marks!” Fred yelled, “They’re no more Bokor than me!”

Val reached for the hilt of her sword, “I’m not going to warn you again.”

“Oh?” Fred grinned, “Since when did you take a shining to the tattoo junkies?” There was an evil gleam in his eye, “Hoping they’ll make you a freak like them?”

I slid out of my seat and put my hand on her arm, gently keeping her sword in its sheath. I slid around her so she’d have to go through me to hurt him.

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“Let go of me,” She growled.

“I think it’s getting late,” I said, “Maybe we should all turn in.”

Val pulled against my hand. She was strong, and I had to struggle to keep her sword in its sheath.

“What’s this?” Fred taunted, “Afraid of letting a woman fight for you?” He burped and pointed his finger at nothing in particular, “Not that she’s much of a woman.”

I had thought that Val was using her full strength, but she wasn’t. She pulled away from me with enough speed that I wasn’t able to hold on to her. The best I was able to do was to tear the loop of her sword sheath off her belt. I stood alone in the bar, holding her sword as she rushed the drunkard.

The poor man didn’t stand a chance. In his drunken stupor, he was able to register that he had gone too far just a fraction of a second before her fist connected with his face. I heard the crunch of bone as his nose flattened against his face. His legs and arms flailed as he rose off the ground and landed on the table where he had been playing cards. The cards scattered, drinks sloshed on the men who had remained seated. The coins that they had been betting with rolled toward other tables.

Patrons scrambled to scoop up the unclaimed money. Two of the men pulled out weapons to scare away greedy fingers while the third pulled out a dagger and turned to Val.

“That’s the last mistake you’re going to make.” He slurred his words, but there was no mistaking the intent in his eyes. They were the same eyes that I looked into every time I fought a zombie.

The other patrons were too busy fighting over the money to pay attention to us. I cringed as I watched more of the people reach for weapons. This was quickly devolving into a situation that was going to end with fewer people breathing than it had begun with.

I looked over at my companion, but Max was watching the brawl from behind his drink. There was no look of interest on his face, no sign of concern about the lives that would be lost if this was allowed to continue.

“Hey!” I bellowed, but the noise of the fighting drowned out my scream. The bar brawl was in full swing and the only thing that was going to stop it was brute force. I took a deep breath, this was the last fight I wanted to be in right now. Right now what I wanted to do was sleep so that I could be prepared for cleaning whatever zombies they had caged outside the city.

I clenched my jaw. I would just have to end this quickly.