Loose Ends

Chapter 176

Elim watched the cliff some down and couldn’t help a wince. He didn’t honestly care for the method. The killing was one thing, but he didn’t want to leave anyone buried and suffocating.

“Any of them alive?” Elim asked. Marlow cocked his head and there was a tremor, then stillness.

“No,” Marlow said simply. The hound hadn’t cared about leaving them to suffer, so it was a favor to Elim and his apparently more delicate sensibilities.

Elim reached down with a gauntleted hand to give Marlow a proper scritch in thanks. It wasn’t as if he didn’t understand the hounds lack of an interest in the seekers fate. Anything he saw as an obstacle was dealt with as soon as convenient and with as little fuss as possible. A natural mindset to have in his case.

Elim’s own thoughts on the point were messier, but not that different nor truly kinder. Leaving someone to suffer was cruel, but also sloppy. People could survive surprising things. It was better to be sure you’d ended someone if you decided to. Efficiency and mercy were closer kin than most liked to admit.

“Any more up top?” he added. He could see a small figure up on the ridge, looking down. He hoped there weren’t too many more. Marlow was powerful but his abilities were better suited to an ambush, not direct combat.

“One, a limping man and that… not quite a man, no longer a pup,” Marlow offered. Elim looked up at the not-a-pup. A kid, and likely the one Marlow had mentioned being in charge of the dogs.

Elim considered what he was going to do about the two remaining seekers. Reasonably he’d have killed them on principle if they still posed a threat to the retreating Lepusan. He couldn’t see just two of them being an issue though. Not with Ban and Ewen being there to protect their people.

He sent 42 a text about the situation. She’d get back to him eventually, but he considered his options in the meantime.

“Do you wish to track them?” Marlow asked.

“Nah, hopefully the kid is smart enough to burn that cloak and run. If he’s not, well, he’ll be coming back with reinforcements,” Elim said with a shrug.

“Reinforcements?” Marlow inquired.

“More of his kind. 42 needs points though, so I don’t imagine she’ll mind,” Elim explained. He didn’t really know what points were, just that she got them from killing. Something he’d overheard while she was talking to someone else during one of their calls. It had been Chris who’d been happy to explain the details. That and speculate on how many Elim himself might have been worth.

“And the man?” Marlow asked.

“Leave him, if the kid doesn’t go for them, he probably will,” Elim decided. Thinking of Chris, he felt an eye twitch. He didn’t mind Bess becoming a rogue if that suited her. He just hoped it was one of the others that mentored her in the class rather than that foulmouthed little blackheart.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Elim wouldn’t even say he particularly minded Chris himself, and he certainly didn’t question his skills. The way the other rogues at the training area stepped lightly around him was proof enough that he was formidable.

It was just the idea of Bess picking up Chris’s manners that sent an unpleasant shiver down Elim’s back. If that happened, he was sure his mother was going to be sore at him for the rest of his days.

“The boy is leaving with his hounds,” Marlow offered after a bit. Elim nodded and headed for the cliff. Once the kid was gone Marlow made a new path up and he busied himself with collecting the horses.

42 wouldn’t need them, the breeds weren’t anything special, but Elim wasn’t about to leave the poor creatures tied in the middle of nowhere. He could figure out what exactly he was going to do with them later. The brands being distinctly foreign made it easier to sell them if he decided to.

It was still technically theft to take them, but so long as he handled it right it wouldn’t come to anything. The seekers shouldn’t have been in Dreadmar and their claim to the animals wouldn’t be recognized. Though thinking about it he supposed that healing a brand was something 42 could probably do if she put her mind to it.

Elim wasn’t particularly interested in getting into horse trading, but being able to move the one had or might acquire later more easily had its appeal. He sent 42 a text asking about it, but made clear it wasn’t a priority of any kind. She was likely busy and he didn’t want her rushing to answer when she didn’t need to.

“Lets get on with things,” Elim said as he returned to his own horse. Lilly was likely the prettiest quarter horse he’d ever seen let alone owned. Smart too, thanks to some kind of thing 42 did to her and the other livestock she’d gotten her hands on. Another reason she wouldn’t need the ones he’d found. She could make better.

“Where to next?” Marlow inquired as they set off at an easy pace.

“Back to the clearing, Storm’ll be around before long. I think I’ll ask Tiller to scout for more seekers, just in case,” Elim explained. The two he’d let go weren’t a threat, but it wouldn’t hurt to double check if there were more in the area or not. Hard to pick up or not, he didn’t want anyone catching the Lepusan’s trail again. Or stumbling on it through sheer back luck either.

“He is a useful nuisance,” Marlow conceded. “Despite his efforts to the contrary.”

“You’d think he’d be sweeter since he’s always begging for food,” Elim said with a shake of his head. The demonic hawks ill temper was at odds with his goal on a good day and outright counterproductive most of the time.

Elim could have easily added a couple of snakes to the inventory to make it easy to give the bird treats. He was just so awful that the thought never crossed Elim’s mind. Tiller had laughed pretty hard when he’d told her about that one, agreeing that she wouldn’t be rewarding the bastard either.

“Perhaps Tiller should join us. It would be easier to hunt together,” Marlow offered, shaking Elim from his thoughts.

“I suppose so,” Elim mused. Things had been a little awkward between them since arriving in the valley. Nothing was wrong exactly, but he kept waiting for her to tell him she’d made a deal with 42. He wasn’t even mad about it, just at a loss for what exactly would come after.

Aside from courting her anyway. Elim felt a bit out of sorts, but he hadn’t changed his mind about that. Really he supposed he just wanted that part of things over with so they could figure it out. The suspense of it was what was getting to him.

“Good, this forest has pretty gems. You can renew your courting properly,” Marlow said, tail up and wagging happily.

“Renew it properly?” Elim asked with a chuckle. Marlow yapped and made a gnashing expression with his muzzle.

“You spend too much time licking her, as if she were already digging a den for your pups,” Marlow said, baying with laughter. Elim felt his face catch fire with embarrassment. Things were a bit awkward, but that hadn’t stopped them sneaking the odd kiss on the sly. Or what he’d assumed had been the sly, he’d had no idea Marlow had seen any of that.

“Kindly don’t go spying on that in the future,” Elim said stiffly.

“There won’t be anything to see if you don’t win her over,” Marlow countered. With that the hound went running, baying in amusement again.