Moments ago, the ground floor of Sara’s tavern, the Brook Gate Tavern, had been noisy. Full of the sounds of drunken singing, drunken revelry, and the general hubbub of many people packed in such a tight place.

Now the ground floor was silent.

The smell of too much ale, not rancid thankfully, in such a small room, battled it out with the desperation of unwashed bodies and tormented lives. Defeating both of them was the intense, sizzling and mouth watering smell of roast meat cooking in the too small kitchen.

Every long table had been full moments ago. Trenchers of half eaten food, leather tankards, and assorted tavern game pieces covered the tables.

A crowd had gathered in a solidly packed semi-circle, clambering on the long rows of tables and benches as well as filling the ground. Trenchers of food and tankards of ale had been kicked over or knocked to the floor, as did a number of forgotten games.

Not that anyone cared.

Instead, everyone’s attention focused upon the four of us: Tan-bei, myself, the random bastard who was messing about with Sara, and Sara herself. Even the barmaids skittered out of the way and peered out from the kitchen door.

‘Ya alive.’ Sara said in a small voice. Her chubby, warm white cheeks were deathly white.

I wasn’t sure why, but she still hadn’t let go of the bastard she had been kissing and flirting with moments ago. She still had her traitorous arms and legs wrapped around him. He hadn’t turned around. His entire body frozen stiff.

What hurt was not that she was carrying on with someone else. I didn ’t care. Not that I could, or wanted to, complain, considering the time I spent with Morag, not long ago. What hurt was she didn’t trust in me, believe in me. Tan-bei did. She waited for me and was there when I came out of the forest.

‘You begged me to marry you.’ I said, letting my hurt out, rumbling in a low thunder through the tavern. It was the same distant thunder tone I used a while back to stop the argument between Sara and Tan-bei.

A small whimper escaped from the man’s lips. I could see his knees shaking. It was likely if Sara let go of her death grip on him, he would collapse.

‘Tan-bei waited.’

Sara let go of the man. He didn ’t collapse, but stumbled away to the crude square table where Gomes’ noble round table had been. She slid off the bar and came storming over to me.

‘On our wedding night, ya abandoned me.’ She said, hitting my chest with closed fists. ‘Then ya died in the forest.’

I stood there silently, very much alive, ignoring the weak fists she was trying to pummel me with.

‘I saw ya stumble away. Blood out ya mouth. Blood out ya chest. Ignoring me as tried to tend ya.’

She collapsed onto my chest, but I didn ’t wrap my arms around me.

‘Even now, ya being closed. Distant.’

‘So you fuck the first man who came after me?’

She tried to slap me. I caught her wrist and gripped it tightly. Sara grit her teeth as the pain from my grip increased.

‘You begged me.’

‘I know, ya bastard.’

‘Why?’

‘Needed ya to protect me. Protect bar. To stop fools like that…’ She pointed to the man who had collapsed into a chair next to the table.

‘Not love?’ Tan-bei asked from beside me.

Sara laughed. ‘Never. Parents never loved. Only protected. Fucked him to trap him. A waste.’

‘Oh, there you are, Mistress Sara. Now I have come for the protection payment you owe.’ A sneering, unfamiliar voice said from behind me. ‘For another fuck, I’ll put it off for another week. But, you’ll still owe—’

I let go of Sara ’s hand and spun round. With an open palm, I slapped the fool who was interrupting Sara’s and my argument. With the deafening crack and hollow splash of a tree collapsing in a pool of water, my palm hit his cheek.

The fool flew for a bit before tumbling into the crowd of watchers.

‘You are a coward.’ I told her. ‘Hitting me because I’ll not hit back.’

Sara looked at the body of the fool I had slapped.

Daddy, mummy no fuck him. Me made it they thought they did. Nolicia’s voice echoed in my head.

That was some good news, I guess, not that I cared if she fucked others.

‘If you want to fuck others,’ I said, ‘do it. If you want me to accept child; use protection.’

‘How? Herbs? Condom?’

No! Nolicia screamed in my head. Herb, hurt me.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Sara lifted her hands over her ears, hunching her shoulders, wincing in pain.

When Sara settled down, she looked up at me with an earnest look. ‘If ya protect me. Me no fuck other men. No matter even if did. Me already pregnant with ya child.’

I only had sex with her the once, was it really that easy to get a person pregnant? It took almost an entire year for Sirona to carry our child—

‘Oh, so this is your fabled protector, then?’ Another voice interrupted me and Sara coming to an understanding. ‘He might be big and strong, but he’s a single man and I do this for a living.’

I turned around. A snobbish looking cool beige-skinned man with an immaculate fancy trimmed beard and wearing fine clothes that were far better than any other clothes normally worn in Three Bridge. He held himself with a poise of a weapon ’s master. Indeed, he even held a long sword on his belt.

Behind the snobbish man stood two other men. They wore rougher clothes, but still looked tough and had some combat skills and experience. They, too, wore swords on their belts.

‘Where is the collector?’ The snobbish man asked.

I pointed to the man I ’d killed with a single slap, laying tumbled next to the crowd.

His face reddened in anger. ‘For that, you need to die. We’ll then burn this place down as an example.’

‘Tan-bei, do you wish to practice?’ I asked her.

She looked up at me with her round face. There were doubts in her expressive eyes. ‘Not sure—’

The snobbish man drew his sword and slashed it at Tan-bei and me. I caught it, grasping it tight in my clenched fist.

I gave him a murderous look. ‘Wait.’

He let go of his sword and fled the tavern.

Turning your backs on your enemy was the worse thing you could do. It was easier to kill your victims if you couldn ’t see their face.

‘Kill them.’ I told Tan-bei.

Tan-bei ’s blessings came from Julkasa, the goddess of wisdom, crafters, heroes, and warriors . From such a source it was understandable as the two dagger-length and sleek silvery blades appeared, they danced and shimmered into appearance like the golden sun on a spring ’s day peering over the horizon.

Not only that, the two blades were deadly weapons in their own right.

The faint smell of wildflowers, vivid after a spring storm, quickly faded out. In its place came a distant, somber tune, barely audible, promising protection, courage, and justice.

Never before had I heard this song, not in all the times I ’d helped Tan-bei in combat class. It seemed her blades and blessings knew this was not practice, but something else: a true calling forth of Tan-bei’s power.

She launched the two blades.

As they flew towards their targets, the two guards for the snobbish man, the intricate designs etched into the blades of the knives came alive in a dance of death.

Both blades hit their mark, and the two guards collapsed.

Tan-bei reformed her daggers in another dancing shimmering sunrise. This time, she launched both sleek blades at the snobbish man.

Whether he knew what was coming, guessed after seeing his companions fall, or had some danger sensing m ægen power, he dodged.

Tan-bei reformed the sleek silvery blades and launched them again. This time, one following another, as she had been taught at M ægen Scōl when trying to hit a moving target.

One blade missed. The following knife clipped his leg, forcing him to stumble and fall onto the cobbled streets.

Together we walked out on to the dark evening streets. The snobbish man rolled over, lifting an arm up to Tab-bei and myself. He was sobbing, begging for us to save him, to let him go, promising riches if we did.

I looked at Tan-bei ’s face. It was impassive. No overt feelings on it.

‘This man has killed people who begged for mercy. ’ I said, quietly, to Tan-bei.

Tan-bei reformed the sleek silvery blades. The flash of sunrise was bright in the darkness of the evening streets, causing the sobbing, snobbish man to blink. This time the song following the wildflower was one of retribution. After he opened his eyes, she mercilessly plunged the two blades into his chest.

Then, unsympathetic and frigidly, she watched as the man died.

The sleek blades in her hands flickered out.

I helped her up, letting her rest her shapely body against mine. With my blooded hand, I held Tan-bei ’s trembling body close to me. I allowed her to feel my warmth, letting her know that someone was with her.

Sara stood in the doorway of her tavern, some braver customers, and the bouncer for the tavern, standing behind her, watching us. A few other doorways and windows held people watching us.

I ignored them all.

All except Sara.

She came out onto the street, her pale white face even more deathly pale than before.

Just as she was about to say something, I interrupted her: ‘I will protect. All you have to do is trust in me. ’

Sara burst into tears, sobbing, thanking me, and promising she ’d deal with the bodies.

I ignored her. Happily leaving her behind as I helped Tan-bei walk along the dark, cobbled streets. Focusing on supporting the fragile spirit of Tan-bei who was struggling to come to terms with the first lives she had taken.