Gods, I feel so much better for that. Kuth may fall short in some areas, but when it comes to sex he is second to none. After a week of neglect I’m thoroughly satisfied now, seven solid hours of good hard fucking have finally put paid to that niggling frustration that’s made my temper so sharp since we finally made landfall.
Lying on the sweat-soaked sheets with my slick, unruly curls tickling my cheeks as I let my head settle back onto the sodden pillow, I find myself listening to the slowing throb of my own pulse in my ears as I get my breath back under control. Kuth’s stretched out beside me, panting in similar self-satisfied exhaustion as he gives up on trying to shift his position and ultimately just lets his limp hand flop down on my stomach. Our legs are still somewhat tangled up, my tail curled slack around his left calf and ankle from where I think I spent the last half hour just hanging on for dear life until he made me cum again … Freya, what’s the tally now? I realise I lost count after ten, I think. More than ten times, that’s a new record.
I’m still tingling something fierce from the last orgasm, the waves of euphoria essentially faded now in the face of fatigue, but I’m still enjoying that warm balm of the afterglow. Gods know my limbs feel like liquid right now, I couldn’t move if I tried, so I just lick my sweat-salty lips and try arching my back a little. Not much joy there, it looks like. I’m essentially paralysed right not, it would seem.
“Oh …” I manage to croak after a moment, and I have to clear my throat aggressively to continue. “Fuck, Kuth … I think you might have managed to break me this time.”
“Really? Well that’s …” He chuckles, but it’s a weak thing indeed, sounds like he’s as thoroughly done as me. “I should be damn proud o’ myself then, don’t you reckon?”
Making another attempt to move my right hand, somehow I manage to get just about enough strength in my fingers that I can at least crawl it to meet his left, and as our hands touch he’s at least got enough control to lace his fingers through mine. “Damn right you should be.”
“Mmmmm … good.” He gives my hand a gentle squeeze, although in truth I suspect that’s just all he can actually manage right now. “Ma always taught me to be good’n thorough in everything I set my mind to.”
That makes me snort out a laugh, and as I’m helpless to stop myself from giving in to the resultant fit of giggles he joins me, clearly pleased with his joke. When it finally subsides we just lie together for a while, happy to just bask in the aftermath of an insane amount of sexual adventure, and just enjoy each other’s company now we’re back on good terms again.
“So what’s the plan, then?” he eventually wonders, not so much turning his head to look my way as just letting it loll sideways. When I turn to look his way I find he’s a bit more serious now, almost earnest even.
“Well, I think we should just stay like this until our legs start working again. I have no hope of making it so far as the end of the bed after the thorough drubbing you just gave me.”
He manages a cocky smile at that, but it doesn’t last. “No, I meant, y’know … the job. We taking it, or you gonna tell fancy Master What’s-his-face to go stroke?”
“Yes, well Hontiresk is not the kind of man you tell to rub one out for himself without consequence, I’m afraid.” I can’t help scowling when I answer him. “His father was a harsh man, but his son is … something else. I wouldn’t cross him for a fortune.”
“Sounds like he’s somebody we’re better off not having anything to do with, then.”
“My thoughts exactly. Except that he wants me to do this job, and it certainly doesn’t sound like something I can pull off on my own.”
Kuth lets out a heavy sigh as he looks up at the ceiling, and any remaining good humour he might have been holding onto seems to have left him for now. “Yeah, well not wanting to speak too disparaging about some bloke you’re mostly just tangentially tied to from your past, guy seems like a little prick to me. He’s rich, and he’s full of himself, and from what you told me he’s also a vicious little schemer who killed his own da. Probably. Ain’t the first one o’ those we’ve had to deal with. So what’s so special about this one?”
“Honestly? Most of the rest had massively over-inflated opinions of their actual capabilities. If it really came to it most of them couldn’t have backed up the threats if they’d been pushed to it. Hontiresk certainly could. So when he says he wants me to do this job, what he really means is I will do this job. He already gave us details, which means that if we were to say no then we’re loose ends.”
“So he’ll … y’know?” He manages to raise his hand enough to give it a vague wave around waist-height, but I know he intended it to go to his throat so he could do a little cutting gesture with his thumb. “Fuck’s sake.”
“Essentially, yes.”
“That could be a pretty expensive prospect for him, though. Surely.” Kuth looks my way again. “And like, I mean, if he’s already trying to hire us to do the same to this other group … I mean, think about it. That’s just thick-headed.”
“Maybe. But he could certainly afford to hire another crew, one who are even less scrupulous than we are.”
“Yeah, but … I mean, it ain’t even about being scrupulous. We just don’t need this shit right now, do we?”
“You don’t think we can do this?”
Kuth actually manages to raise his head this time, looking down at me a bit now. He actually seems a tad offended by me even implying that, I think. “I never said that. We got a hell of a reputation, and it’s well deserved. You’re unstoppable on your own, I can vouch for that, and we got some serious heavy-hitters in our crew. Not to toot me own trumpet …”
“Oh no, of course not.” I smile up at him now, and I give him a little twinkle while I’m at it. “That’s my job.”
He cocks his brow at that, and starts to smile too. Shuffling a little bit, he manages to roll over enough he ‘s able to bring his face close to mine, and leans in for a kiss, bringing his arm over enough to take hold of me. At least after a fashion, although it’s pretty weak if I’m honest, at best he really just presses my arm. His tongue works just fine though, and mine responds eagerly enough as I open my mouth to greet his. At first it’s a somewhat languid, lazy kiss, but our passions quickly start to flare again and it grows hotter, more desperate, and soon enough I feel his strength starting to return as his fingers tighten on my arm and I reach for him in response. Grabbing his hip now as he starts to slide, clumsy but with enthusiasm, over my thigh and on top of me again.
As I pull him close and tongue deeper, starting to breath fast through my nose now, I raise my knees again as he starts to struggle into position, my hand shifting across to grip his drumskin-tight buttock. Not so much guiding him as just urging, he’s already following through on his own intentions with suitable enthusiasm, I’ve noticed. His left hand reaches up and plunges deep into the sweaty hair at the back of my neck, and I break the kiss now as I tilt my head aside, letting him start to lick and nibble where my neck meets my jaw. I can’t help letting a little moan escape me as that warm, wet rasping starts to work me up further, and I let my head tip back as me starts lapping away under my chin and across my throat. Oh fuck … yeah, that’s the ticket …
He knows every inch of me by now, knows every button to push to get me worked up, all my sensitive spots. The way his other hand doesn’t so much cup my breast as skirt the edges of the flesh, gently stroking the line where the swell of fat begins under my softly leathern skin. That touch sends warm, sparking shivers through me as surely as his mouth on my throat. I gasp as he strokes my skin, less moaning that whimpering now, breathless and losing control while I tighten my grip on his glorious arse while my free hand, finally finding its strength as well too, slips over his back and across his broad, powerful shoulders to the base of his neck. I’m guiding his head as much as I’m trying to guide his hips, but he’s decided to tease me now, the bastard …
His cock’s as hard again as it’s been all night and morning, like a rigid shaft of subtly curved hardwood, and I it brushing me now, immediately growing slick because I’ve gotten insanely wet again. He could just shove right in, and Freya knows I want him to, but instead he continues to roll his hips in time with his tongue on my neck as he teases me with tantalising slyness. I know this is giving him as much of a low-level charge as it is me, his cock must be as sensitive right now as he keeps on brushing me with frustrating evasiveness.
“Oh fuck … you bastard, what are you … oh …” I growl deep in my throat and gnash my teeth as he presses a little firmer, a more insistent rub this time. “Come on … stop playing –”
My next word’s lost in a senseless moan as he finally thrusts in, burying himself up to the root into me. I may have four inches on him when we’re stood next to each other but he’s perfectly proportioned to me for this, and as he starts to pump his hips with purpose I feel myself starting to melt as he just fills me. Fuck … fuck, he’s genuinely going to break me this time, I think. And Freya knows I want him to now.
The first time I hear the knock at the door I don’t really notice it, the blood’s thundering in my ears as my heart races while waves of hot sensation start to pulse through me. The first thing I actually register is the muffled sound of urgent voices somewhere, and they’re familiar enough to sort of make an impact in the back of my mind even as I hold onto Kuth and start to go away from myself entirely.
So when somebody starts full-on pounding on the door I genuinely notice. I can’t help it, even now my mind’s too sharp, I’m too well-trained to completely ignore the urgency in it. They know when Kuth and I lock ourselves away we really don’t like to be disturbed, so if anyone in the crew actually does knock we know it’s serious. So I tap his shoulder, insistent, even though I hate myself for doing it. Freya knows he’s probably going to resent me a little too, he’s so worked up now.
He's there enough to realise I mean it, at least. He doesn’t just stop on the spot, of course, his reptile brain’s still enough in control his hips keep thrusting and it’s enough to keep me a touch crazy too for the few moments it takes him to finally slow down to a stop. It’s only as I feel the tingle in my extremities and the watery weakness in the rest of me that I realise how close I was already getting to release, and that just adds to the frustration. So I can’t help the fervent rage that enters my words as I growl: “Fuck … fuck!! What is it?!”
There’s a long, pregnant pause on the other side of the door, and in the moments I wait I can feel the throb of blood in Kuth’s cock, making it frustratingly hard to hold onto myself right now. Finally I hear someone take a very careful breath, then I realise it’s Trouble on the other side as she calls through in a particularly tentative voice: “Um … Dram? Really, really sorry, but … um … we need you out here.”
Of course it’s Trouble, none of the others would have the balls to do this, especially after the week I just had. They’re all smart enough to know how to read the room, they knew how frustrated I was getting. She’s only come because she knows she’s the only one I won’t snap at.
It works. I hold my tongue as I let my head drop back and count to ten, studiously avoiding Kuth’s eyes now as he pants above me, breathless as I am now, and definitely similarly worked up. “Fuck’s sake …” I can’t help muttering it under my breath, I have to let it out before I can speak politely. “All right, just … I don’t know. Give us a minute or two.”
Another pause, and I know she’s even more conflicted now she realises she really did just interrupt us. “Yeah … sure thing, boss.”
Even though the blood’s still pounding in my ears, they’re good enough I can hear her walking away from the door out there, albeit somewhat reluctant. Damn, it must really be urgent, then. Shit …
“Looks like it’s a big deal.” I growl, not even trying to hide my frustration. Kuth looks at me now, and I can see the deep disappointment in him, not to mention as much irritation as I feel now. But he doesn’t pull out.
“C’mon Dram … can’t we just –”
“You know that won’t work, Kuth. You make me cum again I’m probably going to be out of it for a half hour at least, and this is clearly important.” I give his back an insistent pat. “Now get out of me, please.”
Frowning, he gives me the distinct impression he’s going to refuse, and right now as I feel his still very solid erection deep inside and the maddening throb of his own blood through it, I’ll admit I’m pretty conflicted about it myself. I’m not really sure exactly how hard I’d actually try to argue right now. So when he finally starts to pull out at last I realise I’m more saddened than relieved. He does it slow, though, and I know exactly what he’s doing, he knows full well this feels really good too …
When he finally pops free I whimper, I can’t help it, I get an extra little wave of wobbly tingles as he brushes me on the way out, and my eyes go straight between his legs as he starts to push himself up off me proper. It’s as magnificent to look at as it feels, but I’m sorry to see it out of me now.
He almost falls flat on his face as soon as he puts his feet down on the floor, and as it is he goes down on one knee, having to grab the corner of the bed to prop himself up in time. Clearly, however many times we went at it definitely took its toll on him. As I shove myself up into a sitting position my head swims badly, and my arms and spine feel painfully weak right now. “Oh … fuck, this is going to be … problematic.”
“No shit, professor … I can’t stand up.” He’s panting heavily again as he crouches there, and I don’t need to be able to see it now to know he’s definitely withered. What’s left of my own tingle is pretty much gone too, I mostly just feel a little achy now. Perhaps we did go at it a bit too hard this time.
“Just muddle through, Kuth. We’ve got a job to do.”
Pausing now, he looks up at me again as I barely manage to swing my legs over the side of the mattress. “So we are taking the gig, then?”
Turning back, I see he’s not frustrated or irritated now, nor is he angry at me for making the decision on my own. Mostly he just looks curious. He’s working out if I made the right call, I think. “We don’t have much choice in the matter really, do we?”
Considering for a moment as he cocks his head, he finally nods. “Yeah, you got a point there. You want me to talk to the other about it or –”
“It’s my call, just like always.” I manage to lift my right knee and wrap both arms around my bent leg as I pull it as tight into my torso as I can, working to limber up now so I might have a hope of standing up in the next few minutes. “You know the score. I’ll listen to you, and the others about it, but in the end it’s my call. You all put me in charge, so it’s on my head.”
As I let my leg drop away again and work on bringing to other up to do the same, Kuth gives me a long, considering look. I try my best to just ignore it, but something in that starts to wake me up again, and I shoot it down fast. It’s not the time. So when I let my other leg go I bend right down at my waist, so deep I almost bring my nose right to the ratty rug on the unvarnished floorboards as I stretch my arms out tight and long over my head. I stay like this for as long as I can, arching my back one way and then the other as I work the last of the kinks out, before finally drawing back up into my original seated position.
“Oof … all right then, here goes nothing.” I mostly just mutter it to myself under my breath, but I know Kuth’s watching me too, ready to jump in to catch me should this fail spectacularly … or at least he’d try to. Planting my feet firmly, I push up and put all of my weight on my legs, and somehow they’re just strong enough to take it. I don’t go down, but the gods know I don’t feel too stable up here now.
“Well done.” Kuth chuckles, and I’m a little relieve to hear a touch of humour now, it means he’s not holding onto a grudge this time. Not that he has any real reason to, no matter how it ended, we’ve definitely done more than enough fucking this past night and morning to make up for the last week. “A little help here, maybe?”
As I give myself one last stretch, I use the opportunity of my twisted position to look his way again, seeing him propping himself up on the corner of the bed now but clearly a little stuck making it much further. Letting out a weary sigh, I take a first tentative step towards him and thankfully my legs don’t give out under me, so I keep going. I have to take short, shuffling steps, but I make it to him well enough, and when I reach out and pull him up my arms are strong enough, at least. I wobble some when he’s standing, and when we throw our arms together to stand there for several cautious moments I’m not sure which of us really needs the support.
“I’d say thank you, but I’m still not entirely cool about having to call it on that last one.”
Shoving him off now, I give him a hard glare as he peddles for a long moment, wheeling his arms as he fights for balance, ultimately managing to stay up but wobbling dangerously all the same for a good stretch. “Do you have blue balls now?”
“No.” he admits, giving me a complicated look now. “Then again you done gone an’ proper drained me, doubt there’s enough left in me for that now.”
“You were the one who insisted on going at it so hard.” I shoot back, and I can’t stop the smile that’s creeping to my lips this time. Seeing it seems to break any lingering spell the frustration might have on him, and soon enough he’s grinning back, that cocky one that I like so much. The one that won me over in the first place, I’ll admit. “Idiot.”
“Shrew.” He chuckles as he throws the old response to my familiar mock insult back and I can’t help doing the same. “Well I trust you’re feeling all better now, right?”
“Well enough, yes.” I cast about the room for a moment, taking a few moments to inspect the messy strew of the clothes I wildly discarded as we fought to make our way to the bed before we went too crazy from the anticipation. Hmm … might have shredded some of these a bit too much getting them off, it seems. Finding my baggage still where I dumped it when we first arrived before heading out to the meeting yesterday evening, I stoop to drag up one of my packs and start rummaging for something a bit fresher to wear.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
In the end the lingering sense of urgency after the call is enough to prompt me to just throw on the essentials right now, and Kuth reads the mood in the room well enough to do the same. So I’m still padding on bare feet, my shirt barely laced up enough to protect my modesty, when I unlock the door a few minutes later, dragging it open with Kuth close on my heels, and we both seem to have recovered well enough now, at least. He’s even got a bit of a spring in his step now, in fact. Didn’t stop us strapping on our swords, though.
Our cleric straightens up as we step out, smoothing down her tunic as she pushes herself away from the wall she’s clearly been leaning against since she gave up trying to coax us out on her own. Trouble won’t meet my eyes now, but I don’t think it’s so much lingering guilt over her summons now, I sense there’s something else bothering her now. For a cleric of Corvina, the young half-hob has never been particularly sombre, nor is she the pious sort, although I understand the Raven Queen’s not too strict about sex anyway.
“Thank My Lady you’re up.” she vacillates now, clearly flustered as she starts to head off down the corridor towards the apartment’s common rooms before stopping herself and turning to hustle right back to us again. “He’s … there’s this guy … he’s being horribly insistent.”
Pausing before I’m quite out of the doorway, I trust Kuth to not just walk right into my back as I look past her. “Is something wrong, then? There’s no danger is there?”
Trouble blinks, having to crane a bit to meet my eyes now given she’s so much shorter than I am. She really is quite out of sorts, it’s enough warning for me. For someone who worships the Goddess of Death and dresses entirely in black, she’s usually a fairly bright and breezy person. “Oh, um … no, no I don’t think so. No, he’s some kind of runner or something, but … he won’t leave until he’s spoken with you. He’s being very particular about it, in fact, and Ix is … well, you know –”
“Shit.” I can’t help snarling the word as I push right past her, a little more forceful than intended, perhaps, following her most recent scent trail given it’s suddenly so quiet in here right now. Which means they must’ve heard us going at it so hard … damn it, I’m just mortified now.
The group seems to be in the lounge, but I imagine it’s mostly down to the fact that it’s the largest room here and they’re all gathered so they can keep an eye on … well, when I step in I find myself commiserating with Trouble’s relative lack of recognition.
She was right, the young man stood in the centre of the room with a distinctly irritated air is clearly a runner. That said, despite his officious nature as well as the fact he’s here in the first place telling me he’s one of Hontiresk’s, he clearly gone to elaborate lengths to disguise the fact. He’s dressed very much in the kind of overblown approximation of a common man’s clothes that a true noble would assume was correct in an attempt to blend in, but everything he's wearing is still too rich and well-presented to convince. It’s either come from his own wardrobe or been borrowed from a friend, but worst of all he’s completed the set with a heavy black traveling cloak with a deep hood that’s obviously much too expensive for this neighbourhood in an obvious attempt to mask his identity. Gods, he might as well have just painted a sign on his back saying he’s a person of interest.
The others are watching him with almost entirely uniform disdain, and I can’t blame any of them. In truth, Riveck looks more bored than anything else, slouching back on the badly upholstered couch with a glass of wine in his hand that I know won’t be his first of the day, but he’s unimpressed all the same. The wizard may have a massively inflated opinion of his own worth and talents, but it’s really not all that undeserved, and he’s always been a good judge of character. Mostly because he’s much too damnably smart for his own good.
Suret, meanwhile, has wisely decided to camp out on the floor next to the chair from which Thamree’s fixed the new arrival with a particularly sharp, brooding stare. Given that the former is a full-grown female ogre, this is a good thing, because we’re trying to be careful about taking care of any establishments we wind up renting these days, and she’s very hard-wearing on the furniture. But she’s also largely inseparable from our much more diminutive scout, so as Tham glares at the boy in the ridiculous costume Suret follows her lead with her own understandably withering stare. Given how gentle and sweet natured I know the ogre can be most of the time I’m finding it really hard not to laugh seeing it.
The main, most glaring threat here, however, is Ixen. He’s the only other one standing in here right now, less out of alertness than just to make our guest uncomfortable, like always. For such a cold bastard he can be impressively petty at times, I’ve found. Like most imori he’s taller than the boy, but otherwise no larger, seeming wiry thin but clearly lethally dangerous even at his most relaxed. He has no weapons out but he doesn’t need to, his impressive array are all on clear display and he’s scary enough already without any naked steel to add to the effect. Besides, his cold reptile glare is enough on its own, telling the young runner exactly how thoroughly unimportant he is to this born killer.
Trouble’s right, Ix is definitely the problem here. The simple truth is that our pet murderer has no real solid grasp on moral right and wrong, at least beyond what we’ve been able to drum into him. I’ve known him for five years now and in that time it’s become abundantly clear the imori warrior has no conscience at all. Certainly, it’s part of what makes him one of the most unstoppably deadly fighters I’ve ever known, and he’s an excellent crewmate to have when you get into trouble. This problem is that outside of combat we have to keep a constant eye on him to make sure people don’t wake up with their throats cut because he thought they crossed him. So the fact he’s taken such a clear, immediate set against this young man is definitely a sign we need to be mindful here.
As I step into the room the boy turns, and one look tells me he’s largely unimpressed with all of them, or at least he’s doing a bloody good job of pretending he’s not intimidated. His brow cocks ever so slightly as he looks up as I approach him, his pale, watery ryes meeting mine, and I realise he’s actually even younger than I first guessed at. From the look of it he’s probably still growing some, meaning the clothes are definitely borrowed. Certainly he hasn’t even tried to start growing a beard yet. But he’s definitely got the contempt of his class down pat, even directed at me. Oh, if only he knew …
“All right,” I snap as he dips a deep nod which is proper for decorum but also entirely unconvincing, cutting him short before he can speak. “Out with it. What’s so fucking important?”
He pauses with his mouth open, and for a moment he looks a good deal more stupid. Then he shuts it, frowning now, and looks around the room again. “I am here at the request of Master Refik Hontiresk of House –”
“Yes, I know this already. I can smell him on you, you’re just his type.” I simply stare him down as he glares at me with growing hostility over my utter dismissal. “I don’t give a shit about the proper way of doing things right now, boy. It’s irritating and pointless and just a waste of time. The sooner we just get to the meat of the matter the sooner I can give you our answer and we can be rid of you.”
His frown deepens a fraction, and his eyes flicker past me to where I know Kuth’s taken up a wary position, backing me up now. “You mean you can get back to rutting like a couple of animals?”
As I hear Kuth shift behind me, I hold up my hand to check him, and he’s with it enough to mind me. I don’t let my own expression change a jot, still regarding the boy with cool contempt shaded with boredom. “Careful now. I highly doubt your master would have been so sloppy as to send you without giving you an idea of the kind of people you’re dealing with.”
That seems to be what finally gets through to him, and he seems to shrink down an inch or two, reaching up to draw his hood back so I can finally get a proper look at him. Yes, like I thought, he’s awfully young, barely sixteen summers from the look of him, handsome in a rather pinched, weak-chinned way, clearly from rather fragile noble stock. Pale blond hair, barely any colour in his milk-pale skin at all. Exactly Hontiresk’s type, in fact. I can’t help wrinkling my nose a touch thinking about it. Give it a year or two and he’ll find him too old to interest him anymore, and then he’ll just move onto someone fresher.
Satisfied I’ve put the boy in his place, I soften my expression a touch, taking a little of the edge out of my voice too. “What does he want, then? I thought the agreement stood that we were to contact him. I’d imagine that would have been more beneficial for his requirement for privacy in this matter. You’re not very discreet.”
Looking down at his dress for a moment, the boy’s frown deepens even more. “That was not … he insisted that –”
“You stick out, boy.” Ix growls, and I see him visibly stiffen at the icy rasp of that voice. “I’ve seen market clowns put on a better attempt at disguise than this.”
“What does he want?” I ask again, trying to keep the conversation from derailing since Ix has clearly gotten his mental claws in the boy now.
When he looks up at me again, I can see the fear bubbling away underneath now. “Um … Master Hontiresk regrets that he must have your answer now. Matters have become … complicated. He was not forthcoming with any details as to what that meant.”
For the first time since I stepped into the room, Ixen’s eyes shift to me, that naturally baleful, snakelike stare instantly setting my skin to crawling. I can feel the others looking to me too, waiting to hear my decision as much as the young runner. Even Kuth, although at least he already knows my mind on this.
Licking my lips, I turn to him now, and he holds my gaze now, which surprises me a little. He smiles, just a little, finally nodding. Giving his blessing, such as it is since it’s either accept or we’ll have to get out of the city quickly. Ultimately that means it’s not the relief I would’ve preferred.
Turning back, I fix the boy with my stoniest glare. “Tell him we’ll take the job, boy. But he’ll have to double the money. And we want half up front.”
For a moment he just stands there, looking deeply confused, and while I could feel a little bad about dropping this on him, in truth I just want to see him squirm after that unnecessary dig at Kuth and I. “But that’s not the way –"
“I truly could not give the tiniest fuck. Your master knows full well how I operate, and knows that if he wants to engage our services we’ll expect to be compensated appropriately.” I take another step towards him, until I’m so close I really have to look down in order to meet his eyes. Close enough to feel his breath, growing nervously quick now I’m so close. “You understand me, I trust?”
I see him swallow as much as hear it, the knot in his larynx is definitely big enough in that skinny neck. All the swagger he’s been trying to maintain up to now just seems to leak right out of him now, I can see in his eyes that he’s scared of me now. And he’s right to be. There’s no way Hontiresk would have sent him here without giving him an inkling of at least why he might find it smart to tread carefully around me. “I … understand you perfectly, Mistress Malyss.”
“That’s more like it.” I growl down into his face, letting a little crackle of superheated air and just a wisp of charred smoke flicker out along with it. Enough to make my point. “So I’m to understand this is particularly time sensitive, then?”
Coughing a little, he at least has the good sense not to wave his hand in his face to clear the air, obviously mindful now of making any sudden moves. “Ahem … yes. It is, Mistress. He asks you to contact him at the earliest convenience, since you’re mindful to accept.”
“He specify where? Since this is all supposed to be clandestine, one would think reporting to Rederra House would be the worst idea. And not that stupid club, please. Gods know I don’t want to go there again.”
This prompts a particular frown from the boy, and I get the impression he’d just as soon back up even more from me right now, but with Ix so close he’s trying very hard to stand his ground. “He … um, I’m sorry, he wasn’t very clear about it. He offered up instructions but they were awfully cryptic.” He looks down for a moment, and I suspect he’s trying to remember what he was told. “He said you should consider old times? I’m afraid I don’t understand what that means. That you would remember … the play?” The way he looks up at me now seems almost like he’s searching, beseeching me for an answer.
It does ring a bell, I’ll give him that. That sneaky bastard, it’s a smart move. “Don’t worry about it, boy. I understand. Best be on your way now.”
As I turn away from him he starts to bluster, I suspect he wants to protest, but he stops himself quickly, I imagine he sees the others looking him over again and it shuts him right up. I simply turn to the doorway again, where Kuth’s leaning into the jamb with his arms crossed, thoughtful now as he watches me. Our cleric’s hovering behind him, still in the hallway, and still very uncomfortable. “Trouble, dear, could you escort him out?”
Blinking, she looks up at me now, opening her mouth for a beat before closing it without a word. Her frown deepens and she looks at the boy, then waves to attract his attention. “Um … this way, please? I’m sure you’ll be happier out of here.”
When I look back the runner’s just staring at her as if she’s speaking some unfathomable language, or perhaps he wants to protest after all, but finally he lets go of a heavy sigh as he visibly deflates and just starts walking out of the room. As he passes me he mutters, almost under his breath: “Good day, Mistress Malyss.”
“And to you.” I sigh, already turning away again. As I look at Ixen I realise his eyes are already boring into me. “What?”
He shifts his stance subtly, but doesn’t tense, which is a good enough sign right now, no implication of threat. He still looks … I wouldn’t say angry, but he clearly disapproves of this situation. I’m really not sure I blame him. “Just like that, then?”
“Yes.” I take the greatest care not to snap at him, but I still wind up having to speak through my teeth. “Essentially, like that.”
“I don’t like it, Dram.” Thamree’s as unconvinced as Trouble, I notice. “After what happened back in Paech … that little shit don’t fill me with much confidence. Gives me vibes like we’re working for morons again.”
“What did I always tell you about messengers, Tham?” I try to make the question sound breezy but I don’t think it works.
“Ain’t sure that counts here, boss.” The halfling sits forward, and it takes me a moment to realise it’s simply down to her wanting to start shuffling off her seat. She doesn’t continue until she’s hopped down to the floor again, and once she’s landed Suret starts to shift too. Not making any real effort to stand yet, but she’s definitely thinking about it now Tham’s moving. “I smell morons, and it makes me nervous. I don’t wanna see this crew get any smaller so soon after the last time.”
“Hontiresk is not like that pointless waste of skin.” I don’t add what I really think about our new employer. “He’s no saint, even in the remotest sense. But he’s sharp. If he tells me something’s how it is, he’s got the good sense to give me the truth, because he wants this taken care of quickly and quietly.”
“Yes, because it’s something … nasty.” Suret rumbles, and while she’s still as unreadable as a stone I think I can see a certain cool, ruminating thoughtfulness in her general lack of expression. After all, she almost never speaks unless she has something important to say. “What you told us last night didn’t sound very appetising. This is what you want us to do?”
“No, it’s what he wants us to do. I’d rather not, but …” I sigh deep, looking to the ceiling now as I ponder how to put this. “Myself, I would just as soon not do it. I did some very shady work for his father. Unfortunately, that very association is what brought me to his mind in the first place, and now he’s summoned me, and you all along with me, unfortunately. He’s not the kind of person you say no to.”
This has them all thinking for a moment or two. I must have missed hearing Trouble close the main door of the apartment after dispatching our guest, because she’s already back in the doorway now, hovering behind Kuth like she’s trying to be unobtrusive. So I gather she already heard that too. She’s as thoughtful as the rest now.
Finally Suret leans forward a little more, and it’s enough for her to get all her weight onto her feet so she can rise out of her crouch, bringing herself as much to her full height as she can manage under these relatively low ceilings. She looks at me for a cool, pregnant moment, before finally nodding subtly while rumbling again: “I’m with you then, boss.”
“What?” Tham looks up at her gigantic friend with unabashed shock, while Ix just hisses in cold disgust.
“For the love of fuck why?”
“We have no choice. Dram made that clear.” Suret gives him a look that broaches no argument.
“Look at it this way, ‘least we get paid extra for it.” Kuth shoves himself away from the door jamb and steps casually to my side, but I notice he’s drawing himself up to his full height and rolling his shoulders a little, as if he’s preparing to back me up physically too, if it’s necessary. With Ix you never really know. “After Paech, I should think that might be a decent enough incentive.”
That just prompts an even deeper scowl from Ixen, and I wonder if that might’ve been a stupid thing to say. He doesn’t seem to genuinely like many of us, but I remember he and Rathi had somehow bonded pretty well. Maybe it was down to them both being so damn sneaky … whatever it was, now the only one of us that he really seems able to genuinely tolerate is Trouble, although I just find that friendship even more inexplicable.
Ultimately he just fixes me with a particularly cold glare and snarls: “We get another result like that I may not be able to hold my tongue anymore.”
“When did you ever manage that before?” Kuth muses, giving him a particularly non-plussed stare. “You seemed happy enough voicing your opinion before, what’s so different now?”
Ixen turns to him now, narrowing his eyes as he shifts his stance, and this is all too familiar to me. These two have never gelled before, I don’t see that changing anytime son. “I know full well why you’re happy to just go along with this, pretty boy. You spend most of your time thinking between your legs anyway. The rest it’s between hers.”
“Why you ugly –” Kuth starts to spit as he makes a big step forward towards Ix, whose mouth quirks just a little into something approaching a smile knowing he touched a sore spot. This has the potential to get particularly nasty very quickly, neither of them like each other at all but more than that the imori has no restraint at all when it comes to his killer instinct.
Mindful of where this is liable to head, I don’t let it get any further, just stepping between them and putting my hands on either chest and locking my arms rigid, managing to shove them both far apart again. I’m noticeably taller than both anyway, neither has the reach to try anything now. “That’s enough of that shit, just lock it up and save it for whoever it is we have to fight.”
Ixen’s full-on grinning now, as amused by my frustration as Kuth’s loss of composure, but he puts his hands up in calm surrender and takes a step back. I turn to Kuth but keep my hand where it is, drawing close to him as he stands there breathing fast and hard as he glares at the unrepentant assassin. “Kuth … Kuth, snap out of it you daft bastard. I need you focused. You’re supposed to be my second here.”
For a beat it’s like he doesn’t hear me, but then he blinks and his eyes flicker to me, and I see realisation dawn as the red in them starts to lighten back to amber. He deflates slowly, lowering his chin before just nodding and stepping back too. “Yeah, sure. Gotcha, boss.”
Watching him for a moment longer, just to make sure he’s not going to try anything stupid after all, I really have to wrestle my attention away so I can check on the others. I turn to face Thamree, who I now realise is looking between Kuth and Ixen as though she’s sharing my misgivings. She probably is, she’s always been so sharp. “Tham, what do you say?”
The halfling scout looks up now, watchful for a long moment as she seems to be weighing the options, and doesn’t actually seem so completely offended now. Finally she shrugs. “Fuck … yeah, why not? If this big dope’s with you then I am.”
Suret gives her a long look, and I know there’s some real fondness in it, even though you’d never know to look at her. Ultimately it’s good enough for me.
When I look at Trouble I don’t even need to ask, I know full well she’s following this well enough. She looks at the others for a long moment, finally taking me in, and still looks deeply unconvinced even when she finally nods. “All right. If Tham and Suret are with you, then I guess I am too. I wouldn’t want to see you go off and get yourselves killed because I wasn’t there to patch you all together again, after all.”
Finally I turn to Riveck, who hasn’t moved this whole time, I realise. He’s just swirling the last of the wine in his cheap goblet, lips pursed, eyes slowly traveling around the group as he considers. “Riv, what do you think?”
His pale grey eyes flit to mine, and he cocks his head slowly as he considers me. “I’m really not sure why you’re asking me, we all know you’re going to do whatever you want regardless of how we vote.”
“Precisely.” Ix growls. He’s not smiling this time, just baring his teeth.
Trying very hard to ignore him, I concentrate on our hedge wizard instead. “I’m still asking. You’re right, this is going to happen anyway, because we’ll be in an impossible spot if I say no. But if you’re not up for it, you’re welcome to go, see if maybe you can find a way back to Fidherin.” I turn to Ix now. “Maybe you’d be happier reuniting with Rathi. Maybe you could start a new crew, if she ever manages to get back on her feet, that is.”
Ixen gives another hiss, but this one’s a good deal less focused, I think I might have him now. So I turn back to Riveck, just waiting to see what he thinks.
After a long pause, the wizard simply lifts the goblet, considering it for a moment before swallowing the dregs. He smacks his lips before giving them a cursory lick, and looks up again. “Money’s always nice. Maybe you could ask this fancy lord of yours if he’s got any better vintages too while you’re at it?”
Cocking my brow, I watch him for a moment before I allowing myself a smile. Now I turn back to Ix, who’s scowling again. He’s the only remaining holdout.
“Fuck …” He looks past us now, and I know he’s regarding Trouble again. “All right, fuck it. I’ll do it, but only because otherwise you’d all die without me. I mean …” He glares at me, but there’s a good deal less hostility in his look now, which surprises me. “Hell, we might die anyway. But I’ll take a few of those fuckers with me, I promise.” He chuckles now, and like always it’s a chilling thing when he does it. “Whoever they actually are. Did he actually say who they are?”
I have to blink at that. “No … he didn’t. I imagine we’ll find out at the meeting.” I look around at the others. “All right then, we’re on the job, it would seem. I want everybody ready to go in a quarter hour. Fair enough?”
No-one speaks to the contrary, even Ix seems to have relaxed again, but then he’s always ready to go already. I suspect he sleeps with all his knives strapped on.
“Good.” I turn back towards the door, giving Kuth a little pat on the chest as I step past him so he knows to follow. I find Trouble’s already skipped back, waiting for me in the corridor now.
“So … what is the plan, then?” she asks as she falls into step beside me. “I couldn’t make head nor tail of what that silly boy was talking about.”
“You weren’t meant to, that was all for me. But it’s simple. We’re going to the theatre.”
Trouble stops on the spot, frowning, but I just keep walking with Kuth close behind me as we head back to our room. “The theatre … what?”