The window was open and the room was dark.
Kin stood silently behind his master and watched as the price for his service was discussed. He stared at the wall, at the paintings and curtains, but he felt their eyes upon him. He did not dare to speak, nor think. The matter was beyond him.
He played the part they had given him. The loyal beast without a will of his own. It was a role he could accept, one that gave him some piece of mind.
The ones who saw him would recognize the symbol on his collar, marking him a property of lord Tamak, the master of this part of Banmoor. Kin ignore them the best he could because he did not want to see the fear that undoubtedly would be in their eyes. They knew that there was a reason for lord Tamak's fondness of him, a reason why Tamak never let him out of his sight if he could.
“You worry me, lord Ashyn,” Tamak said in his regular mocking tone. He sat in his favorite chair looking out towards the balcony and the skyline. Kin was the only one of his servants allowed to be present. “I’ve heard a great deal about you. People claim you’re effective, and yet here you are, wasting both of our times.”
“I can’t give you what you want,” Ashyn complained. He was a leaner man with hefty sideburns and mustache. His uniform marked him as a high-ranking officer, but the graying hair on his head hinted that there had been years since he last saw battle. “The price is too high. I would be willing to…”
Tamak silenced him with a hand. He then proceeded to carefully select a cigar from the silverbox at the small table next to his chair and light it with a match. Every movement calculated and precise. He took several long breaths before he continued.
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“I’m not the one in trouble, Ashyn. I could get what I need from someone else, but what you require… I’m the sole provider of such a service.”
Ashyn glanced at Kin where he stood, as silent as any other piece of furniture.
“How can I be sure he will deliver? I need reassurance.”
“Oh, he won’t disappoint. You’d have 24 hours, and before the time is up either you will have your target, or she will have you killed. But my hound will have found her either way.”
That was his job, the only reason he was still alive. Kin did not remembered if there had been a time when he hadn't been able to see the flooding lights that made up the entire world. The colors that no one else seemed to notice. The traces left behind when you moved. The pieces of your soul that got lost when you left the room.
“He…” Ashyn started, transfixed by Kins stoic face. “He’s an unusual one, isn’t he? Is he even human?”
“He once was. God knows what he would have turned into if I hadn’t taken him in,” Tamak grumbled. “Now. You can either give up the charade and agree to my terms, or you can be sure your little wench will be the one finding you. And not the other way around.”
“You’re a real bastard, you know that right? I wouldn’t have been so cold if it had been you…”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Tamak interrupted. “You wouldn’t even have had the good grace of meeting me. But if a demonstration is what’s needed, then you will have one.”
He signaled Kin to come closer with his cigar.
“Is my dear friend, the headstrong lord Ashyn, carrying my payment on him?”
“Yes,” Kin answered with a monotone voice. He could see the pulsating light emitting from somewhere close to Ashyn’s heart. It was stronger than anything else he had seen. It was a piece of pure magic. “Left jacket pocket.”
Ashyn paled and struggled to find the words. Instead, he sighed and reached into his pocket, bringing forward a small leather package. A rock, no bigger than his thumb rolled into his palm. It glowed with a faint blue light.
Walstone.
“Well,” Tamak whispered as his smile broadened. “Now, we can do business.”