No Screw Ups

When they got back to the camp, Jessamy was waiting. She had a half-empty tankard in one hand, and the other was resting on the arm of one of the new men from Laxxness. She leaned into him, laughing at his joke, mouth hanging wide open like the hinge of a skull.

She turned as Taliette entered the ring of firelight.

"Well, look who came to the party, it’s Gintas' little monster."

Gintas squeezed her hand. "Later," he mouthed to her, then retired to the edge of the clearing.

"Hello, Jessamy," she said. "Let’s not fight today. It won’t go well for you."

Jessamy frowned, taken aback. Her dark hair tumbled over her shoulders as she stepped into the circle of firelight, her brown eyes were half hidden in the flickering shadows.

"I think maybe you’re afraid of me, fancy girl. Are you afraid of me?"

The girl was ridiculous. Taliette couldn’t believe she had ever been upset by this childishness.

"I can’t even be bothered to look at you."

Jessamy snapped. "You fed me an apple! You made me wait while you slept. Hours I stood there sometimes. One time you burned me with a poker, then made me say sorry. I used to clean the grate at night because if you saw me doing it, you’d make me eat it. Three years I worked in your house, keeping an eye on you for Gintas, and who gets the bow?"

Taliette shrugged. The girl was a child. She’d killed grown men. She was bored by her.

Jessamy lashed out without warning. This time, Taliette was ready. She flowed out of the way, just as Hal had shown her.

The men took note and began to form a circle, ready for a show. Taliette used the pause to toss Gintas' wine flute into a patch of long grass and slip on her jacks. Her heart did not restrain her. She looked to Gintas for permission.

"Later, I said!" boomed Gintas from across the grove.

Taliette shrugged. The game was over for now. She looked to Jessamy. The girl went back to stand with the Laxxness fighter. Taliette could see her lip was quivering.

"Now Listen up lads - and ladies," Gintas said again. "Taliette’s got to go back to her bed soon, so I’m going to brief you all on the mission now. Is everyone paying attention? I want no screw-ups later."

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"Most of you know why we're here. There’s a Fae ring on that hill. In it is a ruin. In the ruin is a family, three children and a woman. That family has significance to me. You’re going to go and get them."

"We ain’t killing no kids, boss." Hal interrupted, his big blonde head lit by the firelight. "I don’t care how much gold they've got."

"I need them alive. That’s why you’re taking billy clubs only. No blades, no bows, no alley pieces, I'm looking at you Spare. No one dies if you can help it."

The others muttered amongst themselves.

"Taliette has been scoping this place out for a few days now. We know there are a lot of mouseholes in there. There may be other things we don’t know about."

"Great", muttered Brock. "Spooky sodding magic."

"It’s three kids and a woman," replied one of the Laxxness Northerners. "I think we can manage it." The rest of the men laughed.

"There may be mouseholes that lead out of the ring to elsewhere. There may be traps. No one is to escape, you understand? I want all of them, but if you have to make a choice, choose the mother and the eldest boy. Those are the priorities. The girl is a nice bonus. The servants are expendable."

"I’ll say again, no one touches the mother, or I will be most unhappy." He paused to let his words sink in.

"Taliette has found lots of mouseholes that lead in and out, but I don’t want you big lads trying to squeeze through, so Taliette is going to open the back gate for us."

There were a few cheers at that.

"The Ways round here are old and narrow. Jessamy, you'll accompany Taliette in case anything goes wrong. Once inside, find somewhere to hide until Taliette has the gate open. Once she’s ready, she’ll send a signal, and then we’ll go in."

"Oh, why me, boss?" said Jessamy. "She’s a useless little rich girl. She’ll only screw everything up."

"Because you're thin, that's why. Believe me, I don’t want you two anywhere near each other. Taliette, you're forbidden to hurt Jessamy tonight. Jessamy, no fighting, ok? Save it for another day."

Hal raised his hand. "What’s the layout, boss."

"Glad you asked. The walls are warded. Don’t try to climb them, or you’ll hurt yourselves. There’s a main gate to the north, a back gate to the west, and a spooky little arch in the south that you won’t be using. You won’t see any of the gates with your eyes, understand? Everything’s fucking magic, so don’t touch any of it.

The main ruin is in the middle. There’s a big black wooden building in the southwest where the younger boy hangs out, and a tower overlooking a bottomless pit to the east where the girl likes to go. Don’t fall in. Question?"

Pig had his hand raised. "Yeah, boss, is it really bottomless or just deep?"

"This is an Aden ring. I’m going to say it’s bottomless. Sensible questions."

Hal spoke up again. "Why aren't we going in at night?"

Some of the men murmured agreement.

"It's a family group. They won't run unless they can run together. Kids are active in the day. Grab a few of the kids, then get the mother. She won’t try to get away without them."

Jessamy spoke up. "What do we do when the fancy girl screws up?"

The men laughed.

"Go easy on her, Jessamy. I owned your heart once, too, remember? You’re all here because I trust you to do your jobs. Is everybody ready?"

"Yes, boss," came the answering chorus.

"Great. Should be an easy take. Taliette, Jessamy, you’re up first. Let’s go."

As Taliette slipped away from the circle of firelight, Gintas drew her aside.

"Have you got enough arrows?" he asked quietly.

"More than enough."

The way he looked at her, she knew that he understood her. It was as though they shared one soul.

"You're going to need plenty tomorrow. Good girl. Don't let me down."