Stranger of Tempest: Book One of The God Fragments (21 page)

Payl snapped her fingers to attract Kas’s attention back from her weapon and nodded towards the inn. ‘You two, come with me.’

They went inside to the common room, which was mostly empty at that point in the afternoon, and headed through to the smaller annex where guests of slightly higher quality would eat, if any turned up. The three of them sat around the furthest table and Payl fixed Lynx with a stern look.

‘You saw Charnelers? Have a run-in?’

‘Nothing like that. I just made friends with a wine shop owner who mentioned it in passing. Doesn’t sound like it’s any great secret, which may or may not mean anything. Could be some religious thing for all I know, or some conclave of their Order.’

‘Anatin’s out meeting his contact for the job right now. If the city’s busier than usual, I should mebbe march the company out today.’

‘You?’

She shrugged. ‘Anatin says he’s leading the mission. Think he wants a last bit of excitement before he gets too old. Been saying for a few months now he’ll sell his stake in the company one day soon.’

‘We can only start scouting the place out once Anatin gets back,’ Kas pointed out, all business now. ‘Only act tomorrow night at the earliest. Cut the rest loose tonight, tell ’em to be back for a midday muster and march ’em out then. You get at least half a day jump on our group.’

‘And if Anatin pushes the job a day, it gives you time to keep on down the road and find somewhere good to camp,’ Lynx added. ‘In case things go wrong.’

‘With a city full of Charnelers and the least trustworthy parts of the company let loose on the city, what could possibly go wrong?’

‘No chance you’ll tie them down another night?’

Payl gave a snort. ‘Amazed they did what they were told last night. This ain’t the So Han army, Lynx. Those boys and girls will be hitting the gaming houses by nightfall then screwing anything that moves until dawn or they pass out. If we only get one arrested or killed tonight, we’ll be doing well. Company’s had little chance to cut loose these past few weeks and some folks been itching to find trouble as fast as they can.’

‘Sounds like you’ve got a job on your hands tomorrow morning.’

‘Didn’t you know? Trawling whorehouses and the alleys behind pubs is my idea of fun,’ Payl said with a grimace. ‘Fortunately, all the Knights have to do the trawl and most o’ the troops are scared shitless of Reft, plus Anatin’s free with the fines for those we can’t find.’

‘Guess that means it’s a quiet night in for us select few,’ Lynx commented.

‘Sure, once you’ve done a first sweep of the target streets it’ll be all silver cutlery and brandy. O’ course, after that Anatin’ll take all your money at this very table.’ She grinned. ‘He, ah, gets all hot and competitive the night before action.’

‘More competitive than normal?’

‘Almost shot Kas here once for winning.’

Kas nodded. ‘Never could work out if I got lucky he was so drunk that night. He
did
shoot Himbel once, but the man was being a real misery so no one was surprised there.’

‘Sure I’ll be fine,’ Lynx said as he stood. ‘Not like the man’s one drink away from shooting me anyway.’

True to Payl’s prediction, the strike company ate together in the private room of the inn while the rest were unleashed on the city. Anatin had returned late and immediately shut himself away with his lieutenant, so Lynx was well on the way down his second drink before he saw the commander.

Lynx and Sitain sat almost in silence, watching the senior officers pile into a whole shoulder of pork surrounded by a wall of spice-tinted potatoes. Payl and Anatin had ducked their heads in briefly as the food arrived, but it was Safir and Olut who presided over the table as, by fits and starts, they jointly told a tale of an implausible night of drinking. The Knights of Stars and Snow were as close to opposites as Lynx could imagine, yet the pair seemed even closer allies than myth suggested the gods of their suits had been.

Safir wore a fine embroidered coat of green and yellow over a grey and green kilt that reached his calves, his hair and moustache neatly oiled, his gestures deft and restrained while he spoke. There was a white silk scarf around his throat and polished silver cutlery in his hands, poised over his plate for when Olut next broke in.

Olut was taller and heavier than the lithe nobleman, her sandy hair tangled and greasy, her sallow northern skin blotchy after some past illness. She wore a much-repaired leather jerkin which had already been stained before her careless eating habits added to the toll. Lynx couldn’t imagine her in a dress or skirt, while the sight of Safir in his kilt no longer looked odd at all to him.

Obviously the rest of the table had heard the story several times before, given the interruptions and catcalls that came from Kas and Tyn. Even Reft snorted his derision at the overblown description of jumping between rooftops, but Lynx noticed Sitain drinking it all in with a broad grin on her face. He realised it didn’t matter how true the story was, it was a fantasy of the life everyone hoped they might lead and the books he read were no different, aside from the pieces of gristle that were spat out as Olut took up the mantle once more.

Just as the pair of adventurers tumbled, half-naked but still armed, through a roof hatch and into a merchant prince’s private orgy, the dining room door banged open and Anatin marched in.

‘And Safir got sold as a eunuch ’cos they couldn’t see his balls, what with it being so cold out,’ Anatin broke in loudly, ‘while Olut charmed her way to freedom by way of a combination o’ erotic dancing and a sea shanty so filthy the whores anointed her their goddess.’

Olut gave a roar of good-natured rage and hurled a bone in Anatin’s general direction, but the commander ignored her as he sat at the head of the table.

‘You all sober?’

There was a variety of grunts, outraged denials and laughter from the various parties, which Anatin took as a yes as he helped himself to a plate of food.

‘Glad to hear it. We’ve got some scouting to do in the morning.’

‘It’s tomorrow?’ Teshan asked, his quiet voice cutting through the general murmurs.

Anatin shook his head. ‘Following night. With all the Charnelers in the city, Payl’s gonna take the rest o’ the company out tomorrow – get some miles between them and the city before any shit goes down.’

‘And find an ambush point?’ Lynx asked.

‘You prefer to split off and go cross country?’

‘Toward Shadows Deep?’ Lynx scowled. ‘Hoping that’s a last resort.’

‘Damn right it is. Girly, you – Sitain. You stick close to Payl and make yerself useful. If you stay with the company you pull your weight, understand? We’re a fighting troop and it’s all business until I say otherwise, so you work and you work harder’n the rest unless you learn to shoot. Braqe will leave you alone, just don’t get in her face.’

‘Just like that?’

Anatin paused over his food. ‘Yeah, just like that. The woman’s a soldier, not a fool or fanatic. She knows an order when she gets one and she knows the rules, so she’ll steer clear.’

Teshen nodded. ‘And I told her I’d cut her face off if she killed you.’

‘Aye, there’s that too,’ Anatin said. ‘Sound leadership tactic.’

‘If she kills me?’ Sitain echoed in disbelief. ‘That’s hardly reassuring.’

‘We can’t stop her hating you, just doing anything about it. You got a problem with that, the door’s over there.’

Sitain matched his gaze for a moment, then realised she was picking a pointless fight and ducked her head in acknowledgement. Anatin maintained his level stare a while longer then grunted.

‘Good. My contact gave us everything we need so we walk it through tomorrow while the rest are leaving. Muster mid-morning, dunk ’em one by one in the horse trough. With luck you’ll be ready to move early afternoon, Payl. Send the troops separate to the carts, different gates if you can. A couple of guards without badges is all they’ll need and we don’t want any association made ’til it’s too late, just in case.’

‘You expecting trouble?’ Lynx asked.

Anatin’s lip curled. ‘With you around? Damn fucking right, seems like you attract it. I didn’t live so long in this game without being careful.’

‘True,’ Tyn agreed loyally, ‘all those times you told us to run away, the rest of the army got royally screwed.’

The permanent smirk of her scarred cheek seemed to betray her studied expression, but before Anatin could turn on her Safir raised his glass in toast. ‘Don’t forget those times we were paid to change sides – double the money and we ended up on the winning side.’

‘The captain of the Sulian honour guard,’ Kas added, ‘I didn’t hear exactly what he shouted after us as we marched away, but I’m pretty sure it was congratulating our tactical nous.’

‘It was hard to ask him afterwards,’ Safir agreed. ‘A little crispy for conversation.’

‘Oh, I got one,’ Olut cried, but a spice-stained potato hit her in the face before she could speak.

‘Sure, keep it up,’ Anatin said with a nasty gleam in his eye. ‘Next time there’s a one-sided fight I’ll leave you to it and fuck off with your share of the pay. It’ll buy me a few new sergeants I reckon, ’specially when my strongbox holds most o’ your money.’

Teshen leaned back in his seat and patted the huge arm of Reft, who was sat on his left. ‘Yeah, reckon you’re right, Reft, we should just kill and rob him once we’re out of the city.’

A slow, horrible grin spread across the hairless giant’s face, revealing neat rows of white teeth with the left-hand canines replaced with gold points. Even Anatin faltered in the face of that disconcerting reveal. It was the most expressive Lynx had ever seen Reft and gave a sudden insight into what the man might be like in a fight. Around the company he was as calm and serene as a priest. Lynx knew men who cast such a long shadow were rarely part of the banter, but in that moment he glimpsed a little more.

Maybe Deern and he ain’t so strange a pairing
, Lynx reflected.
Whatever sort of pairing that is. There’s a flash o’ nastiness in that smile, for all it looks like he’s joining in on the joke; nastiness with a stone elemental’s body. That’s one scary combination.

‘Piss on the lot o’ you,’ the Prince of Sun muttered. ‘Fuck’s sake, Reft, what’ve I told you about smiling? Gives me the willies.’

That only widened the grin and Lynx glanced around the table. Aside from Teshen, everyone seemed to share their commander’s disquiet. The cold-eyed scout raised his mug of beer and chinked it gently against his neighbour’s.

‘Who’s for a game then?’

Hours later and a good few coins poorer, Lynx pushed himself unsteadily to his feet to give Sitain space to walk behind his seat. The table seemed to move under his hands as he leaned on it and he groaned as felt the full force of brandy hit him.

‘Dark and long,’ he muttered, ‘turns out I’m drunk.’

‘No five mo’ here,’ Sitain said as she slid past, shoulder resting against the plain whitewashed wall. ‘Got spoon, see?’

‘Eh?’

‘She’s fuckered,’ Kas explained, giving Lynx a thump in the thigh. ‘More drunk’n you even.’

Lynx turned himself to watch Sitain leave. She wasn’t paying attention to the rest of them, so focused was she on making her way around to the door. Her tongue was pressed against the inside of her cheek with the pantomime effort of thinking, a slight sheen of sweat on her skin.

‘Heh, gods, she really is too.’

‘Go tuck her in, Kas,’ Tyn called, ‘girl’s been makin’ eyes at ya all evening.’

‘Only after she got too drunk to see straight,’ Anatin said. ‘Was probably aiming at me an’ just missed. Who’s still in?’

Hands were raised, Lynx didn’t see who, but he caught the flash of cards darting out across the table.

‘Nope, too drunk for this game.’

‘Too drunk for any game!’ Kas said, looking up at him as she took another swallow of beer. The alcohol had given her dark cheeks a deeply attractive pink flush, Lynx noticed, and the cat-like lick of the lips that followed it made him shake his head violently.

‘Some games’re worth sobering for.’

‘Oh really?’

‘Aye.’

‘I ain’t sharing a room with that snoring lump,’ Payl warned, sparking a great roll of laughter from Olut, who’d been outpacing Lynx all night.

‘I’ll have him, I’m drunk enough,’ she announced with a slap of her palm on the table, hard enough to spill Safir’s wine.

Lynx blinked and focused on the bear-like northerner as best he could. ‘Gods, not sure I am. Might break me in half, woman!’

Kas leaned back in her seat and took a firm grip of Lynx’s buttock. He swayed but managed not to fall over. ‘Not drunk, eh? Go get yourself some fresh air; I’ve got money to win back first.’

Lynx took that as encouraging and made a heroic effort to hide the grin that appeared on his face. He nodded, following Sitain’s lead and guiding himself around the room to the door. A low comment and more laughter followed him, but he was determined to exit gracefully and almost managed it until he tripped on the step up into the bar. Fortunately there was only a tall stool in his way, handily placed for a steadying hand, and he headed on through the near-deserted common room.

The barman watched him with the steady, distrustful look of a man who’d seen too many drunks, but he gave a nod in response to Lynx’s greeting. Lynx hauled open the inn’s main door and a gust of cool air flooded in. Outside, there was just one lamp above the door. It did little to dispel the darkness of a cloudy night when even the Skyriver was hidden from view, but Lynx could at least make out Sitain standing with her back to him, all alone in the middle of the courtyard.

He looked up to the shadowed sky and took a few long breaths. The breeze swept down as though answering his call, bringing the damp promise of rain. The clouds above were mostly invisible in the black, only the hint of shape and movement but enough to tell him they were speeding past. Faint flashes of light shone out from behind the clouds, illuminating little but enough to spark Lynx’s memory all the same.

Elementals
, he thought, straining to make out more, but the brief occasional glimmers were all he could see.
Lightning elementals, wonder what they look like?