Ale was rare in the village. Every so often they would manage to port up a cask of wine, but that was typically reserved for the village elders and rarely allowed to anybody else within the village.
William grabbed his arm and dragged him to the street. “If that’s the case, then I know exactly where I need to take you.”
They weaved around a few streets and then stopped in front of a building with a sign hanging out front. Jason couldn’t make out the images depicted on the sign, but the sound of music drifted from within, along with laughter.
“What is this place?”
William grinned at him.
“Is it any place like the last one?”
“It’s nothing like the last one.”
He pushed open the door and headed inside. Jason hesitated a moment before following the other man. Once inside, the sounds engulfed him. They were louder here, but there wasn’t the same darkness. Lanterns had been hung, casting a bright light. There was a hearth in one corner, crackling with heat and flame, and a faint haze hung throughout the inside of the tavern. The floor was all made of wood and his feet thudded across it.
He followed William as he made his way through the tavern, and the other man took a seat along the far wall, a space where there was barely enough room for the two of them.
William grinned over at him. “This has always been my favorite place, but I don’t usually have money for it.”
“Why not?”
William shrugged. “I don’t usually have money.”
“That’s why you gamble?”
“It’s not gambling when you know you’re going to win.”
“It’s still gambling.”
William sighed. “Anyway, when I do have a few extra coins, I like to come here. The food is really good, and the ale… well, the ale is probably the best you’ll get in town.”
He raised his hand and after a few moments, a young woman came sauntering over. She wore a brightly colored dress of striped orange and yellow, and her golden hair was braided around her round face, hanging over each shoulder. She flashed William a smile, shaking her head. “What are you doing here? You can’t have enough money to eat.”
“I don’t. My friend does.”
The woman straightened up, appraising Jason for a moment. “He doesn’t look like he has much money, either.”
“He has plenty.” William nodded to him. “Show her.” Jason hesitated and William pushed on his shoulder. “She’s not going to serve us until you prove that you can pay.” William looked up at her. “Rochelle, I promise this is unlike the last time.”
“That’s what you said the last time you were here.”
“This really isn’t like the last time.”
Jason glanced from Rochelle to William. She was attractive, and there was a playful gleam in her eye and a hint of a smile on her face. He could see by the way William looked at her that he came here for more than just the food and drink.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Jason reached into his pocket, pulling out the pouch of coins. He shook them and Rochelle leaned forward, glancing at it.
“That’s Gary’s.”
“Traded with him,” Jason said.
Rochelle stared at him for a moment. “I hope so. Otherwise you’re going to have trouble when Gary comes in here looking for it. You know what we do when people come in here fighting,” she said.
“I know, Rochelle.”
“Good.” She grinned at Jason. “What can I get you?”
“What are my options?”
“Most of the time, this one comes in here looking for a pitcher of ale, but I don’t know if that’s what you want.”
Jason glanced over at William and shrugged. “I’d try the ale. I need something to eat, too.”
“Sure. What do you feel like?”
“What are my options?”
She started to laugh before realizing that Jason was serious. “Oh. Well, we have quite a few things.” She pointed to a board along one wall. Written on it were a list of different types of foods and Jason stared, mouth agape.
Could all of those foods be found here?
There was venison, but there was also beef, and a few different animals he didn’t even recognize. In addition, there were potatoes and carrots and other vegetables written on there.
She grinned at him again. “I can tell I’m going to need to give you a few minutes.”
She spun, disappearing into the crowd, and William pushed on his shoulder. “See? I told you you’d like this place.”
“I can see why you like this place.”
William leaned back, raising his hand. “That’s not it at all.”
“No? I thought you said there were other places that had just as good food and drink.”
“Well…”
Jason smiled. “I can see why you like her.”
“She’s never really given me the time of day.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not like Gary.”
Jason stared through the crowd, and though he couldn’t see where Rochelle had gone, he could see the crowd moving around her. “I didn’t get the sense that she cared all that much for Gary.”
“Everybody cares for Gary. He has enough influence in the town.”
“If he has such influence, why was he out at that last place?”
“Quite a few reasons, but mostly because he has an easier time with some of his other ventures.”
“What sort of ventures are those?”
“The sort that avoid the attention of the constables.”
Jason only nodded, but he had a hard time understanding what sort of thing that might be. It seemed there was quite a bit about this town that he didn’t really understand.
Within a few moments, Rochelle returned, setting a copper pitcher onto the table. She set two mugs down and filled them from the pitcher.
She tipped her head toward William. “Can I have a word?”
William frowned. “Why?”
“Just come with me.”
William clamped Jason on the shoulder, getting to his feet. “I’ll be back.”
Jason lifted the mug, sniffing it. It had a strange aroma, and as he brought it to his lips, taking a sip, it wasn’t unpleasant, but it wasn’t anything like he’d ever tasted before.
He watched Rochelle and William, and every so often, she glanced in his direction.
She was worried about him.
Not that he could blame her. If the situation was reversed, he suspected he would be worried about him, too. Here he came dressed in strange bearskins, an outsider, and he had managed to acquire Gary’s coins. From what he could tell about Gary, everybody in the town had a certain fear of the man.
Rochelle turned away, and William glanced toward Jason before spinning and chasing after her. Jason sat there, sipping at the ale.
After a moment, someone sat down across from him. He looked up. “My friend is going to be—”
He cut off. It was Old Henry.
His dark furs seemed out of place in the tavern. As did the angry gleam in his eyes.
“What was that about a friend?”
“I just said he was coming back.”
Henry stared at him. “You stopped following me.”
“I wasn’t trying to follow you.” Jason tried to ignore the flush working through him but the heat washed up his face, and he suspected the other man knew.
“You aren’t from town.”
“Neither are you.”
Old Henry grunted. “What gave that away?”
“Your furs.”
“You wear furs. But then, yours aren’t meant to blend into the forest like mine are.” He watched Jason for a moment, his mouth pressing into a tight line. “And then there’s your eye.”
He said eye and not eyes. He recognized Jason, which meant he knew about dragon sight. Did that mean he knew about Dragon Souls as well?
“Who are you?” Jason asked.
“The folk around here call me Old He
nry.”
Jason steadied his breathing, setting the mug of ale down. He didn’t like the way it made his head start to spin, almost as if he were getting dizzy. “That’s not an answer.”
“I seem to think it is.”
“Who are you really?”
He stared at the man. There was much about Old Henry that struck him as similar to Therin. It couldn’t be a coincidence. Henry didn’t have Therin’s thick beard, and yet there was something else about him that seemed off.
“There are certain things you shouldn’t trade for,” Henry said.
The man reached into his pocket and pulled something out, setting it on the table in front of Jason. His gaze flicked down to it and his breath caught.
The dragon pearl.
He had little doubt it was the same one he’d sold to Gary. He’d only seen two before, and the other one had more color streaked throughout it. The one Therin had given him had no color. It was completely black. It seemed to catch the light, reflecting outward, almost seeming to glow, though Jason suspected that was merely an illusion.
“Where did you get that?” Old Henry asked. There was a dangerous tilt to his head as he leaned forward, watching Jason.
“It was given to me,” Jason said carefully.
“There aren’t too many outside of Lorach who carry items like that. Seeing as how you’re dressed, I have a hard time imagining you’ve ever been to Lorach. Where did you get it?”
Jason stared at the dragon pearl, unable to take his gaze off it. He couldn’t help but feel there was power coming from the pearl, and yet, that had to be his imagination.
“I told you. It was given to me.”
“That wouldn’t be simply given. It’s too valuable.”
“I don’t know anything about that.”
“Obviously. Otherwise you wouldn’t have made the foolish mistake of trying to sell it.”
“I needed supplies.”
Henry held his gaze for a moment and then laughed darkly. “Supplies? You trade something like that for supplies?”
Jason started to reach for it, but Henry snatched it back.
“Someone like you who doesn’t appreciate what it is shouldn’t be carrying it.”
“I appreciate what it is.”
“It seems to me that you don’t, otherwise you wouldn’t have sold it, like I said.”
“And like I said to you, I needed—”
“Supplies. I heard you.” Henry reached across the table, taking William’s mug of ale and glancing at it for a moment. He brought it to his nose, sniffing it before setting it back down. He cupped his hand over the top of the mug, and it might have been Jason’s imagination, but it seemed almost as if his hand started to glow. Heat radiated from it, and he lifted it away before tipping the mug back and taking a long sip.
“You can use the power,” Jason said.
“What was that?”
“The power from the dragon pearl. You can use it.” His mind started to race. It hadn’t been him who’d accessed the pearl’s power with Gary at all, had it? “You were there.”
“I find a fool coming out of the mountains, and then I find the same fool carrying around something worth more gold than most in this village would ever see. And you trade it for scraps.”
“Not scraps. Supplies.”
Henry grunted. “A waste, that’s what it is.”
“Who are you?”
Henry stared at him for a moment, and he said nothing. He continued to sip at the mug of ale as Jason watched him. There something off about Henry, more than just his understanding of the dragon pearl and what it meant.
Why was he here?
The timing was strange, and it seemed to him that Henry had to know something about Therin. It didn’t seem to Jason that he should have suddenly appeared in the village at the same time Jason had.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“What do you need me to say? You have items you shouldn’t have, and you’re using things you don’t fully understand.”
“You took it off Gary.”
Henry rested his forearms on the table, looking at him. “I wasn’t about to allow someone like that to keep it.”
“What if he—”
Jason didn’t have a chance to finish. William took a seat next to him, sliding onto the bench. “I’m sorry. I just had to… Old Henry. What are you doing here?”
Henry glanced at William. “Leave.”
“What?”
“Get moving.”
William licked his lips, glancing over at Jason, his eyes going wide. “What’s going on?”
This was his opportunity to try to get a better sense of what Henry was doing. More than that, this was his opportunity to see if there would be any way to avoid getting caught up in whatever Old Henry wanted from him.
“It seems as if Henry here is familiar with the dragon pearls.”
Henry shot him a hard look, and Jason looked away rather than deal with the heat of the man’s gaze.
“Are you really sure you should be talking about that here?” William asked.
“The boy is right,” Old Henry said.
“Boy? I’m seventeen.”
“And still a boy.”
“Listen. I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you, but I just came over here to warn Jason that Gary is upset about what happened.”
“I made a trade with him fair and square,” he said. Then again, he wasn’t sure he had made such a trade. It was all dependent upon him having what he claimed, and if Henry had taken the dragon pearl from Gary, it was likely the other man would have been upset.
“I don’t know what you did or didn’t do, but I heard from Rochelle that he’s—”
William grabbed him, pulling him around.
“What is it?”
“Gary. He’s upset about the fact you cheated him.”
“I didn’t cheat him.”
“According to Rochelle, that’s not the way that he sees it. And knowing Gary—and the people he works with—that’s all that matters to him.”
Jason glanced over his shoulder, and as he did, he realized what William was saying was right. Gary was working his way through the tavern, and he seemed to be heading in his direction.
14
Henry grabbed the dragon pearl off the table and got to his feet. He started toward the back wall of the tavern, moving quickly and with a hint of a limp.
Jason glared at him. “I need to go after him,” he said.
“After Old Henry? Let him go. We can slip out through the front door, but we’re going to have to go quickly. Rochelle promised she would try to slow Gary.”
From where he sat, Jason could make out the broad back of Old Henry as he started to head out of the tavern. Once the man was gone, so was any chance of answers, and there was also the risk of losing the dragon pearl and whatever it meant for finding Therin again.
Maybe finding Therin wasn’t something he needed to do. Answers might come from another source. He slipped out of the chair and started after Old Henry.
“Jason—”
He ignored William and hurried after Henry. Commotion behind him caught his attention and he hazarded a glance over his shoulder, noticing Gary shoving his way toward him. He kept himself low, hurrying forward, and reached a door along the back wall of the tavern. Once there, he looked for any sign of Henry, but the man was gone.
William slammed into him. “What are you doing? What is it about Old Henry?”
“He knows something.”
“He’s crazy. We’ve seen him around here for years. There’s nothing he knows that will help you.”
Jason wasn’t convinced that was true. It seemed to him that Old Henry knew plenty, but the challenge was finding out what that was and how to reach the other man.
“How would he have left?”
“Probably through the kitchen, but we can’t—”
Jason ignored him and pushed through the door. As William had suggest
ed, the kitchen greeted him. It was warm, cozy, and the heat and sense of various foods baking caught his attention. There were four different cooks working at different stations throughout the kitchen, but there was no sign of Old Henry here.
He saw a door on the far side and raced toward it.
He wasn’t going to stay here and get caught by Gary.
One of the cooks got in his way and Jason spun, moving around him, and reached the door as a shout came from behind him. It was Gary.
Jason refused to slow.
Stepping through the door, he reached the street.
It was starting to get late, the sun having fallen and darkness greeting him. He didn’t know his way around the city at all and worried if he wandered through here, he’d end up getting lost, but William pushed up against him, joining him.
“Where would Old Henry have gone?”
“I don’t know. I don’t really pay attention to him.”
“You have to have some idea where he would’ve ended up.”
“Not really. Like I said, Old Henry is—”
“He is what?”
The voice came from the darkness on the far side of the street, and Jason raced toward him.
“Henry. Who are you really?”
“I’m no one of any concern.”
“That’s not true, and you and I both know it.”
Henry regarded him for a long moment, his gaze lingering on Jason, heavy and almost painful. “You and I both know nothing. You shouldn’t even have been here.”
He glanced over Jason’s shoulder and his brow furrowed. As it did, a sense of heat began to build, rising up from behind them, and Jason spun to see flames streaking along the street.
He’d created a wall of fire. Gary stood at the door to the tavern, almost as if afraid to emerge.
William sputtered. “What was that?”
Henry grabbed Jason and William and jerked them forward. They went staggering along the street and Jason was pushed from behind, urged with increasing speed.
“Now you have that fool after us,” Henry said.
“If you took the dragon pearl off him, it would be you who has him after us,” Jason said.
“I wouldn’t have had to take it had you not attempted to sell it.”
“What was I supposed to do? I can’t get back to my village.”
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