Bonds of the Mazza

by Blake Blessing

  “Both of my parents were Janer and when my dad read it, he knelt down, ruffling my hair. He said, ‘Sage, I’m proud of you son. I can’t wait to see what kind of man you grow up to be.’ My mom hugged me to her hip and kissed the top of my head. She didn’t share her words like my dad did. But she was affectionate, always hugging me and leaving lip stains on my forehead from her kisses. I hated it then, but I’m glad I got that. So many people never understand what it means to be loved. And I’m glad my sister knew that. She was the sweetest little girl, big green eyes and curly pigtails. She attached herself to my leg saying, ‘love bubby.’ ”

  He paused and I stopped us, raising my arms until he was locked in my embrace. Sage pulled me deeper into him, resting his cheek on top of my head. I got so frustrated with him sometimes, I forgot there was so much more to him than the spiked shell he protected himself with.

  “I don’t know why that memory sticks out to me. It wasn’t anything special or out of the ordinary of our life. I guess because my family was all together and alone in our own bubble. In that moment, I was happy, loved, and proud of who my family thought I was and one day would be. It was perfect.”

  Sage rubbed his hands down my back.

  “That was beautiful, Sage. Thank you for sharing that with me.” I imagine talking about his family hadn’t been easy for him. I didn’t talk about my family a lot either, but I was fortunate the Smiths took me in and cared for me the best they could. It seemed more personal to Sage. Maybe because his left him to fend for himself, and it took years before he found Nato and the others. That kind of damage to someone’s psyche had to be powerful.

  “You’re welcome, Iss. I would share anything with you. I hope you know that.”

  I believe I did know that. In the beginning, he despised me. I got it, I upset the balance of his world. Then he wanted me out of duty. From the little bit he’d shared of himself, that made sense too. Now, I might be deluding myself, but I wanted to believe we were at least friends.

  We weren’t alone, so I untangled myself from Sage. Rand had walked ahead of us, seemingly to give us privacy. He was such a sweetheart. If one good thing came from any of this, I hoped my LL would see Rand for the man he was, not who his father wanted him to be. They would really like him if they gave it a chance.

  We took our time catching up to Rand, and then we continued on our way as if we didn’t have an emotionally intimate moment. It made me appreciate the emptiness of the streets. Less people to stare at us. At least we passed the man in the alcove a while before.

  Distant mumbling reached our ears as we turned the corner. A half block ahead, there was a singular building with lamps posted every few feet around the outside. The pub. The restaurant was teeming with double the people we’d encountered at Cabbie’s. I buried my hands in my cloak as my nerves played ping-pong in my chest.

  This was the moment of truth where we discovered if Yunez successfully cloaked my Mazza status or if we were in deep shit. If this didn’t work in our favor, I was lobbying to find Yunez and the LL. There was no reason for us to be separated if I couldn’t move undetected.

  “The Rusty Nail.” Rand said under his breath as we get closer.

  The pub fit the name perfectly. The building reminded me of something out of an old fishing village that rusted over from high humidity. Funny thing, I hadn’t seen any water close by.

  I sank further into my hood so there was no way anyone would be able to see my face, shadowed or not. Everyone was wearing similar attire and it all felt very cloak and dagger, in more ways than one. We were just missing the daggers.

  As we passed the first ring of people, no one paid any attention to us. The tight ball of tension in my stomach unraveled just a little. The second ring was harder to walk through, but still, no one glanced our way. We were strangers in the night; I snickered to myself at the corny joke. One more group of people and we’d be in the clear.

  When we reach the door, elation filled my heart. It was a fluke.

  Wasaeris attacks, here I come.

  Sage and Rand must have been thinking the same thing, as their shoulders relaxed and a little more spring entered their step.

  Inside, billows of smoke wafted through the air along with loud, lively chatter. Ugh, this reminded me of places in the Earth realm that allowed smoking inside. It always stuck to my clothes and smothered my lungs. Maybe Fennin didn’t have to worry about lung cancer with such long lifespans. But who would want to smell like a bar all the time?

  Low hanging lamps made it appear more crowded and mysterious than what it probably was. Where the streets leading to this place was dead, this was obviously the social hub. Hoods were thrown back and two men next to us were rolling with drunken laughter.

  I coughed as a woman sashayed across the floor to us, weaving around raucous men teetering from too much alcohol. Eating here might not be as pleasant as I had originally hoped.

  She stopped right under a lamp, making her silver hair glow with an ethereal light. Her dress was straight out of a renaissance cosplay, all flowing skirts and bell sleeves. She even had a gold twined rope circling her head with a small jewel hanging over her forehead. It was a good look. When everything settled down I totally had to get one of those headpieces.

  “Night greetings. How may we serve you tonight?” She folded her hands in front of her.

  Sage dropped his hood. “A table in the back if you have it. We’ll be using the kitchen as well.”

  The woman dipped her head then abruptly spun on her heel. Rand followed behind her, with Sage bringing up the rear. Sage and Rand moved so well together, it was almost as if they instinctively knew where the other person was going to be.

  The crowd was so thick, people brushed against me on either side. We had to stop every few feet for people to pass in front of us.

  At the farthest and darkest corner, slightly away from the crowd, we arrived at a round wooden table. Dried sticky liquid covered the top, making for a lovely dining experience. Yes, that was sarcasm.

  I took the bench in the corner and threw back my hood, excited to be in public without fear of men attacking me in hordes. I had to breathe through my mouth because the smoke was so thick, but it was just as bad as breathing in through my nose. Internally I rolled my eyes at myself, when did I become such a baby?

  When I glanced up, the hostess returned to the same position she greeted us in, waiting calmly for us to settle. It was kind of eerie, but whatever. Once Rand and Sage gave her their attention she dipped her head in acknowledgment.

  “We are serving elk roast with carrots and potatoes. I’ll have the barmaid bring you plates and drinks.” She dipped once more before walking away.

  “No menu?” I mean, I worked in a diner for years and we at least gave out the specials.

  Sage dropped an arm around my back. “No Iss, there’s no menu at these little pubs. Fennina is more aware of our environment and we try to be efficient where we can. This is one of those ways. We eat what they serve or we don’t eat here at all.”

  That made me feel a little ashamed of my society where we wasted so much and took even more for granted. Man, sometimes humans sucked.

  But even with the shit storm swirling over our heads, there was some goodness in Fennina, and that was great to see.

  “Makes sense.” I fingered the edge of my sleeve as I absorbed the atmosphere.

  I opened my mouth to ask another question, when a man standing off to the side of our table stiffened as he made eye contact with me. Slowly, as if being reeled in on a string, he moved toward us.

  “Oh, fuck.”

  “What?” Rand asked at my statement. Neither Rand nor Sage had clocked the man coming our way. Or the two men following behind him.

  “We need to get out of here. Now.” My voice was low but urgent, trying not to draw any more attention. The exact moment the guys caught up with what was wrong, all hell broke loose.

  Rand was closest to the men, and when he swung around on his stool he
took a heavy punch to the cheekbone. His head whipped to the side from force, spit flying from his mouth. I jumped up out of my seat, my hands going to Rand’s shoulders to steady him. Sage leaped from the table and tackled Mr. Fight Club.

  While Sage went to pound town—and not the fun kind—I scooted to brace Rand and keep him on his feet. Rand shook his head dazedly, swaying all over the place. Not a good time for him to take a nap. Self-induced or not.

  A pained grunt came from my left and when I glanced up, men who looked equal parts enthralled and menacing surrounded us.

  Sage delivered one last punch to the man he straddled, then wiped his hand on his cloak. I didn’t blame him. These men were not of the clean variety. I could see the sweat and oil on the man’s face from here. Ugh.

  One dude in the center looked particularly rough with unkempt scruff covering his face and neck, and thin scars crisscrossed over his hands and arms. I was absolutely not thinking those are old knife wounds. That would mean he was scrappy. I bet he just had a feisty cat. The feisty cat owner stepped closer.

  “We know what you are. We know what you don’t have. We’ve been looking for someone like you for a long time.” His voice strained as he hooked a finger in his shirt collar and stretched it out.

  Rand propped himself up against me, still out if it from the hit he took. Note to self, don’t tangle with that guy. If his blow left Rand dazed, I’d be unconscious. I dug my fingers into his shoulders where I supported him, he needed to snap the fuck out of it. I hoped like hell Rand wasn’t a weenie in fights. We needed everyone to be strong and on point to get through this.

  “And what do you think you know?” Sage panted as he got up, blocking the men’s view of me.

  “We know she’s the Mazza. We know she hasn’t completed her bonds. We feel it.” He walked around Sage and stared at me with such creepy longing, it sent a shiver down my spine.

  Rand finally came around in time to join Sage in glaring at the group surrounding us. Each minute, more and more people blocked us in the corner. It was a bad, bad idea to sit back here.

  All three of us were silent. Because, what the hell did you say in this situation? We knew they felt it. There was no use in arguing. The only thing worrying at the corners of my mind was why were they able to recognize it and the Stags couldn’t? I could think on that later. Now was definitely not the time to ponder the mysteries of the Mazza.

  There were no gaps in the crowd. We were going to have to fight our way out of here.

  All the boisterous noise quieted until it seemed like everyone here knew what was happening.

  Fuck.

  With each new person that realized what was going on, our chances of getting away grew more and more remote. Our shot was no bigger than a peen hole. That was gross, but now it had popped into my head, I couldn’t unsee it.

  Rand and Sage moved to stand side by side, keeping me behind them.

  “And what do you think you’re going to do? Hmm, cunt nugget?” Sage stepped forward.

  My eyebrows shot up at his choice of insult. What exactly was a cunt nugget? No, I thought I’d rather stay in ignorant bliss than even try to brainstorm that one.

  “Take her with us. I think we can take on the two of you. No matter what house you hail from.” A faceless man in the crowd answered.

  Sage rolled his neck like we weren’t standing toe to toe with Mazza stealers, alone and without backup. He and Rand exchanged a look for the barest moment and then things flew through the air.

  I dropped to the floor like the secrets to my love life waited for me, and covered my head. I thought Rand or Sage would follow me, but no. Instead, they each took an arm and hoisted me from the ground. Small objects were rampantly flying around but nothing touched us. Hell, I thought the guys threw cutlery at the men. How off the wall was that? Screams erupted around us as random men were stabbed with—yup those were forks.

  “We have to run. We’ve almost lost the edge of surprise. They’re about to fight back.” Sage whispered furiously as we pushed our way through the crowd.

  There it was. A burst of relief traveled over me when I spotted the door through gaps in the crowd. Sage and Rand started tossing people out of the way until we stood in front of it. Rand swung the door open but we barreled into his back as he halted. The barmaid slid in front of us, her calm demeanor completely gone. Her nostrils flared as she spread her arms wide.

  Behind her, thick, thorny, deep green vines wrapped over the doorway, weaving together until there was only a solid mass of lethal green covering our exit.

  Fuck, fuck, fuck. This lady had to be from house Levan if she controlled plants.

  “Let us pass,” I forced my way between the guys to stand in front of her. They had their moment to stand up for us. Now it was mine.

  “You and your companions wrecked our pub. Someone has to pay for that.” Her nose scrunched as she bared her teeth.

  Behind us forks were still flying but now people were using their powers to combat the assault.

  “Send us a bill.” Sage rushed out, aware of the men that were advancing on our backs.

  “I don’t think so. Even if your visit didn’t cause all this damage, I heard what he said.” She swept her eyes derisively over my body from the top to toe. She didn’t even attempt to hide her contempt from me. Well, fuck her dress and her fashion sense. I didn’t like it anyway.

  “What the fuck does it matter if you heard what he said?” She could see me, unhidden by the hood, and clearly wasn’t drawn to me.

  “I know you are the Mazza. I think it’s best if you don’t leave.” She resumed her calm stance with her hands folded together, the distaste falling from her face.

  Getting abducted again was exactly what we didn’t need.

  I tilted my head to the side without removing my gaze from the barmaid, and whispered to Sage, “Is there some kind of magic button that lets the LL know we’re in trouble?”

  “No,” was barely a sound, but I caught it. And it meant we were up shit creek, and our raft just fell apart.

  Once again we were blocked on all sides, leaving only the front open where we faced the barmaid and her plants. Fierce wind blasted through the room and all of the remaining forks burrowed into the far wall with a resounding zing.

  My mouth was parched from fear and my fingers twitched in anticipation. Rand and Sage positioned themselves so we were all back-to-back, facing the threat around us. With the absence of screaming and clashing metal, heavy breathing dominated the space. The men surrounding us locked me in their sights like a doe during rut season. Hell, maybe I could run around and distract them while the guys took them out.

  I sucked in a deep breath, and waited.

  Pandemonium broke out—again.

  Men pushed forward, and slammed into us, jostling me into some rando. Punches were flying; knees were hitting their targets –and by that I meant Rand and Sage. I was no use with the men, and I knew in mere minutes they’d overpower us from sheer numbers.

  The barmaid stood regally by the still open door, watching over her court. She was my target. Maybe I could overpower her. I cleared my mind to kill the self-doubt before it had time to sprout, and rushed her.

  I gave the best fucking war cry as I rammed my shoulder into her stomach, getting an outlet to the desperation of the night. We might not make it out of here, but I’d be damned if I didn’t do some damage of my own.

  The barmaid shrieked as she hurtled straight into her wall of vines. Those fuckers were strong because there was absolutely no give. She wailed, banging her fists on my cloak. My arm was locked behind her and sharp needles pinched my skin as she shifted in my hold. I had completely forgotten about the thorns. No wonder she sounded like a toddler with her fingers slammed in the car door.

  I pulled my arm out of the way when something tickled my ankle. I didn’t pay it any attention until there was also a light caress on my other calf. The woman kept pounding on my back as I kicked my leg out to dislodge whatever was b
y my feet. But by the time I shoved away from her, vines had wrapped around my legs, jerking me to the ground.

  Vines wound around my legs and torso as I struggled to get free. Nothing worked to break their hold, the plants were supernaturally strong.

  I was wrapped up like a freaking burrito as a vine slunk across my face. It tried to cover my mouth like a gag, but I bit through the fuzzy stem.

  Blech.

  Plant juice seeped into my mouth and I turned my head to immediately spit out the excess. Leaning my head to the side, I attempted to avoid the rapid growing greenery.

  “Why are you fighting it? It’s not as if you can actually escape. If you haven’t bonded to every house, you have no access to the power. The more you resist, the more you’ll suffer at our hands. Needlessly I should say. We don’t mean you any harm.” The woman stood over me, but shifted back as I was lifted from the ground and sucked in tight to the vine wall.

  “If you and your dirty dozen don’t mean me any harm, why are they hammering my men? Wouldn’t you want to be on the good side of my bond mates?” I searched out Rand and Sage, flinching as they both simultaneously took pretty hard hits; Sage to the face and Rand to the stomach.

  “We know they aren’t your bond mates. You haven’t completed the bonds and they are both from House Janer. Don’t think us fools. You wouldn’t be traveling with two from the same house and none of your actual bond mates if you had them. And we know the Great and Revered Rainer’s son when we see him. I also recognize the little shit from Yunez’s puppets.” She spat.

  Bravado melted right out of me. There was no use bluffing that particular point. I could argue with her but she clearly knew who they are.