A Song of Snow and Ashes

by S.J. Drew

amiably.

  "I know," he responded, not sounding reassured.

  They finished up breakfast in silence and went to work.

  The dinner crowd was thinning out at the tavern, and a day's worth of hard work had pretty much driven the strange dream out of Donnan's mind.

  "Hey, little brother," said Alain.

  "You're going out again, aren't you?"

  "What can I say? I'm a popular guy."

  "Then I'll see you tomorrow," he sighed.

  "Thanks."

  Donnan left the dishes to the night shift and headed home. It was still light outside. A voice called out his name, so he stopped and turned around. A young man of about his age was walking up to him. He was tall, a little too thin, with long, dirty blond hair, dark eyes, and a pale complexion. "Hi, Blake. I was wonderin' if you'd be by tonight."

  "I stopped by the tavern, but you'd already left. Where were you last night?" Blake was wearing the same sort of simple clothes as Donnan, but they were darker colors and of better quality.

  "Darris actually gave us the night off, but we had to go to the ceremony."

  "No wonder I didn't find you."

  "Didn't you have your own ceremony to go to?" Donnan asked.

  "I did. But it wasn't very long, at least not for us acolytes. We were let out about an hour before midnight."

  "You didn't sacrifice any animals or anythin', did you?"

  "I've told you, that's just a misconception spread by those who are ignorant of the real role of the Order of Darkness," Blake answered irritably. "We Dark clergy serve a necessary function. And although no one will admit comin' to our temple if they possibly can avoid it, we always have business."

  "Yes, I know what you say."

  Blake sighed, and cleaned his small, silver framed glasses. "Donnan, I thought you said this didn't bother you."

  "Well, normally it doesn't. I just don't feel myself today. And I don't normally have to think about what you do for a livin'."

  He shrugged. "It's a necessary job, and it pays better than pickpocketin'."

  "Fine, then you get to buy the drinks tonight."

  "Fine. Sometimes I don't know why I talk to you."

  "'Cause we've been friends for three years," Donnan answered.

  "How long are you goin' to hold that against me?"

  They continued walking until they came to a seedy-looking tavern. The boards were gray and cracked from insufficient maintenance. The chains holding up the sign were rusting through, and the paint was so faded the words, 'Black Goblet,' could barely be read. Small windows prevented much light from entering or leaving the tavern. It looked like the sort of place that only the toughest criminals would frequent, and then only when they were spoiling for a fight. The inside, however, was considerably nicer than the outside. Most of the customers were involved in criminal activities, but of a more subtle and dangerous nature, such as smuggling or mercenary work. The atmosphere was tense and suspicious, and the room was filled with the sound of murmured conversations. Taking no notice of the other customers, and not being noticed by any of the customers, the two made their way to a largish round table in the back. Blake ordered meals for both of them.

  "So, what made Darris decide to give you two any time off?"

  "I guess some clerics must've hassled him about keepin' us away from the ceremonies."

  "Gods, but those things are so boring."

  "Better than washin' dishes," Donnan shrugged.

  "I guess."

  "I talked to Aolani there."

  "Oh, really?" Blake inquired, smirking slightly.

  "Get that stupid grin off your face. I actually did. The wind blew some of her papers at me, so I picked them up and gave them to her."

  "And then what?"

  "She thanked me and went off with her friends."

  "What a way to sweep a girl off her feet."

  "Shut up," Donnan replied crossly. "Why do I talk to you?"

  "We've been friends for three years."

  "Oh, so now you're holdin' that against me," he retorted dryly. Soon their meals came. Blake did most of the talking.

  "What's wrong with you?" Blake asked. "You've been quiet tonight."

  Donnan gave him a look.

  "Quieter than normal."

  He sighed. "I had this really weird dream last night I can't seem to shake."

  "A dream? That's it?"

  "That's the same thing Alain pretty much said. Thanks so much for your understandin'."

  "No, come on." Blake steepled his fingers together. "Tell me about these dreams you've been havin'."

  Donnan shook his head. "I don't think you're takin' this seriously."

  "Come on," he prodded.

  "There wasn't that much to it. I was alone on the mountain side. I got caught in an avalanche."

  "That doesn't seem so bad."

  "I shouldn't be, should it? But it felt real. Really real. I really felt cold, and I really heard the rumblin' of the avalanche."

  "It was storming pretty good last night. Maybe that's what you heard," Blake offered.

  "Maybe," he agreed doubtfully.

  "I could ask around at the temple."

  "What? No. No, don't do that. Why would you, anyway?"

  Blake shrugged. "Well, you did have a particularly vivid dream on the solstice. Even if it was the summer solstice. It could mean something."

  "You think everythin' means somethin' these days."

  "Do you really think your dream is just a dream?"

  "I don't know. Look, never mind," Donnan replied irritably. He glanced up at the doors. "It looks like our card partners are finally here."

  "And late too," agreed Blake, looking at a group of two young women and a young man who had just walked in. They joined the pair and so the evening passed. It was a few hours past midnight when the group split up and headed home. Donnan, who was only slightly tipsy, dropped Blake off at the temple and made his way back to his apartment. His brother wasn't home yet. He was just getting into bed when he heard the keys turning in the lock.

  "Damn it," he thought, crawling out of bed again. "Just a minute," he called irritably. He opened the door and Alain staggered in.

  "Gods, Alain, what in darkness happened?" he exclaimed.

  The older man was sporting a black eye, a split lip, a bloody nose, and his clothes were dirty and slightly ripped. "Don't yell," he mumbled.

  "You got in a fight again," Donnan sighed. He set his brother down on the couch and fetched their meager supply of bandages from underneath the bed. "What happened? Lose at cards again?" He poured a little alcohol on a cloth and started to clean the open wounds.

  "Ow, that stings," he yelped.

  "It's supposed to. Can you understand my questions? Or are you too drunk?"

  "Dammit, I didn't drink that much."

  "Sorry."

  Alain sighed. "I'll admit, I had a couple of ales. And maybe a shot of whiskey in there, but I wasn't real drunk. Not like some nights."

  "Then why did you get into a fight? This is goin' to look real bad when you re-apply to the city guard."

  "I know that, little brother. It wasn't my fault."

  "Be honest."

  "I am. Ow, dammit."

  "You're lucky you didn't break anythin'. Or get anythin' broken. How would that look, trying to sword fight with your arm in a splint?"

  "Donnan, please, I've had a bad night."

  "I'm sorry," he replied contritely. "You don't seem that drunk. So what happened?"

  He sighed. "Alright, I should just get this over with. I want to forget this by mornin'. Me and the guys were playin' pockets down at the Steel Mug."

  Donnan raised an eyebrow.

  "I wasn't hustlin' tonight. I swear."

  He continued to give him the same accusing look.

  "I wasn't. I know how bad that'll look for the guard. And I wasn't drinkin' too much in case someone tried to talk me int
o it. Anyway, we was just mindin' our own business when a bunch of off-duty guards came up to our table and started hasslin' us. Said they wanted us to move. There was plenty of empty tables. They were lookin' for a fight. So then Reese starts getting in my face..."

  "Reese? The Guard Commander's son?" Donnan interrupted.

  "Yeah. Now he'd had too much to drink."

  "Gods, why did you fight him? You're goin' to have a hard enough time gettin' into the guard without havin' the commander hear about you from his stuck-up jackass of a son."

  Alain sighed. "Well, I had to."

  "You always have to," he snapped harshly.

  "I'm sorry, little brother," he replied in a low voice. "I wasn't goin' to fight him. I knew better. I really did. He was insultin' me and my job. The guys were real surprised I held back so long."

  "Then what started it?" he asked, his tone softer.

  "Well, Reese started sayin' bad things about you. Said you'd made moves on Aolani last night."

  "What?" he exclaimed. "I picked up some papers for her. That's it. What in darkness is wrong with him?"

  "Well, you didn't tell me you ran into Aolani, but I tried to tell him you were probably just tryin' to be helpful. He wasn't buyin' it. Then he started sayin' that we should know better. That we were just low class, and a woman like Aolani was too good for a skinny dishwasher who hangs out with thieves and Dark priests. Then he got real mean. I couldn't let him talk about you like that, but I swear to gods, he threw the first punch. The guys will back me up on that. The bouncers got us thrown out before we broke anythin', which I guess is good for me, since we don't really have the money to pay for new pocket sticks. The guys got me off of him pretty quick. We didn't need the on duty guard comin' by."

  Donnan's fists were clenched in anger. "That coward! That godsdamn coward!" He slammed his fists on the table.

  "Oh, my head," moaned Alain.

  "Those criminals and Dark