‘Is it not fucking obvious?’ Keira smirked. ‘I’m wanting a smoke, and if ye’ve come from the Plateau, then there’s a much better chance ye’re carrying weed.’
The men glanced at each other and laughed.
‘We’ve come from Rainsby,’ said one.
‘Excellent,’ she said. ‘I mean, it’s a fucking shithole, but every bastard was smoking weed when I was there.’
‘Not any more, they’re not.’
Keira frowned. ‘How come?’
‘Rainsby got well and truly fucked over by the Emperor,’ the man said. ‘You not heard? Him and his army sacked the place, then burnt it to the fucking ground.’
‘He killed thousands of Kellach,’ said another. ‘The whole town’s just a smear now.’
‘What a shame,’ she said. ‘So, have ye got any weed?’
‘Maybe.’
‘Any ye’d like to donate?’
‘No.’
‘Any to sell?’
‘Maybe. What you got?’
‘About twenty bits.’
‘We’ve got plenty of money. What else you got?’
‘What ye after?’
The man looked over to where Flora was sitting.
‘Is she yours?’
Keira shrugged. ‘Aye.’
‘Lend us her for the night, and ye can have all the weed ye can smoke.’
She narrowed her eyes at them. ‘How much exactly are we talking about?’
The man rubbed his chin for a moment. ‘An ounce.’
Keira glanced over at Flora. Enough weed for a third. She got to her feet.
‘Be back in a minute, boys.’
She staggered over to the table where Flora sat, stumbling as she reached her chair. She scrambled, and crashed down into the seat.
‘Did ye see that?’ she laughed. ‘Nearly fell on my arse there.’
‘So,’ Flora sighed, ‘did you find any?’
‘Aye, maybe,’ she said. ‘I’ve been thinking about what ye were saying earlier, about us being friends.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Yer a good friend, Flora,’ she said, pouring the dregs from the whisky bottle into her glass.
Flora snorted. ‘I know you’re pissed, but you’re not that pissed. What do you want?’
Keira put on her hurt expression. ‘Here I am, opening up to ye, and ye throw it back in my fucking face.’
She turned away, lowering her eyes.
‘Sorry,’ Flora said. ‘I’m just not used to you being like this. It’s good. I’m glad I’m your friend.’
Keira looked up. ‘I need a favour.’
‘What?’
‘See those guys over there?’
‘Yes.’
‘They’ve got weed, right? A shitload. But here’s the thing. They’re ready to hand it over, but they’ve got their heart set on spending the night with you first…’
‘What?’ Flora cried, getting to her feet. ‘You fucking what? You want to hand me over to some random fucking guys so you can get a smoke? What the fuck is wrong with you?’
She slapped Keira across the face, and as the mage blinked from the shock, she heard laughter coming from the table in the corner where the men sat. Before she could say anything, Flora stormed out of the bar, slamming the door behind her.
Keira rubbed her cheek. ‘Fucksake.’
She staggered to the bar, ignoring the three men in the corner.
Dermot looked up from drying a row of glasses. ‘Aye?’
‘I’ll give ye twenty bits for a bottle of fucking whisky.’
Dermot laughed and shook his head.
‘Kelpie cut ye off, eh?’ he said.
‘Not yet,’ she grinned, ‘but the cow had a right fucking mood on before, and I’d rather not have to ask her, if ye know what I mean.’
Dermot sighed and put down the glass. He reached under the bar and lifted a bottle. He placed it in front of her and held out his hand. She smirked, and emptied the contents of her money pouch onto the top of the bar. She picked up the bottle and headed for the door.
‘Hey you,’ cried one of the men in the corner.
She turned.
The three men got up and approached her.
‘Where’s yer wee friend gone?’
‘She thought you were the ugliest fuckers she’d ever laid eyes on. She’s away to throw up in the fucking street.’
‘You reneging on the deal?’ he said. ‘If yer friend’s done a runner, then you owe us a favour. But we’re reasonable. We’ll take you instead.’ He smirked at his friends. ‘For half an ounce.’
Keira punched him in the face.
‘Half an ounce, ya cheeky bastard?’ she cried, as the other two men rushed her, lashing out. She felt a blow to her chin, and flinched backwards. Another punch struck her in the stomach. She gasped, and staggered. She brought her arm up and over one of the men’s heads, and began to choke him.
‘Take that out of here!’ cried Dermot, and at the sound of his voice, the two door wardens ran into the bar. Without a word, they began piling into the three men and Keira. The mage rolled to the floor as the fists flew all around her. She clutched onto her bottle of whisky, and dodged the legs between her and the door. A last punch struck her back as she flew out of the building and hurtled down the muddy street into the darkness. After a few hundred yards she paused, gasping for air. She glanced back up the street, but could see no one.
She opened the bottle of whisky, and laughed.
The dawn was grey, with a chill breeze blowing from the west. The rain had stopped at some point during the night, but the street was still wet and muddy. The cold had worked its way into Keira’s bones as she lay sprawled out in the gutter next to a row of cottages. Her clothes were sodden and covered in mud, and her head ached liked an evil sprite was hitting it with a hammer.
She opened her eyes, then shut them again, the dim grey light too much for her to take. She heard footsteps walk by on the road, as folk avoided where she lay. A few tutted in her direction, or muttered disapproving comments. Arseholes.
Where the fuck was wee Flora? Was she not supposed to prevent this sort of shit from happening?
She cracked open her eyes a slit and glanced at the street. She was at least a mile from the World’s End, and half that from Dermot’s Bar. She tried to get up, but her limbs were stiff and frozen, and she collapsed back into the mud. Ignoring the laughs from a couple of passers-by, she put one hand in front of the other, and began to crawl up the street. The gutter had an inch of water at its bottom, and she grew colder as she struggled up the hill towards the tavern.
After a hundred yards she fell down into the mud, exhausted. She rolled onto her back and stared up at the low clouds covering the sky. A drop of rain hit her face.
Shit.
She opened her mouth as the rain started, catching some on her dried and parched tongue, and closed her eyes.
After a moment, she felt the rain stop, although she could still hear it falling around her.
‘Pyre’s tits,’ said a voice. ‘What a fucking state to get into.’
‘Ye found her?’ another voice said, one that she recognised as Kendrie’s.
Keira opened her eyes. A woman with long red hair was standing over her, looking down with a frown on her face.
‘Aye,’ the woman said. ‘Ye were right. Drunk in a ditch.’
‘You get her arms,’ Kendrie said, ‘I’ll take her legs.’
Keira tried to speak, but it came out as a mangled groan. Kendrie chuckled, walking to where her feet lay in the mud. The red-haired woman reached down and grasped Keira’s wrists, and she felt herself lifted into the air, her backside swaying.
‘Fucksake,’ Kendrie muttered. ‘She’s heavier than she looks.’
‘Fuck you,’ Keira tried to say, then passed out.
When she next awoke she was in her bed in the tavern. Her head was splitting, and her bones ached, but at least she was warm and dry. She peered under the blanket and saw she was we
aring a clean night-shirt, and her temper rose.
She gazed around the empty room. Someone had tidied away the piles of dirty clothes and rubbish that had littered the floor, and removed the collection of empty whisky bottles that had been accumulating in the corner. The window had been opened an inch, and even the smell in the room was better than she remembered.
‘Fucking Flora,’ Keira muttered, ‘messing with my fucking stuff again.’
‘No, it was me.’
Keira nearly fell off the bed in surprise. She turned, and saw the red-haired woman, sitting on a chair in the corner by the door. Keira’s mouth fell open.
‘Good afternoon, Keira.’
‘Kallie?’
The woman filled a mug with water and passed it to the mage.
Keira took it, and drank deep.
‘When Bridget told me what was going on down here,’ Kallie said, ‘I didn’t believe it.’
‘You met Bridget?’ Keira said, her voice hoarse and raspy.
‘Aye, in Kell.’
‘Wee cow.’
‘Shut yer mouth, Keira. Bridget’s a hero. After all the shit she’s been through, and she’s still fighting, she’s still trying, while you’re sat on yer arse in Domm, getting wasted day and night. Yer a fucking disgrace, that’s what ye are.’
‘Hey,’ Keira croaked. ‘That’s not fair.’
Kallie shook her head. ‘Fair? I was being generous. If I told ye what I actually thought of ye… But I won’t. All this time, I’ve been fighting up north, watching my comrades get killed, and having to live in the nightmare that Kell has become. All that time, we were waiting for you. “When Keira returns, that’s when we’ll kick the lizards out of Kell at last”, that’s what we used to say.’ She laughed, but her eyes remained dark. ‘But ye were down here all along, getting hammered while we were dying. I never thought ye’d give up, Keira.’
‘Fuck you.’
Kallie’s left arm reached out in a flash, grabbing Keira by the throat. She formed her other hand into a fist, and raised it.
‘I’m not sacred of you, Keira, not any more. Ye speak to me like that again and I’ll kick the shit out of you. Understand?’
Keira struggled, but Kallie’s gasp on her throat was strong and firm, and her own limbs were still weak and aching from being out all night in the cold. She bared her teeth at Kallie, and glared at her, but said nothing.
Kallie released her, and sat back down in her seat. Keira rolled away and clambered off the bed, stumbling and clattering into her bedside table, one hand on her bruised throat.
‘Ye’ve no fucking clue what I’ve been through,’ she said. ‘No fucking idea.’
‘I spoke to Laodoc and Agang as well as Bridget,’ Kallie said. ‘I know enough.’
‘Then ye know yer being fucking unreasonable. Ye know that I’ve had to kill thousands, over and over again. Rahain, Rakanese, Sanang, Holdings, you fucking name them, I’ve slaughtered them. And yer seriously asking me to go out and do it again?’
‘Aye.’
‘Well I’m fucking not.’
Kallie stood. ‘Aye ye are. Get dressed and get yer arse through to the tavern. I’ll be waiting.’
She opened the door and left Keira’s room.
The mage sat on her bed. Did nobody understand that she couldn’t face killing again? They just demanded shit from her, without giving a fuck about how she felt about any of it. The Rahain, the Alliance, Kylon, she had just been a tool in their sweaty hands, a killing machine, pointed in the direction of their enemies, and let loose.
She gazed at the small lamp, burning by her bedside. The joy she used to feel when she was connected to a living flame had gone, replaced by bitter resistance. She hadn’t used her powers since outside the walls of the imperial capital, when she had felt those powers vanish. For an hour she had been unable to summon even the slightest reserve of her skills, but instead of feeling downhearted about it, she had felt nothing but relief, the lifting of a great burden from her shoulders. She had been crushed when she had felt her powers return.
What kind of fire mage was she, that wished she could scourge her powers from her body? She longed to be free of the curse of being a mage.
Not just any mage, but the best. A fucking goddess.
A goddess.
She stood and got dressed, finding her cleanest clothes from where someone had folded them into a drawer. She brushed her tangled hair, and drank another full mug of water.
Then she remembered Flora.
Shit.
What had she done?
She tried to summon up her cocky sneer but lacked the energy, so walked into the tavern looking like death warmed up. Kendrie was at the bar, serving a couple of patrons. He glanced up at her, smirking, but she ignored him. She gazed around the quiet room, and saw Kallie sitting by the window, Kelpie and Flora next to her.
She went over and sat down in silence.
Kelpie raised an eyebrow, and glanced at Kallie. Flora was also looking at Kallie, the expression on her face like she was gazing at a vision.
‘I believe you owe this lassie an apology,’ Kallie said.
Keira narrowed her eyes. ‘For what? I was only joking last night. I wouldnae really have let those guys do anything to her.’
‘Stop lying,’ Kallie said. ‘For once just be honest, and admit ye fucked up.’
Keira looked from one women to the other, her head pounding. She gagged, and tasted bile in her mouth.
‘I fucked up.’
‘And?’ Kallie said.
Keira gazed at Flora. ‘Sorry,’ she muttered.
Kelpie snorted. ‘By the arse cheeks of Pyre himself, there’s something I never thought I’d hear.’
Flora looked into Keira’s eyes. ‘Thank you.’
‘She’s coming with us, Keira,’ Kallie said, ‘when we head north tomorrow.’
Keira shook her head.
‘She can carry the lamp for ye,’ Kallie went on, ‘just like Lacey used to. Once we get to Northern Kell, we spread the word that yer back, and then hit the lizards where it hurts. There will be justice at last.’
‘I’m in,’ said Flora. ‘Laodoc and Agang were right. The longer we sit here, the more likely the Emperor will come, and when he does, he’ll destroy everything. All the families here trying to rebuild their lives will be devastated. We can’t wait until that happens, we owe it to them to fight.’
‘Owe them?’ Keira said. ‘What do I owe them?’
‘By coming here ye’ve endangered everybody,’ Kallie said. ‘Yer wee holiday’s over. Ye’ve got today to sort yer shit out.’
Keira glanced at Kelpie.
The older woman shook her head. ‘I’ve looked after ye the best I can, but I’ve always wanted ye to head back into the world when ye were ready. Keira, despite yer best attempts to piss me off, I’ll always be fond of ye. I’ll always remember what ye did for Kell when the lizards first invaded. But our deal’s over. It’s time to go.’
‘Yer kicking me out?’
‘Aye, if it comes to that.’
‘So yer all fucking ganging up on me?’
Flora shrugged. ‘It’s because we love you.’
Keira tried to fire back with something, but the words stuck in her throat. Pyre’s fucking tits, her head was splitting.
‘I’ve got something to show you,’ Kallie said. ‘The Severed Clan left a load of stuff here when they cleared out, luggage and boxes. I was looking through one of Laodoc’s crates this morning when ye were sleeping. I wanted to see if he’d left anything behind that he might want kept safe, ye know, before Kelpie chucks it all out. At the bottom, I found a load of woman’s clothing in a bag.’ She reached into her pocket. ‘I also found this.’
She placed something onto the table.
Keira stared at it. ‘What the fuck?’
It was a small wooden bear, rearing up on its hind legs, its claws and teeth carved to sharp points.
‘Killop’s wee bear.’
Kallie nodde
d. ‘I took it from yer home in Kell years ago, then left it in the Rahain Capital when I was arrested with Killop and Bridget. I’ve no idea how it got mixed up with that luggage, but I thought ye might want it.’
Keira picked it up. It felt so light.
‘Yer da made it, aye?’ said Kallie.
Keira smirked. ‘That’s what Killop thinks.’
Kallie frowned.
‘Our da did make one for him,’ Keira said, gazing at the carved beast, ‘but I broke it one night by accident, and then buried the bits in the garden to hide the evidence. The next morning Killop went mental looking for it, so I went away and made him another one. Took me days. I had to dig up the broken one, so I could copy it, then I hid the new one under his bed so he could find it.’
‘You made it?’ Kallie said.
‘Aye. My copy was so good he never fucking noticed it was different.’
‘And now it’s back with you.’
‘But it belongs to my wee brother.’
‘Then you should take it to him,’ Kallie said, ‘after we’ve cleared Kell of lizards.’
Keira laughed, then caught the expressions on the faces of the others.
‘Fucksake, alright,’ she said. ‘We’ll go to Kell, but I’m not making any promises about what I’ll do when we get there.’
Kallie nodded, then glanced at Kelpie.
‘We’ll be leaving quietly in the morning,’ she said. ‘No announcements, no big farewells.’
‘Folk’ll realise that the mage has left,’ Kelpie said. ‘I won’t be able to keep it a secret for long.’
‘Tell them she’s away to visit folk in the lowlands,’ Kallie said. ‘I’d rather we were well on our way before everybody realises where we’ve really gone.’
‘Alright,’ Kelpie said.
‘Now,’ Keira said. ‘We’ve got the rest of the day free, let’s get the whisky in.’
Kallie shook her head. ‘No chance. I want ye sober until we leave.’
‘What?’ Keira groaned.
‘Ye heard me,’ the red-haired Kell woman said. ‘And don’t bother trying to get some. Every place in Westgate’s been told not to sell ye any, and Kendrie’s going to be keeping an eye on the bar here.’
Keira frowned. ‘Fucksake. I’m beginning to regret this already.’
The Magelands Box Set Page 163