by John Goode
HAWK WAS pleasantly surprised by the little tavern Kane took him to.
He didn’t see any place for rooms, but the smell of food in the small area was almost intoxicating. There didn’t seem to be many people present, and the serving girl had far too many clothes on, but it didn’t matter much to him. Kane picked up some kind of hardened paper and was browsing it when the woman put down a glass with water and ice. Hawk marveled at the condensation on the tumbler as he held it up. “Actual ice?” he commented. “This must be an expensive eatery.”
The waitress looked at Hawk and then to Kane. “Your friend French?” she asked.
Kane didn’t understand the question until he realized that Hawk wasn’t wearing the earring. “Um… yeah,” Kane answered slowly. “He’s an exchange student.”
“I’m a what?” Hawk asked in mid-sip.
“Oh, well, they grow ’em handsome in France,” she said with a wink. “What are you boys having?”
“What are you hungry for?” Kane asked Hawk and then instantly regretted it.
“He understands English?” she asked, embarrassed. Turning to him she asked, “What would you like?”
Hawk looked at her blankly and asked Kane, “Is she talking to me?”
“Oh, I forgot!” Kane said like an idiot. “How about we split a rosemary chicken with the baby potatoes.”
“Your potatoes have children?” Hawk asked paling. “And you eat them?”
Kane ignored him as he handed the menus to the woman. “And maybe some bread?”
She nodded and smiled at Hawk. Before she walked away she commented, “He sure does seem to understand you.”
I shrugged, laughing, wishing she’d hurry and get out of earshot.
“You forgot the earring again,” I said, once she was gone.
He nodded. “I figured that out when she talked.” He held his hand out. “Pass it back.”
“I can’t!” I whispered, as she looked across the restaurant at us. “I told her you weren’t from here and didn’t speak English. If you suddenly start making sense, she’ll get suspicious.”
“Fair point,” Hawk said, pulling his hand back. “Well then, you are going to have to translate for me.”
Kane nodded as he took a sip of water, wondering how people lied all the time without losing their mind. “So you were asking about the ice?”
The prince’s attention went back to the glass. “How expensive is the ice water? I can’t imagine it is cheap.”
“It’s free,” Kane said, confused.
Hawk began to choke on his water. “What? How is that possible?”
“Um, ice machine?” he explained.
“A machine that makes ice? Honestly?” he marveled. “How does it work?”
Kane opened his mouth and then closed it. “I have no idea to be honest. I know you put water in and it freezes it.”
“I’ve seen ice magic practiced in a few realms, but I’ve never heard of a machine that could harness it. You could become rich selling its secret to Shahryar and his kind.”
“Who?” Kane asked.
“King of kings for the desert lands in the Masaut’wa,” Hawk explained, looking around for food.
“Yeah, I bet an ice machine would rock in the desert.” The waitress started walking over with a tray of bread and Kane said, “She’s coming over, shhhh!”
“Why?” Hawk said with an evil grin. “She can’t understand me.”
Kane started to protest but had to just smile at her as she put the warm loaf down. “Fresh from the oven,” she said, smiling.
“It smells almost as delicious as you,” Hawk said, enjoying the way Kane tried not to react to the words.
“He says thank you.”
“No, I said there are better things to put butter on and to lick it off than bread.”
Kane’s face froze as he smiled at her. “And that it smells delicious.”
She turned to Hawk. “Well thank you,” she said slowly.
“Ask her if there is a room open with a strong bed,” Hawk teased as he nodded at her.
“We’re good,” Kane said quickly to her.
“Okay, your food’s almost done.”
“You’re more than good,” Hawk said seductively.
She laughed as she walked away. “Tell him that French sounds so sexy!”
“You’re a jerk!” Kane hissed once she was across the room.
Hawk tore off a piece of the bread and laughed. “And you are insanely attractive when you’re mad.”
Kane said nothing as he stuffed some bread in his mouth.
ATHENS DIDN’T have a homeless population as much as it had a group of individuals that preferred to live outside.
There were more than a few folk who called People’s Park home, and they didn’t seem to mind at all. A couple of businesses collected leftovers for them and Beyond Bed and Bath, the local home furnishing store, always seemed to have a couple of blankets around when it got colder. There was a homeless shelter in town, but it was rarely used unless the weather got too severe; in Athens, being homeless just didn’t carry the same stigma it did in larger towns. Most were men, former veterans, who had never found their way back from war but who had been able to come as far as the friendly town. They called it home and, for a lot of them, the war receded a little farther back into their memories.
No one was crass enough to refer to the men as mentally unstable, but there were a couple who were provided regular meds when their assigned social workers made the rounds. One such man was Robin Famis, an older man who usually wandered around town with an old camping lantern in hand claiming he was different famous people depending on his mood. Most of the time he was harmless and easily redirected back to the park by people who found him far from “home.” People’s Park was where he seemed to be most comfortable. He was usually accompanied by a stray dog that had adopted him one summer. Robin had famously named him Dog.
It wasn’t odd to see Robin and Dog walking the street at night, the man offering his long-dead lantern in case someone needed light and Dog offering his invaluable presence as a cute dog, willing to eat any stray food looking for a stomach to stay. They were staples of life in Athens, and no one paid them any mind at all. With the weather growing colder and colder, Robin knew he was going to have to take to sleeping in the shelter soon, which depressed him. The staff there never needed his lantern for light and wouldn’t allow Dog to sleep with him since he wasn’t allowed in the building. But a warm bed was better than freezing to death in the park, and they always put something out for Dog in the back alley.
Besides, no matter how cold it got, the weather always got warmer after a while.
The two of them were working their way toward the shelter, since it looked like it might rain. Robin would have liked to have been out in the rain, in case someone needed his light, but as he grew older, he found the dampness simply too much to bear. If Dog had had hands he could have taught him how to use the lantern, but alas, the dog refused to grow thumbs, and Robin seemed unable to get younger. So it was off to the shelter for both of them.
They were mere blocks from the shelter when Dog began to growl.
It was a new sound for the dog, and Robin frankly had no idea he could make it. He knew rationally that Dog was a dog but his companion was normally so friendly that the idea of him being anything else slipped his mind. However, it was obvious that Dog was, in fact, a dog and was upset at something in the alley between Glen’s Restaurant (which was a pun because it was in fact Gloria’s restaurant) and Gloria’s Herb shack (which was of course owned and run by Glen).
“What is it, boy?” Robin asked, wishing for the umpteenth time that Dog would hurry up and learn to speak English already.
The dog barked once, his legs set, as he stared into the darkness of the alley.
Robin held his lantern up, hoping it might shed some light onto the cause of his friend’s discomfort.
Which was the last thing Robin would remember.
&nb
sp; GLORIA BROUGHT us our food, and I saw Hawk’s attention turn from teasing me to the roasted chicken in her hands. Even though we had gorged ourselves on movie crap I was suddenly starving looking at the food in front of us. “You guys good?” she asked, seeing us both ready to gnaw our own hands off from hunger.
“This looks incredible,” I told her as Hawk took one of the plates and started to cut a leg off the chicken.
“Well, try not to eat so fast you don’t enjoy it,” she commented as she watched Hawk devour the meat off the bone in one large gulp.
I kicked his shin as she walked away. “I thought royalty was supposed to have manners!” I chastised him.
“I’m hungry!” he said with his mouth full.
I rolled my eyes and served some of the chicken to myself. As usual, it was awesome. Gloria’s was the best non-weird restaurant in town, her only claim to fame was everything she served was organically grown and raised. From the chicken and the wheat for the bread to the herbs and the apple tart for dessert, everything had reached our table free of chemicals. You wouldn’t think it would make that big a difference, but trust me, it does.
I wasn’t sure how they made food on Hawk’s world, but he seemed to like the chicken just fine. We both shoveled food into our mouths, all thought of conversation put on hold until our stomachs were full. I heard the front door open but we ignored it since it wasn’t between the food and our mouths.
We didn’t pay it any attention until the screaming started.
GLORIA SERVED the two boys and couldn’t stop smiling.
She was pretty sure that the two of them didn’t think it looked like they were on a date, but it was pretty obvious that the two of them were head over heels about each other. She knew Kane’s dad pretty well, and he had commented more than once that his son was miserable being the only gay teenager in town, so seeing him smiling with someone else was a good thing.
She was about to grab the pitcher to refill their water when the front door opened.
Gloria turned and saw Robin walk into the restaurant, he looked lost. She normally set aside some food for him and Dog, but he’d never come inside to retrieve them. Most of the time, she left them out back for them because Robin was notoriously touchy about handouts. He was a proud man, and in the summer, he’d insist on cleaning her windows or washing the back alley in compensation. Gloria was happy to give him these little jobs since it allowed the man some dignity, so him actually walking in was new.
“Hi, Robin,” she said, walking up to him. She could hear Dog barking outside, and the canine did not sound happy. “Everything okay?” He didn’t say anything as he looked around the dining room, his eyes focusing on the two boys instantly. Gloria began to worry about the look on the man’s face and took another step toward him. Seeing him coming through the front door and looking lost struck a warning note in the back of her mind. “Robin, are you hungry?”
He turned toward her, and his hand swung her way.
She screamed as his knife sliced across her chest. Gloria tumbled backward, and she collided with the table behind her and went falling to the side in shock. There was the sound of breaking glass from behind the counter as the other woman on duty dropped her tray and screamed at the sight of a man wielding a bloody knife in the doorway.
Both Hawk and Kane turned as one.
“Get down,” Hawk said to Kane, kicking his chair back as he summoned Truheart to his hand.
Kane looked at the sword, to Robin, and then back to the sword. “No!” he cried out. “You can’t hurt him. He’s sick!”
Robin turned, orientating himself toward Hawk instantly. He began to lumber toward them, his mouth pulled back into a grin.
His teeth were a dark blue.
“Berserker weed!” Hawk called out as he moved around the table toward him.
Kane grabbed his arm and tried to restrain him. “He’s just a homeless guy! He’s not a danger.”
Hawk shrugged the hand off of him as he glared at the man. “Kane, back away. This man’s been enspelled, he is not in his right mind.”
Kane moved in front of Hawk. “That’s what I’m saying. You can’t hurt him.”
Hawk looked past him and focused on Robin and his knife. “Get out of my way.”
Kane’s features hardened as he refused to move. “I’m not letting you hurt—” And then he let out a scream. Hawk caught him as he fell forward. Robin had moved faster than Hawk was prepared for and plunged the knife into the small of the boy’s back. Hawk twisted, lowering the body to the ground with his hands and kicking the man in the stomach with his foot.
Robin staggered back a few steps, but it was obvious the blow had done no real damage to him. Hawk let Kane go as he said in a low voice, “Ruber, attend to his wounds.”
When Hawk turned back to the man, he was a little shocked to find the bearded face right next to his. He saw the steak knife move at his gut and reacted instantly. Truheart barely blocked the blade, forcing Hawk to take a few steps back. As soon as he did, the man moved to stab the prone body of Kane on the floor. The knife descended toward the boy’s neck when Ruber faded into visibility.
The knife shattered against the enchanted stone, shards of the metal embedding into Robin’s face and neck. “I don’t think so,” Ruber pronounced as it ignored the combat and began to concentrate on Kane’s wound. Hawk took advantage of the man’s hesitation and lunged over Kane to attack. It was obvious the man was dosed on berserker weed by the stains on his teeth and the way he was seemingly impervious to pain. A magical herb that was found only in the deepest depths of The Lost Jungle, it made normal men virtually unstoppable juggernauts in battle for little more than an hour. Once given a target, they were one-man armies that could withstand the greatest of wounds until the herb wore off.
And then the enchantment killed them.
Hawk saw the man grab another knife off a table and move forward at him again. He had no doubt he could stop the crazed maniac, but if Kane’s cries were true then this was just an innocent person that the Dark had used to get to him. He focused on Truheart as he began to circle around the man, drawing his attention away from Kane and Ruber. He was worried about Kane, but he didn’t have any concentration to spare as he began to recite his magic silently.
The blade began to change from its normal metal hue to the blue, indicating that magic was in play. Hawk dodged the man’s lunging swing easily, even though it was far faster than a normal human’s speed. The herb’s enchantment was burning through Robin’s system at an alarming rate. The sword began to openly glow now, the blue brightening more and more until it was surrounded by a white nimbus of energy. The prince hoped Kane was right about the man as he waited for the man to attack again before moving.
Uttering an arcane word, he shoved the sword into the man’s chest up to the hilt.
There was a blinding flash of light as Truheart dispelled the enchanted herb’s magic, cleansing the man’s body instantly. Both combatants were locked together for a moment as the magic drained from the human and into the sword. Hawk saw the man’s eyes come slightly back to focus as he looked at him. Robin still seemed dazed as he uttered, “Must… kill… Kane….”
Hawk froze in shock for a moment. “What did you say?”
Blood suddenly burst onto his face as the man’s chest seemingly exploded. Hawk automatically took three steps back as the man collapsed to the ground, revealing Spike behind him, one talon covered in blood. He looked at Hawk with a smile. “I saved you.”
Chapter Nine
“WHAT DID you do?” Hawk said, his face white with shock.
Spike’s smile fell instantly. “He was attacking you…,” he began to say.
The fury on Hawk’s face silenced the Changeling before it could say another word. “Ruber,” he called over his shoulder. “Is Kane okay?”
“The wound is healed, but he is still in shock,” the ruby answered.
“See to the woman,” he ordered, his eyes never leaving Spike’s. Without
a word, the gem flew over to where Gloria had passed out and began to bathe her with a kaleidoscope of red beams. “You were ordered to stay at the house,” he said to Spike in a low voice.
“I am charged with your protection…,” he started to explain.
“You’re charged to follow my orders! “
Hawk’s explosion froze everyone in the restaurant in their place. Even Ruber paused for a moment before going back to tend to Gloria’s stab wound. In a more controlled voice, the prince added, “It was after Kane, not me.”
Spike’s eyes grew wide in surprise. “The Dark sent an assassin after the boy? Sire, he is in great danger.”
Hawk blinked a few times before he looked away from the shape shifter’s golden eyes. He rubbed his head as he mumbled. “It was the Dark… they are trying to hurt me through the boy.”
Spike moved closer to him. “We are endangering the boy by just being here,” he whispered.
“We are putting him in danger,” Hawk repeated, still not looking up.
“You are putting him in danger,” Spike clarified.
Hawk’s head shot up as he exclaimed, “I’m putting the boy in danger!” He turned to see the still unconscious form of Kane on the floor, and his heart was flooded with guilt. “We need to get away from here, before they harm anyone else.” Hawk turned his face away from Kane only to see the cook and the other waitress looking at them in utter and complete shock. “They’ve seen too much. Charm their memories while I attend to the boy.”
Spike’s smile returned. “As you command.” And he bounded across the room to land on the counter in one move.
Hawk knelt down next to Kane, resting his hand on the other boy’s cheek for a moment. “I’m sorry,” he said.
Kane’s eyes fluttered open weakly. “For what?” he asked.
Hawk’s smile was bittersweet as he explained, “I am endangering you. I have to go.”
Kane tried to sit up and winced as he fell back with a gasp. “Oh God!” he cried out suddenly.
“See? Stay still, you’ll be fine once I’m gone.”