Lexin patted Cerise’s bottom gently and then leaned away from her. “Your lass returns now. Repair what you can of me and then I must go.”
Cerise turned away from him to admit the girl and her purchases, muttering, “God he is a hard-headed man.”
Chapter Thirteen
Lexin sat with his back to the wall, facing the door of the tavern called The Ruins. It was a well-named establishment, the building gave the appearance of emanate collapse. It stood on the end of one dock and water could be heard lapping against the seawall through the open window by Lexin’s head.
Tavern wenches were busy serving the swill the tavern keeper called ale. One approached Lexin and asked if he needed a refill.
He shook his head slightly. He was nursing his third and was sufficiently numb as to not notice his bruises.
“I can be gettin’ you something else, my lord, if you be so inclined,” she added, leaning over his table as she addressed him. Her black hair fell forward but did not conceal the ample breasts visible in the gaping bodice.
“I am not so inclined, mistress, so get you gone please.”
He watched the sway of the easy skirt’s hips as she moved away in a huff. Even if he had been inclined, he did not think his body would cooperate.
The remains of an overcooked beef steak and greasy potatoes lay on the plate. He pushed it away in disgust. His attention returned to the door. He straightened slightly as the little man he sought came into the establishment.
The man was a sailing man of perhaps fifty summers. He barely came up to Lexin’s chest and was wiry thin. He was a human man with sun baked skin and a thirst for ale, especially if another supplied the silver for it. He had salt and pepper hair, black eyes and Lexin suspected neither the sailor nor his clothes had seen a bath in a long time.
The black eyes found Lexin in his corner with a raised mug in invitation. He made his way through the busy tavern and took the seat across from Lexin.
The older man eyed Lexin speculatively. “By the goddess, what happened to you, my lord?” he asked, and then quickly held up his hands. “I mean no disrespect.”
Lexin waved it away. “’Tis nothing. A minor disagreement. Would you care for something to drink?”
The little man nodded, eyeing Lexin’s mug thirstily. “Aye, my lord, thank you. If that is how you look after a minor disagreement, I would hate to see a major one.” He looked longingly at Lexin’s plate.
Lexin shook his head and pushed the plate further across the table. He then motioned to a barmaid for ale.
The wiry little man, Becket by name, did not seem to mind using the same utensils, and attacked the tough meat with gusto.
Lexin leaned back in his chair, trying not to show his disgust as Becket ate, grease dribbling into the man’s scraggly beard.
“So,” Lexin began casually. “You mentioned you served aboard a vessel twenty-two seasons ago. The Sea Witch, I believe you said.”
“Aye, my lord. She was a handsome ship and very fleet,” Becket answered, his mouth full.
“You said was. How do you mean?”
“She went down in a storm, my lord, four or five winters ago. All hands lost.”
“She had the same captain as when you sailed?”
“Aye, my lord, it was a grievous thing. We heard ‘twas his last voyage. He planned to keep hearth with his woman, and I heard he had a buyer for the ship.” Becket shook his head sadly.
Lexin sat quietly for a few moments while Becket cleaned the platter and drained his cup. Lexin motioned to the serving wench who had propositioned him earlier. He instructed her to keep Becket’s cup full the rest of the evening and paid for the meal.
He placed an extra silver coin in her hand. “This is for your troubles, lass.”
“Thank you, my lord,” she exclaimed and bobbed a curtsy to him, leaving quickly to bring Becket’s ale.
Becket settled back in his chair with his fresh ale. “Who did you say you looked for, my lord?”
“A kinsmen of mine as I said last night. My aunt and young cousin.”
“Right, the one with the mark. They sailed the Sea Witch for sure. I remember best the two men who came with her and the child’s wet-nurse. Lion men they were, such as yourself. The woman was human though. How is she your kinswoman?”
“My uncle’s second wife, sir. A difficult woman to like, truth be told. It is my cousin I look for actually. He has come into some coin and land and I am to find him so that he may claim his share.”
“Ah, I see. Lucky boy, that.”
“A man now…just two springs younger than I. Where did the Sea Witch sail to from Trevess?”
“Raparia, my lord. I heard the woman talking to one of the lion men on deck one day. She had been rather secretive of their destination, but she did not see me in the riggings that day.”
Lexin kept his face impassive but was surprised at the good fortune to have found Becket. Arahtok is with me, although I do not know what I have done to deserve his blessings, he thought.
“What did she tell this lion man? Did she say where they headed from Raparia?”
“Aye, my lord, to an elfin town—Burning Wood, I believe. ‘Tis a wild land, that. Even the lion man questioned the choice.”
“Is that all you know, Becket? Is there anything else you can tell me?” Lexin asked, idly turning his mug on the table.
“There was one last thing, my lord. There was a sudden storm on the way to Raparia. It blew in and then out, no more than a day, it was. One of the lion men that sailed with your kinswoman was on deck to assist with the rigging. He was swept overboard and lost. The water goddess took him to her bosom.”
“Mmm,” Lexin murmured thoughtfully. “Would you like anything else to eat, Becket?”
“Some bread and another steak would be nice, my lord, many thanks to you.”
“I must be returning to my woman.” Lexin touched one of the bruises on one cheek. “You know how women like to fret.”
“Aye, that they do, my lord.”
Lexin reached under his mail shirt and pulled several coins from a pouch on his belt. He laid the silver by Becket’s plate. “For your help. Many thanks to you as well.” He stood and adjusted his sword belt. “I will see that the wench brings you whatever you want.”
Becket gave a suggestive smirk. “What if I want the wench?”
“That would be between you and the wench. Good evening, sir,” Lexin said. He parted and with a nod and left The Ruins.
It was a tense group that gathered for a late breakfast the next morning. Cearan sat sullen, not speaking to anyone, stabbing at eggs as if he wished to kill them while Cerise glared at him in annoyance. Merrick ate hungrily, but uneasy, obviously wanting to be somewhere else. As soon as he finished his meal, he escaped to the stables. Lexin was conspicuously absent.
Cerise turned her attention to her plate for a moment and then back at Cearan. She had banned him from her floor, saying he would be in more danger than she would be. She laid down her fork and gave it a little snap against the thick plank of the table.
“When you said you would thrash Lexin, I thought you were going to punch him in his nose or knock him on his butt. He looks like hamburger. What is wrong with you?”
Cearan’s head snapped up, and his amber eyes practically shot gold sparks. “I do not know what hamburger is, but I assure you he received what he deserved. Perhaps not even enough,” he spit out.
“Did you two argue?” Cerise inquired, not understanding his animosity.
“No, but Lexin speaks lies!” Cearan said bitterly. “Leave it be woman.”
“Come on, Cearan. You two are so close. I know he has been an ass lately, but really, what could he have said that was so bad?”
Cearan pushed his chair back as if to rise, and then slumped heavily back into it, looking both angry and defeated. He crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Why is it so important for you to know?” he asked, looking at
her.
“Because I care about both of you,” she said simply.
Cearan’s gaze dropped to his chest and he sighed. “When we were boys, sometimes we would disagree strongly over something—usually not nearly as important as we first thought. We would pound each other until we both forgot what the fight was even about. But this time he would not fight back. He barely raised a hand in defense.” Cearan’s lips curled sardonically. “I asked if he was a coward.”
Cerise remembered Lexin’s reaction when she had made the same accusation. “What did he say?”
Cearan looked up at her, his eyes now showing a hint of pain. “He said he would not fight his brother.”
“What?” she exclaimed, her blue eyes growing wide at that statement.
Cearan shook his head. “Something troubles Lexin greatly. He was not the same man when he rode into Oralia. He has always been as a brother to me here.” He tapped his chest over his heart and then raised his hands in a helpless gesture. “But the way he said it…”
“I don’t know the answer to that, Cearan. Why don’t you ask him yourself?”
Cearan followed her gaze to see Lexin entering the common room. When Lexin saw Cearan looking at him, he paused in the doorway, obviously ill at ease.
“Talk to him. Maybe he needs to tell you what bothers him as badly as you need to hear it.” Cerise said and stood. She placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze as she rose. She then left him to return to her room.
Cearan sat expressionless, but pushed the chair opposite him out with one foot.
Lexin came into the room and took the offered chair. He cleared his throat and glanced at Cearan, although it was clear he was having trouble seeing out of one eye.
“Did I damage you badly?” Cearan inquired off-handedly, crossing one foot over onto his other knee.
“No,” Lexin said bluntly in reply. “I will live. Does that disappoint you?”
“Maybe,” Cearan said, and then sighed. “Tell me, Lexin, what you meant yesterday. Why would you say something such as that?”
Lexin looked at his hands where they rested flat on the top of the table. “I will tell you what I know, but not here.” He raised his gaze to meet Cearan’s. “Would you walk with me?”
Cearan nodded and both men rose and left the inn. They walked in silence until they reached a wall at the end of one dock. The slip for a ship next to it was temporarily empty.
Lexin leaned onto the wall, looking out to sea, his posture of one haunted. He spoke quietly, as if to himself. “My mother became seriously ill when I questioned her about Seaha’s death and mentioned the search for Greer. A seizure of her brain, the healer told me,” Lexin began and went on to tell him of what happened from there.
Still Lexin did not look at Cearan while he continued. “When my mother lay on her deathbed, she confessed some ugly truths to me. I found that her ambitions ruled her more then I ever thought possible.” He looked down at his hands. “Her sins have become mine.”
Lexin looked over at Cearan then, the man he had always loved as a brother. “It has torn my heart in two to know these things, to know that I will hurt those I care for most.”
For the first time Cearan reached out a hand to touch Lexin on one arm. “Go on, Lexin,” he said, torn himself at the genuine pain on the other man’s face. “What did Muril tell you?”
“Muril was at Oralia when you were born, Cearan. When your mother, Fagraz, died in childbirth, your father was devastated. Muril offered him comfort and managed to seduce him, knowing her time for conception was ripe. She gambled and won, becoming pregnant with Hremm’s child. She did this only because her child would become third in line to the High King’s throne, a powerful position in itself. If something were to happen to Ki and then you, her child by Hremm would be High King or Queen.”
Lexin turned his eyes back to the sea. “I am a child of greed, not my mother’s love for my father. The man I had known as my father raised me, knowing I was not his true son, but I believe that he loved me nonetheless. I know I worshipped him. He was a great man.”
Lexin made a broken sound in his throat and looked again at his hands.
Cearan looked at Lexin in shock and saw the tear that escaped his now closed eyes.
Lexin bared his teeth and shook his head. When he opened his eyes to look at Cearan he cleared his throat roughly.
Cearan turned to Lexin to face him. He held him by the upper arms, his own eyes damp. He placed his forehead against Lexin’s. “How can you take on the responsibility of the sins of our parents? My father would have claimed you if he had known, of that I am sure. Lexin, I have always loved you as a brother—and now it is so.”
He raised his head and the two men looked at each other for a moment. Cearan took in the bruised face of his brother. “Now I wish I had not marred your pretty face, brother. And you are no coward for you only sought to protect me from the truth. To stand there and take that was brave—and possibly a little stupid.”
Lexin nodded at that with a grimacing smile and pulled free from Cearan’s hold. He wiped his face with one hand and then looked at Cearan. Without warning, he drew back his left hand and hit Cearan hard in the face.
Cearan staggered a step and then went down, sprawling onto his rump. “What was that for?” he exclaimed in surprise with a hand going to his throbbing jaw.
Lexin shook his hand as pain radiated up his arm from where the fingers were missing. He swore something vile in Werren. “Blast it!” he added, and then offered Cearan his other hand to help him rise.
“That was to let you know that there will never be another one-sided thrashing from you.” He raised an eyebrow in challenge. “Am I right?”
Cearan laughed and slapped Lexin on the arm. “Of course, little brother.”
Lexin grinned carefully around his split lip and then turned once more. “Do you see that ship out there?” he asked, pointing to a large, three-mast ship being loaded two docks over.
Cearan nodded.
“We sail on her in two days time,” he informed. “I know where we have to go now.”
Cearan looked at his brother out of the corner of his eye. Something else haunted Lexin, but now Cearan understood some of it. There had been no grief when Lexin spoke of his mother’s death. He knew Lexin had not been extremely close with her, but he suspected that a sense of loss was trapped in him somewhere. Perhaps Cerise would be of help, healing Lexin in a way only a woman could. As to the other ghosts, Cearan hoped those could be exorcized in time as well.
Cearan rubbed his sore jaw again. “Well, then, we had best go and tell the others of our sailing. We have much to prepare. He touched Lexin on the back. “I wish to share the news of my new brother as well. Is that alright?
Lexin’s expression changed to one of doubt and Cearan put an arm around his shoulder as they started to walk back to the inn. “Remember this Lexin. We as men have no control of those who came before our time. Clan Lionblade is gaining someone of great worth and, I speak for Ki on this as well, you will be accepted and loved. Do not doubt it.”
He withdrew his arm and slapped Lexin on the back, making the other man grunt in discomfort. “Sorry. I did a job on you, did I not?”
Lexin grinned. “A most thorough one. I am glad you were not seriously trying to hurt me.
Cearan laughed loudly, causing several people further up the dock to turn and look. The brothers continued on to the inn.
Chapter Fourteen
Cerise was brushing her hair, readying herself for bed, when someone knocked at her door. She rose from her seat by a cold hearth and went to the door. She held her dagger in one hand as she called out, “Who is it?”
“’Tis Lexin, my lady. May I enter?”
Cerise unlatched and opened the door. Dim light shone from down the corridor, putting his face in shadow and hiding his bruises.
“Come in,” she bade him and closed the door behind him, carefully
latching it once more.
Lexin took note of her weapon. “Your defense is improving, little warrior.”
Cerise snorted in amusement. “I haven’t been much of a warrior on this trip. I believe I ran like a scared rabbit both times there was trouble.” She laid her dagger on the bedside table.
Lexin went to the little window in her room and looked out onto the street at the gathering dusk.
“You did as you were asked, Cerise, without question. Even then you did not panic. It is one thing to be afraid, but another to act mindlessly because of it.” Lexin turned to look at her. “You were never meant to be a warrior, not in that way. But you are fierce in your own right. I admire that.”
Cerise came to stand beside him. “You are warrior enough for both of us.” She laid her hand gently on his chest. “Will you tell me what happened between you and Cearan?”
The two men met with Cerise and Merrick at the inn earlier that day and then, with lists in hands, split into pairs to gather supplies for their journey. Cerise had gone with Merrick and had not been able to inquire all day.
Lexin placed his hand over hers. He had removed his mail earlier in the day and she could feel the steady thudding of his heart, the material of his simple shirt soft beneath her palm.
He sighed deeply and looked down at her and told her what he had told Cearan earlier that day.
It was Cerise who had tears in her eyes and felt emotion choke her at the end of his story. Wordlessly, she entered his arms and they took comfort in each other, standing close for some time.
Lexin ran his hand down the back of her head and back, soothing himself as much as her. Finally, he loosened his embrace and cupped her cheek. He looked down at her. “Let me lay with you tonight, Cerise. Let me love you until I forget all the wrongs and can only feel you, all that is right.” His voice was whisper soft and beseeching.
Lexin's Quest (Knights of Kismera Book 2) Page 10