The Darkslayer: Book 02 - Blades in the Night

by Craig Halloran

  Her full red lips were pursed to speak when he blurted out, “Come to bed with me!”

  Kam’s eyes widened as she blushed. All eyes were on him and her, it seemed. Keeping her chin up, she replied calmly in a polished, red-faced refined voice: “Listen, you lout, one more remark like that and you will be leaving. You haven’t seen me in years and all you can think to say is ‘Come to bed with me’?”

  Venir felt ashamed—almost.

  Her words came at him, accented, full and effective, as she continued: “You haven’t seen me in years and you don’t even ask how I have been, or have the sense to comment on my hair or my clothes or my tavern.” She paused.

  Venir didn’t care. He could watch her talk all day.

  She began pointing and said, “You just sit down, ogle my waitresses, ogle me, and then blurt out words like an ogre!”

  She crossed her arms, blocking his view of her splendid chest and forcing his eyes to meet hers. The audience of listeners was waiting to see if he had anything to say. He did.

  “I am sorry, Kam,” he said, speaking polished and loudly. He wiped his mouth with his napkin and sat up straight. “You have a wonderful place here. The service is very, very pleasant to see, and the food and mead is just as savory. You look like a queen. That tiara really goes well with your hair. I really like your outfit. It is very exquisite and it is quite fetching on you as well. You are absolutely the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.” He paused.

  She looked around, then back at him.

  “Now will you come to bed with me?” he said.

  Laughter erupted around them and the tension evaporated. Kam just smiled then said above the crowd: “No!”

  But her eyes told him maybe.

  The people went back about their business and Kam got back on him.

  “Do you always have to strut in here and make an impression?”

  “I don’t mean to.”

  “Liar.”

  “Okay, maybe a little, but it’s harmless.”

  “For you maybe it’s harmless, but for me it’s costly.”

  “What do you mean?” he asked as he put her hand in his, rubbing it.

  “Oh … don’t act like you don’t remember the first time we met and you managed to run off some of my best patrons. They still talk about it, to my disdain, I might add.” She tried to pull her hand away, but he wouldn’t let her. “They always have to talk about the burly roughneck who came in here and trounced Fogle Boon. Every time, the story would get taller about that night. It’s taken me years to convince people that it never happened, but someone always comes in here and reminds everyone that it did. And now here you are?”

  “Who’s Fogle Boon?”

  “Don’t play stupid just because you look it, Venir. I know better.”

  She scowled at him then snapped her fingers in the air. A waitress ran over with a lavender bottle of wine and half filled her goblet.

  She sipped, then continued: “I mean, I had just been running the Magi Roost for a few months and you come strutting in her, all burly and big mouthed while making a complete fool of yourself. All the lowlife sorts saw nothing but a bull’s-eye for their amusement and profit. I tried to help, but for the life of me …” She smiled.” I couldn’t help but see something that I liked.”

  He loved hearing about himself almost as much as he loved hearing her talk.

  “What happened then?”

  She huffed and said, “Oh, geez, you are going to make me say it all again aren’t you … you big rogue?” She took another sip and licked her lips.

  “Yes! But you have to tell Lefty later. He will want to write it down. He’s my chronicler.”

  Exasperated she replied, “What? The halfing is writing down your silly stories? You have to be kidding me. I can’t believe that. It’s ridiculous.”

  Venir was motioning, wide-eyed, for her to continue as he took another big drink.

  “Don’t get carried away with that mead now,” Kam said. “I’m pretty sure she gave you the strong stuff. She’s tricky like that.”

  “It’s good … now on with it.”

  He slapped the mug down on the table. The waitress filled his mug as well as his eyes. Kam glared at him, tapping her long black nails on the table. He shrugged.

  She took a deep breath into her full chest, much to his delight, and began:

  “So I am heading down from my room to check up on things as the girls had sent for me. I don’t like seeing anyone, particularly travelers, getting hurt. The girls are telling me about this overbearing handsome hulk of a man that is a big as he is loud who is causing a commotion.”

  She took another sip.

  “Naturally I had to see you for myself, and there you stood by the bar. Blond, handsome, smiling, and telling stories while trying to make friends with everyone in the room. Normally characters like you I don’t give a second thought, but there was something in your deep blue eyes and rumbling voice that made me curious, and I had to listen.

  “The tavern was packed and you bandied about a full half head taller than the rest, getting into unwilling people’s business. It drew the attention to the likes you had clearly never dealt with before and the contests were soon to be on.”

  She stared into her goblet.

  “Don’t stop, please, Kam. I just don’t seem to remember the whole thing so well,” he said, faking a serious look.

  “And lucky for you, I do. Before it was too late, me and the girls tried to guide you out, but their magic cantrips and shocks of sorts didn’t seem to affect your mead-addled brain, which was a first. We all knew you were strong willed and were going to be hard to get rid of, but we never expected you be so …” She paused. “So … formidable.”

  Venir smiled. Every city in the world of Bish had its own personality and the challenges and contests tended to reflect that. In the City of Three, the ruling Royal mages tended to keep things controlled by the force of will rather than the force of strength. The people used their minds to test each other and figure out one another as well. The people weren’t trying to hide anything, they weren’t secretive so to speak, and they were amiable overall, but it was just their way. Still, there were rogues and warriors of all sorts, and the mages were the worst of the lot.

  The mages tended to rely on tiny spells called cantrips to get them through the day, whether it was for tying their shoes, dressing themselves, or even moving game pieces. They sat at ornate tables in parks and taverns playing games with colorful cards, boards, and even other people, but they usually didn’t touch anything.

  There were still people sharper than the mages who had to use their hands to move pieces too, but usually the mages won in the games of strategy, but the games of will were different and the contest of wills through a cantrip was unique. Their challenge cantrip was a simple spell in which the minds were locked and a brutal combat of wills began.

  Without touching, the contestants would lock eyes, making a natural connection, and try to overwhelm the other with sheer will power. The contest was quick and harmless for the most part, causing the loser to feel faint at best and, in the event of the most extreme cases, nosebleeds, fainting, and rarely death could occur. A fool that was overmatched could wind up with a migraine for days. But on the surface, not a bump or bruise was ever shown.

  The mages could also set up the spell between non-mages as well. The contest in itself didn’t favor mages, either; it was a fair platform, but skill and the current mind-set did help, especially if one were confident or lacked it at the moment. Soldier or general, cut purse or freebooter, man or woman, dwarf or halfling … they all dabbled in it. All the walks of life from Bish were intoxicated by this contest and sometimes consumed. It was a gambler’s nightmare or dream, some would say, and Venir knew it to be true.

  Kam kept going, her voice becoming more sultry with every word, drawing in more ears like a siren.

  “And there you stood, overlooking some tables where they were locked in the mind grumbles,
asking what everyone was doing. And not long after that, every thief and cutthroat was coming after you like cats to milk.”

  Venir filled her goblet again, all ears. Sleep with me, he chanted in his mind. Sleep with me. Sleep with me. But she kept on talking.

  “But your curiosity and pride were to be your detriment as you managed to annoy the night’s heavies who were used to ruling the Roost around here. I watched your confidence grow as you were being successfully set up for some small victories and quick coins when along came Fogle Boon.” She paused. “The Tormentor.”

  YOU are tormenting me with those beautiful lips.

  “Now skimming in Three isn’t the same as skimming in Bone or elsewhere. If you got skimmed here, you were just ignorant for admitting to it, so you take your losses and go. Fogle Boon wasn’t setting you up for coin; he was setting you up for humiliation. The tavern only had room for one big shot and that was him.”

  Venir interrupted with a finger. “Hey, where is that waitress? I’m empty.”

  The story, food, and mead managed to take off a lot of the edge that had been building up for days, and Venir was beginning to feel himself again.

  “Don’t overdo it,” Kam said, “or you will forget the story again.”

  “Maybe I want you to tell it to me again, then. It rolls off your tongue and into my heart so well.”

  “Settle down, big boy. We’ll get to that later,” she said with a wink. “I remember the scene, right over there by that fire.” She pointed with her lips. “And Fogle Boon, a man not even half your size with a head just as big, sits down at your table for a challenge. You laugh at him and ask him if he wants to arm wrestle.”

  She shook her head.

  “Well, we all knew that Fogle Boon, the most dominant will in the room was eager to teach you a lesson. He just gave you a deceptive little smile and laughed. I’d seen big men take on small halflings before, but the differences between the two of you couldn’t have been more vast. You were in a white cotton shirt, bulging at the seams, and I could see that tattoo through it on your knotted back.”

  He could hear the excitement in her voice.

  “The bets were quiet, discreet, and quick, as you could not have known who you were up against, but nothing was in your favor. I just hoped you would walk out of here and not be carried, because Fogle Boon was notorious for having killed a man the likes of you before. You both sat there, smiling, confident, and proud. Another mage was casting the cantrip while you both locked your eyes and waited for the wills to connect.”

  She took a sip and wiped her lips.

  “Normally matches last maybe a minute or two before someone yields and breaks out. But the opponents of the Tormentor were usually undone in seconds. The crowd was quiet and tense, and there was a lot of snickering going on all around. It was clear when both of your wills locked as both of your faces grew taut.” She paused.

  “What?”

  “I was just making sure you were still listening?”

  “ I couldn’t stop listening if a dozen orcs were breathing down my neck.”

  He winked, and she blushed and continued on.

  “The first few seconds brought sweat to your brow like raindrops but Fogle Boon’s head was bone dry and just as white. Ten, then twenty more seconds past and the people started to stir in alarm as they were astounded you were still locked in. No one had ever even gone thirty seconds with him before. Then the betting became intense to see if you could go ten more and make it to thirty. And you did!”

  Venir hadn’t noticed the small crowd that surrounded them as Kam was retelling the story. Her voice was distinct as well as alluring, and her enthusiastic crescendos sucked them in like she was a singing gypsy.

  “Now the people were talking and word was spreading, and minds were signaling that Fogle was fighting over thirty. But then someone said, ‘He’s just toying with the ape; it’ll be over soon, you’ll see’ but you made it to forty. You were snorting like a wild brush hog and breathing heavy like the fever was on you, but you still hung in there. Fifty seconds took and people started cheering for you! I don’t think either you or Fogle heard a thing, though, but I know he sensed he was in for a fight and he turned it on.”

  Someone in the crowd gulped behind Venir.

  “You could see it because suddenly his faced reddened and a tiny blue vein rose across his prominent forehead and at sixty seconds gone, you sat there and your nose started bleeding something awful.”

  She stared at him.

  “Do you remember all that blood, Venir? I don’t think you would have bled less if someone had cut your nose off.”

  He shook his head and motioned for her to continue.

  “All right. All right!” She waved her hands. “Now over a minute had passed, and you both were sweating and shaking. You began to pale, and I was certain that the blood loss and Fogle were finally wearing you down. You slumped down in your chair. I thought you were dying. It scared me to death.”

  Her voice began to rise and she spoke faster.

  “Fogle must have sensed that too. He went for the throat. You shook violently in your seat like a possessed man and you began to stammer and stomp. Then your bloodshot blue eyes popped open. You screamed a bloodcurdling scream the likes no one ever heard. Your eyes rolled up into your head. Blood covered your shirt and dripped on the floor. I swore I could hear your mind roar when it happened.”

  She took a big drink; they all did.

  “What happened?” someone shouted.

  “Something amazing! I don’t know how else to explain it but it looked like a giant invisible fist smashed Fogle Boon’s nose straight into his face with a nauseating smack! Blood sprayed and the crowd screamed in bewilderment and horror, and Fogle Boon’s eyes opened wide as he fell back to the ground and lay still like a poisoned rodent. We thought he was dead, but his heart was clearly pumping blood out of his body and onto my floor. The stain is still there, by the way.”

  Everyone, it seemed, looked to the spot, and, indeed, a large dark spot stained the stones inlaid over the floor.

  “You could always put a nice rug over it, Kam,” Venir said.

  “Ha. That would just cost me money. Anyhow, everyone looks at you as Fogle’s men took his limp body away. Your white cotton tunic is soaked in sweat and blood. Your rugged face is no longer sun-browned, but ashen instead. Your eyes are blazing like a rapid wolf and you are shuddering. It was a pitiful sight and my heart went out to you.”

  “It did? Aww …”

  “I felt bad for you, that was all. I didn’t want someone dying in my bar. Your big grave would be costly,” she said.

  He nodded.

  “The people were settling over the rules of the bets then and trying to decide if it went the full two minutes, longer or shorter. The girls and I grabbed some towels and covered you up with them and tried to clean you up. Your body was ice cold, but after a few minutes, your face came back to color and you looked at me and said, ‘You sure are pretty. Can I have a kiss?’ I said, ‘No,’ and then you asked me if you could have a drink instead. I turned to fetch it and you pinched me on my rump.”

  “Now that I remember!” Venir said.

  The audience laughed and patted him on the back and congratulated him as if he had just completed the feat again.

  Kam’s eyes were showing him fondness when she said, “That was one amazing event that night, but I enjoyed the one from later on far better.”

  “Me, too. It was certainly more memorable.”

  “So, Venir,” she said, rubbing his hand, “are you going to ever tell me what you saw when you locked with Fogle Boon? I know how those battles go. You see things like dreams and flashes. Can you tell me more?”

  “I can’t really say for sure, Kam. It was the first time I ever did a mind contest. I have seen so many things, it’s hard to tell the difference sometimes. All I can say is that Fogle Boon played the wrong hand and I must not have liked it.”

  Kam pouted a bit. He knew
she couldn’t stand not knowing. She always wanted to know more about his inner man. He didn’t understand why. She always told him that men tended to darken as the world of Bish wore them down, but not him. That was why she put up with him. He didn’t mind.

  “So, Kam, whatever happened to Fogle Boon anyway? Did he ever come back to the Magi Roost again?”

  “No, and neither did any of his cohorts, either. That was a lot of good business you cost me that night. He was my best customer.”

  “You know that people have been pouring in here ever since.”

  “It’s not the same. Fogle Boon wasn’t the most charming man, but he kept things in order. Ever since he left and you left, it’s been without character. It’s like the greatest night that could ever happen here happened and no one thinks something that exciting could ever happen again.”

  Venir clasped her hands in his and said softly, “I bet we can achieve another a great thing.”

  “No doubt you want to try.”

  “We—”

  “Stop,” she said, pulling her hands away. “I don’t have time for old flames, lover boy. I have things to do—”

  Her words dropped off and she gave a puzzled stare as she glanced behind him.

  “What is it, Kam? And don’t act like something urgent has happened and you are needed elsewhere. I know how you girls cover for each other whenever a fella gets too close to getting his mitts on you.”

  He was agitated now, as he didn’t want to stay up all hours of the night trying to woo his former love. His needs needed met.

  “It’s not that, Vee,” she said, still looking over his shoulder.

  “Really, I suppose it’s something else more ridiculous then. Look, Kam, it’s been a long time. I really can’t explain how badly I want you now. Soon. Now. ”