“Am I?”
“Yes, and you know it,” she laughed.
He demurred, blushing slightly, and received another kiss on the cheek.
Then a burly man announced loudly that the club was closing for the night, and Michael found himself very disappointed. He had already given Ruby the paper slips to pay for her dance, with a little extra thrown in because Michael thought she deserved it. While she was standing to tuck them away, Garnet suddenly appeared at Michael’s side and hauled him to his feet.
“Sorry to interrupt, but we’ve got to get going,” Garnet said hurriedly. “Danner’s gone. Flasch already checked the street outside and nothing.”
Michael stared at the table where Danner had been slumbering peacefully and was amazed to see the spot was empty.
“I…”
“No need to explain,” Garnet said with a brief smile, “but we need to go now.”
And that was that. Before Michael could say goodbye, Garnet had physically picked him up in one arm, tucked a slightly stumbling Trebor under the other arm and followed Marc and Flasch from the club.
Chapter 25
Ignorance is not bliss. It’s just ignorance.
- Elven Proverb
- 1 -
Danner blinked through eyes blurred by drink and sleep, and slowly the shadowy blobs in front of him took focus. The first thing he realized was that he was no longer in the club with his friends. The stench alone would have told him that, but his brain was still too fogged to notice the cloying odor coming from the half-eaten carcass of a dog laying on the ground next to him. That, mingled with the smell of refuse and stagnating urine, made him wrinkle his nose, but it wasn’t until he was able to get to his knees and look around that he realized he was in an alley.
He recoiled in disgust from the grisly canine beside him and backed away on his hands and knees. The motion made his stomach rebel, and Danner added the contents of his stomach to the filth around him.
The retching cleared his head somewhat, and Danner was at last able to get to his feet, using the stone wall next to him for support. Taking stock of his surroundings, Danner realized he had no idea where he was or how he had gotten there. Objects in the distance were still indistinct, so one direction looked much the same to him as another. With a confused shrug, Danner picked a direction and staggered down the alley.
The alley was only a dozen or so yards long from where Danner had collapsed to where it emptied onto the street, but to Danner it felt more like a mile. He lurched like a marionette in the hands of a crazed puppeteer, then abruptly his strings were cut and he collapsed at the edge of the street.
His senses were still in revolt, so Danner never saw or heard the men until they were standing over him. Danner’s eye cracked open and a muddy boot emerged from the haze only a few inches from his nose. The toe eased forward until it was practically touching his nose, and Danner’s eyes crossed trying to keep it in focus. Then the toe dipped and lifted his head, rolling him over onto his back.
“Is he alive?” a squeaky voice asked.
“Yeah, just drunk,” a harsh voice replied. “Don’t look like he got nothing on him, neither.”
Rough hands reached down and lifted Danner from the ground and held him upright. Danner found himself face-to-face with what could only be described as a broken face. A patchy beard covered a jaw that jutted too far forward beneath a bulbous nose that changed direction halfway down the man’s face. The eyes were too close together and were half-covered by bushy eyebrows, and a long scar ran from just under his left eye, below the cheekbone, then curved back to his left ear, distorting his expression on that side of his face.
“Boy, are you ugly,” Danner said without thinking. Somewhere in the back of his mind, blocked by the remaining fog, warning bells began to chime as he saw the nightmarish face twist in anger.
“Uh oh, now you’re gonna get it,” the squeaky voice said cheerily. “Bappy don’t like to be called ugly, you know.”
“Bappy?” Danner said with a laugh. “That’s a silly name.”
The warnings inside Danner were joined by the ringing in his ears as he suddenly found himself sitting on the street with blood running from his nose and lip. Danner blinked, trying to figure out how he’d ended up on the ground and why his face hurt so much.
Then a pair of bright lights lit up the street and Danner heard the hum of a motor, and he was saved any further pain as the two unknown men disappeared into the night. The motor drew closer and closer, then Danner heard the sound of heavy footsteps trudging closer.
“Danner? Sweet Heaven’s mercy, boy, what have you gotten yourself into?”
Danner thought he should recognize the high-pitched, gravelly voice. When Danner saw the face of his rescuer, he finally put a name to him.
“Faldergash!” he exclaimed, suddenly delighted to see the gnome. “How you doin’?”
“Yeah, it’s me, Danno,” the hefty gnome replied seriously. “You look like Hell warmed you over good. What are you doing out here alone at night?”
“My friendsh and I… um, Aunt Felicia’s, or Aunt Delilah’s or, uh…”
“Aunt Delia’s place? Is that where you were?” Faldergash sighed. “I suppose that makes sense. Alright, I’ll run by and we’ll pick up your friends, then you’re coming to my place. I thought you had better sense than this, boy.”
With a groan, Danner took Faldergash’s extended hand and was hauled to his feet. The gnome supported him to the buggy and loaded him into the passenger seat. Danner’s eyes closed as the buggy started forward.
Behind them, another pair of eyes watched the receding vehicle.
- 2 -
Faldergash drove Danner back to Aunt Delia’s place just in time to catch Marc and the others as they left in search of their friend. Trebor immediately healed the cuts and bruises on Danner’s face, but said his sleep was from drink and not from his injuries.
“He’ll have one Hell of headache when he wakes up the rest of the way, but nothing worse,” Trebor pronounced in a voice only slightly slurred by drink. “Serve him right for scaring us like that.”
“Well, why don’t you boys come stay at my place tonight,” Faldergash offered. “I have to be getting back, and there’s enough room for all. It’s not far.”
They took him up on his offer and clambered aboard the buggy. It was a tight fit, especially in the back seat, but Garnet stood and gripped the metal frame for support and Flasch hung off the side to make sure they had enough room. Faldergash drove slowly for safety’s sake.
When they reached the house he shared with Gabruilla, Faldergash started having second thoughts about his offer. He wanted to be sure Danner was okay, but he wasn’t looking forward to the female gnome’s reaction to having a half-dozen human boys staying the night. She was uptight enough having just Danner visit, despite Faldergash’s assurances that even if Danner discovered anything, he would keep it to himself if Faldergash asked him to. But Gabby didn’t trust humans, or anyone other than her own kind, much like the rest of Faldergash’s people.
It was the one thing he’d never confided to Danner. Faldergash was what people commonly called a Dale gnome, a different breed than the Del gnomes most people were familiar with. The Dale had never been particularly populous and were thought to be extinct, wiped out in genocidal jealousy by the dwarves centuries ago. Where Del gnomes tinkered incessantly and often with more danger than purpose, the Dale were ingenious and were responsible for some of the greatest inventions known to the mortal realm. The first buggies were designed by Dale inventors, but they were mass-produced and made popular by the dwarves. Catapults and other siege engines, advanced water wheels, bridges to span all but the largest of gaps, and cooking devices of all sorts were designed by the Dale, spurred by the same desire, no the same need, to build and invent that drove their lesser brethren, the Del. But where the Del created haphazardly ─ with the emphasis on hazard ─ the Dale were driven to create with a purpose and rare was the invent
ion that did not work as planned on the first or second try.
Danner would likely laugh at that last thought because of the multiple trial runs Faldergash had supposedly gone through while trying to create his own inventions. Faldergash had always regretted this deception, but it was necessary to maintain his illusion of being just another Del gnome. He’d practically blown the roof off their small home several times, just like a good little Del, and even deliberately set fire to his own eyebrows and burned his fingers to keep up appearances.
Faldergash’s job was a simple one. Live on the continent with the other mortal races and gauge their feelings about the other races in general, gnomes in particular. The Dale had no immediate plans to rejoin the rest of the world. Those who had survived the genocide had escaped to a secluded island that didn’t appear on any known maps, and there they had prospered as they strove to create a new life. But to be safe, they periodically sent gnomes like Faldergash and Gabby over to the mainland to keep abreast of happenings amongst the other races.
It was bad luck combined with good timing that had forced Faldergash to abandon his home with Danner when he did. He had realized the Coalition had found him and decided to leave until things cooled over. At the same time, he would report to Gabby, so she could in turn send a report back to Daleshome, the refuge of the Dale gnomes.
But since Danner had arrived in Nocka, Faldergash had decided to stay longer than he’d originally intended. He was even considering staying permanently, or at least until Danner finished his training and went to live somewhere else, at which point the gnome would probably return home. Faldergash genuinely liked living with Danner, and had finally resolved to tell him the truth. That was his largest point of contention with Gabby right now, since she was flatly opposed to his revealing anything. But Faldergash outranked her, having been on the mainland ten years longer than she, and had the final say in any decisions regarding such matters.
All this and more were on Faldergash’s mind as he pulled into the shack he used to garage his buggy. The vehicle was of his own design and build, with more power than any commercially available. Faldergash was eagerly anticipating Danner’s waking so he could show his human friend the improvements he’d made. Danner hadn’t yet had the chance to take the buggy for more than a few short test drives, but he’d handled it with skill and Faldergash thought Danner enjoyed being behind the wheel.
Faldergash turned the switch that controlled the motor and the engine died.
“Everybody off. Hey, big fella, can you handle Danner all by yourself?” Faldergash asked of Garnet. “Good. The rest of you, come in quietly and keep your hands to yourself.”
“In a gnomish home, we’d have to be crazy to do otherwise,” Flasch said, after making sure he was out of Garnet’s reach.
Faldergash sighed.
The others followed Faldergash inside, and Garnet bent to lift Danner in his powerful arms. He shook him gently awake and set him on his feet, but Danner was still groggy.
“Come on, Danner,” Garnet said. “One foot, now the other. Let’s go.”
Garnet heard the slight scuff of a boot behind him and he turned, then stared in shock as a wooden club came whistling toward where his friend was nestled in the crook of his arm. Garnet dropped Danner to the ground and blocked the blow on his arm, grunting as he deflected the club to the side.
There was a gasp of uncertainty from the shadows, then a light from the gnome’s house flicked on and the face of the attacker was revealed. Garnet scowled fiercely, then called out.
“Marc, get out here, double time!”
Garnet’s assailant backed up uncertainly, then stopped as he glared in warning.
“What’s up, Garnet?” Marc asked, walking out of the house.
“Do you want to tell me why your sister just tried to brain Danner with a tree branch?”
Marc stepped up beside Garnet and peered at the face half-hidden in the shadows. The wooden club clattered to the ground as the woman stepped forward hesitantly.
“Alicia?” Marc asked in amazement.
- 3 -
“What the Hell are you doing here?” Marc asked once they were all inside and seated in the living room. “And what in San’s name do you think you were doing to Danner?”
Alicia explained the fate of the Dragoenix Inn nearly two weeks prior and how she and Deeta had come to Nocka in search of family to live with for a while. Their journey was quick and easy, but in truth she remembered little of it. Most of the time Alicia had brooded on how she would deal with Danner when she found him. What she would say. What she would do to him.
She didn’t say that to Marc, though. The shock of seeing her brother and his childhood friend Garnet had been enough to unhinge her, but she was recovered enough to keep her wits about her. She wasn’t sure what sort of friendship was between her brother and Danner, and she wanted to know before she accused him of his crime.
When she finished telling of her journey, Marc nodded slowly. Garnet was subdued, his face troubled as he helped Faldergash in bringing Danner to some semblance of coherence. Faldergash finally resorted to pouring a mouthful of steaming cahve into Danner’s mouth. The drink was Gabby’s special blend, and was at least twice as powerful as the street-corner variety. Danner coughed, then spluttered as he jerked awake.
“Sin, San and Satan’s teeth!” he yelled, rubbing his throat. “What did you give me, Fal, boiling oil?”
“Close enough,” Faldergash replied with a covert wink to Garnet, who kept an expressionless face as Gabruilla glared at Faldergash. The female gnome harrumphed and stalked into the kitchen. Unlike Faldergash, Gabruilla was built like a typical gnome and had a wire-thin frame, but her arms and legs were layered with ropey muscle.
“San, that’s vile stuff,” Danner continued, looking around at his friends. “Remind me never to…” He caught sight of Alicia.
“Alicia?” he said, half confused and half hopeful. What is she doing here? he wondered. Danner couldn’t help but wonder if she had come because of him. Maybe he hadn’t screwed things up as badly as he’d thought. One look at her face, though, told him that if she had come because of him, it wasn’t anything good. She sat in her chair like a bristling cat.
“Oh, good, you remember me,” Alicia spat at him. “I guess you never thought you’d see me again, huh?”
“Well, I was hoping,” Danner said. “That I would, I mean. Look, I don’t know what set you off that night, but I’m sorry for anything I did to upset you.”
“Upset me?!?” she screeched and launched herself out of her chair at him. Garnet caught her in mid-air and managed to restrain her. She struggled and clawed at him, but he forced her back into her chair and clamped his hands on her shoulders over the back of the chair. Everyone in the room stood silent, shocked by her outburst.
“Upset me?” she screamed again, all reason fled from her mind. “You raped me, you Sin-cursed son of a bitch!”
Silence.
Danner’s jaw dropped, and he stared at her uncomprehendingly. His friends stared in shock first at Alicia, then at Danner. Marc’s face turned dangerous.
“Danner?” Marc asked in a deceptively calm tone. Danner turned to face him, his mouth working silently for a moment.
“I don’t know what to tell you, Marc,” he managed at last. “The last time I saw her was the night of the inn owner’s dance, when she slapped me for trying to give her my jacket. That’s God’s truth, I swear.”
“Liar!” Alicia yelled. “You came back later that night when I was cleaning up the side room. You threw me on the ground. You cut off my clothes. You raped me!”
“Alicia, I swear to you…”
“Liar!” Garnet had to restrain her again and received more claw marks on his arms for his trouble.
General mayhem broke out as everyone started talking at once. Danner was murmuring brokenly to himself, trying to sort out what she was accusing him of, while Marc was talking quickly to his sister to get details from her. The others
were assaulting Danner with questions, either in amazement or suspicion. The only silent one in the room was Trebor. He asked his questions without words and received his answers with far more clarity than the others possibly could.
He looked into Alicia’s mind and probed for her memories of the attack – which were understandably foremost in her thoughts – and he saw the entire scenario happen just as she’d seen it. That evidence was enough to condemn Danner, but he looked into his friend’s mind before making a pronouncement. Instead of confirmation, however, he saw Danner leaving the inn with his uncle and an elf, then traveling on the road to Nocka. Trebor felt a strange resistance, something he’d never felt while kything with anyone else. He’d never done more than a surface reading on Danner before, and while Danner was in no condition to hide anything from him, Trebor had the feeling that Danner could shut him out completely if he half tried.
Trebor shrugged the feeling off and probed deeper. There was nothing there to support Alicia’s memories, rather the contrary. Confused, Trebor kythed back into Alicia’s mind and looked more closely at the images there. Suddenly he stiffened.
“He didn’t do it,” Trebor said softly. Garnet turned.
“What?”
“Danner didn’t do it,” Trebor repeated, louder and with more confidence. Alicia immediately began to protest angrily, but Marc silenced her with a gentle hand to her lips.
“Go ahead, Trebor,” Marc said guardedly.
“I just scanned Alicia and Danner both, and I saw what happened to her etched painfully clear in her mind, but in Danner there’s nothing of the sort. After the dance, he left with his uncle and an elf without seeing Alicia again,” Trebor said flatly. “Even the most trusted of people can lie with their lips, but even the most depraved of men cannot lie with their minds.” Trebor made no mention of the strange resistance he’d felt, because he was certain Danner wasn’t hiding anything.
“What is he talking about?” Alicia demanded.
“I’m talking about this, Alicia,” Trebor kythed into her mind. “I can read minds down to your thoughts and memories, and even talk to people in this manner. I know what you saw, and I believe in what happened to you. But Danner didn’t do it.”
Hunting The Three (The Barrier War) Page 31