Tawnya’s eyes widened as her hands flew to her mouth in shock. She quickly grabbed Blaze by the wrist and dragged her to the table where Linda and another man sat.
“Oh my! How could I have? This is the best part. Blaze, I want you to meet the great Traitor mentor, Theoverus.”
The average man stood at the introduction and bowed. As he straightened, he held his hand out in greeting. “Tawnya is too kind. Please, call me Theo. I realize such a name can be cumbersome when trying to call me.” A soft, humble smile and hazel eyes filled his narrow face. “I was always sorry to miss you during the few Dinners I’ve attended.”
Blaze stood there, frozen. The Traitors stared back, all of their smiling faces a scene of naive obliviousness. As the situation caught up with Blaze, she backed away and covered her face, dreading the news she bore.
“No...NO!”
Blaze released her face to see Linda’s and Tawnya’s smiles droop into hesitant curves. Theo lowered his hand. Her company hadn’t expected this kind of reaction.
“I...I’m sorry.” Blaze felt her eyes wet; however, she had to be strong. She squared her shoulders and demanded the tears disappear. “You have to stop being Traitors for a time. You must postpone your Dinner and keep a low profile...”
“Blaze, what’s wrong?” Linda asked. Blaze saw the same worry that had dimmed her own mother’s face so long ago.
“Urlificans!” Blaze’s agitation flared, causing her to shout the word. Taking a breath to gain control, she lowered her voice and looked to the door. She needed to get back to the pub. “An Urlifican troop came in late last night. They have a Grand General leading them and are already starting to ask questions. I’m going to stay at the pub to keep my eyes and ears on them, so someone needs to go warn Jonathan. Theo, I don’t know what your connection is, but I suggest you not be here.” Blaze focused on Tawnya. Her eyes were glistening with tears, and all color had drained from her face. Rage threatened to consume Blaze at the pain the Urlificans already caused, but she shook it down. “You have to stop being Traitors until they leave. Please Tawnya.”
Not waiting for Tawnya’s argument, Blaze exited the bakery like a cat from water, leaving the stunned Traitors to deal with her revelation. The filth of the pub was a welcomed escape. The stench diminished from a suffocating fog to a repulsive haze, and she helped the odor shift by opening the rest of the shudders. The manual labor of righting chairs and tables distracted her from the overwhelming feelings of rage, hate, and fear. Evan’s loud snoring gave her a rhythm to wipe the Urlificans’ filth away. If only they could be scrubbed away like the crusty vomit in the corner.
Why did they come? What is going to happen?
Questions and preparations kept turning over and over in a dizzying fashion. She couldn’t keep an eye on everyone, and the Grand General worried her the most. Like Obrae, his silence indicated cunning. Quiet men were stomped upon in Urlifec’s forces, unless they were clever. That is how she guessed Obrae had survived, along with this Grand General Kent. And Burdock...
No, Tray is dead. She reminded herself. You were there. You saw the arrow in his back. He died.
Like her father. Like her mother. Murdered by the Urlificans.
It was not fair! Why was she cursed so? If there was a True King, wouldn’t he care that she was so plagued by his enemies? What had she done to deserve this? Being cursed seemed the only answer.
The mop head snapped off from the force of her attack on third puddle of vomit on the floor. With a shout, she whirled the stick around with all of her might, stabbing, slicing, and mauling any invisible enemy. She was not weak; she would not be beaten by this.
“Kaff, an’ I’s only hopin’ fur a drink...”
Blaze spun around ready to defend herself against the sudden intruder. The Urlifican’s stale red leathers hung limply from his thin frame. Black, matted hair and scruffy stubble darkened his face and intensified the hung-over bloody eyes. A crooked smirk gave his thoughts away as those beady black eyes progressed from her ankles to just below her head. He stepped into the pub and progressed carefully forward, like walking toward a trapped animal. “So, the smacker’s good with a mop stick, but how’s she with a real sword?”
Blaze straightened and lowered the point, not wanting to seem threatening; however, she didn’t put it away. “I am afraid that I don’t know what you mean, sir.” He kept progressing with his piggish smile. With matched care, Blaze made her way behind the nearest table, trying to smile as politely as her revulsion would allow her. “As you can see, our pub is not in the right condition for service right now. If you...”
“Oh, I don’ mind how dirty it is.” He made his way around the table, and she mimicked his lead. “Now, wha’cha so nervous for? I just need a little refreshment.”
“Then I’ll get you a drink.” She rushed behind the safety of the bar. Just give him his drink and get the mongrel out of here. “Ale?”
The Urlifican leaned across the bar with a look of great need. “A pint o’ your best,” he exhaled. The stench of beer and a night of drunken sleep nearly making her sick. She nodded and turned to grab a glass, putting the mop handle to the side.
With surprising agility, he leapt over the bar and braced his hands on either side of her, pinning her against the barrel of ale. The half-filled mug dropped to the floor as his rotten breath reached a new intensity. He cooed into her ear, “Now, I’d really like your best. See, we’ve been travelin’ fur so long ter get ter this cursed spit ofa settlement, I could use a release.” His disgusting lips pressed against her neck. Repulsed fury froze her to the spot, and a shutter ran through her body at the contact.
“Now, now,” he pressed even closer “I’s not picky. No need in worrin’ bout disappointin’. I’ve been tol’ I kin make any situation enjoyable.”
Blaze found her tongue and the dagger at her waist. “I’m afraid we don’t offer that kind of service here.” With perfect aim, she swung her heel upward and dug deep into him. The moment his arms dropped from the barrel, she dove to the side to grab the mop handle. She stood with the dagger held high in one hand and the mop point held low. It took all of her will to not stab the beast while he lay in a heaving crumble on the floor, mouth gapping like a fish breathing air.
“Ryan! Get your flabby, worm-riddled stink hatch off of the floor and out into the streets where it belongs!”
Blaze jumped at the order. The Junior Officer, Burdock, stood in the doorway. She lowered but didn’t put away the weapons. The rat jumped up and scurried over to the door as best he could while still doubled over. As he reached the door, Burdock grabbed his shirt and forcefully straightened him up. “Ryan, you Wilden, if I catch you drinking or doing anything else besides what we are here for, I will personally finish what she started.”
“Yesir.” Ryan croaked and crunched back down as Burdock released him. He half ran, half fell out of the open door. Burdock closed the door and turned with arms crossed, sporting a neutral expression.
Blaze was frozen to the spot. She attacked and threatened an Urlifican, and her way was blocked by one of his officers. In an attempt to mask her uncertainty, she stared back at him with arms at her side, dagger in one hand and broken mop in the other. Evan’s snoring from the back room became the only sound in the pub.
Chapter 3
“So,” Burdock started. “I’m afraid that I never learned your name earlier.”
“I never gave it.” She internally winced at the remark, unable to stop it from coming out. She should be more courteous, but she was not in the mood for small talk, especially with an Urlifican.
He looked down to her dagger and then back at her. A smile played at his thin lips. “You’ve never been around an Urlifican, have you?”
She tightened her grip on the dagger. “Only once before, but the time was brief.”
“Was it with me?”
Blaze stared at him in bafflement. “I...what?” When was he going to try and kill her?
He walked furthe
r into the pub with hands slightly raised. “Look, I’m not going to attack you. Let’s put the stick and dagger away and just talk.”
“About what that Wil...Urlifican Ryan...experienced?”
Burdock laughed as he sat at the only clean table. “He got what he deserved. Honestly, the lout needed a good...ha...good kick.”
Warning chills set her on edge as she recognized cleverness in him. Deciding that he couldn’t do many surprise attacks from across the table, she put the dagger away and laid the mop stick on the bar. Cautiously, she took the seat opposite of him. “What now?” she asked. Could he tell how uncertain she was?
“All right. I just want to find out more about you. You must give Ryan some slack. We haven’t come across so wild of a woman in a while.”
She stared at him in disgust.
He continued in his nonchalant manner. “You have no respect for our authority, nor any regard for civil expectations, so it seems. Have you owned this pub long?”
Blaze let out a small smile. “Yes, although, most don’t know about it. These villagers can be a bit stubborn and wouldn’t accept a woman owning a pub, so Evan and I cut a deal where I owned the place, but he put on the front of being owner. In the end, I make the decisions and make sure everything is accounted for.” She admitted that the lie wasn’t too bad, even if it was revealed as fast as she thought it.
Burdock listened and smiled. “And why in the king’s name would you want to own a pub?”
“Because I have no regard for civil expectations.”
He barked out a laugh. “Alright. Fair enough. So, where do you live? Because, according to the snoring back there, you don’t live here.”
She raised her eyebrow. “I am sorry, but I’m afraid that unless you want to end up like Ryan, you may not want to know that.” The answer was a risk, but she felt that Burdock would not be offended by it.
“Oh, kaff!” He laid his hands on his lap as shock widened his face. “Thanks for the warning.”
Blaze laughed. Was he really an Urlifican? Her caution called out to her from the back of her mind, but it was becoming more and more distant. The only detail keeping her from completely relaxing was his uniform. Then, like a clap of thunder, reality hit her.
He is dangerous, Blaze! He has charm and cleverness. He is playing sheep in wolf’s clothing, but in reality he’s a wolf.
Perhaps she should start asking questions. Leaning onto her elbows with her hands folded, she looked straight into his golden eyes. “So, my turn. Where are you from?”
He leaned back in his chair. “And why would that be important?”
The question game, she could play that, too. “Who says any of this conversation is important?”
“Are you implying that I’m wasting my time here?”
“Why are you here?” Her back started to tighten with anger.
“Why won’t you answer my questions? Do you have something to hide?”
“Do you think I have something to hide?”
“Don’t you understand who I am? So, answer my questions! WHO ARE YOU?”
“WHO ARE YOU?”
They shouted the question at the same time, and both fell into silence while facing each other, little table separating them. Even Evan’s snoring paused for a moment. Slowly, Burdock leaned back in his chair, and Blaze copied the action. She studied the man across from her as he studied her in return.
At first glance, he might have looked like Tray, but Blaze sensed an aura of self-confident power from the Urlifican that stood in stark contrast to Tray’s selfless code of duty.
HE. IS. NOT. TRAY. She ordered herself to remember.
But, Burdock wasn’t like any Urlifican she pictured meeting; he seemed...human. Her mind riddled with frustration and curiosity. His expression and body language gave away nothing, showing his mastery of concealment. This man was restrained and calculating, but those qualities were almost overshadowed by his sincere act.
Burdock sighed. “Okay, I think we are both puzzling over the same thing. If I start answering your questions, will you answer mine? And to prove to you that I mean what I say, I will break the dam by saying that we both feel that we should know the other. Is this true?”
Blaze could only nod in surprise. Why would he think he should know her?
“Well, I personally hate the feeling of not knowing, so please tell me where you are originally from. I’ve already talked to...what was his name...Fisher. Talked to Fisher and found that you moved here a few cycles ago. Have you met me before? Why did you think that I was dead?”
“I...” He’d heard her slip! Every ounce of her buzzed. His sincerity trumped the disturbing fact that he’d asked about her. He appeared to have no alternate motive beyond finding the connection. Blaze took a deep breath and straightened up. “I’m sorry, but I feel that I can’t tell.” A spark of anger flash in his eyes as his mouth twitched downward. “Please understand,” she continued. “You have been far more considerate than I could ever imagine. It is just that my past is a scarred one; one that still haunts me at times. I simply confused you with someone else that I haven’t seen in cycles...”
“Someone you think dead?”
She nodded and started gnawing on her lower lip. No, she would not go there, not with him. Somehow he’d shaken the walls around her heart, but the barriers quickly reformed. Blaze looked up at him determinately. “I’m sorry to trouble you so.” She got up and walked over to the bar, grabbing a bucket and brush. He stood as well. “If you would like a drink, I can give you one, but I really must finish cleaning this place.” She hated how she couldn’t read him.
He adjusted his uniform. “No. I think I have gotten all that I can here.” He walked to the door, but just before he opened it, he turned back to her. “I know you aren’t a Traitor, but you are hiding something. And realize that I have the authority to punish anyone who is a threat to the great King Urlifec’s kingdom.”
Blaze bowed her head in acknowledgement. “Thank you for the warning.”
Burdock reached for the door but hesitated and turned around again. “And, Blaze, I feel we do know each other from some circumstance.” He exited the pub, letting the true weight of his final words crush her.
********
Large hands shook her shoulders. Leaping out of the bed, Blaze threatened the intruder with her dagger as she tried to wake up.
“Whoa! Blaze! It’s jus me,” Evan exclaimed with hands raised.
She relaxed and returned the blade to her side while sinking back onto the bed. Rubbing her face to wipe the sleep away, she registered that she was in Evan’s room at the back of the pub. “I’m sorry, Evan. I feel like I just fell asleep.”
The conversation with Burdock had shaken her for the rest of the previous day. He’d known her name all along. What else did he know? The day continued into its downward spiral after the encounter. Evan woke up when she finished getting The Bear in decent shape by late afternoon, just in time for Bark and his gang to barge in, demanding an early supper and start to drunkenhood. Martha and Sue came late but were surprisingly willing to help; however, the bimbos were easily distracted by the men. Blaze thanked good fortune when Ezel neglected to show up for work.
The night turned from a gallop to a rampage when the Urlifican troop presented itself in all of its piggish glory. Ryan pranced into the pub with none other than Ezel fuzed onto his hip. Somehow, the girl had already gotten enough alcohol to sink into a squawking, giggling flirt that hung onto more than just his idiotic words. Martha and Sue also became so enthralled with the soldiers that they stopped working entirely.
Blaze and Evan worked as hard as ever and watched as the pub once again fell into complete disarray. Bark and his friends made out as if they were part of the Urlificans, telling crude jokes and tales of what they would do to Traitors and women. None of the other villagers showed up to add pleasantness to her filth-enriched day and night. The few times she looked out the open windows, she saw a few people glancing in and t
hen scurrying past the ruckus. Another absence that both relaxed and disturbed Blaze was that of the Grand General and Burdock.
The night rioted on into the early morning when the alcohol mercifully started to sing its intoxicating lullaby. Ryan and some of his fellow Urlificans initiated the swerving procession out, leaving with the girls stumbling in tow. Then, in small numbers, the pub’s occupants drifted down to Blaze, Evan, and the pungent remains of a good time. As quickly as their exhausted bodies allowed, the two righted furniture and wiped up the mess for the second time that day, not wanting it to stew over night again. Neither said a word to each other; both focusing on cleaning up and diving into bed.
Her body may have wanted nothing else but to slip into oblivion, but her mind whirled with worry. Why were Kent and Burdock not with their troop? Had they discovered the Traitors? Was there anything she could do to help her friends? She fell asleep swearing vengeful malice if her history repeated itself.
“Blaze!” the pub owner brought her back to the present. His excitement brightened the shadows under his eyes. “The Urlificans are gone!”
“What?!” Blaze leapt up and headed to the back door, wanting to see the empty beds herself.
“Ay! I was jus woken up by the Junior Officer announcin’ that they were headin’ back ta Eclamai. I couldn’ believe it, so I watched ‘em head out of town myself. Then, I came ta wake you up.”
Walking through the courtyard to The Bear’s Inn, she scoffed at the news with a foreboding feeling. “Evan, why would they just leave? Have you checked on any of the Traitors? Are they still around?” As she barged into the first of three common rooms of the stable-turned-inn, nothing but dirty bedding and the stench of rugged men remained. Travel packs, weapons, and Urlificans were all gone.
“I saw Kevin headin’ over ta Patrick’s as I watched those boars of Urlifec’s go. It seems that the Traitors survived the invasion. Oh! How nice it will be ta have a quiet pub again.” Evan started whistling a dancing tune as he headed out of the inn. Before he left, he called back to her, “And Blaze, let those smackers Martha, Sue, and Ezel worry about their heroes’ mess. You have cleaned enough for the whole town ta deal with your messes fer a while. I think you’ll find ‘em in the back room down there.” He left, picking up his tune.
Traitors (The Traitor King Saga Book 1) Page 5