Cortek Exiled: An Epic Fantasy by Jacque Alanbery

Author:Jacque Alanbery [Alanbery, Jacque]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cybernet Books, LLC
Published: 2023-10-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Zak

Zak and Apri joined Gard and Kendall who were already seated at a table in the back.

“What happened to you?” Gard asked Apri.

Apri touched her lip. Zak hadn’t noticed the swollen jaw until now, or the bruise on her face that had begun to show some color.

“I ran into an old friend,” she said.

“You do seem to have the worst luck with that,” Gard said.

Zak laughed.

The barmaid, a middle-aged, motherly woman, approached with a couple more mugs and eyed the injury, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s nothing,” she said. eyeing the barmaid.

“We’ll have dinner, if you please. Whatever’s the special,” Kendall said to the woman.

“Yes, sir,” she gave Apri’s face a long look, frowned, then left.

“You met with your contacts?” Apri asked.

“There’s a meeting later tonight,” Kendall said. “They confirmed what we’ve heard about the hunt for Cortek. Apparently, the reward for their capture is causing many to be falsely accused.”

Zak glanced at Apri, but she said nothing. Not my story to tell.

“The group uses sporting events as a cover,” Kendall explained. “and there’s a big wrestling match tonight on the wharf.”

The barmaid returned to their table carrying a white cloth wrapped around ice, which she offered to Apri.

“Thank you,” Apri said, then gingerly touched it to her swollen lip.

“You going to the match tonight?” the woman asked.

Kendall seemed perturbed by the intrusion.

“Take it from me,” she said, not noticing Kendall’s irritation, “put your money on Blakely, he’s a beast. Just coming’ up in the ranks, but I seen his last bout and he trounced his opponent.”

“Thanks for the tip,” Kendall said, “Will we see you there?” he asked.

“Naw, I got to work tonight. But I got my money on him.” She winked, then left to serve another table.

“Well, that’s not good. She might ask us about it tomorrow,” Gard said.

“The club always sends a few members to watch the event,” Kendall said. “They join the meeting afterwards to report the outcome and highlights.” He regarded Apri. “Looks like your day was more eventful. What happened?”

“I ran into the first mate on ship I sailed from Ararat,” she began. “Apparently, he got fired by captain after our voyage and blamed me.”

“Was he right to blame you?” Kendall asked.

“No…” she muttered.

Kendall raised an eyebrow.

“Well, maybe,” she admitted. “He was a drunk, a coward, and abusive to crew. He tried to treat me the same and I…”

The woman returned with their food and Apri didn’t elaborate. The men ate while she continued her story. “He caught me off guard when I was looking for Zak and held a knife on me. Warned if I tried anything, he would scream and accuse me of being Cortek. He said many would pursue me for reward.”

Gard asked Zak, “Where were you when this was happening?”

“He went to see man about horse—Ow!” Apri stifled a laugh, pressing the cloth to her lip.

Zak responded to the unspoken question from Gard and Kendall. “I had to pee!” He shrugged, then told them what had happened.

“Did you kill him?” Kendall asked Apri.

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