In the Shadow of their Dying by MIchael R. Fletcher & Anna Smith Spark

Author:MIchael R. Fletcher & Anna Smith Spark [Fletcher, MIchael R. & Spark, Anna Smith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grimdark Magazine
Published: 2024-03-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

At the Docks

Feylash was short and funny and sexy and got shorter, funnier, and sexier the more drinks Tash banged back.

Maybe the shorter part was a lie.

The more he drank, the more interesting she became, and the less interested in him she appeared to be. At first, she was very curious, indeed. How had he killed the king? How had he escaped? How was he going to spend his pay once they got out of Sharaam? He wove a tale of bravery and heroism, working in a cast of background characters. He told her about how he rescued the kids at the orphanage, fighting off hordes of corpses, but the more he talked the more interested she became in the door.

Collins had dug up a single boot to replace Tash’s missing one. It didn’t fit and smelled like someone had been using it as a lavatory for decades, but beggars couldn’t be… whatever the opposite of beggars was.

“What’s the opposite of beggars?” he asked Feylash, looking up from her cleavage.

A man stood behind her chair, towered over her. He looked like someone crossed a gorilla, a bear, and an oak tree and then stuffed the result in leather and chain armour. A beard mobbed the face, claiming most of the available territory. It might have been red, or that might have all the blood. It leaked, unnoticed, down his neck. Ice shard blue eyes studied Tash, shocking above the gory beard and ridged tribal scars.

“Anukat,” said Feylash without looking up. “If you drip blood on me, I swear to fuck I will beat you unconscious with your own cock.”

The giant grinned and reached out a hand as if to fondly ruffle her hair.

“Don’t,” she said. Her gaze didn’t leave Tash.

The man hesitated, eyes narrowed.

“I can hear you thinking,” said Feylash.

The beast growled, showing bloody teeth, massive hands forming two meaty fists with the crunch of knuckles.

“Almost there,” she said. “Come on. So close.”

“That’s the only thing,” grunted the barbarian, “big enough to kill me.”

“Gods that was painful.”

Shrugging, the giant collapsed into a chair. “Where’s Pitt?”

“This,” she said, gesturing at Tash, “is the assassin we hired to kill the king. He has just reported his success.”

Anukat dashed a confused look from Tash to Feylash. “And he came to you?”

The little redhead rolled green eyes with a sigh of wearied patience.

“Well,” said Anukat. “I thought, you know, he wouldn’t want to.”

Feylash waited.

“You know,” said the monstrous barbarian. “Because of what happened.”

“What happened?” asked Feylash.

“Nothing.”

“I swear to fuck I’m going to kill you.”

Anukat grinned like this had been his goal all along. “Maybe it wasn’t nothing,” he admitted. “Nothing never really happens. Not really. There’s always something.”

Collins brought Anukat the biggest mug of ale Tash had ever seen and deposited it before the bear.

“It comes in buckets?” Tash asked.

Collins grunted. Arm shaking from the strain, he held a second equally huge mug in his other hand.

Anukat grinned thanks and drained it in a go. Collecting the empty mug, Collins dropped the other in its place and left.

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