Midnight Bounties 1 by Cassius Lange

Author:Cassius Lange [Lange, Cassius & Castor, Ned]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-21T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 22: THE TAX COLLECTOR…MAN

I found myself in the vast plains of darkness again. Giant shards of purple rock floated above me as white lightning crackled around them, tearing off chunks from the hovering stone and raining down like falling debris.

Behind and above the rocks, the menacing eyes of twisted gods looked down on me. I spoke but no sound passed my lips. I wanted to walk, but my legs seemed fused with the earth beneath. I heard a rocking behind me but could only turn partially.

The demon’s shadow hovered menacingly, closing in. I grabbed for the hilt of my sword. It wasn’t there. The apparition cackled, rocked, snored…

I woke up bathed in sweat, grabbing for my swords that were leaning against the nightstand. The moment I picked up my Platebreaker, the fog that shrouded my mind dissipated and I finally came to my senses. I gasped and put the swords back.

It’s a dream, nothing else. Just a dream, Frank.

I looked over to my right, there in the corner, Lady Fey Tyrwood lay sprawled like a drunken dwarf on a heap of pink clothes, snoring and mumbling to herself.

“Ragul…that tray is broken, Ragul…I can’t…No, I don’t…So many mugs…My arms.”

I chuckled as she snored again and got out of bed, stretching and yawning. A realization set in. I couldn’t for the life of me remember whether I had ever woken up with a smile on my face. It had been years…

I pulled the blanket from my bed and covered Fey. She was still in the same clothes as last night. The drow must have drilled every drop of life out of her, but that was a good thing. It would show her what kind of life she planned on leading for the foreseeable future.

As I lowered the blanket, she suddenly twitched and slapped me across the face in her sleep.

“I told you…Ragul…Don’t…You’re pure evil, Ragul!”

I rubbed my cheek and grunted. The young woman packed quite a punch even if she wasn’t trying. I walked back to my bed and sat on the edge, stretching again. A whiff of my armpits had me completely awake.

“Alright, fuck it,” I whispered, and then grabbed the new clothes I had bought.

I really needed a bath, but where? Vinnie’s bedroom had no tub, and I knew there wasn’t any elsewhere in the club. Then it hit me. The pissing gnome. It wasn’t a tub, but I could work my way around as it was large enough.

I silently rummaged through the drawers of one of Vinnie’s wardrobes, trying to find some soap. Several drawers later, I gasped as all the strong scents hit me at once. Vinnie’s stash of hygiene products almost had me cursing him yet again. Vinnie had a good dozen different perfumes, all high quality, all very expensive, soaps, hair and beard tinctures, and things I didn’t even knew existed.

“No wonder the bastard was broke,” I mumbled.

Then my greedy goblin shrieked and sang a little chant dedicated to the gods of wealth. Vinnie had a good dozen perfume bottles neatly stacked in a small box with velvet lining.

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