Salt in the Wound (Rainfallen Book 1) by Benjamin Aeveryn

Author:Benjamin Aeveryn [Aeveryn, Benjamin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2023-05-08T16:00:00+00:00

18

The next day Galahad woke Elaine before he left.

“I’m going looking for him,” he told her. “Scouring the northeast side of the city. There’ll be a lot of walking. I think you should stay here and rest, but it’s up to you.”

She faked a gasp. “Oh, Galahad! Are you inviting me out with you?”

He rolled his eyes. Subtly. “If you like. But I’d rather you rested.”

“Fine. Off you go.” She shooed him towards the door. “I quite like it here now. One of the servers told me about a secret stash of sativa they keep in the kitchen. And it’s her day off today. She’s going to smoke with me all morning.”

Galahad gave her a warm smile. “That’s good. That’ll be great. It’ll help with the pain.”

“That’s what I was thinking. Better leave your purse so I can buy a good lunch. I need to get my strength up, you see. Can’t have me wasting away.”

And after smoking she’d be ravenous.

With a nod, he counted out a mix of silver and halfsilver coins and left them on her bedside table. It was good she had an appetite; she really did need to replenish her strength.

“You’re right,” he said. “This is better.”

Then, with a nod and a smile, he left.

As he walked through the dusty streets of Littleford, he thought of the Round Table and its original meaning. All equal, nobody sitting above the rest. In the years he’d led the group, he’d forgotten the lessons of Arthur.

Perhaps that was why they’d turned against him, knowing he would never have listened to their concerns.

He trekked through the city, asking shielded questions of unhelpful strangers, analysing their responses. Sometimes the movement of the eyes gave away a misdirection. A lie. With each person he spoke to he was sure to watch their hands, the way they held themselves. Perhaps he was overly suspicious. There was little reason for a stranger to lie to protect Percy, that he knew of, but it paid to be meticulous. He’d learned that lesson many times over.

“Yes, he was here. Left yesterday evening, he did. In a big hurry, oh yes.” The barmaid stopped, narrowed her eyes, brain ticking over as she slowly realised that perhaps a man leaving in a rush at night might not want his movements given over to the stranger that came calling for him the next day. The knuckles of her clasped hands turned white—she was gripping them too tightly.

“Did he take his things?”

“Weren’t much to take, really,” the barmaid said in a more careful tone. “I’d say he’s vanished, you’re out of luck.”

“It’s just that he left without settling his debt.”

“What now?”

“I’ve had dealings with him that ended improperly on his part,” Galahad said, trying to keep the details vague.

Suspicion filled her eyes and she said nothing.

“You’re sure he left nothing behind that might cover his debt?”

As the barmaid hesitated to answer, the front door swung open, ringing a tiny bell. It pulled Galahad’s attention enough for him to reflexively check over his shoulder.

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