They Met in a Tavern by Elijah Menchaca

Author:Elijah Menchaca [Menchaca, Eli]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CamCat Books

34

Tarnished

It was midday when Brass got to Olwin, and business was in full swing. Shops were open, restaurants and taverns were catering the lunch rush, and runners were making deliveries all over town.

He had to get back to the house and Wings at some point, which meant he couldn’t do anything that would get him trashed or require an overnight stay. That ruled out all of the most fun activities, but it still left him with plenty of options.

While he pondered the question, his footsteps carried him in the direction of the Pale, and the Lilac. It had been a minute since he’d seen Ruby. Now was as good a time as any to catch up. Maybe go clothes shopping. He had taken a crossbow bolt through the jacket back when they’d escaped from Clocktower, and that was excuse enough for him to buy a new one.

This was assuming she was free. He figured she was more of a night-shift girl, but there was only one way to know for sure.

As he got closer to the Pale, however, he noticed a shift in the atmosphere. People seemed to gravitate toward each other. Cast nervous glances at one another. The kind of lingering fear experienced by people who were new to the sensation and didn’t quite know what to do with it hung in the air. The presence of the watch grew, well beyond anything there should have been in this part of the city. Then he saw smoke.

Brass picked up his pace to the Lilac, though gut instinct told him what he would find before he arrived. Getting there only confirmed it.

Where the Lilac should have been standing, there were only charred remains. White smoke still curled from it, and bits of blackened wood flickered orange. An acrid smell choked the air, and ash littered the ground around the ruin. A loose rope barricade had been set up around the building’s husk, and several members of the watch were posted around the perimeter. Even at a distance, charred bodies were visible among the wreckage.

Brass stared at the smoking remains, trying to process the questions running through his mind. How? Why?

Who?

The perimeter gave the remains a wide berth. When Brass got closer, he understood why. The Lilac’s remains still radiated heat, like they were still on fire. The watch guarding it were sweating.

“What happened?” Brass asked the closest one.

The watchwoman stood a little straighter and gripped her weapon a little tighter. She was on edge. “There was a fire.”

“Fair enough, I walked into that one,” Brass said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “How did it happen? Did anyone make it out?”

Brass never got a response. A familiar voice shouted, “You!”

Dressed in a robe, Vera stormed toward him with fury in their eyes. Fury, and quite a bit of red. They looked like they hadn’t slept a wink and spent the morning sobbing. And all of that now drilled into Brass as they jammed a finger into his chest.

“You did this,” they hissed.

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