Chapter
16 (Following a drunkard)
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Jekor glared at the page detailing
tequila’s taste and the temperament of its spirit, Envy when something nudged
him in the side. He ignored the annoyance and flipped the page. Why hasn’t anyone documented what Envy —
Something struck his arm, and a
sharp pain lanced up his arm.
He squealed then dropped his book,
the qualities of liquor. “What are you doing, Iiffar?”
She growled and pointed towards the
bar. “The bastard is leaving the bar.”
A jolt of realization shot down
Jekor’s spine, and he leaped off the crate at the alley’s mouth. “Which
direction is he headed in?”
She shrugged. “Left?”
Foreigners
… . He shook his head then peeked around the corner.
With his arms around his two women,
Kkaj strolled away from the bar and towards the center of JimKar. He
practically skipped with each step. What had changed? When Jekor and Iiffar had
checked the bar earlier, Kkaj glommed over his cup of wine. Now, Kkaj chuckled
with every other word.
Jekor’s eyes lit up, and he turned
to meet Iiffar’s stare. “You think —”
“It has to be.” She balled her tiny
hands into fists. “From the way he spoke in the library, Lucidity was the only
thing he cared about.”
Jekor licked his lips. “You’re
right.”
“So … ?”
“We follow him.”
“How? There’s like no one in this
area. He’d spot us for sure.”
“We just have to run along the side
streets that head in the same direction.” He waved before running deeper into
the alley.
Iiffar followed on his heels, moving
faster now that she had a full belly. She should have asked him for food
sooner.
Right at the intersection and down a
large road for a few blocks. Right again, turning back into another alley.
After peeking out to make sure Kkaj was still moving in this direction, they
returned to the center of the alley and squeezed between two buildings.
Sideways, they worked their way through the narrow opening and came out on the
main road, just ahead of Kkaj’s group.
“Moonshine. They’ve started walking
faster.” Jekor grabbed Iiffar by the arm and dragged her into the alley four
blocks down the road at a dead sprint. Both huffed as the pressed their backs
against the purple-bricked building, and he retrieved the flask of water from
his Drunkzard vest.
“What are you doing?” Iiffar asked
between gasps for air.
He took a swig then offered it to
her.
She pushed away from the wall, but
didn’t take the flask. “I thought you said we should avoid using magic, so we
don’t draw that bastard’s attention.”
“I also said it’d be good to avoid a
hangover, as well. Just in case we have to deal with him later on. Though —” He
shook the flask, spilling some of its contents onto the dusty street. “— this
is water.”
She blinked. A surprisingly cute
action considering her dimples. “Oh.” She took the flask and gulped the last of
the water down. “Thank you.”
Jekor took the empty flask from her
then returned it to his vest. I should
have brought more water. Or drank more first. He glanced out of the alley.
Kkaj strode past, his women trailing
behind. With his jaw set and his muscles tense, he looked rather frightening.
Were Jekor and Iiffar really thinking about ganging up on this man? No, not a man. The man. The unbreakable arena
champion. Lucidity. And its secrets. In the end, risking their lives would be
worth it.
“Come on.” Jekor led Iiffar along a
twisting path towards the palace. Every few blocks, they checked on Kkaj then
returned to their run. With the palace’s western gate in sight, Jekor held out
a hand.
Iiffar slid to a halt. “What is it?”
“He has to be going to the king’s
royal feast. I know a shortcut that’ll take us to the main gate.”
“What good will that do us?”
“It’ll give us a good place to watch
and wait for him. Maybe his bearing after the feast will give us a clue about
when he plans to set off for the wastes.”
“Okay,” she said in a grudging tone.
Jekor bolted across the main street
and into the bookshelf-sized alley used by food vendors during the day. Evenly
spaced, large wooden stands lined both walls along the winding street. Grunts
from behind. Ka-kaw! Was that a spiked-raven or a bird call?
Jekor slid to a stop as a hulking
man stepped out from behind a spicy cake vendor. “Excuse us.” Jekor moved to
the side, but the hulking man edged over to block the path.
“I don’t like this,” Iiffar said
into Jekor’s ear.
Her warm breath sent a jolt across
his skin, and he curled his toes. Four others joined the hulking man. Shuffling
boots across stone echoed through the alley from behind. Jekor peered over his
shoulder. Five more men approached from the other side.
“What are you two ladies doing out
at night?” the hulking man asked.
Jekor gritted his teeth and reached
into his vest. “For the last time! I! Am! Not! A woman!” He pulled out his
pistol, cocked it and shot the hulking man in the chest.
Iiffar gasped. “What —”
“Boss!” The nine other men shouted.
The four behind the hulking man glared at Jekor. “You’ll wish you never crossed
the Buck-Beaked Brutes,” they said as one.
The
Buck-Beaked Brutes? “I don’t really care about street gangs, but aren’t you
lot the new one that has been vandalizing high class merchants in the noble’s
district?”
“Yeah!” all nine said. “And you just
crossed us.”
“Well, I guess technically, you’re
right.” Jekor pulled out a second pistol. “Though, if you hurry up and take
your boss to a doctor, he won’t die.
My bullet probably didn’t pierce his lungs.”
“His what?” the bald gang member
asked.
Jekor leveled his pistol towards the
bald man. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re on an —”
Click-click. Someone cocked a pair
of guns behind Jekor. Save for the bald one, the gang members blocking the path
ahead drew pistols and cocked them.
“Moonshine!” Jekor grabbed Iifar by
the waist.
Click. The gang members cocked their
guns.
He pulled her between a pair of food
stands.
Bang! A barrage of gunfire rang
through the night. How long would it take the guards to come?
Jekor’s eyes bulged. If the guards
came, they would be questioned. They would lose track of Kkaj. They would never
reach the Lucidity distillery. Jekor swallowed the lump forming in his throat
then stuck his pistol out into the open, firing blind.
Iifar did the same with her little
pistol.
“Reload these.” He handed her the
two spent pistols, a few powder charges and a bag of bullets. Then, he pulled
out his third and final pistol. “We have to take care of them quickly.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Because if the guards come, we will
lose our lead.”
A growl rumbled from her throat, and
she ground her teeth. “I —”
Bang-bang-bang! Bullets ripped into
the wood, destroying chunks of their protective barriers. Footsteps approached.
“Hurry.” He pointed his gun in the
other direction and fired.
Someone squealed, and the snap of
wood called out down the alley.
Iiffar stuffed a bullet into one of
his guns and handed it to him.
He passed her the spent pistol and
stood, aiming at the bald gang member who stood frozen over the hulking man’s
body. Jekor fired, catching the bald man in the shoulder and dropping him.
Jekor took cover just before a series of gunshots filled the night.
“This is taking too long!” Iiffar
threw Jekor’s gun to the ground and grabbed the bag of bullets.
“What are you doing?” Jekor reached
for the gun she had discarded. “Those things are —”
She pulled out a flask with a blue
top. Whiskey. After popping the top, she took a swig and tossed the bag of
bullets into the air. Her eyes glowed blue as the power of Rage filled her
body. She released metal energy into the air and extended it into the bullets.
The bag ripped apart in shreds of cloth while the bullets flew off in both
directions. Screams. Violent screams. Silence.
Jekor gaped at her. What had she
done? Killing, even criminals, was not the answer. Despite his trembling hands,
he retrieved his powder charges and guns.
“What are you waiting for?” Iiffar
stood. We have to get out of here before the guards show up, and if we don’t
hurry, we’ll lose Kkaj.”
Slowly, Jekor nodded. “You’re right.”
He climbed to his feet, and together, they sprinted away from the scene of the
crime. When they reached the front of the palace, his hands still shook.
Kkaj was not there.
We
took too long. Jekor opened his mouth to curse.
Kkaj’s big-breasted assistant
stormed around the palace, moving towards the noble’s market and grumbling
something about fools.
Next: Chapter 17
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