Fern said nothing. Her eyes burned, and her breakfast tried to find an expedient exit.
“Think this through. You’re bringing her in for a bounty, right? Hells, you’re about to be shut of her anyway. Worst case, you lose your share of the take, but under the circumstances, that sounds pretty damn cheap.”
Fern’s paws shook at her sides. She wished she had her cloak, and Breadlee’s comforting weight in the pocket.
A pause as Tullah studied Fern’s face. “Youaregetting a share, aren’t you?”
Fern blinked. The thought of collecting any of the bounty had never once occurred to her, and didn’t seem important now.
“Wow,” said Tullah. “Not even a piece of the action? What the hells are you even doing here? That should make this even easier, though. And, let’s be realistic. Ifhetalked”—she flipped the tip of her knife toward Quillin—“there’s no wayyouwon’t. It’s just down to how many inches shorter you want that tail of yours to be. You’ve got nothing but that left to lose.”
“But Zyll does,” whispered Fern, voice quivering.
“Yes,” said Tullah. “Yes, she does.”
“What did she ever do to you?”
“Look, Fern—pardon me for using your name, but after hearing about you from Quillin here, it feels like we practically know each other. Have you ever built anything? Poured your years and your blood and your coin into it,willedit to grow?”
Fern stared Tullah square in the eye. “Yes.”
“Mm. Yeah, I guess he told me about your little bookstore. I think he was doing his best to convince us you wouldn’t be a threat. Nice of him, really.
“Well, I built something, too, Fern. An army, or damn near one. But more important than that, I built areputation. That’s what everything balanced on—a story that people believe. You, of all people, should be able to appreciate the power of a story. It was the foundation foreverything.”
Then she reached out with her free hand and seized Fern’s tail.
“And Zyll fucking obliterated it.”
In the end, sadly, Fern wasn’t as brave as everyone imagines they can be, but privately knows they are not.
40
After muttering something in Kell’s ear, whereupon the sturdy orc vanished into the crowd, Tullah got them moving again, with her knife held hidden from any idle glances. They skirted the throng, hugging the side of the main street and heading toward the eastern perimeter of the village.
Quillin walked beside Fern, looking almost as miserable as she felt. She was finding it hard to think ill of the rattkin when she herself had so readily blabbed under threat of pain. Did she expect something more from him?
Fern fervently prayed to all the Eight that Astryx had noticed she’d been gone too long and was alert for trouble.
“I’m so sorry,” muttered Quillin. “I swear, even if I’d known about the goblin back in Turnbuckle, I never would’ve . . . Not that you’ll ever believe me. I understand why you disappeared, though.”
“It doesn’t matter now,” replied Fern in a near whisper. A glance at Tullah revealed that while she could certainly hear their conversation, she didn’t appear to care. The orc strode casually, easily, and didn’t bother to look down at them.
“Itdoes,” insisted Quillin, soft and fierce.
They both fell silent as Kell emerged at the mouth of another alley and motioned them in his direction.
Behind him waited the black-clad stone-fey archer, her bow nowhere in evidence. Kell nodded at Tullah, handing her an axe and Marv a shortblade. They slipped them into their belts to match the mace hanging at his.
After a hushed conference, the archer vanished again.
They attracted a few suspicious glances, but ignored them and moved with greater speed, turning down side streets and charting a circuitous route. Marv and Kell drifted away but stayed in sight, scanning every intersection and roofline.
Fern’s feet were like lumps of lead on the ends of her legs, her breath hollow in her ears. She saw several Gatewardens idling in the crowd, but didn’t dare signal to them.
Any moment now,she thought,I should run. Any moment. Dash away, surprise her. Warn Astryx.
But she never did. Terror, and the presence of the knife a few inches from her face kept her carrying meekly onward.
