Page 86 of An Archer's Redemption

A boy of seventeen or eighteen winters with curly, sandy-colored hair darted from one table to another. When he approached my table, he paused to catch his breath before speaking.

“Sorry for the wait. I’m Liam. I’m the only one here for now, so they’ve got me running. What can I get you to drink? Ale? Wine?”

“How about an ale and some water?”

He nodded and vanished as quickly as he’d appeared.

A moment later, Liam returned with a mug in each hand, set them down with a heavy thud, and scurried to the table two rows away without even looking up.

The ale was sweet with a touch of a citrus, unlike the tart beers back home—and there wasn’t a hint of the water I expected from most inns or alehouses.

This might be a good trip after all, I thought, stretching my legs before the fire.

The front doors clacked open, and I looked up to find a man with broad shoulders and a square jaw entering. A stripe on the collar on his forest-green cloak glittered, a common enough sight in Melucia but a growing rarity in the Kingdom. The man stopped in the doorway and surveyed the room, taking in eachtable’s occupants before moving on to the next. When his eyes fell to me, his scanning ceased, and he strode to stand before my table.

“Mind some company?”

My eyes fell to a piece of metal pinned to the man’s inner coat, a crown over two small ships, their sails unfurled. I’d know a lawman’s badge anywhere in the world. The symbols were different, but theyfeltthe same.

To me, they felt like brotherhood.

I nodded and gestured with my mug. “Please, make yourself comfortable. Always happy to meet another Constable.”

The man smiled, removed his cloak, and sat. “That obvious? Guess it is to another lawman. It’s the eyes, isn’t it?”

I shrugged and pointed. “I saw your badge.”

The man’s hand reached up and felt the pin. “Right. That’ll do it, too.” He chuckled. “I’m Chief Aengus Kerr, head Constable in town. It’s a pleasure to meet the famous Keelan Rea.”

My eyes widened. “Got all that from my eyes?”

“No, a bird. Received word from Fontaine to expect you around this time. They told me to give you whatever assistance you needed and to not ask too many questions.”

I relaxed and took another sip.

“So, what’s this all about?” the Chief asked.

Now it was my turn to laugh. “So much for no questions.”

“Ever met a Constable who could let a good mystery go? You’re just about the best mystery this sleepy little town’s seen in a decade, and I’ve always been a curious lad.”

The kinship I felt with the fellow lawman deepened as the man spoke. His words were clear, his laugh deep, and everything he said rang true to my Gift.

This was a brother in uniform.

“I’m not sure what all the secrecy’s about. I’ve been sent to see if there’s more to the killing from a couple weeks ago than was in your report.”

Aengus’s brows rose. “You mean the mauling? Why would they send someone to look into that? Poor man was torn to shreds just outside of town. His whole body was covered in claw marks, at least what was left of it. I can’t see anything other than a bear causing that kind of damage.”

“I was planning to come see you first thing in the morning, but since you’re here, mind if I ask a few questions?”

“If I can have an ale while we do it, you can ask anything you want. Like I said, I’m under orders to help you however you need it,” Aengus said as he motioned the serving boy over to the table. “The fella coming over here is Liam, Hershel’s son. The round woman who’ll bring out your meal is Ma, his wife. Best we not let either of them hear what we’re talking about.”

I nodded and held my mug to my lips as Aengus chatted briefly with Liam before the boy hustled back to the bar.

Over the next few hours, Aengus and I reviewed every aspect of the investigation into Hershel’s death. From the start, the locals had seen it as a clear-cut case of an animal attack, though none could understand why a beast large enough to maul a man like Hershel would be so far from any forested area. Aengus couldn’t recall a single bear sighting within fifty leagues of Oliver during his lifetime.

The next largest animals to routinely wander nearby were wolves. While wolves were dangerous enough in a pack, they ate what they killed, instead of tearing it to shreds and vanishing.

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