Page 58 of By the Horns
I indicate to Naiah that we need another mug, and then Gwenna takes it and sets it at the far end of the bar. “All right. Now we need a table. And everyone sets their mugs down in front of them. The goal is to get the coin into the mug in the center. If you do, you pick who drinks next….”
For the nextseveral hours, we enjoy drinking on Master Jay’s coin. I eat platter after platter of fried vegetables, onion and potato mash, and fresh bread slathered with an apple jam. I eat so much food that I’m certain this wasn’t part of the plan, but it helps me stay sober as I drink along with the others. I try to get some bread into Gwenna, too, but it doesn’t work. She’s absolutely sotted by the time the sun gets closer to going down.
The good news is, Master Jay was right—drinking together has definitely brought the team closer. As I look around our messy table full of old mugs, half-eaten plates, and splashes of beer, everyone seems to behappy. Kipp’s resting against Arrod’s shoulder, one eye closed, and I can practically smell the alcohol fumes coming off him. Gwenna has her face propped up by both her fists, and her eyelids are heavy. She watches Hemmen intently as he drunkenly goes on about an old master that kicked him out of the messenger corps.
“It worked out, though,” Gwenna says to him. “You’re here and you’re learning to be an artificer. They make loads more money than scribes. Looooads more.”
“Money isn’t everything.” Hemmen pouts. “I wanted to be a scribe.”
“Well, I wanted to be a princess,” Gwenna retorts. It’s cute, because she says it likeprinshess. “My ma always said we wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up faster.”
Kipp makes a croaking sound that might be a laugh. Arrod laughs, too, but Hemmen still looks upset.
“More rolls for everyone,” I say, plucking a plate of them off Naiah’s tray as she passes by. I hand them out to the group. “If anyone vomits in the street, you’ll have to clean it up in the morning, and trust me, you willnotfeel like it.”
“S’that a guild rule?” Hemmen asks. He takes a bite out of his roll, though.
“It’s a Master Jay rule,” I lie. “Just eat.”
They all take bites, and Gwenna watches me, licking jam off her lips. My cock pricks as her pink tongue swipes over the corner of her mouth, and then she gives me another sensual smile. Ah, gods. If I have to fight her off tonight because she’s drunk, that’s going to be the cruelest irony ever. I want her touch, but I also want her to be aware of what she’s doing. I’m not interested in a partner who has regrets the next day. I drop a second roll in front of her.
“Master Jay’s strange,” Arrod complains. “Always leaving town all the time. S’like he’s hiding something.”
My senses prick. I say nothing, just watch the others.
Gwenna licks the jam off her roll (gods damn me for watching that so closely). “He’s got a lady friend with a farm on the outskirts. That’s all it is.”
“So you say. Just seems wrong that he’s abandoning students when he’s supposed to be training us.” Arrod takes a half-hearted bite out of hisroll and continues talking around his mouthful, spraying crumbs as he does. “I just thought a teacher would be more…hover-y. My last one was. Never gave us a moment’s peace.”
I make a mental note to watch Jay more closely and to tell Hawk about it. It’s probably nothing but the grousing of a fussy drunk student, but I have to check into everything. I’ll have to search his rooms when he’s gone, too. Not that I expect to find anything, but it can’t hurt to look for secret compartments or magic residue. I don’t want the others to be suspicious, so I put on my best knowing smile. “You’re all fussing about Jay, but I promise he’s one of the better teachers. A good artificer is independent anyhow. Do you really want your teacher making every decision for you? Or do you want your teacher to give you the tools so you can make the decisions for yourself?”
Gwenna squints at me. “Second one. I think.”
“Exactly. We can do the basics on our own. Like deciding who’s going to take what position when we rope together.”
“Position?” Gwenna licks her roll again, and I swear she’s doing it just to muck with me. “What kind of position?”
Hemmen chortles and takes another swig of his beer. “In the tunnels. You know: sword, shield, navigator, healer, and gearmaster.”
“Right. Those positions. I knew that.” Her cheeks are flushed pink, and tendrils of dark hair are escaping her neat bun, making her look disheveled and ripe for fucking and…and I might need another dose of potion from Naiah’s stash after all if this continues. I can’t think straight.
“Kipp should be our sword,” Arrod says. “He’s bloody talented. Never seen anything like it.”
Kipp preens at that, straightening and patting Arrod on his clothing as a thank-you.
“What about the big horking Taurian?” Hemmen asks.
Arrod shakes his head. “Got it all thought through. He can be our shield.”
They both eye me, and I shrug. “I’ve been both positions in the past. Just happy to serve in whatever way is needed.”
“Shield,” Arrod declares. Then he eyes Gwenna and looks over at Hemmen again. “What about the woman?”
By Old Garesh’s nutsack, this is not going to end well. I can already see Gwenna stiffening.
“She can watch our supplies and make our meals,” Hemmen declares. “You know, woman stuff.”
Gwenna jumps to her feet and throws her beer in Hemmen’s face. “The fuck I can!”
