Page 2 of The Mountain King
“Here, take Horse home, I’m going back to town.”
She needed to talk to the constable before the traffickers paid him off, and she needed to know the whereabouts of her enemy. Today was the last straw—they were now at open war.
“Ma, don’t do anything crazy.”
She snorted, handing the reins to her second-eldest daughter and then patting Horse’s rump. It was evidence of Persia’s worry over Cinvarra that she didn’t argue with Kai, she just left. Well, worry and exhaustion. This life wore on the girls. Their eyes were too grim, even lavender eyed Cinvarra, the happiest of them all.
Kailigh jogged into town, staying off the path under the cover of the forest, avoiding buildings where lights were bright and patrons who spilled out onto the streets. It was a mining town, catering mostly to single men and a few families who’d settled here because the work was steady, if grueling. And steady work in the Outlands was hard to come by, if one weren’t a homesteader. One could make a decent living foraging ruins for scrap metal and tech, but the gear needed to protect a person from residual radiation and super bugs was expensive. Not to mention the requirement to carry one’s own water and filtration system, collapsible night time barriers to keep trouble and critters away… she grimaced. She’d tried it for all of six months when she’d been younger. The third time she’d almost died, she’d thrown in the towel. Some people were cut out for that life—Kailigh wasn’t.
Avoiding Stella’s, the saloon her arch nemesis preferred to frequent, and keeping an eye out for his men, Kailigh made her way through back alleys to the constable’s office, and rapped on the back door.
Constable Hatcher opened it immediately. A lean man with a hard face, hair cropped short to fit under the tall, rounded cap with the emblem of his office. “Get inside, Kai, hurry up.”
His tone of voice told her two things. One, he was aware she was in danger, and two, he wouldn’t arrest her unless she made him.
“Sorry,” she said.
Hatcher swore, lowering the setting of the single gas lamp of his scuffed iron desk. “You know Stella wants me to make you pay for damages, right?” he demanded. “What the hell was Cin doing in there, anyway? She’s not of age!”
Yeah, and Kai would lay into the girl when she was awake. “She’s dying,” Kai said, voice soft. “Lesson learned, I think.”
He stilled. “Ah, shit, Kai. Anything I can do?”
She shook her head. She’d ignored an offer of marriage from him years ago. Didn’t want his help then, didn’t want it now. Not that he was a bad man, but Kai knew she was stubborn and hell to live with. But she was tired, and getting too old to keep turning away help because she wanted to prove she could do it on her own. The old anger was wearing on her.
“I need permission to go to war. I need you to look the other way. Ruthus Adjrius has gone too far. How many girls have gone missing over the years?”
He didn’t say anything for a long moment, then sighed. “These fucking traffickers. They have backing in the Cities. Seattle is the worst.”
“Something made him decide today was the day. He’s been watching Cin for three years now, but never did anything. I thought he figured it wasn’t worth getting shot.”
“More manpower now.”
Which made all the difference. Kai was one woman with three daughters. But when Ruthus emerged from the airbus today, it was with a shiny new suit complete with fancy engraved sheathe for a rapier, and double his usual guard. He’d found financing. She’d watched from her produce stand as townspeople gathered, waiting on goods and loved ones to disembark. It burned a hole in her gut that flesh traffickers used the innocuous exterior to hide their dirty business. Some unsuspecting mother could be lingering near a vendor perusing cloth or candy and have her young daughter targeted for 'recruitment'. The bolder traffickers would try to follow a girl home and snatch her right before the bus was due to leave—the mother none the wiser. But longtime residents knew. And watched.
“You make this fight quick, and you keep bystanders out of it, Kai.” He pointed a finger at her. “And if anyone files a formal complaint, I’ll have to arrest you.”
Who would? No one had taken on Ruthus because of the possible repercussions. Who wanted their home or business firebombed one dark night? But she wouldn’t live in fear of the airbus anymore.
But it wasn’t only her town, and the Dwyrkin Lord would have to do something about the mess, too.
“I’ll get backup,” she said aloud. “Just wanted to give you a heads up.”
“Kai,” he said as she opened the back door.
Kailigh paused with her hand on the knob. “Yeah?”
“You know it’s not really my permission you need, right? I don’t own this town.”
No. Goddamnit. Seemed like everything kept circling back to Lord Maddugh. She nodded once, grim, and left.
