Page 56 of The Mountain King
“A job is a good thing, especially if it’s my own stepfather.” Cinvarra grinned. “I bet I’ll get paid well.”
“Fortune hunters,” Serephone muttered.
“There’s that,” Kai acknowledged. “But we’ll take our time, and be choosy. And remember—you do not have to wed. So beverychoosy.”
* * *
She danced a few more times, filled her plate once, and returned to the bar a second time. She was grown, and could indulge if she wanted to. The evening was well underway when Serephone appeared at her shoulder. Kai had found herself a chair in a quiet corner to sit and let her head settle for a moment while she watched Maddugh mercilessly tease his eldest sons who, apparently, didn’t care to dance. Hrutha flirted with every lady present, and a few of the men.
“Mother.”
Kai glanced up at Serephone and frowned, noticing the tension in her daughter’s shoulders right way. She rose. “What’s wrong?”
“An airbus was spotted coming into town. If we want to nab that mechanical-armed bandit, we have to movenow.”
The pleasant lethargy of food and exercise and strong alcohol evaporated. “Find Persia.” They wove through the crowd, looking for the other twin. “Who is your informant?”
“I heard conversation—there are humans among the guests tonight.”
She’d seen them, and wondered if they’d crashed the party or if they were favored friends or associates of Maddugh.
“Will you tell him?” Serephone asked.
Kailigh considered, spotting Persia at the buffet table. “No.”
He would be angry, but he would just have to deal with it. She was a grown woman and mistress of her own actions—he might be her husband soon, but she wasn’t his subject.
Kailigh was torn whether to take Persia or leave her here to watch over Cinvarra. In the end, she reasoned that if she couldn’t leave her girl in the care of her future husband and his people, then she had no business marrying him.
The three of them slipped out of the hall one by one, Kailigh not wanting to chance Maddugh seeing them go all at once, and becoming suspicious. She hurried to her room and did little more than tear off the skirt to don sturdy brown trousers and boots, throwing a jacket over the corset and checking her flintlock, the shaped handle fitting with a sure grip in her palm. She holstered it, choosing the plain black over her more decorative studded brown. Some days she wanted her weapons to be visible—other days she wanted to sneak up on a varmint.
They left shortly after, Kailigh scanning her daughters as they strode out of the castle to ensure they were also properly outfitted. Persia’s not so subtle tendency towards drama manifested itself at the more inappropriate times. She needn’t have worried about Serephone—the eldest twin was all in black, a silent shadow, her chosen weapon, a long rapier and matching dagger strapped at her thigh.
“You don’t bring a knife to a gunfight,” Kailigh said.
Serephone’s hand brushed the small of her back and Kai nodded, satisfied. They jogged, since saddling up horses would have called attention to their travel.
“Avoid the guard post,” she said.
Sneaking wasn’t technically her way—thus she'd always chosen to simply confront the man, also taking a perverse pleasure in the verbal scuffle, but tonight there was no time for such petty amusements. As soon as they'd cleared hearing range, the three broke into a fast lope, swift and sure. They made good time to town. Persia pointed up as they broke through the forest line. An airbus hovered over the town square, its docking ladder descended to allow passengers and small cargo to ascend and descend. Like stairs to heaven or hell.
“We’re not going in guns blazing,” she warned. “We need to know how many guards he has with him, and what they’re armed with.” If they were lucky, the enemy wasn’t armed with more than hand blades and standard flintlocks. If they had the pneumatic rifles with double chambers, she and the girls were screwed. They couldn’t compete with that kind of advanced firepower. Recalling the last run in with Ruthus, Kai figured she’d better plan for screwed.
"Dead or maimed?" Persia asked, voice quiet.
"Dead," she replied, grim. "He already has one mechanical arm. And he won't stop trying to catch your sister. It’s more than just-"
"He's obsessed," Persia said.
Serephone just nodded, expression grim. It was the reality that no matter how well armed they were, no matter how vigilant, eventually everyone slipped up. She should have killed him a long time ago, but had been worried about bringing a wasp nest down around their heads. But Cinvarra had been shot, and now they had the backup of the Dwyrkin Lord who employed over two thirds of the local population.
A wasp nest? Her dragon would just burn it down. He'd be pissed when he found out, though.
She recognized many of the vendors from the Dwyrkin faire the other day in addition to the regulars. Her own spot in the fray stood empty, the booth she’d normally have laden with fresh produce, canned goods and the occasional set of baked goods. She wasn’t the best baker though—she usually gave her bread away for free after the purchase of a much tastier jam.
Kailigh noticed the looks she and the girls received, and recognized the sudden quiet packing of several of the booths.
“I warned them that next time they saw us it would be a gunfight,” Persia said quietly. “The ones who stay are armed.”
