The Vaetra Chronicles: Book 01 - Vaetra Unveiled (2 page)

But then one day last spring, a well-dressed merchant arrived at the inn and paid for a room. When I took his horse, his attitude toward me was so condescending that I nearly punched him right there in front of the stable. That was when I knew I had to do something else with my life, and I needed to do it quickly.

I went to the Raven Company offices the next morning and talked with Borlan about working with them. We both knew of each other, and after some cautious conversational circling and testing, we realized we had a lot in common. Over the months and the jobs that followed, we became good friends.

I sighed as I approached the inn. Mercenary work paid well, and it was challenging in a satisfying way, but it wasn't steady. I thought once again of the note in my pocket. Maybe the dry spell was finally easing up.

***

I opened the door to the inn, and as I entered the serving room, mouth-watering food aromas enveloped me. The kitchen staff was busy preparing for the evening meal, and my stomach growled in anticipation.

Weak afternoon light filtered through the front windows, barely fighting back the darkness of the room. The regular patrons seemed to prefer the gloom, as they were all huddled at the tables furthest from the door or were hunched over stools at the bar along the back wall. Oil lanterns hung along the overhead beams softly lit their quiet conversations.

Dela looked up from wiping down the bar and called to me. "Where have you been? I still need you to get those potatoes and chives for Mother's soup tomorrow."

Dela is one of those women who dominates the room. Her tall, full-figured build caught the eye of most men, while her green eyes and full-lipped smile charmed them. She moved with confidence and purpose and brooked no foolery from the patrons. Men who had the temerity to pinch her butt as she walked by usually found themselves led out the front door by their ear with the admonition not to return until they had learned some manners.

One of the men at the bar looked over at me and chuckled. I rolled my eyes.

"I told you I'd take care of it, and I will. I just need to pick up the list you made," I said.

"Where were you anyway?" she asked. "You're going to run out of daylight."

"I was at Raven Company. I have a lead on a new contract and needed to meet with Borlan."

She frowned and looked down at the counter, scrubbing a little more vigorously. "Things are busy here, and I need your help. Can't you put off your contracts for a while?"

"It doesn't work like that," I said patiently. "I'm either in or I'm out. Raven Company needs men they can rely on to take contracts when they are available." I knew my mistake as soon as I spoke.

She stopped cleaning the counter and threw the cloth into a tub of water with a splash. "
I
need you to be reliable too! Spring business is picking up, and it's too much for just Mother and me." She came around the counter, wiping her hands on her apron, and stood in front of me. She put a hand on my arm and spoke more softly. "Besides, I need you. We can't let all the hard work that Father did go to waste. I don't know what would happen to us if the inn were to fail."

I sighed. "You know that running an inn has never been my goal. I invested in the inn so I could have the apartment and help out your father."

She rubbed her hand up and down my arm affectionately. "I know, but you can't return to the Guard, and Raven Company doesn't have enough work. We have plenty to do here."

I knew it was useless to continue the discussion. We'd had more or less the same exchange every day for the past month. The idea of settling down with Dela and becoming an innkeeper had its appeal; it would be the easy path to take. But whenever my thoughts went down that path, I felt like I would be betraying Griz and maybe even Dela. I remembered Dela from when she skipped around with a rag doll in her hand. She was grown now, but I still had trouble seeing her as anything other than a kid sister.

But, unfortunately, she was right. Things were slow at Raven Company, particularly for the investigation work I preferred and that Borlan singled out for me. Meanwhile, business at the inn was on the rise. We were getting more travelers, and the locals were discovering that the kitchen served an excellent meal at a reasonable price.

I wished Griz were still around. Things would have been so much simpler. He would have been thrilled to see the inn beginning to thrive, making all that hard work--the work that essentially killed him--pay off. It wasn't fair that his heart gave out just as he was completing the renovations.

Dela's eyes scanned my face, seeming to read my train of thought. "I know," she said quietly. "If father were still here, things would be different." She looked down at the floor. "He'd take care of the inn, and you could run off on your adventures."

As much as I cared for Dela, and as much as I hoped the inn would grow into the success Griz had envisioned, Dela's subtle manipulations got on my nerves. I needed to leave before I said something I'd regret.

"I'd better get going. Do you have that list?"

Dela looked into my eyes for a moment and saw the unyielding set of my face. She went over to the bar and came back with a slip of parchment that listed the things she wanted me to pick up. I looked over the list and decided I should have plenty of time to take care of it before dusk and get back for my meeting.

I turned and headed out the door without saying another word. I swore to myself that my future would not consist of running errands for Dela.

T
he young man walked slowly into the inn and hesitated just inside the door. He filled the opening more than most men, and his gaze scanned the room. When his eyes met mine, I gave him a subtle nod.

He wound his way through the tables, looking aside at the other patrons several times. His caution made him conspicuous to anyone who watched him closely, defeating his obvious desire for secrecy.

When he reached my table, he remained standing and looked me over. "Jaylan?" he asked softly. I nodded again.

He swept into the chair next to me with a waft of stale sweat and damp wool. Tiny beads of condensed mist slipped off his cloak to the floor as he settled in. He glanced at me with haunted eyes underscored by dark circles. Those eyes belied the softly bearded face of youth that came with them. He shivered, adjusting to the close warmth of the inn's serving room. Scanning the room once more, he sighed and deflated into a hunch over the table.

He cleared his throat and spoke in a low, hoarse voice. "Thanks for meeting me. I'm Raleb."

"No thanks necessary," I replied. "Although I admit I'm curious. Your message was rather vague." I took a sip of my ale and raised the mug toward Dela as she passed, tilting my head in the direction of the man next to me. She scowled down her nose at him but nodded in acknowledgement.

"Sorry about that. It had to be. It's a sensitive matter," he said as he ran a thin, shaking hand through his dark, wet hair.

"You should take off that wet cloak," I suggested. "You're freezing." Our table was close to the fire, making my choice of seating comfortably warm. His soggy cloak had already started to steam a bit around his shoulders.

He shook his head. "Thanks, but I may need to leave quickly."

It was as I suspected, then. Raleb was a man on the run. Disappointment soured my mood as I realized the odds were high that this job would require me to do something illegal or at least unethical. I'd have to refuse the contract.

"Then I suppose you should tell me what it is you need from me," I prompted with little enthusiasm.

He looked over at me, reading my reticence. "You're right, we shouldn't waste time, but please hear me out." I nodded for him to continue.

"My partner and I were hired to...
retrieve
an item for a client. We succeeded and were on our way back when we were ambushed last night. We got separated, and I escaped. I don't know what happened to my partner or the item he was carrying. I've been trying to find him, but I'm still being hunted."

"By whom?" I asked. He looked up quickly and said nothing as Dela approached with a tankard of ale.

"Thanks, Dela. Please put it on my tab," I told her with a wink as she set the mug on the table.

"Oh, yes sir," she responded sarcastically and quickly moved off to answer the hail of another customer.

Raleb waited until she left and then continued. "I don't
know
who it is," he growled. "They tracked us somehow, and I didn't think it would be a good idea to stop and ask them why." He took a long drink of his ale and closed his eyes with a groan that was almost a sigh.

"Probably wise," I concurred. "So why did you want to meet with me?"

"The man who hired us won't be pleased with failure. But I can't search for Donal, my partner, while I'm trying to evade the hunters. I need help finding him while I work on staying alive."

I interrupted him with a raised hand. "Not to put too fine a point on it, but I can't involve myself with stolen goods."

"Yes, that is your reputation. But you
can
help find a missing person, right? I don't care about the item," he said bitterly.

"Perhaps." I nodded slowly. It seemed unlikely that a thief wouldn't care about the stolen goods, but I sensed no guile in his words. I still didn't like the feel of this contract, but finding a missing person was right in line with the work I normally did for Raven Company.

"I can pay, of course," he said. Below the table, his hand reached inside his cloak. I tensed and eased back from him instantly, and his hand stopped moving. "May I?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry. Automatic reaction," I answered. I relaxed, but remained alert.

"Believe me, I completely understand," he said under his breath as his hand emerged from his cloak with a small leather purse. "It isn't much, but it's most of what I have with me." He offered the purse to me under the table, and I accepted it from him.

I loosened the lacing and quickly peered under the table at the contents of the purse. A satisfying quantity of gold and silver twinkled from within. I looked over at him, both eyebrows raised. "That's plenty. For a couple of weeks anyway. One week if you want me to hire bodyguards for you."

"Thanks, but bodyguards would just draw attention to me. If you haven't found Donal within two weeks, I doubt I'll be around to be disappointed about it." He drank more of his ale and seemed to re-inflate a bit. Something about the way he said the name hinted at a level of respect and affection that went beyond a normal business partnership. I got the impression that Donal was a trusted mentor or perhaps even his father.

"Where did you last see him?" I asked.

"West of here. About a half-day's ride. We were on the main road when a group of four riders stopped us and demanded that we give them the item Donal was carrying." He shook his head. "I don't understand how they knew about it or how they knew we had it. We had no choice but to run and hope we could lose them."

I didn't want to hear any more about "the item." It was definitely the source of my concerns about this contract.

"How do I get back in touch with you?" I asked as I discreetly slipped the purse under my vest, committing myself to the contract despite my misgivings. The amount he had given me compensated for a certain amount of moral discomfort.

"You don't. Meet me behind the big barn north of town, the one that's just this side of the forest, at dusk again in two days time." He took a deep, final swig of his ale and slid his chair back.

I nodded and said, "I know that barn. I'll try to have something useful to tell you by then." I smiled encouragingly. "I don't suppose you need a receipt for this?"

He chuckled once, a fleeting hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth. "I just hope you find him before the others do," he said seriously. "Thanks for taking the job."

"I'll do what I can," I promised.

"In two days then," was his parting response.

He stepped over to Dela for a short, whispered conversation. She nodded and pointed toward the kitchen. Dela's mother stood at the bar near the kitchen door, closely observing their exchange. Anticipating what was wanted, she nodded once and hooked her thumb toward the kitchen door.

Raleb pulled his cloak closed, ducked his head, and slipped quietly through the door to the kitchen, where I knew he would exit the inn through a back door.

My last sip of ale was interrupted by a muffled shout and a clash of arms from behind the inn.

Slamming my mug on the table, I jumped from my seat and rushed through the kitchen. I nearly knocked over Sedora, our aging cook, as she stared nervously at the back door, a knife and a loaf of bread held absently in her hands. With a mumbled apology I grabbed her by the shoulders to steady her. I then carefully stepped over to the door to listen.

It seemed the scuffle was over. I couldn't hear any more fighting. But I did hear muffled voices, including Raleb's. I eased the door open slowly and peered out into the drifting mist.

***

The kitchen door hinges were silent, but the light from the room behind me spilled out to illuminate a strip of ground behind the inn. Raleb was on his knees in the mud. A man was roughly tying Raleb's hands behind his back, while before him stood a woman holding a crossbow to her shoulder, aimed straight at his chest. He hung his head in silent defeat.