The War God's Wife

Chapter 2: Payment

For a few moments, there was only silence. Then, the father spoke.

"Nuthin'. Pay yer bill and go." I blinked.

"Perhaps you misheard me," I began, but the mortal cut me off.

"I misheard nuthin'. Pay what ye owe and be on yer way. We want nuthin' to do with the dealings of Tel'mak like you." I felt my hackles rise at that.

"It is because of Tel'mak like me that you sleep soundly in your beds and don't wake up in the stomach of a troll or something worse," I snarled. The father narrowed his eyes, but now a shadow of fear swept over the woman's face. My heart ached at the sight. STOP THAT, I screamed silently at myself.

"Trolls ain't anythin' more'n than drunkards' tales and minstrels' music," the father said with a scoff. I let my lips twist into a savage grin.

"Aren't the Tel'mak the same?" I retorted. "Yet here I am." The father snorted, but the glimmer of worry became more pronounced in his eyes. I sighed and pushed myself to my feet. The world rocked once more, pain flaring in my gut, but I gritted my teeth and fought through the stabbing fire. After a moment, the world was level once more, and I rose to my feet. Now I could see that I was right: I towered head and shoulders above the father while the woman barely rose to mid-chest. The father staggered back another step, swallowing hard as his gaze rose to mine. The woman stared merely in curiosity.

"Where are my things?" I demanded. The father gestured to the corner where I could see my travel pouch and baldric with Lightning and Thunder still in their sheaths. I walked over (each step sending a bolt of pain up my side) and checked their blades. They gleamed in the lantern light. No rust; no damage. I sighed in relief.

"What do I owe? I assume you take Almeasuran coin?" I asked, slipping the baldric onto my shoulder and fastening the belt around my waist. The cinching leather ignited another firestorm of pain, but I only grunted to acknowledge the frankly nauseating amount of torture I was self-inflicting.

"We do," said the father behind me. "It'll be ten gold crowns, plus sixteen silvers." I paused. It was quite a fortune these mortals were demanding from me. Last I had checked, most were lucky to see ten silvers in a month's wage, though that had been some years (decades?) ago. Not that I couldn't afford it.

"I don't have it," I said bluntly. "But I will gladly reimburse you once I return to my home and my strongbox."

"Which is?" the father said quickly. His voice reeked of suspicion. I sighed again.

"To the east. In the Volterra Mountains."

"That's over thirty leagues away! It'd be next year for we see that coin, maybe even later!" There was a tense silence.

"So the great War God skips out on 'is bill, eh?" the father said at last, his tone mocking and bitter. I whirled, my eyes flashing in rage.

"Hold your tongue, mortal!" I roared, the power in my voice booming like thunder, rattling the furniture and causing the timbers of the roof to groan from stress. "Never question my honor, unless you have the skill at arms to do so!" The two of them fell backwards, the woman squeaking in terror from the tremors that swept the air. My heart froze at the sound, and my anger withered as quick as leaves in a fire. I took a step forward as an apology leapt unbidden to my lips, but the woman beat me to it.

"Flamin' stars, don't do that!" she shouted, her cute face burning with anger. "Yer gonna make the walls fall in talkin' like that!"

"Calliena!" her father barked. When her furious gaze snapped to him, he mumbled, "Fix yer talkin'." She blinked, took a moment to compose herself, and then turned back to me, eyes still bright with annoyance.