The Bones of Prey

Chapter 3 | Old Debts

She took a seat in the single chair across from the two men. She pushed her hood off her head before setting a foot against the lower rung on the chair and stretched her other leg out alongside the table. She had a brown leather bag that she set on the ground next to her cocked knee. The woman said nothing as firelight danced across her face. She closed her eyes, leaned her head back and sighed heavily.

Both men shifted in their seats; whether it was because they were uncomfortable with or impatient at her silence, she didn't know. Nor did she care. The trip had been long and cold and she was pleased she could finally begin soaking in the heat of the tavern.

Jon finally spoke up, "You're here. That's good. We were starting to get worried." Lies.

"Yeah, we figured the sea might've swallowed you up. Heard there were bad storms a few miles off the coast. Good thing you made it," Creigh continued. More lies.

Obviously, neither planned on mentioning their earlier conversation or their general lack of concern regarding her welfare. She couldn't care less. She had called them here for the sole purpose of delivering some valuable items and fulfilling their debt. She didn't blame them for hoping she had fallen prey to the sea.

She sighed again. She really was exhausted. Never in her life had she liked traveling by boat and this trip in particular was agonizingly long. She wanted warm food, cold ale, and a comfortable bed, in that order. What she didn't want was to have to deal with these two idiots.

At her continued silence, both men took the opportunity to look her over. If the men had been a bit more intelligent, they might've described her as beautiful but in a particularly haunting way. She had sharp cheekbones and a crisply cut jaw which gave her features an edgy, dangerous feel. Her eyes were bruised looking and her cheeks were thin, most likely from the tiring trip and the lack of good food. She was pale-skinned; her eyebrows were dark slashes against the creamy canvas, but it was her eyes that really pulled a person in. Depending on the light, the coloring changed from an enigmatic cobalt to a deep phthalo to a warm cedar with hints of gold. She had magical, truly unique eyes and if she wasn't careful, they'd give her away.

However, all these men saw was a decently pretty face amidst a crowd of well-used whores. She could see that while they obviously didn't like her or why she called them here, they would still do what men always did: picture a pretty woman on her back with legs spread. She decided to find it amusing rather than insulting.

"I appreciate the sentiments, gentlemen," she finally said. "But I'm here for only two reasons. Your debt covers both. So, where are my weapons?" She didn't feel the need to move her head to look at them until neither answered her question. She straightened and crossed her arms, resting them on the table. Finally, she looked them both in the eye.

Creigh spoke up, "We have them. We don't welsh on our promises." His voice was filled with disdain.

"Fantastic. I'll have them now," she replied lightly.

Jon started to speak when Creigh interceded, "Well now, that there is what we need to discuss. See, the way I look at it, the debt required we owe you two favors and you said one was to get your weapons and bring 'em here. Well, we did that. I never said nothing about just handing them over to you."

She focused on him as he sat there, full of gap-toothed sneers and masculine pride. Men, she thought sadly, can be a special brand of stupidity. At her age, she was more disappointed to find herself somewhat surprised at his actions. In her defense, when she met these men about twelve years ago, they didn't have an ounce of bravery between them, so this was slightly unexpected.

"You should have been a lawyer," she commented.

Jon finally got a word in the conversation. "Listen, Si, we got no problem with you. You helped us out all those years ago, so we're glad we get to help you back. But we can't be doing nothing for free, even something like this. And they had your weapons locked up tight as can be. We had to spend a fucking fortune to get them out. All we're looking for is a bit of payment. To help the cause, you know? Don't be-be-begu..."