Chapter 1
“Nope. Just stew tonight. Beth is on bedrest until the baby comes.” I moved down the bar, filling mugs and collecting coin along the way. I could barely keep the tavern running on my own. “Congratulations,” the desperate merchant tried to win me over. “Thanks, I don’t think my face being this pretty needs to be congratulated every day, but you are more than welcome to stare upon my inspiring visage. Offerings of silver are appreciated too.” I did a small bow with a flourish before getting right back to work. He didn’t quite know what to say to that and that only left me happily amused. I’d seen the type too often to fall for the attempted charm. Merchants thought they could weasel out extra bread that currently didn’t exist. Too bad for them, it wouldn’t exist while there was so much to do and only my set of hands to run it. Merchants had once come through our area more frequently. We were close to the border and heavy producers of crops. Back when we had more of a military presence to the south, they’d set up a healthy business selling off the crops to the kingdom’s men. But ever since the war broke out in the east, business had dried up in our area. Our village of no more than fifty sat on the south-western edge of the kingdom. About the only thing dangerous we saw out here were bandits or the occasional corrupted. After all, we were a stone's throw from the Zenovian border and most of the corrupted headed in that direction. We’d been abandoned to fend for ourselves. Luckily, Zenovia wasn’t particularly hostile at the moment, and bandits weren’t going to raid a village when it wasn’t worth it to them. That didn’t mean our crops were less valuable, but without regular guards on patrol, it was a dangerous venture. One that only the desperate merchants took. I glanced at the one still waiting. He fit the bill with only two guards, one of which looked like he couldn’t see around his belly to the sword belted on his hip. The metal one. Well, and the other flimsier sword down there too. But the merchant lingered, waiting for a reply. Guess my joke didn’t get through to him. I sighed, having to actually answer the question. “The baby isn’t mine. Beth usually offers bed service to the travelers. One of them knocked her up.” She was happy enough with the situation. She didn’t care much about the stigma. Not like it mattered out here. “Oh.” The merchant was at a loss for words. After a few seconds of waiting for more, he spoke up. “We’ll just take some of that stew. Three portions if you don’t mind.” “Coming right up.” With a practiced movement, I ladled out three steaming portions of the stew into three bowls and lined them up for him to take back to his table. The man stared at the bowls, pausing. “I don’t have time to bus your table. This is just some poor border town, not some city restaurant.” I shrugged, and the merchant beckoned to the large guard to come get his own. Noting the bowl left behind, I made eye contact with the big guy and put an extra ladle of stew in his bowl. I had found that being friendly with the big patrons could be helpful if you run a tavern. “Don’t be a stranger.” The man gave me a nod and a smile as he took the bowl. “ARD!” a shout came from the loft behind the kitchen. I filled two pitchers from the barrel taps and put them on the counter with a quick glance at a few of the regulars, telling them to help themselves. But they also knew I’d come for them if they tried to take more than what I’d put out. Jogging through the kitchen, I popped up into Beth’s loft. “Do you need me to get the midwife?” “No.” She waved me away. “I feel a storm coming. You need to get the firewood in so we have enough to last through the night.” She pushed off the edge of the bed, wobbling a little as she tried to stay on her feet. Beth had her dark hair tied up in a messy bun and looked like she was smuggling a monster of a melon under her dress. She let out a heavy breath as she got to her feet. “I’ll man the counter while you get the firewood.” “Beth, you put a pregnant sow to shame right now. Stay in bed or everyone’s going to be falling over themselves to make sure you don’t roll out with the next gust of wind,” I scolded her, even though the thirty-eight year-old woman was more than twice my age. She waved me off, more than used to my runaway mouth by now. “Don’t just stand there. Help me down the steps.” She puffed as she held her swollen stomach. “Twins. If I ever catch that bastard again, I’m going to kick him in the balls.” “How do you know which one it was? Did one of them wear a sign saying they give twins for the ride?” I rolled my eyes. “I just know things. Like how I know it’s about to be a bad storm,” she urged me down the steps. “You aren’t an anchor, and certainly not a mage. Unless you have some pointy fangs you’d like to show me, you’re also not a corrupted.” I still held her hand as she put much of her weight on me and came down the steps slowly. She gave me a too broad smile in mocking. “Magic is everywhere. Who says it is just limited to the four spheres? Don’t ask why I know what I know. Just bring some wood in so it stays dry.” I led her down the stairs and pulled a stool up to the counter between the kegs. That’s where I needed her most. “Sit or I’ll get the midwife instead of bringing in wood.” “You wouldn’t dare,” she scowled at me but took her perch on the stool. The midwife was the only person in the village that was more stubborn than Beth. Somewhat of a necessity. Seeing that she was going to behave, I followed her instructions and went out the side door to collect some wood. I had to admit. Beth was usually right about her predictions. The daylight stabbed through my eyes, making that headache flare right back up. Damned head. I didn’t drink nearly enough the night before to deserve the pain coursing through my head. I took a moment to look at the sky, watching for a storm. Everything seemed bright and cheery. It was clear enough that I could see a group of horses winding their way into town. The horses made me pause. They were nicer than the horses most townspeople had, and their clothes were brightly dyed in the kingdom’s blue. I wondered if some soldiers had actually shown up to help us with the bandits. It would be a huge help. If the bandit problem went down and the roads cleared, merchants might want to come through town more. It might even bring back the old man and his pretty daughter. I stacked up an armful of wood and cradled the pile that went up to my nose as I walked it into the inn, making several trips until Beth nodded happily at the amount I’d prepared. “The sky is clear,” I told her as I patted down my shirt, feeling for the familiar pendant held on a leather thong. It was a habit, but it was one of my most prized possessions. I refused to lose it. The pendant was the only thing I had from my father before he had dropped me off in the village, never to return. I’d even harried a passing mage once to try and identify it, but I’d nearly lost my life for bothering the mage. My father’s pendant was scorched and then worn smooth from years of having it against my chest. The kingdom’s emblem barely remained, and the personal seal of my father was entirely gone off the back. I couldn’t even tell which spheres he had controlled as a mage. I went back outside, letting Beth take the bar a little longer. The fresh air sounded nice, and I could use a break. Fishing the royal emblem out of my shirt, I wiped my finger across it and felt just
