Book 3, Chapter 9 - Uses For Eboncrys (1/2)
Was Autumn really that naïve, or had she been cursed with dull wits? I should test her.
Cloudhawk stretched and crossed his legs, feigning disinterest. “Words are cheap. Let’s do this. Tell me where your tribe is, and I’ll check it out. If it’s like you say then I’ll think about helping you.”
Autumn clenched her fists and was about to speak, but she swallowed it back before the words could pass her lips. At the last moment she remembered something an elder of her tribe constantly repeated, and shook her head. “The elders have said that we must never share the location of our home with outsiders, no matter the circumstances. I will not tell you.”
“Well, it sure seems like you don’t understand the situation you’re in.” Cloudhawk’s dark eyes became sharp, and it seemed almost as though there was a fire smoldering deep inside. All at once the whole store filled with a bloodthirsty sense, and the young man’s voice went from lazy and amicable to something from the depths of hell itself. She trembled at the sound of it. “I don’t it like when people screw around with me.”
He spoke slowly, calmly. To others they would not hear anything out of the ordinary.
But to Autumn the words struck her mind like a war hammer. A frigid sensation raced through her body and her throat closed up like someone’s hand was wrapped around it. What she saw in the man’s eye was bestial. He was a creature that had crawled its way up from the corpse-strewn mountains and blood-filled seas of the underworld. She’d never experienced anything like it, and the terrifying man seemed to close in on her with every passing second.
She was rigid as an icy-cold feeling started to curl around her legs. Like a frigid serpent, it slithered up her legs from the ground, the creeping fingers of death itself. She knew if she moved even an inch those fingers would tear her apart.
Cloudhawk’s face split into a devilish smirk. “Think carefully.”
Her legs trembled of their own accord. Never in her life had Autumn encountered a man so terrifying. She knew intrinsically he would crush her like a flower if she refused. Even the strongest warriors of her people wouldn’t be able to stand against this monster’s will. As fire roiled in her heart, eating away at reason.
Cloudhawk maintained a perfect, distant calm. “If you want my help, then you have to be straight with me.”
Her teeth audible ground together as Autumn fought back. “I can’t tell you!”
The Warden was surprised by her fortitude.
Autumn gasped as the fires in Cloudhawk’s eyes receded and the pressure lifted. The terrifying sensations melted away, though it felt like she’d been caught in a nightmare for decades. Her clothes were drenched in sweat.
There was a demon living somewhere beneath this man’s handsome face!
“Sure.” Cloudhawk shrugged uncaringly. “But if we can’t come to a mutual understanding, then I’m not interested in your mission. I’ll just take what’s mine and leave it at that.” Cloudhawk waved a hand, and flecks of sand gathered into a grasping tentacle. It reached forth and snatched the parcel of enboncrys from Autumn’s arms, delivering it to his waiting hands. “Bring her to the bedroom so she can rest.”
“Let me go!” Autumn jumped as a pair of young women appeared on either side of her and took her arms. She glared at the brute who commanded them, her delicate features giving way to anger. “You… you’re nothing but a bandit!” She screamed at him.
“If I’m a bandit, then I’m a gentle and handsome one. Consider yourself blessed you ran into a scoundrel like me. Neve, Jasmine, let her go. If she doesn’t want to stay here then she may go. The door’s right there, and you’re feet know what to do. If you’re so intent on dying, far be it from me to stop you.”
Cloudhawk reached back and netted his fingers behind his head. He was perfectly at ease, like her decision didn’t matter in the least.
“I do have to say, though, that if I hadn’t very graciously intervened then right now you’d probably be in a dark room somewhere, with big guys taking turns on you. To be honest, I’m taking a risk with you even standing here. If others knew this was where you were hiding, trouble would be coming my way. Right now you’re a juicy slab of meat, missy, and everyone wants to take a bite.”
This very day, she’d run into a string of bad men with bad intentions. It underlined the reality that she’d made a mistake. This young man was also no good, but he’d at least spared her life. For the time being he hadn’t tried to bully her into anything or showed intent to harm.
Obviously, trying to get her sack of eboncrys back was out of the question. Truthfully, she didn’t care much, but she couldn’t go back empty handed. “You can have the eboncrys, but you agreed to give me five hundred sets of equipment. We agreed.”
Cloudhawk laughed like he’d heard the world’s funniest joke. “Miss Autumn Draper, you gave me a down payment, but I doubt you now have funds to settle accounts. This sack here is the fee for saving your life.”
“You’re going back on your promise!”
“Calm your head down, missy. Think about it; let’s say you’ve got ten copper and you’re off to buy some bread. On the way your money’s stolen, and the thieves use that money to buy the bread you were going to get. Now, should I give the bread to them, or give it to you?” Cloudhawk snorted. This girl really had no idea how lucky she was to run into him. “This eboncrys doesn’t belong to you. I got it from a bunch of thieving brigands. Spoils of victory. I have the equipment you want, but if you want them you’ll need to pay. Hand over the rest of the money, and you get what you want.”
“You’re full of nonsense, you-“
Autumn was so furious words failed her. Pale skin turned an angry red. She had never been good at arguing, much less in stressful situations like this, and he was far more verbally gifted than she was.
“The world out here is a fair place. When you make a mistake, you'll pay for it. Walking around by yourself while waving this sack of eboncrys about was just plain dumb.” Cloudhawk waved a hand dismissively. “When I saw there was a wrong that needed to be righted, I stepped in. When I saw you were in need, I helped. I didn’t have to, you know. I could’ve just taken the stones and then left you to those actual bandits. Good men like me are hard to find, especially in this dirty world. You should be grateful you’re still alive, but you shouldn’t continue to push your luck.”
Cloudhawk was being stubborn. Faced with such a shameless rogue, what choice did Autumn have?
She couldn’t fight him – she couldn’t even fight his little bird. She turned to storm out of the shop, but Cloudhawk’s words caught her feet. There were bad men like him looking for her all over the city now. Would she even get five hundred meters out the door before the next group came? Chances were she’d be a captive before she got that far.
After thinking better about it she stomped a heel in impotent fury and trudged upstairs to the second floor bedroom.