Page 18 of Into the Isle

I didn’t want bad blood between me and Damon. I had to show my face eventually, if only to accept my defeat. So, after washing myself in the river just north of the village, I went home feeling refreshed. Still depressed, but cleaner. I changed clothes, grabbed a few items, and set off to the pub down the road.

The party had moved indoors with the night. A few stragglers roamed the streets, yet it was quiet as I made my way down the road.

Through the open windows of the pub, I could smell the booze and sweat half a block away. The music had moved indoors also, and was loud, trickling out into the street. Laughter and camaraderie filled the night.

I tried to time my entrance so it wouldn’t be seen as a big deal, squeezing into the bar with a couple other drunkards on their way in, who came in from the cold after pissing in the alley between the pub and another shop.

Even so, the revelry seemed to die on everyone’s lips when I stood in the doorway. Eyes whipped over to me, some of them narrowing, some lips pursing, as if to say I wasn’t welcome here. In the village I had grown up in.

I darted out of the entrance, toward a group of people who parted as I passed. Low murmurs picked up around me. I ignored them, while keeping an eye out for possible threats.

As evidenced by whelps throwing rocks at my face, there were always threats in Selby Village for a bog-blood. To make matters worse, everyone knew I had been the likeliest initiate candidate, so I assumed they thought I arrived with vengeance on my mind.

My lip was split and scabbing over a second time. The right side of my face was bruised from my stepfather hitting me. In all, I didn’t look good.

“Where’s my brother?” I asked someone as I passed.

“Which one, half-breed?” the man asked. “The older one retired hours ago to his longship, awaiting the younger one, who is somewhere over there.” He pointed vaguely to the other side of the bar.

I nodded firmly and dipped away.

Damon lounged in a booth with two of his friends and a sleeping girl with her head tucked against his shoulder. They all looked bleary-eyed and tired, with the exception of the girl, who was simply out cold.

Day drinking will do that to a person of her small size.

Damon and his friends were playing cards. He was more reserved than earlier, swaying in his seat, clearly drunk. The festivities had moved on from him. I figured no one even remembered why they were celebrating in the first place. The announcement ceremony was a good excuse to gorge themselves on food and drink.

From the side of the table, I cleared my throat, crossing my arms.

Slowly, Damon looked over and up at me. He blinked his bloodshot eyes. “Oh, look who it is. The loser, come to cry about how unfair the world is?”

“No, Damon. That’s not why I’m here.”

“Then why are you here, bog-blood?” one of his friends snarled.

“Shut up, Cale,” Damon chided. He looked up at me. “Why are you here?” he asked, almost comically echoing his friend’s question.

“To pay my respects.”

“Okay. Then pay them.” Damon set his cards down and threw his arms out wide.

I looked at the morose crowd around him. The girl on his shoulder. “Damon. You are my brother—”

“Aren’t you the one who always calls me your half-brother? Now, in defeat, I’m your lovable sibling?”

“I certainly never said lovable.”

Damon froze, lips parted. They curled upward. “Fair enough, sister.”

It was funny—I knew the best way to communicate with Damon was with sarcasm and mocking. Especially when he was in his cups.

“You’re my brother,” I continued, “and I’d like to do it proper. Let’s go outside—you look like you could use some fresh air. I’ve got some gifts for you before you set off tonight.”

At the mention of gifts, Damon tilted his head. He gave me a curious pout, slowly nodding. Hesitantly, he stood from the seat. The girl who had been snoring on his shoulder slumped over, and his friends laughed at her. “Play a hand without me,” he told his minions. “I won’t be long.” He staggered out from behind the booth. “And don’t touch the girl. She’s mine.”

I wrinkled my nose. The unconscious girl? For shame, Damon.

When he eyed me blearily, I moved toward the exit. For some reason, my heart wasn’t pounding in my chest. I didn’t feel anxious. Perhaps it was because I had resigned myself to my fate, and knew I would be a mainstay of Selby Village for years to come now that I’d lost Vikingrune Academy.

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