Page 126 of Mud

Erfes’s voice came from so close behind me that Ialmost jumped. She’d approached me without my even hearing her footsteps.

I turned to the side, close enough to the door so I could run out of this place in an instant if I needed to.

“Why is that?” I asked a bit breathless, but my face, I hoped, remained expressionless.

“Because, because, because—I can’t say because of why,” she muttered, tapping a finger to her lips. “But most spend at least a tomorrow in Night City,Rrrorra,and you don’t want to sleep in the streets, I guarantee.”

I could hardly believe how she’d changed from one person to another, right before my eyes. I didn’t trust her, not in the least, but I also didn’t think she was lying about this particular thing. Just the thought of having to find a body of a being that had died of natural causes implied that I might need to search for a long time.

She could be right, as much as I hated to admit it. She could be right, and I really,reallydidn’t want to sleep in the streets, considering I couldn’t even put up a ward around me.

And if the other players saw that I was Mud, if that circle of color popped up over my head for any reason again…

“One gun and two knives,” I said through gritted teeth. “That’s all you can get from me.”

She laughed and it was short and ugly. “Allguns and kni—wait!”

I was out the door, determined to find another person to help me—or die trying. Negotiations had never really been my strong suit. I never had the patience for them. I neverwantedto sit there and go back and forth with another person—too exhausting.

A hand on my arm, and Erfes pulled me to a stop. “Wait, I said,wait!”

She was no longer smiling.

“Either take a gun and two knives or let me go offer them to someone else.”

Now she hated me. Plain and simple, she hated my guts, and I saw it in her bloodshot eyes and the way she clenched her jaws for a moment, like she was willing herself to not jump me.

“Fine,” she finally spit, and I could hardly believe my eyes when she reached under the neckline of her dress and to her boobs, pushed one up with her other hand over the fabric, and pulled something out—three silver coins chipped to the sides like they were a thousand years old. “Here—three for three. Give me my weapons.”

I shook my head. “Is that going to pay for?—”

“Yes-yes-yes, stop speaking-yes!” She was definitely very angry now. “It will pay for all you need. Give one at a time, and not two or three.” She held her fist up and the other hand open, waiting for me to put my weapons in it. “Tell Vuvu that Erfes sent you.”

She forced herself to say all of this so hard that her voice came out robotic. I was terrified even with the size of her, and even with the fact that I had weapons and I could actually fight well enough to subdue a vulcera without magic. My hands shook as I reached for my gun and two throwing knives and put them in her tiny hand. She almost dropped them, then put the coins in my palm before she pulled up the skirts of her dress and hid the weapons underneath.

She didn’t say anything—notthank you, notgood riddance, notI hope I never see you again. She just turned around and stormed into her bar, muttering curse words under her breath, then slammed the door shut.

I looked at the silver coins—those had been under her boob, yet I wasn’t disgusted because I was probably way filthier.

A bath.An actual bath awaited me, and it was in an inn that belonged to someone named Vuvu. That was enough to keep me moving toward the narrow street ahead and disappear in the darkness of Night City.

Chapter 26

Rosabel La Rouge

Present day

Within the first three minutes, I realized just how vast Night City actually was. Possibly twice the size of Madeline’s estate back home, if not more.

The farther I went, the taller and darker the buildings became. The narrow street I’d taken from that square where we initially landed went on and on for about five minutes, then it forked into three streets, each curving a few feet in, with two-story buildings in the middle as if to hide where they led. Nobody ahead of me, but there was someone behind me—the handsome Whitefire player who looked just as miserable as I was feeling as he dragged his feet. We made eye contact and I could have sworn his pain was the same as mine. I could have sworn he needed a hug right now just as much as I did—if we weren’t in the fucking Roe.

But we were, and so neither of us said evenhito one another.

We just continued to walk on our own.

Damn it, I should have asked Erfes for directions to that inn she told me about. Or was it even real? The elf was crazy enough that I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d lied through her teeth just to get my weapons.

As it was, when I stopped in front of the three streets, the best I could do was close my eyes, take in a deep breath, and let my instincts decide for me.

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