Page 10 of Power of Draken

I blink. “Your pardon?”

“You took my brother,” a little boy waiting to be seen says toward his shoes.

“And both my sisters,” says another child.

“You took my Jamie. My only child. How am I to work the field without him?” says a woman with a scarf wrapped about her head. More voices are joining in now, the noise rising, the accusations feeding off each other like a growing avalanche.

I turn to Rinity, whose jaw is set to stone. “Conscription day was yesterday,” she hisses at me. “Half the broken bones you see today are from the guards’ batons as they beat parents and siblings out of the way.”

Shit. My eyes widen. Of course. A new training year was starting. Press gangs would have been deployed to collect anyone who failed to report on their own.

Before I can think of a response to all this, the door connecting us to the common room bursts open and a burly man barges through. His face is flushed with anger and drink, meaty fists clenched at his sides.

"Well, well, well,” he slurs, each syllable pregnant with fury. He points an accusing finger at me. "You're one of them hoarding Spire butchers, ain't ya? Come to steal more of our children away!"

Chapter6

Rowan

Itake an involuntary step back, my mouth suddenly dry. I can smell the sour reek of alcohol wafting off him, see the mad gleam in his bloodshot eyes. Gods, the whole room is suddenly more volatile than an explosives barrel, with one wrong move poised to set off disaster. And I’ve no idea what the right move is.

"We're not here to take anyone," I say, trying to keep my voice calm and level. "We only want to help. To heal the sick and injured."

"Lies!" the man roars. He takes another menacing step forward. The crowd begins to mutter angrily, their earlier unease transforming into something uglier, more dangerous.

"You already took my boy! Ripped him right out of his mama's arms. And for what? You see any fae around here? Any draken flying by?”

The whole point is that they aren’t here. I bite my lip to keep from saying as much. Somehow, I don’t think that part of the truth would be welcome.

“That’s enough now.” Rinity steps forward, her hands on her hips. There is no surprise on her face, just grim determination. "Go about your business, Loman. You know these here girls are just helping."

"Helping? Helping who? The special ones they chose to aid? The Spire takesour last coin and our children, and you want me to be grateful to these little whores for doling out dribs and drabs?” spittle flies from Loman’s mouth.

Alright. Time to go.

I exchange glances with Ellie and Trish, who give barely perceptible nods. Only problem now is that Loman is blocking the door.

I hold out my palms up toward the man and summon my most compliant, appeasing tone. “You are right, Loman. You don’t need us here. These supplies, they are yours by right. How about we leave everything we brought and you can decide what to do with it? You look like you may have a headache, too. We can give you something to ease the pain before we go, if you’d like?”

Loman’s upper lip pulls back into a sneer. "You want to ease me, Spire whore?" he says, grabbing the bulge in the front of his britches. "Here is how you can ease me.”

Disgusting.

I turn my head away.

“What, am I not good enough for you?” he demands, moving toward me.

"Bugger off," Ellie steps in front of me, shifting into a fighting stance that Loman doesn’t appear to notice. His mistake. Collin might be proud of being in the top five percent of enchanters for combat, but Ellie holds the number one spot. The moment Loman lunges at her, she grabs his wrist and moves, making full use of the man’s momentum.

The drunk bastard drops to his knees with a roar of anger, twisting himself to relieve the pressure on his wrist.

"The Spire whores who steal food from your mouths and murder your children are here helping us,” Loman bellows to the common room behind him. “Come tell them what you think of their help!”

"Better yet, come take up arms to defend against the fae,” Ellie shouts back at him. “Because Loman’s drunk ass sure isn’t doing it.”

Well, yes. That’s Ellie.

I cringe but come to stand shoulder to shoulder with her, letting my magic flood my hands with iridescent light. There is not much I can do with it, but most people don’t know that.

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