Page 72 of Prince of Never

‘You want to offend the gods?’

‘There are no gods, Haddock,’ Tarian snapped.

‘Not real, he says.Ha!Let you be the one to suffer their wrath when you anger ’em,’ Haddock said, and he tapped a grubby finger against his chin.‘You need a white dress,’ he said, considering me before turning to the house and shouting, ‘Agnes!’

A stout woman appeared in the doorway, a scowl etched into her brows.‘What?’she demanded.

‘Need a white dress.And that copper saucepan.And the trance tonic,’ Haddock said.

‘And just what in the seven hells did your last slave die of, Haddock Sloan?’Agnes asked, jutting a large hip and placing one plump hand there.

‘It’s for the prince,’ Haddock said beseechingly.

Agnes moved her stern gaze to Tarian before scoffing in irritation and swaying back into the house.Haddock let out a sigh of relief then leaned towards me.‘She loves me,’ he whispered.

Tarian quirked a single disbelieving eyebrow but said nothing more on the subject.

‘Right!’Haddock said, clapping his hands together.‘Need a fire.’He set off towards the lake, seeming lost in his own world.

‘Are we supposed to follow him?’I asked Tarian.I wasn’t sure what to expect, but he wouldn’t have brought me if he didn’t think it would help.

‘Unfortunately,’ he said, frowning at the retreating satyr, then he took my hand and led me towards the lake.A little fire burst to life as we approached.

‘So, what is it we’re doing exactly?’I asked.

‘You didn’t even tell her?’Haddock squeaked.

‘Isn’t that part of your job?’Tarian said.

‘Yes.Right.I’ve never had to explain this to a human,’ Haddock said, rubbing the back of his neck and looking me over as if I was a strange creature he’d never seen before.‘This might not work.Her gods are not our gods.They might not even speak to her.’

Tarian let out a frustrated sigh.‘Sloan.Gods aren’t real.Just get on with it.’

Agnes bustled out of the house with her arms full of things.She thrust an armful of fabric at me.‘Put that on,’ she said.

‘Oh.’I held the dress up.It was far too big but I wasn’t about to say that.‘Is there somewhere I can change?’

Agnes snorted.‘Shy little thing, huh?’she said, as if that inconvenienced her a great deal.

Haddock took a bottle from his wife.‘Come now, love, she is human,’ he said, a pleading note in his voice.

‘You know I don’t like you bringing work home with you,’ Agnes huffed.She waved her hand towards the house and I assumed that meant I could change inside.

‘Thank you,’ I muttered, heading for the house.It was warm inside, cosy, crammed full of overstuffed furniture and scrubbed meticulously clean.A pot was simmering on a provincial wood stove, and whatever was in it smelled woody and rich with ginger.I shut the front door behind me and changed right there in what looked like the lounge room, since I didn’t want to venture further into their house without being invited.I dressed faster than I ever had in my life.The dress must have been a nightdress, since it was hard to imagine it being fit for anything else.The sleeves were loose and reached to the tips of my fingers and the hem fell low on my calves.Whatever this ritual was, I felt ridiculous.

When I headed back into the garden, Tarian was frowning over Haddock who was pouring something into a small copper saucepan.

‘Did you run out of cups?’Tarian asked sceptically.

‘It’s got to be drunk out of a gold chalice.’

‘And you’re replacing that with a saucepan?’

‘It’s gold-ish,’ Haddock protested, waving his hands.‘Better than no chalice.Ah!There she is.Here, drink.’He thrust the saucepan into my hands.

‘It’s cold,’ I said.I leaned in to sniff the liquid and wrinkled my nose at the bitter scent.

‘Doesn’t matter.Drink, drink!’

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