Page 6 of Virelai's Hoard
The woman threw a glance at the Moonshadow, something half-way between longing and exasperation settling on her face. “No.” She shook her head. “This isn’t fair. I deserve a real shot at this!”
Calla, moving with deliberate grace, walked up to the woman. Her voice was low and smooth as she talked, with a faint lilt of something old and uncanny. “You already proved yourself. You look down on your mates, are unwilling to collaborate with others, and cannot follow orders. I don’t need you in my crew. Now, I’m only going to ask once, and nicely. Make yourself scarce.”
Maren whistled low and whispered to Riley, “Nowthat’sa burn. She’s a little bit scary, isn’t she?”
She was. Riley couldn’t take her eyes off her.
The woman tried to stare Calla down, fiery red blotches blooming on her cheeks and growing by the moment. When Riley thought she couldn’t get any redder, she flinched away. “You’re gonna regret this,” she said with less bravado than before, then she skulked away, head hung low as she pushed through the remaining crowd.
Calla addressed the old man next. There was no hint of mockery when she said, “Under the circumstances, you may take part in the challenge by yourself, should you still wish to.”
He bowed respectfully. “Thank you, captain.”
Maren huffed quietly next to her, shaking his head. “Thorian’s gonna pick his teeth with him. Those two, though?” He nodded to a pair made of the two biggest and strongest people in the group. Their features vaguely resembled each other. “They’re gonna give him a run for his money. Care to wager a little bet?” He bumped his shoulder to Riley’s and waggled his eyebrows.
Riley scanned him once from head to toe. “I doubt you have any coin on you.” She didn’t either, but that part was not important.
He just grinned at her. “Touché.”
He was right about the men being a winning team, of course.
They were both a head shorter than Thorian, but they made up for that in brawn and sheer enthusiasm. A good distance away from Thorian, the guys nodded at each other. Then they broke off at a charge, feet slapping against the tiles and a sustained holler rising in volume the closer they got to their target. The sounds broke off in a loud splash of water wetting the wharf, and Riley sighed at the blessed silence that followed. Those two were obnoxiouslyloud. All three of them resurfaced from the water a few moments later. Thorian remained as impassible as before as he resumed his original position and took back to scowling at them all, his beard and clothes dripping generously. As the two men came back up, they clasped theirhands and patted each other on the shoulder, laughing and congratulating each other with gusto.
Riley shook her head with a smile. They were obnoxious, but their energy was infectious. She itched for her own turn, but she wasn’t going to step up now. It wasn’t time yet.
The captain merely watched, and Riley couldn’t tell if she was pleased. The hooting from onboard the Moonshadow meant someone won their bet, though. An easy bet. She wondered whether anyone had bet on her at all. Hopefully not. Riley relished being underestimated.
“You don’t think these two are gonna try the same thing?” Maren asked, frowning at the next pair.
They certainly lacked the brawn and build of the first team. And they also lacked the self-awareness to realize that. They charged at Thorian, but the man wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice. A breath away from impact, the half-giant simply stepped aside and allowed the two to fling themselves off the wharf.
“They tried their best?” Riley offered, trying not to laugh at their bemused faces as they resurfaced.
A single curse made its way down from the Moonshadow’s deck. There went someone’s pay.
A scrawny man and willowy woman stepped up next, and they had more brains than the second team. Riley tilted her head as the man tried totickleThorian, which got a few snickers from the onlookers. While her companion distracted the pirate, the woman climbed on his back, apparently trying to… be as annoying as humanly possible? She pulled on his hair, on his ears, even going as far as getting her fingers up the man’s nostrils. When her hands moved to his eyes, Thorian asked, low and menacing, “Are you sure you want to do that?”
And that was the end of that.
“Guess we’re up,” Maren said, squaring his shoulders. “So, what are we doing?”
“You’re going to charge him at my signal,” Riley said as they walked to stand a few feet away from their target.
Maren looked doubtful at that, but he nodded once.
With that, Riley kneeled and slipped her gloved hands into the bag strapped to her shoulder. Patch looked up at her as she brought him out, eyes alert and attentive. She released him on the ground and pointed at Thorian. “Make him dance.”
Needing no further invitation, Patch took off at a run. Thorian looked anything but impassive now, the sole sight of the rodent making him stumble back. When Patch got too close for comfort, the big bad pirate jumped out of the way with a startled shout. But Patch was faster. He leaped on Thorian’s boot and crawled up his trousers, just like Riley had trained him to do. A wide smirk spread on her lips as she watched.
“What the fuck is this?!” Thorian squeaked. “Get him off me! Off! Off!Get. Off!” And now he was dancing. He stomped his feet and waved his hands wildly, trying to reach at the rat skittling up his back. The snickers from before turned into full on laughter and jeers, especially from up above. “Fuck, if I get my hands on you I’m going to-” a yelp cut off the threat, and that was Riley’s cue.
Her head snapped to Maren. “Now.”
To his credit, Maren did as told. He charged. It took little more than a shove to push the wildly spinning man into the water. Patch jumped back on the ground just as Thorian lost his balance and ran straight back to Riley. She knelt and opened her bag for him, praising him with a soft word and an ear scratch.
Thorian was fuming as he climbed back up the wharf.
“Seems like we just made an enemy,” Maren told her, smiling. “Butsheseems amused.”
