Page 201 of Eldritch
Both bald and paunchy, one of the guards snoozed, while the other toyed with his dagger, neither of them entirely vigilant.
A glance over Kazhimyr’s shoulder showed Dravien turning down an alley adjacent to the tavern, following his plan to circle back around for the horses. As the two Letalisz approached the guards, Kazhimyr let Ravezio get ahead of him a few paces, then called out, “Hey! Where do you think you’re going, you scum-blooded rat! I want what you stole from me!”
Ravezio turned, his hand on the hilt of his dagger. “I didn’t steal anything, you lying sack of horseshit.”
“Move on, both of you.” The guard waved his hand, urging them away from the stables.
“I’m not going anywhere until this thieving shitkisser pays me what he owes for stealing my woman!” Kazhimyr stabbed a finger into the air.
Ravezio pressed his lips together as if trying to stifle a laugh. “I don’t owe you a damned thing.”
“The hell you don’t! A horse, I’d say. And your boots!”
The guard frowned. “A horse for a woman?”
“’Least I’d get a few good rides out of a horse.” Even Kazhimyr had to bite back the urge to laugh.
The guard snorted and shook his head. “If you ain’t got an official writ then I’m afraid I can’t help you.” He waved them on again.
Ignoring him, Ravezio kept on with the fake argument. “Believe me when I say, that woman wasn’t worth the rash I got afterward. A rash you gave her first.”
The guard chuckled. “Ain’t you Micians known for diseases of that sort? I doubt an unskilled rat suckler like yourself managed to sweep a proper mancer off her feet.”
Kazhimyr didn’t have to look at Ravezio to know he’d bristled at the insult. He could feel the tension vibrating off his friend.
Beyond the soldier, Kazhimyr caught a glimpse of the horses toward the back, two of which moved away from the others,and snapped his attention back to the guard. “It’s true. Disease-riddled bastard is as skilled a lover as a Solassion.”
The smile on the guard’s face soured and he knocked his friend in the arm, jerking him awake. “You hear that Grimbald? This liverpus just insulted us.”
Ravezio shot Kazhimyr a worried look, but the anger had already hooked itself in Kazhimyr’s bones.
Ravezio gave a nervous chuckle. “He didn’t insult you. I’m a savvy lover. I fuck like a god—isn’t that right, friend?”
Kazhimyr kept his eyes on the guard, challenging him.
“So, what is it?” the guard asked, stepping toward him. “Was it meant to be an insult?”
Teeth grinding, Kazhimyr tamped down the rush of adrenaline surging through him and snapped himself out of his rage. “There’s a reason she left me for him, I suppose.” He could almost feel Ravezio sag with relief.
The guard stared back a moment more. His eyes crinkled with a smile, then he let out a hearty laugh, knocking his friend in the arm. “You hear that? We fuck like gods!” He turned back toward Kazhimyr. “Damn right we do, you scurvy cock!” An obnoxious laugh followed and had Kazhimyr not been aiming for a more discreet exit, he’d have knocked a few teeth from the guard’s smug grin. “Now, get the fuck out of here, both of you.”
Still rattled, Kazhimyr hobbled off after Ravezio, down the street, until out of eyeshot of the guard.
Ravezio halted, allowing him to catch up. “You almost got our asses in a scuffle back there.”
“He shouldn’t have talked to you like that.”
“Everyone talks to me like that.”
Kazhimyr skidded to a halt. “They think they’re superior. The chosen. Thesun gods. Years, I watched them torture you, and I did nothing. I was nothing back then! Now I have power. I havethe ability to makethemsuffer as much as they made you—us—suffer.”
Sighing, Ravezio nodded. “It’s taken years to erase the pain they’ve caused. But remember what we’re doing, Kaz. While that guard is picking his ass, standing in front of a horse stall and smelling like shit, we’re about to spare all of Aethyria from whatever in seven hells Dolion drew all over the walls. To me? That carries far more weight than a petty insult that I’ve already forgotten.”
Kazhimyr pressed his lips together as he kept on the path toward the woods ahead. “Hope he freezes his cock off.”
Ravezio chuckled, keeping step with him. “You were imagining that, weren’t you? When you got real quiet?”
“I was imagining worse than that.”
