Page 107 of Deadwood
The bartender gaveme a hefty dose of side-eye as I slid onto a stool in the dimly lit saloon. Patrons that had shopped for hours littered the bar, having spent a bountiful amount of magic on items from the market and were now drinking the rest of their day away. I hoped to be on the same level of buzzing in less than an hour’s time.
“Order,” the bartender grumbled. He was a big, burly man with bulging muscles and short-cropped brunet hair. It was a wonder he was working behind a bar and not a part of the army.
Having never been in a proper bar before, I wasn’t sure what to order. With my hesitation, he seemed to sense my naivety. “I’ll get ya an ale.”
“Thank you,” I said as he moved to grab a thick glass, pouring dark gold liquid into the cup from a spout.
He slid it onto the counter, some of the liquid sloshing out onto the sticky bar top. “Three coins.”
I rifled through my pocket, tossing three silver coins onto the counter. He grabbed them, tossing them into a bucket on the floor. That wasn’t a very secure payment system.
“What’s your name?” I asked as he slung a dirty rag over his bulky shoulder. Black ink stretched up his neck like so many others in this town.
He only glared in response, then moved to fill another drink for a beautiful black-haired woman down the way.
“That’s Lux,” a man said as he slid onto a stool next to me.
I turned to find Flynt setting his own glass on the bar.
“I take it he’s not very talkative,” I surmised, grabbing my drink.
“Only with the people he likes,” Flynt replied with a half-shrug. “Which isn’t many.”
Bringing the glass to my lips, I sipped and instantly regretted it. My eyes squeezed shut against the tart taste.
“Nastiest shit, isn’t it?” Flynt asked around a smile.
I coughed, setting the cup back down. “How can you even enjoy that?”
Flynt shrugged, taking a large sip of his own. “Not much of a choice. Lux brews it in the back and won’t change his recipe. He says it’s an ‘acquired taste’ and we all just need to open our palates.”
“It’s true,” Lux grumbled from the end of the bar as he poured another hefty serving of ale. “You fuckers have no taste.”
“I don’t think it’s terrible,” Siara said as she slid onto the stool on my other side.
Flynt scrunched his face. “She’s insane.”
“Stop giving poor ol’ Lux such a hard time. He works hard on his ale,” Siara defended. As if on cue, Lux slid a full glass in front of her. She gave him a sweet smile. “Thanks, Luxxy.”
Flynt groaned, setting an elbow on the bar and a hand on his forehead, like she was giving him a headache. “Siara, please.”
“You’re just mad you can’t get free drinks by flirting,” she said.
A smile pulled at my lips as Flynt said, “Lux, you’re looking very handsome today. New tattoo? Bet you stole some real badass magic to get that beauty.”
Lux only grunted, walking away.
“You’re terrible at flirting, that’s the problem,” Siara observed, sipping her drink without so much as a wince. “Auria, on the other hand, is amazing at it.”
“What?” I’d never done such a thing,especiallynot in Deadwood.
Siara swallowed her ale, her glass thumping against the bar as she set it down. “Don’t act so oblivious. Bowen’s hooked around your pretty little finger.” Then she added under her breath, “More than that fiancé of yours.”
Flynt’s brows rose. This was news to him as much as it was to me.
“I certainly donotflirt with Bowen.”
She cocked her head, her light blonde hair sliding over her bare shoulder. She was wearing a white sleeveless top and tan pants, the outfit accentuating her curves. “Hm.”
