A Price Paid Ch. 06

"I understand. For them it's unidentifiable noise."

"Exactly."

"I am going to use it with you to show you how to use it in the way that you need to. Seeing how the magic and thought ebb and flow will help you manipulate both."

"And that, lady and gentleman, is my cue to depart. Duty calls as it always does. The room is yours for as long as you need it. though I hope you won't need as much time to make your crystal do what you want as I did."

He shook his head, "Don't listen to her," he chided. "She exaggerates her ignorance in regards to such things."

Neral collected some notes intended for a staff meeting and then for some informal interviews and tucked them within her uniform. "I'm sorry, Deres. She is required by oath and law to listen to me. I shall not have you foment insubordination among my officers."

Deres followed her to the door, his tone a shrug of indifference. "Whatever happens happens. Feel free to interrogate me later."

She was equally indifferent. "Live in hope, husband."

He locked the door behind her. "Take a seat," he said, as he took the one next to her and turned it towards her, she followed suit so that they faced one another. He offered her both hands. "Yours in mine. It doesn't really matter how you hold it when the time comes. It's just easier to teach you this way. Magic can flow between us this way and I can sense your thoughts and help you shape them."

Her hands rested within his and the crystal within hers. Yes, the attraction to him and to that of certain aspects of the magic was still there. His hands were gentle and strong. Suddenly the anxiety returned with some apprehension about whether or not he would notice and, if he did, keep it to himself. She assured herself of the latter at least. He could present as cavalier at times and the general and Bryana could tell stories, but they knew him to be decent at his core, as did Anna. Whatever will happen will happen, focus on now.

"You remember when my mother shared her thoughts with you?"

"I do." It was impossible to forget. Deres's mother in every way, save biology, Maylin Xon was faced with needing to be in two places at once. Her skill was needed to heal a wounded comrade, but time was of the essence in reaching the right place at the right time to hobble the enemy that was Drexa. To effectively be both places at once Maylin had shared a level of her consciousness with Anna to allow them both to do what needed doing.

"This will be something like that. Open your mind as you did then. Find a calm place within. When you are at that place, through the crystal, you will find me there, then we'll begin."

It took some time to put her emotions to rest and quiet the thoughts that roiled them but, eventually, they began.

* * *

Anna sat in the restaurant, finishing her light ale, opting out of wine or stronger spirits for obvious reasons. The general had funded her more than generously for the evening, so she decided to live it up just a bit and order some of the finer seafood that she only rewarded herself with after returning from a successful campaign because coming back alive was always worth some sort of special notice. It, as always, was meaty, buttery, and each bite was an event. She took her time to savor it, as the night was young.

Finishing that last perfect bite, she waited for the server to sweep in to take care of everything. An average in every way man eventually descended upon her. She knew his face but not his name, as they'd only engaged in moments of idle chatter as she came and went for her special evenings. He knew enough to know about her bit of tradition at the restaurant. "Are we finished capping off yet another victorious return home?"

"Actually, that's not what tonight's about."

"Oh? Find some money in the street and decide to spend it on something utterly frivolous?"

She laughed at the joke. "Not that far off, really. New military policy provides bonuses for service milestones and I just hit one."

He seemed to share her happiness. "Oh, lucky you. I might have done that but, I'd always be too worried about being too dead to spend it."

"My thought exactly," she exclaimed. "I can't take it with me when I'm old and, for all I know, I might not make it that far, so, by the Goddess, I may as well enjoy what it brings me now. Her tone lowered, knowing the topic she was going to broach. "Since I can't take it with me and I may as well spend it, I figure I may as well spend it doing something I've never done before, so..."

"Lakaberry torte," he suggested.

"Maybe I could pay my bill and them some," she said, putting gold on the table, "and then see the back tonight and do a little gaming?"

His smile faded just a touch as he took her measure as well as the measure of the coin on the table. He did it quickly and his good nature returned. She never impressed him as one of those soldiers that was always on the job, so she probably wasn't looking to report anything to anyone, and she wouldn't be the first soldier back there, and probably wouldn't even be the only one there tonight. "I'll see what can be done."

He then cleared the table and disappeared. Returning with a wet cloth for the table he wiped it down in smooth circles as he spoke. "The large gentleman at the back will be happy to let you in. Have a nice time and good luck."

"Thanks."

Heading to the back corner under the stairs where there were more shadows than light, a hulk of a man separated himself from them long enough to open the door for her. Her senses piqued as she moved past him without a word and down a long flight of stairs, following the sounds of raucous laughter, cheers of victory and the mournful wails of loss. As she drew closer, she scented the various burning leaves that made smoke-filled rooms what they were.

A turn to her left and she entered a cavernous room that was larger than the restaurant above and had other rooms branch from it. Gaming tables of all types dotted the room and they were all alive with activity. The soldier in her took time to find where the unseen enforcers that no doubt lived here could come from as well as any path that might lead her to an escape should she need to while making sure to look like a curious newcomer as she did so rather than someone with other designs. No doubt there were passages used to get people who valued anonymity in and out and, while she was unlikely to actually find them if things went bad, she felt more secure in having a place to begin.

"Welcome, Anna." a smooth male voice said. Even in the those two words Anna could tell that the man had experience in hospitality. "Forgive my presumption, but the fine people upstairs told me your name and I had hoped to put you at ease."

She smiled at the mature man who had just left the days of youth behind, his red hair just beginning to thin on top and fine lines around his brown eyes still fine, but one could get the sense of exactly how the man would look in a few more decades. His finery was contemporary, which helped him hold onto that youth for just a while longer. "Thank you very much, Mister..."

"Harken, my lady," he said, taking her hand as any gentleman might. "Charmed to meet you and, if it's not presumptuous of me to say, it's not often we get visitors to our fine establishment that are quite so beautiful."

She smiled and dipped her head. "Thank you so much." She glanced around seeing what patrons might have moved closer now that an unknown face was closer to the man responsible for this place. "Looks like so much fun."

The salesmanship began. "Oh, this place is the true lifeblood of the city. We offer rare food and drink you won't find upstairs, or, I dare say, in most of Erette. As you can see we also have more than a dozen games of chance."

He leaned in with a dirty grin. "If you wish to sample some...pleasures of the flesh, as it were, we have the most beautiful men and women to be found in the world, and of any body type that might appeal."

"Oh, I think I would just like to gamble tonight."

"Very good." He then looked like the very picture of sympathy. "While, we, of course, wish all our players the best of luck, we know that like doesn't always smile on our players and, in that event, we are always willing to extend at least a modest line of credit to all our invited players."

"I certainly won't be doing that."

"That's quite wise." Harken then wore an expression that Anna best categorized as practiced surprise. "Oh, one other bit of business: we trust our patrons to behave according to the norms of civility and decorum, so we don't search our patrons for weapons and the like. Issues here are rare because, if there are any altercations, unless the offending party is clear and obvious to our observers, everybody pays for the offense, so that we're sure the offender has paid. And, rest assured, that we have the resources to handle any altercation."

"Do I look like a troublemaker?"

He laughed at her and touched her shoulder like he would an old friend. "It's always the ones that ask if they look like one that are."

"Well, I never." She laughed with him. "To be honest, that was often my parents' policy with me and my siblings, but, I give you my word that I'll be on my best behavior.

"Again, good luck."

Anna was off to try her luck, orbiting the tables, seeing which ones had a nice feel. She took coins from her small handbag. found a dice table, and got to playing. She never gambled much, though, when she did, she preferred cards over anything else, and was usually good enough to come out ahead. But, if she was gambling with someone else's money, as she was tonight, she'd play anything.

She spent the next few hours playing and enjoying herself while making sure to win some while losing more as she went. An overly aggressive bet here, bet, lose, and chase smaller bets too long there and, while there were a few upward spikes in the night, her downward trend was assured. She knew eyes were on her because there were eyes everywhere, even if no one made her out to be anything more than she appeared, so she made sure she played her part; joy at winning when it appeared that her luck might turn and angst giving way to increasing despair. Time was a blur, but, eventually, Anna found herself at the bar looking suitably defeated, making a habit of putting her last coin on its side to spin it before just watching it move and twirl until gravity had its way.

Harken had been watching her over the course of the night with some satisfaction. If she'd won, it'd hardly matter. Sooner or later everybody lost, and many in that group lost enough to be indebted to them. Mostly having that debt was a slow drip of income for the business. The limit would be reached, they'd pay enough to reopen it, then come back just to chase their losses, but they always came back to eat and drink, too, so, game it out long enough and they paid in more than they ever took.

For some few though, that indebtedness was most helpful to the organization. Healers could be called upon for services. Scientists could give them access to, and sole rights, to breakthroughs. Soldiers would be eyes and ears for the organization, warning it if anything threatened, and, sometimes, those soldiers with a taste for it could be useful in collections. Eyes and ears near court had benefits that were almost limitless. Dens such as this gave his employer much more than money.

This one, he knew, from what the server had told him, was of some note, and that she trained fresh recruits at the city barracks would give Mr. Strannix an excellent lead on young, impressionable souls that might be willing to help him on any number of fronts. A few more weeks of nights like this and this one would be ripe for the picking. Tonight though, was the time to be a voice of understanding and to offer a helping hand. He waited until the coin spun itself flat on the light wood of the bar before he sat down.

Folding his arms on the bar, he waited while she pulled a small silver flask from her bag, pulled the cap free and downed its contents. She winced at the hot, bitter flavor that reminded her of swamp water. Neral had warned her that his concoctions generally weren't palatable. Goddess, she wasn't kidding. Honestly though, she'd tasted amateur attempts to produce alcohol that were probably worse. No doubt she'd already drank enough to get the job done, but she shook out the last drops on her tongue all the same, uncaring that it looked more than a little unladylike.

"We also generally prefer customers not bring in alcohol from outside unless it's from the bar upstairs."

She sulked "Yeah, well...sorry. If it makes you feel any better I'm all out anyway. I'm out of drink and," she continued gesturing to the coin and glaring at it as though it were her worst enemy, "that's what's left of my money."

He sympathized. "The night did not go well, I'm guessing."

Her shoulders sagged. "That's one way to put it. I should have quit while I was ahead with a nice dinner. But, no, the army puts a little extra money in my hand, and I think, 'Hey, Anna, your luck is changing. Maybe it's a sign that She's smiling down on you. Try your luck.' So, like a fucking idiot, I decide I should take a little extra to ride out a downturn and..."

He seemed to sadden with her, "You bought everything with you."

"Everything I could hide away after over a decade in service and that's all that's left; that one miserable mocking, whispering gold coin. Am I an idiot or am I an idiot?"

"Well, that's debatable, I suppose, but, you certainly aren't the first one to spend beyond your means here. Here, let me get you another drink, this one completely on the house, so you can keep your last gold." He raised his arm to catch attention.

"No, thank you," she sighed in defeat. "It wouldn't help, I don't think."

"Well, you might change your mind. If nothing else you can look at a nice, heavy glass filled with fine liqueur instead of one sad, lonely god coin."

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, barely registering what he'd said as she explored a feeling that she'd never felt before. A heat grew in her belly and her loins that reminded her of laying on the floor before a roaring fire in the dead of winter with a good book and nothing to do while the warmth penetrated every inch of her, creating that sense of comfort and safety that could combine to put one perfectly to sleep. It came upon her so suddenly that her eyelids fluttered and she let them close so she could ride out the sensation without arousing suspicion.

Then there was a chill that rushed through her veins, but that wasn't unpleasant either, rather like walking into an icehouse on a warm day. She could almost track its progress from fingers to toes and from vein to vein. It stayed with her as an added weight and a sense of power that she knew enough to respect.

"...it whispering?"

Anna cleared her mind and turned her attention back to Harken, "I'm sorry, what was that? I was just trying to close my eyes and figure out how old I'd be before I saved up that much money again."

"Your coin. What's it whispering?"

She spoke on its behalf, a hoarse with a sinister whisper as she folded her own arms on the bar and rested her chin on them. "Spend me. Come on, Anna. You may as well. You may as well complete your failure. Hey, who knows, you could start winning. Before dawn, even if you made a quarter of it back you can call that a win and run away from here as fast as you can. Listen to those people behind you winning. That still might be you." She groaned. "It lies mostly, but, to the depths with it. I may as well give it up, huh?"

He patted her shoulder in an almost fatherly manner. "I have to admit that I've almost never seen someone parlay a single coin into a fortune, so he might do better if he had some friends."

Anna's eyes shifted back to him, but she retained her melancholy. "So you've got gold you don't care about anymore?"

He laughed honestly. He liked her wit. "Something like that."

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" She saw her opportunity and took it, grabbing him by the shoulders and putting her lips to his. His mouth opened as his face adopted an expression of wonder and her tongue slipped inside before he took her shoulders firmly and pushed her away enough to break contact. "Well, thank you, dear," he began, catching his breath, "and I must say, I quite like the way you express your gratitude, but I think you misunderstand a bit."

She pulled away a little and her arms fell away from him as she waited cautiously for the hammer to inevitably fall.

"Anna, dear, I always care about gold, and I'm afraid I can't just give it to you. What I wanted to suggest is that we do extend lines of credit to people that provide a service to us even if it's not directly to us. Soldiers such as yourself guard and protect us and..."

"Us?"

He didn't miss a beat. "All of the people of Erette, of course. Through no fault of your own you aren't paid your worth, so, we feel that extending a line of credit is our way of...giving back to you for all you've done."

Her eyes narrowed. "A line of credit?"

"It's generous and our repayment terms aren't onerous, I can assure you. After all, it wouldn't make much sense for us to do this as a gift to soldiers that we know are underpaid yet make it so you can't afford to pay it back. It's all well-explained in a contract with easy to understand language. Why don't I have my associate bring us one, you can look it over, then decide whether or not it's something for you."

Harken had learned long ago that to have a contract like that on his person could scare the prey. It was a warning that they were in a position to be taken advantage of, and enough heeded the warning so as to make him stop the practice. This way, he continued to seem like a friend and it seemed more like their idea rather than it looking as though he were just waiting to spring a trap. He watched the wheels turn behind her eyes as she fought with herself as he'd seen the unlucky do here a thousand times before, but greed and desperation combined into an almost irresistible brew that never failed to tilt the scales of common sense towards recklessness.

She weighed her few options. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to look at it."

"I don't believe you'll regret it." He snapped his fingers twice in rapid succession and, when another man appeared Harken whispered in his ear to dispatch him. Moments later he returned with a paper in one hand and a pen and ink in the other and placed both on the desk without a word before vanishing back to wherever he came. Anna's fingers drew the paper closer to her so that it rested between them and began reading. Harken drew closer as well in order to begin to explain things and it was the first time that he noticed her perfume. It seemed to be everything at once: warm and refreshingly cool, sweet, yet spicy, and cloying while hinting that it just might disappear at any moment, and demanding to be taken in by him again.

He inhaled deeply. "What is that lovely scent? I can't believe I didn't notice it before."

"I didn't come in wearing it," she admitted. "I'd hoped it would have changed my luck, but the dice didn't notice."

"Ah."

Anna's eyes widened in pleasant surprise, "Is that my credit line? I guess you weren't joking. That's very generous indeed."

"It is. I admit that it is more generous than some receive and I'm afraid I have an ulterior motive for that."

"Oh?"

"I told the truth when I mentioned that you are among the most beautiful women ever to grace this place and that fact benefits the club, so we make sure that benefits the loveliest of ladies. If you have more to play with, I suspect you'll come come more often and stay with us longer when you do. That helps us."