He looked confused. Perhaps he was still digesting the news about Darkwind, or maybe it was that he had a profound distaste for what she was proposing.
“Luna is adamant about this,” she added.
Ember said, “That Union vulture… she’s almost as bad as the Spokes. She has those disciples doing a heck of a lot more than tradecraft and curating books, I can tell you. They are defiling those caverns.” He looked at her, vitriol in his eyes. She felt it best to nod vehemently in agreement.
She had to keep the conversation focused. She had to get Ember’s confirmation of a prisoner exchange. “Listen, I know you don’t care about the prisoners, but this is the only way this is going to work. I don’t know what she would do to you, or to us, if we don’t comply, and we need you in Grand Caverns, Ember. We need to have good representation from the original Wood, Wind, and Water clans.”
Ember was nodding. “Yes, well someone will have to stop Luna eventually, but we’ll have to bide our time. Swapping prisoners isn’t going to solve anything, I don’t think—”
“We have to!” Flora said with some desperation, her exhaustion bleeding into her words.
Ember was somewhat taken aback by her outburst. He looked at her with an expression laced with confusion and annoyance. “What’s gotten into you?”
He wasn’t taking her seriously. She had to make a stand here. “That’s it then. I’m going back to Luna.” Flora turned Darla about dramatically, guiding her away.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Ember said, putting his hands up in the air. “Look, I’m not sure what has you so riled up. Both Luna and Darkwind were already ordering an exchange of the prisoners, despite my objections, so that’s what we’re going to do. They even said so in front of half of the deputies. This isn’t any change of plan. It’s just Luna rubbing it in my face. She wants me to know she’s in charge, and she wants me to fall in line, so she sent you to tell me to do something I was already asked to do.”
Flora pulled Darla’s reigns. She looked away from Ember, down the rolling meadow behind them. The golden grass was bent and flattened where they had walked. Mehta was trailing behind and to the left, carving a new swath. He watched her curiously, quirking an eyebrow up as he picked at whatever was in his beard.
She’d been wrong. They did want to exchange prisoners, despite how it looked with Ember leading and the mercs being involved. Her anxiousness had made her too certain of her assumptions.
This was, of course, great news, but she couldn’t let on.
From behind her, Ember said, “it may feel like like you’re being used as a pawn, but don’t feel too bad. We all get used. We don’t always get the full story. This is what it’s going to be like working for Luna, so you better get used to it.”
She forced herself to play the part, quelling the hope within her, turning around to show a look of frustration.
“Come on, let’s have you meet the others,” Ember said, and she rejoined him.
At the far end of the meadow there stood a large, solitary beech tree, and under it were Cecile and another woman who wore a black leather frock with vertical yellow stripes like Mehta’s. The merc woman had long, blonde hair, heavily dyed, with dark roots. She was eating some kind of root vegetable, revealing a broad gap in her upper teeth as she took a bite. Contrasting strongly with the merc was Cecile’s blue-streaked raven hair, blowing in a gust of wind.
“Now who is this missy?” the blonde merc said with a southern twang. “Thisslewood, you already make my ass itch, so don’t be bringing any more people to this party. I will slap you to sleep and then slap you for sleeping.”
Ember said, “This is a messenger from Luna. She has something important to tell us. I think after you hear from her, you’ll see she should join us.”
“Okay. Well, open that mouth, Miss. Let’s see those gums flap,” the blonde merc said.
Flora had heard that people from the southern Spoke towns were overly polite and liked to speak in riddles. This merc seemed to live up to the latter half of that stereotype, but certainly not the former.
Flora went through the story of how Luna had taken control. She made sure to stick to the facts, not knowing the allegiance of the two mercs, or if they had any at all.
“You’re pretty and all, Miss, but explain to me again why we need you with us on our mission?” the merc asked.
“I can identify some of the prisoners. And because Luna asked me to join you.”
“Well, Miss, that’s not the deal we made. Close, but it doesn’t include you. Taking you means more risk for us, more uncertainty. And of course that means we should get more money, but I hear nothing about that. I reckon you folks sometimes forget we need to get paid. Other times, you’re plain tighter than a bull’s ass at fly time. So what’s it gonna be? How much is it worth to you?”
Flora considered saying Luna would pay them more, but that would be pushing her lies too far, and she had no idea what a fair price might be. She suspected the merc was just testing the boundaries, seeing if they could squeeze more out of the deal.
Mehta spoke up. “I don’t think we should take her. Every additional person makes it that much harder. It wasn’t part of the deal we struck.”
The blonde merc glared at Mehta. “Good points. Now let’s see what she has to say.”
Mehta continued, shaking his head, “I don’t think there is any good price to be had here. We should draw the line.”
Then the blonde merc smiled at Flora, showing the large gap in her teeth. “I know the porch lantern is on, but sometimes I wonder if anyone is home. Let me confer with my esteemed colleague.”
Mehta and the blonde merc walked off quite a distance from the tree. Their words were lost in the wind, but it looked like a lively discussion. It ended with the blonde merc waving her finger at Mehta and then stalking away. Mehta hovered for a moment and then followed her back.
“Good news love!” the blonde merc said to Flora. “You are welcome to join us on our prodigious journey.” Then she looked to Ember. “Now, we will expect additional payment for this, but given the goodwill we have with Curator Luna, we can of course accept some fair determination of compensation at a later date.”
Flora wasn’t sure why things were turning in her favor. First with the prisoner swap, and now with the merc’s agreement to her inclusion. She didn’t fully understand why they had agreed, but she kept her mouth shut. She dared not tempt fate by asking any more questions.
Darla, unfortunately, wasn’t granted permission to join. Flora had to send her back down the path in the hope that she might make it back to Grand Caverns. Perhaps she wouldn’t make it, but then at least she could be free. When Flora sent her on her way, she imagined being Darla, a lone mare free to roam fields such as this one without a care in the world. For some reason it made her feel profoundly envious.
They all left the clearing shortly after, hiking up Gap Run at a moderate pace. The path was precarious in places and barely used, which was why they chose it. Also, according to the mercs there were fewer Spoke outposts on this particular crest of the ridge. It should be relatively easy to make it into Spoke territory unnoticed.
The blonde merc was walking behind her. She said her name was Rosalie. Whereas most of the group walked in silence, Rosalie wanted to talk all the time. Even when Mehta asked her to keep it down she wouldn’t relent. She asked Flora about the coup. She asked her about the disciples. She asked her about Reed. She asked her about the incident with the retcher and the phone.