The tubby man wearily exhaled to this fresh threat beside him. "What do you want?" he asked Eddinray. "This better be damned good."
"I want you to apologize to this bar, mister fat man! Your outrageous kill was an act of cowardice. When I am satisfied, if I am satisfied, I shall allow you leave with tail between your legs. Got it?"
"Eddinray?" I begged. "Sit down! Do something Kat…"
Unfortunately, Kat was more than happy to watch events unfold; finally, the entertainer was entertaining him. Eddinray repeated his terms to Deadeye as that mammoth man gobbled down his latest drink. The entire saloon was now in restrained commotion, deformed mouths salivating at the possible face-off: Deadeye versus the chosen one — it was going to happen.
"If you wanna keep your body, English;" said Deadeye, burping and pushing his cup aside, "you'll shut your mouth."
"And you'll show me some respect you…, you…behemoth!"
Excited murmurings followed this exchange, all awaiting Deadeye's response.
"I'll give you a choice," he then said to Eddinray, rubbing fingers over his little knives. "Should I kill you with three knives…or one? You choose?"
Eddinray's eyes ballooned in his head. "Everyone!" he announced, mortified. "This blubbered whale has left me no choice but to act, and act I shall! It will not be a pleasant sight, thus I advise those with delicate dispositions to avert their pupils, or the nightmare I unleash will torment you forever!"
With my nagging finally grating Kat's ear, the samurai rolled his eyes and sighed. With great reluctance, with great, great reluctance, he then squeaked back his chair and went to the knight's rescue. Once at the bar, Kat forced himself between both fat and thin men, and was considerably shorter than both.
"Sit,” he ordered Eddinray, thinly.
"But samurai, this gargantuan garbage-man has off — "
"Sit!" Kat repeated, like a furious father at the end of his tether. "Now…"
Deadeye wore a clever smirk as the barman slid a fresh pint under one of his chins.
"Come now Godwin.,” pleaded Harmony. "No more of this!"
Glum faced, Eddinray listened then returned in a sulk to our table.
"Who are you?" Deadeye asked Kat, genuinely curious.
"I am Kat,” he answered back. "Leave your drink fat-man, and get out of here."
Deadeye's features had changed all of a sudden — eyes watering, his well-fed skin turning pale. He had no doubt heard of our small warrior, and with that knowledge in mind, he left his drink and the saloon as fast as his weight would allow. It was then Kat's turn to be surrounded by the stunned and sycophantic freaks of Breakneck.
"You make beer?" Kat asked the grateful barman, tasting a lick of Deadeye's abandoned pint.
"A version of it,” he replied. "The boys pay me dreg that I use to trade souls who find what I need. Dreg gives relief from pain, and the drink relief from fear. Both are temporary here. So what can I get you…Kat?"
The samurai observed the storm outside, the doors upstairs, and our scored faces at the wonky table. "Rooms,” he said. "Get me rooms."
28. Duel at Dawn
Eddinray closed the door as lightly as possible, the healing air already mending the cuts pervading his face. Basking in a lantern's warm glow Harmony Valour was already waiting for him, and she could not be any more beautiful.
"Daniel and Kat are sharing,” she said, placing her quiver, longbow and bandanna in the corner.
Their room was the bare minimum: four walls, one window and a bed covered in a scabby sheet. Outside that window a peaceful nights gloom hid the gruesome goings on, and for a little while at least, they could forget their time and place in it.
"Poor Danny," huffed Eddinray, "trapped in a room with the samurai. Better to be outside. How do you feel? The arm I mean?"
Vaguely nodding, Harmony sat on the edge of the bed. "Better. I'll remove the sling in a day or so."
"Nowhere to change,” Eddinray remarked, holding his forehead in a befuddled state.
"Change?" she asked, lost. "Into?"
Eddinray rubbed his chain mail like an apple, then plopped himself opposite Harmony on the bedside. "Best keep my armor on then,” he muttered to himself. "Yes — prepared for danger."
He sat back against the headboard and froze the moment Harmony took his hand. "You carried me a long way today, Godwin. How could I ever express my appreciation?"
His ears turned red, and an aching dryness attacked his lips and trickled to the back of his throat. "It was nothing…my dear! Any man worth his salt would have done the same."
His lips were briefly parched by her tender kiss, but somehow he managed to hold his composure.
"Truth of the matter is," he said, recovering; "I was the only fellow capable of supporting you. Daniel had succumbed emotionally and the samurai? Well, need I say more? Are we sharing a bed tonight, or shall I get acquainted with the floor?"
"The bed is fine,” she replied, shyly. "We will have to sleep on our sides, facing one another; I cannot rest on my wings you see, and will not have them plugging your nostrils through the night.”
Eddinray smiled. This evening he would undoubtedly be the happiest man in all hell-fire.
***
I sat atop the bed, the mattress like stone and the sheets too filthy to sleep under. At the foot of the door, Kat sat with a ready katana perched across his lap.
"Don't forget to wake me,” I said, head fidgeting against a pathetic pillow. "Change over in two hours. Did you tell Eddinray?"
Kat didn't have to remind our friends of sleep shifts or to keep them on guard; they were more than aware of the risks in a dive like this. Besides, our room was next to theirs, and anyone planning a sneak attack would first have to ascend the squeaky staircase, then past our door and Kat's ears before reaching Harmony and Eddinray. Yeah, we were safe in this saloon for the night, with the warhorse Kat, and self proclaimed chosen one next door. "What about that large guy?" I asked, watching our lantern oil burn out. "Deadeye they called him. You humiliated him downstairs."
"And he considers himself lucky. Sleep Fox."
Obeying, I attempted to settle myself by counting cracks on the ceiling like many bouncing sheep, but infuriatingly awake, I decided to scratch another itch. This was my first night alone with Kat since our horrendous time on the Macros, sharing snow caves and a frail tarpaulin tent during our search for the Weather-Maker. We communicated then — I wanted to try again now.
"Your real name?" I diligently asked. "It can't be Kat, can it? Will you tell me?" Of course, Kat said nothing. "Come on samurai! Aren't you interested? Don't you have curiosity and questions like the rest of us? You must do!"
"Sleep,” he muttered from his corner.
"You are allowed, you know!” I continued. “You can ask me anything you want! Whatever is on your mind! Don't you want to learn more of the man you're risking your soul protecting?"
Exasperated, I went back to counting cracks, when suddenly and without any conscious effort, my mind numbed and the mouth ran free from thought.
"My name is Daniel Franklin Fox.” 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
“Divorced. Father of Kathy.” 6. 7. 8.
“41 years old when I passed on.” 9. 10. 11.
“I killed a man…I killed one man." 12. 13.
Finishing my count, Kat's head creaked to observe my distant dreaming. "There are twenty five steps on the landing," I added, "leading to four rooms. The barman has a limp under that coat of fire, a machete down his pants and three missing buttons on his shirt. There were twenty-four glasses stacked near the register — none of them clean. There are nine stools along the counter, six tables and eighteen chairs around the bar. Oh, and there are thirteen cracks on the ceiling above us. Unlucky for some."