Death Comes To All (Book 1) (21 page)

Tammie
returned a few minutes later, sitting next to Roland and placing an
arm on his broad back. She ran her tiny fingers down the back of his
tunic.

"Hm,
your back feels so hairy. I like a man with hair." Tara had to
stifle another laugh, but the girl seemed so engrossed in her
conquest that she didn't notice. Roland nearly choked on his ale.
Upending the mug, he drained its contents in one gulp.

"Could
I get another ale?" he asked quickly.

"Sure
hun, I'll right back. Anyone else need anything while I'm there?"

Malik
asked for another drink as well, and reminded the girl to ask about
the jerky. Trick would likely be hungry again as soon as they were
back in the room, he knew. Something besides the fare they had with
them would be much to the dragonling's liking. Roland didn't say a
thing until the girl was completely out of sight.

"I've
got a problem," he said once she had disappeared. "I can't
do what she wants me to do with her."

"It's
not really that difficult," Tara giggled.

"That's
not what I mean. I can do that part, or would have been able to
anyway. The problem is that she thinks I'm a human."

"So?
Malik pinned down the wig you’re wearing, so you shouldn’t
have to worry about her seeing your ears underneath. Just don’t
let her run her fingers through your hair and you’ll be fine.
You worry too much."

"That’s
not the problem I’m thinking of, though now that you mention it
that could be a problem too. The problem is, I didn’t shave or
trim all of my body. I didn't think that I would be looked over that
closely, so I didn't think I would have to."

"That
shouldn't be an issue," Tara told him. "I've seen humans
with hairy chests. Even some with hair on their backs. She already
said that she likes hairy men. I'm sure you'll be fine."

"You
don't understand. I'm a sorvinian. We have hair in places that humans
don't. Private places that I never thought I would have reason to
shave off. There's no way I'll pass for a human. Even if she doesn’t
light a candle or a fire for light, she'll know the difference.
She’ll
feel
the difference!" He dropped his head
into his arms, burying his face in defeat.

"What
do you....oh.
Oh!
Well, you could always shave that off too,"
Tara suggested, trying to hide her toothy grin behind her hand.
“You’ll have to do that one yourself though. I’m
certainly not going to shave
that
for you.”

"Trust
me, even if I wanted to, which I really don't, that wouldn't work. I
can't spend a night with this girl without her knowing that I'm not
what I claimed to be. You've told me never to break cover for
anything, and this will shatter my cover completely. What am I
supposed to do about this? If I just turn her away now she'll think
that she's done something wrong. She's a nice girl. I don't want her
to think there's something wrong with her. She's been through enough
already."

What
did I get myself into?

"Alright,
just relax," Malik said. "We'll tell her that I need you
early tomorrow, and that you won't be able to spend time with her
tonight. We're fresh from the road today, so we could get away with
it. That will do for tonight anyway. We'll still have to come up with
something for tomorrow night, unless you decide to shave between now
and then. She seems like she could be worth it. You have all day
tomorrow to think about it. It might hurt her feelings a little, but
as long as she doesn't think it's anything she's done, she'll be
fine."

It’s
probably for the best,
he thought, hoping she didn’t take
the news too badly.

Of
course she wouldn’t want me anyway if she knew who and what I
really was. I’m surprised she took an interest in me to begin
with.

"Hey
Tammie," Malik said when the girl returned. "I'm afraid I
have to apologize. I forgot to mention it to Roland earlier, but I'm
going to need him early tomorrow. I'm meeting with a merchant that I
don't trust all that much right after sunrise. I can see that the two
of you are getting along quite well, and though I don't know what you
had in mind for tonight, I can't let him go. Will you still be around
tomorrow night by chance? I can spare him then. We don’t have
to leave until the day after so we shouldn't be in a rush. I'm sorry
again, but he won't be available tonight. We can stay for a while
longer, so you can still spend more time with us here when you're not
busy if you like."

"I
can have him back before sunrise if you need him to be. I promise he
won't be late."

Is
she actually fighting to have me?

"Sorry
but I can't take the risk. I can't be late for that meeting. I
already don't trust the man I have to meet, and I don't want to give
him any excuse to go back on our deal. I'm sure you understand. You
can still have him tomorrow night. Surely one more night won't make a
difference."

"I
suppose not," she admitted reluctantly. "Just as long as I
get to have him tomorrow night."

"He
could always spend some time with you now," Malik suggested. "As
long as he's back in our room before we lock the door for the night,
I don't mind. I'm sure we won't have any trouble in your fine inn."

What
was he thinking!?
Roland's mind raced.

Malik and Tammie were bartering over him as if he was a
piece of prize beef. Malik knew he couldn't be with the girl, and yet
he just told her she could take him to her room right then! Had his
assassin friend lost his mind!

"I
can't do that," she said in answer.

Thank
goodness!

"I
have to be here on the floor until the bar closes. I can only get a
few short breaks between now and then. Not nearly enough time for us
to, um, get to know each other better."

"Then
the two of you will have to wait until tomorrow night," Malik
concluded. "I've heard that waiting makes most things that much
sweeter. I'm sure that this is one of those times."

Tammie
didn't appear even remotely convinced of that, but she seemed to buy
the story enough not to argue the point further. Roland kept silent,
realizing that Malik had already known the girl couldn't go with him
and leave her work behind. He must have been counting on that when he
suggested they go to her room right then. Once again Roland had to
marvel at the man's skill at manipulating those around him, binding
them entirely to his will. He seemed to take nearly everything into
account.

For
the rest of the night Tammie spent as much time as she could with the
group, mostly flirting with Roland. Now that it had been established
that he wouldn't be staying with her that night, she seemed to go out
of her way to make certain that he wanted to spend his last night in
her bed. Roland spent the first portion of the night wondering what
ulterior motive the girl might have for wanting to spend a night with
him
. He knew that he was not at all an attractive man.

Surely
Malik would have been a better match for her,
he thought,
or
nearly any other man for that matter.

In
the end he had to conclude that she really didn't have one. Perhaps
she might have thought that Malik and Tara were a couple; even Roland
had suspected that. During the night, however, several more customers
had come in for drinks, Many of them were humans, and all of them, in
his own opinion anyway, were far better looking than he was. She
waited on each one that took a table, but she didn't seem to have
even the slightest interest in any of them.

Where
doe her interest in me come from?

The
bartender, Silus, came in for his shift at the bar shortly after they
finished eating. He was a young human man, with a round face and wiry
muscles under a sleeveless tunic. He glared at Roland whenever he saw
sitting Tammie next to him, but didn’t say so much as a word to
him. Roland glanced at the man from time to time, but though he tried
he could not find a single thing wrong with him. He was certainly
better looking than Roland could ever hope to be, yet she had already
mentioned that she had turned him down.

"I
have to ask, what is it you see in me that makes you have such an
interest in me?" he blurted out finally after she returned to
their table once again. "I know what I look like, and yet you
still seem to want me. I know that most of the men in here are better
looking than I am, yet you haven't given a single one of them a
second look. You can't be looking for a husband. You know I won't be
here long, and neither one of us know if or when I'll be back in this
city. You can't plan on robbing me, since you know I don't have much
to take. I don't think you're that type of person anyway, but even if
you were you wouldn't want to rob a man who doesn't have anything. So
I have to know, what is it?"

Tammie
stared at him for nearly a full minute, abashed. She looked around
the room for a moment, and Roland thought for a brief second that she
might flee entirely.

He
realized belatedly just how horrible what he had said sounded.
He
had not planned on it coming out so bad. He had not planned on saying
it at all. Like a fool he had opened his mouth and spoke before
thinking.

I’m
such an idiot!

He
only hoped that she didn't have him thrown out or sent up to his
room. Instead the girl puffed up, squared her shoulders, and looked
him square in the eye. Her green eyes darkened like a forest under a
thunderous sky.

Oh
boy.

“
What
would I want one of these tiny twigs who call themselves men when I
could have a strong, burly man like you?" she spat viciously.

What!?
I know that what I said and how I said it was a little blunt, but it
wasn't bad enough to warrant this reaction! And did she just get
angry at me and give me a compliment at the same time?

"My
mother married a little man. I've had more than enough of them for
the rest of my life! I thought you were sweet, and you're exactly
what I look for in a man. Obviously I was wrong about you! I know I'm
not that good looking, but you could at least have turned me down
nicely, You didn't have to act like such a jerk! If I'm not good
enough for you just say so! So what if it would only have lasted for
a night or two. Even girls like me want our occasional fantasies,
even if I'm not good enough for anyone to want to be with me for
longer than that."

Now
it was Roland's turn to be taken aback.

Nothing
that Tammie just said makes any sense at all! She’s gorgeous!
And yet she thinks that she isn't good enough for me! As if!

"Wait,
I think you misunderstand. You're one of the most beautiful women
I've ever seen! You could have any man you want! Certainly any man in
this room! I thought that I wasn't good enough for you, not the other
way around! You've got it all wrong! I've been laughed at all my life
for being so ugly. I wasn't trying to be mean, I was trying to
understand how a woman as incredibly breathtaking as you could ever
see me as anything other than a disgusting animal."

Tammie
opened her mouth to voice a planned retort or hurtle an insult,
Roland wasn't sure which, but slammed it shut abruptly. For a moment
she was rendered speechless. While it was true that from time to time
one of the patrons, well into their cups, would make an awkward
attempt at flirting with her, almost no one had ever referred to her
as beautiful before. Certainly no one, not even Silus, had ever
called her breathtaking. It was completely unexpected.

"Is
everything alright here Tammie?" a menacing voice asked darkly
from behind him. Roland turned to find Silus standing over him. It
looked as if the man was hoping for a fight, and Roland was certain
that, although he was not large, the bartender would be quite capable
of handling himself in one.

"Everything's
fine Silus," Tammie answered softly, finding her voice once
more. "It was only a misunderstanding. I'll call you if I need
you for anything."

"The
two sailors at table two are ready for another drink," he
mumbled. Roland suspected it was more to get her away from the table
and the three companions sitting at it than anything else.

"Of
course. I'll take care of it right away. I'll be back in a minute
Roland. I know you and your employers are going to be going up to
your room soon, but please stay here for a little bit longer if you
can. I would like for the chance to talk to you for a while longer if
that's alright." That said she turned back into the room and her
waiting patrons.

"She's
a sweet girl," Silus whispered in a deep, sinister voice. "Who
she spends her time with is her own business, but you should know
that if you do anything to hurt her, you're going to wish that you
hadn't. I'll see to it that you wish you had never been born."

"You
don't need to worry about that Silus," Roland answered. The
bartender looked surprised to learn that Roland knew his name, even
though Tammie had just used it. "She is a nice girl. I'm glad to
know that she has someone who cares for her so much, and will protect
her when she needs it."