Last Rank

Chapter 7

Part 2

The Lady and the Gentleman

- Jake -

Jake shifted his weight staring out the window. It was the king's suit, two bedrooms, a spacy sitting room and a bathroom with a bowl, top floor of the establishment with a nice view over Castermere. But the price for a night was the only thing truly kingly about it. They would be able to stay only a few weeks without hurting their budget. And that was precious little time to convince a man of power of treason.

Jake glimpsed the reflection of his grim face in the window, dark shadows clinging to haunted eyes, and turned away. "Do we know where the Earl is tonight?" he said.

"Tonight is a little early, don't you think?" Nathaniel said. "He'll know you need something, when you come rushing to him first thing after your arrival and he'll delight in making it even harder to get."

Jake grumbled and sat back down to the table with a groan. Nothing in particular hurt, but his entire body still felt too heavy. He would have needed days of sleep to lose that sensation. His mind wouldn't let him get a full hour of it.

He picked up the chess pieces to place them for the start of a new game.

"Yes. No." Nathanial shook his head with a meaningful stare at the board. "I'll head out and have a drink like normal people do." The demon rose and strode for the door. "You should try that too, sometimes."

"Nothing about you is normal," Jake gave back, but Nathaniel was long gone already.

Jake should have gone after him, made a better effort to stop the monster from terrorizing the people. He should have gone with him, made sure his jokes didn't go too far.

He did neither. He leaned back in the chair and turned the knight piece in his fingers, staring down at it as if it was the only thing in the world.

He should have made a better effort to help that girl. He should have made any effort at least.

No. Getting her further involved with him would have done her no good either.

Rutger rustled into the room and removed the hood of his cloak to reveal the nasty scar on his face. The usual guilt over the old injury Jake had caused overcame him. It never failed to burn away at another piece of his heart.

Rutger tended to cover the ugly mark, but even without it, the man drew enough attention with his height. A man of less distinct features would have probably been better for the kind of tasks Rutger had taken on, but Jake trusted no one else to keep secrets like him.

Another needle of guilt pierced Jake's heart at the thought of their bond to each other. If only he had known to trust Rutger sooner, so many horrible things wouldn't have needed to happen.

Jake rose, the men shared a nod of greeting, then Rutger handed over a piece of paper and waited attentively until Jake had read the few lines written on it.

"You found both of them? Are you certain?" Jake asked.

Rutger gave a quick nod.

Despite himself, Jake felt relieve spread. Two more, only two more, and they had finally found them. He hustled a hug from Rutger with a laugh before he caught himself and pulled his jacket and face straight again.

Too early. Way too early for hope.

"Will you find Nathaniel and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid? I don't think I got it in me tonight," Jake asked.

Rutger turned with another nod and left the room.

Jake grabbed a map from his coffers, pushed the chess set aside and spread it on the table. He would have wanted to mark the places with big red Xs and screaming signs, but he knew he couldn't trust Nathaniel not to go through his things, so he kept the locations in his mind instead.

A convent to the west and a church along the borders to Sovania. The convent was easy enough, it was not far from the lands Sir Evermount owned, a man they would have to visit either way to assure his assistance. But anything to do with Sovania was dangerous. If he needed to resort to involve them in his plans, he might as well leave it be.

A glass bottle filled with a brownish liquid landed in the middle of the map with a loud thud.

"Do you ever stop thinking?" Annabelle said with a raised eyebrow, her accent coming through heavily.

Jake removed the bottle and folded the map before tucking it away again. He accidently cut his thumb with the paper, stared at the red line until it faded.

"Do you ever stop drinking?" he said then, wandering his eyes over the sturdy woman.

Her braided hair was dishevelled. She had stains of blood on her clothing made for men, reddened cheeks and glossy eyes.

Annabelle gave an unmannerly laugh, slumped on a chair and took a long sip from her bottle, then placed it in the middle of the table again. "Let's switch roles then, for tonight. You'll drink. I'll think."

Jake shook his head with a small smile. He sat and reached for the bottle, his fingers froze with caution upon touching it. "Are you trying to poison me again?" he said with a glance at Annabelle.

"Please, I'd go smarter about it," she snorted, seemingly honest enough.

Nevertheless, Jake tried to remember if he had upset the woman lately in any way. No, couldn't be. He had not said much more to her than a greeting at their arrival in Castermere. Maybe that had upset her? He would rather not end up choking his guts out again.

"Wait," he said upon arriving at a realization. "Did you have a fight with Nathaniel again?"

"Drink," Annabelle said. "If I have business with him, I'll take it out on him, not you."

Jake hesitated for another moment. Then he took a sip and pulled a face at the bitter taste of the liquid. It burned down his throat and stomach.

Annabelle snorted something in her language. "How'd I end up working for such a wimp like you anyway."

"You owe me your life," Jake said, ignoring her stab at his distaste of the rather brutish ways she preferred to spend her time with. He forced another sip down and pulled a face again.

"Don't remind me," Annabelle grumbled, a grim shadow stealing on her expression.

Tensed silence settled while both passed the memory of that night so many years ago either way.

The first of the churches of the Lord Lauren Cornell Jake had come across had been a rather odd one. Rather practiced at burning witches, which they had believed Annabelle to be, despite the fact that she had still worn dresses back then.

"Will you finally let me teach you how to play chess?" Jake eventually said to change the topic on the table.

At that Annabelle laughed again. The sound held no real joy. "No more thinking tonight, remember?"

Jake shrugged. He gulped down another sip of alcohol. He probably shouldn't. He usually didn't drink. Now too much, too fast, he could already feel the hazy warmth spread.

"So, anyways. I lost a bet to the demon," Annabelle said.

"What?!"

"Oh, it was nothing serious this time." The woman dismissed Jake's unguarded display of shock. "He has me tell you that you are, and I quote, a blind fool."

Jake relaxed in his chair. "That's it?" Nathaniel couldn't have run out of ideas to torture people, now could he? The last time he had Annabelle eat twelve living spiders, about the only thing the woman showed the expected female reaction to. And the time before that –

"Yeah, and something about a maid, but I already forgot what it was. So if he asks, pretend you are angry."

***