“We should probably go soon, actually, if we are going to get anything done on the orphanage today,” Wisp said.
“As soon as Emily and Marrow are done eating we will go,” Jala agreed, glancing toward the kitchen where her two guardians were dining. She had tried to get Emily to eat breakfast with the rest of them but the Blight’s attention had been riveted on Marrow’s food instead. In the end she had relented and given the child her own portion of raw meat. It seemed simpler to agree than risk the hungry Blight mauling Marrow for a beef bone.
“Did they find the hive last night?” Sovann asked, his gaze still following her progress back and forth across the floor.
Jala shook her head slowly. “They ended up killing it before it could feed,” she replied with a shrug. “Apparently it showed no hints of returning home and seemed intent on killing someone. Both Marrow and Emily decided I would be happier if they didn’t let it.”
“I’m sure that corpse has the guards confused,” Wisp said with a shake of her head. “I can only imagine what condition it was in when they were finished with it.”
“I, uhh, I don’t really think they left a body,” Jala said quietly and repressed another roil of her stomach. “I don’t think either Marrow or Emily would waste meat,” she finished and gave a slight shudder.
“Oh,” Wisp murmured, her expression holding a trace of disgust.
“Well they are both predators. It’s instinct for them to eat what they kill,” Sovann added with a shrug.
“Just out of curiosity, what happened to the one that Finn killed?” Wisp asked, her expression showing yet more disgust.
“Neph stored it for later. He said he wanted a chance to examine it,” Jala explained and smiled faintly at the Fae’s obvious relief. “No, Wisp, we didn’t feed it to them,” she assured her with a faint chuckle.
“Oh well of course not,” Wisp added quickly, though her expression showed that was clearly what she had been thinking.
I don’t think I would have eaten a second one, not only was I already full from the first I greatly prefer the taste of beef, Marrow said as he stalked from the kitchen. You are going to have to buy her more food. She is growing and she is greedy. She tried to take mine again.
“I’m sorry. I will make sure she gets more next time,” Jala said with a frown and ran a hand down Marrow’s neck lightly.
“He bit me,” Emily’s voice came from the doorway and she became visible long enough to show Jala a set of teeth marks along one arm.
“Marrow, don’t bite her,” Jala scolded lightly.
I did say she tried to take my food, Marrow repeated emphasizing the word “tried.”
She heard Sovann repress a snort of laughter and turned to see the mage busying himself with cleaning off the table. “You girls have fun today,” he said as he glanced up to see her watching him.
“Oh I’m sure we will have loads of fun,” Jala replied dryly and glanced to Wisp. “You ready?” she asked with a shake of her head.
Nodding, Wisp grinned back at Sovann. “See you at the Arena,” she called and headed for the door with Jala.
“I’m still hungry,” Emily complained quietly as they left the house.
“I’ll see that you get a big lunch,” Jala promised and tried to calculate exactly how many cows it was going to take to keep the Bendazzi and Blight fed. “I think beef is going to be a major export of Merrodin when it’s done. I’m going to have to buy a cattle ranch to feed them,” she told Wisp as they walked.
The Fae grinned and nodded slightly. “Might need to invest in a few cows before then. We could keep them in one of the courtyards. I’m sure none of the instructors would notice,” she suggested with a chuckle.
“Can you imagine the amount of complaining about cow manure from Neph?” Jala said with a sigh and grinned at the thought.
“Complaining. What a nice way to phrase his bitching tirades,” Wisp replied with a grin. “Come on, the Penny isn’t too far from here. I’m rather curious to meet this young man too. It’s not every day that Finn is willing to spare someone. How did you get him to pull the blow anyway?”
“I yelled, ‘no!’ really loud,” Jala replied with a shrug.
“Huh, never tried that one before,” Wisp said in amusement. “I doubt that technique works for everyone though. You likely had the what-the-hell-is-she-doing-here advantage on your side.”
“Very likely,” Jala agreed with a smile that quickly faded as she noticed the large number of men in white cloaks and silver armor approaching. “What are that many Justicars doing in this section of town?” she asked Wisp quietly.
“There it is, kill it,” large man near the front commanded his finger pointing directly at Marrow. Snarling, the Bendazzi dropped to a crouch in response.
“Wait, what is the meaning of this?” Jala demanded, stepping protectively in front of Marrow.
“Don’t come any closer,” Wisp warned her hand dropping to her sword. Though the Fae was famous for her use of the bow, Jala had seen her practice with blade as well and knew she was formidable.
“That creature is responsible for multiple deaths in the city. Stand aside and allow us to do our job,” the large man bellowed, his eyes narrowing at Wisp as she drew her blade. “Do you have any idea about the penalty for drawing steel on a Justicar, girl?” he demanded his tone filled with threat.
“I’ll be doing more than drawing it if you take one step toward that Bendazzi. He hasn’t killed anyone. He eats beef from the market,” Wisp growled back.