scourge. The festering dark woods of the Kitska Forest were crammed flush against the west side of Midnight Jester. The errant, bone-shattering calls of monsters scraping through the air were enough to deter even the bravest of men.
No, Sentinels would never come here.
I clasped the businessman’s outstretched hand. Clammy skin slicked along my palm, and a chill crawled up my arm. He moved away, reaching into his pocket for a velvet coin purse. As he pulled at the leather strings, a handful of silver chips and gold autrics clanked against the table.
One hundred and fifty bits. Funny how pebble-size pieces of flat metal carried such weight. Those of us living outside of Wilheim’s protection had to fight for our coin. Ration our supplies. My last bits had gone to a much-needed new pair of leather boots. This man probably had fine silk slippers for every occasion.
With this kind of money, I’d have the chance to get something much more important than footwear. I slid my hand into my pocket and extracted a bronze key. Power vibrated from the metal into my palm, and I shot the businessman another glance. “Are you familiar with the Charmer’s Law?”
His eyes skewered the key. “Buying and selling beasts is strictly forbidden—I know.”
I rolled the key between my forefinger and thumb. “Not that. The Charmer’s Law is meant to protect the beasts. If I find out you’re mistreating this Gyss, I have the right to kill you. In any way I deem fit.”
The man’s face blanched, sweat dampening the collar of his tunic. “You’re joking.”
“I don’t joke about beasts.” I dropped the key on the table. Offering him a wolfish smile, I cocked my head to the side. “Still interested?”
He wavered for only a breath, then made a mad dash for the key. Thick hands pressed it flush to his breast pocket. “That won’t be necessary. I’ll treat the Gyss right.”
As he pushed away from the table, he offered a parting nod. I jutted my chin out and kept my expression tight. “Think twice before wishing. The consequences can be extreme.” A familiar sliver of unease threaded through me. I hated dealing in Gyss, but his needs seemed straightforward enough. Money. Power. He’d never be able to fulfill the boon the Gyss would require for more.
This Gyss wouldn’t be used against me. Not like before. The breadth of their ability was dependent on their master, and this man didn’t have the aptitude for true chaos. No, my exiled existence would be safe a couple hundred years yet. There were Charmers who lived well into their late two hundreds. At the ripe age of twenty-nine, I had plenty of time.
The invisible daggers, courtesy of my mystery lurker, dug deeper into my back. Maybe I was overestimating my life span.
Tracking the businessman’s escape, I settled into the booth’s cushions to count my coins. No need to rush with the stalker’s eyes on me. A thief, maybe? Bits were hard to come by, and I had enough to get me to the south coast and back with room to spare. The Myad, and the opportunity to prove my worth to my people, was within my reach.
I just needed to acquire the blood of a murderer—given freely, with no strings attached. It was a necessary ingredient for the Myad’s taming, and something that wouldn’t happen in Midnight Jester where bartering patrons couldn’t distinguish favor from paycheck. I’d deal with it in Ortega Key. For now, I needed to get there before the beast disappeared.
“You taking off?” Dez sidled into the opposite side of the booth, a toothy grin pulling the jagged scar running from his earlobe to his chin tight. With a square jaw and a nose broken one too many times, he had a rugged charm about him. “It’s nice having you around.”
I toyed with one of the silver chips. Living above the tavern had its perks. Giving Dez a quick appraisal, my mind flashed back to the night before when we’d been tangled in the sheets. A carnal release with none of the attachments, at least for me. We’d never broached that discussion, but I often caught his gaze lingering when it shouldn’t have. I’d have to deal with that eventually. There was only so much of myself I was willing to give.
“I’ll only be gone for a short while. There’s been a rare beast sighting in the south, and if I hang around here, I’ll miss it.” I reached for my coin purse and slid my