Chapter seven (Homesick)
Law was sitting on a rock, facing south and longing for home. One of the female guards from the Abhorsen's force was sitting next to him. She was a tall, blonde, slim woman, around seven years his junior. Her name was Talena and she wouldn't leave him alone. Lucky for him though, she was the quiet type, like him.
"I see you took you're quota." she finally said, after a half hour of emulating Law's south facing silence.
"Pardon me?" He replied.
"Mind if I sit down?" she asked. She already was, so Law turned. It was the Abhorsen.
"Sure. You own the rock, remember?" he said.
"Four. You said you would be satisfied with four, and you killed exactly four." She clarified. Law grunted in agreement, not his best behaviour around royalty, he knew, but she owed him a lot.
"We knew about you before you talked to the king you know; the Clayr saw you." she said.
"Well, the clayr could have helped me; I could have used a hand a few billion times you know." He replied.
"I take it Talena hasn't explained the Clayr's primary occupation yet." Sabriel said.
"We see into the future." Talena finally said; a musical voice belonging to a person who wasn't where she wanted to be.
"Really? Neat. Have you talked to the guy I caught yet?" Law said. He didn't doubt it, he just didn't care. He'd be returning to a place where he could have a hot shower, where his boots didn't squelch and the dead didn't walk soon anyway.
"He's very difficult, milady. He's been this unpleasant for hours." Talena said.
"You would be too, sweetheart." Law said, more to his feet and the leaves they were on than to Talena.
"We need you're help," Sabriel said to Law, "You do things differently, you can get things done that a charter mage can't, and we need to finish with the conspirators once and for all." Law thought for a minute.
"Nope. Not gonna happen. Take me home." He replied after a minute or so of mental deliberation.
"They were all right about you," Talena said, "You are an arsehole." Law didn't reply; didn't move. The Abhorsen was watching both of them like a hawk. Finally, Talena got up and stalked off. Law still didn't move. A moment later, he was in the dust, he had a mouthful of leaves and Talena was on his back, yelling in his ear.
"I saw you in the palace and begged to be allowed to meet you! I can't believe I wasted my time!" she yelled, hurting his right ear. Law was pissed off now. He reached behind his head and grabbed a fistful of her hair. He pulled her head where he could reach it and gripped her windpipe.
"Let me go." he said, and applied a bit of pressure. Then she immobilised him with the magical equivalent of a stun gun. Multiplied ten times. He came to his senses an undetermined amount of time later, being restrained by four guards. Talena was sitting on the rock, looking worried, and the Abhorsen was next to her, looking amused. He was covered in cold sweat, and felt dreadfully tired.
"I want to go home!" he wailed, then he passed out.
He came to in a crappy little bed, made of straw. He was in a crappy little room, which looked like it had been a shed a few hours ago. He assumed that he was in Wais, the town that he had passed through a few nights ago. Light was streaming in from a window above his head, and Talena was watching him from a chair in the corner. All his things were in front of her, including his clothes. He was naked under the sheets.
"Can I have my clothes?" he croaked; his stomach was cramped, and his side was numb, where Talena had applied her magical stun gun.
"So, you're awake." he had startled her. She stood up and unfolded a bathrobe that had been in her lap, and tossed it to him.
"We need to talk." She said, and sat back down. Law eyed his garrote on the table, next to his bayonet. He looked back at her.
"We found the garrote and decided to strip you, in case you had more weapons," she had his flick knife, "like this." Law found himself wondering if stripping him had been a community event, or if it had been just a guard or two. Or just her.
"As if I'd use them, right?" He really didn't care, but he'd need his stuff to get home. And he'd become attached to that bayonet even before this little soiree.
"You can have you're clothes now."Talena said, but didn't move from the chair. He stood up and started putting on his clothes.
"You know, I've been ordered to accommodate you in any way possible. If you help" She said, in a rather bored monotone.
"Great. I've already made my mind up, I'll help if I'm payed enough. And I'm not that bloody easy." He replied. He was glad to note a general lack of disappointment on her face.
"Already been arranged. You're payment will be a very fine sword, fine boots, a fine cloak, clothes from the best tailors and one hundred and fifty silver deniers." She said. One hundred and fifty silver deniers. There was no Old Kingdom currency exchange, and those one hundred and fifty pieces melted down might buy him a good lunch and dinner for two back home.
"Fuck no," He seethed, tying his shoelaces with ferocity, "I've been through enough already, I'm already owed ten times that, that won't even pay my legal bills when I cross the damn wall!" He finished with his boots and walked to the table without another word. He put his bayonet in it's sheath and put his garrote in his sleeve, as usual.
"My knife." He said. Talena handed him his flick knife and he clipped it on.
"My sword." he said.
"It belongs to the kingdom." She replied. He scoffed and looked for the doorknob. He opened the door, and she made no move to stop him.
"What legal bills?" She asked, disinterested.
"You ever heard of desertion? When I turn up in Ancelstierre, I'll be classified a deserter and I'll be prosecuted, maybe even shot." he said, and he left. He had been in a shed, on the outskirts of town. A guard moved from behind a tree, he looked like he had been taking a leak.
"Hey, you, wait!" he called. Law stopped, and the guard approached him.
"Have you come to an agreement?" he asked.
"Yeah, I go home now." he replied. The guard eyeballed him suspiciously.
"Give me your sword." Law said. The guard grasped the hilt of his sword, but didn't hand it over. Law started to turn, and gave him a vicious right hook to the jaw. The guard dropped, and Law took his sword.
"It belongs to the kingdom mate, not me. If you want it, you'll find it somewhere near the wall. Don't know where yet," he said to the unconscious guard, but so Talena would hear, "I'm sure the Kingdom will return it to you." Law looked at the sky; he figured out which way was south and went in that direction.
"Wait!" Talena called from somewhere behind him.
"Fuck You!" Law shouted at the sky. He heard running behind him, and prepared to get tackled again; last time he'd been surprised, but he'd always had a trick or two up his sleeve...
"Please, just hear me out!" Talena said, as she caught up with him. He stopped.
"We need you to assassinate someone for us," she said, "Please, no one else will be able to get into the place you need to go!" He looked at her sceptically.
"You have no idea how lucky I was that night. I've never been that lucky, ever." he replied.
"You said something about legal bills... we can secure diplomatic immunity for you."
Well, no one's been reading this, but here's me caring.
With any luck, I'll have the rest up by next week (already been typed, like i said).
Be cool
Islaminem
