direction of the stock keeper. “Harry, give their horses a fair seeing to, won’t you?”
The stock keeper’s brow twitched, but he nodded. “Of course, Mayor.”
“Good, good. We ran out of the jerky you brought on your last trip. We certainly have a taste for it around these parts.”
“I’m glad everyone enjoyed it.” Alex was still smiling, but James knew every inch of him too well for the micro expressions of distaste lurking under his brow to go unnoticed.
The partiality to jerky was chiefly that of the mayor, rather than the town. His subjects were lucky to receive anything but the occasional tinned spam or tuna when after a taste of the Old World. Newquay’s Moon was a long way from any city of note, and so the scavengers had picked the loot left behind after the End clean in the Early Years.
“In time there’ll be plenty more,” Alex was saying.
“So what have you brought?” Malverston cried.
“Only good intentions, and an offer you’d be a fool to refuse.”
A momentary fury flashed behind Malverston’s piggy eyes. But then the flicker was gone and he was wearing his amiable smile once more. “Indeed, young master Cain? Please, let’s get comfortable.” He gestured to the largest building in town, the pantry around back overspilling with the goods brought by those looking to win his favour.
That was how power exchanged hands in the South-West. They relied on trade caravans and wandering allies for such luxuries, which carried a hefty premium. It was no surprise they had taken to Alex and James. They took to anyone willing to give a discount, regardless of their ulterior motives. Their affections and allegiance came down to how much you were willing to shave off your price. James and Alex had spent the last few months shepherding carts of goods into the area for far less than it was worth. They would ride into town and give a few sacks away for dirt cheap, then spend the rest of the day giving it away free to the surrounding area, flooding the market, devaluing even the finest Old World treats. If they could keep prices low, they might be able to shake the hold some of their competitors had over Newquay’s Moon.
There were some sour people about, all bad news. The more leeches they could pick off this place, the easier it would be to gain a foothold.
The crowd began to disperse, excitement fizzing out. James always hated this part of opening negotiations with a frontier settlement. The everyman always ended up caught between squabbling fat cats.
They’ll have all they want soon enough, he consoled himself.
Alex ducked his head close to James, dropping his voice to a murmur. “I’ll give him the pitch. You stay out here. I don’t want to crowd him. This one likes mano-a-mano. Play nice out here. Join us in ten.”
“And if things don’t pan out?”
“Then we’ll be leaving pretty fast. Malverston’s all for playing big daddy when the chips are in his hands, but if we ask him to play fair … be ready.”
He disappeared inside with the wobbling tower of gout and furs that was Malverston, and James was left alone by the stables, fighting back a grin. He admired Alex’s guts. He had just walked right into the bear’s cave.
Malverston was crooked, indeed, but they were going to give him the offer to join the alliance in any case. It would mean he would have to go straight—unlikely, but possible. Offering and risking things going south was still a hell of a lot better than usurping a kingpin. And if he refused … well, they would carry on with their plan.
Once these people no longer bowed to petty bribery, maybe they could sit at the table and enter a real dialogue. Too many resilient pockets of civilisation had succumbed to the ravages of a new barbarism that was sweeping the land; alone they would all fall in time, but together, maybe they stood a chance.
They’d get rid of Malverston and his slime, in time. But for now, they had to play along. For the time being, he held all the keys.
The South-West, notably Cornwall and Devon, had been so scarcely populated even before the End that, in some respects, little had changed.
Malverston had been a farmer once, rich in his own way. But then the End had come, and he had awoken to find all his neighbours gone. Naturally, he had claimed all their land and assets as his own.
Now, he was the wealthiest