The Last Smile in Sunder City (The Fetch Phillips Archives #1) - Luke Arnold Page 0,60

Despite my shortcomings, I could do that one specific part of my job better than anyone else.

But then, Hendricks took it a step too far and the whole charade broke down.

Maybe he just got carried away, or maybe there was something in the conversation that spiked his nostalgia for our days at The Ditch. But as he prepared the next round, he poured an extra cocktail and held it out to me.

“Here you go, boy.”

It was all very natural and nobody else seemed to mind. For Hendricks, it was just an old habit. But for me, it was like I’d been slapped.

“I… I’m on duty, sir.”

The old Elves laughed like I was making a crack. The Ogres, too. Even Hendricks smiled. Then he said, “Come on.”

Not in his loud, gregarious, encouraging way, like he would when I was so drunk I couldn’t see my own shoes but he wasn’t yet ready to go home. It wasn’t cheeky. It was quiet and strangely serious. To me, it felt like he was saying, “Who do you think you’re kidding?”

Maybe he didn’t mean it that way. Maybe he just missed having me as a drinking buddy instead of a bodyguard. However he meant it, that was how I heard it, and before I knew how to respond, there was water in my eyes.

It’s stupid. Of course it is. But if you understood the rules of the Opus, their practices and traditions, you’d know that it was like being stripped of everything I’d worked for since leaving Sunder City. Every pull-up. Every night spent reading tomes by candlelight. Every time I was laughed at or openly criticized by the other members. I had done it all because I thought it meant something. Because I thought that I was becoming something more.

But then it was gone. In that offer, it was clear that even Hendricks, who had dragged me through every day of my service, never took me seriously.

I stood there, naked, trying to work out how this joke had gone on so long and why I’d never seen it before.

Hendricks saw the change in my face and pulled back the glass, trying to make it look like it was his idea.

“Sorry. How silly of me. Good man.” He clapped me on the shoulder and turned back to the group. “One more for me then! Ha ha!”

I nodded, trying to slide back into my training and the safety of routine and discipline but it was already broken. I turned out towards the setting sun as if I was scanning the horizon for enemies, but I just didn’t want anyone to see my face.

When the night winds blew too strong and too cold, the party moved inside and the Shepherds were dismissed. I was on my way to the barracks for a shower when I passed the Half-Ogre bodyguard coming the other way.

“Evening,” I said quietly, expecting him to pass by and ignore me like all the others. But a thick pink hand pressed against me.

“I’m Shepherd Kites.” He grabbed my hand and shook it, then looked both ways to see if anyone was listening. “I hope I’m not overstepping any boundaries here, but… I was watching you today and I feel like something hasn’t been explained to you and I don’t think that’s fair. Do you mind if I yammer at you for a moment?”

“Uh… sure.”

“Right. Now, we’re in peace time, yeah? The Centaurs and Satyrs are kicking off up north, and there’s the odd skirmish every now and again, but compared to life before the Opus, we’re doing pretty good. A lot of that has to do with your man Hendricks. He’s smart. Smart enough to know that the next war won’t be between us magic folk. Nope.” He gently pressed a finger into my chest. “Your kind aren’t part of the Opus, and for all their declarations and deals with us, we know there’s something bubbling under the surface. Things have been close to blowing up more times than you can imagine and the most important political issue in the world right now is making sure your kind, and ours, don’t bring their battle out of the shadows and on to the streets. That’s why you’re here.”

“I don’t get it.”

“You’re a symbol. To show that the Opus isn’t overlooking Humans just because you ain’t magic. A sign to the Human Army, and Weatherly, and all your lot, that we can come together.”

I thought about the last two years and how it had felt