The Marenon Chronicles Collection - By Jason D. Morrow Page 0,49

would not go by before he knew what was expected of him in the coming days.

Coffman was almost twice the height of Silas and at least four times the muscle. His brown hair was short and his muscles protruded from every part of his body. The smaller man was thin and had bright blonde hair. A pair of slightly pointed ears protruded from his head like an elf from fairytale stories. His face was clean-shaven unlike the thin-bearded Alric and scruffy Coffman. His green eyes flared bright in the torchlight. He glared at Silas and gripped his weapon firmly, his knuckles turning white, as the others waited for him to introduce himself.

After an awkward few seconds Alric motioned to the man and said, “Silas, this is Lorcan Zamire. I’ll go ahead and say he’s obviously not too happy about you coming aboard with us, but I hope that will change in the next day or two,” he said, his eyes screaming for Lorcan to calm himself.

Silas’ concern was not so much that Lorcan seemed to hate him, but that Alric had implied Silas would have to be there for a few days. He really didn’t want to be with this group any more than he had to be. He just wanted to finish the job so they would help him find his grandfather.

Lorcan kept on staring until he finally spoke up. “Have you ever even held a weapon?” he asked.

If he only knew, Silas thought. “I can take care of myself, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“It doesn’t matter anyway,” said Lorcan, “because where we’re going won’t require you to defend yourself.”

“Lorcan,” Alric said sternly.

“In fact,” Lorcan continued, “there will be no danger to you at all!

“Lorcan.”

“You will be perfectly safe where we’re going.”

“Lorcan, that’s enough! When we take Silas inside, he can decide for himself what he will do. It’s not up to you, me or anyone else but him.”

This gave Silas a little comfort. At least Alric sounded as though he was giving Silas an out if he needed it. Alric motioned for them to all go into the cabin. Lorcan lagged several paces behind thoroughly chastised by his superior and loathing Silas the whole way there. Silas wasn’t sure where all the aggressive anger was coming from, but Alric had warned him nonetheless.

The cabin was not an extravagant building, but it was comfortable. What little decoration it had seemed overshadowed by the empty, wooden walls in every room. It didn’t look as though much time was ever spent in the house. Perhaps these people were very busy, or perhaps they were the type to give little thought to the aesthetics of where they slept. Silas concluded in his mind that it was probably a little bit of both. They all sat down at a long wooden table when they entered through the front door. Coffman sat nearest to Silas and Lorcan took the seat on the far end. He leaned back in his chair with his feet on the table and his eyes smoldered with animosity as if he would like nothing more than to see Silas burn. Alric stepped into the kitchen and quickly returned with a brown jug and several cups in hand. As he poured the drink into each person’s cup, Silas realized just how thirsty he was after his long day. He leaned over to smell it and couldn’t help but wince as the alcohol fumes burned in his nostrils.

“It’s Viper’s Mead,” Coffman said, taking a swig. Even Coffman’s face grimaced slightly as the fire trickled down his throat. “They call it that because of its bite, but I don’t think it’s all that strong. The other guys are a bunch of wimps.”

Silas almost laughed, but suppressed it. Of course he wouldn’t think it was strong. He could probably hold five times the amount of liquor as any man in the room. Silas had been too young to drink on Earth, so he knew the effects would be much stronger on him. That is, if liquor worked the same way in Marenon as it did on Earth. He assumed that it did and decided to let his cup sit at a safe distance.

“Where’s Inga?” Alric said.

As if she were waiting for someone to ask, a woman opened the door in the back of the room and strolled toward the table where they sat. When Silas’ eyes lifted to see who had entered, it was as if the air had been sucked from his lungs.