Page 21 of The Fury She Holds
“Oh? And what new bounty do we have this week?” Tal asked.
“Apparently, one of the lesser gangs doesn’t like the new leadership. We’ve been challenged to step aside.” His tone lacked the seriousness of his words.
Tal scoffed around a bite of sausage. “What leadership? We have no empire, no business, no men. If they wanted, they could just claim the title.”
“It appears the gang leaders are still holding to their promise to stick to their territories. It’s the lesser grunts who have an issue.”
“That’s their problem. Let them fight it out. We have other things to worry about before entertaining this ruling business.”
“Agreed. I just thought you’d like to know since they put a bounty on you.” He smirked at the cynical turn of Tal’s mouth.
“Who do they expect to fill the bounty?” Tal shook her head. “Sometimes I wonder if these dullards know which end they piss out of.”
“The price is… considerably high, and we’re running low on healing elixirs.” He scratched a note into his book.
“I’m still waiting on payment for Brott’s bounty,” Egan offered. “That bird was not easy to find, and he keeps giving me the slip.”
Tal stabbed a chunk of cheese. “He thinks he can avoid paying you because you won’t break his hand. I’ll send Carrick to collect.” It wasn’t the first time someone refused to pay, but Egan forgave too easily. “Anything else?”
“Just the bounty for the cheating husband,” Rain said.
Tal sighed. “I haven’t figured out his punishment. It needs to be something his wife can dole out.”
“Narcolepsis?” Egan asked, scratching behind his ear.
“So, he’ll fall asleep when he visits his mistress? I think we need something a little more vengeful.”
“Well, I think your options at this point would be Marjoramint or Emetikos. Though, I’m guessing a permanently limp member isn’t harsh enough.” Rain closed his book.
“Emetikos it is then. Shall I warn the wife about the vomiting?” Tal stood and gathered her things from the table.
“I doubt she would invite him to her own bed, but yes, I would recommend it.”
Tal nodded. “I’ll ask Septimus for another crate of the healing elixir,” she said, exhaustion dripping from every word. In light of recent events, she would probably need to ask for two. While the problems of men filled her pockets, they emptied them at an equal rate. She wondered if the world would be better off if she burned it all to the ground.
There was no clearer indication of an alchemist’s skill than the color of their wares, and Tal’s alchemist sold only the most vibrant solutions. She stood at the long wooden counter in the small shop and eyed the cubicles filled with jars of every color liquid and cream. There were no labels, but Septimus, a scrawny old man with a long gray beard tucked into his belt, grabbed a vial off the shelf without hesitation and placed it on the wooden counter with a solidthunk. The single gulp of yellow liquid swirled with bits of red.
A glint at the top of the wall caught her eye. A small jar held a sparkly gel, the blue color like the far end of a sunset where the day finally accepted its fate and succumbed to the darkness of night. “That one’s new.”
Without turning around, the alchemist said, “Aconitum. Highly poisonous. I’ve created a jelly-like paste that delays onset of symptoms for twelve hours, butdeathis delayed for at least twenty-four. It mimics consumption and dysentery. Great for secret assassinations. Tastes like licorice. Any amount ingested will kill the target, but not before the twenty-fourth hour. The smaller the dose, the more painful and drawn out the death.”
“How do you know what it tastes like?”
Septimus blinked at her.
“Sounds lovely. I’ll take that and half a dozen healing elixirs.”
“Gracious me!” He gasped and placed a hand on his heart. “You and I have a longstanding agreement not to impede on the other’s business, but what bounty of yours deserves such a gruesome death?”
“Fine.” She rolled her eyes and pocketed the Emetikos, not questioning how the old man knew she needed it for a bounty. “How many doses will he need?”
“Just the one. I do not sell weak mixtures here.”
“Then how do you explain my hair and eyes?”
Septimus sighed, exasperation dripping from his tone. “My dear, I sell all manner of wares that can make your dreams come true or be your worst nightmare. But I do not suppress magic, certainly not fury like yours. If you wish to be rid of the effects of such power, you will need to learn to control it and not let it control you. Now, I have something else for your eyes, but you won’t like it.”
Tal narrowed her aforementioned eyes at him. She never revealed that she had magic, let alone that she had fury. If he shared her secret, Tal would be in grave danger.
