“Almost there. Get you in, grab my reward, and do whatever I want.”
“You aren’t afraid of Zoe and them?”
“Ha, no. I’m sure I’ll have some magical weapon they won’t be able to deal with, that’s if they made it out of that hole alive. One jab of the knife or hit of an arrow, and no one left to follow me.”
Mesu was still weak. She felt her mood had a lot to do with it. There was no hope to be had as they sat under a lone tree in the overgrown grass. Wind howled through reeds to create a somber song. Mesu took another bite of the bread and stared up at the sun. Her wrists were sore from the metal that was interlaced between them and kept her constrained. The few hours she was given being awake weren’t enough to get used to how to operate her hands in this way.
“Do you honestly believe you are getting something out of this deal?”
“I got partial payment and those four little monsters so far. Speaking of, I’ve no idea where they are off to.” Em glanced around and shrugged. The things had caught up with them earlier in the morning and followed. A lunch break wasn’t in their plans, and they disappeared in an unknown direction. Em wasn’t fond of them either and showed them less tolerance than he had the previous group.
“The key to this treasure trove is me, huh?” Mesu knew she could get more information out of Em if she asked the right questions. He was always willing to talk and didn’t filter his words.
“Ay, the key to the whole kingdom if you believed this person.”
“Do you know what he looks like?”
“Roughly. I only ever seen him with a hood. Could be death for all I care. Had money and was willing to part with it. First time I ever stole a person, though. Don’t think I will be doing this again. Too much to care for. Easier when I can just stuff the good in a pouch and carry it around.”
“Why betray the group? They’ve been good to you.”
“Good to me, yeah. Good for me, who knows. They were for a time. I’m not going to be breaking into places and stealing things for other people my whole life. I got to think about myself. That’s why I accepted the offer and why I left them behind. They would have done it first if given the opportunity.”
Mesu shook her head. Everything she had witnessed to this point was contrary to what Em was describing.
“You know that’s a lie, Em.”
“Is it really, girl? You can tell that from just a couple of weeks of being with us? If you think that they aren’t in it for the money like I am, you’re mistaken. Nobody cares about the stupid stories anymore. There is no glory. It’s all about the next payday and the next meal. You get good pay, you eat really good. All you had to worry about before was another group of people killing ya. Now, gotta worry about monsters too. These things have made for some good loot and good hunting.”
“Why didn’t you break off sooner than?”
“The timing was right now. You can’t guilt me back into them. I’ve done side jobs before without them knowing. This was going to be another one, but they won’t turn you over when we get to Eberdeen. I could see that. Means I had to take it into my own hands. I’m against doing things like this; the payment swayed me.”
Mesu was disgusted. Her stomach was growling, and she wanted to eat more. There was no giving in right now. She was happy to waste some food, especially when it was given to her by Em.
“One day, you might get it. Maybe not. I can’t tell you what the plans are. If I had to guess, you might want to be saying your prayers starting yesterday. If you believe in the gods and all.”
Mesu started to stand up. A task that was tough with her hands tied together and her body in an exhausted state. Em matched her easily and threw the rest of the fruit to the floor.
“We should be going. Only a couple more days to Eberdeen. I plan on dropping you off as soon as I can. No offense to your company. We need to stay ahead of the group, too. I would imagine if they made their way out of the cave, they are double-timing it.” Em walked over to Mesu and took hold of her shackles on her wrists. He tugged at them and laughed as she stumbled forward. He held the horse in place as he half pushed her up into the saddle. She appreciated being able to ride normally. He got up behind her and started to trot away.
Mesu noticed the heads of the beasts pop out of almost nowhere as they scrambled to stand and move along with Em. It was getting easier to see similarities between them and herself. It was something she didn’t want to think about. A handful of these creatures had lost their lives by her hands. The thought made her wonder if they held a grudge against her for it or if they even knew. She wasn’t ready to ask, and they rode on, letting her mind wander.