by Jack Porter
Anwen was in danger. There were people looking for her, and it didn’t much matter who found her first. Either way, she was in for a world of hurt.
Unless I could get to her before the King’s men or the conspirators did.
With that thought in mind, I checked with Ember to see if she was good with me leaving Rolf to her and Jacob for a while, then set out from the Goose and Quill and did the only thing I really could.
Camelot was a big city. There were too many secret places where someone could hide. And, really, even if Anwen had simply holed up with a friend, I would be unlikely to find her all by myself.
The good thing was that I wasn’t all by myself. I had what had effectively become a network of spies throughout the city. Beggars and street urchins could learn much of what might be hidden from others. And tavern workers, serving girls and barmen, tended to know most of what was going on.
In the past, it would have taken me several days to work my way through my various contacts. Normally, I did it in a casual fashion, stopping by at the Twin Barrels Alehouse to flirt with Rosylin and enjoy an ale or two before spending the night in the curly haired woman’s embrace. From there, I would move on to other taverns, asking what I needed to know with a smile and a wink, getting by on my charm and the genuine affection I displayed for the girls.
But this time I was in more of a hurry. This time, Anwen’s life was in danger. As much as I would have liked to tarry, I made my way from tavern to tavern, saying my piece before moving along.
Rosylin’s response was largely typical. She greeted me with a smile and bustled over as soon as I entered the tavern. But her smile faded a little as she caught my expression.
“Mordie! It is good to see you!” she began. Then, “is something the matter?”
She glanced from me to Sir George as if the rat dragon would give her a clue. But I was already nodding. “There may be,” I replied. “Someone I know is in danger. And I’m not sure if I can get to her in time to help.”
The buxom barmaid’s expression immediately became one of concern, and she reached for me to offer comfort. “Why don’t you come in, sit yourself down, and you can tell me all about it over a tankard or two. How does that sound?”
I conjured an echo of my usual grin. “As much as I would like that, I just don’t have the time. But I was hoping you could help me to help her.”
At this, Rosylin nodded her head right away and gave me a broad, genuine smile. “Anything you want,” she offered without a sense of hesitation. “All you need to do is ask.”
Her willingness to help felt like a ray of sunshine on a miserable day. My own smile grew broader in response. “Rosylin, what would I do without you?” I asked, and she laughed in response.
But then she grew serious. “It isn’t dangerous, is it?” she asked, her tone suddenly fearful.
I shook my head. “I would never put you in harm’s way,” I reassured her. “All I’m after is for you to be your normal charming self. Talk to your customers as you normally do and listen as well.”
“Ahh,” she said. “You’re looking for information!”
I nodded, acknowledging the knowing look in Rosylin’s eye. The barmaid was naturally outgoing and friendly. She enjoyed a good joke, an ale, and a tumble, and it would have been easy to assume there was not much more to her than that. But she was smarter than she appeared and knew the value of the knowledge she could gather.
“Exactly,” I said. I glanced around the tavern, noted that it wasn’t yet crowded, and that the few customers they had weren’t paying us the slightest attention. Even so, I moved Rosylin and myself to an even quieter spot, then told her what I knew of the world.
I told her all of it. Without leaving anything out.
During my tale, the barmaid’s eyes grew round.
“She tried to murder the King?” she asked in an anxious whisper.
I nodded. “Yes. And there are people after her.”
Rosylin shot a fearful glance around the tavern, and I thought I might have made a mistake. This was too much for her to take on. To even know about such an attempt could be dangerous.
Yet she gathered herself and nodded. “And what do you need me to find out?” she asked.
“Where she is,” I said promptly. “So I can help her.”
Rosylin looked at me closely. It was as if she was seeing me for the first time. As if she was weighing me up, measuring me against the task I had set for myself.
Slowly, she offered a nod. “I always thought you were destined for more than just the life of a thief,” she murmured. But before I could ask her what she meant, she had already moved on. “I’ll do it. And the others will too. I’ll make sure that they know. And as soon as we hear anything, we will pass it on to you.”
That was all I needed to hear. I let her know that I would be staying at the Goose and Quill for at least a few days, and that was it.
With some regret – the Twin Barrels Alehouse was warm and cozy, and the girls had always been good to me there – I turned about and headed back into the light drizzle of the day.
For the rest of the day and into the evening, I trudged through Camelot’s streets, visiting as many taverns, doorkeepers, and random townsfolk on my network as I could, speaking briefly and getting the urgency across.
For the most part, the people I spoke to were happy to provide whatever they could at the cost of no more than my company. But a few demanded payment, which I was more than happy to provide.
One of these, my street urchin friend Samuel, didn’t even need to be told what was up. As soon as I mentioned Anwen, he started to nod.
“That’s the lady you had me rob,” he said, his tone studiously neutral.
I nodded, unsure if the wily boy would turn down my request or not.
“Did you know she was part of a plot to kill the King?” he asked.
I looked at him and couldn’t conceal my surprise. “You know about that?”
The boy broke into a grin. “There’s been rumors flying about the market for the past couple of days.”
“And what do you think of that?”
“What, killing the King?”
“Yes. That.”
The street urchin shrugged his skinny shoulders. “The way I see it, the King hasn’t done so much to help me and mine one way or the other. So what do I care either way?”
I looked at him for a long moment. “What if I told you that Rolf and his men weren’t just Blackcoats on the take? What if I told you they were working for the King himself?”
Samuel didn’t seem to quite understand. “What, like the King is behind all of Rolf and that lot’s scams?”
“Exactly.”
The boy’s face flickered through a range of emotions. His first instinct was to laugh, but that laughter quickly faded into suspicion, then settled on anger. “Then I’d say he had it coming to him. That sucker Rolf and his men – there’s more than one of my friends that got vanished by them, you know what I mean? If Arthur’s behind that… Then I wouldn’t have mourned him too hard, right?”
“Right,” I agreed.
“Course, it ain’t like it’s unusual for someone in power to be an asshole about it. I can’t imagine whoever replaced him would be a lot better.”
I didn’t have an answer for that and wondered what Anwen’s conspirators had in mind along that measure. Did they have someone ready to step into the gap? And just who was Arthur’s official heir anyway?
It was a question for which I had no answer.
I brought the conversation back to Anwen and what I wanted Samuel to find out. He was already bobbing his head before I was done.
“You want me and my boys to find her before anyone else does. Got it. And what do you plan to do with her if you succeed?”
Samuel had already made his position clear. He was a survivor, a tough kid making this way on the streets. But he had his principles as well, and he stuck by them.
“I don’t know. Help her, somehow. M
aybe ask for her forgiveness.”
Samuel didn’t need to ask what I meant. He simply held out his hand and accepted my silver. “I’ll see what I can find out,” he said, and before I could say anything else, the street urchin had already turned to go.
I figured that if anyone could learn where Anwen had gone, Samuel might be my best bet. But he wasn’t the only one.
I shrugged deeper into my coat, aware that the drizzle was becoming heavier, and trudged through the mud, looking for the next tavern on my list.
6
It was getting late by the time I made it back to the Goose and Quill. The atmosphere was upbeat and friendly, and Ember and Jacob had invited a lute player to play a few tunes, under the knowledge that music could do wonders to prevent crowds from becoming unruly.
The lute player was pretty good. He played well, even singing to accompany his music, but kept the volume low and unobtrusive so the Goose and Quill patrons could listen if they chose or engage if in their own conversations if they wished.
Ordinarily, I might have had an enjoyable evening. I might have flirted with Ember or anyone else who happened to be open to it, drunk my ale with enthusiasm, and had a good time.
But there was too much on my mind to allow much enjoyment, so instead, I sat by myself, nursing my drink and brooding.
Ember seemed to sense my mood. She hung around my table as much as the other customers would allow and asked if there was anything I wanted to talk about.
There was. Most obviously, I wanted to talk about the blood in my veins, and what it might mean. But Ember wasn’t the person I wanted to talk to about it. That would have been Meghan Le Fey, and I was still angry with her.
So I did my best to muster a smile and shook my head so she would leave me alone.
But when I finished my ale, I didn’t ask for another. Instead, I went down to the cellar to check on Rolf one last time, made sure he had a bucket to use even if doing so would be awkward, then went upstairs to my room.
I wasn’t expecting any company. Ember was her own woman, and I knew she had to leave early the next morning to talk to some of her suppliers. And I had been far from my usually charming self for most of the evening. I mostly expected the willowy barmaid to leave me to my own devices.
So I was surprised when, sometime in the small hours when the noise from below had faded, I woke from my slumber to the sound of her entering my room.
It was dark, but I knew it was her even before she spoke. She carried about her the scent of vanilla, a delicate counterpoint to the stale ale that she had to endure on the customers’ breath.
“Mordie?” she said quietly. “Are you awake?”
“I’m awake,” I replied.
I could sense her hesitation. “If you would rather just sleep, I can go–”
“No,” I said quickly. “I could do with the company.”
That was all the invitation she needed. She closed the door behind her, and I heard the sounds of her slipping out of her clothes. Within moments, she climbed into bed beside me, and I could feel her skin pressed against mine.
I turned over to face her, kissing her and pressing my body into hers. She kissed me back eagerly, her tongue pushing its way inside my mouth. We took it slow, and although my body was ready immediately, I wanted to make sure that she didn't feel rushed.
I ran my hand along her side, feeling her smooth skin and shapely hips. Ember’s hands went to my chest, where she began feeling my nipples and then moving her own hand lower. I found the moist area between her thighs at the same time she wrapped her hand around me. And by the feel of her, she didn't want to take it slow tonight—she was already wet.
“How about we play a little first?” I asked wickedly.
Ember pulled back slightly, and although I couldn't really see her in the dark, I sensed her confusion.
“I thought we were playing, Mordie,” she said with an obvious smile in her voice.
“Sure,” I said, “just something a little new maybe.”
I gathered her wrists with my right hand and pulled her arms up over her head. She wriggled a little, her body moving against mine. I kissed her again, and she inhaled deeply when I broke away.
Pinning her hands above us, I turned her so that she was beneath me and I was between her legs.
“Now I can't touch you,” she complained.
“That's right,” I said, “because tonight is about you.”
In truth, I had picked up a little bit of this form of play from the swordsmistress Lady Emmeline, but I wasn't going to take it very far with Ember. I didn't think she would like that. At least not yet. Instead, I continue to pin her wrists above us while I kissed her lips and then moved on down to her neck. With my other hand, I massaged one of her breasts, my thumb going to her nipple and teasing it until it peaked.
She moaned softly, and I worked my free hand back down between her legs to run a finger through her folds.
“When I let go of your hands,” I said, “keep them where they are.”
“Why?”
I looked back up and her and grinned. “Grab the upper edge of the mattress.”
Ember’s face was barely visible, but I saw her bite her lower lip in expectation as she did as I asked.
“Now keep them there no matter what,” I said, removing my hands from her and placing them on either side of her on the bed.
When it looked like she wasn’t going to move, I began to trail kisses down her neck again, this time not stopping but moving to her collarbone, where I sucked on her skin until I thought it would leave a mark. Nothing terribly large, just a little playful reminder of me to take with her on her journey in the morning.
Ember exhaled softly and parted her legs further, encouraging me, but I was determined to keep up the teasing, to make her wait.
Sliding down her body, I smiled against the soft skin of her belly, placing kisses there before moving lower. She giggled and touched my hair, and immediately I stopped and grabbed her hand. “No touching, Ember,” I said. “Now I have to start all over again.”
I moved back up to place her hand next to her other, and she grabbed the top edge of the mattress once again.
“Mordie,” she complained, trying to wrap her legs around my hips and hold me there. “I want you inside me.”
“And I will be, but it’ll only take longer if you keep breaking the rules,” I said mischievously. Then I began to kiss her once again, beginning with her neck and working my way to her collarbone. She moaned and laughed, but didn’t take her hands off the mattress again as I worked my way down her body, over her breasts but pausing to tease her nipples, and then lower.
Ember gasped when my tongue found the sensitive button between her legs, and I took my time pleasuring her until she was moaning my name. Her legs alternated between trying to wrap around my head and spreading further apart. And when she liked something I did, she would lift her hips encouragingly. But she didn’t take her hands off the mattress again, so I didn’t stop until she cried out softly and shuddered.
Before moving off her, I dipped my tongue in between her folds to taste her, and she gasped, her still-shuddering body responding to the slightest touch.
Then, she surprised me by sitting up and grabbing my face between her hands. I didn’t have a choice but to move up to sit between her legs. Ember then trailed her hands down my own body until she found my cock, which was still hard and more ready for her than ever.
Standing on her knees, she straddled me like that, holding herself steady with one hand on my shoulder while guiding herself onto me. I helped, and soon I was kneeling on the bed, fully inside her. She was wet, warm, and tight.
Ember lifted off me until I had almost pulled out of her, and then she sat back down all the way. I closed my eyes, reveling in the way her breasts moved against my chest, and her soft sighs as her pleasure began to build once again.
Smiling, I shifted so that she fell backward onto the bed, and she opened her eyes in surprise. I kisse
d her then, letting her taste herself on my lips, and then I began to move. Putting her hands above us and placing them on the wooden bedpost to brace herself, I watched as her eyes widened as I drew back and then pushed inside all the way once again. Then I took one of her legs and drew it up around my waist, looking for a deeper angle, and when she wiggled her hips beneath me to encourage me, I began driving into her faster and harder.
Soon, there was a sheen of sweat on my skin, and I put my own hand beneath her bottom and squeezed, watching her face with every thrust. Ember began to moan and breathe heavily, with occasional encouragements like, "Don't stop," and "Mordie!" I worked hard to hold on until she was ready.
Finally, Ember let out a quick, breathy yell and clenched her legs around my hips. I thrust into her three more times before spilling myself inside her, my entire body shuddering with the feeling of pure bliss that being in her arms brought to me.
When we were both spent, I moved off her, turning so that I was lying next to her, my hands still touching her, marveling at the soft skin of her breasts and stomach. She giggled when I touched her ribs, and I smiled again, thinking of taking advantage of our position. But Ember turned over on her side and faced me, grabbing my hand to stop me from tickling her any further.
"Mordie," she said quietly. "I'm glad that you trusted me enough to bring Rolf here." She took my hand and kissed it.
"Of course I trust you," I said. I was too relaxed to think much of anything else at the moment, and was still running my hands—which she had released—along her arm, careful not to tickle her, and thinking it would be nice to drift off to sleep. But I could sense that she had something else on her mind, so I propped my head up on my other arm and looked her way.
"What do you intend to do with him?" she asked.
"With Rolf?" I frowned and shrugged. "I thought I knew when I brought him here. I thought that I could use him somehow, make use of his connections."
“And now?"
I didn't say anything, because I wasn't sure. My plans hadn't changed, exactly, but I wasn't sure how to go about it at this point. There was too much up in the air, and all I could think about at the moment was Anwen.
