by J. Stone
Lockhart entered the inn and stopped just beyond the entryway, looking for Cecilia. Wynonna brushed past him, bumping him along the way. He was pretty sure it was intentional, but he didn’t begrudge her the anger. He’d just refused the help of someone she believed could find the creature that killed her family. He hadn’t even explained why. He wasn’t certain he could, so he let her hold onto her resentment for the moment.
She continued toward the innkeeper, while he looked around for Cecilia. He found her coming out of the kitchen and carrying a meal, which she delivered to one of the inn’s patrons at a table. Lockhart got her attention, and she waved him over to the side of the room.
“Corrigan Lockhart,” she said with a smile, as he approached.
“C-Cecelia,” he replied.
“What are you doing back in town?”
“Tracking s-something. Might be n-nearby.”
Cecilia shrugged. “Well, I haven’t really heard of any trouble lately, if that’s what you’re hoping for.”
Lockhart shook his head. “No, I d-d-didn’t expect you to. They’ve b-been keeping quiet. No, I h-hoped you might have a lead on s-s-some bullets.”
“Ah,” she replied with a nod. “I don’t think any of the locals have much of a supply if any.”
“I suspected.”
“But,” she said, raising a finger. “We did just give a room to a traveling merchant that might have some of what you’re looking for.”
“Where c-can I find--?”
Cecilia turned to the side and pointed that same finger past Lockhart to a man sitting in the corner, sipping at a bowl of soup. He turned back to Cecilia and nodded to her.
“Thanks.”
“Sure thing, Corrigan,” she told him. “Good luck.”
Cecilia returned to the kitchen, while he turned around and started to head toward the merchant she’d pointed out. Before he got there, however, Wynonna approached him.
“Got our rooms,” she told him.
“Thank--”
“Here’s your key,” Wynonna interrupted, handing it over to him. “You owe me two rounds.”
“R-right,” he replied, taking the key and stuffing it in his duster pocket.
She then folded her arms at her chest and shifted all her weight to one foot. “So, you find any bullets?”
“G-got a lead.” Lockhart nodded to the merchant in the corner.
“He’s got bullets?”
“Might. N-n-need to talk to h-him first.”
“Then, what are you waiting on? Let’s go. No sense wasting any more time.”
Not wishing to provoke Wynonna any further, Lockhart decided not to argue with her. He assumed that she was just looking for a fight after what he’d told her back at the fortune teller’s, and he wasn’t in the mood to help her satisfy that urge. Instead, he just headed over to the merchant’s table with her by his side.
The merchant soon looked up from his table and noticed their attention. The man smiled wide, showing a full set of pearly white teeth. He’d recently cleaned his clothes and pressed them as well. He wore his hair greased down with some oily product. There wasn’t even any sign of dirt or smudges on his face. He hadn’t been in the desert long, and he had certainly traveled there from one of the coastal cities.
“Travelers!” the merchant told them, standing up and holding out his hand to Lockhart. “Come! Join me!”
The vespari shook his hand, and then the merchant tried to do the same to Wynonna.
“No thanks,” she told him, ignoring his hand, twisting a chair around, and then sitting down in it backwards.
The merchant cleared his throat and nodded uncomfortably. “Right. Right. Well, yes, please join me.”
Both he and Lockhart sat down at the table, while Wynonna started to poke at the bags he had on the table.
“What are you selling?” she asked him.
“Bit of this, bit of that,” he replied, pulling his wares a little closer to him on the table.
“We’re looking for b-bullets,” Lockhart told him.
“Bullets, you say?” the merchant asked. “A rare thing in these parts, from what I understand.”
“But you’re not from here,” Wynonna pointed out.
“That obvious?” he asked, adjusting his tie.
“Clear as day,” she replied, still just staring at his things.
“Well, you’re right. I’m not from here. Came from Highcrest originally. Passing through to Alexandria.”
Wynonna didn’t say anything in response, causing a moment of awkward silence.
Lockhart felt he had to help fill it. “Is th-that right?”
The merchant switched his gaze over to him. “That’s right, sir.”
“They have bullets in Highcrest?” Wynonna asked him, bringing his attention back to her.
The merchant did a slow nod. “They do. And, yes, to answer your next question, I do have some. But, as I’m sure a pair of… what is it you two do exactly?”
“Vespari,” Lockhart replied.
The merchant’s eyes lit up. “Vespari, you say? Interesting. Well, I’m sure a pair of vespari such as yourselves know that bullets are an expensive acquisition.”
“I’m a-aware.”
“Excellent. Then you have the funds to pay for such items?”
“I’ve only got four silver rounds,” he told the man.
“Correction,” Wynonna interjected. “He only has two rounds. He owes me two for the room.”
Lockhart shot a glare over at her.
“Either way,” the merchant replied. “It doesn’t sound like you have enough.”
The vespari frowned. “Is there s-s-something else we could w-work out?”
The merchant shook his head but then stopped abruptly. He looked square at Lockhart and smiled.
“What?” the vespari asked, raising an eyebrow.
“It just so happens that one of the reasons I stopped in Courtland was to spend some time at the casino.” The merchant stopped as if to make that point stand out.
“Yes?” Lockhart felt compelled to ask.
“Well, if you can believe it, I was ejected from those premises.”
Wynonna laughed. “What did you do?”
The merchant shook his head. “I assure you. Nothing untoward. Absolutely nothing that deserved my expulsion.”
Lockhart nodded. “What’s y-your point?”
“My point, my good vespari, is that I’d like to play a game or two.”
“And the st-st-stakes being the bullets?”
“That is exactly what I was thinking.”
“What g-game? You have c-cards?”
The merchant frowned. “Hm. I’m afraid not.”
“Dice?”
He shook his head. “Not those either.”
“Wow,” Wynonna muttered. “You two sure aren’t going anywhere quickly.”
“Then what d-do you have?” Lockhart asked.
The merchant paused a moment to think. He rubbed his chin as if to prompt thought, and after a moment, it seemed to work. “I know!” he declared. “I have alcohol.”
Wynonna sat up straight. “Now, that’s my kind of game.”
“A drinking contest,” the merchant further explained with a nod.
“Really?” Lockhart asked the man. “You want to s-see who can drink more?”
The merchant smiled. “Why not?”
“And the st-st-stakes? Bullets if I w-win, but y-you?”
“Hm,” the merchant mused. “If you want bullets, I suspect that means you have a gun.”
Lockhart nodded and pulled the silver and pearl revolver from its holster at his waist. He dropped it with a loud thunk on the table.
“Yes,” the merchant said. “That’ll work.”
“Exciting as this all is,” Wynonna began, “and as eager as I am to see Cory fall flat on his ass, I think I’m going to leave you here.”
“But the night is hardly even started,” the merchant told her. “Surely, you jest.�
��
Wynonna stood and shook her head. “I jest not. I haven’t seen a proper bed in far too long. I need to get some rest.”
Lockhart nodded to her. “I’ll s-see you in the morning.”
“Oh,” she said, stopping herself from turning around. Looking to the merchant, she asked, “Before you two get started, you have any matches to sell? Used my last one on an ettin and expect to need more soon.”
The merchant’s face lit up, and he knelt to the side, rummaging through his bag. “I can sell you matches, but I also have something else you might be interested in.”
Wynonna stood there, hands on her hips. “I just want fire at my fingertips. Matches seem to--”
She stopped, as the merchant held up a small, metal box.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“This, my dear, is a lighter,” he replied.
“And what does it do?”
The merchant flicked the top portion of the lighter open and swiped his thumb against the wheel, producing a flame.
“Ooh, wild,” Wynonna said, leaning toward the lighter to examine it. “That could come in handy.”
“They’ve become a very popular item back in Highcrest. Very convenient for use by a vespari as well, I’d imagine.”
Wynonna leaned back, restoring her hands to her hips. “Yuh-huh, but how much is it going to cost me?”
The merchant closed the lid of the lighter, extinguishing the flame. “If you can believe it, all the parts and the fuel are rather cheap.”
“Yuh-huh. How much?”
“Two silver rounds should cover it. Also, I will throw in a bottle of replacement fuel.”
Wynonna nodded. “Alright. Cory, pay the man and consider us square.”
Lockhart grumbled a little, but, all the same, he pulled two rounds from his pocket and handed them to the merchant. In turn, the merchant gave Wynonna the lighter and then retrieved a small bottle of the fluid and gave her that as well.
“Wild,” Wynonna said, flicking the lighter to produce a flame. After staring into the fire a moment, she slid both items into her pocket and turned to Lockhart, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Cory. Hopefully with some new bullets.”
“I’ll certainly t-try,” he murmured after her.
As Wynonna left them, the merchant once again began to rummage through his bag, and he pulled out more than a few bullets. Lockhart counted eight in total, as he sat them down beside the revolver. Lastly, the merchant pulled out a tall bottle that the vespari didn’t recognize. The glass bottle was crystal clear with dark orange liquid sloshing around inside it, and the bottle had a label on it with the name, ‘Pink Honey.’
“Pink H-Honey?” Lockhart asked.
The merchant looked at him. “You’ve never heard of it?”
He shook his head.
“I suppose that means you’ve never been to Highcrest either?”
“N-no. I don’t g-get to the coastal cities m-m-much these days.”
“Well,” the merchant said, grabbing the bottle and slapping its side. “This is a specialty of ours. This is Pink Honey Cider, fermented from apples of the same name that only grow in Highcrest.”
“Cider?” Lockhart asked. “We’re really g-going to have a drinking c-contest with cider?”
The merchant smiled. “Don’t let that fool you, sir. This is actually very strong stuff. But, before we can begin. Proper introductions are in order. We can’t very well have a contest nor drink with one another without knowing each other’s names, now can we? My name is Klaus Morgan, traveling merchant.”
“Corrigan Lockhart. Vespari.”
Klaus reached a hand out to Lockhart, who took it and shook. “A pleasure to meet you, Corrigan.” He released his hand and gripped the bottle once more. “Now, on to the main event, drinking until one of us falls over!”
***
Wynonna left Lockhart and the merchant’s drinking contest claiming to be tired and needing rest, but that was not why she left. Her master had turned down the fortune teller’s offer to discover everything they both needed to know. She understood that he had taken certain vows when becoming a vespari that he felt prevented him from engaging in sex, but she had taken no such vow. The oath she’d recited made no mention of abstaining from such an activity. She couldn’t understand why she would ever do such a thing in the future either. She enjoyed sex, and if that was all it took to see her future, to find out where the beldam coven and the Gentleman were, to get her revenge, to save Lockhart’s life, then that was something she would be all too happy to do.
Leaving the hotel and making sure Lockhart didn’t see, Wynonna stepped out to the streets of Courtland and looked around. Night had long since taken grip of the town, but its people were still active. They mostly congregated at the inn and the nearby saloon, but there were lights, either electric or candle, in several other buildings too. She walked down the dusty streets toward where they’d briefly met the fortune teller, and from a distance, she saw that the flickering light of candles still illuminated the woman’s windows as well.
Suddenly feeling a little timid from the idea of performing an act for a purpose so different from any she’d ever had before, Wynonna stopped just outside the woman’s steps and took a deep breath. Uncertain about what the fortune teller might be able to tell her, she paused. She didn’t delay long. She had to know. Nothing would stand in the way of getting revenge on the creature that had taken her family from her. Walking up the steps, Wynonna raised her hand, about to twist the knob. Before she could, the door pulled back with a creak. Iris stood there, smiling at her.
“I knew you would come back,” she declared.
“We need to know where they are,” Wynonna said. “He may not be willing, but I am.”
Iris smiled. “I know, but I actually lied to him.”
“Lied about what? You don’t know where they are?”
“I know where your quarries hide, and I can show you.”
“Then what did you lie about?”
“About the method. Did he tell you who Jamie is?”
Wynonna shrugged. “In a roundabout way. Some woman he knew. He said you have sex to induce visions. He won’t do it, but I’m not him. I’ll have sex with you if it gets me what I need to know.”
Iris smiled wider. “I appreciate your enthusiasm, and the story he told you is close enough, I suppose, but the truth is that I don’t need to have sex with him. Or you.”
“Then why did you--?”
“I knew he would be unwilling to follow through with what I suggested. You see, the vision I have is not meant for him.” The fortune teller pointed at Wynonna. “This is for your eyes only, and I had to get you alone to show you.”
“Me? Why? What’s so special about me?”
“You will have to make a choice. Not everybody will be happy at the end of this. You will decide how events unfold from here, because this is not his story. This is yours.”
Wynonna fidgeted on the spot, uncertain how to react to this.
Iris saw it and raised her hand for Wynonna to take. “Come. We will discuss it all inside.”
The young vespari took Iris’s hand and walked in with the fortune teller. Iris then guided her to the room beyond the entryway, where she released Wynonna’s hand and sat down at a small, circular table. After a pause, Wynonna followed suit, unsure what to expect.
Once Wynonna sat down, she then leaned forward on her elbows and asked with a single raised eyebrow, “So, we’re not going to have sex?”
Iris smiled and shook her head. “It is not a requirement, no.”
Wynonna laughed a little. “To be honest, I was kind of looking forward to it.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” She paused a moment, but quickly continued, “First, we should deal with that which you search for.”
“The beldams?”
Iris tilted her head to the side. “Is that what you seek? Or does the undead thing that stole your family from you concern you more?”
“
I want them both.”
“What if you can’t have both?”
“Why couldn’t I?”
“Your master has an expiration. If you don’t help him kill these beldams, then he may well perish.”
Wynonna shrugged. “So, we take care of them first. That’s fine. Then, he can help me track down the Gentleman. That was our deal from the beginning.”
Iris reached out and took Wynonna’s hand. “I’m sorry, but it doesn’t work that way.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know why. I just know. If you decide to kill the beldams, then the Gentleman will slip through your fingers forever. If you kill the Gentleman, your master will perish.”
“Cory?”
Iris nodded. “If you choose to follow your rage and let your master die, you must accept that you will be the one to pull the trigger… so to speak.”
Wynonna just stared at her for a minute, not quite understanding what she was saying. Eventually, she managed to ask, “I have to choose?”
“Your revenge or your master’s life. You cannot have both.”
“I’m not going to let Cory die.”
“That is noble, but your family’s murderer will evade you forever.”
Wynonna frowned, realizing she couldn’t let him escape so easily. “Then, how am I supposed to--”
Iris shook her head. “I cannot help you make such a decision. I can only tell you that you must weigh these two things.”
“I… I can’t just let him die.”
“Then, that is your choice?”
Wynonna stared at the wood grain of the table, tracing the lines with her eyes. “I… I don’t know. I haven’t been able to think about anything but my revenge. I see my family’s faces every night. I see what that bastard made them into. How can I let him slip through my fingers?
“But, I wouldn’t even have got this far without Cory. He saved my life. The revenant would’ve already killed me and made me into a ghoul if he hadn’t showed up. He gave me a purpose. He would never choose vengeance over my life. How could I live with myself if I allowed him to die for something so selfish?”
