Page 9 of Death of a Mortal

And ballsy—it took guts keeping something so precious here with so many desperate townsfolk still lingering. We’d have to be just as smart, and we were already at a disadvantage not knowing what we were walking into. Were they up there, planning their escape, or waiting out the crowd to leave once the bar closed? Or perhaps conspiring with a group to strong-arm their way out and split the prize?

My mind whirled with possibilities, but I finally nodded after one last sip of the disgusting thick mead to steel my nerves. Fadric laid two small bronze coins on our table for the barmaid.

We made our way toward the single set of rickety wooden stairs and, with a quick glance around, made our way up.

It was dark at the top landing, with only a few sconces to light thearea, and only three doors leading off. With a silent nod, we split up, each approaching a door on opposite ends of the hall and pressing an ear to it.

Up here, the sounds from the bar below were just background noise. I listened hard for several minutes and heard nothing from the other side. Before I could think better of it, I opened the door slowly to find a completely dark room. The low light from the hall flooded in just enough for me to see an untidy desk occupying most of the space that was clearly not hiding anyone.

I backed out of the room, closing the door behind me to find Fadric doing the same. He looked over at me and shook his head—he’d come up empty too.

We approached the third door and heard the unmistakable sounds of sex coming from the other side. I wrinkled my nose and glanced at Fadric to find him smiling. I swear, nothing fazed him.

If the couple in this room were the only ones upstairs, then it seemed it was a man with the coin, and he’d decided to spend it on a woman’s company.Pathetic. I had clearly overestimated the one holding the coin.

I grabbed the door’s handle with a final nod to Fadric, but when I opened it and peeked through the small crack, where I’d expected to see two people, I instead found a whole group. There was one man with three women surrounding him on a dingy bed while he was buried deep inside a fourth…

All naked.

My mind was quickly formulating a plan. “Follow my lead, Fad,” I whispered. “I’ll pose as a girl the barmaid sent up to join in the…festivities.” I looked down at my shirt and unbuttoned the top two buttons. “You offer wine, let’s see if we can draw the coin out.”

I didn’t give him time to react before I fully opened the door. The occupants were only slightly alarmed, the man stopping mid thrust. Their inebriated state was clear on all their faces. Good. If they were drunk, they’d be easier to fool, to manipulate.

I cleared my throat and put on a sultry voice, rolling my shouldersback and giving them all a heady smile. “I was told you were interested in one more lady to join your…party.”

Fadric, as requested, followed my lead. “I’ve brought up the finest lady in all of Briarstead, sir. I assume she is to your liking?”

The man flopped over onto his back and the women resumed stroking his chest and toying with his hair, one nipping at his earlobe.

“I’m on’y interested if sheain’tladylike,” he laughed, cupping the blonde to his left hard on the ass.

“I can assure you, good sir, she is not,” Fadric said with a wink and a half-bow. “I shall leave her with you and return with more wine.”

With a grunt, the man didn’t even spare Fadric a glance as he looked at me with a gaze drenched in desire. I felt gross and dirty. I just prayed I could find the coin before needing to get undressed.

I pressed my luck and looked around for as long as I could, noting several piles of clothing around the bed and a flickering candle on each of the two side tables, before he beckoned me to come closer.

Before I obeyed, though, I noticed the shine of gold on the table to my left, glinting in the orange glow.

What an idiot, just leaving the coin out in the open, even in a private room. Then again, he seemed intent on spending it all in one night anyway. I just needed to ensure I collected it before the bar staff did. Or the women.

Well, here goes.

“I…prefer to watch for a bit.” I bit my lip to sell the ruse, hoping Fadric would return soon so we could swipe the coin and run for it.

The man seemed unbothered by my presence either way, so he went back to kissing one woman while another took his half-hardened length into her mouth. A brunette just eyed me. I smiled at her as I moved to sit on the edge of the bed—as close as I wanted to get.

Fadric returned moments later, panting, with a tray of glasses and a dusty bottle of wine. He knew this operation needed to move quickly, and inwardly, I was impressed at how fast he’d swiped abottle of wine. I turned toward him, my face diverted from the orgy, and eyed the coin.

Once again, he gathered what I was saying without words.

He saw the coin.

Approaching the side table where it sat, he addressed the man. “I’ll pour some wine and just be on my way then, sir.” He set the tray down on the small table and deftly snagged the coin and pocketed it, before pouring two glasses, handing the first to the naked man and the second to me.

Escape time.

I took a clumsy sip as I leaned into the throng of bodies with a smile. I used the movement to spill the contents of my glass on all of them, drenching everyone in dark-red wine.