Talon POV

Thirty minutes later, we sat in the inn’s tavern. It was an admirable attempt to add space to the original body of the building. A standard setup of a few tables with a bar at the back and a shelf of different display options. Nothing fancy, but a well-put effort for a less than well-known town.

An inn worker, a young man who had probably chosen this work over tending to the fields a few miles over, had offered us water and served a tray of meat buns. The best sign for these is when you take a bite, the dough breaks with a cloud of meat-scented steam, which these did satisfactorily. It was a welcome distraction from the heavy air that hung between the three of us.

The Naiad sat as far from us as she could but had no lack of appetite. Two buns were gone immediately, and a third almost followed before she saw our faces and took her time. It was about fifteen minutes before she said, “Thank you.”

Kes brightened as if all worries had been dispersed by that simple phrase. She ate happily, matching the Naiad's pace. The Naiad kept her eyes down, occasionally looking up at me, sneering, and returning to her meal. What a pleasant way to lose some Rue. 

“Got a name?” Kes asked. She had scooted her seat over to the stranger. The Naiad nudged her chair away, saw that it was now closer to me, then moved back. 

She took a long chew of the meat bun before replying, “Lily.”

Hard not to be surprised by such a simple name. With her disposition, I’d expected one more akin to Storm, Kraken, Piranha, or some other name more common to Naiads with an intense personality.

“Pretty! I’m Kestrel, but Kes is fine with me.”

“Kes,” the Naiad, Lily, said. “Harpy?” 

“Yep.” Kes set her hand on the table, palm up. A small swirl of wind gathered within it before she held it to her mouth and blew it at Lily, ruffling her hair. “Wind, air, bird names, all that stuff.” Kes looked at me, waited, and then kicked me under the table in a matter that jostled the whole thing.

Stars above, help me.

“I’m Talon. A Draek.”

Lily nodded in the way people do when they get told something obvious. “Kes, what are you and Fireboy doing in this part of the world?”

The tension in my shoulders doubled, but Kes hid a chuckle behind her hands, shrugging unapologetically when I saw her betrayal. “Tal and I are kinda just on the road until something comes up.”

“Just on the road?”

“Yep. Not much planned. I mean, there’s kinda a plan, but that’s a little personal for him. For me, though, I just wanted to go out.”

Lily's eyebrow rose. It was my turn to shrug. It was the simple truth, but the bluntness made it seem like we were just romping across the countryside. “I have family business to attend to, but it’s hard to see it done in a single location.”

“Vague, but sure.”

“What about you?” Kes asked. “What are you doing?”

Lily went for her plate and found it empty. She yanked a bun off the tray and took another lengthy bite. “Personal stuff.”

Right. We were being vague.

Kes set the remains of her bun down. “By yourself?”

It would be near impossible not to notice the way Lily coiled at the question. “No.”

“With someone named Bass?”

Her breath caught, and the violet in her eyes seemed to flash. “Have you seen him?” The shake in her voice struck a chord of pity. Circumstances aside, the worry was undeniable.

“No,” I said. “You were saying his name before you went down. Was he with you when you encountered the Bog Rats?” The lack of reply said enough. “It’s well known that they have hordes not far off. Most people can avoid them by sticking to the marked paths. So what? Are you monster skinners or just unfamiliar with the area?”

“Talon,” Kes hissed. 

“Neither, Fireboy. We needed something and thought the Rats had it. We were wrong, and it all went to shit.”

“Needed what?”

“Personal business,” she said with the singsong tone of a street vendor but with a face of stone.

Kes's look of warning was an unneeded reminder. I spoke out of line. Still, given the state we’d found Lily, it’s hard to imagine a positive scenario for her companion. “What are you going to do now?”

“Go back to the Rats.”

Stars above. Before I could I could even speak, Kes stood up and said, “Are ya stupid?”

“Depends on the day and who you ask.”

Kes, chair forgotten, stood above Lily, arms flapping with energy that needed to be released. “You got all torn up! Going back alone will just end the same or even worse.”

“Obviously.”

“I know none of us said it, but this Bass person is probably dead. Probably got all gobbled up,” the chomping hand motions were not helpful. “You gonna end up in their belly, too?”

Lily was rigid again, back into her fighting state. “Worth the risk.”

“For a dead guy?”

“He’s not dead!” Her voice boomed through the tavern. The worker poked his head back in. I waved him away. Lily cursed as she took a deep breath. “He can’t be. He’s tough. And he’ll be pissed when he gets out of there and I’m nowhere around.”

“But,” Kes started when Lily rose from the table, her meal forgotten.

“Thanks for the food. And getting me patched up. Here’s what I got.” She took a pouch from her belt and dropped it on the table with a wet slap. “Sorry if it’s not enough. I need to get gone.”

Lily stomped from the room. Kes’s face split with worry, and I couldn’t help but relate. It’d be a death sentence if she went back alone if that had been the aftermath of a pair’s work. Lily opened the inn’s door, which slammed shut when Kes swung her arm. “Just hold on a minute!” Kes grabbed me under the arm and hauled me over to the farthest corner of the room. “Talon, we gotta go with her.”

“Kes, that’s crazy.”

“But she’ll get stomped!”

“And we could be killed.”

‘“Taaaalooooon,”

“Kes, for fuck’s sake,” she stuck out her lip. I ran my hands through my hair as I gathered myself. “Kes, a swarm of Bog Rats is no joke. We’d be walking into a literal monster nest for a person that we just met and attacked us twice when we tried to help her. For a person we’ve never met and is probably dead by now. I’m not going to risk your life or mine for that.”

“But I don't want her to die.” Simple answer. Naive and softhearted. “Talon, we could help her. Come on, I’m not saying we do something crazy. We could come back if it’s clear that we can’t do anything. But I don’t want to be the person that just lets someone walk into something dangerous alone when someone they care about is at stake.” She took my hand between hers, pleading eyes in full force. “It’s the right thing. The good thing.”

The retort of the raved beasts, lost limbs, and the obvious danger was ready to fly. Then, I saw her. Lily stood against the door, hand resting on the hand, body tight, not in the manner of a fight but holding itself together. Some of her bandages were turning red as the wounds underneath reopened. What a horrible feeling it must be to have your body in such a state. Ravaged by diseases and claws alike, yet making yourself keep going. A person who had summoned a whirlpool to drag herself across the land to find her missing companion. What must their bond be to go through so much and refuse to stop? How awful is the feeling of losing someone worth that much to you?

Damn it all.

“Plus, we could get some Rue for some monster parts,” Kes continued. “We’re already short on cash, so a little extra will go a long way.”

“Now you start speaking rationally?”

“Sympathy was taking too long.”

She tugged my hand, and I broke. “Fine.”

The approval for walking into the nest of giant, bacteria-ridden rodents had Kes squealing with glee. She gave a quick, full-weight hug before she sprinted to Lily, yelling, “Let’s go!”

For all the stars in the sky, don’t let this be the worst mistake I make.