Jinx

Sometimes it's better, to just say no

Bubbly bubbles floated to the surface of the stone horse trough. A fine trough this is, Jinx thought pushing more air out her lungs, lips flapping disturbing the clear water. Her eyes open, since they weren’t smarting under water and her mind relaxed in her post orgasmic euphoria. Doing nothing was very high in her priorities, and one the main reasons for making the journey to Altarin.

The less the danger, the happier the Gish were this world over.

A long shadow stepped over her, tall and mysterious he could have been, but Dante’s extravagant silver belt buckle, let that particular cat out the fuckin’ bag. Jinx raised her wet pink mess of a head out of the water and felt the tickle on her exposed nostrils turn galling, for a moment.

“Hello Pretty,” Dante said, teasing gleam in his eye. “Took me a while to find you.”

“Hmm, I was here the whole time,” Jinx replied, reluctantly stepping out of the trough, water pouring down the stable’s hard-packed ground and the chill making the fine hair on her hands rising.

“Mind putting something on?” Dante asked with a smirk. “There are young kids running around the premises.”

“Pfft, kids these days are practically the worst perverts,” Jinx replied, finding the dirty vest she’d haphazardly thrown away earlier and putting it on.

She made a show of it, teasing grin on her lips.

“I told you to burn that,” Dante remarked, with a grimace of fake disgust. “And decent women, put their pants on first, for the love of Uher.”

“Not any women, I know,” Jinx deadpanned, with an ‘aha’ following swift, when she located her leather pants. She showed him her fit backside, stooping deftly to pick them up.

“Hence the decent part, Pretty.”

“Uhm.”

“Right, how was it then?” The Captain of the Gallant Dogs asked with an eye-roll.

“Cool, ye know me, can’t have enough moisture!”

“The rooms were pretty decent. Even had warm water.”

“Ahm, yeah. Zola wanted to use the bath barrel alone,” Jinx replied with a frown. “That woman is, like really selfish, ye know?”

Dante cleared his throat and pointed a thumb out the open manor stable’s doors.

“You are going to want to see this,” He said, all serious.

Jinx wouldn’t, much preferring to stay in the trough, but she did him the small favor, since most men can turn right crazy, if they go without a good ole shag for a while.

Or women.

They watched the guards taking the prisoners back to town, every single one of them looking dejected and plain miserable, much as you would expect from people going to their doom, chains around their necks and legs.

“Well, seems our young lord failed to convince his grandfather,” Dante Blackwood said. “I knew it was a foolish endeavor.”

Jinx pushed her wet hair back. “Perhaps.”

Dante whipped his head her way.

“Fuck that’s supposed to mean? You disagree?”

“Oh come on, the kid did the right thing,” Jinx replied.

“Saving cutthroats, and wasting coin… pfft! Pretty, you can’t be serious!” Dante exclaimed theatrically.

Not that he convinced her.

“It’s hypocritical to execute people that surrendered, chief,” Jinx pointed. “Then turn around and cry bloody murder, if they do the same.”

“It’s not the same thing!”

“Ahm, yeah it fuckin’ is. But we do it all the time just the same,” Jinx said, noticing Glen and the Knight exiting the main building of the large manor, accompanied by several armed guards.

Dante smacked his lips frustrated, trying to find a way to turn it around. Jinx seeing him all flustered smacked his arm once, forcing him to snap out of it, adding for good measure. “Don’t be a fuckin’ cunt.”

“That’s one of our pirates right?” Jinx whispered out the side of her mouth, as Glen and his esteemed company stopped before them and the manor’s stables. The Lord of Altarin had an amused look on his wrinkled face that made him appear senile somewhat. Sir Solomon wore his natural scowl, so Jinx thought nothing of it.

“Aye. He saved one at least,” Dante replied subdued, through his merchant's grin.

“Lord Reeves,” Sir Emerson said, with a grunt. “Let me introduce to you, Captain Blackwood, of the Gallant Dogs Company and Whisper Jinx.” Jinx saw he wanted to add something more, but came up empty.

“I’m a Ranger mostly,” She said, helping him with a wink that wasn’t well received by the frowning Knight. Good thing, I’ve left the cunt part out, Jinx thought.

“Captain Blackwood,” Lord Reeves said stepping forward. “I offer you my gratitude for keeping my grandson safe. I understand, it wasn’t an easy journey.”

“Thank you, my Lord,” Dante said, with a sharp bow of the head. “It wasn’t, but we pride ourselves as being consummate professionals. We simply refuse to fail.”

Jinx almost drowned, trying to swallow her chuckle at the hyperbole and Glen watching her turn blue in the face, started smirking like an idiot.

“That is, excellent to hear Mr. Blackwood,” Lord Reeves replied. “You are paid, for the whole month, is my understanding. I’d like to extend your contract, for the rest of the year.”

Jinx narrowed her eyes.

“Work for you, my Lord?” Dante asked, already in business mode.

“Work for my grandson. Same as now,” The old Lord explained. “The Duke has requested the majority of Altarin’s troops to head for Rida and I can’t simply spare the men to keep him safe. Altarin comes first, you understand.”

“Of course, my Lord,” Dante replied readily. “We will just need to secure a permanent spot for our animals, but the rooms we currently have are adequate.”

Jinx watched the Lord’s face harden and felt a knot in her stomach.

What do you want, ye old prick?

Lord Reeves sensing her glare, turned his eyes her way. Glen’s eyes on an older face. An old, completely different face, Jinx thought. Even the nose, not that she even cared about that stupid part of the human anatomy, was totally different. All wrong.

“Sir Arno told me, there’s a Gish in my home,” Lord Reeves said, his voice anything but weak. “I’ve heard about your kind, but you milady, are the first one I see. It is an unexpected treat for my old eyes.”

Was that a fuckin’ compliment?

Or a veiled threat?

Either way, I ain’t suckin’ yer old cock, mister, Jinx thought with a scowl, but kept it civil under Dante’s imploring stare.

“Lots of us around, milord,” Jinx hissed through her teeth, a shrug almost saving it. “We just like to keep to ourselves.”

Lord Reeves smiled, showing a good number of teeth for his age.

“Still a novelty. Much of that popping about, these days. Having said that, Mr. Blackwood,” He said turning towards Dante, “How large is your company?”

“We’ve lost some people, my Lord. This is all the men we have, but we can do the job, with no problem,” Dante replied, putting as much confidence as he could in to his words.

Jinx was certain the two men were talking about something completely different.

“Whatever that number may be,” Lord Reeves said. “Forty of my guards are already at the place to provide help. I was thinking of giving the command to Sir Solomon, but I don’t believe now and after talking with him for some time, Sir Lennox would want to leave young Glenavon to make the journey, unescorted.”

“I wouldn’t,” Sir Emerson said simply.

Jinx turned towards Glen, with a silent query. He shrugged his shoulders.

Are ye fuckin’ kiddin’ me?

“There are many avenues for the Khan to reach Raoz,” Lord Reeves continued, from where he’d stopped. “The least favorable is through the narrow Hellfort pass. Seeing as we are almost in the winter, I think it unlikely. Still, measures must be taken to secure the place and the bridge over Teid River,” He paused, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “It is not a dangerous mission Mr. Blackwood. But I want Glenavon, to prove his worth as a Reeves. Repair the fort and prepare it for winter, keep the bridge in our hands. Rule just as a Lord should. Will you help him then, Mr. Blackwood? As a personal favor to me and the Duke of Raoz?”

Fuck me…

There was no such thing, as not a dangerous mission, she thought. The moment you heard those words, something sinister was afoot.

Ye rat-faced duplicitous old prick! Hope ye die drowning in yer blood!

Jinx stared at Dante, but his stunned expression told her, the man had nothing.

Just say no, ye bloody fool! Jinx urged him, forgetting all she’d said before, about doing the right thing and helping others.

Dante scrunching his mouth this way and that, took his time to answer, his eyes almost desperate. One part of him not wanting any involvement in a possible war, the other weighing in the value of a Lord’s favor for any fledging mercenary company.

A company, could become an army.

The power as great, as the profits.

If we lived through it.

“I will be honored to help, Lord Reeves. Happy to provide assistance to the Duke of Raoz,” Dante answered a moment later, Glen’s smile reaching his ears, all an adventure to him, but Jinx’s instincts were screaming for her to ride her horse out of Altarin.

As fast as fuckin’ possible.