Free Web NovelChapter 27: Siren Stronghold [ 23 ]
"Yeah," he admitted. "Tomorrow night. Got some work to do up in the Mortal World."
She nodded slowly, like she’d been expecting that answer. "Will you come back?"
"Probably not for a while. Maybe never." He shrugged. "Depends on how things go up there."
"I see."
She turned away from him and walked back toward the kitchen. He thought she was going to leave it at that, but then she stopped at the doorway and looked back over her shoulder.
"You know, when you first showed up here and sat down on my chairs, I thought you were going to be a huge pain in my ass."
Nacho snorted. "I wasn’t?"
"No. You were definitely a pain in my ass." Her lips curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile. "But you also helped me more than anyone has since my father died. The inn’s doing better. I can actually afford to fix the stairs now. So... thanks. I guess."
"You’re welcome. I guess."
She disappeared into the kitchen, and Nacho went back to staring out the window.
That was almost touching. In a weird, Lizbeth kind of way.
The afternoon brought more customers, including a few he recognized from previous sessions. Vanessa showed up around her usual time, dropped her coins on the counter, and made a beeline for the massage room door.
"Same as yesterday," she said without even looking at him.
"Actually..." Nacho stepped in front of her, blocking the door. "I need to tell you something."
She raised an eyebrow. Her brown hair was pulled back today, and she was wearing something nicer than her usual merchant attire. A deep blue dress that probably cost more than Lizbeth made in a month.
"What?"
"I’m leaving tomorrow. Won’t be around for a while."
Her expression flickered. Surprise, then annoyance, then something he couldn’t quite read.
"Leaving where?"
"Up. Mortal World. Business."
"For how long?"
"Don’t know. Could be weeks. Could be months."
She stared at him for a long moment. Then she grabbed his arm and pulled him into the massage room, slamming the door behind them.
"Then we better make today count."
Nacho opened his mouth to respond, but she was already pulling off her dress.
Well. I guess I did promise her the same as yesterday.
(One hour later...)
Vanessa was lying on the massage table, staring at the ceiling with the glazed expression he’d come to recognize from his repeat customers. Her chest was still heaving, and her legs were still trembling.
"You..." She swallowed hard. "You can’t just leave after that."
"I can, actually. Pretty easily."
She turned her head to glare at him. The effect was somewhat diminished by the fact that she was completely naked and covered in a thin sheen of sweat.
"I will find you. Wherever you go. I will track you down and drag you back here."
"That’s a little intense."
"You made me this way." She sat up slowly, wincing as her muscles protested. "Before you, I was a respectable merchant’s daughter. Now I can’t go three days without..." She gestured vaguely at the massage table. "This."
Nacho felt a tiny pang of something that might have been guilt. It passed quickly.
"You could always find another masseuse."
"There is no other masseuse like you." She grabbed her dress from the floor and started pulling it on. "Whatever you do with that warming tool of yours, it’s not normal. I don’t care what it is, I just know I need it."
Yeah, that’s probably because it’s a tentacle that amplifies my Charm by 10x. But sure, we can call it a warming tool.
"Look," he said. "I’ll be back eventually. Probably. And when I am, you can book as many sessions as you want. Deal?"
She finished dressing and turned to face him. Her pale green eyes were intense in a way that made him slightly uncomfortable.
"Fine. But if you’re not back within a year, I’m coming to find you. And I will find you. I have resources."
"I don’t doubt it."
She left without another word, slamming the door hard enough to rattle the hinges.
Nacho sat down on the massage table and rubbed his temples.
I think I may have created a monster.
The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur of customers and conversations. He gave a few more massages, collected a few more common Talents that merged into things he already had, and tried not to think too hard about what was waiting for him in the Mortal World.
By the time evening rolled around, the inn was quiet. Lizbeth had closed up early, claiming she was tired. Nacho suspected she just didn’t want to be around when he left.
He was sitting in the massage room, going through his inventory one last time, when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
The door opened to reveal Captain Rhea Valdross. She was out of armor this time, wearing simple civilian clothes that somehow made her look even more dangerous than the full military kit.
Her dark brown hair was loose around her shoulders, and there was a faint bruise on her jaw that suggested she’d been in a fight recently.
"I heard you were leaving," she said. freewebnσvel.cѳm
Nacho raised an eyebrow. "News travels fast."
"I have sources." She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. "My father told me about the council meeting. About how you showed up with daggers made from my Talent."
Ah. Here we go.
"Yeah, about that..."
"He thinks you copied it somehow. That you have some kind of ability that lets you replicate other people’s skills." She crossed her arms. "Is that true?"
"More or less."
"And you copied mine during the massage."
It wasn’t a question.
"Yes."
She was quiet for a moment. Then she laughed. It was a sharp sound, more surprised than amused.
"I should be angry about that. I should probably report you to the council and have you bound for stealing military assets."
"But?"
"But honestly?" She shook her head. "I don’t care. That massage was the best thing that’s happened to me in years. If copying my Talent was the price, then fine. I’d pay it again."
