Page 10 of Wanted: Rogues and Bards

“Fine. What’s your idea on his true identity?” Hapi snapped.

Rain lounged in his chair again and scratched his beard as if thinking on it, but a wicked grin already twisted his lips. “I think he’s got you all conned. He’s a con artist and a skilled thief. This is just one of his personas—the educated noble dandy. All designed to lower your guard. He probably wasn’t really trapped in that coffin.” Rain paused and licked his lips, his gaze narrowed on Fenric.

Fuck.

Here it comes.

“He was just waiting for a softhearted sucker to come along and save him.”

Fenric rolled his eyes. Of course, he’d thought the same thing more than once when he was on the road with Maxie.

“No. That is not possible,” Belstrom declared before Fenric could speak. “His knowledge is far too robust, and there were no slip-ups during the meal. His manners were impeccable. His posture was perfect. Even while surrounded by a group of Luddite louts, he never wavered in his etiquette and manners. That only comes from a lifetime of training and proper breeding.”

Rain snorted and downed the last of the alcohol in his cup. He straightened in his chair to check where the bottle currently rested. There was only enough for everyone to have a last swallow before bed. “Whatever. That’s just part of the con. What’s your idea?” he asked as he wrapped his hand around the neck of the bottle.

“He is a scholar,” Belstrom announced without a second of hesitation. All eyes snapped to him, and more than a few eyebrows rose in surprise. “While young, I would not be surprised if he was apprenticed under a court minister. It is likely that during his work or studies, he uncovered a dark secret, requiring he be silenced before he could undermine the entire royal family.”

No one spoke for several seconds. It wasn’t a bad theory. They all suspected the royal family had more than their fair share of dark secrets, and Maxie appeared to be just the right age to be a minister’s assistant or apprentice. He also had royal court–worthy manners. The only problem with this idea was that if Maxie had discovered a secret, the assassin assigned to him wouldn’t have done such a half-assed job. Maxie wouldn’t have been taken across the kingdom. His ass would have been killed in Haugesand and his body would never have been found.

“What about you?” Hapi turned on the sofa beside Fenric and stared at him. “You haven’t told us your idea yet.”

Fenric leaned forward and took the bottle from Rain. He poured barely a mouthful into his cup, then passed the bottle along to Malfas so he and Belstrom could finish it off. “I’m not giving my idea out for free.”

“What?”

“Asshole!”

“Skor!”

Fenric chuckled and held up a hand to stop their bitching. “I’m just saying we all have different ideas, so we should make a wager. Put some coin behind this.”

Oh, that changed their tune quick enough. Belstrom volunteered to write down everyone’s theories and to collect coin from each participant since he was the most organized of them.

“There. Settled. What’s your idea?” Hapi pressed.

“Evil stepmother,” Fenric said simply, which just left Hapi glaring like he planned to remove Fenric’s skeleton through his nose. Before the elf could snap, Fenric continued. “I’m with Hapi in the belief that Puppy comes from a noble family. His manners are too polished, and he’s got almost zero street smarts. However, I think he’s an eldest son who has lost his birth mother. Daddy remarried and had more kids with wifey number two. Now, Daddy is getting on in years and Stepmommy wants to make sure she and her progeny get all the inheritance. What’s the easiest way to cut out the son from wife number one? Disappear his ass.”

Silence reigned for a few heartbeats as they digested what Fenric had said, then they all started talking at once, arguing how they had the best idea. But the bickering didn’t last longer than the last swallow of whiskey.

Fenric offered, “If Rain is right, and Puppy is a con artist and possible assassin, I think we should set a watch for the night, just to keep an eye on him. I’ll take the first shift.”

His companions nodded and volunteers stuck up their hands, filling up the last of the shifts, making sure everyone still got a good amount of sleep. By the time Fenric was left alone in the sitting room, the rain had stopped outside and the thunder had turned into a distant growl.

Something smelled delicious.

Mornings were much easier when the scent of delicious things wafted through the “secret” lair. Fenric had passed a few lazy hours on sentry duty and been relieved by Rain after midnight, allowing Fenric to sleep well into midmorning. He snatched up a pair of mostly clean trousers from the floor and ran a hand through his hair, careful to avoid a still-sleeping Hapi. Now was not the time to waste on trying to be presentable. Someone somewhere was making breakfast, and he didn’t want to risk missing out on it.

But who?

Belstrom was a decent cook when you could pull him away from his books. Hapi was okay if you could get past the slightly ashy taste that seemed to accompany everything he made. Not to mention he refused to cook without a lot of bellyaching and bitching about how the task was beneath him. Rain wasn’t bad, as long as you wanted fish for every meal. And then Malfas just burned everything. The warlock was handy with a stew, though.

This smelled too good for all of them.

Fenric’s footsteps thundered down the stairs, and he charged into the dining room where Belstrom, Rain, and Malfas were already crowded around the long table, eager expressions on their faces. Maxie buzzed around the kitchen, taking things out of the oven and humming to himself.

“Wait. Puppy is cooking?” Fenric demanded.

“Yes! Isn’t it wonderful?” Malfas gushed as Fenric dropped into a chair next to him. “I’ll admit I had some doubts about bringing the little puppy into our group when it was so obvious he’s got a warm, tender, caring heart and not a single evil bone in his body, because how could he possibly hope to become a proper villain with a big, tender heart? But if his cooking is half as good as it smells, we’re going to be in for a real treat and it’s going to give us all a break from cooking duties, which I, for one, would definitely welcome.”