The Devil Doesn't Bargain (MatD part 2)

Chapter FORTY ONE - Positivity and Plans

It seemed all at once the air was pulled and twisted into fine ribbons - what once was thick now felt far too thin and as I climbed down the stairs one creaking step at a time, the air seemed to chill right along with it. Sunlight had dimmed and the chatter had grown but perhaps I had just been adjusting to the sudden change in quietude. 

Sebastian's eyes felt like needlepointed hollows - deep and beckoning but dangerous as they followed me down. I tried my best to avoid them. His lips were pulled tight though neither side was especially turned in one direction or the other - his expression inscrutable.

Anne stood closely behind, her shoulders pulled back ever so slightly and her eyes numbly bare in the candle light. Ominis had pulled himself into one of the chairs behind the twins at the bar, his head facing the counter and a rigidity to his spine.

"Well?" Sebastian arched a brow but held the rest of his face stern.

A hesitant glance back over my shoulder offered no sign of Lodgok who I presumed had opted to remain in the shadows of the lofted levels. The steady chatter and banter around us held thick and bent around the edges as far more patrons than before gathered around the worn tables and sipped noisily from mugs.

A gnawing urge bit at my tongue, pleading for me to conceal what I'd learned for fear of another hostile outburst. 

I didn't want to lie. Merlin, I never wanted to lie to him - to them - again, but I was so tired.

Tired of arguing.

Tired of being sick and feeling useless.

Tired of being pitied and taken for something weaker than I knew I could be.

Tired of feeling responsible and yet still aching for that tug I knew I shouldn't want.

Tired of the tangled jumble of emotions that coiled in my gut. A hunger that couldn't be satiated for lack of understanding of what it truly desired.

I was exhausted.

Anne's gentle eyes encouraged me forward through a half truth, hoping it would be enough to avoid the disappointment in his gaze.

"I have an errand I need to run. Shouldn't be long. Why don't you three return our things to the castle and I can meet you in the Undercroft in a couple hours."

Ominis turned his nose toward me but said nothing, a benign pull between his brows.

"Hours?" Anne chirped.

Sebastian grit his teeth and locked his arms one over the other. "That's bullshit. What did he say to you?"

Not here. I wanted to say but held my breath and shook my head slightly, hoping to avoid the attention of a particularly interested couple that was now leaning not-so-subtly in our direction.

Gentle taps of Anne's boots pressed against the floor as she rounded Sebastian's shoulder and took my hands in hers. "Perhaps, we can discuss a bit more on the way out? Wouldn't want to disturb the paying patrons here with our nonsense."

"We are paying patrons-" Sebastian grumbled but bit off the last word as the heel of Anne's shoe pressed firmly into his toe. She shot him an overly widened smirk and nodded towards the door.

Whether she too had noticed our onlookers or if perhaps she wanted to give our little group some air, I wasn't sure but I nodded gratefully regardless.

Taking me by the arm, she guided us swiftly toward the door. "Why don't you carry our things Sebastian. Ominis?"

Ominis huffed a noncommittal sort of noise but stood gently from his stool and tucked it back into place, following on our heels with his wand raised high. Sebastian was left with no choice but to haul the baskets into his hands and scurry after us.