Search for the Soul Gem

Chapter Thirty-Two

     I stood there frozen from confusion and fear. Tony and Banner stood where they were, both ready to fight but looking completely confused. Tony broke the trance first and strode over to me. His hands went to my face as he studied me quickly.

     "Are you okay Lucy?" he asked quietly, his voice shaking lightly. I looked up at him for a moment. I nodded slowly. He pulled me away from the wall and back toward Banner.

     "What was all that about?" he asked as we walked back to where we'd left our gloves on the counter. I quickly pulled the gloves on to cover the marks on my hand before looking over at Banner.

     "I don't know but he got real scared when he saw the mark on my palm," I said quietly, wrapping the scarf back around my neck.

     "That's really strange," Banner trailed off, lost in thought. I shifted slightly, looking back at the doorway the barman had disappered through.

     "Can we get out of here, before he decides to come back," I said. We all left the tavern quickly, the cold outside strangly comforting from the stifling heat of the tavern. We started down the road that followed the curve of the ocean. We all walked in silence, the only sound was the muffled crunch of snow under our boots as we walked. We left a trail of evaporating mist from every exhale. My mind was reeling, trying to make sense of the barman's reaction. He'd been scared of the mark on my palm. Like it was going to harm him just by looking at it. But what could possibly make someone afraid of a symbol? There had to be something underlying to make him fear a mark. And deep down I knew what it had to do with. I'd seen reactions like that before but not as violent. When someone reacted so strongly to something like that it usually had to do with some deeply engrained belief in the entire culture. The only question was what was it? And why did it scare that man so much?

     I was so lost in thought that I didn't even realize we'd entered a new building. It wasn't until I stepped forward and directly into Tony's back that I even realized we'd stopped walking. Tony turned to me with a small smile on his lips.

     "If you wanted my attention darling, all you had to do was ask," Tony whispered to me. I rolled my eyes and starrted unwrapping my scarf. This tavern had a much friendlier atmosphere than the first one. There was about ten people milling around the counter, a cheery din of conversation filling the air. The barman was buzzing around behind the counter, taking and filling orders. Off in the bar, the crack of a cueball snapped above the chatter. We shored up at the counter with me on the corner, Tony next to me, and Banner next to him. I set my scarf down on the counter along with my gloves. I pulled my hat off and let my drying hair fall around my shoulders. The barman glanced over at Tony, a question in his eyes. Tony held up three fingers and said what sounded like coffee. The barman nodded and made his way back toward the end of the counter. I looked around the bar at the men that were sitting next to us at the counter. The one right next to me seemed to have been here for a long time now, based on the lazy smile on his mouth. He looked over at me with a sly smile over the mug that was poised on his mouth. He opened his mouth and said something to me in a language that I didn't know. The barman set the mugs of coffee in front of Tony and I pulled mine into my hands to warm them up.

     "I'm sorry, do you speak English?" I said quietly. The man smiled wider and set his mug down.

     "You're in luck doll face, that's one of the few I'm reliable in," the man said with a thick accent. I offered him a small smile as I took a sip of the coffee, careful to keep the marks on my hand hidden.

     "Well I'm in luck then aren't I?" I said. He smiled again.

     "Let me buy you a drink honey," he offered. Tony shifted behind me and leaned closer to me. I flicked my hand up descretely. I couldn't let Tony's jealousy get in the way of rapport I was trying to get. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the door open to the bar. I smiled at the man sweetly.