Free Secrets of Arkana Fortress by Andy P Wood Page B

taught.
    Kelken guarded her, fought for her, loved her, and sometimes killed to protect her. Nothing got to his baby girl without feeling the steely blade against its flesh – Kelken took them all on.
    Now the age of 22 she was the depiction of beauty for any half-breed. Sure her human side was more prominent because of her father, but she never forgot the reptilian side of herself – she took pride in it. The skills she had with a bow were reliably adept, having been taught by the old archery master back in the city. She loved archery, and had taken it up as a hobby on her tenth birthday. Whether it was her reptilian senses or her childish keenness, she was a natural at it. She was also skilled at patching up her father’s increasing number of careless wounds.

‘You know all these cuts and bruises could have been readily avoided,’ she remarked as she held the stinging rag to his face again.
    ‘Oh yeah? How exactly?’ Kelken asked, still a bit woozy from the medicinal drink he had had earlier.
    She stopped and looked him in the eye. ‘By sticking to the plan and not leaving me out in the cold for hours on end – that’s how.’
    If there was one thing that could instil dread and fear into Kelken, it was his daughter’s rage and how she made it come across so casually blank each and every time. ‘I said I was sorry, Breena.’
    She applied more liquid to his cuts, this time on his neck. ‘It’s ‘sorry’ every single time it happens… and it happens way too often. You’ve got to stop fucking around, you stupid old sod. We’ll both end up biting the dust if you’re not more careful.’
    His face winced as more alcohol was applied to a large sore on his throat. ‘We get the jobs done,’ he stated in an effort to positively charge the conversation. ‘What’s a few cuts and scrapes to us, eh?’
    ‘A few cuts and scrapes?’ Breena exclaimed with unmitigated shock in her voice. ‘A few cu…’ Her throat cleared. ‘Remember that time you had your arm snapped more or less in two? And what about the incident with the feline outlaws down south?’
    Kelken laughed deeply. ‘I killed them didn’t I?’
    ‘Erm yeah… that was at the expense of one of your kidneys. Blade straight through you, or have you neglected to recall that one?’ She made a rasping sound as she re-enacted the sword thrust on her own torso.
    ‘Oh come on,’ he pleaded, his arms wide apart as if he was begging. ‘That was easily replaced.’ His eyebrows furrowed a little as Breena’s steely gaze insisted on punching a hole through him.
    She sighed as she corked the bottle of alcohol and placed it on the bedside table next to her. ‘I don’t see why I keep getting into these pissy little rows with you; nothing ever goes into your thick skull does it, dad?’ Her tongue poked out slightly as she finished her sentence. Although it was forked at the end, it was mostly human in appearance, but it kept the air tasting demeanour of all reptilian tongues. She lifted herself up from the chair and tapped Kelken on the head lightly. ‘I’m going to the bar for a pint.’ She left it at that and exited the rustic room to go downstairs without so much as a glance towards her dejected father.
    Kelken looked back as she evacuated the room. He arced forward and raised his body up straight from his bed before motoring into action to follow her. As he moved, he muttered under his breath remorsefully. ‘It’s not as if it was one of your kidneys. I took that blade for you, girl…’
     
    ***
     
    Smoke billowed from tables as sailors, soldiers, and mercenaries alike took stock of their day’s activities. They enjoyed reciting their tales to whoever wanted to hear, many of them tavern girls who took delight in talking, flirting, kissing, and even going that little bit further with the battle-beaten customers for the right price.
                  Ale was passed around and consumed at a cheetah’s pace; men and women of all races