Free Fantasy of Flight by Kelly St. Clare Page B

around here, just because I’ve asked for input this once. The rules still stand.” She clears her throat and looks at me while the others groan about the rules. I smile at her and nod my head.
    “I have one more point for discussion.” Her voice is nervous. “I want Frost to be trainer.” I freeze mid-nod.
    “Frost is a consistently hard worker and Shard says she’s the best fighter. I think this will benefit us all,” Alzona finishes quickly.
    I look around at the others, hoping this won’t make things uncomfortable. It could be an insult to those who have been here longer. To my surprise though, most of the men are nodding. Ice doesn’t look too pleased. But I imagine it’s because he foresees hard work in his immediate future.
    Shard leans forwards, resting his elbows on the table while he analyses her announcement. “It’s a good idea,” he agrees slowly, then adds with more energy, “It will provide structure and give me a chance to learn a few of her tricks.”
    “She knows stuff we need to do. She watches us train,” Flurry adds.
    “And you watch her,” Blizzard mutters. Flurry hits him over the head and goes pink. I blink several times, struck speechless. Do they realize I have no idea how to run a training session?
    The men nod and murmur their agreement. Before I can fully process what’s going on, Alzona has ended the discussion and everyone is leaving for their rooms. I haven’t even agreed to this, but my gut tells me a refusal would fall on deaf ears anyway.
    It looks like I’m the new trainer.
     
    I escort Alzona and Shard to Tricks’ the next morning for Alzona’s routine “before the pit chat” and then leave to meet up with the whore. I don’t even know her name. It seems wrong to call her the whore.
    Four goldies sit in the top of my boot. Three was the deal, but if she gives me decent information, I’ll give her four. She must get a lot of intel from those who…hire her. She may be of use in the future.
    I stand opposite the whorehouse and wait. It doesn’t take long until I see her swaying form approaching.
    “Greetings, Frost,” she chimes. Her voice tinkles like a wind charm. I wonder how long she practiced that for.
    “Greetings…sorry, I don’t know your name,” I say.
    She plays with the folds of her dress. “Not many people do,” she says, but doesn’t elaborate.
    I scan the rooftops and the people around us for eavesdroppers. It’s no point really. Alzona clued me into the fact there are hundreds of hiding places on the streets here. I wonder how many people are listening to our conversation right now. “The information?” I ask. She folds her arms.
    “Yes. That was harder than I thought,” she says. Inspecting her nails. It strikes me she might be drawing this out. For entertainment?
    “I paid you for information, not a show,” I say. I expect her to be insulted, but she laughs. It’s a breathy sound. Men whip their heads around when they hear it. Their eyes drink her in.
    “You never react how I expect. I enjoy it,” she claps her hands, moving closer until our bodies are against each other. “I couldn’t find out anything about Seedyr arrows.” I can tell by her tone she’s annoyed by this. She doesn’t hear the word “no” often. “I found out about Seedyr spears, darts, but not arrows.”
    “Ven-, Uh, fuck,” I pull my head back so I can watch her face.
    “I love a good one,” she says with a laugh. She sighs at my confused look.
    “I have the name of the weaponry joint which sells the other Seedyr weapons. I believe this is your best bet. It’s called Jazyrs. It’s located where the First Sector meets the Sixth.” It isn’t exactly what I hoped for, but it isn’t another dead end like I’ve grown used to.
    “Thank you,” I say and extract the four coins.
    “You’re most welcome. I’ll even tell you if I pick anything else up,” she says. The coins disappear into her fist. She doesn’t walk away as I expect, but stays