Free Ebony Fight (The Guard Duet Book 2) by Natalie Herzer Page B

all have our stories and journeys to take. Sometimes we take a wrong turn, but that’s just part of it. It’s how things work.” He leaned down and opened a Tupperware box beside his chair. It was filled with a bit of dark earth and wriggling worms. Taking one out, the old man held it up for them to see as it writhed between his fingers. “This little guy here is way smaller than me. Smaller than my pinky even. And yet he tries his best to get away. To not let me decide his fate. That’s the difference.” Arthur took his time and focused on putting the worm on the hook.
    He stood again and warned, “Duck.”
    Becca obeyed immediately, and so did Stone the moment he saw the old man swing back his rod.
    “Your life is not yours if you let others rule it.” Arthur turned to look at Stone, bright blue eyes piercing in their intensity. “Right?”
    Stone could feel Becca’s eyes on him as well. He was used to pressure. However, it wasn’t very often that he didn’t know what to say, and so he answered with what the first thing that came to mind. “What if someone doesn’t realize that the life they are living is not their own? What if they’ve never known anything else?”
    Arthur smiled. “Well, then these questions are a good first step of looking outside the box, aren’t they?”
    Stone frowned at that. This day had definitely not gone the way he’d thought it would, and he found himself wondering whether Becca suspected him of being more than he’d said. Had visiting Arthur been a way to test him? If he wanted to succeed with his mission, he guessed he had to be more subtle.
    After half an hour Becca decided it was time to head back. They got up and Stone’s behind couldn’t have been more grateful to finally be free of the snare passing as a chair. Becca hugged Arthur goodbye, a loving smile on her face.
    “Do you need anything? Groceries or whatever?”
    “I’m fine for now, girl. But I sure wouldn’t mind a kiss from a beautiful lady like you.”
    Becca did as asked, smacking her lips loudly and making the old man chuckle.
    “You blushing, Arthur?” Stone teased, surprising himself.
    Arthur threw back his head and his deep, throaty laugh boomed over the water. He looked at Becca, motioning with his chin towards Stone. “That guy might just be a keeper.”
    This time it was Becca’s turn to laugh. Just listening to it made Stone’s mouth want to curve slightly too. It seemed the old man liked him, so the morning hadn’t been quite as wasted as he’d thought.
    Later, back in the boat and the glittering maze of the bayou, Stone watched Becca. She looked around, the light reflected from the water caressing her skin as she steered them easily through a narrow passage.
    The conversation with the old man still played in his mind. Stone asked, “What happened to Arthur?”
    “You mean his escape from Hell?”
    “Yes.”
    “It was a long time ago.” Her smile was soft yet sad. “He had a wife and a kid. When his demon lord found out that his oracle was planning to leave Hell behind, he called in his favorite assassin. Arthur came home one night to find his wife and six year-old daughter murdered. Slaughtered.” How deeply she felt for the people around her, Stone thought, as tears shone in her eyes. Becca shook her head. “They thought it would be enough to keep him under their thumb. The idiots didn’t understand that Arthur didn’t have anything left to lose.”
    “So he escaped.”
    “Yes. It’s what his wife wanted. For them to get out.”
    “Hell didn’t go after him?”
    She snorted. “Of course they did. Why do you think he lives out here, buried in the bayou?” Becca shrugged. “Their interest declined over the last few years. That’s what he told me, anyway.”
    “Probably the moment his lord found a new oracle.”
    The witch nodded. “Replaceable, that’s what we are. We, as in who we are, don’t matter down there. We’re nothing.”
    A shiver of clarity ran down his