Oracle

Part 26

"Well no but it will give you something to do it the evenings," Elison chuckled, wrapping an arm around Jaspar waist to pull him backwards into a hug. Jaspar let him and leant back against Elison as Elison added, "Other than listen to poker games," teasingly.

Jaspar snarled at him for the tease, making both men laugh. Jaspar pouted and went to bury his face in his arms again but Elison pulled him back before he could hit the bar again. Elison kissed Jaspar's forehead and held him close from behind. The man continued to pout unhappily but let Elison hold him. He was almost painfully aware of the fact that he was completely unthreatening to the two men and everyone else in the Rook.

"Cheer up Pup," Donny chuckled, only making Jaspar feel more depressed at the use of the nickname. Elison had broken down under pressure and explained what it meant the previous day. "I'm sure something will happen soon. It normally does."

There was a loud banging noise as the front door to the Rook slammed open, rain pouring loudly in the background, a cold breeze flowing through the room and a lot of shouting. Or rather one woman yelling curse words followed by the strong scent of brimstone and burning leather.

"Shut the door," Elison yelled over the noise, letting go of Jaspar to move towards the scene. Jaspar hoped it was to help.

"Call the devil by any name," Donny chuckled. "Here we go," he said sounding almost giddy with excitement.

Jaspar tilted his head as he listened to the woman continue to yell. The door slammed shut again and there was a painful groan from a man accompanied by the heavy sound of people being dropped into a chair. "For fuck's sake Timmy!" the woman snarled. "What part of keeping your head down for a couple of days did you not understand?" she demanded a loud thump on the table.

"Warden one's not happy and Warden two is bleeding out onto the table," chuckled Donny from next to him, Jaspar grateful for the information. These two people were two of the three wardens in the city it seemed. Which also explained the brimstone smell which was still drifting around the room. Jaspar only wished he had some clues as to which wardens were these people were. "Leo, I'd get some rags from the back," Donny called loudly. "We've got blood!"

"Already got them," Leo commented, rushing past them and to the people who were now at a table. "Here are some dishcloths, put some pressure on that before you ruin the carpet," Leo said. "Do you need anything else, Wardens?"

"A shot of whisky, a shot of brandy and your first aid kit," the woman growled darkly. "Need to sow this idiot up before John gets wind of this!"

"Why did you even bring me here? It's hardly safe," a man's voice, mostly likely Timmy but clearly in pain, said.

"The Rook is one of the safest places in the city, Tim. No one can find it if they want to remove or injure someone who is inside. Ignoring John. Given those goons weren't John's directly, they aren't going to want to call in that kind of favour," the female warden said her voice continuing to growl but she sounded considerably calmer.

There was a gulping sound as she downed one of the shots, the glass clicking against the metal of the tray Leo had used to bring them over. "Cheers Leo," the woman said firmly, "I needed that."

"Warden likes her whisky," Donny chuckled, as there was a pained howl from their direction.

"That's a waste of good brandy," Elison scolded.

"Fuck you! That hurt," the man cursed strongly.

"Shut up you big baby," the woman snarled, "Next time don't piss half the city of and get cut with a poisoned blade! It was the quickest way to clean the sodding wound out. Now sit still while I stitch you up. I reckon we have twenty minutes before John hears and I'd rather you in one piece for that time."

"Is Master John going to be angry you're here?" Leo asked seriously.

"Who bloody knows? They weren't fae goons so I doubt it but John isn't happy with Timmy either so I doubt he'll be in the mood to help and I've called in enough favours on this bastard to have to use up another," she barked. Tim hissed in the background as she no doubt started to stitch him up. "Do you even know who you managed to piss off this time?" she demanded, her voice starting to calm but still in a very dark tone. This was a woman who was close to murdering the man she was currently saving.

"Who knows? They weren't the normal crowd," Tim grunted, still clearly in pain. "And I have been keeping my head down. Anything which has crossed my desk with the ignore mark on, I have been ignoring. I don't know where this came from."

"Must be something older then," Elison commented seriously. He walked back over to Jaspar and stood next to this seat, their sides brushing against each other.

"Must be," the woman greeted, "This must be Jaspar then? Leo, hold this for a moment please." Leo squeaked in fear but must have obeyed. The footsteps towards him were confident. The smell of leather burning had faded and was replaced with a more pleasant smell of burning wood. A firm but soft hand took his and shook it. "Nice to meet you Jaspar," the woman's voice said sounding gentle and warm towards Jaspar. "I'm Warden Maria."

A strange and unexpected feeling of relieve rolled through Jaspar. "Likewise, everyone keeps telling one if I'm in danger to find you," Jaspar smiled brightly, finding himself actually pleased to meet the woman. As their skin met, pain rushed through his head and things started flashing. Colour filled Jaspar's world and for a brief moment, he could see.