“She’s been gone for years,” Mark said now, as if picking up the thread of Spencer’s thoughts. “Either she’s very good at hiding… or she doesn’t want to be found.”
“Both can be true,” Spencer replied.
Mark glanced sideways at him. “You ever wonder why no one’s managed to track her?”
Spencer’s expression didn’t change.
“No.”
“Liar.”
Spencer shrugged one shoulder. “It doesn’t matter why. We weren’t hired to wonder. We were hired to find.”
“And deliver,” Mark added, his tone darkening slightly.
Spencer didn’t respond to that.
Becausethatpart, that part had sat differently. Deliver her back. Notescort her back, or bring her home. Notconvince. It was simply deliver, like she was lost cargo. Like something that belonged to someone else.
His mouth pressed into a thin line.
“Don’t start,” Mark said, catching the shift immediately.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Spencer exhaled slowly. “We take the job. We finish the job. That’s how this works.”
“Yeah,” Mark said. “It is.”
There was a pause, a small one. But one enough to matter. So Spencer ignored it.
Instead, he pushed open the door to the only pub in the town. Warmth hit him first, heat, noise, and the thick scent of ale and something fried hung in the air. Laughter rolled through the space, easy and unbothered, as if the world outside didn’t exist.
A wooden sign hung above the bar, slightly crooked but proudly displayed:
Welcome to The Ferret’s Mott.
Mark glanced up at it. “That name raises more questions than it answers.”
Spencer grunted, “Don’t ask. I don’t want to know.”
They stepped inside. Surprisingly, no one paid them much attention.
Which was good, that was how Spencer preferred it.
He moved to the bar, tapping his fingers lightly against the wood to gain the attention of the barmaid. When she looked up and smiled, he stated quickly, “Two pints of whatever you recommend.”
The barmaid nodded without fuss, already reaching for glasses. Krakens Hole really did run on a different rhythm.
Mark leaned beside him, casual but alert. “Still say we should’ve started smaller. Less… Kraken-infested.”
“I would have, but this is the one place they haven’t checked and, for some reason, they seemed reluctant to visit.” He paused and looked at his brother. “You want to turn down that bounty next time?” Spencer asked.
“Fair point.”
Two pints of what could only be described as dull gold liquid were placed in front of them, and not so gently.
