Page 61 of Wanted: Rogues and Bards

Wobbling on his feet, the man took a couple of steps before landing on his ass. He glared at the barbarian, his short hair standing up in all directions. “You know I didn’t mean to harm your precious books. I would never do that to you. Besides, books are just as precious to me as they are to you because of all the priceless information and history they hold within their pages. I will fix them right away, and you won’t be able to tell they were ever harmed, every word and punctuation mark will be put in its proper place. I’ll even get that musty, old book smell back in the pages.”

“Just fix them,” Bel growled.

“And the ceiling,” Fen threw in. “But later.”

“What?” The barbarian looked ready to charge and Lirion couldn’t stop himself from taking a judicious step behind Fenric, who had not moved a single muscle under the threat of that raging beast.

“We have a guest and a job.”

And just like that, Lirion was the center of attention. Not that he had a problem with attention. In his line of work, it was normal.

“Hello. Lirion Windstrum, professional bard and occasional troublemaker,” he said as he stepped out from behind Fenric. “My sweet Fen here believes we can be of mutual assistance to each other in our endeavors.”

“Well, well…” The dark-haired man with the beard drawled as he moseyed a couple of swaggering steps forward. As he drew close, Lirion could make out a thick scar on his neck from what could possibly have been a hangman’s noose. “Fen never told us he has such a gorgeous friend. How could you not introduce us sooner? Keepin’ this beauty all to yourself.” He wagged a finger playfully at Fen before turning his attention fully back to Lirion. “If I’d known you were stopping by, I would have put on my best.”

Lirion’s lips twitched under the exaggerated flirtation. “Unnecessary, but thank you.”

“Don’t be flattered,” Fen muttered. “He’s talking about walking around pantsless, and none of us need to see that again.”

The scarred man flipped Fen off and then raised his thick eyebrows at Lirion before giving him a wink.

“Interesting.”

Fen sighed. “No. That’s Dark Rain, though we all just call him Rain, and he’s a pirate.” Fen pointed to the back of the room and continued with the introductions. “The elf over there is Hapi. Don’t let his name fool you. He’s actually quite grumpy. He’s our resident necromancer. The ceiling battering ram is Malfas. He’s our warlock, assuming he’s got any brains left in his head. The man with no sense would be our barbarian, Belstrom.”

“I object to being feloniously labeled under such a demeaning nomenclature!”

“Then develop a little sense!” Fen snapped, but he instantly softened again when his gaze settled on the young man who hadn’t been named yet. “And this is our newest recruit, Maxie, but we all tend to call him Puppy.”

The young man practically bounced over, reminding Lirion of a golden retriever. “I’m ever so honored to make your acquaintance. I hope we can assist you with your quest. This team is very talented, and I’m learning so much from them.”

Fen ruffled Maxie’s curls, and an ache echoed through Lirion’s chest as he thought of his own sister. “I think we can give him a hand.”

“Fenric mentioned you needed some help dealing with some finfolk. I’m happy to offer my bard magic, but first, I need you to help me rescue my little sister from a devious sex trafficking ring. I’ve tracked them down to Baza, but getting to Baza safely and getting her out of that situation is more than I can manage alone. I thought the easiest way to handle it would be by ship⁠—”

“Yes!” Rain exclaimed, thrusting a single finger into the air. “I’ll get my maps.”

Before anyone could raise a word of argument, Rain rushed out of the room and loudly clambered up to the second floor.

“He is verily proud of his maps,” Belstrom murmured. He shuffled closer and continued in a low voice. “I am very regretful my first impression was so poor and bewildering. Malfas was attempting to be helpful, but his magic is often…chaotic.”

“Understandable.” Lirion nodded, trying to hide his grin. These guys were villains? Other than the dark looks from the necromancer and the threat of a pantsless pirate, he couldn’t quite see the danger.

“Maybe we should move to the dining room if Rain is bringing maps. It’ll give us room to spread them out,” Fenric suggested, leading them all to tromp through the parlor and into a long, narrow dining room with a somewhat rickety table that looked as if it had been stabbed a few dozen times. And not all of the marks were from this group.

The entire time, Fenric was shouting out orders or coaxing people to do this or that, like a mother hen clucking after all her little chicks. Lirion couldn’t take his eyes off the man. Who would have thought such a carefree, dashing rogue had such a tender side?

Just as Lirion was dropping into a chair next to Fen, Maxie hurried over with a plate of cookies.

“Would you like some? They were baked fresh this afternoon,” Maxie offered.

“Thank you.” Before Lirion could touch one, Fen’s hand zipped out and caught his wrist, stopping him.

“Who made them?” Fen demanded.

Maxie blinked wide eyes, reminding Lirion of a big puppy. “Malfas.”

“Did you help?”