Page 3 of Charmed

Two

Persimmon Burroughs stood before the group of men, holding down her father’s hand and already wondering if she’d made a mistake by coming here to Mura.

“Did you call Elric…Father?” asked the biggest man at the table, a brute with long brown hair.

“Yes, I did,” she answered, slowly releasing Elric’s hand. She’d only seen her father mayhap once every five years, but he seemed just as wily and ornery as the last time they’d met. And now he looked even shorter than she remembered.

Elric glanced over his shoulder and groaned, and then sat back down. “Persimmon,” he said, scrunching up his nose. “What are you doing here?”

“Before I answer that, empty your pouch,” said Persimmon. “Put everything out in the open on the table where the rest of the men can see it.”

“Well, time to eat.” Elric got off the stump, looking as if he were about to zip away in his usual fashion. He could move faster than anyone she’d ever known. If he wanted, he could move so fast that he appeared to be nothing but a blur. She supposed it came from being an elf, but she wasn’t sure. “I don’t want to miss out on those pazzleberry pies that Lira made,” he said.

Persimmon reached out and gripped him around the wrist now to keep him from going.

“Elric, Lira never told me she had a sister,” said the man with the long blond hair and the ochre-colored eyes.

“Shhh, Zann, quiet,” said Elric shaking his head, calling the man by name. It was too late. Persimmon had already heard him.

“Sister?” she repeated. “I have a sister? Father? Is this true?” Her eyes narrowed to slits as she eyed up the elf.

“All right, I confess. I cheated.” Elric emptied his pouch, throwing down a few extra cards and some odd trinkets.

“Hey, that’s the tooth from a Seyadillo that I got on a hunt while in my wolf form. See the hole in it?” Zann scooped it off the table. A Seyadillo was a large rodent with tough skin, so big that it was about the size of a small man. “I was planning on stringing up the tooth and wearing it around my neck. And Rhys, isn’t that a tassel from your horse’s tack?” Zann pointed to the trinkets Elric had emptied from his pouch.

“Is it? Let me see,” said the man named Rhys, picking up the tassel and dangling it from two fingers. “Yes, it is. I’ve been meaning to replace that.”

“This is Talia’s favorite hair pin,” said the man with black hair, picking up the last item to inspect it. “She blamed me months ago for misplacing it, when you had it all along.”

“They are just trinkets that I found, the same way Darium found his.” Elric nodded at the dark-haired man so Persimmon knew he was called Darium.

“You had Murk bringing you his finds?” asked Darium. “I don’t like that.”

“Nay, I wouldn’t let that dirty bird bring me anything.” Elric wrinkled his nose. “I just meant that all of you must have dropped the trinkets and I found them, that’s all.”

“That’s not it at all. You’re a thief,” said Zann.

“Am not,” replied the elf. “Besides, they are just silly trinkets and not worth anything so what do any of you care?”

“One man’s silly trinket is another man’s treasure,” remarked Zann, shoving the Seyadillo tooth into his pouch.

“The real issue here is that you cheated,” said Rhys.

“Yes, you cheated. In more ways than one it seems.” Darium scowled at Persimmon’s father.

“Let’s eat.” Elric was ready to leave as usual. It seemed to be what he did best when he didn’t want to face something. Like all the times he’d left Persimmon and her mother, just when they needed him the most.

“Nay, no one is leaving yet.” Zann stood up and so did his brothers.

“We want the truth,” said the big one, named Rhys. “But then, how can we really expect the truth from someone who cheats at cards?”

“That’s right,” said Darium with a snort. “And he had the nerve to call us dishonorable? Elric, it seems to me that you have some explaining to do. And not just about the card game either.” His gaze traveled over to Persimmon when he said it.

“I agree,” said Zann. “But first, let me call over my wife. Lira!” He raised his arm in the air and waved her over. One woman came to the table, followed by a few others.

“Nay, don’t!” begged Elric, cringing, but it was too late. The woman named Lira and the other women in the group who had been visiting and talking, joined them.

“What is it, sweetheart?” Lira reached up and kissed her husband on the mouth. Then she noticed Persimmon standing there and her green eyes opened wide in surprise. “Oh, pardon me. I didn’t know we had a guest. Hello, there. I am Queen Lira Penworth.”