After dropping a full stein of piss yellow beer in front of Huan, the bartender walked away without a word, his shoulders high and his eyes narrowed. Like his patrons, the bartender didn’t approve of Huan’s presence in his bar, but Huan just rolled up his sleeves and let the room see that he was ready for a fight. That would work until the alcohol did its work, and Huan planned to be gone before then. Without further pause, He downed the beer in one gulp. That turned out to be a good decision since if he’d sipped the beer, he would have spat it out, the bartender would have thrown him out, and Tiger would have ripped out the man’s throat.
Disaster averted, he placed a count on the bar. “Three more.”
The bartender glanced at the coin. “That’s only enough for two,” he said, reaching for the money. A soft growl stopped him.
Painting on a stiff smile, Huan shoved Tiger back into his corner and said, “Three. I know your prices, and I ain’t haggling.”
The bartender raised his chin. “Three and then you’re gone, foreigner.” He refilled Huan’s stein, plonked down two more, and walked to the other end of the bar to other, better patrons.
Huan drank his second beer slowly, dragging out the miserable experience long enough to resemble the predicament he was in. Since arriving in Walton, he’d had his passport stolen, nearly been gutted by the thing that had taken it, and then had the passport returned to him while the opportunity of a lifetime vanished into smoke. He glared into the bottom of the stein.
If only Mei hadn’t been there. A future as Lord Kalan’s babysitter was galling, and his sister had… No, not now. He downed the second beer and started on the third.
If he didn’t need Lord Kalan’s sponsorship, he could have just traveled around Soura, doing what he pleased, where he pleased. Instead of going to that damned dead city in the middle of nowhere, he would have stayed in Anders for a time, made a little money, and then moved on to Soura’s capital city with its rich merchants and dumb nobles to make even more money. The ShengXiao guard wouldn’t have caught up to him, and he wouldn’t have a sword hanging over him, waiting to drop. He’d be free.
By now, Huan’s tongue was numb to the flavor of the beer making it easy for him to finish it in one swig.
What about Mei? Of course, his sister would be better off too. She’d still be hunting outside of Anders and hanging out with the rough and tumble folk who made a living that way. They’d be better friends than Magdala and Dwayne, who would never understand Huan or Mei. Huan pulled the fourth beer towards him, chuckling. Yes, she’d betrayed him, but she was his sister, and he wouldn’t leave family behind.
Still, it wasn’t my fault that Liraya got away.
With one shot, Mei had forced the witch to retreat before Liraya had over-committed to the fight. As long as Huan and Tiger had been fighting the giant, Liraya had a choice of either retreating and letting all her work go to waste or committing and possibly getting it all. But Mei’s rifle changed all that.
Huan downed his last beer. What now?
He could return to the garrison and receive his punishment for disobeying orders, or he could find Liraya and force her to give him that damn title. With that in hand, he could saunter over to the other side of the Southern Line and live like a king. The choice was obvious. Pushing away the empty steins, Huan slid off his stool and left the bar.
Admaeus Speaks 
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