Page 14 of Bull Moon Rising
“Is it going somewhere?” I ask.
“Can’t drink when you’re a fledgling,” she says, and then takes another hearty swig. “That’s why I’m celebrating tonight.”
“So youarea fledgling.” Lark belches an affirmative, and I cover my nose with my sleeve. “How did you get in when they turned me away?”
“Oh, that’s an easy one. It’s my aunt’s class and she promised my mother. I figure we won’t be distracting all the cocks if we’re a party of girls.” She wiggles her eyebrows and then looks thoughtful. “Though there is a slitherskin in the class. Oh, and a man, actually. But once he finds out there’s more women, I bet he leaves. He won’t be able to stand theshameof us walking around with lady parts in his presence.”
“Men do get weird around women,” Gwenna agrees.
I’m about to agree, too, when I realize what Lark’s just said. “Wait…you said it was your aunt’s class? But only guild masters can teach. How is this possible? Magpie is the only woman in the current roster.”
Lark swipes at her mouth and then beams at us. “Magpie’s my aunt. She’s gonna be my teacher.Ourteacher.”
Surely…surely I can’t be that lucky? For the first time since arriving here in Vastwarren City, I feel a surge of excitement.
FIVE
HAWK
Knowing Magpie asI do, I shouldn’t be surprised that someone pounds on the door in the middle of the night.
It’s already been a particularly awful day today. Magpie didn’t show up for fledgling day, being too drunk to crawl out of her bed, which left me to recruit a class of five. Given that I’m a minotaur, and humans are naturally afraid of anything that looks different or could destroy them with a single swipe, it was a spectacular failure.
I only had to recruit three, since Magpie has already given two seats away. One’s for Lark, her headstrong niece, and the other is for a priestess of some kind. All Magpie would say is that she lost a bet, and I’m concerned the priestess is going to be as hard a drinker as Magpie is. But humans don’t trust Taurians or even particularly like us. All I managed to recruit was a slitherskin who looks barely old enough to leave his family’s hatching grounds, and a young merchant’s son named Guillam who already looks as if he’s going to bolt once he has a better offer.
Four isn’t enough, though. Four won’t qualify us to have a class of fledglings. We need five.
I should be out with the other guild Taurians, celebrating another year of business. A full class means the odds of a student passing are that much greater. Any student who completes the certification at the end of the year becomes a full-fledged guild member, and to pay back their training, they tithe a quarter of their earnings for the first five years. But I don’t have enough students for this year, and last time Magpie was in charge of training, we had no one pass because she was in her cups more than she was out of them. If we don’t get more students trained and working for the guild patrons, we won’t have enough funds to live on. The thought runs circles in my head, making me pace.
I don’t drink, though. Watching Magpie ruin herself with alcohol has killed that particular vice for me.
The pounding on the door gets louder, and I growl to myself as I throw on a pair of breeches, then storm down the hall to the entrance of the dormitory. If this is one of Magpie’s drinking friends…
When I throw the door open, a snarl on my mouth, I’m ready to shove the idiot down the alley. It’s not one of Magpie’s drunken friends, though. It’s her niece, Lark, who seems to be following in her aunt’s footsteps. She’s clearly drunk, her eyes red and slitted, a dopey expression on her face as she sees me. Her gaze roams over my bare chest and my unbelted pants, which are threatening to fall down my hips. “Damn.”
“Shut up. I’m your teacher, and you should be in your room, not ogling my chest.” I gesture up the stairs, angry at her carelessness. “Classes start at dawn.”
“Classes don’t start until we have five because five is the sacred number,” she corrects, staggering in a step to get out of the rain. She belches, then waves a hand in front of her face and mine. “Whew. I’m ripe enough to scare the ratlings in the Everbelow. Glad you finally woke up. I’ve been knockingforever.”
“I should have left you out there,” I growl.
“You wouldn’t. You’re too nice.” She pats my bare arm, squeezes it just a little more than she should, and then weaves over to the bench by the door and flops down. “Nice and built. You should be glad I’m here, Hawk. I’ve gotsolutions.”
Not likely. “You don’t tell a Taurian he’s nice,” I grumble. “You tell them that they’re fearsome. As for you, you’re an absolute tunnelingmess, Lark. If you plan on going into the Everbelow, you need to be sober….”
I trail off as two strangers step inside from out of the rain, wearing cloaks and carrying bags. One drags a muddy cart in after her, both of them dripping water and leaving a trail on the clean floors. The first stranger shakes off a hood, showing a round, displeased face as she glares at me and then her surroundings.
“What is this?” I ask—and then the second person removes their hood.
It’s the woman from the recruitment meeting earlier. The tall, bossy one in brown who declared that she was going to be in the guild.
Oh,bury me. This cannot be happening.
“Iamgiving up the booze,” Lark declares in a wobbly voice. She raises a hand in the air as if toasting, but holds no mug. “Tonight was a proper send-off. Goodbye, drink. I’ll miss you dreadfully.”
“You picked up a few strays,” I say flatly, eyeing the two newcomers.
“I found more people for our class.” Lark beams at me and then slumps over the bench, yawning.