Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 112089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
“What’s happening?” Ulric asked someone. “Is Niamh going soft on us?”
“Bugger off, ya muppet.” Niamh grabbed a rock that had been resting beside her and threw it in his direction.
“Ow,” Jasper said. “Where the hell did she get a throwing rock? These patches are all cleared and soft!”
“Always be ready to duck, bro,” Ulric responded. “She has ammo everywhere.”
“Anyway,” Niamh went on after taking another slug of her drink, “oul Missus Smith’s mother—I wasn’t sure all that was in her baggage trolly. But lo and behold, she mentioned all that crap about him tryin’ to force them on his journey. She’s the only one around here with a son who took off and refuses to live life like everyone else. Hello, pressure point. She’s probably judged for it. Or maybe she just judges herself. Or hell, maybe she’s pissed she didn’t get her way. I don’t care. Easy pressure point to exploit, that is. She showed her hand with that one.”
My head whirled.
I didn’t feel that way now, with Jimmy grown and on his own, but I’d definitely experienced all of that when he was younger: frazzled and on edge, always behind, always forgetting something, always asked to do more when I was at my max. Judged for forgetting something, judged for my parenting style, my hard work always ignored by Matt. He’d expected me to do all of it while still looking perfect.
Oh yeah, I remembered those years. I remembered constantly feeling like I was failing. At the time, I’d had no idea other people felt the same way. That other people were struggling to keep up. But if what Niamh said was true, I hadn’t been alone. I only wished I’d had a woman like her around when I was drowning and people kept dumping more water on me.
“Holy crapbirds,” Nessa said, breaking my reverie. “You’re my hero. That was incredibly vicious but super effective. I realized they were mother and son, but you’re right, she’s a hard one to read. I expected war because we endangered her people. I mean, she gave us that bogus warning about the last people who came through here and supposedly killed their people, but I couldn’t see a way to exploit it. Well done.”
“That was a bogus story?” I said wistfully. “Am I really this gullible that I just believe everyone?”
“Yes,” Niamh replied.
“That’s why you have us.” Nessa beamed at me. “I tend to think everyone is a bald-faced liar.”
“But…” Jasper shook his head at Niamh. “You just became the type of person you want to burn down. You made her feel bad about her decisions.”
“First of all, boyo, if there is a hell, I’ve already got my seat reserved.” Niamh raised her glass. “Might as well go down in flames. But no, I freed her. Shur, it’ll be balls at first, the guilt and all that, but just you wait. It’ll all work out. This way, she won’t think her dear, sweet boy—who rips off heads and throws bodies off cliffs—is sufferin’ out in the big, bad world all by his lonesome. Maybe more people will join him on his grand adventure, and she won’t be the only mother with a kid who couldn’t wait to leave. Whatever the reason, I’m helpin’ her think of the whole thing differently. Worst case, she hates me. There is comfort in knowing it was a miserable old bag that issued the unwelcome opinion.”
“Do you just sit on that stool in the alpha’s bar,” Ulric said slowly, leaning forward to squint at her through the darkness, “and churn stuff like this over in your mind? All the different ways your manipulation tactics could go?”
“Before Jessie, I just did it for fun, like. Now, though…yes. I have’ta hone my skills again. A long time has passed since I dabbled in ruining kingdoms and wrestled with the worst creatures to walk the earth. I need to refresh meself.”
He shook his head and leaned away. “Don’t mention what you’ve deduced about me. I don’t want to know.”
“No, ye don’t.”
Nessa started laughing.
Niamh finished her mug, then mused, “Good drinkin’ buddies, those mothers on the edge. If ye can get them to talk about something other than their kids, I mean. I hate hearin’ about kids. Why do I care that your little monster got a gold star for playin’ nice with others? I do not relate.”
“No, you do not,” Jasper mumbled, and then I heard a quick shuffle. He must’ve ducked just in case.
“But I’ll tell ya, get a mother to let her hair down, and by the end of the night, she is dancing or crying or falling ’round the place, or all of the above. It’s a helluva show. One group the other night got all riled up about some wanker sayin’ something. One of ’em tried to stab him with her high heel.” She tipped her head back and started laughing. “That was a grand night, that was. I picked up their tab. Great craic.”