SWY 17

If Sharhan were still a noble, that kind of insulting remark would’ve earned a thrown white glove. If he’d had just a bit less self-control, he might’ve thrown a punch right then and there. That’s how provocative it was, any man would’ve bristled.

“You wanna die? Who the hell are you calling small?”

Even with the ominous glare in Sharhan’s slightly crazed eyes, Lestel wasn’t scared. Instead, he tilted his head and egged him on.

“If it’s that size when it’s fully hard… isn’t that kinda small?”

“It only looks small because of my pants, but it’s definitely not small!”

That wasn’t bluster, it was the truth. Sharhan was anything but small. To make his point, he pushed his hips forward like he was telling him to take a good look. But Lestel just laughed. He had no idea how he ended up trying to prove his dick size first thing in the morning. Still, of all people, he couldn’t let Lestel look down on him.

“Honey, if that’s the size you’re bragging about, then yeah, it’s small. And ‘looks small because of my pants’, come on, at least make your excuses sound believable. Hmm, now it’s completely gone. So flat… how sad.”

Lestel clicked his tongue in mock pity. When Sharhan glanced down, the morning wood he’d woken up with had deflated back to normal size.

“That’s just ‘cause it went down. Didn’t you see it earlier? When it was hard, it was sticking out this much.”

Sharhan gave a couple of taps between his legs.

“No way it was that big. Honey, you really need to check that overconfidence. If that’s the best you’ve got, then all your previous partners must’ve been incredibly merciful.”

Sharhan finally lost it. He punched Lestel in the stomach as the bastard patted him on the shoulder with a pitying look. Luckily, he still had enough self-control not to go full force, Lestel didn’t go flying or end up badly hurt. Still, it was enough to push the annoying little punk back a step.

“Shit. What the hell is your problem, asshole? Why’re you pushing me first thing in the morning? And like yours is so big? I remember when it was the size of a damn finger.”

“That was ages ago!”

Lestel retorted as he rubbed the spot he’d been hit.

“Sure, you were younger then, but a finger only gets so big. You know what I mean? A chick grows up to be a chicken, not a horse or a cow.”

“You’d be shocked if that finger turned into a forearm.”

Lestel held out his forearm for emphasis.

“You’re hilarious. If you’re gonna exaggerate, at least make it believable. A forearm? Pfft. I’ll believe maybe three fingers.”

Sharhan scoffed right in his face. Even Ralph, short as he was, had the biggest dick among the Red Wolves, and even his wasn’t like that. If Lestel had something that size hanging between his legs, he wouldn’t be able to walk properly, it’d swing around like a wrecking ball.

Truthfully, from what he could see through the pants, Lestel’s crotch was decently thick. Looked like he’d grown down there as much as he had height-wise. But no way in hell was it a forearm. Couldn’t be. Better not be.

“Honey, you shouldn’t accuse someone of lying just because you haven’t seen it.”

“I’ll believe it when I see something believable.”

“If you don’t believe me, wanna see for yourself?”

“Yeah. If you’re that confident, drop your pants.”

“Don’t faint when you do.”

Lestel actually looked like he was about to do it. Sharhan had been posturing too, hands on his hips like he was ready to prove a point, but snapped back to his senses just in time.

“W-wait. No. Don’t take them off.”

He’d almost let Lestel provoke him into seeing something… terrifying.

“What, you scared it really is a forearm?”

“Scared? Please. I just don’t wanna start my day with a horror show. I’d like to enjoy breakfast, so keep your pants on.”

“You weren’t so against getting my pants off back when we were kids.”

“That was a long time ago!”

“Well, if you ever get curious, I’m always open to proving it.”

“I’ll pass!”

Sharhan shouted and grabbed his waterskin. Not much water left, he’d need to find a lake or a village soon to refill. No chance of bathing today, so he just dabbed a spit-moistened fingertip around his eyes, then pulled out two large pieces of jerky. He bit into one and tossed the other to Lestel, who caught it effortlessly, though his expression looked strangely… disappointed.

Why the hell does he look disappointed?

Was it really a forearm? No way. Just empty boasting. Even if Sharhan hadn’t stopped him, he probably would’ve chickened out.

Muttering to himself, Sharhan patted Lightning’s flank. The horse, fully rested and energized, seemed eager to set off again.

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll head out soon. But today we need to ride even harder than yesterday, so hang in there a bit more.”

Lightning neighed softly. Lestel was chewing on jerky as he looked over the map.

“We need to refill our water. Is there a village before we hit Luhas?”

“It’s not marked on the map. But since Evers isn’t listed either, there might be other pioneer settlements that sprang up after this map was made. I’ll share my water with you for now, so ration it today.”

Lestel tossed him his waterskin. Sharhan filled his own about halfway, then returned the rest of the water, leaving Lestel with more than half. He climbed onto his horse.

“Let’s go.”

***

Sharhan halted his horse to check the map and took a sip of water. Fortunately, not far from their campsite, he’d found a small lake and had been able to refill his waterskin completely. He’d even washed his face and roughly rinsed his hair, just enough to not look like a filthy beggar.

“Is that Evers? Or another village?”

While tying his waterskin back to his belt and scanning the surroundings, Sharhan spotted a makeshift wooden palisade crudely tied together. About a hundred yards from where they stood, maybe? The placement was so random, the first thought that came to mind was, Why is there a village out here? That made it almost certainly a pioneer settlement.

Pioneer settlements were villages created by those who fled a lord’s tyranny, escaped punishment, or were war refugees carving out life in the wilderness. Evers, the village Hans had mentioned, was one of these.

Lestel approached, having tucked the map into his coat.

“It’s quiet.”

Even factoring in the late afternoon hour and their distance, Evers was unnervingly still. There was none of the liveliness you’d expect from a village where people lived together. It felt more like a graveyard.

“Yeah. It’s like the whole place is dead.”

“Hans said most of the people in Evers were down sick from addiction, so calling it ‘dead’ isn’t exactly wrong.”

“Are we sure that’s Evers?”

“Based on the map, we’re about thirty minutes from Luhas. That should be the last settlement before it, so the odds are high.”

Since it was said to be the closest village to Ruhas, then if Lestel was right, that had to be Evers.

“Good. We’ll make it to Ruhas before the day’s over.”

They’d pushed their horses hard, hard enough to taste iron in their mouths, but the distance had turned out to be shorter than expected. Relieved, Sharhan rolled his shoulders. He stretched both arms high above his head.

“If you’re tired, want to stop for a bit?”

“I’m fine. You said we were in a hurry.”

“We’re close now, so we can afford a short break.”

With that, Lestel dismounted first.

“I’m doing fine, but you look like you could use the rest. So sure, let’s take a moment.”

Sharhan followed, trying to sound cool, but ended up patting his thighs and back. He’d spent a long time riding hunched forward, thighs squeezing the horse to maintain speed, now everything ached.

‘What a tough bastard. Doesn’t even look tired.’

Lestel, watering his horse, looked perfectly unfazed. Sharhan felt like he was dying inside but kept his composure and gave Lightning some water too.

Lightning licked the water from his palm with a wet tongue, tickling enough to make Sharhan shiver. He glanced to the side and frowned. The setting sun glinted off something near Lestel’s ear.

In fact, ever since they’d left Verden, Sharhan had been distracted by Lestel’s ear.

“I’ve been trying to ignore it, but I can’t anymore. It’s too distracting.”

“What is?”

“That thing on your earlobe. What the hell is it?”

A small earring dangled from Lestel’s earlobe.

“Can’t you tell just by looking? It’s an earring.”

Lestel flicked the dangling end and laughed.

“I know it’s an earring. I’m asking why the hell you’re wearing something like that.”

Rings or necklaces weren’t that unusual, but earrings on a man? Rare.

“To look pretty.”

“You’re insane.”

Sharhan made a face like he’d bitten into something bitter. Just then, Lightning, who had been quietly drinking, suddenly lifted his head and stared toward Evers. A moment later, as if pulled by curiosity, he started walking toward the palisade. Startled, Sharhan scrambled after him.

“What’s that sound?”

A strange noise drifted from beyond the wooden barrier. Something like slurping or munching, wet and unsettling. It crawled over his skin like bugs. Sharhan instinctively furrowed his brow and tugged Lightning’s reins. At the same time, he thought he saw a shadow moving slowly behind the palisade.

“Shan!”

Lestel shouted Sharhan’s name. Sharhan let out a long breath without realizing it, then climbed back onto his horse. He rode up beside Lestel, and the two of them turned again toward Luhas.

As the sound of hooves pounded away into the distance, something behind them let out a low, dragging growl:

Grrrrhhh…