Lockhart's Legacy (Vespari Lockhart Book 1) by J. Stone

grabbed the longhorn skull and dragged it back to his extinguished campfire. Dropping both items there, Lockhart collapsed to the ground, exhausted and needing sleep. Despite the danger he’d just been in, the vespari drifted off.
     
    ***
     
    The early morning light brought Lockhart an ache in his back, but it was nothing new for him after years of sleeping under the stars. The rumbling in his gut concerned him more, but he didn’t have anything to eat. The stew and the rock candy from the previous day didn’t last like he would’ve liked. He attempted to satisfy himself with a big drink of water from his canteen. It would have to do for the time being. He’d have to wait until he made it back to town before he got another proper meal. That’d be fine, as he knew he’d be heading that way momentarily. He performed a few morning rituals, got his things together, and set off as soon as he could.
    The trek back to town didn’t take long, and he’d arrived there before the sun reached its highest point. Eager to get onto tracking the beldam coven, he headed straight for where he expected the mayor to be to get his due payment. On his last visit to Abilene, he’d spotted a town hall. Expecting her to be there, Lockhart carried the skull and mason jar through town in that direction. He got a fair number of strange looks from the few people walking through, but Abilene was not a heavily populated place, so there weren’t many to contend with.
    Even still, the vespari ignored them and continued to the town hall. Stepping inside, he found a young clerk behind a desk. The man had a pair of small, circular frames drooping down on his nose, and he sifted through papers before him, ignoring Lockhart’s entrance altogether. Lockhart walked up to the clerk and plopped the longhorn skull and mason jar with the vishler heart on the desk.
    The clerk jumped and looked up at Lockhart. Then his eyes drifted down to the remains of the monster. Lockhart removed the vespari emblem from his belt and flashed it at the man.
    “You?” he asked, his eyes finally drifting up to Lockhart’s. “The vespari?”
    Lockhart nodded and then looked behind the young man.
    “The mayor isn’t here,” the clerk said.
    “W-w-where?” Lockhart asked.
    “Saloon probably.” He pointed in its direction. “Gambling more than likely.”
    “You g-gonna pay me?”
    The clerk shook his head. “I’m afraid Mayor Knox will have to attend to that.”
    Lockhart sighed and picked up the longhorn skull and heart. The clerk slunk down in his chair but didn’t say anything else. Needing to get paid, the vespari turned and left the town hall. His next stop had to be the saloon then.
    Trudging through the town once again, Lockhart made his way to the saloon and passed through its swinging doors. Despite being a place for drink and gambling, the saloon was a dark and somber locale. No one played cards. No one really conversed. They all just tended their drinks, affected by the deaths if he were to guess. Maybe with the creature’s destruction, they could return to some semblance of normalcy. The wastes were a harsh place though, so these kinds of attacks were simply a way of life for them. It made people hard. Reserved.
    Regardless, Lockhart needed to get paid and be on his way. Spotting Mayor Knox at the bar, the vespari approached her and sat on the wooden stool beside her. He gently placed the items up on the counter beside her mug of beer. Knox looked over at them and then to him.
    “That’s it?” she asked.
    He nodded.
    “Such a little thing…” she said, eyeing the mason jar and trailing off. “Well. Good. I guess it’s over.”
    “P-p-payment,” he told her.
    Knox nodded. “Right.” She began fishing through her breast pocket with two fingers. “You’ve earned it.”
    Before she’d retrieved the silver rounds, the bartender approached them.
    “What can I get you?” he asked.
    Mayor Knox answered for him, having finished grabbing his