Scarlet and the White Wolf [01] - Scarlet and the White Wolf by Kirby Crow Page B

journey outside of their own country, but this one had obviously been to Morturii enough times to necessitate learning the language.
    The boy made a noticeable attempt to calm himself. "Take what you want," he offered, pointing at the pile of wares. He was visibly eager to have this unpleasant exchange with ruffians over and be well below the snow line while the light lasted.
    Liall regarded him narrowly, taking in the shabby, red-dyed coat, the patched shirt, and the boots that would need mending before the month was out. He felt a familiar but unpleasant stirring beneath his skin: pride, his old enemy.
    Once, years ago, he would have disdained even to exchange words with this commoner. Who did he think he was? An illiterate country chapman with patches on his elbows and his hair freshly cut with his mother's kitchen scissors, a seller of cheap cloth and soaps, and he thought himself superior . This one sneered and looked away as if Liall were an offense to his eyes, a sick dog or town drunk, an object of scorn or pity.
    He felt a familiar heat rising in his chest, and he forced it away in haste, shocked at his reaction. The volatile and unpredictable tempers of northern warriors had long been an 55
    Scarlet and the White Wolf--Book One
    by Kirby Crow
    asset in battle, and their enemies feared it even as they derided it, calling it berserker rage. But why would arguing with a mere pedlar ignite his temper so?
    Liall shook his head slowly. "I'm not interested in perfume and sewing needles. I want something else from you."
    The pedlar's red mouth grew tight and pinched like a pursed rose, and he glared. Far from fueling Liall's anger, the look stirred him. He had always liked fire in his women. In men, he liked it even more.
    The pedlar made a noise of impatience. "I am prepared to pay you a fair price, you ... what is your name?"
    "Liall."
    " Li -all," he grated, getting the pronunciation wrong.
    "Lee- all."
    He said it aright. "Liall, I'm willing to pay you fairly, but there are some things I will not trade ."
    The Wolf suddenly rose from his chair, watching with amusement at how quickly the pedlar retreated from him. His smile was predatory. "You may find, little redbird, that there are many wicked things a man will do, just as soon as he realizes he has no other choice. Now take your buttons and go back to chaste Lysia, for you won't take this road today, or any other day, so long as the White Wolf holds this pass. Not until you pay my toll."
    "Which is what, exactly?" the pedlar asked tightly, his hands curling into fists.
    Liall leaned close, resting one palm on the cold stone, and motioned for him to come closer. After a moment, the pedlar took a few cautious steps forward so that Liall could whisper 56
    Scarlet and the White Wolf--Book One
    by Kirby Crow
    in his ear. Just as quickly, the pedlar recoiled and shook his head.
    "No," he vowed, one word with a weight of scorn behind it.
    Liall shrugged. "Then have a safe trip home, pedlar." He motioned to the armed Kasiri and they pressed forward, smirking, with their arms crossed over their chests.
    After a moment of hard silence, the pedlar gathered his wares and shoved them into his pack. All the while, Liall watched him. Without a word, the pedlar turned and trudged back to the edge of the camp. Liall saw him pull up his hood and draw his long red coat closer about him before starting down the path. The wind was growing teeth by then, but it was not a long journey back to Lysia, perhaps two leagues, and the pedlar would be sheltered from the wind by the trees lining the high banks on either side of the path. The Kasiri would have no such protection on the first promontory that spanned the Nerit, and his men knew it. He could see it in the way they scrambled to get the animals and their own possessions, including their women, into safe shelter.
    Liall sighed. The pedlar was just a dot of red on the path now. He dispensed with the last of the travelers and signaled to Kio