Read Online Bastial Energy by B. T. Narro - Free Book Online Page A

Alex whispered. “That’s just some idiot. If I meet a DDW, I tell them to call me Rex so I can keep track of them easier. So Cleve, what’s your drink and weapon of choice?”
    “The quarterstaff.” Cleve looked past Alex for a glimpse at the so-called DDW.
    “And drink? We have a whole variety here. My brother, Hem Baom, is the commander of the King’s Guard, so he gets a lot of gifts, but he doesn’t even drink. Lucky for him he’s got a brother who does.”
    “Sakal,” Cleve replied. “The expensive kind.” Obviously, he knew no other drink. Effie still didn’t know how to label Cleve. Unlike other professions like bakers, masons, merchants, shoemakers, and so on, warriors tended to be so alike to each other in personality that Effie knew all about a man the moment he called himself a warrior. But not Cleve. Although he looked like a warrior, his behavior didn’t seem to match. He was quiet and didn’t like to talk about himself. He didn’t even know alcohol until it touched his tongue, Effie thought. What kind of warrior is that?
    “We don’t have sakal,” Alex replied, “but something close. Everyone, come have a drink, except for the fourteen-year-old.”
    “Gabby!” she exclaimed.
    “Gabby, sorry. I just wanted Effie to know that her sister will be monitored closely. No touching and no alcohol.”
    “She can drink,” Effie replied. “She is lawfully a woman now, although you wouldn’t know it by talking with her. Also she’s sharing my bed tonight, so it might make her less squirmy.”
    Effie followed Alex as he pushed through to the kitchen where a colorful arrangement of bottles and jugs awaited. Lately, beer only reminded her of the embarrassing kiss with Brady, so liquor was what she wanted.
    “What’s the gold one?” she asked.
    “I don’t think you can handle that. It’s a wine, very bitter, very strong.” Alex filled half a glass. “Like my last girlfriend.”
    “She was bitter for what reason? Did you cheat?” Effie asked, quickly realizing she’d only thought of it because Brady was on her mind.
    Alex’s grin faded. “No, but if that’s what people think when they hear that joke, I should stop using it.”
    Cleve grabbed for the glass. “Give it here.” He brought it above his mouth, leaned back, and let gravity take over. After just a taste, he ran to a nearby window and spewed out the liquid.
    “Again?” Effie asked incredulously. She took the glass from him and drank. Bitter was an understatement. It tasted of spoiled lime and fire, but Cleve needed to be taught a lesson. She finished it quickly, held in a cough, and asked sarcastically with a burning throat, “What did your brother do to receive a gift as kingly as this?”
    Alex smiled at first, but then Effie caught him turning his head to sigh.
    “Could that have possibly offended you?” she asked.
    He shook his head. “No, it takes far more than that to upset me. Your talk of kingly reminded me of something solemn I’ve been trying to forget.”
    Effie glanced at Reela, who was leaning her head forward, her eyes focused on Alex. In the rare instances when Effie couldn’t decipher whether a man’s words were genuine, Reela could.
    “What’s so troubling?” Reela asked with one eyebrow bent, as if trying to solve a puzzle.
    Alex waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “I would hate to bring up serious matters after inviting you into my home for a night of entertainment.”
    Normally when a man suddenly changed to a serious topic, Effie assumed it to be a ploy, a cheap attempt at making her more interested in the conversation. But with Reela there, these quick mood changes tended to happened frequently, too frequently, in fact. Truth seemed to be magnetized to her, perhaps the reason she’d never done well with men.
    “I’m sure satisfying our curiosity is more important at this point,” Reela answered for them.
    Alex nodded. “I understand that, but keep in mind that I warned you.” He