(Conor's POV) Jinstain, Bayan Province.
"Where have you been? I have been calling for hours!" Jessica steamed.
Conor pulled out his phone to see the battery had died. "I am sorry, the battery died."
She narrowed her eyes, "That doesn't answer the where. Where did you sleep last night?"
"I found a spot in the park."
"But it was freezing last night!" Jessica said coving her mouth in horror.
"Well, you didn't exactly give me much choice."
"I thought you would go to Yuri's or something!"
"Yuri is out of town this weekend at a convention."
"Oh... If you slept in the park.... Where did this suit come from?" she brushed up to him, feeling the quality of the suit and looking at his freshly showered hair. The scent of orange blossom did not go unnoticed.
"I had a meeting with my lawyer this morning. He was kind enough to get me the suit and provide a place to shower."
Jessica took a subconscious step back, "Lawyer? Why were you visiting a lawyer? Do I need a lawyer?"
Conor frowned at her, "I don't know, have you done something recently that would warrant hiring a lawyer?"
Jessica narrowed her eyes, assessing. "Why do you smell like orange blossom?"
Conor lifted a sleeve and sniffed, inhaling the unmistakable scent. "Mmm, that is a good smell. I am not sure. I guess it was on the suit. I might have to ask my lawyer because that is lovely."
With a sigh, Jessica backed into the apartment, allowing Conor to finally fully enter and find a seat on the couch.
"Conor about last night. I am sorry I snapped. Mother can be strong-willed and opinionated, but she is my mother."
Conor chose to sit quietly, stewing.
"Fine, don't acknowledge me. At least you are safe, I was about to start calling the city guard to start looking for you. Will you be here when I get back?"
Conor looked at Jessica again and noted her fine clothes. She had a very nice gray business suit on that did wonders for her figure. "I am not sure. Am I allowed back tonight? Or am I expected to sleep in the park again?"
"Conor, don't be stubborn about this. Yes, you are allowed to sleep in your room tonight. I asked Mother to give us some space. I will be back late. Tonight is a small gathering with the chamber of commerce and some local big wigs." Conor felt her gaze linger on him for a long moment before she turned and slowly walked out the door. After a few minutes, he got up and decided to fix himself something to eat. As he walked into the kitchen, he noticed a small card with the stack of papers Jessica had left on the table. He reached down and pulled out the card.
"Jinstain Family Law - Divorce Specialists"
'Guess she was already talking to lawyers, and sadly not the business kind, or at least her mother wanted her to talk to some.'
He pocketed the card and then searched the kitchen until he found a small jar of peanut butter and a loaf of bread. He made a simple sandwich before heading back out. He thought about changing but decided it might be pleasant to stroll around the nicer parts of town and not stand out.
High Street was known to be a bit more upper class for Jinstain, with several nice taprooms where business deals were often negotiated long before they ever saw the inside of a boardroom.
Conor rarely had an excuse to visit this end of town but tonight felt like a grand time to forget the past few hours, and maybe even the past few years. As the evening crowds began to form, Conor found himself at a smaller tavern near the end of the street, where the crowd seemed much lighter than everywhere else. The atmosphere was light and cheery, with several small pockets of conversation throughout the sparsely populated room. Conor made his way up to the bar and pulled out a silver dragon he had been saving for Jessica. If he played his cards right, this coin should last him the night, but even that was an exorbitant splurge for Conor.
The barkeeper made his way over, shining a glass that looked to have been polished several times already out of boredom. His eyes widened seeing silver on the counter. "Bit early mate for that heavy ah drink an't it? A strap'n chap like you can't be that down and out. Plenty of fish in the sea and all, and the sea is just there, don't you know!" Conor smirked at the chipper barkeep. "Aye, see that's what I'm talking bout! Life's not so bad now is it?"
Conor slid the business card he had found across the bar as an explanation. The barkeep looked down and let out a long tired sigh. "Aye, lad. That be a tough one to fight. Is the deal done, or is she just thinking the nasty thoughts for now?"
"Suppose just thinking for now."
"Aye, then things an't too far gone, unless of course... it was entirely your fault things are the way they are and you did something irreversible? You an't got no little bastards running amuck with some mistress, now, do ya? I can't help a man who made his own bed."
Conor just rested his head in his hands, "No, nothing like that. I suppose it's still my fault, but I'll be needing that drink before I tell that story."
***
***
"And then I came home and found this card! I mean, I am trying! I had the money! Ok, not all of it but I mean I have my half and then some! This is a partnership right?! We are both working... I am improving. I am not where I was, but another year and I will be!" Conor flipped another glass onto his growing pyramid of finished shot glasses.
The Bartender was debating the legality of serving Conor any more liquor when a silvery flutter at the door caught his attention. "Wow, that's not a sight you see every day."
Conor swiveled unsteadily to look at the entrance where an elegantly dressed woman had just walked in. She was tall and lean, wearing a flowing silver floor-length dress that looped over her right shoulder, her every move accentuated her predatory beauty. Her light brown hair twisted through braided knots around both sides of her head and behind her ears, flowing down past her shoulders. Conor noted her ears almost appeared pointed, with hints of gold and silver near the tips, but he couldn't quite focus enough to make out why. "Who... Is that?" he asked breathlessly, a dim spark of memory fading into the haze of his mind as he watched the flash of green eyes pass into a booth in the corner.
"That, my good friend, is the sign that I need to brush up my resume. If she is here... I give this place a month before it's under new management. I don't think that woman has ever walked into a business she didn't eventually own outright."
"Rich then?"
"Kid, you don't understand rich if you don't know who that is. That is Kerrigan Lokir, President of the Dragon Corporation. She is one of the youngest... well frankly I don't know if she is a millionaire or billionaire these days. Point is, she can drop cash to buy anything in Jinstain and likely even much of Bayan province."
"That powerful? Hmm."
The barkeeper frowned at him. "Now don't go getting any ideas. You may have enough liquid courage in you to muster up a chat with the dragoness herself, but she is outta your league. Hell, the woman doesn't have a league. And you may have been too deep in your drink to notice that big brute of a man that came in before her standing there' he pointed to a mountain of flesh standing with arms crossed in front of a booth as Kerrigan slid into her private seat. The man glared around the room, almost daring anyone to try something. "Or that bloke there" - gesturing to another hulk who had taken up position near the entrance. "Sorry to say lad, you wouldn't get close enough to shout at her, let alone say a coherent thought. Besides, that woman has more choices than the sorry likes of us."
"So, what's a beautiful specimen like her, doing in a town like Jinstain anyway?" Conor slurred, "Wouldn't she be in the capital or even Targu Province? Isn't it quite the metropolis across the mountains there?"
"Oh, aye. To be sure, Targu is a beautiful place, but the northwest is getting crowded I would say. From what I hear she has her headquarters out that way, near the Abrasax Temple in fact! If she is here, she is likely planning to expand her little business empire to Bayan, now that Celia's own acolytes seem to have lost their pension for business deals. Miss Lokir has been quietly enjoying her position for two or three years now, so she is likely ready for another explosive expansion."
A lance of pain shot through Conor's chest at the memory of his mother's loss, the emotion fresh and raw as if the news was hours old, not years.
"Aye, sorry lad. I take it you knew someone killed in that gang war that ransacked the temple. Bad business that. Things have never been the same round here since then. True sacrilege that was."
A grunt pulled their attention to the alcove table Kerrigan had taken. The hulk had left the door and was now towering over a gentleman in a pinstriped suit who was kneeling, clutching his gut. "I just wanted to speak to the lady, just a minute. You didn't have to get all ham-fisted."
A soft voice floated out of the alcove "With men like these, why would I be interested in your company?"
"I have money! I can be a great investment partner!"
"Pocket change. No, leave me in peace please." The melodious voice was delivered so softly, yet Conor could feel the raw command that contrasted the natural beauty of the voice.
"But" -
The mountain of a guard stepped forward, and the man quickly gathered himself and ran for the door. "Thank you, Stevic. Lear, be a dear and make sure he doesn't come back in."
The hulk of a man Conor assumed must be 'Lear' headed back to his station near the entrance, while 'Stevic' took up his position again blocking access to Kerrigan.
"See, lad? Not worth the effort of getting through those two, no matter how bad home life might make you want to risk death."
Conor watched the alcove for a minute longer before closing out his tab with the barkeeper. He requested one last shot and swigged it before standing and striding past Kerrigan's alcove.
"No! Lad, don't be daft!"
Conor only slowed his pace as he passed the alcove, and in a slightly lifted voice said to the recesses of that darkened room, "A pleasant evening to the beautiful lady." He made a slight bow of his head as he continued walking, never breaking stride. Just as he passed the booth's opening a riot of emotion erupted through his chest! Pain, Loss, Pleasure, loyalty, uncertainty, ... Recognition! A scent of apple blossom and cinnamon spice caught his attention.
'RUN!' the mental shout was so strong, Conor found himself sprinting for the door, blind with an animal instinct to flee! He nearly bowled Lear over at the entrance as Kerrigan emerged from her alcove. He bolted outside and down the street before collapsing into the grass of a small park near the end of the street.
Kerrigan's POV
Kerrigan watched the man stride past her alcove, as she slowly scanned every patron here. Despite what it had become, this was still an excellent location. Under the right management of course, and, she thought, plenty of remodeling.
"A pleasant evening to the beautiful lady."
Well at least he didn't waste time stopping like the last one - sudden recognition flooded her as she clutched her chest. 'what in all of Dovari hell was that?'
'CELIA HAS SURFACED' came the deep guttural response.
CELIA! Kerrigan recoiled some at the sheer primal lust coming from that voice in her mind. Did that gentleman have Celia's heartstone?! After three years, is there finally a clue? Kerrigan froze in a panic a moment too long because when she stood to shout to her guards, the man was already out the door and gone, and the sense of him fading. 'Nice of you to finally wake.' Only her own thoughts greeted her.
Celia's heartstone, here in Jinstain. It made sense, of course, If Celia's temple had been ransacked by local thieves, much of the treasure would have made its way to Jinstain before going anywhere else. At least this man didn't look to be some street urchin tainting the relic of Celia and her memory simply by touching the medallion.
She made her way to the barkeeper. "That man who just left. He was here talking business?"
"Business? What? No, he was down on his luck."
Down on his luck? That didn't track with Celia. "You are sure he was not discussing business, trying to buy local shops or even this place?"
"No ma'am! I swear! Just drinks and moping."
"I want his name and anything he told you." She placed a gold dragon in front of the shopkeeper.
"I have never seen him before! His name was Conor... I got from his stories he might be between jobs, or between girls... it was hard to tell through all the shots he had."
"Those shouldn't have affected him... ok, thank you. Oh, and for now, you can keep your job, but do plan on new management." She winked at his flabbergasted expression as she headed for the door.
Kerrigan headed out to her car where Lear opened the door and Stevic slid into the passenger seat. Any bystander might have thought it was choreographed by how practiced the whole group was. As the car drove off, Kerrigan dialed a number.
"There is a man, first name Conor, lives in Jinstain. Age 23-27. See if you can figure out who it is. There might be a connection to Celia. See if there is any unusual business activity going on in the area."
"Yes ma'am, I will see what I can find. Ma'am, the Prima has demanded your return to Velyki."
"The Prima doesn't command me to do anything. I am a grown woman," snarled Kerrigan.
"Of course, my lady. However, my sources suggest he may have deployed the Falak Guard to return you to Velyki by force if you do not return willingly."
"That pig-headed blasphemer. I am still the head of Dragon Corporation no matter what he may think."
"Be safe, my lady. The faithful remain loyal to you."
As Kerrigan sat back in the car, her mind wandered to a small pond. She watched her six-year-old self crying by the edge of the water. A young boy of about the same age, dressed in dirty monk robes tumbled out of a tree beside her, splashing water on her as his feet landed in the pond. 'Please don't cry, Eibhlin,' he had said stumbling up out of the muck in an attempt to comfort her. Kerrigan wondered what had happened to that boy. It had been such a strange name for him to call her. She shook herself out of the memory.
"Lear, take us back to the hotel."