The Sultry Sapphire

CHAPTER ONE

A brass-fastened chest thumped on the bar of the Sultry Sapphire in front of Divine, the wood-on-wood sound muffled in the din of voices and cutlery of the tavern. Divine frowned into her frothing mug, then looked up.

The bartender smirked, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear, revealing a hoop pierced into her helix. “I hear you’re looking for an adventure.”

“You heard wrong,” Divine muttered, tipping her glass mug for another vanilla-flavored gulp, eyeing the woman over the brim. Her skin was the medium brown of the liquid Divine swallowed and she had a purple bobble pierced into her left nostril with a matching eyepatch over her opposite eye.

The raven-haired woman bent forward, wiping mug rings from the lacquered wood beside the small chest. “Well, you’re not here to drown your sorrows like the regulars, otherwise you wouldn’t have ordered tarrow-root beer.” She tapped her nose on the same side as her eye patch then whispered, “There’s no alcohol in it.”

Divine paused, her mug half upturned for another swig. Of course the bartender knew every drink, but Divine didn’t expect to be accosted about it. She had a right to drink whatever she damn well pleased. She downed the rest and set the mug heavily on the counter.

“What of it?” she grumbled.

The woman leaned on the bar, the motion pleasantly squeezing her breasts together at the edge of her shirt. Divine’s eyes traced the line of the blouse, the breasts lifted by some sort of bodice underneath. Her right hand was unusual—complete fusion of the long and ring finger.

“My guess is you’re here looking for someone, or something. Information perhaps? You’d need to keep your wits about you for that.” Her warm voice cut into Divine’s thoughts.

The genuine texture of the woman’s ensuing smile almost made her admit, “ Actually, yes. I’m here looking for someone who stole something important from me. And if Madeline saunters in, I can’t afford to be addled. She has a colorful tattoo of a rainbow bird on her shoulder blade. Looks like it could fly right off her skin. Lines her eyes with charcoal. Have you seen her?”

Instead, she nodded toward the woman’s hands, “Accident or birth?”

“Blessed by birth,” she replied, her brow creasing as she pushed herself from the bar and took Divine’s empty mug with the opposite hand.

A little late, Divine realized her question could be considered rude and braced to soothe a confrontation with her magic. Then she tensed, rubbing her neck, painfully aware of her missing necklace. Her Soulshield assignment was ready to heal emotional wounds even if her ability to do that had been taken from her. Her current quest had brought out bitter qualities in herself she would rather not have adding fizz to her usually calm surface. The necklace would have helped her soothe herself. Currently, she couldn’t even calm a bug.

“Might or magic?” the bartender asked.

Divine frowned at the counter. “Excuse me?”

“I don’t see an obvious weapon, but that could be easily hidden in that long coat of yours. Or you could wield magic. I’d like to know what your tactics will be on our little quest.”

“I didn’t agree to any—”

“Ah, but you didn’t outright refuse it. Means there’s a chance. I just have to convince you.” She winked with her left, uncovered eye.

The woman sat on the edge of the counter with a short hop, deftly bumping the chest out of the way with her hip. She swiveled her legs around to face Divine, who had to lean back to avoid planting her face between the woman’s legs. Not that she hadn’t been in a similar place before, but Divine preferred to know the person between whose legs she was sandwiched.

The bartender grinned. “I can be very convincing.”

Divine swallowed. “I’m sure you can. But why me?”

“I don’t know.” She waved her hand as if she was shooing bugs. “I got a feeling about you. Like we could work well together when things get a bit…heated.”

Warmth rose on Divine’s cheeks. She hoped they weren’t as deep crimson as her shoulder-length curls. Either the tarrow-root beer was spiked, or this woman was unabashedly flirting with her. She didn’t mind . The attention gave her a rush like using magic, though it lacked the floral scent of roses Divine alone would smell. The memory of the fragrance, determined by the construction of her talisman, was beginning to fade. Maybe that was just the despair of five months whispering from just beyond the next hill. Images of transportation offices, record books, and long roads coughing dust from turning wheels danced in her head.

The woman jumped down, landing next to Divine’s chair. “Let’s go somewhere private and I’ll show you what’s in the chest.”

“Don’t you have to work the bar?” Divine gestured at the rows of bottles, rainbow bangles clinking as they slid up her forearm.

“Nah, I do it ‘cause I’m bored. Sylus!”

Divine recoiled at the shout. She saw the woman’s left eye focus across the tavern and turned. Between a line of windows with frosted glass, and tables and chairs that appeared to be pieced together from every home in Trelvania, stood a man with spiked brown hair. He wore a brown apron over his red shirt, which was opened so wide the muscles of his chest were visible.

“Got it, boss,” he called over the din flashing a broad smile.

“Boss?” Divine tilted her head as she swiveled back.

The woman blew on the nails of one hand before turning her green eye on Divine. “I own the place. I’m Saph.”