A Nameless Witch by A. Lee Martinez Read Free Book Online

forward, eyeing Newt with slight smiles.
    Newt flapped his wings and leaped to attack. Gwurm caught him midpounce and saved the soldiers' lives. The troll walked away. Newt squirmed in his grasp.
    "I'm not a prostitute," I restated.
    The men straightened. "Are you quite certain?"
    I nodded.
    Their grins vanished, and they cleared their throats. "Good. Because this is certainly no place for such depravity."
    "No place," the thin one agreed.
    "You're not another desperate woman looking for a husband, are you? Because I can assure you, all the men who haven't brought their families with them aren't aching for any more womanly attention. Even if it is free."
    I needed to refine my act. Perhaps a bigger, more pointed hat. Or an exaggerated, withered limb. Something was missing because no one had yet to guess my trade without me telling them.
    "I'm a witch."
    "A witch, eh? Captain didn't say anything about witches, did he?"
    "Not that I recall."
    "Anything about trolls?"
    "Nothing. I would have remembered. Just prostitutes."
    "I guess it's all right then. So what do you do, witch?"
    I leaned heavily on my broom and raised my head that one eye might glare up at them. "I commune with forbidden spirits. I speak to beasts and plants. I cast bones. I heal. I curse." I cracked a wide smile. "And I raise the dead."
    "So you don't do anything with the troll then either?"
    "No. Nothing with the troll."
    "Pity Zur will be disappointed." They wandered back to the fort.
    Gwurm returned to my side. He let go of Newt. The duck paced about in an angry circle, muttering.
    "I was only going to maim them. Tear off a limb or two."
    "No maiming either, Newt."
    "As you command, mistress, but they were asking for it."
    Gwurm chuckled. "It's easy not to kill people who don't deserve it. It's keeping from killing the people who irritate you that is the task."
    I suggested that Newt had gotten enough practice not killing today He and Gwurm waited at the field's edge while I dared venture amid the bustling tents and rickety wooden constructions. The soldiers' barracks were a collection of uniform canvas tents to the east. The families camped to the north. The prostitutes sat at the south. And the merchants and tradesmen had set up a makeshift marketplace to the west. It seemed a fine seed of a village, perhaps even a respectable city one day, but right now, it was just many people gathered beneath the shadow of a half-built fort.
    The stench impressed me the most. Most animals have enough sense to keep a tidy home. Men were apparently an exception. Few creatures could create such filth in such short time. Disposing of it properly would have been a trade in itself. Judging by the countless mounds of dung, rotting vegetables, and decaying meat, there weren't any such tradesmen in residence. The people didn't seem to mind, but they reeked of sweat and toil themselves, so why would they? As for myself, I found some comfort in the stench through my curse.
    Walking between the tents, I sized up everyone I saw as a potential meal. I discovered I was a very particular eater. Most everyone was either too fat or too lean or too oily or too tough. There were precious few of any appeal, although there were a dozen or so that I'd have considered nibbling on under the right circumstances.
    I found the most interest in the south end of town. The prostitutes came in countless varieties. Some were short and plump. Others were tall and lean. Short and lean. Tall and plump. Ugly. Pretty. Old. Young. Dark. Light. Underneath all my clothes, I was more beautiful than any. I could have made a fine living as a woman of easy virtue. Of course, as I'd never actually lain with a man, I had to wonder what might happen should I lose myself in even a brief carnal moment. As the mere thought made my mouth water, I suspected I wouldn't have much return business. My musings were interrupted by a coarse grunt.
    "You there! You're new, aren't you?"
    A short man emerged from one of the tents.