No Good Deed by Jerry Jackson Read Free Book Online Page A

tried to show only modest interest. His eyes widened and a broad smile came over his face, betraying him, “Yes. Yes, I would love to join you, thank you very much.” When he accepted the invite, the carination felt warm against his chest. “Was this following my heart?” he thought to himself.
    As they left the church, the spell Maria put on Alister wore off and he was back to his shabby, smelly self. Without a thought, Mordechi renewed the spell with just a touch. “This will last till evening, plenty of time for you to get cleaned up.” They all chuckled.
    It was about a twenty—minute walk to the pub. Mordechi broke the silence with remembrances of his youth. “Oh, back in the day, I was quite the rowdy youth. Drinking till I got my fill and then going beyond.” Everyone looked at him half—cocked. It is a given that he enjoys his wine; it is hard for them to believe he was once a wild man, “I know you’re finding it hard to believe, but it’s true. I adventured briefly. We must go forth and see the world so we may understand our visions. Isn’t that right, Relina?”
    “Yes, after I was ordained I began adventuring with Obidaan. That was just over five years ago.”
    “Yes,” and he chuckled a bit, “some stick to it, becoming wanderings priests like yourself. I do hope you get to preach every now and again to others than just these guys.”
    “I’ve had occasion, but they are few and far between. When people ask I’m happy to expand on the virtues of The Seers and the gift of prophesy.”
    “We don’t actively seek followers, since we know when they are coming,” everyone got a laugh out of that.
    Mordechi continued with stories of a wild youth, brawls he had gotten into and a fun but failed treasure hunt. By the time they got to the Silver Arrow they were in quite a festive mood.
    They found some seats not too far from the fire. On it was a large pot holding a stew. Chickens, pigs, and beef parts were roasting above the dancing flames. The meat sizzled as fat dripped into the flames, making for a wonderful aroma. Cooks spooned stew into large wooden bowls and using thick gloves, they would either remove whole animals, or cut parts off accordingly. Vegetables came from the back.
    They sat, continued to talk a bit, when Obidaan shivered for a moment and began looking around the room. Everyone at the table noticed his abrupt movement.
    “Is everything all right, darling?” Relina put her hand on his.
    He patted her hand gently, “Everything is fine. There’s another paladin in the room and I’m looking for them.”
    “You can tell?” Mordechi asked.
    “Oh yes,” Alister stepped in. If there was going to be a story to be told, Alister was going to tell it, “All paladins can recognize each other, even if they are an antipaladin. It goes along with membership,” Alister was going to continue but Obidaan stepped in, still searching.
    “Actually, we are all Paladins, whether we fight for good or evil. Bards and the masses primarily use the name antipaladin to distinguish us. To us there is no distinction. We have to follow the same rules; the only difference is the choices we make. We . . . Lucinda.”
    Relina looked over to where Obidaan was looking. There in the corner, keeping to herself, was a half—elf dressed in a black dress, cut in ways that revealed everything but showed nothing. Over her heart was a pin, her holy symbol. It was black skull and crossed swords, outlined in pure silver. She had long black hair that flowed down the full length of her back. Her beauty was unsurpassed, a haunting face, perfect figure, long slender legs, and perky breasts. Her open toes shoes showed perfectly painted nails, in black nail polish, matching her fingernails and lipstick. But it was her eyes that would have people staring at her.
    In the world there are only eight possible eye colors, the colors of the rainbow and brown. However, for a few, fortunate or unfortunate depending on your