What choice did she have? Before she could stop them, her feet were bearing her down the alleyway, just as the clash of combat rang out and echoed after her.
~♦~
Talea peeked out from behind the corner of the house, hand gripping the wall tightly. She immediately ducked behind it again, as male voices reached her ears from a dozen yards ahead.
“Should we keep looking this way or go back?”
“You idiot, Ulmre and the other boys went the other way, why should we? We’re probably close, there’s only so many places she could have gone.”
“I dunno, man…these San Quawr, they’re slippery.”
“They ain’t mythic, man! Come on, already. Go check that alleyway.”
Unsure if “that alleyway” was in fact the one she currently occupied, Talea turned and bolted. Stopping in a shadowy alcove to catch her breath, she listened to hear their voices again. Nothing. Next, she eyed the alcove—nope, bad idea, there was only one exit, she would be trapped if they appeared. Still panting, she moved on, more slowly since there was no sign of Kaydorians.
It wasn’t much of a question, whether or not Yhkon had escaped the predicament she’d left him in. It had probably been ten soldiers, a number she felt confident he could defeat. Well. Mostly confident. What if he hadn’t? What if he’d been captured…or killed?
No. He hadn’t. There was no sense worrying about it.
What she did have to worry about, were her own circumstances. Was she supposed to hunker down and wait for him to find her? Or keep going and try to find him? How long would it take? She was already growing thirsty and hungry, and it had only been a couple hours since she and Yhkon had been separated.
What about the rest of the group? Had they fared better, or worse?
Stop it. You’re not doing yourself any good. Focus. Without any clue as to Yhkon’s whereabouts, it was probably best to let him do the finding. She’d just work on staying away from Kaydorians.
The nature of the town she’d been stranded in made that relatively easy. It was no laborer’s village. It was similar to the twins’ home, Castown, so it must have been a middle class town. No haliops, just wooden houses…everywhere. Lining the streets, often with only a few feet between them. And, the streets were all gravel. Not a dirt path overgrown with weeds anywhere in sight.
What the town did not make easy, was staying away from other people in general. They were everywhere. Apparently, they weren’t restricted to working all day every day except Eunday. While they didn’t pose the threat that the soldiers did, she thought it better to avoid them all the same, considering she was dressed strangely and probably looked like a thief or tramp.
Talea kept going, meandering between buildings and down passages. As time passed, evening brought gloom to the entire city. It made her task of staying out of sight easier, though it also made her uneasiness grow. To add to it was the discomfort of a sore, bruised body from the dragon’s claws and being dropped onto Eclipse; scraped hands from Yhkon pushing her to the ground; and an empty stomach. Would she be alone and lost out here all night? Longer? How long would it take for Yhkon to locate her when knights were combing the town for both of them? And the rest of the wards and Wardens…were they even alive? All separated like her, or had they regrouped?
Something clicked and shuffled repeatedly over the cobblestone. She froze, heart beginning to race. Any light from the sporadic torches along the streets was blocked by buildings on either side, and her gaze could barely penetrate the murkiness. She couldn’t see anything amiss. What had the sound been, then?
More clicking and shuffling. Silence. The noise again, drawing closer to her. Run! Her mind screamed, while her body refused to move. A shaft of dull orange light lay between her and the sound. She waited breathlessly for some predator to come sailing through it and attack her. Instead, more clicking, and a dog appeared in the illuminated area.
Talea released her breath through her mouth, mustering a smile. “‘Bout scared me to death, boy.”
The dog observed her with its head tilted. One ear was erect, the other flopped over and had an ugly scar on it. Then the dog licked its chops, turned, and disappeared with its nails still clicking on the cobblestone.
It wasn’t until the sound faded away that she kept going. Where, she didn’t know. Gradually she stopped thinking about it. Stopped wondering how and when Yhkon would find her, stopped straining her senses to hear nearby knights. Simply plodded through the dark streets, head down, shoulders hunched, body heavy with weariness. And stomach growling.
Talea’s heart leapt into her throat as a door unexpectedly swung open only a few feet in front of her. The creaking of the wood and the low squeak of the hinges grated on her nerves, seeming extremely loud in the stillness of the night. A man stumbled out from the golden glow of the house into the darkness. The light reflected off a glass bottle in his hand. Talea remained rooted in spot, even as he marked her presence and faced her. “Hey...” His voice was slurred. “Wha you doing here?”
She blinked, jaw slack and tongue refusing to cooperate.
The man staggered toward her, waving the bottle around. “Come here, girl. What yer name?”
Only as he neared did she regain mobility. Talea spun away from him and bolted.
“Hey. Hey!” he bellowed after her, though she heard no following footsteps.
Didn’t matter. She kept running. Heedless of where her feet took her. She could still hear him yelling for awhile, until it gradually died away as she distanced herself. But in its place came another sound: the clanging and jingling of armor. Her lungs burned, her feet ached from the hard stone, and her muscles felt like lead. That didn’t matter either. She just kept running. It wasn’t until she was so lightheaded and her legs so exhausted that she stumbled, sprawling into a stack of crates, that she stopped. Chest heaving for each breath, head pounding painfully, Talea curled up in a ball and hugged her knees to herself. She vaguely noted that she was partially concealed by the crates and the shadow of a building, before squeezing her eyes shut and letting her mind sink into a troubled sleep.
6
Blending In
T alea woke with a start. After dozing in and out of consciousness, between a frightening reality and terrifying nightmares, she expected to be greeted by the same darkness that made her shrink farther behind the crates, shiver, and try to go back to sleep. Instead, bright sunlight made her squint and shield her eyes with her hand. Finally. It was morning. She grabbed one of the wooden crates beside her, only to recoil at the stinging in her hands. Inspection proved that both her palms were red, tender, and smeared with dried blood. Massaging her forehead with the back of one of her hands, she gripped the crate again, ignored the discomfort, and heaved herself upright.
The ground swayed a bit as she did. Black dots invaded her vision like a thousand flies. She floundered for the wall of the building and steadied herself against it. Gradually the dizziness abated. In its place came a wave of hunger. And stiffness, the moment she took a step. Oh, and let’s not forget how dry my throat is…
All considered, she was feeling cheerful compared to her despondency the night before. With the sun up and exposing her surroundings in its warmth, she didn’t feel nearly so nervous.