by Rachel Gay
Kota thought of Peter holding that gun and the patrol forming at her father’s forge right now and thought Erin wasn’t quite right on that point, but did not argue. He ran a hand through his hair, unintentionally sweeping his hair out of his face enough to reveal the mark there above his left eye.
It seemed brighter than ever to Erin, or maybe that was just because of the bags under his eyes. Now that she looked, his face seemed paler than ever, and the livid mark practically shined in the dim light of the inn. Across the table, Miles’s eyes studied the mark, perhaps thinking the same thing.
“I’ve got some stuff that I need to do, so I can watch the inn if you want to get some sleep,” she said.
“What do you need to do?” Kota asked. “I can—”
“I think I can handle it,” Erin cut in. “I don’t need your help to do everything around here, you know. Go and get a few hours of sleep before you’re totally useless.”
Kota stared and then got up and went upstairs without another word. Erin leaned forward and buried her head in her arms.
“Can’t take a hint, can he?” Miles said, staring up the stairs after him. He looked at Erin with her head still on the table and decided to test his luck. “He’d probably do anything if you told him to, though. Wouldn’t he?”
Erin turned so one eye could look at him through her hair and said, “I don’t know about anything, but he doesn’t put up much of a fight. Sometimes I wish he would stand up for himself more. It’s a little...”
She broke off, but Miles nodded and said, “Unsettling. He’s very attached to this inn, you know.”
“Like I said, he thinks there’s some kind of cure here thanks to that stupid witch.” Erin sighed, blowing a few wisps of her hair up into the air. “What kind of person makes up something like that?”
“So you think she made it up?”
“It’s the only thing I can think of. How would Mr. Sollis know anything about how to fix him? He never left the inn if he could help it.”
Erin fell silent, and Miles waited a full minute before saying, as carefully as he could, “Then maybe you should tell Kota to give up.”
“What?” Erin sat up and gave him a fierce look worthy of her father. “Why would I do something like that?”
“As opposed to letting him chase after a fool’s dream until some hunter arrives and puts an end to him?” Miles’s eyes flashed, perhaps as a trick of the light from the fireplace. “He won’t listen to reason! If I could just get him to a capital wizard, but no!”
He slammed his hand on the table, palm down, and Erin’s heart hammered.
“I’ve given him every chance, even that Elzwig has in her own way, and he’s determined to stay in this wretched little inn until someone kills him. He might listen to you, but you don’t want him to leave because that would be inconvenient.” He spat out the last word and Erin winced, if only because it hit home.
He stood up, the chair scraping behind him, and walked out the front door with a declaration that he needed some air. Erin heard the door slam behind him but did not turn her head. She just sat there, her hands curled up into balls that shook as tears of shame rolled down her face.
Entry 42: Leaving?
“Erin?”
Erin jerked awake and looked up at Kota with bleary eyes. It was dark in the inn, but she knew that didn’t mean much. Rubbing her eyes, she asked, “What time is it?”
“Um, morning,” Kota said, glancing uneasily at the clock on the wall. Neither of them trusted the thing, as its pendulum tended to stick halfway through the swing, and the big hand would occasionally do a quick spin around the face when they weren’t looking directly at it. “Are you okay?”
Erin rubbed her eyes and felt the mark on her face from sleeping at the table. “I’m...”
She sighed and looked up at Kota. “We need to talk.”
Kota pulled up a chair and sat down, his head tilted in that way that reminded Erin of a curious dog. “About what?”
“You know...Um...” She hesitated and Miles’s words from last night ran through her mind. “Do you remember back when you first came here?”
“Yes. You hit me with a broom.”
Erin studied Kota’s face, but it was as deadpan as the tone of his voice. “Er, but do you remember when you found out Mr. Sollis wasn’t here anymore, and you were ready to leave?”
Kota nodded.
“It’s just...do you really think there’s a cure for you here?” Erin asked.
“The witch said Master Sollis—”
“I know, I know, but what if she was wrong? She didn’t even know he was dead!” Erin took a deep breath. “The point is, you only stayed because I asked you to. So, with everything going on, I was thinking, maybe….you should go.”
Kota’s eyes widened. “What?”
Erin swallowed and continued, “Maybe it would be good if you went with Miles. He thinks someone in the city could help you, right?”
“But what about the inn? Your father and the mayor only let you open it because they thought you had a partner,” Kota said, with the desperation of clinging to straws. “If I leave—”
“I can find someone else,” Erin said, crossing her arms and looking away so that she didn’t have to see Kota’s reaction. “It shouldn’t be that hard, now that we’ve proven the inn can be reopened.”
“Oh.” Kota sat back in his chair and a silence fell between them.
They sat there, Erin didn’t know how long, the lie leaving a bitter taste in her mouth that did not help at all, before the front door opened and Miles walked in. Behind him the sky was overcast and gray, doing little to lighten the mood in the room.
“What’s going on?” he asked, as if he didn’t know.
“Erin suggested that I go with you to the city,” Kota said, his voice flat and expressionless.
“Well, today would be a good day to go,” Miles said casually. He placed some packages wrapped in wax paper to keep them dry on the table, his hand slipping to Erin’s shoulder briefly. “With the weather like this, I was able to go and pick up our clothes as well as the lock Elzwig requested. It’s supposed to stay like this all day too, so we could make it to the city by tonight if we go now.”
“Now?” Erin said, her voice faltering.
Kota looked from her to Miles and said, “I would need to get my stuff together. Oh, and Erin should get to know Voi before I go. The dust bunny?”
“Oh, right,” Miles said, while Erin just looked confused. He knew Kota had nothing to pack, but he could see he wanted to talk to Erin alone. “I’ll just get the pig ready, shall I?”
“You two are weird,” Erin muttered without her usual enthusiasm as Kota led her upstairs after going into the kitchen for a saucer of milk.
Kota put a finger to his lips as they rounded the corner and placed the saucer on the third step. He made a clicking sound with his tongue and called softly, and just as Erin was wondering if there was a point to this the small ball of dirty gray fur he called Voi squeezed through a crack in the wall about half its size and scurried over to the saucer.
“What is that thing?” Erin said, clapping a hand over her own mouth when it jumped and started to tremble. Speaking softer, she said, “Oh, I’m sorry.”
“Shh,” Kota hushed the squeaking creature and gently stroked the top of its head. “Erin, this is Voi. His kind love places like this, where they can eat all the dust they want. He’s been keeping this floor clean while Sollis was gone.”
“It eats dust?” Erin stared at the thing, and after a motion from Kota reached out and stroked what she thought was the top of its head. Its fur was smoother than she expected, and closer to she was surprised to find that Voi smelled vaguely of lemons.
“And likes the occasional saucer of milk, it seems,” Kota said, smiling. He watched Erin pet the little creature for a moment or so.
Voi was just so soft, like a rabbit Erin thought. She watched him lap up the milk with fascination and asked, “But what is he?�
�
There was no answer, even when Erin asked the question again. She looked around, but the hallway was empty except for her and Voi.
“Kota?” She stood up and Voi lifted one of his long, trailing ears before scurrying back to the wall. She called his name again as she went to his room, but stopped short when she saw the door standing open.
Inside, the bed was as neatly made as the day she showed the room to him. His only bag was gone, and there was nothing out of place except for his room key, lying on the little bedside table.
Erin raced down the stairs and nearly fell over Miles, who was setting down the cage with the pig in it.
“Whoa!” He straightened up as Erin caught herself and rounded on him. “What are you in such a hurry for?”
“He’s gone!”
“What?” Miles caught her before she could run out the door. “Kota left?”
“Yes, he took his bag and everything while I wasn’t looking,” Erin babbled, struggling to get to the door. “I thought you said he would go with you, but he’s run away!”
Miles pulled her into a chair and put both hands on her shoulders. “Calm down. I’m going after him, you stay here in case he comes back. Got it?”
“It’s my fault,” Erin said, not looking at him.
“Listen to me, stay here Erin.” Miles ran to the door, only pausing to add, “And don’t let the pig out of her cage!”
He hesitated on the road in front of the inn. Which way would Kota go?
Not to the north. Too close to the city, and there was too much open space in the wastes. Too easy to find. Same for the plains. The only cover around was in town and to the east. Miles sniffed and a faint scent confirmed it: Kota had run straight into the forest.
Entry 43: Instinct
Miles ran between the trees and bushes, fending off branches and thorns while he cursed himself for his stupid bright idea. Kota had a head start on him, but not by much. He could still smell traces of him, and if the vampire had bothered to slow down he could have seen the broken branches and other signs that someone had been through here not long ago.
The communicator on his wrist started to beep shrilly and Miles swore, slapping at the thing. He had no time for them now. If Kota got away, it would be impossible to predict where he would go next. He probably didn’t even know himself.
At the thought Miles groaned and sped up. Of course he wouldn’t know. Kota’s time at the Last Inn was probably the longest he’d spent in any one place since he got the curse, and who knew how long ago that happened?
The vampire ran on, unaware of the change in the wind. He did not see the clouds begin to break and shift, and did not see the sun emerging until it was too late.
Miles staggered and fell, his scream unheard by his own ears as he rolled on the ground. Even here, in the shade beneath the trees, the sunlight was agonizing and filled a private world of pain. Eyes clenched shut, he curled in on himself and pressed his sweating brow to the ground for the little relief it provided.
Footsteps. Something moving.
Acting on instinct, Miles threw himself toward the movement. His hands found a furry body, which he heaved up and slammed against the nearest tree trunk at the right height for him.
A bare inch away, with fangs bared, Miles stopped and sniffed, just as a whine met his ears. He risked opening his eyes and could almost make out the wolf pinned to the tree and the vivid mark on its face.
“Oh, God,” Miles muttered and dropped the hound on the ground. He staggered and caught himself on the tree trunk.
Another whine, and the vampire felt a set of teeth grip the sleeve of his jacket and pull. Even that little tug was enough to set him off balance, and he stumbled along after the wolf, deeper into the woods.
It felt like they walked forever to Miles, who could go at little faster than a stumbling trot. More than once Kota had to wait after the vampire tripped so he could drag himself back onto his feet again. Each time it took longer, and Miles knew it was only a matter of time before he would not be able to get back up again, or fight back the instinct that made his hand tremble every time the wolf grabbed his sleeve.
He slipped on some dead leaves and started to slide and roll down a slope, branches and briars tugging at his face and clothes, but he did not slow to a stop until the bottom of the hill. Miles did not even have the strength to fend off the wolf as it dragged him along, or the hands that pulled him deeper into the shade until he was completely sheltered from the sun.
“...-les...wake up...” Kota’s voice came in and out, and Miles dimly heard him say, “Stay here.”
Kota’s footsteps faded over the leaves and the vampire laid there where he left him, too weak to move. After the exposure to the sun, all of his senses were fighting for control. He could smell the dirt and even the cold underside of the rock outcropping overhead which blocked the sunlight. He felt like he could hear and smell everything for miles, every heartbeat and breath taunting him as he began to shake uncontrollably.
He tried once or twice to open his eyes, but everything was too bright, even the shadows under the rock. If he dared to look out, the colors of the dying leaves glared in his eyes and swirled so fast he felt sick.
“No,” he groaned when he heard the leaves start sliding again. Kota was coming back.
He grit his teeth and tried to block out the sound, but he could feel the animal getting closer. Too close.
The leaves stirred outside of his nook of cave and Miles lashed out on instinct. His arms wrapped around the writhing animal and he bit down before he could stop himself. The struggling slowed, as did the breathing and the heartbeat.
The vampire wrenched himself away and gasped. He stared down at the stag lying in his arms and looked up to see the wolf sitting on the other side of the dell. The stag made a feeble movement and Miles finished it off before it could suffer anymore.
Miles pushed the animal away and laid back down. Already he could feel the effect, and he sighed with relief.
“Thank you,” he said, staring up at the rock overhead. He glanced at Kota, but the wolf had not moved. “It’s safe to come over here now.”
The wolf approached, but stopped just short of the shade provided by the rock. Disconcerted, Miles added, “Hard to talk to you when you’re like this, you know.”
The wolf just stared at him and the vampire closed his eyes with a sigh. His head was spinning, and it was hard to concentrate, but he could figure out that Kota was mad at him.
“You know the girl really doesn’t want you to leave, don’t you?” Talking hurt, but this might be his only chance. If Kota ran now, there was no way he would be able to stop him. “I talked her into saying those things. Didn’t think you would take it so hard, really.”
The only response was a low growl.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m the bad guy for wanting to help you. Forgive me,” Miles said, rolling his eyes. “Look, you and I both know she can’t keep that inn up by herself, even if her father didn’t already know you were leaving.”
Another growl, this time louder.
“Okay, I might have said a little more than I meant to when I went to get the lock this morning.” Miles hesitated, realizing that somehow this one-sided conversation was getting away from him. “Point is, she was willing to risk giving that up if it meant you had a chance to get rid of that curse. If you really don’t want to come with me, then at least go back to the inn. For Erin?”
It was a cheap shot, and Miles was okay with that. He counted to ten and turned his head to see Kota, still as a wolf, sigh and curl up in the sun to wait.
The vampire closed his eyes and let go of the breath he had been holding in.
He woke up to Kota shaking his shoulder.
“Come on,” he said. “It’s clouded over again. I think we can make it back to the inn now.”
Miles tried to stand up and his knees nearly gave out underneath him.
“Do you need some more?” Kota asked, a bit tactlessly to Miles’s min
d considering how close he was.
“I’ve got some of my ration back at the inn,” Miles muttered. Now that he looked, the stag was gone and he briefly wondered what the young man, or maybe the wolf, did with it.
Kota pulled him up onto his feet and threw the vampire’s arm over his shoulder. It was his turn to practically drag Miles along, up the hill and through the trees on the long trek back to the inn.
Entry 44: Into the Forest
Erin thought Miles telling her to stay in the inn was probably the worst thing he could have done after everything else that had happened. She watched him run into the woods through one of the windows, and spent the next hour pacing, pulling back all of the shutters on the ground floor so she could see out no matter where she was at, and doing every little thing that came to mind to keep from thinking about Kota.
After catching herself staring at the line of trees for the tenth time in as many minutes, Erin went to the front desk and started sorting the papers, balling up the trash and throwing them as hard as she could at the fireplace. She stopped when picking up one of the receipts uncovered the red leather bound cover of Sollis’s journal.
Erin picked it up and briefly considered hurling it into the fire with the other trash. After a moment of hesitation she sat down in the nearest chair and opened the journal. Any kind of distraction was better than this.
The musty pages crinkled under her touch and stuck together in chunks that she had to pry apart, and more than half were covered in small, loose writing that was thankfully easier to read than Miles’s. Flipping through page after page, Erin was a little disappointed to see that most of it was just a record of the inn’s guests and expenses. Some days just mentioned how many, but there were also names and notes on some guests.
Thumbing through the pages, she stopped and went back at a familiar name and read: Mdm. Elzwig. Complained about the food again. Nosy as ever. She smiled and noticed that some of the other guests that day tried to slip Sollis some bad money, and one unnamed guest, “prob. mer” paid in chel shells, whatever those were.
A snort from the other corner of the room made Erin jump. She looked at the pig, who scrunched up her snout and made a terrible sound.