He quickly took in the inn’s entrance.
“No one here to greet us?” he asked.
Raimie jerked a thumb at the stairs.
“The innkeeper’s checking on rooms for us. It shouldn’t be but a moment.”
Soon after, the chubby man plodded back down the steps.
“Many apologies, masters. I don’t see many guests on off days such as this. I needed to be sure that my wife took the time to clean up after the last visitors to use your rooms,” he huffed from exertion. “The cost for one night is four tin chits. I can also provide in-house cooking for an additional two copper chits a piece.”
Eledis carefully counted and handed over the fee and four copper coins.
“Excellent!” the innkeeper exclaimed, sliding two keys over the countertop. “Your rooms are the first two doors on your left at the top of the stairs. May I suggest that the young master takes the first room? It has a single bed, and while still comfortable, I’m sure your grandfather would appreciate the extra room of the double next door.”
Raimie shrugged.
“As long as I get a mattress, some sheets, and a pillow, I don’t care.”
“Perfect! In that case, here’s your key,” the innkeeper picked it up and practically shoved it into Raimie’s hand.
He turned to Eledis.
“What should I prepare for your meal?”
Raimie took the stairs two at a time, intent on inspecting the coveted bed while his grandfather ordered their dinner. The hallway at the top of the staircase stretched to the far wall of the inn. Five doors led off of it on the left, and the right was lined by windows overlooking the city. The view was quickly cut off by other multi-storied buildings, but even such a small view opened up the narrow hallway and made it less enclosing.
Raimie unlocked the first door and stepped through it. The room was quite dark inside without the benefit of windows. The innkeeper must’ve forgotten to light a candle. If he wished to fully appreciate his accommodations for the evening, Raimie would have to make some light of his own.
The darkness was only exacerbated when the door snicked closed behind him. Raimie tsked while he tried to recall if he’d brought any flint with him this morning. For now, he’d cheat.
He sipped in a little of Ele’s energy to dimly illuminate the room, pleased that he was able to exhibit even this small display of primeancy without fear or anger to aid him, just as an arm snaked around his head, jerking against his throat and lower jaw. At the same time, a hand shoved the back of his head, driving his neck further into the arm encircling it and effectively cutting off his airway.
Without thought, his hands went immediately to the impediment to his breathing, raking fingernails against heavy leather. At the same time, Raimie kicked at whoever was holding him. When neither of these escape attempts worked, he desperately reached for Silverblade or any of the other weapons on his hip.
His body spun around, and his face slammed into a wall. Sharp pain billowed from his nose, the sudden, stabbing ache adding to the black spots blotting his vision.
Reaching behind his head, he found a thumb and twisted hard on it while at the same time attempting to pinch the thin skin between thumb and pointer finger with his other hand. The person behind him didn’t even flinch.
As his vision narrowed to a pinprick, Raimie released his hold on Ele, plunging them both into darkness. He desperately clung to consciousness without Ele’s sustaining power to help him and heavily gulped down a massive amount of Daevetch’s energy.
Shoving it into his hands, Raimie twisted once more until he heard a crack.
The hold around his neck vanished, leaving him gasping and coughing up beautiful, beloved air. Intensely aware of the immediate danger, Raimie flung Daevetch away and pulled at Ele so that he could see.
He had enough time to take in the burly man in tattered clothing towering over him before a club met the side of his face.
* * *
Waking up restrained was not an enjoyable experience, especially after whatever unpleasantness he’d just experienced in the waking world. He thrashed against the bindings around his hands and kicked his uselessly dangling legs into thin air.
“Raimie, stop!” Nylion’s strangled voice cut through the panic. “You will knock us off!”
He stilled and looked down apprehensively. Raimie dangled from Nylion’s back about one-third of the way up the well’s wall. They weren’t high enough that a fall would be fatal, but it would most definitely hurt.
Nylion clung to the black surface, fingertips and the toes of his boots engulfed by black. Raimie could feel his friend’s arms trembling from exertion through the shoulders he hung from.
“This is your idea?” he hissed fearfully.
“I am open to suggestions if you have any to contribute,” Nylion gasped, carefully releasing one hand’s grip on the wall.
He tugged on Raimie’s bound hands, and with the young man’s help, repositioned the arms around his shoulders into a more comfortable position. That task completed, he released the bonds around Raimie’s wrists.
“I would appreciate it if you got off,” he grunted.
Raimie carefully climbed off of his friend and moved to the wall. As before when his fingertips sank into the black, an uncomfortable numbness spread across his hands and halfway down his forearms before fading away. Beside him, Nylion massaged one shoulder with his free hand.
“I thought I would begin while you were busy with real world problems since we can make better time if I climb while you are out there, but I did not take into account the strain of your weight on my shoulders and back,” he murmured as he massaged one shoulder with his free hand.
Raimie grimaced.
“Speaking of the waking world, do you have any suggestions for our current predicament?” he asked. “I’m guessing the man who attacked me doesn’t want me dead since I’m not seeing fluorescent colors down here. Plus there are easier ways to kill an unaware target than to choke them out.”
“Naturally, I would advise waking up quickly if possible, but since it is not…” Nylion trailed off thoughtfully.
The hood’s opening turned toward Raimie.
“You should allow me control,” he said fervently. “I can fix this problem quickly so that Eledis need not ever know. It would be like when we were children, playing in the woods.”
“I could use a break from fending off people trying to cause me harm,” Raimie mused. “Are you sure you can handle it?”
Nylion burst out laughing.
“I have trusted you not to get us killed for the last nine years. Have faith that I can take care of one thug.”
Raimie grinned fiercely at his friend.
“Like old times, huh?”
“Like old times.”
“I suppose I’ll have to bear your weight for a while then,” Raimie said grudgingly.
He made sure his grip on the wall was secure.
“Go ahead, and climb on.”
Nylion awkwardly settled onto Raimie’s back, wrapping his arms carefully around his shoulders.
“You will have to hold my hands together,” Nylion told Raimie. “I have been using the ties that restrained you to this pit’s floor, and unless you have suddenly gained the ability to see or touch them, you will not be able to use them.”
“Great,” Raimie muttered.
He shifted their combined weight to his feet and a single hand and carefully released the other’s grip on the wall.
“Oh, I am NOT going to be able to do this long,” he huffed.
“Do not drop us,” Nylion said.
His body went limp.
“Oh, for the love of…” Raimie muttered, scrambling to adjust his weight.
His arms already trembled from the effort.
“Hurry up, Nylion,” he muttered to no one.
* * *
For the first time in years, Nylion emerged into the world. He took a few brief moments to simply breathe in the fresh air, takin
g in every wonderfully noxious scent it carried. Then his head bumped over a loose paving stone, pain flaring from the base of his skull, and he remembered why the real world sucked.
He opened his eyes to the sight of walls and rooftops passing by. Glancing left and right, he spied a broken and tossed aside broom handle in the refuse nearby and snatched it up, immediately driving it with a whistle onto the pressure lifting his ankle into the air. The big man who’d been dragging him dropped his foot, probably more from shock than anything else.
Nylion was on his feet before the shock could wear off, whipping Silverblade out of its sheath. He tossed aside the broom handle in favor of a dagger.
“You left me armed,” he panted as the big man faced him. “That was a mistake.”
The burly man snarled and threw himself at his prey. Nylion easily sidestepped the attack and further aided the man’s flight down the alley with a kick to the seat of his pants.
He really should finish this now, but it felt so good to be out. He could delay a little longer.
A change came over the big man while Nylion waited for him to recover. His posture improved, shifting his center of gravity lower, and he drew a knife from the back of his waistband.
When next he came up against Nylion, it was with careful strikes, feeling out defenses. The swordplay was amusing for a while, but eventually, Nylion grew bored of the man’s predictably disciplined attacks.
“So tiring,” he sighed, breaking past the man’s defenses and knocking the blade away.
Dancing under a fist, he smacked a black smothered palm into the center of the man’s chest. The big man collided with the alley wall hard enough to make a deep imprint with his body. He slid to the ground with a groan.
Nylion carefully balanced his foot on the man’s thigh, holding Silverblade’s tip to his jugular.
“Who sent you?” he demanded.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” the big man stammered. “I’m just a simple criminal on a snatch and grab. It looked to be an easy take, and the payout-”
Nylion slammed his foot down with incredible force, and the big man’s femur shattered. His scream was muffled by Nylion’s hand smothering his mouth.
“Do not lie to me!” he hissed. “The way you fight belies formal training, not the street fumbling about that a criminal would employ and more that of a spy. Do not make me pry what I want from your head. I do not enjoy torture, but I am very proficient at it.”
To prove his point, Nylion lightly dug Silverblade into the skin covering the man’s broken leg before returning the point back to his throat. He removed his hand slowly while the spy glared up at him.
“When the Queen finds you, she’ll make whatever you do to me seem like child’s play,” he spat.
Silverblade’s point lowered.
“Queen Kaedesa?” Nylion asked with confusion. “Why would Auntie be hunting us?”
The spy tried to take advantage of Nylion’s surprise, lunging for the dagger tucked in his boot. Snarling, Nylion shoved him against the wall.
“I thank you for the information,” he panted, “but unfortunately, that is all I require from you.”
The spy opened his mouth to protest, and Nylion slashed Silverblade across the jugular. He closed his eyes, enjoying the spray of warm droplets on his face.
“You see,” he mumbled to the dying man, “I cannot have you running back to Auntie. Raimie cannot handle her yet.”
He carefully wiped Silverblade on the spy’s mostly clean tunic and sheathed it. Dropping to his haunches, Nylion peered with fascination at the blank eyes staring back at him.
“What are we going to do with you?”
* * *
Raimie decided the room was perfect. Although a little small, it lent itself to a comfortable cave-like feeling only helped by the lack of windows.
The bed’s mattress must be stuffed with feather down. When Raimie sat on its edge, he sank into its embrace. He’d never experienced such comfort before.
All in all, he thought he’d sleep well tonight which was good because exhaustion had taken over as soon as he stepped foot inside.
While waiting for Eledis, Raimie poured water into the room’s washbasin and scrubbed the accumulated flaky, rust-colored mud from his face and hands. He changed into the human and Esela mixed armor he’d acquired in Allanovian, the only other set of armor he owned. He’d have to wipe down and oil his proper armor when they returned to camp.
Once all of these tasks were completed, Raimie heard footsteps clomping up the stairs. He stuck his head out.
“What took so long?” he asked his annoyed grandfather.
“I swear this inn must have the most extensive menu of all time!” Eledis answered. “And then the innkeeper wanted specific instructions for how I wanted everything cooked. It’s simple, innkeeper! I want everything cooked to standard. I don’t want anything fancy.”
He growled irritably.
“So…” Raimie hesitantly began. “Would you hate me if I said that I’d like to eat in my room?”
“Sure, sure!” Eledis exclaimed. “I do all of the hard work of ordering dinner, and you won’t eat it with me!”
“It’s not like I don’t want to. The months of traveling with so many people are catching up with me. I’d like to take advantage of a night of solitude while I can,” Raimie explained with a pleading note in his voice.
Eledis took a deep breath to angrily retort, but at that moment, the room spun, and Raimie latched onto the doorframe to keep from collapsing. His grandfather exhaled slowly.
“The entire point of this little side adventure was for me to spend more time with you,” he gently chided, “but we’ll soon be trapped on a boat with one another. I suppose we’ll have enough time to get sick of each other’s presence then.”
“Thank you,” Raimie dipped his head gratefully.
He tried to sidle past Eledis to inform the innkeeper that he wouldn’t require a meal after all, but his grandfather stopped him.
“Go lie down,” Eledis commanded, guiding Raimie back into his room. “I’ll bring your food up once it’s ready.”
He closed the door behind his grandson before the young man could again express his gratitude, and Raimie found the solitude he’d craved. He settled into bed and listened to the beautiful absence of human noise.
* * *
Timid knocking woke him from terrible dreams of blood and death. Raimie groaned and dragged himself to the door, opening it a crack. He glared at the disturbance to his sleep.
“There’s a guest for you downstairs, young master,” the innkeeper said in a quavering voice, fearful eyes peering through the crack.
“It’s the middle of the night! Tell them to come back in the morning,” Raimie mumbled, shutting the door.
The innkeeper shoved his hand into the closing crack, wincing when the heavy door bounced off of his fingers.
“This is not a guest you tell to come back. You should be grateful she’s doing you the courtesy of only requesting your presence. Young master.”
Raimie sleepily glared at the flabby man and mumbled something about being down in a moment.
“Let me wake my grandfather if you wish to keep your head,” he more clearly advised as the innkeeper headed for Eledis’ door.
Raimie let the door slide shut. He stretched, strapped Silverblade to his side, and left his room. For once, he was glad he’d taken to sleeping in his armor. It made getting dressed and ready that much quicker.
Easing Eledis’ door open, Raimie quietly approached his grandfather’s bedside and shook the old man awake.
Eledis immediately jerked upright, hand going for Shadowsteal’s hilt. Raimie took a step back, not wishing to further alarm the old man until he’d fully woken. Taking in his grandson, Eledis relaxed.
“What is it?” he asked irritably.
“We’ve been summoned downstairs, and I get the feeling that we don’t have a choice in the matter,” Raimie replied just as ir
ritably.
He hated losing sleep almost as much as his grandfather.
Eledis sank against the bed’s headboard, groaning.
“It’s probably her. Damn it,” he muttered under his breath. “I’d hoped to avoid her attention until we’d departed at the least.”
He threw his legs over the bed’s edge.
“Well… best not to keep her waiting.”
Once Eledis was dressed, he purposefully strode from the room, and Raimie trailed sleepily behind. They shambled down the stairs and into the abandoned dining room near the inn’s entrance.
The fire was low in the hearth, even its crackling subdued. At a table beside the fireplace, a woman sprawled in her chair, voraciously eating a generous portion of mutton.
As the two came in, she paused to gulp from the tankard beside the plate. Finished, she relaxed even further into the rickety wooden chair, leaning her head back and closing her eyes.
The woman wore a leather jerkin, hide leggings, and tall boots pulled halfway up her thighs, disdaining the typical common woman’s garb of a skirt and tunic. Her chestnut hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail near the top of her head with only the occasional wisps falling out to frame her lovely face. Full lips and a delicate nose perched below her closed eyes, and Raimie was uncomfortably aware of how wonderfully large her bosom was above the rest of her leanly muscled body. Her brilliant green eyes opened just in time to catch him admiring her curves, making him flush bright red. A coy smile graced her lips as she imperiously gestured the two forward.
Raimie had somehow missed the two heavily armed men on either side of him, and he stiffened when they glided in front, taking Silverblade and patting him down for other weapons. The number of blades they pulled off of Eledis surprised him. They made an impressive pile on the table.
Stripped of all weapons, Eledis and Raimie were allowed to approach. As they neared the woman, Eledis bent a knee, forcing Raimie down with a hand on his shoulder at the same time. Bowing his head, Eledis reached for the woman’s hand and gently kissed the gold ring on her finger.
The Undying Champions (The Eternal War Book 1) Page 37