“Kate. Kate.”
I stirred from my slumber and forced my eyes open. A dreary day greeted me but the smiling face of Tegan brightened it somewhat.
“The rain’s stopped and we have a promise to keep to the fabfeile,” he reminded me.
“Oh? Yeah, I forgot,” I murmured as I leaned away from him.
Tegan stood and kicked some wet dirt on top of the small fire. I climbed to my feet and watched mesmerized as his wings disappeared back into his body.
“How do you do that?” I asked him as I leaned to my left to catch sight of where they were tucked away.
“Dragon magic,” he told me as he picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. “Ready?”
I nodded and followed behind him as we made our way through the wet woods. The rain had left a sweet scent which would have been wonderful if the damp branches hadn’t insisted on slapping me in the face.
A few hours later found myself exhausted and damp. My mood was likewise dampened and my feet dragged through the muck. The dreary weather hadn’t improved, and indeed, a couple of raindrops on my nose were a foreshadowing of more rain.
“How big is this forest?” I asked my local guide.
“Several thousand acres.”
My shoulders slumped so badly that the coat nearly slid off them. I tightened my grip on the oversized and warm clothing. “So will we make it out of here before that catroach finds us again?”
Tegan stopped before a wall of bushes and turned to me with a smile. “Catroach?”
I shrugged. “That’s what it looked like to me.”
He chuckled as he lifted one arm and grasped a large branch of the bushes. “There’s no need to worry about the ‘catroach’ finding us again.” He parted the thick foliage and revealed a most wondrous sight.
It was a road. Not a fancy paved one, mind you, but a plain dirt one. Still, there were no bushes to contend with and the trees had been cut back away from the edges some twenty feet on either side. A few ruts from wagon wheels cut into the dirt, but otherwise, the thoroughfare was as smooth as the earth would allow.
I scurried out into the open and stamped my feet on the hard-packed surface. A childish glee appeared on my face as Tegan joined me on the road. “Please tell me this goes all the way to the capital.”
Tegan nodded. “All the way. This is the High Road and it traverses the whole of the kingdom.” He nodded down the road. “And Colun shouldn’t be too far from here. There’s a good inn in that tiny corner where we can sleep for the night before heading out tomorrow.”
My step was lighter and a smile was on my face as we traveled westward. True to his word, the road widened after a quarter of a mile and revealed a very small village. The locale consisted of a dozen or so houses huddled together on the north side of the road. The largest structure was an inn crafted from huge logs and stacked high enough for a second floor. Paned windows looked out on the road and allowed me to see into the clean and bright rooms where lit lamps scared away the shadows. A small stable stood nearby and the open sliding doors revealed a dozen stalls, most of which were empty.
A sign hung over the heavy wooden door and read ‘Hellhound Inn.’
Tegan opened the door and we slipped inside. A welcoming warmth wrapped around me, courtesy of the large fire that burned in the huge hearth to our left. The proprietor himself stood behind a simple wood desk near the stairs, and at our coming he offered us a smile.
“Welcome, friends,” he greeted us with open arms. “Do you stop for a bite or a room?”
“We’re looking for both,” Tegan informed him as we walked up to the desk.
The corners of his lips turned down. “I’m afraid I can’t offer you the bite, sir, at least not yet. There’s been some trouble and my cook’s gone for a time.”
“What’s the problem?” Tegan inquired.
A gloomy expression appeared on the proprietor’s face. “A boy’s gone missing in the Scath Marshes.”
Tegan pursed his lips. “They haven’t been able to follow the boy’s scent?”
He shook his head. “There are so many smells around that area that even our best men can’t find him.” He eyed Tegan. “It sure would help for them to have some light down there. Good light, I mean. Torches aren’t much use with all that water in the air. A good, strong light would do better.”
The door to the inn swung violently open and a trio of men rushed in. Two of them carried their compatriot between them and I stifled a scream at the sight of the middle man.
Or rather, werewolf.
The man-wolf was a head taller than the others and completely covered in fur but for a pair of torn pants and a very loose white blouse shirt. His face was stretched into a long snout and pointed ears stretched well above his head. He sported long claws that nearly rivaled those of Tegan and his feet were elongated into wolf pads.
The proprietor swooped around the desk and pointed at a chair in front of the fire. “Put him there!”
The pair dragged their load to the chair where they deposited him on the cushion. The werewolf’s head lolled back and I could see his furry chest move up and down at a rapid pace. His tongue even rolled out, so quickly was he panting.
The proprietor shoved through the other two and reached under the werewolf’s furry mane that surrounded his head. He drew a necklace off the wolf and the fur immediately began to recede. In a few seconds, a man with torn shorts sat in the chair.
Our host studied the necklace in his hands. It was a simple but glistening golden chain with a small whitish-gray gemstone set into a simple circle. The proprietor’s bushy eyebrows crashed down before he spun around and held up the necklace as he glared at the pair. “What in all the heavens is he doing with a flawed howlite?”
One of the men shook his head. “We don’t have any choice, Burke. All the other ones are taken.”
“And this could have taken his life!” Burke snapped as he shoved the necklace into the man’s hands. “Now get to the kitchen and get this man some broth before I toss you into the marsh myself!” The pair hurried to obey.
“Is the situation that dire?” Tegan spoke up.
Burke had bent down and finished opening the man’s loose shirt. “The boy’s well-liked around here and the father’s helped many of his neighbors when they’ve had their own troubles. Some would give their best arm to find him, and others like this fool are risking their necks using all their strength with those flawed stones. An hour or so and the stone would’ve sapped all this man’s strength.”
“I see. Excuse us for a moment.”
Tegan grasped my arm and gently led me over to the front door. He captured my gaze and lowered his voice to a whisper I could barely hear. “I swore to you I would take you to the capital and I still intend to do so, but I’d like to help them out first. You should stay here until I return.”
I grabbed his arm as he turned away. “And what if you don’t come back?”
“I’ll come back. I promise.”
I kept my tight grip on him. “Then let me come to make sure you keep that promise. I may not have a werewolf’s nose or a dragon’s fire but I have a good pair of eyes.”
Tegan studied my face. “You’re sure? We could be out there for many hours.”
I snorted and gestured down at myself with my free hand. “I couldn’t look or feel any worse, so why not?”
“There are more dangers out there than just the water,” he warned me.
Some of my good humor faltered. “Like what?”
“Lights that lure people to their deaths.”
I had to admit that was definitely a spirit-dampening reveal, but I stiffened my jaw. ‘I still want to help.”
He grinned. “Very well but stay close to me.” He lifted his gaze to the proprietor. “Sir, we wish to help find this lad.”
Burke nodded. “Much obliged, sir. And you, too, miss. You can find the search party scattered about the marshes, but there should be someone at the head of the trails who can direct you to where you’re needed.”
“Thanks for the info.” Tegan led me over to the door, but Burke’s voice gave us pause.
“And when you come back I’ll have a good room for you, free of charge,” Burke called to us.
Tegan smiled. “We look forward to it.”
And with that we returned to the dreariness of the outdoors.