“How much will all that and two rooms cost me?” Tegan wondered.
“Twenty silver pieces.”
Tegan’s mouth dropped open. “That much?”
“They were some nice chairs. Handcrafted and everything,” MacAlistair pointed out.
Tegan narrowed his eyes at his old friend. “Are meals still included?”
“As much as even you can eat, dragon.”
Tegan furrowed his brow but reached into his shirt. I couldn’t believe my eyes when he drew out a small satchel from the depths of his flat front. He opened the purse and poured out a handful of sparkling coins. Some were gold but most were silver or bronze.
Tegan counted out the coins and many of the silver ones vanished into the large palm of MacAlistair. The innkeeper pocketed the money and grinned. “I’ll get two of the best rooms ready. You’ll be wanting them together, I assume.”
Tegan tucked the purse back into his shirt. I still couldn’t tell where it was. “If my purse will allow it.”
MacAlistair used his free hand to gesture to me. “I’ll do it as a courtesy to your lovely companion. Now if you’ll come with me I’ll show you to them.”
He stepped aside and presented us with a thankfully wide hall. The walls were a clean whitewash and lamps hung at spacious intervals to cast out any shadows. We slipped past him and he barred the door shut with heavy chains.
Tegan lifted an eyebrow. “I don’t remember them being there.”
“They weren’t,” MacAlistair told him as he turned to us with a frown. “But you can’t be too careful these days. The guards have been known to snoop in the inns at all hours.”
“You mean like the welcome at the gates?” Tegan wondered.
A dark cloud on his brow marred MacAlistair’s cheer. “They’ve been there for a fortnight and have already spooked some of my. . .illustrious clients.”
“Meaning those who would rather avoid the authorities?” Tegan guessed.
“That’s the gist of it.”
“Why are they there?” I spoke up.
MacAlastair let out a great sigh. “There’s news that the vampires are setting up for another war.”
Tegan pursed his lips. “Is there any truth to the matter?”
“None that my sources have heard, but that doesn’t stop the king from preparing for the worst,” MacAlastair told us as he strode down the hall and we followed. “He says we have to keep one eye open for the pale folk and see if any of them are acting suspicious.”
A crooked smile slipped onto Tegan’s lips. “And are they?”
MacAlastair turned his head far enough for me to see his own bemused grin. “They wouldn’t be such good customers if they were anything else.”
I lifted my eyebrow at the pair but didn’t have time to ask before we reached the lobby. The entrance was large and encompassed two of the three floors. A wide stair in the center of the room led to the second floor and then split on either side to lead up to the third story. A huge carpet covered the wooden planks and a wide assortment of some two dozen boars’ heads hung on the walls. The coup de gras hung over the huge central hearth that was situated in the very heart of the inn. It was a behemoth of a specimen with huge tusks and dark, soulless eyes.
MacAlastair noticed where my attention lay and smiled. “My grandfather caught that one himself some sixty full cycles ago.”
I blinked at him. “Cycles?”
“Full cycles,” Tegan interrupted as he caught my eye with a look of warning. “Have you forgotten that’s a whole lunar year?”
I gave him a sheepish grin or the best one I could muster. “Oops. I thought he said something else. It’s, um, a very nice head.”
Our host studied me with a curious look in his eyes. “One of the finest the capital has ever seen and possibly the only one that survived the fire fifty full cycles ago. Very few people have forgiven the vampires for that attack, though many atrocities were done on both sides of that war.”
“We can only hope another war will be averted for longer than forty full cycles,” Tegan countered.
MacAlastair sighed and nodded. “Truer words were never spoken but I think we’re boring your companion with these politics. Allow me to show you to your rooms.”
He moved over to the front desk situated to the left of the pair of front doors. A young man with equally red hair stood behind the station and held out one key to MacAlastair. “A suite for two, Father?”
MacAlastair shook his head. “Two rooms for these two, Conor, and place them near the rear of the house.”
Conor turned and snatched two keys that hung next to each other and he handed them to his father. “Anything particular, Father?”
A crooked smile slipped onto MacAlastair’s lips. “Nothing as of yet, but the ‘gentleman’ has a history of finding trouble.” He turned to us and his eyes danced with mischief. “I have no doubt he will once again give us a story to tell your children.”
Tegan’s eyebrows shot up. “You’ve become a grandfather.”
MacAlastair puffed out his chest and his grin stretched across his face. “Three cycles ago. I’ll show you the lad if you’re here long enough.”
“Our rooms first, and then a trip to the local Key office,” Tegan told him as he held out his hand for the keys.
Our host’s good humor was again dampened and he narrowed his eyes. “What would you have to do with that lot?”
“Should I be avoiding them?” Tegan countered.
MacAlastair wrinkled his nose. “I wouldn’t trust them as far as I could throw their scrawny assess. They hold too many secrets and too much power, and that makes for a bad mix.”
Tegan smiled and bowed his head. “We’ll be sure to watch our step around them if they chance to cast a spell on us.”
Our host wasn’t amused. “I would steer clear of their ilk if I were you, Tegan. They cast as many curses as they fix.”
Tegan clapped a hand on his friend’s shoulder and the teasing had left his voice. “I understand your concern, old friend, but Kate here has found herself a Key and we would like their advice on how to handle her magic.”
MacAlastair shook his head. “You’ll be finding your trouble there, Tegan. If you do, try not to lure them here.”
Tegan smiled. “I make no promises, now may we see our rooms?”
MacAlastair tossed him our keys. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Tegan bowed his head before he offered me his arm. I took it with some apprehension and we made our way up the elegant central stairs. The second-floor hall cut through the center of the building and he guided me to the very rear of the passage where a window looked out on the courtyard and livery.
I made sure we were out of hearing range before I lowered my voice to a whisper. “Are you sure we should go to the Key office?”
He pressed a finger to his lips and I was forced to tamp down my curiosity, at least for the moment.
A single door stood close beside the window, but Tegan took the entrance beside that one and revealed a small but spacious bedroom with a view of the alley road. A simple but sturdy wooden bed, dresser, and small vanity made up the furniture while a small fireplace extended inward from the exterior wall. A long window at the rear of the inn looked out on the street behind the establishment, and an easy seat could be had via a long and wide window bench that ran the whole length of the wall.
“As clean as ever,” Tegan mused as he strolled into the middle of the room.
I followed him and made sure to shut the door. “Now can we talk?”
Tegan turned to face me and his expression reflected my own concern. He folded his arms over his chest and bowed his head a little. “I’m not sure. I had heard rumors that the Senate and the Keys had dark dealings, but hearing them from someone as forthright as MacAlastair is troubling.”
I plopped myself on the edge of the bed and set my hands on my lap. “We don’t really have any choice, though, do we? I mean, with this bond we have and them being the only ones who know about it.”
Tegan turned toward the window where the daylight had faded. “It’s getting late. Perhaps we should speak of this tomorrow.” He looked back to me and smiled. “Sunlight always brings with it a lighter mood of the mind and a quicker step.”
I snorted. “The better to get out of trouble?”
He grinned. “The best. Goodnight.”
“Night,” I replied as he left the room.
I dropped back against the bed and stared up at the heavy-beamed ceiling. My frazzled mind tried to comfort me about the coming day. Maybe things weren’t going to be as bad as I feared.
In fact, they were going to be far worse.