Alysana
Alysana was unprepared for the kind of attention that Kethras attracted. Drawn steel and threats she could deal with, but the silent gawks and gapes directed at the tall, strange creature made her uneasy. He was a legend come to life in the City of a Thousand Towers. Three times already they had been stopped and offered gold on the spot.
Surprisingly, no one batted an eye at Dailus being tied up; Alysana wasn’t sure if it was because Kethras made him practically invisible, or because in Théas not even an Athrani was off limits. Whatever it was, she was relieved; there was no way she was setting the half-eye free.
“Surely you don’t mean to keep me tied up the whole way to Do’baradai . . . do you?” Dailus asked. He had twisted his body around in the cart so he could face forward. “Even the Khyth wouldn’t have treated me like this.”
“You’re right,” Thornton snapped. “They would have treated you worse.” He ended the sentence with a glare at Dailus that suggested he wished to test the theory.
“Fair enough,” Dailus breathed as he turned back around.
***
Farther inside, Alysana was still leading Kethras by the rope she had fastened loosely to his neck. Thornton had had his hands bound for the sake of the guards on the wall, but Alysana had judged it harmless to let him free inside the city. None of them knew how the Théans would react to a Khyth being inside their city, but Thornton was his own man, and free, so Alysana had decided that was that.
In the cart, lying unconscious next to Dailus, was Elyasha. She was still wrapped in the blanket that Kethras had covered her in back at the camp, and Alysana knew they would have to fix that—fast.
She peered into the cart at the young Khyth woman, for any indication that she was recovering. Frowning, she did not like what she saw.
Thornton must have seen it too, because he spoke the words that Alysana was thinking.
“We need to get her taken care of.” The worried look on his face gave weight to his words. Looking back up at Alysana, he said, “Let’s find a room so we can stop parading Kethras around. It will make things go quicker.”
“Agreed,” Alysana answered. Thornton certainly had a point.
“I’ve had enough of being poked and prodded,” Kethras growled, keeping his voice low. “A dark, locked room would be most welcome.”
“Then that is what we will find,” Alysana said, waving her hand at an old woman headed toward the gate. “Excuse me,” she said. “Is there an inn on the way to the magistrate?”
The old woman’s gray eyes smiled along with her lips as she answered. “Why yes, my dear. There’s the Prancing Pony just ahead.” Her smile faded, though, when she saw Thornton. “Although,” she said, her voice lower now, “you may have better luck at the Broken Scabbard.” She pointed farther away, bowed her head slightly, and scurried off toward the guards, giving a worried look over her shoulder as she did so.
Thornton was frowning as he looked at Alysana. “At least now we know how they feel about Khyth,” he said.
Alysana grabbed him by the arm as she took the reins with her other hand, urging the horse forward in the direction that the woman had pointed. “There is nothing to be done about that,” she said. “You are who you are and nothing will change that.”
Thornton’s silence didn’t sit well with her, but she knew he was still struggling with who he was. The poor boy has been through so much, she thought. It’s a wonder he hasn’t killed us all.
***
It was a short walk to the Broken Scabbard through the streets of the City of a Thousand Towers—a city that lived up to its name, as far as Alysana could tell. It was a small inn, as she had expected, and that suited her just fine. They didn’t need something expensive, and a cheaper place was more likely to have a rougher clientele, including the kind of people who would feel comfortable around the Khyth—and possibly a Kienari. Whatever the cost, though, she planned on recouping the losses after selling off the horses belonging to the legion. They were of good stock, and she knew the Théans would see as much.
“Wait with Yasha and the horses,” she said to Thornton. “I will see about a room. Kethras,” she said, “come with me in case I need to negotiate.”
The Kienari nodded and bared his teeth in a grin.
The aged wooden door creaked open to a small and unwelcoming downstairs with a bar at the far end and a staircase leading upstairs. There were a few round, wooden tables occupied by the type of men one would expect to be drinking in a place like this, lit weakly by a half dozen candles lining the walls. Alysana looked around at the shoddy wooden interior, the sullen bartender, the unscrupulous characters drinking loudly, and decided it was perfect.
Walking up to the bartender, an older man with black hair, she asked, “How much for a room for me and a stable for twelve horses?”
“Twelve?” the bartender replied, putting away the glass he had been wiping down. He was looking at her, but didn’t seem to notice Kethras.
“Twelve,” Alysana confirmed.
The bartender narrowed his eyes and harrumphed. “Well, then. Two silvers’ll get you a room, and two more’ll get you food and care for your horses. Though you’ll be taking up all o’ my . . . stable . . .” His words trailed off as he noticed the Kienari for the first time. The color drained from his face, and his jaw went slack.
Trying to keep him focused, Alysana slammed down six silvers on the counter, bringing the man’s wide eyes back to hers. “Then here’s one for you for being so kind,” she said, “and another for making sure we are not disturbed.”
The bartender somehow managed to scoop the silvers off the counter and into his shaking hand. “M-My thanks,” he said, then disappeared into a back room.
A moment later he reemerged with a dull bronze key. “Up the stairs and down the hall. Last door on the left.” The color had still not returned to his face.
Alysana grabbed the key from him and gave a quick nod. “The horses are tied up out front.”
The bartender turned his head slightly but kept his eyes on Alysana. “Paedrig!” he shouted. “Some stable work to be done, boy!”
Rapid footsteps made themselves known before the boy did; then a scrambling whirlwind of green eyes and red hair came tumbling out from the back. “’Course, Master Andor,” he said hastily. “Right away.” His eyes followed the rope leading from Alysana’s hands to Kethras’s neck, and gulped. “M’lady. H-How m-many need stabling?”
“Twelve.”
“Oh. Ohh. Well, they’re in g-good hands,” Paedrig said with a clumsy bow.
“She knows they are,” Master Andor said dismissively. “Else she wouldn’t ha’ come here. Now get out o’ here. I’m not paying you for conversation.”
Paedrig fumbled nervously with a key he’d pulled from his drab brown pants pocket and nodded, leaving through the front.
Alysana turned to Kethras and began to make her way to the stairs. “Now,” she said, “to the room. We need to get Yasha taken care of.”
Kethras nodded wearily. “Some rest would be nice,” he said quietly.
The two of them walked up the stairs and down the hall, coming to a sturdy wooden door with a keyhole in it. Pushing in the key, Alysana turned it until she heard a click. She pushed the door open.
It was a small room, but she didn’t care at this point. A bed was a bed, and she really couldn’t have asked for more. She took the rope off Kethras’s neck and put it in his hand.
“I am sorry I made you wear this,” she said, but Kethras was already putting his hand up to stop her.
“No apology necessary, Alysana. It was a clever idea, and it worked.” He glanced around the room as if looking for attackers. “It is dark in here,” he said. “I like it.”
Alysana smiled, and said, “Then enjoy it. I will go with Thornton to find a healer for Elyasha.”
Kethras nodded at her as she exited the room, closing and locking the door behind her. If there was ever anyone who she felt confident would be fine on his own, it was Kethras.
She walked down the creaky wooden staircase and into the bar, where Master Andor was wiping down another glass and giving her a sour look. She paid him no mind and made for the door, intending to find Thornton and tell him the plan
Only there was no Thornton. The cart with Elyasha was gone too.
Alysana blinked, rubbed her eyes, and frowned.
It was going to be a long day.