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They’re going to rob us.
The very words seemed to require action, but the people in the tavern had frozen unnaturally still. The music died, the bartender stopped pouring, even the rowdy drunks had summoned enough wits to sink nervously into their chairs, wishing they’d stayed home.
It was a shock, but not a very shocking one.
Everyone gathered seemed to know what would happen next.
“Good evening!” The big man standing in front of the gang raised his hands, gazing around the bar with a disturbingly cheerful smile. “How good of you to come out drinking tonight.”
Whoever he was—he was clearly the leader.
Standing a head taller than the rest, with impossibly broad shoulders, he radiated a sense of power. A man who’d beaten back any potential challengers, and had not been challenged since in a very long time. A litany of scars covered his face and the backs of his hands, while faded tattooed lettering laced up the side of his neck. Around his neck jingled an impressive array of trinkets and jewelry—tokens, no doubt, from his victims. Then there was the serrated sword latched to his back.
“We’re drinking men ourselves, and the last thing we’d want is to disturb your evening. If you’d be so kind as to keep your seats for the next few minutes, we’ll be on our way.”
With nothing more than that, he made his way to the bar and leapt easily over the counter. The bartender backed away with a shudder as he rummaged quickly through the bottles, taking one that he liked, before hopping back onto the counter and spitting out the cork.
“That’s the end of the speech,” he declared with a prompting wave. “You may proceed.”
The room unfroze.
With a chorus of dark laughter, the men travelling with him splintered into smaller packs and started moving about the room. No one they approached put up even the slightest resistance. They simply emptied their pockets and turned over what they had, praying they wouldn’t be asked for more. Evie watched as they got closer, still reeling in shock.
How is this allowed to happen, she thought, watching as a gang of three men lifted a warlock to his feet and started going through his pockets. Where is the royal presence here?
The others were clearly thinking the same thing.
Asher was watching the advancing horde with a simmering kind of rage, whilst Ellanden looked openly violent. Only his cousin’s hand was keeping him seated at the table. That, and her promise that any repercussions from his actions would fall upon the people of the town.
“We brought everything with us,” Freya muttered under her breath, using the cover of laughter to whisper across the table. “We never do that, but when you guys made camp—”
“Here,” Asher breathed, “give half to me.”
Cosette threw him a questioning look, but slipped the pouch of coins from her cloak. His hand flashed out fast as lightening and took what he needed, motioning for her to hide the rest.
No sooner had he done so than a striking young man stopped at the head of the table.
“All right ladies and gentlemen, you know the drill.” He flashed a cursory smile, but sounded almost bored—taking a shot of whiskey for himself. “Weapons, coins, and valuables on the table.”
Evie stared at the empty shot glass, then lifted her eyes to his face.
I can’t believe he’s doing this. I can’t believe this is actually happening.
By far the youngest of the group, the guy bore a faint resemblance to the man shouting all the orders. The same strong build, just a bit leaner, and the same height. But he didn’t have the decades of scars; and his face, instead of being cruel and cunning, could only be described as beautiful.
Sun-kissed skin, high cheekbones, and bright eyes that twinkled despite the dimness of the room. He stood in stark contrast to the decorated people around him, having taken no trophies for himself. Quite the contrary, he was clothed rather simply, with sheets of dark brown hair pulled back in a series of twisting braids that fell to the tops of his shoulders. It was a style she’d seen on some of the wolf packs roaming around her father’s kingdom. She suddenly wondered if he was a shifter.
But while she’d been studying him, he’d been studying them as well.
“Seven hells...”
His lips parted in surprise as he glanced across the table, noticing its occupants for the first time. Those bright eyes lingered a moment on the vampire before travelling across the table and coming to rest upon the fae princess, sitting with her back against the wall.
His eyes widened ever so slightly, but this time no profanity could suffice. He simply made an effort to close his mouth and dropped his eyes to the floor, blushing slightly in the dim light.
“I’m sorry about this,” he murmured, flashing a quick look at the raucous men cavorting behind him. “They really won’t harm you if you do as they ask. You have my word.”
Cosette said nothing. She simply held his gaze.
Again, with a bit of awkwardness this time, he gestured to the others, motioning for them to place what they had on the table. It wasn’t much. The men had only a knife each—borrowed from the communal stash, whilst the most valuable thing Evie currently possessed was her cloak, which seemed of little interest. Freya emptied her pockets to reveal a nonsensical array of magical items that made the man lift his eyebrows and shake his head, while Asher set the coins on the table.
These had a far greater effect.
“Real gold,” he said in surprise, lifting one automatically to his teeth to be sure. “How did you come across something like this? I’ve never seen it south of the forest.”
“Then you are as simple as you are foul,” Ellanden said coldly. “Take what you want and be gone. Burden us no longer with your presence.”
Spoken like a true fae.
The others tensed instinctively, but the fae’s anger seemed to have been exactly what the man needed to shake loose his trance. Furthermore, he was clearly not as simple as he seemed.
“Twelve drinks,” he remarked casually, “of an elite vintage.” He glanced again at the stack of coins. “If you booked a room, too, that would spend at least a third of this money. You travel well, style yourselves discreetly, sit in the back...I can’t see you being so careless.”
His eyes fell upon Asher. “Where’s the rest of it?”
The vampire looked at him squarely, a picture of ease. “That’s all there is.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Then search me.”
Evie fought back a wicked smile as the man instinctively shivered. She understood now why Asher had been quick to take the money. It would be a foolish man indeed who’d choose to frisk a vampire in the hopes of finding a few more coins.
Especially when that vampire was staring at his neck.
“Pity they came before you had a chance to drink your blood,” Ellanden remarked casually, leaning back in his chair. “I know it’s been a while.”
Asher nodded with a steady calmness, keeping his eyes on the man. “One way or another, it won’t be long.”
At this point, the man very wisely decided to step back.
Whatever quota he’d been hoping to fill at the bar clearly wasn’t worth risking his life, and he had no intention of going up against both a vampire and a fae. Instead of challenging them further, he gathered up what was on the table and pocketed the coins. He was about to move on to the next patrons, when a booming laugh rang out behind him and a strong hand clamped upon his arm.
“What’s this I see?” The man in charge had been watching from his perch on the counter, but jumped down the second he saw a retreat. His eyes sparkled with amusement as they swept over the table before coming to rest upon his young associate. “Does the vampire have you spooked?”
The young man closed his eyes for a split second, handing off the coins. “They paid in full.”
Another burst of laughter. This one was echoed by others around the room.
“Now, how would you know that if you didn’t check them yourself?” The man gave him a nudge forward, grinning all the while. “What about that one in the corner? The girl with the lovely white hair. I don’t remember seeing her surrender anything but a dagger. Surely there’s more.”
The young man’s eyes flashed briefly to Cosette before he turned away with a stiff shrug. “Check if you like. I’m moving on—”
The hand on him tightened as the man’s lips came down to his ear. “I insist.”
There was another chortling of laughter from those still making their way through the tavern, while the young man froze perfectly still. It was only for a moment then he recovered himself completely, striding forward and gesturing Cosette to her feet.
“Hands by your sides,” he said softly. “This will only take a moment—”
“Don’t touch her,” Ellanden interrupted sharply, staring the men down with pure murder in his eyes. “I will not warn you twice.”
For a suspended moment, the entire room stood still. Even the man in charge couldn’t help but hesitate, glancing between the fae and the vampire sitting at his side.
Reprisals will be fierce, Evie remembered suddenly. And not for us...but for the town.
She shouldn’t have been surprised when Cosette pushed suddenly to her feet.
“No need for theatrics,” she said casually, pulling open her cloak to reveal the form-fitting leather clothing just beneath. “I have nothing to hide.”
There was a series of catcalls from the rest of the tavern but the young man charged with frisking her said nothing, steadily holding her gaze. After a second’s pause he stepped forward, angling his body discreetly between her and his employer before running his hands up and down her clothes. There was nothing victorious about it. Nothing but quick, brisk efficiency.
There were a few items of interest.
A brass compass. A light-weight axe. When he knelt to the floor, blushing furiously all the while, he found a pair of throwing knives strapped to the side of her leg.
He took them off quickly, aware of the others watching, taking deliberate care not to touch her skin. But the real test came when he pushed back to his feet, when he saw the glint of a delicate silver chain hanging from her slender neck.
He froze imperceptibly, standing almost a foot taller and able to see quite a bit more.
It was a necklace of white diamonds. A gift from her mother, one of the ancestral heirlooms of the Fae. Just a few stones would be enough to purchase the entire village. It was of such beauty and cost that Evie couldn’t believe the practical, world-weary fae had dared to bring it along.
But despite the jaded laws that seemed to govern her, that little girl who’d danced in the castle gardens was still buried underneath. The mask was a good one, but little bits of sentimentality occasionally managed to break through. An unchecked giggle. A sparkle in her eyes.
...the precious necklace she’d worn as a child.
Cosette froze at the same time, paling when she realized her mistake. The necklace was well-hidden, buried under layers of clothes, but there was no doubt in her mind that he’d seen it.
Their eyes met for a fleeting moment. She made a silent request.
Then he stepped away from the table.
“That’s it, she’s clean.”
The fae let out a silent breath as he turned back to the leader of the faction, surrendering the items routinely into his care. The chief nodded approvingly, smiling all the while, but just as the young man began to leave he caught him once more by the arm.
“What about that chain?”
A hush fell over the table. No one sitting around it dared to move. The young man was frozen as well, though the chief’s grip on his arm didn’t give him much of an option.
“Chain?”
An admirable performance, but it only made the chief smile even more. Without turning away, he pointed directly at it—the faint glimmer of silver around the fae’s neck. In truth, it was a miracle he’d even seen it. The entire lot of them had to possess shifter blood.
“The exquisite pendant hanging from the girl’s neck.” He cocked his head mockingly, brow tightening with a frown. “Don’t tell me you missed it. Perhaps you’ve had too much to drink.”
There was another chorus of laughter from the tavern as the man released him and moved over to Cosette himself. As the others looked on in silence, fighting tooth and nail to restrain themselves, he pulled out a knife and extracted the chain from her shirt with the tip of the blade.
“Now this is beautiful,” he murmured. “A string of gems fit for a queen.” His eyes flickered past it, sweeping slowly over the fae. “Almost as beautiful as the girl wearing it.”
There was sudden movement on the other side of the table as Ellanden pushed compulsively to his feet but Asher just as quickly yanked him back down. The exchange was over in the blink of an eye, almost casual to anyone who might be watching. But the strength of two immortals wasn’t something to be taken lightly. Already, the legs supporting the table had begun to splinter and quake.
The chief glanced at them with a chuckle before taking the necklace for himself. “Peace, friends. We’re almost finished. I daresay even I know better than to tangle with either of your kind.”
His eyes swept curiously over the rest of them, wondering what had brought such a strange group of travelling companions together. Then he turned suddenly to his young companion and slipped the sparkling pendant around his neck.
“What’s this?” the young man asked in surprise, lifting his fingers to touch it. “Why—”
“A gift,” the man answered, tucking it under his shirt, “for dedicated service.” He gave it a sharp tug before lifting the boy’s chin with a dangerous smile. “May it serve as a reminder.”
The two men stared at each other for a long moment, then the younger nodded curtly in reply. He was gone a second later, vanishing wordlessly into the crowd.
“A compass and some knives...” The chief chuckled under his breath, examining the wares before lifting his eyes to Cosette. “You must have really gotten to him.”
The fae gritted her teeth, trying to control her temper. “You’ve been paying us so much attention,” she said softly, jerking her chin towards the rest of the tavern. “Surely there are better ways to spend your time.”
Freya stiffened nervously as he threw back his head with a booming laugh. “Spirited, too...and with that face.” He shook his head slowly, wetting his lips. “If we’re being honest, sweetheart, you’re lucky this is all we plan on taking from you tonight.”
The table jerked again and there was a faint cracking sound. Instead of rising to his feet, Ellanden paled in pain—still anchored to his chair by the vampire. Anchored a bit too tightly. In his desperation to stop the fae from fighting, Asher had accidently broken a bone in his arm.
The chief took a step back, every hint of a smile fading from his face.
“Careful,” he said quietly. “I wish no quarrel, but what chance would you really have? A vampire and a fae against more than thirty armed men. And with three women, no less.”
Cosette’s eyes closed ever so briefly as Freya leaned forward in her chair.
“I’m sorry,” she said pleasantly, “...what was that?”
The chief kept his eyes on the men, as if the others weren’t even there. “They would be anchors around your neck,” he continued quietly. “Slowing you down, getting in the way until you were eventually killed in the struggle to protect them.” He shook his head briskly. “Be smart. I see no reason for anyone to die here tonight.”
Evie’s ears were ringing, her blood boiling. But more than anything else, she was confused. And not by the chief’s words, but by what was happening on the other side of the table.
“Freya—don’t.”
Cosette’s voice was so quiet, the princess barely heard it. The leader of the faction, standing just a few feet away, didn’t stand a chance. The rest of the table glanced warily between them, but the witch was completely unconcerned—staring up at the chief with that same little smile.
“I don’t know what you mean,” she said innocently. “What could I possibly do to these big strong men...besides slowing them down and getting in the way?”
The fae kicked her sharply under the table. “I mean it,” she hissed. “That’s enough.”
The lovely witch flashed a charming smile before returning to her drink—flicking her fingers absentmindedly over the top of the glass. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
That’s when the counter of the bar caught fire.
Holy crap!
“FIRE!”
The robbery came to a sudden pause as panicked shouts echoed from one corner of the tavern to another. The line between faction and patron blurred as people raced over of one accord to put it out (probably in a desperate attempt to save the whiskey). But no sooner had they gotten the counter under control than the rafters caught flame as well.
“What the blazes...?!” the chief gasped, turning around to see for himself. When he glanced back a second later, the friends were already on their feet. “And where do you think you’re going?”
“We’re getting out of here!” Freya cried in mock panic, wringing her hands in theatrical distress. “Unless you mean for us to burn to death!”
The man opened his mouth to reply, then turned again suddenly as a shout rose up from the other side of the bar. The flames from the rafters had effectively consumed the top story, and little bits of ceiling were raining down in a shower of molten cedar and ash.
“Go,” he muttered before sprinting over to help.
The second he was gone, every trace of panic vanished as the witch turned back to the table with a self-satisfied grin. With deliberate nonchalance she picked up the remainder of her whiskey and raised it casually to her lips, waving away a few encroaching flames with an impatient shoo.
The others stared in shock, but Cosette looked a mere breath away from wringing her by the neck. In hindsight, it was a good thing the faction had confiscated the bulk of her weapons.
“Are you finished?” she asked caustically, gesturing to the screaming masses as if it was nothing more than the end to a very long day. “Can we go?”
Freya set down her glass with a relish. “Cosette, the building caught on fire. How can you blame me for that?”
“You are such a child.”
“I think perhaps we should leave,” Asher interjected, taking each one by the arm and steering them towards the door. “Before these fine gentlemen realize the liquor is beyond help and turn their attention to other things.”
Together, the five friends swiftly made their way through what was left of the tavern. Rescue efforts were still underway, but the vampire was right: the flames were moving too quickly, and it wouldn’t be long before all of them abandoned ship and fled outside.
They paused on instinct in the frame of the door, glancing back one final time. The friends were still in shock. The witch was still grinning. And the almighty Red Hand were still racing buckets of water back and forth from the well.
“You know that re-set I was talking about?” Freya asked triumphantly. “I’m feeling more like myself already...”
It should have ended there. It would have, too, if one of the shifters hadn’t lifted his hand at the last moment, pointing furiously through the flames.
“It was her! It was the witch!”
The smile melted off her face as others began to turn, squinting desperately through the smoke. The friends froze in their tracks, Cosette turning with a look of intense frustration.
“You are never as subtle as you think you are.”
“Not true,” Freya sniped defensively, but her wide eyes glanced quickly over the swarm of angry men still around the bar. “That being said, my kind has a tendency of burning at the stake for this sort of thing, so maybe it’s best if we got moving—”
Before she had even finished speaking Ellanden kicked down the door, sprinting out into the frosty night with the rest of them trailing behind him.
The rest of the village had poured onto the streets when they heard the commotion, staring with wide eyes at the ravenous flames. Most of them were preemptively gripping buckets in their hands, glancing nervously at their own homes and establishments. But, strangely enough, none of those flames seemed to be spreading. They moment they reached the edge of the tavern, they turned back in on themselves, playful as they were deadly, much like the self-satisfied witch walking away.
“Seven hells,” Cosette muttered, picking up her pace as the gang quickly made their way down the street. “And you say that I’m the intemperate one.”
She wasn’t the only one with a criticism, though Ellanden was unable to keep a smile fully off his face. “What happened to keeping a low profile? To keeping our heads down?”
“Well, that was clearly an accident.” Freya gestured carelessly behind her. “And don’t feel sorry for the innkeeper. There was a reason the place was so packed tonight. He lowered the drink prices to draw people in. Before we left, I saw one of the shifters giving him a cut of the profits.”
The men glanced sharply over their shoulders.
Evie shook her head in wonder. “So they were shifters.”
“Most of them, but not all,” Cosette replied. “It’s the reason we’re going to need a quick getaway if they decide to come after the little arsonist...”
She trailed off as they came to a sudden stop in front of a herd of horses.
...like that?
Each one was carefully bridled and tethered. Each one’s saddle bore the insignia of the men they’d recently left behind in the smoldering bar. It was a testament to how feared they were by the locals that no one would have dared cut any of them loose. Horses were a valuable commodity.
Valuable, and necessary if they were to make it out alive.
“That’ll work.”
Asher moved forward, but Cosette caught him by the arm.
Slipping out amidst the commotion was one thing.
Stealing from the infamous faction was quite another.
“We can’t,” she said flatly, after a moment’s deliberation. “We’ll have to find another way.”
The vampire glanced between the horses and the bar.
“I don’t think there is another way. And we’re running out of time.”
Already, the fight was spilling out into the chilly night. A sea of drunken men and strained tempers. It was only a matter of time before they remembered there was someone to blame.
Cosette followed his gaze, but shook her head.
“I’m telling you, we can’t take these horses. We’ll have to go on foot—”
“You won’t get very far.”
A lone voice rang out behind them, and the friends whipped around to see the young man from the bar walking slowly down the street. Unlike the others, he seemed completely unconcerned with the fiery tavern. He did, however, have a salvaged bottle of rum clutched in one hand.
“The pack will catch up before you’ve made it more than a few miles.”
Cosette’s eyes flashed as she reached automatically for the knife she kept strapped to her leg before remembering suddenly it was no longer there. With a little smile the man set down the bottle and pulled it from his cloak, flipping it over before placing it back in her hand.
“Sorry about that...orders are orders.”
She took it without looking, staring back with fire in her eyes. It was a sweet gesture, but she couldn’t care less about the knife. Not when there was something far more precious on her mind.
Remembering at the same time, he reached up and pulled the chain over his head. The white gems sparkled between them before he slipped them around gently around her neck.
“I’m sorry about that, too.”
He stared at her for a long moment, gesturing suddenly to the herd.
“You should take the horses. And cut free the ones you’re not going to use.”
Asher retracted his fangs, glancing back at the animals like it was the first sensible thing he’d heard all night. But when he took a step forward, Evie reached out to stop him.
“No,” she murmured, glancing at the anxious townsfolk still clamoring around the bar. “We don’t want to make trouble for the rest of them.”
The others followed her gaze, struck with the same dilemma, when there was a sudden swish of air followed by a sharp impact. They turned back in surprise to see the rope that tethered the horses had been cut through—an axe bearing the mark of the Red Hand lodged in the post.
Their eyes drifted incredulously from the blade to the man.
“There.” He stepped back with a smile. “Now there will just be trouble for me.”
A silence fell between them. None of the others knew what to say.
The boys were unreadable, Evie and Freya were staring with caution. And despite her cold exterior, Cosette found herself greatly troubled by the man’s words.
“We can’t let you do that,” she said softly, reaching for the blade. “From the looks of things, you were already on thin ice—”
Ellanden’s hand shot out to stop her.
“What’s he going to do—come along?” The incriminating blade stayed where it was, but his face softened slightly when he glanced back at the young man. “There is no future in this kind of life. You need to get yourself out of it while there’s still time.”
There was a crash from inside the tavern, followed by a chorus of angry voices. All six of them looked briefly towards the flames, then the man lifted a shoulder with a light-hearted shrug.
“One way or another, I imagine that will happen shortly.”
The friends shared another incredulous glance before moving swiftly to the horses, choosing quickly and swinging themselves up into the air.
Cosette had been just a step behind them but she stopped the moment her hands touched the saddle, then turned back around. “...thank you.”
The man’s face softened with a faint smile. “You’re welcome.”
Ellanden gestured impatiently. She placed her foot in the stirrups. But a second before she could swing herself into the air, the man spun her around for a sudden kiss.
Uh...what?
Time seemed to pause as the two froze in the moonlight. Her eyes were wide open in surprise. His hands were cupped tenderly around her cheeks.
Then, as quickly as it happened, it was over.
With a roguish wink the man picked up the bottle of rum and raced back towards the tavern, drawing his sword at the same time with a mighty shout.
The fae stood frozen behind him, staring in absolute shock.
“That bastard!” Ellanden reared up on the back of the horse, looking like death itself. “Give me the knife, Cosette. I’m going to run him through!”
She stared a moment longer, then deliberately shook herself out of it—turning back to the horse and mounting it in one quick leap.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she answered. “He just saved our lives.”
Freya and Asher were grinning. Ellanden was fuming. Evie had one hand cupped over her mouth. But while it was too dark to see clearly, she didn’t think Cosette looked the least bit angry.
In fact, she could have sworn she saw the hint of a smile.
As the rest of the herd took off running towards the forest, the five friends charged away in the opposite direction. Leaning over the necks of their horses, vanishing into the moonlit night.
