“You all right, lord?” Gabriol called as he caught up to him.
“I’m fine,” he snapped.
“Did you find Croak?”
“Aye,” Rydon said curtly. “Rode off with the cleric. For Villadelle.”
“What’s going on?”
Rydon shouldered past his bewildered friend without answering. Gabriol followed but did not pester him for a reply.
By the sounds coming from the kitchen, Rydon didn’t need to guess where Terena had got to. He lifted the curtain to the room and stopped, watching as Terena stuffed a rag into the mouth of the maid, stifling her screams.
She looked up as they appeared, but continued her work. She rounded the chair where the fat innkeep sat, her lips pulled down as she unsheathed her dagger. At the sight, the maid fainted, and the man struggled anew. His gag shook with the force of his shouts, muffledbehind the dirty fabric. Terena watched him for a few seconds more, the blade pointed at the man’s cock.
“You are not very hospitable for an innkeeper,” she said at last. The man’s face was blotched, making the pock marks along his cheeks stand out. His eyes bulged as he struggled to move. “I’m of a mind to tell all my friends never to visit Nosam. The service is terrible.”
The man’s muffled shouts were in vain and he struggled some more, his face mottled an ugly red.
“Where’s your messenger?” asked Terena.
Rydon looked at her, then back at the innkeep. After a moment, she pulled out the rag so he could speak.
“Go fuck yerself!” he screamed, a stream of saliva catching on his lips and the stubble on his chin.
Terena dropped to a crouch, her dark hair bouncing over her shoulder in the leather tie she liked to wear up high. The blade tip pressed deeper into the folds of the man’s trousers. He yelped and tried to scoot back, but he was tied well.
“I don’t have time,” Terena sighed. “I wish I did. I do like to fuck myself, especially after waking up in the morning. Right before I wash. Great way to start my day.”
She looked over at Rydon, hazel eyes flashing. “But no, not today. Today, instead of fucking myself, I was rudely awakened by men sent to kill me. And my friends.” She tutted, patting the man’s britches with her blade. He let out a low moan.
“Now, we try again.” Her voice was soft and menacing as she leaned in closer to the man, her blade once more threatening his manhood. “Where’s your messenger?”
“I don’t—aaaah!”
The man’s scream tore through the room and Rydon’s skull. He winced and lifted his hands to his head as he stared daggers at Terena. She paid him no mind as she dug the blade tip deeper into the man’s crotch. He howled and whined and blubbered, then nodded his head and told her all about the man he’d sent off to the emperor’s men.
“Where can I find this man? Lefren, is it?”
More crying before he answered. “If he’s back, he’s at ‘ome. Back of th’ village near th’ stables. His place has a green awning.”
Terena turned to look at Rydon, one eyebrow lifted. He scowled at her, then turned to leave. She stood and grabbed hold of his forearm, stalling him, making a show of stretching before sheathing her blade and looking around the room.
“Well then. My friends and I will take our breakfast on the road.” She patted the innkeep on the shoulder as she moved past him to rummage in the cupboards and drawers, pulling out food and folding items into towels. “Don’t take this the wrong way,” she said, her voice sweeter than he’d ever heard her use before. She continued to gather foodstuffs, walking around the kitchen. “I don’t trust you to make meals up for us, so I am taking the liberty of doing so myself. As you know, I cannot trust your hospitality. Not after all this!” She laughed and lifted her hands up.
It was not a pleasant sound.
“Rydon,” she said before tossing a couple of bundles at him. He fumbled to catch them as she tossed the last one over her shoulder. “You good?”
He nodded, his face mulish.
She strode past the innkeep, then turned back. Grabbing up the rag, she shoved it in his mouth. She slapped him, hard, when he protested and moved his head all over, struggling against her.
Rydon moved out of her way as she strode from the room. He stood for a moment, watching the portly man crying, his head limp. The maid had awakened some time during the whole business and was silently crying beside him.
Rydon had done a lot of bad in his life, he freely admitted. But something about this sat wrong with him. True, the man had sent a message to the emperor, but they were fugitives. Wanted for the slaying of a beloved prince. This man knew nothing more about them than that.
Rydon spat and followed Terena.
